InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ The Tragedy of Inu Yasha and Kagome ❯ Act 2, Scene 1 ( Chapter 5 )

The Tragedy of Inu Yasha and Kagome

By Oshidori

A/N: Sorry for another long update! The idiots next door accidentally chain-sawed my cable and internet connection while they were trimming their tree! ><

This was originally supposed to be one chapter, but I decided to break it up into two because it was so long, and silly me forgot there was one extra scene before the actual balcony scene…eh-heh…sorry about that!

And as always, please feel free to correct any terminology or spelling that might be wrong ^_^

Disclaimer: All IY characters are the creations of the great Rumiko Takahashi. The storyline and characters they represent are inspired by the even greater William Shakespeare. I am simply standing on the shoulders of artistic giants for my humble fanfic, so to speak ;)

Act 2, Scene 1

He was sure to wait for everyone who could hear him in the palace to fall asleep, before venturing out into the night. For him to wait even that long was excruciating. Inu Yasha had always been the impatient sort, and to sit in his room and count the minutes as the others fell asleep only proved to frustrate the youth further. The face of the girl he longed to see etched into his brain also did not help his situation.

Once out, he leapt up to the tree tops, nearly flying above them, moving as fast as he could make himself go. As soon as he neared the enemy's palace, however, he slowed his pace and cautiously approached the trees that surrounded the grounds, quietly sniffing the air, searching for her scent. He took great pains to make each landing from branch to branch as silent as possible, so that even a youkai would only think it to be nothing more than the sound of the wind.

As Inu Yasha rounded the northeast corner of the estate, he was met with the pleasant scent of the young girl he had encountered only a few short hours ago. The aroma nearly caused him to lose his footing, as he was so struck by its sudden intensity on his heart. He stood for a moment, leaning on the mighty oak's trunk, mesmerized by its soothing effects, inhaling deeply. It had nearly made him drunk and giddy; he was calmed yet exhilarated all at once, with his head buzzing and his heart beating fast.

`Kagome…' his heart practically sang her name.

He blushed slightly at his emotions, as he attempted to wake himself of the spell she had unwittingly cast on him, his mind racing. He had never felt like that before, not even after his first meeting with Kikyo. She had never put his senses on edge like this. He knew he had loved her, was sure of it; yet, what he felt now was undoubtedly more overpowering. With Kikyo, there was always a lingering sadness. With Kagome, he felt nothing but hope.

`Snap out of it baka!' the hanyou shook his head angrily, ashamed that he was letting himself be so enveloped by his thoughts in such a way. `How can you even compare the two like that?!' He felt a pang of guilt when he forced himself to realize why there was no longer a Kikyo to love anymore. He sighed, heavily, his high crashing fast.

`Not like she could be bothered with me to begin with... her anger and need for revenge seemed to matter to her much more than I ever would' he thought bitterly. Again, he shook his head, angrily pushing aside the thoughts of Kikyo once and for all, `focus you moron! You're here to see Kagome! Why are you thinking of Kikyo?! There's nothing you can do about that anymore!' But in spite of what he told himself, he still felt a lingering guilt, wishing he had been there to protect her.

`If I really loved her as much as I thought I did… wouldn't I have been at her side, instead of chasing after Kagome?" The realization of his thoughts jumbled his emotions even further. After a bit of a struggle, he managed to regain somewhat of a grip on his feelings, he then set his brow in resolve, feeling a renewed confidence as to why he was standing on that tree, a few yards away from Kagome's window.

He snorted as he prepared himself to leap onto the next branch, breathing deeply once again to get back his high. As he moved forward, her scent got stronger, and he followed it to a large window with a stone balcony in front of it. The torches inside where lit, and the flames created dancing shadows that were cast on the delicate paper of the fusuma that led to her room, emitting a warm golden glow that made the doorway almost appear as if it were a celestial gateway. Inu Yasha strained his senses to `see' whether or not the girl was there, but as far as he could tell, there seemed to be no one in the room at all. He couldn't help the flood of disappointment as it washed over his heart. He moved to sit on the thick branch he stood on, when suddenly he heard the snap of a twig on the ground below, followed by hushed voices. Surprised, the hanyou scrambled to keep his footing, managing to somehow grab onto the limb before slipping off completely, hanging upside-down. He clung onto the branch, panting and panicking, until he caught a whiff of his would-be captors. Alarm quickly changed to annoyed anger.

`Chikusho!' he breathed, `what the fuck are *they* doing here??' he quietly swung himself around the branch to get a better look at the two below, crouching so he would remain hidden. A vein steadily throbbed on his forehead.

"Miroku," whispered the kitsune nervously, "are you sure he'd come here?"

"Where else would he be at this time of night?" Miroku shook his head, "He has probably come to claim Kikyo's body, if she still has one left, that is."

Inu Yasha flinched when he heard this. The guilt once again began to creep up on him.

"I'll never understand him," sighed Shippo, "She didn't even care about him." He paused to think for a moment, the young fox's head nervously whipping around as he spoke, anxious about being caught in enemy territory, uncertain of who might be listening, "Who knew her revenge was on Naraku though?" His breath came in quick, strained gasps.

Shippo continued his hurried chatter, "I don't think he's here…besides it's too dark, how are we gonna find him?"

Miroku walked a few paces further before holding his hands up to his mouth and hoarsely whispering `Inu Yasha!' towards the palace gate. Shippo's tail bristled at the Houshi's sudden action, panic evident on his face.

"What are you crazy?! They'll hear us!! Stop that!!" He pleaded, his head whipping around even faster than before.

"Shippo, I'm sure Inu Yasha will hear us long before any palace guard would." Miroku replied calmly and confidently.

Shippo still looked about worriedly.

"Heh, yeah, I guess you're right. He's got ears better then most dogs have!" He nervously tittered. Inu Yasha couldn't help the low growl that escaped his throat at his cousin's comparison. It always pissed him off when anyone compared him to a common mongrel. Shippo heard the sound and jumped,

"Wh-what was THAT?!" He nearly screeched, straining his voice to keep it in a whisper. "Did you hear that, Miroku!?"

The charming youth sighed, a bit annoyed and exasperated all at once. "Shippo, I think your mind is playing tricks on you. Calm down."

Shippo got very angry at this. "I am calm!! You just can't hear anything with those weak human ears of yours!" He spat back defensively. Miroku frowned, even more annoyed.

"Shippo-" he warned.

Inu Yasha was becoming increasingly impatient with the two of them. They were wasting so much time, doing what? Looking for him? What for? They should know by now that he was more than able to take care of himself, without their help. Besides, what where they doing checking up on him anyway? Their constant prying really did annoy him. What he was doing at the Higurashi palace was none of their business. And now, they were preventing him from carrying out what he had set out to do, what he wanted to do. And Inu Yasha always did as he pleased, unless others could help it…

`What exactly did I set out to do?' the hanyou suddenly thought.

He began to get angry at himself once more. All he could think about all evening was that he wanted to see Kagome, but never once thought of what to do or say once he finally did meet her. He berated himself for acting so impulsively, and for not thinking ahead. What if he made a fool of himself? What if she laughed at him? He wasn't sure if he could take that.

He touched his cheek as he pondered over his thoughts. `She had kissed me though, hadn't she? I know I didn't imagine *that*. Besides, wasn't *she* the one to say that we would meet again??' he argued with himself.

`Yeah, that's what she said,' his mind argued back, `but that doesn't mean she meant she wanted to meet you again in the same *night*, bakayaro!'

As Inu Yasha began to mentally berate himself for not acknowledging his inner-most fears sooner, he gave no notice to the steadily growing crack located at the base of the branch on which he stood, where it connected to the oak's massive trunk. He also paid no notice to how badly bowed the branch had become under his weight. But before he even had a chance to, the wood splintered with a loud cracking noise, silencing both his thoughts and his whispering friends below. Shippo let out a frightened squeak.

Miroku looked up to the branch a second too slow, missing the hanyou he was in search of quickly jumping from the injured branch to another on a tree closer to the balcony that stood on the other side of the fence. He thought for a split second he caught a flash of red, and eyed the branch suspiciously. Shippo excitedly tugged on his friend's robes, his teeth chattering.

"Miroku!!" came the kit's high pitched squeal, "Let's go! I don't think Inu Yasha's here anyway! C'mon!!"

"Miroku continued to eye the branch as he spoke to his friend, "All right Shippo. We'll go. We can't really get past the fence to search for him inside the palace anyway. He's strong and quick, so he's probably done with whatever he needed to do and is sitting at home by now, while we're just bumbling about."

`Shippo…don't act like such a coward!' Inu Yasha sneered, secretly wishing he could tease his younger cousin about his jumpy behaviour later on. Those thoughts were quickly halted, however, when his eyes met with the Houshi's.

Miroku continued, keeping his gaze up at the new branch he suddenly spotted, raising his whisper loud enough for the hidden Inu Yasha to hear clearly,

"I just hope whatever he came to do, he does quickly, and that he knows what he's getting involved in." Miroku turned back to the oblivious kitsune, who was still anxiously scanning the surrounding area, "Come, Shippo. Let's go before they catch us."

Shippo quickly nodded as he ran ahead of the young man, stopping to make sure his friend followed. Miroku shot the branch one last glance before quickening his pace to catch up with his youkai comrade.

`Finally!' Inu Yasha thought as he gritted his teeth, watching his friends as they ran. He followed their path with his eyes to make sure there was no trouble for them to fall in. Once convinced of their safety, he stood up to turn and face Kagome's window once more. It was then that the new branch he stood on unexpectedly snapped, dropping the hanyou from his perch.

Inu Yasha quickly contorted his body so that he was facing downward, and met the palace gate's brick wall with his palms, his own weight bending his elbows, acting like a spring, cushioning his initial fall. He quickly pushed himself back up off the ledge, back-flipping onto the garden directly below the balcony, landing as softly and as gracefully as a cat would. His ears twitched as he crouched low to the ground, listening to see if anyone on the grounds had heard him, his large amber eyes darting back and forth, surveying his new surroundings for any danger. When he heard movement above him, he leapt behind a flowering bush close to the buildings wall and held his breath. He failed in doing so when a familiar scent renewed caused him to breathe in sharply, and he relaxed.

`…Kagome!' thought the hanyou excitedly.

********

A/N: ok, *next* chapter is the balcony scene. Well what are you waiting for…go go go! :Þ

Glossary: from now on I'll only be putting newer words in. Please refer to the previous chapters for all other definitions.

Bakayaro- jerk, idiot

Chikusho- damn, Son of a bitch