InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ The Unlikely Hero ❯ Separate Ways ( Chapter 5 )

[ Y - Young Adult: Not suitable for readers under 16 ]

Disclaimer: I do NOT own InuYasha. InuYasha is the property of Rumiko Takahashi.


Chapter Five:


"I'm glad," Kagome murmured as she leaned more heavily into InuYasha. They were sitting together at the base of the god-tree.

"Eh?"

"I'm glad that Kikyou is alright now," her was voice gentle and low. She had been completely sincere.

He felt the excess tension leech from his body; Kagome had accepted his news about Kikyou surprisingly well.

"Me, too." He replied inhaling deeply, there were strange scents lacing through her normal scent.

He continued to sniff Kagome, ducking his head close to her bent knees. He recognized the metallic scent of Kagome's blood, the medicinal smell from the first aid cream and the odor from the sterile plastic of the bandages that clung to each knee; but there were other scents, those he could not name nor place, anonymous scents. That bothered him.

"So what happened?" InuYasha asked, his one dark brow lifting quizzically.

Kagome colored slightly from his close proximity. "I fell and scraped my knees."

"And what happened?" he asked inching still closer and inhaling again.

"Stop sniffing me!" Kagome ordered, pushing him away. A smile played at her lips; his actions reminding her of a dog.

"Humpf!" He snorted, his face morphing into his trademark pout. Then he folded his arms into billowing sleeves of his hoari before turning away from her. "Its not my fault if you stink."

"Then you should have just said so!" Kagome yelled stomping off.

"Oi! Kagome!” InuYasha called, wheeling around to see where she was headed. “Where are you going?"

"To take a bath!"

~

Kagome was offended.

Sure at first he'd told her she smelled bad, that he hated her scent.

But later he'd admitted that he lied.

That he liked her scent.

And now the one time she had been so distraught and so distracted by all the recent events that she'd missed a bath, he noticed. And to make matters worse, she hadn't realized she'd missed a bath and needed one...and he'd called her on it.

So he's right, I do stink. I do need a bath. She sank back into the bubbles and massaged her temples.

He could have said it a little nicer.

Yeah, right. InuYasha nicer, wrong night in the lunar cycle for that to happen!

Of course if it was his human night, his senses wouldn't have been so incredibly sharp and maybe he wouldn't have picked up on her offensive odor at all.

If, if, if. Bah. Time to get out before I turn pruney.

She quickly dressed in her pajamas. Dropping the fuku into the hamper, she quickly padded down the hallway to her room.

~

Sesshoumaru leaned down and retrieved the forgotten Tesseiga.

“How could that baka forget his birthright?” He wondered aloud. The sword burned his hand as he tucked the hilt and the remainder of the blade at his waist. “Because he is a baka.” He smiled, answering his own question.

~

“Better?” Kagome asked as she entered her bedroom.

InuYasha was sitting cross armed and cross legged on her bed staring out her window, as if deep in thought. “Nani?” He turned his face to look square at Kagome, not quite grasping what the girl was implying.

“You told me that I smelled bad! That’s what!” Kagome said exasperated. “Do I smell better now?”

He just grunted and gave a curt nod. Then he turned back to staring straight ahead out the window.

It’s as if I’m interrupting him, Kagome thought grimly. He’s probably thinking about Kikyou. What place can I possibly hold now that I can no longer be a part of his world?

Kagome desperately tried to blink back and conceal the tears that were already beginning to bite at her eyes. Think of an excuse to get out of the room, quickly! Before he smells the tears!

“I’m going to go grab a snack in the kitchen,” Kagome said quickly, turning to make a hasty exit. She bolted from her room not waiting for his response.

She made it down to the kitchen.

He hadn’t followed.

Kagome let out a big breath, grateful for the reprieve. She rubbed her eyes mercilessly in an attempt to purge the tears that had threatened to flow so freely. I’m so weak! She admonished herself. You’d better get a grip on yourself!

“Okay!” She said out loud, her voice a bit shaky. She went over to the sink and splashed some cold water on her face. She hoped that her face wasn’t too blotchy or her eyes too reddened. There was so little she could mask from InuYasha; the hanyou had an unbelievably sharp senses.

Well, he didn’t come after me, Kagome thought, maybe he didn’t notice. Or maybe he’d just rather not deal with me and all my emotions… Tears began to prick at her eyes, Kagome physically shook herself. I am not going to start crying again!

Then she set about making a small pot of tea. She sat down at the table and watched the flame dance under the tea kettle. I should go back to school tomorrow. There’s still a chance I can get caught up in my studies and get accepted into a really good high school. And InuYasha is right! We’ll find a way for me to see everyone again!

The sharp whistle from the kettle gave Kagome a start. She hopped up and retrieved the pot from the stovetop. She selected a heavy tray and two teacups to take upstairs, she spun around and in her haste barreled straight into InuYasha. Kagome’s eyes flew open wide as she watched the tray, the delicate cups, and the dangerously hot teapot tip recklessly toward disaster. “Oh no!”

In one hand, InuYasha grabbed the tray and righted it, balancing all of its contents, both precious and precarious. With the other hand he caught Kagome.

“Wow!” She said, hardly believing her own eyes. “That was impressive!”

“Keh,” was all he said, as a satisfied smirk graced his features. InuYasha had meant to criticize the girl for her clumsiness, but her awe-filled look sapped his derision. He set the tray down on the kitchen table and looked at Kagome. “Why were you crying again?”

“I-I didn’t think you noticed,” she stammered, she found it difficult to think and to breathe with him so close; his one arm still around her waist.

He turned his head away from her and sneered lightly, “Keh, I notice everything.”

Of course he does! Kagome thought. I’m such an idiot to think I could hide anything from him!

Then he faced her directly, “All this time, and you still don‘t know that?”

Kagome couldn’t make the words come, his liquid-gold eyes burned into her. She couldn’t look away, she just nodded and stared up at him. Kagome felt both his arms tighten around her as InuYasha fiercely encircled the girl.

“I don’t want to go back without you,” he murmured softly into her still-damp hair. He breathed intensely, her scent calming his anxieties. “But I have to see if there’s some way to open the well, and I need to retrieve what is left of Tessaiga.”

Kagome rested heavily into the boy, “You left Tessaiga behind?”

“Yes,” he confirmed quietly, protectively tucking her head under his chin.

“In the valley?” She asked, her words muffled as she spoke into the rough fabric of his fire-rat.

“Yes,” he breathed gently, loosing his grip on her enough to pull her back off of his chest and view her face again.

She raised her head and looked at him curiously.

There were tears in his eyes. “I thought I had lost you.”

He rested his wet cheek against her face, neither spoke again.

Though InuYasha had spoken few words, his brief confession meant volumes to Kagome. She realized that she meant more to him than she'd ever hoped. More than anything. Even his beloved sword paled in comparison. They stood there in the small kitchen bathed in the shadows and light from the window.

~

They held each other snuggly in the silent embrace. And they might have stayed that way all night, had they not been interrupted.

“I thought you kids had gone to bed!” the elder Higurashi exclaimed.

“Jii-chan!” Kagome yelped, unlocking her arms from InuYasha. "We were just getting some tea..."

Grandpa rested his hand on the now cool teapot, "I see." The older man surveyed his guilty looking granddaughter. "Well, you'd better be getting some rest if you're planning to attend school in the morning."

"Right," Kagome agreed, taking InuYasha by the hand to lead him out of the kitchen. "Good night, Jii-chan!"

"Good night then, Kagome, InuYasha," Grandpa called back. He poured himself a cup of cold tea and shook his head, "young people!"

~

The bright morning intruded on Kagome’s senses as she fitfully resisted awakening from her short night’s slumber. She was tempted to just roll over and tuck her head away from the offensive sunshine. However, the overwhelming urge to make certain that InuYasha was still there, prevented her from stealing any extra solitude before her day began. Her eyes flew open and she was momentarily blinded as her eyes adjusted to the harsh light she squinted and was rewarded with the sight of the red clad boy. He was still asleep, curled up against her window.

“InuYasha,” she sighed in relief. She had feared that he would leave without saying goodbye.

His eyes snapped open at the soft sound of Kagome’s voice.

“Good morning!” Kagome greeted him brightly, forcing a big smile. “Well, I’m going to get ready for school now so we have time to say goodbye at the well--”

She stopped abruptly when she felt her hand encased by his; she stared up into his concerned amber eyes.

“I’ll take you to your school before I leave,” he offered his voice unexpectedly gentle.

Kagome started to object. She feared that her friends would interfere with her farewell to InuYasha. Or worse, crowd the hanyou and bombard him with questions. But she swallowed back her words of disagreement, the last thing she wanted to do was argue with InuYasha before he left. She simply nodded and then dismissed herself to dress and groom herself for the school day.

Their morning had been rather quiet and melancholy. Their impending separation weighing heavily upon the pair. The destination seemed to appear too quickly.

Kagome stiffened as she recognized a trio of girls. Chatting and giggling, the girls were too engrossed in their conversation to notice Kagome, yet. Sweat beaded on Kagome’s forehead as she lingered closer to the building, willing herself to blend into the café. InuYasha could feel Kagome’s discomfort radiating from her as if it were a tangible thing. Instantaneously, he tugged Kagome onto his back and leapt directly atop the café; out of sight of her inquisitive friends.

He set her down gently on the flat gravely rooftop.

“Arigato,” she breathed, peering over the side, watching the swarms of students saunter toward the school buildings. Her gaze turned back to the silent InuYasha.

He was surveying the lay of the land, looking over all of the buildings, the vehicles, the people. He studied the strange modern world as if seeking to discern the answer to some great mystery.

I wonder what he’s thinking…

BRRRINGGG!!!!!

His ears flattened inside his baseball cap as the warning bell rang, and he watched with interest as the students began to move with purpose toward the school building.

“That means I have to go,” Kagome explained sadly, resting her small hand on his sleeve.

He snatched her up in a tight hug. “I’ll come back soon.”

“I know.” She bit out, fiercely restraining the urge to cry. She thought of her treasured friends and gave the hanyou a genuine smile. “Please tell them that I love them and that I really wanted to be there with all of you.”

He fidgeted uncomfortably at the thought of relaying the emotional message. “Keh--”

“You will tell them, right InuYasha?” Kagome reproached him.

“Keh,” he snapped, the frustration getting the better of him. “You can tell them yourself when I get you back home!”

“I would if I could!” Kagome wailed, in exasperation. “But I can’t go home! We tried and tried and tried!”

He placed his hands on Kagome’s shoulders and leveled a determined look at her, “I will find a way.”

She stared up at him, her expressive eyes filled with admiration.

He felt himself drawn closer and closer.

Their faces inches apart.

Her expression didn’t change. Those eyes said it all: She trusted him. She believed in him. She stood by him. She accepted him. She loved him.

He hovered hesitantly as her eyes fluttered shut. His own eyelids descended as his lips were just about to touch hers, then the harsh trill of the late bell rang out. BRRRINGGG!!!!!

Immediately, they jerked away from each other.

“I’m late!” she exclaimed, her face completely flushed with embarrassment.

He grunted in acknowledgement. In a whisper of a moment, he deposited her at the doorstep of the school house. “Good-bye!” she called to a blur of red.