InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ The Aftermath ❯ Hard Habit To Break ( Chapter 3 )

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

The Aftermath Chapter 3: Hard Habit To Break by: I. C. All

A/N: Konnichiwa, minna-chan! This is IC with the third chapter of 'The Aftermath'! ^.^ Once again, you guys have surprised me out of my wits by responding so quickly to the second chapter! For this chapter, I have chosen a rather ... interesting song. It's not very familiar, since it's another oldie, but I think it's pretty fitting.
So, this chapter won't really explain all the questions. *audience boos* Hey, wait! It might explain a bit, since it is Inuyasha's POV of the second chapter ... Who knows? I do! But I'm not telling, so you guys'll just have to read the story for yourselves!
^____^

~ I. C. All

Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha, nor do I own Chicago's 'Hard Habit To Break'. But hey, that doesn't mean that I can't fantasize, now, does it? ^_~

Dedicated to: My rival in class, Michael, whom I beat in Science by a few points. *pats him 'comfortingly' on the back and saunters off, laughing loudly* ^_________^

Special Thanks to: DestroyerDRT - Short but sweet ... I like that. ^_^ Arigato!
Rin the Kitsune - *huggles you back* Love Inu's new do ... Shame, now he smells like Kikyo ... *grins evilly and sets specially trained greyhounds to hunt Kikyo down into the room, and laughs maniacally as Inu-kun is chased all around* Once again, thanks for the review! ^______^
StarChild1 - Thanks once more! It's a bit hard to make sure the song fits with the story, but I always love a good challenge! ^_~
DragonFaere - Thanks for the review once again! And I also know the feeling. Never told him how I felt, and one day, he just ... left. ;_; Okay, that's enough reminiscing. Yep, I totally agree with you. Height power! And remember, tears are the mirrors to one's soul! Or something like that ... ^_^' Ja ne!
Angelic Tears - *blinks* Well ... I'm glad you liked it. ^____^ And Inu-kun does have a considerably good reason, I guess. Read on to judge for yourself!
FireVixxen - Ah ... gomen ne. ^_^' I'm having so much fun, though. But here's the next chapter! Love ya too! ^_____^

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~ Some hours after dusk in the Sengoku Jidai ... ~

Sango entered the hut, carrying a little girl in her arms. Trailing after her were two young boys, arguing furiously over a certain something. Or rather, someone ...

"Nuh-uh! Akina liked my flower better!"

"As if! She liked my flower better than she liked your stupid flower!"

Sango clucked disapprovingly at her two sons and ushered them inside the hut. "Renzo, Taro, stop arguing! You two should be asleep by now!" she scolded, setting the girl down and steered the two boys onto a futon next to another young boy and an older Shippou, who were both already fast asleep. She laid a blanket over them and frowned at them.

"Kaa-san, Sanyu sleepy ..." the little girl yawned, reaching out for her mother. Sango scooped her up and laid her on the futon beside her brothers. "Good night, Sanyu-chan," Sango said, kissing her daughter on the forehead. The little girl yawned once more before cuddling into the blanket and falling fast asleep.

Sango admired her children for a few more moments before a handsome young man entered the hut quietly. "Asleep already?" he remarked amusedly. Sango grinned, standing up to welcome her husband. "Shippou and Kenjiro went straight to sleep after dinner. I found Renzo and Taro at Sumi-san's home, trying to give her daughter a flower," she reported, sliding her arms around his waist.

Miroku slipped his arms around his wife's waist and grinned down at her. "Like father, like sons, ne?" he smirked. "Mou, you're just lucky that they haven't inherited your perverted tendencies ... yet," Sango replied dryly. Miroku snorted in response, and the two stood in silence for a moment.

"Have you seen Inuyasha?" Sango asked quietly. Miroku sighed and shook his head. "He's gone off again, the poor man," he said sadly. Sango sighed as well. "He hasn't been the same ever since Kagome-chan left," she remarked. Miroku merely nodded, not needing to say anymore.
 

~ Inuyasha's Forest ~

I guess I thought that you'd be here forever
Another illusion I chose to create

Up in the boughs of the Goshinboku tree sat a familiar hanyou, mulling over his thoughts in his head. Every now and then, his ears would flick and swivel, catching a faint noise before returning to their normal position.

Inuyasha was musing over the one event that happened some years ago, yet still seemed only yesterday to him. It was the umpteenth time that he had thought it over, but even now, he could not figure out why she had done it. She was supposed to stay by his side forever – she promised so herself.

But why did she choose to leave? He had always thought that she would always be here.

Why in the world did Kagome leave?

You don't know what ya got until it's gone
And I found out just a little too late 

He admitted that he might have never fully appreciated Kagome. He had always acted as if she was always going to be there, and he was the one who pitied her because one day, he would break her heart.

Inuyasha knew very well that she already knew the consequences of her actions. Yet, she still chose to stay with him, even with the knowledge that he would not be there with her forever. He had thought her stupid, but admired her for her bravery, even feeling sorry for her and for himself.

Who would have guessed that the tables would turn? Instead of Kagome's heart breaking, it was his own that shattered ... the very day she left.

I was acting as if you were lucky to have me
Doin' you a favor, I hardly knew you were there

Though he would never admit it to anyone, Inuyasha knew how foolishly he had acted. The hanyou knew that he had strutted around the place and acted as if Kagome should be grateful he was there. He remembered those many fights they had; mostly based on the idea that Kagome was being ungrateful.

At that time, Inuyasha thought he was right, especially when he had saved her from a rogue youkai, or even Kouga. That wimpy wolf ... He had only been trying to keep her from winding up with such a pathetic excuse for a youkai prince! And yet, everytime he had tried to kick his sorry butt, she would get mad and sit him into the ground.

She would then go off and flirt with the stupid wolf, being all nice to him and giving him their food. Heck, she'd even let him give her stupid flowers, and she'd actually keep them! What if they were poisonous? What if they had some allergic pollen on them? Kagome was too careless for her own good!

It was as if she was nice to everyone except him. She'd spoil that stupid kitsune brat, she'd laugh at the bouzu's pathetic jokes, she'd help all those other village men who she didn't know a thing about, but when it came to him ...

'OSUWARI!'

It would always come down to that word. That one word that managed to subdue a great hanyou like him. Inuyasha grumpily flicked at the rosary beads that still hung around his neck, glaring at them accusingly.

But then you were gone and it was all wrong
Had no idea how much I cared

But all that changed the day Kagome left.

At first, Inuyasha tried to be happy, glad that he finally got her out of his hair for good. Now he wouldn't have to worry about breaking her fragile, human heart over Kikyo.

But as the days rolled by, Inuyasha grew lonelier and lonelier. Even Kikyo couldn't cheer him up. It was obvious why he was so depressed. No one really knew why Kagome had left – not even Sango, whom she broke the news to first. All they knew was she was gone and Inuyasha was depressed more than he had ever been in his entire life.

It had also surprised Inuyasha. He had thought that after Kagome had gone, everything would become easy again. He could finally focus on Kikyo. But somehow, she didn't seem to completely fill the empty gap in his heart that had grown with Kagome's departure.

He didn't see it at first, but Kagome had become a very important person in his life and when she had left, she took a piece of his heart along with her.

Now being without you
Takes a lot of getting used to
Should learn to live with it
But I don't want to

And now, he was left with a gaping space in his heart. He had tried to love Kikyo like he had once did, but the betrayal kept popping up in his mind and he could never love her fully again.

Inuyasha had grown so desperate that he had even asked Miroku what was wrong with him. The houshi listened patiently to his complaints and was kind enough to bear with his constant griping and accidental wreckage of random property in the hanyou's distress.

He finally came up with one conclusion: Inuyasha was suffering from Kagome-itis; a sickness that occurred when one was missing a certain raven-haired girl too much for his own good. Frustrated, Inuyasha had stomped off. But the more he thought about it, the more Miroku seemed to be right.

Inuyasha knew that he shouldn't be missing the girl and that he had to get used to life without her around. After all, he now had Kikyo, right? And after she had purified the Shikon no Tama, they could be together, like they had always wanted to ...

But why did it feel so wrong?

Living without you
Is all a big mistake
Instead of getting easier
It's the hardest thing to take

With each passing day, it had grown harder and harder to live without Kagome. Inuyasha had become so depressed that he had stopped visiting the village. According to Kikyo, he had stopped eating and had taken to hiding up in the branches of the Goshinboku tree, refusing to come down.

Inuyasha felt that something was completely wrong. He must have done something seriously wrong, otherwise Kagome wouldn't have left. But what? That was all Inuyasha did – rack his brain endlessly, seeking the answer that he so desperately sought to find.

Why had Kagome left? Why didn't she tell him her reason for going away? What had he done to make her leave so abruptly?

I'm addicted to ya, babe
You're a hard habit to break

Months passed by, and Inuyasha had grown worse. A miserable Kikyo stated that he rarely ate, and when he did, it was only an apple or some other small tidbit that was hardly enough to fill his stomach.

All that Inuyasha did was sit up in the Goshinboku tree, staring endlessly at the sky while clutching Kagome's handkerchief, the same one that she had left to Shippou. The kitsune had given it to him, in hopes that the hanyou would get better, but to his dismay, Inuyasha showed no sign of improvement.

Inuyasha could vaguely recall the way that he had stared blankly into space, trying to understand Kagome's decision to leave. He had clutched the pink material to his chest, as if it were his only lifeline to his sanity. It was his last link to Kagome – the hankie had still held faint traces of her beautiful scent, which he used to curse and now regretted those actions.

It didn't matter that he was slowly losing control – all that mattered was that he still held the only remaining memento that Kagome had left behind.

You found someone else, you had every reason
You know I can't blame you for running to him

Winter preceded spring, which was followed by summer, succeeded by autumn, signaling the arrival of winter, and the whole cycle started again. The Shikon no Tama was purified and Kikyo was ready to go.

But Inuyasha was still in a daze, resisting Kikyo's urges for him to come down. Defeated and weary, Kikyo went away, never to come back. Only a few days later did Inuyasha realize the consequences of his behavior and mourned the loss of his first love once more.

After offering his utmost regrets and begging for forgiveness, Inuyasha slowly returned to normal. He started visiting the village again, began eating healthily and even started to argue with Shippou once more. But no matter what they did, Inuyasha never truly smiled.

Finally, the hanyou worked up the courage to go down the well again. He had gone in the middle of the night, not wanting anyone to find out. Inuyasha descended through the Bone Eater's Well and his heart leapt at his discovery that he could still travel through time.

Creeping out of the well, he sneaked out of the well house. His heart pounded as he moved closer, being able to breathe Kagome's wonderful scent once more. Inuyasha peeped out just around the corner and he bit back a growl at what he saw.

Kagome with that wimpy 'Hobo' jerk ...

Two people together, but living alone
I was spreading my love too thin

Almost immediately, a surge of white-hot anger flared through Inuyasha. The hanyou got ready to jump in between the two humans with every intention of separating the two. What was she doing with that weakling?! And why was she standing so close to him?! Didn't she know that she had an obligation to him?!

Inuyasha paused at the last thought. His ears drooped sadly as he looked at the couple again. No, she didn't have an obligation to him ... not anymore. She never even had an obligation to him in the first place – it was all for the Shikon no Tama. But now that the whole thing was over, Kagome wasn't bound to that promise anymore. She was free to go off with whomever she wanted, and Inuyasha couldn't stop her.

Inuyasha glanced at the couple once more, wincing at the sight of Kagome pecking the human boy on the cheek and smiling up at him. He sadly turned and shuffled back to the well house, no longer having any reason to stay.

After all of these years, I'm still tryin' to shake it
Doin' much better, they say that it just takes time

Years passed after the incident. Inuyasha had gradually almost gone back to normal. He grew more mature and responsible while retaining as youthful as the day Kagome had left the Sengoku Jidai.

The hanyou 'adopted' Shippou and became 'godfather' to Sango and Miroku's pups, as well as his half-brother's. Sesshoumaru had softened up to humans slightly after the war with Naraku, despite his continuous cool protests that he would not be helping out humans all the time like a slave.

The inu youkai had mated with Rin when she was old enough and their union had produced two pups – an inu hanyou male named Taji who inherited most of his father's features, but his mother's eyes, and a little hanyou girl called Yuriko, who, like her brother, acquired most of Sesshoumaru's qualities, though she received her mother's hair. A powerful ancient ritual bound the mates together, which allowed Rin to live at a slightly shorter life span than a youkai, but still allowing her to age with her mate.

Inuyasha seemed to be recovering from the loss of the only two loves in his life. Many village girls seemed to like him enough to want to get his attention, knowing that his youkai blood would not do them any harm, but none of them could ever replace the great priestess, Kikyo, nor the unorthodox, but lovely miko from the future, Kagome.

But deep in the night, it's an endless flight
I can't get ya out of my mind

The hanyou could be seen around the village, helping out occasionally and seemingly over the two mikos.

However, late at night, when he thought no one could see, Inuyasha leapt from the village, returning to the Goshinboku tree. There, he mused over the thoughts that he could not ponder during the day. This time was allotted for him to think things through – about Kikyo, Kagome, himself, and everything that happened in between.

Still, the hanyou could not solve the mystery of Kagome's decision, but continued to think things out during this time.

Now being without you
Takes a lot of getting used to
Should learn to live with it
But I don't want to

And this was precisely what he was doing this particular night. Brooding over the same thoughts that ran through his head every night. But no matter how hard he tried, Inuyasha could not figure out why Kagome decided to leave so abruptly.

The hanyou growled in frustration. Unconsciously, his gaze turned in the direction of the well. His eyes widened slightly as his befuddled brain figured out what he was looking at. 'Stupid Inuyasha! Don't go there! Remember what happened the last time you went down the stupid thing!'

But as the old saying went, 'Curiosity killed the cat.' Or in this case, the dog. Inuyasha couldn't help but leap down from the boughs of the old tree and walk through the forest, seemingly drawn to the well. There was something different about the well tonight, Inuyasha decided, as he looked down into the depths of the Bone Eater's Well. It was as if something was beckoning him to leap through.

'Well, I have nothing to lose, anyway ...' the hanyou thought ruefully and jumped through the well, crossing the boundaries of time once more.

Being without you
Is all a big mistake
Instead of getting easier
It's the hardest thing to take
I'm addicted to ya, babe
You're a hard habit to break

~ Higurashi Shrine, 2009 ~

Inuyasha steadied himself, feeling the familiar cool earth beneath his feet. The hanyou looked up, intent on leaping out, but cursed blackly upon seeing that the passageway was blocked by a piece of wood. Inuyasha grumbled to himself, readying his claws to serve up a classical Sankontessou.

"Stupid sealing spells ... Must be that old fart ..." he growled before slashing up at the wood. He smirked satisfactorily, leaping up and out of the well, but started swearing as a stray piece of wood hit his head. Stepping out of the well, he continued to cuss worse than a sailor ... until he saw her.

The hanyou froze, his eyes bulging in a comical fashion. His jaw had gone slack, giving him the impression of a fish. She was huddled up in a corner. Testing the air, he confirmed his suspicions and smiled slightly in amusement. After a few moments of silence, she started to straighten, her arms lowering from her head.

The two froze once more, brown eyes meeting amber.

Being without you
Takes a lot of getting used to
Should learn to live with it
But I don't want to

Inuyasha gasped slightly, taking a cautious step towards her. Had he fallen asleep again? 'Onegai, Kami-sama, please don't let this be a dream,' he mentally pleaded, arms slowly lifting up towards the stiff young woman.

"Ka-Kagome?" he rasped, before being completely bowled over as she ran into his arms and held him tightly. Kagome began sobbing all sorts of incoherent phrases, crying hysterically. Inuyasha panicked and dubiously wrapped his own arms around her shaking form. The hanyou began whispering comforting things to try to get her to calm down.

Eventually, they worked and she stopped crying long enough to take a look up at him. He reached up to gently wipe the tears off her face, mindful of his claws. As he tried to fix her up, Inuyasha took the opportunity to study her intently.

The woman-child in her was almost gone. Kagome was no longer an inexperienced bitch, but an independent and mature woman, which could be observed by merely looking at her. It was obvious that she had just woken up ('Still the same neko night garments,' Inuyasha snorted mentally), but even so, the young woman held a sort of fire in her that emanated resoluteness and maturity, declaring to the world that she was ready to face it on her own.

Her physical features had changed as well. Her skin was more firm, she had definitely grown more than a couple of inches (and in other certain areas as well), her raven-black hair was now longer and more full and her eyes held a sense of pride in them. But Kagome still retained her ability to light up the room with a mere smile, her presence radiating exuberance and happiness.

Kind of like the smile she was giving him right now.

Being without you
Is all a big mistake
Instead of getting any easier
It's the hardest thing to take
I'm addicted to you
You're a hard habit to break

Inuyasha smiled warmly at her. "Stupid girl ... Crying over something again ..." he said tenderly, almost endearingly. He was surprised to see her crying again.

The hanyou held her close and whispered comforting things to her once more. He breathed her scent in deeply, sighing as her aura recognized him and allowed him in the miko's presence once again. Her scent was just as fragrant and innocent; just as addicting as it was ten years ago ...

Inuyasha held her tightly, never wanting to let go.

I'm addicted to you!
You're a hard habit to break

At last, Kagome calmed down again and looked up at him. "Why?" she whispered raggedly. Inuyasha leaned in closer, not quite catching her words. Kagome sat up and scooted closer to him. "Of all the times you could have chosen to come across, why now? And why aren't you ... with Kikyo?" she asked, breaking eye contact with him.

The hanyou grew tense. He was expecting this, but he never had time to plan out what exactly he was going to say. Kagome nudged him gently, expectantly awaiting an answer. Inuyasha looked up at her, uncertain of his answer. "It's ... It's a long story," he tried to explain. Kagome didn't give up.

He sighed, yielding to her steady gaze. "I'll tell you inside. You should be asleep by now, baka," he berated her slightly; standing up and carrying her out of the musty well house.

Such a hard habit to break
I'm addicted to you, baby

Luckily, the rain had stopped, allowing Inuyasha to walk without much trouble. Kagome elbowed him slightly, but snuggled into his warmth as he carried her to the house. Hiding his face in her hair, Inuyasha smiled widely and breathed in her wonderful scent once more.

His ears caught the chiming of the clock, which signaled the new day, and a new beginning.

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A/N: *stretches and listen to the popping of various joints* Wooh! Finished at last! I love semestral break! ^_^ As you might have noticed, I went a little bit crazy with the names of the original characters. ^_~
About the pairings ... Well, everyone knew that Sango and Miroku would get together, ne? And Inuyasha and Kikyo ... Well, Kikyo can be a total bi-atch, but other times, she's okay. Like in that episode where she and Kag-chan are stuck in a Miko fuuji ... Oops! Too many spoilers! ^_~
As for Fluffy-kun and Rin-chan ... I'm pretty open-minded where Sesshy is concerned – Sess/Rin, Sesshoumaru/Kagura, pretty much anything other than Sess/Kag and Sess/San ... *shudders and makes the sign of the cross*
And the usage of bitch? In the fic, Inuyasha uses this term to describe Kag-chan as a young woman in a dog way (he is half inu youkai). So, it's not really all that degrading in that sense. ^_^
Anyway, next chapter, the answers to the remaining questions will be revealed! What really happened? Well, you probably know that by now, but we all need more juicy details, ne? So, review, review, review and wait for the answer!
^____^ Ja ne!

~ I. C. All

Quote of the Day:
(Kagome is straddling Inuyasha, trying to tend his wounds.)
Kagome: Just take off your clothes!
Inu-Yasha: Beg me to!
Kaede (to a group of young village kids): Close your eyes, children!