InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Silence the Fairytale ❯ The Great Cosmic Joke ( Chapter 27 )

[ X - Adult: No readers under 18. Contains Graphic Adult Themes/Extreme violence. ]

A/n: KYAAA! I'm so happy! Over two hundred reviews! Banzai, banzai! :D:D:D!
Sorry this chapter took so long to write. I took a detour since my mind, though so very interested in what I have been scheming with this plot had lost the words to say to get there. Ah, such is the way of me brainstorming. I doomed myself to a path that I don't know how to take. I guess I'll take it one word at a time.

Knittingknots: ! :D. Happy to do the service.

SparklyFaerie: Lol, it's always fun to hear your musings. Those that are right, and wrong. *smiles* Or right. And besides, by now you should know I don't know much more than you! Things are always changing and rearranging themselves in my head, so I'm always left as surprised as you. Thank you!

Hentai Strumpet: Thank you for the multiple reviews regarding my fic. Why don't you just add it to your favorites? It'll send you an e-mail everytime I update or add a new chapter, so you don't have to search. I know that little trick saved my life when I was reading tons of fictions. So thank you, thank you :D

Silverfeather: Humph, if I were Inu, I'd wanna throw it away! ...then again, it's a little hard to dump the Shikon, huh? Super nekos? *considers evilly* No, no! Don't give bad ideas to the author that just might listen to them! D:! And thank you for letting me know how much it rocks, dude :3.

Inuyashaloverr: I would say the baby waves back, but that would be uncomfortable x.x;! And thank you! Baby is well, and happy and making mommy fat! Happy you enjoyed the chapter :D. And congradulations on making review number 200! Banzai!!

Catlover260: I know what you mean. At the crux of my mother's saving of the cats, we had 13. X_x. So, I remember being woken up to licks on the face and loud purring and mewls of 'pet me, pet me!' at three am. Ay, those were the days... now, my hubby is dead allergic to cats. *cries* But I love him, so it's worth it!

AllieCoolGirl: I'd feel that right about then. I'd be so maaaad! But you're right. He had Kagome. Who couldn't love someone as squeezable as her?

Unistar: :D.

Kokoronagomu: *blush blush* I'm so happy. And you dare tempt a pregnant woman with such yummy goodness o.o?! How dare you! *cries* I want oooonnneeee...

ThisIsMeSmiling: Well, thank you so much :D! I am happy you liked that chapter. It was very fun to write. And as for Kagome... one of the points of this story is how Inuyasha experiences her growing and maturing. Her change as she moves through young teens into adulthood, and how it affects her.

****PS!!! Remember, I until the last week of February left until the baby is due. So if I suddenly disappear off the face of the planet for a bit, do not riot.

I am simply entering the Twilight Zone. >>

****As for those following my other fictions, "Kiyou Nitsuite Amedare...", "Sleep Paralysis", "Lady Unicorn"... they are offically on hold as of right now. Do not think they have been forgotten about, and if a random chapter pops up from time to time that is merely the inspiration bug biting me in the bum. Right now, I also want to focus on drawing since my brain is on full meltdown mode and refuses to write well. It's been too long since I've regularly drawn, and it's time I get back into the swing of it. :D. I wish I had a scanner, I'd upload pics for you silly people. I have drawn so much art for my stories. ;(. Ahhh, if only for my own satisfaction. Grumble.

What can you do?

All in all, this concludes my crazy session.


Luna-



"I would appreciate it if you stopped hovering at my door," a strong, feminine voice came drifting to Inuyasha. Despite it not being actually said, he took it as an invite to enter.

"Keh, I'll do what I want," Inuyasha grumbled, though it was half-heartedly and it fell not on the Miko's ears.

Shinsei-sama, eh?

Inuyasha eyed thhe woman cautiously, critical of how she had been treating Kagome's wound. Currently, Kagome's torso was wrapped in bandages, her chest only half covered, and Inuyasha noted the silvery mark that had webbed further out from Kagome's nipple than he could have realized.

It's growing... he absently noted, his eyes widening in the slightest at the sight.

His mind began to wonder if the elder miko knew at all what that mark was, but for the time being, she remained silent.

"It is a lucky wound she has. Any deeper, it may have been fully fatal. I would not have been able to save the girl," Shinsei sighed deeply, placing a hand on her knee and straining to stand.

Inuyasha snorted, turning his face from her. "Bah, I wouldn't have allowed that to happen."

And he wouldn't of.

...the main problem was that he simply wanted to make sure the wound closed properly. And the stitching that held it tightly together, done so accurately by the Miko, was the assurance he needed. He wasn't so well will the needle and thread, and while he might have done it himself, he didn't want to marr Kagome's beautiful skin worse than need be simply due to his brashness.

"And I surely doubt you would have, Inugami-sama. I am merely stating hypothetically."

Inuyasha face-planted at her declaration, and his ears twitched in wonderment if he had indeed heard her right.

"Inu... Inugami-sama??" he echoed dryly.

"Am I mistaken?" she asked, thinly, as if she were perhaps amused... or if she were hiding something.

Or all of the above.

The bitch was damn weird, Inuyasha quickly assessed.

"Hell yes, you're mistaken Shinsei-baba! I'm a hanyou--" he faltered midsentence, caught off by the twitch of her lips and the sparkle in her eyes.

"No, let me assure you, you're an Inugami-sama. No hanyou in their right mind would set a claiming mark upon a miko... right?" she hinted at something, something meaningful, but it was lost in Inuyasha's blush as his mouth answered before his brain could.

"...right..."

Shinsei smiled.

"Right then. Off I go! Be careful with the Miko-sama..."

"Kagome."

"...Kagome-sama, she is in delicate condition after all, Inuyasha-sama. I shall see you again soon."

And just like that, after she had gathered a woven basket she was out the door and he was left alone with a sleeping Kagome.

He watched the mat that served as the door, swaying ever so slightly in the breeze for a moment. All in thought, where the mysterious Miko had been only seconds before.

She had known after all what the mark had been.

She had called him Inugami for a reason Inuyasha couldn't comprehend.

Kagome's stirring had Inuyasha peeling his eyes away from the floating mat that held no answers, no matter how hard he might stare, and he turned them slowly to her.

He could see, she was dreaming... by the way her eyes fluttered beneath those eyelids ever so slightly, her full eyelashes fluttering delicately against the skin of her cheek.

His fingertips itched to touch that angelic face, and he caved into the urge with ease.

...He had learned to stop fighting the inevitable.

She murmured inaudibly at the light touch, turning her face into the familiar warmth of his palm. He felt the smallest of quirks at the edges of his lips, and he knew he was smiling.

At the very least, now she was someplace safe.

Scenting the air, he checked to see if anyone was near- in particular, that strange Miko. When he had assessed there was indeed no one near, Inuyasha began to unwrap the bandages around Kagome's chest with praticed ease.

That was something he had learned to do very quickly, the first time she had ever been hurt.

When she was fully undressed on the top, he leaned over her with a critical eye to examine her wound.

It was stitched up rather well, and had a thick layer of medicinal herbs coating it. The stetch of it caused Inuyasha to wrinkle his nose, and he was slightly annoyed. He had been intending to lick the wound to help the healing process, but he had qualms about a mouth full of medicine.

Instead, he did something he felt rather odd about.

He spit on her injury, and rubbed the saliva into the salve the Miko had made. He noticed the immediate difference, the edges of the wound becoming less inflamed.

He grinned.

He was, oh, so awesome.

At least, when it came to certain things...

"Keh."

Frowning at his 180 degree turn in mood, he returned to his task. After he had a substanial amount of saliva gathered onto her, and he had been satisfied, he began the task of rebounding her torso.

The difference was, this time he made sure she was completely covered.

He had a lurking suspicion that the Miko had left the mark exposed on purpose. The idea irked him, and he found his eyebrow twitching in annoyance.

His hand slid roughly over the wooden slates of the floor, feeling along the rough texture until he came across a thick fabric that had been exactly what he was searching for and he brought it to him, never removing his eyes from Kagome once.

It was Kagome's kimono shirt, and he felt it crumple up in his fingertips as he closed his palm around it.

Inuyasha studied her quietly, as he habitually did when he knew she was sleeping, feeling free and at ease to gaze at her without the awkward moments that occasionally passed between them still after a long period of staring at one another.

In this way, Inuyasha felt the tension in his shoulders melt away, and a sort of peace take over him. He didn't understand it, but he accepted this strange calm gladly. He knew, from then on... things would be so difficult.

But for that moment...

...he didn't want to focus on it.

Gently, he reached down, running his fingertips across the jade green beaded necklace that laid inconspicuously on her collar bone.

She hadn't ever taken it off, even in her sleep.

The color suited her so well...

He found himself smiling softly as he tossed the kimono shirt over Kagome, to cover her more modestly. When he did, a small whirlwind of objects came flying from the sleeves unexpectedly, and Inuyasha felt inately stupid.

He had forgotten that was where she kept all her little knick-knacks.

Reaching over her, he went to gather them, inspecting every one of them.

Her combs....

He brought both of them to him, looking down at them and carefully inspecting them for the first time since he had gotten them for Kagome.

The jade one was a delicate hana, with wisps of what might be wind coming from either side of it. The green of the jade was the color of the leaves, and the subtly reminded him deeply of something in Kagome he could never quite identify.

He thought it often had to do with the way she moved... the small gestures she made that spoke a thousand words more than her voice did.

Switching his attention to the ivory comb, he ran a finger over the hand-carved bone. It was highly polished, and kept in magnificent shape though Inuyasha was clueless as to how. Kagome wore it, even in battle, but managed to keep it safe.

It was endearing, causing him to smirk at the fact.

It was one of those mysterious things that only Kagome somehow managed to do. The things surrounding her and involving her were always strange, he thought suddenly in epiphany. He hadn't quite noticed it before, but even her cat was odd.

Such were the ways of life, he guessed.

Returning his assessment to the comb, he looked at the butterfly that had been carefully carved into it, resting on a branch of a tree that was in bloom. It had been lacquered, black on the inside so the design stood out from the white.

He wasn't sure why he had chosen this one.

It had just seemed to suit her.

Placing both combs on the inside of his haori for safe keeping, he collected the remainder of her things.

...her perfume. Her kanzashi.

...her kanzashi...

He lifted the elegant hair ornament up, admiring the delicacy of the shell. The blossom was a soft pink, and the trail of petals were white. It was simple, and elegant.

And it reminded him of something his mother wore...

Something dear to his mother.

...but he had never told Kagome so, and he wasn't all too sure he was intending to.

So, instead, he placed those things near the combs, tucked away secretly and put the old memory out of his mind for the time being.

Sighing, he instead pressed a hand to the place the Shikon Jewel was hidden in his clothing.

He had no idea what to do with it, and was certain it would be attracting youkai sometime soon.

...what did it mean, that it came from Kagome's body?

He knew it was worthless to hope to just get rid of it.

He knew it was hopeless to think Kagome could be kept from it.

Something... inside of him burned at the thought he couldn't protect her from it. Couldn't save her from it, just like he was unable to save Kikyo from the jewel.

That cursed thing that he had never wanted to see again somehow managed to pop back into his life unwelcome.

It came from the woman he had fallen for, and he felt that it had become a solid wedge that was all but destined to be driven between them.

He couldn't bear loosing another woman to it...

Standing, Inuyasha turned from the one person most precious to him in the world, and walked away from her with regret staining his heart fully...




"Inugami-sama?"
< br> That same, irritating woman sliced through his thoughts with annoying persistence. He turned away from her, flattening his ears meancingly, his back facing her from his perch in a thickly branched tree.

How she had even found him there, so far from the village, was anyone's question.

"Inugami-sama?"

Her smooth voice, so full of patience, was so damn troublesome. She was gentle, unaffected by his obvious rudeness, and he didn't know how to deal with it. Most people were gruff with him outside of Kagome and he dealt with them in likeness.

And for the love of Kami-sama, which he felt none of at the moment, he just wanted to be left the hell alone!

"What?!" he barked at her, literally.

It seemed she knew his bark was worse than his bite when it came down to it, though.

"Inugami-sama, I wish to talk to you about the sacred object of which you carry."

He knew she was talking about the Shikon no Tama. But, he feigned innocence.

He really wasn't in the mood to speak about it at the moment.

"What the hell are you talking about, Shinsei-baba? Are you whacked out of your mind?"

Again, she gave him that amused smile that said she knew more than he thought she did. Or maybe she didn't. Either way, it was mysteriously creepy and gave Inuyasha gooseflesh. It was like she was peering into his soul without his permission, and that was just too personal.

"You know what I speak of, child. I sense the energy on you, though I know not where you carry it. I merely wish to assist you, as you seem to be... on edge."

Inuyasha narrowed his eyes and weighed his options.

One, maybe she could really help. Maybe she could even take the damn thing off his hands, so Kagome and he could be left in peace.

It was a slim possibility, but it was worth trying.

And there didn't seem much of a downside.

Rolling off the branch, he landed softly on his feet without making as much of a wisp of sound and he stood before her, nearly a head and a half taller than the older woman.

He noticed the gray that lanced its way through the lightened black of her hair, signifying her age all the more. That, and the wrinkles that lined her face gave it all away.

"Tell me, how did you come to possess it?" she asked genially, more casual than one might imagine when talking of a source of all-consuming power.

Inuyasha's eyebrow twitched.

He figured out one thing about her that made her so strange.

She spoke so airly, almost dreamily when referencing things. It was positive, with a strange sense of mirth no matter the subject... as if everything around her were a great cosmic joke and she was the only one getting it.

It irked Inuyasha all the more.

...he didn't like being kept in the dark.

Universe or not involved.

"Kagome."

He didn't elaborate.

...he didn't feel the need to.

"Ah," was the response in reply.

A clicking noise came from the elder Miko, as she tapped her tongue against her teeth in thought. The sound grated on Inuyasha's sensitive hearing, but he didn't complain. Instead, he remained silent, because he got the feeling she was about to depart some wondorous worldly insight upon him.

Instead of the magical advice he had been wishing would fix everything, seeing as Kami-sama had been doing a horrible job, he got informed of something he hadn't been expecting.

"All right then. It's settled," she said, nodding sagely as if they had just had a lengthy conversation on how to repair this enormous problem.

Unfortunately, it appeared to have been a largely one-sided conversation that Inuyasha had been completely left out of. It was a non-existant, wonderfully absent conversation that he was lost to, and he stared down at the old woman with as much aggravation as he could muster.

Sadly though, it was being deflated as soon as it rose up inside of him, simply by the calm and proud exterior the Miko exuded, as if her plan were oh-so-brilliant and she were so generous to have thought of it.

It was hard to take away someone's thunder when they looked so pleased.

...Or just maybe Kagome had taught him how to deal with his anger a lot better after all.

Especially seeing how infuriating and ever-so-sensitive she was.

The wrong words always sent him crashing down and wishing he had stuck his foot in his mouth instead. It was a humiliating feeling he had a hard time dealing with when he made her cry.

...eh, not to mention the crushing guilt.

That was always just a side-note though.

So, he did exactly what he did when he had nothing else to do.

He just bluntly asked, "...huh?"

The woman gave him an incredulous look as if he had missed out on something very important that he should have gotten.

"Isn't it obvious? You all must stay here so I can train Kagome-sama properly!"

He supposed this was another one of those times that called for feigned ignorance.

"...huh?"

But his curiosity was lost... lost on the wind as the Miko walked away from him... away, away, to have decided their future so easily.

Inuyasha was having none of it.

Absolutely, absolutely none of it.

So, he trailed after her to right her where she had been so desperately mistaken.





...at least, that had been his plan.

She had somehow managed to make it to the hut Kagome had been resting in before him.

She had told Kagome of 'their' plan and how 'they' had decided it had been best, and that 'they' would be more than happy if she stayed and trained properly.

Inuyasha had no sideways word in.

Admist his "eh"s and "but"s and "keh"s, all of it was lost... lost to him, and Kagome was looking far, far too happy for him to say otherwise.

So he clamped his unhappy little hanyou mouth shut for the time being, looking down at her shining eyes and pleased face.

And somehow...

He felt that the cosmic joke had actually been him, all along.