InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Hanyou of the Future ❯ Frozen Jewel ( Chapter 2 )

AN: Thank you to foamyfan15010 for beta-ing. This chapter is dedicated to Silverontherose, who always seems to cheer me up. Love you, girl. Thanks to everyone for their support of this new piece. Next chapter will be out next week. :-)

EDIT: Thank you to Nessaneko on LiveJournal who informed me about Japanese identification papers and hanko stamps. On another note, I am not Japanese and I will do my best to be culturally accurate. If you see some discrepancies, I would appreciate if you email me personally before leaving it in my review. Thanks, but I just don't really care for anonymous reviews that I can't reply to.

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Hanyou of the Future

Chapter Two: Frozen Jewel

Her eyes widened, and she opened her mouth to speak. By the look on her face, he quickly prepared his sensitive ears for her shrill voice.

“What do you mean you're stuck!” she yelled at him, giving him a look that clearly inferred she thought he was being stupid. He scowled at her.

He narrowed his eyes and replied, “Like I said, I jumped down here and can't go back. I told you this would happen, but no….”

Suddenly she jumped down to him, and his eyes bugged out, unprepared to catch her as she jumped, and definitely not prepared to see a glimpse of her panties.

`Bad Inu, bad,' he told himself, and shook the mental images from his head and concentrated on giving her a piece of his mind after she plopped herself into his arms.

“I really wish you wouldn't do that,” he said sternly, but she ignored him as her attention was drawn to the bottom of the well. She held out the jewel, hoping for any sign of reaction to their situation.

She held it in her palm and waited, scrunching her face in frustration when no time-space catch was evident, and no fluid motion had whisked them away to the past. She scratched her head.

“Hrmm…that's funny,” she murmured, staring at the jewel. “Something must be wrong.”

“Humph, that's what I've been trying to tell you,” he said with irritation. Kagome turned to him perplexed.

“Well, yes, it seems we can't go back now,” she agreed, and she saw him puff out his chest confirming he was right. She had to stifle a giggle at how cute it had made him look, and then she cleared her throat, trying to remain serious. Inuyasha sensed Kagome was still preoccupied in her thoughts. “But there's something else I'm now worried about.”

Inuyasha cocked his head at her. “Well, what is it?”

Kagome held out the jewel to him, and as he looked down at it, visibly there was nothing different about it. However, once he relaxed and concentrated, he couldn't sense any power coming from it.

“What's happened?” Inuyasha replied.

Kagome nodded. “Exactly. And even when I touch it, I can't sense the two forces battling inside anymore. I can't feel the evil or the purity. It's like the forces within the jewel and all the power output are frozen.”

“Frozen? Like ice?” he asked, bending down closer to inspect any changes in it. Besides appearing somewhat duller, it looked exactly the same as it always had.

“Well, sort of. It's more like everything stopped moving, that the power is in suspended animation,” Kagome said, closing her eyes and concentrating. “It's like it's now just an ordinary gemstone.”

Inuyasha sighed and leaned against the wall of the well. He closed his eyes in defeat. “Great. That's just great. First the well doesn't work, and now the Shikon Jewel has no power. It's like all that crap we did to complete it doesn't even matter. Now we can't even use it.”

“Don't say that!” Kagome exclaimed, patting his shoulder reassuringly. He looked down at her and noticed she was smiling.

“I'm sure there's a reason these things are happening. And besides, isn't it better that the jewel doesn't have any power to attract unwanted attention?” she offered, and Inuyasha relaxed to the sound of her voice - comforted by Kagome's confidence.

“Well, I'm not sure it matters if the jewel even works here. I haven't sensed any demons in this time since that Noh mask. I think you worry too much,” he said.

Kagome shrugged, turning around and climbing out of the well. “True, but it doesn't mean they don't exist. Some might be out there somewhere. We just haven't found them yet. It's a big planet, Inuyasha; the possibilities are endless.”

He looked up as she crawled out, his face flushing at the view of her panties again, and then he quickly shifted his eyes to her outstretched hand. She smiled sweetly at him, ready to help him out of the well.

“C'mon, let's go get some lunch. I'm starving,” she said, and Inuyasha nodded in return, cracking a small smile and then taking her hand as they walked back to the house.

---

Her mother and Souta were delighted that Inuyasha was eating lunch with them, but her grandpa was suspicious as usual, and he ate his meal in silence.

Inuyasha looked grumpier than usual and chomped on his food loudly. His behavior proved something bothered him, and he didn't seem happy about it at all.

Kagome seemed distracted as well, zoning out and then concentrating on the jewel. She had many concerns tugging at her spirit, but now she wondered what to do with Inuyasha while he was stuck here.

If the jewel really was out of commission and the well was no longer active, Inuyasha had to stay here with her family. There was obviously no other choice.

Kagome cleared her throat and sat down her chopsticks. Her brother and mother watched her with fascination as she prepared to address them.

“Mom, Grandpa, Souta: Inuyasha and I have something important to talk to you about,” she paused and looked at the mixture of expressions on her family's faces.

“Am I going to be an uncle?” Souta blurted, and her mother clasped her hands in joy immediately. Grandpa's jaw dropped, cursing softly and beginning to make sutras.

Inuyasha paled, and Kagome flushed. She glared at her brother and shook her head.

“Hey, it's not like that!” Kagome defended. “Give me a chance to speak already.” She sighed. Her mother seemed disappointed, and that frightened Kagome - in a way.

Her grandpa slumped down to the floor relaxed, and Souta patted Inuyasha on the arm to tell him, “Better luck next month.” Inuyasha's mouth dropped, and he was rendered speechless.

“Now be serious, everyone,” Kagome continued. “Something has happened to the jewel we recently completed, and now the well won't work anymore.”

Her family blinked at her stunned at the revelation. All at once, their gazes traveled to Inuyasha, back to Kagome, and then back to Inuyasha again.

“So…Inuyasha is stuck here?” Souta asked, and Kagome could sense the excitement in his voice. She rolled her eyes, and thought, `Really, the hero worship was just too much sometimes.'

Kagome nodded, and then looked at her mother and grandpa with pleading eyes. “Now of course, he's going to need somewhere to stay until we figure out how to get the well working again. So…” She paused, but then her mother stepped in.

“Oh, don't worry, dear. Your friend can stay here as long as he likes.” Her mother beamed at him, and Inuyasha slouched uncomfortably under Kagome's mother's kind gaze. Her grandpa reluctantly agreed, nodding only after Mrs. Higurashi had lightly elbowed him to respond.

Souta tugged at his sister next to him, and she bent down as he whispered into her ear. “Mom is absolutely thrilled. She's been raving about having Inuyasha stay here since she met him.”

Kagome's face flushed even more, and her eyes widened. “What?” she exclaimed, and everyone looked over at her to see the commotion. Souta looked over at Inuyasha and smiled with a set of sparkly teeth.

“This is so awesome! I finally get a big brother!” Souta encouraged, and Inuyasha forced a smile, slouching even closer toward Kagome's side.

`Wonderful. This is just wonderful,' Inuyasha thought. He admitted he always enjoyed Kagome's time and her family's generosity, but he still didn't feel he truly belonged yet. He felt overwhelmed by it all, and even though he felt comfortable in their house, outside that door the world was wholly different and foreign to him. Inuyasha had seen glimpses of it, and Kagome's modern culture had confused him as well.

He didn't know if he could handle everything.

“Hrm…well, if he's going to stay here, I suppose we'll have to get him some papers,” Kagome's mom pondered aloud.

Inuyasha looked at her curiously. “Papers?”

“Yeah, she means identification papers and work references. You really can't live in this time without them,” Kagome confirmed. Inuyasha suddenly felt even more confused.

“Yes, and I know someone at the ministry that I think can help. I'll just say you're a wondering monk or something from Tibet and don't have any papers.” Kagome gave her mother a disbelieving look and Inuyasha just stared expressionless at her. Mrs. Higurashi smiled. “Don't worry about it. It'll be all taken care of. I'll even pick you up your own hanko stamp. ” And then her mother put her hand over her mouth and held back a small ominous giggle.

“Mom, don't do anything illegal, okay?” Kagome groaned, rubbing her temple as a headache resurfaced.

“Don't be silly, Kagome. People do this stuff everyday,” her mother reassured, waving her hand in the air. Everyone watched as Kagome's mom got up and started cleaning off the dishes from the table.

“Ugh,” Kagome sighed, and Inuyasha noticed she was looking stressed from the situation. He hoped that he wouldn't be too much of a burden to her. And frankly, he had to stay here with her. He had no other place to go.

“Anyway, besides the well not working, something else has gone wrong too.” Kagome looked at her grandpa and then held out the Shikon Jewel.

He gasped, and Kagome thought that maybe he had never seen the real thing before. Kagome placed the jewel in his hand.

“This is the Shikon no Tama that we fought for,” Kagome said seriously. Her grandpa made a noise of joy.

“Ah, so powerful! I can feel it!” he swooned, clutching the jewel affectionately.

Kagome and Inuyasha gave her grandpa a look of annoyance.

“Uh… actually Grandpa, the jewel's power is inactive. That is the other problem I wanted to tell you about,” Kagome stated. Inuyasha scoffed to her side, and she heard him mutter, `delusional old hack' under his breath. She punched him on the shoulder and then smiled.

Her grandpa looked at the jewel closely and nodded. “Right. I knew that. I was only…testing you. Haha!”

Kagome rolled her eyes. “So Grandpa, until we figure out what's wrong with it, can you keep it in a safe place? We don't know the reason yet why it's suddenly not working or if it will ever work again.”

With a raging spirit, her grandpa clutched the jewel in his hand and looked up into space with fortitude. “Granddaughter! I will do this! This is my most important duty as head priest of the Higurashi shrine!”

Inuyasha gaped at him, and Kagome just shook her head. They watched him shuffling out of the room to the outside, undoubtedly toward the shed full of family heirlooms safely store the jewel.

Kagome sighed and turned to her mother. “I'll be able to go to school tomorrow,” she said as her mother cleaned up the last bit of dishes from the table. Her mother nodded. “The principal approved some make-up course to take twice a week. He said that he understood my health problems and that it was not a problem to give me a second chance.”

“That's good, honey. I'm glad your grandfather won't have to make excuses for you anymore.” Her mother smiled cheerfully. “Although, I think he'll miss coming up with all those stories.”

Kagome chuckled, but she was just glad she could finally go back. She wouldn't have to hide things from her friends anymore. Her life was suddenly becoming normal again.

Well, normal if she counted the fact that Inuyasha was living with them. Now, that was something she'd have to get used to.

-----

When the Higurashi family finally settled down for bed, Inuyasha came into Kagome's room holding a pillow and blanket. She met his gaze, and he nodded his head to her awkwardly.

“Hey. Your mother said the spare room wouldn't be cleaned out for another day or so. So…she said I can stay in here for the night,” he stated, throwing the pillow and blanket on the floor. He sat down and leaned against the wall, noticing she watched his movements closely. Suddenly, he felt strangely uncomfortable and he didn't know why.

He had spent the night in her room several times before and never had felt this way. Maybe it was his nerves or something, but the thought of staying with Kagome permanently jarred him, and he finally began to feel his life changing.

`It's what I've always wanted, though,' he inwardly mused, remembering the day she promised to be with him.

“It's fine.” She smiled welcomingly. She turned back to her desk and continued working on her homework she started earlier after dinner.

Her brother had abducted him so she could study, and Inuyasha had spent the rest of the evening playing some game called “Final Fantasy” on Souta's black box thingy. He certainly had never seen such a thing in his life, and he was mildly irritated when her brother pranced around their house in glee that he had `beat' him.

`Keh. And if it had been a real sword fight, I'd totally win,' he thought, and it had made him feel a lot better.

Suddenly, he was jarred out of his thoughts as Kagome put down her pencil and turned to face him. She had another one of those serious looks on her face that led usually led to unpleasant conversations.

“Inuyasha, are you upset that you have to be here, you know, in my time?” Kagome asked bluntly, and Inuyasha quickly noticed her infamous pout.

He grunted, and then looked away. “Feh. Of course not,” he said sternly and then paused. From his profile, Kagome saw confusion and uncertainty in his expression. “It's just going to take some getting used to. I don't …I don't know much about this time or this world.”

Kagome was silent, staring at him and trying to read his emotions from his tone and expressions. She knew him well enough that he didn't like feeling helpless and out of control, and even though he didn't say it, being in this strange land made him feel very lonely.

She got up from her desk and stretched. Yawning, she looked at him and gave him another cheerful smile. “Don't worry, Inuyasha. If you need anything, I'm here for you.”

He turned his head and looked back at her, soaking up her image but continuing to hold back his true feelings. He really was thankful for her, more than he could really express in words.

He watched her settle under her covers into her bed, and he inhaled her beautiful scent in the room, being content enough with her nearness. His eyes felt heavy from sleepiness, but then he heard her call his name.

“Inuyasha?” she whispered in a low voice.

He sensed anxiety in her tone, but also detected a small amount of hope.

“You don't have to be alone anymore.”

“I know, Kagome. I know,” he answered, reassuring her that he would be all right.

He heard her swallow uncomfortably, and then in a hurried flow of words she said, “No, what I meant to say was, you don't have to be alone tonight, if you don't want to be.” She sat up in her bed, and then slid over toward the wall. She patted her hand once on the space she had left open for him.

He felt his ears burn in response. His eyes widened as heat began rushing throughout his body.

Then, she gave him a stern look and said with a warning. “It's not what you think, pervert.” Her voice changed again to concern. “You've been through a lot today. I just don't want you to feel alone tonight.”

He nodded, his words still jumbled in the back of his throat. Slowly, he got up and glided over to her bed. She looked at him, flushing as his silver hair and golden eyes sparkled in the moonlight.

Her breath became heavier at each motion he took. Inuyasha reached his hand down, and then lifted the cover. He slid his body underneath the blankets, and instantly, she felt his body heat combine with hers.

Inuyasha glanced at her a couple of times awkwardly. He averted his eyes from her, and then he felt her turn over, settling on her side of the bed. He looked down seeing her back to him as she faced her front to the wall. He leaned his head back, slowly lying down and staring at the ceiling, methodically calming himself from soothing the heat that washed all over his body.

He noticed she shifted her position, and then her back rubbed against his shoulder. Inuyasha closed his eyes, reveling in that brief moment of contact.

Then bravely, he turned his body toward hers, wrapping his arms around her settling into a spooning position. He exhaled softly, thankful that they could sleep like this for the night. Most likely tomorrow he would have his own room, but for tonight he could be with her like this.

If she only knew how much he treasured moments like these, but he just couldn't figure out the ways to reveal his feelings. Then, as he held her, he finally heard her even breathing next to him as she fell asleep. He nuzzled his face into her hair.

“Thank you, Kagome,” he whispered, and he soaked in her warmth scent, lulling him into a rare, comfortable slumber.

TBC…