Rurouni Kenshin Fan Fiction / InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ A Choice of Roads ❯ An Unexpected Detour ( Chapter 11 )

Chapter Summary: Somewhere in hell demons are breaking out the ice-skates.

Disclaimer: I don't own Rurouni Kenshin. I don't own Inuyasha. My cacti have informed me that not only will they not loan me money, but that I have to wear a "slave outfit" for even suggesting that option. There was no need to be so prickly....

Warning: Rated R for language and adult situations.

-Chapter 11: An Unexpected Detour-

*Just when you think you hold all the cards, someone switches the game to dominoes.*

Kenshin had gone to the lake edge to gain courage. It seemed strange that killing people didn't require courage, but telling Kagome how he felt made him run in panic. Four months after he had given himself to her completely and he couldn't even tell her that he loved her and Shippo. His bad mood was made even worse when Inuyasha sat down beside him.

Kenshin didn't say anything. The hanyou had been giving him black looks for a long time. If Inuyasha wanted a fight then he was going to have to start it. It was a complete surprise when Inuyasha sighed softly and started to talk.

"There was a wolf demon who really loved Kagome. He was killed over a year ago." Inuyasha gave a shaky exhale, running his claws through his hair. "She was devastated, but I thought that maybe with him gone there wouldn't be anything that might hold her here permanently. She's bound so tight to Shippo that no matter where she goes he'll go with her. I thought that if I pushed her hard enough, made it painful enough for her here, that she'd go home and be safe. There's a good chance that none of us who face Naraku will survive. I wanted Kagome gone before then." He stopped then and stared out over the still waters of the lake.

"Then you came. I could see her talking and laughing with you. And then she started to look at you. Just look. But it was the way she used to look at me."

The hanyou's eyes were haunted. "I'm not fucking blind. I know that she loved me. I love her too. I will always love Kikyo. She was the first person I loved and I will always feel guilty for what happened to her. I've promised her my life and soul. Hell, once the jewel is done, I'm going to die for her. But Kagome… Kagome is so warm. And gods help me, but sometimes I just want to be warm…. I guess you probably can't understand that kind of indecision."

Oh, but could he ever understand. Tomoe had taught him about love and died on his sword blade. Unlike Inuyasha however, he had made his peace with her memory and his guilt in the arms of the very warm Kagome.

Suddenly Inuyasha glared at Kenshin. "You know that a part of her will always love me."

Kenshin levelly regarded Inuyasha. "I'd rather have a part of her heart than all of the love of another woman."

Inuyasha seemed to deflate in front of him. "I know that I've never deserved her. I have nothing to offer her and I treat her like shit to try and distance her. But we decided…"

"We?" A cold suspicion started to settle in the back of Kenshin's mind.

"Sango, Miroku and I. Kagome's too pure, too innocent for this time. We've been trying to convince her to go back. Now that you're in the picture, who knows what will happen? But maybe, even if you need to stay in this time to be with her, you can convince her to leave the shard hunt."

"So you've all been treating her like a child."

"I thought that you would understand, that you would want to protect her."

"At some point don't you think that it is Kagome's decision what she does with her life? Why don't you ask her what happened with her family? Find out what she really gave up to be with you ungrateful shit-heads."

He was yelling he realized. He never yelled. In the stunned silence that followed his outburst he heard a soft sob. To his utter horror, when he looked up he saw a very pale Kagome standing at the edge of the forest.

Kenshin went to her, hoping to explain before she ran away from him, but she placed a finger on his lips.

"I'm not mad at you. I'll talk to you later. Right now though, I need to talk to Inuyasha. Alone."

-###-

Kagome knew that this confrontation had been building for four years. But now that it was here, she no longer wanted to start. Kagome wasn't angry or sad or betrayed. She was just very, very tired. The words that he finally said were the last ones that she expected to hear.

"I'm sorry."

And really, there was nothing else to say.

"It's okay." Even as she said it, she realized that it was indeed okay. There was a certain peace, a resolution in her heart as she turned towards the forest. Inuyasha briefly touched her arm and in his eyes she saw an acceptance that both relieved and saddened her.

"Don't wait to be happy."

Kenshin was waiting, just out of hearing range. Kagome didn't hesitate.

"I love you. When this is finished, I want to marry you. I want to have a family with you and Shippo."

Kenshin seemed to be having trouble breathing. He drew three shaky breaths before he was finally able to speak.

"Yes…"

As he folded her into his arms, she heard him mumble the rest of his sentence into her hair.

"Gods, I love you."

-###-

-Reviewer Responses-

Somnambulicious: As soon as I read this I had this graphic mental image of Inuyasha and Kenshin being unable to 'consummate' their relationship because they were fighting over who was going to have to be uke (My money's on Kenshin winning out for seme by the way... Yum.... Seme Kenshin). Gosh, I sure hope that these review responses aren't supposed to be "all audiences". Well, I guess this chapter cleared up some of the group's reactions- maybe I was just too lazy to write a good Kenshin/Inuyasha fight scene ;) And yes, I've been thinking about the philosophy of household chores for awhile. I was also wondering why the hell Kenshin always seemed so eager to do the washing in the anime. Oo! Oo! Oo! Inuyasha X Fruits Basket! I could really see Kagome X Hatori or Yuki. Although, if she was keeping with the whole dog thing, Shigure does like "high school" girls and she does wear those little sailor fukus..... Unfortunately I promised myself that I would absolutely not write any more Fruits Basket fics until I was completely finished writing my monstrous Tohru X Kyou, Tohru X Yuki, Tohru X Butterfly thing that Mediaminer keeps eating all the formatting for... Darn you! Now I've got a hentai Shigure X Kagome one shot stuck in my head! I don't need more plot bunnies! Go away! Nasty, pointy teeth!

Winged Fox: I'm glad that you are enjoying the story. I wasn't sure how unusual the plot was going to be when I started writing, but I'm glad that you think that it's slightly different. I've really enjoyed writing it and I'm happy that you like it as well!

GemJewel: Well, I guess you found out where Inuyasha and Kenshin went :) I hope that you enjoy the rest of the story.

torrieoreo: Thank you for your well wishes! It means a lot to me and I'm really happy that you like the story. I guess this chapter sort of explains Inuyasha and the group a bit better, but I still think that he's a bit of an insensitive clod :)

Broken_Angel: Wow. I really appreciated you taking the time to write such an indepth review. I was going for a slightly more complicated relationship between Kagome and the other group members and I'm very happy that you think that I succeeded. Hopefully this chapter clears up a little bit more of their interactions. I hope that you like the rest of the story!

kona: I have a lot of fun adding the sentences at the beginning- they're some of my favorite parts of writing this story. Thanks for taking the time to review!

mysterylady_tx: Thanks for the well wishes! Well, not quite beating Kenshin to a pulp this chapter, but I just have a really hard time hurting him :) I kind of like this resolution better anyways. Thanks again for reviewing!

FataLFelineOfTheNight: Well, I hope that you hate Sango and Miroku a little but less after this chapter and I'm really happy that you are enjoying the story!

Tsukiyo_Kitsune_tears: I guess this partially clears up why Sango and Miroku weren't being as understanding as they could be- or at least I hope that it does :) After a lot of thought, I'm going to be unpopular and agree with you that I think that for this story, an ungraphic sex scene ended up working a lot better than a graphic one would have. Thank you for reviewing!

-Updated 12-05-04-