InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Strange Duet ❯ Acceptance ( Chapter 11 )

Welcome to the 11thchapter of Fallen (Strange Duet on Media Miner) everyone. All the reviews I get are always so encouraging and helpful, even if they are just words telling me to keep on going.There are going to be a few lines from the track for this chapter scattered through out.Without further ado, here is the next chapter!

 

Standard Disclaimer: Inuyasha/co are owned by Rumiko Takahashi, not me, I do own Chimokoumaru and his family, along with any other OCs that may pop in here.I do not own any lyrics unless otherwise stated that may be used in this fanfic.

 

Tracklist (C11): Sway- Lost Prophets

 

 

Another red X was marked across the fourth sheet of calendar paper as Kagome replaced the cap on to her pen and stared at it numbly in surprise.

 

Four months had passed since the fight and since she had seen the family she had left behind in the past.

 

The air was continuously growing warmer by the day and now, it was the end of May. The next day would make it the start of the fifth month that she had stayed in her era. How had time passed by so quickly without her knowledge? She asked her thoughts as she opened the window to her bedroom and looked outside into the pleasant day. Clear blue sky with a few fluffy cotton ball clouds scattered about and the green leaves and grass of the approaching summer greeted her.

 

Ever since that Reikan guy had come into her life with those two adorable little hanyou children, Kagome had found herself frequently thinking about the past and the people she had left behind without much of a goodbye.

 

What surprised her more was the actual longing to return to the days of traveling with her friends and companions. Even the prospect of another drag out fight with Naraku wasn't looking too unappealing in her eyes.

 

`I'm getting bored in this time and that's why I want to go back… isn't it?'

 

Kagome thought as she tore herself away from the window and walked over to the mirror built into her dresser and stared into it, her eyes examining every little inch of the reflection she saw in front of her. Intelligent blue-grey eyes, an admittedly pale heart shaped face and a thick, unruly, though healthy, mane of black hair that fell a little below the middle of her back.

 

Why couldn't she seem to see what made people want to be near her?

 

She was all around an average looking person, maybe a little shorter than a handful or so of girls at school but, she wasn't unremarkable in anyway that she could physically see.

 

Mentally and experience wise, there was a big difference between her fellow present day people and herself.

 

Kagome had yet to meet a human with even half of the power she had learned how to tap into.

 

You are Kagome, not just a miko and a warrior with incredible power and strength and definitely not someone who is useless. If you need to be anyone Kagome, you are my precious daughter and you are loved by your friends and family.

 

Her mother's words came back to her from the night she had come to realize that she was no longer going to be able to fool herself with the idea that she'd be “normal” after she completed the Shikon no Tama or even if she was to give all her adventures in the past up.

 

It was not her destiny to live out her life as her friends would.

 

Kagome's eyes landed on the dresser and the new backpack her mother had quietly placed into her room after the first few weeks. Made of a more durable fabric, the navy blue backpack seemed to be calling out to her, to fill it with things she and everyone else would need and then some on their travels around Japan.

 

`I know.'

 

The pale seashell pink pajamas were thrown into the white wicker hamper in the corner of her room as she pulled on her underclothes and looked into the dresser. Things flew every which way as she went through her closet and her dresser and finally zipped up the overstuffed backpack by lying on her stomach on top of the heavy thing and tugging with all her might before it would close up and stay that way. As she slung the heavy suitcase-like pack on to her shoulders, nearly toppling herself over from the weight and her unbalance at the moment, Kagome caught a look at herself in the mirror.

 

Dressed in a pair of faded blue jeans, white ankle socks, and a light blue t-shirt beneath a matching jacket, Kagome noticed that she had the sparkle that had always been in her eyes back. A slightly sad smile touched her lips as she nodded once to her reflection and opened her door to head down the stairs.

 

After all, she had called Eri, Yuka and Ayumi over to tell them as well as her family about her decision to return to her duties in the past.

 

She could hear them chattering to each other downstairs in the family room as a melancholy feeling stung her heart for a moment. Kagome knew what her decision was going to do to her friends and family. As much as she had made them worry about her after the fight with Inuyasha so long ago, traveling and fighting in the past where they couldn't reach her was going to probably tear them apart.

 

Ayumi was the one to notice the strangely slow way Kagome was moving and called out to everyone else. Her eyes darkened slightly as Kagome reached the bottom of the stairs, hands holding on to the straps of the most bulged out backpack she had ever seen in her life. It was a small wonder how it didn't just explode all over the place.

 

“Kagome-chan? What's going on?”

 

Souta froze at the sight of his sister wielding that familiar giant pack on her shoulders, different backpack but still the same kind of style as the yellow one that had gotten left behind in the past. Dark brown eyes moved from the backpack to his mother's knowing face and to Kagome's own expectant one.

 

“Sis?”

 

To all the fights I've conquered and beyond

the times have changed and I will now move over slowly…

 

Kagome let out a long sigh before she managed to look at the surprised faces of everyone in front of her. She noticed the sadness but understanding in her mother's expression before she was able to speak. Although she hadn't been able to think of anything to really explain why she was going back to the past when she still had so much pain from what had happened and so much that she hadn't been able to puzzle out, the words she spoke were able to convey it perfectly.

 

“It's time.”

 

Ayumi was the one who broke the silence between everyone, shattering the surprise with a simple question that she asked softly.

 

“Why?”

 

Her blue-grey eyes darkened slightly as she looked out the window and into the warm nearly summer day before she was able to speak.

 

“I can't leave things left undone and said in the past. If I'm ever going to try and live my life out in this time period then I'm going to have to tie up all the loose ends in the past.”

 

For the first time that anyone close to Kagome in the present day era could remember, the beloved girl paused at the door and turned around to give them the first smile that she actually meant. The sunlight beaming down on her suddenly seemed to give her more energy and color than they had seen from her in a long time as she smiled again and tried to reassure them.

 

“I'll be alright everyone, please don't worry about me.”

 

She looked up into the blue sky and seemed to find something she was looking for before she glanced back and spoke again to them.

 

“I'll be back this weekend, six days should give me enough time to do some making up with everyone in the past and answer what ever questions they ask me.”

 

Kagome strode towards the well house, opening the door as starting to head into the dark and dusty hut when her brother's voice shouting her name stopped her in her tracks.

 

“Kagome!”

 

She turned around, ready to try and comfort him before the familiar tingling sensation of a shard reached her. Souta raced up, breathless as he looked up at her and held out his hand, palm facing the sky to reveal a single shard of the Shikon no Tama. His eyes were misty and his voice shook slightly as he spoke to her.

 

“Here sis, you're gonna need it to get back to everyone back in the past. I found it under Buyo's water dish. I think it may have fallen off when he stole that necklace that one time and tried to chew on it.”

 

“Souta…thank you.”

 

Kagome said softly as she reached out and took it from her little brother's hand, watching the glow of the shard turn a pale pink as it was washed in her aura. She ruffled her not-so little brother's hair before she entered the well house and hoisted herself over the rim of the well, hearing her brother yell down to her from the entrance to the well house that he'd make sure that her homework and stuff would be taken care of and collected for her when she came back.

 

`Everyone, I'll come back. I have to come back.'

 

The familiar and welcoming embrace from the time stream opening up surprised Kagome as a smile came across her face, a tear escaped from her eye as she spoke softly as she traveled through time to get to the past.

 

“I'm back.”

 

Sunlight struck her full in the face as she stretched herself out and smiled up at the sky above her. The vines had grown thicker and wilder from her absence as she tried to find a way to climb up the natural ladder created by the thick rough vines. She had gotten about halfway up when a sudden shadow cast itself over her and blocked out the sun and was followed by a very familiar sounding half whine half rumbling growl. Her eyes snapped up and squinted as she made out the form of the pale coated youkai that always traveled with Sango.

 

“Kirara!”

 

She said in surprise as the giant cat helped her out of the well by grabbing the back of her backpack and gently pulling her up and all the way out of the structure. Once out of the well and on her own two feet, Kagome let the backpack drop on to the ground and threw her arms around Kirara's thick furred neck and hugged her.

 

`Kirara was waiting for me to get back…'

 

“I'm glad to be back Kirara.”

 

Kirara responded by giving the girl a gentle and affectionate lick on her cheek before she turned around and looked over her shoulder at the girl as if telling her to grab her things and get on her back. Kagome smiled and complied, feeling like her spirit was already lightening up from being back in the past.

 

`In a way, I'm home again…'

 

“Let's go Kirara, there's a lot of people I need to apologize to.”

 

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She had returned.

 

He had now confirmed the strange feeling that had overtaken him a brief moment ago when he had been studying the giant tree that Inuyasha frequently rested in the branches of with his very own eyes.

 

Hidden in the shadows, Sesshoumaru allowed himself to hear what the girl had said to the fire cat and felt his eyes narrow with the prospect of this new puzzle.

 

How had she suddenly returned because of a well?

 

More importantly, why had she returned after four full cycles of the moon?

 

So many questions about the girl were burning into his mind, each one springing forth a new one until he was nearly ready to snatch her off of the youkai's back and take her somewhere until she had sufficiently answered all of his questions.

 

Only when he realized that he had started to edge out of the shadows of the forest did he collect his thoughts and change his mind.

 

This girl, this Kagome who raised so many questions, was not something to be taken lightly nor without careful planning.

 

He would have to find a way to place his questions at a proper time and when she could not get away from him. If it came to be, he would trap her like he had the last time, when she had agreed to become his by training under him.

 

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Sango had the oddest feeling, and it wasn't the nausea that had been following her for the past three or four days when she had caught the smell of cooking meat either. She walked out of Kaede's hut, the elderly priestess suddenly telling her that she and Miroku needed to go with Shippou outside for a moment.

 

`I'm worried about her, she hasn't been well and that cough is getting worse.'

 

“Sango? Is something the matter?”

 

Ah, there was the love of her life right now, she thought smiling as she turned around to see him pushing off the wall that he had been leaning on and walking towards her. Though by his choice and decision in marrying her he was no longer a monk, he still carried the staff and wore the robes of one.

 

“Kaede wanted me to come out here for some reason, where's Shippou-chan?”

 

Miroku raised an eyebrow as he looked around for a moment and called out to something moving on top of one of the roofs.

 

“Shippou! Come here for a moment if it isn't too much trouble.”

 

A flash of leaf green fire emerged in front of them and dissipated to reveal a nearly thigh high Shippou standing in front of Sango. He looked surprised and curious as he folded his arms across his chest.

 

“What's up Miroku? Why're you and Sango out here?”

 

“Kaede wanted us to be together for some reason and I'm not too sure why as of y-”

 

Sango stopped in mid-sentance and froze, maroon eyes widening as a hand moved up and pressed itself against her mouth. Miroku frowned and looked to where Sango was staring in shock before he felt his own mouth drop open in surprise. Shippou looked as well and swallowed hard before he felt tears in his eyes.

 

Riding on Kirara was none other than Kagome.

 

“She's back…”

 

Shippou heard Sango whisper as he smelled the tears start to fall down her face. He tried to fight his own but felt it go out of his control when the woman riding the cat started to come down from the sky and towards the ground. She waved at all of them before she cupped her hands beside her mouth and shouted down to them.

 

“Sango-chan! Miroku-sama! Shippou-chan!”

 

Kirara quickly set down and grabbed Kagome's bag from the girl's hands with her teeth and dragged it off towards Kaede's hut, leaving the girl behind to face her owner and the man she had married. Some things were best left to be private, the cat thought to herself as she continued on her way into the hut.

 

Kagome stood there, hair disheveled from the windy ride to the village and her eyes filled with tears as she looked at each one of her friends. Shippou had grown so much and there was something about the way Sango and Miroku were standing that made her think something had happened between them.

 

Inuyasha was not among them.

 

`Everyone looks so…relieved right now, do I look the same?'

 

“I'm back.”

 

She had barely gotten the words out before she was attacked by Sango, Miroku and Shippou.

 

In a display of tears, tight embraces and tearful yet overjoyed laughter, three of the four people who belonged to Kagome's family in the feudal era showed the girl just how much they had missed having her around.

 

Sango refused to let her embrace loosen from the girl until Miroku had told her that everyone else would probably want a turn to hug the girl. She had given Miroku a half hearted glare before stepping back, wiping at her eyes as Shippou jumped up and was caught and held fiercely by Kagome.

 

Even though the youngest of their group had insisted he was a man and that he wouldn't cry anymore, he was still crying like he had the moment he had realized that Kagome wasn't coming back and holding her as if she was going to disappear if he let her go even a little bit.

 

Miroku was the next one to hug her and he didn't even try and grope her, far too relieved just to see that she was alive, well and unharmed in her ordeal to even think about pulling one of his infamous tricks on her.

 

After another round of hugs and tears had gone by, the four were still wiping tears away from their eyes as Sango managed to speak for all of them.

 

“Are you alright Kagome-chan?”

 

Blue-grey eyes darkened slightly as she looked for Inuyasha in the village, she couldn't sense his aura anywhere near the village but, it seemed like he was in the forest somewhere. Kagome shook her head to clear her thoughts, squeezing Sango's hands as she replied gently to her friend's question.

 

`Where is he? He…he and I need to talk.'

 

“I will be after Inuyasha and I talk some things out.”

 

She hugged Sango tightly again and moved back a little to look at Miroku and then return her gaze to Sango.

 

“Something's different about you two, what happened while I was away?”

 

Before Sango or Miroku could speak, Shippou piped up, sounding absolutely disgusted and impatient with the couple.

 

“They finally got it over with and admitted that they loved each other. They're like my pa and ma were.”

 

Sango and Miroku's faces turned a matching shade of red as Kagome's jaw dropped before a smile came over her face, lighting up her eyes as she looked to them for confirmation.

 

`They're married?!'

 

“Sango-chan, Miroku-sama, how long have you two been together now?”

 

Miroku's eyes darkened as his hand slid down and touched Sango's, feeling her fingers lace through his before he responded. He and Sango had both prayed that Kagome would be returned to them and there would need to be an outstanding offering of thanks for their prayers being answered.

 

“We became man and wife a little over a week after Inuyasha informed us of the argument between the two of you.”

 

They knew mentioning Inuyasha would bring a slight shadow over the girl's cheerful spirits at the moment and were correct as they watched her look towards the forest and shake her head for a moment before she smiled back at them, she was preoccupied but still able to whole heartedly smile at them.

 

“I'm happy for the both of you. If you guys would have taken too much longer, I would have ended up having to try and do something about it myself!”

 

They all laughed at that, knowing that Kagome surely would have come up with some outrageous way for Miroku and Sango to admit their feelings for one another and have somehow gotten Inuyasha involved right with it too.

 

Surprisingly, Shippou was the one who brought up the subject of Inuyasha, his leaf green eyes darkened slightly as he leaned against Kagome's thigh, head resting lightly against her body as he looked up at her.

 

`They need to work it out, I don't wanna be separated anymore.'

 

“Kagome, are you and Inuyasha going to fix things between you? I don't like being separated from both of you.”

 

Kagome's voice caught in her throat as she ruffled Shippou darkening hair, give him about four or five more years and he'd probably top her by at least half a foot and his hair would be a dark auburn or even a black-red in color. Her eyes darkened as she finally managed to get the words out.

 

“Yes, I think…I'm going to go and do that right now.”

 

As she turned to leave the village, she stopped and turned to look at the small trio who were about to follow. A sad yet knowing smile on her face as she shook her head at them.

 

“I'm sorry everyone, but, I think this is something that Inuyasha and I need to sort out by ourselves. We'll be back when we're finished, I promise.”

 

Shippou watched her walk towards the entrance of the forest, pause right at the very edge of the village and reach into her pocket. Something metallic flashed in the sun before he caught the faintest whiff of her blood. He was puzzled for a moment before he realized what Kagome was doing.

 

Her voice wouldn't reach him if he was deep inside the forest, but her scent and that of her blood in the open air sure as hell would.

 

`Good luck Kagome…and please bring back Inuyasha too. I miss our family being together.'

 

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There was no mistaking that scent.

 

He had smelt it on very few occasions but he knew the smell of Kagome's blood as if he had been drenched in it at one time and still had it clinging to his skin.

 

Kagome had come back.

 

Never had he moved so fast in the past four months as he did at that moment to go and see her again. Amber eyes searched frantically for her as he suddenly spotted her right on the outside of the village, standing there with a scrap of light blue fabric stained with a few spots of her blood wrapped around one of her fingers.

 

`You really did come back…'

 

But through it all

I still feel lost without you

Hard to find a new soul

The silence takes its toll…

 

He landed about twenty feet in front of her and stood up slowly, half expecting her to hand over the shard he could feel on her and half expecting her to try and kill him for not trying to bring her back or something like that. Never before had he flinched really in front of her until she had taken that first step towards him.

 

`What…what can I do or say to her that will make things right again?!'

 

“Kagome…I…”

 

His ears flattened slightly against his head as he looked away from the softly smiling girl in front of him. For some reason he couldn't manage to finish his sentence as he stared at a rock on the ground. Inuyasha wondered why the rock had started to look a little blurred at the edges before he was startled out of his confusion by a gentle and warm touch on his hand.

 

He looked up sharply to find that Kagome had crossed the distance between them and was standing barely five inches away from him. Her hand was on his, holding it gently as she looked into his eyes. For some reason he was surprised to find tears in her eyes as he met her eyes.

 

`When will the day come that she doesn't have tears in her eyes because of me?'

 

Kagome hadn't been able to help the tears that formed in her eyes after he had landed in front of her.

 

He had the most heartbreaking expression on his face and in his eyes that she had ever seen. Even the one in her era, before they had walked separate ways, hadn't been that painful to see. She thought she knew what he was thinking.

 

It was too much to hope for that she was back to stay again.

 

`I've hurt everyone because I was selfish…'

 

“Inuyasha, let's go somewhere by ourselves, together, and talk. I think we're overdue for a long one, don't you?”

 

He could hardly breathe at the moment, it was almost as if she were telling him that they were going to talk because she was going to stay, to continue to be at his side even after all that had happened.

 

It was too good to be true and yet, he wanted to believe it.

 

“Y-Yeah. Where should we go?”

 

Kagome's expression turned thoughtful before she looked back at him and gave a slight shrug and spoke.

 

“I really don't know. I think Miroku-sama and everyone will be expecting us to go to the Goshinboku so, let's go somewhere that they can't find us.”

 

An idea came into her mind.

 

“Is there a waterfall, a really big one anywhere not too far away from the village?”

 

Inuyasha frowned for a moment before his eyes lit up slightly, he knew of the perfect place. Sango and that damn monk had only been there once and wouldn't dare do it again without his permission.

 

He just hoped his mother's spirit could forgive him for using her burial site as a place to work out his problems.

 

“Yeah, it ain't a waterfall but it's got water and it's somewhere we'll have some privacy to talk.”

 

His eyes turned towards the west as he felt Kagome began to tug him along in that direction, walking beside her even as his thoughts became confused and desperate.

 

How could he convince Kagome that he'd do anything to keep her from leaving like that again?

 

He stopped, Kagome looking behind her in concern as she noticed the way he was looking away from her.

 

“Kagome.”

 

Her heart froze in her chest as she managed to blurt out an answer.

 

“What's up?”

 

He still didn't look at her as he responded hesitantly, as if afraid that she'd yell at him.

 

“We'd get there faster if you got on my back. You don't have to but, it'd be faster.”

 

She smiled in relief and walked around behind him, watching as he crouched down and shook her head for a moment before she climbed on like she always had, settling her legs comfortably as she held on to his shoulders before he sprang off into a dead run.

 

`He either wants to talk this out or he wants to get it over with. Either way, it's good to be back again…'

 

“Okay.”

 

Inuyasha nearly closed his eyes at the comforting feel of Kagome's weight against his back. He always felt more complete and free when she was with him, as if nothing really could threaten him or cause him pain as long as she was there with him.

 

`She's lost some weight, she was never heavy to begin with…'

 

“Might want to rest a little, it'll take me a while to get there even at this speed. I'll let you know when we're there.”

 

Kagome smiled again and rested her head against his back, eyes closing as she allowed herself to put her complete trust in him yet again.

 

`Whatever happens between us now, I still know I can trust him to carry me and not let me get hurt.'

 

For some reason the furious amber eyes of Sesshoumaru and the expression on his face from when Inuyasha had tried to push her behind his body and had knocked her instead to the ground came into her mind.

 

Her eyes snapped open as she frowned in confusion.

 

Why was she thinking of him now when she was just about to fix things between herself and Inuyasha?

 

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