Yu Yu Hakusho Fan Fiction / InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Bane of Existence/Love of A Lifetime ❯ Chapter Ten ( Chapter 10 )

Kagome was confused and startled. Sure, the idea of being around them more had popped into her head more than once since the previous day but she hadn't expected them to travel with her! Her blue eyes impossibly wide, she looked at Shippou, then Kurama and Yusuke only to settle on her son once more. “Come with us? Shippou, are you serious? Why would they want to do that? They don't even know what they would be getting into!”

 

Shippou started, “But momma,” and he was cut off. “Sweetie, you are asking an awful lot of them. They probably have lives, families, friends and jobs here that they can't just leave. We spend our time in a very dangerous place and we can't just ask them to leave their lives here behind only to put themselves in danger for a quest that isn't theirs.” Really, the idea of the two young demons traveling with her was a nice one. She could already bet Inuyasha wouldn't get far in his verbal abuse with her; but at the same time, he would be furious. Besides all that, what she had just spoken was the truth; why would they want to do anything of the sort?

 

The kit could only sniffle sadly as he looked into his mother's eyes while speaking softly “But momma, you put your life in danger all the time and the quest really isn't yours either.” He saw her eyes widen for a second before settling into understanding.

 

Tears welled in her eyes and she smiled brokenly, “You're right Shippou. Maybe you should go back by yourself. I'm not really any use to any of you and I only get in the way. Maybe you would all be safer if I wasn't there anymore. The quest for Naraku isn't mine, even though the jewel was. But, Kikyou is back and she can sense the shards as well as I can; probably even better.”

 

That said, she pulled away from Yusuke and lifted Shippou off her lap to place him on the bed. Standing, she walked to the door and stopped just in the hallway. Kagome turned her head slightly to look back over her shoulder, “There's breakfast downstairs Yusuke. Feel free to eat as much as you want. I'm going to take a bath; there is another bathroom downstairs if anyone needs to shower or anything.” With that, she was gone leaving nothing but the scent of unshed tears and soft footsteps in her wake.

 

Shippou was truly crying now. Having to see the one he loved so very much so incredibly sad was more than his tender heart could take and he didn't care at the time that the two older demons would see him. “I really…didn't mean…that…the way…it sounded. I don't want…her to leave me.” He made to stand then but was stopped by Yusuke's hand on his shoulder. “Don't worry kid; I'll go talk to her.”

 

 

If she was honest with herself, she knew she should have seen it all sooner; should have realized that what Inuyasha had been telling her for years was the truth. Although her modern medicine and things had been helpful a few times, the entire group had been living longer than her in that harsh world and what she could bring from the future wasn't truly a necessity. She was far weaker than the others, even if she had learned to control the depth of her powers as best she could. She knew there was more than what she had mastered, but always felt held back; as if there was something barricading the largest amount behind an impenetrable wall. It didn't really matter though, she was still pathetic.

 

Just by her presence alone in the past she was subjecting her friends to unimaginable danger. Naraku wanted her out of the way and Kikyou was slowly and steadily aiming to help him with the task, catching Inuyasha in the crossfire. The baka inu had no idea that the undead miko had already given herself to the vile hanyou willingly and only intended on bringing the dog-eared demon to hell. Nor, it seemed, did he care. All that mattered to him was holding her cold, clay body close to his; never mind the fact that she had no blood in her veins and no warmth in her eyes.

 

Slowly, as if any movement at all caused physical pain, Kagome moved to the tub and started the water. The white noise thrummed heavily in her ears and she disappeared into it, letting the ever growing din wash over her thoughts like a soothing balm. Mechanically, she peeled her sleeping clothes from her body and brushed out her hair before testing the water and finding it to be near scalding. Perfect. She hissed through her teeth as the hot water lapped at her skin, already turning the alabaster flesh red. Once she was submerged to her chin, she settled against the back of the now-warm porcelain and let silent tears trek down her cheeks.

 

That was how Yusuke found her.

 

He had been knocking at the door and calling her name repeatedly for five minutes and she had yet to answer him. Normally, he wouldn't have bothered further, considering that was supposed to be taking a simple bath; but the look in her eyes when she turned away from them all made him worry for her. Now that she wasn't responding to him, he truly was afraid for her. Although she hadn't seemed the type that would take her own life, the solid anguish that had stormed over her eyes was enough to make him concerned.

 

After having spent so much time and effort to get her attention and only hearing nothing, he decided he needed to check on her. So, without preamble, he twisted the doorknob and stepped into a bathroom filled with steam. He called out to her again and again heard nothing. He walked closer to the birthplace of the wet fog and found a wet and miserable looking Kagome up to her chin in water. If this had been any other occasion, and had her eyes not appeared completely void of anything, he would have taken his time enjoying what little of her pale flesh was visible. The look in her eyes wouldn't let his gaze stray from hers.

 

Then, she blinked and locked her eyes with his.

 

The young miko was more than a little surprised when she had cleared her mind of thoughts of worthlessness and blinked to re-moisten her tear wrenched orbs and looked up to find Yusuke staring at her intently. Originally, she had wanted to throw something at him - badly - and scream at him about his hentai ways but when she noticed he wasn't looking any farther down than her eyes, she stopped. Those warm brown eyes held concern, sympathy and something else she couldn't define and she was easily lost in them.

 

And she spoke.

 

“What are you doing in here Yusuke? I figured you would be eating by now.” She spoke softly, aware that anything louder could very well shatter the tenuous calm she had achieved. Thankfully, Yusuke seemed to understand her need for quiet and responded in an equally gentle tone.

 

“The food can wait, even if I am starving.” He smirked then in an attempt to lighten her mood if nothing more. Seeing a sparkle of life enter her eyes and a faint blush - though it was certainly from the hot water, right? - spread across her cheeks, he knew it had worked. Kneeling next to the tub, he spoke. “We were worried about you. Shippou didn't mean things the way they sounded Kagome. If Kurama and I were normal and human, your argument against our accompanying you would have been sound, but we are neither.”

 

Now she was floored. Was he telling her the truth? If so why? Why would either of them want to have anything to do with a mess that wasn't really even her own? It didn't make sense to her in the least and although their presence calmed her considerably and caused her heart to stir, she still didn't understand what they could possibly gain from the situation they were volunteering themselves into.

 

Her emotions settled slightly as she gazed into Yusuke's warm eyes. They held no traces of contempt or disgust; his voice had been gentle and caring. She knew he had been through something horrible and yet here and now, he looked as though nothing of the sort had transpired. Confusion reigned over curiosity for the time being and she questioned him. “But why Yusuke? What could you, or Kurama, possibly hope to gain by surrendering yourselves to a mission that could easily cost you your lives?”

 

Gain? What was there to gain by following around a beautiful young woman and acting as her own personal guards? Nothing except the companionship of an entrancing and special woman; could he say that to her though without sounding lame or fake? Would she even take something like that well? Shaking those thoughts from his mind, he answered her as truthfully as he could. “Because we want to Kagome. We are used to putting our lives on the line for our own jobs that give us no sort of real gratification, except for saving the human race.” He finished with a rogue grin and a wink and was infinitely pleased to see color suffuse on her cheeks and wash across her shoulders as her eyes lit up with the smile that graced her lips.

 

Standing before she had a chance to rebuff his words, he turned and walked back to the door. Just as his hand touched the doorknob, he stopped and looked back to her. “If you stay in their much longer, you might melt away. Kami it's hot in here! Hurry up, Shippou is waiting and there are stories to tell.” With that, he was gone leaving a still smiling miko in his wake.

 

~*~

 

Twenty minutes later found Kagome in her room pulling on a pair of jeans and a nice fitting t-shirt before brushing out her hair and heading downstairs. She was still a bit apprehensive of everything in spite of all Yusuke had said; would they really want to hang around in the past once they realized exactly what they would be getting into? Somehow she doubted it, even if she didn't doubt Yusuke or Kurama. Her life was simply a chaotic concoction of danger, youkai, blood and tears. Truly, she wasn't anything special and certainly nothing worth them risking their lives for.

 

Laughter rung out from the kitchen and broke her from her thoughts. They sound so happy down there. Maybe I should leave Shippou here with Kurama instead and I will go back alone. It won't matter to anyone much if I don't make it back alive. Her thoughts turned towards her family and she knew they would miss her, but they had known about the chance there was that she might never come home. If she was killed in the Warring States era, her family would be the only ones to mourn her. She knew Shippou probably would, but he would be with Kurama; he would have another fox around that could be far more useful to him than she would be.

 

Once more the sounds of merriment floated up the stairs and graced her ears. Maybe for today she could enjoy the feeling of happiness. There was still the matter of their own pasts to tell and hers would no doubt be rimmed with tears and lined with deep-seeded pain but there was nothing for it. They had seen her cry already and anymore, she didn't much care who did. She was ready to cry in front of Naraku or any one of his spawns; it wasn't like they would spare her either way.

 

Shaking her head in an effort to will such looming thoughts to the back burner for the time being, Kagome resumed her trek down the stairs and landed soundlessly in the kitchen. The laughter and talk hadn't stopped, only merely settled down and she smiled at the picture the three made. Shippou was still in his place at the table, Kurama by his side and Yusuke sat across from them, a plate half filled with food in front of him. Shippou was standing on his chair, rather than sitting, and had a huge grin adorning his adorable face, laughter and delight dancing in his eyes. The other two demons had the same amused looks on their faces, if somewhat more controlled, and she found they made a very handsome trio.

 

Grabbing a soda from the fridge, Kagome settled down next to Yusuke and smiled at the youkai currently inhabiting her house. If Gramps was here he would have plastered them all with ofudas and had a heart attack by now. She giggled at the thought, despite her dour mood, and found three sets of glittering eyes focused on her. Their curious looks only made her mirth grow and she laughed a bit more before calming herself to answer the questioning gazes. “My grandpa,” she started, waiving a hand dismissively in the air, “is really rather eccentric and would have been throwing ofudas on all of you if he were here.”

 

Yusuke and Kurama started and sobered instantly at the thought of being bound - or something even more unpleasant - while Shippou's grin only got wider. He had been here many times and had been on the receiving end of Ji-chan's sutras before. Although they were harmless, it still took a good while to get them pulled from your hair and tail. At the looks of horror that crossed the faces of their new friends, miko and kitsune couldn't contain their giggles and broke out into fits of laughter.

 

Once she had calmed down some, Kagome looked up at Kurama then turned her head towards Yusuke only to find them still wearing the same expressions. Smiling brightly, she explained the humor. “Gramps really doesn't have any power behind the sutras; he just acts as if he does. I think I am the only one in the family with any kind of powers at all. So if you happen to meet him sometime, just beware of sticky pieces of paper.”

 

Apparently, her explanation worked well for soon Yusuke and Kurama were laughing themselves. After all occupants had returned to a calmer state of being, Kurama ventured to broach the subject of their pasts. Shippou nodded enthusiastically; he had wanted to know more about the two young youkai since they met. Kagome smiled at Shippou's happy expression and spoke softly, “Maybe the two of you should tell your stories first? Ours is rather lengthy and I am sure I won't be able to complete it without crying at least once.”

 

The Spirit Detectives sobered immediately. The stinging smell of salt was already present and they knew what she said was a small understatement. In fact, both were sure that she would be reduced to tears far more times than just once and not because she was weak. It had become a glaring reality to them that she was under an enormous burden and were fairly certain that the magnitude of what she would tell them would explain away her emotions easily.

 

“Well, I guess I can start.” Yusuke said while standing up and stretching. He walked to her fridge and grabbed a soda before sitting back down. With a sigh, he began telling Kagome and Shippou of how he had come into the service of Reikai all the way through the changing of his blood and up until the break-up with Keiko. Specifics were left out of the latter tale, simply because it was still a painful subject for him; even if a certain miko had already started the healing process.

 

As soon as the raven-haired Toushin had finished telling all there was to tell, Kurama took up the spotlight. Soon, miko and kitsune knew the story behind Kurama; they knew of his past life as Youko Kurama, of his human family and even heard stories about the team's fights in the Dark Tournament. Suffice it to say that the priestess and kit were both in awe of the two youkai. Both had been born human and now, neither one was.

 

Yusuke sighed as the fox finished talking and stood to stretch again. Now, Kagome knew nearly everything about the both of them; from their lives as humans to their jobs as members of the Reikai Tantei and she hadn't changed her mind about them once. He never saw a look of disgust or bias cross her face and it had made him infinitely happy. By now, he was fretting in his own skin with curiosity about Kagome's own history.

 

As if reading his thoughts, Kagome's gentle voice sounded in the kitchen. “I must say that I am impressed with you both. You have overcome quite a few hardships in your lives and even managed to become friends through it all. I understand a little better now about why you wouldn't be afraid for your lives should you come with us but you have yet to hear our story.”

 

With a soft sigh Kagome began speaking. She told them of her fifteenth birthday and being pulled into Feudal Japan through a well on the grounds of her family's shrine; she told them of learning she was a miko and shattering the Shikon no Tama; she spoke of her friends and their adventures. There were more than a few times that Shippou would have to jump in and finish a part of her story because her emotions would run too high for her to continue. Between the two, they were able to tell all in a little less than an hour and after all had been said and done, the group found it to be early in the afternoon and Yusuke and Kurama were adamant about joining the miko and kit on their quest.

 

All four had stood from their places at the table to go into the living room at the beginning of Kagome's tale and were now sitting on the couch, each lost in their own thoughts. It was Shippou who brought down the silence. “Momma don't you have to go buy supplies before we leave tonight?” He paused then before looking at Yusuke and then Kurama, “Won't you guys have to pack stuff or let someone know you will be gone?”

 

Kagome sighed heavily, her entire aura drooping slightly. “I suppose I do have to sweetie. I suppose I should tend to that while you two,” she looked pointedly between the two youkai, “round up your things and make arrangements for being gone for an extended period of time.” She stood then, taking Shippou with her, and began walking towards the stairs to her room. She paused at the bottom when she heard Kurama's voice.

 

“Actually Kagome, if you want, I could take Shippou with me to gather my things; maybe Yusuke can go with you to get your supplies and you could stop by his house afterwards? That way you won't have to worry about Shippou at the store.” He smiled gently as he watched Kagome's arms subconsciously tighten on the kit. Yes, she would make a wonderful mother.