InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Silence the Fairytale ❯ Honesty ( Chapter 40 )

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

A/n: Not many reviews again but WE SHALL GO ON <3.

blackr0s3: Thank yoooou :). I appreciate the encouragement. <33. Thanks for keeping up with me for so long lovely.

Inumimi1: Happy you didn't stop there, I think I lost a huge amount of my fanbase at chapter 30 LOL. Oh well <3. Welcome back hunny.


Inuyasha had his arms crossed, his ears pressed against his skull in blatant nervousness. Kirara sat perched on his shoulder, Buyo encircling his feet as if the nekos had sensed that they would be leaving soon. Which, they were. He was currently waiting for Kagome to finish packing what supplies she thought she might need on the long travel they had before them, a lightness about her at the idea of returning to their nomadic ways once again. He had to admit, he had a healthy amount of wanderlust inside him that was begging to be released after being stationary for so long, but he couldn't find it inside him to be content.

The feeling of wrong had just increased with time over the last couple of days, and he had found himself lying awake at night wondering if their journey would be worth the trouble. Usually he wasn't so uptight about these things, in fact he found he rather enjoyed the vocation of eradicating pain in the ass youkai. It was a nice way to erase boredom.

But this time, this time... he was just flat out uncomfortable. Kagome was chipper, ever the bright light of optimism with her unfailing faith in his strength, and he would just chuckle awkwardly at her enthusiastic remarks about their planned trip.

Just like the one she was making right now.

"It'll be just like it was before we lived with Shinsei-baa-chan Inuyasha, it'll be so much fun. You'll see, then you'll stop being so damn irritable all the time," she said it so happily, as if she hadn't just insulted him and he merely grunted noncomittally. She didn't seem to notice anything he was feeling at all, or just brushed it off as an overconcerned husband who was worrying about his pregnant wife.

Which, truthfully, was a part of the problem. He would admit it. But it would be a cold day in hell before he said he was wrong... because he just wasn't wrong about it. At all.

He did NOT want his pregnant wife throwing herself into the heat of battle, but she so carelessly ignored that  fact like he could protect her from every threat in the world... even though he had outright mentioned the times he had failed her previously.

Her response had been a show of her blinking at him and brushing it off, saying something along the lines of, 'It always worked out before, didn't it?'

He snorted angrily at the memory, unsettled by her noncaring attitude. She had never been quite so obvious in her disregard for his thoughts and opinions and it was making him really furious. He could smell the bullshit headed his way, he just knew at some point he'd loose his temper and a yelling match would be swift on his heels after he called her out on her recklessness.

He didn't care if she held out from sex for months... well, didn't care too much, but, besides that... No, actually, he knew that he would be suffering if he put his foot down, and he had tried. Oh, had he tried. But she had managed to shoot down every one of his attempts with adoring commentary on what a good protector he was and what a caring husband he was, and he would promtply forget his animosity and preen under her good natured comments. He would inflate his ego and strut around for a few hours until he originally remembered why he was supposed to be mad.

Sneaky bitch knows how to get me to forget my anger... he fumed silently to himself even now, accepting the satchel of things she had packed from her, as she reached for Kirara to retrieve the almost fully grown nekomata from his shoulder. "You said it would take about half a moon cycle to get through the snows to reach the village, right Inuyasha? Do you think that's enough to last us until then?" She questioned unconcerned, petting the half-breed feline in her arms affectionately. Kirara closed her eyes under the attentions and purred wholeheartedly as she enjoyed the attentions of her mistress.

Inuyasha eyed through the bag, and while he fully disagreed with the trip at all he wanted to make sure they had everything they needed for her to be okay. He grunted again to let her know he approved, pulling her into his arms after she had scooped up Buyo into the other arm.

"Do you think the cats will be warm enough Inuyasha?" Kagome commented as he leaped up through the entrance of their cave and set her down. He harrumphed, lifting the boulder he used as a blockade when they were not inside of it for more than a few days as he responded, "The fatty sleeps under my hair all the time anyway, I don't see what difference it makes, lazy cat. Not like she'll let you put her down on the ground without cauterwalin' about it. Stupid fitch."

Kagome blinked at him as she continued to pet Buyo, who lazed in her arms paws up and eyes closed, rubbing the neko's stomach as she gave out a rolling purr in response. "Fitch?" Kagome questioned, rubbing her cat's stomach. Kirara had returned to her place on Inuyasha's shoulder, and he took no notice of her as he shrugged. "Keh, nothing. Let's go."

Kagome merely blinked at him, shrugging at his back, and continued to pet her baby. She was smiling fondly at Buyo as she walked behind Inuyasha at a slow pace, obviously in no hurry despite her previous insistence they hurry to the village to help them.  

Maybe she figured out her body can't handle travelling the way we used to, at least... he mentally grumbled. Really, a two day trip took a lot out of her and she spent the next three days sleeping it off. What had possessed her to want to take a two week trip-which would only take as long as it would because he knew she would be needing plenty of time to rest-he honestly wasn't sure. And while she may have had contempt for human beings, she was always the one to offer up help to those in need first.

He knew, of all they had been through together, she had not lost that part of her heart in all the hardships she had encountered. She still held a vast empathy for those in need, the same empathy that had convinced her to save the rampaging beast he had been when she first met him on the verge of death nigh on four years ago. It impressed him, but it was one of the things they butt heads about the most- her headstrong attitude in wanting to save the world.

Once in the heat of an arguement they had had, years ago, before they had been together, he had asked her what possessed her to help the assholes that had cast her out. To the day, he still remembered her reply.

'I know they were bastards Inuyasha, but if I had not had that same attitude with you, I never would have helped you and we never would have known each other. Maybe one of those bastards is really a bastard worth saving.'

And he found he couldn't much argue with that, try as he might like to when he wasn't feeling up to it. His bare foot kicked at some snow in his path, trying to carve out an easier walkway for Kagome, but it was also to relieve some of his frustration. Hell, he didn't know why this all still bothered him so much. It was a pinching in his gut, and if he had learned one thing in all his years of living, it was not to ignore his instincts.

And his instincts were saying he was going to regret this.

Looking back at Kagome, he watched as she stroked Buyo's stomach continually, the maternal affection never melting off her face as she cuddled the feline. He couldn't supress the grin he had at the thought of another sort of being lying in those arms as she held onto it so tenderly.

She caught him looking at her, lifting her head to meet his eyes with a loving smile, knowing as she somehow always did when he was paying attention to her. There was a quiet confidence in her face, confidence in him that he himself wasn't feeling. But she just gave him that reassurance, that knowing she felt things would be okay. And she said it to him aloud, letting him know...

"We'll be okay, Inuyasha. Let's just enjoy our time together, ne?"

He nodded and swallowed hard, wishing he could share the same things she was feeling.



"Ite!" Inuyasha complained irrtabily as Kagome watched him try for the umpteenth time to start a fire. Instead he was burning himself from the sparks created by his flint and tinder in the process, unable to get one going on the damp firewood they had. She knew it was a feeble battle, but far be it from her place to deny him the challenge. Oh, she had tried to tell him earlier, surely that it wouldn't work. But he was too stubborn to listen.

All powerful hanyou brought down by the logic that wet things wouldn't catch on fire.

She leered at him, stroking Buyo's fur all the while, flabbergasted and annoyed by his attempts. Regardless of his incredible strength, he couldn't bend the physics of the universe to his will. No matter how much his brain might disagree.

"Inuyasha, I'm hungry... I can just eat some of the dried meat we have..." Kagome tried again, frustrated that he was making her wait on a phantom fire that obviously wouldn't come forth.

"I've almost got it, dried meat alone isn't enough... I caught some hares here, they'll go bad if we don't eat them soon," he was grumbling, not fully focused on her as he struck the flint and tinder again.

"Ite!"

She sighed irritably, pressing her cheek into her palm as she watched him. Kirara mewed at her, crawling underneath her elbow and pressing against her stomach for warmth.

They were settled inside an abandoned hut that had a roof that had seen better days. They had retreated in there for the night when the snow began to fall hard enough that it dimmed their visibility. Some of the draft that seeped through the cracks in the ceiling brought flakes of snow along with it. And while she was damn cold, all she wanted to do was eat and go to bed curled around Inuyasha's warmth. But alas, he insisted that it was not enough warmth for her.

'Damnit woman, do you want kill yourself? It's too cold to sleep like this without a fire.'

"Ite, damnit!"

Kagome sighed and stood, disregarding the way Buyo fell out her lap with a large complaint of, "BRRRROW." She pushed her shoulder length hair away from her face and looked down at Inuyasha's back with fierce determination.

"I'm gonna go find some more wood, I'll be back," she said, heading toward the reed mat that served at a door. Hardly had she taken two steps before she collided into Inuyasha's solid body, nose to a red clad chest that served as an effective wall to prevent her departure.

"Ah-ha, I don't think so. It's fucking ugly outside right now, you don't need to go out when it's snowing so damn hard," Inuyasha put one hand on her shoulder, pushing her back away from the exit gently. She glared up hard at him and poked him in the chest, "You're so damn dead set on this stupid fire, I'm going to help you make this stupid fire, so move. I'm tired and hungry and fucking angry now, I just wanna eat and go to bed."

A single ear flicked in aggravation, and Inuyasha relented for some reason she was uncertain of and moved to the side.

"Ok wench, if you think you can find dry firewood out there, you're a fucking Kami. I'll have the fire going by the time you get back," he stated as he crouched back down in front of his task, continuing to fight a loosing battle with the wood before him.

"...Ite!"

Kagome sighed and shook her head, heading out into the snow. There wasn't much wind, just the sheer volume of the quietly falling snow made it hard to see. It had snowed up to her knees, making it hard to push her way through but she managed through force alone, heading from tree to tree to find anything suitable. She made sure not to wander out of eyesight of the hut, lest she get lost, but she still went a good ways.

Kirara hopped behind her, from one footprint impression to another, her little body far too small to traverse the snow on her own. Or so it seemed.

"Thanks for coming Kirara, maybe you can help me ne?" she snickered at Kirara's antics, smiling as the cat meowed in agreement at her. Then unexpectedly, the cat hopped out of one footprint and made a dash to her far left into a bush.

Kagome stared after her nekomata in shock, unsure how the cat had managed to make it through the snow on her own.

"Kirara! Matte! Come back Kirara!" She tried to rush through the snow as fast as she could, but she found herself often stumbling on the snow or her own feet, much to her frustration.

"Kirara!" she called out after her cat again, but this time was answered with a distinct 'mew' coming from the bush that Kirara had run into.

Kagome blinked, pushing her way through the bush the best she could to find her cat. It was difficult, for the sheer density of the bush made it hard to move in.

And there her little angel was, sitting on what was obviously dry branches of wood, looking ever so proud of herself.

Kagome lit up, in surprised delight as she began breaking off branches and shoving them inside her kimono to keep them dry.

"Kirara, you silly thing, you really can understand me!" Kagome exclaimed in excitement, knowing on some level the neko had always managed to understand what Kagome would say to her. The neko mewed her assent and began breaking off branches herself and fitting whatever she could inside her mouth. All the branches toward the bottom of the bush had escaped most of the heavy snow because of the thickness of the bush and hadn't yet touched the snow on the ground. Kagome was completely elated, holding the sticks to her chest and laughing as Kirara ran behind her when she made her way back to the hut.

She slipped through the reed mat, a triumphant look plastered on her face as she noticed Inuyasha still had not lit a fire and was cursing heavily under his breath and growling to himself. He hadn't seemed to notice her completely, or if he had, he hadn't bothered to show it.

"Inu, look!" she exclaimed, pulling the branches from the inside of her winter kimono and showing off her prize to him. He turned to gaze at her slack-jawed, apparent disbelief on his face.

"How in the world did you..."

Kagome waved him off, smiling elatedly as she began to arrange them in front of him, "It doesn't matter, start a fire so we can eat. I'm starving baka!"

It was only a matter of moments before they had a small but comfortable fire warming them, and Kagome relaxed in thankfulness that her efforts had paid off. She hadn't realized how numb her body had become until she felt some of the life return to it as she put her palms out to face the fire.

Inuyasha was watching her quietly, arranging the hares he had caught on two sticks to roast them near the pit. Still, Kagome paid him no mind as she relished in the comfort quietly.

"Kagome," he had said her name softly, drawing her attention back to him with a smile. All previous anger had been forgotten now that she was feeling her limbs again.

"Hn?"

"Thanks, I was so sure all the wood would be wet... I thought we were lucky to have found this leftover wood in the hut to begin with but..."

Kagome shook her head, taking one of his hands, "I was happy you were trying so hard to help me Inuyasha, but I was just tired. Anytime I can help it makes me glad."

He grinned back at her and pushed a lock of her hair from her face, tucking it tenderly behind her ear.

"Me too, Kagome. Me too."



"Inuyasha, I know you're bored but don't do that to Buyo!" Kagome was attempting to jump up to reach the cat that was currently held up high in one hand above Inuyasha's head. A smug grin was planted on his face, laughing at her weak efforts to save her struggling cat.

"What's the matter, afraid I'll drop her?" He made a show of tipping the cat to the side, dropping her out of his palm and catching her midair, as the cat meowled in protest of his actions.

"Stop it Inuyasha! What if you miss?!" Kagome beat a small fist against his chest, wondering what in the hell had possessed him to act like a child all of a sudden.

"Oh! Oh no! She's faaaalllingggg!" he made a show again of dropping her, laughing harshly in what sounded similar to a bark, and Kagome found herself pouting. He could be such a bully when he got the urge, and she knew he must be feeling extremely bored if he was taking it out on Buyo.

"Mrrrow!" A tiny streak of black, red, and white came flying by Kagome's head and promptly attatched itself to Inuyasha's ear like an... ear leech.

"OW! Damnit Kirara LEGGO!" he growled, plopping Buyo into Kagome's waiting arms without much thought as he put effort into prying the small feline off without much damage to himself and his sensitive ears.

Kirara in a stubborn refusal would not be pried away, despite Inuyaha's insistence, and it took Kagome to coax off Kirara only after having deposited Buyo in the snow. Kirara then stuck close to Kagome, watching Inuyasha out of the corner of her eye as if she dared the inu-hanyou to try something to her hapless mother again.

A clawed hand covered his offended ear angrily, staring right back at the cat in challenge, waiting to see if she would make the first move.

Cat she may be, but Inuyasha had no mercy for enemies.

"Inuyasha, stop growling at Kirara. She was only trying to help her mother."

The free ear flattened in protest, Inuyasha's brows lowering at her statement.

"...but..."

"Inuyasha, you're not 12. You're 252. Stop it."

His eyebrows lowered further and something similiar to a sulk began to form. But it wasn't a sulk. Because warriors didn't sulk.

It just wasn't done.

"Inuyasha, stop pouting."

"Keh, you're not even looking at me, how do you know I'm pouting?" he complained, before stopping midthought and adding hastily, "Which, by the way, I am not."

"You are."

"Damnit woman, I am not pouting!"

"Inuyasha, I don't have to look to know. I can hear it in your voice."

He fell silent, not giving her ammunition to come after him with but alas, also not removing his almost-would-be-but-totally-not-a-sulk from his face.

After a few quiet moments, Kagome turned to look at him, and he glared at her as if he dared to comment on his not-a-sulk face. She merely sighed and shook her head, never bothering to say anything more.




"Are we almost there..."

"Kagome, it's only been four days..."

"So? I thought we were travelling pretty well considering..."

"Kagome, we stop every few hours to rest for you and the snow is thick. We're going slower than I originally guessed. The trip is gonna be longer than half a moon cycle."

"The new moon is tonight too..."

Claws scratched behind his ear.

"...I know."

"Do you wanna stop for the night then?"

He shook his head in the negative.

"Let's go a few more hours before we do. I can dig a makeshift shelter out of the snow and line it with tree branches to keep the snow out. It'll be good enough with the extra blankets you brought. But since it's only past midday, we have plenty of time to keep going."

"Okay."




Kagome lifted her head off Inuyasha's haori as she woke up slowly to realize Inuyasha was not next to her. The haori laid on the ground as it covered branches and leaves Inuyasha had stripped to keep the moisture of the snow away from her after he had packed it down the best he could. They had laid together, curled up together under some furs he had made with her help for the winter, but still she woke from the chill of sleeping alone.

She knew on these nights he grew restless and often stayed up til daybreak on his human night. She knew often times he tried to get her to sleep for her own benefit, especially since she had become pregnant. But at the moment the loneliness touched her heart, and she didn't know if the shivers she had were merely from the cold of the night.

Moving aside a makeshift door he had created by lashing spare cloth strips around branches, she looked around for her husband. She found him sitting beneath a tree, Tetsusaiga leaning against his shoulder as he stared up at the stars. She crawled out of their hallow quietly, replacing the 'door' to keep the extreme temperatures away from the cats. She loved them both dearly and wanted to prevent them from becoming sick in any way.

She walked up to Inuyasha slowly, thankful the snow had stopped falling after two days of nonstop flow. Everything had an ethereal whiteness to it, and it looked clean and crisp as if the world had come to only a sleeping stillness. She stood next to Inuyasha, who did not acknowledge her right away, as he had been doing lately since they had left. She sat down next to him without being invited to, though she knew it was not an unwelcome gesture on her behalf.

"Inuyasha?"

His violet-black eyes turned to her in the darkness of the night, assessing her from some faraway place she often couldn't reach during these times.

"Go back to bed, Kagome. It's ok. You need your rest," he gave her a quick dismissal, and she would have felt cut if she wasn't his wife. Instead now, since they were closer, she felt obligated to make sure he knew she wouldn't leave him alone anymore.

She grabbed his human ear, tugging on it gently and frowning at him, "Mind telling me what's been wrong since we left? You've been acting odd since then."

He studied her face, silent for a lengthy period of time. It was as if he was calculating his answer, how he might respond, as if he were trying to decide if he should tell her the truth.

The idea he'd be hiding something from her hurt her deeply for some reason.

He sighed softly, uncertainty lying in his face, "Kagome... I..."

She cut him off before he could go further, before she gave him a chance at deciding to keep her out, pressing her lips against his in a heady need to feel reconnected to him. He grasped her body and pulled her tight against him, searing her soul with a brand uniquely his own. He responded in kind, brushing her face with cold hands-hands that would have been burning her alive if he had not been human right then. But she accepted that was part of who he was, who he'd always be.

Pulling away she caught the sound of his quiet whimper, her heart beating wildly in her chest with the knowledge only she could do that to him.

"Inuyasha... I love you. Please, just always be honest with me..."

His eyes searched her, his face flushed under her heated gaze and he felt compelled to do as she asked.

"Kagome, something makes me feel uncomfortable about this. It's not about humans or youkais or even you and me. It's something more, something deeper and I can't explain it. So I didn't bother trying," he muttered to her, turning his face away. Kagome looked after him quietly, bringing her hand up to turn his face back toward her once again.

"I can't just leave helpless people in trouble..."

"That's not what I'm saying to do," he bit out a little harsher than he intended, and she winced at his tone.

"Then what are you saying?"

"I'm saying... just be fucking on guard. Be careful. I don't get this and I don't like it, and I'll be happy when we go home."

Kagome smiled softly, lacing her fingers through his hair and she felt him relax a bit underneath her affectionate touch.

"Me too..."

He looked at her, weariness seeping into his gaze. She stroked his cheek, and he kissed her fingers gently.

"Come to bed with me, Inuyasha..."

He relented as she pulled on him, following her back inside the hallow he had carved out for them. He held her closely as she drifted off back to sleep underneath the velvet black of the winter sky, content to do so even though he watched the light break through the branches of the trees as she stayed dreaming.

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