InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ You Are Not Alone ❯ Two Failing Engagements ( Chapter 22 )

[ P - Pre-Teen ]

I own no rights of Inuyasha. I own none of which rightfully belong to Rumiko Takahashi. None of...rights...no...Inuya...own...(recording device breaks down; silverfeather walks in) Hey! Who put this here!?

Inuyasha was grabbing a sandwich as a midnight snack in his kitchen when he heard the door open. He dropped the knife he was using to spread mayo on his bread when he left the kitchen and checked who was at the door.

It was Sesshomaru. He quietly tried to lock the door, unaware of his brother's presence. He carried a small white bag in his hand.

Inuyasha cleared his throat, and Sesshomaru immediately turned around to see his younger brother gazing at him with a suspicious look in his eyes.

"Inuyasha," he finally said. "It's 1 AM. What are you doing up so late?"

"I could ask you the same thing."

Sesshomaru smirked at his comment, but didn't answer him as he walked upstairs to his room. As he left, Inuyasha noticed a name on the white bag. It read "Pekotan's Jewelers."

Then it suddenly came to him. His brother was about to pop the question to Kagura! Finally!

"Really? He is?" Kagome asked incrediously as she sat at Inuyasha's kitchen table, eating sandwiches, talking. Shippo was in the other room playing on his rocking horse.

"Yep. Saw him coming home last night late with a bag from that small jewelry store downtown."

"So...when do you think he's gonna ask her?" Kagome asked.

"Keh, if I know him, that bastard'll be too much of a coward to bring it up. It's always 'keep your distance' this and 'don't get too involved' that. If you've known him as much as me, then you'd know he knows almost nothing about pride."

"And you know what pride is?" Kagome asked with a coy smile.

"Whoa whoa whoa, hold the mayo," he interrupted. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"I dunno; if wanting to be with someone you love, despite what anyone else would say otherwise, is inhonorable, then what exactly is pride?"

"That simple!" Inuyasha said. "To be proud of your bloodline and not be weathered down by weaknesses like love or emotion; to keep strong in the most dire situations, physical, mental, or emotional!"

"Really?" Kagome asked, rolling her eyes.

"Yes," he responded confidently. "That's a man's pride. What you described is a so-called 'woman's pride.'" he said, making quotes with his fingers.

"A...woman's pride?" Kagome seemed annoyed by that remark.

"Well, yeah. If you think about it, only a girl would think about something like that. It's a kind of naivete, I guess."

"Naivete...? You make it sound like it's supposed to be dumb." Kagome commented, a little irritated. Inuyasha saw this and gulped quietly as he tried to rearrange his words into something that she might understand better.

"I'm not! It's just, when you think about it, it's kinda weird. I mean, you know, guys have their thing and girls have their's."

"And so...the guys' is supposed to be the better?"

"Well...in a way, yes." Inuyasha started to panic when he saw a slight tick forming in Kagome's eye. Scary. "Well, hear me out for a minute here! While one guy is putting his life on the line at war to protect his comrades, a girl is looking from one hand to the other, wondering if she likes a guy or not; making a big deal out of it. When you give it enough thought, a guy's pride is, on one level, I mean, a little more important than a girl's, because he does his best to protect his reputation and that of his brothers, instead of worrying so much if a girl likes him or not."

He looked at Kagome. Part of her looked entertained with his explanation, while the other looked agitated at his sexist comments.

"So you're saying that women are weaker because we have more fragile feelings than men?"

"Umm..."

"That a man doesn't have pride if he's willing to risk his life for someone that he cares deeply for? Like a family member, a wife or child?" Kagome continued, standing up in her chair.

"Well...hey! Don't make such a big deal out of it! I mean...guys feel too! Just not as much." Inuyasha responded, copying her actions.

"I can't believe you could be so sexist!"

"How am I being sexist?"

Their debate was suddenly interrupted as they looked over at little Shippo, who was slurping down a glass of apple juice as he gazed at Inuyasha and Kagome with an annoyed look in his eye.

"You guys fight like mommies and daddies. Gwow up, wouldya?" he said, before taking his glass and walking back to the living room to color in his coloring book.

Inuyasha and Kagome only watched him go in shocked silence, before looking back at each other, and blushing a second later. They both slowly sank back into their chairs.

"Did my 4-year-old runt of a cousin just tell us off?" he asked half-amazed.

"I think so." Kagome agreed, sighing.

A couple days had gone by. It was Sunday, where school was out, and InuTaishou had informed Inuyasha that this was the day that Sesshomaru would ask Kagura for her hand; at the local park's small lake. Kagome wanted to see it, and after much prompting, encouraged Inuyasha that he should see too.

Sesshomaru would summon Kagura out earlier that evening, when the sun would be setting.

It was morning of that day, and InuTaishou had cooked a big breakfast with the help of Inuyasha to help celebrate this wonderful time of his eldest son's life. But when Sesshomaru walked down the stairs that morning, there was no sign of mirth or excitement whatsoever on his face. He had a look in his eyes as if his puppy had just died.

He was mumbling to himself almost inaudibly. "Isgawn..."

"What?" InuTaishou asked.

He mumbled again. "Mui-rng-is-gawn..."

"Speak up, Fluffy!" Inuyasha yelled in his ear.

"My ring is gone..." Sesshomaru finally said.

"Oh, okay..." Inuyasha agreed. He went back to making eggs. Then the words repeated in his head.

"You lost WHAT!?" His brother and father screamed at the same time.

Uh oh. Fluffy's big moment, and he loses it. Oh, the irony! Well, this is where the funny begins to kick in. Look forward to the next update to You Are Not Alone!