InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Once Upon a Time ❯ Back Home Again...Again ( Chapter 25 )

Disclaimer: I only own Sazuni and Taki, but I’m working on the rest.

25. Back home Again…Again  

As much as she loved being back with her family, Kagome was always glad to return to Inuyasha’s world. This time, however, things were a little different: in addition to the usual goodies for her friends, they brought along some of the basics for setting up their future household near the village. Kagome was sure that Kaede would be willing to store the things until they had a place to keep them themselves. Hands full of bags, she set off toward the village, but was stopped by a clawed hand on her shoulder. “This way.”

Since--as always--she trusted him implicitly, she followed him into the forest on a line roughly between the paths leading to the Goshinboku in her family’s home shrine and the village. “Where are we going?”

Since he was walking ahead of her, she couldn’t see his expression. “There’s something I have to check on before we go to meet the others. It won’t take us long to get there.”

Although summer had arrived in earnest, it was cool under the shade of the forest canopy. It was a short walk to the clearing that had not been there before. The pair stopped in surprise at the sight that greeted them: a large, well-constructed building stood in the clearing. Evergreen trees to the north side of the structure would protect it from the cold winter winds, while the sakura trees planted to the south and west would, in a few years--once they had put on a little size--provide cooling shade in the summer while allowing the weak winter sunlight to help heat the building in the cold season.

A large, familiar-looking crowd stood on the wide porch that circled the structure. As they approached a small figure detached itself from the group gathered there and raced toward the two travelers. Kagome bent down to greet Shippou before he could leap on her and knock all her packages to the ground. “What’s going on here?”

For once Inuyasha didn’t object when the little kitsune grabbed the girl’s hand and dragged her toward the structure. “Wait till you see what we did!”

As they drew closer, the hanyou realized that this was not what he had expected when he had arranged this little surprise. What he had intended as a modest family home had somehow become a large estate, almost a palace. “What the hell is this?”

A tiny voice spoke almost in his ear. “I authorized some changes to your plans.”

Grabbing the flea youkai that had leaped from Shippou to his shoulder, Inuyasha snarled, “Why? We worked out those plans together--what gave you the right to change them?”

Unable to escape the danger in which he found himself, Myouga explained. “Whether or not you choose to acknowledge the fact, Inuyasha-sama, you are still a prince of the Western Lands. Since you are the only one of the heirs likely to produce an heir yourself in the not-too-distant future, you should have a residence appropriate to your station.”

Kagome had been listening and suddenly understood what was going on. Staring at the hanyou in absolute shock, she squeaked, “You arranged this?”

He looked at her sheepishly. “Not exactly. I came back here one night while you were sleeping a few weeks ago and brought the plans we worked out. I thought that the land could be cleared and maybe the construction started before we returned. I never expected that they would do anything like this.”

She shook her head. “I still don’t understand--how could they have done all this in just a couple of weeks?”

Shippou was practically dancing with excitement. “We had a lot of help. Once the word got out about what we were doing, all kinds of people showed up to help: humans from a lot of the villages we visited, some of the friendlier youkai, and even some hanyous.”

She still didn’t understand. “But why? Why would all those people do this for us?”

The old women who had directed the project had reached them from her position at the forefront of the group waiting on the porch. “You two, more than anyone else as far back as any of us can remember, have done more for the people of these lands than anybody could have hoped. Not only did you rid us of Naraku, but you also recovered and disposed of the Shikon no Tama.” She gave the hanyou a sharp look. “At least, I assume that the jewel has been disposed of.”

Inuyasha sniffed with a disdain that was too transparent to anyone who knew him at all well. “If you must know, it’s done, Babaa.” He thought of the final decision he had made. “Just yesterday, in case you wondered.”

He never saw the monk come up behind him. “So, Inuyasha. Exactly what did you do with the Shikon? I see that you have remained in your normal hanyou form. I must,” he added, “Remember to collect on my bet with Sango-chan--she was certain that you would use the jewel to become human.”

Inuyasha shook his head. “I nearly did--I even made the offer. Kagome rejected it because she prefers me as I am. I used it to keep the gateway well open for us, our friends, and our families. I also made…a certain small change in Kagome.”

The little fox youkai sniffed his best friend in the world up and down, trying to determine exactly what had been done to his adopted mother. “What did you do to her?” he demanded.

The young woman ruffled his hair. “Nothing bad, Shippou. He just arranged things so that I would live as long as he does--even hanyous live a lot longer than regular humans. Inuyasha didn’t want to spend all that time alone. I think he’s had enough ‘alone time’ in his life, don’t you?”

Sango, for once without her Hiraikotsu slung over her shoulder, grabbed the other woman by the hand. “Come on, we’ll give you the tour.”

Unlike most of the residential structures in the area, this building was partitioned off into a large number of rooms. The several south-facing rooms were arranged as sleeping quarters. The sixth of them, in the approximate center of the structure’s south side, contained some familiar things. “I hoe you don’t mind, Kagome-chan--houshi-sama, Shippou, Kohaku-kun, Kirara, and I have been staying here. With her two new students, things have been a little crowded at Kaede-sama’s.”

The girl was shocked nearly into silence. “Don’t be ridiculous--there’s plenty of room here. In fact, why not move the boys into the room next door so that you two can have a little privacy?” She interrupted the tour for just a few seconds to hang an object on the wall in the room located at the southwest corner of the structure. ‘So,’ Kaede thought to herself, ‘Things have progressed to the point where they are no longer needed. About time.’

Sango recognized the strand of beads instantly. “You took them off?”

The hanyou bared his teeth in an almost menacing-looking grin. “It surprised me, too. After all, it’s not like those things were what kept me around.”

Sango simply stared in silence. What on earth could have happened between them while they were on the other side of the well?

The northeastern part of the building was given over to workrooms. In addition to spaces for building and maintaining the things that would be needed around the household, there was a large, dark, airy room clearly designed for drying plant material. Immediately adjacent to this area was a room with a low table in the center and a great many cabinets, some filled with dried herbs, others containing a large number of neatly-arranged scrolls. “What’s this place for?”

Kaede shook her head. “All of this was prepared by Jinenji. You already know a lot of healing--the information on these scrolls will make you better than anybody else in the region. He started work on this as soon as we left him on our journey back to the village. When he brought it all here, he told us that he knew that you would be needing it for your home.”

Kagome was amazed. “Jinenji came here? Is he still here?”

“He had to return to his home, but will try to visit another time.” The woman’s voice was familiar, and Kagome turned to see the tall, slender hawk youkai limping her way.

“Sazuni?!”

She nodded. “That’s right. How did you know that we would one day need the help of your people?” At the human’s blank look, she continued, “Bandits attacked my village only a few days after you left. They were a large group, and well-organized. Mitake was killed in the initial attack. We eventually drove them off, but I was shot from the air during their withdrawal. Taki remembered your visit, and loaded me into a cart. We were halfway here before I regained consciousness. By the time we got here, I was in a bad way--the wounds had become infected. Kaede-sama healed me, with the help of Jinenji-sama.” She gestured around at the structure in which they stood. “Even though I couldn’t be of much help in the actual building, I spent a lot of time delivering messages, arranging for the delivery of materials, that kind of thing.”

Kagome looked at her suspiciously. “Where have you and Taki been staying?”

She shrugged. “A family in the village has been letting us stay with them. It’s a little crowded, but they don’t seem to mind that I’m youkai or that Taki is hanyou.”

A quick glance and a nod unseen by anyone else later, Kagome asked, “Why don’t you come out here and stay with us? We seem to have plenty of room.”

By the end of the day, five of the eleven bedchambers had been occupied. Although the day had been festive and full of wonderful surprises, Kagome was growing tired by nightfall. By the time she was stifling a yawn, Kaede took the initiative and shooed the villagers who had been in on the surprise back to their own homes.

Later that night, as she rested in the wide bed that was one of the few parts of the original plan that had been left unchanged, she shook her head in disbelief. “I still don’t get it.”

“I’m really not too surprised that Myouga meddled in the project,” he said, “But most of those people are ordinary human villagers--they don’t act that way, not when youkai and hanyous are involved.”

“There were so many of them….”

Suddenly he realized the source of the tension he’d been sensing in her all day. “We’ve been living in a small group--both here and at your family’s shrine--for a long time. It’s only natural that you’re a little overwhelmed by all this. Come on,” he said, grabbing her and throwing her over his shoulder, “I know just the thing.”

Pausing only long enough to grab her robe and the one he had borrowed while his own clothing was being repaired back in her world, he carried her out to a small area screened by carefully-placed plantings. The hot spring that had been one of the reasons why he had chosen this particular site lay only a few steps from the southwestern corner of the house. How on earth had she known that when she had chosen their own sleeping room?

“Take off those clothes.”

“Nani?”

He gestured at the gently steaming pool. “This time I do mean ‘get naked.’ You’re all tense after the long day. This will relax you like almost nothing else.” As they slipped into the water, he said, “You know, I’ve been dreaming of this for months.”

“I always knew when you were peeking, but I couldn’t imagine why--I thought you were still hung up on Kikyou.”

He shook his head. “I didn’t do it very often, and mostly by accident. I had those damn beads on, remember? Usually it happened when I heard something near the pool where you were, or when I caught that damn monk trying to sneak a peek at you and Sango.”

As they sat in the water and talked about the surprising events of the day, he became aware of something he hadn’t anticipated. Somehow the heat from the spring was intensifying the girl’s natural fragrance, making something that couldn’t be ignored into something that couldn’t be resisted. When he next spoke, his voice was subtly different, rough with a desire that was almost painful. “Do you have any idea of the effect you have on me, woman?”

“Maybe we should go back inside.”

He shook his head. “I don’t think my knees will get me that far. Come here.” With the water supporting most of her weight, it was a simple matter for him to turn her around until she was facing him. The kiss they shared was like nothing he had experienced before--she was a good teacher, but this was somehow beyond what she had shown him in the past. Whether it was because of the heat of the pool or because this was their first kiss in their own home, for the very first time he lost all awareness of anything outside of her presence.

Afterwards, he was apologetic. “Sorry. I didn’t mean for it to be so fast.” Helping her from the water and into her robe, he continued, “Let’s go inside. I think I can do a little better job this time.”

“Already?”

“Hey,” he grinned. “Hanyou stamina, remember? Besides,” he added, “We’re home now--we don’t have to be concerned about anybody’s expectations but our own.”

Her smile matched his own. “So you mean that you’ve been holding back so far?” Gods, she was glad that her mother wasn’t around. She remembered a conversation she had had with the older woman some months ago, when it had become apparent to her that her daughter was rapidly losing her heart to the surly hanyou. Her mother had mentioned the fact that he wasn’t really entirely human--something she had always known, although she hadn’t had any idea of exactly what that would mean. If she had only known….

They spent the next few days integrating the things they had brought from Kagome’s world into their home. Most of the items were not exactly out of place--a watercolor-style silk quilt made by her grandmother when her parents had married, a set of matched porcelain bowls and teacups that she had chosen on her last shopping trip before returning through the well, even some hand painted wall hangings they used to decorate the more public areas of the house. Other items would have been a little harder to explain to a stranger--boxes of stationery and ballpoint pens, cases of the instant ramen noodles that Inuyasha loved so much, and a battery-operated clock.

Although the decoration of the house was largely a joint effort, it left their private quarters largely untouched. The only really personal touches they had added to the bedchamber so far consisted of Kagome’s grandmother’s silk quilt, a mirror mounted on the wall near the doorway, and a string of shining beads interspersed with claws that decorated the wall above the bed. Although Kagome had offered to return them to Kaede, the old miko had refused, saying that they would always serve as a reminder of how their lives together had begun.

They had been there nearly a week when Kagome awoke alone. This in itself was unusual, as the hanyou tended to remain very close to his mate. Still, she could somehow feel his presence not too far away. She followed the feeling and soon found him perched on the edge of the well. “What are you up to way out here?”

He gestured into the opening. “Take a look. It occurred to me that your mother and the old man would have a hell of a time climbing out of this thing, so I thought I’d put in a ladder, like the one you have on the other side.”

“Not to mention that it will be a lot easier to hoist all those boxes of instant ramen out of there this way.”

He had finally learned how to tell when he was being teased. “And whose fault is that? I never would have known about those things if you hadn’t brought them here in the first place.”

“You know, you never told me--exactly what made you decide to use the Shikon to keep the well open?”

“You did.” When that didn’t remove the puzzled expression from her face, he continued, “Don’t you remember after the last fight with Naraku? You told me that you were going back for the last time when you gave me the thing--without it, you wouldn’t have any way to come back to me. At that point I was desperate enough to make the offer to use it to become human myself so that we could be together. In fact, that was my only other option, aside from giving the thing back and telling you to keep it safe--and I didn’t want to do that: it would have made you a target for every power-hungry youkai in the region.” He shook his head. “When you rejected the offer I didn’t have any other choice--I couldn’t keep you here against your will, and you wouldn’t let me do what was necessary to live in your world. This seemed the best of all possible solutions.”

She leaned her head against his shoulder. “No matter why you did it, I’m glad you did.”

He stiffened suddenly, pulling away from her. “I have to leave for a few days, Kagome. Will you be all right here with the others?”

She was confused, and hurt, but she nodded. “Look at the household we have--nobody could possibly be better protected than I am, except when I’m with you. Of course, Sango told me that she, Kohaku, and Miroku were planning to leave tomorrow to go back to the taijiya village and bring out the stuff from the workshop, but that will still leave Shippou, Sazuni, Taki, Kagura, and Kanna here. I can’t imagine that anybody would be willing to take them on if they didn’t have to.” She had long ago decided that she would never question his decisions, but this one worried her. “Where are you going?”

He shook his head. “I’m not sure. I just have to be away from here for a couple of days.”

That was about as clear as mud. “Let me rephrase the question--why are you going?”

“I just can’t be around you right now.” As the tears started to well up in her eyes, he held up a hand for a chance to explain. “Remember the conversation we had with your mother? The one about ‘accidents?’ Well, if I stay here now, there will be one.”

Suddenly she understood. “Oh! You mean, I’m….”

He nodded. “It’s just starting. It should be over in a few days, but I won’t be able to stop myself if I stay around you right now.”

In a way, she was almost sorry about it. “I understand. But there’s no reason why you should have to leave your home--why don’t I just go back and visit with my other family for a couple of days? When you want me to come home, all you have to do is come and get me. Maybe I can think of some other things to bring back with me.” She grabbed him by the hand. “Come on. You can help me pack.”

“Kagome,” he whispered, using his other hand to pry her fingers loose, “Do you really think that’s a good idea?”

The softness of his tone made her look up in surprise. Seeing the helplessness warring with the passion in his golden eyes, she dropped her hand to her side. “I suppose not. I’m sorry--I wasn’t thinking.”

He nodded slowly. “Neither was I--that’s why we have to be apart for a little while. I’m sure,” he said, “I can find a way to make it up to you whey we can be together again.”

With an ache in heart that had no physical cause, she turned and walked back to the house to pack.