InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Shades of Gray ❯ Welcome Home ( Chapter 14 )

Alrighty! Finally back to the main storyline! I know I'm such a proscrastinator...but what's an Inu/Kag without fluff!! ^_^

Let's see...back a few chapters I mentioned about just how many people read author's notes and such gibberish before the stories. How many actually do read it? I wonder...Oh well! I shall continue to write in the hopes that someone will eventually read it! *sniff*

My God!!! I never knew so many people could think up so many questions O_O. We'll just take this one step at a time...

1. When will Kagome explain to InuYasha what happened with the jewel? To be honest, I'm not sure when. I know I'll have to rack my brain soon enough to think up a logical excuse for that one, but right now let's just go along the lines of "ignorance is bliss" XD

2. Is she still considered human? That is kind of still a toss-up for me...because the way I thought it was, was that she had like goddess powers, but still the body and soul of a human...so I guess in a way, she is still considered a human. Ok I'm gonna answer a second one in this. How long will she live? Well actually I didn't think that was an issue because it's not like I'll be doing a spin-off or sequel...but I guess if it was up to me to decide, she would live as long as InuYasha (please don't make me choose numbers x_X)

3. OK! I have to say this now before it drives me insane. How many chapters am I planning on writing? I'm not sure! I just write and what happens, happens. The number of chapters is unknown, but there's still quite a few more to come.

4. This one made me laugh. You guys come up with the best questions, honestly! Will she be able to *ahem* reproduce still? Yes, of course. For the sake of Inu/Kag-ers out there. ^_^. And no, I will not make InuYasha and Kagome have a child, I planned on not going there and I stick to that. Plus I suck with child-care info o_O

5. How long are Sango, Miroku and Shippo gonna stick around? For the next while at least. I have plans for them. Did I just say that out loud? O_O

6. Where's the action? On the way! ^_^ and, Is there more fluff coming up? Probably, since I'm such a suck lol

7. Why did Kagome forgive him? Well...I was gonna leave that up to you guys. Why ruin a perfectly good excuse for not having to think? Ah....well...I guess because she understands now that he had promised Kikyo to protect her before he did Kagome, so she knew that he did what he had to do. (I know it sounds like BS to me too, but, hey! I'm trying! x_X)

Hopefully that answers some of the questions everyone had. And prevents more from coming in and stuffing my mailbox! (But not likely.)

Thanks again to everyone who supports me and encourages me to keep going!

Here's the next chapter ^.--

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Shades of Gray

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Chapter 14: Welcome Home

[Kagome's World]

Some time during the night, they had both become tired of walking, so Kagome offered her services. InuYasha, being half-awake, had reluctantly agreed, while Kagome lowered him onto the cloud.

And so they had been flying like that for a few hours now. In a few more hours, the sun would be coming up. She knew that they were nearing the hut, and she couldn't wait to see everyone again. They must be suffering a lot, thinking she was dead and all...

Kagome looked down at InuYasha, whose head was now in her lap, fast asleep. A small smile graced her features as she gently brushed the bangs out of his eyes. He must've really been tired for him to fall asleep, seeing as he usually stays awake. She felt sorry for him...he had been feeling pretty awful as well. She was finding it easier and easier to understand why he chose Kikyo over her. Promises are made to be kept.

Her eyes returned to the skies, and the thousands of stars. They shone through the dark like diamonds against dark velvet, lighting up the night sky. All clouds had left the sky, the air crystal clear. Much unlike her own time. Pollution everywhere, clouds riddling the skies, and when there weren't clouds, the street lights blocked out the light from the stars.

She absently ran her fingers through InuYasha's hair gently, as it lulled him into a deeper sleep. Her mind in overtime, her senses lost in the serene settings around her, she almost missed a small sound coming from the hanyou in her lap.

Purring? She slowly turned her head to look at him, as if afraid he would wake if she moved any faster. His chest rumbled lightly against the palm of her hand, and it flew to her mouth to surpress any laughter that might wake him. She carefully began to run her fingers through his hair again, accidently touching a velvety ear. He began to purr louder. She smiled and began rubbing the tip of the ear between her fingers gently, all the while the purring becoming a bit louder. She scratched lightly at the base of the ear, and he purred again. He sounded like an engine!

Her fingers reluctantly let go of the fuzzy triangle, and he made sounds of displeasure. She smiled, and ran her fingers through his hair yet again. She leaned down and gently kissed him on the forehead, as she re-focused on the path ahead of them. They would be arriving in a few hours.

~~~

Kagome struggled to remain awake, as her energy slowly began to fade. The sun had already begun to rise, and the rays made it even harder for her eyes to stay open and focus. InuYasha was still in her lap, not moving much from his main position throughout the night. Every so often, she would find her eyelids slowly drifing close, only to have them shoot back open again at her will. If she ever needed sleep before, it was nothing compared to now. She felt drained.

Fortunately, she had begun to see the clearing leading to the little hut a couple of minutes ago, and it was fast approaching. Only a little while further after that. She could practically feel the futon beneath her. She breathed deep, trying to keep herself awake. Just a few more minutes, she could do it. She could do it. She could...

*SNORREEE*

"Huh?"

Her eyes shot open again, as InuYasha snored loudly. Partially angered, partially grateful, she willed herself to stay awake once more. The little hut was now in view, and she mentally jumped for joy. She gently pushed InuYasha's shoulder, trying to wake him. A few seconds later, his eyes slowly began to open, the soft triangles atop his head swiveling. She smiled at him tiredly, as he slowly came out of the deep sleep he had been in.

"You snore pretty loudly you know," she stated. He shot her a doubting look, as he began to rub the sleep out of his eyes.

"I do not snore," he replied matter-of-factly.

"Oh really," she smirked, "I must be hearing things."

"You know you have," was his answer as he slowly began to sit up. The hut was a couple hundred metres away now, and Kagome's eyes began to waver shut again. She slumped forward, nearly falling off the cloud, her only restraint being that InuYasha had noticed and shot an arm out around her waist to hold her up.

"Have you been up all night?"

"Just...five more minutes...*Snozzz*....Don't wanna...I'm...awake..."

The cloud began to waver slightly, and InuYasha gathered Kagome in his arms, bridal-style, as he leapt onto the nearby trees. Soon after, the cloud dissapeared completely, becoming nothing more than a memory as it joined the rest of the winds. He jumped to the forest floor, setting off at a fairly fast pace to the close hut.

~~~~

Kagome dreamed of a few things, most of which puzzling her. Not that they were really serious. Things like food and video games. She had one dream where she was running away from ravenous bunnies...she had a weird feeling they wanted doughnuts...

A few others ensued, of interesting happenings as well. But then one occurred which all but scared the life out of her.

She was running again. In a forest, but it was not like the ones she had known. It was clouded with red, and visions of blood. She looked behind her, her vision blurred and shaky, as a low growl emerged from behind her. She continued running, and a white light appeard ahead of her. She neared it, and just as she was about to push off into it, it took her to another part of the forest. She turned around in circles, breathing heavily, her eyes falling upon a very disturbing sight.

Blood. Everywhere. Blood of her friends. Miroku lay on the ground, a spear through his heart, eyes shielded by bangs and dirt. InuYasha lay fairly close by, several cuts on his chest, arms and legs. His head fell deathly still, no strength to hold it up. Sango and Kilala sat up against another tree, both with blood soaking cloth and fur alike.

Her hand went to her mouth, as tears welled up in her eyes. She turned to flee, only to find her family infront of her, much in the same state. She turned around again, her head down, eyes closed shut as sobs shook her fleeting body, tears flying, only to bump into a tall figure. It looked down upon her with eyes only wide enough to be recognized as slits, blood red light pouring through the small cracks. Its hands had sharp, long claws, and they moved towards her, blood dripping from the deadly talons. She began to back away slowly, but hit solid wall. She turned around, arms panning the wall for any means of escape. She whirled back around again to face the creature, fear in her eyes as tears continued to fall.

The fiend closed the gap, and wrapped its arms around her back, before thrusting its claws into her spine. Her eyes widened, as her mouth opened and formed a silent cry, a plea to the heavens. The sharp blades exited her back, and she fell to the ground on her knees, her back numb with unexplicable pain. Her bloody hands shielded her face, tainting her pure, ivory skin to dark red. Her vocal cords constricted, and she threw her head up, and screamed as loud as she could, her tears mingling with the blood on her face.

~~~

She shot up, tears dripping onto her face, mixing with sweat. Sobs wracked her body, as her hands covered her face from the world. The wind whipped her hair around her, as she-

Wait...the wind? She was moving?

She lifted her hands to find herself looking into amber eyes, worry riddling them. He had been carrying her, and they must have been pretty close to the hut by now. She was only dreaming?

He stopped running, and she could only look into his eyes, her vision watery from the tears. She vaguely heard him ask what was wrong, as she threw herself into his chest, her face buried into his haori as she cried. She felt him slowly set her legs on the floor, then stroke the back of her head as he held her close. She sobbed into his shirt, shoulders shaking, as she let it all out. She knew now it had only been a dream, but it seemed so real. Just the thought of it scared her.

When the tears finally subsided, and she caught her breath, she pulled away. Her hands still rested on his chest, her head lowered. He pulled her into an embrace, her head turning to the side, her arms wrapping around his torso. He continued to stroke the back of her head, as she slowly calmed down, her breathing becoming more deep and even.

She became calm again and took another deep breath before breaking the embrace. He asked her again what was wrong. She didn't look at him while she answered, rather the ground.

"It was just a dream, that's all. It just seemed so...real. It scared me. Everything that happened, it was...too much for me to handle..." she trailed off, not sure how to explain.

He smiled at her a bit, and hooked a finger under her chin, forcing her eyes to meet his. He dipped his head in, and gave her a quick, chaste kiss, before smiling at her reassuringly again.

"It didn't happen. We're all still here. No more tears, alright?" He dried the trails on her face with the sleeve of his haori.

She nodded, and gave a weak smile.

"Ready to go see everyone?"

She nodded once more, as he took her hand and they walked towards their friends in content silence.

~~~

I was thinking that I should stop here...but as an apology for the long wait for the chapter, I'll go a bit more! ^.-- Hope you've enjoyed it so far ^_^)

~~~

They exited the treeline, the hut now only a few metres away. They hadn't been exactly quiet, but nobody had seemed to notice them so far. Kagome saw Sango holding a bucket of water, carrying it back to the hut. She frowned at her appearance. Her usually warm brown eyes now held a sort of emptiness, a cold she couldn't explain. She looked pale, and there were slight bags under her eyes. Her hair was unkept, and strands fell out of the make-shift ponytail.

She walked towards her, wanting to see her friend again, when Sango noticed her. Her eyes widened, and her mouth opened slightly, as she dropped the bucket, droplets of water spraying the ground. A pale hand went to her face, before abruptly dropping to her side.

Kagome continued to walk towards her at an increasingly fast rate, almost at a jog now, as the older girl began doing the same. Kagome saw tears in Sango's eyes, and couldn't help but notice the familiar sting in her own eyes and nose. They stopped a short distance from eachother, as Sango seemingly tried to see if she really was the Kagome she used to know. She suddenly threw her arms around her, crying, and Kagome cried too hugging her back.

"Kagome! Kagome...I thought you were dead...we were all so grief-stricken, it was unbearable, I...I'm so glad to have you back!" she exclaimed, as the two best friends cried together.

They broke the hug, and Kagome looked at Sango and smiled, tears on both of their faces. They pictured what they must look like in their mind, and both started to laugh a bit. It broke the tension, and Sango smiled at her.

"I'm sorry I worried you so much," she apologized. Sango only shook her head.

"It doesn't matter. You're safe, that's all that's important," she replied, her eyes shining with relief and happiness.

Miroku found them next, and after another brief reunion, they entered the hut together. Kagome found Shippo, or rather he found her, as he tackled his surrogate mother. She petted him as he cried into her shirt, much in the same fashion as she had done earlier. She hugged him as he lay in her arms, content to have her back. He remained by her side for the rest of the day, never leaving.

(AN: I know that the hut is only supposed to be small, but I'm making it so that it has two extra rooms branching off of the main one with the fire pit, etc. Why? Because I can! XD)

~~~~

After dinner, they talked and Kagome explained what happened so that she had changed. To her relief, InuYasha didn't seem that broken up over the fact that the jewel was now virtually powerless. In fact, he hadn't really responded at all. It did make her think a bit...

(AN: I'm not going into detail about the transformation and Midoriko on this one. It would take the whole chapter! And I have other plans ^.--)

Some time later, Kagome asked to be excused, and to retire to her room. She got up and left the fire, to the back room where two futons lay. She sat down on one, positioning herself so that her back was up against the wall. She really wasn't that tired, a bit to her surprise. She had been so tired earlier...I guess all she needed was a power nap.

Truth be told, she hadn't really asked to be excused because she was sick or tired, she just needed to think. It worried her that InuYasha was so...indifferent...about the fact that the jewel was gone. What if he had still planned to use it to become a full demon?

That worried her too. If he did, who knows what he would do. He didn't recognize himself anymore, friend from foe. He would be a danger to himself and others...it wasn't something that any of them wanted to happen. And she began to think that maybe he realized that too. Maybe he wouldn't want to become a full demon.

But there was always that option...shunned by humans, rejected by demons. Personally, she didn't see what the big deal was. He wasn't any different from anybody else. She loved him the way he was.

A small smile graced her lips, as she closed her eyes and rested her head against the solid wood. Gods it was good to be home. She heard footsteps in the next room, and quickly lay down, hoping that whoever came in would pretend that she was asleep.

InuYasha walked in and sat down beside where she had a second before.

"I know you're awake Kagome," he stated.

She sighed and sat back up again.

"Smarty pants," she smirked.

"Keh," was his usual response, as a small fang poked out through the one-sided smile on his face.

"Uh...InuYasha?" she started. His ears twitched in response, and she twiddled her fingers nervously.

"You aren't...mad...are you? I mean that the jewel's gone and all..." she left off, carefully gauging his reaction.

An eyebrow raised, but his eyes didn't open. "Why would I be mad?"

"Well, you wanted to become a full demon and all...I thought you might be mad at me for using the jewel...It's not like I did it on purpose!" she defended.

"Listen, Kagome, I'm not upset. And really, I'm not sure that I want to be a full demon anymore. All the power that I had wanted all along...I didn't want it like that. I didn't want to be a blood-thirsty murderer. In a way, I'm actually kind of relieved. I mean, with the jewel gone, Naraku will be a piece of cake, and most other demons will be easier to defend against."

Kagome took it all in, and nodded slowly with understanding. She gently rested her head on his shoulder, and closed her eyes. She shifted a bit. Then again. And again. She could practically feel him raising an eyebrow at her.

"Are you comfortable?" he said, sarcasm in his voice.

"Mm, no not really. You don't make a good pillow," she stated. She surpressed a smile.

"Oh really. Well I'm sorry that I'm not good enough for you, your highness," he smirked.

"You should be. There's no decent pillows these days," she responded.

He switched positions all of a sudden, so that they were laying down on the futon, using his velocity to pull her down with him, and underneath him.

"I wonder how good of a pillow you would be," he inquired. A light blush crossed Kagome's face.

"For your information, I would be an excellent pillow," she mused, "But I am not up for rent."

He raised an eyebrow at her again. "Ohh really..." he teased, "Well what if I want to rent it?"

"You couldn't afford it," she joked, and she poked him hard in the ribs, causing him to shake a bit. She laughed. "Aww, widdle InuYasha is tickwish?" she mimicked in a baby voice.

"No," he responded, looking slightly panicked. She laughed again.

"Ohh wheally," she mimicked again, as she poked him in the rib again. He jumped again and she laughed. But when she opened her eyes, she didn't like what she saw at all.

He was leaning over her, an evil glint in his eyes. She carefully, slowly, wormed her way out from underneath him. She carefully made her way to the middle of the room, aware that his eyes were watching her every move, the same evil glint in them. Then she darted towards the door, and freedom. But he tackled her before she even came close, resulting in a thud, and some laughter, as they landed on the futon opposite of the one they had started at.

He straddled her waist, and started poking her in the sides, as she screamed with laughter.

"InuYasha!! Stop!!" she gasped in between laughter, "I can't breathe!! STOP!!!"

He laughed at her and continued to poke, as she started to poke back weakly. He started to shake too, and she poked faster, weakening his barrage of attacks. She reversed the roles, and now straddled him, poking double time. She smiled as he laughed, gasping for air much in the same way she had.

"How do you like it, Inu-chan?" she teased. He swerved to the left, then right, causing her to fall to the left first, and letting himself distance him from her attacks. They both jumped up, in a mock fight position, and jumped, crashing in the middle and landing on the floor, resuming poking.

A few minutes later, they both fell on the floor, arms and legs spread out like stars. Kagome was gasping for air, as she wiped tears from her eyes from laughter. InuYasha, although he had not laughed as hard or suffered as much, was also gasping for air.

Kagome rolled on her side and rested her head on his chest, her arm falling over just beside her head.

"I lied," she mumbled through her sleepiness, "You're a very good pillow."

He smiled at her, and closed his own eyes as he fell asleep.

~~~

A few minutes back, in the other room, the occupants only shook their heads as they heard the snickers and thuds coming from the other room. The sounds resulted in some very perverted thoughts from a very perverted monk, therefore also resulting in a few bumps on the head. Sango sighed as he lay unconscious next to her. She looked to Shippo, who only "Tsk"-ed a few times, before taking a sip of his drink.

She rolled her eyes. Things were finally back to normal.

~~~

GAHH!! TICKLE FIGHT!!! XD

I love tickle fights! If I'm the one doing the tickling that is...o_O

Anyway, that was the latest chapter from *Yours Truly*.

Let me know what you think! Yeah, I know, not really much action in this one, but bear with me! It's coming!

So, please R&R, thanks to everyone who has given me support and ecouraging words, and thanks for the constructive critcism from many.

My mind's kinda blank right now...can't remember what I was gonna say...keep thinking...about...pointless...fluff...*Stars in eyes*

(Breanna pokes me on shoulder)

*Snoz* Huh? Oh yea! Right!

Thanks again to everyone! Luv YaZ ^.--

*Moshi**