InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Unbridled, Unvoiced Passions ❯ Chapter 3 ( Chapter 3 )

Disclaimer: I am the unfortunate fanatic, not the brilliant creator. I only made this story to toy with Takahashi-San's characters! ::evil grin::

Unbridled, Unvoiced Passions

A bittersweet love story

In the depths of a hidden room, a library aged with the written works and family trinkets of a long forgotten tale. Scrolls, held captive from the brutal maturity of paper, told the secrets of lost time, of forgotten battles, of legends and myths, but mostly of his unbridled, unvoiced passions.

The room, sealed by an ancient magic, is opened after nearly three centuries of dormancy. A girl's curiosity and utmost respect for all things lost to time discovers the secrets of the hidden chambers; a secret she was unknowingly a part of. However, opening the chamber just might have been the biggest mistake of her life.

Chapter: 3

Kagome groaned and brought her hand to her forehead while sitting up. The pain that raced throughout her head with the loud beating of her heart must have been a result of her lack of oxygen and passing out a few minutes prior. At least, she thought it was only a few minutes; she couldn't be sure, as she didn't know exactly what time she had initially gone to bed.

She blinked a few times in an attempt to dispel the bright stars that danced across her sight. Her hand dropped to the floor where it was met with the burnt edge of a piece of rice paper.

Kagome took hold of the parchment and raised it to her view in a slow, trance-like motion and immediately recognized it as her `death sentence'. As if afraid of burning from the images once more, she dropped the offensive journal entry and scrambled to her feet.

For a few minutes Kagome could only see the stars and that single, incriminating paper. She looked to her desk and the stack of journal entries that held the secrets to her life from a third party, indifferent point of view; or rather would have looked at them, had they been there.

Kagome's eyes frantically traced her room for the missing objects, but no clues to their whereabouts were forthcoming; not to mention her head was reeling with pain, making it infinitely harder for her to concentrate on much of anything. It was then that she noticed her pink comforter bunched on the floor where she had passed out. Was that covering her when she woke?

Kagome's hand found her forehead again as her room moved faster than her eyes. The world seemed much too confusing for one so tired both physically and mentally. Deciding to solve the mystery of the missing `personal prophecy journal' later, Kagome grabbed her blanket and made her way back to bed.

After settling into her comfortable mattress, she set her alarm for 9:00 and found herself in the world of blissful dreams a scant few seconds later.

`-` `-` `-` `-` `-` `-`

The annoying buzz of her alarm went off, alerting her to the already wakened world around her. A quick stretch of her hand and an audible click silenced the mechanical demon, eliciting a soft sigh from the weary priestess.

Kagome pushed herself up to rest on her forearms and glared at the offending noisemaker before bolting out of bed. Her haste was only met with tangled blankets that felt she needed to reacquaint herself with the floor in her bedroom. She had somehow managed to grab hold of her clock on the way down and held it up for a closer inspection.

Her eyes narrowed at the undying beast once more, then her sights moved to the bright skies out her window, and back to the clock again. She was positive she had set the alarm for 9:00, so why was it going off now at 2:00 in the afternoon?

Kagome reached up and placed her clock back onto her nightstand; at the same time she noticed a piece of paper from her notebook slipping off the edge. With a bit of effort, she stood and began reading the note while leaning against her nightstand for support.

`-` `-` `-` `-` `-` `-`

Kagome,

I saw you were on the floor last night and couldn't wake you, so I covered you instead. This morning you were back in your bed, but your clock was set much too early. I reset it for 2:00; you really should rest more!

Grandpa and I will be out for most of the day, but I promise to be home in time to make dinner. Please make sure that Souta completes his homework before playing.

Thanks honey.

Love always,

Mom

`-` `-` `-` `-` `-` `-`

Kagome set the paper back on her nightstand and pushed herself up to rely on her own strength once again. Her headache never fully dissipated so she retrieved her pills from the desk and hobbled downstairs for a glass of water.

Her head was taken care of nearly twenty minutes later due to her crippled status; she made herself a snack and decided to find solitude in the cool breeze of spring. The skies were surprisingly clear for the late week of March, but Kagome wasn't about to question the small good fortune.

She propped herself against one of the wooden pillars at the top of the shrine steps and gazed up at the birds in one of the many trees that filled her family's property. Soon she was caressed by the sweet dance of nature and carried off once more to sleep.

`-` `-` `-` `-` `-` `-`

Before long, Souta came running up the steps of Sunset Shrine only to be greeted by a slumbering Kagome. He paused at her back and pulled out his latest toy with an evil smile. Souta placed his lips at one end of the tiny object and blew air into it as hard as his small lungs would allow.

Kagome started at the sound of a loud whistle and grabbed the object nearest her to regain her bearings. Unfortunately, her broken leg was wrapped in a cast that she would swear was cursed.

Souta felt his sister's grip on his shirt pull against him and, though he was tall for his age, Kagome still outweighed and towered him by at least a head. His body gave into the inevitable and flew forward, sending the two of them down the shrine steps in a tangle of siblings.

Kagome, as is with her wonderful luck, landed on her back with Souta jamming directly into her stomach. Her head smacked the cement from the force of their fall, ending in a small whimper and sharp gasp from her.

She heard a harsh cry of pain from Souta as she tossed him off of her none-too-gently. Kagome turned to glare at her younger sibling for his obvious misuse of brain cells, but stopped short of berating at his moan of pain.

She watched from her spot on the ground as Souta proudly attempted to stand only to be cast back down. Her eyes widened in realization during his second attempt.

"Let me see it."

Souta complied and waited for his older sister to soothe his aching pain. He turned to give her access to his right ankle, but couldn't help squirming whenever she touched it.

"Souta, stop moving, you'll only make it worse!"

His ankle was swollen and turning an unnatural shade of purple with a few small cuts every here and there. Her poking and prodding made him wince in pain and pull his foot from her reach.

"Baby! You broke it!"

She stood up and offered him a hand before turning to the stairs while listening to him mutter under his breath. Obviously he forgot how acute her senses had become while traveling in the feudal era.

"I didn't break it, you did when you pulled me down those stairs."

Kagome smacked the back of his head and watched in satisfaction as he rubbed it while glaring at her from the corner of his eyes.

"What was that for?"

She motioned to the steps and bit out at him.

"How in the seven hells are we supposed to get up that with both of us all broken up?"

Souta looked to the shrine steps and back to his frustrated sister. A sheepish laugh followed his embarrassed smile as he shrugged.

"We could both scoot up the steps backwards while we're sitting down."

"And our broken ankles, braniac?"

Souta appeared to be thinking a bit, then brightened up and shined her a smile that would instill fear into most siblings.

"I'll go first and put my foot on your shoulder, and yours is in a cast so it doesn't really matter!"

Kagome gave him another smack, hoping to jar some of his intelligence into place.

"First off, you aren't putting that smelly thing on me. Second, this is a shrine, not a circus you dumb ass!"

"Fine then…you figure it out, miss know-it-all!"

Just for good measure, he made a taunting face while sticking out his tongue and placed his hands on his hips to await his brilliant sister's idea.

"How childish can you get?"

At that, Souta opened his eyes only to see Kagome climbing the steps very slowly.

"Hey!"

Kagome glanced behind her to see Souta standing at the bottom of the stairs searching for a magic step that would carry him the six steps she had already overcome. She tried not to laugh, really she did, but he just looked so pathetic standing there.

Kagome wasn't used to being stuck behind just because she couldn't make it through the passage. She traversed the outback of the feudal ages with murderous demons on her trail; these were steps for crying out loud! How much more convenience did he need?

She had to stop and remind herself that he was not privy to the same life as her, and so she sat and watched. Sure, she probably should have helped him, offered him a suggestion, something, anything. But in the end she didn't have any ideas; she didn't think she would let him in on any ideas if she did have them.

It sounded cruel, true, but he was the one to cause their fall, and he was a boy that was acting like a baby that couldn't see it's mother; completely hysterical over the loss of protection, even though it was right there, they just couldn't see it. Goodness if she wasn't a giving person…it was going to be her downfall!

"Hold on, baby."

Souta looked up and pouted at her while cheering inside that she was coming down to rescue him. She had become somewhat of a hero to him with the way she balanced two very dangerous lives; one was as a teenager in modern day Tokyo and the other as a warrior priestess in feudal era Japan. Who wouldn't look up to someone like that?

"Alright then, lean on me with your right. I'll be your other leg, but it's going to take a while since I've got this stupid cast on."

He nodded his understanding and they began the long trek up the steps of Sunset Shrine.

`-` `-` `-` `-` `-` `-`

As the pair reached the top of the stairs nearly an hour later, Souta was a bit winded and Kagome wanted to simply sit for the rest of the day. The entire trip up the steps, Souta had heard one very colorful vocabulary from Kagome concerning her `damn plaster contraption'. Some of the words he didn't believe Kagome knew or if she did then she wasn't bold enough to use them; apparently he had guessed wrong!

"Why don't you just have the doctor take it off? You've had broken bones before and didn't have them in a cast. You only did this time `cause you had to see the doctor, and they're stubborn like that."

"He wouldn't do it, he's too stubborn like you said. I just have to wait another…"

Kagome counted the time in her head and sat down, groaning in exasperation.

"…13 weeks! Ugh!"

She flopped back and spread her arms out to display her displeasure at having to wait so long.

"You could always take it off yourself. I bet you anything it's already healed anyway. Your priestess powers should have taken care of that by now!"

Kagome felt a surge of pride and his praise but she also knew that the odds were against her. Although her body was requiring a bit more rest lately due to her healing powers working overtime for her, she also knew that they were infinitely weaker from the time difference.

It was strange, but it seemed that here in the present, the magic that was so prevalent in the past seemed to just sort of fade away. She had no doubt that, were she in the past right now, her powers would have already healed her broken bones. Although, come to think of it, the room that Sesshoumaru had sealed held a lot of magic that withstood the test of time.

Perhaps she really wasn't as strong as she thought she was. Or maybe Sesshoumaru was just so powerful that not even time could touch him. It was possible, she surmised, and she envied him for it all the more.

"Helloooo…"

Souta waved his hands in front of Kagome's face to gain her attention. He knew he had attained it when she jumped and stared into his eyes in confusion.

"So do you always slip off to space when someone is talking to you, or am I just special?"

Kagome glared at him and sat up to appear at least semi-intimidating.

"You're special, believe me. I've even invented a class for you; it might help…antisocial aid 101. Classes start Monday at six a.m., don't be late."

Souta gave her a dry look and walked to the side of the shrine.

"Ha ha, very funny! Come on, we should go in."

Kagome scrambled to her feet and raced after her brother while calling out to him.

"Homework first runt! Mom will kill us both if you don't have it done and I like my sanity!"

Souta was running as fast as he could to the house with his broken ankle while yelling back to her.

"You think you're sane…there's your proof that you've lost it!"

"Get BACK HERE RUNT! I'll PUMMEL YOU FOR THAT!"

"Gotta catch me first!"

`-` `-` `-` `-` `-` `-`

Just before bed that evening, Kagome found herself searching for the journal she had so easily lost. It's almost sad how she could be so clumsy that she even lost things in her sleep!

Her room, having been torn apart more than once, looked as though a tornado had stormed in and waged a hefty battle with the girl, the storm winning of course. She went to her closet for the third time and began tossing objects out over her head and into the already massacred pink room.

That's how Mrs. Higurashi found her when she dared to enter the wily teen's sanctuary. She cleared her throat in an attempt to gain her daughter's attention, but it seemed that after all the changes Kagome had gone through, attention was not one of them.

She lightly tapped her daughter on the shoulder while ducking the offending objects that flew at her. The poor girl was so startled that the two shirts she had in her grasp flew up, Mrs. Higurashi jumped back, and Kagome stumbled into her closet while grabbing the door for support, which only landed her in the small pile of clothes in the small walk-in.

Kagome lifted the jeans from her head that had flown up and landed on her when she fell and watched as her mom lifted a shirt from her own eyes. They both took in the others' appearance and burst out in peels of laughter.

Mrs. Higurashi helped her daughter to stand and rummage her way out of the messy closet, only to find a room that was twice as bad. She eyed the damage and turned curious eyes on Kagome.

"What happened in here?"

"Oh, well, I was looking for something."

Mrs. Higurashi gave her an `I figured that much' look and laughed again.

"Forgetful are we? What were you looking for?"

"I'm not forgetful! I just misplaced something…in my sleep!"

The last part of the statement was said so quietly that Mrs. Higurashi had to strain her ears to just barely make it out. Once it registered, however, the laughter just wouldn't stop.

"MOM!"

Kagome put her hands on her hips and tried to give her mother the most intimidating stare she could find. Her mother would not wither under her gaze, though, which only set Kagome off more.

"I'm sorry dear, you just don't know how funny that is to me! What is it you misplaced?"

"Paper"

"Paper?"

Mrs. Higurashi looked about to let out another wave of laughter so Kagome cut her off.

"That stack of papers I was reading yesterday, you remember them?"

"Of course I do. Is that what you're looking for?"

Kagome nodded and her mom gave her a questioning gaze.

"Hmm, must be important. Well then, I'm glad I went ahead and took them"

"You what?"

"Oh honey, no. I took them down to the printing press to have a binding made for them. They looked so old and frail that I thought you might want them preserved better in a book. I think they're going to laminate the pages too! They were in order right?"

Kagome nodded and hugged her mom, but then remembered the page she was holding onto when she had so gracefully lost consciousness. For some reason, it made her happy to think that she had somehow detached her death from his journal, although she would still keep it in a safe place.

"Thanks mom. When will it be done?"

"Oh, tomorrow around noon. Don't worry, I'll go pick it up when I get Souta from school tomorrow. He needs to talk to the soccer coach about that broken ankle so we'll be home a bit late, but I think Grandpa's going to stay home."

"Alright. Well I'm going to bed then. I'm really tired."

"Goodnight then."

"Night mama"

`-` `-` `-` `-` `-` `-`

The next few months were fairly uneventful. The journal was so large that it was made into three books, each with their own label. The first was `The Beginning of the Time', the second `In Between', and the third `The End of the Beginning'. She thought the labels were fitting to a point that was almost frightening. The man that bound the books had no idea what he was implying in her young life.

Kagome had decided to hide the books from the moonlight for sanity's sake. She wasn't sure she wanted to know what else was hidden in the mind of the demon lord.

She had wondered, of course, why it was that he had written an entire journal for what must have been years completely about her. Then she had wondered what possessed him to keep it in a room on her ancestral property which was not only considered holy grounds, but the basis for human life in modern day and feudal times Tokyo. None of it made any sense!

It was hard to comprehend, but she was now linked to both brothers through time by ancient magic. First there was Inuyasha and the God Tree, then there was Sesshoumaru and the Secret Room with the now three books. It seems that fate had desired her, the strongest lineage of priestess' and monks, to be connected to the strongest demon clan in history, the Dog Demon Clan.

Her mind was swirling with questions that would not have answers. She needed a break from it all and it seemed that hiding the book was the perfect choice. Out of sight, out of mind, right?

Kagome had three weeks until she would be free from the `damn plaster contraption' and she couldn't be happier. Of course, she was also dreading the weeks of exercise she would need in order to regain full use of the offended appendage again.

Time was such a funny little thing. Here in the present, four months was like a tortured bell for Kagome, but there in the past it was like the sweet chime of the wedding bell. Somehow, Kagome had become mixed up between the two and had to overcome not only all of the physical and obvious barriers, but also the mental, magic, and spiritual barriers that such a life called for.

Why did the God's torment her so? Was she really so horrible in another lifetime as to be recipient of such punishment? Wasn't Kikyou good when she was alive? Who held her soul before Kikyou? That question right there might very well answer some of her more pressing questions.

She sighed in exasperation, more at herself than anything. There was no escaping her own mind; she was curious to the point of insanity, especially when no answers would be found. She just wasn't capable of dealing with the unknown, of knowing what to ask, but not who, or worse, knowing who and not being able to ask them!

Kagome was brought out of her musings by the familiar sound of metal sliding to open her bedroom window. She was currently in the bathroom staring into the mirror in hopes of discovering the secret that was she, but it seemed that today did not hold her self-revealing moment.

She walked into her room only vaguely surprised to see Inuyasha there, but more surprised at his attitude. He seemed as though his nerves were pulled as tight as her bow during battle, and his rigidity was keeping him quietly still with his back against her wall as he sat under her window.

"What's wrong?"

He didn't look up, didn't glance at her from under his bangs, hell he didn't move at all. Simply just sat there with his arms crossed while engaging in a staring contest with her carpet.

She wanted so badly to see his eyes to know what he was feeling, his ever-expressive eyes that were the crucial aid in his mood swings. Something bad must have happened for him to be this quiet; he hadn't even answered her yet.

"Inuyasha?"

"He came. It was real this time"

Her gasp caused him to look up into her eyes, but what she saw made her turn away quickly. There was pain there, and fear. Those two emotions rarely, if ever, touched his features.

"What happened?"

She wasn't sure she wanted to know judging by the depth of emotions in his eyes, but she knew she couldn't continue without asking. Kagome had to know that her friends were all right, that Naraku hadn't slain them in the cold-blooded way he was so well known for.

"He attacked just at dawn a few weeks ago. We had just had a battle with one of his minions. None of us were doing very well. Shippou had stayed with Kaede that time, so he's fine."

Thank the God's Inuyasha had some real intelligence; of course she would want to know about Shippou first. Shippou was like her little brother, but she watched over him like a mother would.

It's not like he really needed that anymore, he's twelve years old and learning battle techniques and strategies from everyone in the group. Not to mention growing up within a band of active warriors; he was bound to catch on someday. Still, she worried as anyone in her place would.

"Miroku and Sango were pretty badly wounded to begin with, and Kirara was poisoned within the first few minutes, so we were all pretty afraid of the battle."

"But you're here, you're just fine, I can see so myself."

She sounded a bit hysterical but she couldn't help it. He was scaring her with the direction he was going, and his tone, God's his tone was so…stressed. Why wouldn't he just get to the point already?

"Inuyasha, please, is everyone ok?"

Inuyasha gave her a knowing look and smiled a secret to her that let her release the breath she hadn't realized she was holding. Then his face turned rigid again and his eyes looked almost distant. Everyone was all right, but still something bad had happened. What could be so bad though?

"We had help."

His cryptic answer left her asking a thousand more questions. He must have caught her look of confusion, for he sighed and patted the carpet next to him. She joined him on the floor and looked up to await his answer.

Inuyasha turned to her and held her hands in his before capturing his eyes with her own. She was so very confused that if he so much as breathed she thought she might jump from the shear tension it would release.

"My brother came to fight Naraku with us"

Kagome's eyes widened minutely, but for some reason she wasn't too surprised. It had seemed like the logical route given his brother's history with the half-demon. Apparently Inuyasha had more to say though, and the look in his eyes was enough to make her want to run.

"When it was over, he asked me something I never in a million years would have expected from him."

As if knowing the answer already, Kagome steeled her face so as not to give away her secret and replied.

"What did he ask you?"

"He asked me where you were Kagome. And not just the usual taunting, he said…Inuyasha, where is Kagome? It was almost soft, as though he didn't want to offend me, and he used your name…do you know what that means?"

Kagome looked down to her lap if only to escape the accusing eyes of her friend and waited for him to continue.

"It means he recognizes you, Kagome. It means that for some reason, you matter to him. I don't know why, but I intend to find out. He doesn't care for humans he despises them. It's not to say that you aren't worth noticing, because you are, but to someone like him…it just doesn't make sense. Humans are nothing to him."

"What about Rin?"

It was barely more than a whisper, but she knew he had heard it. His hold on her hands tightened a bit as if asking her to look at him. She couldn't face him yet, because her eyes held too much guilt.

No, she didn't know why he was asking about her, but then she did. The journal was proof that she was an interest of his in some way and that alone was enough.

But if she were to reveal that to Inuyasha then he would want to see the journal, and for some reason Kagome didn't think that would be right. He wasn't meant to know his brother in that personal of a way, especially not when it concerned her in a personal way.

"The woman-child he took on as a ward"

Kagome nodded slightly but still refused to meet his gaze. Inuyasha was never very patient and so he hooked a finger under her chin and lifted her face to find her eyes.

When he did, though, he found something he never wanted to see in her eyes again. He saw guilt. It was enough to cause him to drop both her chin and her hand from shock.

"You know don't you?"

It was softly spoken, but it was still accusing enough to instill a sort of fear in her. She was on edge now because she knew she couldn't lie to him, but she had to keep the journal a secret.

"Yes"

"How? Why? God's Kagome, what the hell is going on?"

"I don't know, I just know…"

His eyes turned hard then. He knew she was trying to hide something; she could see the accusations stirring in his eyes. She had to dispel them, but she didn't know how without revealing her secret.

"Don't give me that Kagome. I know you better than you think. You forget that we have spent so long together so quickly? I know you're hiding something. What is it?"

"Inuyasha…"

She couldn't do it; she couldn't think of anything to say that wasn't incriminating or revealing. Her head dropped again. She couldn't stand the look of accusation and betrayal.

She knew he would be disappointed. Her lack of answer was bad enough, but actions speak louder than words. The very fact that she couldn't look him in the eye was enough to tear something precious between them.

"Kagome…you're my best friend. I'll always be here for you, but you can't keep secrets from me. Especially not something like this. Whatever is going on, I want to know."

He stood and looked down on her with softer eyes than before, but they still held the same hurt in them.

"Come back to me when you're ready to trust me again"

With that he jumped out of her window and into the cool air. She felt the magic pulse as he crossed the barrier between his time and hers.

Kagome fell against the wall and for the first time in almost two years, she cried. She had hurt her friend simply by trying to protect him and now there was a rift between them because of a brotherly rival and their interest in her.

She whispered a desperate plea that settled on the wind.

"Inuyasha"

`-` `-` `-` `-` `-` `-`