InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Special delivery ❯ Soothing words ( Chapter 46 )

Chapter 46: Soothing words

 

 

A/N: Yes yes you are not dreaming, it is an early update!!!

 

Hello dear readers. Here's the next chapter. It's more of a transitional one. After all we'll soon enter the last phase of the story…

 

Thank you to my beloved reviewers:

 

Sychotic

Soojinyeh

Sesshkagufan13

Little25victor

FoxFire7

Shoushin

 

Veneer of vanity (Always great to get a new reviewer)

 

Sesskagufan13 (The identity of the mysterious Sakura will be revealed soon. And the love birds seeing each other again? Well we'll see about that lol)

 

Once again thank you to Dogsfang for the PM.

 

 

On MediaMiner.org

 

Zetsuii (Is Kagura Sakura's long lost relative?... you know I can't answer that.. yet. Will the dinner go well? You know my writing well enough to guess lol)

 

Disclaimer: If I owned Inuyasha, Sesshy and Kagura would be happily mated and working on silver haired baby number three by now…

 

 

“Talking”

`Thoughts'

 

 

It was a Saturday evening and Sesshoumaru was sitting on his couch, watching an old movie. He was bored and wished to distract himself. After all he was aware that at the same time the engagement dinner Mrs. Higurashi was hosting was about to start any time. What bugged him was that Kagura would attend, and that he wanted to see her.

 

The dog demon reached over to his coffee table to take his cup of tea. In it was a green brew, which was as close to one of Izayoi's natural remedies his personal physician had ever managed to get.

 

`Again one of those horrible headaches. Strangely when Kagura and Kanna had been living with me my migraines had eased.' He drained the rest of his cup and tried focusing on his movie.

 

To his surprise he suddenly heard a knock at his door. Sighing he went to answer it.

 

“Inuyasha?! What are you doing here? I grow weary of your visits.” He told his brother. The hanyou was on his doorstep carrying his son in his arms.

 

“Feh! It's not like I'm happy to see you. I came here for a reason.”

 

“Which would be…” The older Takahashi brother trailed off.

 

“Keh! Isn't it evident? I came to pick you up.” The half dog demon stated as he stepped into his brother's penthouse. “What?! You aren't dressed yet?!”

 

“I am obviously not attending.” Sesshoumaru scoffed. He then proceeded to push his brother away, trying to shove him through the door.

 

“Told you he was not going to come.” Shippou said amused. The young fox demon was securely tucked inside his father's strong arm. “Dad you shouldn't let mom convince you into doing stuff. It never works out for you.” The fox demon knew that it was Kagome who had forced his father to fetch his brother for the engagement dinner party.

 

“Goodnight and have fun.” Sesshoumaru declared as he tried to push the door of his apartment close with more force, ignoring his brother's attempts to thwart him.

 

“Hey wait. At least let me give you your daily update now instead of bugging me over the phone tomorrow.”

 

“You already told me about her enrollment in school, and her helping your future mother in-law with the cooking tonight.”

 

“Are you talking about Kagura?” Shippou asked eager to find out something new.

 

“Silence runt. You better not talk to anyone about this unless you want your uncle Fluffy to hurt you, and I wouldn't protect you for sure…” Inuyasha warned his son. Shippou's green eyes opened wide in shock before he answered.

 

“I didn't hear a word!” For good measure the child even placed his hands over his pointy ears.

 

“What is it you wanted to say little brother?” The dog demon asked trying not to sound as interested as he truly was. He however stopped trying to shove his brother out of his penthouse.

 

“Well okay fine I have nothing new to tell you. The wench just wanted for you to come according to her it would please Kagura.”

 

“And Kanna too!” Shippou volunteered.

 

“Didn't I tell you not to talk?!” The half demon asked his son, who quickly shut his mouth again.

 

“Goodbye.” Not bothering to say anymore Sesshoumaru closed the door on his brother and nephew.

 

“Get off your sorry ass and do something already. You're pathetic!” Despite the thickness of the door Inuyasha's words came to Sesshoumaru's sensitive ears easily.

 

`Annoyances.' The dog demon thought to himself as he walked back to his couch to watch the rest of his movie. Unfortunately for him he could not find any interest in it anymore. In spite of himself his brother's words kept swirling in his head. He wondered for the hundredth time if he was handling the `Kagura' situation in the best way possible.

 

`Maybe that idiot of Inuyasha is right and I should be more aggressive to get back Kagura…' He thought to himself. Still unsure about the best course of action he simply sat back down and tried to concentrate on his movie, and ignore the words inside his head which pointed out his will to attend the dinner.

 

 

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As her hands worked fast at chopping, Kagura's mind wandered to the classes she had just signed for. She had been shocked when she had received an acceptance letter to the scholarship she had applied for, but as soon as she received it she had wasted no time to register at the local college for the summer semester which had started only a few days ago.

 

Without the worry of being able to afford her tuition, which the scholarship would cover in full, she felt a weight lift off her shoulder. After much consideration and an appointment with her academic counselor, Kagura had decided to take interior design as a major and architecture as a minor. Her decision had mainly derived from the time she had spent with Sesshoumaru, and what he had made her discover about art and architecture.

 

`I'm looking forward to most of my classes though the Western history one might prove to be challenging; I've never been good at history. Remembering all these dates and events is a hassle…' She thought to herself worriedly. After attending her history course only twice she could already tell that she was going to have a hard time with it. However her major courses seemed to be a lot of fun.

 

`To think that if I hadn't met Sessh I would've never known about design and architecture…' She thought to herself, heaving a sigh.

 

She shook her head trying to rid her mind of her classes. Other than her future course load what weighed on her mind was that she was not going to be seeing Sesshoumaru tonight. A part of her had been convinced until the end that he was going to come to the dinner party of Mrs. Higurashi. The arrival of Inuyasha and Shippou without him had however managed to wipe away all her hopes.

 

`It's maybe because of me that he didn't come. He probably didn't want to see me. I did tell him I'd be attending. That's too bad because it is a family celebration in which he should participate… Perhaps he really is mad at me. I had hoped that maybe tonight we would have been able to talk and maybe… just maybe make up.' The wind sorceress thought to herself, her heart feeling heavy. Now that she had managed to be independent financially and to go back to school, she could see nothing standing in the way of resuming her relationship with Sesshoumaru, or at least attempt to.

 

`That is if he still wants me and if he can understand me. Maybe I pushed him too much, and wasted too much time. Maybe it's simply too late for him…' The sad thought made her stop cutting her vegetables, her crimson gaze staring blankly in front of her. `I didn't ask him to wait for me or anything, so if he got with someone else I only have myself to blame.' She thought remembering how after one of their early arguments the dog demon had wasted no time to go to a bar and picked up a stranger to bring home for the evening. The thought of him with another woman, in the bed they had shared, hurt Kagura as if someone had jut squeezed her heart.

 

“You seem thoughtful Kagura are you okay?” Hana asked using the motherly tone that always managed to melt the wind sorceress's heart.

 

“Yeah…” Kagura answered meekly. Not willing to worry Mrs. Higurashi, she went back to chopping down vegetables for the beef stew she was making. It was a recipe the whole Higurashi family had adored so she was making it for the engagement dinner.

 

At her vague words the older woman stopped icing her cake and turned to look thoughtfully at the wind witch in her kitchen. During the past month she had come to see Kagura as some sort of daughter and truly cared for her.

 

“I was once told it was easier to speak about one's problems to get them to go away. Would you like to try?” She asked gently. Since she had not received any tangible answer earlier she decided to change tactic and try pressing on Kagura's emotional feelings.

 

“It's nothing. I'm just worried about my classes it's all.” Kagura slightly distorted the truth. She truly cared for Mrs. Higurashi and did not want to worry her; especially on a day this special to her.

 

“Hum I am not trying to pry, but maybe there is more to it… Maybe Sesshoumaru Takahashi has something to do with your worried expression…” Hana had for a long time hesitated about breeching the subject, but she could not go along without trying to help Kagura ease her mind. She had easily identified the disappointment on the wind sorceress's face when Inuyasha and Shippou had come without Sesshoumaru, and seeing Kagura ache hurt her. “I am so sorry. I am sure you would have liked to see him tonight…”

 

“Hum am I this transparent?” Kagura asked as she turned away from the kitchen counter she was working on to look at the older woman. After being found out she simply could not keep working on her vegetables.

 

“If it is any comfort I am a very perceptive woman. Do you want to talk about it?” She tried pressing again.

 

“Sure I wanted to see Sessh tonight, but what hurts me the most is that it's my fault he's not here to begin with. I've been stupid. I've hurt everyone from Kanna to Sesshoumaru and myself… I've messed up everything. I told him I'd be here tonight, and he obviously went out of his way not to come. I wanted to make things right… but it seems that the more I try the more messed up things get. It's gotten to the point where I wonder about my own decisions.” Kagura felt a little awkward about pouring out her heart to the older woman, but her friend's mother somehow had managed to make her trust her enough to tell her about her problems.

 

`Besides I do need someone to talk to. Yura is off god knows where with her new husband, and I can't tell Kagome about it since she tells everything to her future husband, who despite his claims is close to his brother…' Kagura thought to herself.

 

“Do you want to get back with Sesshoumaru?” Hana asked cautiously. She was not entirely sure about what Kagura was referring to when it came to her `decisions,' but even if she was not told everything she still wanted to help the wind sorceress sort through her thoughts as much as she could.

 

“Yes I do. I… care about him… a lot. But I made a mess of things. I've told him pretty mean things before I left, and I ignored his feelings…”

 

`Not to mention that he must feel like I gave up on him… or that I gave up on us. He probably even replaced me…' Even if she hoped the probability of this being true was low, thinking about it hurt. The image of him with another woman she had seen in Kanna's mirror was not helping settling her mind.

 

“Do not be so hard on yourself. I am sure you have been trying your best.” Hana tried cheering her up. “Knowing you I am sure that you have only been trying to protect your daughter as any mother would.”

 

“Look at where that got me. Kanna is hurting, I can tell.” Kagura thought back to the fact that her daughter had resorted to spying on Sesshoumaru using her powers. `She missed him so much and wanted to see him so much that she actually resorted to using her powers. After hearing her talk with Sesshoumaru the day we went to pick up her Kuma-chan, I should have guessed something like this would happen. But once again I failed my daughter…'

 

“She may be young, but Kanna is very intelligent. You should not worry about her so much. She will be just fine. Besides you need to think about your own happiness as well.”

 

“My happiness?” Kagura echoed in surprise.

 

“Oh yes. As much as you as a mother should put your child first, you should not forget about yourself. It is easy to lose yourself into your responsibilities, instead of thinking about your own well being. You are a person who needs to find happiness as well.”

 

“Compared to Kanna's my own happiness doesn't matter.” The wind sorceress said with a sigh. She felt like she would be able to be happy as long as her daughter was.

 

`She already lucked out by being born in Naraku's family, and having me as a mom, so the least I can do is make sure she's happy. By getting involved with Sesshoumaru before thinking of possible consequences I might have hurt my daughter; however, from now I'll definitely put her first.'

 

“Oh no I do not wish to hear you speak like this. Kagura it is not too late for you to find happiness. You are so young, and have such a bright future in front of you; I am sure of it.” Mrs. Higurashi smiled encouragingly.

 

`Maybe Hana is right. There must be a way for both Kanna and I to be happy at the same time.' Kagura thought to herself. `I know that living with Sesshoumaru made both of us happy. Although I screwed up everything again by leaving him…'

 

“Sometimes I feel like I wanted too much. I feel like I traded happiness for independence. I wanted to rely only on myself, and for that I pushed away one of the most important person to me.” The wind sorceress said sadly.

 

“Why do I hear guilt and regret talking here? You cannot fool me. I can vividly recall the joy on your face when you told us about taking classes at the college. There is nothing wrong with going after success and independence and enjoying them. Moreover you can have it both ways. It is possible to have both independence from a man and happiness.”

 

“I guess I do enjoy being independent.” Kagura relented, a small smile etching on her ruby lips. “Although I never could have guessed it would be so bittersweet. I imagined that all I would need would be my own job, my own apartment or even being able to have a college education. But I'm still not satisfied. I feel like there's something missing.”

 

“Oh my poor dear, finding your own way to happiness is one of the most difficult things to do. I know it firsthand. I had never lived on my own, and I married young. I went directly from my parents' house to my husband's. Kyousuke, my husband had always been the bread winner and the one to take care of the shrine. After he died in a car accident I was afraid. Suddenly I had two very young children to care and provide for, not to mention that I also had to look after the shrine. Even Matsu was worried. He was already old and since his only son had died and that his grandson was but a baby he was convinced the end of his family heirloom had come. He even entertained the idea of selling the shrine…” Hana said a frown on her face as she remembered the sad times.

 

“Really? He is so attached to it. I mean he is always going on and on about how long the shrine has been in his family.” Kagura gasped in shock. Her ears were still ringing from the lashing her friend's grandfather had given her when she had bumped a wooden chair into a wall of the well house the previous week when she had moved furniture around. He had gone on to explain to her how precious the wall was since the well house had been in his family for more than 500 years, before the city itself had even been constructed, and that non humanoid demons still roamed the streets.

 

“Oh yes. He was convinced that a young mother of two would never be able to manage his family institution and two young children. My Kyousuke loved this shrine and the home and family we had made in it, so I decided to work hard to take care of everything in his stead. It was not easy, and I had to work hard and sacrifice a lot, but I have done well I believe. I have two wonderful children, and the shrine is doing better than ever. He might never say it aloud, but even Matsu was quite surprised by how greatly we worked together, and how well we were able to turn the shrine in a profitable business.”

 

Hana paused to smile. “Now in retrospect I can say that raising my children in the shrine of their father's family was my way to find happiness. This is what you have to do too Kagura. Find your own path to happiness, and if I may say so I think that it would not consist of only being independent, but would also involve a certain dog demon…After all you are a beautiful and very young woman, who definitely should not stay alone for the rest of her days.” Hana said the last sentence with a mischievous twinkle in her dark eyes.

 

`Sesshoumaru being my path to happiness?...' Kagura could not help but chuckle. Despite herself she could not help but think about what Hana had told her. “I don't know if I'll be able to get back with him anyway. It might be too late now.” She finally voiced one of her greatest fears, something that had been on her mind for a long time. Was it too late to mend things with Sesshoumaru?

 

“You have no need to worry too much Kagura dear. Whatever you feel like you did wrong, Sesshoumaru will forgive you. If he cares about you as much as I suspect he does, he will. He would not be able to hold such a grudge.”

 

“Have you met him?” Kagura snorted. She still vividly remembered Sesshoumaru's cold, antisocial and unfeeling disposition when they had first met several months ago.

 

“Oh yes on several occasions. Despite his frosty ways he is quite a charming young man. Just like his brother it is clear that when he cares about someone he is willing to go to great lengths for that person. He surely understands why you decided to leave. Besides knowing you, I am sure you had legitimate reasons to do so. Therefore you should not try to shoulder all the blame for the situation. The next time you see Sesshoumaru try your best to make amends with him. I am sure that everything will work out then.”

 

Hana let a secretive smile appear on her lips. Despite how much they had tried to hide it, she had found out about the surveillance of the wind sorceress Sesshoumaru had organized through his brother. One afternoon when the hanyou had come to drop off his son for a play date with Kanna while Kagura was working at the restaurant, Hana had accidently overheard Inuyasha give his brother his daily update. Even though she wanted nothing more than to alleviate Kagura's worries, and tell her about Sesshoumaru's plan, she had been sworn to secrecy by the younger Takahashi brother. It was then and there that Hana realized how much Sesshoumaru must truly love Kagura.

 

The older woman smiled gently when she noticed the unconvinced look on the wind sorceress's face.

 

`Ah my dear Kagura something tells me that soon your reservations will be proven wrong.' The older woman thought to herself. She then reached towards the wind sorceress to give her a tight loving and healing hug.

 

“I only hope you're right Hana.” Kagura whispered as she gladly accepted the older woman's motherly hug. It had felt good to be comforted in her decisions and ideas, and to be encouraged.

 

`I guess that's the kind of discussions mothers and daughters usually have… not something I am used to.' Kagura thought to herself, a bittersweet smile on her lips.

 

They broke apart and Mrs. Higurashi took a few steps back to the kitchen counter where her cake lay forgotten. Just as silence settled in between them and that Kagura was worried about the air becoming stuffy or uncomfortable a shuffling sound came towards the kitchen. The two women turned around and were shocked to see a worried looking Kagome walk in carrying Kanna. Inuyasha was following with a teary eyed Shippou in his arms.

 

“What's going on?” Kagura asked as she walked towards her friend

 

“It hurts.” Kanna said pointing at her chest, her dark eyes filled with tears. The little girl suddenly let out a cough, which caused a feeling of dread to rise into her mother.

 

“I know you told me about Kanna having pneumonia before, so when she started coughing I…” Kagome said with a quivering voice, handing the little girl to her mother.

 

“How long have you been hurting baby?” The wind sorceress asked her daughter as she walked past everyone to head towards the front door, hugging Kanna close to her chest.

 

“Not long.” Kanna answered coughing some more.

 

“I need to get to that clinic… the one where Sessh took us before. I can't remember the name of it though.” In her panic the wind witch had a hard time thinking straight. It was only when she approached the door that she realized she had no idea how to get to the clinic considering that it was a Sunday evening and that buses were scarce.

 

“Oi. I'm parked right in front. I'll give you a ride. The place he took you to must have been the private clinic. We can be there in fifteen minutes or so.” The half demon said as he fished his car keys out of his pocket. “Kagome look after Shippou for a while.”

 

“No I'm coming with you. I would be too worried otherwise. Mama can you look after Shippou?” Kagome asked turning towards her mother.

 

“Of course. Grandpa, Souta and I will stay behind with Shippou. You guys go on ahead, but do let me know about how things turn out.” The older woman said tears rising in her eyes. She quickly took Shippou from his father's arms and worked on comforting the frightened child.

 

“I will pray that everything goes well and make a few healing talismans for Kanna.” Matsu declared as Kagura, Inuyasha and his granddaughter walked past him and Souta. The old man had grown very attached to the little girl and feared for her health.

 

“Yeah. Don't bother about a thing except getting Kanna helped.” Souta agreed.

 

“Inuyasha. Kagome. Let's go.” Kagura said decisively as she went out of the door to the shrine's courtyard, her crying daughter in her arms.

 

 

 

To be continued…

 

A/N: Kanna is having a relapse? We'll see what Kagura will do. And what about Sesshoumaru? The next chapter will be named Support system. I intended to let you wonder, but I'll come out with it: Sesshoumaru and Kagura will (finally) see each other again next time! There probably won't be any updates next week though sorry!