InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Village of demons ❯ Chapter Three: The Promise ( Chapter 3 )

Disclaimer: The Inuyasha story does not belong to me but to Rumiko Takahashi and I thank her for bringing it to us.

Chapter Three: The Promise

Kirara tensed and sniffed the air when she heard noises coming towards the cave. She relaxed when she realized that it was the others returning from treating Kouga’s wounds. Inuyasha, now well rested, came up beside her and scratched her head for doing such a good job of guarding Kagome while he couldn’t. He was fully awake now, having smelled the others coming even before Kirara had. He hadn’t wanted to get up, he had woken up next to Kagome in her sleeping bag and now wished to wake up beside her everyday until he died, but he knew he would never hear the end of it from the stupid monk if he caught them like that.

There was a rustle in some nearby bushes and Miroku stepped out, followed by Sango and Shippou.

Inuyasha was happy to see them, he knew he hadn’t hurt them while he was transformed but he wanted to see with his own eyes that they were ok.

“ Inuyasha its good to see your ok. Where is Kagome?” Miroku said, with relief clearly visible on his face.

“ I’m here, how did everything go with Kouga?” Kagome said, as she stepped out of the cave to stand beside Inuyasha. The half-demon winced at hearing the wolfs name but listened to what Miroku had to say anyway.

“ Well he is going to live, his wound is near healed. It is a good thing that he is a full demon or the wound would have been fatal. We left him in the care of Hikaku and Ginta when they found us this morning while searching for Kouga. Now it is time I think we head back to the village, we have lost a whole day so we should hurry.”

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No one said anything else about Kouga as they headed back to the village…

With everything that had happened they all felt compelled to get back to the comfort of home. The all longed for the familiar hut and the warm food that Kaede likely had prepared. They traveled at a much faster pace with Kagome on Inuyasha’s back as he jumped from one treetop to another while Kirara flew above him. The village was in sight by the end of the day.

They all walked into Kaede’s hut and began telling her about defeating Naraku and then about the incident on the way back.

“ Kaede there was this huge demon that attacked us during the battle with Naraku, and I killed it with my foxfire!” Shippou exclaimed proudly.

The way he explained the fight it sounded like he had taken down Naraku and his demons all by himself. In reality he had waited a good deal away from the battle with Kagome. Ready to fly her out of the area if he needed to, when one of Naraku’s lesser demons snuck around and attacked. Shippou had used his foxfire on him and the demon burst into dust. What he never noticed was the sacred sutra lying next to the pile of dust.

Kaede caught Miroku’s wink and chuckled. Patting Shippou on the head and congratulating him for his bravery. After he described every detail of the battle Shippou decided to go play with some of the village kids outside. When Shippou left the hut Kaede’s face grew serious.

“ It is very good that ye defeated Naraku, but even after his death his influence still brings evil to these lands. With Naraku gone many lesser demons that were afraid of being absorbed into Naraku are now reeking havoc. That is also not the worst news I‘m afraid, because of all the increased attacks many of the larger villages are seeking the all out extermination demons and any who associate with them.”

“ Inuyasha you know this means we must be extremely careful the next time

we go looking for shards.” Miroku said, before taking a long sip of tea.

“ Yeah I know, but it couldn’t be that different could it? Nearly everywhere we go people have a problem with demons.” Inuyasha stated tightening his hold on tetsusaiga.

“ Yes that’s true, but we also need to make sure that Kagome is never alone with the jewel if there are so many weak demons seeking its power now that Naraku is out of the way.”

Everyone nodded in agreement before hearing a loud scream from outside the hut. They all ran to see what was going on.

“ Gah! A demon, get away from my son you evil creature! A man yelled down at Shippou before kicking him hard in stomach to get him away from the crying boy he had by the arm.

Shippou fell over holding his stomach. One of the village men stepped out between Shippou and man that attacked him.

“ What is the meaning of this, why did you attack an innocent boy?” The man said angrily at the stranger.

“ Innocent boy? He is a demon! Do you not see his tail, ears, and paws?!” The stranger yelled back in his defense.

Kagome recognized the man standing in between Shippou and the stranger. He was a local farmer named Jiro.

“This boy is a companion of this village’s great protector Inuyasha, and because of that he is under our protection. Now leave and do not return, or you will meet the wrath of this village and its Demon protector! Jiro yelled back at the stranger.

The man looked stunned. “ Fine… I will leave you and your demon filth. You should get rid of them before they slay you all.”

The man turned and stomped away with the still sniffling boy in toe. Miroku helped Shippou up as Kagome checked to make sure he was alright. When she was sure he was ok she stood and went over to Jiro.

“ Thank you for doing that. Who was that man and what happened here?”

Jiro smiled at her and bowed respectfully.

“ Lady Kagome I was more than obliged to help. After Inuyasha stopped the raging boar demons that were destroying my crops on the edge of the village I owe him everything. The man that attacked Shippou is a trader from the east where they have had many demon troubles. They all despise demons, and when he saw Shippou playing with his son, he attacked. I’m sorry I couldn’t have stopped him sooner.” Jiro bowed again before heading back to his farm.

The crowd around Shippou and the others quickly dispersed and they brought him back to Kaede’s hut for supper. He still looked shaken up about what had happened.

Kagome reached into her bag and got out a large candy bar. Shippou brightened up immediately after eating it. The chocolaty goodness being one of his greatest pick-me-ups.

“Kagome will you bring me lots of candy when you come back? It will make my stomach feel much better.” Shippou looked up at her with big, hopeful eyes.

She knew he was just playing off the injury as an excuse to get more candy but she couldn’t refuse. He was just so pathetically cute. She didn’t understand how anyone could ever be mean to him.

“ Yes Shippou… I’ll bring you more candy than you’ll know what to do with.” She smiled down at the kit now sitting comfortably in her lap.

After a while everyone settled down for bed. Sango and Miroku slept close to each other but not to close since they were still not married. Shippou curled up with Kirara next to Kaede and the fire.

Kagome had a small hope that Inuyasha would come lay down beside her, but her hope vanished when he slipped from the hut. She wondered where he had gone but decided not to worry about it at she fell asleep.

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Inuyasha raced through the forest, his pace much faster without the others with him. He was going to a place that no one knew about. It was the place that his mother had shown him right before she died. He had gone there to hide once right after she was killed because it smelled like her, but he couldn’t stay there after demons started sniffing around. He had only been there once after that, when he was older, to check up on it.

It had been undisturbed, and since he wanted to keep it that way he moved a large boulder to block the entrance. His mother told him this was a special place that she had put some things for him if anything ever happened to her. He slowed as he reached a small pool surrounded by large flat boulders. Over the pool was a small cliff with a waterfall pouring water into the pool. It was a very nice place and pretty well hidden. The pool itself is a hot spring but the water that pours into it is cool so the area is covered in a light mist. Up on the cliff was another pool that the cool water came from. It was fed by a small stream with large white flowers all around it. Inuyasha walked down through the mist and along a ridge going behind the water fall. Behind the curtain of water was a large space and at one end was the boulder he had placed in front of the cave.

He moved the boulder and stepped in, he knew if it wasn’t for his half-demon eyesight that it would be pitch dark. He looked around, everything was still the same. Some chests over against the wall, a small nook for a fire, and a large place in the middle with pallets for sleeping.

On top of one of the chests was a sealed scroll that his mother had pointed out to him once. She had made him promise that he would not open it unless he had someone that he would love with all his heart and that he wanted to take as his mate. He had always thought that he would never need it, that he would never have someone like that, but he prayed that Kagome would be that one.

He picked up the scroll and opened it, as he did something fell out into his hand. When he looked more closely at it he realized it was a necklace with a round polished white stone. In the middle of it was the symbol for beloved. He looked back at the scroll.

I wonder what it says.

My dear Inuyasha, I am so happy that you have found someone to share your life with. Before he died your father told me to make sure that you had a way to find out the meaning and tradition of taking a mate to the dog demons. This person must be the most important thing in the world to you, and you must protect her with your life. When you mate it will be for life. If either of you leave then the other will die. I managed to stay alive after your father because of you, if we had not had a child I would have followed him soon after. The necklace that was in this scroll is made of a demon jewel and it will make the lifespan of your mate the same as yours should you choose a human. You must present her with it and if she accepts then you claim her. In human terms the mating ritual is like marriage. Keep this in mind when explaining it to your beloved. First though you must take the stone, hold it tightly in your hand and say the name of your beloved. Now go and be with the one you love Inuyasha. I hope you have a long happy life, I love you my child.

He couldn’t believe it. This necklace would make Kagome’s life as long as his. He had always tried not to think about it to much. That she would grow old and die long before he did, but this stone meant that they would have several hundreds of years together.

Inuyasha did as he was told and took the stone in his hand, griped it and whispered, “Kagome”.

When he said it the jewel pulsed and seemed to pull some of his aura into it. It now had beautiful reddish glow to it.

Ok now I just have to give this to Kagome. Wish me luck mother. He thought as he griped the stone even tighter.

He then slipped from the cave, moved the boulder back and sped off back to the village.

************************************************************* < p>Inuyasha and Kagome said their goodbyes to the others before Inuyasha picked her up and jumped into the well. The last thing they heard was Shippou telling Kagome not to forget his candy. When the time slip took them Inuyasha drew in a deep breath.

This is it. I am going to tell her how I feel no matter what. He thought nervously.

When they reached the other side Inuyasha jumped out of the well before setting her down. Souta saw them come out of the well house and ran over to greet them.

“ Kagome your finally back and you brought Inuyasha!” Souta beamed at Inuyasha.

He thought Inuyasha was the coolest thing to ever walk the earth. Inuyasha thought the hero worship was pretty nice in his opinion.

“ Yes we’re back for a little while. Now where is mama? I have some great news I have to tell her.”

Souta looked over at the house before replying, “ She’s in the kitchen making lunch I think.”

Souta went on playing with his soccer ball like he had been before they arrived.

Kagome grabbed Inuyasha’s hand and led him towards the house. Kagome’s grandfather walked out of the house and saw them holding hands. He ran over to them.

“ Release my granddaughter and be gone evil demon!” He reached inside his robe and pulled out a sutra and stuck it to Inuyasha’s forehead.

As always, the old man’s spiritual abilities are nonexistent so Inuyasha just looked annoyed as he pulled the paper from his forehead. He crushed it in his hand before throwing it back at the old man.

“ You cant hurt me you crazy old man. You have no power, now leave me alone!”

Kagome’s grandpa still looked stunned that his spell hadn’t worked. Not having heard the thing Inuyasha said about not having any power, he decided to make a hasty exit.

“ How could you break my spell demon, take this!” He yelled, before slapping a sutra over Inuyasha’s mouth and disappearing around the corner yelling something about tending the shrine.

Inuyasha ripped off the sutra and started to go after him when Kagome’s hand stopped him.

“ Leave him alone Inuyasha, you know he is just playing.” She smiled at him and all of his annoyance disappeared in an instant.

They walked into the house and on into the kitchen to find Mrs. Higurashi fixing lunch.

“ I’m home mama, and I have great news. We did it. We defeated Naraku!” Mrs. Higurashi was glad to see her daughter home safe again. She went over and hugged her.

“ That’s wonderful dear, I should fix a special supper to celebrate.”

“ That would be great mama, I know Inuyasha will love it.” She replied, winking at him.

During lunch Kagome went through the story of the last battle with Naraku and the how the jewel was nearly complete. Her mother listened intently until she heard the phone ring. When she came back a few moments later she looked a little worried.

“ I’m sorry Kagome, but I’m afraid I cant make that special supper for you and Inuyasha today. That call just now was from my good friend Mrs. Satsuma’s husband. She is going into early labor and I promised her that your grandfather, Souta and I would be there for her, so we our going to have to leave for Chiba as soon as possible.”

Kagome and her mother quickly got up and went around the house informing Souta, and the old man of the news. They also quickly got everyone packed and ready to go.

Kagome stood out by the street with her family while the were waiting for a taxi, with Inuyasha waiting back at the house.

“ I’m so sorry dear to have to leave on such short notice, especially since you had such wonderful news.” Mrs. Higurashi said, giving her daughter a hug as the taxi pulled up.

“ Its ok mama, Mrs. Satsuma needs you guys. Tell her I send my good wishes.” She gave her mother a kiss on the cheek as they climbed in to the car.

As the car disappeared around the corner Kagome turned and walked back up the steps to her house. Inuyasha was sitting in goshinboku, looking over the Tokyo skyline. When he noticed she was there he jumped down, picked her up, and hopped back up into one of the highest branches.

“ So how long are they going to be gone?” Inuyasha said, tightening his hold on her as she looked down.

“ I’m not sure, she said that Mrs. Satsuma went into early labor and they would be there for at least a few days.” Inuyasha nodded to show that he understood.

“ I guess that means we should head back through the well now.” Kagome said lazily as she leaned back against Inuyasha’s chest.

“ Well we don’t have to leave right away, there is nothing major going on. We can stay for a couple of days if you want.”

Kagome was amazed, not only had he decided to let her come in the first place but now he was going to let her stay just for the heck of it.

“ Thank you Inuyasha, I was hoping to get a nice bath while I was here. Do you want some ramen?” He perked up at the mention of ramen.

“ I’ll take that as a yes.” Kagome said with a light giggle.

“ We have to go to the store first, to get the ramen and Shippou’s candy. I also need to re-supply my first aid kit.” Inuyasha nodded again before jumping down with her. Once they were back on the ground Kagome led him to the house and into a bedroom he had never been in before.

“ What is this room Kagome?” Inuyasha said, looking around to see boxes everywhere.

Kagome didn’t seem to hear him as she started digging through one of the boxes. She looked back at him for a moment, eyeing him up and down, before turning back to the box.

Hmm... Inuyasha cant keep walking around in my time dressed in feudal clothes. I hope some of my fathers old clothes will fit him.

Kagome picked up a pink polo shirt and stifled a giggle.

No, Inuyasha would never wear anything pink. He needs something…red. She stopped searching when she found a red t-shirt, and some blue jeans. She realized that he couldn’t go without tetsusaiga so she also grabbed a long black coat. The weather was getting much cooler so it would not look out of place. She also grabbed some sandals. She figured that was the closest thing to shoes she would ever get him to wear. When she had everything she handed it to him.

“ Here Inuyasha, change into these.” Inuyasha took the clothes, looked at them and shot her an irritated look.

“ I cant wear these weird things, why cant I wear my normal clothes?” Inuyasha said, holding up the jeans.

Kagome let out an exasperated sign before replying,

“ Inuyasha people don’t dress like that anymore, you’ll attract to much attention. You know that people in this time think demons are nothing but a myth.”

Inuyasha looked like he was ready to argue some more, but then decided not to.

Calm down stupid, you cant very well ask her to be your mate tonight if she is mad at you. Wearing some strange clothes for a little while is more than worth it to get Kagome. He reminded himself.

He moved his hand over the pocket he had the necklace hidden away in to make sure it was still there.

It pulsed under his hand, and seemed to be drawn to Kagome.

“ Keh, ok I’ll wear them if I have to…”

Kagome smiled before walking out of the room. After several minutes and a lot of cursing from Inuyasha’s side of the door he emerged in the new clothes. When Kagome turned around her jaw hit the floor, she couldn’t believe it, he looked so different.

Wow he looks…amazing. I need to get him in future clothes more often.

Kagome looked down and was surprised to see that he had even put the sandals on.

As much as he tried not to show it, he was irritated with the foreign clothing and the irritation seeped into his voice.

“ What are you staring at?”

When Kagome realized she had been staring at him she blushed and quickly turned away. She missed the condescending smirk that crossed his features. He was no fool, he knew what that blush meant, she was staring at him. He quickly trained his features back to his normal scowl.

“ Well can we go get some ramen now, or do I have to put on more clothes?” Inuyasha said, making his way towards her.

She dropped her head in defeat. He’s never going to start wearing normal clothes… Oh well a girl can dream.

As they made their way out of the house Kagome stopped in Souta’s room and grabbed a baseball cap. She handed it to him as they continued on. He took the hat and placed it on his head without argument. This was a piece of clothing he was familiar with. Having to wear one every time he left the shrine with her. He grew slightly irritated when he tried to move his ears under the restricting hat. They made their way down several blocks into Tokyo, stopping every now and then because Inuyasha would have sneezing fits.

“ Achoo!!!…Kagome how can you stand this place? It stinks so bad and…Achoo!! All those large machines are spitting poison gas.”

Kagome knew he was referring to the exhaust on the cars but she didn’t feel like explaining the internal combustion engine to him at the moment.

“ Come on Inuyasha, the store will have something to help your sneezing.” She led him around some more large buildings until they reached a market. Inuyasha was still sometimes amazed at the size of the city, and at how far humans have advanced in five hundred years. After purchasing what Kagome thought was way to much ramen, some candy and crayons for Shippou, as well as the first aid supplies they headed back to the shrine. They also got some allergy medicine for Inuyasha and it worked amazingly well. Apparently being a half-demon made the medicine start working much sooner than normal. He had wanted so much ramen she made him carry all of it himself. Inuyasha’s selection had included 10 boxes of chicken, beef, and assorted.

When they made it back to the house Kagome excused herself for a bit to go take a bath. While she bathed Inuyasha went and sat down on the couch in the living room and thought over his next moves for getting Kagome carefully. He had been so lost in thought that when she touched his shoulder he jumped to his feet in surprise.

“ Oh…Kagome its just you,” he stuttered as she giggled at the look on his face.

He looked outside before looking back at her again.

“ Hey Kagome, do you want to go watch the sunset?”

She was a little surprised at the romantic suggestion, but smiled and nodded. He took her hand and led her out into the shrine grounds before pulling her to him and jumping into Goshinboku. They watched as the sun went down and enjoyed each others company in silence. They were both amazed, and watched the view in awe.

For some reason they felt like this sunset was the most beautiful one either had ever seen. Inuyasha knew tonight was the night, this amazing sunset was a sign that he was meant to ask Kagome to be his mate, right here and right now.

Several minutes after the last ray of sunlight disappeared over the horizon Kagome yawned and stretched back against Inuyasha.

“ Its getting late, I guess we should go back inside and go to bed…”

Inuyasha didn’t say anything as he dropped back to the ground with her. As she started to head back to the house Inuyasha stopped her.

“ Kagome wait I…” Inuyasha looked away as she turned around, but he strengthened his resolve before stepping less than a breath away from her.

“ Kagome…” He whispered, slowly getting closer and closer. Their lips almost touching.

Oh my gosh, is he going to…

Her train of thought was cut off the instant his lips made contact with hers. It was a chaste kiss, but there was so much emotion in it that Kagome’s knees began to wobble.

Inuyasha was there to catch her when her knees finally gave out. He put his arms around her waist and pulled back enough to look her in the eyes.

“ Kagome… you have stayed with me all this time, and you have made me the luckiest man alive because of it. You accepted me when no one else would, and showed me what it meant to have friends. You told me once before that you would stay by my side and you have. Now I want to ask you to stay by my side forever and become my mate and my wife.” He reached into his pocket and pulled out the necklace.

When she saw the stone and realized what he had just asked her she instantly rapped her arms around him and started crying.

“ Yes, I will forever.” She said with a brilliant smile and tear soaked face.

When he realized she had accepted he pulled her close to him and kissed her again. This time the kiss was a promise off passion and love to come.

She was amazed when he presented the necklace to her. It was the most beautiful piece of jewelry she had ever laid her eyes on, and it seemed to sparkle with a glow that reminded her of Inuyasha.

“ If you accept this necklace then we can be together forever, and you will live as long as me.”

She smiled and kissed him again before putting the necklace on. When it made contact with her it pulsed again before taking on a new glow. The new glow was a mix of Inuyasha’s blood red aura and Kagome’s light pink aura. “ Inuyasha I’m so happy, thank you.”

He drew her in for another kiss before jumping back into Goshinboku. He had changed back into his normal clothes during Kagome’s bath and he pulled her close to him and covered her with the large sleeves. The natural warmth of the fire rat kimono had almost lulled her to sleep when Inuyasha whispered her name.

“ Hmm…what is it Inuyasha?” She asked, snuggling as far into him as she could go.

“ Do you think we should wait until after the jewel is complete to get married?”

Kagome sighed and turned to look at him, she wasn’t going to like her own reply but she knew it was for the best.

“ I think that would be the smartest thing to do.” She grasped his hand before leaning back against him again.

“ I will always be there for you no matter what.” She said, sighing contently before falling asleep in his arms. He followed her into a peaceful sleep soon after.

A/N: Well I’m finnaly settling in to about one revised chapter a day. So I should have the entire story back to its former glory in about a week. After that I will work really hard to get new chapters up. When I first wrote this chapter I tried really hard to make the proposal perfect. So please leave me a comment to let me know what you think. Also, I love getting comments of all kinds, but I would be very grateful for reviews that really breakdown your opinion of the story, the good and the bad. If you just want to leave me a quick little comment about what you thought, that’s fine too. ^_^ Thanks for reading, hope you enjoyed.