InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Metamorphosis ❯ Tying Up Loose Ends ( Chapter 51 )
[ X - Adult: No readers under 18. Contains Graphic Adult Themes/Extreme violence. ]
By: King Baka 
Anime/Manga: InuYasha Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Angst / Suspense / Romance / Hentai / Adventure | Type: Continuation | Uploaded On: 06.17.2010 | Updated On: 02.22.2011 | Pages: 3 | Words: 6.5K | Visits: 3.6K | Status: Completed
Anime/Manga: InuYasha Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Angst / Suspense / Romance / Hentai / Adventure | Type: Continuation | Uploaded On: 06.17.2010 | Updated On: 02.22.2011 | Pages: 3 | Words: 6.5K | Visits: 3.6K | 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.
Tying Up Loose Ends
Kagome stared at the ground below her as it moved rapidly back and forth, from her perspective at least. She bit her lip to stifle her groans, an effort she knew would soon fail. Inuyasha’s cock plunged repeatedly inside her, the pure electricity from his movements making her knees wobble. In the four days since that revitalizing night in her room, it seemed as though they had seldom stopped having sex. The weekend had been a blur of sweat, orgasms, and mind-numbing pleasure. She had barely been able to force herself to attend school this morning, and only because Inuyasha had promised to meet her on the rooftop at lunch time. He was the only one who had ended up eating anything, and then they made passionate love, him holding her up against the wall of the small storage building up there. At one point she felt as though they were shaking the school to its foundations, though by then they were so far gone that a real earthquake could probably have gone unnoticed by either of them. She was grateful that Inuyasha had thought to bring her a change of school uniform; her friends would have surely wondered how she had gotten the original one all stained and wrinkled in a half hour.
Now, like then, their frenzy dictated that they have sex without removing all their clothes; their hakama sat pooled around their ankles. Kagome dug her claws into the bark of the tree she was leaning against, using her leverage to push her hips back to meet Inuyasha’s every thrust. She was quickly discovering that standing was one of her favorite ways of making love, for just that reason. The best positions were the ones where she could use her hanyou strength and stamina to full effect. It was all part of their renewed mutual education in the ways of love, she supposed. And doing it so often could be perceived as making up for lost time. She didn’t particularly care at the moment. She and Inuyasha had every right to be together whenever they wanted, and there was nothing wrong with it. Oh, Kami… No, there was definitely nothing wrong with what they were doing.
She came with a strangled cry, collapsing against the tree as her orgasm obliterated her body’s sense of balance. Inuyasha wrapped his arms around her torso, pulling her to him and filling her with powerful thrusts that lifted her off her feet. He possessed her completely in those few moments, which was fortunate because her curled toes would not have been conducive to standing. Finally he stiffened, his warm seed flooding her just before he brought them both to their knees, his cock still spasming deep inside her. Kagome grinned, reaching up and running a hand blindly through his hair. She liked it when she came first; it gave her a chance to really experience his orgasm. His trembling muscles, those little grunts he made, the way he panted so hard as his body slowly cooled down. Much of the time they climaxed more or less simultaneously, which was great too. And there were still those times when she wasn’t able to climax at all, though she didn’t hold it against him. Nobody was perfect. Besides, he always insisted on making it up to her with his tongue afterwards, which was certainly nothing to complain about. There had even been one instance when he hadn’t been able to come, and had gone soft on her instead, to his eternal embarrassment. But she chalked that one up to plain old fatigue; the unfortunate incident had occurred at around five in the morning after a full night of off-and-on lovemaking. His penis had finally decided that enough was enough. Even hanyou couldn’t go forever without a break.
So it wasn’t perfect, but perhaps that was why it felt so special. They were both still learning, though their desire to please the other was so strong that they made it work most of the time. Kagome sighed blissfully as Inuyasha slipped out of her and fell into a sitting position, pulling her into his lap. That was another thing she loved about him—Inuyasha liked to cuddle. Now, she would never dare call it that in his presence, but it was a rare occurrence when she did not find herself in his arms after they made love. Perhaps it was because he had been denied any meaningful physical contact for a large portion of his life. But whatever the reason behind his affinity for cuddling, she was more than happy to oblige him.
His fingers traced invisible designs on her belly, threatening to enflame her passion yet again. But his intent was not to arouse, and she allowed herself to be lulled by his touch. After awhile she got up and pulled him toward the river, knowing they both needed a bath. She had a feeling they would end up getting dirty again before they got clean.
As for the loose ends, one of them had involved making a very difficult decision indeed. After much reflection, Kagome had finally come to the conclusion that she could no longer sustain her modern education while simultaneously seeking jewel shards in the past. Her home was in the feudal era, not here, and going to school was nothing more than a colossal waste of time. She was dropping out. Informing her friends of her resolution was the sole reason she had attended today. They were surprised but understanding, and Kagome was actually glad she could tell them the whole truth behind her choice rather than make up some bogus story. Now, telling her family was another matter entirely, and she had yet to cross that threshold. But her procrastination couldn’t last forever, especially since she planned on skipping school tomorrow. Her grandfather would be suspicious if she couldn’t offer some kind of legitimate excuse. For his part, Inuyasha was secretly delighted. For months now he had seen Kagome’s schooling as a contingency, a backup plan in case things didn’t work out with him. That she was willing to forego such a safety net and bet everything on their relationship meant a lot to him. He didn’t think it was a coincidence that she had not chosen to drop out until a few days ago.
They hadn’t heard from Kenji since their first meeting, though Kagome had talked about him with Ayumi over the phone. The human girl still felt shocked and betrayed, but Kagome helped her understand the reasons why Kenji hadn’t informed her of his youkai heritage. She didn’t stick her neck too far out for him though. She had done that for Miroku a few times, but only because she could see he was a good man. Her initial impression of Kenji had been positive, but she still didn’t know him very well. In the end, Ayumi had agreed to talk to him and at least hear what he had to say. When she hung up, Kagome had a feeling that relationship wasn’t destined to end just yet.
They also spoke of Kenji in the feudal era, neither of them seeing any reason to keep what had happened from their friends. Miroku and Sango were understandably concerned, and both lamented the fact that they couldn’t go through the well and provide assistance. Unfortunately, Kaede had never heard of concealment charms, which led them to believe they were a modern development. Not surprising, as contemporary youkai seldom had any reason to disguise themselves as humans. The ones who did were usually interested in devouring real humans, as Miroku could attest. Kaede was able to offer a little more insight on the strange barrier Kagome and her friends had been trapped in, explaining that it must take a large space and separate it from reality, while simultaneously creating an illusion for the outside world. All of that they already knew, more or less, and the old miko could not tell them how to create such a barrier or how to acquire that knowledge.
It didn’t really matter, they supposed; knowing how to create an isolation barrier wouldn’t necessarily help them the next time they encountered one. And Inuyasha had something more important to worry about: namely, what the heck was he going to get Kagome for her birthday?! He was fairly certain she had missed her last one entirely; they had probably been in the middle of one life-threatening adventure or another. Worse yet, he didn’t remember celebrating it with her family later on, which most likely meant they had parted on less-than-favorable terms. And while he had been pouting in the feudal era, Kagome had celebrated her birthday without him, his pig-headed immaturity probably dampening what were supposed to be high spirits. At least he assumed the argument was his fault; he could admit now that they usually had been back then. Anyway, he wanted this birthday to be special, but he had no idea how to make it so. He didn’t know how to get a gift for someone, having only rarely done it before. But Souta had said gift giving was customary for birthdays in the modern era. That Kagome probably didn’t expect one from him made him want to surprise her even more.
Another problem was the timing. With everything else that had been going on, Kagome’s birthday had snuck up on him. He had given her clothing several months ago, but even if he wanted to do that again, there wasn’t enough time to run out to Daichi’s and expect to return in two days. That would be asking too much of the bear youkai, and it was kind of rude to only stop by when they needed him to make something. Come to think of it, he was sure Kagome would appreciate the opportunity to thank him in person for doing such a great job making the garments she now wore every day. Perhaps they could stop by for a visit during the coming jewel quest.
But back to the here and now, Inuyasha was still drawing a blank for a gift idea. It had to be something she could use in the feudal era, which pretty much ruled out everything from her time. If the well sealed itself once the jewel was purified, nothing from the future would last more than a few years. And then all connection with her family would be severed forever. He doubted hanyou could live for five hundred years. All that remained would be her memories. Or perhaps not, he reflected, stopping in his tracks as an idea struck. A grin slowly spread across his features; he knew exactly what he was going to get Kagome now. It would require the assistance of her mother and a certain lecherous monk, but he was sure both of them would be willing to help.
“Inuyasha?” Kagome asked, startling him from his musings. She glanced curiously back at him, wondering why he had stopped, but he shook her off. Preceding her inside the house, he made his way to the kitchen, where the smells of Mrs. Higurashi’s delicious cooking were already captivating his nose. Dinner was scrumptious, but Kagome was pensive throughout. He learned why when she stood and addressed her family just as everyone was finishing their meals. She wrung her hands together nervously as all eyes turned to her. Inuyasha gently nudged her foot with his own. A small show of support, but an appreciated one, judging by the brief glance she sent his way.
“Uh, I came to a decision,” she stated quietly. “I thought about it a lot, and it was tough, but I think it’s for the best. I’m…dropping out of school.” She squinted her eyes shut, probably waiting for the explosion that never came. None of her family even looked too surprised. Her grandfather frowned with his arms crossed over his chest, Souta appeared envious, and her mother smiled in a way that was half knowing and half resigned. Hearing no gasps or rebukes, Kagome looked at her family once again, blinking at them a couple times to make sure she wasn’t imagining things.
“Y-you guys aren’t mad?”
“Well, we aren’t happy about it, dear,” Mrs. Higurashi replied. “But I for one knew this was a possibility once you decided to live with Inuyasha. You’ve always made the right decision in the past, though I don’t know how sometimes…” she trailed off, shaking her head in amazement. Her daughter was truly special to still want to be with Inuyasha after everything that had happened. She always knew Kagome had a loving heart, but just how deeply she was capable of loving had only become clear through tragedy. It gave Mrs. Higurashi the courage to have faith in her daughter once again.
“We will leave it up to you, Kagome,” she concluded. “Besides, it’s not as though algebra will help you very much in the feudal era. In fact, equations aren’t very useful in this era, either.”
Mother and daughter shared a brief chuckle, but there was one member of the family who was decidedly not amused. Steeling her nerves, Kagome turned to address him.
“Jii-chan? I know you always wanted me to graduate school, but… I know our family’s honor is very important to you. I’m sorry if me not graduating makes me a stain—”
“It doesn’t,” the old man interrupted quietly, leaving Kagome stunned into silence. It was just as well; it gave her grandfather time to gather his thoughts.
“For two years now you’ve been living a double life, Kagome. You somehow managed to achieve passing marks in school even though you are ‘out sick’ most of the time. It made me proud, that you were still so devoted to your schoolwork even when you were off gallivanting in the past with some ruffian.”
Inuyasha bit his tongue to remain silent. He supposed it wasn’t much of an insult; he was a little bit of a ruffian. And proud of it, too.
“But over time you started to care less and less about school. Your future in this time didn’t seem to matter as much. I was angry at first. This hooligan was corrupting you, taking you away from your family where you belonged!” he exclaimed, pointing a gnarled finger at Inuyasha. “But then you became a hanyou, and everything changed. It’s hard for an old man like me to realize, but…you’ve really grown up, haven’t you?” He paused, raising his tired eyes to meet his granddaughter’s, which were already brimming with tears.
“Wherever you choose to live, whatever you decide to be, know that I will always be proud of the woman you’ve become. You have already brought more honor to this family than you will ever know.”
“Jii-chan,” Kagome breathed as the two of them embraced. Inuyasha looked on with a smile, quite pleased with the old man. He had certainly come a long way since the first time he saw Kagome as a hanyou, when he tried to purify her with a handful of sutras.
“Besides,” her grandfather stated as they pulled apart, “now I shall just expect my other grandchild to graduate at the top of his class.”
“What?! Aw, thanks a lot nee-chan!”
“Quit whining Souta. You were planning to do well in school anyway, right?”
“Well, yeah, but now there’s too much pressure!”
Kagome rolled her eyes. As if Souta didn’t already know that their grandfather was joking, in his own subtle way. “You want pressure? Come here. I’ll give you a noogie!”
“Ack! No, I hate those. Stay away from me!”
Souta took off out of the kitchen, his sister in hot pursuit. Their shouts and laughter rang joyously throughout the house. Their grandfather chuckled. “So much for having grown up,” he quipped lightly. Grinning, Inuyasha got up to do the dishes.
“Phew,” she signed, replacing the phone.
“Those stuffy old farts finally done gabbing at you?” Inuyasha asked from his spot on the couch, watching a baseball game on TV.
Kagome chuckled at the insult, flopping down next to him and leaning into his side. His arm came up reflexively to wrap around her shoulders. “You better watch it. Those two people were probably only a little older than Mama.”
“Keh. Your mother doesn’t sound that old. They were acting like you killed their do—cat,” he hastily amended with a grin. Kagome elbowed him in the side for his choice of words, and was it her imagination or did Buyo glare at him from the next cushion over? Perhaps the portly feline was just wary of Inuyasha in general, though the latter had shown no indication that he felt like ‘playing’ with Buyo today.
“Dropping out of school is a big deal in my time,” she answered, causing Inuyasha’s smile to abruptly vanish.
“You know…”
“Don’t say it, Inuyasha. I know you’re willing to interrupt our quest so I can go to school, but I don’t want to. It’s over with, and I’m glad. It would only be a big deal if I was going to live here, but I’m not. I’m going to live in the past with you, remember?” she asked, leaning up to meet his gaze.
“How could I forget?” he replied, pulling her close and kissing her lightly on the lips. “Thank you.” For staying with me. For not making me live here. For letting me be with you.
Kagome grinned, reading his unspoken thoughts. “The past is my home now. I like being there. This era has never become a home for you.”
“If you wanted to live in the middle of a desert, I would make it my home.”
“Ohhh,” Kagome breathed, moving in for another kiss. Suddenly Inuyasha leapt up, carrying his giggling mate up the stairs to her bedroom.
The announcer’s voice on the forgotten television continued to call the game to the now empty room.
*Crack*
“It’s driven high and deep…he’s going back…back…and it’s gone! A home run!”
She spun startled, holding her hand to her chest. “Oh, Inuyasha, it’s you,” she said, removing the headphones and turning off the music. “Are you hungry?”
“No, thanks,” he replied, surprised that she would ask, though he supposed he shouldn’t have been. He took a deep breath to steady his nerves. Asking for favors was something he did very rarely, but it was necessary in this case. He trusted Mrs. Higurashi not to make it uncomfortable for him. The bouzu was another story, but at least he could whack Miroku upside the head if he was being an ass.
“I actually wanted your help with something.”
“Oh? What would that be?” she asked, turning back to her food preparation.
“Uh, you see…I want to get Kagome something for her birthday.”
Mrs. Higurashi paused, then turned to regard him with a genuine smile. “Really? That’s nice. I thought you didn’t celebrate birthdays in your time.”
“We don’t, but Kagome shouldn’t have to give up everything from this era. She’s given up enough already.”
“So,” Mrs. Higurashi stated, changing the subject. “What did you have in mind?”
Inuyasha related his idea, and received a sincere compliment for it. Kagome’s mother felt it was very thoughtful and that her daughter would truly appreciate it. She also gave him a couple suggestions for improving the gift, which Inuyasha readily accepted. Then she helped him select a few necessary items, which he would smuggle to the feudal era inside his robes and discuss with the monk in phase two of the plan.
Fortunately, he and Kagome had been planning to go to the feudal era anyway. That made it relatively easy to play things cool when she came down the stairs a few minutes later. They went for the customary run and bath, and for once Inuyasha was glad Kagome apparently wasn’t in an amorous mood. He was fairly distracted, and she would surely have noticed if things had turned steamy. Later, while Kagome was helping Sango prepare dinner—while simultaneously receiving a cooking lesson—Inuyasha literally dragged Miroku to a secluded spot in the forest.
“And what can I do for you today, Inuyasha?” the monk inquired after dusting off his robes.
“I need your help.”
Miroku blinked in surprise. “Hm, you must really want something to admit that.”
“Shut up! It’s for Kagome.”
“Ah, well in case I can lend my services free of charge.”
“Goo—wait, you were gonna charge me?!”
“That’s not important. Now, what exactly do you want to do for Kagome-sama?”
Inuyasha grumbled under his breath about swindling monks, but decided to let it go. Like Mrs. Higurashi before him, Miroku was also impressed by the hanyou’s idea. He was happy to say that he knew of a simple incantation that would be ideal for Inuyasha’s purposes. The hanyou merely needed to perform one more task. It required some fine manipulation, but eventually he got the item exactly the way he wanted it. Miroku placed his sutra, muttered his incantation, and voila! The gift was done, and Inuyasha was quite pleased. The monk agreed to hold onto the object until the following day, since it was unlikely the hanyou could sneak it back to the modern era without Kagome noticing. He would bring her back here tomorrow evening and give it to her then. She could show it to her family later. Perhaps that wasn’t the best way to handle it, but his hand was forced by the new restriction on passage imposed by the well. Thanking Miroku for his help, Inuyasha stood to leave.
“Whoa, whoa, Inuyasha,” the monk exclaimed, “what’s your hurry? Sit down and relax with me.”
Inuyasha instantly knew something was amiss, and he wanted nothing more than to cover his ears and bolt. But he couldn’t tell the monk to stuff it after accepting his aid, now could he? Grimacing, he settled down across from his lecherous friend and glared at him warily.
“So how are things in the future?” Miroku posed casually. Too casually.
“Fine.”
“No more youkai attacks?”
“No.”
“And Kagome-sama? How is she handling withdrawing from her school?”
“Fine.”
Miroku sweatdropped. “You know, Inuyasha, you could try responding with more than a one word answer.”
“Keh.”
Shaking his head, Miroku nevertheless adopted a mischievous grin. “So, how are things going between Kagome-sama and yourself?”
“F-fine.”
“Neither of you have said anything, but I’ve noticed something different. You are engaging in intimate relations again, aren’t you?”
“…”
“Ah, that’s excellent! Congratulations.”
Inuyasha rolled his eyes. Here it comes, some perverted question or another. “Is it good?” “For both of you?” “Do you want a few pointers?” “What position is your favorite?” I swear, if he asks anything like that I’m gonna—
“When are you going to ask her to marry you?”
Inuyasha stared at Miroku in absolute shock. He cleaned his ears out just to make sure he wasn’t hearing things. “W-what?”
“When are you going to ask Kagome-sama to marry you?” Miroku repeated. His expression and tone were serious, so Inuyasha took his question as such.
“I…hadn’t thought about it,” he answered honestly, that excuse sounding lame even to his ears.
Miroku flashed him an incredulous look. “Inuyasha, you mean to tell me that you love a girl, you’re being intimate with her, and she loves you, and you ‘hadn’t thought’ about asking her to marry you? I don’t know how they handle things in Kagome-sama’s time, but here, that’s low.”
Inuyasha frowned, his first thought being to tell the monk he was crazy. He and Kagome were already joined in the youkai sense; nothing more was required. Marriage was a human invention, driven by a need to create a bond in the only way humans could. But for those with youkai blood, how could such an artificial, insubstantial thing like marriage add anything to a relationship already characterized by strong, innate bonds? How could mere words compare to the majesty of two youkai auras coming together in absolute harmony?
They couldn’t, as far as he was concerned. He would have married Kikyou, but he now realized it would have been a disappointment, a pale reflection of the bond they could have enjoyed. Half of him would have been eliminated, never to become one with the woman he had chosen to share his life with. Was it any wonder that marriage had taken on a negative nuance for him? It was either joining as a human or joining as a youkai, one or the other. There was nothing in between.
Or was there? Maybe he was thinking about this in the wrong way. Kagome was not Kikyou, and marriage for them would not necessitate him giving up his youkai half. He knew she would swiftly reject that idea if he proposed it, which he had no intention of doing. His youkai half was still only half of him, right? Both he and Kagome were one part youkai and one part human. So logically, only half of each of them was joined to the other. The human elements were just having sex. That was a fairly twisted, cynical way of looking at things, but disturbing nonetheless. Perhaps marriage was not so inconsequential after all. He thought of how happy Miroku and Sango were now. Where before lurked uncertainty there was now only love and devotion, creating a strong foundation from which to raise a family. It was the kind of relationship he and Kagome were rebuilding towards. If getting married could help them get there…
But did Kagome even want to get married? She had certainly never said anything to him about it, though that didn’t necessarily provide an answer. Maybe she was waiting for the perfect moment to speak with him about it. He recalled a TV program he had seen in her time, where the man proposed to the woman. Was that the custom in her time? If so, it was similar to the human traditions in this time. Was she waiting for him to propose? Or maybe she hadn’t thought about it either. As these considerations passed through his mind, Inuyasha made a stunning realization—under none of those possibilities did Kagome not want to get married. Now that he actually thought about it, he was having difficulty imagining that she preferred to remain unmarried. She was born human, had grown up human, had dreamt her girlish dreams as a human. In many ways, her mind was still more human than youkai.
A thread of memory came back to him, providing further enlightenment. At Miroku and Sango’s wedding, he had caught Kagome wearing an expression of great sadness. At the time, he had dismissed it because of the freshness of their reunion, as well as their utter dearth of meaningful communication. But now, he couldn’t help but wonder if he hadn’t misread her. Was the sadness he thought he had glimpsed really yearning, or envy? It was an interesting possibility to say the least, and seemed to lend support to his theory that Kagome did in fact want to get married. But even if that was the case, did he want that as well? He would do just about anything to make her happy, and would be willing to marry her for that reason alone. But after deeper reflection, being joined to Kagome in both the youkai and human traditions was an appealing idea. As for whether she agreed, there was really only one way to find out.
“I’ll ask her tonight,” he stated with conviction, startling Miroku.
“Whoa, whoa, Inuyasha! I just wanted you to think about it. Don’t you think you’re rushing things?”
After a momentary reflection, Inuyasha shook his head. Why was he rushing, because he had quickly made a decision he should have made months ago? For all intents and purposes, they were already married. They had tried to have a child together, for heaven’s sake. By the standards of this time, he had made Kagome wait far too long already. He didn’t know how people in the modern era handled it, but it couldn’t be that different. Marriage was a huge, life-altering event for humans of any time period, but would it really change their relationship that much? He didn’t think so. And he couldn’t think of a good reason to delay any longer. One could point out that they were just recovered from an extremely rough patch in their relationship, but the thought of holding back for that reason just didn’t feel right. He couldn’t explain how, but in his heart he knew the time was right, and he was making the right decision.
“I’m not rushing it,” he answered.
Miroku gazed searchingly at him for a moment, then nodded. “Very well. You have my blessing. I would, however, recommend discussing it with Kagome-sama’s mother first. I would have done the same had Sango’s father been alive. I believe the elder Higurashi would appreciate it.”
Inuyasha grimaced, but couldn’t deny the logic in Miroku’s words. He was almost tempted to ignore the advice anyway to avoid what was sure to be an extremely awkward conversation. But Mrs. Higurashi might know her daughter’s feelings on marriage better than he did. And at least then he would know how the family would react ahead of time. Still, he was most definitely not looking forward to actually sitting down with her. He would put off that little chat until tomorrow; doing so would give him some time to think of what he was going to say.
“So, Inuyasha,” Miroku said in a tone the hanyou immediately recognized as dangerous.
“Shut it, bouzu. Whatever you’re planning to say, don’t say it.”
Miroku pretended to be flabbergasted. “Why, Inuyasha, I was merely going to inquire—where are you going?”
But the hanyou was already gone, storming back to the village and leaving the monk in his wake. Miroku cracked a wry grin. He would get his demonic friend next time.
They stopped by Kaede’s hut on the way back to Miroku’s home, and the old miko agreed to hold Kagome’s gift until she and Inuyasha left. The remainder of the evening passed without incident; if Kagome noticed Inuyasha’s distraction, she apparently didn’t think much of it. Inuyasha had trouble sleeping that night, a certain giddiness keeping him awake. Would she like his gift? Would it make her sad? How would his conversation with Mrs. Higurashi go? Would Kagome accept his proposal? Would he screw it all up?
No matter what, Kagome’s seventeenth birthday promised to be one to remember.
2011 Note – I debated with myself for awhile about whether I had overdone it with the sex in this chapter. In the end, I decided to leave it unchanged, in part because I couldn’t bring myself to delete anything. It’s a testament to the relief I felt after seven months on the angst/recovery train. Oh, and I hope you enjoyed the baseball-related serving of cheese.
Converting /tmp/phpSh51rh to /dev/stdout
Tying Up Loose Ends
Kagome stared at the ground below her as it moved rapidly back and forth, from her perspective at least. She bit her lip to stifle her groans, an effort she knew would soon fail. Inuyasha’s cock plunged repeatedly inside her, the pure electricity from his movements making her knees wobble. In the four days since that revitalizing night in her room, it seemed as though they had seldom stopped having sex. The weekend had been a blur of sweat, orgasms, and mind-numbing pleasure. She had barely been able to force herself to attend school this morning, and only because Inuyasha had promised to meet her on the rooftop at lunch time. He was the only one who had ended up eating anything, and then they made passionate love, him holding her up against the wall of the small storage building up there. At one point she felt as though they were shaking the school to its foundations, though by then they were so far gone that a real earthquake could probably have gone unnoticed by either of them. She was grateful that Inuyasha had thought to bring her a change of school uniform; her friends would have surely wondered how she had gotten the original one all stained and wrinkled in a half hour.
Now, like then, their frenzy dictated that they have sex without removing all their clothes; their hakama sat pooled around their ankles. Kagome dug her claws into the bark of the tree she was leaning against, using her leverage to push her hips back to meet Inuyasha’s every thrust. She was quickly discovering that standing was one of her favorite ways of making love, for just that reason. The best positions were the ones where she could use her hanyou strength and stamina to full effect. It was all part of their renewed mutual education in the ways of love, she supposed. And doing it so often could be perceived as making up for lost time. She didn’t particularly care at the moment. She and Inuyasha had every right to be together whenever they wanted, and there was nothing wrong with it. Oh, Kami… No, there was definitely nothing wrong with what they were doing.
She came with a strangled cry, collapsing against the tree as her orgasm obliterated her body’s sense of balance. Inuyasha wrapped his arms around her torso, pulling her to him and filling her with powerful thrusts that lifted her off her feet. He possessed her completely in those few moments, which was fortunate because her curled toes would not have been conducive to standing. Finally he stiffened, his warm seed flooding her just before he brought them both to their knees, his cock still spasming deep inside her. Kagome grinned, reaching up and running a hand blindly through his hair. She liked it when she came first; it gave her a chance to really experience his orgasm. His trembling muscles, those little grunts he made, the way he panted so hard as his body slowly cooled down. Much of the time they climaxed more or less simultaneously, which was great too. And there were still those times when she wasn’t able to climax at all, though she didn’t hold it against him. Nobody was perfect. Besides, he always insisted on making it up to her with his tongue afterwards, which was certainly nothing to complain about. There had even been one instance when he hadn’t been able to come, and had gone soft on her instead, to his eternal embarrassment. But she chalked that one up to plain old fatigue; the unfortunate incident had occurred at around five in the morning after a full night of off-and-on lovemaking. His penis had finally decided that enough was enough. Even hanyou couldn’t go forever without a break.
So it wasn’t perfect, but perhaps that was why it felt so special. They were both still learning, though their desire to please the other was so strong that they made it work most of the time. Kagome sighed blissfully as Inuyasha slipped out of her and fell into a sitting position, pulling her into his lap. That was another thing she loved about him—Inuyasha liked to cuddle. Now, she would never dare call it that in his presence, but it was a rare occurrence when she did not find herself in his arms after they made love. Perhaps it was because he had been denied any meaningful physical contact for a large portion of his life. But whatever the reason behind his affinity for cuddling, she was more than happy to oblige him.
His fingers traced invisible designs on her belly, threatening to enflame her passion yet again. But his intent was not to arouse, and she allowed herself to be lulled by his touch. After awhile she got up and pulled him toward the river, knowing they both needed a bath. She had a feeling they would end up getting dirty again before they got clean.
* * *
It was a pair of very satisfied hanyou who emerged from the well house into the slightly more oppressive air of modern Tokyo later that day. It was early evening, and both of them were craving Mrs. Higurashi’s delicious cooking. She was the reason they were still staying in the modern era; when they informed her of their plans, she had requested that they remain to celebrate Kagome’s seventeenth birthday, which was now two days away. Agreeing had been a good decision. It gave them an opportunity to tie up several loose ends, as well as many hours of down time with nothing to do. Oh yes, they had put that time to good use. As for the loose ends, one of them had involved making a very difficult decision indeed. After much reflection, Kagome had finally come to the conclusion that she could no longer sustain her modern education while simultaneously seeking jewel shards in the past. Her home was in the feudal era, not here, and going to school was nothing more than a colossal waste of time. She was dropping out. Informing her friends of her resolution was the sole reason she had attended today. They were surprised but understanding, and Kagome was actually glad she could tell them the whole truth behind her choice rather than make up some bogus story. Now, telling her family was another matter entirely, and she had yet to cross that threshold. But her procrastination couldn’t last forever, especially since she planned on skipping school tomorrow. Her grandfather would be suspicious if she couldn’t offer some kind of legitimate excuse. For his part, Inuyasha was secretly delighted. For months now he had seen Kagome’s schooling as a contingency, a backup plan in case things didn’t work out with him. That she was willing to forego such a safety net and bet everything on their relationship meant a lot to him. He didn’t think it was a coincidence that she had not chosen to drop out until a few days ago.
They hadn’t heard from Kenji since their first meeting, though Kagome had talked about him with Ayumi over the phone. The human girl still felt shocked and betrayed, but Kagome helped her understand the reasons why Kenji hadn’t informed her of his youkai heritage. She didn’t stick her neck too far out for him though. She had done that for Miroku a few times, but only because she could see he was a good man. Her initial impression of Kenji had been positive, but she still didn’t know him very well. In the end, Ayumi had agreed to talk to him and at least hear what he had to say. When she hung up, Kagome had a feeling that relationship wasn’t destined to end just yet.
They also spoke of Kenji in the feudal era, neither of them seeing any reason to keep what had happened from their friends. Miroku and Sango were understandably concerned, and both lamented the fact that they couldn’t go through the well and provide assistance. Unfortunately, Kaede had never heard of concealment charms, which led them to believe they were a modern development. Not surprising, as contemporary youkai seldom had any reason to disguise themselves as humans. The ones who did were usually interested in devouring real humans, as Miroku could attest. Kaede was able to offer a little more insight on the strange barrier Kagome and her friends had been trapped in, explaining that it must take a large space and separate it from reality, while simultaneously creating an illusion for the outside world. All of that they already knew, more or less, and the old miko could not tell them how to create such a barrier or how to acquire that knowledge.
It didn’t really matter, they supposed; knowing how to create an isolation barrier wouldn’t necessarily help them the next time they encountered one. And Inuyasha had something more important to worry about: namely, what the heck was he going to get Kagome for her birthday?! He was fairly certain she had missed her last one entirely; they had probably been in the middle of one life-threatening adventure or another. Worse yet, he didn’t remember celebrating it with her family later on, which most likely meant they had parted on less-than-favorable terms. And while he had been pouting in the feudal era, Kagome had celebrated her birthday without him, his pig-headed immaturity probably dampening what were supposed to be high spirits. At least he assumed the argument was his fault; he could admit now that they usually had been back then. Anyway, he wanted this birthday to be special, but he had no idea how to make it so. He didn’t know how to get a gift for someone, having only rarely done it before. But Souta had said gift giving was customary for birthdays in the modern era. That Kagome probably didn’t expect one from him made him want to surprise her even more.
Another problem was the timing. With everything else that had been going on, Kagome’s birthday had snuck up on him. He had given her clothing several months ago, but even if he wanted to do that again, there wasn’t enough time to run out to Daichi’s and expect to return in two days. That would be asking too much of the bear youkai, and it was kind of rude to only stop by when they needed him to make something. Come to think of it, he was sure Kagome would appreciate the opportunity to thank him in person for doing such a great job making the garments she now wore every day. Perhaps they could stop by for a visit during the coming jewel quest.
But back to the here and now, Inuyasha was still drawing a blank for a gift idea. It had to be something she could use in the feudal era, which pretty much ruled out everything from her time. If the well sealed itself once the jewel was purified, nothing from the future would last more than a few years. And then all connection with her family would be severed forever. He doubted hanyou could live for five hundred years. All that remained would be her memories. Or perhaps not, he reflected, stopping in his tracks as an idea struck. A grin slowly spread across his features; he knew exactly what he was going to get Kagome now. It would require the assistance of her mother and a certain lecherous monk, but he was sure both of them would be willing to help.
“Inuyasha?” Kagome asked, startling him from his musings. She glanced curiously back at him, wondering why he had stopped, but he shook her off. Preceding her inside the house, he made his way to the kitchen, where the smells of Mrs. Higurashi’s delicious cooking were already captivating his nose. Dinner was scrumptious, but Kagome was pensive throughout. He learned why when she stood and addressed her family just as everyone was finishing their meals. She wrung her hands together nervously as all eyes turned to her. Inuyasha gently nudged her foot with his own. A small show of support, but an appreciated one, judging by the brief glance she sent his way.
“Uh, I came to a decision,” she stated quietly. “I thought about it a lot, and it was tough, but I think it’s for the best. I’m…dropping out of school.” She squinted her eyes shut, probably waiting for the explosion that never came. None of her family even looked too surprised. Her grandfather frowned with his arms crossed over his chest, Souta appeared envious, and her mother smiled in a way that was half knowing and half resigned. Hearing no gasps or rebukes, Kagome looked at her family once again, blinking at them a couple times to make sure she wasn’t imagining things.
“Y-you guys aren’t mad?”
“Well, we aren’t happy about it, dear,” Mrs. Higurashi replied. “But I for one knew this was a possibility once you decided to live with Inuyasha. You’ve always made the right decision in the past, though I don’t know how sometimes…” she trailed off, shaking her head in amazement. Her daughter was truly special to still want to be with Inuyasha after everything that had happened. She always knew Kagome had a loving heart, but just how deeply she was capable of loving had only become clear through tragedy. It gave Mrs. Higurashi the courage to have faith in her daughter once again.
“We will leave it up to you, Kagome,” she concluded. “Besides, it’s not as though algebra will help you very much in the feudal era. In fact, equations aren’t very useful in this era, either.”
Mother and daughter shared a brief chuckle, but there was one member of the family who was decidedly not amused. Steeling her nerves, Kagome turned to address him.
“Jii-chan? I know you always wanted me to graduate school, but… I know our family’s honor is very important to you. I’m sorry if me not graduating makes me a stain—”
“It doesn’t,” the old man interrupted quietly, leaving Kagome stunned into silence. It was just as well; it gave her grandfather time to gather his thoughts.
“For two years now you’ve been living a double life, Kagome. You somehow managed to achieve passing marks in school even though you are ‘out sick’ most of the time. It made me proud, that you were still so devoted to your schoolwork even when you were off gallivanting in the past with some ruffian.”
Inuyasha bit his tongue to remain silent. He supposed it wasn’t much of an insult; he was a little bit of a ruffian. And proud of it, too.
“But over time you started to care less and less about school. Your future in this time didn’t seem to matter as much. I was angry at first. This hooligan was corrupting you, taking you away from your family where you belonged!” he exclaimed, pointing a gnarled finger at Inuyasha. “But then you became a hanyou, and everything changed. It’s hard for an old man like me to realize, but…you’ve really grown up, haven’t you?” He paused, raising his tired eyes to meet his granddaughter’s, which were already brimming with tears.
“Wherever you choose to live, whatever you decide to be, know that I will always be proud of the woman you’ve become. You have already brought more honor to this family than you will ever know.”
“Jii-chan,” Kagome breathed as the two of them embraced. Inuyasha looked on with a smile, quite pleased with the old man. He had certainly come a long way since the first time he saw Kagome as a hanyou, when he tried to purify her with a handful of sutras.
“Besides,” her grandfather stated as they pulled apart, “now I shall just expect my other grandchild to graduate at the top of his class.”
“What?! Aw, thanks a lot nee-chan!”
“Quit whining Souta. You were planning to do well in school anyway, right?”
“Well, yeah, but now there’s too much pressure!”
Kagome rolled her eyes. As if Souta didn’t already know that their grandfather was joking, in his own subtle way. “You want pressure? Come here. I’ll give you a noogie!”
“Ack! No, I hate those. Stay away from me!”
Souta took off out of the kitchen, his sister in hot pursuit. Their shouts and laughter rang joyously throughout the house. Their grandfather chuckled. “So much for having grown up,” he quipped lightly. Grinning, Inuyasha got up to do the dishes.
* * *
The next morning, Kagome called her school and officially informed them she was dropping out. Naturally, someone from guidance was put on the line to try to talk her out of it. She humored the man, all the while reflecting how oblivious he was to the situation. Dropping out of school wasn’t going to ruin her life. She was doing it so she could live the life she wanted to live. But it wasn’t worth trying to make the counselor understand that, so she politely turned him down, being as general as possible. Eventually he gave up, and an assistant was put back on. Kagome was informed of the date she had to re-enroll by before the action became final and she would have to repeat her current grade. She didn’t even bother writing the date down. Finally, after what seemed like an hour, the assistant wished her luck and hung up. “Phew,” she signed, replacing the phone.
“Those stuffy old farts finally done gabbing at you?” Inuyasha asked from his spot on the couch, watching a baseball game on TV.
Kagome chuckled at the insult, flopping down next to him and leaning into his side. His arm came up reflexively to wrap around her shoulders. “You better watch it. Those two people were probably only a little older than Mama.”
“Keh. Your mother doesn’t sound that old. They were acting like you killed their do—cat,” he hastily amended with a grin. Kagome elbowed him in the side for his choice of words, and was it her imagination or did Buyo glare at him from the next cushion over? Perhaps the portly feline was just wary of Inuyasha in general, though the latter had shown no indication that he felt like ‘playing’ with Buyo today.
“Dropping out of school is a big deal in my time,” she answered, causing Inuyasha’s smile to abruptly vanish.
“You know…”
“Don’t say it, Inuyasha. I know you’re willing to interrupt our quest so I can go to school, but I don’t want to. It’s over with, and I’m glad. It would only be a big deal if I was going to live here, but I’m not. I’m going to live in the past with you, remember?” she asked, leaning up to meet his gaze.
“How could I forget?” he replied, pulling her close and kissing her lightly on the lips. “Thank you.” For staying with me. For not making me live here. For letting me be with you.
Kagome grinned, reading his unspoken thoughts. “The past is my home now. I like being there. This era has never become a home for you.”
“If you wanted to live in the middle of a desert, I would make it my home.”
“Ohhh,” Kagome breathed, moving in for another kiss. Suddenly Inuyasha leapt up, carrying his giggling mate up the stairs to her bedroom.
The announcer’s voice on the forgotten television continued to call the game to the now empty room.
*Crack*
“It’s driven high and deep…he’s going back…back…and it’s gone! A home run!”
* * *
It was mid-afternoon by the time Inuyasha descended the stairs once again. Kagome was taking a catnap on her bed, and he would have joined her, but he had something more important to take care of. He found Mrs. Higurashi in the kitchen, making a sandwich for herself. She had strange things in her ears, and black cords trailing down to a small box-like thing on her waist. He recognized it as some sort of music player. Mrs. Higurashi swung her hips slightly to the beat he could hear coming from the earpieces. Inuyasha rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly. They tried to be quiet, they really did, but the thin walls weren’t exactly soundproof. Still, Kagome’s mother couldn’t have heard much, if anything. Perhaps she had just felt like listening to music? She didn’t seem annoyed or flustered, if that was any indication. Inuyasha cleared his throat loud enough for her to hear over the song. She spun startled, holding her hand to her chest. “Oh, Inuyasha, it’s you,” she said, removing the headphones and turning off the music. “Are you hungry?”
“No, thanks,” he replied, surprised that she would ask, though he supposed he shouldn’t have been. He took a deep breath to steady his nerves. Asking for favors was something he did very rarely, but it was necessary in this case. He trusted Mrs. Higurashi not to make it uncomfortable for him. The bouzu was another story, but at least he could whack Miroku upside the head if he was being an ass.
“I actually wanted your help with something.”
“Oh? What would that be?” she asked, turning back to her food preparation.
“Uh, you see…I want to get Kagome something for her birthday.”
Mrs. Higurashi paused, then turned to regard him with a genuine smile. “Really? That’s nice. I thought you didn’t celebrate birthdays in your time.”
“We don’t, but Kagome shouldn’t have to give up everything from this era. She’s given up enough already.”
“So,” Mrs. Higurashi stated, changing the subject. “What did you have in mind?”
Inuyasha related his idea, and received a sincere compliment for it. Kagome’s mother felt it was very thoughtful and that her daughter would truly appreciate it. She also gave him a couple suggestions for improving the gift, which Inuyasha readily accepted. Then she helped him select a few necessary items, which he would smuggle to the feudal era inside his robes and discuss with the monk in phase two of the plan.
Fortunately, he and Kagome had been planning to go to the feudal era anyway. That made it relatively easy to play things cool when she came down the stairs a few minutes later. They went for the customary run and bath, and for once Inuyasha was glad Kagome apparently wasn’t in an amorous mood. He was fairly distracted, and she would surely have noticed if things had turned steamy. Later, while Kagome was helping Sango prepare dinner—while simultaneously receiving a cooking lesson—Inuyasha literally dragged Miroku to a secluded spot in the forest.
“And what can I do for you today, Inuyasha?” the monk inquired after dusting off his robes.
“I need your help.”
Miroku blinked in surprise. “Hm, you must really want something to admit that.”
“Shut up! It’s for Kagome.”
“Ah, well in case I can lend my services free of charge.”
“Goo—wait, you were gonna charge me?!”
“That’s not important. Now, what exactly do you want to do for Kagome-sama?”
Inuyasha grumbled under his breath about swindling monks, but decided to let it go. Like Mrs. Higurashi before him, Miroku was also impressed by the hanyou’s idea. He was happy to say that he knew of a simple incantation that would be ideal for Inuyasha’s purposes. The hanyou merely needed to perform one more task. It required some fine manipulation, but eventually he got the item exactly the way he wanted it. Miroku placed his sutra, muttered his incantation, and voila! The gift was done, and Inuyasha was quite pleased. The monk agreed to hold onto the object until the following day, since it was unlikely the hanyou could sneak it back to the modern era without Kagome noticing. He would bring her back here tomorrow evening and give it to her then. She could show it to her family later. Perhaps that wasn’t the best way to handle it, but his hand was forced by the new restriction on passage imposed by the well. Thanking Miroku for his help, Inuyasha stood to leave.
“Whoa, whoa, Inuyasha,” the monk exclaimed, “what’s your hurry? Sit down and relax with me.”
Inuyasha instantly knew something was amiss, and he wanted nothing more than to cover his ears and bolt. But he couldn’t tell the monk to stuff it after accepting his aid, now could he? Grimacing, he settled down across from his lecherous friend and glared at him warily.
“So how are things in the future?” Miroku posed casually. Too casually.
“Fine.”
“No more youkai attacks?”
“No.”
“And Kagome-sama? How is she handling withdrawing from her school?”
“Fine.”
Miroku sweatdropped. “You know, Inuyasha, you could try responding with more than a one word answer.”
“Keh.”
Shaking his head, Miroku nevertheless adopted a mischievous grin. “So, how are things going between Kagome-sama and yourself?”
“F-fine.”
“Neither of you have said anything, but I’ve noticed something different. You are engaging in intimate relations again, aren’t you?”
“…”
“Ah, that’s excellent! Congratulations.”
Inuyasha rolled his eyes. Here it comes, some perverted question or another. “Is it good?” “For both of you?” “Do you want a few pointers?” “What position is your favorite?” I swear, if he asks anything like that I’m gonna—
“When are you going to ask her to marry you?”
Inuyasha stared at Miroku in absolute shock. He cleaned his ears out just to make sure he wasn’t hearing things. “W-what?”
“When are you going to ask Kagome-sama to marry you?” Miroku repeated. His expression and tone were serious, so Inuyasha took his question as such.
“I…hadn’t thought about it,” he answered honestly, that excuse sounding lame even to his ears.
Miroku flashed him an incredulous look. “Inuyasha, you mean to tell me that you love a girl, you’re being intimate with her, and she loves you, and you ‘hadn’t thought’ about asking her to marry you? I don’t know how they handle things in Kagome-sama’s time, but here, that’s low.”
Inuyasha frowned, his first thought being to tell the monk he was crazy. He and Kagome were already joined in the youkai sense; nothing more was required. Marriage was a human invention, driven by a need to create a bond in the only way humans could. But for those with youkai blood, how could such an artificial, insubstantial thing like marriage add anything to a relationship already characterized by strong, innate bonds? How could mere words compare to the majesty of two youkai auras coming together in absolute harmony?
They couldn’t, as far as he was concerned. He would have married Kikyou, but he now realized it would have been a disappointment, a pale reflection of the bond they could have enjoyed. Half of him would have been eliminated, never to become one with the woman he had chosen to share his life with. Was it any wonder that marriage had taken on a negative nuance for him? It was either joining as a human or joining as a youkai, one or the other. There was nothing in between.
Or was there? Maybe he was thinking about this in the wrong way. Kagome was not Kikyou, and marriage for them would not necessitate him giving up his youkai half. He knew she would swiftly reject that idea if he proposed it, which he had no intention of doing. His youkai half was still only half of him, right? Both he and Kagome were one part youkai and one part human. So logically, only half of each of them was joined to the other. The human elements were just having sex. That was a fairly twisted, cynical way of looking at things, but disturbing nonetheless. Perhaps marriage was not so inconsequential after all. He thought of how happy Miroku and Sango were now. Where before lurked uncertainty there was now only love and devotion, creating a strong foundation from which to raise a family. It was the kind of relationship he and Kagome were rebuilding towards. If getting married could help them get there…
But did Kagome even want to get married? She had certainly never said anything to him about it, though that didn’t necessarily provide an answer. Maybe she was waiting for the perfect moment to speak with him about it. He recalled a TV program he had seen in her time, where the man proposed to the woman. Was that the custom in her time? If so, it was similar to the human traditions in this time. Was she waiting for him to propose? Or maybe she hadn’t thought about it either. As these considerations passed through his mind, Inuyasha made a stunning realization—under none of those possibilities did Kagome not want to get married. Now that he actually thought about it, he was having difficulty imagining that she preferred to remain unmarried. She was born human, had grown up human, had dreamt her girlish dreams as a human. In many ways, her mind was still more human than youkai.
A thread of memory came back to him, providing further enlightenment. At Miroku and Sango’s wedding, he had caught Kagome wearing an expression of great sadness. At the time, he had dismissed it because of the freshness of their reunion, as well as their utter dearth of meaningful communication. But now, he couldn’t help but wonder if he hadn’t misread her. Was the sadness he thought he had glimpsed really yearning, or envy? It was an interesting possibility to say the least, and seemed to lend support to his theory that Kagome did in fact want to get married. But even if that was the case, did he want that as well? He would do just about anything to make her happy, and would be willing to marry her for that reason alone. But after deeper reflection, being joined to Kagome in both the youkai and human traditions was an appealing idea. As for whether she agreed, there was really only one way to find out.
“I’ll ask her tonight,” he stated with conviction, startling Miroku.
“Whoa, whoa, Inuyasha! I just wanted you to think about it. Don’t you think you’re rushing things?”
After a momentary reflection, Inuyasha shook his head. Why was he rushing, because he had quickly made a decision he should have made months ago? For all intents and purposes, they were already married. They had tried to have a child together, for heaven’s sake. By the standards of this time, he had made Kagome wait far too long already. He didn’t know how people in the modern era handled it, but it couldn’t be that different. Marriage was a huge, life-altering event for humans of any time period, but would it really change their relationship that much? He didn’t think so. And he couldn’t think of a good reason to delay any longer. One could point out that they were just recovered from an extremely rough patch in their relationship, but the thought of holding back for that reason just didn’t feel right. He couldn’t explain how, but in his heart he knew the time was right, and he was making the right decision.
“I’m not rushing it,” he answered.
Miroku gazed searchingly at him for a moment, then nodded. “Very well. You have my blessing. I would, however, recommend discussing it with Kagome-sama’s mother first. I would have done the same had Sango’s father been alive. I believe the elder Higurashi would appreciate it.”
Inuyasha grimaced, but couldn’t deny the logic in Miroku’s words. He was almost tempted to ignore the advice anyway to avoid what was sure to be an extremely awkward conversation. But Mrs. Higurashi might know her daughter’s feelings on marriage better than he did. And at least then he would know how the family would react ahead of time. Still, he was most definitely not looking forward to actually sitting down with her. He would put off that little chat until tomorrow; doing so would give him some time to think of what he was going to say.
“So, Inuyasha,” Miroku said in a tone the hanyou immediately recognized as dangerous.
“Shut it, bouzu. Whatever you’re planning to say, don’t say it.”
Miroku pretended to be flabbergasted. “Why, Inuyasha, I was merely going to inquire—where are you going?”
But the hanyou was already gone, storming back to the village and leaving the monk in his wake. Miroku cracked a wry grin. He would get his demonic friend next time.
They stopped by Kaede’s hut on the way back to Miroku’s home, and the old miko agreed to hold Kagome’s gift until she and Inuyasha left. The remainder of the evening passed without incident; if Kagome noticed Inuyasha’s distraction, she apparently didn’t think much of it. Inuyasha had trouble sleeping that night, a certain giddiness keeping him awake. Would she like his gift? Would it make her sad? How would his conversation with Mrs. Higurashi go? Would Kagome accept his proposal? Would he screw it all up?
No matter what, Kagome’s seventeenth birthday promised to be one to remember.
2011 Note – I debated with myself for awhile about whether I had overdone it with the sex in this chapter. In the end, I decided to leave it unchanged, in part because I couldn’t bring myself to delete anything. It’s a testament to the relief I felt after seven months on the angst/recovery train. Oh, and I hope you enjoyed the baseball-related serving of cheese.
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