InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ I'm Sorry ❯ Chapter 14

Disclaimer: I don't own, didn't create, but I sure do love it.

Author's Note:

 

Chapter 14

 

Landing softly at the bottom of the well, Inuyasha wrapped his arm around Kagome and asked “Ready?” At her nod, he leapt to the top of the well and set her down softly in the grass outside the well.

 

As he released her, Kagome took in a deep breath, enjoying the clean, fresh air, then let it out slowly, calming her mind like Miroku had taught her, then reaching out with the inner senses that Kaede had honed to sense any nearby youkai. First, of course, she felt Inuyasha right next to her, then, as she pushed farther out, she felt Myoga, Kirara, and Shippo, all near where she felt the village was, although it seemed as though Shippo was coming this way.

 

“Shippo's coming to the well, Inuyasha,” Kagome told him, as he sniffed at the evening air, searching for danger or anything else nearby.

 

Looking at her oddly, he then nodded, and asked, “You can sense him, than? Like you told me before? How do you want to handle him when he gets here?”

 

She looked at Inuyasha very seriously, and said, “We'll see what he does first, if he behaves himself, we shouldn't do anything special. But, if he is disrespectful to you or even rude, I think that you should just frown and growl once, then let me handle actually disciplining him, since I'm normally the one who coddles him, okay?”

 

Inuyasha nodded slowly, saying, “Alright, but he's usually so happy to see you, it may actually be a while before he acts up.”

 

Kagome smiled at him, pleased that he was thinking about Shippo's past behavior as it might apply to their efforts to bring him under control. “Should we wait for him, or start walking back to the village?”

 

“Let's start back, and let him meet us on the way,” Inuyasha said, picking the duffle bags back up in his hand, and started off.

 

Stepping up next to Inuyasha, Kagome held her hand out to him and waited for him to take it. He looked at her hand, then up to her face, before he smiled shyly at her, and took her hand in his and clasped it firmly as they walked up the path that led to Kaede's village.

 

As they walked, Kagome hummed softly to herself, enjoying the twilight, and the presence of Inuyasha next to her, and waited for Shippo to find them.

 

A couple of minutes later, Shippo did catch up with them. “KAAGOOOMEE! You're back! Did you miss me? Wait till I tell you what I've been doing! You'll never guess!” Leaping up to her, Kagome caught him with her free arm, and smiled as he chattered non-stop.

 

When he finally paused to catch his breath, Kagome said, “Yes, Shippo, we're back, safe and sound. I'll let you tell me all about what you've been up to later, for now let's head for Kaede's, shall we?”

 

“Okay!” Turning to look at the hanyou walking next to Kagome, he looked at him very seriously and said, “So, did you help her like you were supposed to? Or did you go and make her mad?”

 

Inuyasha frowned in irritation and started to snap out an angry reply, but stopped when Kagome squeezed his hand. To Shippo's surprise, Kagome answered him.

 

“Shippo! That was rude, and uncalled for. If you want to know something, apologize and ask again, politely,” Kagome gave the little kit a stern look, as she rebuked him in a calm, but firm tone of voice.

 

Shippo's mouth fell open in shock, but he quickly recovered. “I'm sorry, Kagome. I just…”

 

Kagome interrupted him, “No, Shippo, I'm not the one you should be apologizing to.” As she spoke, she stared at him meaningfully.

 

Shippo looked at her, unsure what she meant, until she flicked her gaze towards the hanyou walking next to them. He looked over at Inuyasha, who was looking straight ahead, his jaw clenched. Looking back at Kagome, he saw that she was entirely serious about the apology. Taking a deep breath, the little kitsune said, “Umm, Inuyasha? I'm sorry I was so rude. Uhh…Were you able to help Kagome while she was with her family?” Unlike his normal brash, cheerful voice, this time he spoke quietly, almost hesitantly.

 

Inuyasha just huffed, “Keh,” and turned to look directly into Shippo's eyes. After a moment, he nodded and said, “Yeah, I think so. We took care of some stuff that could only be done in her time.”

 

Kagome's smile just got wider and she squeezed his hand as he spoke to Shippo. A moment later, they broke out of the trees to see the village waiting before them.

 

As they walked up the street to Kaede's hut, Kagome smiled and returned the villager's friendly greetings. More than a few of them took a second, longer look, as they realized that the strange miko, the one who was the guardian of the Shikon no Tama, was holding hands with the hanyou, Inuyasha, and carrying the little kitsune as if he was her own child!

 

Reaching Kaede's hut, Inuyasha released Kagome's hand and swept the woven curtain aside, so that Kagome could enter first. Dropping the curtain as he entered, Inuyasha took up a position behind Kagome, with his back to the wall, and dropped all the bags to the floor next to him.

 

Kagome shrugged off her burdens as Shippo leapt from her arms and curled up on top of Kagome's futon, then she gracefully knelt down next to where Kaede was grinding some herbs together in a large stone mortar.

 

“Hi,” she said to everyone. “Did everything go okay while we were gone?”

 

Miroku smiled serenely, and said, “It's good to see you again, Lady Kagome. We've had an interesting few days, working with young Shippo; he's progressing quite nicely with his magic.” He looked around the room, but not seeing who he was looking for, he went on, “Myoga asked us to help with teaching Shippo to use his magic, and he should probably fill you in on that.”

 

Kagome nodded, “Thank you, I'll ask him when he gets back.”

 

She turned her gaze on Inuyasha, and quirked an eyebrow at him. He looked calmly back at her for a moment, then nodded and moved up to sit cross-legged right next to her. She smiled at him, then said, “Shippo, could you come and sit with me, please.”

 

He looked up in surprise and scrambled into her lap, and curled up comfortably, looking around at the other people in the room. Sango set aside the armor she was working on, and moved further into the room, careful to keep Kirara between the monk and herself. As everyone settled in comfortably, Inuyasha cleared his throat and looked around the room, just a little nervously.

 

“Something happened while we were in Kagome's time, and, well, it affects all of us. I, uhh, wanted to talk to you about it, and now is probably a good time.”

 

Miroku smirked and said, “Surely you and Lady Kagome haven't…” but he stopped when Sango smacked him across the back of the head.

Inuyasha took another slow, deep breath to control his temper, and said, “Kagome and I, we were talking about picking up some stuff in her time, you know, to bring back here, and it made me start thinking about…about, well, some things I'd never really thought about. Like responsibilities and obligations, and…” He paused, not quite sure how to go on.

 

Miroku asked, puzzled “Responsibilities? Obligations? I'm not sure I understand what you're getting at. We understand that getting the Shikon shards together, and defeating Naraku, are the responsibility of all of us, but you're talking about something else, aren't you?”

 

Inuyasha nodded slowly, “Yes. You have to understand, I didn't do it on purpose, I never even thought about it, it was my instincts. I'm a hanyou, only a half-demon, but I still have the same instincts of a full inu-youkai, and…” he paused again, not sure how to say what needed to be said.

 

Kagome smiled encouragingly at him, and lay her hand on shoulder and squeezed gently.

 

Sango had been frowning in concentration as he talked, and finally she spoke up. “Inuyasha, I think I know what you're trying to say, but that's just impossible.” She paused, looking at him obviously confused, “Isn't it? I mean youkai and humans can't…”

 

Inuyasha nodded at her, “It's not supposed to possible for even two different types of youkai, but…it happened. It's real, and now that we, Kagome and I, are aware of it, things have started to change.”

 

Miroku broke in, “I'm pleased that at least Lady Sango seems to understand what you're getting at, Inuyasha, but would you mind, for the rest of us, just saying straight out, whatever it is you've been talking around.” His face remained serene, but his voice was starting to sound a bit exasperated.

 

Inuyasha nodded. “Kagome and I, when we started hunting the jewel shards, fought the Thunder Brothers, Hiten and Manten. After that, we took Shippo in with us, feeding him and protecting him. What we didn't know then, that we just realized, is that when we did that, we formed the core of a pack.”

 

The silence in the hut was complete, no one knowing quite what to say or ask. Finally, Kaede spoke up.

 

“I see how this affects ye Inuyasha, and Kagome and the little kit, but how does that apply to the rest of us. I am assuming that I am included in this `pack', am I not?” Kaede stated calmly.

 

Kagome nodded and said, “Everyone here, and Myoga when he returns, is a member of our pack. I've been doing some reading about pack structures in nature, and Myoga told me that youkai packs are somewhat similar, so I think I can explain some of this.” While she was speaking, she was stroking Shippo's head gently. “After Shippo, Inuyasha and I formed the basic pack; Myoga became an elder adviser; even though he doesn't fight, he still contributes with his knowledge and experience. Kaede, you fill a similar position: adviser, healer, and protector of the den. When Miroku joined us, it was as if he was a lone hunter seeking support by combining hunting skills. The same thing happened when Sango and Kirara joined us.”

 

A tiny voice piped up from just inside the doorway, “I see, Lord Inuyasha. You have finally realized what has happened. I'm pleased, my lord, very pleased that you are finally fulfilling your…”

 

MOOSH. Inuyasha squeezed Myoga between his fingers. “Damn it, Myoga! Why didn't you tell me before, if it was so damn obvious what was happening!”

 

Kagome squeezed his shoulder again, shaking her head slightly when he looked at her. He took a deep breath and nodded back at her before continuing on “That's not important. What is important is that all of you know what has happened. It's not right that you be kept in the dark about this.”

 

Miroku nodded thoughtfully, “I see. But, how will this affect the rest of us? Will there be changes in all of our relationships with each other?” his gaze turned to Sango for a moment, but than back to Inuyasha's. “And how is it possible for youkai and humans to form a pack?”

 

Inuyasha shrugged. “I don't know the answers to any of your questions. I was hoping that Myoga might be able to answer some things, but…” he trailed off, looking down to where Myoga was sitting on the floor.

 

Myoga spoke then, very serious. “To the best of my knowledge, a pack such as this one has never existed before. On very rare occasions, a different type of youkai will be accepted into an already existing pack, but only in the most exceptional circumstances. Humans and youkai simply do not mix together. And yet, here we are. An inu-hanyou pack leader, a human miko as lead-female, a Buddhist monk, a female taijiya and a two-tail firecat as pack hunters, a flea-youkai and a human miko as pack elders, and a kitsune baby as the pup. By all reasonable and rational standards, none of us should be able to even stay in the same room without fighting; but instead we make up a pack. Truthfully, I have no idea why this happened or how it is even possible.”

 

Again silence fell on the occupants of the hut, while they struggled with all the information they had been presented with.

 

After a few minutes of thoughtful silence, Myoga spoke again. “There are a few other points that I need to mention. Ahem, up until now, the fact that we formed a pack made no real difference, either to ourselves or to any others we met. Now, however, things have changed.”

 

“Changed? What do you mean changed?” Inuyasha asked, frowning at the tiny flea-demon.

 

“Well, since you became aware that you are our pack leader, you have been marking all of us, and this hut as well, as yours. Strongly. Amazingly so, considering your…”

 

“Shut up, Myoga! Not another word!” Inuyasha snapped, barely leashed rage evident in his voice and posture.

 

“My lord, it is nothing to be ashamed…” Myoga began.

 

“SHUT UP!” He snarled.

 

Shocked, Kagome reached down and covered his clenched fist with her small hand. “Inuyasha? What's wrong?” When he didn't answer her, she moved Shippo off her lap and reached out and cupped his cheeks in her hands and turned him to face her. “Hey. It's okay, Inuyasha. Talk to me, please?”

 

He looked at her for almost a full minute, his jaw clenched tight. Finally, he just nodded at her, and said, “Fine, just tell them, Myoga.” After speaking, he turned back towards everyone else, but kept his eyes down, and shaded by his silver bangs. Kagome knelt back down next to him and pulled Shippo back into her lap, although she kept one of her hands resting on top of his leg.

 

Myoga sighed and said, “In the normal course of events, an inu-youkai who wished to form a pack, assuming that he was even capable of doing so, would do this after reaching at least 100 or so years of age. Lord Inuyasha, not counting the 50 years that he spent sealed to that tree, is approximately sixteen years old.”

 

Again silence fell.

 

Miroku stared at Inuyasha, his eyes wide, then he turned and looked at Sango, who was staring at Inuyasha, and slowly nodding her head.

 

“Well…” Sango paused, then started again, “That explains a few things.” `He's even younger than I am! No wonder his emotions are so…powerful. For youkai he's not even physically mature, never mind emotionally!'

 

Miroku nodded in agreement and added, “Indeed it does, and it makes your accomplishments all the more remarkable, to realize that you are still so young.” He paused for thought, then asked, “Myoga, you mentioned that Inuyasha was `marking' us. What did you mean by that?”

 

Myoga replied, very seriously, “Lord Inuyasha has been transferring his scent on to all of you, ever since he entered this hut. It identifies all of you as members of the same pack. His pack. Any youkai that you meet, from now on, will instantly know that you belong to a pack, and whose pack you belong to. I know that humans cannot smell very well, but I assure you that any youkai will recognize the mark of your pack.” He shrugged and raised his hands up, “They might not believe what they're scenting, but it's unmistakable.”

 

Kaede looked at each person closely, before she addressed Myoga, “There be more to this `mark' than merely identification, is there not. What else may we expect?”

 

Myoga nodded, “In general, there are two types of packs. The first is a long-established pack, where the leadership is inherited. A perfect example is Koga's pack. It has strength in numbers, but it tends to be loosely organized, and, well, the members usually have no truly strong attachment to each other. The second type is formed when the pack leader forges a strong bond with every member. This type of pack may have fewer members, but it is much stronger and more cohesive.”

 

Kaede nodded her head in understanding, “Then `tis as I thought. Inuyasha, do ye realize what this means to ye, lad?”

 

Inuyasha looked at her, puzzled by her question, then he snorted. “Keh. Just because I'm young, that doesn't mean I'm stupid, baba.”

 

She looked at him calmly, then said “Ye must tell us all, Inuyasha. Leave no room for misunderstandings, `tis far too important.”

 

Inuyasha tensed at her words, but slowly forced himself to relax, “Alright, baba.” He looked at everyone in turn, slowly making eye contact with each. “What you need to know is, is that a pack bond like what Myoga is talking about, it's the same as a family. Closer really, if I'm understanding what my instincts are telling me.”

 

Sango gasped, “Family?! But…” `My family is dead! Except for Kohaku…and if I can't free him from Naraku, he's worse than dead.'

 

Miroku blinked, but his face never lost its façade of serenity, even as his thoughts tumbled back and forth. `How will my Kazaana be effected by this? Will Shippo be forced to bear this curse…? He isn't of my blood, but what about souls? No, I'll worry about this later, for now I need to concentrate on the present.'

 

Shippo froze in Kagome's lap, then slowly turned his face up to hers, searching for…something.

 

Kagome looked down at the little kitsune in her lap, and gently smiled at him as she nodded, acknowledging his unspoken question. `Yes, Shippo, you are my son. I may not have known it before, but I do now.' She switched her gaze to Inuyasha, and when he met hers, she nodded down at the kit in her lap. He looked at her and quirked a tiny grin as he nodded to her, then he reached down and ruffled Shippo's red hair softly.

 

Shippo looked back and forth between the two of them, and then buried his face in Kagome's, no, his mother's lap and began to weep softly.

 

Inuyasha watched him for a moment, then leaned over and whispered in Kagome's ear, “You know, I just realized I hate it when he cries, almost as much as when you do.”

 

She suddenly smiled and said, “I'm glad.”

 

The discussion continued for another two hours, with Myoga trying to answer questions as best he could, although he would frequently simply say that `I don't know'. Even Inuyasha seemed to be more relaxed, as the obvious acceptance from everyone to being a part of the pack grew. Kagome spent most of the time cuddling the sleeping kitsune in her lap, only responding to direct questions or to help Inuyasha with explanations about her time.

 

At last she turned her attention fully to the rest of the group, no their pack, and said, “Unless someone has any questions that need immediate answers, I think that we should call it a night, and get ready for tomorrow. I expect that we will all have plenty of questions after a good night's sleep.”

 

She stood and carried Shippo over to her futon, where she laid him down gently, before retrieving her sleeping bag from her pack and opening it up. After tucking him into it, she put her pack away, while the others slowly made ready to sleep, and then slid in and cuddled him to her breast as she fell asleep.

 

Inuyasha just leaned back against the wall, next to her futon, and relaxed while he contemplated the evening's revelations.