InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Forevermore ❯ Part Six ( Chapter 6 )

A WORD and maybe more: Takahashi Rumiko-sensei completely owns Inuyasha; I'm just borrowing him without her permission ^_^ How in the heck does one put italics within the stories?! It just doesn't feel the same without them ... and no, I am not familiar with HTML formats so don't even ask. Once again, I like to thank everyone for the reviews ^_^, so don't quit now! After you read this, review review and REVIEW! * ahem * Arigatou gozaimashita (Thank you so very much) to that one reviewer (El Hazard the Care Bear or something like that) who told me about that 14 hour time difference--- that certainly helped a lot. Hope you enjoy Part Six of Forevermore --- there's a lot more where this came from!

`Nuther lil' note:I know this is a shorter chapter but please, be forgiving to this lowly Inuyasha-fan! Thank you, liz3386 (are the #'s your birth-date?) For leaving me such a wonderful review. Can't anyone tell I'm in love with Orlando Bloom? Black Hawk Down was good...though From Hell w/ Johnny Depp sucked! The guy was cute though, is why I watched it in the first place. ^_^ Test: <i>italic</i>

« Forevermore «

By Mia

~ An Inuyasha alternate-universe/continuation kind of story ~

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"Even the smallest person can change the course of the future."

--- She-Elf of Lothlorien, Galadriel; The Lord of the Rings,

The Fellowship of the Ring by J.R.R. Tolkien

"Hot, sexy elf? I'll take it."

-Orlando Bloom of Legolas in the motion picture

The Lord of the Rings, The Fellowship of the Ring

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* PART SIX *

:: Inuyasha-kun is back...::

The words literally slapped Kagome in the face. Tilting her head up to the warm spray of water from the shower head, she contemplated whether or not to let herself believe in it all. Who knew ... Perhaps she was just imagining it, everything . . . But how could she be? With Ren here and the phone call from her mother in Japan, it was almost impossible that it could be all false, that she was in her own little world filled with the things unreachable to her. If she was led to truly believe that Inuyasha had come back with all her heart and end up being deceived in the end, she didn't think she would have any of her heart left in the aftermath. If she played her cards right she might stay lucky.

Turning off the shower, she pulled aside the plastic curtains and reached out for the white cotton towel, wrapping it around her as she stared at her reflection in the steamed mirror of her medicine cabinet. Her raven hair was slick with tendrils of hair snaking down the sides of her shoulders, her bangs dripping water to the floor. Her eyes, no wonder people in the past often mistook her for Kikyou . . . She had those same sad eyes becoming unveiled over the years.

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The world was a dark place to one who has not awakened for so long of a time. Inuyasha knew that now, has known it for quite some time. Along with the darkness, often came pain with it and when he tried to open his eyes, his eye was assaulted by some sort of gauze or bandage along the way. Upon instinct, he reached up and clawed at it, tearing it off with one precise claw of his index finger. Sitting up in darkness he had the sensation of being in a place he well recognized. Turning and getting acquainted with his bandages that were neatly wrapped around his abdominal area he scanned his surroundings with glowing hanyou eyes which he was bestowed.

That scent and so many others assaulted his perception. Inuyasha almost felt the urge to weep after reaching his destination at last. Trying to escape his confinements was difficult enough but the wish to fulfill his desire to see Kagome and once again hold her in his arms made him strive all the more. Where was she anyway? Shouldn't she be here, at his side and embracing him? Panic arose within him. Suppose something had happened to her during his absence . . . He bit his lip hard, trying to calm his growing fear of ever losing her.

:: No, I would have felt it. Somehow, I would have felt my connection with her break like a taut thread. :: He reached up and fingered the rosary about his neck resting against his collarbone. How much he loved her, even he himself could barely understand and it is now that he had come to be in the future time period; through the well. Inuyasha endured any sort of endeavor he came upon all because of Kagome . . . And how painful it would be if she had somehow come to realize she no longer felt for him the way she did what seemed to be so long ago.

Attempting to rise, a sharp piercing pain of a thousand knives jilted him to stay still and clutch his side with a groan, muttering curses under his breath and he tightly shut his eyes, his long silky hair creating a curtain around his trembling form. :: Kagome, where are you . . .? :: He thought desperately, his teeth grinding to supersede the pain.

A sound came from the other side of the rice-paper door made him look up, ever on the guard as adrenaline replaced the gnawing pain in his gut. Footsteps, soft to the human ear and yet so clear in his own as a slight shadow outlined a figure standing on the opposite side. Bared fangs Inuyasha prepared himself for fear he might be caught unawares ever again . . . The door slid open slowly, a scraping sound dragged along the floor and he immediately calmed as soon he discovered who his visitor was.

"Inuyasha-niichan? Are you awake?" Sota kneeled down beside Inuyasha, who had a confused/amused expression on his face, still trying to discern the slightly older-looking boy's facial movements. He studied him carefully and making sure with himself that this indeed was Kagome's younger brother. Something inside him made tears swarm into his vision and he hastily looked down, even though it was too dark anyway for Sota's eyes to even see him. "How are you feeling? Mama, Jii-chan and I tried to fix you up as best we can --- I knew you wouldn't have wanted a doctor visit so we kept you here. Are you hungry? Do you need anything?" The hanyou could see how hard Sota was trying not to be too questioning as he was at the moment but was rapidly failing, and Inuyasha couldn't blame him, not one bit.

Reaching out, Inuyasha gently laid a hand on the boy's shoulder, making him look at the hand in surprise then back at him. It was like old times again, when Sota was a bit more childish and helpless as he was, wholly looking up to Inuyasha like an older brother. "I'm okay, kid. You don't have to worry so much --- I'm half-demon, remember?" :: Or have you forgotten already? :: Inuyasha didn't mention that; it would hurt too much to hear the silence afterwards. He reclaimed his hand and watched as Sota brought something out of his pajama pocket on the left side of his chest, retrieving something familiar.

"I found this by the well and I thought it might be yours." He stretched out his open palm and Inuyasha took the item, the silver chain glimmered ominously in the dim light of the moon from a nearby window. Dangling on the chain was a thick silver band; a wedding ring by the looks of it. He brought it close to him and it seemed to Sota's untrained eye that he had made it disappear along the way.

"Th-Thanks," Inuyasha muttered slowly. How long has it been since he last said that? Too long, far too long. A look of concern washed on his face as he realized that the lock of Kagome's hair about the ring was missing.

"You're welcome, Inuyasha-niichan," The smile was uncovered on Sota's lips and he seemed the small child all over again. :: So he still calls me that? :: Inuyasha tried a small smile. Even though it was only an endearing statement it made him feel like he belonged somewhere again, quite the contrast to what had befallen him for so long a time. "Here, I'll turn on the light and go and make some ramen for you . . ." He stood and raised a questioning eyebrow at him. "You still like ramen, right Inuyasha-niichan?"

Inuyasha swallowed deeply, still stuck on the missing lock of hair. The feeling was back, the feeling that Kagome was far away from him and out of his reach. "Yes," he answered hesitantly and watched when Sota walked over to a nearby switch-lever stuck on a wall he remembered made the light overhead turn on. As their eyes adjusted, he knew. Kagome was nowhere in the surrounding area, which explained the empty feeling in his heart.

::(If the Japanese serves true) Inuyasha-niichan, or Inuyasha-onii-chan: Older brother Inuyasha::

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Kagome hung the receiver back on the phone set and began penciling in some notes on a piece of paper. She had called her university, the airport and some friends and was already making plans for her trip back to Japan. She had to label her sudden departure as a `family emergency.' It was, come to think of it as Kagome folded the note and put it into the right front pocket of her jeans, making her way to her bedroom where her open suitcase awaited.

She barely felt his presence behind her in her haste to place as many clothes she could into her bag, stuffing some necessities into her carry-on. "Kagome," His voice was deep and concerned though utterly not in the mood to be ignored.

The muscles in her back stiffened and she glanced at him over her shoulder, her voice strained. "Yes?" How could she have forgotten about Ren? How, when he had aided her the night before against the attack of the tentacle-weilding youkai creature? How, when he had so neared in capturing her heart? Kagome's hand tightened around the material of one of her shirts in her grasp. :: I will not be this fickle. I will not condone any feelings of such now that I can possibly find and be with Inuyasha again. :: As she was thinking the words she already found herself slipping away and doing quite the opposite.

Ren stepped forward wearing the shirt she gave him, his blue jeans firm around his lithe legs and backside. He ran his hand through his unruly jet-black hair, golden eyes searching under furrowing thick brows. Why did he have to be so attractive? To remind her of how Inuyasha looked under the nonexistent light of the New Moon (Shingetsu) and aid in totally unbalancing her already wracked equilibrium was more than she could handle.

He cleared his throat nervously not looking directly at her. "I suppose you're leaving, to Japan right?" For some unknown occurrence it bothered him.

"Yes I am." She looked away momentarily to finish zipping up her suitcase and backpack, patting her carry-on to make sure the contents were all compacted soundly. Turning, she faced him fully and attempted a smile. "My mother wants me there . . ."

"Because of Inuyasha." Ren inserted and she didn't fail to catch the subdued tone in his words. Wasn't he happy for her? Inuyasha, the love of her life was supposedly `back from the dead,' and here he was acting like he would at his own funeral?

Kagome looked into his eyes and was looking for something that could possibly explain to her what he felt but found nothing. "Yes, that also." She shifted on her feet. "Listen Ren, about last night . . . Thank you for sticking around to listen to me and for helping me out. I know it's hardly believable of all you saw and what I said but the truth is better than a lie and I thought you deserved to hear the former."

Her heart skipped a beat when he took a step closer, right in front of her that she could feel his breathing on her forehead, brushing against her bangs. He smelled of musk, a deep male scent that foretold of hidden secrets and shyness. Unlike Inuyasha, she admitted; perhaps they really are two different people. Staring into each others eyes, her breath caught when he brought his hands up to frame her face and hold it up to his own. "I'm coming with you, Kagome." His body pressed warmly against hers; her arms hanging limply at her sides.

And on the event that he might meet Inuyasha, what then? How could she explain it, that she had been using Ren as a substitute for Inuyasha? To her surprise, Kagome remembered that it was that way with Kikyou, Inuyasha and her. ::No, I can't . . .:: Kagome closed her eyes tightly and when she opened them again, she gazed up at him through fresh tears. ::I can't let history repeat itself, not with Ren . . . The last thing I want to do is hurt him.::

"No, you can't . . ." She whispered hoarsely but didn't pull away. He looked worriedly at her as her tears streamed down her cheeks to slide against his hands.

"Why not?" Said Ren, voice rising in persistency, his thumbs swiping at her tears. "You'll need my help, I just know it. I know that you'll need me, Kagome." He released her cheeks and pulled her against him instead, wrapping his arms tightly around her and his nose in her hair. "Please . . . Let me be with you."

The words and his actions were a source of comfort like a warm shelter was from a raging snow storm. Kagome was battling an internal conflict that ruled over all other internal conflicts that could be and she struggled to be free of it. Friends they were, right? Why she was feeling something more in depth than that she did not know. ::Why waste your time with me, Ren, when you could be happy with another?:: Even as she thought of it, the more she wanted to stay in his arms.

Finally exhausted of all the pushing back and shying away, it was then that Kagome's walls crumbled once again by a large portion, and in the arms of Inuren did she relieve herself of pent-up tears and internal guilt.

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A murky, darkened castle surrounded by mists of mystery lay abandoned in a strange place unknown, though far away and none who enter such a castle come back out alive. One exception; mortals who so ever enters the castle never makes it out. The one exception was the hanyou, the han inu-youkai Inuyasha, who had managed to escape from the castle master's confinements he'd kept him in and is now being sought after.

Deep within such a place of torture a woman with long raven hair and gray eyes dressed in white and red miko clothing remained chained against a stone wall and warded, sealed beneath every incantation and spell known. Bruised was her face, swollen her lips as caked blood stayed in a dry line down from the corner of her mouth to her chin. Her whole state seemed poorly taken care of and she seemed to be once beautiful underneath all the built up grime upon her skin.

Weakly she opened her eyes to see what had awakened her heightened miko senses as she sensed a presence moving within the cold, damp cell. Apathetically she spied upon a large murky pool located in the center of the stone dungeon, the surface of the water unusually moving every which way. Without surprise a large serpent youkai broke through the water and crested to the edge and continued slithering to one wall. Meeting it head-on, it had passed through like a ghost, completely unaffected by any barrier of stone (serpent youkai equivalent to the size of two buses).

Once in knowledge of what had disturbed her rest, the miko closed her eyes and continued to heal within the stony dungeon in which she was kept.

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Something pressed against her shoulder was what awakened her from yet another dream of Inuyasha. Looking down at the seat next to her on the airplane she Ren's black head of hair in her line of view. What made her smile was the fact that Inuyasha used to do the same thing, accidentally fall asleep right beside her and resting his cheek on her arm. A deep sigh escaped Kagome's lips when she turned toward the window of her passenger seat---she was fortunate enough that Ren let her have the window seat as she requested---and looked out over on the soft billowy clouds that overlaid the deep blue sea.

Soon she would arrive to her final destination. Just thinking of the possibility that she would see Inuyasha made her heart flutter with such emotion. How could she though, with this man sleeping next to her? However much she didn't want to admit it, she cared for Ren Hayasha, the man who resembles Inuyasha's human side and the one who wanted to become friends---JUST friends.

The only thing she questioned as the plane continued to glide above the clouds . . . Will she be able to let Ren go in the end?

*END OF PART SIX*

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A/N: So short, wasn't it? Gomen! Gomen! Please forgive . . . I will try harder next time to make it as long a book! J/K, though just to tell you, it was Kikyou in that dungeon (hehe), and a youkai was in there with her, brewing---it was Naraku's plan to have it and it was sent on an order as it left the room. What order is that? What it is after? Care to guess? And the lock of hair from Kagome, that plays an awful significant role in the whole thing too. I'll update as soon as I can. Until then, adieu (ooh, French now, is it?). Need I remind you again? REVIEW, please. ^_^