InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Where I Belong ❯ Chapter 5 - Light ( Chapter 5 )

[ X - Adult: No readers under 18. Contains Graphic Adult Themes/Extreme violence. ]

A/N: Sorry for the lack of updates! Writer’s blockÉ anyway, here’s a small chapter to make it up for those of you who have been waiting. Will be back soon! Tchau!

They reached the village, with the two women leading the way, to find a bunch of serpent yokai attacking the people, who were trying to hide inside their huts or attacking them with swords and sticks. The villagers weren’t outnumbered, but they were certainly having a hard time defending themselves, even though the serpents weren’t that big and strong.

ÒKeh! This will be a piece of cake.Ó

With a single strike of Blades of Blood, half of the serpents were dead and turning into ashes. The other half, approximately five, now turned to Inuyasha.

ÒSsssssstupid, half-breed. You think you can destroy usssssss? Get ready to die!Ó one of the yokai said.
ÒHeh! You ignorant slimy bastard.Ó

The serpents charged towards Inuyasha and he cut them head to tail, one by one. Inuyasha grinned and turned to the villagers.

ÒJob done.Ó
ÒInuyasha!Ó

Inuyasha turned to Kagome and his grin instantly turned into a scared expression when he realized one of the serpents had sneaked out of his Tessaiga attack and was now preparing to attack Kagome. Before he could run to her, Miroku’s staff hit the yokai right before he got to Kagome, saving her.

ÒBassssstard humanÓ, the serpent said. He was still alive, but Sango quickly launched hiraikotsu and took care of the yokai.
Inuyasha let out a sigh of relief and ran to Kagome. ÒKagome, are you alright?Ó
ÒY-yes, I think so.Ó She then turned to Miroku, smiling. ÒMiroku, thank you very much for saving me. That was a close call.Ó
ÒYou are very welcome, KagomeÓ, Miroku said with a grin.

Inuyasha was suddenly in a very bad mood. Somehow, though he knew he should be grateful that Kagome was safe, he was jealous. Miroku took away a chance of him saving Kagome and he didn’t appreciate it. He was certain he would get to her in time. And then Kagome looked at him, smiled and thanked him. Damn Monk.
ÒThank you all, so much! We were desperate and we had already lost a few of our men when your group got here. We can’t thank you enough. Please, accept a small payment as a way of thanking you. Come with me, pleaseÓ, the headman of the village said, coming up to them.

The group was pleased and didn’t think it would be wrong to accept the payment. The village wasn’t poor and the headman lived in a large house. They usually didn’t accept anything other than a place to spend the night and some food when they helped a poor village, but, in this case, it didn’t seem to be a problem for the headman.
They followed the old man to his house and sat down on the floor for some tea, which was served by his wife. She greeted them and bowed, thanking them again. They started drinking their tea when the headman started to speak.

ÒYour name is Inuyasha, isn’t it?Ó he asked, turning to the hanyou.
ÒYes, why?Ó he asked with a frown.
ÒOh, it is a pleasure to meet you. Since our village is close to yours, we’ve heard many good things about you. People always tell us about how a hanyou is always helping protect the village up north.Ó
ÒKeh.Ó
ÒThat is good to knowÓ, Kagome said, smiling to the headman.
ÒIndeedÓ, Miroku said, before taking a sip from his tea.
ÒWell, I want you to know you are always welcome in our village and we will help you with whatever you need, whenever you need. It is good to know we have someone who could help us if we need protection against an attack, so I humbly ask you to do so when needed. In exchange, you can ask for anything from our men and women. We have people who produce vegetables that are more than enough to feed us, men who can work building huts and other things, women who sewÉÓ
ÒExcuse me, but do you have people who build furniture?Ó Kagome asked, interrupting the man.
The headman looked at her and smiled. ÒYes, we do. We have a man who is great at building furniture. He would be happy to serve you.Ó
ÒOh, that’s wonderful. We have a hut that we are still building that needs all sorts of furniture. Would it be acceptable if we go to see him and negotiate some sort of deal with him?Ó Miroku asked.
ÒThat is absolutely fine, houshi-sama. Ask for whatever you need and consider it payment for what you’ve done today and for what you will do for us in the future, helping protect our villageÓ, the headman said and then bowed.
Inuyasha grinned. This was a very good way to make sure Kagome got everything she needed and more. He was more than happy to do what the headman asked and would tell Miroku he wouldn’t need his presence while visiting the village. He wanted to be able to do this alone. Besides, the monk had a wife and kids to look after. He was also happy to finally have Kagome stay out of his business providing for her. Now the stubborn wench can’t say a thing, heh.
ÒOld man, your offer is accepted. I will come by your village often enough to make sure it’s safe. You can also send someone for me whenever you need. I’ll also help with whatever it is you’ll need around here, like cutting wood and stuffÓ, Inuyasha said, shrugging.
ÒI’m very happy to hear that, Inuyasha-sama. If you are finished with the tea, I will accompany you to the woodworker’s hut.Ó

Once they got to the woodworker’s , the headman told him to supply them whatever they asked for. He explained their deal and the man was happy to abide. Kagome asked for a large pallet (which Inuyasha blushed when she said she wanted one for two people), a wardrobe and a chest. Inuyasha said he also wanted a table, a few chairs and a dressing table, to make sure Kagome wouldn’t miss the furniture she was used to. She blushed and smiled at him, but said to the woodworker that wouldn’t be necessary. Inuyasha got slightly angry and told her he insisted on it, and she agreed.
They returned to their village, satisfied with their work and Inuyasha’s deal, and, since he would return to the other village quite often, he would wait for the man to tell him when the work on the furniture was done.
Besides, they still needed to resume their work on Kagome’s house (which Inuyasha refused to call ÒhutÓ), and he was, more than ever, determined to finish it sooner rather than later. Miroku helped Inuyasha as much as he could, since he still had his responsibilities as husband and father, besides his eventual spiritual work on the shrine next to their village, and Inuyasha was secretly thankful for his friend’s effort, even though that was a sentiment he wouldn't express.
Kagome would spend her days watching the men work on the house and helping Sango with the kids, while also using the opportunity to catch up with her. She was glad to have her one true female friend back and, now that Sango had finally settled things with Miroku, Kagome thought she could rely on her friend for some help with the issue that had been on her mind every single day since she got back.

ÒSango, I don’t know what to do with InuyashaÓ, she said one day, looking at the ground with a sad look, while they were playing with the kids outside Sango’s hut.
ÒWhat do you mean, Kagome?Ó Sango asked, picking up her son.
ÒWell, there’s all this talk about building me a large house, providing everything to meÉ but I don’t know where we stand, what our relationship is. I know I care about him and I know he also gets jealous when it comes to other men, like Kouga. But he still doesn’t show me or tell me he wants more than a friendship. I don’t know what to do about it, if I should stay quiet or talk to him about it.Ó
ÒKagome, you know he cares about you, right? It is clear to everyone that he likes you more than a friend does. I just think he’s not prepared to tell you this. He’s been alone and lonely his whole life, he probably got rejected one too many times, so he is probably afraid to confess his feelings for you.Ó
ÒI guess you’re right. There’s still the Kikyou issue. I don’t know what he feels about her anymore.Ó
ÒBut Kagome, Kikyo’s gone, you know thatÓ, Sango said, reaching for her friend’s hand. "Besides, while you were gone, Inuyasha suffered because of you, not her. He would talk about you when he was sad, he would get frustrated when someone mentioned you, he would get angry whenever something even remotely related to you came up. He's been loving you for a long time and we were really worried about him, after you left."
ÒI know, but that doesn’t mean he forgot her or that he doesn’t love her anymoreÉ maybe that is why he can’t be with me, because he’s still in love with her and he feels guilty about moving on. I don’t knowÉ all I know is that I care for him, a lot, and that I want to be with him. But I don’t want him to feel pressured or anything.Ó
ÒDo you want me to give him a nudge? Talk to him, drop a few hintsÉ maybe hit his head with hiraikotsuÉÓ
Kagome laughed. ÒNo, no, that won’t be necessary, thank you. I think I should talk to him. I guess we’ve matured enough to have that sort of conversation, as adults. I just hope he doesn’t get angry.Ó
ÒI think that’s a good idea and I don’t think he’ll get angry. Maybe that’s what he needs, for you to make the first move.Ó
Kagome smiled. ÒYou’re right. I’ll go talk to him.Ó

Kagome walked to the construction site and saw the men working on her house. She smiled. She was always impressed to see Inuyasha working so hard and giving orders to the men, as a real expert. She was also happy to see him obviously pleased to be doing that for her. She felt lucky to have someone like him to take care of her and he certainly did his job right. Even without her family with her, she felt that Inuyasha was enough for her to be happy.

ÒInuyasha! Are you almost done for the day?Ó She asked, looking up at him, who was working on the roof.
ÒOi, Kagome, do you want your house to be finished or not? I’m not done, I still have a couple of hours left in the day. What do you want?Ó He asked, looking at her.
ÒI, uh, need to talk to you. Maybe you can take a break?Ó
Inuyasha sighed. ÒFine.Ó

He hopped off the roof and landed beside her. She asked him to go with her to the Well, which would give them enough privacy to talk about the matter at hand and it was close to the house, so they wouldn’t have to go far.
She sat on the edge of the Well and patted the spot beside her, silently asking him to sit. She looked at the ground and Inuyasha saw her embarrassment and wondered what was going on. She began speaking hesitantly and he could feel how uncomfortable she was.

ÒInuyashaÉ I don’t know how to say this, butÉ I think we should talk about a few things. Things that have been bothering me and that I think it’s about time we discuss, as adultsÓ, she blurted.
ÒO-okay. What’s bothering ya?Ó
ÒWell, I’ve been back for a few weeks and you’re building me a house, a large house, and, still, we’re only friends. Don’t you see something wrong in that picture?Ó She said, still not looking at him.
Inuyasha widened his eyes in surprise. He knew what she was talking about, but didn’t know how to respond. He wanted to be honest with her, but didn’t know how. ÒIÉ yes, I can see. I just don’t know howÉ whatÉÓ
Kagome decided to intervene. ÒHow do you feel about me, Inuyasha?Ó She said looking at him, at last.

Inuyasha looked at her, scared as a little puppy, uncertainty showing in his expression. He was sure how he felt about her. He just didn’t know whether he could confess to her. He didn’t feel ready to do it, he was still weary of her response, but he also couldn’t just lie to her or not answer. What if she's asking me this just to set things straight and to make sure I'm not expecting anything from her?

He started to formulate his answer as he spoke. ÒKagome, IÉ I don’t know if-Ò
He was interrupted by a bright light conjuring in front of them. It was bright enough to make them shield their eyes with their hands. The light slowly began to fade and they could see there was a humanoid form surging from it. They gasped when they realized who it was.

ÒKikyo?!Ó