InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Palm of Your Hand ❯ Hope of a Lifetime ( Chapter 17 )

[ X - Adult: No readers under 18. Contains Graphic Adult Themes/Extreme violence. ]

Disclaimer: InuYasha is the property of Rumiko Takahashi, not me. I'm just having fun and making no money doing it.

Hope of a Lifetime

After their shopping trip, Kagome and Izumi went their separate ways; Kagome to her own apartment and Izumi to InuYasha's. Kagome texted InuYasha to let him know she was going to stay home for the night so he and Izumi could have some time together, since Izumi would be leaving the following day to visit her friends in another state. InuYasha practically insisted that Kagome come over, but after much protest he reluctantly backed down.

The second she got to her room Kagome flung herself onto the bed. Exhausted from the stress of the day, she fell asleep almost instantly, on top of the covers and fully clothed.

Around six-thirty that evening she was jolted awake by the sound of her phone ringing. She pulled it from her pocket and looked at the screen. It was InuYasha, no doubt calling to make one last attempt to convince her to come over.

She swallowed and cleared her throat. Trying her best to disguise the fact that she'd been asleep. She touched the green circle on the screen and held the phone to her ear. "No means no, InuYasha." she said teasingly.

"Keh!" he scoffed. "I know!"

"Oh really? Well, why were you calling then?"

She heard him draw in a breath to speak, then silence.

She giggled. "That's what I thought."

"I just wanted to make sure you hadn't changed your mind, is all."

"Well, I haven't."

"Did I wake you up? You sound like you've been asleep."

Kagome chuckled. "Yeah, I laid down to rest for a few minutes and ended up falling asleep for…" she looked at the clock on her side table. "Two hours apparently…"

"Are you feeling okay." he said, obvious concern in his tone.

"I feel fine. Just didn't get enough sleep last night I guess." she said suggestively. "And it's kinda been a long day…"

"Long day? Did something happen?"

"No, nothing in particular. I'm just...still trying to wrap my head around everything I guess...I do have something I need to talk to you about though..."

"Then talk." he replied.

"No, it's something I need to talk to you about in person... Is it okay if I come to your apartment tomorrow before work I go to work?" she asked.

"Of course it's okay...should I be concerned?" he asked hesitantly.

"No, no not at all." she reassured him.

"Okay...you know what, I actually just might take the afternoon off tomorrow. We can have lunch together. How does that sound?"

"It sounds good...if you're sure it's okay..."

"Yes, I'm sure. How about I meet you at your apartment at twelve-thirty?"

"Okay, twelve-thirty it is."

"I'll see you then."

"Okay, bye."

"Bye."

Just as she disconnected the call she heard the sound of the apartment door being unlocked. She groggily pulled herself from the bed and exited her room.

"Hey." she greeted Ru as he entered the apartment.

"Hey. How was your play date with Izumi?" he asked.

Kagome rolled her eyes. "Don't call it that. It's creepy."

Ru chuckled at her. "So, did you get grilled or what?"

"A little bit." she answered him honestly. "It wasn't too bad, though."

"Well, if it makes you feel any better, she asked me too." he said as he took a seat on the sofa.

"Asked you what?" she questioned, as she took a seat next to him.

"You know...about us." he motioned back and forth between them with his hand. "Me and you and the...uhh…'nature of our relationship', I guess you could say." he said, punctuating with air quotes.

Kagome nodded in understanding.

"So, have you told Yash that you're moving back to Tokyo?"

She shook her head. "No, not yet, so don't say anything to him about it. I want to surprise him."

"When are you going to tell him?"

"I'm going to put in my two-weeks notice tomorrow night at work, then I'm going to tell him after that."

Ru nodded. "The sooner the better."

Kagome furrowed her brow. "And why is that?"

"Because now that I know it's a secret I'll probably end up telling him on accident."

Kagome shot him a hard look. "You wouldn't dare."

Ru smiled slyly. "You know what sounds really good right now?"

"What?" she said, narrowing her gaze suspiciously.

"Cupcakes...with buttercream frosting…"

"Are you blackmailing me?!"

"Of course not, Kagome. I'm only making friendly conversation." he said all too innocently.

Kagome stared him down for several seconds before giving in. "Almond or vanilla." she sighed.

"Both." he answered with a smug smile.

"Opportunistic little cupcake slut..." he heard her grumble under her breath as she rose from the sofa and stomped into the kitchen to start baking.

<<>>

Upon arriving at Kagome's apartment the following day, InuYasha immediately asked her what it was she wanted to talk about, but she insisted they wait until after lunch. He had hardly been able to think of anything else since she had told him they needed to talk about something the previous evening.

"So what is it you wanted to talk to me about." InuYasha asked her again upon their return to his apartment that afternoon.

"Well…" she began. "I just...I had something interesting happen yesterday..." she said.

"Oh?" InuYasha said, furrowing his brow in curiosity. "What was that?"

"Well, after you dropped me off at my apartment yesterday morning, I was talking to Ru and Izzy and...I lost the fillings from my teeth…" she said, carefully monitoring his reaction. "both of them at once. They just sort of fell out. Isn't that interesting?" she said leadingly.

"Oh…" He began to fidget nervously. "umm….yeah… That is interesting..." he said.

"And do you know what happened next?"

InuYasha slowly and apprehensively shook his head in the negative.

"I learned some important information from my roommate, that I should have learned from my real mate." she said pointedly, putting extra emphasis on the last two words.

"Oh…" InuYasha said dejectedly.

"Yeah. Oh." she mimicked him. "Why didn't you tell me, InuYasha?"

"I have a good reason, I swear." he quickly defended. "I was planning on telling you. I was just... waiting for the right time..."

"The right time?" she drawled, narrowing her gaze suspiciously. "The right time should have been immediately."

"I know...I'm sorry. It was just a big deal and I wanted it to be special I guess… If it makes you feel any better, I just noticed it yesterday morning. It must have happened sometime during the night while we were asleep. I wasn't going to keep it from you long, I just...I didn't want to tell you and then have to rush off to work. I didn't think the effects would start so soon. I was gonna tell you last night, but you refused to come over and..."

"It's okay." Kagome cut him off, pressing a finger over his lips to silence his frantic string of excuses. "I'm not really mad. It was just… you sort of put me in an uncomfortable position… Izumi was there, and Ru is just so blunt..." she let out a long sigh. "I don't know... It was just a long day."

"Did you and Izzy get along okay?" he asked her.

"Yeah, we got along great after we sort of…cleared the air about everything..."

"Cleared the air?" InuYasha said questioningly, furrowing his brow.

"Eh, it's nothing really…" Kagome waved her hand dismissively. "she was just looking out for you."

"What did she say?"

"She just wanted to make sure that...that I was sure. That I wasn't going to change my mind."

"About me?" InuYasha added.

"Yeah."

"Huh...I wonder what would make her feel unsure about that." he said, obviously feigning ignorance.

Kagome rolled her eyes at him. "You know what, InuYasha. Don't play dumb." she huffed.

Several seconds of silence passed between them.

"Well...what did you tell her?" he said with timid curiosity.

She gave him a little smile. "I told her that I love you, and that you're my best friend and I'd never do anything to hurt you." she said as she grabbed both his hands in her own.

"If she ever confronts you like that again I want you to tell me." InuYasha said sternly.

"She did it because she cares."

"It doesn't matter why she did it. It's not her business to get involved. I'm the adult. I'm perfectly capable of making my own decisions."

"She's an adult too, InuYasha."

He sighed at Kagome's defense. "I know... It's just...it's hard to think of them like that. But either way, adult or not, what goes on between you and me is our business."

"Right…" Kagome said. "just like what goes on between them and whoever they choose to date is their business."

InuYasha's eyes shot to hers as he quickly caught onto her insinuation. "Don't even go there wench. Once you meet the asshole, then you can have an opinion about that."

Kagome let out a giggle. "Fair enough."

InuYasha leaned in and kissed her on the lips before wrapping his arms around her waist and pulling her close. He pressed his face into her hair, breathing her in, his hands sliding over her back and sides with purpose, as if he were searching for something. "Still real." she heard him say, his voice barely a whisper.

"Do you still have doubts?" she asked.

"Sometimes…" he said honestly. "Sometimes I'm just sure my hands are going to pass right through you. Or that I'm going to wake up and all of this will have been a dream."

She pulled back to look him in the eyes. "When I was a teenager I used to think that all the time. I don't know how many mornings I woke up scared to death that I had dreamed you up. Or that maybe I was insane...sitting in a padded room in an asylum somewhere or in some hospital in a coma and nothing was real…and my whole life was just a dream. I'd try to figure out what point would have been the last real memory..."

"So when we were together before, that didn't seem real to you?" he asked.

"It seemed real at the time but...the more time passed the more I couldn't trust my memories...my old self... I was so confident back then…" She let out a mirthless chuckle. "Well...more like naive and stupid really..." she said, shaking her downcast head. "I didn't have a doubt in my mind that things would work out the way I wanted them to. I thought I held the future in the palm of my hand... That stupid, misguided confidence made it that much harder for me to accept the truth. That I didn't have control over anything. That there is no purpose or reason for anything."

"You were a teenager, Kagome. Most teenagers think like that. How can you say there's no purpose or reason for anything after all that's happened? "

"So you think we deserved all the heartache we've been through?"

"No...but I think things happened the way they were supposed to. That there was a purpose. I mean, who knows what would have happened if the well hadn't closed? We don't know that we would even be together now. I had a lot of growing up to do...I still have a lot of growing up to do." he chuckled. "And things were different back then. Being with me would have made you a target for youkai and humans…it would have been a difficult life… Not to mention that if we had stayed together, my girls would have never been born, and I wouldn't trade them for anything. I know it probably seems kinda weird for you to think of it that way, but...I can't help but think of it that way..."

"No, I don't think it's weird at all." Kagome said, shaking her head. "It just hadn't thought of it like that..."

She slipped her hands behind InuYasha's neck and carefully began loosening the cord that held his concealment stone. As she started to lift it over his head he quickly grabbed arms and pulled them away.

"You don't want to do that, wench."

She furrowed her brow.

"Only the person who put it on can take it off. You of all people should know that." he said chuckling.

"Oh, right…the rosary... so what would happen if I tried to take this off?" she asked, running her fingers over the stone pendant.

"You'd get zapped."

"Like a tazer?" she asked.

"No, it's not nearly that strong." he said, as he lifted it over his head and placed it on the counter.

"How did you get the rosary off anyway?" she asked him. "I didn't even think to ask."

"After a while it lost it's power. I guess without you there...the spell just wore off. I kept wearing it for a while, but I ended up breaking it... I still have most of the beads at home."

"I thought you hated it." Kagome said, grinning.

"Well I didn't like being sat, but after you were gone...I didn't have a lot that reminded me of you. Just that, and a backpack full of books I couldn't read." he said.

"It's too bad I didn't leave you something useful like a world history book." she said.

"I know, right? There were a few times that would have really come in handy..."

They both chuckled.

"So...since I'm your mate now, does that mean I'm going to live as long as you do?" Kagome asked him.

InuYasha nodded in affirmation. "Is that okay?"

"Of course it's okay, baka." she said. "How did you know that I would be okay with it though?"

"It wouldn't have happened if you weren't okay with it. It's a mutual thing. Both of us had to want it in order for the binding to happen. Even the most powerful youkai couldn't force someone to be their mate. It just doesn't work that way… Why?" He narrowed his eyes at her. "Are you trying to say you don't want me now?" he teased.

"No." she gave him a coy smile. "As a matter of fact…" she slid her hands behind his neck. "I really do want you now."

"Right now?" he asked with a smirk.

"Mmhmm…" she confirmed as she pulled him down to meet her lips. The kiss more gentle than her seductive teasing had led him to expect.

When they pulled back from the kiss, a contemplative look had washed over InuYasha's face.

"What's with the serious look all of the sudden?" Kagome questioned him.

"I'll be right back." he said abruptly, before releasing her and making his way down the hallway.

"Huh?" Kagome said confused, her arms still hanging in the empty space he had been occupying.

"Just stay right there." he called back.

He went into the bathroom and removed his shaving kit from under the sink. Zipping it open, he reached inside and pulled out a small, yellow velvet box. A box that had once been white, some eighty-odd years ago when he had first acquired it on a trip to Europe. He opened the box and looked at the ring inside. He remembered like it was yesterday, the day he first saw it through the jeweler's window. He knew the second he laid eyes on it that it would be Kagome's ring, and he had walked right in and bought it without a second thought. He had always kept it close at hand, because it reminded him of her and gave him hope. And maybe somewhere deep down he always thought he might need it when he least expected. Like he did right now.

He stood there a moment, turning the small box over in his hands as he gathered his thoughts. He hadn't really planned to do this right now, but he figured since the cat was already out of the bag there was really no reason to put it off any longer. He knew what he wanted to say, he just wanted to prepare himself mentally so that he didn't fumble his words. He didn't feel even the least amount of uncertainty, and he wanted to make that clear to her. Slipping the box into his pocket, he headed back down the hall towards the kitchen, where Kagome was still waiting right where he had left her.

InuYasha walked to the dining table and pulled out a chair. "Sit."

Kagome obeyed and took the offered seat as InuYasha positioned another chair directly in front of her for himself.

"Should I be worried right now?" Kagome asked anxiously.

InuYasha mentally kicked himself for making her nervous.

"No, not at all." he said as he sat in front of her and clasped her hands in his.

"Kagome..." he began. Suddenly all the nice, romantic words he had thought he wanted to say escaped him as he sat there looking into her eyes. The words didn't matter. They were superfluous. Everything that mattered she already knew. That she was his heart, and his life, and his soul. It wasn't characteristic of him to voice these things aloud, and she knew him. He wasn't going to be anyone other than himself tomorrow, or in a hundred years or a thousand. So why should he be anyone other than him right now? He smiled before continuing. "…there's no reason to drag it out. I've known what I wanted for over five hundred years and I'm tired of waiting."

At this point Kagome was fairly certain what was coming next, though she could scarcely believe it, and she could already feel the tears starting to prickle at her eyes.

"What I want is to have you as my mate…" InuYasha said as he unclasped her hands and reached into his pocket, pulling out the tiny box. The old hinge popped and crackled as he lifted it open, exposing the sparkling diamond ring inside to Kagome's view. "and my wife... Kagome, will you marry me?" he asked her softly.

Kagome pressed the tips of her fingers to her lips as the tears began to flow. Having not been given an answer yet, InuYasha continued. "I've already talked to my brother about the living situation and he's going to work everything out so I can stay here with you. He's going to transfer my employment here as soon the project I'm working on now if finished. And it will take some time, but he is going to get everything squared away for you too..."

Kagome rose from her seat and enveloped him in a hug. He quickly wrapped his arms around her in return and pulled her into his lap. She still hadn't said anything. 'Why hasn't she said anything?'

"So," InuYasha spoke up again. "is this a 'yes, I'll marry you' hug, or is it a pity hug?" he asked, only partly joking.

"It's a 'yes, I'll marry you' hug, baka." Kagome answered after pulling back to look in his eyes. "I just can't believe it… I mean, I just didn't think you would want to get married." she said through happy tears.

InuYasha then removed the ring from it's box. "I want it all Kagome. I want to be your husband, and your mate, and the father of your children…" he said as he took Kagome's left hand in his, and slid the ring onto her finger.

Kagome wrapped her arms around his neck, and he held her close. She lifted her hand behind his head to admire the ring. "You have good taste." she said smiling.

"Well someone's awfully full of herself." he joked.

"I was talking about the ring, you jerk."

InuYasha chuckled. "I know." he said. "I just picked it because it reminded me of you."

Kagome pulled back from the hug, still sitting in his lap."You know, you're sort of getting a raw deal." she said.

"How do you figure that?" he asked her, furrowing his brow.

"Well, you're like, bachelor of the year, and I'm poor, uneducated, and don't even know how to drive a car." she said jokingly.

InuYasha smiled. "You'll have plenty of time to learn anything you want to learn, I can teach you how to drive a car, and you have more money than you think."

Kagome raised her eyebrows. "How do you figure that?" she asked, absentmindedly picking at the buttons on his shirt.

"Ru has all the rent money you ever gave him stashed away in his desk drawer. He told me he was going to give it to you if you ever got married." InuYasha said.

"Oh! So that's what that money's from! I saw it in there, but figured it was just one of his weird idiosyncrasies… Like, maybe he just didn't trust banks or something." she chuckled. "You know, money isn't the only stash Ru keeps in that desk..."

InuYasha rolled his eyes. "Trust me, I know." he said, tapping his nose.

Kagome giggled, then sighed. "When your work project is done I think we need to take a long vacation. Just the two of us." she said as she relaxed into his chest.

"A honeymoon?" he said teasingly.

Kagome raised her eyebrows. "You want to get married that soon?"

He shrugged. "I'd do it right now." he said seriously.

Kagome smiled and pressed a kiss to his jaw. "I want my family to be there."

"I do too." he agreed.

"I…" Kagome began to speak.

InuYasha looked at her expectantly, waiting for her to continue. "You what?"

"I was just thinking…" she shook her head. "Just wondering what Sango and Miroku would think." she said, emotion cracking into her voice.

"They always believed we would make it back to each other." he said, pulling her tighter to him. "They had more faith in me than I had in myself."

"I wish they could be there." she whispered.

"I do too."

"Did they get married?"

"Yep." he answered. "They got married and had children and lived a good long life."

He felt her nod of approval against his chest. "Did you stay in the village with them?"

"Me and Shippo stayed until...well, for as long as they were alive." he said. "And Kirara stayed with their descendents until the consolidation. When the demons integrated with the humans, she came to live with us."

"Is she…?"

"She lives with Shippo now."

Kagome smiled and nodded her approval against his chest. She was opening up to him. It wasn't much, but it was a start.

"I wonder if she will remember me?" she asked.

"Definitely. I wouldn't let her forget. She's the only one I could ever talk to about you." he chuckled.

Kagome giggled. "I can't wait to see everyone."

Once again, InuYasha couldn't help but hope she was suggesting that she'd be coming back to Japan with him.

Kagome, of course, had already decided she was going to move back, but she wasn't going to tell him just yet. Not today. He had just proven to her that he was absolutely willing to make this incredible sacrifice for the sake of her happiness alone, and she didn't want take away from this perfect moment.

Although, she didn't allow his sacrifice to go unrewarded either. On the contrary, by the time she left for work that evening, she had already rewarded his sacrifice twice.

<<>>

A/N:

Sorry for the delay. I had a death in the family last week and have been out of town.

Thanks for reading.

Have a glorious day,

StoatsandWeasels