InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Future Beginnings ❯ Ch 25: Going Home ( Chapter 25 )

Inuyasha belongs to Rumiko Takahashi

 

 

Ch 25: Going Home

 

 

Inuyasha practiced transforming every chance he got over the next several days as Kagome concentrated on her finals. His own English final consisted of a half-hour quiz and an hour-long Christmas party with cookies and hot cider. He didn't like the cider. It burnt his tongue. At the end, Inuyasha received his packet of registration materials for next semester, signifying that he had effectively passed the ESL progam.

 

After he got over his initial shock at being able to transform, Inuyasha had insisted that Kagome put the necklace back on him.

 

“But why?” she asked. “I thought you'd be happy to see the last of it.”

 

That wasn't it. Of course he didn't like it when she used her `sit' command, but he had to admit it had saved the both of them on more than one occasion. It was simpler than that, however. It was the bond that had connected them, literally, since they first met. He couldn't, no, he wouldn't give it up. “You can take it off me whenever I ask, right?”

 

“Yes, but…”

 

“And I trust you not to `sit' me unless it's absolutely necessary, right?”

 

“Yes, but…”

 

“Then there's nothing more to say. It's my necklace and I want to wear it.” Inuyasha folded his arms stubbornly across his chest.

 

“Fine.”

 

Then he proceeded to ask her to take the necklace back off again so that he could try transforming.

 

“Grrr,” she said.

 

Inuyasha grinned. “Hey, that's pretty good!” he told her.

 

Kagome stomped off to wash dishes. “Stupid Inuyasha,” she muttered under her breath.

 

“I heard that!”

 

“I KNOW!” she yelled back.

 

He could tell from her scent that she wasn't really mad at him and he laughed before he changed his form and followed her into the kitchen.

 

When he had transformed for the first time, it had startled them both, and as soon as he realized what he was doing, he had stopped it. With Kagome's encouragement, he tried a few more times. He was careful not to get too close to her in case he hurt her. Kagome, though, had other ideas. She knelt on the bed and gazed at him as he shimmered, a glowing ball of light, beside her. Slowly she reached out and let her hand pass through his being. Although he had no physical form, he remained hyper aware while in his energy form and his self welcomed Kagome's intrusion with joy. She told him that touching him in this form was like putting her arms in carbonated water, all tingly and slightly warm, but not painful.

 

Over the next few days they experimented together. It seemed that whenever Inuyasha transformed, whatever he was wearing transformed along with him. It didn't matter if he wore his regular clothes or modern clothes. Even the cell phone transformed with him. Only Kagome did not change form when he engulfed her in his energy glow. They reasoned that it was because her own self was contained within her material body and only she could hold on to her self. “So, you learn to transform too,” Inuyasha suggested. “You're a miko. You have powers.”

 

“Yes, but not those kind of powers. I'm human, remember?”

 

Inuyasha replied, “That's what I thought, too. Remember?”

 

But Kagome was quite happy remaining in exactly the form she was born with. Inuyasha liked her human form, too. He told her so, twice.

 

They had tickets to see Jen and Noriko's play on Friday night. Inuyasha was surprised to see the long line of people waiting to get into the big theater next to his old food place—cafeteria—where he had first met Peter. There were lots of old people in the line. Kagome told him that they were most likely grandparents and other relatives of the performers.

 

They shuffled slowly down the aisle until they came to their seats. Inuyasha felt vaguely uncomfortable in the large auditorium. The students in the audience gossiped about their friends, their teachers, and the performers without even attempting to lower their voices. If it was this loud now, Inuyasha knew it would be torture once the show started. He was glad he had tied the bandana over his ears. At Kagome's suggestion, he had tried to see if he could transform just his ears to make them disappear from view, but apparently the transformation to spirit form was an all-or-nothing proposition when it came to his anatomy. The ears stayed. He tried the same trick with Tetsusaiga since Sesshomaru seemed to have his sword about him all the time even when it wasn't visible. It would be very convenient to have Tetsusaiga within easy reach all the time. Surprisingly, the transformation worked with the sword. Inuyasha had it with him now, or rather, Tetsusaiga was changed into an invisible energy form and hung in its usual place by his side. Although it didn't feel like he was wearing a sword, he knew he could retrieve it to its material state with just a thought.

 

The lights dimmed, and the music started. All around him, the murmurs subsided as the show began. Inuyasha slid his arm around Kagome, thinking to have a little cuddling time like he had at the show in New York. At first, Kagome pulled back. This was her school, after all, and all her classmates would see. Then she leaned into Inuyasha's embrace. Let them see, she thought, as she watched the stage for her two friends.

 

Some time during the show, Inuyasha's cell phone vibrated. He had learned to set it to vibrate so that the ringing noise wouldn't bother his sensitive ears. Kagome glanced at him curiously, but he shook his head and shut his phone off. It could wait.

 

Jen was amazing. Her character was so completely different than she was in real life that Inuyasha had a hard time reconciling the real Jen with the one he now saw on stage. She had a powerful voice and her singing told the story every bit as much as her acting did. Noriko didn't have as big a role as Jen did, but her character was funny. Inuyasha didn't know Noriko could be funny. There was definitely something to this acting business. If Inuyasha hadn't known the two girls already, he would never have believed they could be so different on stage.

 

When the show was over, Inuyasha and Kagome pushed their way through the crowds to where the actors would be coming out. It seemed that most of the other people, students and relatives both, had the same idea. They met Peter by the stage entrance. Inuyasha eyed the two bouquets of flowers he held. “What are those for?” he asked.

 

“One is for Noriko,” Peter said, then blushed slightly. No one noticed but Inuyasha, who caught the faint scent of the blood rushing to Peter's cheeks. “And the other one is for Jen,” he finished. When Inuyasha still looked at him with puzzlement, he explained, “It's a custom to give flowers to the performers.”

 

“I don't have any,” said Inuyasha. “Should I get some?”

“No, these can be from all of us,” said Peter. Kagome was glad. She had visions of Inuyasha rushing out into the cold and slashing random evergreen branches for his `bouquet.'

 

Jen and Noriko eventually appeared, then had to run the gauntlet of their congratulating fans before they reached Inuyasha's group. They both loved the flowers, and Noriko smiled happily at Peter when she realized that he had actually been the one to bring the flowers. They left the theater and went for coffee at the nearby snack bar. There were three more performances—two on Saturday and a matinee on Sunday, so the girls didn't want to stay out too late. They made plans to get together at Kagome's apartment on Monday before they each went their separate ways for the Christmas break. Inuyasha was already finished with school, Kagome had one more exam on Monday, and the others finished up either Tuesday or Wednesday.

 

On the way home, Inuyasha stopped to turn on his cell phone. He scanned the screen and quickly punched in a number. Kagome realized he must be talking to one of his youkai acquaintances. She wondered what was going on now. For youkai who supposedly had little interest in the real world, they seemed to bother Inuyasha quite a lot. She guessed that transitioning to the real world wasn't as easy as it sounded. Sure enough, Inuyasha put away the phone and told her, “I have to go.”

 

“Where?”

 

Inuyasha pointed vaguely to the northeast. “Over there. Fenn called. Some of the lesser youkai who have been taking on material form lately decided to go visit a village.” He looked at Kagome, knowing that wasn't the right word.

 

“Town,” she said.

 

“Town. The stupid youkai let themselves be seen by the humans, and now I have to go clean up their mess.”

 

“Do you want me to go with you?”

 

“No. I'm going to try spirit form. It should get me there a lot quicker. You still have my beads?”

 

Kagome patted her coat pocket. “Right here. Hurry back.” She stood on her toes and kissed him good-bye.

 

“What? No argument? No `I want to come'?” asked Inuyasha in surprise.

 

“I trust you. You are the youkai leader and this is part of your duty. Just come back soon, Ok?”

 

Inuyasha promised, and streaked off in a glowing ball of energy towards the northeast. Kagome sighed, and continued walking. It was going to be a long night. Despite what she'd told Inuyasha, she wouldn't be able to sleep until she knew he was home safe and sound.

 

When Inuyasha got to the village Fenn was waiting for him with a few other human-seeming youkai. “Over there,” Fenn nodded his chin towards the town library, where books were strewn all over the lawn and a rattled librarian and some patrons were shivering outside in the cold.

 

“What happened?”

 

“Some forest creatures got curious about the human town and came down to play some tricks on the people in the library over there. Amber here felt the disturbance—she lives nearby—and called me. I called you. I wasn't sure whether we should just ignore it or do something about it. I mean, the humans won't believe what they saw and by tomorrow they'll probably just find some way to rationalize it. But I thought, what if these creatures are emboldened by this and try it again? So I called you.”

 

Inuyasha caught the gist of what Fenn had said, and that second sense that youkai seemed to possess helped him to understand the rest of it. “What did they do?” he asked, thinking of all the times Kagome had got upset with him for revealing too much to the stupid humans.

 

“They broke down the door of the library and ran around in plain sight of the humans. There was a fox creature, and one that looked almost like a bear, except that it was three times bigger than any bears around here. And one didn't look like anything natural. It had a long body like a snake but it floated through the air.

 

That wasn't good, thought Inuyasha. The other two could probably be explained as wild animals, since the humans probably weren't all that familiar with what actual wild animals looked like anyway. But the floating snake thing was going to be a problem. “Where are they now?” he asked.

 

Amber, a pale slender youkai woman with hair almost as white as Inuyasha's, pointed to the hill in back of the town. “They went that way.”

 

Inuyasha bounded off in the direction the woman had pointed out, changing form almost effortlessly. He needed to show these youkai who was boss once and for all. He didn't realize it at first, but this time the form he took wasn't pure energy, but instead he changed into the great dog form of his heritage, much as Sesshomaru and his father had done before him. Fenn, Amber and the other new world youkai looked on in awe. Inuyasha floated majestically above the forest, his keen eyes piercing through the undergrowth until he spotted the errant youkai. To his senses they were a bright glow of energy on the landscape. He swooped down and stood before them, his dog form solidifying as his paws touched down, until he towered above them, glowering in righteous anger. Their communication was wordless but by no means silent, and by the time Inuyasha was done, the youkai were lucky to get off with their lives. They would spread the word to the others. No terrorizing humans. Satisfied, Inuyasha took off, transforming once again into the diaphanous form that looked to the eye like a great dog-shaped cloud. He dipped down to acknowledge Fenn and the other youkai, then he headed home, his work done for the moment. He couldn't wait to tell Kagome about this new transformation!

 

Finally, exams were over and bags were packed. Peter, Jen and Noriko stopped over at the apartment to have a final farewell supper, and Jen promised to look after the apartment while Inuyasha and Kagome were gone. “I'm only going home for a few days,” she told them. “Mr. Rinks invited me to work up at the camp with him on his play during the school break. Fenn and Skye will be there too. Of course I said yes. I want to see what it's like being in close quarters with youkai. Oh, not counting you, Inuyasha. You're just—you. I don't think of you as youkai.”

 

It was the nicest thing a human besides Kagome had ever said to Inuyasha. If only Jen knew. He guessed it was refreshing having humans close to him who weren't afraid of youkai. Jen had no fear whatsoever.

 

Noriko wasn't going home to Japan either. She only had the next semester and one more year to go, and she wanted to stay close to Peter. His family had invited her to their home for the break. Peter drove them to the airport. Kagome had Inuyasha's neckace in her jacket pocket—she had had to take it out and scan it through the tray when they went through inspection at the airport, but it scanned just fine. She was worried that Inuyasha's sword, conveniently invisible at the moment, would show up on the x-ray, but it didn't.

 

They boarded the plane and sat in a window seat by the wings. Inuyasha was thankful that they weren't near either one of the bathrooms. As it was, he was careful to eat and drink very little so that he didn't need to use them too often. He felt like an old pro on the airplane, reclining his seat and adjusting the TV screen when necessary. He didn't bother with the earphones for the TV since he could hear it perfectly well without them. Luckily, the inspectors had not required him to remove his bandana when he went through the line. He snuggled close to Kagome and slept for most of the trip.

 

Kagome's mother met them at the airport in Japan. Inuyasha was a little fearful of his reception, but she welcomed him warmly with a hug and even a quick kiss on his cheek. He couldn't detect any insincerity in her scent, either, so he relaxed. Back at the house, however, Kagome's mother showed Inuyasha into Souta's bedroom so he knew he wasn't completely forgiven yet. He didn't protest, but went willingly with Kagome's younger brother. Kagome was exhausted after the long trip, and even Inuyasha felt the effects of jet lag. They spent the next few days sleeping during the day and awake half the night.

 

It was nice for Kagome. She got to spend a lot of time with her mother. Inuyasha could hear the two of them murmuring together late into the night.

 

As soon as they had cleared the airport, Inuyasha had asked Kagome to put his necklace back on him. “There is no reason to have it off now,” he told her. “We're almost home.” She agreed, and soberly lowered the necklace over his bowed head. Truthfully, she preferred him in his hanyou form. She had agreed with his reasoning too that, while in the feudal era, it was best not to reveal his new-found powers. The Sesshomaru they knew in the Sengoku Jidai was not the same person as the Sesshomaru they knew now.

 

Finally the moment arrived. They said good-bye to Kagome's family and prepared to go back through the well. Kagome was excited and apprehensive at the same time. She didn't know how Inuyasha would act once they went back. Would he revert to his old self and keep his distance from her out of embarassment? Inuyasha sensed something was bothering Kagome. “What's wrong?” he asked, where a few months ago he would certainly have said, `What's your problem?' Kagome smiled faintly at the thought.

 

“I was thinking of what's going to happen when we go back home,” she confessed. “About us, I mean.”

 

“What do you mean? Your mother isn't there. I don't see any reason we need to be apart,” he said frankly.

 

“You mean it?”

 

“Did you think I would let you go that easily?” he asked, pulling her into a quick embrace. “Here, there, now, then, you're mine. End of story.”

 

Kagome's smile widened. “Thank you, Inuyasha.”

 

“For what?” Inuyasha kissed her, then picked up her big yellow backpack. “Let's go.” Inuyasha grabbed Kagome around the waist and made the short jump to the bottom of the well house. Kagome took a last look around. They were really going back. She glanced at Inuyasha as he got ready to jump, and she frowned.

 

“What's that?” she asked.

 

“What?” asked Inuyasha, one foot poised on the edge of the well.

 

“That.” She reached over and pulled something out of the sleeve of his haori. “Inuyasha, you can't take your cell phone. It has to stay here. You can have it when we come back.”

 

“If we come back,” said Inuyasha.

 

“If we come back,” Kagome agreed.

 

 

THE END

 

(or at least an end!)