InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ The Final Bow ❯ Bedtime Snacks and Battle Fields ( Chapter 10 )

Disclaimer; please see ch.1

AN: Hey there! Have you missed me? I've actually had this chapter done for a few days, but I've been really busy this weekend and just now got around to editing it. I'm sorry, I'll try to get the next one out faster. Thanks to all my wonderful reviewers, you guys are great and if you haven't checked out my new fic, The Archangel, please do. It's not going to be nearly as long as this, probably less than 20 chapters, but it will be action packed and full of romance and suspense! Anyways, on with the show…

The Final Bow

By: Undecidedly Certain

Chapter 10

Midnight Snacks on the Battle Field

>>>>>>>>

Bam!

"Ouch!"

Clink…

"Oh no!"

wobble….

"No!"

Wobble…

"…."

Clunk…

"Oh, thank god!" Kagome breathed a sigh of relief as she righted the tall vase that amazingly enough hadn't been broken in her blatant bout of clumsiness. If it had, she was fairly certain it would have taken a healthy chunk out of her salary to replace it.

Of course in her defense, it was pitch black in the hall and she was balancing an uncomfortably heavy book under her arm while the other hand pressed gingerly against her bruised side.

It was extremely late and she was trying to be quiet so as not to awaken the entire household, but as always when you are trying to be quiet everything in the friggin world decides to throw its self in your path just to make you life that much more miserable.

That brings us to where we are now. In the middle of the dark hallway playing juggle the heavy book and dodge the priceless Ming vases and other such nonsense that rich people seem to like to keep around, things that have absolutely NO business being in a hallway!

She had been awakened by a gruesomely disturbing dream only to find that her side was throbbing fiercely. With no relief in sight she decided to head down stairs to scour the kitchen for some asprin and check out the book her mom had sent, gramps (as usual) had forgotten her request for the book so she decided to skip the middle man.

The details of the dream that had pulled her so violently out of slumber were starting to get a little fuzzy around the edges, but it had felt so real, real enough to scare her into consciousness.

At first it seemed she was standing on a hillside with someone watching as two armies, both mighty in stature, approached each other. From her vantage point she could pick out several things. The army approaching from the right was sharp looking and very well disciplined. The warriors were clad in shining armor marching in perfectly formed platoons carrying swords and bows, some on horseback, some infantry.

What stood out the most though was the General of that army. He was riding on a huge white stallion at the front of the line leading his men bravely into battle. The horse itself had to be huge because it looked large and muscled even from her distant vantage point. It was decorated in the colors of the army with the lords crest draped proudly over its back and its mane braided in a strict twisted rope with bright blue ribbons twined in its length.

The general himself was no less grand. His armor shone in the rising sun over the hills on the horizon and his long pale hair seemed to glow with a golden hue in the approaching day. She immediately recognized him as the Sesshoumaru look alike that haunted her visions.

It seemed that he would now be haunting her dreams as well.

The army approaching from the left had no brave general leading them valiantly. They were less organized and more savage looking, most seemed more animal than human.

The clash was brutal, the sound of steel hitting steel rang through the valley like thunder as burning arrows flew across the sky like lightening.

Ok, so that part of the dream could be explained away by the amount of time they had spent rehearsing the battle scenes lately. But the next part was what really got to her.

She seemed to be following the general closely with her eyes as he fought his way through the hordes of demon like creatures. He was an incredible fighter, powerful like none other, but when a straggly warrior snuck up behind him putting a sword through his chest Kagome nearly lost her mind.

A wave of dizziness suddenly washed over her and she flung her arm out to steady herself as the familiar sensation of the visions washed over her.

{ She was standing on the hill again, but this time most everything was black and white instead of full color like in her dream. She watched in morbid fascination as the steel pierced through the great generals armor, and even though she couldn't see his face from here she could hear her self calling out to him.

"SESSHOUMARU!" She yelled!

She grabbed the reigns of a horse that was standing nearby and slung her bow over her shoulder as she swung her leg up over the coarse cloth saddle.

"Kagome, no!" Someone yelled from behind her and she briefly glanced over her shoulder at a young woman who looked disturbingly like Sango.

"He needs me." She retorted, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. She dug her heels into the horses flanks and sped down the hillside toward the raging battle.}

Kagome's head snapped up and she found herself once again in the dark hallway between the stairs and the kitchen.

`That was …different.' Kagome thought, slightly bent over and struggling to get her breathing under control. `and now Sango is in the visions too!' This just kept getting more and more complicated.

Perhaps this was like one of those psychological thriller movies where the heroin goes through all kinds of mind boggling and unexplainable things and then wakes up in a mental institution where Sesshoumaru is actually her doctor and Sango is a nurse.

Something crazy like that.

Once her breathing was back under control and she had convinced herself that she was not delusional and even if she was certifiable , there was really nothing she could do about it right now anyway.

Blindly feeling her way down the hall and successfully knocking into three paintings on the walls and one small statuary Kagome finally made it to the swinging door that led to the kitchen. With a sigh of relief she pushed her way through the door and felt around for the light switch.

She should have known by the third time she stubbed her toe on the way down the hall that things just weren't going to go her way. As soon as she hit the switch the room was illuminated with a brilliant flash of light before there was a faint *ZAPH* and again she found herself bathed in darkness.

With a very unlady like snort she stomped into the dark kitchen. Kagome managed to make it to the dinette set with only a minor accident when she bumped into the island counter. Unfortunately she hit right on her bruised ribs resulting in a very colorful string of curses to spew forth from the poor girls mouth.

Once she deposited her load on the table she began the arduous task of finding a light source. She vaguely remembered there being a light over the stove from when she made breakfast a few weeks back.

Bingo. And then there was light. Granted, it wasn't much light, but it was enough to cast a soft glow over to the table. She then proceeded to rummage around the cabinets looking for some sort of pain killer, preferably something strong. Her side felt like it was on fire, even the most casual brush of her arms against it was enough to make her cringe.

Finally she found a bottle of Tylenol tucked back in a corner cabinet and was groaned mournfully when she found that there were only two left. With as much pain as she was in she would have needed at least three. Oh well, its still better than nothing.

She sauntered back over to the table casually clinking the pills around in their little plastic bottle realizing that she would need something to wash them down with. Kagome never was able to swallow pills dry, unlike Yuka who swore she could swallow anything dry. Kagome figured that meant something dirty but when she asked Yuka only laughed and refused to tell her.

Upon throwing open the massive stainless steel door and being bathed in a heavenly light Kagome was met with a sight that quite nearly made her knees buckle. Apparently Kaede had been busy that afternoon because there right at her eye level was a luscious, creamy, chocolaty pan of Oreo cream pie.

Had it been anything other than Oreo's she could have resisted. With out a moments hesitation she snatched up the pie and the gallon of milk, grabbed a spoon out of the drawer and made her way back to the table.

She popped the lid off the half full gallon of milk and dug out a spoonful of Oreo pie.

Oh….oh God…she would have to remember to kiss Kaede in the morning. This was positively sinful, it almost made all the crap she'd gone through today worth wile.

>>>>>>>>>>>>

Sesshoumaru bolted upright in his bed, a cold sweat pouring down his face. He'd been having the strangest dream. He was leading an army of thousands into battle. Lethal looking spiked armor crossed his chest and ran over his shoulder, and an odd fur pelt was hung heavily over his shoulder.

He could hear the metallic sounds of weapons and armor behind him, smell the sweet smell of the grass after the heavy dew of morning, and literally feel the tension in the air.

The battle began in a giant clash of weapons, steel against steel and the whoosh of arrows flying overhead. In his hand Tokijin was gripped firmly, spilling the blood of any foes foolish enough to cross his path painting the ground brilliant red.

A great pain shot suddenly shot through his chest, piercing and cold as the grip of death tightened around him. Right before he was ripped from the battle and into consciousness he heard someone yelling his name. Someone that sounded uncannily like Kagome.

Staring in the darkness that surrounded him and panting heavily he raised his hand to his chest as if to feel for a wound that he was certain wouldn't be there. The pain had been quite real, but was that what brought him back into the conscious world, or was it Kagome's voice calling out to him? Was that part of the dream, or was that real?

With everything that happened earlier he figured he better check into it.

Pulling himself out of bed and headed for the stairs. She wasn't in her room, or in Rin's room so he headed down stairs. Once he reached the kitchen he paused. There were very…intimate sounds coming from the other side of the door, though he wasn't quite sure who it was at first. He didn't want to walk in on Miroku and Sango going at it on his kitchen table, though the thought irritated him to no end.

"mmmmm….."

Sesshoumaru's eyes widened at the erotic sounding moan and subconsciously moved closer to the door.

"Oh…oh god that's good."

Ok, that was definitely Kagome. A sudden surge of rage heated his blood at the thought of someone else being with Kagome like that. If it was Inuyasha he silently swore to kill him. With out a second thought about preserving other peoples modesty he burst through the door, an angry scowl on his face.

And he froze in his tracks as Kagome looked up at him guiltily…a piece of chocolate cookie crumb stuck to her bottom lip. Her spoon was in the process of digging out another bite from the pan and the open milk carton was set next to her.

The scowl slid sideways off his face and he had to restrain himself from laughing when she blushed at being caught with her hand almost literally in the cookie jar.

"Heh…hey there Sesshoumaru." She grinned sheepishly and held a spoonful up toward him. "wanna bite?"

He strode over to the table, noting that she was wearing a pair of silk pajama shorts and a matching tank top. Kagome's eyes widened when he squatted down in front of her chair and gazed up at her with an almost amused look on his face.

Her breath caught in her throat as his hand rose up and gently embraced her jaw, she felt her heart beat pick up at the sensations such and innocent touch invoked in her. Subconsciously she leaned into his touch, fighting with the urge to let her eyes flutter and close.

"What are you doing Kagome?" His voice was soft but commanding and Kagome found herself blushing once more.

"I…uh…was hungry…and um it just looked so good…I…"

He chuckled softly, the sound rumbling through his chest like the gentle thunder before a storm. "I meant why are you awake at three in the morning?"

"Oh." Well duh. She blushed even darker and realized that he had yet to remove his hand from her face. Was he going to kiss her? She really hoped so, she had been waiting for weeks for him to kiss her again. Oh god? What if she had morning breath? And she must look awful! Her hair was probably a rats nest!

"I had a weird dream and couldn't get back to sleep, so I decided to come down here and read for a while."

"Why did you not read in your bedroom?"

"I was hungry too." A pensive look crossed her face. What was this twenty questions after midnight? Hey, and wasn't she supposed to be mad at him about earlier? Why did he care if she decided to read down here instead of in her bedroom?

His thumb reached out and brushed the crumbs from Kagome's bottom lip, causing the girl to automatically dart her tongue out and moisten the appendage. "I can see that. Apparently you were too hungry to get a plate as well, or were you planning on eating the whole thing?"

"No!" She felt her temper mounting as he pulled his hand away from her face. "You know, you really need to lighten up a little Sesshoumaru. You're such a stick in the mud."

He made no reply, merely cocked a brow at her. Kagome promptly replied by cocking her own brow in a silent challenge to his wooden demeanor.

That began one of the strangest staring contests known to man. Both sat frozen with the exact same 'Rock-esque' expression on their faces until Kagome cracked. Her lip began twitching first. Then her eyes began to water and her nose itched when some unidentified dust particle decided to float in.

With a soft giggle she dropped 'the people's eyebrow' and smiled warmly at the man in front of her, nearly falling out of her chair when he actually smiled back.

`God, no wonder he never smiles. He would be ripped apart by amorous females if he flashed that around too much. That should be illegal.'

When her hand, of it's own accord of course, reached out to gently trace the soft curve of his lips she realized she was staring and had the decency to blush and turn away slightly.

"So, um, did I wake you up?" She asked lightly trying to cut some of the tension.

"No, I don't believe so."

She shot a questioning look at him. "What do you mean 'you don't believe so'?"

"I also had a strange dream. I heard you call out to me just as I awoke and wasn't sure if it was part of the dream or not so I came to check on you. When I found your room empty I came to look for you."

"Awww! You were worried about me! Admit it! Go on! Admit it!"

He simply rolled his eyes, but of course that was as good as any affirmative he could possibly give her. She just smiled warmly before scooping up another bite of her desert, but instead of eating it herself she thrust the spoon at him.

"You have to try this." she pushed the spoon at him. "Please."

The sad puppy eyes, his only weakness. Why did she have to know that trick out of all of them. She and Rin were conspiring against him. With a sigh he opened his mouth degrading himself to being fed like a child.

"Oh, stop looking all broody." Kagome scolded lightly. "It's not silly to be fed by someone, its sexy."

His eyes widened at her perceptiveness to his state of mind, but the girl remained oblivious.

"Ano, Sesshoumaru. Your dream, it wasn't about a battle was it?" She asked pensively looking down at the massive book on the table in front of her.

He nodded, but made no move to speak.

"That's kind of weird huh? Us having the same dream and all."

"It is."

"Should I go get the notebook?"

"I think it is worth noting."

"Ok I'll be right back." She hopped up and bounded toward the door, Sesshoumaru watching as the light reflected off the dark silk of her pajamas as she walked away.

Once she was gone he managed to pull himself up in her chair, raising a hand run through his sleep tousled hair. Now they were even sharing dreams, what next? Mental telepathy? This had to stop, but it seemed irrepressible. The only course of action seemed to be to let it run its course. He felt completely powerless in this matter, a feeling that he was not at all found of.

The book on the table before him was in pretty bad shape and looked ancient. He ran a finger gently across the faded leather binding that was pulling away from itself and saw that along the top corner there seemed to be some water damage.

There were no words on the cover, no title, just an ancient crest. It was kind of hard to make out, the old leather having worn down so much with the years, but it appeared to be two palms, one large and tipped with deadly claws and the other small and delicate. Obviously a man and a woman, or a demon and a woman, it was kind of hard to tell. The palms were not touching, but a small spherical object was floating between them. No other details could be made out.

His eyes moved from the worn cover of the book to the pan of Oreo pie directly to the side and was unable to deny himself the pleasure of another taste, only this time in a more dignified manner.

He had to admit, it was rather good. Kaede had out done herself with this one.

Now that his sweet tooth had been sated he needed something to wash it down with. He warily eyed the milk carton sitting innocently on the table, seemingly calling out to him with its cool dairy goodness. Frowning he looked across the kitchen to the cabinet where the glasses were held.

It wasn't a distance that would, under normal circumstances, be considered significant, but at 3 am even he was disinclined to move out of the chair to make the trip.

His glare snapped back to the milk carton on the table, the black and white cow on the label was smirking arrogantly at him as if to say `you know you want to'.

Eerily enough it kind of reminded him of his brother.

With one last glance at the door to see if he was still alone, Sesshoumaru swiped up the already open carton and brought it to his lips.

"AH HA!" Kagome yelled from the door way startling Sesshoumaru into spewing the mouthful of milk across the table. "See I knew you did it too!" She squealed happily and grabbed a towel to clean up his mess.

Sesshoumaru said nothing, just glared heatedly at that cow. It must be of some relationship to Inuyasha, he always said that the boy was a bit bovine after all. They plotted this out together, Inuyasha will have to pay.

Kagome was grinning from ear to ear as she began to wipe up the milk, noticing that Sesshoumaru was stairing with extreme predjuidice at the carton. "Oh please, its not the cartons fault you got caught." Kagome commented as she finished up, tossing the towel in the sink.

He started, amazed yet again at her insight of his inner dialogue. No one had ever read him so well, not even his father.

"Besides," she continued, completely oblivious to his surprise, "it just makes you seem more human."

"More human? And just what else would you presume me to be?" He asked with as much dignity as he could muster after being caught drinking from the milk jug, then spewing said milk across the table.

"You know." She said grabbing the spoon and shoving another bite in her mouth.

He studied her face as she flipped open the note book and began to write with the spoon in her mouth. "Enlighten me."

He was curious as to what her answer would be. This girl, this plain, ordinary girl who had captivated him so, what did she think of him?

She paused in her persual of the note book in front of her and looked up at him. Honeyed hazel locked with midnight sky for what seemed like and eternity before Kagome sighed and rested her chin in her hand and sighed.

"You know, you're one of the `beautiful people', nice to look at but completely untouchable."

"Hn." `So she thinks I am untouchable.' he thought with a bit of a scowl. `but she also said I am nice to look at.'

"But," she said almost wistfully, "I`m coming to realize that you`re just a man, a very talented man, but a man none the less. Besides anyone who would take in an abandoned baby and raise her as his own gets major points in my book." She gave him a warm smile before blushing and turning back to the notebook.

They sat in comfortable silence for a few minutes as Kagome recorded the events of her dream before passing it over to him.

He too began to write down his account of the dream, startled at the striking similarities. It was as if they both had the same dream from different points of view.

He watched her out of the corner of his eye as she ran her hands over the cover of the book he had been examining himself earlier. She seemed just as fascinated with the embossed leather as he had been.

"What is that?" He asked casually, closing the note book and pushing it to the side.

"Hmmm? Oh, well it's supposed to be the original legend of the Shikon no tama, I remember reading it as a kid and it reminded me of the script and the visions a bit so I asked my mom to send it to me, but this isn't the book I remember."

"No?"

"No, this one looks older…much older. Actually, I don't remember seeing this one at all. If gramps finds out she sent me one of the original texts he'll have a fit." She stared down at the book with a look of indecision before looking back at Sesshoumaru. "Do you want to look with me?"

He nodded and she scooted her chair around to him till they were nearly touching. Once situated she reached out and grasped the cover of the old book, still slightly hesitant.

"I don't know why, but I feel kind of nervous about opening this." She said with a nervous smile. "Kind of silly huh?"

"Not really, there may be answers to many of our questions in this book. We may not like all of them."

Her smile brightened considerably, and with a determined nod, she opened the book.

>>>>>>>

DUN, DUN, DUN! Hey, hey, hey! Put the pitch forks down people! I'll update soon I promise! Next chapter we will get some long over due answers! Finally! And maybe a little fluff too, ne? Anyways, don't forget to review.

U.C.