InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Through the Rose Colored Lenses ❯ Through the Rose Colored Lenses ( Chapter 15 )

A/N: Sorry for the long delay, but I had grad school applications to fill. But, I am even more sorry for this chapter. It seems that I uploaded the wrong version and actually left you guys without oh about 2 pages worth of action….and my cliffhanger. And to those that have been asking, no, this is not the last chapter!!! I will not end this until Naraku has been defeated. Enjoy, and please forgive me. Pretty please…I'll get the next chapter out A.S.A.P. But, no promosis.

Disclaimer: See Ch. 1-14 if you don't believe me, I don't own Inu Yasha, but this story is all mine.

© 2004

Through the Rose Colored Lenses

Chapter 15

By Sailor Scribe

"What was I thinking?" Kagome wondered as she put more bacon into one of the frying pans. It was a Sunday true to its name, and the immaculate kitchen glowed with natural light. Kagome had woken up earlier than everyone else to make breakfast before they left for the pool party. She turned to the other pan and began to scramble the eggs. "What in Kami's name came over me?" She flipped the bacon over. "What possessed me to act that way?" She finished the eggs and moved them to an awaiting tray. The subject had bothered her all through dinner, as she tossed and turned all night and now, as she tried to make breakfast. "I'm not that forward! Why did I flirt with him? Why did I almost kiss him? If Shippo hadn't interrupted…Kami, and the worst part is that I wanted him to kiss me! What was I thinking? He is Inu Yasha Morrimotto II, playboy extraordinaire! There is no way that I would ever become his flavor of the week!" Kagome rinsed off the pan and then put it back on the fire to cook the sausage. "Maybe Sango is right, and I do need to date more. Maybe this is just my subconscious reminding me how long it's been since I've been with anyone. As much as I like to think that I don't need a man, the truth is that I do feel lonely…well not lonely, but like something is missing." She turned the bacon over before lowering the flame.

"Well, Inu Yasha wouldn't be the solution for that. Kami knows that boy isn't interested in the type of long term relationship I would need, and I can't just jump into a fling with him: Sota is too attached as it is. He is too good with him, and Sota would probably miss him more than I would…though I would be forced to see him continuously for four years. Kami why does that suddenly sound so painful?" Kagome sighed as she drained the excess fat from the bacon pan. "No, he isn't the kind of man I need. I need someone stable, quiet, loving and that is willing to be committed. Maybe I should give Hojo a call. He is sweet and nice, and mom always wanted me to marry a doctor. Besides, he will be great with Sota: he likes sports and girls. What else do guys need to have in common?" She tended to the sausage. "But he could never give me what I need. I can see us falling into a quiet routine, like the kind I've had for the past six years…granted the past six years have been anything but quiet, but Hojo could never bring that kind of unexpected excitement that I need. It's just my luck. I am destined to spend the rest of my life alone." She sighed as she rubbed her lower abdomen. "Then again, all this could just be a result of P.M.S."

"Mmm, something smells good." Inu Yasha snuck up behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist taking a whiff of her scent. His eyes were red as he began to rub his chin over her shoulder searching for the right spot to place the marking bite. "Really, really good." Kagome felt a warmth spread throughout her body, and a deep desire to lean into his touch consumed her instincts. His eyes turned a deep crimson as his chin rubbed the perfect spot. He felt her heart beat accelerate and her body heat increased; she was receptive. He brazed his fangs and prepared to make his mark when a piece of sausage was shoved into his mouth.

"Fine, you can have one, but you need to sit down at the table to get any more! I can't have you eating everything before the boys come down!" Kagome scolded as she managed to take control of her emotions. Inu Yasha came crashing into reality as Shippo and Sota raced into the kitchen in their swimming trunks.

"I'm starving!" Shippo declared as Kagome gave Inu Yasha one of the trays, which, in his shaky state, he almost dropped. Sota, knowing the morning routine, grabbed the dishes from covert.

"Hey, sis, since Shippo and Inu are going to be living here, don't they have to do chores too?"

"Chores?" Shippo choked on the word.

"Remember, you said that if we were going to make it, then we all had to chip in. So that means they have to chip in too!" Sota said looking his sister in the eye, only to find her eyes glazed over.

"What is going on with me? This heat is not normal!" Kagome wondered as her soul demanded Inu Yasha's touch.

"Sis?"

"Huh?"

"I said shouldn't Inu and Shippo have to do chores if they live here too."

"You are only bringing that up because you want to get out of doing yours!" Kagome turned to the stove and removed the rest of the bacon and sausage from the frying pans.

"But, I am right!"

"I have my chore; keeping your sister out of trouble! It's a full time job!" Inu Yasha stated as he took his seat trying to cover up the how unsteady he was feeling. "That damn scent!" He thought. "Kami, what did I almost do?"

"I know; it's mine!" Sota protested.

"Hey, that's enough! No one keeps me out of trouble but me! Not that I am doing a good job." Kagome finished the last sentence to herself as she finally managed to tame her wild heartbeat. "And, Sota is right. Inu Yasha, you said last night that it would be a while before you moved out; therefore, you need to pitch in." She sat down at the table and motioned for everyone else to do the same. "If only I could kick you out, then I could probably set my emotions strait." She thought to herself before she spoke to the rest.

"Let's start with the basics; One, everyone is responsible for keeping their rooms and bathroom clean."

"Rule two," Sota cut in after he noticed the hesitance in his sister's voice, "everyone over the age of ten has to do laundry."

"That means I don't!" Shippo stood up and did a little dance. "But you don't want Inu Yasha to do laundry." He suddenly stopped. "He had to do that once when the maids caught the flue…Let's just say everything came out purple."

"Is that bad?" Sota asked.

"It was a load of whites."

"Did a purple sock or something get mixed in?" Kagome asked.

"No."

"Then, what happened?" Sota looked up with curious eyes.

"We never found out." He declared proudly.

"Well, I'm sure we can find alternatives, right Inu Yasha." Kagome assured winning a smile from her brother.

"What?" Inu Yasha turned to them as he heard his name. "Damn that scent. I can't concentrate on anything. Kami, I need to get away from all of this! If I don't, I am bound to mark her as mine…That actually sounds nice. Kami, what am I saying? I can't mark her; I don't love her. If anything I lust after her, but how can any man lust after Kagome Higurashi? She isn't anything special besides being Kikyo's reincarnation…Kikyo…she is the only woman I have ever loved, and the only one that I ever will! Kami, I can't believe I was ready to mark her without her consent! Well, technically, she did, or alt least, her body showed consent, but I should have verbal confirmation! Damn, what kind of mutt am I turning into?"

"Inu Yasha!"

"What?" Kagome brought him out of his musings a second time.

"Try to stay with us please. Like I said, Shippo, since you are too young to do laundry, how about you help out by setting the table and making sure that Buyo has fresh water every morning?"

"I can do that!"

"Inu Yasha, I'm guessing that anything having to do with housework, you'll have an excuse."

"You are guessing right; housework and me don't mix." He looked at the young miko's neck with hunger.

"Then it is a good thing that I didn't have housework in mind for you." She blushed when their eyes met. There was something in those bloody amber eyes that sent chills down her body.

"You didn't?" He asked with his signature smirk.

"The bastard is flirting with me!" Kagome realized. "I will not fall." She returned his smirk making him blush. "No, I thought you would be more comfortable dealing with the outdoors. The Shrine needs to be tended from the outside as well."

"The gardens need to be weeded, the lawn needs to be mowed and the well house needs to be reinforced…" Sota began.

"Let's not forget that the fence around the God tree needs to be painted, the steps swept and…"

"You expect me to do all that?" Inu Yasha exclaimed.

"Well, not in a day." Sota soothed.

"Look, it is hard for Sota and me to keep up with the Shrine when we have a life outside these doors. It was a full time job for grandpa, and he had our help." Kagome explained. "And, it's not like you won't have help!"

"For someone who didn't want me to move in, you definitely found a use for me."

"Well, since I didn't have a choice, might as well make the most of it. Do you want eggs?" She asked with a smile. He grumbled and accepted the food.

@#@#@#@#@#@#@#@#@#@#@#@

"Cannonball!" Kohaku yelled as he jumped into the pool splashing the Morrimotto children and his friend. They were enjoying the pool water while Kagura, Sango and Kagome enjoyed the poolside as they began to tan. Sesshomaru and Inu Yasha walked out of the house and joined Miroku and Inu Shantino at the pool bar, behind the girls. In the pool, a water war between the girls and the boys broke out.

"I remember when it was Sesshomaru and you having those wars." Inu Shantino confided in his younger sun as he enjoyed the shade in Kaki shorts and a yellow Ralf Lauren polo shirt. His son smiled and turned his gaze towards the children, though it fell short when he saw the three women tanning by the poolside. One in particular, in a hunter green one-piece bathing suit caught his eye.

"Who says it still can't be?" He smiled as he raised his eyebrows suggestively to his friend. Miroku pretended to be picking an imaginary piece of lint from his purple swimming trunks as he replied,

"You know they would declare war."

"And we will probably lose." Sesshomaru agreed.

"But it would be worth it." Inu Yasha smirked. The three younger men turned to the poolside to admire Kagura lounging on one of the chairs in her strapless red Armani swimsuit, Sango turning on her belly in her traditional black DKNY bikini and Kagome sitting between them showing the bare skin of her back to the bar.

"Yes it will." Both Sesshomaru and Miroku agreed. With a nod as their final agreement, Sesshomaru grabbed the bucket of ice he had at his side and the three walked over to their respective women. Inu Shantino grabbed his camcorder and thought,

"Japan's Funniest Home Videos here I come!"

The boys attacked simultaneously in order to catch all the girls off guard. Sesshomaru, knowing his wife would be able to stop him from throwing her into the pool opted to throw a few ice cubes down her expose abdomen. She shrieked and with her fan, tried to blow her husband into the pool. Expecting this response, Sesshomaru grabbed on to her wrist and dragged her with him into the water. There, an impressive waterworks display began between the two demons. Miroku, having had previous experiences with water and Sango, specifically the same day he met Kagome, first tried to untie her top, in order to keep her defenseless, but his plan backfire. The string did not untie on the first tug, giving Sango enough time to kick him into the pool. Miroku quickly jumped back out and started to chase the girl screaming, "But honey, I just want a hug." Inu Yasha had grabbed Kagome from behind successfully and threw her into the water without realizing how strong her grip on his arm was. He fell in right after her. Once in the water, Kagome swam up behind him and managed to dunk him. A large splash behind her alerted her that Miroku had gotten his hug and the couple had taken the plunge. Sota noticed the commotion on the other side of the pool first, and decided to rush to his sister's aid, like the good brother he was. His desertion alerted the rest of his friends of the more interesting battle, and they each decided to defend their own.

Kohaku swam behind Miroku and, with the help of his sister, dunked him. Miroku pulled his legs under the water as he grabbed Sango's lower back. This provoked Sango to test Miroku's ability to hold his breath under water. Unfortunately, Miroku was a fast swimmer and made his get-a-way with the two hot on his heels. Kanna reached Sesshomaru with the same intentions as Kohaku, but found herself to be too weak to make the demon budge. When Rin reached them, she decided the war between the sexes was more interesting, and tried to help Kanna. Kagura smiled at the girls as she jumped on her husband, causing them both to fall underwater. Sesshomaru pulled his wife's head towards him and engaged in an oxygen-deprived kiss. Inu Yasha was also double teamed by Sota and Shippo, but he felt Kagome's attacks the worst because she had taken to pulling him down from underneath. With the two boys on the surface, he couldn't get a good grip on Kagome. Annoyed by the water in his ears, he waited patiently for Kagome to come up for air. When she did, he dove and pulled her up on his shoulders. She screamed in surprise as he laughed and threw her backwards into the water. The two boys rushed to defend her honor as she came up for air. Looking around, Kagome noticed that a truce had already been formed between Sesshomaru and Kagura who were exchanging a few kisses on the edge of the pool and that Miroku and Sango were on the verge of making theirs as they tried to catch their breath and make out at the same time. Suddenly, Kagome noticed the camcorder on the deck.

"Inu Yasha!"

"What?" He asked as he threw Sota into the water.

"Does your father like to get wet?" Both Inu Yasha and Sesshomaru stopped dead in their tracks and turned to face their father with evil smirks. Faster than Kagome could register, the Inu brothers were out of the pool and chasing their father. When they finally caught up with him, his father sent them both flying into the pool with one swift movement of his arm. The girls tried to cut their grandfather's escape route, to which the old man faked a brief struggle before he let them push him into the water. They high -fived each other before running away from the old man, who quickly caught them and threw them into the water. The boys rushed to defend the girls, but the suffered similar fates. The women of the house laughed as they saw the Inu brothers along with the children work together to unsuccessfully try and push the senior Morrimotto into the water. Eventually, they all tired of the game and abandoned the pool for the sun, except for the children, who chose to play shark.

Sesshomaru squeezed excess water from his silver designer swimsuit and sat next to his wife. "The old man still has it?" His wife joked.

"Be happy; that means I will still have it at his age." He whispered seductively into her ear and they both laughed. Miroku brought Sango a glass of ice tea before she let him reapply sun screen on her back. He was afraid she would burn. Inu Yasha walked over to the bar straightening his red swim trunks. There, he noticed his abandoned camera. He had hoped to catch some good pictures of his family before the day was out. A warm chill spread through his body as he realized that he had not only included Sango and Miroku in that statement but Kagome and Sota as well. He smiled. His family was getting bigger every day.

The light was perfect for quick action pictures, so he started with the children playing in the water. After two rolls, he moved on to the adults. As he stealthily moved behind Kagome to take a candid of her, he noticed her for the first time through the lens of his camera. The sun was sparkling of her still wet skin; her hair, which was in a wavier than usual, dance with the light breeze, and as she turned smiling towards him, the camera began to pick up her glow.

"Inu Yasha! No, I look horrible in pictures!" Kagome tried to hide from the camera, but the hanyou had already claimed his subject. He caught every smile, every blush and every heartbeat. Nothing in his heart's eye had ever looked more beautiful than Kagome did at that moment. He finally understood what Kagome had meant when she said she saw the world through rose colored lenses. He was seeing the world like that himself, and to his happy surprise, this rose colored world belonged to Kagome Higurashi.

"Don't let her get away, Yasha!" Sango spoke up somewhere in the background. "She is always taking the pictures instead of being in them!" Inu Yasha kept snapping away as Sota crashed into his sister. Through the camera's eyes, it looked like a scene from an artistic movie in slow motion. Kagome forced her brother to take a picture with her; then, Sango joined them followed by Shippo and Miroku. Inu Yasha heard them joking as he quickly changed rolls of film, but nothing registered in his mind. There was nothing in this world more captivating than Kagome Higurashi with her guard down. He was in ecstasy.

"Get in the picture, Yasha." Miroku took the camera from him. "The two of you don't have any pictures together." Inu Yasha took his place next to Kagome, but the spell had not been broken. He stared at her with a bewitched hunger in his eyes. Kagome caught his gaze and her smile faltered a bit as she blushed. The flash brought them out of their spell as the turned to the camera. "Sorry…I'm no professional." Miroku took another picture thus ending the film and Inu Yasha's spell.

*********************************

"Damn she is beautiful!" Inu Yasha sighed as he hung a close up of Kagome to dry. Even under the red light of the dark room, the pictures held the same spell the camera had. He had once complained that it took him twenty rolls to get a shot like that. Now, he had two rolls complete with those kinds of photographs. The curious thing was that he did not attribute it to his skills, but to his subject's glow. "How did I miss it?" He took another look at the contact sheet in order to pick out his next picture. He opted for the first shot Miroku had taken of them. Until now, he had been picking out pictures she would want, like the one with her brother, but now he wanted pictures for himself. "I've looked into that face for about two months, and she never seemed to glow before. Maybe it's one of those things…the more you get to know someone, the better they look." He adjusted the exposure time. "And it wasn't her scent either! I didn't register it over the chlorine!" He put the picture in the developer.

"Maybe this is all a result of my lack of dating…No!" He decided as Kagome's face began to appear on the blank sheet of paper. "She is a beautiful and intelligent woman; no wonder my demon instincts wanted to claim her! That body…those eyes…that smile, who wouldn't want her as a mate?" He moved the picture into the water bath. "I wouldn't! I couldn't! She is Kikyo's reincarnation! Ok, so any sane person would use that as a reason to push this relationship, but I don't want to date her because of who she once was, but of who she is and who she will become! If I start a romantic relationship with her now, then I would put her in Kikyo's shadow. That is not fair for either of the two. What was that thing Kaede said…'Kikyo-sama and Kagome-sama might share the same soul as they walk upon this Earth, but they are different people.' It is hard to remember that sometimes, when the two look so much alike." Inu Yasha moved the picture into a second water bath before moving it into the fixer.

"That is such a blatant lie! I have not thought of them the same person since…since the beginning. Kaede is right: they are so different personality-wise that I forget I am dealing with the soul of the woman I once loved. Kikyo, why did you have to leave me? Things were so much simpler with us; we just knew. I miss you so much, even if I have you at the touch of my fingers." Inu Yasha moved the picture into the running water bath as he sighed. "Maybe I am just destined to walk this earth alone…the curse of the hanyou."

"Hey, lunch is almost ready!" Kagome smiled as she walked in. Having worked here with Inu Yasha once, she knew of the funhouse style tunnel that led to the dark room. It was necessary to allow people to enter and leave the room freely without allowing outside light to spoil the pictures. "Your brother is threatening to make your hamburger well done if you're late."

"I'm always late. He hasn't figured out that I always switch our plates." He smiled as Kagome approached him looking at the pictures hanging over the sink.

"These are awesome! Who's the babe?"

"You." He said smiling from behind her. Kagome's jaw dropped, opening her mouth as she admired herself.

"That is impossible! I have to be the most un-photogenic person on the face of the Earth. I look horrible in pictures! That is why I made my career behind the camera, not in front!"

"The camera doesn't lie." Inu Yasha laughed. Kagome looked like Shippo in a candy store as she examined all the pictures.

"Wow, Inu Yasha, I am impressed! And for the record, I was a fan of your work to begin with. You are amazing."

"It was the subject, and the teacher." He smiled at her as she blushed, still unused to getting compliments. Seeing her so close brought back more of Kaede's words to his mind,

"My beloved sister would never ask of thy love, she would earn it."

"Is that what she's been doing? Earning my love?" Inu Yasha thought as he admired the young miko in front of him.

"Oh, I don't like this one!"

"Because Miroku took it?" Inu Yasha joked.

"No, because it looks like one of those stereotype wedding pictures!"

"Sounds like you know your stuff."

"Hey, whatever pays the bills! But you know what I'm talking about. The picture where the bride and the groom look lovingly into each other's eyes as they move on to their happily ever after. It is so cliché! Besides, it's not like anyone would believe we would ever be in love."

"Is it so hard to believe?" Inu Yasha asked as a pit of fear formed in his stomach.

"I guess anything is possible…" Kagome suddenly found the need to correct herself.

"Maybe," Inu Yasha thought to himself as he looked into the blue windows of her soul, "she didn't come back to take care of me like Kaede said, but to show me that I deserve a second chance at life…at love."

"Not that it matters." Kagome began again as she hung the infamous picture to dry. With a tinge of nostalgia she continued, "It's not like we are going to be looking at each other in that way, ne?" Instinct took over as Inu Yasha leaned down and captured her lips in a passionate kiss.