InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Spark ❯ Fascination ( Chapter 2 )

 

Chapter Two

 

Fascination

 

 

 

Kagome watched as InuYasha read Sesshomaru's message for the fifth time.

 

“You're sure that asshole gave you this?” InuYasha said, bringing it to his nose, again, to sniff it.

 

“Yeah, I'm sure!” Kagome huffed, crossing her arms under her breasts. “What? You think I just wrote it and made all that up?”

 

InuYasha's ears flattened against his head. “Keh! No. But…this is so weird.”

 

Tipping the message in his hands, Kagome tried to peep at it. “What's it say?”

 

InuYasha jerked it out of her grasp and stuffed it into his haori. “Never mind.”

 

Kagome blinked at him. She was certain she hadn't heard him right. She fought the sting of tears gathering in her eyes. It was bad enough he had to go and break her heart into a million pieces, but now he couldn't tell her what a stupid message from his stupid brother said?

 

He narrowed his eyes and backed up a step, holding out his hands in front of him. “You aren't going to cry…are you?”

 

She didn't answer, just stared at her shoes. Kagome sniffled.

 

“You won't like it,” he muttered.

 

She wiped her eyes with the back of her hand.

 

“Keh! Fine!” He rustled in his haori and then shoved it under her nose. “Read away!” with that, he stalked out of the hut, leaving her to read the message in the meager light of the single candle burning on the table.

 

After she read the message the first time, she laughed. A deep belly laugh that set her shoulders shaking. Wiping tears of mirth from her eyes, she read it again.

 

She frowned.

 

Kagome read it one more time.

 

She stepped out into the cool spring evening. InuYasha was leaning against the hut, staring up at the crescent moon.

 

“So,” she began, her voice sounding small, “Are you going to do it?” Unconsciously, she began to wad the message up in her hands.

 

He snorted.

 

“You didn't answer my question.”

 

“As if I would! She's just a kid. I don't wanna marry some dumb kid. I don't even know why that asshole asked me to.”

 

She couldn't help but smile. InuYasha might not have wanted to admit it, but she bet that he was glad that his brother had asked him to take Rin as a wife, even if it was a completely ridiculous idea. The girl probably wasn't even twelve years old. Regardless if the marriage was supposed to be in name only…it just didn't make any sense. But still, it was, in a weird sort of way, an approval from the stoic taiyoukai.

 

“You know,” Kagome said, tapping her chin, “Sesshomaru was acting very strangely. Maybe he's having a mid-life crisis?”

 

“A what?”

 

“A mid-life crisis. Human men get them when they hit forty, and they go crazy. They cheat on their wives, buy sports cars…that sort of thing.” Kagome had to admit the very idea of Sesshomaru having any sort of crisis at all seemed ridiculous. She sighed. “That's probably not it. I'm sure he has a good reason for asking you.”

 

InuYasha stared at her, his face suddenly serious. “Kagome…what are you going to do?” His voice was low, timid. Even so, the question startled her. She wasn't ready for it, and she didn't even know the answer to that question, hell, she hadn't even asked herself that yet.

 

It had never dawned on her that things between her and InuYasha wouldn't work out. She was loathe to admit it, but she hadn't planned for anything else. That was to be her life. And now….

 

She thought of her long-suffering mother. Kagome had barely passed highschool and hadn't made any plans for higher education at all. Her mother was going to be mortified. All that time wasted….

 

Instead of letting InuYasha see how upset she was, how uncertain, she smiled. “I might go home for a little while…or go visit Sango and Miroku. I haven't seen them in ages.”

 

InuYasha looked back up at the sky. “I think you should go home, Kagome.”

 

He was right.

 

But she couldn't. Not yet.

 

“Well,” she began brightly, “It's late. I'm off to bed. See you later, InuYasha!”

 

Some might say she was in denial, and maybe she was. But she couldn't believe that was it. She couldn't believe that after three years of setting her heart on him, that it was just time to stop trying. I'll just have to think of something else, she told herself, the idea of a new challenge lifting her spirits. She blatantly ignored the small rational part of her brain that told her she was being foolish…again.

 

Those spirits dropped into the pit of her stomach when she reached her own hut on the outskirts of the village.

 

There, standing in a shaft of silver moonlight, leaning against her hut, was Sesshomaru. “The hanyou refused my most generous offer.” It wasn't a question.

 

Kagoma swallowed audibly. Why was he picking on her? Aside from that one measly incident with her arrow and his armor, what had she ever done to him? Stuttering for a moment, Kagome finally found her voice. “Well…you see…it's just that Rin is still…you know…a child.”

 

“The marriage is in name only.” He slowly began to approach her.

 

“But why? What's the rush?” Kagome took a step back.

 

“The Lord of the Northern lands, in order to form an alliance with this Sesshomaru, has asked for the hand of my ward. I find such an arrangement…unacceptable. I told him that my ward was already promised to the hanyou.”

 

“You what?!” Kagome shrieked. “You didn't even ask first!”

 

He raised a slender brow at her. “I assumed the idiot half-breed would see it for the honor it was.”

 

“Well, you assumed wrong,” she huffed. “Besides, what if InuYasha were already…um…already taken?”

 

He gave her that look again, the one that made her cheeks burn and forced her gaze on her shoes. When she finally mustered the courage, mostly fueled by anger, to look up at him…he was gone.

 

“But, he isn't, is he?” his voice rumbled from behind her. She felt his breath in her hair.

 

Gasping, Kagome twisted away from him, her hand over her heart. “Stop scaring me like that!”

 

He smirked. “And what are you afraid of, little miko?”

 

“N-nothing!” she said, putting her hands on her hips and raising her chin defiantly. “And stop calling me little. Anyway…if you needed InuYasha's help, you should've asked him first.”

 

“This Sesshomaru does not require the aid of that simpleton. I would be doing him the honor. Not to mention the sizable dowry he would receive should he accept my most generous offer.”

 

Kagome felt very weary. It'd been a long day. A bad day. She wasn't in the mood for Sesshomaru's arrogance, his odd looks, or the way he made her wonder if he was going to kill her or…or…something else equally unpleasant. She met his golden eyes. His expression was inscrutable. Different…but completely unreadable, which, upon reflection, wasn't really that abnormal from his usual mask of indifference.

 

The way he looked at her made her feel dirty, ugly, stupid, and worthless all at once. Despite being a very intelligent girl, Kagome could get stupid when she was angry. Stupid and brave. And even if InuYasha didn't…love her that way, well, she wasn't going to stand around and let his jerk of a brother say such nasty things about him.

 

With a lofty sigh, Kagome rolled her eyes. “Cut that out. You need his help. And if you're going to get it, I suggest you try being…I don't know…nice to him for a change. Or at least polite. I guarantee he isn't going to do anything for you if you keep insulting him.”

 

Sesshomaru didn't even blink. Which only served to make her more aware of her own blinking. Then she was blinking too much and getting on her own nerves. She wished he'd say something. Anything. That or leave. Yes, leaving would be nice. That way, she could go into her hut…alone…and maybe have a good cry and get some sleep.

 

A miracle happened. A tiny crease appeared between his fine brows. “Rin is in danger,” he said with a wave of his hand.

 

Kagome had to admit she'd always had a soft spot for that gapped-tooth girl. Unconscious of her own movements, Kagome leaned forward, eyes wide. “She is? Why?”

 

“This Sesshomaru has reason to believe the Northern lord is not beneath kidnapping my ward and forcing her into marriage.” The way he looked when he said that made Kagome wonder if it pained him to explain things to “inferior beings” such as herself.

 

Kagome's brow furrowed. “So…you're saying that if Rin was already married…then this guy wouldn't do that?”

 

“Correct.”

 

“Well, then why don't you marry her?” Kagome asked.

 

“She is my ward. It is unthinkable. Would you marry your son?”

 

“Oh…I guess I see your point. Still…I don't think InuYasha is going to go for it.” She wished she could find the idea as ludicrous as she did five minutes ago. Damn him for making sense!

 

Chewing her lip and staring once again at her shoes, Kagome was so lost in wondering how she could convince InuYasha to do such a thing, when she felt the air around her move. When she looked up, Sesshomaru had invaded her personal space…again. She bit back a cry of surprise, determined not to let his intimidation tactics get the best of her this time. Squaring her shoulders, she met his gaze.

 

“I'd really appreciate if you wouldn't get in my face like that, Sesshomaru,” she said.

 

The corner of his lips quirked upward into a ghost of a smile. “You speak to me so informally. Such a privilege is usually reserved for lovers. What are you trying to imply, Kagome?” His voice was like the whisper of hands gliding over silk. She twisted her fingers in the hem of her shirt.

 

“I-I'm sorry. I wasn't trying to im-imply anything!”

 

His face neared hers until she felt the heat of his skin on her cheeks, until she could smell the strange, almost electric scent of him. For a terrifying moment, Kagome was certain he was going to kiss her. The way he licked his lips, and the way his gaze wandered to her mouth…well, what else could he have been doing?

 

Fear made her freeze. Her fingers stopped worrying the bottom of her shirt. Her body was trembling like it didn't quite know whether to throw all common sense and emotion to the wind and just go ahead and let whatever was going to happen, happen, or flee. Kagome was leaning towards the fleeing, however, her legs decided not to work at all.

 

In the barest of touches, the pads of his fingers tickled the hairs on her forearm. Then, he drew back as though he'd just smelled something bad. A look of pure horror flitted over his delicate features, and had she not been staring so intently in wide-eyed shock at his face, she might have missed it.

 

Slowly, he shook his head as though he were trying to clear it. “Explain this, miko,” he said, his voice containing a ragged edge she'd never heard before.

 

“Explain what? I have no idea what you were doing just then!”

 

He actually winced when she shouted. It was hard for her to remember that demons, especially inu youkai, had such sensitive hearing. She lowered her voice and pointed her finger at him. “You're the one acting strange, not me!”

 

“Miko,” he said slowly, “You always act strange.” He seemed to mull over his statement for a moment before he spoke again, his tone even and measured. “Perhaps…you intrigue this Sesshomaru.”

 

She wanted to say something intelligent, but the best she could do was, “Huh?”

 

His clawed hand went to the pommel of his sword, the one he'd had crafted of his own fang. “I'm afraid, little miko, that I find this unacceptable.” In one fluid graceful motion, he drew his sword.

 

 

#

 

InuYasha had left his hut right after Kagome had gone off to go to bed. He shifted in the tree he'd chosen to “sleep” in.

 

Maybe he'd been a bit rash about having that talk with Kagome.

 

She hadn't seemed as upset as he'd expected her to be, and for some reason it really bothered him.

 

It wasn't that he wanted her to be upset, but she could've cried a little. He thought she loved him. But when he'd told her, as gently as he was able, that he just couldn't move past…well…the past, she'd just smiled brightly, patted him on the top of the head, and skipped off far too merrily for someone who was supposed to be heart broken.

 

What if…what if she was in love with someone else?

 

That was unacceptable.

 

InuYasha jumped down from the tree and headed towards her hut.

 

 

A/N: Thank you so much for all the kind reviews. They are truly appreciated.