InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Suffer The Fray ❯ Over The Fence ( Chapter 2 )

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

Disclaimer: I hold no claim to InuYasha....Rumiko Takahashi does. Bummer.

A/N: Reviewer Acknowledgements- crystal strawberry, coykoi, bettychan, & PeachesandCream. Thanks so much for reading and giving me some feedback. Enjoy.

Reux

Her leather-sheathed fingers squeezed rhythmically with each stride, the minute movement creating more animation than the last. The muscles of her lean lower legs anchored her to the barrel of her horse as the blood pounded in her ears. Not even the solid thumping of the animal's hooves could break her intense focus on the coming obstacle. Tilting the slightest bit forward, she crouched in the saddle as the elegant bay's rippling haunches tucked under preparing to spring. The animal's sleek head lifted, its sharp mahogany eyes trained on the fence, and swiveled a pair of crisp curved ears to attention. Blowing excitedly, the dark bay horse snapped it's lanky, black-accented forelegs into a neat, tight tuck, and launched itself into the air.

The muscles contracted explosively and the force sent her seat completely out of the saddle. Pressing her hands alongside his neck, she let him jump up to meet her and perched easily in the stirrups as he continued to arc over the fence. His hindquarters snapped up with equal pizzazz and she stretched out her arms to follow his motion. He extended his enormously long legs and quickly flew the last few feet to drop back to the packed clay footing of the arena. As she felt the shock of the landing jar through her joints, Kagome finally remembered to breath.

She relaxed back into the tack as Akai cantered around the curve of the arena, neck arched like a candy-cane and snorting with pleasure. She gently massaged the reins until the horse pranced down to a prowling walk. The adrenaline was still buzzing through her system and it would be at least five more minutes before it ebbed completely. It was the same amount of time no matter the degree of difficultly or the size of the course. The almost euphoric hum in her head finally started to filter away and she heard her name being called.

“Kagome!” She turned around in the saddle and saw Eri jogging toward her from the spectator's booth outside the white, triple-board arena fencing. “Kagome, that was amazing! Your riding is brilliant!”

A few years ago those comments might have influenced her cheeks to redden, but hearing the same compliments (regardless of their variation) again and again had dulled her modesty a bit. “Thanks.” She swung her leg up over Akai's rump and slipped out of the saddle. Akai, pleased with his work, snorted playfully and craned his head around to nuzzle her shoulder as she ran up the irons up their leathers. Kagome rubbed his damp muzzle and smiled. “Akai did most of the work though.”

Eri laughed and gestured toward the course. “That's the biggest course you guys have tackled so far, and in record time I might add. I highly doubt Akai could have gone clean with any other rider.”

Kagome slipped the reins over the bay Holsteiner's head and glanced at the fences she'd just been launched over. Each one stood close to five feet high, some nearly four feet wide as well, and completely undisturbed. To anyone who hadn't been watching, it looked as if no one had even ridden a horse out there. She smiled and scratched the sweaty horse's forehead. “Yeah, we make a pretty good team.” She turned and started for the barn, Akai strolling leisurely beside her.

Eri joined her on the opposite side and crossed her arms. “Pretty good? That was a whole lot better than 'pretty good'.” She lightly rested a hand on her shoulder. “I seriously think you could go pro.”

Kagome tittered, and then stopped. When had she started tittering? Shaking her head, she stopped at the arena exit and felt the balled up clay crunch under her boot heels. “Nah, it's just a hobby.”

“You say that about everything you're good at. It makes the rest of us feel like a support group for lost causes.” Eri rolled her eyes and followed them out the gate, latching it shut behind her.

Kagome sighed. She was right. She did say that about everything.

Horseback riding?

Just a hobby.

Archery?

Just a hobby.

Martial Arts?

Just a hobby.

“I don't know, I just don't think I'd like this as a career.”

“I don't want to offend you,” Eri's light touch on her elbow made her stop. “Sorry in advance if I do, but it seems like you don't take anything serious anymore.” Her gaze was heavy with worry and when Kagome didn't respond, she let go and glanced at her watch. “I'm really sorry, but I gotta go. I'll call you later.” She turned and walked off.

“Okay.” She said the goodbye absently. Her brain was still trying to comprehend what had just been said. I don't take anything serious? She has no idea what she'd talking about. If she only knew the truth, she wouldn't be worried about offending her. But that, again, was her decision, so she guessed she should just live with the consequences. Akai bumped her with his muzzle and she looked up. “Huh?”

The bright red brick of the barn smiled back at her and she realized that she must have kept walking while communing in her head. Snorting at her absurdity, she led the tall, leggy gelding into the barn and unsaddled him. The autumn air was cool, so she opted to forgo hosing him down. Instead, she found a thick, soft rag and proceeded to rub down every glossy inch of him. Akai occasionally made soft grunting sounds of pleasure and they brought a smile to her lips. She may not have dreams of Olympic equestrian gold, but she did take her horse's comfort seriously. That was something at least.

When his umber coat met to her standard of shine potential, she unhooked the ties from his sturdy leather halter and relished the echoing clip of his steel shod hooves as she led him down the concrete aisle way. The slight chirp of metal on cement reminded her of the sparrows that nested outside her dormitory window and their music always had a way of uplifting her spirits.

Kagome was smiling brilliantly when she closed Akai's stall door behind him. The horse circled around and nickered, as if to say 'You should smile more often.'

Kagome gazed at him thoughtfully, fiddling with his charcoal black forelock as he nibbled the grain in his feeder. She supposed he was right. There was so much for her to be happy about, but she never seemed to find joy anymore. The last five years of her life had been spent in a soft of hazy limbo- like she was just passing the time. “That's exactly what I'm doing, but it wasn't supposed to last this long.”

Akai cricked an ear in response. 'Uh huh.'

“It was only supposed to be two years.” Only two years of prescribed waiting, not five. Could Kaede have been wrong? Her hand subconsciously rested over the open neck of her blouse, where the last jewel shard hung on a small black cord. When Kaede had told her Naraku's hibernation would last no more than two years, she'd thought that even that was too long. It just didn't seem logical for such a strong demon, but five years?

The feeling it gave her could only be described as spiritual nausea, a foreboding so strong it went past the physical and emotional planes. “Something is going to happen soon, I just know it.”

The great bay horse stopped eating his dinner and peered at her with big brown eyes filled with worry.

Kagome scratched his ears until her riding partner of two years relaxed and went back to his food. “You're such a sweet boy, Akai. I'll miss you when I leave.” She knew he wouldn't understand until later that she hadn't meant for the day, but it was good enough for now.

Turning away, she grabbed her helmet off the bench and left the barn for the parking lot. The red subcompact parked in the shade of the tall oak wasn't her own, but her Mother's. Kagome hardly ever drove anywhere, finding it easier just to walk to most places, but thought it prudent to get her license anyway. It was a convenience her Mother had taken advantage of now that she was older, and it made caring for her elderly Jii-chan less of a hassle.

She could hear a faint tune playing over the gravel crunching under her riding boots and she realized it was her cell phone ringing. Crap.

Dashing to the car, she yanked open the door and tossed her helmet into the backseat. The ringing continued and she rummaged through her backpack until she produced the slim, trilling device. Flipping it open, she set it against her ear. “Hello?”

“Hey Kags.”

Her frazzled nerves wilted and she slipped into the driver's seat. “Hey Hojo.” If she'd had any enthusiasm at all, it would have been a miracle. She had no idea what he had to be so chipper about all the time.

“So, what are you doing tonight?” It was mildly interrogative, and she could just imagine him rubbing his hands together.

“Why?” She sagged in the seat after shutting the door. She suddenly didn't feel up to a night of youthful fun.

“There's a new club opening up tonight and I wanted to take you.”

Exactly the kind of activity I want to avoid. “I'd love to, but I'm not feeling well. My ride didn't go so well and I'd like to just go home and relax.” Kami, could that lie get any more blatant? Anyone who knew her knew she did not have bad rides, and wouldn't the guy she'd been dating for a year know her?

“Oh, alright.” She could feel the disappointment in his voice and felt like slamming her head against the steering wheel until it knocked some sense into her. “I'll just find someone else then.”

“I'm sorry Hojo. I'll talk to you tomorrow.” She disconnected and threw the phone away with disgust. She'd never been the type to blow people off, but it was becoming a habit- one she wasn't too fond of.

She turned the key and listened to the little four-cylinder engine turn over. She belted herself in with a click, her movements slightly robotic, and backed out of the space. The drive to Higurashi Shrine was scenic, but short, and she pulled up the hidden driveway twenty-five minutes later.

The place hadn't changed at all, maybe a bit more worn, but otherwise untouched. The rest of the family still lived in the tiny house out behind the shrine. Including her younger brother Souta, who, at the moment was reclining on the front step beside a large silver-white Akita and a very familiar tortoise-shell cat.

Grinning despite her glum mood, she pulled her bag off the passenger seat and got out. “How's Buyo today?” The tubby cat bounded off the porch and leaped right into her open arms, purring loudly. She laughed and gave him a squeeze. “I guess that answers my question.” Lugging the cat with her, she sat down beside her brother. “What are you doing home, Souta? I thought you'd be out with your friends on a Friday night.”

He leaned back onto his elbows and studied her for a moment. “Nah. I've got a big game tomorrow morning. I need my beauty rest.”

She rubbed the bases of Buyo's ears and smiled wryly. “I'm sure.” She grinned wickedly over her shoulder at him. “So, what's this rumor about a soccer star heartthrob who lives at a shrine?”

A wee bit of red tinged his cheeks and she could see where all the girls were coming from. Poor little Souta was the new 'Hojo' around town. He flopped flat on his back, arms flung out beside him. “I can't believe you heard that.” He scrubbed his hands over his face. “It's so embarrassing.”

Kagome laughed and twisted around to face him. “Hardly.” It felt good to laugh and she relished the tingling burn it ignited in her belly. She was too out-of-touch with her emotions most of the time. “Try having your teenage reputation plagued by gout and rheumatism.”

He snorted, and then started to nod and sent his short cap of black hair bouncing in time. “Point taken. I'd much rather steal hearts than passes to the nurse.”

Their laughter lasted a little bit longer, and they took a moment to recover in the peaceful silence that followed. The evening sun drifted lower in the sky, casting the yard with a warm saffron glow. Kagome felt a pang of nostalgia and found herself staring at the building across the way- the one with the Bone Eater's Well inside.

How many times had she sat watching the sunset beside him? How many times had she leaned against his strong back with her hands fisted in his fire-rat haori, watching the sun go down across the horizon?

A tingling sensation danced along her fingers and it was as if she could actually touch him. She could feel the warmth of his body under her touch and her hands tightened involuntarily. Buyo yowled and dashed out of her grip, immediately cleaning the tender spots where her fingers had hurt him. She jerked out of her trance and blinked down at her hands. It wasn't Inuyasha's warmth, but her cat's and the notion made her feel incredibly stupid. “I'm sorry, Buyo.” The cat sent her a baleful look and she sighed defeated. And here I thought pets were forgiving.

Souta noticed her forlorn gaze towards the well. “Are you ever going back?” The dog finally moved, hopping off the step and blinking at her hopefully.

She stared into those bright amber eyes that were so familiar, and nodded. “Soon.”

The silvery dog shook his head disapprovingly and uttered a single, reproachful bark. Souta sat up and watched the dog curiously. “How soon?”

Kagome leveled the dog with a hard stare. “I don't know, but soon.” The dog bowed down on his forepaws, haunches up with his thick tail waving from side to side. The playfully daring gleam in his eyes was almost too painful to look at. “It's hanging over me like a thundercloud, just waiting for the right moment to downpour on me.”

Diving forward, the big Akita snatched her hand gently in his jaws, giving a soft tug.

Her stare shifting into a glare. “Let go.” He growled softly with displeasure, but released her hand. She rubbed her throbbing limb and merely observed his childish pout as he lay at her feet with amusement. It was textbook Inuyasha behavior.

Standing up, she turned toward Souta. “It's getting late, I should get going.”

The teenager jumped to his feet, quick as a cat. “Wait!” He grabbed her forearm. “Mom wants you to stay tonight and have dinner with us.”

Kagome smiled. “Is it really Mom that's asking? Or you?”

He let go and crossed his arms with a huff. “It was Mom! She would've asked you herself if she hadn't needed to run to the store.”

She watched him stomp back into the house and wondered fleetingly why all the males she knew seemed to wallow in self-pity around her. “I'll stay, I'll stay.” She stepped into the doorway, hesitated, and turned to give a scolding glare. “I'll deal with you later, Inusaiai.”

A/N: Alright, just so you know- 'Akai' translates into 'Red' (and I know I named a brown horse Red...don't ask me why...I'm strange) and 'Inusaiai' translates, roughly, to 'Beloved Dog'. And just to clarify....five years have passed from Ch. 1 to Ch. 2. Comments from the peanut gallery are warmly welcomed. XD.