InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Even If You Cannot Hear My Voice ❯ The Aftermath ( Chapter 13 )

 

The monk looked over at the hanyou and his precious miko and smiled. “Let's leave them alone for awhile.” Miroku wisely advised. “I'm sure they will have much to discuss when Kagome finally wakes up.”

 

They all nodded their heads in agreement and followed the monk outside. Once everyone had found their desired spots, Miroku, who was sitting next to Sango under a large tree, noticed that Shippou looked deep in thought about something.

 

“What's wrong, Shippou? If you're worried about Kagome, I can assure you that she will be all right.” Miroku soothed.

 

“It's not that. I was just wondering-what's a train?” Shippou had envisioned a large, shapeless mass from Kagome's time that went around hitting people for fun.

 

The adults looked at each other in confusion then smiled at the young kitsune cub. They had no idea what Kagome was talking about when she said it felt like a train had hit her, but she's talked about weirder things than that and no one felt like it was appropriate to ask Kagome to explain herself. Still, they were glad that Shippou wasn't letting worry get in the way of his curiosity.

 

“Well, Shippou, if you would like to know, you should ask Kagome when she's feeling better, okay?” Sango told the young kitsune.

 

“Yeah, that's a great idea! Do you think that Kagome would like it if I colored some pictures for her, too?” Shippou asked excitedly.

 

“I'm sure that Kagome-sama would love that.” Miroku replied encouragingly.

 

“Then I'll get started on some right away!!!” Shippou scurried over to a nice patch of grass and launched himself onto the ground to start making his little works of art.

 

“Kaede-sama…I've been wondering about something myself.” Sango stared at the ground for a few moments then looked up at the old miko who was standing a few feet from her.

 

“What is it ye wish to know, child?” The old priestess had always been a good source of information for all of them and even when Kaede did not know the answer to their questions herself, she usually knew where they could go to find out for themselves.

 

“When Kagome-chan put Kikyo to rest, it looked as though Kagome regained the rest of her soul right away, but when she was laying in your hut, struggling for her life, a blue orb went into her chest. I just don't understand how that's possible.”

 

“Kagome indeed reclaimed the part of her soul that had been taken from her when my sister was resurrected. However, Kikyo could never be fully reincarnated because of the way she died, so Kagome's soul was never complete. Up until a few moments ago, Kagome had not truly been the reincarnation of my sister. Now, however, the child is. When Kagome regains her strength, she will be more powerful than any miko of all time. Even Midoriko's power will seem dim in comparison to that of Kagome's.” They looked at the old priestess in wonderment. Surely Kagome has proven that she is very strong, but it was hard for them to believe that she was to become the most powerful miko of all time! Kaede continued, “I was going to explain this to ye when Kagome had awoken, but as ye asked, it seemed pointless to hide the truth.”

 

“Does that mean that the Shikon no Tama will be the most purified it has ever been when we give it to Kagome?” Sango asked hopefully.

 

“Yes, child. But we must be patient. It will take some time for Kagome to gather her full strength, and though the jewel will begin to purify in Kagome's presence even in her delicate state, Kagome must not be allowed to push herself too hard too quickly or else she might severely injure herself.” Kaede warned.

 

They murmured their agreement that they would all make sure Kagome took it easy so she could fully regain her power. As the sun began to set, Koga decided it was time for him to leave and find the rest of his wolf brothers. Many of them had been killed because of Naraku as well as themselves. He would reunite the tribes and maybe even keep the promise he made to a certain wolf demoness under the lunar rainbow.

 

“I promise I'll be back to visit Kagome when she's feeling better. Tell Inuyasha that he'd better take good care of Kagome.” With those words, the wolf prince slowly walked away from them with his right hand raised as a sign of farewell.

 

Kaede found another villager to take her in for the night while the rest of the group set up a small camp for themselves outside. It was a warm summer night after all, and Inuyasha and Kagome deserved to be alone for the night.

 

 

Inuyasha had not left Kagome's side for hours nor had he taken his eyes off her for more than a few seconds. For a long time, Inuyasha was so worried about Kagome that not a single thought except “please be okay, Kagome” had crossed his mind. Eventually, though, the hanyou wondered what he would say to the girl when she would finally open her eyes.

 

I need to tell her that I'm glad she's okay, and I need to tell her `thanks' for Kikyo. And I gotta make sure everyone's around when I tell her what Kikyo told me to tell everyone. I'm also going to talk to her about my wish. I don't want to be a full demon anymore, but I don't want to be human, either. Especially since Kagome said she likes me as a half-demon. A slight blush came to his face when he thought about this. He smiled then gave a light nudge to Kagome's left cheek with his nose. She's so beautiful, and after all I put her through, I don't even deserve to be next to her right now…but…whenever I'm not close to her, I feel like I can't breathe. I just…want her to be happy. Even if that means-

 

“Uhh…” Kagome moaned softly. Her body felt warm, and she felt relaxed but exhausted. It was hard for her to even move her head towards the presence she felt to the left of her. As she tried to open her eyes, she felt something warm and wet touch her neck. “Inu…yasha?” she weakly called as she was finally able to confirm who it was beside her when she looked over at the hanyou.

 

“Kagome…I'm so glad you're all right.” He softly responded before gently nuzzling her neck.

 

Kagome felt her face get hot as she realized Inuyasha was laying next to her on the bedroll. Did Inuyasha…just lick my neck? She thought embarrassed. “Inuyasha…what-“

 

Before she could finish her question, Inuyasha had leaned over the young miko and kissed her while delicately supporting her head with his left hand. He figured that she had improved when he licked her earlier, so logically, a kiss might even get her to sit up.

 

Inuyasha stopped when he felt Kagome's lips quiver. He looked down and saw that tears were spilling out of Kagome's closed eyes. Shocked, Inuyasha quickly moved away from the girl, about to apologize when-

 

“Gomen…gomen nasai, Inuyasha!” Kagome sobbed.

 

Inuyasha looked over at the young girl and sighed. “Kagome…what the hell do you have to be sorry for?” He softly demanded.

 

“For…making you worry about me…I'm really sorry. I know…it was hard for you to let me help Kikyo, too. I'm sorry I put you in such a horrible position. I didn't know what I had to do until the moment I had to do it…You didn't even get to say good-bye…you must…be so angry with me!” Kagome buried her hands in her face as she rolled over to face away from Inuyasha. She couldn't bear to look at his face right now. She didn't know if he could ever forgive her for taking Kikyo away from him. Kagome began to cry harder when she felt herself being scooped up into Inuyasha's arms.

 

Inuyasha was holding her head close to his with his right arm while his left was wrapped around the young miko's waist. “Baka…how could you even think such things?”

 

Kagome lowered her hands to her chest and looked up at Inuyasha with a tear-stained face. “But-“

 

“Kagome, listen to me. You have nothing to be sorry for. I'm the one who's sorry. Sorry for making promises to someone I never truly loved, sorry that I left you alone and sad all those times I answered Kikyo's call, sorry I could never show you how much I care about you.” Inuyasha smiled to himself while Kagome stared fixedly at the hanyou. “After all that time and energy spent convincing myself that I was the only one who should bear the burden of Kikyo's unrest, it was you all along who was the only one who could save her, Kagome…Thank you…You saved Kikyo and me. Heh. You even defeated Naraku-”

 

“We all defeated Naraku.” Kagome corrected quietly.

 

“Keh. Well, we couldn't have done it without you…I'm just glad you're okay, Kagome.” Inuyasha brought the young girl up to his chest and hugged her tightly.

 

“Inuyasha…” Kagome called out as she blushed and her eyes began to glisten.

 

Inuyasha made a rumbling sound in the back of his throat that had a calming effect on Kagome. She started to feel her eyelids get heavy and before long, she was soundly asleep in Inuyasha's arms. Heh. He laughed to himself. I instinctively made the inu-youkai sound for subduing a restless mate. But she doesn't know that, so-DAMMIT!!! Why the hell am I blushing? She doesn't even fucking know what that meant!

 

At that moment, Kagome smiled in her sleep. Inuyasha looked at the young miko in horror. She didn't know-she couldn't know-could she? Don't be stupid. He told himself. You just want her to guess what that growl meant so you can see her reaction to it.

 

“Inuyasha…ari…gato…”

 

Inuyasha smiled at Kagome. The girl sure did call out his name a lot in her sleep. He wanted her more than ever. No one could stop him from claiming her as his own now. Naraku was dead, Kikyo was at peace, and he could make his wish without dire consequences. That is…if Kagome will even have me…It was still hard for Inuyasha to believe what Kikyo had told him.

 

“Kagome's strength comes from her love, nothing more. Her love for the people around her, her love for her friends, and…her love for you.”

 

Inuyasha decided he wasn't going to worry about all that for the rest of the night. Later, he would explain everything and how he actually did get to say good-bye to Kikyo. But for now, he was just happy he had Kagome safe in his arms, and that was more than enough at the moment.

 

When morning came, Miroku, Shippou, Sango, and Kirara awoke to the smell of fish by cooked nearby. They watched in shock as Inuyasha smiled at them and said, “Good, you're all awake. I'll go back to Kagome if you guys finish up here.”

 

“Anno…sure thing, Inuyasha.” Sango replied uncertainly.

 

After Inuyasha had gone back into Kaede's hut, Shippou couldn't contain himself. “Inuyasha actually went to the river and caught fish for all of us for breakfast!!!”

 

“It appears so, Shippou.” Miroku replied pleasantly.

 

“The fish will be done really soon.” Sango announced. “We should bring breakfast to Inuyasha and Kagome so he doesn't have to leave her again.”

 

 

Inuyasha touched Kagome's forehead. It was a little warm, but it didn't feel like she was running a fever, so he softly stroked her cheek with the back of his right hand to rouse her.

 

“Kagome…”

 

“Mmmm?” the young priestess sleepily replied.

 

“Are you feeling all right? Breakfast is almost ready. You should eat so you can get your strength back.” Inuyasha helped her sit up, and Kagome stretched while yawning widely.

 

“Inuyasha…you've helped me so much lately…arigato.” Kagome lightly blushed and stared at the floor.

 

“Keh! It's only because you can't take care of yourself, so I have to!” Inuyasha professed as he gruffly crossed his arms and faced the wall, not wanting Kagome to see his cheeks color.

 

Sango made her way into the hut and gave a fish to both Kagome and Inuyasha.

 

“Arigato, Sango-chan!” Kagome chirped.

 

Inuyasha grumbled a “thanks” and tore into his fish immediately. A half-demon needs more food than weakling humans, and he had been watching over Kagome for an entire day!

 

“Actually, Inuyasha caught the fish and cooked them, too. All I had to do was take them off their sticks and hand them to everyone.” Sango confessed.

 

Kagome smiled at Inuyasha. He was really sweet and caring when he wanted to be. I could feel him near me almost all the time when I was sleeping.

 

Inuyasha looked up and noticed that Kagome was staring at him. “Eh?”

 

Kagome just smiled wider and watched him with admiring eyes. This blatant attention was a little more than Inuyasha was prepared for and so he was forced to face away from Kagome yet again to conceal his blush. Dammit! How many fucking times am I going to do that around Kagome?!?!

 

Sango moved to leave when Inuyasha stopped her.

 

“Oi! Sango!” Sango stopped and turned to look at the hanyou. “Tell everybody that there's some stuff Kikyo told me to say to you guys, and now that Kagome's doin' better, I think I should tell you.”

 

Kagome stared at Inuyasha in astonishment. “Ki-Kikyo?”

 

“That's right, Kagome. You see, I did get to say `good-bye' to her. She was sad that she couldn't tell you what she wanted in person, but the condition you were in after fighting Naraku made that impossible so she told me everything she wanted to say.” Inuyasha explained.

 

“I'm glad, Inuyasha.” Kagome was relieved that Inuyasha was able to see Kikyo one last time as she used to be when she was alive. I'm sure that helped him be at ease about her final passing.

 

When everyone had settled themselves within Kaede's hut, Inuyasha passed along everything Kikyo had said. He told them about how sorry Kikyo was for hurting Kagome, and how she did not trust Inuyasha enough to see through Naraku's trap. He then told them about how his wish on the Shikon no Tama would have been tainted since the only person who could ever purify the jewel completely was Kagome.” Then Inuyasha turned to Kagome and said, “And she said that your strength comes from how much you care about us, Kagome.” Inuyasha certainly wasn't going to say what she said word for word to everybody! And he was definitely not going to say the word “love” to Kagome until at least she had said that word to him at least ten times or more. That's reasonable! He told himself indignantly.

 

Kagome let out a small gasp. She really said all that? I'm so happy Kikyo was saved.

 

“So, Inuyasha. What about your wish on the Sacred Jewel? Have you given it any thought?” Miroku asked.

 

“Yeah, but…I have to talk to Kagome about that first.” Inuyasha looked determinedly away from Kagome at that moment so he wouldn't start blushing again. “But Kagome has to be completely well before she can purify the jewel, anyways, so it doesn't really matter right now, does it, monk?”

 

“Uh, no. I guess not.” Replied Miroku awkwardly. I know he's trying not to blush in front of Kagome-sama, but why does he always go after me? Miroku sighed grudgingly.

 

“Anno…Inuyasha?” Kagome asked innocently.

 

“Yeah, Kagome?” Inuyasha asked suspiciously.

 

“Do you think you could do me a favor and take me to the river for a bath? I don't think I can walk that far yet, but I would love to get cleaned up.”

 

“Uhhh…sure Kagome.” Inuyasha couldn't hide the red on his cheeks now.

 

“Would you like me to come with you, Kagome?” Sango asked hesitantly.

 

“That's okay. I just want a quick dip in the water. Besides, as long as you're keeping watch on Miroku here, I'll probably be safer than if you came with me!” Kagome joked.

 

Miroku's eye twitched annoyingly, and he sighed with despair. “Kagome, I'm sure I have no idea what you're talking about.”

 

“Quiet, monk! She's got a point, you know?! Maybe we'll take turns like this from now on to protect ourselves since Inuyasha has never stopped you!” Sango yelled furiously.

 

“HEY, IT'S NOT MY FAULT MIROKU'S A HENTAI!!!” Inuyasha roared in his defense. “Let's go, Kagome!!!” Inuyasha then swept Kagome into his arms and headed towards the river. Stupid monk…it's not my fucking responsibility to make sure he behaves. If it was, I'd have to watch him all the fucking time!

 

“Anno…Inuyasha?” Kagome called out timidly as they rushed along the forest floor.

 

“What is it, Kagome?” He asked a little harsher than he intended due to his mental rantings about his stupid hentai monk friend.

 

“We passed the river a few minutes ago.”

 

“I know. I'm taking you to a hot spring. You deserve it after all you've been through, Kagome.” Inuyasha explained softly.

 

“Arigato! Inuyasha!” Kagome said enthusiastically.

 

That's the most energy I've heard in her voice since she passed out after helping Kikyo. He thought amused. “Keh! It's not that big a deal.”

 

“Hmm…” Inuyasha you care about my happiness a lot, don't you? Maybe he wants to be with me after all…Yeah…I'm sure he does. Why else would he go through all this trouble? Staying with me, getting breakfast, and now this. Not to mention he kissed me, too! But…I had to mess that up and start crying. He'll probably never try that again! Good going, Kagome!

 

When Inuyasha and Kagome finally arrived at the hot spring, Inuyasha gingerly put Kagome down on the edge of it so she didn't have to walk far.

 

“You can't stay in there too long, Kagome. The hot water might feel good, but it will drain your energy. Just let me know when you're done, and I'll take you back to the village.”

 

“Arigato, Inuyasha.” Kagome sweetly smiled at her beloved hanyou.

 

“Okay already! You don't have to keep saying that!” Inuyasha told her before leaping away into some of the forest trees effectively hiding his reddening cheeks. What the fuck is wrong with me?!?! She can't thank me without me getting all mushy about it!?

 

Inuyasha found a large oak tree that offered many branches for the hanyou to sit on while waiting for Kagome, and after he had found a particularly large one to rest on, it was taking all of his effort to think about anything but Kagome bathing herself in the steamy waters below.