InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Lost Gods ❯ Portals of Discovery ( Chapter 4 )

This chapter is actually a little bit shorter then usual and my apologies in advance. I've had a very rough beginning to the New Year, which has been capped off with my bag being snatched from me - in broad daylight - with my iPod in it….my iPod which had all current episodes of Bleach and Ouran High School Host Club. God I'm tearing up again just thinking about it… Bleh…I wanted to send out a giant thank you to my beta for every wonderful beta job even though she's going through a rough patch herself. Thank you hon!

 

 

Disclaimer: Well I'm still broke…actually even more bankrupt now that some teenage hooligans stole my last five bucks from me… so even if you wanted to sue me, you ain't gettin' nuthin'. Needless to say I do not own Inuyasha. But I do own a few plushies and the DVDs!

 

 

 

Lost Gods

Chapter Four - Portals of Discovery

 

 

 

 

Sunlight streamed in from her window, slowly coaxing her from her deep slumber. Kagome sighed and grabbed hold of the covers. It was just too early to get up and she was going to cherish every single second she was back in her comfortable bed.

 

Kagome tugged at the blankets but when they refused to budge, she groaned, “Buyo, get off.” Her hand groped further to get a better grip on the sheets. “Geez Buyo, when did you get so heavy…”

 

When he still, didn't move, Kagome reluctantly opened her eyes, only to find herself staring at the, silver-haired hanyou perched at the foot of her bed. Wide-eyed, she clapped a hand to her mouth to stifle the instinctive scream that gathered at the back of her throat. “Inuyasha…what are you…”

 

Inuyasha slid off the bed to crouch at her bedside, his own amber eyes wide, “Nothing! I wasn't…I was just…”

 

Gathering the bed covers around her, Kagome dragged one hand through her tangled mess of hair, “Inuyasha, I said three days! I said I'd be back in three days. Why can't you wait for me just once?” Exasperated, she waited for his reply.

 

Inuyasha looked like a deer caught in headlights, large eyes blinking at her in mock innocence as he stammered at her.

 

The shock of seeing her dog-eared protector was starting to wear off and Kagome found the sleepy haze of sleep finally leaving her mind. With a small gasp, Kagome leaned forward, small hand reaching out to grab Inuyasha's arm. “It's not Shippou is it?”

“What? No the runt's fine. I just…” Inuyasha's gaze which had locked onto her hand when she touched him, slid to the side, refusing to look her in the eye.

 

The shrill ring of Kagome's alarm clock cut him off and both of them jumped in surprise; Kagome fumbled to turn it off as Inuyasha started to growl at it. Clutching it to her chest, she finally turned the alarm off and with a sigh set it down.

 

“Inuyasha you can't…”

 

“Kagome, I need…”

 

They both froze, Kagome's hand still on her clock and Inuyasha staring intently at her.

 

“You first,” they both blurted out, avoiding each other's gaze.

 

Inuyasha shook his head, holding her gaze until she sighed. “Inuyasha, you can't be here right now.”

 

“I can't? Why not?” Inuyasha's eyes started to narrow and Kagome bit her lip.

 

“We just have a couple of guests in the house and it could be awkward.” Kagome found that her fingers were fiddling with the blanket and she had to force herself to stop. What was she so nervous about anyway?

 

“Guests?” She really didn't think that Inuyasha's eyes could get that squinty and still manage to see.

 

“Yeah, Grandpa's friends and well…you know…” Kagome struggled to find words, Inuyasha, the rude and hanyou could be oddly sensitive at times. “It's just not the best time for you to be here that's all.”

 

Inuyasha stared at her for what felt like an eternity before he got up in one fluid motion. Without a word he turned to her window.

 

“Inuyasha, wait!” She hated the note of panic in her voice. Forcing herself to calm down, she took a deep breath. “What did you want to say?”

 

He shrugged, his voice neutral, “Nothing important.”

 

“But Inuyasha…” Kagome was half out of bed before his next words stopped her.

 

“Don't worry about it Kagome,” Finally he turned and graced her with a rare smile, “It's all under control. Two days left.” With a swish of curtains he was gone.

 

 

 

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Ow. He never knew that his tail could hurt. Shippou groaned, rolling over and snuggling deeper into the sleeping bag that Kagome left behind. In all of his young life, Shippou had not realised that it was possible for his body to ache as much as it did at that moment.

 

He could hear someone calling his name. Frowning, Shippou turned over once more in a vain attempt to block out the noise.

 

“Shippou-chan, its time for breakfast.” He could feel Sango's hand on his shoulder, but he ignored it, choosing instead to squeeze his eyes tighter.

 

“Perhaps we should let him be Sango, he must be exhausted.”

 

Shippou turned his head away, trying to ignore Sango's concerned mumbling. He was all ready to go back to sleep when a familiar hand grabbed hold of his already sore tail.

 

“Oi runt! What makes you think you can sleep in?”

 

Shippou barely registered the fact that someone was speaking to him before he found himself in an awkward position yet again. The instinctive urge to cry welled up in him and he opened his mouth to bellow, but before he could, a large, clawed hand loomed in sight.

 

“Oh no you don't brat. I told you last night that you were coming with me.” Inuyasha glared down at him, amber eyes glinting in the sunlight streaming in from the opened doorway.

 

“Inuyasha! Is that really necessary?” Sango was on her feet, hands on her hips as she glowered at the hanyou.

 

Distressed, Shippou started to fight Inuyasha's grasp. He was so sleepy! He still hurt from yesterday and there was no way that he was going to let Inuyasha drag him from his bed, promise or no promise. With that thought in mind Shippou wriggled harder, hardly hearing Inuyasha and Sango arguing.

 

“At least let him eat breakfast!” Sango wearily thrust forward a bowl of food, setting it down by Inuyasha's feet, she started to fill another one. “Both of you can use some breakfast.”

 

The warm, spicy aroma of breakfast hit his nostrils hard and Shippou's stomach rumbled, reminding him that he didn't have any dinner the night before. Desperate to escape the evil hanyou, Shippou found his mouth in a most advantageous position…

 

Inuyasha's roar filled the quiet village as Sango leapt to her feet and Miroku dove for his staff.

 

“You brat!” Incensed, Inuyasha flung Shippou from him, his hand clutching at his arm that Shippou had viciously bitten.

 

Sango leapt up to catch Shippou and he promptly wrapped his arms around her neck. In Kagome's absence, his next best bet for survival was the steadfast demon slayer who promptly started yelling at Inuyasha. Burrowing deeper into her embrace, Shippou strained to get away from the wrath that was radiating from the hanyou.

 

“Fine! Be like that! I have no clue why I would bother with a weakling like you anyway!”

 

Stiffening, Shippou raised his face from Sango's shoulder. Head turning, he watched as the hanyou stalked away and into the forest. He felt Sango's comforting touch, but somehow her quiet murmurings did little to ease the ache in his the pit of his stomach.

 

Inuyasha was walking away from him - Shippou, the weakling…

 

Leaping from Sango's grasp, Shippou cautiously sniffed at the ground, searching for that elusive thread that was Inuyasha's scent.

 

“Shippou?”

 

Ignoring Sango, sniffed harder, but his mind was to befuddled to remember the lessons he was taught just the day before.

 

“Shippou, come have breakfast.”

 

Finally lifting his head, he offered her a wan smile, “That's okay Sango, I'll catch something else later.”

 

“But Shippou…”

 

Walking away from Sango and Miroku, Shippou headed into the forest.

 

 

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“Kagome! How are you? We heard about your toxoplasmosis, are you feeling better?”

 

Toxowhata? “Oh yes! Feeling much better!” Kagome plastered on a large grin, making a mental note to speak to her grandfather…again. “So did I miss much?”

 

Kagome fell into step with her friends as Yuka and Eri started to argue about the details of their upcoming exam. She stifled the urge to sigh as she listened to them talk about exams, boys and life in general. It was moments like these that she wondered what life would have been like for her had she not fallen into that well. Defiant golden eyes flashed by in her mind's eye and she could feel a small smile tugging at the corner of her lips. She may miss the finer points of calculus and the details on exactly who won the latest reality TV show, but somehow she didn't mind.

 

Kagome was so caught up in her musings that she was completely oblivious to her surroundings and she had utterly forgotten that in this particular hallway, there was one particular tile that tilted slightly upwards and the way Kagome's luck was running lately…

 

“Ow!”

 

”Kagome!” Three alarmed voices called out her name and Kagome wished that the ground would swallow her up as she stared at the pair of shiny shoes mere centimetres from her nose.

 

“Higurashi-san, are you alright?”

 

Feeling as if someone had grabbed hold of her throat, Kagome slowly looked up into concerned green eyes. Through strangely constricted vocal chords, Kagome managed to choke her words out, “Yes, I'm just fine… Thank you.”

 

With a smirk on his lips and eyes twinkling with amusement, Taiki cleared his throat, “You are aware that you're still face down on the ground right?”

 

Closing her eyes, Kagome tightened her grip on the strap of her book-bag, “Yes, quite aware.”

 

“Oh Kagome! That can't be good for your osteogenesis imperfecta!” Ayumi exclaimed as she knelt beside her fallen friend.

 

Osteo… geny…impa-whata? Ah forget it… “I'm okay Ayumi.” Allowing her friend to help her up, Kagome reached for the books that had fallen out of her bag but stopped when male hands started to gather them up.

 

Clearing her throat, she braved another look at his face as he held out her books, “Thank you Ishimaru-san.”

 

He grinned at her, a genuine smile this time that had Kagome catching her breath as she stared unabashedly at him, “I told you before, it's Taiki.”

 

“Taiki…” Kagome could feel the weight of her friends' gazes as he walked away from them and predictably before she could even take a single step they rounded on her, eyes wide and hands on hips.

 

“How in the world do you know him Kagome?” Yuka glared at her and Kagome wasn't sure whether or not she should start apologizing. “He's been here less then a week!”

 

“More importantly, how does he know you?” Eri turned to watch Taiki stroll into a classroom before turning wondering eyes on Kagome, “He's not…no…he couldn't be!”

 

“What?” Kagome looked on in bewilderment as Eri and Yuka exchanged glances.

 

Yuka shook her head in dismay, “No he couldn't possibly be…do you think so Eri?”

 

Ayumi sighed, “You're not thinking that Ishimaru-kun could be…”

 

“How else would they know each other?” Eri demanded dramatically.

 

Convinced that the three of them had developed some sort of strange telepathy in her absence, Kagome started to back away. However before she could take more then a few steps from them, she found hands encircling her wrists and hauling her forward again. Dismayed, Kagome gulped as three accusing eyes turned on her.

 

“Kagome, you have to tell us right now!” Yuka commanded, glaring at her.

 

“Uh… sure…” Kagome resisted the urge to run away again.

 

Three voices blended together as they glared at her, “Is Ishimaru-kun your violent, possessive, two-timing boyfriend?!”

 

Kagome blinked. Her what? “Uh…”

 

“Oh my God! He is isn't he? And here I thought he was so nice!” Eri clutched at her books as she stared at the classroom Taiki had gone in with a strangely fearful expression on her face.

 

“You never know Eri, never know.” Yuka nodded sagely, folding her arms in front of her chest.

 

“Guys! Oh no, no! You got it all wrong! Taiki's not my boyfriend!” Kagome frantically waved her hands in front of her, as if she could stop the disaster that this conversation was turning into by physical force.

 

“Oh Kagome! You don't have to hide it anymore!” Yuka draped her arms around Kagome's shoulder, effectively pining her arms against he sides. “It's all okay, this is actually a good thing!”

 

Eri rushed forward to hug Kagome as well, ignoring her squeak of protest, “That's right! Now that we know, we can protect you!”

 

Kagome gulped as her two friends enveloped her in a bone-crushing hug, her protests dying on her lips as Ayumi ushered them into the classroom and into their seats. She barely had time to wonder if she was really speaking actual words or just `blah, blah, blah' before their teacher sprung a test on them.

 

 

 

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A loud thrumming noise had settled in his ears as the muscles in his legs pushed and strained to propel him forward. Air had lodged somewhere deep in his chest and it hurt just to breathe.

 

Dry, brittle wooden fingers snatched up at him from the undergrowth of the forest, catching on his clothes and in his hair, impatiently he brushed them away as he ran.

 

Desperate.

 

He needed to catch him. Why was he so damned fast?

 

Wheezing now, he pushed, just a little harder, just a little faster…There! A flash of red, a streak of silver, a faint whiff of a scent long imprinted in his mind, just a little further…

 

He fell. Hard, the ground rushing to meet him as he cried out, hands flailing to cushion his fall. Gulping hard, Shippou sucked in air as his lungs fought to fill. Helpless tears began to fall and he rushed to wipe them away, dirtying his already grubby face.

 

“Baka.” The word rushed by in the wind, barely heard in the rumble of the forest. “Baka!” Shippou shouted this time, his voice high and shrill as he fought to restrain the flow of tears down his face.

 

“Oi! What the hell did I do now?!”

 

With a gasp, Shippou looked up into the flash of irritated eyes. “Inuyasha…”

 

Inuyasha scowled down at him, “You've been chasing me all morning runt, what the hell do you want?” Eyebrows furrowing even further in a frown, the half demon crossed his arm. “I didn't tell you to follow me! You did this on your own!”

 

Sniffling, Shippou slowly straightened, tucking his tail firmly beneath him, his gaze falling to his folded hands. Almost afraid to meet the half-demon's gaze, he kept his eyes firmly fixed downwards, “I know that…I was just…I don't want anything Inuyasha.”

 

One dark eyebrow rose, “So why the hell have you been following me all this time?”

 

“I…I…” Weakling. “Inuyasha, I'm…” A weakling. “I was…” Shippou bit his lip. How could he possibly say it? He couldn't.

 

With a huff, Inuyasha flopped down onto his haunches, “Fuck it Shippou, what's with the act?” He peered at Shippou's face, before pulling his sleeve up, thrusting his arm underneath the kitsune's nose, “I didn't even get a scratch okay?”

 

Blinking at the sudden proximity of a sinewy arm, Shippou's gaze finally snapped up. “What?”

 

Twisting his arm backwards and forwards, Inuyasha held up his arm. “You didn't even leave a scratch, not like your puny teeth can hurt me anyway, but just so that you know.” Pausing, the hanyou scratched the tip of his nose with a sharp claw. “It's okay.”

 

Shippou looked up at Inuyasha as the hanyou looked away and the words that had lodged themselves in his throat suddenly wanted to burst out. “I'm sorry Inuyasha! I'm sorry!”

 

“Keh.” In one fluid motion, Inuyasha was back on his feet, “I told you it was okay brat.”

 

Inuyasha turned to walk away, but Shippou launched himself at the hanyou's hakama. “Inuyasha! I…I need…”

 

Inuyasha stopped in mid-stride, his eyes hidden by silver bangs. “You did good Shippou.”

 

Tightening his hold on the scratchy red cloth, Shippou wondered if he had heard right, “Huh?”

 

“You kept up.”

 

Releasing Inuyasha's pants, Shippou felt a grin tug at the corner of his mouth. “Yeah. I did, didn't I?”

 

Inuyasha shrugged, “Feh, wasn't bad, for someone with such a puny nose.”

 

Shippou's mouth snapped shut on the insult he was about to hurl at the hanyou, instead he found his gaze dropping down to his feet. Clearing his throat, Shippou decided to make a confession, “I was talking about me you know.”

 

“Hmm?” Inuyasha started to walk again and Shippou found himself falling into step behind him.

 

“I was talking about me before, you know…the b-baka part.” Shippou gnawed on his lip again.

 

“Yeah, I know.”

 

Shippou sighed, then his spine stiffened, “What do you mean `you know'? You're a baka too, baka!”

 

 

“Keh.”

 

 

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AN: Where oh where does Lin-chan keep coming up with these weird titles? Heh, I ain't telling! This chapter's title comes from James Joyce, an Irish novelist, which goes - “A man's errors are his portals of discovery.”

 

This chapter has been mostly fluff, but we will be getting into the meat of the story soon - maybe as soon as… dare I say it? Next chapter! Hope you stick around!