InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Synthetic Twilight ❯ XVII ( Chapter 17 )

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]

Inuyasha turned the rabbit meat on the spit over the fire and looked and the woman across from him, who was intently polishing her swords. She held up one of the gleaming blades against the firelight and rubbed out another non-existant spot. He sighed, "They seem nice," she had commented softly as they left the port town. He had hoped that this was a sign that she would open up a little more, but she hadn't said a word afterwards, almost as if she had resigned herself to being carried around by him.
"Here," he said, holding out a piece of the roasted meat to Kagome. She took the food and nibbled on it quietly. "You can talk, you know... or at least say 'thank you' for the food."
Kagome gave an unlady-like snort. "How far away are we from the village?" she asked.
Inuyasha rolled his eyes, "We'll arrive sometime tomorrow, wench. You can tolerate being in a half demon's company until then, can't you?"
"Being a half demon means nothing to me, and you know it. Even if I couldn't tolerate it, you wouldn't give me the option to leave, so what's the point?" she picked out a bit of fat from the meat and tossed it into the fire.
Inuyasha watched as the piece Kagome had thrown into the fire bubbled, hissed, and popped against one of the rocks in the pit. "If you wanted to leave so badly," he spoke slowly, "there would be nothing I could do to stop you."
Kagome scowled, "That's not fair. I wouldn't-"
"Whatever, wench. You could've even left when I went to get the rabbits, you know the direction we're headed in."
"After you took my horse, leaving me to walk for days to return home? I don't think so. You took me from the well without asking to the other side of the country, you can take me back to Sango's."
"And then what? What are you planning to do once you get back to Sango's?" Inyasha watched as Kagome unstrapped the red leather guards from her armor and placed them neatly into her bag.
She propped her bow and quiver of arrows against a tree and turned back to look at Inuyasha in disbelief, "I plan," she said laying down and using her bag as a pillow, "to go back to what I was doing before I ran into you."
"Where does that leave me?" Inuyasha asked, crossing his arms across his chest.
"Where ever it is that you decide to be left," Kagome answered, slinging an arm lazily across her eyes.
"What the fuck is that supposed to mean?" he bellowed.
Kagome sighed tiredly, "It means that I'm not going to tell you to stay away from me. I mean, I am living at the demon exterminator's village and Sango and Miroku are your friends too... I don't have any right to tell you where you can and cannot go. Don't take this as some sort of sign that I'll be pushed around though, I'm still pretty pissed off at you. Good night, Inuyasha."



"Mama!" "Auntie Kagome!" Shippo and Daimasaru greeted Kagome with a hug as she walked through the gate with Inuyasha. "You were gone so long we were worried, Daisuke wanted to send out a search party! Daddy said it wasn't necessary though. Hey! You wanna see the drawing Shippo did of you in the book him and daddy have been working on?" the little boy chattered while leading Kagome away, paying no attention to the newcomer.
Shippo scuffed his feet nervously in the dirt, "It's good to see you, Inuyasha," he said politely.
"Hey, runt," Inuyasha said, watching as Kagome disappeared into a hut with the small boy.
"You're not going to leave so soon, are you? Sango and Miroku are out at the hot spring, but they should be back in an hour or so." Shippo asked, wringing one of the sleeves of his shirt, a small measure of pleading in his voice.
"Nah, I'm sticking around here with Kagome." he replied, ruffling the kit's red hair.
Shippo gave him a skeptical look, "Really? And she doesn't mind?"
Inuyasha looked mildly irritated, "It don't matter what she minds, I'm staying."
Shippo nodded, "That's good." He watched as Inuyasha growled at the approaching whirlwind, the guards posted by the gate waved and let Kouga pass. "Don't do anything rash, Inuyasha. If you do, it'll just make it that much harder to get Kagome to be nicer to you," he said as Kouga walked up to them.
"Hey, Shippo," Kouga said, looking down at the kit, "Go and see Kagome, I want to talk to Inuyasha."
Shippo shrugged, "Don't do anything stupid," he said walking towards the hut, though it wasn't clear who he was talking to.
Inuyasha bristled, "What the hell do you want? Kagome doesn't need you here, sniffing around anymore."
"It's nice to see you again too, mutt-face," Kouga grinned. He scratched at the base of his ponytail, "My woman never needed me around, she can take care of herself."
"She ain't your woman!" Inuyasha yelled, a couple of people walking by looked at the two curiously before going back to their own business.
Kouga's grin faltered, "She could've been and if you keep acting like an idiot, she will be."
"Why you-" Inuyasha gripped Tetsusaiga, preparing to unsheathe the sword. "I haven't done anything to her!"
"Except open your mouth." Kouga replied dryly. "Look, when Kagome and I are in our den, surrounded by our cubs, I want to know that I won her fairly. So," he smacked Inuyasha hard on the back of the head, "get your act together!"
"Hey! Get back here!" Inuyasha shouted at Kouga, who was now standing outside of a hut with Kagome, Daimasaru, and Shippo.
"...he's like a son to me!" Kouga said, patting Shippo gently on the head.
"I hate adults sometimes." Shippo muttered, staring off blankly.
"Yay! Sugar cane!" Daimasaru danced, chewing on the small stick with the juice dribbling down his chin. "Will you bring me another piece the next time you come, Kouga-san? I'll be good, promise!"
"Lousy, flea-bitten wolf!" Inuyasha cracked his knuckles and stopped when he saw Kagome laugh. Kagome... Had she laughed at all during the few days they were alone together? "Don't do anything stupid," he remembered Shippo saying, maybe it was aimed at him. He heard someone clearing their throat behind him and faced Miroku and Sango, their faces smiling and still flushed from their trip to the hot spring.
"Inuyasha, what a pleasant surprise!" Miroku said, releasing Sango's hand to pat Inuyasha on the back.
"You guys aren't really letting her be a demonslayer, are you?" Inuyasha asked.
Sango looked over at her friend waving goodbye to Kouga, "Why not? She wanted learn and she's good at it. You can't hover over her and expect her to stand back and let us do everything, I don't think she'll allow it anymore."
"Now, now, darling, you know he means well," Miroku said soothingly. "How about we go inside? You can tell us what you've been up to since we last saw you."



Kagome sat staring at the light, leather-bound book in wonder. Her fingers traced the lines over the painting of Kikyo, Shippo came and sat beside her. "Come over and talk with all of us, Mama. You've been staring at that book for most of the night."
She turned the pages, that in her time had been yellowed and so brittle with age, looking at the page that went over Kikyo's death, and Inuyasha in his grief, had lain flowers at both the well and her grave and disappeared with the jewel. "Did- did you do this, Shippo?" she asked in a small voice.
"Miroku and I, yeah. We had stopped at that page for a while because it seemed like that was end. I wanted to do a painting of you in there and use your name, but Miroku said we shouldn't since we didn't know how that could affect you in the future if it was found. But since you've come back, and said you couldn't return to your time, I decided we'd put in more of you." He took the book and flipped to a page that showed Kagome in her full demonslayer armor with her weapons at her side. "See? I got to do the painting after all! What do you think?" he asked smiling.
Kagome's breath hitched, "See there? Doesn't that look like someone you know?" The blank page her grandfather had tried to show her- was a painting of her. "I think," she said, blinking back tears, "I think it's wonderful, Shippo."
"Oi wench! What's the matter with you now?" she heard Inuyasha ask from the other side of the room where he sat with Miroku, Sango, Kilala, and Daimasaru.
She closed the book, blotted her eyes with her sleeve and went to join the others with Shippo.
"Well?" Inuyasha asked impatiently.
"Nothing. I guess everything is as it should be," she answered.








AN: But Kouga's so pretty! Black hair, blue eyes, tan... fur loincloth. Oh well.
About Kagome, I think it's only natural she'd be bitter when it comes to Inuyasha. After all, it was because of Kagome's jealousy over Inuyasha and Kikyo that Akago could find darkness in her heart to briefly control her. When Inuyasha sent her back to her time, he was standing at Kikyo's side and she's been left with that memory for five years. "Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned" and all that. I actually think it would be weird for her to just fall into his arms lovingly without giving him a little hell.

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I do not own any of the characters from the manga/anime Inuyasha.