InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Pack Law ❯ Questions and Answers ( Chapter 24 )

Pack Law

 

Chapter 24: Questions and Answers

 

Kagome shifted in her seat. `Hitomu is a friend. Heck, you've kissed him! So relax,' she chided herself, wondering why she just felt… wrong. `There's no reason to feel guilty. Hitomu asked first. I'd have gone with InuYasha if he had asked first!' That last thought fueled her ire, as though the anger she still felt was just bubbling under the surface of her skin. `Just who does he think he is, anyway!? Does he just expect me to sit around the den, waiting for him to come and sweep me away?' Of course, he had insisted she stay home as much as possible…

 

Hitomu cocked his head, watching the play of emotions across the young miko's face. `Nervous… guilt, anger… guilt again…' The young woman hadn't said much since they picked her up at her room. This wouldn't do at all. He turned his head sideways to gaze at his mother, who was also looking at Kagome with concern.

 

“Kagome?” The miko looked questioningly at Sango, who'd finally broken the silence. Sango smiled ruefully. “I'm sorry I have to accompany you guys everywhere tonight. I'm sure you'd rather be alone…” she trailed off teasingly, smiling as Kagome flushed.

 

“No, no!” Kagome waved her arms, then caught Hitomu's eye and blushed brighter. “Not that I don't like you, Hitomu! That's not what I meant-” She was cut off by Sango and Hitomu, who'd broken into loud laughter at the girl's discomfiture. Kagome huffed. “I mean, it's fine that you're with us, Sango. After all, I've seen more of Hitomu than you! I miss hanging out with you and talking like we used to.”

 

Sango smiled at Kagome; the grin eased the tension from the miko's shoulders and before long the three were chatting comfortably about the latest movie Hitomu was interested in seeing. `This feels so good,' Kagome thought happily, `I'm just a normal girl, doing normal things. Not worrying about the end of the world or power-hungry youkai or catching up in school... it's good to relax.' She blinked, wondering how she could be so calm when just a few hours ago she wanted to tear into InuYasha. `I know I can be kind of moody but this is really worse than usual.'

 

The conversation stilled as the waiter brought out their food. Digging in, Kagome was surprised to see she was nearly ravenous. Apparently all her anger earlier had given her an appetite! She dug in with gusto, getting rather impressed looks from both Sango and Hitomu. “Sorry,” she mumbled through a mouthful of noodles, “Don' know why `m so `ungry…”

 

Sango picked up the conversation, discussing Hitomu's delayed trip to France. Kagome was surprised to hear Tsukiyoshi had gotten out of going to visit the Neko no Taisho's daughter because of what had happened outside the council meeting. Of course, that topic brought up more anger… `Baka InuYasha! Stupid council! Who are they to tell me what I can and can't do?!'

 

Hitomu found himself staring at Kagome as her aura began to crackle menacingly. `Whatever's on her mind, it isn't anything great…' Trying to distract her, he grabbed a new subject out of thin air. “So, what about that throw down at school? I'm sorry I missed it - chick fights are hot!”

 

Sango gaped at her son a moment before swatting him in the back of the head. Kagome's jaw was nearly on the table. “What `chick fight' are you talking about?”

 

Hitomu grinned unrepentantly at Kagome, rubbing his head ruefully. “What do you mean, `What chick fight'? The throw-down between you and Ki!”

 

Kagome blinked, caught completely off-guard. Sango gazed back and forth between the two teenagers. “Throw-down?” she repeated, turning to stare fully at Kagome. “Are you getting into fights at school? I know InuYasha can be irritating to live with… boy, do I know all too well, but-”

 

“That's not it at all!” Kagome interrupted, slapping her palms down on the table and standing. “I'm not getting into fights at school! We didn't have a `throw-down' as that baka,” she pointed a Hitomu, who grinned and ducked his head, “so stupidly put it. It wasn't anything like that!” Kagome realized a little too late that her voice had been steadily rising in volume - looking around a moment later, she noticed several pairs of eyes fixed on her throughout the restaurant.

 

While normally that would be cause for embarrassment, Kagome's ire simply grew. `What do those people think they're staring at?' She flopped back into her seat, vaguely taking in Hitomu's and Sango's shocked expressions before continuing at a hiss, “Ki was trying to spread rumors about me! Actually,” she bit her lip, glaring down at her food as though it had done her some great wrong, “she was telling the truth. She was spreading around the fact that I wasn't really sick last year.”

 

At Sango's gasp, Kagome put her hand up. “Of course she wasn't spreading anything about magic wells and fighting youkai in the Sengoku Jidai… even she knows how dumb that would sound, even if it is the truth. No, she was just saying I was skipping, going to the mall and stuff. It didn't work, though. I still have plenty of friends at school, and nobody believed her. It didn't help her cause that she apparently approached Yuka, Ayumi and Eri first…” Kagome trailed off with a bit of a laugh.

 

Hitomu spoke up, taking advantage of the lull in conversation. “If it wasn't a `chick fight', tell me why Tsukiyoshi said he had to stop her from slapping you.”

 

Sango's eyes grew wider. “Kagome, the enemy is at the school and you haven't said a word of it to anybody! And now she's attacking you there? You have to tell-”

 

Kagome lifted her head, eyes steely. “Don't even say it, Sango. InuYasha may think he's privy to everything that goes on in my life, but he's really not and has no reason to be.” Just thinking about the hanyou caused the anger that seemed to still be lurking just inside her to surface. “I really wish you people would just let me handle my own business! You act like I can't do anything! For your information, I can handle this perfectly fine! She tried to slap me because I offered to help her.” She took in Sango's shocked face and mistook the cause. Lowering her voice with a chuckle, she continued, “That's right. I want to help her. So many of Naraku's incarnations wanted freedom, I assumed she wanted the same thing. Imagine my surprise when it turned out she's incredibly loyal to him and took offense?”

 

A lull descended on the table as Sango waited to see if Kagome had anything else to get off her chest. When it appeared the miko was done, she spoke up. “Kagome… I'm not surprised you tried to help her.” Kagome's head shot up at Sango's easygoing tone.

 

“You're not mad?” Kagome's bottom lip quivered as she tried to rein in her tears. “I'm sorry, Sango… and you too, Hitomu. I don't know why I'm so darn moody today. It seems like the smallest thing just gets me going.”

 

Hitomu scoffed. “That's easy; it's just that time of the month, right?” He yelped as Sango whacked him in the back of the head again.

 

**********

 

After catching an early night showing of the latest blockbuster action movie, Hitomu and Kagome cajoled Sango into agreeing to walk with them back home. As the theater was only about a kilometer away from the pack's land, she reluctantly agreed, but only under the condition that Kirara walk with them. Not at all ruffled by the plan, they set out for a leisurely stroll.

 

“You're right, Kagome,” Sango said, gazing upward. “The stars were a lot more visible during the Sengoku Jidai.”

 

Kagome grinned, surprised her friend would remember the comment so many centuries in the future. “I know. It's one thing I'll really miss about never going over there. Baka InuYasha,” she muttered, remembering how he had single-handedly demolished her portal to the past.

 

“Don't give him too much of a hard time,” Sango suggested. “Just remember… he suffered, too.” Kirara let out an agreeing meow from her mistress's shoulder.

 

“No, he blamed me,” Kagome shot back. “He blames me for everything.”

 

“So, what are you going to do about Ki? You can't just let her try and bad-talk you,” Hitomu broke in, hoping to cut Kagome off from another angry rant.

 

It didn't work as well as it could have. “I don't see why not,” Kagome said. “I don't enjoy it, but she's not hurting anybody but herself. I'd rather her try and spread rumors about me than try and come after us.”

 

“But if you don't do something, she'll eventually move on to bigger things. Like coming after the jewel shards,” Sango pointed out. “I know you don't want to hear it, but I really think you should let InuYasha help with this.”

 

Kagome shook her head adamantly. “No. I don't want his help… not with this, anyway.”

 

Sango stopped in front of the younger girl, hands on her hips. “Just why not,” she pressed. “There's got to be something you're not telling me.” Seeing Kagome bite her lip, she pushed harder. “When Kohaku was under Naraku's control, you told me I couldn't get him back alone. When InuYasha was having trouble wielding Tetsusaiga, you told him he couldn't deal with the problem by himself. When Miroku-”

 

“I get the point!”

 

“Well, then?”

 

Kagome let out a sigh, hoping to impress on Sango just how put-upon she felt. By the way Sango tapped her foot, it wasn't working. “I think… I think Chiaki's connected to Kikyou somehow.”

 

Hitomu's eyes narrowed. “Kikyou? Isn't that- Wait. You're her reincarnation, aren't you?” At Kagome's nod, he continued, “If you're her reincarnation, then how could Ki be connected to her? And names notwithstanding, what makes you think they're connected?”

 

Kagome worried her bottom lip, trying to figure out how to put her concerns into words. “Well… it's hard to say. I mean, I know I'm her reincarnation. The Shikon no Tama was inside me, and it was burned with Kikyou's body. That's not really arguable. But… it's just a feeling I have.” She turned to Sango, sure she'd have more luck with somebody who'd witnessed the situation first-hand. “You know how she was brought back with part of my… er, her… our soul?” Sango nodded. “For a couple months afterward, I could feel it. When she was nearby, I knew. It was like there was a hole in me. After a while it went away. I still knew when she was around, but it wasn't really painful.”

 

Sango cocked her head. “Did you ever figure out why?”

 

“Kaede told me it was something to do with my powers growing with… well, with my love for InuYasha. Remember, Kikyou's powers supposedly weakened when she fell in love, right? Kaede said mine were different.”

 

“Alright, but that really doesn't explain anything,” Hitomu broke in. “So you're saying your souls feel familiar or something? That doesn't make any sense. I can see auras and yours is different than hers. Hers is… muddy.”

 

“Muddy?” Sango was confused. She could feel youki but had a harder time feeling anything spiritual, not having either youki or reiki.

 

It was Hitomu's turn to try and put his feelings into words. “It was like… most people's auras are clear. They're understandable. With her, it's like… like listening to a radio in-between stations on the road. You pick up little bits of different things, and nothing's really clear.”

 

`Well, that cleared things up,' Kagome thought sarcastically. “But why is it like that?”

 

Hitomu shrugged. “Beats me. Maybe father knows something.”

 

“I'll ask him,” Sango suggested, sighing in relief as the windows of the Den came into view. “Kagome, are you sure you don't want to get InuYasha involved? He's our alpha… he really should know.”

 

Kagome was adamant, though, and put her foot down on this one. “No. You know how dumb he always got when it came to Kikyou. Heck, if they're related… now it's like she's a youkai. He'd be thrilled,” she muttered.

 

Sango hid her smile, though it was doubtful either of the teenagers would see it in the dark. “I don't think you give him enough credit, Kagome. He waited a long time…” At Kagome's sound of disapproval, Sango sighed. “I don't like keeping secrets from our alpha, but fine. But just for now,” she cautioned. “If I think you guys are in any more danger, I'm going to say something. Now, let's get going to bed. Hitomu, your sister should be in tomorrow afternoon. You'll want to come with us to the airport, right?”

 

**********

 

“So, the date went okay?” Miroku gazed shamelessly at his wife as she stripped, catching his arms around her before she could reach for a nightgown. He chuckled as heat rose in Sango's cheeks - angry or lustful, he wasn't really sure he cared. She looked so tempting like that…

 

“Hentai! Hands off for now,” Sango warned, squirming out of his grasp. “It went fine,” she answered almost as an afterthought, intent on calming down her body and getting ready for bed. “But I'm worried about Kagome.”

 

“And I'm worried about InuYasha,” Miroku said, and then amended his statement, “Well, not so much worried about InuYasha as worried about the rest of us. Apparently he offered to take Kagome out, but she turned him down in favor of going out with our son. He's locked himself in his office.”

 

“You couldn't get him out?”

 

Miroku chuckled, rubbing the back of his neck. “I have better self-preservation instincts than that, my dear Sango. You should know that by now.”

 

Sango nodded. “Ah, unwilling to venture into the snake's den?”

 

“You could say that. Why are you worried about Kagome?”

 

“She was in such a rotten mood most of the night, Miroku,” Sango sighed. “It's not normal. Yeah, Kagome could blow up with the best of them, but it wasn't ever really like this. It was almost as if the smallest things could set her off. Once we got back, Hitomu said her aura was fluctuating all night long.”

 

Miroku blinked, thoroughly distracted by this unwelcome news. “Her aura really only flared up a few times in the past that I can remember. Even when InuYasha was irritating her, it didn't encompass her entire being. She was just angry, `osuwari'-ed InuYasha and went on her way.” He sat on the bed, only vaguely taking note of his wife's beautiful curves as she stretched.

 

“I'm really worried about her, Miroku. And she doesn't want to talk to InuYasha about problems she's having at school, either.”

 

“Why not?”

 

Sango looked away, obviously distressed. “I can't tell you. I can't tell InuYasha, either; I promised I wouldn't unless absolutely necessary.”

 

Well, that was irritating. Miroku found an eyebrow twitching. “So, you're telling me she's having problems, but only will tell you. You can't tell anybody unless it's… a problem. Which it obviously is because we're talking about it!”

 

Sango rolled her eyes. “You think just like a man.” She kept talking, completely ignoring Miroku's muttered, “Well, I would hope so.”

 

“I mean even more of a problem than it is now.” She intercepted Miroku's rather unimpressed look and sighed. “Look, I'm not happy about it, either! But Kagome trusts me… and I don't want to break that trust. It's obvious she's uncomfortable with most of us right now. I don't want to make it any worse. Just… will you try to talk to her? Maybe she'll open up to you.” Her husband didn't look convinced. “Anyway, while you do that, I'll see if I can drop a hint to InuYasha. She didn't say I couldn't nudge him in the right direction…”

 

Miroku nodded slowly, a grin surfacing on his face at Sango's planning. “Fine. But right now, she should be asleep in bed… and I can think of other things I'd like to focus on before our children and Naraku problems interfere once more…”

 

Rolling over, he clicked off the lamp and gathered his Sango in his arms to fully enjoy a free night together.

 

**********

 

“-me?”

 

“-gome!” The rustling grew louder; the young woman shivered as her warm cocoon of heat was suddenly torn away.

 

“Kagome! Wake up!” Bright light shone through Kagome's clenched eyelids. `Yelling, stealing my blankets… and now he turns on the light. As soon as I get up, I'm killing Miroku…'

 

“Mmmmm, `roku… `m s'eepy…” She groped blindly for her blankets, ignoring the muffled laughter. `There is nothing funny about this. And I'll let them know it, too… in a few hours…'

 

Tap, tap, tap…

 

“Oh, give it a rest!” Kagome flung herself in the direction of the cold metal rod poking her in the back, hoping to wrench it from her tormentor's grasp. She was denied her vengeance as she hit the floor with a gasp and a thud.

 

Miroku's muffled laughter turned into all-out guffaws at the pile of limbs Kagome had been reduced to. From the way his laughter continued, she imagined her glare wasn't nearly as intimidating as she had hoped.

 

“Rise and shine, Kagome! We're going to meditate today!”

 

Kagome yawned, pulling her body into some semblance of order as she stretched against the kink in her neck. “W-w-w-why? It's a weekend; I wanna sleep…”

 

“My daughter is here and wants to check out the focus of the most powerful miko I've ever met. C'mon, lazy, it's not nearly as early as you make it out to be. Get dressed and meet us in the back yard.” With one last prod of his staff, Miroku wandered out of her room, leaving Kagome muttering on the floor.

 

Twenty minutes later, she was leveling a glare at the beautiful young woman sitting next to her father.

 

“What is wrong with you?” Kagome screeched, hands clamped firmly on her bottom. Miroku, `Lecherous pig…', looked like he was suffering oxygen deprivation from laughing so hard.

 

“Oh, I'm sorry, Lady Kagome!” She held out her hand, smiling innocently as Kagome eyed it much like she would eye a threatening animal. “I'm Miyuki, father's eldest child. I really didn't mean any offense… you're absolutely beautiful, you know! I just can't help this hand; father says it's a family curse!”

 

Kagome blinked in astonishment before forcing a wan smile on her face and taking a seat just out of arm's reach of Miroku and his daughter. The choice went uncontested by the two, though they shared amused glances.

 

“Okay, Kagome. Let's begin with some simple meditation, shall we?” Miroku fell into his serious teaching tone, letting both women know he meant business.

 

Slipping her ring on, Kagome let herself relax, focusing on breathing evenly. Most everything fell past her notice as she brought her powers to the surface. InuYasha's youki, still tinged with bitterness, touched against hers lightly, letting her know he was somewhere nearby. `Obviously,' she reminded herself, `after all, he lives here. Focus…'

 

InuYasha watched from the window as Miroku ran Kagome through a series of tests, demonstrating her powers' flexibility. He narrowed his eyes on the small ball of power she'd managed to form. Maybe it was the fact that they were in the shadow of a tall tree, but her powers had always been a brilliant pink. The ball she held was tinged with red… He opened the window, leaning out to get a closer look.

 

Miroku and Kagome noticed the same thing. Both were staring in confusion. “Do you think it's because I've been so moody lately?”

 

“I don't think so, Kagome… though it may be a reason you've been so upset.”

 

Miyuki spoke up, having watched the exchange carefully. “Did you know your powers have a trace of youki in them?”

 

Kagome's eyes widened as she stared at the women. “What? Why? How?” Her gaze swiveled back to Miroku, who was now staring at the jewel around her neck. Her hand went to the half-formed ball, twiddling with it nervously. “Do you think it's the jewel?” She gasped as a stray thought made itself known, “Do you think it could taint the jewel?”

 

“It hasn't so far,” Miroku mused. “I can't imagine it would start now.”

 

“Maybe that's it!” Miroku and Kagome turned to look at the woman, who bounced excitedly. “Maybe it's the work of keeping the jewel pure? You're around a lot of youkai, now. Maybe their youki is affecting the jewel, and to keep it pure, it's leeching over to you?”

 

Miroku nodded slowly. “That could be it. You've never really had the jewel around so many youkai before, have you, Kagome? It stands to reason that you'd have to work a bit harder to keep it pure…”

 

Kagome nodded. `Maybe that would explain my moodiness, too?' Relieved, she stood and begged a break from the duo.

 

**********

 

Kagome gulped, stamping down on her nervousness as she felt her lunch lurch unpleasantly in her stomach. `Oh come on,' she chided herself, `It's just InuYasha! There's no reason to be so nervous.' Steeling her reserve, she knocked… a lot softer than she would have hoped.

 

“C'mon in.”

 

Peering through the door, she held in her gasp. The light streaming through the window hit him just right, glinting off his silver hair and haloing around him, giving him a kami-like quality. “InuYasha?”

 

The hanyou bit back a snarl as he looked up, scowl firmly in place. “Whaddaya want, wench?”

 

She refused to rise to his barb. `Honey rather than vinegar,' she reminded herself carefully. “I-I…” `What is it about his eyes that captivate me?' “I wanted to know if you'd come with me to go see my family?”

 

InuYasha's eyes narrowed. She seemed calm enough, honest… very hopeful… just like he had felt the night before. She'd had no problems squashing his hopes then…

 

“Why don't you just let that Hitomu bastard take you?” He ignored the catch in his chest as she let out a pained gasp.

 

`Why you-…' She very nearly pointed out that she'd been forbidden to leave the Den without an adult escort. `Then again… if he says Hitomu can take me… I guess that counts as getting permission, right?' Kagome narrowed her eyes. “Fine,” she bit out, turning on her heel and stomping out of the office.

 

Luckily for her, she ran into Hitomu just a few doors down. “Come with me, Hitomu?” she wheedled.

 

He leveled a stern glare at her. “Where are you going?”

 

“I want to see my family! Just because the rest of you get to relax here doesn't mean I want to be kept here forever!”

 

“You're not supposed to go-”

 

“InuYasha said to have you take me,” she interrupted angrily. “And right now, that doesn't seem like a bad idea. You won't let anything happen, will you?”

 

Hitomu sighed. “That's a cross-city walk, Kagome,” he pointed out.

 

“So? We walked further than that all the time in the Sengoku Jidai. And we'll take a taxi back. Let's go!”

 

Hitomu hung back as she tugged on his arm. On one hand, he wouldn't mind accompanying her anywhere, especially if she was still upset at InuYasha. On the other hand… it really wasn't safe…

 

“Come on, ple-e-e-ease?” The hopeful tone was just too much for him to ignore.

 

“Fine, let's go.” He had a bad feeling about the day… but really, what could happen in the middle of Tokyo?

 

A/N:

 

Happy Holidays, everybody! Sorry for the delay, but my plot bunnies have been rampant… and refusing to actually cooperate, choosing instead to mock me from afar.

 

Well, it's official - I have several one-shots planned dealing with the 500 years between the Sengoku Jidai and Kagome meeting up with the pack again. Some will be longer than others… keep an eye out! The first one… the infamous “tryst fic”… has been posted already here - check under the title “30 Pieces of a Pack”

 

All those awesome reviews push me to write faster! Thanks go out to -

Sovereignty - (Well, he kinda tried…)

wbk - (Glad to see you see the issue! Your review was incredibly reassuring; it seems my intentions are becoming clear. As for InuYasha and Kagome… I like throwing them curveballs… but all will be okay in time… maybe! *smiles* Ki is an interesting character, I'm having a lot of fun with her!)

angel-up-above-heaven

Deathmvp

badgirl093

Lunabell

Murasaki-chan - (Why, thank you! I was thrilled to hear you like how Sango has matured, especially… I find she's the most difficult for me to get inside her head. I'm glad you're enjoying the story!)

lockedincar - (You're in luck! That was the very first one I wrote… check the A/N for info!!)

Phalon - (*huge grins* Now, you're going to confuse my reviewers if they read what you wrote… *winks* All is coming in due time…)

Catlover260 - (I make this vow now - if I begin writing sequels, and they ever begin to lessen in quality, I will break away and start working on something else. *smiles* I would never want to short anybody willing to read my stories for the sake of dragging something out. And I trust my reviewers to be honest if the time ever comes!)

Ichigohime - (Silly! Ki is… Ki! *laughs* All will be revealed in time… perhaps! Dai is *definitely* on my list of characters to expand on - I love him. And you're right… Hito is stepping on some really shaky ground right now. Yasha sure ain't happy…)

Brandospands

kokoronagomu - (I think of that “insanity” definition every time I write about these two. While the sequels do expand on my OCs and some children, I'll never dominate the story with them - I just love Inu/Kag too much to tear myself away!)

tumblegirl91 - (*blushes* Thank you!! I'm thrilled to hear you're enjoying the story. I hope you continue to enjoy it!)

Lunabell - (*nods* And it would seem Kagome's starting to realize that! Don't worry, the story remains Inu/Kag… they're just gonna have to work to get there!)

 

Disclaimer: I do not own InuYasha or any other characters from the anime/manga. They all belong to Rumiko Takahashi.

 

I do, however, own the original characters in this story. Please don't steal them! (I may let you borrow them if you ask politely.)