InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Second Chances ❯ Second Chances ( Chapter 1 )

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

DISCLAIMER: I do not own Inu Yasha and company. That honor belongs to Rumiko Takahashi. I do however own the story idea, or at least I think I do...

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

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Hello everyone. This is the sequel to Changing Hearts?, so if you haven't read that one yet, I suggest that you do. This could probably stand on its own, but since it is the second part it would just be better to see the first...unless you are one of those people who like to read the end of stories first (which I have to admit I do sometimes....but only the last page!). I am trying to convince a certain demon huntress and a stubborn hanyou that they should get together, but I am not sure if they like the idea. So once again I am turning the reins over to them and to my imagination, and will just wait to see what happens. As always, if you have any suggestions or comments on whomever you want to end up together, I welcome them....but I don't guarantee that I will use them. Well, I hope the sequel lives up the its predecessor...and now it is time to head back to the Feudal Era! Please read and enjoy. = )

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

Second Chances

By: Jewels Light

On the rim of the Bone Eaters well sat two figures, really nothing more than two shadows against the darker backdrop of the forest. Above them the stars continued their endless dance in the heavens, while the moon hid behind a cloud, giving it a silvery glow. The smaller of the two figures wore a green and white sailor fuku and a bow and a quiver of arrows rested on the ground at her feet. Her head rested lightly on the shoulder of her companion, who had one arm lightly clasped around her waist. That hand wore a glove surrounded by rosary beads. He was wearing robes and at his side leaned a staff, letting on to the fact that he was a monk.

When the moon decided to remove itself from its gauzy shield, it shone upon the faces of the two people at the well. They were an attractive pair there was no doubt, and now in the silvery light it was easy to see that the monk was in love with the girl at his side. He looked down at her raven hair and smiled gently, but we also can see pain and worry in his expression. The girl's face was serene but a small frown tugged at the corner of her full lips. The couple sat in heavy silence, but they did not seem uncomfortable. Their thoughts were very far away, although it wouldn't have surprised them to know that they ran a very similar course The monk looked up and across the clearing, his eyes now becoming remote and glassy. He was lost in the memory of what had transpired in this very clearing not so long ago.

Miroku had watched as Kikyo shot an arrow at the woman he knew he loved, and only one thought had been in his mind...Never Again. The soul stealing miko had tried to kill Kagome twice in one day, and she would never get another chance. He had given her a warning, and then he made good on his promise, no one would hurt the woman he now thought of as his. And there was the rub, he wasn't certain if Kagome was his or not. When he had seen that she was speaking to Inu Yasha after the altercation, he felt as if his heart was encased in ice. He had turned away, not wanting to watch his Angel walk out of his life. Then she had come to him and waited until he looked her in the eye. It had taken all of his strength to softly ask her if she had come to say goodbye. No, I have come to say hello had been her response, followed by a soft kiss. So she had chosen him today, but was that only because Inu Yasha had hurt her so badly moments before? Did she just need to be comforted and to be with someone...not necessarily needing it to be him? That thought left a bad taste in his mouth and made his stomach shrivel. His head was screaming for him to run while he still had a chance, but his heart just flatly stated that it was much too late, that chance had vanished in the warmth of her smile and the sparkle of her eyes. He loved her and until she said otherwise, he was hers to do with as she willed.

Kagome had chosen to walk at his side, yet their path was not smooth, there were problems everywhere. The biggest problem being one jerk of a hanyou that still held at least part of Kagome's heart. Even though he had caused her a great deal of pain, Miroku knew Kagome well enough to know that it wouldn't change how she felt about Inu Yasha. It had been just today that she had told him that she loved the hanyou, but he could tell that her feelings for him were diminishing with every harsh word or action. But now the other woman in Inu Yasha's life was gone, and they would still be traveling together. Miroku was not stupid or blind, and even though it irked him to admit it, the hanyou could protect Kagome better than he could. So while things had changed, they had also remained eerily the same.

The other problems were not small either. There was the fact that Kagome came from a different time period. There was a demon with a monkey fetish running around that had them all on his death wish list. There was the fact that his hands had the habit of moving into forbidden territory too often to be good for his health. And lets not forget the hole in his hand that would someday suck him within. It wasn't even his own death that bothered him any longer, now it was the thought that it might somehow turn on Kagome that woke him in a cold sweat in the middle of the night. He looked down at his glove covered hand and glared. Now he had to worry about getting sucked within and spending eternity with Kikyo. His nose wrinkled in disgust at the thought.

But all of these paled in comparison to the thought of losing his love to Inu Yasha. Why had he fallen in love now? Why did it have to be such an impossible situation? He sighed deeply and then looked at the girl in his arms when she moved slightly to take his hand. And that one small gesture made all the doubts and questions fly out of his head as he just reveled in the fact that she was with him now, and he loved her. He gently kissed the top of her head and smiled. She looked up at him and it felt like he was drowning in her gaze.

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

Kagome watched the stars twinkle in the dark sky and wondered what she was going to do. Her life had become so complicated within the past two weeks. She loved Inu Yasha, and had from the moment that he woke from his enchanted sleep, but she could no longer deny the fact that her feelings for Miroku were stronger than friendship. Not that he wasn't still her friend first and foremost, but now...

It seemed as though she and Inu Yasha had now switched places. Now she was the one eaten by indecision. When she had heard Inu Yasha tell Kikyo that he would go back to the time that they were together in an instant, Kagome had felt something break in her heart. Now she knew that it was her dreams of them being together, and strangely she had heard a little voice in the back of her head cheering... she could move on. But could she really? Kagome knew better than trying to fool herself into thinking that her feelings for the ill-tempered hanyou were gone but she had taken the first step by going to Miroku, even after Inu Yasha had told her that they could be together.

Now she sat here driving herself crazy as she thought about the two men that she loved. Her eyes flew open at that thought. She loved them both, for different reasons. They were two very different people and yet shared many of the same qualities. Both were strong, good hearted, loyal and brave, each had suffered tragedies in their childhood, they each had a need for vengeance against Naraku and lets not forget that they were both unbelievably attractive. But that was where the similarities broke down. Inu Yasha was a pig-headed, loud, obnoxious, violent, jerk of a half demon while Miroku was a quiet, funny, laid back, sensitive letch who wanted nothing more than to have a woman bare his child. Can I pick them or what? Kagome thought as she rolled her eyes. A half demon and a lecherous monk!

She made a conscious effort to push away those thoughts and to just enjoy these few moments of happiness. Happy. It had been a long time since she had felt that way. Was it Miroku who made her feel like this? Because she knew without a shadow of a doubt that he cared for her? Was it knowing that when he looked at her, she was all that he saw? To him she was not a reincarnation of his first love, she was just Kagome the schoolgirl from the future...his angel. Every time he called her that, she felt her heart race and her cheeks flush. He said it with such feeling that she couldn't doubt the sincerity behind it. Little did he know that she saw him as an angel as well, guarding her battered heart and soul.

When Miroku sighed deeply, she reached out to take his hand, wanting to convey the comfort and support that he had given her over the past two weeks. He kissed the top of her head and she felt herself blush. She looked up at him slowly. He stared down into her eyes for several long moments, and then they both began to smile.

"We should be heading back, its getting late."

"I suppose." Kagome looked down at the ground, suddenly shy. "Can I ask you something?"

"Anything Angel."

"Would you kiss me again?" She didn't expect him to start laughing, and when he did she was hurt. He hugged her tightly but couldn't stop the laughter. A frown creased her brow as she began to get angry. "Why is that so funny?" She demanded.

"Oh, the question isn't funny in itself, its just that I never expected to be the one asked...I am always the one making the requests." She growled, not liking to be reminded of that aspect of his nature. He understood her response and smiled at her. "Don't worry Kagome, I made a promise to myself that I wouldn't be doing that any more. Now there is only you." She gasped and flushed bright red. She bowed her head to hide her embarrassment. He put his finger under her chin and raised her eyes to meet his own. "Just for the record, you don't ever have to ask that again because my answer is....any time you want." He leaned down and pressed his lips to hers, sealing the promise he had just made.

Kagome closed her eyes relishing the feeling of being in his strong embrace, the feel of his soft lips against hers, and the feel of his hand caressing her butt. Her eyes flew wide open and she pushed him away so hard that he fell off the lip of the well.

"Pervert!" She stormed off toward the village, being sure that she didn't walk fast enough that he wouldn't be able to catch up.

"Can't you ever do what you are told?" He asked his hand, as he held it up in front of his eyes. With a shake of his head and another glare at his hand, he grabbed his staff and trotted off after the girl of his dreams. Before he caught her, he made sure to admire the view.

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

Inu Yasha sat high in the branches of the God Tree, unaware of the tears that fell into his lap. He had lost both of the women that he loved in a matter of moments. He knew the second he had told Kikyo and he heard Kagome's gasp of pain, that he had made a terrible mistake. Then he had added salt to the wound by believing even for a moment that she would kill him, just as Kikyo had done fifty years before. To be honest, he hadn't truly been thinking...well he had been thinking, but it was all about how he deserved to die for that comment. When he saw the arrow in her hands it had almost been a relief. Now he had to live with the pain and guilt his own actions had brought about.

Strangely, the fact that Kikyo was gone hadn't caused him that much pain. When she had shot the arrow at Kagome's unprotected back, he had realized that the woman he loved fifty years ago was gone. She would have never done something like that. As the arrow streaked toward Kagome, his anger had pulsed into a white hot rage that blocked out everything but the fact that she dared to hurt something he considered his. His claws had raked her and he hadn't regretted it one bit. Now she was lost within the void, never to return and he was free.

The only problem being that now the reason he had wanted to be free no longer wanted him. Kagome. Just her name made his heart constrict. When he had gone to her after the battle, he had been so full of hope and sheer joy that they could finally be together as he had wanted for so long. Then she had asked if he saw Kikyo when he looked at her. He had been so shocked by the question that he had looked away, not believing that she could think that, even for a moment. Another mistake that he cursed himself for. She had taken it to mean that he did and before he could correct her, she excused herself and went to the monk's side. They had looked so happy together that he had just left, not being able to stand the heartache of seeing her with someone else.

Now he had lost her....his best friend and constant companion. The woman that he dreamed about at night, not that he would have admitted that to anyone but himself. She was now with another man, and he had basically pushed her into his willing and waiting arms. But Kagome had said that she loved him, right before she told him that they could be nothing more than friends. Maybe he could win her back. His heart was no longer divided and now he could focus solely on her. They would still be traveling together and he would still be protecting her, so maybe it really wasn't too late after all.

Inu Yasha jumped off of his branch and sniffed the air, trying to locate one scent in particular. When he found it, he bounded off in that direction, a huge smile on his face. There was only one person that could help him now, and luckily she was still awake!

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

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Ok, I heard that groan. I know the first AN was really long, this one won't be. I just wanted to explain the title a little bit. You see, it works on many different levels and for many different ways the story could work out. You see, it could mean that Miroku is Kagome's second chance at love, or that Inu Yasha is getting a second chance with Kagome...or perhaps it just alludes to the fact that sometimes we all need a second chance to redeem ourselves. Or maybe its just because this is a sequel? Guess we will have to wait to find out. Let me know what you think! ************************************************************************