InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ The Longest Journey ❯ Going Home ( Chapter 17 )

[ X - Adult: No readers under 18. Contains Graphic Adult Themes/Extreme violence. ]

Chapter 17: Going Home

Kagome sat before the fire, lost in her thoughts as they all ate breakfast. Amazingly enough, even the children were quiet, as though they understood the severity of what had happened the night before... and maybe, they did.

Her thoughts turned away from thinking about Inuyasha - there was nothing she could do about that situation at this point except support Kikyou in this difficult time. Running her thoughts of Naraku through again, however, something caught her attention, and she glanced at Miroku, wondering.

"Miroku?"

Everyone looked up at the sound of her voice, caught off-guard at the noise, since it had been so quiet this morning.

Miroku looked up, startled from his own thoughts. "Yes, Kagome?"

"How is the kazaana? I mean, I know that the poison had spread a bit, even before I left - how much worse is it now?"

Miroku exchanged a glance with Sango, then reluctantly turned back to Kagome.

"It's a bit worse than it was when you left, I won't lie... why?"

She turned to Sugimi. "I'm sorry, love, but I refuse to go into battle with all those saimyousho without adequate protection for Miroku. I know you want them, but there are so many, I won't risk his life with the possibilty of even one getting to him. We are going to have to take me home."

Miroku's eyes widened. "You mean the anti-venom, from your home - those shots."

She nodded. "Yes. I can get several." At Sugimi's interested look, she elaborated. "They are actually anti-allergen shots, called Epi-pens. If he accidentally sucks up some of those bugs, the shot can be administered immediately, and it will destroy the toxins before he can become ill."

Sugimi looked fascinated, and even Sesshoumaru had a curious look on his face. "What is a 'shot'?"

Kagome blinked. "Uh, well, its a very sharp, thin piece of metal, that is made to pierce the skin easily with little blood loss. Inside it is the medicine, and once it gets into the blood vessel, it releases the medicine right into the blood stream." She thought for a moment. "Kinda like Myoga, actually. You know - his beak. He pierces the skin with it, and gets blood. Same concept, but instead of taking something from the body, it places the medicine inside."

Sesshoumaru nodded at that. "That makes a certain sense, I suppose. Ningens in your time have become clever - I'll give them that."

Kagome laughed. "You have no idea, Sesshoumaru-sama. You have no idea." She sobered, and looked over at Sugimi again, who still appeared lost in thought over some of the marvels that she'd told him of.

"But I meant what I said, love. We're going to have to take a bit of a detour. I know that nothing in a battle is certain, and there's no guarantee that we'll all live through it, but there's no sense in not taking all the precautions we can - and this is one of them."

Sugimi nodded thoughtfully. "I agree, my dear." He glanced around at the group. "So, should we all go, or just Kagome and I, leaving everyone else here to rest up a bit?"

Sesshoumaru spoke up. "There is little point in all of us going, father. You and the miko should go, we will wait here."
"Very well, then." He looked at Kagome. "Can you be ready to go as soon as you finish eating?"

"Yes. It'll only take me a moment to get my things together."

'Great Lord, should I go with you?'

Sugimi frowned in thought for a moment, then shook his head. "No. I will carry Kagome with me. Once we arrive at the well, we would only have to leave you behind. It makes more sense for you to stay here."

'Very well. Take care of my Kagome, Great Lord.'

He nodded. "That goes without saying, Kisho." He turned and caught Seshoumaru's eye. "If Myoga returns, and Inuyasha is in trouble..."

"I will assist him, father. Do not be concerned."

"Good. Because I'm the one that's going to beat that boy's ass - no one else."

Seshoumaru smirked at the thought. "I will most definitely enjoy watching that, father."

Kikyou just stared between the two with horror, and Sugimi, catching the look, laughed. "Do not worry, mate of my son. I will not kill him - but I will definitely knock some sense into the boy."

She nodded, not sure she believed him, but then caught Kagome's eye, and relaxed. She wouldn't allow the her intended to really hurt Inuyasha - and truth be told, he did need a good ass kicking, even she could admit that.

Kagome smiled at Kikyou, then grabbed her leather satchel, and looked at her intended. "I'm ready, love. Let's go... the sooner we do, the sooner we return." Left unspoken was the reason she was so eager to return here and finish with her trip quickly, despite the fact that she hadn't seen her family in a year - but Sugimi merely nodded, and grasping her around the waist, formed his youki cloud beneath them and lifted quickly into the sky and disappeared.

Kikyou watched wistfully as the two disappeared, and when Sango caught her eye, she nodded in the direction the two had gone. "She loves him - I just hope that he loves her as well. I'd not like to see her go through what Inuyasha and I put her through - again."

Sango stared at her, surprised, but before she could speak, Sesshoumaru did - to everyone's surprise. "There is no cause for concern. My father has honor, unlike a certain half-breed. He has chosen to give himself to the miko - there is no question where his heart lies. I would hate to be in Inuyasha's shoes should he attempt to permanently separate them - if he is forced to choose, father will choose the miko, although it would cause him great grief if he had to kill his own son," he finished softly.

Sesshoumaru looked at Rin, then cast his glance after his father.

"I would hate to be in his place at this time... I do not know how I would react faced with having to fight and possibly kill my own pup."

Rin came up and put her hand in his as the rest of the group stared at him. Smiling up at him she said, "Do not worry, Sesshoumaru-sama. Kagome-sama will save Inuyasha-sama, and your father won't have to fight him. Kagome-sama would never allow those she loves to be hurt like that." As Sesshoumaru looked down at her, she grinned even wider. "And Sesshoumaru-sama would never have to fight with Rin about anything - Rin would never disobey Sesshoumaru-sama."

As he looked at the trust shining in her eyes, Sesshumaru knew that he would never be able to fight with Rin...

About anything. She had him in the palm of her tiny hand - and woe to anyone who tried to hurt her, because he would not hesitate to destroy them.

Suddenly, he knew exactly what his father meant when he said 'something to protect'.

Rin was his, and protect her he would. Against everything.

---zZz---

Kagome pushed herself even closer into Sugimi's side as they flew through the air, shivering slightly at the cooler air so high off the ground. Glancing down at her, he tightened his arms around her, just enjoying the feel of her, held so tightly against himself. She felt so right... every curve and contour, perfectly matched to the lines and plains of his body - at least, she would if his damn armor wasn't in the way.

He chuckled at that, and she glanced up at him to see him looking down at her. "What? What's so funny?"

"I was just wishing my armor to perdition right now - you'd feel so much better against me if it wasn't in the way."

She blushed lightly, privately agreeing with him. In battle, she'd be glad he had it on, and she knew it, but times like now...

"You know, we'll just leave your armor in the well-house when we get to the other side of it - it isn't really needed in my birth-era, and it would only frighten my family to see you in it. Inuyasha's the only one from this time they've ever seen, and of course, he doesn't wear armor."

He nodded. "I have no problem taking it off if you say it isn't necessary, beloved." He paused, looking ahead for a moment, then back down at her. "So, tell me, love - what is on the other side? As in, your family? You've never really spoken of them."

She smiled wistfully for a moment. "Well, there's my mother, and my little brother Sota, and my grandfather. We are shrinekeepers - the old well is a part of our shrine in my time... that's how I first fell through."

"What about your father?"

"He died when I was about eight in an accident. There are still many dangers in the world, even in the time I was born in - that will never change. I don't remember him that well, anymore - it's been almost ten years since he passed." She sounded sad as she said that.

He reached down and tilted her head up to his for a soft, short kiss, then smiled at her and raised his face to the horizon again, smiling wider when she let out a disappointed whimper. "If I'd let that kiss get any further, my love, we'd be crashing into the ground at high-speed... I can't pay attention to where we are going when I'm losing myself in you, my beloved miko." He sounded just a tad amused.

Kagome sighed. "I suppose."

"However, we will not always be flying, tenshi..." he trailed off suggestively, and grinned wickedly as she blushed a beautiful rose color, and hid her face in his chest.

"You are so bad, Sugimi," he heard, muffled though it was.

At that, he let out a hearty laugh, golden eyes sparkling, and lit with an inner fire. "You have no idea, beloved, you really, really have no idea."

Shaking her head, she looked down, awed at the sight below her. It was beautiful, the earth below looking like nothing so much as a patchwork quilt, light greens interspersed with dark greens, and browns, then broken up by mountain ranges wrinkling the fabric of the earth. Flying in her time was achieved through huge metal contraptions she'd always known instinctively that she'd fear setting foot in - but this was an entirely different matter. This way, she knew she was just as safe as if she was walking on the ground... he would never let her fall, and she knew it. She was never safer than when he was holding her.

He glanced down at her again, enchanted with the peaceful, happy look on her face. "What are you thinking, my love?" he asked, softly.

She smiled sweetly up at him, heart in her eyes. "Just that I'm safest right here - in your arms - and that there is no safer place in the world... no matter where we are or what we're doing."

His heart melted again at the complete trust in her eyes - no one had ever looked at him that way - not even Izayoi had had that much faith in him, and he once again tightened his arms around her, wanting nothing more in that moment than to lay her down, strip them both, and spend the next several years making love to her in every way possible.

A slight frown touched her face. "How long will it take us to get to the well, Sugimi?"

He looked around, getting his bearings. "Actually, love, we'll be there in a few minutes - why?"

She grinned. "Well, it's fairly early in the day - we can spend the rest of it there, and maybe, if we're lucky, you will be able to see a few of the things in my time that you've been so fascinated with."

He smiled, excited at the thought, and she laughed at the look on his face.

"You look like an excited puppy, Sugimi!"

He smirked at that. "I can assure you, my dear, Inu I may be, but a puppy, I am not." He pushed his hips against her, giving her plenty of proof. No puppy had something like that, and her eyes widened comically.

"Uh, is that... I mean... well - is that, what I think it is?" she finally managed to choke out.

He broke out into laughter as they began to get lower, finally landing in the well clearing. He chucked her under the chin, still chuckling at her wide-eyed look.

"Come, my Kagome. You can worry about what that was - later. Right now, it's time to go see your family."

With that, he lifted her into his arms, and hopped into the well, not sure what would happen, but knowing that something would, and that it would deposit them in his love's birth era.

It was time to meet his soon-to-be mate's mother.

Oh, joy.

---zZz---


The first thing he noticed was the smell... it was horrendous. Then the noise hit him, and it was just as bad. He noticed that she winced as well, and he wasn't surprised - after being so long away from this, it would hit anyone hard, he was sure. With a pained frown, he lowered his sensitivity until he could tolerate things, then sighed as the discomfort eased.

"Well, that I could have done without."

She grimaced, glancing over at him apologetically. "I'm sorry, dear one. I had forgotten how bad it was." She moved over a bit, then gestured for him to turn, and began untying his armor.

As she got it loosened, he shifted, and removed all of it, slowly rotating his shoulders as the weight of it was taken from them. It felt good to get it off - sometimes he really hated the need for it. With a sigh, he took it and placed it neatly beside the well, out of sight of the door.

As soon as he finished, Kagome grabbed his hand and pulled him up the steps, and listening carefully, slid the doors open just a tad, trying to make sure no one was about. Once assured that they were unseen, she pushed open the doors completely and pulled a fascinated daiyoukai out, before closing the doors again, and starting towards the house.

She huffed out a little laugh at his curious puppy look, (no matter what he said, she'd always think of it that way), and holding his hand tightly, guided him to the large dwelling that sat diagonally across an open courtyard from the well.

Entering through the rather strange door, she moved across the main room and headed for the kitchen, knowing that that was probably where her mother was. Sure enough, as she moved into the room, she saw her mother standing at the sink washing dishes, and tears filled her eyes at the sight of her mother doing something so mundane.

Letting go of Sugimi's hand, she took a tentative step forward, saying, "Mother?"

Her mother spun around, shock widening her eyes, before she dropped the dish she had in her hands, and held them out to her daughter. "Kagome!? Is that really you?! Oh, my dear one, you've come back to me," she sobbed out, flinging herself into her daughter's arm's... not even noticing the male smiling behind her.

She held onto her daughter for endless minutes, sobbing out the fear and tension of a year with no word, before finally pulling away and wiping the tears from her cheeks. She was amazed at the changes that had taken place in her in just one year - she had left still a young girl, and returned a woman full grown, and a beautiful one at that.

It was then that she noticed the extremely handsome male smiling gently behind her daughter.

"Kagome, dear? Who is this handsome man?"

Kagome blushed, and with a gentle laugh, Sugimi spoke for her. "I am her, what ningens would call, betrothed. I am honored to meet you, Higurashi-san... I am known as Sugimi."

Her mother glanced at her, wide-eyed, then smiling a bit confusedly, invited the two to sit down at the table. "Please, call me Akina. I'm not one for formality much." Looking between the two, she had to admit they made a striking couple - he with his silver and gold coloring, against the midnight and blue of her daughter.

With a slight frown, she thought, silver and gold? "Tell me, Sugimi, are you by any chance related to Inuyasha?"

He smiled ruefully, and shook his head. "Yes. Inuyasha is my son."

Akina sat back with a stunned expression, and Kagome flinched. Oh, boy, here come the questions.

"Okay, dear," she looked determinedly at her daughter, "I thought Inuyasha's father was dead. And I thought that you two were together. What happened there?" She looked at Sugimi. "No offense or anything, but aren't you a little old for my daughter?"

Kagome sighed as Sugimi grasped her hand and chuckled. "No offense taken. I will answer your questions. First, yes I was dead - and now I am not. I died two hundred years ago, on the night Inuyasha was born, defending he and his mother. I was brought back several months ago."

Akina sat, stunned. Apparently, things were very different in his time - she'd known, in an abstract way, that magic was real, since the well stood right there on their property, but to hear such things as returning from the dead after two hundred years so casually spoken of...!

Taking a deep breath, she nodded at him to continue.

"As for any kind of relationship between my son and Kagome-"

Kagome interrupted him there. "Inuyasha chose Kikyou, momma. We haven't even seen each other in a year until a few days ago - I haven't been traveling with the group... I was traveling alone. That's kind of how I met Sugimi."

"Oh, Kagome, honey, I'm so sorry." Akina pulled her daughter into a hug. "That must have hurt."

Kagome pulled away and smiled. "Yeah... it did - then. But it hasn't in a long time - and then I met Sugimi," she smiled over at him tenderly, and he smiled back, "so don't worry about me. I'm glad about what happened - I wouldn't trade him for anyone else."

Sugimi looked back over at her mother. "And as for being too old... some might think so, I suppose. I am well over fifteen hundred years old in youkai years," he grinned at her astonished look, "however, in equivalent human years I am about thirty."

Akina shook her head, stunned, but trying to deal with it. With a glance at her daughter, she finally sighed, then shrugged her shoulders.

"Age is only a number, I suppose... and it is obvious that my daughter is no longer a child - she has more poise and maturity than many three times her age. It is also obvious to me that she loves you deeply... so as long as you promise not to hurt her as your son did, I have no complaints."

Kagome grinned at that, and Sugimi nodded. "I can promise not to hurt your daughter, Akina-san." He bowed his head to her with respect. "Kagome is, after all, my foretold soul-mate... so there is no chance that I will ever let anything come between us."

She chuckled as her mother's eyes widened again. "Foretold soul-mate?"

"Yes. Before my death, I knew that someday I would return from the other side - and that I would meet Kagome. Of course, I didn't know her name, but I knew that she would have been born with the Tama inside her body, and that she would cross time to meet me."

Her mother sat back in her seat, stunned. Shaking her head, she said, "I always knew that you would have an amazing fate, my daughter, but this...?!"

She smiled at her mother, happy that she approved. "I'm glad your not angry, momma," she frowned then, "and I'm so sorry I haven't been home in so long. I just couldn't come back until now."

Akina put her hand up, and shook her head at her daughter. "I understand, honey. You have a difficult fate... just promise me that you won't wait so long again, please?"

Sugimi spoke before she could. "I promise on my honor as Lord of the North that Kagome will be back to see you at least once a month."

Her mother blinked. "Lord?" Turning to her daughter, she asked, "You've gotten yourself a Lord?! And a gorgeous one at that... you've done well, daughter," she said slyly, a genuine laugh bursting forth at Kagome's embarrassed flush.

Sugimi just grinned, and bowed slightly. "Thank you for the compliment, Akina."

She nodded, still smiling. "So, my dear, now that you are home, is there anything you need?" She tilted her head knowingly as her daughter flashed her a guilty glance.

"Well, yes," she said, voice low. "Not that I didn't want to come home and see you guys, but - I need several Epi-Pens, you know, for Miroku. We'll be coming up against Naraku for the final time - and I don't want to face him without those... Miroku would never make it."

Akina nodded. "I understand, dear. I can go do some shopping right now," she glanced at Sugimi, taking in his features, "and while it would be quite entertaining to take you two with me, I don't think he could pass too well as a human, so..."

Kagome looked at her intended thoughtfully, then nodded. "You're right, momma. We will stay here and wait... speaking of - is Sota at school? And where's gramps?"

"Oh! Right! I was so happy to see you I forgot about them," she said, with a sheepish laugh. "It's actually saturday, so Sota's at soccer practice, and your grandfather is having his usual chess day with his friends." Looking at her watch, she nodded. "In fact, I'll just have time to do the shopping, then it'll be time to pick them both up. You'll see them this evening."

Kagome grinned up at Sugimi. "Just a warning, love... gramps thinks he has spiritual powers, and as soon as he sees you, he'll be trying to plaster you with sutras." At his scowl, her and her mother both laughed. "Don't worry though, his sutras are worthless. We've just never told him that."

Akina stood, and headed out of the kitchen and up the stairs, after her purse. On her way back down she asked, "Will you two be staying for dinner?"

Sugimi nodded. "I would be honored," with a quick glance at Kagome, he chuckled, "and I think that my beloved would kill me if I said no, so..."

Her mother laughed lightly. "Well, then, I think I will make oden tonight," she mused, tapping her chin with her finger.

Kagome squealed, clapping her hands in delight. "Oden! I haven't had oden in sooo long! Yummm..." she closed her eyes in bliss, and Sugimi grinned at her.

"I am interested in trying this dish if it makes Kagome glow like that, it must indeed be a great delicacy," he said, teasingly.

Akina nodded happily.

"Then oden it is."

Kagome waved happily at her mother as she left, then turned to a smiling Sugimi. "Well, you may as well come up to my room... I'll show you my computer, and we can look up anything you find interesting. How does that sound?"

Sugimi's eyes brightened suddenly at the thought of getting answers to all his questions, and Kagome had to smile.

"Curious puppy."

She giggled as he growled and chased her up the stairs and into her room, happy and at peace for the first time in days.