InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Strange New World ❯ Here Without You ( Chapter 2 )

Strange New World

Chapter Two - Here Without You

By Crow Skywalker

----------

Disclaimer - I do not own Inuyasha, or its characters. It belongs to Rumiko Takahashi, and I'm not making any money off of writing fanfiction.

Author's Notes - Okay..*rubs hands together* So here it is, the second chapter. Sorry it's not as long as the last one (although it's pretty close)…I just couldn't write anymore. It had to be left off there…otherwise it wouldn't feel right, lol. And I also added a bit…the ending originally didn't have Sesshomaru in it at all. Anyway, sorry for any changes…such as Shippo and Rin. I just figured that since four years have passed, Shippo would have at least grown a little. I wasn't quite sure about the ages, either. I figured Shippo looks about seven in human years right now (probably a bit younger than that, actually) and Rin looks like she's around ten…so I just went with that. Sorry if that's wrong. Okay…with that said…go on, read the chapter! Enjoy!

Other Notes - I'm going to leave the rating at PG-13 for now, just because I know there will be swearing later on in the fic. However, I may up the rating at any time, so be prepared for that. This fic will contain the pairings Sesshomaru/Kagome, and may or may not include Miroku/Sango, Inuyasha/Kikyo, or others, depending on how far I take the fic. If you don't like these pairings or characters, please, feel free to flame me and be an idiot. I will only laugh at you.

Summary -When Naraku and Kikyo join forces to take care of Sesshomaru and Inuyasha and Rin goes missing, Sesshomaru must search out the aid of a miko to help get the girl back.

----------

The sun was still up when they arrived back at the Shrine. Hojo, being a complete gentleman and a good friend, had insisted upon walking Kagome home.

Smiling as she stood at the bottom of the many stairs leading up to the family Shrine, Kagome pushed a loose strand of her dark hair behind her ear saying, "Thanks for supper, Hojo. It was very kind of you."

Hojo brightened, his short hair blowing slightly in the small evening breeze. "Hey, no problem! We haven't really gotten the chance to talk since graduation. It was good to hang out with you again Kagome - I had fun."

Kagome nodded, pushing another strand of wind blown hair out of her face. "Yeah, I did too. I've missed talking to my old friends," she admitted, her smile faltering slightly. Most of her friends had either moved away since school had ended or were too busy with work or school these days. The last time that they'd all been together had been graduation day, and that was over two months ago now.

"Ayumi's coming back from America soon, I think." Hojo told her, "She wrote me a letter a few weeks ago. Her English has gotten quite good, I must admit."

"Really? Well we'll have to get together when she gets back, the three of us. It will almost be like old times!" Kagome's smile returned.

"I'll make sure to tell her. I'm sure she's missed you a lot."

Kagome opened her mouth, about to say something when she was cut off when she heard Souta calling her. Looking up, she saw him standing on the top steps, waving one arm wildly in the air.

"Souta, what do you want?" Kagome called up to him, quite annoyed that her little brother was interrupting her conversation.

"Mom is looking for you!" He called back, his arm dropping limply to his side now that he had caught her attention, "And Inu -" He caught himself from saying 'Inuyasha' in front of Hojo, "Your friend with the funny colored hair was here looking for you!"

Kagome's mouth opened, whispering the dog hanyou's name soft enough so that Hojo didn't hear her, her heart almost stopping as she called back up, "Is he still here?"

From where he stood, Souta shook his head no. Kagome sighed in relief. If the hanyou spotted her with Hojo, he'd probably go ballistic! And the last thing she wanted to deal with right now was a jealous and possessive hanyou.

"I've got to go," She told Hojo, turning to face him. If Inuyasha were there once, then he'd most likely come back very soon. "Sorry."

"That's okay," Hojo waved a hand. "I have to get going anyway. If I don't get home soon, my room mate will probably throw another one of his parties again, and I'll be stuck serving drinks all night."

"See you soon?"

"Yeah." He turned and started to walk away, "See you next time we're both on duty!" He called back at her, and he soon disappeared down the road.

With a sigh, Kagome jogged up the stairs to meet her brother, her right hand tightly holding onto the bag containing her hospital uniform.

"He was pretty mad," She heard Souta say as she passed by him, "You were supposed to be home hours ago." His grim look suddenly turned into a big grin, "So you were out with Hojo, huh? Anything going on that I should know about?"

Kagome raised an eyebrow at him, giving him a somewhat frustrated look, and didn't bother to answer his questions as she walked across the yard.

"Are you and Hojo an item yet?" Souta continued to ask, keeping up with her fast pace, seemingly not caring that she wasn't going to answer him. He suddenly clicked his tongue, "You know big sis, I'm afraid I don't approve."

Kagome suddenly turned on him, "And what, you approve of a half demon pain in the ass known as Inuyasha?" She snapped, suddenly angry. It wasn't often that she spent time in the company of the opposite sex - males who weren't arrogant hanyous or lecherous monks, anyway. Spending time with such a well mannered guy such as Hojo made her realize how badly her love life well…sucked! It was non-existent for one - she'd pined away after an oblivious Inuyasha for years, and she was still hopelessly in love with him, even though he didn't appreciate her one bit! It just wasn't fair!

With a frustrated growl, Kagome turned and started to stalk away once again. Thinking about all of the time..all of the emotions she'd waited on Inuyasha - it just made her so mad! Why couldn't she find a nice guy like Hojo, someone who appreciated her and brought her flowers and all that romantic junk? No, she had to be in love with a hanyou boy who was still fixed on his ex lover! It frustrated her to no end!

"Hojo is too much of a do gooder." Souta said simply with a shrug, catching up to her. Following her into the house, he watched as she threw her bag down, bending over to remove her shoes. Had he said something wrong? Why was she so angry all of a sudden?

"Stupid Inuyasha.." He heard her say through gritted teeth, "I bet when I see him next he'll yell at me and call me names! And then he'll start accusing me of seeing other guys…the stupid, confused, possessive jerk!"

Oooh, so that's why! Souta frowned. He liked Inuyasha, thinking of the older boy as some kind of older brother..but supposedly everything wasn't going according to plans in paradise, it seemed.

Finally standing up, Kagome tried to change the subject. "What did mom cook for supper?" She asked, her anger at the hanyou fading. She could never stay mad at anyone for very long, not even annoying hanyous who got on her nerves at least once a day.

"Mom never cooked supper," Souta went along with it, and when Kagome gave him a puzzled look he puffed out his chest proudly, "I did."

"Really?" The older sibling grinned, putting her shoes off to the side, "Soon you'll be able to take over Grandpa's job as man out of the house!" Grabbing for her bag, she elbowed him playfully, "You gonna tell silly old stories too?" She teased, moving past him.

"No way!" Souta replied, quickly taking off his own shoes and heading for the living room. Plopping down on the couch, he yelled to her, "When I become man of the house, you'll be the first to go!" He laughed so that she would know he was only joking.

From somewhere across the room a pillow came flying at him, Kagome's own laughter filling the room at Souta's started look as it hit him in the head and landed on the floor in front of the couch.

Giving Kagome an evil look, mischief gleaming in his eyes, Souta grabbed the pillow and threw it back at her, grinning widely as he watched her dodge out of the way.

The pillow throwing continued until the sound of footsteps coming down the stairs alerted them that their mother would soon appear in the doorway, and, looking down at the ruffled pillows, they both glanced at each other before running off in different directions before Mrs. Higurashi discovered what her new couch pillows now looked like.

-----

Sango sighed in relief upon seeing Inuyasha wandering out of the forest, his face set in his usual angry scowl. Shippo, who had been sitting impatiently in her lap suddenly sat up with his nose twitching, smelling, rather than seeing, the hanyou. Pulling away from the demon exterminator, Shippo jumped his feet, his eyes searching past Inuyasha, looking for someone else.

"Where's Kagome?" His nose twitched again as he inhaled deeply, trying to catch the girl's scent.

Sango rubbed her legs, glad that Shippo had moved off of her. Over the past few years Shippo had grown at least a foot taller, and was no longer the little kit he had been when she'd met him almost four years ago. Slightly taller, his hair had grown a lot longer, hanging down in a pony tail in the back that almost reached his longer, less puffy kitsune tail. His baby fat was steadily disappearing, his face thinning out and giving him a more mature look. Sango sometimes wondered just how old the kit was - he looked like he was at least eleven years old in human years, but since demons aged differently it was hard to tell.

From where he sat next to Sango on the front porch of Kaede's hut, Miroku looked up as he watched Inuyasha storm towards them. "It doesn't look like Kagome's with him," he said absently, wondering why Inuyasha looked so mad. More angry than usual, anyway.

Shippo's eyes narrowed at the approaching hanyou, his tail flickering back and forth behind him in annoyance. "Oi, Inuyasha!" He called, "I thought you went to get Kagome? Where is she?"

Inuyasha growled in response as he moved past them, ignoring the small kit and the questioning gaze of his two friends.

"Did you two get into another fight?" Asked Miroku, bringing his hand up to his face as he shook his head in disbelief.

"No!" Inuyasha snapped, slumping down against the side of the hut in the shade of the roof. "She wasn't back from work."

"Ah, I see."

"No, you don't see!" Inuyasha suddenly sat forward, "Her brother told me she was supposed to be home - that he didn't know where she was!" His claws suddenly dug into the old wood beneath him - Kaede would scold him for it, but right now he didn't care. "She's missing, when she should be helping us find shards and defeat Naraku! He's growing weaker…his barriers are fading, and I can almost smell his filthy stench in the air! We're close to finding him…and Kagome's ran off somewhere!"

"Kagome doesn't get much time to herself, Inuyasha. It's okay if she wants to spend some extra time on her side of the well," Said Sango.

"Yeah!" The little kit piped up, "You're just mad cause Kagome probably ditched you for someone better!"

Seeing the hanyou's eyes flare, Sango quickly grabbed the kit and clamped a hand over his mouth. He may have grown, but his mouth was as big as ever.

"Someone else?" Inuyasha's gaze flickered to all three of them. Sango really didn't want to deal with the angry hanyou, and she hoped that Miroku had better sense than Shippo and would keep his mouth closed as well.

Obviously he did not. "Certainly Kagome has other friends in her time - other male friends," Said Miroku.

Sango tried to get his attention, making motions in the air with her hands in hopes he'd get the message now before it was too late. He paid no attention to her.

"Kagome is at an age now that if she lived here and were not a miko, she would be engaged or most likely married by now," He continued, and Sango gave up, her eyes narrowing in frustration as she stared at the boards beneath her. "I don't know how things work in her time, but Kagome has grown into a beautiful woman, and I'm most sure someone has tried to court her by now." He finished with a nod, oblivious to Sango and Inuyasha's annoyed looks.

The hanyou shifted in his spot, his eyes suddenly dimming as he muttered, "There's this guy in her time…Hobo's his name, or something like that..and he used to bring her presents," He admitted.

"Ah," Miroku raised a brow with a smug look, "Then I was right."

"But that doesn't mean Kagome's seeing him!" Sango said hastily, seeing the hanyou's down look and knowing where Kagome's heart really lay, "Maybe she's out…shopping, was that what she called it?"

"Maybe she's out getting me more chocolate!" Shippo cried, his tail moving happily behind him. Then his smile faded, a thoughtful look on his face as he turned towards Sango. "Hey Sango.." He paused, blinking at the girl curiously, "If human girls get married so young…then why aren't you married yet?"

Sango blushed, her mouth opening and closing as she struggled to answer the kit, watching Miroku smile at her in amusement out of the corner of her eye. "Well..uh…Shippo..you see.." She started, finally finding her voice, though her face felt like it was on fire.

"I know!" Shippo snapped his fingers together, suddenly grinning in excitement, "When Kagome and this Hobo guy get married, you can too…and we can have a big ceremony with lots of food!"

Sango covered her face with her hands, hoping to hide the redness of her face. "Shippo!"

The little kit blinked, looking back and forth from an angry hanyou, a very amused and smug looking monk, and a red faced demon exterminator.

"What?" He asked, confused. Was it something he'd said?

-----

The sun was finally setting, its warm glow disappearing down over the horizon creating a number of bright colors to appear in the sky. Rin sat in a darkening field, enjoying the last rays of light and staring up at the sky. Humming an old tune that she remembered from early childhood, before her parents had died and she had met the Western Lord, she absently strung flowers together in a necklace.

"Rin's almost done, Jaken," she spoke, still referring to herself in that way even though she was no longer a little girl. She'd been taught to speak properly over the years, but she just refused to. Now a young girl of fourteen, she still spoke like she had when she'd met Sesshomaru.

From not too far away, the toad like youkai sat glaring at the human girl. He'd been put on babysitting duty again, although Rin could very much take care of herself now, and he figured the best way to deal with his anger and frustration was to ignore the girl. He gave a somewhat smug look as she continued to do what she was doing, silence falling between them once again.

The girl suddenly gasped, hastily standing up in the field of flowers and startling Jaken so much that he almost fell over in fright. Staring up at the sky in awe, she breathed, "It's really pretty!" A bright smile made its way to her lips as her flower necklace was momentarily forgotten. "Don't you think so, Jaken?"

The old youkai mumbled a reply, righting himself and settling back down amongst the flowers. He sneezed as the pollen reached his sensitive nose, and he shook his head angrily. He hated sneezing, he hated flowers, and he hated babysitting! And most of all, he hated Rin!

Jaken raised his large eyes, watching as the girl grinned up at the red sky. Okay, so maybe that was a lie. He didn't exactly hate her - she'd grown on him over the past few years. He folded his arms, looking down and narrowing his eyes at the flowers beneath him.

Still gazing up at the sunset, Rin fell backwards into the bed of flowers, her arms outstretched as she lay there comfortably. "Sesshomaru's missing this," She said in a soft voice, "I bet he would like it."

Another silence fell over them as Rin continued to lay there, her eyes half closed as she stared upwards dreamily. Jaken had his head turned away, staring across the field and into the dark forests surrounding them. Ah Uh was somewhere within the woods, waiting for them to return. They'd been traveling when Rin had spotted the field and had quickly jumped off the dragon youkai despite Jaken's loud protests. He'd followed after her, yelling loudly that they had to continue. Rin had paid no attention to him.

Stupid human girl, he turned his yellow eyes to her, his anger fading as she let out a content sigh. Shaking his head, he continued to keep an eye out for trouble. I've grown too soft…Lord Sesshomaru will be most displeased!

Rin suddenly rolled over, her elbow digging into the soft earth as she lay her hand in her palm, staring across the flowers at Jaken. Her eyes were hopeful as she asked, "Do you think Sesshomaru will come back for Rin soon? He's been gone all day."

Jaken gave her an annoyed look, "Lord Sesshomaru has much more important things to attend to then watching over a human girl!"

His attitude and waspish reply did not put down Rin one bit. "Rin knows," She said, picking up her necklace and sitting up, continuing the job that she'd started hours ago, braiding each one together nicely so they wouldn't come apart. "Rin just worries about him, is all."

Jaken scoffed, lifting his staff as he stood in the field of flowers, his huge eyes slightly narrowed at the girl in annoyance. "Worried about Lord Sesshomaru? What do you take him as, a pitiful powerless youkai?" His beak like lips curled into a smirk, "Lord Sesshomaru is the strongest youkai in the land! No one would dare challenge such a powerful lord such as he!"

"Rin knows -"

"And here you are, worried about him?" Jaken continued, "Good thing Lord Sesshomaru isn't here to hear such nonsense coming out of your mouth!"

Rin blinked, he face blank as she stared at the angry old youkai, before a smile spread over her lips, and soon a grin was present. "Jaken-"

"What?!" He snapped, quite frustrated with the girl. He had his back to her now, his little arms crossed in front of him. Suddenly, a necklace of flowers fell over him, hanging from his neck so low that it almost touched the ground.

Rin giggled, obviously unfazed by his little speech he'd given her. "Rin's done!"

Jaken shook his head in despair as the girl clapped her hands together happily and started to sing the song that she had hummed only moments before. The sound of something moving through the trees stopped her happy singing and dancing, and caused Jaken to grasp both hands on his staff protectively.

Ah Un appeared through the branches, and Rin laughed as she patted Ah's head.

"You scared Jaken!" She told it, and glanced back at the old youkai in amusement. Jaken squawked at the insult - he definitely hadn't been scared! - and took a step forward so that he could yell at Rin, only to trip over his necklace of flowers and land flat on his face.

Rin laughed and Ah Un watched in amusement as Jaken struggled to his feet.

"Jaken." Came a cold voice, and he stopped all struggles to stand, his hands now caught up in the flowers. He looked up in time to see Sesshomaru appear from the darkness of the forest.

"Lord Sesshomaru!" He cried happily, about to welcome him back when Rin interrupted him.

"Sesshomaru!" She cried, "You're back! Rin missed you!"

The youkai lord regarded her with amber eyes, but said nothing. He moved past her and into the field, staring down at the entangled youkai. "Jaken, why are you here in the middle of an open field where you can be found easily? Did I not tell you to stay in the forest so that you wouldn't be seen?"

The toad youkai coughed. "Yes, Lord Sesshomaru…" He pulled fiercely at the necklace, "But you see…"

"No excuses, Jaken." The dog youkai told him, his eyes leaving the shorter youkai to look around his surroundings.

"But Lord Sesshomaru!" Jaken finally pulled free, and flung the object at a giggling Rin. Cold eyes silenced him.

"Come, Ah Uh..Rin…" Sesshomaru started to walk off, leaving Jaken behind. Rin ran to catch up to him, walking by his side and staring up at him in adoration. The dragon youkai walked behind them, content in sniffing the flowers as it passed.

Jaken scowled at Rin's back before running after them, lifting up his robes so that he wouldn't trip. "Lord Sesshomaru! Wait up!" He called to his master, struggling to catch up with his little legs. Sesshomaru made no move to slow down, moving into the darkness of the woods on the other side of the field.

Lifting his legs a little higher, and trying to run faster, the old youkai almost tripped over his own feet as he ran into the dark forest, still calling after the powerful youkai.

To Be Continued…