Yu Yu Hakusho Fan Fiction / InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ First Love ❯ Chapter 13

[ Y - Young Adult: Not suitable for readers under 16 ]

Even though they shouldn't have changed at all, sad feelings swell in me
No matter what I feel, you're not here anymore

First Love

Chapter Thirteen

Looking out the carriage window blankly, Kagome sighed as she rested her head in her cupped hand. This was their second day of traveling and for some reason; only seeing trees and the occasional animal didn't interest her at all. She usually loved nature, loved spending time in the forest, watching the flowers grow and enjoy the peace it brought to her, but these past two days it seemed she could care less about it each minute.

Last night had been uneventful. The driver of the carriage, Tora, had slept outside while she rested in the carriage and although the carriage was comfortable, she didn't sleep well. The thought of where she was going was constantly on her mind and she grew more nervous by the second.

The feeling only intensified now, as the forest started to disappear and a long stretch of open land came into view. It was beautiful, she had to admit, and it was a welcomed change to the thick forest.

This is it… she thought, running her hands over her lap to try and straighten out her old kimono. I could be living here for the rest of my life so I should probably get used to this.

“The estate is just up ahead!” she heard Tora call from outside. “We'll be there sooner than you know it!”

Her eyes became downcast. “Oh…great,” she whispered to herself. His words didn't comfort her in the way he thought it would, it only made her more restless. She wasn't ready for this…she didn't even want this to happen.

Maybe…she should have told her mother `no' for once. Then she wouldn't even be here right now, heart almost bursting from her chest with nervousness.

But she didn't. She had gone along with her mother's wishes as she always did and now she was here. Her future she had pictured with Youko would probably never happen.

She felt the carriage turn and come to a slow halt. Peering out the other window on the other side of the carriage, Kagome could see some of the estate, only some of a wall for that matter.

The carriage shifted and then Tora was opening the door she was currently looking out at the estate from and extended a hand out to her. “Come, milady,” he urged nicely.

Here eyes widened and she fisted the fabric in her heads roughly and took a deep breath, trying to prepare herself for the inevitable.

Staring back at Tora, she nodded her head and gave him her hand and he helped her out of the carriage. Stepping on the solid earth, Kagome's hand was released and she was able to get a good look at the estate.

It was beautiful. Gardens and sakura trees surrounded the beautiful Japanese estate with a thatched roof and the smell was lovely. The building itself was a work of art, and nothing she could ever image before. There were figures moving around, as Kagome could see, behind the shoji doors, probably getting ready for her arrival although she wasn't anyone special.

She could hear water running and she squinted to see a small pond a good distance away from her on the right. Rocks and pebbles made a path to the front of the estate and around it.

Turning back to the front of the estate, she saw Akihiro walking briskly towards her and she blushed. The women that lined the entryway in their beautiful kimono bowed respectfully as he passed them. He smiled all the way to her and when he finally reached her she bowed also, trying to hide her face from his view.

He laughed slightly and raised her face to look at him with his hand. “There is no need for you to bow Lady Kagome. You are my guest, not my servant.”

He smiled as she straightened her back. “Um…okay.” She wasn't exactly used to his words as well as not bowing in front of someone much higher in society than she.

He leaned forward, his shoulder brushing hers and she gulped. When he turned back to her, she saw he had her bundle in his hands. “Come,” he said, taking her hand in his. “I will show you your room.”

“Okay-” replied Kagome quickly as he pulled her along.

The moment she entered the enormous estate, she was engulfed with scents and smells that somewhat eased her nerves. After removing her old shoes in the genkan, Aki lead her through the large building. She could see some of the servants peeking out from corners or doors. Some seemed to smile at her and didn't mind her presence while others gave her nasty glares and whispered as she passed.

She tried to not let it get to her and brush it off…but could she really blame them for their remarks? The maids and servants were dressed much better than she and she was his guest. At this point in time, she really did feel embarrassed by how she dressed.

Back home it didn't matter how she dressed or if she wore the same thing for days. Here, it was as if she would be scrutinized for everything she wore. Maybe she would even be cast out if she wore the same thing more than once.

They walked down many hallways; some were dark while others were very bright from the sun shining through the windows and she could hear birds chirping happily from the trees. Going down another hallway, Aki stopped and released her hand and slid open a door.

“This,” he said, turning to look at Kagome, “will be your room.”

Stepping aside, he gestured for Kagome to walk into the room, which she did, ever so slowly and peered around the large room.

There was a bed, raised off of the floor, something she wasn't used to, a few tables, large windows that looked out upon the land and gardens, and a closet, which Kagome had only seen maybe once or twice in her life since they were so expensive.

Here eyes widened to take in all that she could and she unknowingly found herself with a slight smile playing on her lips. “Its beautiful.”

Akihiro came to stand beside her and he placed her bundle on the table closest to him. “I'm glad you like it. I hope you will be able to make yourself at home.” He turned his gaze on her and smiled warmly. “The maids will be in here soon to give you new clothes that I had made especially for you. In the mean time, make yourself comfortable and bathe if you so choose. The bathroom is through the door to your left.” At this he turned his whole body towards her and picked up her hand, she looked away. “I'm glad you've come Lady Kagome.” Bringing her hand up, he kissed it gently and left her, closing the shoji door behind him. She had lost track of how many times he had kissed her hand but it still didn't make her feelings for him change.

Wandering towards the windows Kagome looked outside and closed her eyes, letting the sun warm her skin. She had only been here for a few minutes and she was already homesick. She missed her mother's smile and laugh she even missed her brother.

And Youko…she missed him dearly. She wished she had parted with him in a much nicer fashion than what had happened. She had it planned too if she were to see him. She tried as hard as she could not to cry but when he actually asked her that simple question `why?' she had let her emotions show.

He rarely ever talked to her…and when he asked her that one question it seemed like he was starting to open up to her but she couldn't hold on to it. She had to leave and come here.

If she had said no, she knew she might have been able to spend her time with Youko at this very moment. But she was here, with Akihiro.

Sliding away from the window she turned just in time to hear a knock on her door. “Come in,” she called and watched as the shoji door opened slowly and two maids came in with brilliantly made kimono in hand.

“These are for you my lady,” said the first woman. She was much older than Kagome and she had a kind old smile. She didn't wait for Kagome to say anything as she walked passed her and placed the kimono in the closet.

The second woman, who seemed a few years older than Kagome seemed to glare at her as she followed the older woman. Kagome wasn't able to meet her gaze; instead she looked at the older woman and bowed. “Thank you very much.”

The older woman's bow was much deeper than Kagome's as she said, “These are from Akihiro-sama, there is no need to thank us. Akihiro-sama wishes to see you in the main room in an hour or so, so please be dressed and ready soon.” With that, the woman stood and left.

The other however, stood where she was and ran her gaze over Kagome and clicked her tongue. “What a pity…we were expecting someone with much more…attributes…”

“Leiko!” said the older woman sternly. “Do not disrespect Akihiro-sama's guest.”

This `Leiko' rolled her eyes and turned. “Alright Tamaki-san, I'll leave her alone.”

Kagome's eyes followed the women as they left. She couldn't say…anything back to them.

How could she when she knew Leiko was right?

She brought almost nothing with her here. She had no money, she wasn't beautiful, and she was uneducated. There was nothing she had that could help Akihiro in any way, shape, or form.

Letting out a shaky breath, she turned to the door Aki had said led to the bathroom. She did need a bath. If she were to live here, she would probably need to take on everyday. So she headed to the room, slid open the door and closed it behind her.

It was huge to say the least, but instead of having that `wow' reaction, she didn't even seem to care. There was a huge amount of space given to the bath, which was a hot spring with constant flowing water, and it was steaming.

As she untied her obi, Kagome spotted a towel on a chair just before her kimono slid from her shoulders. She walked to the waters edge, not even bothering to test how hot or cold it was before sinking into the water.

She let her arms float lifelessly to the top before she swayed them back and forth in the water, creating small waves. Her thoughts took her back to her home, to a place she longed for more than ever.

Kagome knew that she should have expected people to say the same things (maybe even worse) that Leiko had.

Standing up, she waded in the water to where the soaps and hair cleaning liquids were and proceeded to wash her hair.

I knew I shouldn't have come here. She thought to herself sadly. I'm an outcast.

For some reason she thought of her mothers words and how she only wanted the best for Kagome; how she didn't want Kagome to live the way they had for all of her life.

Closing her eyes, she submerged herself in the water and washed out all of the soap from her hair and then resurfaced.

“I have to get through this,” she said to herself, searching desperately for some sort of determination.

Finishing up, Kagome left the warm water and wrapped herself in a towel and quickly dried her body off before wrapping the towel around her head and drying her hair. When she was done, her hair was slightly damp but it wasn't bad so she once again wrapped the towel around her body and went back into the bedroom.

To her surprise, a kimono was neatly lain out on her bed. It was white with pink diamond shapes scattered on it with a red obi. It was very pretty and she only had a little more time left before she would have to go and meet Akihiro.

Releasing herself of the towel, Kagome reluctantly got dressed.

00000

At night, when he was here in his tree, he would come to the same spot to gaze at the moon. From below, no one would be able to see him but from where Youko was, his view of the moon was crystal clear.

Now he sat, back leaning against a thick branch as the moons light graced his skin, giving him a surreal glow and illuminating his silver hair. He felt peaceful although at some points in time he felt empty but didn't bother to recognize it.

Turning his head away from the moon, his golden eyes rested on Kuronue.

His friend had a sneaky smile on his face, which only meant one thing but Youko decided to not know what it was for his friends benefit.

“What is it?” asked the kitsune.

Kuronue crossed his arms over his chest, “Well, there's going to be a big theiving expedition soon. We are going to start to prepare tomorrow, would you like to join us?”

Youko turned his gaze back to the moon. “No. I cant seem to find the desire to steal right now. You can go on without me.”

Immediateley Kuronue became sad. “What? But we're partners in crime! We always go together! why the sudden change?”

Youko didn't bother to answer him and Kuronue shook his head before disappearing into the night.

00000

Kagome walked down the steps carefully as to not trip in her kimono. She was clean and her hair was pulled up courtesy of Tamaki who had come moments ago to check on her. Tamaki had told her that Akihiro was waiting for her in the main room and that she would lead her there.

Although Tamaki was old, she still held her grace and was aging beautifully. She had gray hair and wore a golden yukata. Her face was wrinkled but Kagome didn't mind it one bit.

As for the other girl, Leiko, she was nowhere in sight but instead she saw many other women watching her from safe spots as she made her way through the estate.

She could hear muffled snickers and laughs as she passed them but she held her head high until she was out of the lion's pit.

They now stood in front of another shoji door and Tamaki knelt down and slowly opened the door, revealing the outside world.

“Akihiro-sama is waiting for you,” spoke Tamaki. “Go on now.”

Nodding her head, Kagome slipped into a pair of sandals and walked out onto the deck and sure enough, Aki was standing a few feet away with his back facing her.

As she cleared the doorway, Kagome heard the shoji door shut behind her and then Aki turned to her. She watched as his eyes widened before looking her over, a smile gracing his face.

She bowed slightly, “You wanted to see me Akihiro?”

He smiled. “Remember, Lady Kagome, just call me Aki.”

She sucked on her bottom lip just before she nodded. She stood up straight as he came to stand beside her and presented his arm.

Almost hesitantly, she placed her arm through his and they walked together down the steps and into the gardens.

It felt rather awkward to walk with Aki this way. She couldn't say she really liked it but nor could she say she hated it. To Kagome, it just seemed like something she would do out of habit, without feeling.

He led her deep into the garden until they came upon a bench, which they sat comfortably on under a weeping willow.

Taking her hands in his larger ones, Akihiro faced her. “Kagome,” he said and waited for her to meet his gaze. “I will take things slow and will not, on my life, move faster than you see fit. I don't want you to feel uncomfortable around me and I would never try to dishonor my name to try and do something you wouldn't want to.”

It meant a lot to Kagome to hear those words from Aki. It seemed to lift a small amount of weight off of her chest. “Thank you Aki. That makes me feel…better.”

He nodded his head before standing up. She too stood up and he looked into her eyes almost lovingly. “I'm sorry to leave you early, but there is a meeting I must attend to. Feel free to walk where you please and explore. If you need anything, ask the servants.”

He bowed to her and surprisingly did not kiss her hand before he left, making Kagome feel like he would stick to his word. Akihiro really was a gentlemen and she admired him for that.

And he kept being a gentlemen as the days passed. He never mistreated her and he never once made a move on her that she didn't like. In her opinion, things were going very slow and she liked it that way.

They spend time together throughout the weeks and he would take her places, take her shopping and travel, experience things she never thought she would.

When they weren't together, Kagome would write to her family or talk to Tamaki when she would come around. Leiko was the same as when Kagome had first met her and as the weeks passed, Kagome eventually didn't let the comments she said bother her.

Although things were going fine on the outside for Kagome, on the inside it was not as good. She missed her family all the time; she hadn't seen them in what seemed like forever.

She was standing in her room now and she turned to look at the one thing that was keeping her sane in this world. The red rose in the vase that Youko had given her.

She almost cried a few times when she saw it. She missed seeing his face and she could barely remember his scent. He haunted her dreams most nights and sometimes it was pleasant and at other times it was almost scary.

Walking over to the flower she took it out of the vase lifted it to her nose and took in its scent. It amazed her how long this flower had been living for and it didn't look like it was going to wilt anytime soon. It was because of Youko that this flower was living so long.

Sitting on the comfortable bed, Kagome silently wondered if he knew where she was as she gazed at the rose. Maybe she could go home and see him again and tell him everything because…

Because no matter what Akihiro did…her heart still belonged to Youko even though neither of them realized it. Sometimes it made her laugh and sometimes it didn't.

Releasing her hair from its strenuous up do, Kagome ran her fingers through her long raven locks and watched the wind blow the trees around outside her window. It looked like there was going to be a bad storm soon by the evil gray clouds that approached.

There was a knock on her door. “Kagome?” It was Akihiro.

“Come in!” she said and quickly stood up to greet him, tucking the rose in the folds of her kimono. “Back from your meeting already?”

He ran his hands up and down his arms and smiled at her. “Yes. It was rather boring so I decided to rush home just to see you. How are you doing on this very…sad day?”

She smiled back at him. “I'm doing fine.”

Everything seemed fine as they stood there together until Aki turned his eyes away for a moment only to look back at her. His eyes were still kind…although they seemed to be burning with something and he slowly walked towards her and it gave her goose bumps as well as making her feel officially uncomfortable.

Kagome found herself taking steps back as he advanced on her until she hit a wall with her back and she stared wide-eyed up at him as he still approached.

“Kagome,” he said huskily.

Here eyes widened. She had never heard her name being called…that way before and she squeaked. “Akihiro?”

Just as he was about to reach her there was a blood-churning cry and she watched Akihiro shake his head, eyes returning back to normal.

“What was that?” asked Kagome, fear in her voice.

Akihiro looked around and before unsheathing his sword. “Stay back Kagome!” he said, positioning himself in front of her.

“What's going on?” she asked more desperately.

There were loud footsteps coming and the shoji door to Kagome's room opened with a loud crack.

It was a guard…covered in blood.

“Akihiro-sama! We are being attacked by demons!”

Kagome heard Aki growl. “What?!”

“Its-” He was cut off when a sword came down and cut through him, blood spraying everywhere.

Kagome had seen demons killed…but never a human. Her eyes were wide and her mouth hung open.

“Aki…”

Akihiro held up an arm. “Don't look Kagome!”

As he said those words, a demon walked through the door. It looked human…but when you saw the bat wings and the strangely pointed ears you'd know better.

“What do you want here demon?” growled Akihiro menacingly.

The demon laughed and advanced, cleaning his sword that was covered in human blood with the flick of his wrist. “We're here…to do some shopping?” it said jokingly.

Aki narrowed his eyes. “What? If you wanted to take something, then take it! Why kill my men in the process?”

The demon smiled, revealing fangs. “Now where would the fun be if we didn't have a little fun in the process?”

Aki smiled angrily. “You want a little fun?”

The demon raised his eyebrows.

Akihiro kept his eyes on the demon. “Kagome?”

“Y-Yes?” was her shaky reply.

“I want you to close your eyes.”

She did and she crouched down, covering her face with her hands as she shook violently.

“I also want you to know, if anything is to happen to me and if I cant say it again, that I love you and that I would gladly die to protect you.”

When she opened her eyes she saw Aki lunge at the demon and their swords connected. Aki's teeth were clenched together and it seemed as if he was using all the strength he could muster while the demon…the demon looked unfazed.

Kagome watched in horror as the demon effortlessly threw Aki off of him and into a wall. There was a bone-crushing crack and it laughed and licked his lips.

“Aki!” Kagome screamed when he made no movement. She soon found her eyes met with the demons and he smiled.

“A rather pretty one aren't we?” he said and turned to face her.

There was a loud groan and Aki squinted his eyes to look up at the demon with bat wings. “Don't…don't you dare!”

The demon pointed his sword at Akihiro, smile leaving his face. “Don't do what? Take your woman?”

Aki pushed his way to his feet. “I'll kill you!” he roared and ran at the demon.

Before Kagome knew it, Aki's sword was ripped from his hands and his eyes widened. His mouth opened and the demon smirked evilly.

“Goodnight young lord,” said the bat demon sarcastically and raised his sword. In one fluid motion he swiped down, cutting Akihiro across the chest and blood once again stained his sword a deep crimson.

There was a loud moan and Akihiro fell to his knees, blood dripping from his mouth, as he looked down at his hands shocked.

“Akihiro!” called Kagome, tears streaming down her face. Even though she wasn't in love with him, she couldn't bear seeing him like that…it was breaking her heart.

She watched him slowly move his head in her direction and smiled before his eyes slowly shut and he slumped to the side and hit the floor loudly.

The sound echoed in her ears and she couldn't take her eyes off of Akihiro…

He wasn't moving and she could feel the tears falling more rapidly, blurring her vision. “Aki…hiro…”

“Well that was easy,” muttered the demon, sheathing his sword.

Kagome leaned forward on her hands and knees. “How…how could you?” she asked, gasping for breath as a tremor of sobs racked her body.

The bat demon turned to look at her and raised an eyebrow. “I almost forgot about you…” he eyed her and watched as something slipped out of her kimono and onto the floor.

A red rose.

Suddenly another voice was heard but Kagome didn't bother to look at its owner. She sat back on her legs and stared down at the flower on the floor. Her hand slowly moved to it and she grasped it, not caring that its thorns were digging into her skin.

“Kuronue, what do we do with the women?” it asked.

She listened as the bat demon sighed and heard the approaching footsteps but didn't care to look, her eyes were glued to the flower.

“We'll take them with us.”

She said nothing as two rough hands hoisted her up and dragged her out of the room.

0000

OMG LONG CHAPTER!! Eleven pages in Word.

I hope you liked it…because I really enjoyed writing the end to this chapter. Idk why but I really like to write fighting/death scenes.

Now you should all stand and salute the fallen Akihiro. BAIBAI AKI~

Anyway, let me know what you thought! This chapter took FOREVER to write.

Until Next time!

Dark Paine