InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Metamorphosis ❯ Study This! ( Chapter 31 )
[ X - Adult: No readers under 18. Contains Graphic Adult Themes/Extreme violence. ]
By: King Baka 
Inuyasha and Kagome have different ideas for her study time...
Anime/Manga: InuYasha Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Angst / Suspense / Romance / Hentai / Adventure | Type: Continuation | Uploaded On: 07.13.2009 | Updated On: 01.26.2011 | Pages: 5 | Words: 9.3K | Visits: 4.3K | Status: Completed
Inuyasha and Kagome have different ideas for her study time...
Anime/Manga: InuYasha Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Angst / Suspense / Romance / Hentai / Adventure | Type: Continuation | Uploaded On: 07.13.2009 | Updated On: 01.26.2011 | Pages: 5 | Words: 9.3K | Visits: 4.3K | Status: Completed
Disclaimer: I don’t own Inuyasha or any of the publicly known characters, plot, etc. I’m just renting them from Rumiko Takahashi, Viz, etc. I do own the plot of this story and any original characters I’ve created. I will make no money from this fic; I write for my own enjoyment and the enjoyment of my readers.
Study This!
Saturday morning dawned drearily with a light mist rolling along the ground in fluid waves. The intrepid group of travelers roused bright and early, one a little more sluggishly than the rest. But Inuyasha’s wound was not as painful as he feared, and it wouldn’t hinder him unless they came up against a strong opponent. After a quick breakfast, Kagome changed the dressings and the two hanyou set out, seeking to give her as much study time as possible. At least, that was Kagome’s motivation. Inuyasha was hoping more study time also meant more time for other things, whatever those might be. The rest of their party would take their time and await their return at the village.
Kagome ran behind him, keeping a careful eye on her stubborn mate. But his injury didn’t seem to be effecting him very much if one ignored the slightly slower than normal pace at which they traveled. Even so, they were moving much faster than any human could, and easily reached the well before noon. Kagome lingered at the edge of the wooden structure, the anxiety which had been building in her for an hour coming to a head. Her logical mind told her she was being ridiculous, that everything would be fine, but she couldn’t completely banish the persistent doubt from her thoughts.
“Somethin’ wrong, wench?”
“It’s stupid,” she replied with a shake of her head.
“I’m sure,” he quipped, “but spit it out anyway.” His smirk faded only slightly as she glared at him.
“You know we have to tell my mother about us, don’t you?”
Suddenly, Inuyasha wasn’t smiling anymore. “You’d better be using the royal ‘we,’ wench.”
“No,” Kagome ground out, her glare intensifying. “‘We’ as in you and me.”
“Uh, here’s a better idea! You tell your mom, and me will stay here.”
Grrrrrrrrr. “You wanna repeat that?” Kagome growled, looking like she was about to blow a gasket.
“Keh!” Inuyasha responded in a miserable attempt at nonchalance. “Relax, wench. Like I’d ever let you face your mother alone! You’re acting like she’s some kind of crazed youkai or something.”
Kagome did relax somewhat, but the edge of trepidation remained in her scent. “You’ve never seen her angry.”
“Is it bad?”
“Let’s just say I know where I get my temper.”
Inuyasha shuddered; he still couldn’t imagine Mrs. Higurashi angry, but if she was anything like her daughter, then perhaps this was more serious than he first thought.
“This really is stupid,” Kagome declared suddenly. “Mama adores you, and I know she’ll accept us. I guess I’m just nervous. I’ve never told her I’m intimately involved with a guy before.”
“Damn right you haven’t.”
“Baka,” she said, mentally picturing herself beating his male ego senseless with a stick. Honestly, like he was with anyone before me. And for the first time, Kagome thought of Kikyou without feeling an iota of jealousy. It was truly a milestone moment for her, one which her baka mate quickly ruined.
“Are we gonna stand here all day, wench?”
Sighing in exasperation, but grinning brightly nonetheless, she grabbed his hand and dragged him into the well. They emerged on the other side to the musty air of the old well house. Inuyasha took Kagome in his arms and leapt out of the manmade hole before setting her down.
“You know, you don’t have to carry me out of the well anymore,” she told him with no real censure in her tone. Truth be told, she would never tire of the simple pleasure of being carried by Inuyasha, either in his arms or on his back.
“Habit,” he said simply with a shrug. He too missed the regular physical contact that used to come with the need to travel faster or higher than a human could. Of course, now they were connecting in entirely different ways, which helped him cope with no longer getting to carry her very often. They walked up the steps, but unfamiliar voices stopped them just before they opened the door.
“Damn,” Kagome swore after peeking through a crack in the shoji door. Souta and three other boys were kicking a soccer ball around the shrine grounds. Unfortunately, there was only one way to exit the well house short of creating a hole in the wall, and that was to use the front entrance, which was in full view of the three innocent lads who could not be made privy to its secrets under any circumstances. And since neither she nor Inuyasha had any way to hide their ears, much less explain their traditional clothing or why they were in the well house in the first place, they were stuck. For how long was an intriguing question as boys can be very unpredictable. Sometimes they flit from one activity to another every five minutes, and sometimes they do the same thing for hours on end. Kagome sincerely hoped this was a case of the former.
“Great, just great,” she muttered, “so much for getting an early start on studying. What are we supposed to do now?”
“I can think of something,” Inuyasha growled huskily into her ear, his hands wrapping around her midsection and seductively moving over her stomach. Instant lust shot through her veins, thicker than blood, and her rational mind struggled to cope with the cruel temptation.
“Y-your wound…”
“Is fine.”
“We…can’t,” she breathed, her head lolling back against his shoulder as he left small love bites along her neck.
“Why not?”
Kagome frowned; she knew there was some reason they couldn’t do this here. But it was becoming harder and harder to think straight as his ministrations continued, that familiar haze settling over her. A well-timed boyish shout supplied her with the answer, and she immediately lurched upright and out of his embrace. Taking a moment to compose herself, she turned on the horny hanyou who had so easily overcome her self control.
“That’s why!” she yelled, pointing an accusing finger at the blessedly still-closed shoji door.
“Feh! Why the hell would they come in here?”
“They’d hear us!”
“Not if we were quie—on second thought, you’re probably right.”
Kagome raised an eyebrow, but not just because of what he said. She did not like the attitude he was projecting right now; he wore a self-satisfied smirk with more than a hint of arrogance dancing in his eyes.
“No, spit it out. Why couldn’t we be quiet?” she practically snarled, daring him to voice what she knew he was thinking.
“I don’t know if you could be quiet,” he stated amusedly.
“Ooooh, you conceited, egotistical jer—”
“Nee-chan?”
“Kyaaaa!” she shrieked, whirling on her brother. “Souta! Don’t scare me like that!” Realizing with a start that the door to the outside world was now open, she hastily covered her ears with her hands.
“Relax, Nee-chan. I sent them inside to play video games after I convinced them the noises they heard were just the cat. Now quit being so loud and hop up to your room while the coast is clear! Unless you wanna spend the whole day in here.”
Kagome was forced to grit her teeth and listen to Inuyasha’s snickering. Oh, sure, he would have no problem with that! She harrumphed and stormed off without looking back. Inuyasha was about to follow when a small voice stopped him.
“Hey, Inu-no-oniichan, what didn’t Kagome want me and my friends to see?”
“Uh,” Inuyasha stalled, trying to figure out how to get out of this without telling Souta he was screwing his big sister.
“Were you kissing?”
“Y-yeah! Kissing! That’s it!” he affirmed, only afterwards wondering how Souta would react to the news. He needn’t have worried; the kid thought about it for a moment before smiling brightly.
“Cool! Nee-chan is really crazy about you.”
“Yeah, I know.”
Souta paused a moment, gazing up at him with a critical eye. “How do you feel about her?” he asked softly, the display of sibling protectiveness making him seem more like an adult than ever before.
“The same,” Inuyasha replied simply after a couple seconds of silence.
“Good,” Souta answered. Then he cracked a smile, and once again became the child Inuyasha was more familiar with. “And yet, you still manage to piss her off like nobody else can.”
“That ain’t never gonna change, kid,” Inuyasha said before leaping up to join his mate in her room. If she hadn’t locked her window, that is. She had not, but his relief over that fact disappeared as soon as he climbed in the window and witnessed her pulling a modern blouse down over her midsection. As she set to work neatly folding her feudal era clothing, still ignoring him, he realized with a groan that he had missed seeing her change. Dammit, Souta! All that couldn’t have waited until later? Eh, she probably would have kicked me out anyway. Man, when did I become such a horny bastard? Probably right around the time he and Kagome had shared that first magical evening together as lovers. He had a feeling his libido was another thing that was never going to change. It was like a boulder perched at the top of a hill; it could sit unmoving for many years, but once given a push it kept rolling and rolling and fucking and rolling…
“You ready to stop being so cocky?” Kagome asked suddenly, arms crossed over her chest and a petite frown gracing her features. Inuyasha smirked, remembering what happened the last time he allowed a little arrogance to show. (1) He certainly wouldn’t mind a repeat of that performance.
“Nope.”
Kagome sighed, slumping her shoulders and laying her forehead in her palm, muttering indiscernible words that were surely derogatory and directed at the male gender.
“Come on, jerk. Let’s get this over with,” she ordered, exiting the room. Inuyasha didn’t miss the way her eyes glowed, even though the rest of her body acted angry. But she was more flustered and annoyed than mad, and he thought he even caught a giggle from her as she descended the stairs. So she obviously wasn’t truly upset with him. Good, she knows what I said is true! He briefly considered loitering in her room, just to make her sweat, but wisely decided not to try her patience any further—at least for a little while. He found the two Higurashi women in the kitchen, the older making tea and the younger nervously wringing her hands at the table.
“Ah, Inuyasha, it’s good to see you again,” Mrs. Higurashi welcomed kindly. “Kagome tells me we have something important to discuss?” At his brisk nod, she turned her back and resumed her task. “Well, just hold on another minute. I bought a new flavor at the market to try…”
Inuyasha tuned her out, directing his focus toward his still fidgeting mate. It was strange that she was more anxious about this than he, but that was probably because it was her mother. Sitting down across from her, and sparing a glance to make sure the other Higurashi wasn’t looking, he grasped both her hands in one of his larger ones. She stilled immediately and locked eyes with him, managing a grateful smile as she took a deep breath that ebbed some of the stress from her shoulders.
“Tea’s ready!” Mrs. Higurashi proclaimed suddenly, startling both hanyou into separating and shoving their hands under the table. She set the brew down without missing a beat, and Inuyasha dutifully accepted a cup. It wasn’t half bad; there was a certain mintiness to it that tickled his taste buds. “Mmmm, I’ll have to buy this again sometime,” she declared merrily as if completely oblivious to the tension in the room. But Inuyasha knew she wasn’t enough of a flake not to notice. Kagome hadn’t even tasted her tea yet; instead, she sat there swirling the cup and staring into the liquid as it churned.
“Alright,” Mrs. Higurashi spoke into the awkward silence, “what did you need to tell me?” The question was addressed to Kagome, and Inuyasha wasn’t planning on answering. He was here for moral support and solidarity, but this was her mother. He wouldn’t expect Kagome to tell his mother they were together if she was still alive. He took another sip of his tea, and of course Mrs. Higurashi waited until that moment to break the hush which had settled over the three of them.
“So when can I expect my first grandchild?”
Inuyasha barely managed to keep from spitting his drink, which would not have been good as Kagome was seated directly across from him. Her jaw had dropped in shock, and he didn’t imagine she would appreciate a mouthful of pre-sipped tea. Swapping spit was pleasurable in other situations, but certainly not here and now. So with great effort he choked down the liquid, coughing into a closed fist until he caught his breath. Mrs. Higurashi patted him on the back, which made him feel better because at least she wasn’t clobbering him over the head with a broom as the chronically insecure part of him had feared she might. Meanwhile, Kagome was just now getting around to closing her mouth. Her mother just smiled at her as if nothing out of the ordinary had occurred.
“H-how did you know?” she croaked.
“A mother can sense these things,” the older woman replied simply.
“You saw us holding hands, didn’t you?” Kagome remarked dryly, clearly not impressed with her mother’s professed intuition.
“Please! I knew when you first walked into the kitchen. In fact, I saw the feelings you had for each other long before either of you did.”
“And you’re not…mad?”
“Why would I be mad?” Mrs. Higurashi inquired. Kagome shrugged and glanced off to the side.
“I don’t know. I guess I got this crazy idea that you wanted me to end up with a modern—human man.”
“Kagome,” her mother soothed, raising her hand to caress her daughter’s cheek. Kagome tilted her head to the side, leaning into the contact. “Where or when he’s from, human or demon, I don’t care about any of those things. I just wanted you to find a good man, and you have,” she said, gazing warmly at Inuyasha, who could only stare at her in wonder. “So,” she stated, turning back to Kagome, “what are you two to each other?”
“Mates,” Inuyasha replied quickly, finally deciding to enter the conversation.
“And what does that mean?”
“Dunno. That’s how youkai couples refer to each other. There are rules, but I don’t know them. Both of us want it to be permanent, though.”
Mrs. Higurashi nodded, her grin widening as she digested the new information. It faded only slightly as she posed her next query.
“Good. Have you two been…intimate?” Matching flushes answered that question, but she waited until she received dual nods just to be sure. “You are being careful, right? I was just kidding about grandchildren before. You need to wait until you’re ready.”
“Yes, Mama, we know. We haven’t even talked about k-kids yet,” Kagome confessed, momentarily glancing over at Inuyasha through lowered eyelashes. “Actually, that’s another reason why we needed to come back here today. Tomorrow I want to go pick up some c-c—, con—, um…”
“Condoms, Kagome?” Mrs. Higurashi ‘helpfully’ supplied, snickering at her daughter’s discomfiture. Inuyasha briefly joined in, but was instantly silenced by a positively livid, wild-eyed stare from his mate. He clammed up and tried to look as innocent as possible, a move which seemed to have only limited effect. Fortunately, Mrs. Higurashi came to his rescue.
“Is there anything else I should know?”
Kagome thought for a moment, then answered seriously. “I’ve decided to stay a hanyou…forever.”
“Y-you didn’t tell them that before, wench?” Inuyasha demanded after a quick double-take. Kagome shrugged, but the movement was anything but nonchalant.
“It must have slipped my mind,” she replied somberly. Inuyasha grimaced as a wave of guilt hit him; he suddenly knew precisely why relating her decision to her family had ‘slipped her mind.’ The last time she visited her time, he had carried her through the well fully naked save his haori and almost completely paralyzed from that damn youkai’s attack. And it was his fault she had been alone in the woods in the first place. Even after he had explained his apparent rejection, the pain had still probably been too fresh for her to risk exposing herself to it again.
“Sorry,” he muttered. She shook her head vigorously, indicating that she no longer held that moment against him. But he definitely cursed himself for it; it was one of the low points in his life, after all. Not for the first time he promised himself that there would never be another like it.
“I see,” Mrs. Higurashi interjected, reminding them that she had yet to pass judgment on Kagome’s decision. “Whatever makes you happy, dear.”
Kagome’s eyes watered, pent up anxiety pouring forth in a torrent of emotion that had her rushing around the table and enfolding her mother in a tight embrace.
“I was stupid to worry about you for even a second, Mama!” she cried into her shoulder.
“Yes, you were, dear. But I love you anyway.”
A choked laugh escaped Kagome at this, and when she pulled away a few seconds later it was with a smile. “Thanks, Mama. Now I just have to figure out how to tell Jii-chan,” she stated, drying her tears with the back of a hand.
“You let me worry about your grandfather,” Mrs. Higurashi ordered. “I’m sure he will accept the path you’ve chosen. He may just need a little…convincing first.”
“I’m still gonna end up covered in fucking sutras,” Inuyasha mumbled under his breath. Kagome couldn’t stifle a giggle at the mental image of him swathed in sticky pieces of paper, his face twisted in the sourest of pusses.
“What are your plans for the rest of the day?” Mrs. Higurashi asked.
“Studying,” Kagome responded. “I have tests in math and English on Monday, and science on Tuesday.”
“Oh, but it’s only 1:30. Do you have to start right now?”
“Sorry, Mama, but I’m not prepared at all. Plus I’ll have to stop for dinner, and I have to unpack my bag— Oh! Do you wanna see the presents Inuyasha got me?”
“Hmmm, he brought you gifts, did he?” Mrs. Higurashi repeated mischievously, shooting Inuyasha a meaningful look.
“F-feh!” he grumbled, folding his arms over his chest in a lame attempt to cover his embarrassment. He was glad when Kagome grabbed her mother’s hand and dragged her upstairs; it gave him a chance to slip outside and find refuge in Goshinboku. It warmed his heart to hear the older woman gushing over Kagome’s “stunning” and “wonderful” new clothes, but all the attention still made him uncomfortable. He supposed he still wasn’t used to this whole ‘being nice’ thing, having never really given anyone a gift before. There was the time he gave Kikyou his mother’s lip gloss, and even that had been exceedingly difficult. But somehow he had managed to convince Kagome’s mother that he was a ‘good man,’ so he must have done something right. He would never be worthy of her daughter—no one was—but he would do everything he could to make himself worthy.
“Awww, what a beautiful yukata!”
Inuyasha flushed despite himself as he heard Mrs. Higurashi’s voice drift through Kagome’s open window. Come to think of it, he had only seen Kagome wear the garment once, the night they agreed to embark upon a fresh start. And what a fine fresh start it’s been, he thought with a smirk. He would have to make it a point to get her to put it on again. And then take it off (and leave it off).
“Well, he should be praised. He didn’t get you fancy jewelry or some folk remedy you’ll never use for some ailment you’ll never have,” she uttered, leaving no doubt as to whom she was alluding to. “He gave you things you truly needed, clothes you’ll wear every day. Often, it’s those gifts that show how much a person cares for you. And this yukata, Kagome…it’s amazing.”
“Yeah,” Kagome agreed wistfully. It sounded so cliché, but it was true; Inuyasha’s gifts really had been the most special she had ever received. The design on the back of the yukata had probably been Daichi’s idea, but that didn’t make it any less meaningful.
“Did he give these to you before or after he told you how he felt?” her mother asked.
“About a week before. That night was…complicated, to say the least.”
“Ah, did you have a fight?”
“A misunderstanding, and for once it was me hurting him,” Kagome confessed, ears drooping.
“Well, he seems to have forgiven you.”
“Yeah,” she replied, grinning once more, “he has. It’s all water under the bridge now, Mama, and things have never been better!”
“I’m glad. You two are certainly growing up fast…” Mrs. Higurashi trailed off, and Kagome knew her mother wasn’t finished with that line of thought. “Have you talked about getting mar—”
“SHHH!!!” Kagome cut her off suddenly, startling the poor human woman into a near heart attack.
“Kagome, wha—”
Her daughter merely shook her head and pressed her finger to her lips, her eyes pleading. She strode over to the window, shutting it gently and letting out a relieved sigh as she did so. Mrs. Higurashi considered her daughter’s strange behavior for several moments, but could only come up with one plausible explanation.
“Kagome, don’t tell me you don’t want to marry him.”
“It’s not that, Mama,” she replied, easing the sudden knot in her mother’s stomach. But she still had yet to provide a reason for her apparent discomfort with the idea, and Mrs. Higurashi waited with bated breath for her to do so.
“Inuyasha was promised to marry once before, and you know how that ended,” Kagome began grimly. “I don’t know how he feels about human marriage now. Did the disaster with Kikyou scar him into never considering marriage ever again?”
“B-but Kagome! You know he would do anything for you, right?”
“I know that, Mama! But I don’t want him to feel obligated to become my husband. If he truly wants to marry me, then I’ll say ‘yes’ before he even finishes the question. If not, then I’ll be satisfied with being joined with him in the youkai manner. I just don’t want to force him into anything he doesn’t want.”
Mrs. Higurashi studied her daughter for a long time, but eventually heaved an exasperated sigh. “I think you’re wrong about this, Kagome, but I do understand where you’re coming from. Inuyasha won’t hear anything about marriage from me.”
“Thanks, Mama. Could you please also tell Jii-chan and Souta not to mention it?”
“I suppose,” her mother relented. The uncomfortable silence stretched on for a few moments, and both sensed that there was nothing more to say. “Well, I’ll go see if Souta and his friends need anything,” she said, standing to leave.
“Okay,” Kagome replied, feeling guilty for placing the added burden on her mother. Now alone in her room, she reaffirmed her conviction in her choice of action. She was somewhat alarmed to note that it wasn’t nearly as strong as it had been earlier that morning. An insistent rapping on her window drew her attention away from her concerns and immediately lifted her spirits as she remembered what she was supposed to be doing up here.
“You can only come in if you promise to be quiet,” she declared playfully, knowing Inuyasha would hear her even through the glass.
“Fuck that,” he growled, sparking a round of giggles in Kagome that fully rejuvenated her good mood. Evidently Inuyasha grew tired of being laughed at, for he suddenly vanished from her view. Kagome hastily locked the door as well; if he wouldn’t promise to be quiet, he wasn’t getting in. It was as simple as that, at least until she was done studying. But she needn’t have worried; Inuyasha decided to give her a few hours to herself. He quite rationally reasoned that if she got all her studying done now, she would have time to practice something else later, a form of art they both were still relative novices at. That would change soon if he had anything to say about it.
So he was fully intent on sitting downstairs in front of that weird moving picture box until dinner, but fate had other plans. Mrs. Higurashi slapped a hat on him, and the reason became clear two seconds later when four adolescent boys came gallivanting down the stairs. They had tired of playing video games and wished to resume their soccer match. And since Souta would never miss a chance to show off his hero, Inuyasha found himself the fifth wheel in their little group thanks in part to some gentle cajoling from the kid’s mother. Damn, how did I get into this?
They soon discovered that he wasn’t very good at soccer, and that was putting it lightly. More bluntly, he sucked something awful. He was afraid to lose control of his strength and boot the thing halfway across Tokyo. Add to that the fact that it had been a century since he’d last kicked a ball around, and you had a perfect recipe for mediocrity. At least, that was the justification he gave for his Charlie Brown-esque whiffs. Not wanting to send his idol to the showers, Souta proposed that they put him in goal. That worked out better than he could have imagined; Inuyasha didn’t have the coordination to handle the ball, but he sure as hell had the reflexes to block it. The boys divided up two on two, with Inuyasha playing the role of neutral goalkeeper. Ten full minutes later, the score was still nil-nil, and the boys decided ‘the goal was too small.’ Widening the gap did no good, even after they did it a few more times. Eventually, with the sun setting behind the western skyscrapers, Inuyasha decided the game needed to end and let a kick bounce off his hand and through. Two of Souta’s friends cheered and high-fived, leaving the dumbfounded boy to glower at his hero as if to say ‘what gives? You’re supposed to let me win!’ Inuyasha shrugged innocently, smirking inwardly. Heh, that’ll teach him to involve me in his stupid games!
Mrs. Higurashi called them in for dinner, and the other boys departed, asking if they could come by again and play with “Red Lightning,” as they nicknamed him. Thinking quickly, Souta told them he was out of town a lot, but that he would call them the next time he was around. Inuyasha grumbled about that, but as much as he liked to bitch, that had been the most fun he’d had in a long time. His childhood had been noticeably lacking in moments like that; he had been lucky if the other kids settled for just ignoring him.
“So, Kagome, haven’t seen you in awhile,” Mrs. Higurashi observed as the family sat down for supper. “Get a lot of studying done?”
Kagome grimaced and shook her head; the past few hours had been decidedly unproductive. Even with her window closed, her ears were good enough to pick up the laughter and shouts from outside, making concentrating on math difficult to say the least. Stupid hanyou hearing! And she couldn’t tell them to shut up without revealing her superhuman senses, since no normal person would be able to detect noises from that distance away through a solid sheet of glass. The boys weren’t being that loud. But beyond that, the real distraction had been the allure of watching her mate at play. It drew her away from her notes and books, compelled her to open the window and lean lazily against the sill. She watched them for what seemed an immeasurable span of time, a crooked grin gracing her features. Inuyasha seemed so innocent, so happy at play with the boys. Yet, he never lost touch with the adult in him. When the boys argued, he stepped in. He let the boys run the show, remaining a stabilizing presence without ever falling into the rampant spirit of competition in the air. He was behaving just like an older brother. Or a parent. Inuyasha is going to make an amazing father someday.
That thought and its successors pounded the nails into her math muse’s coffin. Did Inuyasha want children as much as she did? She thought so, but then again, she had misread him before. She spent the rest of the afternoon asking herself questions and daydreaming about kids: what would they be like, what would they name them, how many would they have, etc. Things she shouldn’t be thinking about; they hadn’t even been together for two weeks yet! But she couldn’t help herself, and consequently the day passed into night without a single iota of calculus entering her mind.
“You done studying yet, wench?”
Kagome sighed. She was sitting at her desk, hastily pouring over the gibberish that she had to make sense of for her test on Monday. Inuyasha was perched cross-legged on her bed, Tetsusaiga leaning up against his shoulder in his classic ‘resting warrior’ pose. This scenario was familiar, and she had learned to focus while alone with him. The problem was that he was being far too noisy.
“No, Inuyasha.”
“When are you gonna be done?”
“I don’t know.”
“This is stupid. Just ‘cause you wasted the whole day doesn’t mean—”
“Inuyasha! If you can’t be quiet you can leave,” she snapped, immediately feeling guilty when his face fell…into a pout, revealing that he knew he was being annoying, which in turn made her guilt all but evaporate. He grumbled under his breath for a few more seconds before finally shutting up and allowing Kagome to concentrate. Still, this was not how he had imagined the evening going, and he wasn’t about to admit defeat so easily.
Twenty minutes later, Kagome was actually making decent progress. Bits and pieces of the great puzzle that was math had begun to fall into place, allowing her to guess at what the vague, murky picture might be. She could only hope it wasn’t a giant red “F” that lay at the end of all her studying. And if it was, she would blame the amorous hanyou at her back who even in silence continued to prove a distraction. She could tell exactly what he wanted by his scent alone, and she couldn’t deny that it was affecting her…a little. But she had her priorities, and Inuyasha would just have to wait, no matter how tempting it was to throw her book out the window throw herself at him.
And then she heard the rustling of fabric, followed by the muffled thud of cloth landing on the floor. Her brows twitched in interest and consternation. Don’t look, girl! Don’t look! Attempting to resume her studies proved fruitless, however, and she eventually conceded that she needed to satisfy her curiosity so she could get back to work. She was a cat, after all. Just a peek.
That vow died a horrible death as soon as she caught a glimpse of his smooth skin. He had removed both his tops and was lying on her bed with his hands folded under his head. One leg was raised, the ankle crossed over a knee. His eyes were closed, expression neutral, and her gaze moved to linger further south as the danger of being caught staring seemed to lessen. His chiseled chest and abdomen were bared to her hungry gaze, the muscles rising and falling with each breath. Her fingers twitched with memories of what it felt like to run them along his body, feeling it react underneath them. Suddenly he yawned, his arching back startling her from her stupor. She whirled around, feeling like a pervert who had just barely escaped being caught peeking into the changing room of the opposite sex. That was completely ridiculous; he was her mate, and she could ogle him whenever she wanted! Studying could wait a few minutes, couldn’t it?
She glanced over her shoulder again, this time starting her perusal at his navel. Had his hakama always ridden so sinfully low on his hips? She clenched her thighs together as the sight of him sent waves of low heat to her core. A tempest was brewing inside her, becoming more violent as her gaze traveled up his body once more, stopping on his amber eyes, smoldering with desire. Wait…WHAT?!!! Gasping, she spun around, nearly falling off the chair with the suddenness of the motion. She was now certain her face closely resembled a ripe tomato, and it didn’t feel like it would ever cool. That’s it, stupid! No more sightseeing! Study! Uh, let’s see…3x2-5x+2=30. What is x? Uh…um…dammit!!!
*Snap*
Kagome stared dumbfounded at her broken pencil, an unintended casualty of the ongoing war between responsibility and lust within her mind. She was ashamed to admit that lust was winning, at least until a soft noise from Inuyasha reached her ears. It wasn’t much, just a small snicker, but it was enough to raise her hackles and bring a whole new party to the conflict: anger. That arrogant jackass! He was toying with me the whole time! The question now became whether she would let him get away with it.
She stood so quickly and with such force that her chair toppled backwards, the racket causing Inuyasha to bolt upright. Briskly she stalked over to him, grabbing his forelocks without preamble and yanking his face up to meet hers. Her lips smashed over his, dominating, and he could do nothing but close his eyes and let it happen. So overwhelmed was he by the kiss that he didn’t even notice the awkward shuffling of his own feet until it was too late. A hard shove sent him careening to land gracelessly on his backside, cloth tossed on his head temporarily cutting off his vision. He heard the sound of a door closing and then an ominous click that sounded suspiciously like a lock. He didn’t even need to look around to know he was in the hallway. Standing, he shrugged on his haori and kosode as his own anger crested.
“Open this door, wench!” he growled as quietly as he could, not wanting to alert Kagome’s family to his dilemma.
“Sorry, Inuyasha, but you’re too distracting,” she replied, her voice practically oozing amusement.
“Ka-Go-Me,” he snarled through gritted teeth. Realizing her mate was about to blow a stack, Kagome decided on a switch in tactics.
“Please, Inuyasha,” she begged miserably, “I really need to study. Go downstairs and watch TV, and I promise I’ll make it up to you later.” She finished on a sultry note, and grinned when no immediate response came from the other side of the wood. Got him.
“Ah, crap,” Inuyasha mumbled after a few moments.
“Thanks, Inuyasha!”
“Keh! I’m holding you to that promise, wench.” She owes me big time for this! Sighing, he turned and made his way downstairs, plopping down in front of the ‘TV’ box. Grabbing the remote, he stared at it blankly. How did Souta say to work this stupid thing? He pushed a few buttons and nothing happened, but when he tried a red one up in the corner the box came to life. He nearly leapt out of his chair, glancing around sheepishly to make sure no one had witnessed his display. After some trial and error, he figured out how to change the channel and more importantly turn the volume down. Stupid humans and their crappy hearing.
He spent a good twenty minutes flipping through the channels and feeling stupid when he didn’t understand any of the dramas, animes, or game shows he found, not that he could identify them as such. He finally settled on a game involving nine men per side, a little white ball, an oddly shaped stick, and four white lumps in the dirt. Now this he could understand. Man throws ball. Opposing man tries to hit ball. Simple. But as he continued to watch, he realized it was much more complicated than that. The thrower seemed to have a magic touch with the ball; he could make it go straight, dip sharply, or even move left or right. And the guy standing behind the catcher had some power, judging each throw by some semi-ambiguous zone. The funny thing was that everyone else seemed to know this zone better than the game-caller, and a couple of the players got ‘sent to the showers’ for arguing. Heh, that’s humans for you. They never tire of fighting over stupid things. (2). Watching this strange game proved a therapeutic experience for Inuyasha, and soon he found himself stretched out on the couch, more at ease than he had been in a long time. He knew he couldn’t get used to moments like this, not with Naraku still alive and the jewel incomplete, which made him all the more appreciative of opportunities to kick back and chill for awhile. He didn’t used to be like that; the old Inuyasha had no ‘off button’ when it came to the mission. He chose to see this newfound temperament as another sign of personal growth.
The game ended several hours later with one player hitting a ball into the seats across the field and everyone on his team going nuts. The channel switched to another game, so he started watching that one as the night progressed into the very early hours of the morning. He was nearly asleep when clumsy, uncoordinated footsteps on the stairs roused him. Kagome’s pajama-clad legs came into view first, and she trudged into the kitchen without even sparing him a glance. Her body was slumped as if the mere act of staying awake was more than she could handle. Ah, crap. I should have known this would happen. Kagome had exhausted herself studying, and he didn’t have the heart to ask her for sex now. She would just have to owe him double tomorrow. He didn’t think she would mind too much. She emerged from the kitchen sucking on a red popsicle, and Inuyasha had to stifle a needy groan as his imagination played tricks on him. She just can’t make this easy, can she? Again Kagome didn’t stop to acknowledge him, continuing on toward the stairs and leaving Inuyasha feeling just a little jilted.
“Done studying, wench?”
Kagome jumped at his sudden question, nearly dropping the popsicle as her eyes darted around until she spotted him. “Oh…yeah, for tonight, anyway,” she replied groggily, rubbing her eyes, adorable in that way that only a sleepy young woman can pull off.
Rolling his eyes, Inuyasha sat up, pulled the lever on the footrest he had discovered earlier, and raised his arm. Kagome eagerly accepted the invitation, cuddling into his side with a contented sigh. There were things he wanted to talk to her about, especially the subject of children brought up earlier that day, but she was in no condition to discuss anything with her brain deep fried as it was. He reached a hand up to rub her ear, not that she needed any help falling asleep.
“Mmmm, that’s nice,” she mumbled. She was out less than a minute later, snoring softly. Her face was so serene in sleep, so trusting, and he couldn’t resist placing a tender kiss on her forehead. Warmth bubbled within him, and he had to blink back unbidden tears caused by some insane emotion he had never felt before. Was this…true happiness? More footsteps sounded on the stairs before he could consider that possibility any further, these ones soft and measured. Inuyasha wasn’t surprised when Mrs. Higurashi appeared at the bottom, noticing them with a wry grin.
“She really wore herself out, didn’t she?” the older woman asked.
“Yep. Dummy didn’t even notice I was here until I said something. How come you’re still up? Humans need more rest than hanyou, you know.”
“And the young need more than the old.”
“Keh.”
“Oh, I remember when I used to hold her like that,” she sighed wistfully, though then her expression turned solemn. “I rocked her to sleep for almost a year after her father died…and I think I needed that as much as she did.” After a few seconds of staring gravely off into space, Mrs. Higurashi snapped out of her melancholy and plastered on a grin which was only partially forced. “Well, she seems comfortable enough with you, but I think you should put her to bed. I’ll go turn it down for you.” She departed, leaving Inuyasha to reflect on the hardships she had suffered. He knew what Kagome had gone through in losing a parent, but losing a husband… Losing Kagome… He shuddered, unsure how he would handle that, or even if he was emotionally capable. It would be a dark day indeed if he ever found out.
“I put an extra pillow on her bed for you,” Mrs. Higurashi said as she returned, and Inuyasha didn’t miss the significance of that statement. She was tacitly giving him permission to share a bed with her daughter, something that was truly amazing to him. A person could preach acceptance until they were blue in the face, but none of that mattered unless it was backed up by action. And that was exactly what Kagome’s mother was doing now. Still, there was one thing Inuyasha needed to know, something that had been bothering him all day, even though to ask it would be to look a gift horse in the mouth.
“Why?”
“I thought you might want more roo—”
“No, not that. I mean, why are you letting me sleep with her? Why are you so accepting of us? Don’t you even care that your only daughter is mated to a han—”
“Stop right there,” Mrs. Higurashi ordered firmly. “Don’t ever tell me I don’t care who my daughter is with.”
“I-I didn’t mean—” Inuyasha tried, taken aback by the woman’s dramatic shift in attitude.
“I know you didn’t,” she said, her gaze softening. “I’m sorry for my outburst.” A long pause ensued as she carefully weighed her next words. “Earlier, you asked me why I was still awake. The answer was that I was thinking about Kagome, and about you. I was second-guessing myself, my decision to not interfere with your relationship. Did I do the right thing letting her keep returning to the past? Is being with you really the best thing for my daughter? Are you a good enough man to take care of her?” She quieted again, looking away and managing a dry laugh. “I came up with the same answer I always have. Yes on all accounts.”
Inuyasha exhaled the breath he hadn’t realized he’d been holding, relief flowing through his body.
“I won’t lie to you, Inuyasha,” she continued, “the past year and a half has been difficult for me. Back when I first met you, I wasn’t afraid because I could tell you wouldn’t hurt my daughter, at least intentionally.”
Inuyasha grimaced thinking of all the times he had wounded her unintentionally, but Mrs. Higurashi ignored it.
“But as you and Kagome became closer, and my daughter began to fall for a boy for the first time, I started to have second thoughts. When she used to come back crying, heartbroken, I almost forbid her from ever going through the well again. But I couldn’t do that, not when she thought about you constantly. Not when you could make her so happy by just showing up. Not when I could see that you had some feelings for her in return. And gradually, I saw you changing before my eyes, and I came to understand that you weren’t just a mythical being from the feudal era come to take my daughter on a fantastic quest. You were a lonely boy, looking for a friend. How could I deny you that, when Kagome so desperately wanted to be there for you?” Here, she inhaled shakily, drying the few rogue tears which had leaked onto her cheeks.
“I’ve never told this to anyone, but my late husband originally came from a wealthy family. I was working as a maid in his house, mostly just to get away from the shrine for a few years, and we fell head over heels for each other. But he was supposed to marry some rich girl, and his parents refused to hear of his ‘fascination’ with me. So he left, took my name, and never spoke to his parents again. I haven’t seen them since the funeral. My greatest fear was that I would make the same mistake my husband’s parents made. She loved you that much, you know. Even back then, she would have chosen you over her family. So I waited, hoping that one day you would decide that you loved her in return, and now you have. Am I right?”
Inuyasha simply nodded, but it was enough.
“I wasn’t lying when I said I don’t care about what you are or where you’re from. I’m willing to give you my approval, even if it means that Kagome’s future is no longer in the future. As long as you continue to make my daughter happy, you will always be welcome here…my son.”
Inuyasha was struck speechless, completely humbled by those last two words in particular, and incredibly grateful to this pure-hearted woman who had given a vagrant half-breed like him a chance when most other mothers would have thrown him down the well and chucked explosives in after him. She, like her daughter, was truly special, and he could not help but feel that some higher force had brought the three of them together. Fate? Destiny? Blind luck? He couldn’t say how it happened, but he would never stop thanking the Kami that it had.
“Well, I’m going to bed,” he heard Mrs. Higurashi say cheerfully. “I think I can sleep now.”
“Thank you,” he choked out. For giving me a chance, for accepting me, for everything. Somehow, she understood.
“You’re welcome.”
Then she was gone, and Inuyasha was alone once more. No, not alone; Kagome still slept soundly against his side. He smiled, reliving the events of the day, some of which he would never forget. He was once again part of a family, and only today did he realize that he had been for a long time. Kami, how did I get so lucky?
(1) (2011 Note) I believe this is a reference to chapter 29. After pleasuring her with his mouth, Inuyasha gets a little full of himself and Kagome brings him back down to earth with a nice wholesome blowjob. It took me awhile to figure out what I was referring to, so I thought I should explain it for the readers.
(2) For the record, I love baseball (Go Red Sox!!! And no, I’m not a ‘fair weather fan’; been with them my whole life). But some aspects of it might look pretty dumb to someone who’s never seen it.
AN – Ah, Inuyasha. You had her right where you wanted her, and then you blew it. Alas, no sex for you. Don’t feel too bad for him, folks. It seems we’ve hit a lull in the story, but bear with me because most of this stuff is important. I can see some action on the horizon.
Converting /tmp/phpWw5O4v to /dev/stdout
Study This!
Saturday morning dawned drearily with a light mist rolling along the ground in fluid waves. The intrepid group of travelers roused bright and early, one a little more sluggishly than the rest. But Inuyasha’s wound was not as painful as he feared, and it wouldn’t hinder him unless they came up against a strong opponent. After a quick breakfast, Kagome changed the dressings and the two hanyou set out, seeking to give her as much study time as possible. At least, that was Kagome’s motivation. Inuyasha was hoping more study time also meant more time for other things, whatever those might be. The rest of their party would take their time and await their return at the village.
Kagome ran behind him, keeping a careful eye on her stubborn mate. But his injury didn’t seem to be effecting him very much if one ignored the slightly slower than normal pace at which they traveled. Even so, they were moving much faster than any human could, and easily reached the well before noon. Kagome lingered at the edge of the wooden structure, the anxiety which had been building in her for an hour coming to a head. Her logical mind told her she was being ridiculous, that everything would be fine, but she couldn’t completely banish the persistent doubt from her thoughts.
“Somethin’ wrong, wench?”
“It’s stupid,” she replied with a shake of her head.
“I’m sure,” he quipped, “but spit it out anyway.” His smirk faded only slightly as she glared at him.
“You know we have to tell my mother about us, don’t you?”
Suddenly, Inuyasha wasn’t smiling anymore. “You’d better be using the royal ‘we,’ wench.”
“No,” Kagome ground out, her glare intensifying. “‘We’ as in you and me.”
“Uh, here’s a better idea! You tell your mom, and me will stay here.”
Grrrrrrrrr. “You wanna repeat that?” Kagome growled, looking like she was about to blow a gasket.
“Keh!” Inuyasha responded in a miserable attempt at nonchalance. “Relax, wench. Like I’d ever let you face your mother alone! You’re acting like she’s some kind of crazed youkai or something.”
Kagome did relax somewhat, but the edge of trepidation remained in her scent. “You’ve never seen her angry.”
“Is it bad?”
“Let’s just say I know where I get my temper.”
Inuyasha shuddered; he still couldn’t imagine Mrs. Higurashi angry, but if she was anything like her daughter, then perhaps this was more serious than he first thought.
“This really is stupid,” Kagome declared suddenly. “Mama adores you, and I know she’ll accept us. I guess I’m just nervous. I’ve never told her I’m intimately involved with a guy before.”
“Damn right you haven’t.”
“Baka,” she said, mentally picturing herself beating his male ego senseless with a stick. Honestly, like he was with anyone before me. And for the first time, Kagome thought of Kikyou without feeling an iota of jealousy. It was truly a milestone moment for her, one which her baka mate quickly ruined.
“Are we gonna stand here all day, wench?”
Sighing in exasperation, but grinning brightly nonetheless, she grabbed his hand and dragged him into the well. They emerged on the other side to the musty air of the old well house. Inuyasha took Kagome in his arms and leapt out of the manmade hole before setting her down.
“You know, you don’t have to carry me out of the well anymore,” she told him with no real censure in her tone. Truth be told, she would never tire of the simple pleasure of being carried by Inuyasha, either in his arms or on his back.
“Habit,” he said simply with a shrug. He too missed the regular physical contact that used to come with the need to travel faster or higher than a human could. Of course, now they were connecting in entirely different ways, which helped him cope with no longer getting to carry her very often. They walked up the steps, but unfamiliar voices stopped them just before they opened the door.
“Damn,” Kagome swore after peeking through a crack in the shoji door. Souta and three other boys were kicking a soccer ball around the shrine grounds. Unfortunately, there was only one way to exit the well house short of creating a hole in the wall, and that was to use the front entrance, which was in full view of the three innocent lads who could not be made privy to its secrets under any circumstances. And since neither she nor Inuyasha had any way to hide their ears, much less explain their traditional clothing or why they were in the well house in the first place, they were stuck. For how long was an intriguing question as boys can be very unpredictable. Sometimes they flit from one activity to another every five minutes, and sometimes they do the same thing for hours on end. Kagome sincerely hoped this was a case of the former.
“Great, just great,” she muttered, “so much for getting an early start on studying. What are we supposed to do now?”
“I can think of something,” Inuyasha growled huskily into her ear, his hands wrapping around her midsection and seductively moving over her stomach. Instant lust shot through her veins, thicker than blood, and her rational mind struggled to cope with the cruel temptation.
“Y-your wound…”
“Is fine.”
“We…can’t,” she breathed, her head lolling back against his shoulder as he left small love bites along her neck.
“Why not?”
Kagome frowned; she knew there was some reason they couldn’t do this here. But it was becoming harder and harder to think straight as his ministrations continued, that familiar haze settling over her. A well-timed boyish shout supplied her with the answer, and she immediately lurched upright and out of his embrace. Taking a moment to compose herself, she turned on the horny hanyou who had so easily overcome her self control.
“That’s why!” she yelled, pointing an accusing finger at the blessedly still-closed shoji door.
“Feh! Why the hell would they come in here?”
“They’d hear us!”
“Not if we were quie—on second thought, you’re probably right.”
Kagome raised an eyebrow, but not just because of what he said. She did not like the attitude he was projecting right now; he wore a self-satisfied smirk with more than a hint of arrogance dancing in his eyes.
“No, spit it out. Why couldn’t we be quiet?” she practically snarled, daring him to voice what she knew he was thinking.
“I don’t know if you could be quiet,” he stated amusedly.
“Ooooh, you conceited, egotistical jer—”
“Nee-chan?”
“Kyaaaa!” she shrieked, whirling on her brother. “Souta! Don’t scare me like that!” Realizing with a start that the door to the outside world was now open, she hastily covered her ears with her hands.
“Relax, Nee-chan. I sent them inside to play video games after I convinced them the noises they heard were just the cat. Now quit being so loud and hop up to your room while the coast is clear! Unless you wanna spend the whole day in here.”
Kagome was forced to grit her teeth and listen to Inuyasha’s snickering. Oh, sure, he would have no problem with that! She harrumphed and stormed off without looking back. Inuyasha was about to follow when a small voice stopped him.
“Hey, Inu-no-oniichan, what didn’t Kagome want me and my friends to see?”
“Uh,” Inuyasha stalled, trying to figure out how to get out of this without telling Souta he was screwing his big sister.
“Were you kissing?”
“Y-yeah! Kissing! That’s it!” he affirmed, only afterwards wondering how Souta would react to the news. He needn’t have worried; the kid thought about it for a moment before smiling brightly.
“Cool! Nee-chan is really crazy about you.”
“Yeah, I know.”
Souta paused a moment, gazing up at him with a critical eye. “How do you feel about her?” he asked softly, the display of sibling protectiveness making him seem more like an adult than ever before.
“The same,” Inuyasha replied simply after a couple seconds of silence.
“Good,” Souta answered. Then he cracked a smile, and once again became the child Inuyasha was more familiar with. “And yet, you still manage to piss her off like nobody else can.”
“That ain’t never gonna change, kid,” Inuyasha said before leaping up to join his mate in her room. If she hadn’t locked her window, that is. She had not, but his relief over that fact disappeared as soon as he climbed in the window and witnessed her pulling a modern blouse down over her midsection. As she set to work neatly folding her feudal era clothing, still ignoring him, he realized with a groan that he had missed seeing her change. Dammit, Souta! All that couldn’t have waited until later? Eh, she probably would have kicked me out anyway. Man, when did I become such a horny bastard? Probably right around the time he and Kagome had shared that first magical evening together as lovers. He had a feeling his libido was another thing that was never going to change. It was like a boulder perched at the top of a hill; it could sit unmoving for many years, but once given a push it kept rolling and rolling and fucking and rolling…
“You ready to stop being so cocky?” Kagome asked suddenly, arms crossed over her chest and a petite frown gracing her features. Inuyasha smirked, remembering what happened the last time he allowed a little arrogance to show. (1) He certainly wouldn’t mind a repeat of that performance.
“Nope.”
Kagome sighed, slumping her shoulders and laying her forehead in her palm, muttering indiscernible words that were surely derogatory and directed at the male gender.
“Come on, jerk. Let’s get this over with,” she ordered, exiting the room. Inuyasha didn’t miss the way her eyes glowed, even though the rest of her body acted angry. But she was more flustered and annoyed than mad, and he thought he even caught a giggle from her as she descended the stairs. So she obviously wasn’t truly upset with him. Good, she knows what I said is true! He briefly considered loitering in her room, just to make her sweat, but wisely decided not to try her patience any further—at least for a little while. He found the two Higurashi women in the kitchen, the older making tea and the younger nervously wringing her hands at the table.
“Ah, Inuyasha, it’s good to see you again,” Mrs. Higurashi welcomed kindly. “Kagome tells me we have something important to discuss?” At his brisk nod, she turned her back and resumed her task. “Well, just hold on another minute. I bought a new flavor at the market to try…”
Inuyasha tuned her out, directing his focus toward his still fidgeting mate. It was strange that she was more anxious about this than he, but that was probably because it was her mother. Sitting down across from her, and sparing a glance to make sure the other Higurashi wasn’t looking, he grasped both her hands in one of his larger ones. She stilled immediately and locked eyes with him, managing a grateful smile as she took a deep breath that ebbed some of the stress from her shoulders.
“Tea’s ready!” Mrs. Higurashi proclaimed suddenly, startling both hanyou into separating and shoving their hands under the table. She set the brew down without missing a beat, and Inuyasha dutifully accepted a cup. It wasn’t half bad; there was a certain mintiness to it that tickled his taste buds. “Mmmm, I’ll have to buy this again sometime,” she declared merrily as if completely oblivious to the tension in the room. But Inuyasha knew she wasn’t enough of a flake not to notice. Kagome hadn’t even tasted her tea yet; instead, she sat there swirling the cup and staring into the liquid as it churned.
“Alright,” Mrs. Higurashi spoke into the awkward silence, “what did you need to tell me?” The question was addressed to Kagome, and Inuyasha wasn’t planning on answering. He was here for moral support and solidarity, but this was her mother. He wouldn’t expect Kagome to tell his mother they were together if she was still alive. He took another sip of his tea, and of course Mrs. Higurashi waited until that moment to break the hush which had settled over the three of them.
“So when can I expect my first grandchild?”
Inuyasha barely managed to keep from spitting his drink, which would not have been good as Kagome was seated directly across from him. Her jaw had dropped in shock, and he didn’t imagine she would appreciate a mouthful of pre-sipped tea. Swapping spit was pleasurable in other situations, but certainly not here and now. So with great effort he choked down the liquid, coughing into a closed fist until he caught his breath. Mrs. Higurashi patted him on the back, which made him feel better because at least she wasn’t clobbering him over the head with a broom as the chronically insecure part of him had feared she might. Meanwhile, Kagome was just now getting around to closing her mouth. Her mother just smiled at her as if nothing out of the ordinary had occurred.
“H-how did you know?” she croaked.
“A mother can sense these things,” the older woman replied simply.
“You saw us holding hands, didn’t you?” Kagome remarked dryly, clearly not impressed with her mother’s professed intuition.
“Please! I knew when you first walked into the kitchen. In fact, I saw the feelings you had for each other long before either of you did.”
“And you’re not…mad?”
“Why would I be mad?” Mrs. Higurashi inquired. Kagome shrugged and glanced off to the side.
“I don’t know. I guess I got this crazy idea that you wanted me to end up with a modern—human man.”
“Kagome,” her mother soothed, raising her hand to caress her daughter’s cheek. Kagome tilted her head to the side, leaning into the contact. “Where or when he’s from, human or demon, I don’t care about any of those things. I just wanted you to find a good man, and you have,” she said, gazing warmly at Inuyasha, who could only stare at her in wonder. “So,” she stated, turning back to Kagome, “what are you two to each other?”
“Mates,” Inuyasha replied quickly, finally deciding to enter the conversation.
“And what does that mean?”
“Dunno. That’s how youkai couples refer to each other. There are rules, but I don’t know them. Both of us want it to be permanent, though.”
Mrs. Higurashi nodded, her grin widening as she digested the new information. It faded only slightly as she posed her next query.
“Good. Have you two been…intimate?” Matching flushes answered that question, but she waited until she received dual nods just to be sure. “You are being careful, right? I was just kidding about grandchildren before. You need to wait until you’re ready.”
“Yes, Mama, we know. We haven’t even talked about k-kids yet,” Kagome confessed, momentarily glancing over at Inuyasha through lowered eyelashes. “Actually, that’s another reason why we needed to come back here today. Tomorrow I want to go pick up some c-c—, con—, um…”
“Condoms, Kagome?” Mrs. Higurashi ‘helpfully’ supplied, snickering at her daughter’s discomfiture. Inuyasha briefly joined in, but was instantly silenced by a positively livid, wild-eyed stare from his mate. He clammed up and tried to look as innocent as possible, a move which seemed to have only limited effect. Fortunately, Mrs. Higurashi came to his rescue.
“Is there anything else I should know?”
Kagome thought for a moment, then answered seriously. “I’ve decided to stay a hanyou…forever.”
“Y-you didn’t tell them that before, wench?” Inuyasha demanded after a quick double-take. Kagome shrugged, but the movement was anything but nonchalant.
“It must have slipped my mind,” she replied somberly. Inuyasha grimaced as a wave of guilt hit him; he suddenly knew precisely why relating her decision to her family had ‘slipped her mind.’ The last time she visited her time, he had carried her through the well fully naked save his haori and almost completely paralyzed from that damn youkai’s attack. And it was his fault she had been alone in the woods in the first place. Even after he had explained his apparent rejection, the pain had still probably been too fresh for her to risk exposing herself to it again.
“Sorry,” he muttered. She shook her head vigorously, indicating that she no longer held that moment against him. But he definitely cursed himself for it; it was one of the low points in his life, after all. Not for the first time he promised himself that there would never be another like it.
“I see,” Mrs. Higurashi interjected, reminding them that she had yet to pass judgment on Kagome’s decision. “Whatever makes you happy, dear.”
Kagome’s eyes watered, pent up anxiety pouring forth in a torrent of emotion that had her rushing around the table and enfolding her mother in a tight embrace.
“I was stupid to worry about you for even a second, Mama!” she cried into her shoulder.
“Yes, you were, dear. But I love you anyway.”
A choked laugh escaped Kagome at this, and when she pulled away a few seconds later it was with a smile. “Thanks, Mama. Now I just have to figure out how to tell Jii-chan,” she stated, drying her tears with the back of a hand.
“You let me worry about your grandfather,” Mrs. Higurashi ordered. “I’m sure he will accept the path you’ve chosen. He may just need a little…convincing first.”
“I’m still gonna end up covered in fucking sutras,” Inuyasha mumbled under his breath. Kagome couldn’t stifle a giggle at the mental image of him swathed in sticky pieces of paper, his face twisted in the sourest of pusses.
“What are your plans for the rest of the day?” Mrs. Higurashi asked.
“Studying,” Kagome responded. “I have tests in math and English on Monday, and science on Tuesday.”
“Oh, but it’s only 1:30. Do you have to start right now?”
“Sorry, Mama, but I’m not prepared at all. Plus I’ll have to stop for dinner, and I have to unpack my bag— Oh! Do you wanna see the presents Inuyasha got me?”
“Hmmm, he brought you gifts, did he?” Mrs. Higurashi repeated mischievously, shooting Inuyasha a meaningful look.
“F-feh!” he grumbled, folding his arms over his chest in a lame attempt to cover his embarrassment. He was glad when Kagome grabbed her mother’s hand and dragged her upstairs; it gave him a chance to slip outside and find refuge in Goshinboku. It warmed his heart to hear the older woman gushing over Kagome’s “stunning” and “wonderful” new clothes, but all the attention still made him uncomfortable. He supposed he still wasn’t used to this whole ‘being nice’ thing, having never really given anyone a gift before. There was the time he gave Kikyou his mother’s lip gloss, and even that had been exceedingly difficult. But somehow he had managed to convince Kagome’s mother that he was a ‘good man,’ so he must have done something right. He would never be worthy of her daughter—no one was—but he would do everything he could to make himself worthy.
“Awww, what a beautiful yukata!”
Inuyasha flushed despite himself as he heard Mrs. Higurashi’s voice drift through Kagome’s open window. Come to think of it, he had only seen Kagome wear the garment once, the night they agreed to embark upon a fresh start. And what a fine fresh start it’s been, he thought with a smirk. He would have to make it a point to get her to put it on again. And then take it off (and leave it off).
* * *
“Look at him, hiding in Goshinboku,” Kagome said with a wry smile and a shake of the head. “I swear, he can face down the worst insults I’ve ever heard without blinking, but give him a genuine compliment and he gets all flustered.” “Well, he should be praised. He didn’t get you fancy jewelry or some folk remedy you’ll never use for some ailment you’ll never have,” she uttered, leaving no doubt as to whom she was alluding to. “He gave you things you truly needed, clothes you’ll wear every day. Often, it’s those gifts that show how much a person cares for you. And this yukata, Kagome…it’s amazing.”
“Yeah,” Kagome agreed wistfully. It sounded so cliché, but it was true; Inuyasha’s gifts really had been the most special she had ever received. The design on the back of the yukata had probably been Daichi’s idea, but that didn’t make it any less meaningful.
“Did he give these to you before or after he told you how he felt?” her mother asked.
“About a week before. That night was…complicated, to say the least.”
“Ah, did you have a fight?”
“A misunderstanding, and for once it was me hurting him,” Kagome confessed, ears drooping.
“Well, he seems to have forgiven you.”
“Yeah,” she replied, grinning once more, “he has. It’s all water under the bridge now, Mama, and things have never been better!”
“I’m glad. You two are certainly growing up fast…” Mrs. Higurashi trailed off, and Kagome knew her mother wasn’t finished with that line of thought. “Have you talked about getting mar—”
“SHHH!!!” Kagome cut her off suddenly, startling the poor human woman into a near heart attack.
“Kagome, wha—”
Her daughter merely shook her head and pressed her finger to her lips, her eyes pleading. She strode over to the window, shutting it gently and letting out a relieved sigh as she did so. Mrs. Higurashi considered her daughter’s strange behavior for several moments, but could only come up with one plausible explanation.
“Kagome, don’t tell me you don’t want to marry him.”
“It’s not that, Mama,” she replied, easing the sudden knot in her mother’s stomach. But she still had yet to provide a reason for her apparent discomfort with the idea, and Mrs. Higurashi waited with bated breath for her to do so.
“Inuyasha was promised to marry once before, and you know how that ended,” Kagome began grimly. “I don’t know how he feels about human marriage now. Did the disaster with Kikyou scar him into never considering marriage ever again?”
“B-but Kagome! You know he would do anything for you, right?”
“I know that, Mama! But I don’t want him to feel obligated to become my husband. If he truly wants to marry me, then I’ll say ‘yes’ before he even finishes the question. If not, then I’ll be satisfied with being joined with him in the youkai manner. I just don’t want to force him into anything he doesn’t want.”
Mrs. Higurashi studied her daughter for a long time, but eventually heaved an exasperated sigh. “I think you’re wrong about this, Kagome, but I do understand where you’re coming from. Inuyasha won’t hear anything about marriage from me.”
“Thanks, Mama. Could you please also tell Jii-chan and Souta not to mention it?”
“I suppose,” her mother relented. The uncomfortable silence stretched on for a few moments, and both sensed that there was nothing more to say. “Well, I’ll go see if Souta and his friends need anything,” she said, standing to leave.
“Okay,” Kagome replied, feeling guilty for placing the added burden on her mother. Now alone in her room, she reaffirmed her conviction in her choice of action. She was somewhat alarmed to note that it wasn’t nearly as strong as it had been earlier that morning. An insistent rapping on her window drew her attention away from her concerns and immediately lifted her spirits as she remembered what she was supposed to be doing up here.
“You can only come in if you promise to be quiet,” she declared playfully, knowing Inuyasha would hear her even through the glass.
“Fuck that,” he growled, sparking a round of giggles in Kagome that fully rejuvenated her good mood. Evidently Inuyasha grew tired of being laughed at, for he suddenly vanished from her view. Kagome hastily locked the door as well; if he wouldn’t promise to be quiet, he wasn’t getting in. It was as simple as that, at least until she was done studying. But she needn’t have worried; Inuyasha decided to give her a few hours to herself. He quite rationally reasoned that if she got all her studying done now, she would have time to practice something else later, a form of art they both were still relative novices at. That would change soon if he had anything to say about it.
So he was fully intent on sitting downstairs in front of that weird moving picture box until dinner, but fate had other plans. Mrs. Higurashi slapped a hat on him, and the reason became clear two seconds later when four adolescent boys came gallivanting down the stairs. They had tired of playing video games and wished to resume their soccer match. And since Souta would never miss a chance to show off his hero, Inuyasha found himself the fifth wheel in their little group thanks in part to some gentle cajoling from the kid’s mother. Damn, how did I get into this?
They soon discovered that he wasn’t very good at soccer, and that was putting it lightly. More bluntly, he sucked something awful. He was afraid to lose control of his strength and boot the thing halfway across Tokyo. Add to that the fact that it had been a century since he’d last kicked a ball around, and you had a perfect recipe for mediocrity. At least, that was the justification he gave for his Charlie Brown-esque whiffs. Not wanting to send his idol to the showers, Souta proposed that they put him in goal. That worked out better than he could have imagined; Inuyasha didn’t have the coordination to handle the ball, but he sure as hell had the reflexes to block it. The boys divided up two on two, with Inuyasha playing the role of neutral goalkeeper. Ten full minutes later, the score was still nil-nil, and the boys decided ‘the goal was too small.’ Widening the gap did no good, even after they did it a few more times. Eventually, with the sun setting behind the western skyscrapers, Inuyasha decided the game needed to end and let a kick bounce off his hand and through. Two of Souta’s friends cheered and high-fived, leaving the dumbfounded boy to glower at his hero as if to say ‘what gives? You’re supposed to let me win!’ Inuyasha shrugged innocently, smirking inwardly. Heh, that’ll teach him to involve me in his stupid games!
Mrs. Higurashi called them in for dinner, and the other boys departed, asking if they could come by again and play with “Red Lightning,” as they nicknamed him. Thinking quickly, Souta told them he was out of town a lot, but that he would call them the next time he was around. Inuyasha grumbled about that, but as much as he liked to bitch, that had been the most fun he’d had in a long time. His childhood had been noticeably lacking in moments like that; he had been lucky if the other kids settled for just ignoring him.
“So, Kagome, haven’t seen you in awhile,” Mrs. Higurashi observed as the family sat down for supper. “Get a lot of studying done?”
Kagome grimaced and shook her head; the past few hours had been decidedly unproductive. Even with her window closed, her ears were good enough to pick up the laughter and shouts from outside, making concentrating on math difficult to say the least. Stupid hanyou hearing! And she couldn’t tell them to shut up without revealing her superhuman senses, since no normal person would be able to detect noises from that distance away through a solid sheet of glass. The boys weren’t being that loud. But beyond that, the real distraction had been the allure of watching her mate at play. It drew her away from her notes and books, compelled her to open the window and lean lazily against the sill. She watched them for what seemed an immeasurable span of time, a crooked grin gracing her features. Inuyasha seemed so innocent, so happy at play with the boys. Yet, he never lost touch with the adult in him. When the boys argued, he stepped in. He let the boys run the show, remaining a stabilizing presence without ever falling into the rampant spirit of competition in the air. He was behaving just like an older brother. Or a parent. Inuyasha is going to make an amazing father someday.
That thought and its successors pounded the nails into her math muse’s coffin. Did Inuyasha want children as much as she did? She thought so, but then again, she had misread him before. She spent the rest of the afternoon asking herself questions and daydreaming about kids: what would they be like, what would they name them, how many would they have, etc. Things she shouldn’t be thinking about; they hadn’t even been together for two weeks yet! But she couldn’t help herself, and consequently the day passed into night without a single iota of calculus entering her mind.
“You done studying yet, wench?”
Kagome sighed. She was sitting at her desk, hastily pouring over the gibberish that she had to make sense of for her test on Monday. Inuyasha was perched cross-legged on her bed, Tetsusaiga leaning up against his shoulder in his classic ‘resting warrior’ pose. This scenario was familiar, and she had learned to focus while alone with him. The problem was that he was being far too noisy.
“No, Inuyasha.”
“When are you gonna be done?”
“I don’t know.”
“This is stupid. Just ‘cause you wasted the whole day doesn’t mean—”
“Inuyasha! If you can’t be quiet you can leave,” she snapped, immediately feeling guilty when his face fell…into a pout, revealing that he knew he was being annoying, which in turn made her guilt all but evaporate. He grumbled under his breath for a few more seconds before finally shutting up and allowing Kagome to concentrate. Still, this was not how he had imagined the evening going, and he wasn’t about to admit defeat so easily.
Twenty minutes later, Kagome was actually making decent progress. Bits and pieces of the great puzzle that was math had begun to fall into place, allowing her to guess at what the vague, murky picture might be. She could only hope it wasn’t a giant red “F” that lay at the end of all her studying. And if it was, she would blame the amorous hanyou at her back who even in silence continued to prove a distraction. She could tell exactly what he wanted by his scent alone, and she couldn’t deny that it was affecting her…a little. But she had her priorities, and Inuyasha would just have to wait, no matter how tempting it was to throw her book out the window throw herself at him.
And then she heard the rustling of fabric, followed by the muffled thud of cloth landing on the floor. Her brows twitched in interest and consternation. Don’t look, girl! Don’t look! Attempting to resume her studies proved fruitless, however, and she eventually conceded that she needed to satisfy her curiosity so she could get back to work. She was a cat, after all. Just a peek.
That vow died a horrible death as soon as she caught a glimpse of his smooth skin. He had removed both his tops and was lying on her bed with his hands folded under his head. One leg was raised, the ankle crossed over a knee. His eyes were closed, expression neutral, and her gaze moved to linger further south as the danger of being caught staring seemed to lessen. His chiseled chest and abdomen were bared to her hungry gaze, the muscles rising and falling with each breath. Her fingers twitched with memories of what it felt like to run them along his body, feeling it react underneath them. Suddenly he yawned, his arching back startling her from her stupor. She whirled around, feeling like a pervert who had just barely escaped being caught peeking into the changing room of the opposite sex. That was completely ridiculous; he was her mate, and she could ogle him whenever she wanted! Studying could wait a few minutes, couldn’t it?
She glanced over her shoulder again, this time starting her perusal at his navel. Had his hakama always ridden so sinfully low on his hips? She clenched her thighs together as the sight of him sent waves of low heat to her core. A tempest was brewing inside her, becoming more violent as her gaze traveled up his body once more, stopping on his amber eyes, smoldering with desire. Wait…WHAT?!!! Gasping, she spun around, nearly falling off the chair with the suddenness of the motion. She was now certain her face closely resembled a ripe tomato, and it didn’t feel like it would ever cool. That’s it, stupid! No more sightseeing! Study! Uh, let’s see…3x2-5x+2=30. What is x? Uh…um…dammit!!!
*Snap*
Kagome stared dumbfounded at her broken pencil, an unintended casualty of the ongoing war between responsibility and lust within her mind. She was ashamed to admit that lust was winning, at least until a soft noise from Inuyasha reached her ears. It wasn’t much, just a small snicker, but it was enough to raise her hackles and bring a whole new party to the conflict: anger. That arrogant jackass! He was toying with me the whole time! The question now became whether she would let him get away with it.
She stood so quickly and with such force that her chair toppled backwards, the racket causing Inuyasha to bolt upright. Briskly she stalked over to him, grabbing his forelocks without preamble and yanking his face up to meet hers. Her lips smashed over his, dominating, and he could do nothing but close his eyes and let it happen. So overwhelmed was he by the kiss that he didn’t even notice the awkward shuffling of his own feet until it was too late. A hard shove sent him careening to land gracelessly on his backside, cloth tossed on his head temporarily cutting off his vision. He heard the sound of a door closing and then an ominous click that sounded suspiciously like a lock. He didn’t even need to look around to know he was in the hallway. Standing, he shrugged on his haori and kosode as his own anger crested.
“Open this door, wench!” he growled as quietly as he could, not wanting to alert Kagome’s family to his dilemma.
“Sorry, Inuyasha, but you’re too distracting,” she replied, her voice practically oozing amusement.
“Ka-Go-Me,” he snarled through gritted teeth. Realizing her mate was about to blow a stack, Kagome decided on a switch in tactics.
“Please, Inuyasha,” she begged miserably, “I really need to study. Go downstairs and watch TV, and I promise I’ll make it up to you later.” She finished on a sultry note, and grinned when no immediate response came from the other side of the wood. Got him.
“Ah, crap,” Inuyasha mumbled after a few moments.
“Thanks, Inuyasha!”
“Keh! I’m holding you to that promise, wench.” She owes me big time for this! Sighing, he turned and made his way downstairs, plopping down in front of the ‘TV’ box. Grabbing the remote, he stared at it blankly. How did Souta say to work this stupid thing? He pushed a few buttons and nothing happened, but when he tried a red one up in the corner the box came to life. He nearly leapt out of his chair, glancing around sheepishly to make sure no one had witnessed his display. After some trial and error, he figured out how to change the channel and more importantly turn the volume down. Stupid humans and their crappy hearing.
He spent a good twenty minutes flipping through the channels and feeling stupid when he didn’t understand any of the dramas, animes, or game shows he found, not that he could identify them as such. He finally settled on a game involving nine men per side, a little white ball, an oddly shaped stick, and four white lumps in the dirt. Now this he could understand. Man throws ball. Opposing man tries to hit ball. Simple. But as he continued to watch, he realized it was much more complicated than that. The thrower seemed to have a magic touch with the ball; he could make it go straight, dip sharply, or even move left or right. And the guy standing behind the catcher had some power, judging each throw by some semi-ambiguous zone. The funny thing was that everyone else seemed to know this zone better than the game-caller, and a couple of the players got ‘sent to the showers’ for arguing. Heh, that’s humans for you. They never tire of fighting over stupid things. (2). Watching this strange game proved a therapeutic experience for Inuyasha, and soon he found himself stretched out on the couch, more at ease than he had been in a long time. He knew he couldn’t get used to moments like this, not with Naraku still alive and the jewel incomplete, which made him all the more appreciative of opportunities to kick back and chill for awhile. He didn’t used to be like that; the old Inuyasha had no ‘off button’ when it came to the mission. He chose to see this newfound temperament as another sign of personal growth.
The game ended several hours later with one player hitting a ball into the seats across the field and everyone on his team going nuts. The channel switched to another game, so he started watching that one as the night progressed into the very early hours of the morning. He was nearly asleep when clumsy, uncoordinated footsteps on the stairs roused him. Kagome’s pajama-clad legs came into view first, and she trudged into the kitchen without even sparing him a glance. Her body was slumped as if the mere act of staying awake was more than she could handle. Ah, crap. I should have known this would happen. Kagome had exhausted herself studying, and he didn’t have the heart to ask her for sex now. She would just have to owe him double tomorrow. He didn’t think she would mind too much. She emerged from the kitchen sucking on a red popsicle, and Inuyasha had to stifle a needy groan as his imagination played tricks on him. She just can’t make this easy, can she? Again Kagome didn’t stop to acknowledge him, continuing on toward the stairs and leaving Inuyasha feeling just a little jilted.
“Done studying, wench?”
Kagome jumped at his sudden question, nearly dropping the popsicle as her eyes darted around until she spotted him. “Oh…yeah, for tonight, anyway,” she replied groggily, rubbing her eyes, adorable in that way that only a sleepy young woman can pull off.
Rolling his eyes, Inuyasha sat up, pulled the lever on the footrest he had discovered earlier, and raised his arm. Kagome eagerly accepted the invitation, cuddling into his side with a contented sigh. There were things he wanted to talk to her about, especially the subject of children brought up earlier that day, but she was in no condition to discuss anything with her brain deep fried as it was. He reached a hand up to rub her ear, not that she needed any help falling asleep.
“Mmmm, that’s nice,” she mumbled. She was out less than a minute later, snoring softly. Her face was so serene in sleep, so trusting, and he couldn’t resist placing a tender kiss on her forehead. Warmth bubbled within him, and he had to blink back unbidden tears caused by some insane emotion he had never felt before. Was this…true happiness? More footsteps sounded on the stairs before he could consider that possibility any further, these ones soft and measured. Inuyasha wasn’t surprised when Mrs. Higurashi appeared at the bottom, noticing them with a wry grin.
“She really wore herself out, didn’t she?” the older woman asked.
“Yep. Dummy didn’t even notice I was here until I said something. How come you’re still up? Humans need more rest than hanyou, you know.”
“And the young need more than the old.”
“Keh.”
“Oh, I remember when I used to hold her like that,” she sighed wistfully, though then her expression turned solemn. “I rocked her to sleep for almost a year after her father died…and I think I needed that as much as she did.” After a few seconds of staring gravely off into space, Mrs. Higurashi snapped out of her melancholy and plastered on a grin which was only partially forced. “Well, she seems comfortable enough with you, but I think you should put her to bed. I’ll go turn it down for you.” She departed, leaving Inuyasha to reflect on the hardships she had suffered. He knew what Kagome had gone through in losing a parent, but losing a husband… Losing Kagome… He shuddered, unsure how he would handle that, or even if he was emotionally capable. It would be a dark day indeed if he ever found out.
“I put an extra pillow on her bed for you,” Mrs. Higurashi said as she returned, and Inuyasha didn’t miss the significance of that statement. She was tacitly giving him permission to share a bed with her daughter, something that was truly amazing to him. A person could preach acceptance until they were blue in the face, but none of that mattered unless it was backed up by action. And that was exactly what Kagome’s mother was doing now. Still, there was one thing Inuyasha needed to know, something that had been bothering him all day, even though to ask it would be to look a gift horse in the mouth.
“Why?”
“I thought you might want more roo—”
“No, not that. I mean, why are you letting me sleep with her? Why are you so accepting of us? Don’t you even care that your only daughter is mated to a han—”
“Stop right there,” Mrs. Higurashi ordered firmly. “Don’t ever tell me I don’t care who my daughter is with.”
“I-I didn’t mean—” Inuyasha tried, taken aback by the woman’s dramatic shift in attitude.
“I know you didn’t,” she said, her gaze softening. “I’m sorry for my outburst.” A long pause ensued as she carefully weighed her next words. “Earlier, you asked me why I was still awake. The answer was that I was thinking about Kagome, and about you. I was second-guessing myself, my decision to not interfere with your relationship. Did I do the right thing letting her keep returning to the past? Is being with you really the best thing for my daughter? Are you a good enough man to take care of her?” She quieted again, looking away and managing a dry laugh. “I came up with the same answer I always have. Yes on all accounts.”
Inuyasha exhaled the breath he hadn’t realized he’d been holding, relief flowing through his body.
“I won’t lie to you, Inuyasha,” she continued, “the past year and a half has been difficult for me. Back when I first met you, I wasn’t afraid because I could tell you wouldn’t hurt my daughter, at least intentionally.”
Inuyasha grimaced thinking of all the times he had wounded her unintentionally, but Mrs. Higurashi ignored it.
“But as you and Kagome became closer, and my daughter began to fall for a boy for the first time, I started to have second thoughts. When she used to come back crying, heartbroken, I almost forbid her from ever going through the well again. But I couldn’t do that, not when she thought about you constantly. Not when you could make her so happy by just showing up. Not when I could see that you had some feelings for her in return. And gradually, I saw you changing before my eyes, and I came to understand that you weren’t just a mythical being from the feudal era come to take my daughter on a fantastic quest. You were a lonely boy, looking for a friend. How could I deny you that, when Kagome so desperately wanted to be there for you?” Here, she inhaled shakily, drying the few rogue tears which had leaked onto her cheeks.
“I’ve never told this to anyone, but my late husband originally came from a wealthy family. I was working as a maid in his house, mostly just to get away from the shrine for a few years, and we fell head over heels for each other. But he was supposed to marry some rich girl, and his parents refused to hear of his ‘fascination’ with me. So he left, took my name, and never spoke to his parents again. I haven’t seen them since the funeral. My greatest fear was that I would make the same mistake my husband’s parents made. She loved you that much, you know. Even back then, she would have chosen you over her family. So I waited, hoping that one day you would decide that you loved her in return, and now you have. Am I right?”
Inuyasha simply nodded, but it was enough.
“I wasn’t lying when I said I don’t care about what you are or where you’re from. I’m willing to give you my approval, even if it means that Kagome’s future is no longer in the future. As long as you continue to make my daughter happy, you will always be welcome here…my son.”
Inuyasha was struck speechless, completely humbled by those last two words in particular, and incredibly grateful to this pure-hearted woman who had given a vagrant half-breed like him a chance when most other mothers would have thrown him down the well and chucked explosives in after him. She, like her daughter, was truly special, and he could not help but feel that some higher force had brought the three of them together. Fate? Destiny? Blind luck? He couldn’t say how it happened, but he would never stop thanking the Kami that it had.
“Well, I’m going to bed,” he heard Mrs. Higurashi say cheerfully. “I think I can sleep now.”
“Thank you,” he choked out. For giving me a chance, for accepting me, for everything. Somehow, she understood.
“You’re welcome.”
Then she was gone, and Inuyasha was alone once more. No, not alone; Kagome still slept soundly against his side. He smiled, reliving the events of the day, some of which he would never forget. He was once again part of a family, and only today did he realize that he had been for a long time. Kami, how did I get so lucky?
(1) (2011 Note) I believe this is a reference to chapter 29. After pleasuring her with his mouth, Inuyasha gets a little full of himself and Kagome brings him back down to earth with a nice wholesome blowjob. It took me awhile to figure out what I was referring to, so I thought I should explain it for the readers.
(2) For the record, I love baseball (Go Red Sox!!! And no, I’m not a ‘fair weather fan’; been with them my whole life). But some aspects of it might look pretty dumb to someone who’s never seen it.
AN – Ah, Inuyasha. You had her right where you wanted her, and then you blew it. Alas, no sex for you. Don’t feel too bad for him, folks. It seems we’ve hit a lull in the story, but bear with me because most of this stuff is important. I can see some action on the horizon.
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