InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Fear of Love ❯ Chapter 2 ( Chapter 2 )
[ P - Pre-Teen ]
AN: As I said before, the characters, with the exception of Arashana, are all Rumiko Takahashi's property.
~*~ equals a break, and ~~~ equals a mini-break.
Many months later, InuYasha found himself close to the border of the village again. Snow now covered the ground, and even with his thick clothing, he shivered. "Stupid weather. Stupid snow." He muttered. He sighed and leaned on the entrance gate to the village. Some children were talking not far ahead, and a couple of young boys saw InuYasha. One of them snickered.
"Hey, look, a half-demon…" He whispered to the other. The other one laughed.
"Yea, stupid, filthy mixed-breed. Such an outcast. Not human or demon. But who cares?" They both laughed, giving each other high-fives. The other little girl that seemed to be watching them talk stepped out from where she was sitting.
"That's not nice. Don't tease someone just because they're different." She said quietly.
"Oh yea? Who's going to stop us, little girl?" They both laughed again, pushing her down into the snow. She fell on her right arm.
"Ow!" They pointed and laughed at her. When she tried to get up, they pushed her down again. This kept going on and on. InuYasha couldn't stand it anymore.
"Hey, you two brats! Stop torturing that girl!!" He shouted pretty loud, and it scared the two boys.
"Augh! L-let's get outta here!" They ran off, leaving the other girl lying in the snow, on the verge of tears. InuYasha pushed open the gate, unaware that several people had seen him as he entered. He knelt beside the little girl in the snow.
"Can you hear me?" He picked her up. The little girl looked at him weakly. She nodded.
"Oh…thank you good sir, thank you so much." She smiled a little, it was obvious she was pretty hurt, but she still sat up. 'Good sir'? He had heard that somewhere before. He didn't want to remember where, and good thing he didn't, either. He set her down.
"Those stupid boys better not be comin' back again." InuYasha's ears perked up and he adjusted to the people whispering. There was footsteps behind him, someone running to where he was. 'Aw, crud.' He thought. "Don't thank me, it's alright." He set her down and rose, not daring to look behind him and made a beeline for the gate, but the person easily caught up with him.
"I-InuYasha?" He recognized the voice at once. It was the miko, Kikyou. He didn't want to turn around. He really didn't want to see her face again, since she had left so long ago, leaving him stranded in the middle of that field, wondering. Slowly, he turned around to see her. She didn't look much different than when she had left him. A straw hat was placed over her head, kept in place by her right hand, the other firmly on his shoulder. Her hair was untied and it blew in the harsh wind that stung at their cheeks. Other than that, she was the same Kikyou. But her eyes…her eyes seemed so much colder. So much more hatred was embedded inside them. So much more.
InuYasha shivered. "Kikyou…I…I can explain I…" The wind suddenly grew in ferocity and kept at a steady tempo, never seeming to release its grasp. InuYasha could see Kikyou's shoulders shake. The little girl ran up to Kikyou.
"L-Lady Kikyou…this man saved me." She pointed to InuYasha. "Please, if I may say, don't scorn him. He's not a bad person." She grabbed InuYasha's hand that probably was pretty cold by now. InuYasha looked down at the child. She had darker brown hair, and it almost looked like Kikyou's, but not quite. It was in one long braid, about down to her waist. She was also wearing an orange kimono that didn't look very warm.
"InuYasha? Y-you saved her? F-from who?" Kikyou shivered again.
"Two boys were making fun of her. I had to stop them. I couldn’t let them hurt her…" He turned away slightly and tried to remove her hand from his shoulder without touching it. Kikyou got the hint and let go.
"I see." InuYasha looked back at her again. She looked pretty cold. He sighed and undid the top part of his haori, wrapping around Kikyou's shoulders. He snorted and turned away.
"Good riddance to both of you." He walked back out of the gate, and could feel Kikyou's eyes on the back of his neck as he took step after step, regretting every one. Especially the last one, when he didn't look back.
~*~
He sat in one of the trees bordering the entrance to the village. This had now become his favorite place to go to, maybe to catch a glimpse of the mysterious miko.
"…" InuYasha stifled a cough. The middle of winter was always the worst, and he still hadn't the top of his haori back yet. Not like he minded, but still. It was cold and all…but she needed it more. A lot of people passed him, going and coming from the village. Subconsciously he was looking for any sign of red and white, what might be Kikyou. Then, InuYasha spotted her, near a couple of children, laughing and chasing each other. She was still wearing his haori, which fluttered in the wind this way and that. He sighed.
"C'mon, Lady Kikyou!" A cheery little girl ran up and invited Kikyou to join their game. Kikyou solemnly shook her head.
"I'm so sorry. I can't…" She sighed. The little girl looked sad, but instead, sat down by Kikyou. It was the same little girl InuYasha had seen earlier. The one he had saved from the two boys.
"C'mon, Ashana!" The other two kids called. "It's not times!"
"I know! I decided to quit and sit with Lady Kikyou. Wanna come join?" She giggled, holding Kikyou's hand, who smiled slightly. The other two girls looked at each other and nodded.
"Okay!" They ran over and all sat in a circle around Kikyou. One little girl raised her hand.
Kikyou chuckled. "Nasawa, this isn't school. You can say something with out raising your hand, okay?"
Nasawa blushed. "O-okay, Lady Kikyou. Do you have time to tell us a story?" The other kids looked excited. "Yes, Lady Kikyou!" The all said, including Miyou who sat next to her.
"Alright, alright…" Kikyou thought for a moment. "I guess I can fit it in. What do you want to hear?" She said, smiling and holding Miyou's hand back. The children all looked at eachother.
"Princess Monokawa!" They all shouted simultaneously, smiling and clapping. Kikyou sighed.
"Why is it you children love that story so much?" She smiled, thinking to herself. "Okay. Here it goes for the 12th time.
Once upon a time there lived a Princess. Her name was Princess Monokawa. Now, everybody loved Princess Monokawa. The children, the commoners, and the whole rest of the Palace. Princess Monokawa had no idea why she was so popular with everybody. She was just like everybody else, except with a title.
She often spent hours in her room wondering this. After a couple more months a great problem arose. Princess Monokawa must get married before the end of the month! That didn't seem like any trouble to the other people that were in the castle; it was just that, Princess Monokawa didn't want to get married. There were plenty of men in the village, but none of them she loved. What to do? Princess Monokawa was very troubled." The children all spoke with her in the last two sentences.
"Then, one day, a man was brought before Princess Monokawa's throne, his arms tied behind his back by two guards, and the most hatred shone upon his face. 'This man is accused of treason.' One of the guards announced in a clear voice, throwing the man down on the floor in front of her. Princess Monokawa could see he made an evident struggle to get away from the guards, as he was bleeding from scratches he had all over his body. The guard continued: 'We discovered a leak in our plan and this man is the main suspect. Princess Monokawa sadly told the guards to put him in jail until further notice. A trial was held, and the man proven innocent. He was brought before Princess Monokawa, that surly look still upon his face. It had been nearly a month, and the man wasn't in the best of shape, but no one but her seemed to care. She ordered them to have the man stay in the palace. The guards were dumbfounded. This man was a criminal! They were sure of it! There, Princess Monokawa herself nursed the man back to health.
After he was better, Princess Monokawa suddenly realized that she loved this man. This man was her destiny. Soon after, she resigned her job as Princess and married the man. She did marry by the end of the month, and they all lived…"
"Happily ever after!" They all cheered and clapped. Kikyou just simply smiled. InuYasha sat watching them all and, on accident, coughed, in an attempt to be silent. Kikyou looked up to find InuYasha, sitting in the border tree, blushing a bit. She chuckled.
"Bless you." She said, smiling broader. InuYasha's face merely turned a brighter red. All the children looked up at the sky, where it seemed Kikyou was looking. But really, the border tree was just high up. "Up there, children." She pointed to where InuYasha was sitting.
"Oh." All the children looked up at InuYasha, who wondered 'why does she do this to me?' stifling another cough. "Who's that?" Said the other two girls. The one they called Ashana smiled up at InuYasha. He turned away and jumped down from the branch, heading off in a different direction.
"…" He looked back over his shoulder, but she didn't notice. He sighed and made his way back to anywhere he could call shelter for the night.
Kikyou laughed and watched him leave. "That, children, was InuYasha." They all looked at each other.
"InuYasha? That means 'dog demon', though." Kikyou nodded.
"And that's what he is, children." They all stared in awe that Kikyou could make friends with a monster.
"He saved me." Ashana proudly announced, smiling.
"He saved you?" They all chimed in. "How?"
"Oh, it was nothing. I like him, though. He's not bad." She looked at him walking off for a moment then directed her smile to Kikyou. "I'm sure you're very busy, Lady Kikyou."
"Yes…" She sighed. "I am. I'm sorry I can't join your game, children."
"That's alright. Thank you for telling us that wonderful story again." All the children chimed in after her. "Yes, thank you!" It seemed the little girl; the smallest one of them all was the leader. Odd.
~~~
InuYasha didn't find any shelter, and a storm was coming on soon. "Great." He mumbled. "Now I'll have to stay here while the storm passes. Gods only know what'll happen to me…" He shook his head and looked down upon the snow from the dead cherry blossom tree he was residing it. "Hopefully it won't be too bad from up here." He thought of Kikyou, who still had his haori and found himself wondering how she was. "Dang it!" He hit his fist against the tree, angry with himself for thinking of her. Oddly enough, he looked down again and there she was. "K-Kikyou!" He nearly fell from where he sat. "Why…"
"…" She surveyed the tree and laughed. "And this is where you're staying during the storm, InuYasha?"
"Why do you always have to sneak up on me like that? You scared me half to death!" He shouted, changing the subject, like he would do at any other time.
"Don't change the subject, InuYasha. Surely, you won't have a very good ending if you stay up here the whole time." She held out her hand, with the cherry blossom in it. InuYasha gasped.
"H-how did you…?" He jumped down from the tree and walked over to her, not really sure what he was going to do next. '
"I caught it. I’m good with those kind of things, InuYasha." She smiled at him and opened up the palm of his hand from its previously fisted state and placed the cherry blossom in it. "Keep it. It's good luck."
"Good luck? Feh. I don't need that…" He stared at her. Her eyes shown with such beauty he couldn't stop staring. "Maybe…" She placed two fingers over his lips. InuYasha could feel his face growing hot. He'd never been that close to someone he didn't know before. No…he knew her. He didn't want to leave.
"Stay at the temple tonight." She smiled and removed her hand from his mouth. "…" They just stood staring at each other, her hand still in his. Then, they kissed. Kikyou's heart skipped a beat, and so did his. But neither of them cared, everything melted away and all they could see was each other. InuYasha almost pulled away, but couldn't let this woman down. She openly loved him, even though he was a half-demon. That made his solid heart soften just the slightest bit.
They pulled away, and stared at each other more. "Will you? It will just be you, my sister, and I. Not such a big deal." She smiled again.
InuYasha didn't say anything, but nodded. "…" She took his hand.
"Good. I'm sure all the other children will want to meet you." She walked on, making him follow because of her hold on his hand. He followed numbly, still adjusting to the world coming back into view.
He opened up his palm and found the cherry blossom, still in perfect condition. He knew now, that he would never be alone as long as this woman, this miko, Kikyou, was in his sight.
~*~ equals a break, and ~~~ equals a mini-break.
Many months later, InuYasha found himself close to the border of the village again. Snow now covered the ground, and even with his thick clothing, he shivered. "Stupid weather. Stupid snow." He muttered. He sighed and leaned on the entrance gate to the village. Some children were talking not far ahead, and a couple of young boys saw InuYasha. One of them snickered.
"Hey, look, a half-demon…" He whispered to the other. The other one laughed.
"Yea, stupid, filthy mixed-breed. Such an outcast. Not human or demon. But who cares?" They both laughed, giving each other high-fives. The other little girl that seemed to be watching them talk stepped out from where she was sitting.
"That's not nice. Don't tease someone just because they're different." She said quietly.
"Oh yea? Who's going to stop us, little girl?" They both laughed again, pushing her down into the snow. She fell on her right arm.
"Ow!" They pointed and laughed at her. When she tried to get up, they pushed her down again. This kept going on and on. InuYasha couldn't stand it anymore.
"Hey, you two brats! Stop torturing that girl!!" He shouted pretty loud, and it scared the two boys.
"Augh! L-let's get outta here!" They ran off, leaving the other girl lying in the snow, on the verge of tears. InuYasha pushed open the gate, unaware that several people had seen him as he entered. He knelt beside the little girl in the snow.
"Can you hear me?" He picked her up. The little girl looked at him weakly. She nodded.
"Oh…thank you good sir, thank you so much." She smiled a little, it was obvious she was pretty hurt, but she still sat up. 'Good sir'? He had heard that somewhere before. He didn't want to remember where, and good thing he didn't, either. He set her down.
"Those stupid boys better not be comin' back again." InuYasha's ears perked up and he adjusted to the people whispering. There was footsteps behind him, someone running to where he was. 'Aw, crud.' He thought. "Don't thank me, it's alright." He set her down and rose, not daring to look behind him and made a beeline for the gate, but the person easily caught up with him.
"I-InuYasha?" He recognized the voice at once. It was the miko, Kikyou. He didn't want to turn around. He really didn't want to see her face again, since she had left so long ago, leaving him stranded in the middle of that field, wondering. Slowly, he turned around to see her. She didn't look much different than when she had left him. A straw hat was placed over her head, kept in place by her right hand, the other firmly on his shoulder. Her hair was untied and it blew in the harsh wind that stung at their cheeks. Other than that, she was the same Kikyou. But her eyes…her eyes seemed so much colder. So much more hatred was embedded inside them. So much more.
InuYasha shivered. "Kikyou…I…I can explain I…" The wind suddenly grew in ferocity and kept at a steady tempo, never seeming to release its grasp. InuYasha could see Kikyou's shoulders shake. The little girl ran up to Kikyou.
"L-Lady Kikyou…this man saved me." She pointed to InuYasha. "Please, if I may say, don't scorn him. He's not a bad person." She grabbed InuYasha's hand that probably was pretty cold by now. InuYasha looked down at the child. She had darker brown hair, and it almost looked like Kikyou's, but not quite. It was in one long braid, about down to her waist. She was also wearing an orange kimono that didn't look very warm.
"InuYasha? Y-you saved her? F-from who?" Kikyou shivered again.
"Two boys were making fun of her. I had to stop them. I couldn’t let them hurt her…" He turned away slightly and tried to remove her hand from his shoulder without touching it. Kikyou got the hint and let go.
"I see." InuYasha looked back at her again. She looked pretty cold. He sighed and undid the top part of his haori, wrapping around Kikyou's shoulders. He snorted and turned away.
"Good riddance to both of you." He walked back out of the gate, and could feel Kikyou's eyes on the back of his neck as he took step after step, regretting every one. Especially the last one, when he didn't look back.
~*~
He sat in one of the trees bordering the entrance to the village. This had now become his favorite place to go to, maybe to catch a glimpse of the mysterious miko.
"…" InuYasha stifled a cough. The middle of winter was always the worst, and he still hadn't the top of his haori back yet. Not like he minded, but still. It was cold and all…but she needed it more. A lot of people passed him, going and coming from the village. Subconsciously he was looking for any sign of red and white, what might be Kikyou. Then, InuYasha spotted her, near a couple of children, laughing and chasing each other. She was still wearing his haori, which fluttered in the wind this way and that. He sighed.
"C'mon, Lady Kikyou!" A cheery little girl ran up and invited Kikyou to join their game. Kikyou solemnly shook her head.
"I'm so sorry. I can't…" She sighed. The little girl looked sad, but instead, sat down by Kikyou. It was the same little girl InuYasha had seen earlier. The one he had saved from the two boys.
"C'mon, Ashana!" The other two kids called. "It's not times!"
"I know! I decided to quit and sit with Lady Kikyou. Wanna come join?" She giggled, holding Kikyou's hand, who smiled slightly. The other two girls looked at each other and nodded.
"Okay!" They ran over and all sat in a circle around Kikyou. One little girl raised her hand.
Kikyou chuckled. "Nasawa, this isn't school. You can say something with out raising your hand, okay?"
Nasawa blushed. "O-okay, Lady Kikyou. Do you have time to tell us a story?" The other kids looked excited. "Yes, Lady Kikyou!" The all said, including Miyou who sat next to her.
"Alright, alright…" Kikyou thought for a moment. "I guess I can fit it in. What do you want to hear?" She said, smiling and holding Miyou's hand back. The children all looked at eachother.
"Princess Monokawa!" They all shouted simultaneously, smiling and clapping. Kikyou sighed.
"Why is it you children love that story so much?" She smiled, thinking to herself. "Okay. Here it goes for the 12th time.
Once upon a time there lived a Princess. Her name was Princess Monokawa. Now, everybody loved Princess Monokawa. The children, the commoners, and the whole rest of the Palace. Princess Monokawa had no idea why she was so popular with everybody. She was just like everybody else, except with a title.
She often spent hours in her room wondering this. After a couple more months a great problem arose. Princess Monokawa must get married before the end of the month! That didn't seem like any trouble to the other people that were in the castle; it was just that, Princess Monokawa didn't want to get married. There were plenty of men in the village, but none of them she loved. What to do? Princess Monokawa was very troubled." The children all spoke with her in the last two sentences.
"Then, one day, a man was brought before Princess Monokawa's throne, his arms tied behind his back by two guards, and the most hatred shone upon his face. 'This man is accused of treason.' One of the guards announced in a clear voice, throwing the man down on the floor in front of her. Princess Monokawa could see he made an evident struggle to get away from the guards, as he was bleeding from scratches he had all over his body. The guard continued: 'We discovered a leak in our plan and this man is the main suspect. Princess Monokawa sadly told the guards to put him in jail until further notice. A trial was held, and the man proven innocent. He was brought before Princess Monokawa, that surly look still upon his face. It had been nearly a month, and the man wasn't in the best of shape, but no one but her seemed to care. She ordered them to have the man stay in the palace. The guards were dumbfounded. This man was a criminal! They were sure of it! There, Princess Monokawa herself nursed the man back to health.
After he was better, Princess Monokawa suddenly realized that she loved this man. This man was her destiny. Soon after, she resigned her job as Princess and married the man. She did marry by the end of the month, and they all lived…"
"Happily ever after!" They all cheered and clapped. Kikyou just simply smiled. InuYasha sat watching them all and, on accident, coughed, in an attempt to be silent. Kikyou looked up to find InuYasha, sitting in the border tree, blushing a bit. She chuckled.
"Bless you." She said, smiling broader. InuYasha's face merely turned a brighter red. All the children looked up at the sky, where it seemed Kikyou was looking. But really, the border tree was just high up. "Up there, children." She pointed to where InuYasha was sitting.
"Oh." All the children looked up at InuYasha, who wondered 'why does she do this to me?' stifling another cough. "Who's that?" Said the other two girls. The one they called Ashana smiled up at InuYasha. He turned away and jumped down from the branch, heading off in a different direction.
"…" He looked back over his shoulder, but she didn't notice. He sighed and made his way back to anywhere he could call shelter for the night.
Kikyou laughed and watched him leave. "That, children, was InuYasha." They all looked at each other.
"InuYasha? That means 'dog demon', though." Kikyou nodded.
"And that's what he is, children." They all stared in awe that Kikyou could make friends with a monster.
"He saved me." Ashana proudly announced, smiling.
"He saved you?" They all chimed in. "How?"
"Oh, it was nothing. I like him, though. He's not bad." She looked at him walking off for a moment then directed her smile to Kikyou. "I'm sure you're very busy, Lady Kikyou."
"Yes…" She sighed. "I am. I'm sorry I can't join your game, children."
"That's alright. Thank you for telling us that wonderful story again." All the children chimed in after her. "Yes, thank you!" It seemed the little girl; the smallest one of them all was the leader. Odd.
~~~
InuYasha didn't find any shelter, and a storm was coming on soon. "Great." He mumbled. "Now I'll have to stay here while the storm passes. Gods only know what'll happen to me…" He shook his head and looked down upon the snow from the dead cherry blossom tree he was residing it. "Hopefully it won't be too bad from up here." He thought of Kikyou, who still had his haori and found himself wondering how she was. "Dang it!" He hit his fist against the tree, angry with himself for thinking of her. Oddly enough, he looked down again and there she was. "K-Kikyou!" He nearly fell from where he sat. "Why…"
"…" She surveyed the tree and laughed. "And this is where you're staying during the storm, InuYasha?"
"Why do you always have to sneak up on me like that? You scared me half to death!" He shouted, changing the subject, like he would do at any other time.
"Don't change the subject, InuYasha. Surely, you won't have a very good ending if you stay up here the whole time." She held out her hand, with the cherry blossom in it. InuYasha gasped.
"H-how did you…?" He jumped down from the tree and walked over to her, not really sure what he was going to do next. '
"I caught it. I’m good with those kind of things, InuYasha." She smiled at him and opened up the palm of his hand from its previously fisted state and placed the cherry blossom in it. "Keep it. It's good luck."
"Good luck? Feh. I don't need that…" He stared at her. Her eyes shown with such beauty he couldn't stop staring. "Maybe…" She placed two fingers over his lips. InuYasha could feel his face growing hot. He'd never been that close to someone he didn't know before. No…he knew her. He didn't want to leave.
"Stay at the temple tonight." She smiled and removed her hand from his mouth. "…" They just stood staring at each other, her hand still in his. Then, they kissed. Kikyou's heart skipped a beat, and so did his. But neither of them cared, everything melted away and all they could see was each other. InuYasha almost pulled away, but couldn't let this woman down. She openly loved him, even though he was a half-demon. That made his solid heart soften just the slightest bit.
They pulled away, and stared at each other more. "Will you? It will just be you, my sister, and I. Not such a big deal." She smiled again.
InuYasha didn't say anything, but nodded. "…" She took his hand.
"Good. I'm sure all the other children will want to meet you." She walked on, making him follow because of her hold on his hand. He followed numbly, still adjusting to the world coming back into view.
He opened up his palm and found the cherry blossom, still in perfect condition. He knew now, that he would never be alone as long as this woman, this miko, Kikyou, was in his sight.