InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ When We Return Home ❯ Chapter Six: Warmth and Friends ( Chapter 6 )

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Chapter Six

Warmth and Friends

Disclaimer: I do not own InuYasha and friends. They belong solely to Rumiko Takahashi-sensei.

A/N: Hey! Reina here. I decided to put this author's note just in case all you bugger's aren't reading it at the end >.>. Let me know if you aren't lol.

Finally! A happier chapter! I'm sure you're all going to love how I'm trying to keep this canon. I've been reading the manga to help me keep up with real canon, not just the anime.

Anyway, please read and review! I'm going to add some vocab at the end in case you're confused on some things.

Also, to reply to purduepup:

I know, I didn't enjoy writing it :( . I know it came out of nowhere, but I appreciate you understanding its relevance. Thanks for being such a great reviewer.

There was nothing more awkward than walking alongside your unrequited love. But then, some things were just meant to be painful.

Though pain was what Kaname was feeling, her face displayed the opposite. As

InuYasha and her traipsed across the fields of Musashi, she gushed over her friends, her life, and her family in the 'present'. To her surprise, InuYasha replied with comments on his own, how their friends had changed since Kaname had left. For some reason, he refused to discuss anything else, his eyes darkening when the Shikon shards were mentioned, or their fight against Naraku. "We'll talk about it when we get back," InuYasha remarked, his voice gruff.

And then it was silent again. They continued to walk, InuYasha slowing to her slightly shorter pace. Even though he did not say it, Kaname saw how his walk was slightly mechanic, as though he was being restrained. 'He wants to run', Kaname thought, smiling at his restraint. 'He wants to fly...'

For a moment, she could imagine it, her long brown hair flying along with his body as her legs clung to his waist, warm against cold.

But then, the image shifted. The long hair turned black, the laughing face changing into that of her friend, Kagome. Kagome was the one that rode on InuYasha's back. That was her thing. It was something they shared together.

Her heart clouded over, her heart slowly filling with envy. She let it feel her, her voice faltering as she breathed deep, inhaling the anger.

But then it was gone. Kagome's kindness at Kaname's betrayal, her constant friendship, their common love... She couldn't hate someone like her, someone who was so much better than her.

Sighing, Kaname clenched her hands as she felt the feelings flood out of her like sweat. To her, this was how her more hateful feelings were released. Like her Shikigami, this flowed from her very skin.

"Hey."

Opening her eyes, Kaname looked at InuYasha, turning to see that he had stopped behind her. "What," Kaname asked, tilting her head to the side in curiosity.

InuYasha looked her right in the eye. "I really need to get back fast, Kagome's probably angry enough to Sit me right now... it'd be faster if I ran."

"Oh," Kaname thought, flinching inside at the mention of Kagome's other connection to him.

Noticing InuYasha's steady gaze, Kaname turned her head, feeling a blush rise in her cheeks.

"I'm sorry I can't go fast enough. You're right; if you run you can make it in time. Maybe you could send Sango back with Kirara or something..."

InuYasha grunted, walking over to Kaname. As he came closer, Kaname looked up into his eyes again, her own seeming hurt to him. It confused him, but he felt as though confronting her on it would only backfire on him. Bewildered by his sudden nervousness, InuYasha chose to act on his first impulse, grabbing Kaname around the waist and moving her onto his back.

^.^

That wasn't something she'd expected to happen, Kaname thought, her hands gripping InuYasha's shoulders as he ran through the forest, Kaname attached to his back. In only an instant, InuYasha had pulled her to him, gripping her waist tightly. His hands were warm, burning against her in such a way that she thought she'd burst from the intense feelings that threatened to consume her. As he laid her on his back, Kaname was reminded of her childhood, when her mother would sit in a rocking chair while Kaname lay against her belly, hidden by a blanket. It was so familiar.

"Hold on tight," she heard InuYasha say, his voice gruff and somewhat choked. Was she heavy?

"Am I heavy," Kaname decided to ask, blushing as her legs rose to hug InuYasha's hips.

"Keh," InuYasha replied, wrapping his arms around the back of Kaname's legs. For a moment, it was totally silent, the intimacy of their position suddenly hitting both of them hard.

It was as though they were in limbo. To both of them, the other's skin was like flames. To Kaname, the flame was like her own which burned deep within her, but somehow, they brought a deep sense of contentment to her. She knew why she felt this way. It was because she loved InuYasha.

To the latter, it was much more confusing. He'd loved two women in his life, and yet he could not recognize when he loved another. InuYasha only knew that being around Kaname made his body feel hot.

'Must be those flames of hers.'

^.^

Only a half-day's InuYasha piggy-back ride away, Kagome Higurashi looked into the distance, her brow furrowed in what her friends hoped was thought and not anger. It had been more than two days since InuYasha had disappeared without so much as a word, his sudden flight tantamount to abandonment in the eyes of his friends.

The friends in question were those that had joined InuYasha and Kagome in their quest over two years ago. Miroku, Sango, and Shippou. Shaking their heads, the three leaned together as they always did in these situations, whispering words on the conditions of the bumpy relationship between miko and hanyou.

“Personally,” Miroku whispered in hushed tons, “I think this is just a man thing. A manly self-discovery journey. I don't think he has to report to Kagome-sama on everything. All she needs to worry about is the bento box she hasn't given us yet…”

Scoffing, Miroku's wife Sango gripped her husband's ear, tugging gently as she quietly spoke in his ear.

“You wouldn't be thinking of taking said journey yourself, would you houshi-sama?”

Grinning timidly at his wife as the fox-demon child beside them snickered openly, Miroku carefully pried her hand away to brush a kiss over it, invoking a blush of pleasure in his woman's cheeks.

“No no dearest Sango. How could I ever leave you behind?”

Their companion Shippou looked on in disgust, turning away as the couple began to snuggle closer, Miroku's hand reaching for those familiarly painful places. Jumping down from the boulder he was perked on, Shippou made his way over to Kagome.

As he walked, Shippou realized how different things were now. Though their fight with Naraku had ended two years ago, nothing seemed to have changed.

The destruction of Naraku lead to stunning events. Soon after he and the Jewel of Four Souls disappeared for the final time, Kagome had disappeared, leaving InuYasha in a state of sullenness and despair. Despite this, the remaining companions had tried to move on. Sango and Miroku had gotten married, and were expecting the birth of their first child in six months. Shippou had grown, the small boy changing to a young man. A young man with plenty of love interests, so strong had Miroku's Casanova ways influenced him.

And during that time, the friends traveled the land, fighting demons and saving villages as they'd done in the search for the Jewel. It didn't even seem pertinent for the friends to wonder why InuYasha continued to fight, even though there was nothing to fight for at the time. They knew that he did it to pass the time, maybe even find out if Kagome still wandered the Feudal era.

And he knew that it was what she would have wanted.

But when Kagome finally did return, 18 and even more beautiful, life seemed to return to the somewhat grey family of friends. Intent on harnessing her powers, Kagome came along with them again, a miko of frightening power who was now revered as a deity throughout the land. They called her the female reincarnation of Inari, the god/goddess who brought good fortune to the weak and rice to the land. Had they known that she was truly the reincarnation of another shrine maiden, their awe would not have dwindled one bit.

Standing beside Kagome, his head level with hers, Shippou smiled, draping his arm around his closest friend, resting his head against her shoulder. What would it have been like if Ma and Pa were still alive, and Kagome had been there with them? She would have been his big sister. Grinning as Kagome dropped her head against his, Shippou smiled, his love for her radiating within him like a sun.

His nose twitched. There. The scent of flowers.

The scent of InuYasha as well.

Before he could raise his head from her shoulder, Kagome lifted her own. Her eyes shone with gladness, relief. He saw her brow furrow.

“What is it,” Shippou asked, cocking his head.

“There's another aura,” Kagome murmured, confused. “It's almost like mine, but red. They're still a few kilometers away…”

“Well,” Shippou replied, his interest piqued, “we'll just have to wait till he gets here. I give him five minutes. You should sit down with us and open those bentos. Don't want Baka thinking you were worried or anything.”

Kagome nodded, following Shippou over to the shade of the tree where Sango and Miroku lay, content. Smiling at her friends' happiness, Kagome made her way over to her infamous yellow backpack, pulling out various bento boxes along with Kirara's food bowl. Knowing that said cat-demon would return from her own excursion soon, she filled it with dried fish and a can of food. With bentos in hand, Kagome sat amongst her friends, her eyes avoiding their suspicious stares as she half-heartedly opened her box.

^.^

A whole day, flying with InuYasha. Kaname wished it would never end.

But it soon would. An hour earlier, she began to sense a great power, a blue aura that filled the very air she breathed. It was almost frightening, how strong this spiritual power was.

“It's Kagome.”

“Huh?”

InuYasha glanced up at Kaname, his expression serious and somewhat tender. She knew that expression wasn't for her though.

“Kagome's insanely strong now. I don't want to go into all the details before we all meet up, but when the Jewel was finally destroyed, we found out that it had actually kept a hold on her spiritual powers. She has this limitless flow, I swear. If she faced that bastard Naraku right now, she could take him down without even blinking.”

Kaname shuddered, knowing that InuYasha did not dole out compliments lightly. She was almost jealous…

“In fact,” the hanyou continued, letting out a rare chuckle, “they call her a deity in these parts. Say she's a reincarnation of Inari or whatever.”

“But she's Kikyou's reincarnation, right?”

InuYasha's arms stiffened around her, proof that something was wrong. Or maybe… everyone knew about Kikyou…

“Yea,” he mumbled his words barely audible. “She is.”

For the next hour, they ran, silence holding them in an iron grip. Kaname knew they were getting closer, could feel the auras of her other friends already. When they passed the next clearing, she and InuYasha would never be alone again.

“InuYasha.”

“Huh?”

Moving her arms to encircle his neck, Kaname swallowed deep as she spoke.

“I'm glad I'm with you again.”

^.^

They were approaching ever closer. With one leap, InuYasha was in the air, looking down on the familiar faces of his friends. He felt Kaname's arms tighten slightly around his neck, a gasp escaping her lips. With a soft thud, InuYasha landed on the ground, feeling Kaname slide off his back, leaving his feeling several degrees cooler, but not really in a good way.

As he looked on, he saw Kagome and the others stand, their faces a comical display of shock and disbelief.

“Everyone,” he heard Kaname ask, her voice barely above a whisper.

There was no movement.

Then, simultaneously, Kagome and Kaname broke into a run, their arms outstretched. As they drew closer, a great light shone in between them, glowing brighter and brighter as their powers shone around them, melding blue and red into a shocking lavender. The rest ran forward, InuYasha standing back with a feeling of contentment.

There were tears and laughter, sounds that hadn't been heard in that degree for quite a while.

And then, the most stunning thing occurred. Kaname herself laughed out loud. The lavender aura surrounding her and Kagome shot into the air, rolling into a great ball of red fire. With gasps of surprise, the friends halted their jubilant greetings.

^.^

It felt as though her soul itself hovered above her, singing out the joy that resonated within her. Acting solely on instinct, Kaname urged her Shikigami power to flow into the soles of her feet, lifting her into the air, where she danced as though on the ground. Her hands trembled so much, her laughter growing so powerful that she felt she could do anything. With one swift motion, she released her energy, breaking the seal with the mudra, Raigo-in. With that release, that welcome of all her inner strength and all her love for her friends, the ball exploded, fireworks of brilliant reds and blues sparkling against the now setting sun.

Looking down at her companions, Kaname returned their joyful grins with one of her own, slowly descending into their arms again.

`I've miss you all for so long.'

Vocab:

Miko: Priestess

Baka: Fool/stupid

Sama: Form of addressing a high-ranking person or esteemed figure.

Mudra: A Buddhist hand sign. More info at: http://www.onmarkproductions.com/html/mudra-japan.shtml

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