InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Forevermore ❯ (edited) Part Three ( Chapter 3 )

A WORD: Ah...At last, the third part of the story. Never really thought of Kagome being the type to be a master of the sword, now did ya? Well, I told you it was going to be different. Koru Mibachi, Yuka, Eri, and Ayumi must be the side-line supporting friends, so expect them to appear a bit more. I like Ren; he has the sort of the attitude that Inuyasha had ( or has), although his swordsmanship could use a little work... Just kidding! ^_^ Hint hint: Something will happen to have Inuyasha return...(Ha, I got ya hooked!)

« Forevermore «

By Mia

~An Inuyasha alternate-universe kind of story~

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And I heard that you can't fight love

So I won't complain..."Cause why would I stop the

Fire that keeps me going on? `Cause when there's

You, I feel whole, and there's

No better feelin' in the world

But without you, I'm alone, and

I'd rather be in love...

With you.

----"I'd Rather Be In Love" Michelle Branch

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*PART THREE*

She could almost feel the guy's heart pound faster from inside his thick armor. His aura signature...Now she recognized it by way of his voice when he called out her name, which could only belong to one single person in the world, and told just about everything to her about this one person. It was always a part of her priestess power of nature; it was the one thing she couldn't discard while leaving her home in Japan.

Now as she watched the fully equipped figure in front of her, standing tall and about the same height she would think was the same as Inuyasha's if not taller, she contemplated whether or not to run as the helmet she held dropped to the floor of the gymnasium with a blunt thunk. "Kagome-chan? What's the matter? You just won a trophy and fifty bucks---well, I won fifty bucks---What? Do you know this guy? Hey you!" She motioned to Ren, who merely stood frozen in his spot, his head jerked to her. "Take off your helmet---I wanna know how you know my friend's name."

In all his life, Ren couldn't recall a single moment in time that he had ever been as shocked, stunned, or as taken aback as he was the second he saw Kagome Higurashi's beautiful face appear from under her helmet. With slight movements as though everyone around him were easy-frightened creatures, he reached up and took hold of the ties behind his head and pulled; lifting the loosened helmet, he pulled it off along with the head-hair-cap that went with it.

Yuka gasped, simply because of his cuteness, but Kagome's eyes widened even more from seeing the same face she ran away from the previous night. Then her blue-gray eyes went from wide to narrowed. "Who the heck are you anyway? Are you trying to follow me around or something? What the hell do you think you want from me, huh?"

Koru's eyes bugged out from their sockets behind his glasses, and Ren's eyes went serious, almost ashamed as if he really had been following her. "I'm not following you. I swear, but I do happen to be in the same place as you and I think it's purely from coincidence," he said evenly. "Although I'll say it's the first time a girl beat me with a sword. I'm sorry about last night, but I don't know why you ran like hell the way that you did."

Kagome frowned, taking a step back, and Yuka's jaw slacked open. "You were with him after last night, Kagome?! I knew it! He's that one guy that came on a motorbike..."

"Motorcycle," Koru muttered.

"I was not with him!" Kagome protested, her voice rising.

"...Motorcycle then," Yuka said, ignoring her. "What ever it is, I knew I recognized you from somewhere when I slipped by the boy's locker room before Kagome got here and saw your face. You looked talented, but I figured that Kagome's even better---"

During all this time, Kagome was studying Ren with a scrutinizing eye, watching his uncannily familiar eyes switch from her, to Yuka, to Koru, and back again. Just as I thought...He has black hair like Inuyasha does when he's human. He looks exactly like him, except with the hair cut. What in the world am I supposed to do? It's not like I can ask him if he's some reincarnation of someone from Sengoku Jidai, or if he knows anything about what a Shikon no Tama is, or if he remembers his first love/nemesis Kikyo or his adversary/enemy Naraku. What if Inuyasha had really died and was reborn into my time...? It's not like I believe in the whole system, not after I was accused of being Kikyo for a while. Besides, his name doesn't even start with the same letter as Inuyasha's does, like mine and Kikyo's, so isn't that the way it's supposed to be played? Kagome sighed. She was really getting tired.

While Yuka rattled off endlessly, Ren's eyes trailed to Kagome's, and their gazes locked. The feeling or remembrance flashed through his mind, heart, body and soul, making his throat tighten. He knew that she felt it too from seeing the flicker in her eyes, the grip on her sword's scabbard. Somewhere deep inside his heart he felt a longing for her, as if he had not seen her for so many years at a time. The part of him that was Ren, the modern-borne human, thought that was ludicrous---he had never met Kagome Higurashi in his life, and yet he's feeling this way. He never believed in love at first sight...much less reincarnation.

"---And now that I won, I get to choose whom you go on a date with," Yuka announced, shaking both of them out of their reverie. "However, I will have to announce that later; I know someone perfect for you and, and I think she'll like it if I set you up with her. By the way, Ren-kun, you played well, and I hope you practice in order to take on Kagome-chan again. It was still enjoyable while it lasted." Patting her pocket and making sure she felt the mound of money buried inside, she grinned and went to Kagome, blocking her view of Ren. "Okay...You ready to go now?"

When Kagome was going to respond, Ren shook his head. "I never agreed to the stupid bet, girl, and I'll thank you to leave me out of your playing `matchmaker.'" He didn't know, but when he looked back to Kagome again, her mouth was parted in a silent awe. From her gaze cast upon him, he grew slightly nervous. "W-What...?"

He sounds just like Inuyasha too... "I...Just stay away from me and out of my sight from now on, please." Turning around, she started to leave and Yuka followed after her when what he said next stopped her dead in her tracks.

"It`s my eyes, isn`t it. They remind you of someone you hate."

She whipped around, looking back at his solemn eyes that were utterly serious. "Hn...?" But before she could say anything else, he walked away from her, out of her sight just like she'd asked him to do. Deep in her heart, she actually felt something slip away as she watched him walk from her.

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"So you know that girl from somewhere, Inuren?" His friend piped up.

"Shut up, Koru."

"Ooh, I hit a sensitive spot, eh? She is pretty hot and skilled and she beat you, if you want my opinion. Found her at a night club or something?"

"No. I don't want your opinion, and I thought I told you to shut up." After he received silence, he also went into silence mode too. They were heading for the parking lot, where Ren had his motorcycle parked out in front. I can't believe I said that... "Someone you hate..." Well, if she's the reincarnation of Kikyo, then it would make sense, wouldn't it? I don't think Mom mentioned anything about the Priestess Kagome Higurashi falling in love with the hanyou Inuyasha...So there's no hope to it. Ugh, I don't know what to think, I don`t even believe in all that crap. He outwardly scowled. I should have at least mentioned the necklace around her neck and see what reaction I get from that. But she told me to stay out of her sight...How am I supposed to ever talk to her then?

"Hey, Ren? You passed your bike."

Ren scowled at himself before turning around. "Dammit..."

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After walking Yuka home to her apartment, Kagome took up her duffel bag and slung it on her shoulder, filled with her armor and kendo equipment save for her sword which she simply couldn't lug around in public, but instead left it at the university in the safekeeping of one of the custodians who was her friend and knew her for the three years she had been attending college. She began to walk home by taking a shortcut through some trees and park property and she could barely see the lake, the sun shining upon it. Then her thoughts reeled back to a half hour before.

It's my eyes, isn't it. He'd said to her retreating back. They remind you of someone you hate.

Kagome's brows creased in thought. What the heck did he mean by what he said? If he actually knew the reason why I don't like staring into his eyes and face, then he wouldn't have said such a thing. I would never hate Inuyasha; in fact, the only person that I knew of to really hate him would be Naraku or... The fog cleared from her head and her mind seemed clearer as everything made sense. Could it have been that he heard something about the legend of Inuyasha? If he did then he would have known about Kikyo. But all it said in the history books I've found so far are the ones that say that Kikyo and Inuyasha fell in love before disagreeing with the possession of the jewel. And soon after, Kikyo shot him...So that's it. That's why he said what he did. The only real accurate scrolls are the ones stored at the Sunset Shrine, and is off-limits to the public besides my family.

The path ended, and she had to take the sidewalk on the side of the road. I have to ask him if I ever see him again, she decided. Or else my soul can't rest without knowing why my senses are telling me that he owns the same fire I once found in Inuyasha.

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Ren dismounted his bike, leaning his back against it and staring off at the setting sun. Finally he walked over to the docks after slipping off his shoes and laying them on the seat of his motorcycle, his bare feet striding smoothly over the boards. He didn't know exactly why, but he always liked to go without shoes; they felt suffocating to him, as if they were just dead weights and wouldn't allow him to run as freely as he wished. Sometimes his whole being felt like that, not just his feet. He was almost always restless, like a hawk without wings. In Japan when he was about nine or ten years old, his mother let him sneak out of the house in the middle of the night to just run, to feel the crisp air in his lungs, to feel the wind whip through his hair and ears. He would go shirtless on summer nights, knowing good and well that he would be dreadfully embarrassed if anyone had happened to see him scampering around town like some crazy loon. But he was young after all; surely no one would have minded.

::One night he ran so far he couldn't tell which way was home. He looked off the side of the road and came upon a red torii, or a shrine archway. Not knowing what was drawing him in, he went swiftly up the steps that led to the shrine in absolutely no time, his legs pumping like machines. What next he saw through the darkness was eerie shrine grounds, a big house off to the side, a light on at the very top and lighting the branches of a tree near it. But it wasn't what had drawn him there. His eyes had trailed over a little structure behind the house, and knowing immediately knowing what it was. A well-house, and he walked over to it, to investigate even more----

There was a soft cry somewhere above him, where the light was on at the second story house. "Hey, you there!" A little girl's voice had yelled. "What're you doin' at our shrine? It is closed! Papa says so!" He began to back up, then taking in the shadow of the girl's face, seeing the cute features with the raven pigtails at the top, he ran, ran like the wind itself as he flew down the steps and somehow finding the street he originally lived in.::

Remembering to himself the name of the shrine, Ren pondered to himself as he reached the end of the dock where it strayed out into the water and a small rowboat was tied off with a scraggly rope, the small thing rocking gently from the lake's waves. "It was called Higurashi Jinja," he whispered with a slight smile. (Higurashi Shrine)

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Kagome looked at the very same sunset just over the horizon and lighting up the lake beautifully with its golden-yellow beauty. She smiled slightly, despite the troubles overwhelming her mind like water in a very small cup. I think it's time I take my boat out this evening.

She exited her apartment after her preparations, taking a small backpack with her for the short leave. It's the same backpack I used to take back to the feudal world...to carry snacks for Shippô, and ramen...for Inuyasha...She scolded herself, walking a bit faster. Don't think stuff like that. It'll bring you into one of those depressed moments, believe me.

Finally reaching the dock area, her footsteps slowed when she saw a figure at the far end of the boardwalk. Her hand clenched into a tight fist. Familiar black hair and the same broad shoulders that foretold of hidden strength. It was him again. Should she just turn around and go back, or face the music all over again? Kagome let out a belated sigh. Why make him go away? Why make yourself lonely all over again? She swore she was repeating herself.

Precariously she strode up the boardwalk where he sat at the end of it, his legs hanging over the edge and she was instantly reminded of Miroku doing the same thing when she had brought over her father's fishing reel, and she reflected back on how she taught the lecherous priest, all eager with his sleeves rolled back, to fish for food whenever they journeyed to a nearby lake or river. Those were the good old days, and it seemed that every time she caught a glimpse of this stranger it somehow stirred memories that she had locked away for some years, and she never expected them to be reawakened.

His head cocked to the side; he heard footsteps and he turned. Ren's mouth hung open in surprise, and her obvious presence made a slight tingle ripple through his subconscious as it always had since seeing her at the restaurant. "Kagome---"

He halted when she raised a hand, laying her bag down as she took a seat just adjacent of him crossing her legs. "Let's get one thing straight: Did you know I was coming here or is this all just a peculiar coincident?" Her tone warned him not to taunt or address her in any enthusiasm.

Ren took the hint as he edged slightly from her, clearing his throat. "I already said it's all a coincidence. Believe me, I think it's pretty peculiar too...ah...seeing you here."

"Do you?"

"Yes I do."

"And what do you feel about these strange meetings?" His eyes darted to the Shikon no Kakera at the base of her throat before returning to her. She was so pretty...

"I don't know about you but I'm starting to get fond of them."

There was a tense silence. Nothing but the warm breeze that brushed her loose cotton shirt ever so softly, the sunset's light shining off of her wonderful raven hair. For a moment he felt as if they were living in the past, like they always had sat together watching the sunset together. Ren couldn't ignore that word...when ever so often he would feel so lonely. He was very aware of her scent, so gentle, so fragrant, so Kagome. He remotely wondered how he would be able to immaculately decipher her scent so vividly in the first place.

Kagome began, her voice dimming in her previous gruffness, "What is it about you that seems so familiar, Ren?" A shiver traveled down the length of his spine at the use of his name.

"There's something familiar about me?"

"Have we met someplace before?"

"Do you think that's why we seem so familiar with each other?"

"Do you make it into a habit answering questions with questions?"

"Does that mean I'll be seeing you more often?" She reached out and cuffed him on the shoulder and he burst into laughter. "Sorry, it's just that I don't do well in serious situations."

"I wasn't really trying to be serious..." Kagome said with a smile. He had longed to see that smile directed toward him. Her blue-gray eyes studied him, locked on his own as if staring at all the exotic fishes at the aquarium. "So what are you doing sitting out here on your own? Where's your friend with the glasses?"

"Oh, Koru? He went home."

"I see." A pause, then, "Now I'm going to ask you why you were trying to follow me last night. Why were you trying to follow me, Ren?" Kagome watched as he shifted his weight to completely turn to her.

"I'm not really sure to tell you the truth. Curiosity...? Who knows. All I know was when I saw you, I...felt something." The blush that crept on his cheeks certainly wasn't shy, and she fought for control not to grin.

"You felt something?" He stared hard at her.

"Didn't you?" She wasn't expecting that, even though she indeed had felt something. Something whole, something big, something as tangible as air; it didn't seem as though it was there but in truth it really was. When time seemed to stop you certainly would feel it. So this...boy before her was trying to tell her that he had been thinking about it too?

"Are you going to start that again?" They both started to chuckle after that. Both realized also that they felt comfortable in one another's company, nothing else needed to describe it. "To answer your question, I don't recall feeling anything. I just thought you looked familiar that's all," She caught the slight twitch of his brow on the verge of a frown but it remained unchanged, at least not outwardly. Her priestess powers could tell of what he held back.

He fingered a tattered hole on his jean-clad thigh with nimble fingers. "All right, suppose you were lying; do you think we can become friends?"

"Why would you want to do that?" He gave her a look, making her grin. "Okay, okay...Well sure, I don't see any harm in being friends." Both had very different thoughts on that. For Kagome, she was afraid of becoming too attached, too close; for Ren, he was bothered by the meaning of "friends" which usually meant just friends. Nothing more, nothing less.

"Good. I'm glad. At least when I beat you the next time we spar, we'll leave on good terms." She pushed him again on the shoulder, issuing another bout of happy laughter.

"Beat me?! Beat me?! I do not think so, mincemeat!" Kagome smilingly scoffed. Inuyasha's words, not hers...

"That's right! I know your weaknesses now; I had to let you win to be informed of your abilities, techniques, battle stance---" He was beginning to sound an awful lot like Inuyasha as he sat there ticking off a list on his fingers; she wasn't sure if she felt comfortable with that.

But her pride still won out. "All right, Ren...er..."

"Hayasha."

She hid her reaction at the uncanny familiarity. "Ren Hayasha, I challenge you---"

"I already challenged you, I said `when I beat you next time.' That should indicate I want to fight you next, right?" He was toying with her, but she endured it nonetheless.

"It's a deal. Say, friend slash sparring partner, could you reach over there and kindly untie that rope around that pier for me?" Ren gladly reached over and obeyed, handing the rope to her outstretched hand. He watched with curious eyes as she stood grabbing her bag.

"What are you doing?" said Ren.

Kneeling on the side, she pulled firmly on the rope with both hands, bringing the boat closer. "I'm just going to go out into the water for a while." She slid into the craft, minding the misplaced oars that might trip her, winding the rope to be put underneath the wood plank used as a seat. Ren observed her as she readied the oars. Again she felt as though it was Inuyasha that watching her do all of this, like he did when she prepared the ramen on the burner, so engrossed with all of the works of the modern world. But it was totally different now, wasn't it? Before paddling out, she met his gaze. "Something else you wanted to say?"

Ren opened his mouth to say something but he quickly changed his mind, rising as he did so. "No, nothing. Goodbye, Kagome. Row safely." And he turned to start walking back up the boardwalk.

"W-Wait." Kagome's voice was altogether hesitant and he looked over at her. She appeared so innocent, sitting primly in the small vessel made for two and it made his heart ache with loneliness. "Do you really have someplace else to be because I really am in need of an oar-boy." Not entirely true; she could always manage it by herself. "If you're interested, please join me Ren Hayasha." Beautiful she was, no doubt.

"I was afraid you weren't going to ask." Her heart fluttered for the first time in three years as he returned, grabbing the hand she held out to receive him and helped him set himself comfortably in his place. His warm grip as he released her hand still left an imprint. She twisted around to see him.

"You're not sea-sick are you?"

"I'm not," he assured her with a reciprocated grin. "I've rowed before." Another memory of a boat ride with Shippô and Inuyasha.

Voice quiet, she replied, "I know," as she pushed off the dock. She was glad that he didn't say anything more of it.

*END OF PART THREE*

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