InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Once Upon a Time ❯ Back Home Again ( Chapter 21 )

Disclaimer: No, they’re not mine, and I don’t see that changing any time in the near future.

21. Back Home Again  

The rest of the journey back to Kaede’s village was essentially uneventful. Of course, it only took two days, so there was little time for anything to happen. The existence of Naraku had had one positive effect--it had tended to suppress any youkai activity for a wide swath around his location.

With Naraku gone, the youkai would become increasingly active as they once again began their search for the Shikon no Tama, now fully complete. It would, the old miko declared, be wise to dispose of the jewel as soon as possible, but for some odd reason the hanyou seemed reluctant to do so.

Finally, on the last night before they reached the village, Kaede confronted Inuyasha. “You’ve been thinking about the Shikon no Tama.”

He looked up guiltily, as he had not heard her approach. “It doesn’t take the powers of a miko to know that,” he snarled.

“Have you changed your mind about what you’ll do with it?”

His uncertainty seemed to darken his eyes. “Not exactly. I just need some time to make sure that I’m doing the right thing.”

The old woman looked at him searchingly, then asked, “What does Kagome say about it?”

He flinched at the question, and she realized that her suspicions had been correct. He looked up, his eyes like those of a hunted animal. “I’ve been thinking that maybe she shouldn’t stay here.” At the old miko’s shocked expression, he continued, “This world is a dangerous place. Just going for water can get you killed. I don’t think she really understands how dangerous it is here. She’ll be safer in her own world. Maybe,” he said, pulling out the jewel and looking at its rosy gleam in the firelight, “I should use this to become human and go to her world with her.”

The old miko could sense trouble brewing. “Don’t do anything in haste. At the very least you should talk to her about it.”

He nodded miserably. “That’s what I planned. We’ll be going back to the village tomorrow morning. I’ll be taking her back to her family so that her leg can finish healing someplace a little safer than here. I’ll probably be gone for a while. I figure that we’ll have the chance to talk about it while I’m over there.”

Kaede nodded silently. The boy certainly seemed to have matured a lot in the past several months. If only she could be sure that the changes would be permanent…. Unfortunately, she knew little about his early history and thus had no real idea of how he would react in some situations. Still, the girl’s influence had certainly done wonders to improve the hanyou’s usually foul disposition. Shaking her head in something like mild amusement, she withdrew, leaving him to his own tortured thoughts.

As the rest of the party gradually drifted off to sleep, Inuyasha sat by the fire, waiting. He was not especially looking forward to the events of the next day, when he would be returning the girl to her family. He expected that they would be none too pleased that she had been returned wounded. He especially expected that he would be shown the door in no uncertain terms once he spoke of the commitment they had made to each other.

Still, they were her family, and had a right to be included in the decision-making process.

Once he was satisfied that all were sleeping peacefully, he took a short walk around the perimeter of the campsite before returning to his position at the side of the wagon in which Kagome lay. Listening carefully, he became immediately aware that the girl was still awake. Curious about how she was feeling, he peered over the side of the wagon for a moment to make sure that she was all right.

“Inuyasha?”

He flinched at the sound of her voice--he hadn’t intended that she notice him watching her. “Nani?”

“Could you come up here for a while? Things are going to be getting complicated again soon, and I think we could both use a little peace and quiet before that happens.”

Leaping into the rear of the wagon, he sat close beside her. As she so often did, she leaned against his shoulder. In what was becoming almost a reflex action, he wrapped an arm around her to bring her closer. Kagome could feel that he was worried about something, but couldn’t for the life of her figure out exactly what it could be. “What is it?”

“Nani?”

“You seem really worried about something--I was just wondering what it was.”

He was startled--how on earth had she known? It wasn’t like she could see his face in the darkness or smell the concern in his scent, after all. “I’m just curious--do you have any idea at all of what we’re getting ourselves into?”

She smiled in the darkness. “I think so.”

“I just wanted you to know--if things go badly in your world, I’ll be waiting here if you decide to come back.”

She realized then that he was concerned about speaking to her family. “Try not to worry. You have a bigger cheering section back there than you know. Souta thinks you’re the best thing to come down the line in forever, and my mother liked you from the first time she saw you--remember how she rubbed your ears? She knows that you’d never do anything to endanger me.”

He shook his head. “But that’s the problem--what we’ve been talking about will endanger you--it could even kill you.”

By now, however, she was too conscious of his warmth and slightly woodsy scent to be paying much attention to what he said. With a long, slow sigh of contentment, her eyes closed and she was asleep.