InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ The New Student and Kagome's Secret ❯ Chapter 44: It's A Beautiful Life ( Chapter 45 )

A/N: Hi! Did I get the chapter up fast enough? If I didn't it could be because of the LACK OF POWER OR ANYTHING DUE TO STUPID HURRICANE FRANCES!!! SAY IT WITH ME: HURRICANES SUCK!!!

Okay, now that that's out of my system, I would like to thank all of my loyal readers and thank all of you who reviewed. Mwaa! Love you guys! Okay well don't let me keep you from it! Read the next chapter! Hurry!

Chapter 44

Inuyasha stood there with his mouth agape. He couldn't believe he was actually back home. He took a step inside cautiously. He looked around and everything seemed to be pretty normal. Myouga walked inside.

"Oh my!" Myouga said. "I was expecting a lot more damage to the castle than this. In fact, it almost looks as if someone cleaned the place up!"

Everything seemed to be in tact. There didn't seem to be any damage whatsoever. Inuyasha stared at the foyer floor in front of him. He couldn't believe it. The wallpaper had changed, but that was to be expected. A scene of his mother and father when they were dying flashed through his mind. The wallpaper had been destroyed due to the battle that took place there so it would have naturally been replaced. Inuyasha took a few more steps. Suddenly a scent caught his nose.

`Mother! Father!' he thought. `Their scent lingers here as if they were actually standing here in front of me. But why? Sesshoumaru's scent is here as well, but not near as strong as theirs.'

Inuyasha examined the room. There were two staircases, one on the left and one on the right. Their red carpet still remained and they both circled towards each other until they met at the center of the next floor. The railings were made of real gold and top floor stretched out horizontally overhead from where staircases met in the center. Behind the second floor railing was a long window that encompassed nearly the entire. It was adorned with royal blue, velvet drapes along the edge of the window and a sheer white curtain flowed over the actual window itself. The foyer floor was a beautiful white marble tile. The wallpaper was red mixed with different patches of gold, white, and royal blue. Inuyasha looked at the others and then to Kagome. He knew he needed to find her a place to rest.

"Let's go," Inuyasha said and then moved forward. He would examine the rest of the castle later. Right now, Kagome was his number one priority. He wanted to get her to a bed so she could rest peacefully. Sango, Miroku, Myouga, and Kirara followed Inuyasha up the stairs. Inuyasha took very cautious steps…almost as if he was expecting something to jump out and scare him at any second. When he reached the top of the stairs he looked to the left and to the right. The hallway was adorned with same red carpet and wallpaper as the foyer and seemed to stretch endlessly in either direction. Inuyasha knew where he was going to take Kagome. He took a left and began walking down the hallway with his friends following him.

"Myouga," Inuyasha asked. "Where did Sesshoumaru reside while staying here?"

"Why, Sesshomaru stayed in the East Wing sire," Myouga said. "He intended to stay in your father's room, but when he went into the room, the scent of your mother made him decide otherwise. Since you and your parents both resided in the West Wing, Sesshomaru decided to stay in the East Wing. That way he wouldn't have to smell you or your mother…or at least…that's what he said."

"Hmph!" Inuyasha retorted. "I'm glad! I just didn't want to be putting Kagome in a bed that was inhabited by that prick!"

"Where are we going sire? Which room?" Myouga asked curiously.

"To my parents' room," Inuyasha replied in his usual tone with no emotion and stared straight ahead.

"The Royal Chambers?" Myouga asked.

"Yeah," Inuyasha said eyeing Myouga warily. "Why do you ask?"

"I haven't been in the Royal Chambers since Sesshomaru walked in and declared the room uninhabitable. He made us lock the door so that no one could ever have access to…in his words… `that wretched room'," Myouga said holding his fingers up to form quotations on his last statement.

"Well, do you have a key?" Inuyasha asked.

"Yes, sire," Myouga said reaching into his pocket. "Right here. He ordered all of the attendants to dispose of their keys. He even lined us up one by one and made us drop it into the boiler so it could be melted down. However, I made a key that was identical to the real key and tossed it into the boiler instead. He never knew the difference."

"Good thinking, Myouga," Inuyasha said with a smile.

"I thought it might come in handy again one day," Myouga said proudly.

"Do you think the chambers have been destroyed?" Inuyasha asked.

"I don't know, sire," Myouga replied. "It doesn't seem like much has been touched. In fact, it almost seems as if someone came in here and cleaned the place up rather than looted it."

"I see," Inuyasha said, pondering what Myouga had just said. The place did seem awful clean for Sesshomaru to have just left it not long ago. `I wonder,' Inuyasha thought.

The group continued walking for what seemed like an eternity. However, they did have a chance to look out the windows to the right and admire the garden area below. It seemed there was a rather large rectangular pond with enormous goldfish in it. An enchanting fountain stood in the middle of the pond, and beautiful shrubbery and flowers were scattered throughout the area.

Inuyasha and the others walked on and on, passing different doors as they walked. They finally came to two large, magnificent double doors made of cherry wood and trimmed in gold. It was so amazing that it looked like it was made to be a front door rather than a bedroom door. Myouga reached into his pocket and pulled out a small golden key. He reached for the lock and unlocked the door. With one glance at Inuyasha, he swung open the mighty doors. To Inuyasha's shock, everything looked as Inuyasha's father had left it.

"This is odd," Myouga said. "I thought this room was ordered to be destroyed. Hmm…that was right before the battle so maybe the servants didn't get around to it before the battle began."

Inuyasha walked into the room. It was a little dusty, but other than that seemed the exact same. He gently laid a clawed hand on the silken, down comforter. Cherry blossoms still accented the deep blue comforter and the walls were still a golden yellow. Sango and Miroku looked around the room. The room was enormous and everything appeared to be of the finest quality. To the left, two double doors made mostly of glass were trimmed elegantly in a thick curtain with a pattern identical to that of the bedding and covered by a simple sheer, white curtain. The doors lead to the largest balcony they had ever seen. This really had to be the most beautiful place Sango and Miroku had ever laid their eyes on, and they had only seen one room. They had no idea that Inuyasha had lived in such luxury.

Inuyasha looked back to Kagome. He then walked around to the head of the bed and pulled back the covers. Kirara walked towards Inuyasha. Inuyasha soon gently lifted Kagome into his arms and placed her comfortably in the bed.

"Let's let her rest," Inuyasha said motioning for everyone to leave the room. He walked all the way to the bedroom doors then stopped. "Myouga, take Sango and Miroku on the tour. Meet back in the dining area in a couple of hours. Perhaps, Kagome will be awake by then."

"And what will you do my Lord?" Myouga asked.

"I have some thinking to do," Inuyasha replied. "I'll be out on the balcony. I don't want to leave Kagome by herself."

Myouga nodded and with that left to take the others on the tour of Inuyasha's castle. Inuyasha closed the door and locked it. He would be on the balcony and didn't want anyone disturbing Kagome. He looked around the room. He couldn't believe everything was still in tact. He could have sworn Sesshomaru would have destroyed everything. He walked over to the closet. His parents' clothes were missing, but that was to be expected. He walked into the huge bathroom with the spa for a tub and recognized that it was completely stripped of everything. There was nothing in it…no towels, no soap, no washcloths, nothing. He turned around and sighed.

`How long has it been Father?' Inuyasha said to himself. `What's going on? Lend me your guidance. I have no idea what to do.'

His eyes soon drifted to Kagome's sleeping figure. He smiled then turned to walk out onto the balcony. He flung open the double doors and allowed the breeze to blow through his long, silver hair. He walked out and decided to leave the doors open allowing the curtains to gently blow in the breeze. He looked back into the bedroom to make sure he still had Kagome in his line of vision. The curtains were sheer so he had no problem still keeping an eye on her. He continued to walk out until he reached the edge of the balcony. He leaned on the white marble railing that had miniature white marble pillars supported its form. He sighed. He knew he had a lot of thinking to do though he didn't want to do any of it. He knew his decision as to whether he should or should not take over the position as Lord of the Western Lands and basically Lord of Japan would be coming soon. On top of that, Sesshomaru could still be alive out there somewhere. He looked back into the chambers. He excellent vision spied Kagome's sleeping figure.

`I have to protect her,' Inuyasha thought. `Kagome nearly died in the last battle with Sesshomaru. She still hasn't fully recovered. Every time she uses her powers she ends up like this. How will she be able to survive another battle? If Sesshomaru is still alive, he has a plan. He wouldn't have waited this long to attack us if he didn't. He would have attacked us when we were recovering from the battle. I just need to keep my eyes peeled for him. I don't want Kagome to have to go through that again.'

About an hour later…

Kagome's eyes gently fluttered open and weakly looked around the room. She jumped a little, startled by what she saw. She stared up at vaulted ceilings and then allowed her eyes to examine the rest of the room.

`Oh my!' Kagome thought as she examined the luxurious appeal of the room. She looked at the walls and felt the comfortable bedding she was now in. She sat up in the bed and immediately became wide-eyed as she continued to stare at the room in awe and wonder. Her eyes soon drifted towards the double doors that lead to the balcony. There was someone on the balcony. Kagome squinted her eyes to get a better view of the person, but to no avail. She wanted to call out to Inuyasha, but for some reason something told her that whoever was on the balcony meant her no harm. Kagome slid out from underneath the covers and was just about to step on the floor when she realized the bed was quite high. She smiled to herself and then gracefully hopped onto the floor. She walk ever so quietly around the edge of the bed and began walking closer and closer to the doors. The balcony doors had been left open and the sheer, white curtains now blew softly in the window. When Kagome reached the doorway, she split the curtains in the middle so she could get through and see who was on the balcony. It was Inuyasha. She smiled and was about to say something when she noticed his disposition. First and foremost, the fact that Inuyasha hadn't even noticed her presence was weird within itself. Inuyasha had his right elbow propped on the balcony banister with his forearm laying flat against its surface. His left arm was mildly gripping the hilt of his sword and his right foot was crossed over his left. His right hip leaned against the balcony and he stared off into the distance as if he was almost in a trance. Kagome had never really seen Inuyasha like this. There was something about his face or something about his stance that made her look at him differently. His face was very stern and authoritative, yet held a certain confidence and softness that made people respect and fear him, but know that he would never harm them if they meant no harm towards him. His hair blew gently in the wind and his golden eyes were deep in thought. Kagome was, needless to say, smitten. She was blown away by his very presence. She wanted to say something to him, but didn't want to break through his thoughts. Besides, she was enchanted and lost with his entire being.

`Wow,' she thought. `Inuyasha looks like a king standing there like that. This balcony only adds to the effect. He looks so…so…deep in thought…confident…and…well…kinda sexy. Okay he looks hella sexy! Agh! Why am I thinking this way?! Pull yourself together girl!'

"Um…Inuyasha?" Kagome said taking a cautious step forward. She knew he was deep in thought and didn't really want to disturb him.

Inuyasha immediately snapped out of it and looked in Kagome's direction. Now the shoe was on the other foot. He was completely smitten by her. The wind blowing the sheer curtains behind her only drew attention to Kagome's beauty. Her hair was slightly disheveled from sleep, but to Inuyasha, it looked sexy. He silently berated himself for thinking such thoughts then snapped back to reality.

"Kagome!" he said quickly walking over to her. He rested a hand on her shoulder. "How do you feel? You okay?"

"Uh, yeah," Kagome responded as she blushed and looked down to her hands. Inuyasha eyed her skeptically.

"You sure?" he asked again.

"Hmm? Oh, yeah, yeah! Fine!" she said looking around her and finally noticing the size of Inuyasha's castle. "Oh my! Inuyasha, is this your castle?" Inuyasha sighed and turned around to walk back to his original spot by the banister.

"If you mean, is there where I grew up…," he said as he walked away, then turned to look at her over his shoulder. "Then yes."

Kagome's jaw literally dropped. She scurried over to the edge of the balcony and leaned over the edge like a little kid.

"Oh wow!" she exclaimed as she took in the splendor of Inuyasha's castle. "Oh wow! Oh wow!" Inuyasha laughed lightly at her acted like a little girl.

"So I take it you like it, huh?" Inuyasha said with a smile. Kagome looked at him as if he had lost his mind.

"What? Are you kidding?" she exclaimed. "It's the most beautiful place I've ever seen!"

Inuyasha didn't know why, but hearing her say that made him feel really good inside. Her approval was important to him, though he really didn't know why. He smiled as he watched her run from side to side of the balcony as she tried to take in everything around her all at once.

"Okay, okay!" he said grabbing her arm when she ran by him again. "That's enough. We'll be here plenty long enough for you to go on an all out tour of the place. Right now, we need to meet Myouga and the others in the dining room."

Kagome smiled and nodded excitedly. She was so excited to be in a place like this. She felt like a princess. Kagome's excitement amused Inuyasha. He had never seen someone so excited over a building before. At least, that's the way he looked at it.

The two of them walked out of the bedroom and Inuyasha locked the door behind them with the key Myouga had left him and soon began walking next to Kagome down the same hallway that had brought them there.

"Oh wow!" Kagome said again.

"Are you going to keep saying that over and over again?" Inuyasha asked.

"Oh wow!" Kagome said again as she stopped and stared out the window that overlooked the garden area the others had seen earlier. "Oh sorry! It's just I am truly amazed by this place. This is great! I am just too excited, I guess!"

Inuyasha smiled, walked over next to Kagome, and said, "I guess I just can't understand it. This is where I grew up. This what I called home for so many years."

Kagome quit looking at the splendid garden in front of her to turn her eyes on Inuyasha. He looked as if he was remembering something. He looked as if his childhood was flashing before his eyes. Sadness, regret, anger, and even a hint of fear were intermixed in Inuyasha's eyes.

"So many things happened here…some I want to remember…some I want to forget. It still sickens me to know that Sesshomaru lived here for a while. I should have killed him when I had the chance," Inuyasha said angrily.

"You did the right thing," Kagome said resting a hand on Inuyasha's shoulder. "It may not mean much, but I am very proud of you for doing what you did. That took strength. It took nobility. I don't know if even I could have done the same thing in your situation. You come from noble blood and you proved it during that moment. From the way you and Myouga describe him, your father was a great man, one of nobility, strength, and honor. I guess it looks like the saying `like father, like son' is true…especially in this situation. You did the right thing, and I couldn't be prouder of you."

Inuyasha looked up to meet Kagome's kind eyes with his own. He stood there dumbfounded by the way she had just spoken to him. He hadn't realized it until just now but he had needed to hear that. He brushed her hand off his shoulder and rested both hands on her shoulders, staring her in the eyes. Kagome blushed slightly.

"You…you…I just don't know what to say after that," Inuyasha said. He pulled Kagome into a tender embrace. "I swear on my parents' grave, if that bastard is still alive, I will kill him before allowing him to harm a hair on your head." He squeezed her tight. Kagome smiled slightly and nuzzled her head into his chest.

"Thank you, Inuyasha," Kagome said. "For protecting me. You have saved my life more than I deserve to have it saved. I am beginning to think we are cheating death." Inuyasha released Kagome from the embrace and smiled down at her.

"Well, I guess we'll just have to keep cheating death. I meant what I said," Inuyasha said. "I will always protect you, Kagome…no matter how many times I have to cheat death."

"Okay," Kagome said with a giggle. "Just don't lose your life in the process."

Inuyasha smiled, but didn't respond. He knew he would gladly give up his life if it meant saving Kagome's. Inuyasha then noticed Kagome staring out the window again. He smiled.

"The long buildings to the right and left of the pond are mostly attendant/servants quarters and business related offices and rooms," Inuyasha said.

"But it's huge!" Kagome exclaimed.

"Yeah, I guess," Inuyasha said. "We had a lot of attendants. My father had his office in this building, the building we're in now, but the people who worked for him had their offices in those buildings."

"Oh," Kagome said.

"The building in the far back is the training building," Inuyasha said. "Each room is somehow designed to better you at whatever fighting style you use whether it be with sword, martial arts, bow and arrow, whatever."

"Wow, really?" Kagome said. "We should go down there so I can practice my shooting. Oh, Inuyasha, will train me to fight?"

Kagome grabbed his hands and held them to his chest. She gave him the biggest puppy dog eyes she could muster and her eyes pleaded with him. Inuyasha, however, was a little taken aback by the request.

"Why me?" Inuyasha retorted slightly leaning away from her ever imposing figure.

"Because you're good, and you're my best friend, and…uh…well…uh…" she said trying to think of another reason.

"Is that all you can come up with?" he said flatly. "Why do you need to learn how to fight anyway?"

"Because!" Kagome said releasing Inuyasha's hands and balling her hands at her sides. "What if we run into another Bankotsu or Naraku or…or…Sesshomaru?!"

The thought hit Inuyasha like a ton of bricks. She was right. Sesshomaru could still be alive. If he showed up, Kagome would need to be prepared.

"Well, I guess we could all use the training," Inuyasha said. "But not tonight. We'll do it first thing in the morning."

"Oh, thank you!" Kagome said jumping on him and wrapping him in a big hug. "I promise you won't regret it!" Inuyasha blushed heavily.

"Yeah, yeah, well let's go get some dinner," he said trying to change the subject and avoid the realization that Kagome was flush against his body.

"Okay," she said and the two continued walking until they reached the staircase. "Oh wow!"

Inuyasha rolled his eyes and looked at her. She smiled sheepishly and began walking down the stairs. When they reached the bottom of the stairs, Inuyasha's parents' scent invaded his senses again. `Why does it keep doing that?' he thought. He was starving, however, and decided he would check it out later. He lead Kagome down another hallway and through great room after great room until they finally reached the dining room. Myouga and the others were already there.

"Kagome!" they all exclaimed.

"Hi guys!" Kagome said.

"How do you feel?" Sango asked.

"Fine," Kagome said. "I feel like I died and then awoke! It was just a really deep sleep. I must have been exhausted for me to pass out like that."

"I agree," Miroku said. "Are you sure you are feeling okay now?"

"Yep," Kagome said with a nod.

"Very well, then," Myouga said. "Let's eat!"

"Um, in case you haven't noticed," Inuyasha said crossing his arms at Myouga. "We have to cook our own food so we can't exactly eat. It's more like `let's cook'."

"On the contrary," Myouga said with a huge smile. "We found a few people on our tour."

Just then, about fifteen people came around the corner. Inuyasha's eyes grew as big as plates. He looked at everyone. He couldn't believe it. He took a small step forward. They held warm smiles for him.

"Welcome back…Lord Inuyasha," they said bowing to him.

A/N: Yay! Another chapter finished! Sorry! This one would have been a lot quicker if it weren't for a) the hurricane and b) the description of the castle and stuff. I had to do a lot of thinking! But the good news is, I know exactly how EVERYTHING is going to be played out from now on. No more thinking is needed! Yay! Okay read and review and let me know what you want to happen! Next chapter will be up soon! I promise! Yay!!!