InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Second Chances ❯ Chapter 14 ( Chapter 14 )

*************************************************************

D ISCLAIMER: I do not own Inu Yasha and company. That honor belongs to Rumiko Takahashi.

************************************************************* ***********

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Okay, I am back. My sincere apologies for the long delay. Amidst a month of pain filled haze and drugged euphoria, my muse also decided to take a long, unauthorized vacation. *Grumbles...see if he gets paid for it! Author gets smacked in back of the head with a wet noodle* Hmm... I mean he ran away from my drug induced delirium? *Quinn growls and brandishes noodle again* No, he didn't run away, my mistake! *COUGH--Myoga--COUGH Author cowers from dreaded noodle---I hate that thing...its sticky!* But now that he is back, I can continue. I tried to write while he was away but it was all meaningless drivel. My advice is to never try to write while muse-less! Grr...now he is all glowy and proud! I hate men... well, at least the ones that live in my imagination! Whew, random babbling, sorry about that. No matter, this line always stays the same ^_~ Please read and enjoy...

*************************************************************** *********

Chapter 14

Kagome walked along the familiar path to the village, a small smile on her lips as she thought about Inu Yasha's "riddle". He really was just so dense sometimes. A small giggle escaped her as she thought about her two friends. Sango wouldn't have to live in anyone's shadow, not that the feisty exterminator ever would anyway, and Inu Yasha wouldn't be alone. She was so caught up in her thoughts that she didn't notice the figure standing directly in the path until she ran into it, quite literally. Kagome hit the ground hard.

"Ow!" she grumbled as she looked up to see whom she had bumped into. Her face lit up into a bright smile. "Sango... I was just thinking about you!"

"Where is Inu Yasha?" Kagome blinked at her in confusion. Her friend sounded so cold. Boy, he must really be in trouble. Glad it isn't me...

"Oh, I left him at the God Tree, trying to figure out your puzzle." Kagome said with a little wave and a grin, as she headed off down the path once again. "I'm on my way to see Miroku."

"Don't you think he is in enough pain right now?" Sango asked as she grabbed Kagome's shoulder. She didn't know what puzzle the hanyou was trying to decipher and didn't really care at that moment. She hadn't realized that Kagome could be so unfeeling. How could she run between the two men like this? The younger girl spun around, panic clear in her eyes.

"Pain? Is he hurt? Did something happen to him after I left? Where is he? Were you coming to find me?" Now it was the exterminator's turn to blink in confusion. The rapid fire questions had come too quickly for her to sort out, but she did see that Kagome's emotions were real. So she hadn't really made her final decision between the two yet? She sighed deeply.

"I would have thought that you had learned from your time with Inu Yasha, not taken a page from his book."

"Huh?"

"Damn it Kagome..." Sango's temper broke. "We... saw... you... together! And now you are pretending like it didn't happen. Make up your mind already. Neither one of them deserves to be treated this way. Well, maybe Inu Yasha could have stood a taste of his own medicine but... no, no one deserves that kind of mental torture." Kagome just stood, staring at her friend as if she had never seen her before.

"You saw us... together? When...." The color drained from her face and her mouth gaped open, only to snap close seconds later without saying anything. She shook her head slightly in denial. "Oh no..."

"Oh yes! Were you trying to kill him?"

"Kill...what...no, it wasn't...."

"A coherent sentence please."

"Its not what it looked like. I kissed him, but it wasn't right. There wasn't that special feeling...." She looked at the older girl for understanding. "Have you ever kissed someone before, Sango?" The exterminator blushed and looked away before nodding slightly. "More than one someone?" She shook her head negatively. "I hadn't either, at least not until today, and if Miroku and I hadn't...I wouldn't have known what I was missing. You know, there is a song in my time and I never realized how true it was until it happened... If you want to know if he loves you so, its in his kiss. That one kiss with Inu Yasha cleared up everything between us... The fact that there is nothing between us except friendship... family. Am I making any sense to you?"

Sango was staring at her strangely, but finally nodded. She understood, but something else was clarifying in her mind as well. Kagome had truly given up all holds she had on the hanyou. A blush rose to her cheeks, and the younger girl could almost read her thoughts. She smiled at her friend wanly. "Why don't you see if Inu Yasha has figured out that riddle yet? I think that he would be happy to see you."

Sango turned and began to walk away, but stopped when Kagome called her name softly. "Remember the song!" The exterminator scowled and continued on her journey. Slowly the scowl dissipated to be replaced with a thoughtful look instead.

Kagome watched her go with a soft chuckle. "Good luck my friend, you will need it." Her thoughts returned to the monk that owned her heart and she sighed deeply. "For that matter, so will I."

******************************************************************** ****

Shippo sat by the prone monk's shoulder, occasionally reaching out to poke him in the arm eliciting another pitiful whimper. It was the only thing that the monk would do besides staring blankly at the wall and breathing. The little kitsune was very confused about what was happening and wished that Kagome would come back. Whenever she was near him, he wasn't scared or confused. He knew that she would take care of him. She took care of all of them.

Miroku had been mean to her and made her cry. Shippo had hoped that she was done crying since she didn't spend so much time with Inu Yasha any longer. So he had yelled at the monk, but he hadn't really meant it. He did still trust him, he had saved his furry little butt more times than the kitsune could count. True, he couldn't count very high, but it was a really big number.

"Miroku, I'm sorry. Please get better. I'll be good from now on..." He sniffled before jumping away and running for the door. When he reached the small porch he saw Kagome headed in his direction rapidly. "Kagome!" He launched himself at her, content in the knowledge that she would catch him just as she always did.

"Shippo, are you okay?"

"Uh-huh. But Miroku doesn't do anything but make strange noises when you poke him. I...I think that I broke him!" the kit wailed as he buried his face in her shoulder. She soothed the distraught fox by petting his head softly. Finally his sobs died down to a few hiccupping gasps.

"You didn't break him... I... I did." She whispered so quietly that he had to strain to hear her. Then she looked down into his eyes sternly. "Shippo, what do you mean you were poking him?"

"Uh... well, you see.... I think that I hear Kaede calling me." And with that he beat a hasty retreat. Kagome watched him go with a shake of her head. With a deep breath she stepped up onto the porch and pushed open the door to face the hardest confrontation in her seventeen years. Considering everyone she had been up against, that was saying a lot, but this time Inu Yasha could not protect her. No one could.

***************************************************************** *******

Sango was still trying to figure out what Kagome had meant by the "riddle" that she had given the hanyou. She didn't remember doing anything of the sort. Maybe he was thinking too much again, a pastime that was always dangerous. She found him just where Kagome had said she would, at the God Tree. Sango was surprised to see that he hadn't returned to the branches, but still sat where he and Kagome had embraced. Her cheeks flushed at the memory of watching their stolen moment.

"Are you here to give me more riddles, woman? I'm really not in the mood."

"Why is it so difficult for you to use a woman's name, half-demon?" He growled low in his throat at the reminder of what he was, but he saw her point. Damn it all anyway, why was she always right? "What riddle did I give you anyway? Kagome mentioned it too, when I saw her just a little while ago."

"Feh. If you don't remember, why should I tell you?"

"Because I have a very large weapon that can inflict quite a bit of damage?" she returned sweetly.

"Only if it can hit me!" He yelled getting to his feet, and stalking towards her. He stopped when their noses were almost touching.

"Wanna try me?"

"Why would you think..." He couldn't finish his rant because the exterminator's lips were now firmly pressed against his own. Suddenly he had gone from only ever being kissed by a dead woman an hour ago, to be kissed by a dead woman and two very beautiful, very alive women. This had been an eventful day. Those thoughts were pushed from his mind when the kiss deepened. Was this the spark that Kagome had been talking about. Was this what he had been missing? Then the riddle clicked in his head and his eyes snapped open even as he pushed the exterminator away from him.

Sango stared at him with wide eyes. She didn't know what had come over her to do such a brash thing. They had been standing there nose to nose, when she seemed to hear Kagome in her mind Remember the song... So she had acted on the moment and done what it suggested. But she certainly hadn't expected this mind-blowing experience. Was this what the younger girl had been talking about? Now Inu Yasha was watching her with an unreadable expression in his golden eyes.

"Sango..." he whispered softly even as he reached out and pulled her against him once again, bending his head to capture her lips once more. "I'm not looking over my shoulder any more." Eventful day indeed.

**************************************************************** ********

Miroku had heard the conversation between his Angel and the little fox, and sat up, even as he steeled himself for what was to come next. He didn't plan on saying anything. If he opened his mouth, he would probably start crying, and that was something that he had promised himself he wouldn't do. This was her choice and... his thoughts broke off as she walked through the door. She looked beautiful as always, with her dark hair over her shoulder and her dark eyes gleaming in the light. She stood looking down at him for a moment and he saw the sadness deep within those depths as well. Oh Angel...

Kagome stared down at him in sorrow. He looked awful. There were dark rings under his eyes and hectic color high in his cheeks. Save for that fevered bit of color, his face was incredibly pale and his eyes looked huge. She had done this to him. With a sob, she threw herself at him, trusting him to catch her just as she had caught Shippo. When his strong arms closed around her she sighed in relief, only to hear it echoed by a groan from the monk. Had she hurt him, physically this time? Didn't he want to touch her? Her face flamed as she realized what she had just done. Of course he didn't want to touch her, not after what he had seen. She pulled herself away and couldn't bring herself to look him in the eye.

When he had felt her in his arms again, he couldn't stop the groan of pleasure that welled up out of his soul. How could something that was wrong feel so right? He felt her stiffen and pull away, and his heart screamed out in terror. She was leaving him again! Her cheeks were awash in color, probably from shame at what had just transpired between them. He sighed softly.

"Miroku, I have something to tell you..."

"Yes, I know. You have come to say good-bye." Now she turned to face him, and he could see the tears streaming down her cheeks. She shook her head.

"We've been over this before, and my answer is still the same. No, I came to say hello." He blinked at her, and she pressed a finger to his lips before he could say anything else. "Let me finish, and then you can tell me anything you want, including 'Go to Hell, Kagome', since I deserve it. But please hear me out first?" She watched him until he nodded and then removed her finger from his lips. "When I left you in the woods, I was hurt and angry. I thought that you had been using me, and I lashed out. My temper has a tendency for letting my mouth go before my brain. Most of the things I say when I am mad, I don't mean. You should have learned that from watching me and Inu Yasha." She laughed ruefully and rubbed the back of her neck. "I sorta just stumbled on Inu Yasha at the God Tree, and he was just in the right place at the right time." She watched the pain surface in his eyes once again and flinched for being the cause of it. "What you saw was..." He opened his mouth, but she replaced her finger before he could make a sound, "When Inu Yasha and I kissed, I saw the past, present and future. He was in all three. In the past he was my incarnate's first love and my own as well, in the present and future he was and is my friend, but nothing more. You are my present and future. That kiss he and I shared was a goodbye to all that had been..." Kagome leaned over and replaced her finger with her lips in a gentle kiss. "This, this kiss is a hello to all that is and could be...if you still want it." She waited for him to say something, anything. When he said nothing, she got to her feet sadly. "I understand. I hope that we can still be frien..."

"Hello, Angel." Miroku growled as he pulled her down into his lap and pressed his lips urgently to hers. This was a kiss full of passion and promise. "I want it... I want everything and anything that you are willing to give me." He nuzzled his face into her neck while still panting lightly from the kiss.

"Then I am yours, present and future."

*********************************************************************** *

AN 2: Well, there it is, the final installment in this story. I didn't succeed in getting Inu Yasha and Sango together completely, but the framework is there. I will let your imaginations do the rest *Growls as the wet noodle makes another appearance.* Quinn seems to think that I am letting you all down, but I kinda like the teaser ending.... Anything could happen from that point. And if any of you want to continue on from here, just let me know (although be warned that Quinn and the noodle probably come with it). I am going to miss on this, just because I am going to miss you all! Now for the shout outs:

ViRgO2: No worries, our favorite monk is fine... I like him too much to give him a heart attack. And yeah, Kagome is kinda slow on the uptake, but I was the same way when I was 17! Hell, I'm the same way now... ^_~

Seta: Sorry it took so long, but in my first author's note I think I explained that. I hope that it was worth the wait!

Aphiopsyduck: Hopefully everything is all better and you liked the ending. Always like to keep you on your toes.

JadeBlueAfterglow1: Guess I lied @_@. *Looks for the wet noodle and sighs when she doesn't see it* This was the last chapter. *Ouch, damn it, that thing hurts* Sorry.

Murr: Parallel worlds are fun although they can make you queasy if you forget to take your Dramamine. As for muses, I have one for sale *Ouch* Although you kinda need to like pain, or at the very least starch in your hair! Hmmm... they kinda are all the same, no? And yet I am guilty of writing at least 2 in that strain and of reading 100s more. I admit it, I am a proven sap! *Shut up Quinn* Grr...

desolate: Kneeling is definitely not necessary, although you could share the chips if you have the inclination. I don't know what it is, but writing always makes me hungry. I am really glad that you were enchanted into their world for a little while, that is the best compliment that I could ever receive. You are now designated my hero of the week! ^_^

Kaylana: Well hello! There you go, the next and final update. Hope you enjoyed it.

coolwolf22: Thank you very much. *_* You can be my hero next week! But if you enjoy Miroku/Kagome stories check out Sandra E and Lady Penguin. A guaranteed good time... The stories... nothing else *Oh lord that didn't come out right at all*

InuyashasPrincess17: Yay, giant cookies! I love cookies! No fears, as you can see, Kagome and Miroku ended up where they belonged (in this story at least), together. So now the suspense and waiting are finally over. Hope it didn't disappoint. If you need something to get over the addiction, try peanut butter cups! Works for me! ^_^