InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Silence the Fairytale ❯ Realities ( Chapter 39 )

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

A/n: I know. It has been a RIDICULOUSLY long wait. And thank you for waiting so patiently. I started working, and I was SUPER busy for the holiday season. It's going to slow down a bit come January, but I might still be a bit off the radar because I'm going to be working to support myself, and I'm going to be moving out... Me and my son's father separated, and he's been a wonderful guy and helping me get on my feet. But eventually I have to move on. Not too fast though :/.

So here's to all of you, remember what means the most to you this Christmas (or whatever you happen to celebrate). Not the gifts, not the receiving, not even the giving... but the things that are closest to your heart. That's the true treasures of life.

By the way, I won second place for the romance category 3rd quarter IY Fanfiction Noms. Thank you to those who voted for me, and congrats to SpelendentGoddess who won first place with 'Twice Bitten'. It's an amazing story, please go read it. :). Grats dear.

Oh and there was a little fuss about my improper Japanese. I'm sorry, I'm not fluent in it, no. I find the language incredibly beautiful. I use it for my own pleasure, and since this isn't a formal publication please do not flame me for it; and if it annoys you enough for you to insult me please find another story to read. That is all I have to say about that matter, and thank you to those who enjoy the story for the plot and not the fine details. I didn't do extensive research into the history of Japan either, I'm going off my own memory so please excuse me for that. I enjoy the culture, and the history I find incredibly rich and intriguing. But as this is a fiction, and once again I am not a professional author and merely doing this for my own satisfaction, please do not give me anything besides constructive criticism. Thank you.

Luna-



Inuyasha wasn't happy. He found in circumstances generally involving more than one human, he usually wasn't. And he found, he much rather pound on them than deal with them in a civil manner. But as the situation might have it, that wasn't an option. Though it was wonderful stress relief to imagine them grovelling and begging for forgiveness after he had delivered a mighty and powerful knuckle sandwich. Though realistically, he probably would kill a human after doing such a thing...

That didn't stop him from daydreaming about it though.

And currently, that was exactly what he was doing. Especially after hearing remark after idiotic remark concerning Kagome. Specifically, Kagome with him.

"What kind of whore would allow herself to be had by a half-demon?"

"Do you wonder if he forces her to be with him?"

"It's disgusting how she unashamedly acts so familiar with him. She should just commit seppuku to restore what little honor she could have left after consorting with such filth."

It made him want to just burn the entire village down. Really, if he could he would and he was so damn sick of hearing people with their holier-than-thou attitudes when half of them could not even fathom doing just one the kind and brave acts his wife had. Instead, they would cower behind her and himself, begging for salvation from whatever petty little piece of shit that had come to take their lives. Then, their gratitude would last a whole day, perhaps a week if they were lucky.

And then their gratefulness would run dry, and they would return to being these ignorant and base people with nothing better to do than begrudge others for not living how they 'should'. He could scorn them, he could hate them, and he had for most of his life. But now, being older, he just felt sorry for them. He was too tired to care.

But he did get angry on behalf of his wife. She was the most honorable, most selfless person he had ever met and they judged her without thinking. In fact, she had helped save this very village on more than one occasion in the recent years, and they had hailed her as a sacred maiden then. Now, in their eyes, she was just his slut.

With every comment his ears buried further into his hair, as if to drown out the burning words than scorched him with guilt. But it was no good, it was as if they were being whispered directly to him instead of what was meant to be discreetly to their neighbors, and family members.

"We won't be here long Inuyasha, I know you hate these places. But at least we can get what we need here, ne?" Kagome's soft voice chimed to him above his turbulent thoughts, helping ease the knots that had been gathering in his shoulders. He felt himself relax a little, as he turned to smile at her in response.

"Yea," was all he offered, never bothering to tell her what really troubled him. He wanted to keep her away from those things. While he had had centuries to build a thick armor to protect himself from the words that stung, she was still so new to the world, barely a woman and barely out of her childhood. Yet she had experienced so much, been through so much, there was an age to her azure eyes that shouldn't have been there. It made him sad, in some ways, and he felt ashamed as if he were the one to rob her of her youth.

But he knew it had been her decision, her choice to stay with him and grow with him. And now, it was her choice to be with him and have his child... and for that, he felt proud and honored. And it was something he had vowed never to take for granted. He hardly could, feeling it was the sole thing Kami had been merciful enough to grant him...

A second chance.

A chance at a real life, something he never dared dream of before he met Kagome. He never thought a woman would lower herself to be with him, but Kagome had done it and not felt dirtied by it. She had loved him for longer than he could recount now, as if her love was something that was just always present, always there and always a truth.

Still, at times when these people who didn't understand gratitude from their own ass gave her shit for being with him, he felt furious. But he knew it was a loosing battle, so he held his tongue to save his energy for things he could actually change.

"Inu, look," Kagome pointed down at some wares a man had on display before his house, set out on a spare mat. Mostly cookwares, amongst other knick knacks that caught Inuyasha's attention and his thoughts returned to the reason they had actually come in the first place.

He grunted at her in affirmation, crouching down before the things with passive interest as he picked some things up and turned them over to inspect them. He paid no heed to the looks he received from the middle aged man who owned them, but merely continued with his task. He really had indeed become numb to their hate, just wanting to do what was needed for him and Kagome to live comfortably.

Grabbing a knife that they most certainly could use, as well as perhaps an armful of miscellaneous items, he looked at the man and gruffly asked, "How much?"

The man looked at him in length and offered him a price that was obviously double what the things were actually worth. Inuyasha glared at the man hard, not amused by his statement.

"This crap ain't worth that, try again," Inuyasha spat, the glare he had never dimming in its intensity. The man grunted, scratching at his beard as if he was unaffected by Inuyasha's rudeness.

"Then find other crap to buy cause that's the price hanyou. Don't like it, tough shit."

Inuyasha sneered and put the things back down, "Right, next time you all need a hand with some fucking youkai, ask someone else to be your lackey if you're gonna rip us off."

The statement certainly caught the man off-guard, causing him to go wide eyed with growing alarm, as if some distant memory resurfaced to remind him exactly who it was he was not willing to haggle with.

"...Sorry, my apologies, I didn't realize which knife that was. I'll go with a fourth of the price and you can just keep the other things," the man rushed out in a state of half-panic, pushing the things literally into Inuyasha's arms. Inuyasha himself was scowling, handing some things over to Kagome so he could handle his money with his free hand.

"While I may think you're a fucking bastard for trying to steal our money I won't return the favor cause I like to remember what the fuck it means to not be a piece of shit," he half snarled at the man, offering him a fair amount of money for the things in question. The man was stammering by the end of the encounter, having nothing more to say as the pair left.

Kagome herself had been silent the entire time, watching the way Inuyasha interacted with those around him. Again, she was silently admiring him for his honorable actions. When he could have practically stolen from the elder man, he had instead given him the monetary value in return for what they were buying. Most of the rest of their trip was spent in the same uncomfortable fashion, with the exception of when they stopped for lunch.

Kagome had laid a hand on Inuyasha's arm around midday, and when he looked at her in askance she had simply laid a hand on her stomach to signify she was beginning to get really hungry. The village itself was really too small to have any sort of resturant or inn, instead it was one of the eldest woman who lived there that cooked for those who wandered through as weary travellers or merchants. It was cheap, and delicious, the best sort of meal anyone could ask for. She gave much, and asked for little, and was maternal to any who came near her.

Her cordial nature was a breath of fresh air for them, and the woman reminded Kagome sorely of Shinsei-baa-chan and she felt a pang of longing. She missed the woman terribly, and had to fight back the sudden tears that threatened to fall suddenly when the woman merely greeted them.

"I might have thought I had died and lived forever as a ghost, that would be the only way I could imagine a miko and a hanyou boy together. Isn't the world a funny place? Come, come, girl, you look thin as a twig and as flush as a new bride. Though I doubt it has much to do with that and more to do with the weather," the woman, who was named Meiko-san, prattled on and on in this way as she ushered the two into her small hut.

She had been widowed years ago during a war between daimyos, as was oft to happen, and was too old to remarry. The village buoyed her during her loss, helping her get by and in return she offered whatever help she could to those that came to her from advice about love and families to simply providing a warm place to bed to get away from the pressures of life.

Inuyasha was frazzled by her behavior, having been on guard most of the day from underhanded comments and venomous things said when the villagers thought he could not hear. But this woman was warm as a summer breeze and just as fresh, helping him relax some when they went inside as the woman urged them to sit by her cooking fire and warm themselves.

"I know it can be very stressful to come here, for the both of you, I know the gossip they spread from village to village. Many pass through here looking for you and where it is you live, and everyone has been in an uproar since the Shikon Jewel has resurfaced," Meiko spoke genially, making easy conversation even though it was a sensitive topic. Inuyasha shifted in his seat uncomfortably, not saying much. Kagome merely brushed her fingers through her hair, feeling much more at ease than he did.

"At times, but I try to bear them no ill will Meiko-san. People will be as they are and nothing we do can change that," was all Kagome offered factually, tucking her feet beneath her as she sat quietly beside him.

Meiko nodded, bobbing her head greatly like a leaf in a stream and much too enthusiastically. Inuyasha repressed a snort, realizing the woman just like to gab. Probably doesn't have much else to do besides meddle in other people's lives.

The thought irritated him, so he didn't talk much so she didn't have much ammunition to shoot off to others when they left.

"People are the way they are cause they find nothing to be happy about. Misery loves company, so they say. Here, girl," Meiko offered a bowl of some sort of stew to Kagome, who accepted with a small thanks. Inuyasha took his as well, nodding as a gesture of thanks but nothing more. The woman didn't seem to care as she ladled her own bowl, sitting down across from Kagome to continued to chatter.

"I've heard many stories of villages you have encountered and protected from the bakemono that ravage them. Fools, I say, the lot of them. They don't know a miracle if it came shining out their own ass, I'd think," the woman stated fervently, seemingly more irritated by the subject than Inuyasha originally had guessed.

Maybe there's more behind her words than boredom afterall.

"Want to hear something damned? I heard," she slurped her soup in an uncouth way, and Inuyasha repressed a cringe, "about this village in the very north of Musashi. I know you haven't been that far north yet, it's on the border of the Western Lands. I hear of a youkai lord that rules those lands, but that's just legend."

Inuyasha choked on his soup a bit, his ears perking at attention as the woman continued her ramblings.

"Anyway, so this village has been really wrecked by these attacks, they've had no help because no one can reach them through the snows. The carrion have decimated half the people who live there, and the old miko who lives there is too far along in age to be of much use anymore. I hear she isn't fairing well, and they think she might die the coming year. Isn't that awful? There will probably be nothing left of that place come summertime," Meiko nodded sadly, almost sagely, as if this was just the way the world worked. And Inuyasha supposed, in a way, it was.

But Kagome, ever the compassionate soul, appeared touched and moved by these admissions. At the sound of her sniffle, Inuyasha turned to look at her. Her eyes were shining, a fierce look of determination present on her features. And then, his heart dropped into his stomach.

She wants to go help them... fuck.

"That's... that's just awful. Those poor people... We'll go help them, I'm sure we can," Kagome told Meiko, offering her emptied bowl to the woman who accpeted it with a bright smile.

"That's the spirit girl, don't let these fools tarnish that beautiful spirit of yours. You're gifts from Kami-sama himself," the woman praised, reaching for Inuyasha's bowl who gave it up with little resistance as he stared at his wife slack-jawed.

Did she just decide for us without asking me?

Meiko turned her back to begin washing their eating utensils and he grabbed Kagome's arm. She blinked at his hand, then blinked up at him in confusion. He was frowning at her, annoyed she had promised something without even asking him if he was okay with it.

So instead he mouthed silently at her, 'No fucking way.'

She leered right back at him, crossing her arms and mouthing silently back at him, 'Oh really?'

He nodded vigoriously, the anger never leaving his face.

She huffed at him, smiling sweetly momentarily before replying, 'Ok, no sex.'

Inuyasha's eyebrows shot straight up to his hairline and his mouth began to open and close, trying to form a reponse but it was too little, too late as Meiko turned back around and interrupted their silent conversation.

"That's a pleasure to hear, really, that you're so willing to help those around you. You're such a promising young miko, I hope someday we can live up to honor you correctly someday."

Kagome plastered another artifically over-sweet smile on her face as she gestured to Inuyasha, "It's not just me who is eager to go, Inuyasha is as well. He just loves to help people."

Inuyasha felt himself do a mental face-plant, as he stared blankly at the side of Kagome's head who offered him no mind... no attention to his discomfort whatsoever... Just doing whatever she pleased, like always, like the spoiled little bitch she was.

"That's so sweet," Meiko smiled brightly at him and he gave her a half- hearted grin back as he lamely replied, "Eheh... yup."

"Meiko-san, you know what else he loves?"

Inuyasha was watching his wife, mortified by what else she might set him up with. There was an ominous twinkle in her eye, as she watched him from the corner of them with a mischevious smirk that spoke volumes of what she might be planning.

"What's that?"

"He just loves it when you rub his ears, you should give it a try."

Inuyasha was helpless, helpless... as the older woman took the open invitation seriously, his eyes pleading at Kagome who was beaming with a smug satisfaction. She had indeed won this round, and he would never forget the wrath of a pregnant bitch.

Why did I fall in love with her again...?

He determined he was masochistic. It was the only logical reason.

Why me...





"Ugh Inu, slow down my feet are hurting," Kagome bemoaned, tugging on Inuyasha's hand to get his attention. While she was content to have been to a village, to be out and about finally, her stamina for travel had still had not returned and she found she tired easily. Being pregnant doesn't help either... she mentally groaned, the realization of how hard life outdoors would become the farther along she got becoming more and more obvious with the passing of time. At the moment she was almost three months pregnant, and still wasn't showing for which she was silently grateful.

Usually Kagome didn't pay any mind to how the villagers acted around her and Inuyasha. Their callous remarks, their balantant dislike for their presence she usually shrugged off but lately...

Lately, it had become emotionally exhausting, having been through all that had happened the last few months. Things had transpired so quickly, her life had changed so drastically that she felt heartsick at times. What should have been a joyous occasion for most women in their lifetimes was a source of fear for her.

There were moments periodically throughout the day she caught herself thinking, What if I can't protect... what if something happens... But always she stopped herself. Always. She couldn't allow herself to think those thoughts, to imagine the unfathomable.

She had to make the most of the situation, and she was ever so thankful she had Inuyasha there by her side. Thinking on the times he had told her of his mother, what little he had of her, she had a newfound appreciation for the woman's strength in her hardships. Give me the same strength you had, Okaa-san... she prayed silently to the deceased woman, asking her for the wisdom to do the right thing.

Kagome knew, that not only would she deal with the intolerance of those who lived near them, but her child would as well. The thought stung her like a thousand needles to her heart, but she knew there was no helping the situation. All she could do was love this child with all her being and let the child know someone in the world cared.

But Inuyasha... didn't have that luxury.

But since when had love been a luxury? She had learned so long ago, really, without love there was no life. To be completely and utterly alone ruined a person, decaying them from the inside and she wasn't certain how Inuyasha had escaped that.

He's just that good of a man...

The thought made her proud, and she felt justified in adoring him as much as she did. Someone has to make up for all the bullshit he went through... Stupid people.

"I'm sorry Kagome, I can carry you if you want but you said you had your own legs," Inuyasha said back toward her dryly in reponse to her request earlier, pulling her from her reverie as a single ear flicked in warranted agitation. Heat rose in Kagome's cheeks as she recalled, yes, she had snapped at him for commenting earlier how tired she had looked and she had felt weak at him offering to do so after only an hour of walking. Still, he had been terribly moody since the ear incident in the village but she was still laughing on the inside from his horrified expression as Meiko had coddled them so fondly.

Well, she would still be laughing now if her feet didn't hurt so damn much.

"Fine baka, I'll walk," she snapped back peevishly, pulling her hand from his in irritation and tucking them inside her kimono sleeves to ward off the sudden cold she felt against her palms. His hand unconciously grasped at the air where hers had only been a second ago, and he turned on her with annoyance written clearly on his face.

"Don't be that way Kagome. It's a long walk back."

She huffed a bit toward him, blowing the bangs from her face that had become thick with flakes of falling snow. Her breath showed in puffs of clouds that faded into the air like wisps, and she watched him hard momentarily.

"...I'm sorry Inuyasha, I've been feeling a bit sensitive after those stupid jerks so I guess I'm just moody," she admitted peevishly, rubbing at her nose that had begun to run not so long ago in response to the chill that had crept up her nostrils and decided to have winter there as well.

"Look, I'm in a pretty fucking bad mood myself but if we don't have each other on our side we got nobody so just tough it out for now, all right? I understand shit is rough but you always knew it would be. Let's just get home for now without fighting okay? And when we're there you can beat me up all you like, okay? Especially my ears, I'm sure they can handle more abuse after today anyway..." he was grumbling the last part, bending down to lift her up bridal style.

"Oh stop, really. It's something for you to do so cheer up. God, at least now you won't be so bored," Kagome drawled, reaching for a lock of his hair and playing with it absently as he carried her.

"I'm never bored, I have you to deal with. You're all the entertainment I need," he muttered sarcastically, evening his pace out so he would not jostle her too much as he walked.

"Don't be a baka, really. What's the big deal huh?"

He looked down at her dryly, "You're pregnant, that's what. I'm not exactly keen on finding trouble. It comes to us easily enough without me looking for it."

Kagome sighed at him, "Fine. We won't go help unless someone asks next time, but let's just help this one village okay? How much can it hurt?"

Inuyasha had a sinking feeling about the entire situation, but he kept it to himself. He thought he might have just been tired from the day, but the feeling never went away. Instead, he just shrugged it off and said, "I guess it can't hurt that much."

And he hoped he was right.


A/n: Hope you enjoyed it. Thank Knitting Knots for betaing, I was having terribad writers block. Thanks for helping me finish this up dear, and giving me ideas to go off of :).



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