InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Once Upon a Time ❯ Conspiracy Theory ( Chapter 28 )

Disclaimer: I only own Wolf, but I’m working on the rest.

28. Conspiracy Theory  

“I need to talk to you about something.”

The human woman stopped on her way to the house’s large kitchen. Although a product of the twentieth century, she was reasonably comfortable with cooking over a fire: as a girl, she had done a lot of camping with her family--you never really forgot things like that. She smiled at the young hanyou. “It sounds serious,” she said. “Come on. I’ll make us some tea and you can tell me what’s on your mind.”

She watched him as she started the water for tea. Whatever was bothering him, she decided, it seemed to be something significant. He fidgeted constantly, glancing back over his shoulder at the door as though he expected to be caught up to no good. She brought two cups of tea to the table. “Now,” she said, “What’s so important?”

He lowered his eyes. “Kagome’s unhappy. She feels like she’s missing something because she never graduated from that school of hers. I want to make it up to her.” He seemed to be working his way around to something big. After a long pause, he continued, “I want to marry Kagome by some kind of tradition she would understand.” He looked at her miserably. “But I don’t know how.”

“Why don’t you ask Kagome?”

He shook his head, ears drooping. “I can’t. I want to surprise her by having everything ready before I talk to her about it.”

“Well,” the woman said, “There’s one thing I can tell you right off--you’ll need help.” She looked momentarily thoughtful. “There are two main things to consider here: making all the arrangements, and keeping Kagome in the dark.” She looked at him, deciding to becoming a willing conspirator. “There are hundreds of details to work out, but we can decide on the basics right now. When do you want to do this?”

He looked up hopefully. “Tomorrow?”

She shook her head. “I’m afraid not. If you want to do this according to any of the traditions of my world, it will take some time to arrange. It can take weeks or even months to set up, depending on how complicated the situation is.” She thought for a few moments. “There are a few common practices that you probably won’t be bothering with, so that can’t help but make things easier. In any case, we can get back to the date in a few minutes. Where would you like to have the ceremony held? When I was a girl, it was almost always in a big church or temple. People choose all kinds of places now--mountain peaks, the seashore, gardens--especially in the warmer months.”

He considered the matter briefly, then asked, “Could we use your shrine? Under the Goshinboku? It’s where we first met--I think Kagome would like that.”

She looked at the hanyou in surprise. It seemed to her that the boy was turning into a man--and a good one at that--right before her eyes. “I think you’re right. That’s exactly the kind of thing she would like. It’ll also make the planning easier: sometimes a couple has to either change their date or choose a different place if their first choices are already reserved by somebody else.” She paused, thinking hard. “Would you like me to take care of the invitations and the arrangements for the food and music?” At his slightly panic-stricken expression she continued, “Don’t worry. We’ll keep things small--just family and a few close friends. Do you,” she asked, “Have any family?”

He didn’t even consider lying to her. She was so much like Kagome he was certain she would know instantly if he tried. “Just one brother, but we don‘t--”

“Get along? This is an important family event, Inuyasha. You have to invite him--I’m sure that you can both set aside your differences for a few hours.”

He simply nodded silently. He wasn’t sure which option was more dangerous: asking Sesshoumaru to attend a human-style mating ritual, or disappointing this woman.

Noticing his deer-in-the-headlights expression, she reached out and patted one of the clawed hands that rested on the table. “Don’t worry, dear. It’s not as bad as it sounds. I think we’ll do all right. I’ll go home later on today and start things rolling. When I come back next weekend we can talk again.” She looked at him again. “Does Kagome have any especially close female friends here? We’ll need a man and woman to act as best man and maid of honor--formal witnesses. We’ll also need somebody to perform the actual ceremony.” Realizing that he was getting a little overwhelmed by the whole thing, she stood up. “Try not to worry. All I want you to do for now is to think about the three people we’ll need and start a list of the people here that you want to invite. Now,” she said, “You had better get back to Kagome before she wakes up and finds you gone.”

The hanyou walked rapidly through the large building, intent only on his destination. The woman was right--if Kagome became the least bit suspicious, the whole thing would be over: she wouldn’t let go of the matter until she had uncovered the entire truth.

Unfortunately, she was very much awake when he returned to their bedchamber. “I was worried,” she said. “I remember what happened the last time I woke up alone.”

He laughed softly, glad that she couldn’t see the telltale ear twitch that signaled a half-truth if not an outright lie. He was genuinely relieved that there was no way to bring the extremely revealing electric lights to this world. “There’s nothing so serious this time. I heard somebody moving around, so I went to check it out. Your mother was looking for a cup of tea, so I took her to the kitchen and sat with her for a while. I didn’t want her to get lost trying to find her room.”

“Is everything okay?”

The hanyou nodded as he undressed and slipped into bed. “You were right. She seemed just a little sad, but I think she’ll be okay. She says she plans to come back next weekend.”

That was a surprise. “So soon? Why?”

He pulled her against him, brushing his lips across her forehead in a gesture he had found that she enjoyed as much as he did. “She said she wants to meet the others--I figure they should be back home by then.”

Fortunately, that answer seemed to satisfy her. It was not even a half truth, as the other woman had indeed expressed an interest in meeting Sango, Kohaku, and especially Miroku after hearing all the stories of their travels. He tightened his grip on her, breathing in the compelling scent of her need for him. “In any case,” she murmured, burying her face against his neck, “There will be time to talk to her for a while before she goes home tomorrow.”

The hanyou was relieved: he was certain that she would keep the secret more closely than he himself would. Rather than concern himself further with the matter, he turned his full attention to his mate.

Within a very short time she no longer remembered--or cared--what had been bothering her earlier.

Kagome was surprised to see that her mother had apparently gotten over the distress of the day before. “If the others haven’t come back by next weekend we can let you know. That way, you won’t have to make the trip for nothing.”

Although she and Inuyasha had not discussed the matter, the woman instantly understood what the hanyou must have told her daughter to explain her planned return the following week. “Honestly, Kagome,” she said, “It’s really not that much of a trip--at least in distance. Besides, it’s so much nicer here than Tokyo, even without phones and electricity: the air and water are clean, there’s no traffic noise or schedules, and it’s still possible to find a quiet place to just sit and think. I hope to spend a fair amount of time here.”

“Yeah,” Souta added. “I want to see my new friends again.” He had spent quite a bit of time over the weekend with Shippou and Taki, not caring in the least that they were youkai and hanyou.

After the two disappeared down the well the hanyou gathered his mate into his arms. “I told you they would be all right,” he murmured. “You should trust me.”

She pulled away, looking up at him in surprise. Could he really be that clueless about how she felt? “I do trust you--with my life, my heart, and my future. I just though that you might have been mistaken, that’s all. You haven’t known them as long as I have.” She returned to her favorite place in either world--the warmth and safety of his arms--for an eternal moment.

Suddenly he released her, drawing his Tetsusaiga. “Get behind me,” he snarled.

Although she did as she was told, she asked, “What is it?”

“Something’s coming.”

Only a few seconds later, a large wolf leaped from the forest, heading for the pair with the tireless lope of its kind. As Inuyasha raised his sword to fend off the anticipated attack, the animal simply stopped and lay down on the grass, dropping the object it had been holding in its mouth. Looking closely at the animal, Kagome said, “I think I’ve seen this wolf before. See that darker fur around its eyes--almost like a mask? I think this is one of Kouga’s friends.”

Since there seemed to be no immediate danger, the hanyou put away his sword. “It was carrying something,” he said. “Wait here.” Walking carefully, he retrieved the object, a bamboo tube. “It’s not very heavy. It doesn’t smell dangerous, even if it does carry the scent of that stinking fleabag.”

Removing the end of the tube, Kagome extracted a piece of rolled paper. Looking at it closely, she said, “I was right--this is one of Kouga’s wolves. He’s been sent here as a messenger so that we can keep in touch--that had to be Ayamae’s idea.” She paused, reading further. “This is great! It’s official--Kouga and Ayamae are mated!”

The hanyou sniffed. “About damn time,” he growled.

Kagome smiled up at him. “You never really thought I would leave you for Kouga, did you?”

“Actually,” he said, turning serious, “I did. I’m just a hanyou, remember? In this world that’s about as low as it gets. And we used to fight all the time--”

Her voice was soft. “We never fought because you were hanyou--it was because you had to act like such a jerk sometimes.” Resting her head against his chest, her arms around his waist, she continued, “I didn’t understand then that you never had anybody to show you how to deal with people. Do you have any idea how amazing it is that you can function like you do?”

Finally realizing that he would never be able to make her see him as he had always seen himself, he simply shook his head, disengaged her arms from him, and led her back in the direction of home. With a quick glance back at the animal that waited patiently in the grass, he said, “Let’s go, Wolf.”

Like a well-trained pet, the wolf followed the pair back to their home.

“That settles it,” the hanyou said. “Now I have to learn to read and write--I want to see for myself what messages Kouga sends.”

She turned to him, laughing. “We can start right now if you like.”

He looked at her, at her flushed cheeks, at the breathless excitement of her slightly parted lips, at the dark shine of eyes filled with passion and love, and began to tremble. It seemed as though the demanding scent reached into the deepest part of himself, opening the gate that had finally allowed him to express what had always been in him. “I think,” he said, his voice a rough whisper as he fought down the impulse to simply drop to the ground and satisfy their growing mutual hunger right there in the middle of the forest, “That reading lessons will have to wait until later.”

Her desire was feeding on his own. “I think,” she said, trying to keep her knees from collapsing under her, “That we had better hurry.”

It had become a standing rule in the household that the room at the southwest corner of the house was not to be entered except under the direst of emergencies. On this day, a new level of security was added--people walking through the house looked with awe at the enormous wolf blocking any access to the bedchamber. Although the animal never made the slightest threatening gesture to anyone, everyone who passed by found the steady gaze of those yellow eyes unnerving.