InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ JOURNEY ❯ Chapter 18 ( Chapter 18 )

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 18

 

December arrived with a blast of snow. Kagome mailed Sesshomaru a Christmas card, but it never reached him, just like all of the other letters she had sent to him in the previous year and a half. Kagome prepared to leave for Arizona the week before Christmas. She helped Souta pack several quilts and their clothes into the back seat of the Chevelle, surrounding Kirei with a cushion, seeing that she didn't have a car seat of any sort. Kirei didn't care; she was busy looking out the windows as they drove. Lakota stayed curled up on one of the quilts next to Kirei. Kagome drove during the day, and Souta drove at night. The weather wasn't too bad although the heater didn't work half of the time.

 

They spent the week of Christmas with their grandfather in Cameron. On Christmas Day, Kagome took Kirei and left for Phoenix. She had decided before they ever left Montana to take Kirei to see her father. If Sesshomaru didn't want to be part of their lives that was his choice, but she had to let him know how she felt. She had to let Sesshomaru see their daughter - it was only right.

 

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

 

It was snowing when she reached Phoenix. It did not take her too long to find Sesshomaru's house, although when she did, she was more than a little disappointed. The place was a wreck. There were several broken windows. The fence was in need of serious repair. The car in the drive was even worse, and on top of that, there were beer cans and bottles all over the front yard, as if there had been a party on the previous night.

 

Kagome steeled herself for the worst and knocked on the door. A tall, leggy woman whose hair was currently dyed black, answered the door. The woman was wearing nothing other than a very sheer teddy that Kagome could see everything through. Kagome grabbed Kirei's hand as she tried to run into the house chasing a cat.

 

“Is Sesshomaru here?” Kagome asked, hesitant to hear the answer.

 

“No, he's gone right now. Who are you?” the woman asked rudely, immediately noticing that the child had golden eyes and her dark hair was beginning to develop strands of silver, like Sesshomaru.

 

“My name is Kagome Gray-Eagle. Could I please leave something for him?”

 

“Sure, I'll give it to him.”

 

“Thank you, ma'am.”

 

Kagome handed the woman a key ring with two gray feathers made of leather. Then she took her daughter's tiny hand and led her back to the car. Kagome carefully put Kirei into the back seat of the car. She waved to the woman and then pulled out onto the street. Inu came to the door just as she disappeared around the corner.

 

“Who was it?” he asked Kikyo.

 

“Some Indian girl. She was looking for Sesshomaru.”

 

“What was her name?” he asked, as his eyes grew large.

 

“I think her name was Kagame or something like that. Anyway, she left this for him.” Kikyo handed the key ring to Inu.

 

“It was Kagome. I don't believe it. Man is Sesshomaru gonna be surprised when we see him. He really loves her, you know,” Inu said as he turned to get his jacket. Kikyo grit her teeth and scowled fiercely. “Miroku's been looking for her for over a year. Hey, hurry up and get dressed. If we aren't there on time, we won't get to see him.”

 

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

 

Kikyo and Inu took Sesshomaru's truck to the prison to visit Sesshomaru. Sesshomaru was glad for the company, although he wished that Inu had left Kikyo at home. She was, as usual, wearing something completely unsuitable to wear into a prison; and he knew she had done it on purpose. They talked for a while, waiting for the right time to tell Sesshomaru about Kagome. Finally he had to ask.

 

“What are you hiding?” Sesshomaru asked Inu point blank.

 

“Well,” he answered cautiously, “we had a surprise guest this morning.”

 

“Who?”

 

Inu didn't answer him immediately. He handed Sesshomaru a small box. Sesshomaru opened it carefully. He looked at it, not believing his eyes as he removed the key ring from the box. He looked at Inu, who was smiling. Sesshomaru's eyes were lit up like Christmas lights.

 

“Did she say where she was staying?”

 

“No,” Kikyo answered. “She just gave me the key ring and left. You know, she's very pretty. `God I'm glad I got rid of those letters,' she thought.

 

“Yeah, she is. She's beautiful,” Sesshomaru watched Kikyo grit her teeth at that remark. Kikyo had always like Sesshomaru, and he knew it. He also knew by the look in her eyes that she wasn't telling him the whole story, but as hard as he tried, she would not let anything slip.

 

Kikyo knew what he was up to, and she wasn't about to tell Sesshomaru that Kagome had been carrying a baby girl with her. If she let that slip, she knew that any chance she had of getting together with Sesshomaru after he got out of prison would be shot all to hell.

 

 

That night, as Sesshomaru lay in his bed, he knew, with both his head and his heart that Kagome was innocent of the crimes for which he had been convicted. He resolved that when he got out, hopefully soon, he was going to find her again. It was obvious that she still cared about him. Why else would she have shown up at his doorstep? He was sure that there was still something worth saving, and he was going to do everything in his power to do it. He smiled to himself as he grasped the key ring in his hand, hoping with all his might that he was right.

 

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

 

Kagome was quiet for most of the trip back to Montana. Souta knew that something had happened in Phoenix. He didn't know exactly what, but he had his suspicions. Kagome had not said much since she had come back from Phoenix. Souta and her grandfather tried to coax her into talking, but were unsuccessful. He could see in her eyes that her heart was breaking, so he guessed that she had found what she was looking for, with poor results.

 

Kagome was eager to return to Montana - where she would never have to think about Sesshomaru, or the half-naked woman who had brazenly answered his door. Kagome had known when she left for Phoenix that the possibility of Sesshomaru having a girlfriend was a very real one; but she had gone anyway. Now, she felt like kicking herself for being so stupid. She had been content with not knowing.

 

Raymond Gray-Eagle returned to Montana with his grand children. He was ill and he was dying. He had been diagnosed with emphysema. He wanted to spend the last of his days up where the air was clean and the water was pure. He wanted to spend what little time he had left with Kagome and Souta, and beautiful little Kirei.

 

Nathan was waiting for her with open arms when she reached the ranch. Kagome was glad to be home. The ranch, the mountains, Souta, Nathan, and her daughter…they were her family. That is where she decided that she belonged. Kagome threw herself into her work with a vengeance. She didn't want to give herself time to think about what had transpired in Arizona. Nathan tried to comfort her, but she didn't want to be comforted. She was angry with Sesshomaru for finding someone else. She was angry with herself for thinking that he would do otherwise. But her daughter was her saving grace. All she had to do was look into her daughter's innocent face and her anger would disperse like magic. It was impossible to remain angry when Kirei's beautiful eyes looked straight into her soul and shone with unconditional love.

 

 

TBC...

 

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

 

Read, Rate, & Review.....

 

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