InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Reliving the Past ❯ Nineteen ( Chapter 19 )

….Author staggers in covered with plasters. Sheesh! You guys didn't hold back from using the sharp pointy sticks! Thanks for all the prompts to get this chapter out faster, and apologies for the delay. To keep you happy, this is extra long. Hope you enjoy, and please let me know what you think ^_^

Reliving the Past

by kmf

An Inuyasha fanfic

Rating: R

Warnings: Language

Disclaimer: I only wish I did own Inuyasha *fondles his ears*

Chapter 19

Kagome couldn't help gasping as she watched Inuyasha slowly rise from his crouch on the floor. She could hear not only the joints of his fingers pop as he flexed them, but it seemed every joint of his body. His lips were drawn back into a snarl, and a constant rumbling growl issued from his throat. His hair, never particularly neat or smooth, was even more dishevelled than usual. It seemed to bristle with his anger, and glittered with tiny shards of glass.

His eyes were what really captured her attention.

Narrowed.

Furious.

Blood red.

Demon eyes.

Full of the promise of death for the man he stared at.

Kagome's eyes automatically dropped Inuyasha's waist. She had witnessed Inuyasha's full demon state before and, for the most part, it was caused by his separation from his sword. His father's fang sealed his rampant demon blood, blood that caused him to be uncontrollably violent from its overwhelming strength. And Inuyasha, when overcome by his demon blood, seemed to loose all compassion and coherency

But his sword was at his side, safely in its sheath. Inuyasha ought not to have given way to his demon blood. And yet, apparently, he had. Kagome's eyes once again raised to his. Inuyasha glanced in her direction. And sniffed. Kagome stiffened, knowing that he would easily smell Kaminari's touch on her, and the blood that slowly leaked from her hand.

Inuyasha's growl intensified as he took in her appearance, dishevelled, bound to a bed with her legs splayed, the white kimono ruined by little splatters of blood. His joints popped again as his hand grasped the hilt of his sword and drew it forth.

Kagome's eyes widened, as it remained pitted with rust, notched, and old. It was a timely reminder that there was no demon in this room to fight. She glanced towards Kaminari who stood with his arms crossed, glaring at the blade.

"Well, this brings back memories," he commented.

"Shut the fuck up!" Inuyasha snarled.

Kagome's head spun back to Inuyasha. His transformation to a full demon in the past had made him all-powerful but taken his ability to reason. And yet, here he was talking, well snarling, at Kaminari. And he had said something coherent, if a little distasteful. Eyes narrowing she studied him closely. His transformation seemed to be complete, his eyes were blood red, his fangs more pronounced, the stripes on his face clearly visible. And yet, it was different. His eyes were angry, but they also showed intelligence and reason.

"Inuyasha, cut me free!" Kagome demanded her voice a little husky from the screaming she had done earlier.

Inuyasha remained still, but his eyes slowly turned to her.

"Cut me free," Kagome repeated.

"After I deal with this shit head," Inuyasha growled, lifting his sword slightly.

Kagome looked towards Kaminari, mentally urging the man to flee the room and was stunned to see his mouth turn upwards slightly in a small smirk. She blinked at his expression. He seemed completely calm and relaxed, not the pose of a person confronted by a demon with death on his mind. Why? Did he have some secret weapon up his sleeve that would harm Inuyasha and complete his revenge for the death of his brother?

Her heart almost skipped a beat at the thought of Inuyasha's death at the hands of Kaminari, and she started to struggle against her bonds once more.

"Stop that before you hurt yourself!" Kaminari said quietly, "Unless, of course, you want me to kiss it better again."

Inuyasha snarled, and crouched a little as if preparing to spring onto the man in front of him. Kaminari's smile widened and he closed his eyes in anticipation of the attack, he arms falling to his side leaving his chest exposed. That simple act of making himself vulnerable opened Kagome's eyes. He wasn't planning on harming Inuyasha. He was planning on Inuyasha harming him. He had known that Inuyasha would follow her here and as the resurrection spell on his brother had failed he was planning on joining his brother in a different way.

Through death.

"Sit!" Kagome barked out as Inuyasha sprung towards his foe.

The spell on the beads around his neck activated and he fell to the wooden floor with a resounding bang.

"Fuck! Why did you do that?"

Demon and man spoke as one, both turning their heads to glare at her, before turning back to glare at each other.

"He is human, Inuyasha, you cannot kill him." Kagome said firmly.

"The hell I cant!" he snarled back, "He has drugged you, touched you, hurt you! I'm not going to let him do that anymore."

"He hasn't hurt me much and he will never do it again," Kagome countered

"Oh, don't count on it," Kaminari said quickly, moving towards her.

Inuyasha struggled against the spell, trying to peel himself off the floor as Kaminari approached the still bound Kagome. Kaminari smiled as he lowered his head to hers, his lips seeking hers. She turned her head to one side trying to avoid the kiss and instead he nuzzled her neck, his teeth nipping her skin slightly making her gasp.

The growl from Inuyasha's throat intensified as he pushed himself slowly to his feet.

"No, Inuyasha! He is baiting you! He wants to die, he wants to join his brother!" Kagome said, trying to move as far away from Kaminari's seeking lips as she could.

"Well, I'm the demon for the job!" Inuyasha snarled, once more on his feet.

"Sit!"

"Fuck!"

Inuyasha hit the floor again.

Kaminari raised his head from her throat and looked at her with a raised eyebrow.

"Can it be that you have feelings for me, dear Kagome?" he asked, his fingers stroking her hair, "Can it be that you like me more than him?"

Kagome frowned as a string of rather descriptive curses flowed from Inuyasha's lips.

"No, I don't like you more than Inuyasha. But I won't have him suffering the guilt of killing a human when he comes out of his full demon state-"

Inuyasha cut her off.

"What the fuck are you talking about?" he demanded, his voice muffled by the floor boards, "I am hanyou, not full demon."

"Take a look in a mirror, Inuyasha" Kagome retorted, "Yes, the sword should be shielding your demon blood, and yes you do seem to have slightly more reason than you usually do when you are full demon, but you are a full demon non the less."

Kaminari grinned as he continued to stroke Kagome's hair.

"Could it be that he considers you his mate?" he asked, "The urge to protect one's mate or family is enough to make any demon's blood boil, I seem to recall."

"You didn't have a mate," Inuyasha snarled as he pushed himself up to his knees. "How would you know?"

"Ah, you took the time to ask whether I had a mate or whelps before you slaughtered me and my brother then?" Kaminari asked back, his smile pulling into a small snarl.

Kagome looked from Kaminari to Inuyasha then back to Kaminari.

"Did you? Have a mate?" she asked

Kaminari smiled, "No," he replied, "but I did have a brother." He glanced down at the petrified skull on the pillow beside Kagome's head. "I know the song of blood calling to protect the ones you love. I know the despair of being unable to fulfil the bloods demand."

Again Inuyasha leapt towards Kaminari, and again Kagome uttered the word to activate the spell. This time, Inuyasha impacted with the bed rather than the floor, his head striking Kagome's leg painfully causing her to gasp with discomfort. Her body bounced on the bed in reaction to Inuyasha's sudden weight on the springs, and she winced knowing that she would have a nasty bruise to show for her use of the spell.

"Stop it, Inuyasha!" she demanded, "Can't you see that he wants you to kill him? Can't you see that he wants to die to be with his brother?"

"Well, then I'm more than happy to help," Inuyasha snarled, his breath hot against her leg as he tried to lift his head.

"No! You can't kill him," Kagome said again, tears threatening to spill over and run down her cheeks, "He has done bad things, but he isn't a demon anymore. He must be punished using human laws,"

Kaminari snorted, his fingers trailing in her hair, smoothing the strands away from her face before coming to rest at her throat.

"You really are spoiling all my fun today, Kagome," he said, his voice full of mock sadness, "Do you really think I would allow myself to be caught by mere humans? Weak and disgusting, so easily led. Even you, Kagome, a disappointment in the end."

"You. Are. Human," Kagome murmured, ignoring the flashing anger in Kaminari's eyes.

"No, I'm not. I am Hiten, I am an all powerful demon," Kaminari all but growled back at her, his fingers tightening around her neck.

"You are a stupid shit," Inuyasha snarled, "You were before, and you are now. And you were so weak you and your brother were killed by a Hanyou. Not very fucking powerful in my mind. The only power you held was tied up in the Shikon no Tama, and even with that you were pathetically easy to kill."

Kaminari's eyes narrowed, and his fingers tightened even further around Kagome's neck.

"Shut up, before you learn what it is to lose a treasured one," he grated, grinning in satisfaction as Kagome began to cough against the pressure of his fingers. "Although what you say gives me an idea," he released the pressure on Kagome's throat a little, "Do you still have the Shikon no Tama?" he questioned.

"If I did, I wouldn't give it to you," Kagome murmured, breathing deeply now her throat was less constricted, "Its power would twist you, Kaminari. Please just let me go."

"You have it, don't you," Kaminari frowned, "All this time you could have given it to me to wish Manten back, but you hid it from me. Give it to me, give me back my brother"

His fingers once again tightened around her throat, this time with an unrelenting pressure. Her free hand clawed at his, trying to pull his fingers away as the crushing pressure robbed her of her voice and oxygen. Black spots danced across her eyes as she stared up into his angry orbs that seemed to flash crimson red in his anger.

Movement out of the corner of her eye caused her to turn her head slightly. With horror she saw Inuyasha slowly stand and raise his sword, his mouth pulled into a satisfied smile. Desperately she tried to call out the word that would stop him striking Kaminari, stop him giving way to the demon that ought to be sealed. But Kaminari's fingers stopped her uttering a word, and she squeezed her eyes shut as she saw the blade's downward arch towards Kaminari.

She heard a pained grunt.

She felt the fingers loosen around her throat.

Then she felt Kaminari's weight fall on her, pinning her to the bed, crushing her already abused lungs and making it even more difficult to pull the sweet air passed her damaged throat.

"Its pretty fucking stupid that I have to wait for him to half kill you so you stop saying that fucking word!"

Kagome heard Inuyasha talk, but refused to open her eyes. She could not stand to see Kaminari dead, she could not stand to see the realisation of what he had done as Inuyasha came back to himself. The weight shifted off her, and she heard a thump as Kaminari's body impacted with the floor. The sensation of cold metal first at her wrist and then at her ankles made her wince, as Inuyasha cut her bonds. Still she didn't open her eyes.

"Oi!"

The bed sunk slightly from Inuyasha's weight as he sat beside her on the bed. His fingers, gentle and feather light traced over her neck as she gradually got her breathing under control.

"Oi," he repeated, his fingers trailing up to her face, smoothing away the tears that leaked from her eyes, "I know you are still awake."

She opened her eyes slowly to see Inuyasha peering down at her, his face full of concern. His eyes had returned to their normal amber colour, the stripes on his face faded away. He had returned to being a hanyou. And now he would suffer the guilt of killing another human while he was in his full demon form. Sniffing a little, Kagome threw her arms around him, pulling his head down to her chest in an effort to comfort him.

Inuyasha gave a little smothered groan as she caressed his ears.

"I'm so sorry," she said, "Its all my fault. If I hadn't come back here with Kaminari you wouldn't have been forced into this situation. Its not your fault he died, it's mine."

With effort Inuyasha pushed himself up so that he could look at Kagome's face.

"What are you talking about," he muttered, glancing down at the body that lay on the floor beside him, "That piece of shit is still alive. I only knocked him out. And even if I had gutted him, I wouldn't feel guilty. He deserves to die for what he has done."

Kagome glanced down at Kaminari, her eyes narrowed at his still form. And then she saw the subtle movement of his chest as he drew regular breaths. Inuyasha hadn't killed him. Relief flooded though her and she pulled Inuyasha into her arms again.

"Thank you," she murmured in his ear as she held him tightly.

Inuyasha was rigid for a moment or two, then relaxed, his arms working around her body. Twisting a little, he rolled so that she was no longer under him but rather beside him, and he cradled her close. She stank of Kaminari, but he ignored that concentrating on the strong sweet smell of Kagome.

"You came fucking close to being dead this time," Inuyasha said quietly, his mouth nuzzling close to her bruised neck.

He felt her stiffen, inhale air to begin to argue with him. Smiling, he kissed one of her bruises gently and grinned as he felt the air escape from her lungs in a soft sigh, all thoughts of protest disappearing as his lips distracted her. Encouraged by her reaction, he kissed her again, allowing his tongue to gently run over her abused skin in an effort to soothe her hurt.

She gasped, tilting her head slightly to allow him better access to her throat. He growled in response, moving his lips up higher, working his way along her jaw bone towards her lips.

"If he ever fucking comes within a mile of you again-" he began.

"I know, I know. You will kill him," Kagome finished for him. "Can we please stop talking about Kaminari now?" she demanded as she lifted her head up to his so that their mouths collided.

Heat shot out from her stomach as his lips touched hers. It radiated outwards in waves of pleasure until her fingers and toes tingled from the sensation of him holding her, touching her, kissing her. She allowed herself to run her fingers through his long silver hair, amazed at how soft the long tendrils were. He growled into her mouth as she caressed his ear, pulling her even closer to her so that she was aware of how much he needed her, the heat from his groin burning into her leg as she lay on top of him.

And then he stiffened and pushed her away slightly, his soft growl becoming more pronounced as his ears twitched.

"We have to leave," he said, lifting her and placing her on the bed as he stood and glared at the bedroom door.

Kagome felt dazed. Inuyasha's kisses had awoken a desperate desire in her, despite her sore throat where Kaminari's fingers had bruised her. She was more than happy to lay back down in Inuyasha's arms and snog some more, even with an unconscious villain on the floor beside them. Reaching up she tried to pull Inuyasha back down to her.

He sniffed the air and grinned at her, and she felt her face go bright red with embarrassment. He knew exactly what she wanted by the scent she was giving off. Disgruntled that his demon senses gave him such an advantage over her, she glared up at him. His grin broadened and he lowered his head down to hers.

"There are men at the front door," he said his ears twitching as he listened, "They are talking about a search warrant..." he paused, his eyes narrowing "and another man is describing the sword that they are looking for."

"Its the police," Kagome whispered looking down at her costume, her hand grasping the front of her white kimono.

Although she was pleased that the police were at Kaminari's, she had no wish to be discovered when they entered the premises. She was having a hard enough time at the moment at the university with the female student body blaming her for Kaminari's suspension, if she combined with that a role in his possible arrest she might as well forget her degree. Added to that the possibility of other demons being reincarnated or still living in this era getting wind of the priestess of the Shikon no Tama was living amongst them, she could pretty well forget her freedom as well.

Inuyasha's warm tongue stroked the end of her nose as he gave her a teasing lick.

"Quit your daydreaming bitch," he said turning so she could climb up on his back.

She did so without hesitation, trying to ignore the heated sensation of Inuyasha lifting the material of her kimono up her legs to her thighs so that she could easily wrap her legs around him. Holding tight to his shoulders, she glanced once back at Kaminari who remained unconscious on the floor, before Inuyasha leapt through the window and away.

Epilogue

Kagome pulled at the material of her polo necked jersey. She really disliked wearing it, but as the bruises on her neck were still visible it was either that or a light scarf tied cravat style. And as cravats hadn't been a fashion statement for at least thirty years, she chose the former. She was grateful at least that her ankle had more or less healed and now gave her no more bother than a few twinges when she stood too long. Her hand, too, was healing nicely.

All in all she had got off lightly.

It could have been worse. Much worse. And Inuyasha kept reminding her of just how lucky she was at every opportunity he could. For the time being she allowed him to do so, she instinctively knew how worried he had been for her safety when he had discovered that she had left the shrine.

After they had escaped from Kaminari's house and returned to Kagome's home, Souta had taken great delight in telling her just how he had found Inuyasha nose to pavement, and how he had almost attacked a passing car trying to find her. Inuyasha had frowned and grunted, then disappeared through the well unbidden by Kagome to tell her friends in the past that all was well and she was safe.

By the time he had returned, it was already being reported on the news that a prominent University Lecturer and author had been taken into custody on suspicion of fraud and theft. By the next morning the newspapers carried an article telling of how Kaminari had been formally charged with several counts of theft and how he had allegedly removed items of antiquity from an archaeological site.

Kagome had been tense in the week that followed, expecting the police to knock on her door at anytime with questions about her relationship with him, asking why her blood was on Kaminari's bed and why her clothes were there. Souta continued to try and reassure her that whilst the authorities could test blood for DNA they were unlikely to have her on their database as she had never been in trouble with the law before. And Kagome knew that her clothes were common enough, with no labels to give away her identity. She was pretty sure that her pockets had been empty of anything to link her to the scene.

Towards the end of the week she began to get more confident that she wouldn't be dragged into the eyes of the public and that her mother would remain blissfully unaware of what had gone on in her absence. Unfortunately Kaminari's fate still worried her.

Some research via the internet showed her that if Kaminari had an unblemished criminal record up to now, the chances were that he would be let off with a suspended sentence. And whilst he was currently in jail, the chances were that when his case came up for its preliminary hearing he would be released from custody on bail. If this were to be the case, would he come seeking her out again?

Inuyasha picked up on her agitation easily and refused to return to his own time and leave her alone in hers. He stood watch over her day and night. When she was attending lectures she could sense him close by watching her and growling with impatience as she was subjected to glares and gossip from the other female students. Back at the shrine he followed her around like a guard dog, frequently sniffing the air to be sure that no one was threatening her.

Kagome's mother, when she returned, observed this behaviour without comment. A single raised eyebrow in Kagome's direction alerted her to the fact that her mother knew something was going on and that if Kagome wanted to share, then her mother was ready to listen. Inuyasha and Kagome's changed relationship didn't escape her mother either, and she smiled at them when she caught them kissing, tolerating even Inuyasha's curses when he realised that he had been so distracted with the sensation of his lips touching Kagome's that he hadn't sensed her mother approach.

Kagome pulled at the itchy material of her jersey again, smiling at the memory.

"Oi! What's so funny?"

Kagome glanced up to see Inuyasha sitting in the tree outside her window, his body hidden to shrine visitors by the leaves. He looked relaxed, his torso slouched up against the trunk, his leg's crossed, but she knew better. His ears were twitching, constantly rotating, picking up any sounds that might give him concern. Her eyes gravitated to his mouth, which was nibbling on a blade of grass. He hadn't kissed her since being caught by her mother and she missed his touch.

"Oi!"

Kagome's eyes snapped up from his mouth, to his eyes. He was glaring at her, impatient for her to answer him. She shrugged, before looking back at the textbook in front of her. With a sigh, she closed it, lowering her head until her forehead rested on its cold cover. After all that had happened, her course work seemed so unimportant now.

She felt her hair being stroked and looked up to see Inuyasha crouching on the table before her, his feet placed carefully to avoid standing on any of her papers. She smiled sadly up at him, before sighing again.

"What's the point, Inuyasha," she said quietly, "Even if I pass this, how am I ever going to teach. It seems that I am always going to be attracting the bad guys, even in my own time. I will be a danger to family and friends, and to the children I would be responsible for.

Inuyasha frowned at her dejected look. He scratched his nose thoughtfully.

"Feh!" he snorted, "I will protect you in your time or mine."

Kagome shook her head.

"You can't stay here in my time," she said quietly, ignoring the look of indignation that spread across his face, "This is no life for you, hiding yourself away during the day so no one can see you, following me around all the time. You would hate it."

Inuyasha made to protest, but Kagome lifted a hand and placed her fingers across his lips to stop him speaking. She smiled as she gently ran her fingertips across his soft lips, enjoying the way her fingers tingled at the sensation.

"The solution is that I need to finish what I started so long ago," she said softly, her eyes still on his lips, "I need to go to the past and remain there until the Shikon no Tama is complete and then..."

Inuyasha nipped her fingers gently, pulling her hand away and grasping it tightly with his own hand, careful not to scratch her with his claws.

"And then?" he asked gruffly, his eyes worried.

Kagome smiled.

"And then, we shall see."

Inuyasha leapt off the table so that he was standing beside her. Leaning down he gathered her up in his arms holding her tightly.

"There are dozens of brats in the village you could teach," he said, his tone gruff and hopeful.

Kagome snuggled into Inuyasha's warm embrace, her eyes closing as she relaxed in the safety of his arms. She nodded once. There were lots of children in the village she could teach. She would have to be careful, her knowledge of the world was 500 years more advanced than theirs was. But all in all she could see herself remaining in the past and teaching the children there.

And if she was honest with herself, she missed the past. She missed her friends, the village people, and the uncluttered unpolluted landscape. The past was her home, more so even than the present. Her family was in the present, but her future did seem to be in the past.

She smiled and nodded again.

"And that way I would always be able to make sure you don't fuck up again," Inuyasha continued, his voice now confident and superior.

Kagome frowned. A week had gone by and she had tolerated all his little jibs about how trusting and careless with her safety she was, but perhaps it was time to remind him that she could hold her own against him. Especially as it looked like she would be with him for the foreseeable future. It was best to show him now that she was not going to be passive in their altered relationship.

She pulled away from him, and turned to her closet, opened it and pulled out her large backpack. Glancing back at Inuyasha she saw he now wore a smug look on his face.

"Inuyasha!" Kagome called out.

Inuyasha looked at her, his eyes going wide at the steely quality of her voice. She grinned as she saw the look of nervous anticipation spread across his face.

"Sit!"

"Fuck!"

Kagome turned back to her backpack ignoring the prone hanyou plastered to her floorboards cursing her. Making a mental list of all the items she needed to take with her for an extended stay in the past, she smiled. She was really looking forward to going home.

The End

AN: Apologies again for the lateness of this chapter. I hope you are not too upset by the ending. I liked Kaminari so much that I just didn't have the heart to kill him off, plus I could see Kagome having some serious issues with Inuyasha killing a human. And, it kinda leaves it open for a sequel. Insert evil grin here.

However, if there is a sequel, it won't be coming out any time soon. I have one more chapter of Maids of Silva to write, and a lemon that I have pledged, and then I'm probably going to take a break from writing for a while. I have been writing fanfiction for the last couple of years and feel the need for a holiday.

Thanks for reading Reliving the Past, I hope you have enjoyed it.

Cheers

kmf