InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Facets of the Living Jewel ❯ Amantes sunt amentes: In omnia paratus ( Chapter 18 )

Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha or the other characters. Ms. Takahashi does.

 

Amantes sunt amentes: In omnia paratus

By Licentia poetica

 

 

Innin turned and watched her bemused daughter walk up the stairs and disappear into her room, raising one eyebrow and smiling slightly as Kagome closed the door carefully to muffle the sound. `She knows enough to not wake Sango, so she must be aware of some things even if I'm not one of them.' She sighed and followed her daughter up the stairs. `Well, after what I just saw it's time for another talk…one that I'm a lot more confident about, but it will probably upset Kagome just as much as the one last night.' Keeping her footfalls as quiet as possible, she passed Kagome's closed door and entered her own room. `I just have to wonder whether I said the right things the first time through this one, or if I said anything at all!' She shook her head to dispel the confusion and doubts that always came with knowledge of the Nexus. `I can't afford to be distracted. The only time line that matters is this one now, and I need to fetch that package I've had stashed away for awhile.' A self-deprecating smile quirked the corners of her mouth as she picked up the brown sack hidden at the back of a drawer. `She's going to want to kill me!' Taking a deep breath, she chewed her lower lip thoughtfully as she stared at the innocuous package. `Well, at least this is as close to normal teenager-parent discussions as I'm ever going to get!' She turned and retraced her steps to Kagome's room.

 

Kagome entered her room as quietly as possible; briefly glancing over at Sango's sleeping form on her bed. `She looks so relaxed. I don't think I've ever seen her sleep so soundly.' She sat down in her desk chair, staring out the window as she placed the tips of her fingers on her mouth. `He kissed me. He really kissed me!' She blushed as her body responded to the memory of his fangs nibbling at her lower lip. `Maybe we'll get some time later to—eeep!' Her blush deepened as she shied away from the thoughts about how his fangs had felt on her shoulder the day before; how they might feel on other parts of her body. `I'm reacting too strongly; who knows what he meant?'

 

She combed her fingers through her hair and rested her forehead in her palms, leaning on her desk and staring at the worn surface. `I certainly feel different from yesterday morning. I can't believe that less than a day ago I thought that Inuyasha didn't love me—wait.' She sat up straight. `He didn't actually say he loved me, did he? I'm just assuming…oh, I'm such an idiot.' Placing her head back in her hands, she reviewed the memories of their interactions since her outburst the day before.

 

`Why is he acting this way? What does it mean? Does he love me, or is he just…substituting? We haven't seen Kikyou for quite a while. Maybe he heard me and maybe he misses kissing her and thinks I'm available. Maybe he misses more than just kissing her…I never really knew what he did with Kikyou, after all.' She rubbed her forehead as a headache began to throb behind her eyes. `I can't believe that Kikyou would ever have allowed Inuyasha to nibble on her neck, but…who knows?' She sighed and bit her lower lip. `Eighteen and still a virgin, and all it takes is one stupid kiss…well, one amazing kiss, and I'm thinking `happily ever after.' What an idiot I am! After all the arguments and all the times he's gone to her; all the times I've had to conceal my feelings in order to spare his…I can't trust these last few hours.'

 

Sango turned over in her sleep and mumbled Miroku's name. As Kagome glanced over the sleeping woman frowned and her hand twitched.

 

`Slapping him in your sleep, Sango? Nothing ever changes.' Kagome's body slumped as her spirits plummeted and she repeated the words to herself. `Nothing ever changes. I'm a fool, believing he loves me because of a kiss. Just because I love him so much it doesn't mean he's resolved anything. I'm a stupid, blind idiot!'

 

A quiet knock at the door interrupted her depressing thoughts. Kagome sighed and walked quietly over to open the door, raising her eyebrows when she found her mother outside holding a plain brown bag.

 

“May I come in, dear? I think you're going to need what's in this package and I have to talk to you,” Innin said quietly.

 

Kagome glanced back at Sango as the taiji-ya stirred in her sleep. She whispered, “Maybe we should go downstairs to the kitchen? Sango needs to rest.”

 

“This isn't the kind of thing that I'd like to talk about where Sota or Grandpa could accidentally hear, dear. It's…a woman's issue,” Innin whispered back.

 

Kagome cringed inwardly. `Uh, oh. The last time we talked about `woman's issues' was when I started my periods.' She sighed and stepped dispiritedly away from the door, whispering, “Sure, mama. Come in, but let's keep quiet so Sango can sleep.”

 

Innin looked sharply at her daughter. `How can a whisper sound so depressed? She even looks depressed and that doesn't fit with what I saw from the kitchen window. That kiss was anything but platonic! When she went up the stairs, I could tell from her face that she was in love. Now, what's happened?' She entered the room quietly and watched with concern as Kagome slumped in her desk chair. Trying to keep her voice low, she asked, “Kagome, what's wrong? I saw you come upstairs and you looked so happy. Now you…what's wrong, honey?”

 

Kagome rubbed her forehead and managed a weak smile, but she avoided her mother's gaze. “Oh, it's nothing, Mama. Just…I've dealt with a lot of issues since yesterday morning.”

 

`She's still angry at me.' Innin sighed inwardly and firmly repressed her guilt. “I hope you understand why I couldn't tell you before yesterday about your powers. I never meant to hurt you! Sometimes a mother has to protect her children in ways that aren't…well, let's just say I'm sorry.”

 

Kagome silently traced patterns in the worn surface of the desk with a finger tip, keeping her face averted. “I just wish that you had told me before.”

 

Innin looked down at the floor and spoke again, her voice quiet but firm. “I couldn't. Kagome, this is very important. You musn't tell Sota about your father, or about your powers. He has them, too, or at least he'll have them soon. If he finds out before he's ready, it could be a problem for him. You know how you reacted yesterday.”

 

Finally, Kagome flashed a hurt glance at Innin before clasping her hands firmly in front of her, still facing the desk. “Yeah, I guess I understand. But it seems that there must be a better way to prepare him. A better way to prepare me.” She gave a sigh of frustration and her voice softened with her next words. “Yesterday was the first time I ever felt that I couldn't trust you, Mama. It wasn't a good feeling.”

 

Innin squirmed inwardly as her chest constricted with pain from Kagome's quiet statement. Kagome crossed her arms in front of her stomach and clasped her forearms, but still did not meet her mother's eyes.

 

`How can I reach her? Doesn't she know how hard this has been?' Innin fought to control her emotions and keep her voice low. “Did you have any idea how hard it was not to tell you and to let you go down that well, knowing that you might get seriously injured every time you went? Knowing that you might be killed? Do you have any idea how much I had to restrain myself to let you make that choice?” She walked toward the window where she could see the Shrine of the Well house, breathing deeply to keep from crying. `I hope I'm doing better than the last time we went through this! I wish there was some way to know what I did right and what I did wrong!'

 

After a moment she turned around to face her daughter again. “Your father always told me that you were safe, and I trusted him to know what was best. I trusted you, too.” Her voice began to rise in volume and pitch as her emotions got the better of her. “But I let my precious daughter, my first born child, go into danger and I had to stay here on this side of the well for your brother. I had to learn to trust a man who hurt you again and again, and I had to remain strong and supportive for you. Inuyasha—,” she stopped speaking as Kagome flinched slightly at the hanyou's name and raised a shaking hand to her lips. `Ah, I should have recognized…here I am dumping my own pain on poor Kagome and she's already confused. Doubting Inuyasha; doubting her own feelings. After everything that's happened I don't blame her, but I need to be the parent here.'

 

She took a deep, calming breath before walking quietly forward to place her hand on her daughter's shoulder. “Trust is a two way street, dear. Sometimes it's harder to trust the good in people. It can be harder to have faith, to hope for the good things in life. The bad is so easy to see and it's much easier to believe that things will go wrong. Have faith in yourself and in…in the people who care for you.” As Kagome's shoulder relaxed underneath her fingers she gave it a little squeeze. `Ha, I was right.'

 

Kagome shook her head slightly. “I do trust people, Mama, but sometimes I think I'm too…well, I'm just….” She shook her head as if to dispel her thoughts. “I'm sorry, but I felt so…betrayed last night. I've always been able to count on you and I never felt I couldn't trust you before.”

 

Innin sighed. “You can trust me to try to do my best. I won't always be right, but I love you. And I think, after that kiss I saw downstairs, that you can trust that Inuyasha has feelings for you, too.”

 

Kagome gasped and looked up over her shoulder, blushing furiously as she met her mother's smiling eyes. “You saw that, Mama?”

 

“Well, you were right outside the kitchen window. I didn't mean to pry! I just looked up and…there you were!” Innin laughed gently. “Actually, it made me miss your father.” As Kagome continued to stare at her with her mouth open she shrugged. “It's not as if I've never seen anyone kissing, or been kissed myself, you know.”

 

Kagome finally closed her mouth and shook her head for a third time. Suddenly she turned around, cocking her head to one side as her gaze became speculative. “Mama, how do you talk with Papa? Why didn't you let me know we could talk with him?”

 

Innin smiled and pointed out the window. “We talk when I meditate near the well.” As Kagome glanced toward the Shrine of the Well and frowned she added, “And I think you know why I didn't tell you earlier. You had a strong reaction yesterday; how could I explain without letting you know that you would be getting your powers?”

 

Kagome turned away again with a disgruntled sound.

 

Innin tapped Kagome's shoulder lightly. “Don't be difficult. I couldn't tell you, and that's all there is to it. You'll be learning how to talk with your father from the Sensei on the other side.” At Kagome's continued silence she offered, “He said that he tried to talk to you when you realized your powers but that you didn't know how to respond. The link is already there. Now stop sulking!”

 

“Yeah, O.K.” Kagome sighed. Although her voice still sounded annoyed, she turned slightly, no longer completely facing away from her mother.

 

The brief silence following her words was broken by the rustle of the sheets as Sango turned over again, breathing out Miroku's name with a smile on her face. Kagome giggled quietly and turned toward the bed to watch her friend.

 

Innin smiled softly before holding up the brown paper bag and saying briskly, “Enough about that. I want to talk about what's in here.” She tapped the bag. “These are birth control patches.”

 

Kagome turned a bright red and turned back around to face her desk. “Mama!” she hissed.

 

Innin shook her head firmly. “Nope. No you don't. Don't you get all silly on me! You're an adult now and I want you to put one of these on as soon as your period begins.” She dropped the bag on Kagome's desk and knelt down so that she was at Kagome's eye level. “This is serious, honey. We don't know what time forces might do to a baby. So you have to be careful. You have to put a new patch on each week for three weeks and then stop for a week. Then you won't have to worry, and I won't have to worry, about any babies while you're fighting and learning to control your powers.” When her daughter wouldn't meet her eyes she sighed in exasperation. “And you shouldn't worry about how I or anyone else feels about what is going on between you and Inuyasha. Sex is a natural, wonderful thing between two people who love each other.”

 

Kagome closed her eyes, crossing her arms in front of her stomach and fisting her hands. `Gods, this is embarrassing!' “But Mama, I don't…I'm not sure that Inuyasha loves…I don't…umm, I'm not sure that he and I are going to…umm….”

 

Another voice, raspy with sleep, interrupted them. “Kagome, of course he does and of course you are! Didn't you know what Inuyasha's Mating Call meant yesterday? Or did you refuse him?”

 

Kagome leaped up out of her chair and spun around to meet Sango's sleepy but attentive gaze. `Oh gods, now I'm really embarrassed!' She raised her eyes to the ceiling and groaned. “What mating call? Why does everyone know what's going on but me?”

 

Sango sat up in bed, rubbing one eye with the heel of her hand. “I'm so sorry, Kagome! I thought you knew and that's why I didn't say anything!” Glancing at Innin, she began to explain. “Inuyasha used a Mating Call yesterday with Kagome. Growing up I learned about the Mating Calls of the youkai; though I've never heard one the description matched what I heard yesterday. It's a deep, throbbing sound that makes you think about—,” she stopped speaking and blushed suddenly as Kagome gasped and Innin raised an eyebrow. “Well, uhh…they only use that particular call when they are first courting their mate.” Sango glanced furtively at Kagome, who was standing with her fists clenched and her eyes closed. She swung her legs over the side of the bed and regarded her friend seriously. “It's very dangerous to approach a youkai when they are making that first call because the males get very protective and territorial. I'd say that Kouga was a very lucky wolf demon yesterday and we were lucky that he had already interrupted you, or there would have been trouble when we showed up. I didn't realize what was going on when Shippo wanted to go to you.”

 

Kagome made a small sound that might have been a whimper.

 

“Kagome, I'm sorry, but I had never heard a Call before! I didn't put it together until we got there and I saw he had you in the dominant alpha hold!”

 

Both of Innin's eyebrows disappeared into her hair and Kagome groaned, finally opening her eyes and staring at Sango. `Inuyasha was courting me as his mate? Everyone knew but me? And Mama's hearing all of this…can I just disappear right now?' She turned from both women and whispered, “I can't believe this! I am so ashamed!”

 

“Why, dear?” Innin's voice was calm and matter-of-fact. `Poor Kagome, she's so embarrassed, but she should experience a Time Lord's courting methods! Some things are just…different.' She reached forward to place her hand in the middle of Kagome's rigid back. “Don't be ashamed, don't ever be ashamed, about love. It's wonderful.”

 

Sango tucked her hands under her thighs and looked down at the floor by the bed. `Poor Kagome, Inuyasha's been a baka again and didn't tell her. He loves her, I know…and her mother supports the union and has provided her with spells to keep her from getting pregnant. I wonder…Miroku.' She gave a sigh and looked up hopefully at Innin. “Lady Innin, may I…is it…is it possible that I could have one of those…patches? The ones that keep you from having a baby? I was just waking up when you—” she stopped when a giggle interrupted her. Kagome, in spite of her own embarrassment, was grinning at her. Her voice became irritated. “Oh, stop it, Kagome!”

 

The two young women glared at each other for a moment before they both broke into giggles.

 

Innin smiled in relief. `At least Sango sees the wisdom of this. I expect Kagome's just embarrassed because I'm her mother, poor thing.'

 

She picked up the bag and opened it, pulling out a patch. “Of course you may use them, Sango. I put the instructions in the bag and there are enough for both of you for several months, though I do hope that you'll come back here more often than that!”

 

Kagome and Sango, both beet red, looked away from each other with sheepish smiles on their faces.

 

Innin was about to explain the use of the patches when the sound of an explosion in the distance rattled the window panes. The women glanced at each other, startled.

 

“Kagome?” Sango's voice was decisive; she moved unconsciously into a ready stance as her battle trained senses identified the sound at once. `I've heard that before in battles with demons, but here in Kagome's time?”

 

The two young women exchanged a speaking glance before moving to the window to see what was happening. A few seconds passed before another huge explosion reverberated through the air. Off in the far distance, they could see a cloud of dust and debris.

 

`Oh gods, I know the shape of that cloud, but I've never seen it that big before!' Kagome gasped. “Mama, I thought you said that there were no demons in our era!”

 

“There aren't, honey. Why do you say that?”

 

“Mama, that's Inuyasha's Wind Scar!”

 

 

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Translation: Amantes sunt amentes: In omnia paratus. Latin; Lovers are lunatics: prepared for all things

 

A/N: Thanks to all my readers and my reviewers, on all sites. I am grateful that you are enjoying my tale!

 

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