InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Not My Fairy Tale ❯ Brother and Sister ( Chapter 2 )

Part two

Brother and Sister

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“The young queen soon had a little son and it happened her king was out hunting. The evil witch and her ugly daughter dressed up as maids and entered the queen's room. Using a spell they placed the queen in a deathlike sleep and carried her body away to a deep, dark cave in the mountains nearby. The witch dressed her daughter up as the queen and closed the curtains around the bed so that when the king appeared by his beloved's side he couldn't get close enough to see her face. He was overjoyed to have a son but so feared for his dear wife's health that he obeyed the witch when she told him to let her sleep and he left her alone, never knowing the woman in their bed was not his only love.

 

“That night, at midnight, all in the castle slept except for the nurse by the baby prince's side. She alone saw the true queen walk silently into the nursery, lift the baby from his cradle and nurse him. Just as quietly she set him down once more, covered him with his little quilt then went to the corner where her brother, the buck slept.”

 

“Wait! Wait, Kagome, the queen's lost in the mountains, isn't she? Like the sleeping beauty or snow girl?” Shippo's intense worry over the queen in the story was obvious from the nervous shaking of his thick, fluffy tail and the cold touch of his hands on Kagome's leg.

 

“Listen to the story, Shippo, you'll see how it works out.” Kagome smiled serenely at his antics and continued, grabbing his little hand from the air and making him sit still in front of her.

 

“The beautiful queen stroked the roebuck's head then stood and left, as silent as the moon. When morning came, the nurse asked the guards if they had seen the queen enter the room that night but they had seen no one. The nurse didn't know what she saw and so kept silent. That night, and many nights after, the same thing happened but only the nurse ever saw the queen. Then one night, the queen spoke. `How fares my child, How fares my roe? Twice shall I come, Then never more.' The nurse panicked and the moment the queen left she ran to wake the young king. He promised to watch his son the next night to see himself what was going on.

 

“That night went as the ones before it, the queen entered, touched her buck, nursed her baby, then said, `How fares my child, How fares my roe? Once will I come, Then never more.' The king was amazed and afraid of the spirit and so dared not say anything to her-” Kagome's story was interrupted by Shippo jumping into her lap, angrily tugging on her wrist. Exasperated groans from the others around the small fire filled the evening air, echoing across the water of the lake they camped beside.

 

“Kagome! How could he just stand there?! He should know his mate when he sees her! Couldn't he smell there was something wrong?” Shippo waited for her explanation, still hanging onto the cuff of her sleeve.

 

“Humans aren't like youkai and hanyou, Shippo. They can't smell danger or be able to recognize their mate- er, loved ones, by scent or even sight if they are disguised. He didn't know if it was mean sprite or a mischievous youkai tricking him and the nursemaid. Don't worry, it'll all work out. He's uncertain right now but a good man will know his beloved. Now,” She caught the kitsune in her hand and cradled him in her arms, praying he'd calm down enough to sleep tonight. He'd been up all night last night, driving InuYasha to insanity which could only make the rest of their lives miserable. She ran her fingers over Shippo's pony tailed hair and continued her tale, silently willing the cub to settle down.

 

“The king hid and watched the next night as the queen arrived once more to nurse their son and greet her buck. She stood to leave saying, `How fares my child, How fares my roe? This time I come, Then never more.' The king couldn't resist her anymore and left his hiding place to confront the ghost. `Lovely spirit, you can be no other than my dearest wife!'

 

“He tried to embrace her but she faded, saying, `Yes, I am your beloved wife. The maid placed a spell on me and hid my body in the mountains so that her daughter may take my place. I will soon die. I came only to say good bye to our child and my brother. Darling husband, take care of them when I am gone. I love you.' She whispered, and faded completely away.” Kagome suddenly paused, hearing a sniffling from off to the side. Shippo was tense and anxious in her arms about the way the story was going, it didn't seem there could be a happy ending. But Sango seemed to be even more upset and Kagome's eyes widened when she realized there were tears glittering in her best friend's cinnamon eyes.

 

“Oh, Sango!” Kagome cried in dismay. “I didn't mean to- I'm sorry, it's just a fairytale- Miroku!” Kagome glared at the surprised monk, unable to move to comfort her friend without disturbing an already distressed Shippo. The houshi's wide eyes left the girl beside him to look confusedly at the raven-haired miko then back at the weeping taijiya obviously completely unsure of what to do.

 

“No, no, Kagome, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to get so caught up in the story. I'm just silly. Please, continue, but promise it ends okay.” Sango gave her a weak, embarrassed smile, and wiped her tears away with the handkerchief Miroku offered her. “Thank you, houshi-sama.” She whispered to him then faced Kagome with an expectant, hopeful blush and twinkling eyes.

 

“Keh, women.” Was all InuYasha had to say about it, and went back to pointedly ignoring them from where he lay balanced on a low tree branch above the small group. The girl glared up at him and as if sensing her wrath, he flinched. Satisfied with that small show of fear, Kagome nodded and decided to quickly finish the story.

 

“The king was very angry with the news from his beloved and immediately found the witch and her daughter and forced them to take him to where they hid his enchanted wife. She was near death then, having stayed so many days in the cold without food or water, but at his kiss, the young queen awakened and he carried her back to their palace. The king punished the wicked witch and her horrible daughter for trying to kill the queen. When the witch was executed, the roebuck regained his human form and the brother and sister lived happily ever after with their new family. And that just proves that nothing's stronger than love. The love a parent for a child and that of a man for his wife.” She smiled happily, hugging Shippo tight, then turned that smile on Sango and Miroku, sitting a little closer to each other. She giggled and stood, the fox child still in her arms and carried him to her sleeping bag.

 

“Tonight you have to rest, Shippo, you don't have to sleep but you do have to stay quiet so the rest of us can. Kirara? Can you stay with him for a while?” The twin-tailed fire cat cocked her head at Kagome's question then gave a soft mew of agreement, daintily rising to her feet and stretching before lazily padding over to Kagome's sleeping bag and laying down beside the cub, wrapping him in her warm, fluffy tails. “Thank you.” She whispered, brushing the feline's nose and kissing Shippo's forehead. “Good night.”

 

“G'night . . .” Shippo whispered, already lulled into sleep, exhausted by the excitement of the evening and the long hard trek during the day.

 

The girl stood and returned to where her friends were still gathered by the fire, chatting, noticing as she passed beneath the tree InuYasha lounged in, that one ear was nonchalantly listening in on the conversation. She grinned up at his shadowed and still form, thinking him no more than a sullen, antisocial puppy.

 

Sango was laughing at something Miroku had said, Kagome almost didn't want to interrupt but she sat down on the “InuYasha” side of the fire, opposite the pair, and took out her hairbrush from her backpack. She brushed the tangles and travel-born roughness from her curled locks until they were ready to allow another into the conversation.

 

“Sorry about worrying you, Kagome, I'm as bad as Shippo when it comes to sappy love stories, I guess.” Sango smiled shyly at her friend who hesitantly smiled in return.

 

“I'm sorry, I didn't mean for it to get sappy or scary, I certainly didn't mean for

you or Shippo to get so involved-“

 

“No, I knew you wouldn't tell a story that didn't end well, all your fairytales end with a “happily ever after” I just couldn't see how he could save her in time and she was so brave and strong to come every night by the force of her will. I didn't want her son to lose his mother, or her brother his sister, and the king she loved so much-“ The brunette blushed and looked down at her sandaled feet. “You shouldn't tell those fables so thoughtfully, I get so attached to the people, as if they were friends of yours just on the other side of your well, like they were real people. At least it ended well.”

 

Kagome pouted at hearing basically the same lecture from her best friend as she'd received from InuYasha not too long ago. She didn't mean to make the people in the fairytales so real, she just happened to know how they felt, and by accident some of her own emotions got mixed in. “I know I get a little too caught up in the Shippo's bedtime stories, InuYasha yelled at me earlier for it.” The young miko cast a weak glare in the hanyou's direction, noticing with amused interest that his pointed ear flicked quickly in her direction when she said his name then darted away, a distinct droop now in his silhouette.

 

Kagome's chin fell to rest on her hands and she continued softly, without looking up. She was pathetic sometimes, they all knew this. “It's just, I feel like their stories are my own. How the poor goose girl can be so easily replaced and forgotten, the queen giving everything she had just to see her family once more- dying to see her child and husband-“

 

“How the seamaiden gave up her voice and her life for the man she loved . . .” Sango added, with a hidden smile. Kagome's eyes widened, her cheeks stained a ruddy pink. She clamped her lips closed, and glanced back at InuYasha's quiet shadow.

 

“Well, maybe . . .” She murmured, praying a certain sharp-eared boy didn't hear their rather compromising discussion. To cover up her fluttering heart and return to the original subject, Kagome leaned forward, a new, nervous energy filling her stomach. “But you understand, these bedtime stories are more like our own lives, if you want to see it that way- I just hope there's a happy ending for everyone.”

 

Sango rose from where she sat beside the houshi and knelt next to the puzzled girl. She smiled and hugged her friend's shoulder. “My happy ending is just to have friends like all of you, I'll be happy as long as I can stay with my new friends, my new family.” She grinned, rising to her feet, and tugged a raven lock of Kagome's hair in a teasing, sisterly way.

 

The monk also stood, his staff glinting like a solid bit of gold lightning. “And I am sure Shippo would say the same. You are his family now, his `happy ending'.” He smiled as he reassured the girl. Kagome rewarded him with a wan, grateful smile.

 

“I'm happy as long as you guys are.” She answered and got to her feet, belatedly trying to cover up her melancholy with a yawn. “I'm gonna get ready for bed, guys. Is it InuYasha's turn to guard?”

 

“Yeah, he slept last night thanks to that extended tussle with that grabby weasel-youkai, he won't need a nap again for a week.”

 

Kagome groaned at the memory. The slimy furball couldn't keep his hands- or teeth- off anything: anything female, anything shiny, anything that moved. He led her Inu-chan on a merry chase before finally succumbing to the Kaze no Kizu. Kagome still had a nick where the creature had tried to nip one of her fingers off before an overzealous InuYasha knocked him back some dozen yards for the attempt.

 

The monk and taijiya began their nightly routine, involving banking the fire, unrolling futons, a couple of slaps and hushed reprimands. Kagome grinned at the pair as she grabbed her wash cloth from her pack and went down to the lake shore to wash her hands and face.

 

The girl carefully toed her way across the dark rocks, guided only by the half moon's light and a sprinkle of starshine. The rocks were neither flat nor slippery, but sharp and jagged, and certainly not easily balanced upon. She made her way out a few feet from the pebbly bank and knelt, safely perched on a small level boulder. Kagome dipped her towel in the clear, cold water and proceeded to wipe the soot and dirt from her face and arms.

 

Without looking up, she sensed the approaching presence of a youkai- well, the mixed youki of a hanyou anyway. Kagome ignored the boy as he easily, silently slipped into her little nighttime Eden. He stood on the shore directly behind her, waiting for her to finish or acknowledge his being there.

 

Crickets and cicadas sung in the night, the hushed peace was beautiful but so quiet, especially with him standing right there, not saying a word. There were no other demons around, no sense of Shikon shards, just their small group traveling in the forgotten wilds of the ancient past.

 

`What does he want to yell at me for this time?' Kagome wondered cynically with a weary sigh. The slender girl finally stood, carefully, and twisted to face the very alert and apparently irritated InuYasha.

 

The keen-eyed hanyou froze for a moment, pierced by the image of the young miko as she gracefully stood and turned to face him. Her body was outlined by the rippling shimmer of the glassy lake behind her, the moon glow frosting her hair in midnight blue light, her soft skin glimmering like a pale sakura petal. His lungs stopped at the sight of this tennyo, delicately alighted on a dark pearl in the middle of a lapping sea.

 

Her scent- Her scent mingled with the cold freshness of the clean mountain water, smelling richly of flowers and sweetness, of smoke and Shippo, of earth and spices, and her own skin- that unidentifiable comfortable scent . . . He couldn't imagine not taking in that fragrance even for a day. It meant everything to him, everything that was right, and safe, and loving, and good. It was Kagome. Her vivid scent, her precious heartbeat, her soft breathing, her warm, dark eyes hiding a smile of secret delight that recently seemed to only veil tears of sorrow.

 

Where had that smile gone? That flicker of laughter now drown in a well of tears. She continued to meet his unwavering gaze, her expression caught between regret and greeting. At times like these, when she looked at him that way, his heart arrested with the fear that his presence was slowly turning this happy, carefree girl into the cold and desolate Kikyou.

 

She didn't speak and he couldn't just keep staring at her- she had obviously known he was going to follow her and had paid him no heed for as long as she could. So he opened his mouth.

 

“What the hell's your problem?”

 

“What're you talking about? I didn't do anything.” She answered simply as she calmly folded her towel.

 

“You told that damn monk and wench that I yelled at you- I didn't!”

 

“Well, maybe not but I was definitely scolded.” She replied in her defense. She never meant to hurt his feelings, she didn't think he was really listening or that he would care what she said to Sango and Miroku. He shouldn't be so offended or take her words so seriously. He yelled at her all the time, why get so defensive about one time when she exaggerated a little?

 

“I said I didn't care what stories you told or how you told them. We settled this, but you still make me sound like the bad guy!” He griped, shaking a fist in her general direction.

 

“What do you care what the others think of you? You never cared before.” The petulant hanyou stuck his hands into his haori sleeves and spun on heel away from her pouting lips and restless expression.

 

“I don't! What's with your attitude?!” He barked, whirling to look at her once more. What he saw was one exhausted and forlorn girl, a shadow against the light of the night behind her.

 

“I'm sorry, InuYasha, I'm just tired.” She answered wearily. The moment of wakefulness that had come with the touch of the cold water to her flushed skin had passed and the sleepless night before piled on top of the long, hard hike and minor skirmishes with demons and arguments with a certain hanyou finally caught up to her. The sooner she could apologize for whatever bothered him, the happier they'd both be. “Don't listen to anything I say. I didn't mean it; everyone knows you're not a bad person and I shouldn't have said that-”

 

A sudden gust of wind blew off the lake behind her, whipping the girl's skirt around her legs, her thick, umber hair was flung over her shoulders and brushed her cheeks in passing. The strength of the blast propelled her gently forward though, like a cat, she was in no danger of falling into the water surrounding her.

 

“Kagome-“ He began, taking a step forward in case she needed a quick rescue but she remained firmly planted on the rock. She just looked at him, a small, appreciative smile tipping her lips at his halted actions.

 

He didn't know what more to say. He certainly hadn't expected her to give in without a fight. He had followed her out here to be alone so he could yell at her for saying he'd yelled at her. At least, that had been his pretense. What he really wanted to remind her of was that she couldn't be replaced and she'd never be forgotten, not by any of her friends, and certainly not by near-immortal demons. She kept thinking she could, how the hell she got that idea-

 

He'd overheard every miserable word she'd confessed to Miroku and Sango, heard every inflection in her wavering voice, caught the scent her emotions, the racing and stumbling of her heartbeat and her sighing- He knew he took her constant support and presence for granted, that she'd always be there for him, accepting him, loving him for himself no matter what happened. He knew that she felt neglected despite her efforts to remain his constant companion, always in his sight, never beyond his reach should he need her. But he didn't know how to return that, how to make her feel just as cared for. He'd been alone and selfishly looking out for no one but himself for so long; the few times he'd opened up to someone he'd been hurt and left behind. His mother had died, abandoning him when he was too young to remember much else and Kikyou had betrayed him days after he confessed his feelings.

 

How could he now think of another person's well-being above his own? How could he only want to keep this person happy, even when it went against everything his selfish proud heart screamed for? It was hard to open this door, to change his way of thinking-

 

Strangest part was, he already had. Without noticing, he had put this girl in front of himself, her life weighed more than his, her joy and safety were his first thoughts in the morning and his last worries at night. It might have happened the first time he'd taken in her scent or the first time he called her by her given name. She'd gotten into his mind, his thoughts, his heart when he hadn't been looking. Or rather, had been looking too hard to actually see it.

 

Everything in his soul had been hidden away, inherently and violently defended, so how could he share this with anyone after it had been buried so deep? To open up, that was the hardest, trickiest, and most dangerous part.

 

But, it seemed, when he looked into that fortress that skillfully guarded his heart, she was already in there, sitting and waiting for him. Now if he could just get over his habit of pushing everyone away and act like a normal, compassionate being, maybe Kagome wouldn't look like she wanted to die crying right now.

 

“Come on, Kagome. It's too cold for you to be out here like this, your body's so fragile to begin with.”

 

“InuYasha . . .” She murmured, a crack in her voice that scored his heart like an arrow.

 

He turned his back on her, arms folded once more. “You know you wouldn't be easily forgotten and you could never be replaced. Stop thinking like that. It pisses me off.” He waved over his shoulder for her to follow him back to the camp and started walking that way when he heard the tap of her shoes on the rocks she hopped across.

 

InuYasha missed the growing, brilliant smile on her trembling lips. That hidden light glimmered in her eyes as she daintily skipped back to the shore and launched herself at him from behind. Her arms tied around his neck and shoulders, his surprise obvious as he yelped and stumbled backwards.

 

“Ka-Kagome!” He shouted as she laughed into his neck, her warm breath sending shivers through his ears and making his heart lurch.

 

The brunette hugged him more closely, giggling his name and holding him tighter as she realized how warm he was and how cold she had become. She finally loosed her arms and released him, dropping to the ground before he could make her let go. Just as her foot steadied on the gravelly beach, the stone she stood upon skidded out from under her and she tumbled backwards. Her eyes widened in alarm, mouth opening to cry out, her arm reaching for her guardian-

 

InuYasha whirled and grabbed for her hand to pull her back as she slipped, but it was too late- He overbalanced and was pulled down with her. In an effort to protect the girl, he managed to swing her into his arms and land on his back, her safely on top of him.

 

Unfortunately, they both landed in the water and with a growled curse, the hanyou sat up, dripping and suddenly freezing. “Kagome?! Kagome?” She opened eyes that had been squeezed shut and met his worried gaze with an innocent and slightly frightened look. He heaved a sigh of relief when he saw she was unhurt, just wet and startled. She was comfortably curled in his arms, one hand covering her mouth and the other pressed against his chest.

 

“Inu-” She started, her heart beginning to slow down from the sudden scare. He rolled to his feet and held on to his precious angel, doing his best to keep her from getting wet- well, more wet.

 

“You okay, Kagome?” He asked as he carefully stood on the slippery, stony lake bottom and carried her out of the water, cradling her shivering body as close as he could knowing he was just as soaked and cold as she was and probably not helping any.

 

“Yeah, thanks for catching me . . .” She mumbled.

 

“Keh.” Was his only response as he paused on firm land and tossed his head, shaking out his sopping wet hair in the process. He continued walking, his nose twitching as he carried her back to camp. “You're gonna have to change, it's too cold out here for you to be this wet.” She smelled of damp cotton and her skin was losing it's scent as her body cooled.

 

“Too bad there aren't any hot springs nearby.” She said wistfully, shaking a little more thoroughly now. Her shoes and socks were soaked and the wind playfully nipped and pricked her feet with cold. A large spot on the middle of her back was like a sudden cold compress when their movements made the frosty wet cloth cling to her skin. Her teeth began to chatter and her body tensed, pressing as close as she could to InuYasha's meager warmth. His haori was drenched through and through, he had to be as cold as she was-

 

“Aren't you cold, InuYasha?” She asked around her shuddering breath and gritted teeth.

 

“Nah, I'm not as soft as you.”

 

“I'm cold.” She stated without hesitation.

 

“I know.” He tightened his protective hold on her. “Sorry.”

 

“It's not your fault, I was careless, you . . . saved me . . .” She murmured into his fire rat haori. She seemed to be drifting off in his arms, he almost smiled at the peaceful tip of her lips. Until they quivered and a small tremor shook her petite form. His clawed hands instantly tensed, instinctively embracing her closer.

 

The fire was banked and the monk and his taijiya were already in their beds if not already asleep. Silent as a bird winging through the canopy, the hanyou made his way to the tree underneath which Kagome's red sleeping bag was laid out. He knelt, unsure if he should wake her so she could change into her warmer bedclothes or just wrap her up in her thick blanket and hope it was enough.

 

He went with option three. As he got close enough, Shippo awoke to the smell of his foster mother's return but his eyes widened and he sat up when he took a moment to fully examine her scent.

 

“InuYasha! What'd you do to her?” He accused in a pouty whisper. Kirara also woke and stood up to defend the bed and cub from potential danger. She gave a half mew of recognition and welcome before padding out of the way of the other three.

 

InuYasha growled, thunking the kitsune's head. “Shut up, pup. She slipped and we fell in the lake. Open those stupid metal teeth so I can put her down.” His soft voice rumbled as the young fox disappeared under the folds and unzipped the sleeping bag. He laid her out, tucked as well as he could into the fluffy blanket and had Shippo remove her shoes and place them beside the fire. InuYasha carefully peeled off her damp socks, frowning when he felt how cold her feet were. Shippo ran back to his side and InuYasha thrust her socks at him to set out next to the shoes. They'd be dry by morning if they were close enough to the fire.

 

The miko was still shivering, more so now that her chilled feet were exposed to the cool night. “Doesn't she have more of those tabi foot warmers?” He whispered to the little cub as he leapt up on InuYasha's shoulder.

 

“Yep, but they're in her bag and we're not allowed in there.” InuYasha eyed the enormous yellow pack and scowled. “Kirara? Can you keep her feet warm for a while- just until my coat dries?” The twin-tailed cat flicked her ears back and forth once and crawled into the cave of the sleeping bag to curl atop the girl's feet and began purring. “Shippo, sleep close to her, keep her warm for a while. I got a bad feeling she's already caught a cold. I don't want it to be like last time.” The kitsune wriggled under Kagome's arm and snuggled himself up against her chest, his head tucked under her chin. InuYasha flushed, a little envious of the pup, and folded the rest of the sleeping bag over the pair. He stood, shrugging off his haori to hang dry by the fire.

 

“I must be brave.” He heard the brat mutter to himself. “I'll protect Kagome-mama from the evil . . . cold . . .” The hanyou shook himself, flattening his ears against the cool air and ringing out what was left of the water in his length of thick pale hair. He debated sitting by the fire to dry the rest of him off or retreat back to his tree branch where he could securely watch the camp- and Kagome- without being noticed.

 

A little while later, InuYasha jumped down from where he'd been guarding the group, lounged uneasily against the trunk of the tree Kagome slept fitfully under. He didn't like the way she still didn't smell right, he could hear her heartbeat from where he sat and it worried him that it was just a bit faster than it's usual pace. The fire cat had long since left the confines of the covers to sleep above the girl's ebony head, nested in her soft, dark locks. Shippo did his best, even in the depths of sleep to cling to her, remembering he had to remain close to keep her warm.

 

InuYasha frowned at the light pink tinge in her cheeks and forehead, the heady tang of her over-warm body alerted him to her slight fever though he could see she still shivered as if she were cold. He quickly crossed the campsite to the fire to retrieve his haori, warm from hanging so close to the dying flames, and placed it carefully over Kagome's sleeping bag. If he could keep her warm all night, she might make it to morning without the fever- he hoped.

 

He didn't think he could go through the agony of seeing her suffer like last time, every breath that caught, every time she stood and had to wait till her dizziness passed, every time her eyes glazed over he felt he was losing her- So small a thing, so simple a problem, it wracked his heart with fear knowing such a thing could fell her so quickly and take her away without a fight-

 

“Frail humans.” He muttered darkly and settled for a night of Kagome-watching at the base of the tree, within feet of his miko. “Why do I always have to be helpless?”