InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ JOURNEY ❯ Chapter 17 ( Chapter 17 )

 

Disclaimer: All characters pertaining to the show InuYasha are owned by Rumiko Takahashi. I am not making any money from this...the only thing that I am getting out of this story is the satisfaction of knowing that other people enjoy my writing. All original characters are my creation and belong to me...as does the plot and storyline.

 

 

Chapter 17

 

June came and went. Kagome was regaining her former strength. Her stomach had flattened back out due to her exercises. Souta had insisted that she not do chores for a while, but she jumped back into her routine with all that she had. Kagome carried Kirei in a sling across her shoulder so that she could keep an eye on her. Kagome insisted that if she didn't work in the garden, everything would die because no one else had the time to do it, and of course, she was right. Kagome no longer concerned herself with whether or not Sesshomaru would show up one day. It was obvious that he didn't care about her as much as he had claimed, because she suspected that if he really wanted to find her, he could have. Sesshomaru would always be in her heart, but she had other priorities now. She had a daughter to raise - a very beautiful daughter with golden eyes - Sesshomaru's daughter. She would not be raised as Kagome had - in an empty house. Kagome would be there for her.

 

------------------------------------

 

July arrived with a heat wave that was uncommon for Montana and with it came Kagome's birthday. The other house had been finished for several weeks, but Kagome had not been inside it yet. Souta still had not told her why he had built it. It was a little less than a hundred feet to the west of the main house. On her birthday, Souta blindfolded Kagome and led her to the house. He removed her blindfold as she walked in the front door. Kagome was speechless. It was huge inside. The walls were log, just like the outside. It had a hardwood floor, just like Souta's house. There was a huge stone fireplace in the living room. A small staircase to the left of the front door led up to the loft. Kagome could see a small dining area to the right of the kitchen. There was a set of swinging doors, the kind you see at saloons in old western movies, leading into the kitchen. Kagome went up the stairs to the loft, where she found a big four-poster bed. Next to it was Kirei's crib. There was a rail across the front, small enough that Kirei, when she learned to crawl, would not fit through. There was also a small locking gate in front of the stairs. Kagome walked over to look down into the living room. The chimney from the fireplace ran up the wall next to the bed. Kagome didn't know what to think. It was hers, a new home for her and little Kirei. Kagome threw her arms around Souta's neck and cried.

 

----------------------------

 

 

August 20th came and went, slower than possible it seemed to Sesshomaru. He had been locked up for a year, although it seemed more like two or three. Sesshomaru had gotten used to waking up behind bars, but no one in their right mind would enjoy being there. Miroku wrote him twice a week. Inu and one of his girlfriends came by to see him, occasionally. Miroku came by to pick up Sesshomaru's paintings. Miroku sold the paintings for him and then put the money into Sesshomaru's saving account.

 

Miroku, at Sesshomaru's request, stopped looking for Kagome. Sesshomaru felt sure that she had found herself someone nice and gotten on with her life. He felt that she was content, but he knew, somehow, that she was still lonely. Sesshomaru would be up for parole the next year, and then he would find her. But until then, he painted.

 

Kagome, on one of her trips into Browning, ran into Nathan. She discovered that he lived and worked there. They quickly became the best of friends. Nathan became a frequent visitor at Kagome's house, spending many nights there.

 

---------------------------------------------

 

One August morning, Kagome woke up to Lakota growling. She got up and checked on Kirei, who was sleeping quietly in her crib. Kagome walked over to the rail. Nathan was asleep on the couch, covered with one of her quilts. It was still early, about three in the morning. It was too early for anyone to be awake, so when she saw a shadow move past the window next to the front door, she became concerned. Kagome threw on a long shirt and grabbed her shotgun before she opened the front door. She stepped outside only to find a dead wolf lying on her doorstep. She screamed as she tripped over its limp body. Seconds later, Nathan and Souta were both outside. It's throat had been cut, and it had been shot with a handgun, just like the cow. Souta and Nathan put the body in the back of Nathan's truck. Kagome wondered what kind of a person would do things like that. Kagome began to doubt her own safety, as well as that of her daughter. Lakota's whining worried her, so she ran back inside and grabbed Kirei from her crib. She closed all the shutters in the house and curled up on the couch.

 

Kirei opened her eyes and Kagome saw just how much she looked like her father. Kagome held Kirei to her and cried silent tears. Seeing Sesshomaru's reflection in her daughters innocent eyes, reminded her of the pain she had carefully tucked away deep inside. Subconsciously, Kagome reached up and rubbed the bone choker that was wrapped around her throat.

 

Nathan watched her as she silently cried. He could see by the expression on her face the reason she wept - loneliness. Nathan knew how she felt. He woman he had fallen in love with could never be his, for her heart belonged to another, someone who wasn't worthy of her. But regardless of his feelings, his place was at her side, so he gently sat next to her and embraced her. Kagome looked at him through eyes filled with sadness, and she saw her pain mirrored in his eyes. She felt a burden being lifted from her heart as she realized that she was not alone. She smiled at Nathan and hugged him back. They sat there on the couch until the sun began to color the morning sky.

 

----------------------------------

 

 

September arrived and the weather began to cool off. Kagome began to harvest vegetables; and although she would not be finished until late October, she took great pride in her hard work. Kirei was five months old and she was beginning to walk. She had been crawling for nearly two months already. Kagome was proud of her girl, although she was quite a handful to keep up with. Lakota was never far from their side, and although there hadn't been any trouble for weeks, Kagome kept her senses alert.

 

Kagome wrote another letter to Sesshomaru in mid-September. She told him that she still cared for him, even if he didn't care for her. She told him how stupid she had been for even getting involved with a biker in the first place, and then she apologized for being so angry. She told him that she should have known that he would not come back for her. Kagome told him how much their daughter had grown and how much she looked like him. She told him that she really wanted him to see his daughter, and that she would be down at Christmas.

 

 

Back in Arizona, Sesshomaru still sat in his prison cell, painting to pass the time. Miroku wrote Sesshomaru that there were a couple of drug dealing Indians that he had run across who were bragging about how they had raped and killed a Indian girl in Colorado and gotten away with it. Miroku was going to try to find out more about the situation. Sesshomaru began to regain hope of getting out and clearing his name.

 

----------------------------------------

 

Kagome finished harvesting near the middle of October. She was ever watchful when she was outside. There had been a lot of snakes around the garden that year, especially in the melon patch. Kirei had disturbed one once, and if it hadn't been for Lakota, her daughter would be dead. There was also the ever-present threat of whoever it was that was stalking her. She had found two dead rabbits, as well as a deer in the past three weeks. The thought was always present in her mind that it could be one of the guys who had raped and killed Sango.

 

Nathan lost his job in Browning, so Souta offered him a job on the ranch. Kagome thought that Souta was trying to set them up as a couple. Souta let him move in at the main house. After he moved in, he began to teach her the many uses of the plants and trees that were native to the area. He also taught her how to use a bow and a spear. He was a good teacher, and Kagome was a quick learner. Kagome got to test her herbal remedies on the guys at the ranch. Nathan was always there to help her mix the right ingredients. Kagome had always wanted an exciting life, but now she found that she was enjoying a simple life and finding pleasure in hard work and watching her daughter grow.

 

--------------------------------------

 

 

In November, Kagome's business was doing fairly well. She didn't have much time during the warm months, but when winter hit, she had plenty of time to make quilts, clothes and other items for the store, in addition to selling the excess eggs she was getting weekly. Kagome took Kirei with her when she went to the store on the weekends. Many of the customers liked to hold and play with her. Lakota rarely left Kirei's side. He was her new protector. Kagome knew that Kirei was well guarded no matter where they went. Kirei was quite a handful, even for Lakota and was constantly getting into stuff.

 

Early in the month of November, Souta found a dead bear cub in the cattle pen next to the barn. It, just like the others, had been shot. Kagome really wondered what kind of sick psycho was stalking her. What worried her most was the thought that one day it might be her turn, or even worse, her daughter's. Souta took the pelts to be tanned so that Kagome could use them in her sewing projects.

 

 

TBC...

 

-------------------------------------------

 

Read, Rate, & Review.....

 

************************************************************