InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ The Search Of Hope ❯ Trust & Faith ( Chapter 17 )

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

Kagome thanked God that she had been excercising when she was in Sengoku Jidai otherwise she might never make it. It seemed forever to reach the destination: Goshinboku. Grimacing as she stepped on one of the chopsticks she decided Souta must have left lying around when he was playing with Inokuma and Suzuki, she continued running. Sensing a unfamillar and cold youki near there, she could only pray that she could make it before it was too late . . . before he does it . . . Kagome stopped there. She looked from the young girl to the baby in her arms. The youki had been the baby's. Looking closer at the young girl, she gasped as her face registered in Kagome's mind. "KUMI!" Kumi stood forward, holding out the baby. Kagome recalled the time when she held another baby - Naraku's baby. He had tried to steal her soul but in the end Inuyasha had saved her. That's right! Inuyasha had always saved her. No matter where she was, he always made it in time to save her. He had never failed to protect her before. Inuyasha had protected her because he loved her; not because of the jewel. Not once had he protected her just because she had the jewel. This is her chance to give to Inuyasha what he had give her. Even if it means giving up her own life. Looking at the baby, she let out another gasped as she stepped away from the girl. "Naraku!"

Naraku let out a dry chuckle. "Look what you have turned me into, Kagome."

Kagome shivered when he said her name. It sounded so pathetic, to find her name on his lips. "You're looking great." She remarked.

His eyes turned red. "Kumi."

"Yes, Naraku-sama."

"What are you going to do?" Kagome asked, afraid of the answer; afraid that once the words blurt out from his mouth, she might die.

"It's obvious, isn't it? We're going to kill the life spand, the connection between you and Inuyasha!" Naraku laughed. "But before I do that, I think you should deserve a backstabber, don't you?" The minute he said that, Naraku opened his mouth and let out a long howl. Kagome felt like she was being pierced everywhere. Suddenly, a bright light engulfed her and she fell to her knees. Looking up, she saw Kikyou. Her face was serious and she was glaring at Naraku. Kagome flinched as she moved her legs. They were bleeding. No matter what happens, she's going to protect that tree.

"What the heck is wrong with that wench?" Inuyasha hollered as he stomped down the stairs. Stopping mid way as Naraku's youki and Kikyou's scent engulfed him. Adding to that, Kagome's blood smell hit him hard. Growling, he grabbed Tetsusaiga and running as fast as possible. `Kagome, you can't die. Not infront of me.`

"Kagome-sama! Are you alright?" Kikyou asked as she tried another purifying hit on Naraku but missed. "Why is she so fast?" She lifted her chin in Kumi's direction.

"Naraku must have been manipulating her." Kagome commented.

"I'm not manipulated." Kumi said simply. "I'm not a human."

Kagome and Kikyou glanced at each other. Kumi glanced up into the air and jumped out of the way as a big sword came crashing down right where she had been minutes ago. "Why didn't you tell me, wench?" Inuyasha asked.

"I-I . . . "

"Forget it. Tell me later. I want to hear every single fucking detail and I'm not letting this whole fucking thing rest until I get to the bottom of this."

"Kumi, take care of this."

"Yes, Naraku-sama."

With a snap of his fingers, thousands of youkai came flying over and Kagome can only be thankful her family and kids were at a friend's house. Naraku chuckled as they lifted him up and created a barrier around them. A few youkai sayed behind Kumi. "KAZE NO KIZU!" Inuyasha unleashed his wind scar into the air, straight at Naraku's barrier. It weakened, Kagome could tell. But it didn't disappear. Inuyasha growled as Naraku disappeared. Shotting Kumi a glower, he strot over and lifted Tetsusaiga to level with her chest; over her heart. "Where is Naraku and who the fuck are you?"

"I'm Naraku's puppet. You can't kill me because I'm faster than you." She replied with a bored stare.

"Really? We'll see about that then." Inuyasha placed Tetsusaiga over his shoulder as he walked further away. "Come at me then."

Kumi ran straight at him. Her front tooth grew longer and longer and finally it came off. In no time, the tooth was back there but the "sword" was still in her hand. Inuyasha gripped Tetsusaiga with his two hands. As wind scar emerged from the sword, two purification power balls were shot out straight at Kumi. At that instance, her youki leaked out. Inuyasha's eyes widened. As the youkai around her and Kumi disappeared into thin air, Inuyasha smacked Tetsusaiga into the ground. All three were quiet. Suddenly, Kikyou took hold of him into her arms. Kagome gasped and took a step back. Inuyasha was too shocked to respond. After for awhile, Kikyou leaned up and kissed Inuyasha softly on the cheek. Kagome choked out a sob, muttered a 'excuse me' and ran away. "Kagome!" Inuyasha shouted. Kikyou grabbed his arm and shook her head. "What the fuck . . .? Let go!"

"Wait Inuyasha! I did that on purpose. I need to talk to you personally."

"Spit it out. And hurry."

Kikyou rolled her eyes. "I know what Naraku is after now. The Goshinboku. That's the connection between Kagome and you. If it's destroyed, you'd disappear as well as the children because you should have died three hundred years ago. Yet you cheated death and used the well as a shield. You could land in the same destiny as 300 years ago if you should make the same mistake. Maybe it was me that caused your death. But it's over and I'm glad." She smiled sadly as she stroked Inuyasha's cheekbone. "I just wanted to tell you that I still love you. I never stopped loving you and . . . I just came over to say goodbye. We may never cross paths again. Goodbye, Inuyasha. She is a rare gift. Cherish her." With that, she walked away.

Inuyasha watched her back as she walked away. Somehow, he had a bad feeling about this. The aura around her was sad and it didn't make him feel any better at all. Frowning, he ran after Kagome. It was easy to find her. However, what he didn't expect was - finding her in the kitchen cabinet, sobbing. If she noticed his approach, she made no move to show that she knew. Her arms were wrapped around her knees and her head was buried in her thighs. Inuyasha put an arm around her. Kagome stiffened but made no move to shake it off. They sat there for God knows how long. Inuyasha's hand ran down her back as he tried to soothe her while feeling completely useless. His mate was crying and he can't do anything to stop it and he was the one who caused it. When she looked up at him, she was hiccupping. Tear stains clung to her eye lids and cheeks. Eyes red and swollen, she looked like a ghost. The front of her blue cotten shirt was wet with her tears.

"Kagome . . ."

To his absolute horror, Kagome burst into tears again and covered her ears with her hands. She shook her head violently. "I DON'T WANT TO LISTEN! DON'T FORCE ME TO LISTEN!"

"Ok ok . . ."

They sat there in silence. It was turning dark. Mrs. Higurashi and the kids returned. She almost laughed at Inuyasha's pouting face but when she saw Kagome, she frowned. "Does anyone know what happened outside just now? I saw some 'scratches' on the ground. And may I know what is my daughter doing in that cabinet?" Silence answered her question. "Ahh, forget it. Before I go, I should tell you your son is learning to walk." Still no response. "Shouldn't you be more enthusiastic? They are your children!"

"I'm sorry Mama. I'll go tend to them now." Kagome turned away from Inuyasha and took his hand away from her as she carried the sleeping Suzuki into her room. Inokuma, wanting to be praised, tried to follow his mother. But after a few steps, he landed on his rear and started wailing. Kagome turned around and gasped as she carefully placed Suzuki down and hurried to Inokuma, coaxed him. Finally he stopped crying and even smiled at Kagome. Deciding he should learn how to walk already, Kagome held out her hand. Inokuma was staring at his own hand. He opened and closed it a few times as though he was examining it. Then he tried to put his hand into his mouth. But it couldn't fit in. Inokuma grimaced then closed his hand into a fist and tried to put it inside it mouth. It worked - kind of. And he gave a smile. As though he just noticed Kagome standing there, waiting for him with Suzuki in her hands, he slowly stood up and clung onto Kagome's finger. She smiled and wrapped her hand around his and started walking. Slowly stepped by step, he tried to walk. Sometimes he swayed alittle. The silver bells on his anklet rang into a delightful smile. He tried taking his hand away from Kagome. Kagome let go but walked behind him to support in case he fell. He walked five steps without her help. Inokuma's smile turned into a laugh as he clapped his hands together. He flicked his ears as his head followed the rhythm of the bells on his legs.

"That's enough for today Inokuma." Kagome lectured. "You'll be tiring yourself out."

"Ino!" Inokuma repeated.

Kagome blinked. "Say Mama."

Inokuma tilt his head. He tried to bite his claws but his 'gloves' prevented him from doing so. After awhile, Kagome was about to give up when Inokuma shouted "Mama!" Giggling, he tried to jump but landed on his rear again. This time, he didn't cry but stood up and walked towards Kagome. Suzuki had already woken up and was staring at Inokuma.

"Mapa!" Suzuki had tried to imitate Inokuma and instead of saying 'Mama', she had said 'Mapa'.

Inuyasha sighed as he watched everything from behind. It wasn't Kikyou's faulty, he knew it. But still . . . A tap on his shoulders woke him up.

"Inuyasha? Would you mind if we have a talk?"

"No." He followed Mrs. Higurashi, eyes never taking off Kagome; hoping she'd turn around and scold him. But she didn't.

"Inokuma is a very curious boy." Mrs. Higurashi commented once they were outside the house.

"Yeah."

"Suzuki is not bad too. She's very gentle."

"Yeah."

"What about Kagome? What do you think of her?"

"Will do."

"Uh-huh. What else?"

"That's all."

"That's all?!?"

"What did you expect?"

"I thought you'd have said something . . . Nevermind."

" . . . K."

"So . . . Would you mind telling me what happened?"

"She happened."

"Who's the she?"

"K-K-Kikyou." Why did talking to Mrs. Higurashi made him feel like he's a kid being lectured?

"I see . . . What did you do?"

"I didn't do anything." Inuyasha flinched as Mrs. Higurashi rolled her eyes.

"So . . . you didn't do anything?"

"Nothing. She flung herself at me!"

"I assume the 'She' is Kikyou?"

Inuyasha jerked his head, inidicating yes. Mrs. Higurashi stared up at the sky. Sighing . . . Inuyasha decided to say it out. "We were battling a youkai here. His name is Naraku. We also just found out that Kikyou is alive. She came to visit us and helped Kagome and me defeat the youkai. But after the battle, she wanted to talk to me in private. So she flung herself at me and . . . kissed me. Kagome got upset and ran away. I was about to chase after her when Kikyou held me back. She told me about the Goshinboku and how I should protect it or I'll lose my life and the pups will disappear too; and because we're mates, Kagome will die with me." Inuyasha explained.

Mrs. Higurashi digested that in silence. "I suppose I can trust you to protect her then?"

Inuyasha snorted. "Keh! Like that has ever been a question. I've always protected her, no matter what. And that will never change."

Mrs. Higurashi's seriousness broke down as she gave him a comforting warm smile. "I'm glad you said that - and I take your word for it."

Inuyasha sighed again as he watched Kagome fold all the clothes neatly - only to put them right back into the closet. "How long do you plan on not talking to me?"

Kagome continued folding the clothes.

"Look, I have to talk to you. There's something really important that Kik-"

"Don't say her name! Don't you dare say her name!" Kagome yelled.

"Alright alright. There's something really important that she told me. It's about the Goshinboku. We have to protect it-"

"I know."

Inuyasha sighed a sigh of relief. "Ok good. Now-," He paused for a minute, "Wait, how did you know?"

"Sesshoumaru told me."

"Did he tell you anything else?"

"No."

Frowning as he couldn't distinguish whether it was a lie or the truth, Inuyasha 'keh'ed. "Ok, will you listen to my explanation?"

"Depends on what you're explaning."

"I-I-I . . . Kik - She did it to get me to talk in privacy."

"She could have just asked me to go away." Kagome pouted.

"She thought you didn't know . . . so she didn't want to hurt you."

"How thoughtful of her."

Inuyasha flinched at the coldness of the voice. "I'm sorry . . . "

"I'm sorry too . . . " Kagome flunged herself at Inuyasha and cried.

"I love you, Kagome"

"I love you too, Inuyasha."