InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Little Bits ❯ Someday: Tonight ( Chapter 24 )

"They're late."

"Hmm?" Kagome glanced at her friend, nursing her baby, and then looked west toward the setting sun. "So they are." She looked at the seam that she had been working on, and decided she had done quite enough for one day. Unthreading the needle, she carefully put it away in the little packet meant for it, reminding herself that needles were tools that took time to produce in this era. She'd already lost one and had been gently scolded for it.

"Aren't you worried?" asked Sango. "Not really--should I be?I can't imagine that the youkai they're hunting would pose any danger." She didn't add that she was a bit miffed that the men hadn't included her. With the young children, of course, Sango couldn't go on a youkai hunt. And true, she was spending most of her time with Kaede, working to control her powers and learn everything about being a miko. But, Inuyasha hadn't even asked her.

"Have you forgotten what night this is?"

Kagome blinked at Sango's question, especially the acerbic edge. "Night?"

Her friend gave her an exasperated glare. "You know the night Inuyasha hates? The new moon?"

"New moon!" Kagome shot to her feet, quite forgetting the sewing her lap, whirling to look at the setting sun, which was just touched the hill. "How could I forget? Where is he? Does the village know about his night?"

"Not really. He's always made a habit of avoiding the village after nightfall. Of course, since you came back, he's been with you." Sango's sideways glance was amused. "Just talking. Or so you claim."

"Because it's true--oh!" Realizing her position, Kagome dropped back down to the porch with a thud, then reached down and picked up the kimono she'd been working on. Folding it neatly, she returned it to the basket.

"We're both surprised that you haven't actually gotten together yet," Sango mused, setting the baby in her lap as she adjusted her kimono to make her other breast available. "When Inuyasha carried you away after the feast that first night, Miroku wanted to bet me that you'd be out in the grass all night. He was rather disappointed when Inuyasha brought you back so early, and Shippo told him he couldn't smell anything different."

Kagome was blushing. "If you three had taken longer to get to the well that day, you might have seen something. I know I wanted to kiss, and I think he wanted it, but, well…" She twined her fingers together, and looked at them. "We--we just haven't felt the need yet, to go beyond just talking."

"Inuyasha talks?"

Kagome smiled briefly without looking up. "He's doing it more, when we're alone."

"Which has been about every evening since you returned," observed Sango.

"Um-hm."

"I still don't understand why you two haven't gotten together. I mean, you were apart for three years. If Miroku's away three days, he's near impossible to refuse."

"I think it's because we were apart three years."

"Ah?"

Sighing, Kagome looked up to see whether there was any sign of the men. "We spent three years thinking we'd never see each other again. I know I--tried to forget. I buried myself in schoolwork, and tried not to remember. The well was closed: I'd destroyed the Shikon No Tama, I'd finished my part of the story, I belonged in my own time, didn't I? It wasn't until I finished my schooling, and I let myself realize that the only world I wanted was the one with Inuyasha in it: that was when the well reopened."

"But?"

"We love each other, Sango, but, in a way, we are almost strangers. Less than a year together, and most of that spent searching for the jewel, fighting youkai, fighting Naraku, fighting each other--and then three years apart. We've--we just haven't felt the need to go further. It's enough for now, just to be together, to talk, to learn more about each other."

Silence settled between the two friends. Kagome watched the road, nibbling her lower lip as concern started to darken her thoughts. Inuyasha had been adamant before he left yesterday that he'd be back before nightfall: she'd missed the obvious clue; but in her defense, it had been the first time he'd left the village since her arrival. She couldn't really imagine a strong youkai in the area these days who would even think of challenging Inuyasha. Inuyasha had told her that in the three years, he hadn't needed to use any of Tessaiga's advanced attacks more than a handful of times, and those had all been on trips far away from the village.

A motion where the road disappeared between the hills caught her eye. Moments later, figures moved far enough out of the shadows that the contrast between white hair and black was noticeable, along with a lump on one shoulder that could only be Shippo. Relieved, Kagome jumped to her feet. "They're back!" she exclaimed, running down the path to the road. "Inuyasha! Shippo! Miroku!"

"Kagome!" yelled Shippo, hopping down from Miroku's shoulder to race towards her. "Kagome! He's hurt--Inuyasha's hurt!"

She gasped, her heart flying into her throat. She could see that Inuyasha was holding his left arm against his body. Fear lent wings to her feet, and she flew down the pathway, a silent prayer rising to the kami. Please, don't let it be a serious injury! An injury that Inuyasha-hanyo could walk away with could be fatal to Inuyasha-human, and sunset was only minutes away.

She could not bear to have abandoned everything in the future, only to lose him now!

"It's just a scratch!"

She handed the bloodied jacket and shirt to Miroku, who gave her a wry, sympathetic grin at Inuyasha's typical protest. Kagome smiled reflexively in return, but lost it as she smoothed the long black hair over the human's shoulder. Picking at the knot of the crude bandage, she started to carefully unwind it. "So tell me what happened," she prodded.

"It was a trap," said Miroku, dropping the clothes into a larger bucket of water. "There wasn't a youkai--at least, not a live one. I should have listened to Inuyasha--he said when we entered the valley that there was only a smell of a dead youkai, but I insisted we go on down and find out why the youkai was dead. It was a samurai and a priest--at least, that's what I think they were. They were downwind and ambushed Inuyasha. Two arrows, wrapped with spell papers."

"Keh. Weak spells. Not a touch on Kagome's--ow!"

"Sorry." Kagome finished unwinding the first bandage, and picked up a cloth floating in the shallow bucket next to her. Carefully, she dabbed at the ragged wound, which had started oozing where the cloth had pulled off scabs.

"The priest might not have been as powerful as our Kagome," Miroku acknowledged, "but I'm just glad they weren't aiming at Shippo--those arrows would have killed him."

"So what happened then?" she asked.

"Ah, well, you know our Inuyasha. He went down, but I'm still trying to locate our attackers when he lunges past me and lets loose a kaze-no-kizu one-handed. They were killed when the trees landed on them, I think."

"So you don't know who they were."

"The samurai wasn't wearing colors, and the second man was dressed like a merchant, but Shippo found more ofuda in his kimono. I sent Shippo with a message to the village we'd stayed at, while I pulled out the arrows and tried to stop the bleeding. Once Shippo came back, Inuyasha insisted on starting home. I tried to persuade him to ride Shippo for a while, but he wouldn't listen, of course."

"So why would they ambush Inuyasha?" she asked, dropping the cloth back in the water and picking up the bowl of salve she'd made only three days ago under Kaede's supervision.

"There's been rumors for over a year that one or more of our daimyo's neighbors may be planning to attack," said Miroku. "Inuyasha turned down an invitation to join the daimyo's guard, but someone may be fearing that Inuyasha will fight if an attack comes, and that he could turn any battle to our favor if he did."

"Stupid," growled the hanyo as Kagome turned her attention to the second bandage. "Tessaiga's meant to defend humans, not attack 'em. If I tried to use it on a battlefield…" He didn't end the thought.

"I should leave--we ain't married yet."

Kagome snapped her gaze up from the pot that was starting to steam over her fire pit. Miroku had left to return to his side of the house. "You're not going anywhere, Inuyasha. You try anything, and I'll hit you on top of those wounds."

He glared at her. "Vicious wench," he muttered, but there was no resentment in his voice.

She chuckled a little, scooting on her knees to move beside him. "If my reputation was going to be ruined, don't you think it would have happened four years ago? We were what, almost three weeks together before we met Shippo? And, let's see--I obviously missed your first human night because I was home, and it was about a month before we joined Miroku, if you can call him any sort of escort."

Inuyasha snorted. "That pervert? Not likely."

"See? Ruined four years ago." She snuggled closer. "So, don't worry about it."

He put his right arm around her shoulders. "But, don't you want to get married?" he asked, sounding worried.

"I love the thought of getting married to you, especially since Kaede is willing to officiate. I just don't understand why we have to wait for you to build that new house. You helped build this place, and lived on this side for almost three years. Why can't we get married and live here?"

He sighed, pulling her against him. "It's Miroku and Sango's house. I helped build it; they let Shippo and me live on this side since they didn't need it yet. But--I want to live with you in our house. My house, which I give you."

"Oh, Inuyasha." She looked up at him, eyes suddenly brimming. How she loved this hanyo--this man. Dark grey eyes with widened, vertical pupils looked back at her. "I love you."

"I--" He hesitated, and then leaned closer, his arm moving until his hand rested on her nearer shoulder. He didn't go any further, but she took the initiative and shifted her position, raising her face. Their lips met, tentatively, gently. "I love you, Kagome," he whispered as their lips parted.

She laughed, very softly. "And here I was beginning to worry," she teased, and then caught his lips with hers before he could react. Their kiss this time was less tentative. When they broke for air, Inuyasha hugged her close, leaning his head so it touched hers.

"'Kagome, can I ask for something?"

"Of course you can."

"After you make me drink that foul-tasting potion of Kaede's you're planning, may I--sleep with my head in your lap?"

"Huh?" She stared blankly at the fire pit, before remembering. "Oh, like that first time, after you were poisoned?"

"Yeah."

"Of course you can," she assured him, leaning back against him, wishing she could put her arm around his waist without worrying about his injuries. "But why, now? Why not before?"

She thought she felt him blush. "I--I thought you had only let me out of pity. I--I was afraid."

"Well, you can sleep that way whenever you want to," she told him. Hearing the water start to boil, she wriggled out of his hold, half-turning to face him. "There's just one condition."

He gave her an anxious look. "Condition?" he echoed.

She gave him a warm smile. "In the morning, my hanyo has to kiss me, too."

The hanyo turned human definitely blushed. A pause, and then he leaned forward and kissed her again. "As often as you want, beloved."

Author's Note: This is a follow-up to one of my first pieces written for a LiveJournal fanfic contest, "Someday," which is the first chapter in this collection. It was originally published on 12/31/2008, for the iyfic_contest community. It tied for 3rd.