InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Impurity of Selfishness ❯ Not Your Usual Reunion... pt 2 ( Chapter 9 )

Pt. 10- Not Your Usual Reunion 2

 

While towel-drying my hair after a morning and partial afternoon of swimming and reading, I sit on a huge rock next to the lake. Everything around me is quiet and peaceful. I smile and breathe in the sweet air. Shippo jumps into my lap and unintentionally knocks the breath out of me. I look down into his bright, expectant blue eyes. As everything around us became more real at that moment, the colors of the surroundings seem to brighten in response to the energetic kitsune. How can I do anything but smile and hug him? “What is it, Shippo-chan?”

 

“Oh Kagome...” He looks down.

 

“Well if it's like that, could you please let me finish drying my hair while you tell me your story?” He blushes and gracefully leaps up to a larger rock next to mine. He glances into my eyes and then down at the rock with a boyish grin, as if he is simply excited by the idea of looking into my eyes as we speak. He is so precious- and I know he idealizes me, more than I deserve. After ruffling his orange hair, I place the towel over my head and give him the signal to continue his tale.

 

“You see, it's just that… I was wondering if… do you mind that I follow you around? I know that I'm young and that I am not all that strong, but do you want me around?” I stop attacking my hair with the towel and look my little friend in the eye.

 

“Oh Shippo-chan, how can you think something like that? I love having you around.”

 

“Yeah, maybe so, but…” He gives a sad smile and I feel his heart plummet like a stone. “I can't really protect you like the others can and I know that I am really annoying sometimes.” He frowns and sighs. “I speak my mind and second-guess everything. Do I really deserve to travel with you guys?” He fidgets and won't meet my eyes.

 

For a moment, my mouth runs dry as I watch his now-silent agony. “Shippo-chan, please listen to me and consider a few things- that is if you will allow me to second-guess you?” He looks up with an unspoken question shining from the back of his mind. Slowly, he nods his assent. “You are worried about whether you are strong enough to come with us and whether we enjoy your company as a friend. As for the question of strength- do you mind that I am much weaker than you? I have practically no powers whatsoever and I am very susceptible to potential kidnappers.” I blush. “Everyone always has to protect me- even you can protect me better than I can protect myself.”

 

I take a deep breath and continue. “As for friendship, that's what friends are for. Besides, if you can put up with me, I can more than put up with you. Don't you worry- you are always welcome around me; I'll always be your friend, if that's what you want.” The wind rustles the leaves and lifts our hair out of place with a gentle gust. He does not move for a little while, but simply stares at me as if he had not heard me, although I know for a fact that he had.

 

Shippo opens his mouth to speak but then does not speak. Frustrated but obviously pleased beyond possible verbal expression, he clears his throat. “Kagomeee! Do you really mean it?” I nod and give him a motherly smile. His eyes open in realization and he spits out his mind as usual. “You aren't completely weak, Kagome! You have your purity arrow and you can sense the Shikon no Kakera. We couldn't do this without you!”

 

How optimistic of him… but perhaps that is not all bad- maybe I could use a little optimism. “True, Shippo-chan, but that attack by itself is rarely enough. Also, you could find the Shikon no Kakera without me- it just might take a little longer- and there's always Kikyo.”

 

He flinches. “Kikyo- she'd never help us. What about your medicines that you bring back? They've helped us so many times. We need you, Kagome. You'll find more of your own power.” I smile at him with hope. Maybe that will end up being a prophetic statement after all is said and done.

 

“You may be right, my little prophet.” I mess up his hair and he jumps into my lap. “Where did you get the idea that you were annoying and that I didn't want you around, Shippo-chan? Did someone say something to you?” He nods. “Yes, who was it?”

 

“Inuyasha.” His eyes widen as he carefully examines my emotional response. I grasp onto the name like a drowning person hanging on to a life raft- Inuyasha. Why is my heart pounding- how silly. He's back- it's time for me to give him trouble about being late. It's only fair. All's fair in love and in war… hey, where did that come from- that has nothing to do with Inuyasha.

 

“Come on, Kagome- let's go find him! You wanna see him, don't you?”

 

“Well, yeah, I'd like to give him a piece of my mind, but there's no rush to that. Why else would I need to see him so urgently?” Shippo shakes his head and refrains from answering the question. After looking back at me with a sigh, he leaps down into the grass. I run my fingers through my hair and decide that it's dry enough. Oh well, time to go back and have a rather late lunch.

 

With my free hand, I beckon to Shippo. “Come on; let's go. I'm done here and everyone will be wondering where we are. Besides, I have something to ask Kaede-baa-chan…” I look down at the young youkai walking in step with me. His little shoulders are slumped and he has a slight pout on his cute face. Maybe I should tell him about my question for Kaede-baa-chan. He will certainly appreciate it; I just hope that he'll keep it a secret- he has a tendency to speak his mind without thinking sometimes. “Shippo-chan, please don't look so depressed or you'll make me sad. If it'll make you feel any better, I'll tell you a little secret.” His ears twitch in surprise. “You only have to promise me one thing- that you will keep it a secret from the others. I am not ready for them to know yet. I want to surprise them. Do I have your solemn word?”

 

He begins to walk with his usual bounce. “Oh yes, Kagome. You have my word as my father's son.”

 

I smile gently at him and nod. “Ok, you know what we were talking about earlier? I am planning on asking Kaede-baa-chan to help me discover any other powers I might have.”

 

“You are going to train to be a miko?”

 

“Yeah something like that. If I had some powers of my own, I might be able to help everyone better than I can as it stands now. I won't get in the way as much during the fights and will hopefully become more of an asset. When we get back, I am going to ask Kaede-baa-chan, but I don't want the others to find out yet. When I am farther into the training, they'll simply witness the results and at that point, I can tell them. That's my plan anyway.”

 

He beams. “I think that is wonderful, Kagome. But you know what- I still think you are strong.”

 

“Well I appreciate your enthusiasm- I have a feeling that I might need it.” At this point, we end our journey. I give him a conspiratorial wink and he nods. With purposeful steps, we make our way to Kaede's hut- our headquarters and home when we are in the village. Shippo gives me a thumbs-up signal- a gesture that I taught him- and then scampers off to find the others and distract them for a few minutes while I ask.

 

Suddenly, a wave of nervousness mysteriously floods through my heart. What is this? This is Kaede-baa-chan, my surrogate grandmother- why does this feel strange? Stop it, Kagome and simply jump in the water and begin to swim as you know you can. My courage restored, I push aside the grass mat that is the door and greet the woman inside.

 

I nod and then sit on the floor in front of her. She smiles at me, as if she is expecting the exact question that I plan to ask. “Kaede-baa-chan, I have a small favor to ask of you. I am worried that I am too weak to travel with the others anymore. I felt as if I am more of a liability than a source of help and the thought pains me. We are going to be here for a little while and I was wondering if you might… you know, help me.” Nervously I yank on my hair. Suddenly feeling embarrassed, I bow down before her. “Please teach me, Kaede-sama, sensei.”

 

She touches my shoulder and looks at me. I sit up and look at her hopefully. She opens her mouth and I feel my heart stop for a moment. “Dear, calm down. Of course I will help you. I was hoping you would allow me to teach you. I admit that I have been curious for a long time now about what other surprises lie deep within your heart, dear Kagome-chan. Don't worry and please call me Kaede-baa-chan as you usually do. We are friends, even if you wish to become my pupil.” She thinks for a moment. “Back in your time, you live in the family shrine, don't you?” I nod. “That is reason enough to train you. I am surprised that your grandfather never noticed your aptitude.”

 

I blush at the glowing compliment. “Well, before I came back here, I never believed in any of his powers or charms. They never seemed to work- actually they still don't.” I blush. “I'm sorry- I should not speak so of my family, especially of my elders. But even Inuyasha knows that Grandpa-jii-chan's powers are not the same as yours, Kikyo's or any monk's or miko's powers I have encountered while back in this time.”

 

She nods and considers. “I do not know why that would be. Perhaps the nature of magic has changed. You had never seen a youkai before so there are too many possibilities that could account for these differences to find the true cause. As for you, I have noticed that you do these things naturally, without thinking. I would be proud to have such a pupil.”

 

“Thank you so much- I can hardly wait but there's one more thing. Could we keep this to ourselves for the moment? I don't want the others to know initially about this… they might try to stop me or misunderstand. Shippo already knows…” Kaede raises her eyebrow. “Oh don't worry, I made him give me his word and he hasn't let a secret slip when he's given his word.” She relaxes.

 

“I understand.” We turn our heads and hear voices from outside. Kaede and I nod to each other. Miroku pokes his head in after he knocks and announces that our meal is served outside.

 

 

 

 

Everyone sits in a circle as we hungrily tear into the meal. After a few moments, Inuyasha lands in the middle of the circle. “Why didn't you tell me that it was time to eat?!”

 

Sango rolls her eyes. “We figured that you could figure it out for yourself- between your brain and your oh-so-superior heightened hanyou senses.”

 

He growls in response and stares at the young taijiya, but then he realizes who is sitting beside her. I do not bother to look up at him- my meal is much more interesting. I can see him after I eat. Besides, who'd want to watch him with his pathetic table manners? Is he watching me- why doesn't he dig into the food? An uneasy silence settles over the group. I sweatdrop and start to feel more than a little self-conscious. Ok, enough of this nonsense. I glare into his eyes. For a moment, I can see his eyes soften and glisten lightly. What's wrong with him? This is so annoying! Warmth rushes up into my face. Why do I have this urge to make him feel better? Grrr, this is uncomfortable!

 

Unable to contain myself any longer, I begin my onslaught. “Can I be of service to you, Inuyasha? If I can, please go ahead and ask me so that you can stop staring at me! You have the nerve to be late and now you cannot even be polite? How typically you…” I sigh.

 

As if he is in a trance, Inuyasha continues to watch me. Naturally, the entire group decides that it's time to watch my every move. Sheesh, I am not usually overly self-conscious, but I cannot help but wonder… do I have something stuck on my face? Sango stops watching me and holds out some food for Inuyasha, but he does not notice. Why can't he see it- it's right in front of him? Oh wait a second- what is he doing?

 

Inuyasha trudges towards me. Feeling rather nervous, I avoid making eye contact with him. No creature would dare make a sound anywhere near us; all I can hear is the wind screaming in my ears. He kneels down in front of me with a soft plop, but remains completely quiet. I admit it- I want to yell or make some noise because this silence hurts my ears. Deftly, he takes my free hand and holds it in his. I catch my breath as my mind races, desperately trying to decide how to respond. In the deepness of his eyes, I can see him trembling in doubt even more than his hand is shaking as it holds my own. Tenderness, why Inuyasha? I am blushing and I feel… safe. I remember… wait darn it, it's in there somewhere, yes- I remember Kisho!

 

A rustle of brush interrupts my thoughts, but Inuyasha does not move his hand from mine, even when he looks up at the newcomer. This time, everyone catches their breath at the sight of Kikyo. Miroku and Sango give each other a glance. As for Shippo, his mouth simply hangs open in shock. Kaede greets her sister and the dead woman nods in response. Kikyo seems more interested in watching Inuyasha, or more precisely in this case, Inuyasha and me. Oh this can't look good at all- Inuyasha's got some explaining to do. I wouldn't want to be him right now, but why doesn't he let go of my hand and back away from me? He looks back to me, stands up and holds my hand close to his chest as he whispers my name. Instead of dropping my hand, he lays it back down on my knee where he had found it in the first place.

 

“Kikyo… what are you doing here?” He looks at her, now seeming caught somewhat in her web of intrigue. He loves her of course, but why did he not rush directly to her side with boundless enthusiasm? Love changes everything and he seems somewhat disenchanted at the moment, but why I certainly do not know. Her usually impassive face slightly warms, well as much as possible for a dead shell, as she looks upon her Inuyasha.

 

“Inuyasha, did you get my letter?” He nods and from beside me, I can hear Sango's intake of air. I glance at Miroku, who is staring at Kikyo and shaking his head. Shippo's mouth finally closes and he jumps onto my shoulder. In a gesture of comfort for whatever is bothering him, I pat his little foot. Kikyo continues to speak. “I know- there do not have to be words. I need none from you. You must be wondering why I am here? Should I not be here? Do you want me to stay away?” Why would she need to stay away from someone that she loves and that loves her in return? “Of course, you don't know. I know- and I understand.”

 

He watches her as if he is memorizing her every feature, and as if she is about to disappear from right in front of him. Maybe she is- Kikyo has seemed like that sometimes. Why does he not embrace her or greet her properly? Instead, he was holding my hand. No apology, no explanation- nothing- I do not see how that would build trust, something so difficult to build anyway.

 

“Inuyasha, I guess that there is no time for silly chit-chat and that I better cut to the chase. I'm sorry to disturb you.” She glances back at me, but I shake my head at her and mouth an apology. “Yes, we have business to discuss.”

 

He finds his voice. “B-business, Kikyo?”

 

“Yes, Inuyasha, business. You are looking for the Shikon no Kakera and I have discovered that one is nearby.”

 

“Yeah, so is Naraku going after it himself or is he sending one of his detachments to take care of his business?” I try to smother a smile at this comment. Naraku and his mini-me's… frighteningly funny.

 

“You misunderstand. Naraku does not know about this one yet. I decided to tell you instead.” He blinks in astonishment at her words.

 

Wait a second- this still seems a little odd to me. I know that I should not get involved but I feel as if something should be said. Without a second thought, I barge into their conversation. “But Kikyo, you work with Naraku! Why else would you steal that large piece of the Shikon no Tama from around my neck? Shouldn't you want to give this piece to Naraku, no matter what your intentions are for working with such a jerk, especially one who once wanted you and caused your death.”

 

She turns to look me in the eye. “It is true that I did steal that piece and that I did try to kill you- there is no reason to ignore either fact. As for Naraku, I will lead him to his imminent doom with or without this shard. So I choose to give it to Inuyasha instead.” The hanyou in question is staring off into space, but realizes what she said. He blushes bright red and mutters his thanks. Kikyo nods, takes one last look at him and then turns to go. Inuyasha examines her as she walks away and half-reaches out a hand as to keep her close. The rest of us ignore the gesture and return to eating our food.

 

Still acting sulky, he eats, although slightly slower than usual. Everyone else is lost within the misty pathways of their thoughts. What a day this has been for thinking! I want to cheer everyone up, but I am not sure how. Let's see- what about dessert? Maybe Souta put something really interesting into my bag. I wasn't paying attention when I shoved everything in that bag so maybe… well nothing to do but go and see. I get up but gesture to the others to keep their seats. “Hold on, everyone. I'll be right back. I have to go check on something.”

 

I run to my bag and randomly start pulling things out. After pulling out 10 or so various items, I find the ideal dessert. I toss the unneeded supplies back in my yellow bag and gather the rest in my arms. I arrive back in the circle and place the food stuffs on the ground.

 

My friends look at me in surprise, especially Shippo, who lands next to the food. “Kagome- what is this stuff?”

 

I wink and give him a bright smile. “This, minna, is dessert- s'mores to be exact. First, you roast a couple of the marshmallows on a stick.” I hold up one of the bags. “Then, you take a graham cracker and a couple pieces of chocolate and make a sandwich with all three ingredients.” They look a little uneasy. “No trust me- it's really good.”

 

I find a bunch of slightly green sticks and hand them out with the marshmallows. I glance at the cooking fire, now completely surrounded by my friends. I hold my marshmallows down next to the white hot ashes and patiently turn them so that they may become a uniform golden brown.

 

Sango decides to follow my lead, but the others had their own plans. Kaede decides that she would like to eat the s'more without roasting her marshmallows and Miroku and Inuyasha are holding their white balls of sugary fluff near the licking flames. I sigh and predict what will happen and I was quickly rewarded with a curse. Inuyasha's marshmallows are on fire- there's a surprise. Shippo begins laughing so hard that his marshmallows accidentally catch on fire as well.

 

I laugh at them both and through my giggles, I tell them to eat them as is. “Don't you worry, guys. Just blow out the fire and make your s'more.” I laugh even harder. “I don't know if this will make you feel any better, but most of the guys I know love to eat their s'mores with blackened marshmallows. They are just too impatient to bother with actual roasting. Most girls do that too, as a matter of fact. Ahh, yes, even Kisho does it. He was the one who introduced them to me. He deliberately catches them on fire and says that he prefers them blackened but I think that he's crazy. He can be such a pyromaniac sometimes, ok not really, but I tease him about it.” I throw my smile into the coloring, evening sky.

 

Inuyasha practically chokes on his s'more and everyone else delicately puts down their desserts to stare at me. Miroku looks down from his roasting spot. “Kagome-sama, if you'll excuse us, please tell us who Kisho is.”

 

I sweatdrop and roll my eyes in disgust. Checking my marshmallows, I am pleased to find that they are perfectly golden now. I pull them away from the fire and get up from my kneeling position so I can make my s'more and answer everyone's burning questions. “He's my boyfriend of course. You guys are seriously having some memory lapses.” They all nod, but become very silent. Inuyasha looks down and stops doing anything for a moment. After a few seconds, he mutters a barely audible keh as he tries to brush off his reaction. The fire crackles in the cooling air and we move closer to the fire to counteract the coolness of the spring night. I look up at the almost completely full moon accompanied by the twinkling stars. I think that I understand why people made up stories about the stars. I continue to think and eat a few s'mores along with the rest. Suddenly, my vision blurs and a wave of heavy lethargy takes over my body. I did not get very much sleep last night, so why should I be surprised? “Ok, everyone, I am feeling rather tired. Please don't take it personally, but I need to go to bed to rest.” They all nod. I stand up and sway as my legs refuse to carry me. Being stubborn, I force my limbs to obey me and go a couple of steps before the power of my will fails. A pathetic cry betrays me as I fall. I can hear them running towards me, but I am out before they reach me.

 

 

 

Inuyasha picks Kagome up in his arms and carries her into Kaede's house. His lip twitches but he tries not to look down at the young woman that he cradles close to his heart. Gently, he puts her on top of her sleeping bag before retiring to the nearest corner to watch over her.

 

That's it for this chapter. Please review and stay tuned for Part 11: Someone to watch over me!