InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ The Fate of Love ❯ Back to Reality ( Chapter 4 )

Nikki Kelly

Disclaimer: The magnificent world of Inu Yasha is the sole creative masterpiece of Rumiko Takahashi ~ NOT ME!!!

A/N: Okay...so I missed my own deadline by a couple of days...so sue me!!! ....no...wait....I take that back. America's way too sue-happy for ANYONE to make that statement....

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Chapter Four ~ Back To Reality

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

He inhaled deeply, then exhaled with a sigh, his heated breath mingling with her own. This feeling of life sent blissful shivers down Kagome's spine. There was no denying his existence now. He lifted a trembling hand to her face, tenderly brushing away a stray tear rolling down her cheek with the pad of his thumb. His once cold hands held a warmth she had never felt before, and they softly cupped her face, as he drew her to him once again. His gentle whisper tickled her lips as he repeated over and over between kisses, "Oh...Kagome...my Kagome...my love..."

Inuyasha let up after a few moments, softly pressing his forehead against hers. His gaze moved up to meet her, his eyes glimmering with tears threatening to fall. It was something Kagome had never in a million years expected to see. His hands moved down to grasp her shoulders, and his eyes closed as if in thought. "I watched it all. Stupid girl, you should've kept the jewel." His whisper was fierce, but when he opened his eyes again, the tears rolled freely down his cheeks.

"Why'd you do it? Why?" He shook her hard in frustration. "You could've been the most powerful miko in all the world, Kagome! You could've had anything you wanted!" Inuyasha's eyes looked wild with desperation. "Why?! Why'd you waste it on me?!" His voice cracked with the words.

Kagome broke the gaze to stare down at her lap, not being able to contain herself. She murmured something inaudible, and Inuyasha gripped her shoulders harder, growling with frustration. "Why?!" He could hardly contain the sob that followed.

She looked up at him, eyes gleaming. "Because I love you, Inuyasha." She bit her lip to hold back the flood of emotion just ready to burst within her.

The hanyou gaped at her for a moment, mouth open, trying to respond with words that were destined never to be uttered. He seemed to be holding his breath in fear, as his eyes searched hers for some unknown truth. He must've found what he was looking for, because he suddenly pulled her into a tight embrace.

Kagome could barely breathe from underneath the intense pressure he was providing, but she didn't care. She reveled in the feeling of his body wrapped around hers, holding her, protecting her. It felt so right, so natural; it was as if she was made to be in his arms. She closed her eyes dreamily, wanting not only to experience the physical of the moment, but the spiritual as well. Her mind melted into a sea of bliss as her soul mingled with his.

It was then that the emptiness that had surrounded them began to fill, returning them to the brutal reality of only moments before. Neither seemed to notice the change, however, until the kitsune came bounding up to them. He pawed at Kagome with blind horror, bawling his eyes out. "Oh, Kagome! I thought you were gone forever! What happened? It was like you disappeared!" It was not until she patted his little head that he began to calm, and finally took notice of the now conscious hanyou who had just somewhat reluctantly pulled away from Kagome. "Inuyasha?! I thought you were dead!" he exclaimed.

"Thanks a lot, kid," he snorted in reply, giving the fox-cub a hard swipe that sent him flying.

It didn't keep him away for long, however, and he came running back, rubbing a sore shoulder. "Jeez, I didn't mean it that way," he said sourly. His hands curiously moved to the torn spots on Inuyasha's clothes. "I mean, you never could've lived with those wounds." He bent towards him for closer inspection, and upon finding not so even a scar, his eyes widened in shock and amazement. "Hey! Where'd they go?!"

Inuyasha growled with frustration, pushing the intruding kitsune away roughly. "Don't ask me. She did it." He glanced meaningfully at Kagome.

She clenched her teeth when Shippou turned his gaze towards her. She did not want to relive the experience just yet; her heart was still tender from the pain and joy of it all. "I'll tell you later, Shippou. There are more important things to do now. Where's everyone else?" She looked somewhat confused. No one was in sight.

"Oh don't worry, Kagome. We're okay. Miroku and Sango are resting over by the river. I stayed here to see if you'd come back…I've been alone forever!" Shippou's face knotted into one sorrow, as if he was reliving the traumatic experience.

Inuyasha raised an eyebrow at his statement, and Kagome shook her head in disbelief. "What do you mean? Shippou, we were only gone for a couple of minutes."

The kitsune climbed up to place a hand on her forehead. "Kagome, are you feeling alright? You and Inuyasha have been gone for hours!"

She swiped his hand away gently. Her lips formed into a question, but the words didn't seem to come out. This is all too weird…the Shikon No Tama must've slowed time for us, or something. She decided it wasn't worth thinking about, since everyone was okay now.

Inuyasha suddenly seemed to remember something, for he grabbed the kitsune up by the collar of the shirt. Kagome gave him a warning look, and he placed Shippou back on the ground. The little demon smoothed his clothes with a scowl. "What?!"

"Where are Sesshoumaru and Kouga?" His eyes stared uneasily at the bloodstained grass where the two had lain.

"Oh, they left awhile ago," he replied matter-of-factly.

Inuyasha began to growl low in his throat and Kagome groaned in frustration. "Shippou! What kind of answer is that?! I mean, are they okay?!" she exclaimed.

"Oh…ummm…I think so. Sesshoumaru just kind of flew away like he always does. I tried to talk to him, but he ignored me…" his eyebrows furrowed in annoyance.

A few moments of silence passed with the pair staring at the oblivious kitsune, waiting for him to continue. When he did not, Kagome rolled her eyes and tapped him on the shoulder. "Hello! Shippou! What about Kouga? Is he alright?"

The cub's face blanched slightly and he looked away from Kagome's gaze. "Uhhh…well…some of his pack must've sensed him injured because they came and took him away. He looked real hurt!" When he saw the awful expression on the girl's face, he tried to reassure her. "Oh, don't worry, Kagome! He's a demon, remember? And he was talking and everything. I'm sure he'll be okay." He gave her a little smile.

Kagome grinned to herself. Shippou was always trying to protect her. What would I do without him?

The kitsune carefully changed the subject. "Well, I think we should go find the others. If Miroku's feeling better, Sango might be in trouble." There was a knowing tone to his voice. He hopped up and began to trot in the direction of the river. Kagome and Inuyasha wearily dragged themselves to their feet and began to trudge after him.

Before the fox-cub got too far ahead, Kagome suddenly thought of something. "Shippou!" He immediately halted in his reply. She continued, "What did Kouga say before he left?"

Shippou turned his head back to her, the mischief dancing in his eyes. "Well…it was a little hard to understand `cause he was yelling a lot, but I distinctly remember him telling me to protect you from Inuyasha, and that he'd be coming back soon to claim his mate." He flashed a toothy smile at her, purposely avoiding eye contact with the hanyou, then quickly scampered away.

Kagome rolled her eyes at the notion, but her annoyance changed to amusement when she heard Inuyasha's claws unsheathe and his low growl. He placed an arm about her waste possessively, and solely out of instinct. She couldn't stop her giggle. "Something the matter, Inuyasha?" she asked, her dark brown eyes staring at him innocently.

His growl instantly turned into a scowl, and he whipped his offending arm away from her. "It's nothing. Let's go," and with that he began to quicken his pace towards the river.

Kagome continued to lag behind a little, blissful thoughts dancing in her head. Inuyasha's jealous. He's jealous because someone else wants to take me from him. He wants to be with me, and only me. He's just too afraid to admit it to himself yet. I'll convince him. I'll make sure he knows I'm the one he wants, no matter what...

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

To Be Continued...

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

~God, I hate doing dialogue!! It's so monotonous...and I always feel like I'm writing everyone out of character!!! .....hmmmm....well, tell me what you thought!! I LOVE my feedback!!

Dragon Girl ~ lol, I didn't even realize I made it like that until I read it over!! lol...well, it wasn't exactly the same, since Kagome already loved him and Inuyasha actually already loved her, and the kiss was really nothing but symbolic...lol, do I sound like I'm making excuses??? lol, I tend to do that a lot...

bronie bite ~ :) Thanks for making me laugh!! I need a lot of that...it's so dreary here right now....you're so sweet to call me a great writer...actually, Inuyasha said that didn't he????? lol..... :)