InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ The Ties that Bind... ❯ Reunited at Last! ( Chapter 6 )

WOW...y'all really ARE in for a treat--this'll be the third chapter I've completed in less than 3 days! *waits for the cheers of delight* LOL...OK, OK, so y'all probably aren't THAT excited...but can't you at least pretend? Pretty please? ^_^.

-Vashtya

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Chapter 6: Reunited at Last!

Some months later...

Wow, I still can't believe it--I'll actually be graduating this spring, along with Ryoko, Shizuma, and Hitomi...I'm so glad I kept up with my studies, even while I was missing so much school! Hard to believe how much has happened since I got here...everyone I talk to is astounded at how rapidly I've improved at kendo--including Ryoko. But then, they don't know that I've been practicing every night, in addition to the extra coaching Ryoko's been giving me outside of school...Chuckling slightly out loud, Kagome reclined back against the tree that had become her own private place, where she went whenever she wanted to think. Of course, I STILL haven't stopped thinking about HIM...there isn't a day that goes by that I don't wish there were some way to know what happened to him after I left, and how he's been doing...It's almost Christmas...which means that, unless I manage to get home sometime over the course of the next month, my mother, Souta and Grandfather will have to celebrate that family holiday without me...

Refusing to allow her thoughts to drift any further down that path, Kagome rolled her shoulders, relieving the tension that had begun to build. Smiling to herself, she took out her bokken and allowed her body to flow through the now-familiar and much practiced movements, marvelling at how far she'd come in the short time she'd been here. If only Inu-Yasha could see me now, she thought with a smug smile, I don't think he'd recognize me in a battle...

Meanwhile...

He looked at the tree that had always been his favorite place, with the knowledge that, if things didn't go according to plan, he might never get to spend another night in it's comfortable branches, or sit at it's base wondering how to patch up an argument with Kagome without coming across as being weak. After all that hard work over these past few months, I finally have all the remaining jewel shards in my possession...which means, all I have to do is go to that last spot I was able to sense Kagome from, and see if I can't prove Kaede's theory right...

Locating the exact spot from which Kagome had departed this place by memory, Inu-Yasha took out the jewel shards he'd worked so hard to collect. Now, to reach out for the shards Kagome wears around her neck...he thought to himself, allowing his eyes to drift shut as he concentrated fiercely upon what was, in his opinion, the most important task he'd undertaken in his entire life...

When he opened his eyes, he was standing in front of a building that looked very similar to one that he'd seen back in Kagome's time. What did she call it? A...school? Yes, that's it...He sniffed the air cautiously, and, much to his delight, caught a whiff of Kagome's very distinct scent. Good...that means she's been here, and fairly recently, if my nose serves me right...

He walked down the street, looking neither left nor right, following the traces of HIS Kagome's distinctive scent. After a couple of slight detours (the scent had gone off in 2 different directions, and, after choosing one, he'd discovered it growing WEAKER...), the scent was growing stronger by the minute. He entered a park, and was led directly to a placid looking lake. He raised his head. She's close...I can feel that she's VERY close, he thought, allowing a smug smirk to cross his face. Thought she'd gotten away from it all, eh? Bout time she learned not to wander far, where I can't keep an eye on her! Then he saw her. She was standing beside the still waters, swinging what looked like a bokken...Since when does Kagome know how to use a weapon? He thought distantly, entranced by her beauty. He crept forward, careful not to make a sound. She doesn't even seem to have missed me--and after all the time I've spent worrying about her, and finding a way to get to her...She belongs to ME...and it's time she knew it...By this time, he was standing directly behind her. Growling softly, he held her arms immobile at her sides, and lowered his lips so that he was whispering directly into her ear, a furious hiss of sound.

"Did you really think that I wouldn't come looking for you?" He rasped softly. "You're mine, Kagome...and I'll kill ANYONE who dares to state otherwise..." He felt her stiffen in his grasp. Good...about time she was wary of making me angry...He was immediately assailed by a slight sense of guilt. But do I really want her afraid of me? Irritating though it might be, her ability to get under my skin is part of what makes her who she is...his conscience pricked at his righteous anger, before he shook it off. There's time enough later to sort this out...but she needs to realize that some things are NOT allowed...

He turned her around to face him, and watched as she registered just who it was. He watched in amazement as the expression of blatant fear changed to one of joy.

"Inu...Yasha?" She queried hesitantly, going to throw her arms around his neck. "I was afraid I'd never see you again!" She continued, tears of joy threatening to spill over her lashes. "But...why do you look so angry? I...know I haven't been helping you find the rest of the jewel shards, but I did try to get back...I'm sure that, to you that's no excuse, but it's the truth..." She trailed off, tears tracking silent paths down her face.

"Feh...sure didn't look to me as though you were trying very hard," He stated, narrowing his eyes at her obvious distress.

Glaring up at the familiar hanyou's beloved face, she felt an incredible anger flow through her veins. "Who are you to say what I have or have not done? You haven't been through what I have over the past few months, beginning with our argument back in the Sengoku Jidai! So, who are you to stand there and hurl accusations at me?" She shouted, backing away from him as she did so.

"Kagome...you alright?" The voice that had become as much of a fixture as Ryoko's in her time here questioned, emerging from the shadow of the massive tree she'd spent so many hours practicing in front of.

Pasting an artificial smile on her face, she leveled a steady glare at the furious hanyou, who looked as though he wanted to rip the newcomer apart for his interruption. "Sit." She stated succinctly, stepping away as Inu-Yasha crashed to the floor. "Yes, I am Shizuma...thank you for asking," She said, giving him a small smile. "It looks as though I'll be able to get back to my home soon...and, in case it happens before I have another chance, I wanted to thank you for all the help you've given me while I've been here, beginning with that first day..." She trailed off, stepping right up to the tall fighter. "And, I want to wish you the best of luck with Ryoko...you two are so perfect for one another it's scary," She said with a mischievious wink, turning to go back to Ryoko's appartment, only to be lifted off her feet and thrown over a familiar shoulder.

"And just where do you think you're going?" Inu-Yasha growled, angry at having seen her hang all over the other guy. "And who's this jerk?"

"Kusanagi...Shizuma to my friends," Shizuma replied, not waiting for Kagome to answer.

"Inu-Yasha...if you don't put me down THIS INSTANT, I'm going to sit you so many times your back will break!" Kagome shrieked, desperately trying to remove herself from the embarrassing position Inu-Yasha had put her in. When he lowered her cautiously to her feet, she kicked him in the shin, but didn't go to step away. He seemed far too...volatile to be sure of how he would react to that. "Shizuma, this is Inu-Yasha...the guy I told you I've been travelling around the Sengoku Jidai with, trying to find the remaining pieces of that jewel I wear around my neck...Inu-Yasha, this is my good friend Shizuma, who's helped me on numerous occasions since I appeared in this place...so if you don't stop glaring at him and growling, I'm going to..."

"It's ok, Kagome," Shizuma interrupted, shaking his head and grinning. "I just wanted to make sure you weren't in trouble...but, since that doesn't appear to be an issue, I'll be seein ya around school next week, alright--and keep up the training, even if you head back to your own home...you've got a lot of raw talent--I heard you almost beat Ryoko last week!" He finished, turning and disappearing into the night as he had that first time, so many months ago, whistling loudly as he went...

Inu-Yasha didn't even wait for her to explain, grabbing her around the waist and carrying her deep into the park, which was heavily wooded, and therefore almost able to guarantee privacy. He sat down, settling her forcefully into his lap. "Kagome," He began, still with that undercurrent of anger lacing his voice. "If...you...EVER wander away like that, so that I'm unable to protect you, I'll make Kaede give me a necklace of my own to have you wear! You're mine, bitch, and that means that you are my responsibility...and, to that end, there are certain rules that you HAVE to obey, because know this, Kagome...you've belonged to me since that first day you came through the well and freed me--and there's NO-where you can go that I won't find you..." He finished, some of the red glow finally leaving his eyes. He lowered his head to her shoulder, and stiffened, smelling something...not quite right. "Kagome...why do you bear my brother's mark?" He asked, turning her around to face him, his eyes boring into her own, forcing the story out of her, listening intently all the while...

"So he didn't have the chance to do anything else?" He asked when she'd finished, watching as she nodded. Sighing, he looked into her eyes and lowered her carefully to the ground, kissing the spot that Sesshoumaru had marked, apologizing silently to her for what he was about to do. Even as he brought his hand up to cover her mouth, he dug his teeth into her tender skin, covering his brother's mark with her own. Locking his jaw, he could feel his brother's mark doing battle with his own, glowing fiercely in the darkness of the park.

She didn't understand it...Inu-Yasha was acting...distinctly unlike himself tonight, Kagome couldn't help but think. What's he doing now? She thought, a hint of panic entering her thoughts as he lowered her gently to the ground. Why's he kissing the side of my neck? But it feels so...nice, she thought hazily, little shocks of pleasure shooting through her body at the contact. Suddenly, she felt his hand cover her mouth as he bit into her sharply, drawing a sharp gasp from her shocked system. She felt a burning sensation that hadn't been there when Sesshoumaru had "marked" her...it felt as though her body was duelling with itself, and all the while, he kept his teeth firmly implanted in her tender skin. Why...is he doing this? She thought brokenly, struggling to get free even as he growled angrily under his breath. Finally, she felt an inky blackness engulf her, allowing her refuge from the pain.

A short time later, he withdrew his fangs from her skin, and drew the unconscious one into his arms. "I'm sorry Kagome," He said softly, although he knew she could not hear him. Sesshoumaru...you will die for what you have done, He vowed silently to himself, even as he curled himself around Kagome's shivering body, wrapping her in his warmth, making her as comfortable as possible, as was his right...