InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Memories Are All That We Have Left ❯ Anything But ( Chapter 6 )

[ Y - Young Adult: Not suitable for readers under 16 ]

When Kagome woke up that morning, her livingroom was empty and she was lying alone and askew on the uncomfortable couch. Panic rising in her, her heart started to flutter and her breath hitched. She looked franticly around her, then stood up. "Mom!" she began to cry out. "Mom, where is everyone?! MOM!!!" She scanned the room quickly and when her results came up empty, she raced out of the room to the kitchen. She sighed in relief when she spotted Miroku at the end of the table, greedily lapping up food as it was placed in front of him. He shot her a grim, forced smile, then began eating again. Kagome sighed in relief and seated herself beside Sango, who didn't seem to have much of an appetite and was scraping her food onto Miroku's plate as he pigishly shoveled chop stick-full after chop stick-full into his mouth.

Kagome found a slight smile adorning her lips as she watched Miroku eat, memories of the old times seeping into her thoughts.



~*~Flashback~*~


Kagome was fifteen. Inuyasha was seated where Miroku was sitting now; at the head of the table, wating impatiently for Kagome's mother to place food in front of him. The night before, Kagome had had a sleepover and they had all slept in the livingroom, because Kagome's mother wouldn't allow boys to sleep in her beloved daughter's room for fear of what they might do. "It's not that I don't trust you, honey." Kagome's mother had reassured her when Kagome had questioned her motives. "It's just that some boys can be very pushy when...aroused. Especially in the morning." Kagome sighed, knowing fully well what happened to guys in the morning. But it didn't seem to bother her as much as it should have.

Sango was seated to her left, as she was now in present time, and Miroku was seated across from Sango, to the left of Inuyasha. Koga had been at the other end of the table (when they were friends), and there was an empty seat for Kagome's grandfather to the left of Koga, though he never seemed to make an appearance while Kagome had friends over. That didn't stop Kagome's mom from setting a place for him, though.

Inuyasha had insisted on being served first, claiming that he was 'half-starved and everyone else could wait, god damnit!' Kagome had giggled, but her mother's scornful glance had gotten Inuyasha blushing such a bright red that she stopped right away. She tried to look in his eyes, but they were turned away. He had never cursed in front of her mother before, though she had warned him what would happen if he did. Perhaps she had sugar-coated it slightly...

When that scornfull glance was shot your way, it felt like you had just done the worst thing possible in the whole world multilplied by ten, and you just wanted to be swallowed up into the ground and hibernate for the next few thousand years. Kagome knew the feeling. She reached under the table, nudged Sango's leg away, and placed her hand on Inuyasha's knee. He looked up at her and smiled stupidly. His spirit was lifted and they all set about their giggling.

This time, it was Inuyasha that was wolfing down his food and making a spectical of himself. Miroku was pushing the megar amount of food around on his plate and looking jealously at Inuyasha's heaping plate-full of food. Sighing, he chose a piece of egg and lifted it up to his mouth. Even before his lips had parted, Inuyasha had swooped down. "You gonna eat that?" he asked. Miroku's brow rose as he motioned at Inuyasha's full plate of food. Grinning, Inuyasha had swiped the food away from Miroku and popped it into his own mouth. Miroku let out a long woosh of air, his eyes widening, then glaring, as he scooted into the spot that was set for Kagome's grandfather, pulling his food along with him. Kagome had giggled, while Sango had been glancing dreamily at Koga, who was glaring jealously at Inuyasha's food, among other things (like the attention he was getting from Kagome).

Kagome noticed and cocked a brow, but Koga just shot her a smile and took a bite of food.



~*~End Flashback~*~



Kagome sighed. "Now all that's missing is Koga and Inuyasha." She spoke her thoughts aloud unconciously. Everyone at the table seemed to stiffen, and not because she had mentioned the name Inuyasha. They had started being a little more open about their feelings as of last night, and had stayed up into the wee hours in the morning talking about the good times. Kagome lifted a hand up to her mouth and groaned. "I'm sorry. SO sorry, you guys."

Her eyes were filling with tears. Sango looked away, but Miroku gave her a half-forced smile and said "It's okay, Kagome. Really. Those were...good times." His voice grew pained and he too looked away. Kagome sighed again.




Sesshoumaru glared at a picture of Inuyasha's mother and ran a hand through his hair. The door to his office flew open unexpectedly, and in walked one of his newest pieces of work, Kikyo. "Sesshoumaru. How nice to see you again." Her voice was sugar-coated, eyes filled with menace. "I'm sorry that your....relation....has passed away, but if I can just inquire one thing. You never liked him. So why do you mourn him so?"

Lava boiled in the back of Sesshoumaru's eyes. "Kikyo. It would serve you well to not burst into my private offices. What do you want?"

Kikyo allowed a bewildered look to cross her face. "Why, Sesshoumaru! Did you not know that today is the first day of recording for my newest album?"

Sesshoumaru glared at her, allowing the picture of Inuyasha's mother to leave his mind as he placed it gently on his desk. "I remembered. I was just hoping that you would not."

A high-pitched giggle left Kikyo's throat, and she approached Sesshoumaru's desk languishly. "Ah, Sesshoumaru. You are becoming your old self again. I'm glad." She allowed a seductive smile to grace her lips as she rested her palms on Sesshoumaru's desk, hips swaying seductively behind her. If Sesshoumaru were any other man, he would have been swayed by her "sexy" ways. But he was not.

"Ningen. Get your filthy hands off of my desk and leave this Sesshoumaru's office."

Kikyo sucked in a breath, then let it out slowly, the look of surprise leaving her face. A smirk took it's place. "You are becoming yourself faster than I expected. This is a good thing." With that, she abrubtly turned around and walked to the door, her hips swaying with every stride. There she stopped. "Sesshoumaru, you are going to come hear me sing, aren't you? You would be my good luck charm."

"I suppose that you, Kikyo, need all the good luck you can get, with the retched squeals that you call singing. I will come."

Kikyo flashed a pout to Sesshoumaru, then left the room. Sesshoumaru closed his eyes and rubbed his temples vigirously. It was going to be a long day.



"Oooh, boy,
you're making me hot for you.
I can't stop what I'm feeling, but I can't deny that it feels good,
don't make it stop.

I never want this feeling to end,
you're taking me on a ride.

At my house,
At the mall,
At the park,
I'll do it anywhere as long as I'm with you,
Ooh boy

I-"

"Stop. Just stop."

The music was cut off, and Kikyo allowed her hedphones to slide off of her ears. "What? What was wrong with that take? We've done it four times already. I think this was the best one!"

Sesshoumaru sighed. "Kikyo, this song makes you seem like a slut. These types of songs are not directed towards the younger audiences. They're directed to titty bars. This is not the type of music I produce."

A hurt look appeared on Kikyo's face. "Sesshoumaru," she said. "I didn't write this song. I was just told to sing it."

"Well then, perhaps you should write your own songs." Turning towards then man working the controls, he said, "That will be all for today. Find the song writer and tell him I wish to have a word with him. The music I produce will not make me, or my employees look bad." Under his breath he added, "Even though the one who just happens to be singing this song is a slut." Turning on his heal, he stalked out of the room.



Back in his office, Sesshoumaru sat at his desk. Remembering a certain girl whom he was supposed to be protecting (though from what he didn't know), he picked up a book from the corner of his desk and opened it to the middle. The pages were cut out in a rectangular shape, and inside the box-like space was a mirror. Running his claws over it softly, he imagined the girl. Immediately, a picture of her appeared on the mirror. She was eating breakfast with the two who had been at the funeral with her, her mouth set in a grim line.

He could tell her mind was on something else as she watched the male push food around on his plate. Sesshoumaru wished he could know what it was. Then, it was as if a door was opened to him, within her mind. He could see her memory clearly, see the very first moment that she knew that she liked Inuyasha as more than just a friend. And he could see that Inuyasha didn't know, just as she could.

Suddenly, her memory subsided, and she was talking. Sesshoumaru couldn't hear the words. The speaking didn't last long, and afterwards, the girl seemed to withdraw into herself more. Sesshoumaru caught snippets of memories as she thought of them. Some of them he wished he hadn't seen.

The night she gave herself to his brother. The way she said "I love you, Inuyasha". And he realized something. She had loved him. But not in the way she thought she had. Maybe not like friends, but not like lovers either. They had never been destined to be together. And even if Inuyasha hadn't died that night, Kagome couldn't have loved him more than she already did: not as a friend and not as a lover.



After breakfast, Sango and Miroku left. They had decided that they could no longer hide from the world in her home. And though they felt welcome and knew they could come back whenever they felt like it, they also knew that they had to go home some day.

After they left, Kagome felt lonely. She walked around her own home like a ghost, not knowing where to go, but not wanting to go anywhere even if she knew where to. Kagome's mother watched helplessly as Kagome wandered from room to room in the house, picking up pictures of Inuyasha and staring at them for long periods of time before setting them back in place exactly as they had been.

One of these pictures Kagome picked up contained a young girl about two years older than Inuyasha, his arm draped around her like she was a posession. He was sixteen, and looked as loopy as a school boy with a crush on his teacher. Kagome's eyes turned to slits as she glared at the girl in the picture. She just couldn't for the life of her remember the girl's name! Angry at herself and Inuyasha, not to mention the girl that was smirking back at her, she threw the picture at the wall and ran up the stairs to her bedroom, slamming the door behind her.



Sesshoumaru watched memories flying through Kagome's head like a tornado. Was that...Kikyo in that picture with Inuyasha? As if he were feeling Kagome's emotions, a surge of jealousy surged through him until he could bare it no more and he had to slam the book shut.

He was just in time. A short, bald man with huge eyes entered his office, eyes glued to the floor. "Aah, Jaken. So you are the imp who's been writing Kikyo's lyrics."

"Yes, sir."

"You sound ashamed. Are you?"

"Yes, sir. This Jaken is sorry that he has made his master look foolish in front of the world. He is sorry for the stupid lyrics he has written for lady Kikyo."

"Sometimes, Jaken, sorry isn't good enough. Did you say lady Kikyo?"

"Y-y-yes, m-m-my lord. Is there something wrong."

"Aah, but Jaken, lady Kikyo as you so called her is anything but. I don't even know why I've hired such a fool."

"M-my lord? Do you wish to have her fired? This Jaken would be oblidged to do it, sir!" The toad said delightedly.

"Aah, Jaken, you do not know how much I wish to fire this blasted woman. But I have other matters to attend to, and if I don't produce a new album soon, this comany just might go under. So she will remain, for the time being."

"Yes, my lord."

"That will be all, Jaken."

"Yes, my lord." The toad bent in a lousy bow, before scurring out of the room.

Sesshoumaru's thoughts returned to Kagome.