InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ The Heart Has Many Rooms ❯ Part II ( Chapter 2 )

Sorry for the wait, everyone! I had to tweak the second bit because it seemed a little OOC. And just to forewarn you, I think you'll have to wait even longer for the last part. I haven't even started to write it yet. *wince* Don't hurt me! ^^;;

{:The Heart Has Many Rooms [Part II]:}

****

"You big idiot!" Shippou lunged at Inuyasha the moment he walked into Kaede's hut. "You let Kagome go!"

But Inuyasha did not scowl or show displeasure of any kind. His face remained stoic as he gently pried the kitsune off of his head. "Shippou... please. Not now."

An uncomfortable silence echoed throughout the small hut. They all knew Inuyasha really had to be hurting to display such difference in his normal character. Shippou stared at the hanyou in shock, before nodding dumbly and stepping aside. Inuyasha sighed and sank down against a wall, resting his back against the firm surface. His gaze fell to the wooden floor and he studied the ground intently.

A concerned Miroku and Sango whispered conspiratorially to each other from across the hut. After a moment, Miroku stood up and, crossing the distance of the floor, sat down next to the troubled hanyou.

"Care to talk about it?" Miroku inquired, scrutinizing Inuyasha for a reaction. Inuyasha sighed wearily.

"No, Miroku." Inuyasha turned his head up, meeting the monk's gaze. "I don't care to talk about it."

Miroku frowned slightly. "I rather thought you would say that." And without any forewarning, he suddenly brought his shakujou down upon the crown of Inuyasha's head.

Inuyasha jerked back from the unexpected blow, eyes growing wide with confusion before narrowing slightly, as traces of irritation leaked into the hanyou's golden irises. "Why the fuck did you do that, bouzu?!" He shouted, rubbing the knot on his skull tenderly.

"I thought it might knock some sense into you." Miroku gave him a nonchalant, one-shouldered shrug. Sango stifled a snort from the other side of the room.

"And why," Inuyasha began, still annoyed by the throbbing in his head, "Would you think that I needed sense knocked into me?"

Miroku looked Inuyasha over for a long moment before addressing the issue that clung thickly to the air around them. "Because you are still here, Inuyasha. And you shouldn't be."

Inuyasha rolled his eyes in defense, trying to mask his emotions. "So where should I be, huh? What should I be doing?"

"You should be going after Kagome-chan, you pompous ass!" Sango interrupted heatedly, quickly rising to her feet with a smoldering glare turned on the hanyou. "But you're too damn ignorant to realize that!"

Inuyasha stood up just as swiftly, matching her stance. "She's already made her decision, Sango."

Sango's eyes narrowed in response. "Well she didn't have much choice, did she?!" She threw back, setting her hands on her waist to glower at Inuyasha.

"What the fuck are you talking about?! I tried to talk to her, but she wouldn't listen!" He shouted in response. Miroku, ever the mediator, suddenly stepped in between the two, holding his hands out to each of them in a placating gesture.

"Shouting will solve nothing, my friends." The houshi pronounced sagely, dropping his arms after a moment. "Inuyasha, if you want Kagome back, you must go after her now."

Inuyasha huffed. "Listen, bouzu. She obviously would rather be with that yaze ookami, and if that's what she really wants, then I won't ruin it for her."

"Baka!" Sango stepped forward and thrust a finger into his chest. "What she really wants is to be with you!"

The inu hanyou was greatly taken aback by this statement. His mouth moved soundlessly, unable to find enough words to form an articulate sentence. But after a moment, he managed a very soft, "What?"

Miroku sighed, shaking his head sadly. "Inuyasha... Kagome-sama loves you. Surely you can see that, can you not?"

If Inuyasha was shocked by Sango's declaration, he was doubly stunned by Miroku's.

She... loves me?

"I... I should leave now, shouldn't I?" Inuyasha whispered, still in a state of shock.

"Yes!" Sango and Miroku shouted in unison, pushing him towards the exit of the hut.

Inuyasha stumbled backward, slowly making his way to the door. "But, what if-"

"GO!" The pair harmonized again, and the hanyou scrambled through the door, disappearing into the shaded night that had settled over the treetops of his forest.

****

"Oi, Kagome."

The teenaged miko started, turning around quickly at the sound of the familiar greeting.

Kouga's puzzled countenance greeted her. "You okay?"

Kagome sighed, nodding mutely and turning her eyes back to the dying embers in the fire. For a second, she'd thought that maybe... but no, that was just wishful thinking.

"We should leave now, in case that idiot finally comes to his senses and realizes that you've chosen me." Kouga thoughtfully announced, unable to keep from sounding smug. Kagome's head nodded again, signaling her agreement.

She stood up, smoothing the wrinkles out of her skirt and quietly collecting miscellaneous items that had been haphazardly strewn about the camp. When she'd finished, she carefully placed everything inside her worn knapsack. "I'm ready."

Kouga crouched down, offering her his back. "Hop on."

Kagome's cerulean eyes grew wide and she vehemently shook her head from side to side. "No, not like that."

The ookami youkai looked at her in confusion again. "Huh?"

"Gomen, Kouga-kun. But... I can't ride on your back like that." Kagome told him in soft tones, not meeting his gaze. Kouga's eyes softened.

"He carries you like this, doesn't he." It wasn't a question. No, not really, because they both knew what the reply would be.

"Yes."

"All right." Kouga picked her up, placing one arm under her knees and the other behind her back as he took to the treetops. Kagome locked her hands behind his neck, trying not to think about how much closer she was to Kouga now. Trying not to think about how much she wished he were Inuyasha.

Inuyasha...

"Kagome!"

Inuyasha...!

"KAGOME!"

Kagome's head jerked up, cracking against Kouga's chin and sending them both crashing to the forest floor in a tangle of limbs. Although Kouga had swiftly twisted onto his back, holding Kagome in front of him so he would absorb most of the impact, Kagome still gave a sharp cry when the ground suddenly rushed up to meet them. Dirt clouds billowed around them, filtering into her throat and giving her a coughing fit. She pried herself from Kouga's grasp to brace herself on her hands and knees, while she attempted to hack up a lung. When the dust started to clear she shakily rose to her feet, blinking rapidly and waiting for her vision to stop spinning so that she could better identify the brilliant streak of red across the blurred canvas of the forest.

"Kagome! Are you okay?" Strong arms lifted her up, but she still fell forward onto the red figure's chest. The shape gasped audibly, and she tangled her fingers into the tough fabric of his garment, craning her neck upward to get a good look at his outlined face.

"Inu...yasha?" She croaked, recognizing the smooth planes of the hanyou's countenance and his golden honey eyes instantly. His face broke into a grin.

"Hai. Hai, Kagome. It's me."

And then there was a disturbance in the undergrowth of the forest as bushes rustled behind her, and the paired turned to look. Then, "Inukkoro! Get your filthy hands off my woman!"

A rumble sounded in Inuyasha's chest, one that caused a tingling sensation to stream down Kagome's spine and a warm heat to slowly spread throughout her stomach. Inuyasha pulled Kagome closer to him, crushing her against his chest.

"Fuck off, yaze ookami. You ain't getting Kagome."

Kouga growled fiercely, brandishing his claws. "She's already accepted me, bastard."

A harsh laugh, one that sounded more like a bark, escaped the hanyou's throat. "You know that doesn't mean shit. She hasn't been claimed yet, and that makes her free game."

"Fine, then. You wanna make this official, inukkoro?"

Bewildered, Kagome watched the exchange with no small amount of confusion. It was all so sudden that she just had no time to react or make any protest to this chauvinistic display of dominance. What was Inuyasha doing? Showing up out of nowhere and denying her to Kouga. Why couldn't he let her try to be with someone else? Why did he always have to keep her to himself, and then run to Kikyou when she so much as sneezed? Kagome had half a mind to just tell the him to leave her with Kouga- but then Inuyasha let loose a feral combination of snarls and growls, which Kouga returned, tossing his head back to bare his canines at the hanyou.

What in the seven hells...?

"Inuyasha, what the hell going on?" Kagome turned mystified eyes on the hanyou who was holding her so close. He looked down at her with a small smirk.

"Youkai challenge." He responded simply.

Kagome blinked. "A what?"

"Disputes between youkai, especially over territory or a female, are usually settled with a challenge. The youkai fight, and the one that wins gets to have the thing they were fighting over." Inuyasha explained, pulling her from his chest gently and cracking his knuckles, all while giving the wolf youkai a menacing glare.

Kagome nodded, growing slightly worried. This sounded dangerous for both Kouga and Inuyasha. "Is it... a fight to the death?"

Inuyasha chuckled suddenly. "Nah. Not unless one of the youkai takes it too far."

"Oh." Was all Kagome could say to that.

Inuyasha looked up to the treetops for a brief moment, before picking Kagome up, leaping into a tree, and setting her on one of the wider branches.

"Inuyasha!?" Kagome shrieked, glancing down at the ground nervously. The hanyou just grinned in response.

"You'll be safer watching from here." He supplied, trying hard not to make fun of her unnecessary panic. "Just try not to fall out."

Then he was on the ground again, leaving Kagome alone on what she thought was a branch that was far too unsteady. "Inuyasha! This isn't funny!"

The inu youkai laughed. "You'll be fine!" Then Inuyasha turned to Kouga, all mirth leaving his eyes.

"Ready, bastard?" Kouga snarled, dropping into a stance. Inuyasha mirrored the action, pulling Tetsusaiga from his waist and throwing the sword into the woods at the edge of the clearing.

"I'm always ready to beat your ass!" Inuyasha shouted, before throwing himself headlong into the battle while a nervous Kagome watched from her treetop, high above the ground.

But, without Tetsusaiga, Inuyasha will transform into his full youkai form...

"Oh no... Inuyasha..."

****

Reviewer Thanks:

[ff.net]

Kagome's Twin: Well, it does look like they're going to fight doesn't it? And hey, you never know... Kagome might end up with Kouga. I haven't really decided yet. ^.^

Inuyasha X Kagome 4 eva:Kikyou being nice? Haha, impossible, isn't it? Well, although Kikyou isn't exactly my favorite character, I can't see her being as heartless as many other authors portray her. I just think that she got mixed up in some bad business. As to who Kagome ends up with- I guess you'll just have to keep reading!

Minty: Thanks for the review, hun. Hope you continue to read!

Anzu2: I'm so glad you liked it! ^.^ I'll try to update as soon as I can.

[mm.org]

Julia It is all a dream: I'm sorry! I'm really trying to work on the reviewing thing. ^^;; And yes, I have read "Love and Obligation" and I think it's awesome too. But anyway, I'm glad we share the same Kikyou/Inuyasha relationship opinion- which I do plan to delve into more deeply next chapter. Thanks so much for your input... and I really enjoyed your "Life is Love" a lot, did I mention? You showed great understanding Kagome's feelings and actions, and I think you have a real gift for that. Keep writing (and reviewing too!).

kikyo_kagura_koga_fan_: Thank you so much for reviewing! Glad you found it interesting.

kady: Oh, a happy dance, huh? *does happy review dance* Here's another chapter for ya!