InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ In Dreams ❯ It's Simple ( Chapter 4 )

~*Disclaimer: Legal technicalities. They're just legal technicalities. I'll sort them through soon enough.

"…" - speech

'…' - thoughts

--- - change in scenery or time

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Rating: PG-13 for Language

Genre: Romance

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It's Simple

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~*Inuyasha*~

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What's this? Where is everybody?

Kagome?

Miroku?

Shippou?

Sango?

Why the hell is the world so white? There's nothing here- no colour, no life, nothing. I look down and find that I don't even have a body…

It's just…

White.

I can't tell up from down or left from right, but I guess it really doesn't matter- I really can't fall if I don't have a body…

Where am I?

"You're dreaming, Inuyasha." A voice that sounds oddly like Miroku echoes throughout the white expanse.

Wh- what the-?!

I try to step back, but with nothing to move and indeed, nowhere to go, I'm left with only the feeling of having stepped back yet I haven't done anything at all.

How strange.

But all of a sudden, it's not so white and empty anymore. There's a person standing on a patch of lush grass- it appears to be a man. He's alone and as my gaze moves, I find that the patch of green is shaped like a triangle, the edges dropping away to nothing. The man himself is dressed normally in clothes of a blue colour and is standing on one of the points of the triangle.

"What's going on?"

"This is Oda." Miroku's voice is back. "He is a traveller who moves from village to village, offering his services as a demon exterminator."

I really don't care. "Why is he in my dream then, eh?"

Infuriating enough, the voice ignores me in a way that mirrors the real Miroku's calm disposition. "Oda finds it hard to make friends. He tends not to trust those he meets as he prefers solitude to company. Oda doesn't like to use his intelligence, preferring his physical strength."

"I don't fucking care!" If I had legs, I'd be walking away right now, but I don't, so I have to stay here and listen to the irritating voice talk about some idiot guy.

"However, one day, Oda meets a girl." And as the voice says this, another person appears on one of the two leftover tips. It's a woman with long, flowing black hair, though I cannot see her face. "He finds that they are very much the same, and so he decides to stay in her village for a while." The voice continues the story in a monotone voice and I am forced to listen. "Her name is Hari."

"We know her name. Let's fucking celebrate." Hey, I'll listen, but that doesn't mean I'll be a polite listener.

"Over time, Oda and Hari become closer until eventually, they promise to spend the rest of their lives together. Oda will give up his exterminating lifestyle to be with Hari."

A faint prickle of familiarity runs through me, but before I can think about it, the voice speaks again.

"However, on the eve of fulfilling his promise, Hari disappears." I automatically glance down to see the woman vanish, but she remains standing there, motionless. "She departs, leaving a much heart broken Oda behind. But soon, his hurt turns to hate and he leaves the village to take up his exterminating business once more. This time, he is even more distrustful of others."

How long is this story going to be? Do I really care what happens to 'Oda' and 'Hari'?

The answer is: No.

"You know, Miroku- You are Miroku, right? -Can you just hurry it up and finish the damn story so I can wake up and we can look for some more jewel fragments?"

"As the years pass, Oda continues to move, never stopping, never bothering to meet any new people."

No, I didn't expect an answer.

"He continues to kill demons successfully, but during one difficult fight, he becomes seriously injured and falls into unconsciousness. When he wakes up, Oda finds himself in a strange house being tended to by a woman." Another person appears on the grass, completing the triangle- it's another girl. "Her name is Yuna. At first, he's hostile towards her, but he cannot leave, not having the strength to do so."

Honestly, how does this concern me? "Blah. Blah. Blah…" I'd be rolling my eyes if I had any.

"Yuna continues to care for Oda despite his harsh words. When Oda finally recovers, he finds that he cannot bring himself to simply leave the young woman who healed him. Yuna has no home to go to, living not in a village but within the forest in a small hut. She has learned to care for herself and makes friends with each traveller who passes through it, aiding those who need it."

"You know, a change in your tone of voice would to wonders to make the story a shit load more interesting…"

"Oda then decides to stay with Yuna, breaking his vow never to grow attached to anybody. He finds her personality appealing, and slowly, the two grow closer. Eventually, Oda finds that he really doesn't mind Yuna's company- in fact, he comes to crave her attention; her love."

I've really stopped paying attention. "… and that'd mean you'd probably get some more listeners…"

"He becomes more open, helping others although keeping up a rough exterior, and even making a few good friends- all thanks to Yuna. But then one day, who should walk through the forest but Hari!"

"… and if you had somebody who actually listened to you, then you wouldn't be bothering me…"

The monologue is continued, "Hari demands Oda's attention, and though he puts up a façade of hatred, Oda finds himself torn between Hari and Yuna. He cannot chose between the two even though Hari insists that she hates Oda."

"…and I could actually get a peaceful night's sleep. Those don't come easy, you know? I don't always sleep…"

"Would you listen to me, hanyou?!" I would have jerked at the sudden change in tone if I could have. "I'm telling you this damn story for a reason, understand? Do you think I want to spend my night telling you a story when I could be dreaming about San- er- other things? If you pay attention, you'll find that Oda's story relates to yours!" The voice makes a noise as if it were clearing its throat and when it speaks again, it's calm. "Now then, where was I?"

Kami, that was sudden. Miroku really can be unpredictable. "Umm… Torn between Hari and Yuna?"

"Ah, yes. Inuyasha."

Silence.

What does he want now?

"Inuyasha."

"What?"

"Who should he choose to be with? Hari, who left him, or Yuna, who healed him?"

I can hear myself snorting. "Keh. That's easy. The one who healed him, of course. Even Oda should be able to see that."

"Is it really?"

Confusion causes me to raise an unexistant eyebrow. "Of course it is."

Miroku's voice is slower now, almost as if he were speaking to a child. "Then allow me to tell you another tale."

"Damn it…" I groan.

"There is a hanyou." As he says this, the three people have disappeared. Where Oda previously stood is now a strangely familiar person… A person wearing red clothes who has silver hair and two dog-ears perched on his head… "Through events not needed to be explained, he falls in love with a miko." A girl garbed in red and white appears where Hari was.

"What are you playing at, Miroku?" My voice comes out as a growl. "I was not in love!"

He ignores me.

"However, just as the hanyou promises to become a human for the miko so they can live together, they are drawn into a plot…"

Suddenly, everything has gone pitch black- a startling change from the stark white.

"Miroku?"

But then before I call again, a familiar scene greets my eyes. I have a body again. I am flying above a village, something grasped in my hand. The houses are burning. The thing… it's round and is attached to a necklace.

I look down.

"Wh-what?! The shikon no tama?"

I land on the ground, disbelief and shock freezing my soul as the situation becomes clear.

No…

Not this again…

"Inuyasha!"

I had half expected the shout, turning to look even as an arrow streaks through the air, plunging into my chest just above my heart.

"Ki… Kikyou…"

I know this scene.

How can I not?

It haunts my dreams. Her hatred filled gaze piercing my soul- it's hard to believe she will die only minutes from this moment. My eyes slowly slide shut and I say nothing even though I long to shout that I did not betray her; that it was all the wild thief, Onigumo's longings that had caused all this to happen.

I prepare for my long slumber…

…only to open my gaze to find that I'm once again, hovering above the green triangle.

"The hanyou was thrown into a sleep of fifty years by the miko he loved," continues Miroku's voice, "and she died believing that he had betrayed her when it had been the dark whim of another hanyou."

"I did not love her!"

The voice becomes louder, as if attempting to drown out my words. "But after that period of being sealed, a girl ventured across the hanyou. She was from another world, having been drawn to the hanyou's time against her will. After a series of events that need not be relayed, she freed the hanyou from his slumber, breaking the fifty year old spell."

Another familiar figure appeared on the grassy triangle, replacing Yuna.

"Kagome…" My voice is barely above a whisper, but it escalates into a shout. "I know all this! Why are you telling me what I already know?"

"If you already know this, then I'll ask you the same question I asked you before," yells the voice, "who should he choose to be with? The one to whom he promised his life, or to the one who gave his life back?"

I can't answer and instead, settle for a low growl.

It's become quiet again. "Not so easy now, is it?"

"Shut up, bouzu. You have no idea…"

"How do I have no idea? How can it be simple for Oda to choose, yet so difficult for the hanyou?"

"It's completely different-!"

"Is it?"

"Don't talk about what you don't fucking know!"

"Inuyasha…" There's a flash of black, and when everything clears, I find that I am no longer where I was. While before, I had been floating above the scene; I now stand on the grass where Oda once was. I'm facing the centre of the triangle. The eyes of the two girls are closed and their faces are relaxed. "You know this well, Inuyasha. Who do you choose? Your heart cannot stay torn like this forever."

"Houshi…" I turn my gaze upwards, thankful that I have a body again.

"Do you choose the one who couldn't trust you? Or the one who entrusts you with her life? The one who broke your heart with an arrow? Or the one who healed it?"

"Shut up!"

He ignores me. "The one who required you to turn human? Or the one who accepts you as you are now?"

I try to move, but my feet are strangely heavy. "Shut the fuck up! I don't need your advice." I really don't want to think about this right now… choosing would be too painful…

"The one who wants you to die? Or the one who wishes you to live?" There is a slight pause. "I ask you a last time, Inuyasha. Who should the hanyou chose to be with?"

And everything falls silent.

"He has no fucking idea." I'm shaking, but with what, I don't know. "It's not that simple!"

And through the space, twin voices echo, "Isn't it?"

My gaze has dropped down to the ground, and I slowly raise it to see that the eyes of the two women have opened. They're both staring at me intently. Kagome has a soft sort of half-smile on her face while Kikyou's mouth is drawn in a line.

"Come with me… Come with me to hell…" Kikyou's voice penetrates the silence yet her mouth stays shut. "You owe me your life, Inuyasha." Her steely grey eyes stare into mine with no hint of warmth. There is a desire, yes. Desire for what, I don't know. There's hate battling with another emotion I don't care to identify. Hadn't Kikyou once said that she hated all things? "Come with me…"

"No matter who you choose, Inuyasha," now it's Kagome's soft lilting voice that distracts me. "I'll stay by your side. I'll always be here for you…" The girl who I thought to be strange gazes at me. Her ocean-coloured orbs are filled with an unknown warmth- a warmth I had once seen in Kikyou…

…a warmth that has since been extinguished.

How can I choose?

I do owe Kikyou my life- it was partially my fault that she died. If I had only…

…only…

Only what?

If I had only trusted her?

But even if I had, she still didn't trust me. Naraku played us for fools. The cunning bastard.

But, I just can't let her go so easily!

"Dammit." I crack my knuckles, longing to beat something up, preferably a youkai, but I'll settle for the fox brat. "I can't choose…" I lower myself onto the ground.

And then there's Kagome.

I don't even know when I considered her being by me being natural. It just seems so…

Right.

I feel at ease with her, I'm relaxed. That's something that I had never truly been with Kikyou. I had always been on guard for one thing or another. I become so agitated when she goes back to her time… How the hell am I supposed to protect her if she's not near by?

She's so aggravating with her 'Sit Boy!' and the constant usage of that.

Although, I may have deserved some of the 'sits'…

She's always arguing with me, telling me not to hurt that mangy wolf. Well, if I don't protect her from him, who's to say that that damn Kouga won't force her to be his mate? No good wolf shit.

I shudder. She wouldn't like that.

Hell, I wouldn't like that.

Then, she's always telling me that she has to go home, and that she has to take those tests or else she won't be able to get into a good coll-ege.

Whatever that is.

Well, who says she has to go back? Who says she can't just stay here? Forever?

Stay here forever…

That would be nice…

Wait.

What am I saying?

I can't make her stay. Not when Kikyou's still here.

It wouldn't be fair. Not to her…

I growl in frustration. It's all so damn confusing! I'm running in circles here!

I want her to stay yet I don't want her to.

I want her to be with me, yet I still run off to be with Kikyou.

How that must feel for her… it must be a little like how I feel when Kouga talks to her; when he touches her, only a thousand times worse.

"Some people have nice, easy lives," I murmur.

I hate feeling this way. I hate not knowing what to do. It's not like I can decided on impulse like I usually do. This is too deep and involves people I care too much about.

"It would have been so much easier if that arrow had just killed me…" Then I wouldn't have to deal with any of this. "But then I never would have met Kagome…"

DAMMIT!

There I go again! It's another circle! I'm back where I started!

An ironic laugh escapes my lips. "And all because of a fucking jewel." I turn and lie down so that I'm staring into the white sky. "It really should be easy…"

"Inuyasha…" The voice is back.

I close my eyes in displeasure. "What do you want now, Miroku?"

The voice sighs. "You don't have an answer, do you?"

"No."

"You still have time, Inuyasha. You have time to sort out your feelings. But, I'm warning you right now: your time's running out. Sooner or later, you will have to make a decision. You won't be able to put the problem off for too long."

"Keh."

"But now, it's time to wake up."

And just as suddenly as that, everything is thrown into darkness.

.~*~*~*~

I open my eyes slowly, the events of my dream still uppermost in my mind.

"Da-dammit…" A yawn breaks my face and a drowsiness I'm not used to washes over my body. It's not often I sleep like I just did.

A soft giggle punctures the silence. A whisper breaks the morning calm- the sun has only just risen. "You're up, Inuyasha? Did you have a nice sleep?"

My eyes open again to find that a familiar girl is smiling down at me. The rest of the group has yet to awake. Sango is sleeping next to Kirara, and the monk seems to have moved closer to her sleeping form. Shippou is curled up in Kagome's strange futon.

I stand up, relieving the stiffness that comes from sitting cross-legged against a tree all night. "What are you doing up so early?"

Kagome now has to look up in order to speak to me. "I needed a bath, so I woke up earlier than usual…"

All drowsiness has left me. "You were away from camp alone?" My voice rises slightly. "What if something attacked you?!" My heart gives a jolt at the possibility.

"It wasn't too far away, Inuyasha. Besides, I can take care of myself." She crosses her arms in a pose that she must have learned from me. I would have found her position slightly amusing and indeed, endearing- crossed arms, furrowed brows, if I hadn't been so worried about her being alone.

"You can't just go trotting off by yourself! There're probably lots of youkai out there who want the shikon no kakera or even you!"

"Inuyasha! I don't need you to escort me everywhere! I'm not helpless!"

Our voices disturb the slumber of Kirara as she opens bleary eyes and gazes at us. "Mew?"

"Shh… Go back to sleep, Kirara." Soothes Kagome. The fire cat complies, nuzzling closer to her mistress.

I wait a few seconds before speaking in a voice only slightly above a whisper. "No, you're not helpless, but you need me to protect you!" Concern is battling with anger as I glare at her.

"Who says I need you to protect me?" She whispers fiercely, hands now placed on her hips in a defiant pose.

"Damn it, Kagome! If you got hurt, I…" I suddenly drift off, not voicing what I was about to say. Instead, I shake my head and look towards the lightening skies. "Let's get ready to go."

However, the now suspicious girl is not to be distracted. "If I got hurt, you- what?" Her eyes are narrowed.

"Nothing. Just- forget it." I start to walk away, the dream still fresh in my mind.

"Inuyasha…" She growls- rather impressively for a human, I might add. I freeze. She walks around to face me. "If I got hurt, you- what?" She insists.

"Never mind!"

"Inuyasha… Answer me!"

Okay, if she really wants an answer… I glare down at her.

"I promised to protect you, Kagome," I snap, "If you got hurt, I couldn't bear it." Not quite putting what I felt in words, but it was close enough.

I study her reaction, not completely knowing what to expect.

She blinks at me, blue eyes widening slightly before a softness enters her expression. "Inuyasha…" She smiles at me and my heart gives a leap. She opens her mouth as if wanting to say something, but then closes it before closing the distance between us.

"Kagome…" Almost unconsciously, my arms close around her form now pressed against mine. "Don't leave…" The words were completely unrelated to what we had been arguing about, but I have a feeling she knows what I'm talking about.

"I'll be by your side forever." She promises in a muffled voice.

Something tells me to look up, so I do, and I find that Miroku's eyes have opened. He glances at me knowingly before shifting his gaze to Kagome's back and mouthing, 'It's simple.' He then nods sagely and slowly creeps closer to Sango- as close as he dares without rousing her or Kirara, and closes his eyes.

A small smile flitters across my face as my eyes close. My ears twitch as they catch her steady breathing and her beating heart.

Out hearts…

They're matching beat for beat…

Maybe it is.

Maybe it is.

.~*~*~*~

[Sappy, no? -.-;;

Next up:

Shippou, Kagura or Sesshoumaru… take your pick…]