InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Second Chances ❯ Chapter 6 ( Chapter 6 )

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

DISCLAIMER: I do not own Inu Yasha and pals. That honor belongs to Rumiko Takahashi.

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

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Well, this is the last chapter before Inu Yasha's plan finally comes into play...it took a while to build up to it, and by now I am sure you know what it is. As always, read and enjoy. = D

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

Chapter 6

Sango found herself sitting back at the stream where she and Inu Yasha had spoken the night before. She found the burbling stream relaxing, and she needed to calm her stormy emotions. With a sigh, she drew her knees up to her chest, rested her arms on them and dropped her forehead down onto her forearms.

So we will stand by and let those we love, love someone else. This was the phrase that was causing so much turmoil. Love. She had loved her family. She had loved her village. She now loved her friends. But romantic love she had no experience with, and could only base her feelings on those that she saw acted out around her. Had she been falling in love with the monk? Her feelings for him had been changing into something new, but it didn't hurt her to see him with Kagome now. But she did feel a sense of loss. Inu Yasha on the other hand was in constant pain and he was covered in an almost tangible cloud of misery. Miroku had never made her feel calm, in fact there was always the constant anxiety that she would find a hand that did not belong to her, somewhere that did. When he smiled at Kagome, the girl glowed. Somehow Sango didn't feel that she had done the same, usually she had been more flustered and unsure of his motives.

Sango was so swept up in her own inner contemplation that she didn't notice that she was being watched by a pair of golden eyes. He had come here to get away from the monk who didn't seem to have any intention of moving from the well. He hadn't expected to find anyone here. He was trying to escape from his own nagging mind, and it seemed that Sango was having the same kind of problem. He was torn between leaving her to deal with this on her own, and returning the kindness she had shown him that afternoon. Besides, he had to get more used to her company, because when Kagome came back tomorrow, his plan would be going into effect. That forced him to move to the huntress and sit down beside her.

She lifted her head and looked at him with a leery expression. She really hoped that he wasn't going to start in about the monk again. He had been ranting to her on and off all day long. Apparently Miroku had said something to him that hadn't sat well with the hanyou, and he wasn't happy about it.

"What do you want, Inu Yasha?"

"Why are you sad?" She blinked at him a few times. When had he gotten so perceptive? Or even cared enough to ask about something that did not directly concern him? "I can smell the change in your scent." His voice sounded almost defensive.

"I don't know..."

"If you won't tell me the truth then I'll leave..." He grumped as he climbed to his feet. He was surprised when she grabbed his hand and pulled him back down, but not as surprised as she was.

"Don't go." She whispered. When he had moved to leave it had occurred to her that she didn't want to be alone. His bad attitude was better than no company at all. "I was thinking about love."

"Oh."

"That is all that you have to say?"

"You don't want my advice, do you?" He asked. The derisive amusement in his voice brought a smile to her face. He was right, love advice from him would not be a good thing. But then again, he would give her a straight answer. Inu Yasha was a lot of things, but a liar was not one of them. In fact, he told the truth even when it was painful to hear.

"Maybe I do. How do you know when you are in love?" Inu Yasha's golden eyes glazed over and he turned away from the huntress.

"Have you decided that you want the pervert after all?"

"No. I just want to know how you can tell if you are in love." The hanyou swallowed a few times, but couldn't force any words out through a throat that seemed to have become the size of a pea. "You should know, you've been there twice."

"I'm really not the one you should be asking about this. I didn't know until it was too late."

"Too late or not, you know. That is all that I am asking." Was she doing this to him on purpose? Making him think about things that would tear him apart? He looked at her once again and only saw curiosity on her face. No, she didn't know. He took a deep breath, and decided to tell her what he knew.

"You are in love when nothing matters to you but her...you can't breathe when she isn't near you and you can't breathe when she is, you're stronger and yet the weakest that you have ever been and everything you do revolves around her. It tears you apart when your love is with someone else, opposite sex or not, because she is not with you. That person becomes everything that makes up your world...air, water, friend, enemy, hope, despair, strength, weakness, light..." his voice was a mere whisper as his last words left his lips, and he got to his feet. "...they become your home."

"Thank you." Only silence greeted her. She knew that it had hurt him deeply to talk about these things so openly, but he had resolved her heart's questions. She hadn't been in love with the monk. She stood and walked over to him, placing her hand on his arm and squeezing lightly. "I am sorry this hurts you so badly. But everything you said about love deals only with yourself. I know that's what I asked, but what of the reverse side of the coin?" Inu Yasha thought about what she said, but didn't understand the question. Why wouldn't the other person feel the same way? He asked as much. "Inu Yasha, how do you know when someone is in love with you?"

For this, the hanyou had no answer. Moments or hours passed, neither was sure, but finally they began walking back to the village. The silence held and the unanswered question remained hanging in the air.

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

On the morning that Kagome was to return, Miroku woke to the sounds of birds singing and an errant sunbeam hitting him directly in the eye. With a groan he threw an arm up to cover his eyes. He was cramped and damp from the morning dew. On his lap, under his outer robe, Shippo snorted and rolled over. He rolled off Miroku's lap and onto the ground, never waking. Miroku pulled him from his robes and pet his soft head lightly. A smile brightened his face as he remembered that Kagome would be back today.

Yesterday had been torturous. He had helped Kaede, gone berry picking with Shippo and Sango, and worked in the village garden. On one occasion he had to draw his adventurous hand back from its destination as a village girl had bent over to pick vegetables directly in front of him. With a grumble and a glare at his hand, he had looked up to find Shippo and Sango staring at him. The demon exterminator had given him a slight smile and a nod of approval before returning to her task Shippo had glared at him for a moment and then hopped over to the village girl.

"You really shouldn't bend down in front of him. He can't keep his hands to himself." the kitsune had whispered to the girl loud enough so that the monk could hear him. She glanced back at him, only to see the monk staring at his hand and muttering to himself. "You don't want him asking you to bear his child, do you?" The girl's eyes had widened and she had run off, after giving Miroku a startled glance. The monk had sighed and shook his head.

"That wasn't necessary Shippo. I didn't touch her."

"But now you don't have to worry about it any more." Shippo looked at the ground and then smiled back up at him. "Besides, I'm bored. Kagome said that I couldn't torture...I mean uh...play with Inu Yasha while she was gone."

Finally that long day had ended and Miroku had found himself back at the well at sunset. Ever since she had left, he had felt incomplete. He had tried to stay in the hut with the others, but just couldn't do it. His feet had led him back to the place where his heart would return with the sparkling eyes and brilliant smile of the girl who owned it. Not long after he had made himself comfortable, Shippo had bounded into his lap and asked if he could stay there too. Within seconds the kitsune had been asleep. However, sleep had been longer in coming to the monk, but finally it paid even him a visit.

Miroku turned his face up to the bright blue sky and grinned. Soon he would see her face and kiss those lush lips, press her small, soft body against his, bury his face in her fragrant hair...and go take a cold bath in the stream. Yeah, that was the first order of business. With a sigh he got to his feet and adjusted his robes, then bent to scoop up the still sleeping fox. After his bath, he would eat breakfast. Kagome wouldn't be back this early anyway. He would return here in a few hours... huh, who was he kidding? He would return here as soon as he had bolted down his food. He wouldn't risk not being here when she finally returned.

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

Kagome had been awake since dawn. The day that she had spent thinking had helped her to make a few decisions, and now she just longed to go back to the Feudal Era...to her friends and to...him. A light blush crept to her cheeks as she thought of his serene face, warm hands and soft lips. What was happening to her? Was his lechery contagious? She stumbled into the bathroom to take her last hot bubble bath for what could be quite awhile.

Yesterday she and her mother had discussed her school situation and they had decided that it couldn't hurt her to take the remaining two months off. Her grades were awful due to her constant absences, and she had given up hope of being able to pass on the following year. Maybe if she could stay in the Feudal Era for those two months, things would move along that much faster. Not that she actually believed that, but her mother seemed to buy it.

Thing is, Kagome didn't think that she would be returning to school...ever. And this led to another major change in her way of thinking. Her future was now in the past. Once the jewel was completed, she would be staying in the Feudal Era to continue her miko training. She could do so much good there, more than she could ever hope to do here in her own time. Kagome knew that this was the right decision for her, since she had never felt even a single twinge of regret after making it. Hopefully the well would continue working so that she could visit her family, but this wasn't home any more. Home is where the heart is, and hers resided five hundred years in the past. She brushed away a stray tear as she thought of leaving her family behind, but she knew that they would accept her decision...eventually.

As she lay in the fragrant hot water her mind turned back to her main problem in the past. Miroku was her future and her love for Inu Yasha was in the past, but how did she get the hanyou to accept that? Telling him apparently didn't seem to work and showing him just hurt his feelings or worse, made him angry. There was no way that they could continue their journey with things the way they were now. If only there were a way to relieve the tension. She worried her bottom lip with her teeth. A way for them all to be happy again....

"I've got it!" she screamed in delight. Her voice bounced off the tiles, echoing around the small room. She giggled and wrapped her arms around herself in glee. Meanwhile, in the Feudal Era three people shivered as if an icy wind had blown down their spines.

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

A.N. : Well Sandra, you did it again...inflated my ego so much that I might end up floating away before long...I am going to look like a great big balloon in a Macy's parade (preferably Underdog...I used to love that cartoon although that probably just dated me a bit). LOL! And how exactly did you know that chocolate was my greatest motivator...if you added some peanut butter to it, I would post the entire story in one shot! I was going to wait for it to arrive, but I decided against it. After all, can't have my best reviewer going into withdrawl! Oh yeah, as you can see there will be more cuddly moments... Kagome won't be going home again any time soon! = D

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