InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Malice ❯ Home: Secrets on the Other Side ( Chapter 22 )

[ X - Adult: No readers under 18. Contains Graphic Adult Themes/Extreme violence. ]

Chapter 22: Home: Secrets on the Other Side

Sesshoumaru, true to his words, sheared off from the pack as soon as they came within sight of Kaede's village, heading out to hunt for news of Naraku, while everyone else moved on into the village, glad to be returning. The last few weeks had indeed been difficult, and everyone needed a good rest.

As soon as the group was spotted, Shippo came flying, eyes searching for one person: Kagome. He'd worried the entire time they were gone, not knowing if he would ever see his precious mother figure again, so it was with considerable joy that he finally caught sight of her, riding on the hanyou's back just like she'd used to do. He watched, hope strong in his heart, as Inuyasha came to a halt, and Kagome slid down off his back... and launched himself at her with a yell as she held her arms out to him and smiled.

The instant that her arms went around him, he inhaled deeply, and tears came flying down his cheeks as her beloved scent hit his sensitive nose. He could tell that there was still healing to be done, but the tainted scent she'd carried when they'd left no longer marred her, and the young kit had never been so glad of anything in his entire life.

He pulled back and looked at her smile, and asked, "Are you okay now, Kagome?"

Her smile widened, and even though it held a shadow, and her eyes a tiny hint of old pain, it was a true smile, he could tell. "I'm not totally healed yet, Shippo, but," she glanced over at Inuyasha, and caught his eyes, "I'll get there someday. Inuyasha will make sure of it, and I promise not to give up."

Shippo caught the look in the couple's eyes, and knew immediately that something major had shifted in their relationship.

And then he looked up, and caught sight of Kikyou.

He scowled, and then looked over at Inuyasha and growled. "What's she doing here, Inubaka? Isn't it bad enough that you're always dumping Kagome to run off after her, but now you're bringing her along, too?!" His tiny hands tightened their grip on his mother, as he locked gazes with the undead priestess and
growled louder.

If that idiot can't protect her, then I will!

Inuyasha just shook his head. "Calm down, Shippo. Kikyou's here for Kagome's sake, not mine. I wasn't even given a choice in the matter." He rolled his eyes as Shippo stared at him suspiciously. "I'm serious, runt. She's been helping Kagome. Besides," he blushed, "me'n Kagome are together now, officially, with her blessing. So just chill, kid."

Shippo looked up at Kagome, who'd been quiet through all that, and didn't relax till she'd nodded. "Well, okay, but... I'll be watching you, Inuyasha, and her, too. I won't let you guys hurt my Kagome anymore."

Kagome hugged the kit to her and smiled again. "It's really okay, Shippo, but I'm glad you're protecting me. You know I love you, right?" She closed her eyes and sighed happily. "My little kit..."

Kaede had watched all of this with an enigmatic half-smile, turning to look at her sister as she heard what Inuyasha had said, and tilting a brow at her, gesturing for her sister to walk alongside her. Kikyou nodded and moved forward, smiling at Kagome and Inuyasha in passing.

"So, sister. Ye have finally let go, I see. 'Tis about time."

Kikyou gave her an ironic look. "And you've been waiting since I was brought back for this, haven't you, Kaede?" She sighed deeply, then continued.

"It is difficult sometimes for me to reconcile the little sister of my memories with you. You are an elder priestess now, with a lifetime of wisdom that I was denied a chance to learn. I have much knowledge of the arcane, and of the dark side of things - but I do not have equal knowledge of life, and it's light side. That makes it hard to react appropriately, sometimes."

Kaede nodded, clasping her hands behind her back as she walked. Closing her eye, she tilted her face towards the morning sun, enjoying the rare peace.

"Aye, I imagine that it t'would be difficult, at that, my sister. But it appears that, this time at least, ye have followed the correct path. I am pleased for that... I did not like to see ye suffer needlessly - nor did I enjoy watching those two hurt, either." Opening her eye, she glanced at her sister.

"After all, tis not really seemly that ye all, who should be united against Naraku, should be instead causing each other such anguish. He has caused enough for a hundred lifetimes on his own."

Kikyou glanced behind her at her other traveling companions, the taijiya, the monk, and Inuyasha and Kagome, even the kitsune child... and nodded solemnly.

Yes, Naraku had definitely caused far too much pain. And it was far from over. She had the nasty feeling that, for all of them, there was much more suffering to come.

It took a bit, but Kagome finally managed to convince Shippo that she needed to go home for a little while... the poor thing was not happy about having to be left behind, yet again. It was a necessity, however, and Shippo was smart enough to understand the seriousness of what they were involved in, so, after letting it be known how much he disliked the idea, he grudgingly agreed, and promising to behave for the others, and keep an eye on things, he let Kagome go.

As soon as Shippo hopped off after Sango and Miroku, Inuyasha grabbed Kagome's hand and began walking with her towards the well.

"So... what are we going back for, exactly, Kagome? Does your mom even know... about, well, you know - what happened?"

Kagome stiffened slightly at that question. "No. She doesn't know - hell, if I'd told her, do you think she'd ever have let me come back? I'll never know how, but I managed to hide it well enough - she just assumed I was upset 'cause we'd had another fight. In fact, the last thing she told me was to do whatever I had to do to make it up with you."

Inuyasha flicked a quick glance at her out of the corner of his eye, then turned his attention back to the path in front of him, a frown furrowing his brow.

"I hadn't really thought of that, koi. I'd lose it if she tried to keep us apart, you know - you don't plan on telling her, do you?"

"No way. We'll just leave it with her thinking we had a bad fight, but now we've made up." She narrowed her eyes on him. "We will be telling her about the change in our relationship, however, koibito... that way she knows and I don't have to stress myself trying to hide anything else from her."

He kept his gaze on the ground in front of him as he nodded. "Okay. Now, you still need to tell me what we're doing coming through the well right now. You said something before about training... is that what we'll be doing?"

"Yeah," she said softly, squeezing his hand. "The sooner we can get a handle on our souls, the sooner we can eliminate the physical manifestation of them, and not only take back our power, but take access to that same power away from anyone else."

"Hai. That makes sense, I guess."

He stopped as they reached the well, and looking around to make sure they were not being observed by anything unfriendly, grabbed her up and hopped into the well, slipping smoothly into the timestream.

He had the feeling that it was going to be a long couple of days - but if they could do what Kagome was planning at the end of them, it would have been well worth it.

The meeting with her mother went well, she was ecstatic that the two were 'engaged' as she put it. Souta, of course, was thrilled that his 'dog brother' was really going to be his brother-in-law, and even the old man saw some benefits in it... like access to more 'priceless artifacts' from the world beyond the well.

Inuyasha rolled his eyes at that, and desperately attempting to ignore all the conversation at dinner, proceeded to scarf his food, then sat back and fidgeted, waiting impatiently for Kagome to be done before grabbing her and racing up the stairs to her room.

"Inuyasha! What was that for?" She glared at him as he shoved her in the door and slammed it behind him, clearly wondering if she should sit him for his behavior.

"Keh! The old man was freakin' me out, Kagome, didn't you hear him? He was giving me a damn list of stuff he wanted me to get my hands on and bring him. Some of that stuff I'd have to steal, wench! What was I supposed to do?" He took a deep breath, and let it out in a tired sigh. "Besides... I thought you wanted to do some of this 'training' stuff. The earlier we start, the sooner we finish."

Kagome shook her head, and then slumped back on her bed. "Yeah, well, from what the portion of my soul in the jewel told me, the training gets done at night, in our dreams. Apparently, that's the best time, because we're relaxed, and our minds are wide open to new ideas and concepts. I don't know about for you, but it's too early for bed for me, so..."

"So what are we gonna do until then, huh?"

She thought about that for a few minutes. "Well, I'm not sure... maybe we can go out for a little while, you know, go for a walk or something," she trailed off, before shrugging at the face he made. "I know you hate putting on modern clothes, Inuyasha, we don't have to if you don't want to. It was just a suggestion."

Inuyasha wrinkled his nose, then sighed. "Fine, wench, we can 'go out' if you want. Grab me some clothes, and I'll go put them on."

She grinned happily at that, and immediately made for her closet, quickly picking out outfits for both of them, and tossing him his.

Sheesh. It doesn't really take much to make her happy, does it? He smiled inwardly at that thought... it never really had taken much, he realized. She was very easy to please. She had only ever wanted him.

He blushed a bit at that realization, not understanding what he'd done to deserve her. Most people wouldn't want him at all, for any reason...

But that was just more proof that Kagome wasn't 'most people'. She was herself, and as he made for the bathroom to change, he grinned.

There was no one like Kagome. His Kagome.

A stray breeze swirled some leaves up into a funnel in the front courtyard of the Higurashi Shrine, then swayed its way up the three steps and across the smaller, private courtyard in front of the family's home, before finally dying, and dropping its burden of dry foliage on the front doorstep.

As the leaves fell, a notebook was laid atop them, facing the front door of the home. At first glance, it appeared to be a simple school binder, but the minute it was picked up, it would be obvious to any that it was not... and that it was meant for one person in the house, in particular.

The person who placed it so carefully on the step was certain she would get it...

He only hoped that the information contained within would be helpful in defeating her greatest enemy. As footsteps sounded inside the small foyer of the house, the man blinked deep, violet eyes - and disappeared into the evening, one shadow amongst a plethora of darker shadows.

Kagome opened the door to step outside, and immediately caught sight of the binder sitting on the step. Frowning in perplexity, she reached down to pick it up, and looking around for whoever could have put it there, shrugged and handed it to Inuyasha when she didn't see anyone.

"Hey, Inu, would you set this on that shelf behind you? It was sitting on the front step... I'll look at it when we get back, and see what it is. Maybe the person who dropped it wrote down their information inside somewhere so I can return it."

Inuyasha raised a brow as he took it, looking it over quickly, before shrugging and setting it haphazardly down on the aformentioned shelf. As soon as he dropped it, she grabbed his hand and pulled him out the door.

"Come on, Inuyasha. I feel," she cast him a heavy-lidded look over her shoulder, "the need to show of my handsome hanyou."

He caught the look in her eye, and his widened with shock... and then narrowed with hunger. It was not an expression he'd thought to see on her face for a long time to come... and it was very quick to make his breathing speed up.

"Keh! What's gotten into you, Kagome?" He frowned then, a sudden thought sending a chill down his spine, and eyed her uncertainly.

"Uh, Kagome? You're you, right?"

She burst put laughing at the look on his face, and tugged him down the stairs, then along the street.

"Yes, Inu, I'm me. I just feel better for some reason than I have in a long time, and instead of questioning it, I'm gonna go with the flow. So come on, walk with me, koibito," she said, smiling up at him and folding her arm under his.

He was so caught up in her sweet smile that he didn't notice the person he bumped into until he'd already knocked him over, and Kagome pulled away and bent down to help the person up, apologizing all the while. She seemed startled when she realized who it was.

"Oh! Hojo! I'm so sorry - we didn't see you," she said, smiling when he waved his hand at her.

"It's all right, Higurashi, no harm done." He stood up and brushed himself off, then looked back at her, before glancing uncertainly at a glowering Inuyasha.

"Uh, Higurashi?" He sounded tentative.

"Yes, what is it, Hojo?"

"Why is that guy growling at me?"

Kagome's eyes widened and she whipped around, blushing. "Inuyasha! Stop that right this instant! Hojo's a friend!"

She turned and looked over her shoulder at Hojo with an apologetic frown, all while pushing an obviously territorial Inuyasha back.

"He's just a little upset right now, don't mind him!" She turned her face up to her mate's and glared so hard he stumbled back a bit, completely caught off guard.

Voice low enough that no one else could hear, she said, "Listen up, dog boy. You'd better knock that crap off, or else, got it?" She didn't turn away until he'd nodded.

"So... Hojo... how're things going for you?"

Hojo had watched the byplay between the two, and wasn't really too happy to see the obvious intimacy of their actions. Eyes narrowed, he looked at her and nodded his head towards the hanyou.

"Higurashi, who is that, may I ask?"

"Oh, I'm sorry, where are my manners? Hojo, this is Inuyasha, my fiance." She looked back at Inuyasha. "Inuyasha, this is Hojo, a friend from school."

"Keh! Knew there was a reason I hated you goin' to that school of yours," he mumbled quietly, not wanting to set his rather volatile mate off.

Hojo glared at the silver-haired male, anger vibrating through him, then turned his gaze on an astounded Kagome.

"Fiance?! And when were you planning on telling me about this, huh, Higurashi?" His normally placid face was red with anger and jealousy. "All this time I've waited for you, and thought of you as my girl, and now, you slap me with this?" He stepped up into her face, fists clenched at his sides. "Who do you think you are?!"

Kagome went from astonished to furious in about two seconds flat, and pushing a seriously pissed Inuyasha back, she let loose.

"And when, might I ask, did you ever ask me to be your girl? Huh? Must not have been all that memorable, cause I certainly don't remember it at all! How dare you! I have never been your girl, Hojo, I have always belonged to Inuyasha, and I always will belong to him!" She pulled Inuyasha to her side, and once more twining her arm with his, pushed past an infuriated Hojo.

He moved to hit her as she passed, but didn't get more than a few inches of movement in before an enraged inu-hanyou had his arm in an unbreakable hold, twisting the offending appendage until Hojo was almost ready to scream.

"If you ever," he hissed, eyes flashing from red to gold and back, mesmerizing a now terrified boy, "even think of laying a hand on her, or breathing the same air as her, I will kill you... and you won't even see me coming." Thrusting the kid away from him, he latched onto Kagome's arm and turned his back on him.

Kagome didn't even look back once at the boy laying on the pavement, still clutching a severly bruised arm. He'd brought it on himself.

The old Kagome probably would have forgiven him before she'd even taken two steps, and felt bad for yelling at him... but not this Kagome.

She'd finally learned that there actually was such a thing as too much forgiveness. If you forgive a person too often, they begin to take advantage, and that's just what Hojo had done. She'd always treated him sweetly, never corrected his assumptions, and always just tried to be nice - and she'd done the boy no favors.

She finally understood what the phrase 'tough love' meant.

After taking Inuyasha to the park and sitting with him under the trees for a while, she finally managed to get him calmed down, but the evening was ruined, and they decided to head back to the shrine.

As they moved into the entryway and sat down to take off their shoes, Kagome caught sight of the strange binder they'd found earlier, and took it from the shelf in passing as the two walked towards the stairs and headed for her room.

She flipped it open as she reached her bed... and her eyes narrowed as she saw what was inside. It was not a randomly filled school binder, it was filled to capacity with some kind of report... and her heart shuddered to a halt when she saw the title. At her sudden choked gasp, Inuyasha pulled it away from her and looked at it, and frowned, unsure of what he was reading.

"Keh. What the hell is this, wench, and who around here would know about that rat-bastard?"

Kagome shook her head, unable to speak. She could still see the words that were probably forever burned into her mind's eye:

The Nature of a Sociopath: A Psychological Profile of Naraku

Who left that on my doorstep?

Somehow, she didn't think she was going to get much sleeping done tonight.

It looked like she'd be up reading instead.