InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Kitsune Kisses ❯ Partings ( Chapter 6 )

 

Chapter 6

Parting

 

Miroku didn't like the idea of leaving Inu Yasha in the state he was in but Aiame was hurt and might need his help. He went into the forest where he saw her enter. He could just make out her form in the growing gloom hurrying along a path ahead of him.

"Aiame!" he called.

She stopped and turned holding something rather large in her arms. She saw it was him and smiled. She waited for him to catch up and as he approached he could see what she held was a bunch of branches woven together, in the middle of which was the Tetsusaiga. He also noticed that she had made a remarkable recovery. All of the scratches and bruises were gone though her clothes still looked worse for wear. She was in high spirits. Just as he reached her, she turned and started running again.

"Come on!" she said.

"Wait! Where are you going?" he cried, but she just hurried along.

Miroku ran after her but could barely keep her in sight. Finally she stopped in another large clearing and sat down with her back to an old tree. Miroku walked up and braced himself against it trying to catch his breath. She happily hugged the Tetsusaiga to herself.

"Isn't this exciting?" Aiame asked.

"...isn't...wh...what...exciting?" he asked panting.

"The battle, of course!" she answered.

Miroku slid down the tree to sit beside her. "I thought...you said...battles were boring..." he said leaning his head back and closing his eyes.

"Well, yes," she admitted. "But not when they're over me!"

He was about to reply when he heard a flapping over head. He opened his eyes in time to see Sesshomaru circling on his two-headed dragon. He got quickly to his feet alarmed - was the battle over so soon? That wouldn't be good news for Inu Yasha but he would worry about that later. Aiame was already standing beside him watching the huge beast land on the other side of the clearing. Sesshomaru calmly dismounted and started walking toward them coldly.

"Don't worry!" Miroku tried to assure Aiame as he nervously fumbled with the prayer beads sealing his wind tunnel. He would protect Aiame even if it cost him his life he thought. He looked up to see she had left his side and was walking into the clearing, still cradling the sword in her arms.

"Oh, Sesshomaru!" she said breathlessly, looking with admiration at the handsome demon approaching her.

Suddenly Inu Yasha bounded into the clearing and shouted angrily at Sesshomaru's back, "Just where do you think you're going?"

Sesshomaru looked over his shoulder at him with an expression of complete disgust.

Aiame stared at him surprised. "Inu Yasha! You're alive!" she exclaimed. Miroku thought she sounded a little disappointed. "What happened?"

"What happened!? He ran away - that's what happened!" Inu Yasha raged, pointing an accusatory finger at his brother.

Sesshomaru turned his back on him and sneered, "He's drunk! He can't even stand on his own feet!'

"I told you I'm not drunk!!" Inu Yasha shouted. "I just got hit on the head!"

"Even I can't believe you are that feeble, brother to be so badly affected by so slight a wound," reasoned Sesshomaru. "You just can't handle your liquor! Why don't you just admit it?"

Inu Yasha roared in anger and charged him. Without even turning around Sesshomaru blocked his attack and sent him flying into the trees.

Aiame walked up to Sesshomaru. "So you won't even try?" she asked him.

"There's no point," he answered simply. "It's like battling a child and besides I have what I want."

Aiame narrowed her eyes. "You do, do you?" she asked him icily.

"You have the sword. Let's go," he said.

"The sword?! Who cares about some stupid sword!" she shouted at him.

Sesshomaru raised his eyebrows in surprise.

"I was what you were supposed to be fighting over in case you'd forgotten!" she said angrily. "And you're not even going to try!! Well in that case...”

She turned her back on him at stomped over to where Inu Yasha was getting to his feet. He shook his head to try and clear it. At the same time Kirara landed in the clearing with Sango, Kagome and Shippo on her back.

Aiame knelt down in front of Inu Yasha and held up the Tetsusaiga. "To the victor go the spoils" she said.

"What?" Inu Yasha asked confused taking it.

"You won," Aiame said flatly getting to her feet.

Kagome and the others hurried over to where Miroku was standing.

"What's going on?" Kagome asked him looking from Sesshomaru to Inu Yasha and Aiame.

"I'm not entirely sure myself," he answered honestly.

Inu Yasha unwrapped the branches from his sword and put it back on.

"And...” continued Aiame loudly, giving Sesshomaru a dirty look but also making sure he was watching. "I would also like to thank you for coming to my rescue."

She threw her arms around his neck and kissed him. Inu Yasha just stood there his eyes wide in surprise. Sesshomaru turned on his heel and walked over to his dragon. He got on and it slowly flapped its wings to gain altitude. Aiame stopped kissing Inu Yasha to watch him fly away. The rest of the group came over to them.

"Yay!" cheered Shippo. "You saved Aunt Aiame!"

Inu Yasha saw them for the first time.

"Inu Yasha!" exclaimed Kagome relieved to see he was alright.

"Oh, no!" he said shaking his head and pushing Aiame away from him. "You can't be mad about that! I was just standing here!"

"Inu Yasha, it's..." Kagome smiled trying to reassure him she wasn't mad.

He pointed an accusatory finger at Aiame, "She kissed me!"

"Relax," Aiame said patting Inu Yasha on the shoulder as she walked past him. "Your brother's a much better kisser!'

Inu Yasha, Kagome, Sango, Miroku and Shippo all stared at her dumbfounded. She didn't notice though because her back was to them as she stared wistfully off into the sky where Sesshomaru had disappeared.

Inu Yasha finally broke the silence. "You kissed Sesshomaru?!" he asked as if it were it was almost too incredible to be believed.

She nodded still gazing off into the sky.

"Yuck! Blech!" Inu Yasha started spitting as if he had had something rotten in his mouth. "Water! I need water!" He grabbed some leaves and wiped off his tongue until Kagome gave him a bottle of water from her backpack and he rinsed out his mouth a few times.

 

They went back to the place they had original set up camp and rebuilt their fire. Inu Yasha kept giving Aiame dirty looks the rest of the evening as if she'd down some unspeakable evil to him but she didn't notice. Miroku told the rest of them the evenings events graciously leaving out any details that would make Aiame or Inu Yasha look bad - that is to say his story was a rather short one. After which they decide to roast some marshmallows Kagome had brought along. Inu Yasha fell asleep with his head in her lap.

Aiame left the fire to go off and sit by herself. Shippo followed her.

"Aunt Aiame, are you alright?" he asked.

"Yes," she said leaning over and kissing the top of his head, “You're sweet."

They sat beside each other in silence.

"You know Shippo...," Aiame started awkwardly. "I really like you and your friends too but...”

"You're leaving," Shippo finished.

"Yes, I think its best," she said sighing. "Do you mind terribly?"

"Will I see you again?" he asked.

"I'll be around," she said smiling at him.

Miroku left the fire and walked over to them.

"Good-bye then," said Shippo as he hugged her. He looked up at Miroku and then went back to the others.

"You're leaving?" Miroku asked. "If it's because of Inu Yasha - he'll get over it."

"No, it isn't that," she laughed. "I just think I'm better off by myself. I'm sort of a troublemaker if you haven't noticed."

"As I told you before," he said. "We all have our weaknesses."

Aiame got up and dusted herself off. "Would you mind saying good-bye to everyone else for me?" she asked.

"Sure" he said. "But before you go, can I ask you something? Remember when you said that Sesshomaru was better at kissing than Inu Yasha?"

"You want to know how you rated?" she asked him.

He nodded.

"|Miroku," she said kissing his cheek. "With your degree of enthusiasm - you are in a league of your own." She turned and disappeared into the night.

Miroku went back to the fire smiling. He knew it.

 

 

THE END