InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Return Again ❯ Solitude ( Chapter 4 )

Disclaimer: Not mine.

IV. Solitude

Inuyasha's foot scratched absently at the back of his ear. It was an unconscious canine habit that surfaced only when the hanyou was bored or absorbed in thought. He had plenty to think about these days, especially as he wondered what the hell he had gotten himself into. It seemed that human couples were expected to rut after they married. (Sure, Miroku had been at Sango all the time since their wedding, but everyone knew that the monk was a pervert.) Kagome had said that she wanted to marry him, but did she want him that way? Did she really intend to rut with him?

It wasn't surprising that Kagome was nervous about coupling. Humans in her time had some strange mating habits. Inuyasha remembered the first time he had seen the magazines they sold in their "convenience stores." His jaw had gone slack and his eyes had nearly popped out of his head as he tried to make sense out of the contorted figures. Kagome acted as though she hadn't seen what had drawn his attention, but he had felt her tense and had detected the slight shift in her scent as she pulled him out of the shop. She seemed embarrassed and maybe a little mad. Sensing a very big sit, Inuyasha never mentioned the magazines or any of the other pictures he had glimpsed all over her Tokyo.

He instinctively understood enough about mating. Inuyasha had seen human, animal and youkai couplings in the woods, and for as long as he could remember he had known what they were doing. The process seemed perfectly natural, but talking about it was a whole other matter. Armed with her damned spell, Kagome was dangerous at the best of times - and with her "bridal jitters," these were far from the best of times. The stupid monk was obviously incapable of comprehending the unbearable agony of sit. Inuyasha cringed at the thought.

But if there was anything he could say, anything he could do to help ease that tinge of anxiety that now permeated Kagome's scent, he was willing to try.

He stared at the waning moon. It would disappear completely in the next few nights, before beginning its cycle anew. Inspiration suddenly struck. For perhaps the first time in his life, Inuyasha brightened at the prospect of his human night. Kagome never sat him on those nights, and words seemed to come to him more easily then too. Yes, he would wait until the night of the new moon.

Relaxing for the first time in weeks, Inuyasha leapt to his branch and settled in for a good rest.

Kagome watched alone as the last light faded with the setting sun. The crickets sang and the stars twinkled in the darkened sky.

Kaede-obachan had been summoned to a nearby village, Shippou-chan was spending the night with Kohaku-kun and Kirara, and Inuyasha.… It had been three days since she had seen him, and she wondered briefly if he was ever going to speak to her again.

She hadn't meant to sit him. He had startled her a few days ago as she finished dressing, her mind finally registering the fact that he must have seen her naked. The thought of him watching her had been unnerving, the command slipping out on impulse. Kagome regretted it immediately but fled the awkward moment, before having to explain the source of her discomfort to the enraged hanyou. While Sango-chan tried to calm her jangled nerves with a cup of tea, Miroku-sama had sauntered off to smooth things over with Inuyasha.

Kagome sniffled. Apparently Miroku-sama's velvet diplomacy had failed them this time. She and Inuyasha had fought before, had endured separations longer than this. But ever since she had learned the secret of his human night, Inuyasha invariably gravitated to her with each new moon. Missing the comfort of his presence these past few days, Kagome could well appreciate his need for companionship on those nights. He helped to fill the empty pain she felt in her heart when she thought of her family back in the modern era.

Inuyasha wasn't a replacement - Kagome understood all too well the pain that could cause. Kikyou's passing and their defeat of Naraku had finally allowed Inuyasha the clarity he had needed to move forward. Although the couple had become almost inseparable over the course of their quest, the last few weeks had witnessed the transformation of their friendship into something deeper still. No, Inuyasha meant much, much more to her than that.

Nonetheless, Kagome hugged her knees as she longed for the comforts of her family home. It had been her haven after their fights, the place she went if she needed a few days to cry or cool off. She missed Mama's comforting hugs and gentle advice, Jii-chan's eccentricity and Souta's sweet demeanor. Not to mention Mama's cooking, a warm bath and the sweet embrace of a warm, soft bed.

Inuyasha coming to fetch her back to the Sengoku Jidai.

The Higurashi home had also been an occasional haven for the hanyou. They had passed more than one new moon together in the security of her time. Steak dinners and video game tournaments had become a tradition, whenever they could make it back for his human night. As bittersweet memories of Inuyasha and her family filled her mind, Kagome wasn't sure whom she missed more right now.

Resigned to her solitude on this dark night, Kagome decided to retire to her futon to cry herself to sleep.

Then he arrived.

Inuyasha was quite pleased with himself. He had managed to convince the brat to abandon Kagome for the night and secured some private time for the monk and taijiya as well. The hanyou was getting sick of happening upon their little trysts in the forest, seeming to cross their path every damn time they snuck off together. Hoping that they might wear themselves out with a night of privacy, he had convinced Shippou that camping in the woods would be good for Kohaku.

Secure in the knowledge that he would have all night to speak with Kagome, Inuyasha set out to bathe and to collect the meal he had hunted for her earlier. But as much as he wanted to settle matters with his future bride, he wasn't exactly looking forward to this discussion. Somehow his errands took longer than he had planned so that it was well past sundown by the time he arrived at Kaede's hut.

Kagome was sitting in the grass, her knees clasped to her chest. She looked very small and very vulnerable. For a moment, Inuyasha was angry with himself for leaving her unprotected for even a short time. Without the shikon na tama to draw them, dangerous youkai rarely approached the village now, and he regularly patrolled the perimeter of the village to deal with the few who dared to venture too close. Nevertheless, she would have been an easy target this night.

Not wanting to startle her again, Inuyasha scuffed his feet against the hard-packed earth as he approached. The sound drew her attention and she looked up. His breath stilled as the emotions played across her beautiful face. She looked at once both miserable but relieved. His name ghosted from her lips in a broken whisper.

Inuyasha crouched before her, laying his parcel aside before reaching up to run his fingers through her hair. Kagome leaned in and wrapped her arms around him in a tight embrace. He inhaled deeply as he held her close, his thumb tracing small circles on her lower back. When her grip finally loosened, he spoke softly into the hair near her ear.

"Kagome, we need to talk."