InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Children of Light ❯ Chapter 2 ( Chapter 2 )

Kagome awoke to the feel of sunshine beating down on her body, wrapping her in a cocoon of warmth, soothing her stiff body. The sun seeping into her eyelids causes her to roll over and pull the covers over her face, to keep from fully awakening. She wasn't ready to get up just yet.

"Umhfh" she mumbles, as she reaches for the covers, only to find herself touching cool, hard cement.

"Whaaa?" she carefully blinks her eyes open, squinting in the harsh light of the sun until her eyes finally adjust to the bright glare. She glances down at her `bed' and is surprised to find herself sprawled out on the floor of her balcony.

"Eeek!" She squeaks as she jumps up, making a run for her TV room, with a speed born of embarrassment and confusion. She slides the partially closed balcony door open and dives into her living room, quickly sliding the door closed behind her again. Back in the safety and comfort of the `inside' part of her apartment, she makes for the couch and wraps herself in the brown fleece blanket she always kept handy on the back of her couch, just in case she ever got cold at night watching TV.

"What the heck happened?" she wonders as she rubs at her temples, trying to push away the dream filled fogginess that was still clinging to her not fully awakened mind.

"Last night…" she begins to think back as she slowly recalls the events of the night before. "that… that sound…but, no" she sighs.

"Kagome, get a grip girl. You're really starting to loose it" she berates herself. "Loosing it over some howling dog". She shakes her head as she wraps the blanket tighter around her, hoping it will bring some measure of comfort.

"Still, I can't believe I fell asleep on the balcony!" she mumbles, a hint of red tinting her cheeks at her private embarrassment. Yawning widely, she stretches her arms and body in a very feline way, getting rid of the kinks in her body from sleeping on the concrete floor. She groans as she begins to feel her muscles awaken in protest.

"I better get a shower. That'll help".

But just as she starts to peel herself from the couch, she's startled by the ringing telephone and stubs her toe on the leg of her coffee table.

"Awww.. sh… damn it!" she grunts, straining to keep the flood gates of profanity from opening, as she clutches her throbing toe in her hands, trying to squeeze the pain away.

Brrriiiinnnggg the phone continues to squeal.

"Aw… damn it" she softly curses as she hobbles to the phone, trying to shake the pain out of her now tender toe.

"Hello?" she barks into the phone, annoyance clearly etched in her voice.

"Hey sleepy head, what's with you? Get up on the wrong side of the bed?" Her best friend Sango laughs into the telephone.

"You'd be surprised" Kagome replies as she winces at the last bit of receding pain in her toe.

"What? What do you mean?" Sango was more then just a little curious about that remark.

"Ah, nothing, never mind. I'm just cranky because I stubbed my toe trying to answer the phone". Kagome thought it would be best not to let her friend know where she had actually slept the night, or she would never live it down. That, or Sango just might be tempted to call those nice men with those really nice white jackets that came fully equipped with those really stylish buckles and straps.

"Oh, I'm so sorry Kag!" came Sango's clearly concerned reply.

Laughing, Kagome smiles, her natural cheeriness coming back into her voice. "Oh, don't worry Sango, I'm fine. I'm just a clutz. So what's up with you?"

"Well, besides causing my best friend physical harm, I'm calling to make sure we're still on for tonight".

"Tonight?" Were they doing something tonight?

Sango sighs into the phone. "Remember Kagome? We're going to that new club tonight, La Vita. Maybe even pick us up some cute dishes to play with".

Kagome grinned at Sango's mischievous tone. "Oh yeah, right. No worries, I'll be there. Are we going to meet Aymi down there too?"

"Yeah, she's bringing Yuka with her".

"Okay great. Well, I'll meet you down there about 9 kay? I've got some errands to run".

"Sounds great Kag. See ya tonight" Sango cheerfully replies as she clicks off the line.

Replacing the phone back in its cradle, Kagome makes her way to a much needed shower. Stripping off her pink plaid pj bottoms and her white tank top, she steps into the warmth of the rushing water.

"Ahhhhh" she happily sighs to herself as the warm water begins to cascade down her raven black hair, and slowly begins to massage and loosen her sore muscles.

"Now this is heaven" she thinks as she closes her eyes. But just as her eyes close, releasing herself to enjoying the cocoon of warmth rushing around her body, an image of deep, golden amber flashes in her mind.

************

"What the fuck?" Inu Yasha grunts as he opens his eyes and staggers to his feet, his hand clutching the side of his head.

"What happened? What the hell hit me?" he groans as the bright sun pierces through the trees, causing his head to throb painfully.

"Oh my head" He grunts, rubbing his temples. "Did anyone get the license plate of that Mack truck?"

He slowly picks himself up off the damp ground and cautiously walks through the forest. His ears twitch and swivel on his head, attempting to pick up any dangers in his surroundings. Finding nothing threatening, he pinches the bridge of his nose with his fingers in an attempt to push back the throbbing in his head.

He lowers his hand as he stops walking to look up at the bright sky, trying to recall exactly what had happened to him last night. The only reason he had been caught out in the woods was because he had been coming back from his secret hide out. The place he escaped too on his human nights, so that other demons wouldn't find out his secret. Only, he had decided to stay away for a couple of extra days. He needed some alone time. Time to sleep, hang out in a tree and sleep some more.

Oh yeah, and think. He definitely needed time to think. He'd been having that crazy dream again. He could never really recall what it was about the next morning, but he knew it was about a battle. He'd been having the same dream for many long years, but recently, they had gotten more vivid, a little clearer. Inu Yasha had been in many battles, but he couldn't recall the one he kept dreaming about, even though it felt strangely familiar. And there had been a woman this time, he was sure of it. But that didn't make any sense. Inu Yasha didn't talk to a lot of women, much less fight battles with them. Wait. Was he fighting along side the girl? What had made him think of that?

He sighed.

But there was something…familiar…about the dream. He couldn't understand it. And the woman, she'd been crying out to him, reaching for him somehow. Did she scream?

Shaking his head, he tries to rid himself of the unexplainable mystery. If he hadn't figured it out in almost 200 years, he wasn't about to figure it out now.

"Weird" he thinks as he jumps into the air, landing on a treetop.

He gracefully begins leaping from tree to tree, his toned muscles stretching, pulling and constricting under his clothes with the familiar movements. His body completely at home in the heights of the tall trees, his grace and agility putting the most competent of felines to shame. His landings, so soft, so quiet, only the slightest of breezes is felt in his passing. That is, unless he wanted you to know he was there, that he was coming, and that was never good. The eyes of the forest, the now stirring creatures, all took in his form with awe and respect, mingled with an appropriate amount of fear, as he glided silently overhead. The forest whispered as he passed, ever the shadow, ever the predator.

Upon reaching the city limits, Inu Yasha begins lightly leaping from building to building until he reaches his own apartment building. With his usual and well-known grace and agility, he lands softly on the ledge of his balcony, nothing but a whisper on the wind, as always.

Unconcerned about any peeping neighbors, seeing as how he owned the entire top floor of his apartment building, he takes his time entering his apartment through the balcony door, as he steps into his large and spacious top floor flat. He walks past the black leather couch and removes his black and red leather jacket as he tosses it onto the arm of the couch and kicks off his thin-soled shoes. He hated wearing shoes, but with the amount of garbage and needles and other disgusting things that littered any given area in this day and age, it just wasn't safe for a person to go walking around bare foot. Demons included! So he comprised, thin, flexible shoes helped him to protect his feet, and still gave him a sense of comfortable freedom. He liked feeling the earth under his feet, he took comfort in it. It reminded him of being a pup and running through the forests, and the less there was in the way of that, the happier he was.

He looked down at his attire and noticed the stained white shirt and dirty dark blue jeans. "Better take a shower" he decides as he continues to strip off his clothes, leaving a trail behind him as he makes his way to the shower. His muscles rippling seductively with every small movement.

The large bathroom, tiled in soft earth tones with white and red candles and decorative stones, gave it a very Zen feeling that matched the rest of his apartment. Sure a Jacuzzi and a state of the art home entertainment and gaming system wasn't exactly Zenish, but you had to make compromises didn't you?

~~~~~~~~

"I'm coming, hold your freaken horses!" Inu Yasha was growling as he made his way to the door, knowing full well who the insistent pounding on the door belonged too.

The pounding continued with renewed gusto as a slow threatening growl began to rumble louder in Inu Yasha's chest as he approached the door.

"What!?" he barked at the grinning fool who still held his arm up ready to give the door another pounding.

"Hey Inu" Miroku grinned "took you long enough".

"Keh" was Inu Yasha's not surprising response.

"Nice to see you too" Miroku smiled stepping inside, unperturbed by his friends gruff attitude. Inu Yasha simply wasn't a warm and fuzzy kind of guy, though his appearance might make an unsuspecting fool think otherwise. That is, until Inu Yasha opened his mouth. Nope, Inu Yasha wasn't Inu Yasha unless he was rude, irritable and moody. And Miroku wouldn't change him for the world. It seemed right somehow.

"What do you want now?" Inu Yasha asked walking back into the sitting room as he flopped down on the leather couch and continued flipping through the channels on the big screen TV.

"Come on man, I've been calling you for the last two days" Miroku took a seat across from his friend on his favorite Lazy Boy and sat back so he could comfortably put his feet up.

"I was concerned" he said with a smile.

"Keh. You know damn well I was just avoiding your phone calls" Inu Yasha replied gruffly.

Miroku, again, was unperturbed by his friends attitude. Inu Yasha was always more irritable around his `time of the month' when he changed back into his human form. He usually ran off to his secret hiding place, which, unknown to the half demon, was not as secret as he wanted it to be, at least, not from his nosey friend. Miroku thought it better to steer the conversation completely away from this very sensitive topic.

"Well yes, the thought had crossed my mind" he lied. "Although I know it was just because you're nervous about tonight".

"What?!" Inu Yasha exclaimed, glaring at his friend, finally tearing his gaze away from the TV. What was he talking about now?

"Oh come on Mr. Solitude. You get like this every time I try to drag you out".

"Keh" Inu Yasha turned his head back to the TV. Oh yeah, that.

Miroku rolled his eyes. "Yes, of course. Naturally. Anyways, you're not ditching out this time, so lets go. It's a new place we're hitting, it's called La Vita, you're gonna love it! Besides…" Miroku began to grin, "maybe we'll find ourselves something fun to play with".

"Is that all you think about, you pervert!" Inu Yasha yelled at his less then pure friend.

"Of course not, Inu Yasha. You wound me. You know that I am a man of great faith and as such I like to appreciate the great beauty that the gods have so kindly bestowed on us. And as a man of faith, I feel it is my duty to take great care in appreciating such beauty" Miroku thoughtfully and seriously remarked.

"Whatever" Inu Yasha knew better then to believe that dribble as he got up to change.

He still found it hard to believe that his brother actually employed his perverted friend as a Monk and as a person who assisted his brother in getting rid of evil energies, lifting curses and even getting rid of the occasional special demon that couldn't be taken down by brute force.

Of course, when any real demon hunting needed to be done, his brother turned to Inu Yasha and his powerful sword. A sword that had been left to him under strange and unusual circumstances to say the least, almost two centuries ago. His brother was the current leading demon Lord and President and CEO of Inu Inc. a large international corporation (Inu Yasha wasn't exactly sure what he did and didn't particularly care, as long as the money kept rolling in). But Sesshomaru always needed to watch his back. There were always power hungry demons and humans out there and that's where Inu Yasha came in.

But Miroku? A Monk? With holy powers? It always just stumped him because his friend really could use holy powers, he'd seen it. Not to mention had been on the receiving end of a couple of spells. Of course Miroku always claimed it was an `accident' but the hanyou had his own suspicions. His friend just liked to live dangerously. Very dangerously.

Inu Yasha sighed. Maybe the gods just had a really sick sense of humor.

"Oh Inu" his friend interrupted his musings.

"What?" he barked.

"Don't forget to do something about those ears".