Adult-FanFiction.org : Inuyasha / Yashahime

Waiting on a Wish	By : Quillwing717 Category: InuYasha > General Views: 42890 -:- Recommendations : 1 -:- Currently Reading : 2
Disclaimer: I do not own InuYasha, nor make money from this story.

Chapter List
- 17
- 18
- 19
Chapter
17

He
took her to work the next morning the normal way, in his car, and he
grumbled about it the whole drive.

He
hadn’t wanted her to go to work at all, considering just how
little sleep she’d actually gotten. She’d made it all the
way to sunrise, and watched with curious awe as his ears first
pointed, then slid up to sit at the top of his head, and his hair
went from black to gray to silvery-white. She’d fussed over
him, run her fingers over his features to make sure everything was
back in its proper place…and then promptly curled into his
side and fallen into a dead sleep.

But
not before she’d warned him to not let her sleep past eight.

She’d
woken on her own, in a luxury of blankets and pillows and warm skin
touching hers, to find him staring at her with solemn golden eyes and
looking quite settled and comfortable. She’d been
understandably upset when she figured out that he’d had every
intention of ignoring her wishes.

They’d
had a rousing argument about it. Almost a screaming match, really,
which had felt odd and yet somehow tremendously satisfying after the
night before. She didn’t feel hurt at all after the fight --
not ostracized from him, and not that the disagreement had damaged
their relationship in any way.

Just
refreshed. Refreshed and…comfortable.

She’d
felt comfortable in her mad -- mostly naked -- dash through his
apartment, which she’d only seen for the first time last night.
She’d felt comfortable scrambling to find her bag and her
change of clothes, and even with the fact that she’d brought
a change of clothes in the first place. She’d felt comfortable
slamming the door of his own bathroom in his face while she’d
thrown herself together for work. She’d even felt comfortable
with the fact that they’d been yelling at each other the whole
time. And she had been nothing less than amused when, after his
(quite loud) refusal to take her anywhere, and her subsequent (also
loud) vow to take public transportation instead, he’d grabbed
his keys and her arm and roughly hauled her out of his apartment and
into his car.

And
after all that, she sat next to him in the car, listening to him
mutter and gripe and swear as he navigated the congested early
morning traffic. A faint smile graced her lips, and a cheerful hum
sat at the bottom of her throat. She didn’t think he’d
appreciate any musical efforts on her part just now though, so she
kept it to herself and let her eyes linger on the passing cars and
buildings.

He
pulled into an unused parking spot with only a few minutes to spare.
While the car sat in idle, Kagome grasped the strap of her bag and
turned to face InuYasha for the first time since they’d left
his apartment. He was slumped back against his seat, a bad-tempered
sulk tightening his features, one claw tapping out an impatient
rhythm against the steering wheel. He glowered through the
windshield, gaze fixed on the clinic as if he were calculating the
effort it would take to demolish its cheerful stone facade.

She
bit her lip to prevent her grin from getting any bigger. Her hanyou
did not look pleased. On impulse, and just because she could,
she leaned over and pecked him on the cheek.

He
snapped out of his glower to stare at her. “What was that for?”

Still
grinning, she shrugged. “Do I need a reason?”

For
a moment, he just sat there and blinked at her. Then his face
softened, and he gave a soft, dismissive snort. She caught an
answering smile lurking somewhere in his gaze.

Satisfied
with that, she reached for the door. “I get off at six.”
She tossed a teasing smile over her shoulder. “Don’t
forget, or I’ll leave you behind.”

At
some point last night, he’d remembered to inquire about the
family dinner that she’d apparently skipped. When she’d
told him it had been postponed to the following night, he’d
nodded in a matter-of-fact manner and asked her when they had to be
there. It was the best possible response he could have given her, in
her opinion, and she’d done her best to show him how pleased
he’d made her.

At
the moment, he only looked mildly irritated. “Yeah, yeah. I got
it.” The black of his eyebrows slanted low over his eyes.
“Don’t go anywhere without me.”

She
rolled her eyes in return as she shoved open the door and stepped out
onto the pavement. “Don’t be late, then.”

“Kagome….”
He warned again, leaning across the seat to keep her in sight.

She
ignored him and slammed the door shut behind her. The smile played
about her lips as she felt his eyes follow her across the parking lot
and through the glass doors of the entrance.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

She
walked, practically bouncing on the balls of her feet, into a waiting
area full of mostly empty chairs. She sighed at the sight, pleased
that the busyness of the past few days appeared to be dying down.
Adjusting the strap over her shoulder, she automatically headed for
the break room, only to freeze halfway across the room when her eyes
focused on the figure standing in front of the reception desk. Her
stomach took a sickening plunge towards her feet and she sucked in a
sharp breath.

Ack.
Kouga.

She
darted a panicked look over her shoulder, afraid she would see an
enraged hanyou bearing down after her through the glass doors. Relief
pushed the breath from her lungs in a silent whoosh when the only
thing that met her eyes was a mostly empty parking lot. If either
Kouga or InuYasha figured out the other was here, they would have a
repeat of what had happened the last time both youkai had been at the
clinic -- only this time it was possible that real violence would
occur.

Just
what I needed today.

She
drew another calming breath and let it out, wondering why and how she
had found herself in such a potential mess.

Maybe
InuYasha’s already left?

Somehow,
she doubted it.

Kouga
stood with his back to her, right next to the reception desk. He wore
his usual pants and a long-sleeved shirt today, looking casual, bored
and impatient as he listened the clinic’s curly-haired resident
gossip. Miso had an anxious look on her face and, for once, was
keeping her voice quiet. She currently had the wolf youkai’s
attention, but Kagome imagined that would change in incredibly short
order.

She
watched as Miso discreetly slipped a business card into Kouga’s
palm, the low murmur of her words reaching across the lobby. “--
and her name is Ayame. She really needs someone to show her around,
so --”

But
Kouga must have heard her last sigh, because his head suddenly came
up and around. His blue eyes pinned her, and a cocky grin spread
across his face. Faster than her eyes could follow, he crossed the
distance between them, appearing in front of her, his fingers
gripping gently around her wrists. “Kagome! Where have you
been? I’ve been looking for you for days.”

She
blinked, disconcerted; she gave him a weak smile and tugged tactfully
at her hands. “Kouga. What are you doing here?”

“You
saw that rogue from the other night. I was worried about my….”
But the brashness of his smile faded as the words left his lips; a
strange look took its place. His gaze sharpened and he sniffed
pointedly at the air. “Kagome? What happened to you? You smell
kinda like….”

She nearly winced and tugged again at her hands. She didn’t
want a scene, so she kept her voice soft. “Ah, Kouga, why don’t
you come with--”

He
wasn’t listening. Comprehension flickered through his gaze.
Shock slackened his features, rage swiftly following. “Mutt-face!
Why that…. You…. That bastard! He took advantage
of you! Are you all right? Did he hurt you?” He threw a dark,
searching look out the doors behind her and half-stepped toward them.
“Where is he? Don’t worry. I’ll teach that dog-shit
to keep his hands to himself from now on!”

Oh.
Damn.

“No
you won’t!” She yanked at her hands. “He didn’t
take advantage of me!”

Her
sharpness must have startled him, because he shot her a surprised
look. “He didn’t?” His grip loosened. “But….
Don’t tell me you wanted….”

One
more tug freed her, and she edged away from him, ignoring the heat
creeping across her face. She tilted her head and studied him for a
minute before letting out a frustrated breath. From behind the
reception desk, Miso looked on with sympathetic -- if avid -- gray
eyes.

“Kouga,
I….”

He
stared at her, the anger in his eyes blending with confusion.

She
sucked her bottom lip between her teeth, at a loss. What should I
tell him? That I love InuYasha?

She
was barely ready to think such an outrageous possibility, much less
say it out loud.

It
wasn’t as if it made a lot of sense. She’d just met
InuYasha, and Kouga knew it. Kouga had been putting out a tremendous
effort to woo her since he’d arrived bruised and battered to
her clinic months before, but she’d noted his efforts only
peripherally at best. And yet InuYasha, who had come to her in the
same way, hadn’t had to do anything besides be with her.
From the very beginning, he’d just…felt right in
a way that no one else ever had.

How
could she make Kouga understand when she barely understood herself?

Kouga
really did have beautiful blue eyes, and right now they were fixed on
her, angry and slightly wounded. Guilt put a sour taste in her mouth.
“Kouga--” She licked at her lips, then sighed. She kept
her voice soft. “I’m glad you came to check on me. I’m
sorry I worried you.”

Kouga’s
reaction was an angry snarl. “That damn dog kept you from me.
I’ll-”

“No!
You two can’t fight here!” She tossed another panicked
look over her shoulder, then drew a deep breath and met his gaze.
“Please, Kouga. I’m happy that you care enough to make
sure that I’m okay, but I’m fine. InuYasha’s been
with me since the attack. He’s….” She hesitated,
searching for words that Kouga would understand. “InuYasha is
taking very good care of me.”

Kouga
was much quicker than people gave him credit for. She saw
understanding dawn slowly in his gaze as he mulled over her words and
took in her tone. He took a step back, a muscle ticking in his jaw.
“Taking care of you, huh?” His nostrils flared as he drew
in another deep lungful and Kagome had to suppress a wince once
again. Thanks to InuYasha, she hadn’t had time for more than a
quick rinse this morning; what she’d been doing for the most of
the night had to be strong on her. Strong enough that not even Kouga
could rationalize it away, which would probably get to him in a way
all her words and evasions never had. Youkai tended to respect scents
on a level that humans couldn’t comprehend and--

She
blinked. And InuYasha knew that as well as any other youkai, didn’t
he? She almost huffed aloud.

Damn
demons and their sense of smell.

Kouga
had looked down, his bangs hiding his eyes from her for a few
moments. When he looked up, she couldn’t read the expression in
his eyes. “Is this…. Is this what you want? You trust
that mutt with your…safety?”

Mute
and feeling inexplicably sad, she nodded.

The
proud set of his shoulders slumped for just an instant as acceptance
settled into the lines of his body. “Hn.” A wry smile
twisted his lips and he sighed. “Well…. I guess you seem
all right.” He straightened just as quickly as he’d
deflated and gave her his cocky grin. “I’ve to go now --
the paper-pushers at the Alliance have been on my ass for the past
few days, you know?”

She
offered him a gentle smile and nodded. “Anytime you need help,
Kouga, remember….” You’re still my friend.

He
stared at her for a long moment, then returned her nod. “You
call me when that mutt-face screws up, Kagome. I’ll be here.”

Her
smile widened into a mischievous grin. “I promise.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

His
claws tapped dully against the leather of the steering wheel, the
only sound to penetrate the stillness of the car’s interior.
His scowl hadn’t abated since he’d watched her disappear
through the glass doors. He’d wanted her to sleep, not go to
work, but she’d blown that by waking up and yelling at him. How
she’d managed to wake up so quickly after only a few hours of
sleep escaped him. Even habit could be overcome by exhaustion in
normal humans, and he’d made damn sure she’d been
exhausted.

Kagome
worried him. She’d startled the hell out of him last night,
lighting up like a fucking Christmas tree, with that crackling
glowing pink light. And she hadn’t even realized it. She hadn’t
been controlling it at all -- like she’d sprung a damn leak or
something -- and it had looked like it turned on and shut off all on
its own; and that made him even more anxious.

He
shifted restlessly, debating once again the wisdom of going to see
the old bat at the orphanage. She knew something -- she’d as
much as told him so. He didn’t know how much she knew, and he
felt leery about getting anyone else involved, but if anyone could
tell him what was going on with Kagome, the old woman could. And it
would probably be a good idea if he found out exactly what she knew.

And
there was the added benefit of being nearby the clinic….

But
was he ready for that conversation? He wasn’t even sure he
could trust the old bat -- especially if her knowledge came from the
person he thought it did. He had a sense of her being trustworthy,
maybe even a friend, but how did he know he could he really trust
himself? The things that he knew…. They didn’t
exactly qualify as hard and fast facts, mental pictures
notwithstanding. Hell, they fell more into the realm of instinct than
actual knowledge. And he’d already been wrong once.

Tension
tightened his grip on the steering wheel, and a fleeting gratitude
for the durability of leather passed through his mind. Damn it,
anyway! Someone could die -- would
die, unless he figured out what was going on in time to stop it.

Sunlight
glinted off moving glass, a bright flash in the corner of his eye
that had him squinting briefly back at the clinic. Surprise widened
his eyes and stiffened his muscles when he saw the body pushing its
way out of the entrance.

The
fucking wolf who still thought he had a right to his woman.
What the hell is he doing here? And how
the hell had he missed his presence?!

Kouga
stepped off to the side of the doors and just stood there for a
moment, his nose in the air and his head turning slowly as he scanned
across the parking lot. He knew the second the wolf spotted him,
because his eyes narrowed and his lip lifted in a sneer.

Back
rigid, teeth bared in reaction, InuYasha darted from the car to meet
him.

Even
with the warning, he barely saw it coming. Kouga’s fist
connected with the underside of InuYasha’s jaw, and the hanyou
went flying back against the hood of his car. He’d forgotten
how fast the damn wolf was.

He
was back on his feet in an instant, claws flexing and knuckles
cracking as he squared off defensively. “Hey! Bastard!”
His jaw only hurt a little. “You--” Kouga stood a few
feet away, arms crossed and eyes narrowed, his expression intense
with simmering anger but his stance relaxed. He didn’t look
prepared to attack again.

InuYasha
straightened. “What the hell?”

Kouga
sneered at him, eyes dark and serious. “That was for the sneaky
way you took her away from me, mutt-face.”

“Sneaky!”
He sputtered for a moment. “You never had her to begin with,
dumbass!” He froze as the words sank in. Took her away?
Had that idiot wolf just said what he thought he’d just said?

Another
punch sent him onto his backside on the hot pavement. Kouga stood
over him, glaring down. “That was for being a dumb puppy-shit.”

Fury
spurred him to his feet once again, and this time he took a swipe at
him with his claws, aiming for skin and hoping for blood. Kouga leapt
back, his shoes nimbly touching down on the blacktop a few feet away
-- just out of striking range.

InuYasha
snarled, showing teeth. “You fucking coward! Stop running away
and fight!”

Kouga
shot him a smirking look of disdain and -- even more infuriating --
leaned a hip against the smooth black side of his car. “That’s
the difference between you and me, smelly puppy. I don’t waste
my time on pointless battles.”

“I
don’t know what the hell you’re talking about.” As
far as he was concerned this fight was as necessary as breathing. His
fists clenched and he growled menacingly, eyeing the other youkai’s
position. The damn wolf might be out of physical striking range, but
he could throw a sankon tessou at him. Of course, he might get
his car in the same blow, but the damage would be worth it if he
could take down that mangy, self-important wolf. But Kouga just
shrugged indifferently, the coward.

Blue
eyes glittered at him. “For now, dog-breath, she wants to be
with you. So I guess I’ll let her be with you.”

The
begrudging seriousness of the wolf’s tone stopped him cold. He
blinked, staring in shock.

Kouga
sneered. “But you better take good care of her, dog-shit. If
you mess up -- if you screw up even once -- and she suffers for it,
I’ll take her away from you so fast that you won’t even
know what happened until I send you a picture of our first pup.”

A
part of him wanted to attack; he felt the rage flare to unbearable
levels at the mere thought of Kouga pushing a kid off onto Kagome.
But an equally instinctual part of his brain recognized the warning
for what it was: a concession. Kouga was backing off.

And
if InuYasha failed to protect her….

No
he couldn’t fail. It wasn’t an option. He was out of
chances.

His
jaw clenched tightly, his claws dug into his palms and the veins in
his head throbbed with the effort of holding back. After a few
moments, he managed a nod. “Yeah, I know.”

Kouga
returned his nod. “You better, mutt-face.” He grunted,
then turned. “I gotta go. Paperwork to sign, you know? All
those damn new regulations.” He gave a disgusted snort. “Stupid
humans.”

InuYasha
watched, somewhat bemused, as Kouga took off running -- his specialty
-- and disappeared from the parking lot. Then he turned to stare at
the clinic. “I know.” He didn’t move for several
minutes.

Then
his ears perked, and he blinked. “What new regulations?”

As
if someone had heard him, his phone starting ringing. He grabbed it
from the pocket he didn’t remember shoving it into and glanced
at the familiar name on the display. Swearing, scowling at the slight
dent in his hood, he answered.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The
shrine where she’d grown up sat on a hill in a suburban area of
the city, a good distance from the mesh of tall, sky-scraping
buildings and smaller establishments of the business district where
the clinic was located. The orange glow of sunset had already warmed
the sky by the time they arrived, and combined with the trees
surrounding her old home, the backdrop gave the whole area an
incredibly homey feel. Kagome nearly smiled as they made their way up
the steps leading to the shrine. Nearly.

She
darted another look at him from the corner of her eyes.

InuYasha
was acting odd. He didn’t say a word as they climbed, and
hadn’t since he picked her up at the end of her shift. He’d
seemed irritated, but when she’d questioned him about it, all
he’d said was something about “stupid politicians”,
and “report forms in triplicate”. She hadn’t
wanted to bother him, and so they’d had a quiet drive over.

But
then, when he’d first caught a glimpse of the steps, his manner
had undergone a subtle change that she didn’t know how to
interpret. His eyes kept scanning over the landscape, taking
everything in with a weird, quiet sort of curiosity. Even though he
walked right next to her, he felt closed off somehow, withdrawn from
her, absorbed in thoughts that he didn’t want to share.

He
was making her nervous, which was ridiculous.

They
crested the top of the stairs and passed through the torii and into
the main courtyard of the shrine. The house sat toward the back of
the grounds, behind the shrine, and Kagome automatically headed that
way. She failed to notice when his steps faltered. “This way.
It’s later than I thought it would be. I bet Mama already has
dinner ready.”

It
took her a few seconds to realize he wasn’t behind her.
“InuYasha…” Her voice trailed off -as she turned.
He stood frozen in his tracks, fists shoved in his pockets, his eyes
wide and unreadable. She frowned and pivoted on her heel, following
his gaze, intrigued to see what had caught his attention so
completely.

She
blinked. The Goshinboku?

She
back toward him, glancing back and forth between InuYasha and the
sacred tree, who hadn’t moved an inch since he caught sight of
the tree. “What’s wrong?”

For
a moment, she thought he wasn’t going to answer. His bows
tensed into an almost-frown, but other than that, he didn’t
move. “That…that tree.”

She
blinked at him. “The Goshinboku?” A smile tilted her
lips. “It’s our sacred tree. It’s very old. If you
let Jii-chan ramble long enough, he’ll tell you about it. It’s
one of his favorite things to talk about.”

He
stared unblinkingly for a moment longer. “Goshinboku, huh?”

She
nodded and turned her gaze back to the tree. “According to
Jii-chan, the Goshinboku is an immortal tree that’s lived
through every age known to man, and carries the memories of a million
great stories that will never be told. He says it’s nature’s
way of never forgetting.” Her voice softened with affection. “I
used to love that tree when I was a little girl--I was always getting
in trouble for trying to climb it.”

His
frown deepened and he tilted his head over her words. “An
immortal tree.” He moved then, his silent tread carrying him
across the courtyard. She hesitated, then followed at a distance,
curious at what had put him in such a strange mood. He stepped right
up to the great tree, ignoring the small fence designed to keep
visitors away, and stood looking up through the thick branches.

Kagome
watched him quietly, amazed that, for the first time in her life, she
didn’t feel the need to warn a visitor away from the sacred
tree. He studied it for a moment before he placed a hand against the
trunk -- right there, right on the large bald spot that had always
smoothed a wide portion of the tree’s girth. She’d always
wondered what put it there, but even Jii-chan, with his fondness for
stories of origin, had never been able to tell her. The fingers of
his free hand pressed against his forehead, and for a moment, his
features tightened, almost as if he were in pain.

“It
remembers…” His murmur was so quiet, she almost didn’t
hear him. A frown knit his brows. His entire body tensed.

Puzzled,
Kagome stepped over the fence and joined him at the roots of the
sacred tree, peering up at where at where his hand now lay
motionless. His long fingers stretched, his claws resting gently
against the darkness of the bark. The image seared itself into her
brain, and she dew in a sharp breath as her heart skipped in
reaction.

He
didn’t move, didn’t respond to her presence at all, and
she refused to say anything. They just stood together, breathing
quietly, the calm of early evening and the peace of the Goshinboku
descending over them to make them a temporary part of the scenery.
The waning light of the sun bathed everything in a peculiar glow; the
breeze kicked up for just a moment, and the paper of the shimenawa
rustled faintly.

Kagome
didn’t understand InuYasha. She didn’t understand what it
was about the god tree that he had reacted so strangely to, and yet…

…And
yet, at the same time, she, too, had also always felt a strange
connection with the tree, had always loved it for the sense of
tranquility it granted to anyone near to it.

His
hands dropped away from the tree and he turned to face her, and she
realized how close she stood to him. Her breath hitched at the deep
sadness reflected in the amber of his eyes, a glimpse of some secret
torment that she desperately wished he would share with her. Empathy
crinkled her brows, and she reached a hand to brush against his
jacket. “InuYasha?”

Her
voice seemed to call him back, and he blinked, the flash of emotion
vanishing from his eyes, then sighed. “Dammit.” The
frustration was mild, the tone soft. “Let’s get this over
with.” He took her hand and turned away, leaving her slightly
chilled at the sudden absence of his body heat. With a gentle tug, he
pulled her along beside him as they left the protection of the
Goshinboku, heading in a leisurely stroll for the house behind the
shrine.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Mama!
We’re here!” Kagome called out absently as she removed
her shoes in the genkan and pointed out the house slippers. InuYasha
just shrugged and followed suit, his eyes taking in the house’s
entryway curiously. Lights shone through the house, and she could
smell the beginnings of dinner on the air. A little farther in, the
door to the living room stood wide open, and the sounds of the
evening news murmured in the background. “Jii-chan?”

“Kagome!
Is that you? I’m so happy you made it.” The warmth of
Mama’s voice echoed from the kitchen. “You worried me a
little when you rescheduled.” She appeared in the open door
opposite the living room, wiping her hands on her apron. “I
hope everything is all right?”

Kagome
just smiled, like she always did when confronted with her mother’s
comforting presence. “Everything is fine, Mama. Something just
came up. I’m sorry we worried you.” Reaching behind her,
she curled her fingers around InuYasha’s palm and tugged,
pulling him with her as she stepped up into the house. “Mama,
this is InuYasha.”

Mama
turned her soft brown gaze onto the hanyou who had stepped into the
house with her daughter. Sudden tension invaded InuYasha’s
body, though if Kagome hadn’t been holding onto him she never
would have known. He stood easily under Mama’s scrutiny,
appearing almost bored as her mother looked him up and down, her eyes
widening when she noticed the soft white ears twitching at odd
intervals atop his head. Immensely grateful for the tiny contact,
Kagome gave his hand a comforting squeeze.

His
ears stopped twitching.

Finally,
Mama smiled, small and warm, and bowed her head. “InuYasha.
Welcome. I’m pleased you could come.”

She
felt the surprise that went through him at her mother’s polite
greeting, and he blinked. Then the tension of his grip slackened just
a little. Looking slightly awkward, he returned the bow and responded
with a grunt that sounded like it was meant to be polite. A grin
twitched at her lips because the mumbling uncertainty didn’t
fit his voice. He noticed her amusement and sent her a sidelong
glare, which only made her more amused.

Mama’s
keen gaze noted the brief exchange, and her smile widened slightly.
“I hope you like nabe, InuYasha. We’re having beef
tonight.”

Kagome
flushed at the knowing twinkle in her mother’s gaze. “Uh,
Mama, where are Jii-chan and Souta?”

Mama’s smile didn’t waver. “Jii-chan is taking a
nap in his room, and Souta is--”

A
loud thud cut off Mama’s words, followed by a softer thud and a
panicked, “Ah! Watch out!”

Almost
before the words finished, a soccer ball came rocketing down the
stairway ahead of them; it hit the edge of a step at an odd angle and
shot directly at them. Mama gasped and Kagome took a startled step
backwards, but InuYasha had already stepped in front of her and
caught the ball in two hands. For a split second of stunned silence,
Mama just stared at him, a hand to her mouth. Kagome blinked at his
back, then stepped around InuYasha to glare up the stairs.

Feet,
covered in shin-high socks, pounded down the stairs, and a tall,
black-haired boy, still dressed in shorts and a jersey, clattered
into view. “Sorry! It got away from…” He drew to a
stop when he found three sets of eyes turn to him. Dark brown eyes
widened and darted over the dog ears and odd coloring of the stranger
standing in their entryway. He blinked. “Who’re you?“
His gaze settled on the black and white ball in his hands, and a
smile lit his face. “Hey! You caught it? Nice!”

Kagome
rolled her eyes, fighting to keep her exasperation in check. “Souta!
You’re not supposed to kick that thing in the house! You could
have hurt someone!”

He
returned her eye roll with one of his own. “Nice to see you
too, sis.”

She
sent him a murderous look. “Souta….”

Another
eye-roll. “Lighten up. I just got back from practice and we
have a tournament next month. Anyway, I said I was sorry, didn’t
I?” He turned his attention back to InuYasha, his gaze keen.
“Who’s this guy? Is he your new boyfriend?”

It
was InuYasha’s turn to take a startled step backwards.

Kagome
nearly choked on her horror. “SOUTA!”

A
smothered laugh slipped past Mama’s lips before she cleared her
throat and directed a firm look at her son. “InuYasha is our
guest, Souta. You should address him more politely.”

Souta
looked mildly ashamed, but he finished his lope down the stairs and
held out his hands for the soccer ball, still eyeing the newcomer.
“InuYasha, huh? That‘s an unusual name….” A
frown wrinkled his forehead. “You’re a youkai? Are those
your real ears?”

InuYasha
scowled at him and finally found his voice. “Of course they’re
real.” He tossed the soccer ball back to the teenager. “You
got a problem with me being a youkai?”

Souta
caught the ball easily and blinked at the question. His shoulders
lifted in a careless shrug. “Why should I? Some of the best
players on our team are youkai.” InuYasha’s scowl
vanished abruptly, but Souta didn’t seem to notice. His frown
grew more pronounced. “None of them have ears that look like
yours, though. Theirs are all pointy. Why are yours different?”

Kagome
hid a smile. “InuYasha is a hanyou, Souta.”

“Oh.”
He fell quiet, but the thoughtful wrinkle between his brows didn’t
falter. His eyes narrowed and he stared hard at the hanyou, propping
the ball on his hip. “Hanyou. Huh.”

She
could see InuYasha grow restless under the continued study. His ears
started twitching again and his eyebrow got that odd tick. “You
got a problem with that?” he finally demanded.

She
opened her mouth to intervene before things got out of hand, but
Souta started shaking his head. “Nah. You got some really great
reflexes.” His head cocked to the side, as if he were trying to
get a different view of their guest. “But I’m sure I’ve
seen you somewhere before. And I know I’ve heard your
name before….” His lips pressed together with effort.

So
did Kagome’s as she realized with a flash of dread that she’d
forgotten to warn InuYasha about Souta’s second favorite hobby.
“Uh, Souta, InuYasha is--”

But
Souta‘s eyes had already rounded. “No way!”
He pointed a finger at InuYasha, his face blank with astonishment.
“You’re that InuYasha, aren’t you?! Right?
You’re an Alliance hunter, right?!” Excitement radiated
with invisible energy from Souta as he took a step closer. “Oh
man. I’m sure of it. I saw you on TV the other day arguing with
that politician guy!”

InuYasha
flashed her an uncertain look from the corner of his eyes, and she
winced in apology. Oops. InuYasha’s expression
questioned her brother’s sanity, but he grunted out an
affirmation. “Yeah. So?”

Mama
looked impressed. “My, my. Do you really hunt those terrible
monsters that cause all that damage?”

“Yes!
I knew it!” Souta jumped, punching a fist into the air
and nearly dropping his ball. He turned an accusatory glare on his
sister. “Why didn’t you tell me you knew someone like
him?”

She
rolled her eyes again. “Why should I? You never care when I
talk about Sango, and she’s a hunter.”

“That’s
because I know Sango. Besides, she’s good, but she’s
not as good as him.” He cocked a thumb at InuYasha, who
looked completely nonplussed. But Souta rapidly lost interest in
blaming Kagome and whirled on InuYasha with a calculating grin. “Hey,
hey. Is it true that you’re the only hanyou to ever officially
hunt for the Alliance? Do you really have a huge sword that causes
all kinds of damage? Can I see it? Is it true that you killed
Ryukoutsusei before you were even a hunter? Is your kill rate really
as good as they say it is? Can you tell me about that big rogue that
tore up the city? Was it really--”

With
each question, he took another step, bringing him closer to a hanyou
whose expression grew more wary by the second. InuYasha started
edging back away from her brother, and Kagome felt her temper snap.
“Souta!” Before he could push InuYasha back into
the genkan, she grabbed onto his ear, twisting to make sure he got
the message. “Stop it!”

“Ah!
Hey, that hurts!” Souta winced, but immediately froze,
experience serving him well.

Blowing
out a breath, she dropped her grip on his ear and turned an
apologetic look to InuYasha. “Sorry. Souta and some of his
friends are big fans of the Alliance hunters. They like to keep track
of all that stuff.”

Souta
rubbed at his sore ear, but appeared to realize that he’d
overdone it. He nodded, his eyes taking on a sheepish glint. “Yeah.
Sorry. I guess I got a little excited. Me and the guys have this
website, where keep up stats and pay rates and kill ratings and
stuff. But we don’t have as much information as we’d like
about all the hunters. You especially. I thought you could fill in
some blanks.”

“Website?”
Now that he wasn’t being stalked out of the house, InuYasha
looked a little less hassled. And more curious. His brow furrowed and
doubt shaded his voice. “How do you find all that stuff out?”

Souta
grinned. “Wanna see it?”

“See
it?” His eyes darted to her, but she just shrugged.

“Come
on. I’ll show you what we have, and you can let me know if any
of it’s not right.” Souta’s expression was eager
again, but not as overwhelming this time. He grabbed onto InuYasha’s
sleeve and started to pull.

“Uh….”
He darted another look at her, somewhat panicked. This time, she bit
the inside of her cheek to hold in a grin.

Mama
didn’t even bother to hide her smile. “That’s a
wonderful idea, Souta. You keep InuYasha company while Kagome helps
me with dinner.”

InuYasha
still looked reluctant, so she let her grin surface and gave him a
reassuring wave. “Don’t worry. We’ll call you when
dinner’s ready, okay?”

He
rolled his eyes, but turned to make sure he didn’t trip behind
Souta‘s enthusiastic grip on his way up the stairs.

Kagome
watched InuYasha disappear onto the second floor with Souta. “Nice
to see you too, Souta.” She heaved a small sigh and turned to
Mama, whose merriment hadn’t abated. “Well, at least that
went well. Now all I have to worry about is Jii-chan.”

Mama
gave a small laugh. “Welcome home, Kagome.” She turned
back to the kitchen. “Now let’s finish cutting these
vegetables so we can feed these boys.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

He
allowed Kagome’s little brother to pull him away from her, but
only because he thought it would be easier to go with the kid’s
flow than fight it. They emerged onto the second floor to a long
hallway and several western style doors closed against it. His eyes
fixed almost automatically on a specific door farther down. He
blinked and froze in shock. But before he had the chance to move or
inquire, Souta’s grip on his sleeved jerked him off to the
side. He was dragged into a different room and released abruptly.

He
stumbled to a stop and watched as the kid made a beeline for a large
desk on the other side of the room. An elaborate-looking cluster of
electronic devices covered the desk: screens and metal boxes of
various sizes, and odd-looking devices connected by twisted wires
that all seemed to vanish into the wall. Souta plopped into the
rolling chair, touched something that brought the largest screen to
life and immediately started typing in rapid-fire clicks. “Man,
this is great. No one is ever going to believe that I had you
over for dinner.” The typing stopped and Souta whirled in his
seat. “Hey, you think I could get a picture while you’re
here? The one we have on the site isn’t that great. You don’t
really go to the Alliance that often, so it’s not that easy to
get a picture of you. The one we have up now we got from when you
were on the news.”

InuYasha
stared at him in mild disbelief. He’d never met anyone so
excited to see a hunter before, and never one so impressed by the
fact that he was a hanyou.

Talk
about your foreign concepts.

Souta didn’t wait for an answer. He turned back and gestured to
the images loading on the screen. “One of the guys who helps
run this website knows someone inside the Alliance. He knows all
kinds of stuff about the hunters and when they hunt and what they
take out, and he gets it to us pretty quick when a rogue attack
happens. We update the site pretty often, too, just to keep
everything current.”

Frowning
his curiosity, he walked across the room to look over the kid’s
shoulder, taking in the dark brown, green, and black that made up the
site design, and the splashy title in blood-red letters across the
top: Hunting Ground. He nearly rolled his eyes at the title, but
allowed them to skim down the rest of the page. The front page had a
few paragraphs of text about the site, and colored links lined the
sides that lead to information about the Alliance and how it worked,
the rogues, and hunters. Beneath the text, photographs of Alliance
hunters --some of whom he knew, and some he didn’t -- lined
themselves in rows according to rank. He was surprised, and a little
irritated, to find a picture of himself among those on the top row.
Right next to Kouga.

He
scowled. That picture of him wasn’t exactly flattering. He
considering re-thinking he reluctance to allow the kid to take his
picture. It seemed like the pictures were links, though, leading to
more information about the hunters they represented. “Why would
you do something like this?”

Souta
shrugged. “My friends and I’ve been big fans of the
hunters and what they do since we were little kids. We used to eat up
anything we saw or heard on the news about you guys -- we even
bothered our teachers to tell us stuff about the Alliance, but they
didn’t really know all that much either. Then we got smart and
started clipping and saving stuff, doing research on our own. We
managed to gather a ton of information, and it was just sitting
around, so we decided it would be fun to put it all into one place
for anyone to see. Pretty cool, huh?”

Grudgingly,
he admitted a small amount of respect for the work that had obviously
gone into a teenager’s hobby. It crossed his mind to wonder if
all the information they had up about the Alliance was correct.

Souta
nearly read his mind, because he launched into a comprehensive
explanation of the site, pride shining in his voice. “We threw
in the background stuff because we thought it would help round things
out -- tell people why it’s important, you know. Most of it is
available in history books or a matter of public record if you know
where to look for it. We just compiled all the information and
organized it. And then we calculate stats and stuff for the hunters.
We even have a ratings system. You’re one of the best,
considering the high success rate and that kick-ass sword, though it
doesn’t help your stats any when stuff gets destroyed, so that
hurts some. Oh, and you should probably be more careful about….”

The
kid’s constant flow of chatter didn’t seem to require him
to answer, so he let his eyes wander for a few moments, taking in the
subtle tones of the room, the tatami matting on the floor, thinking
idly that Miroku would be interested to know about what the kid was
doing -- assuming that he didn’t already know. A bookcase lined
the wall opposite the bed, but it was only partially covered in
books. Posters of sports and monster movies dotted the walls, and
trophies and medals interspersed with the books on the shelves. On
one of the top shelves, a flash of bright green within a wood-framed
picture caught his eye.

Kagome?

His
frown returned and he strode over to the bookcase, grabbing the
picture.

It
was definitely her, though much younger. She stood in front of some
building, wearing a school uniform with a pleated green skirt and a
long-sleeved sailor top. Three other girls, dressed the same and
looking eerily similar save for their differing hairstyles crowded
around her in the picture. A cheerful, brown-haired teenage boy stood
just behind them grinning at Kagome like an idiot. Kagome was
laughing, two fingers held up in a peace sign, and the vivid yellow
stripe of a backpack hung over one shoulder.

He
couldn’t breathe. The pain was back again, ripping into his
brain and destroying his concentration, but this time he didn’t
even try to hide or fight it. He gripped his forehead, and embraced
it as he had earlier at the Goshinboku, let it wash over him, let the
images that always came with it come as well, and simply stared down
at the photograph in his hand. In the background, Souta chattered
away, oblivious.

The
pain released him and his lungs expanded to gulp at the air. He
staggered backward on unsteady legs; when his knees hit the bed, he
collapsed onto it, sitting so hard that the headboard thumped against
the wall. Stunned, he just stared down at the photograph, his insides
trembling. Holy shit.

His
crash-landing finally caught Souta’s attention, and he stopped
talking long enough to pivot his seat. “What happened?”
He spotted the picture still gripped tightly in one clawed hand and
frowned. “What’s wrong?”

Trying
to cover, he held up the picture and his voice rasped into the
silence. “How old is she in this?”

Souta’s
face cleared. “Oh. That. She’s almost fifteen there. She
and those girls were inseparable through all of middle school. And
see that guy looking at her like he would bow down and worship her if
she’d let him?” He rolled his eyes and turned back to the
screen, reaching a hand into a nearby drawer to pull out a box.
“That’s Houjou.” He pulled out a pretzel stick and
tucked it into his mouth. “He was her boyfriend through all of
high school.”

“Boyfriend?”
Houjou. He scowled down at the boy in the picture and let his
thumb skim across the picture, stroking over the younger Kagome’s
face. His claw scratched faintly against the glass. She looked
utterly carefree, happy. And completely, elementally familiar. All
the way down to that damn yellow backpack.

Souta
gave non-committal hum. “For a while he was with her all the
time. Mama and Jii-chan thought they would end up married, but they
broke up on graduation day. Kagome didn’t even seem that upset
about it. She just came home, said it was over, and that was the last
I heard of him.” He paused, contemplated, and shrugged. “I
think he asked her to marry him and she said no. She never was
as attached to him as he was to her.” He started typing again,
a sly note entering his tone. “Anyway, you don’t have to
worry about him, if that’s what you’re thinking.”

“I’m
not worried.” He clipped it out, still glued to the picture.

“But
you like her, right? And she likes you -- she must. She hasn’t
brought a guy home for dinner since Houjou, and I can tell she likes
you better.”

He
blinked, then let a small smile curve his mouth. “Maybe.”
After a moment, he tapped at the glass. “Why do you have a
picture of your sister and her friends in your room?”

The
typing stopped and Souta darted an uncomfortable look over his
shoulder. “Ah, well…. That was the last picture she took
before the accident, so it’s kinda special.”

“Accident?”
His ears pricked and his head came up, his eyes finally pulling away
from the picture to pin Souta with a startled gaze. “What
accident?”

Souta
blinked at him. “The accident at the park on her birthday.”
He frowned and scratched at his head. “You mean she hasn’t
told you yet?”

Park?
Birthday? A cold, hard knot twisted in his gut. His teeth
clenched. “What accident?”

Souta
sat back against his chair, his unease palpable. “I don’t
know. If she hasn’t told you, she must have a reason….”

“Maybe
it just hasn’t come up yet.” His eyes narrowed, and the
sick feeling in his stomach started churning. “What
accident?”

Souta
still looked hesitant. “Maybe I shouldn’t have--”

“I’ll
let you take a picture.”

Souta
stopped and eyed his position at the foot of his bed. “Really?”

His
brows hardened. “I don’t lie, and I don’t make
offers twice. What accident, Souta?”

Souta
took all of ten seconds to mull that over. He sighed. “Early in
Kagome’s last year of middle school, her class went on a
camping trip. It was just for a weekend in one of the national parks
outside the city -- you know, the ones they keep clear of youkai so
its safe for humans? But while they were hiking on one of the trails,
Kagome fell and hit her head.” He paused, his features
softening. “They rushed her to the hospital, but she was
already in a coma. It happened on her fifteenth birthday.” He
looked down at the floor. “She stayed in a coma for an entire
year.”

“A
coma? For an entire…year?” His heart slammed in his
chest. He did a quick mental calculation, and his heart stopped. It
couldn’t be…except that it could, and it even made sense
if it had. Guilt tightened his chest.

Oh…shit.

“Yeah.
It was rough for her.” Souta looked troubled. “When she
came out of it, she was a year behind. All her friends had moved on
to high school and were too busy to visit her, so she was stuck in
the same school with people she barely know. She ended up
transferring schools to finish middle school. It only made it worse
that no one believed her about the youkai.”

His
eyes widened and his grip on the picture tightened, threatening the
frame. “Youkai?”

“Yeah.”
The younger male turned his back to InuYasha to stare at the computer
screen. “I was still pretty young, so I’m not really
clear on all the details, but I was there the day she woke up. I used
to go visit her after school sometimes, just to see how she was
doing. She was really disoriented and weak, but one of the first
things she did was start babbling about the youkai witch who had
grabbed her. She said she’d been put under some kind of spell,
but….” He shook his head. “The doctors said it was
just a concussion. Her friends all saw her fall off the trail. That
park hasn’t had youkai in years. It took them a while to find
her, but they didn’t see any evidence of a youkai around. Just
her, bleeding from her head.” He fell quiet for a moment. “In
the end, they told her it was a dream.”

Fuck.

A
loud crack echoed through the room as the tip of his claw made a hole
through the glass.

Souta
whirled and gawped at the picture. “Whoa. Are you okay?”

He
bowed his head, letting his hair fall forward to hide his expression
from the boy, staring almost blindly at the younger Kagome through
the striations in the glass. “ ‘They told her’?
Didn’t they convince her?”

Souta
blinked at him for a long moment, his eyes going from the ruined
glass to the hanyou and back. “I don’t know. She doesn’t
talk about it. She hasn’t since the doctors and gave up on her
story.”

He
let that sink into his system for a few moments, let it absorb into
his brain. Then he forced his muscles to release their tension. He
sighed and looked up at the kid. “Sounds like she had a hard
time after her…accident.”

Souta
continued to stare, but he answered readily. “Some. Mostly just
with school and friends. After she transferred, all she did was
study. Even after she got into high school, the only one of her
classmates she spent any time with was Houjou -- and I think that was
more because he was an old friend than that she really wanted to be
with him.” He frowned. “But she’s fine now. She got
over it when she met Sango.” A grin twisted his mouth. “She
was the first hunter I ever met. I even met her brother Kohaku once.”

Souta’s
grin widened and he held up his hand, which now held a small digital
camera. “He was real cool. He let me take his picture, too.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Mama
led her into the kitchen and set her up at a counter with a knife, a
cutting board, and a pile of recently peeled vegetables. Then, while
Kagome started chopping, Mama turned to the sink and her much larger
pile of unpeeled vegetables, all of which would go into the pot
warming on the stove. She picked up her paring knife, and within
moments, the kitchen filled with the smooth and rhythmic sounds of
peeling and chopping.

“I’m
glad you were able to rearrange your schedule to bring InuYasha
tonight. He’s quite good-looking isn’t he?” A brief
moment’s pause. “Though he doesn’t strike me as the
type to hide in a bedroom just because someone’s mother comes
to visit.”

Halfway
through her first potato, Kagome grimaced as blush number one warmed
her cheeks, and guilt swamped her stomach. Just like her mother to
get to the point in a roundabout way. “Yes. I’m sorry you
had to find out that way. I was going to tell you, eventually. It was
just….”

“A
surprise, yes? For me, too.” Mama’s voice often smiled
better than her face. “Well, I shouldn’t have come in
like that, either. I was concerned after something so violent
happened so close to you. A mother worries. But I suppose I wasn’t
the only one?”

“No,
Mama. You weren’t the only one.”

“That’s
good.” She sounded satisfied with that answer. “And you?
How are you doing, Kagome?”

This
time it was she who smiled. “Very well, Mama.”

“Any
regrets?”

This
question was much softer, almost sympathetic, and Kagome paused for a
long moment, turning it over in her mind before answering just as
softly. “No. None.”

Mama’s
long sigh filtered over to her as if carried by a gentle breeze. “And
you’re being careful?”

Blush
number two. She resisted the urge to thump her forehead against the
cutting board. “Yes, Mama.”

Chopping,
and the shaving of the paring knife, filled the air for a few
minutes. On the stove, water began to boil. Kagome set her took a
moment to turn it down, then returned to her vegetables -- a radish
this time.

“So
how did you meet this hanyou of yours?”

“He
was a patient. I treated him for wounds he got while he was hunting,
and he kind of just…stuck around after that.”

“And
how long ago was this?”

The
moment of truth.

She
hesitated. “Two weeks, Mama.” Only the slightest of
embellishments.

The
steady snick of the paring knife stopped abruptly. Kagome held her
breath, and waited.

The
silence felt loaded, heavy. The unbearable quiet stretched and still
Mama didn’t move, her back remaining rigid for several minutes.
Kagome’s eyes dropped to the cutting board, and her fingers
tightened around the handle of the knife. Tension twisted knots in
her gut as she waited for some kind of response.

Then
Mama sighed again, and her knife made a metallic clack as she set it
on the rim of the sink. “Two weeks as of when?”

Kagome
winced. Mama had always known exactly the question she didn’t
want to answer. “Two weeks as of tomorrow.”

Mama
still hadn’t turned around, and in Kagome’s mind her face
was as blank and careful as her voice. “I’ve always felt
very lucky as a mother, because I have a daughter who has always been
a very responsible person. You were so brave when Papa died, and you
never complained about having to help. You were never rebellious
about anything, and you worked hard in school, and you were always
honest and deliberate about the way you dealt with people. Even after
the accident, when you had to decide what to do about schooling,
you’ve always considered everything so carefully.

“That’s
why, when you decided to move out, your Jii-chan and I didn’t
object. We had confidence that you would find the right decision no
matter what you faced.” She turned, strain lining her features.
“I suppose I have no reason to doubt that now.”

Kagome
bit her lip and sent a hesitant look at her mother. “You don’t
think Jii-chan will mind about InuYasha?”

Mama’s
eyebrows lifted. “You mean that he’s a hanyou? Well,
perhaps we shouldn’t tell him about your relationship being so
close, but as for what he is and what he does, it’s certainly
not a surprise. You’ve always had an affinity for youkai --
especially those lovely orphanage children. Jii-chan knows that.”
A smile graced her lips again. “To be honest, my first thought
was that it was that charming youkai Kouga.”

Kagome
rolled her eyes. “Please, whatever you do, don’t tell
InuYasha that.” She continued to chew on her lip for a moment
before she set her knife down and turned to watch her mother wash the
vegetable she’d finished peeling. “Mama? How did you know
it wasn’t Kouga?”

“When
I thought back to way you treated Kouga, I realized it couldn’t
be him.”

Kagome
frowned. “The way I treated him?”

Mama
smiled her gentle smile. “You treated him the same way you
treated Houjou. The same way you’ve treated every boy I’ve
ever seen you with. I knew it couldn’t be him.”

She
stopped washing for a moment and turned off the water and set her
carrot in the sink before turning soft eyes to her daughter. “You’ve
always kept yourself at a distance from boys, Kagome. I’ve
watched it your entire life -- even before the accident, when you
were very small, you’ve always kept a little part of yourself
separate and untouchable. And none of the boys I saw you with over
the years could get anywhere near that part of you. None of them even
realized it was there.”

Kagome
stared at her mother, eyes round. “I kept a part of myself
separate? But why?”

Mama’s
tone grew thoughtful, and she picked up her carrot and turned it
around in her palm. “In fact, most of the time I think not even
you knew it was there.” Her smile turned sad. “I
used to worry for you. I was afraid that you would end up married to
Houjou and that part of you would stay locked away forever. He was
such a nice, solid boy….” She drifted off for a moment,
then sighed. “But I knew he couldn’t touch you the way
you were waiting to be touched.”

Kagome
sucked in a horrified breath, nearly dropping the half of a radish
hanging forgotten in her fingers. “Mama!”

To
her shock, her mother’s smile took on a hint of slyness. But
then Mama shook her head. “I didn’t mean quite like that,
Kagome.” The slyness strengthened for just a moment. “Though
it didn’t seem to me as if your hanyou has a problem there,
either.”

“MAMA!”

A
soft laugh and Mama had turned back around and flipped the water back
on. “I meant that Houjou--or any of the others--could never
reach all of you, Kagome, because you wouldn’t allow it. None
of them ever passed whatever secret test you always had for them.”

Carefully,
Mama set the newly peeled carrot off to the side and picked up
another. “I knew that whoever you were hiding in your room that
day, it wasn’t any of the ones I’d met.” She
laughed again. “Of course, I didn’t expect that it was
someone you only met last week, either. But, Kagome, if you’ve
finally found the person who can pass your test, then….”

“Test?”
She paused, thinking back, going over Mama’s words. “You
really think I had a test?”

“I
always did wonder what you would do when you found him.” Mama
shut off the water and brought the vegetables over to her side of the
kitchen and grabbed a cutting knife of her own. “I can see it,
you know. That part of yourself you’ve never let anyone touch.
He’s got to it, set it free somehow. I can see it shining in
you.”

Following
Mama’s movements, Kagome wrapped her fingers around the handle
of the knife she’d been using, and lifted it as if to cut, but
didn’t bring it down. Instead, she studied her reflection in
the blade. “So…you don’t mind, Mama?” How
inadequate that question was, meaning so many different things and
saying none of them.

But
Mama understood. She stopped slicing and sighed heavily. For a
moment, tension and worry brought the strain back to her face. “It’s
not a usual situation. Being so close after knowing someone only a
week is….” She paused, sighed again, and the worry was
gone. “But you’re not the usual kind of girl, at least
not in this. I have faith in your judgment, Kagome. You’ve
given me many reasons to trust it over the years, and very few to
doubt it. If this is what it takes, then….” She smiled
her warm smile. “You should bring him here more often. Souta’s
taken to him.”

Kagome
felt the warmth fill her chest and burst in answering brilliance
across her face. “Yes.” Wryness put a twist to her lips.
“A little too taken with him, I think.”

Mama
didn’t answer, but she didn’t have to. The air was clear
again, and Kagome was content with the familiar sounds of chopping as
she and Mama cut up the remaining vegetables.

Kagome
paused, fingering a slice of radish thoughtfully for a moment. “Mama?
About Kouga….”

Mama’s
graceful eyebrows lifted at her daughter’s studied tone. “Yes?”

“You
remember how you met him, right?”

“Of
course. I came to the clinic so that we could have lunch, and he was
waiting to speak with you about something. He was quite pleasant, if
a little overbearing.”

Kagome
smiled. “Yes. Will you do me a favor? Don’t tell InuYasha
any of that, okay?”

Mama
seemed very amused by that; Kagome could hear laughter just under the
sereneness of her tone. “If you say so, dear.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“InuYasha?
Souta? Dinner’s almost ready.” Kagome hummed happily on
her way to collect her brother at her mother’s behest. She was
much relieved after chopping vegetables in the kitchen with her
mother; she’d been worried that Mama would disapprove of what
she was doing with InuYasha. Mama’s confidence in her had
lifted a huge weight from her chest, and the fact that she actually
liked InuYasha brought a smile to her lips. Her family’s
opinion meant a lot to her.

“Souta,
Mama wants you to set the table.” Her feet made familiar thumps
on the stairs as she hurried up in search of her brother and
her…whatever he was to her. She’d been trying to puzzle
over that for the past few days now. The term ‘boyfriend’
just didn’t seem to fit. Lover was closer, and a little more
thrilling, but still didn’t feel quite right, and the term
‘soul mate’ was not only premature, but far too dramatic
for her tastes. Whatever she was doing with him, whatever they were
to each other, it defied classification. And Mama’s revelation
had given her a whole new way of looking at their relationship.

She
sighed as she neared Souta’s closed door, a fist raised to rap
on the wood. “Souta? Did you hear --”

The
door yanked open before her knuckles made contact. She blinked,
startled to find herself looking up into the eager face of her
teenage brother. Souta’s growth spurts had gotten more apparent
to her in the years since she’d moved out and no longer saw him
every day, but it was only in the past few months that he’d
started edging her in height. Not so many years ago, she’d been
able to wrestle him down for a noogie with little or no resistance.

How
quickly things could change.

Souta
flashed her a mischievous grin and darted past her, completely
oblivious to the flash of nostalgia that crossed her features. “I
heard you the first time, sis. Dibs on the beef!”

Of
course, Souta would always be Souta.

His
socked feet started their controlled tumble down the stairs, leaving
her standing in an empty doorway. She peered into his room. InuYasha?

“InuYasha
isn’t with me anymore,” her brother’s voice called
back in descending volume. “He left a few minutes ago. Seemed
kinda upset. I thought he was downstairs already.”

Kagome
blinked again. Upset? Why would he be upset? She glanced
around the hallway. He wasn’t downstairs, of that she was sure.
So if he isn’t downstairs with Mama and Jii-chan….
A tiny frown marred the skin between her brows. “InuYasha?”
she called again, and again received no answer. Her eyes fell on a
door at the other end of the hall, and noted that it stood ajar.

Could
he be…?

Her
feet padded the few steps down the hall. The door swung open as
quietly as always, and her old bedroom loomed silent before her. The
yellow light from the hallway cut into the otherwise unlit room,
illuminating edges and deepening shadows. She stood for a moment to
adjust to the darker interior, letting her gaze pass along the
familiar walls and decorations: girlish ruffles, old pictures, and
miscellaneous awards of which she’d once been so proud. All
remnants of a time in her life long since lost, but the memories
always brought a smile to her lips. Everything was exactly the same
as it’d been when she’d left for university all those
years ago. Mama still hadn’t changed it.

Her
eyes skimmed over to the window on the right, where her bed, desk,
and hated alarm clock had always been. She spotted him easily enough,
sitting cross-legged on the floor with his back to the bed. He had
his head cradled in his hands, almost as if he were in pain, though
the flicked-back position of one of his ears told her he knew she was
there.

Her
frown grew concerned. “InuYasha?” Hesitantly, she stepped
into the room. She was surprised to note the cool breeze that rippled
though the curtains. He’d opened the window. For some odd
reason, a deep chord of resonance swept through her at the sight and
she paused, her hand going to a throat that was inexplicably tight.
It was as if it were only, incredibly, wholly right that she
find him sitting in her old room next to an open window. She
swallowed, wondering if he felt it too, then tipped her head to the
side.

“What
are you doing in here?” She wasn’t offended, just
curious, and it was evident in her voice.

At
first he didn’t respond. His body didn’t move a fraction
from its position on the floor. Kagome frowned. A trace of concern
curled through her; he really did look like he was in pain. A few
more steps had her at his side, and she settled onto her knees facing
him. Her hand reached out so that her fingers could brush against his
shoulder.

“InuYasha?”
Her voice was softer this time. “What’s wrong?”

His
ears twitched in the pale light, and his head lifted from his hands.
He still didn’t look up at her. His eyes fixed on a spot on the
floor in front of them.

“You
should have told me.”

Huh?

She
blinked. “Told you what?”

“About
the damn coma.” His eyes lifted then, and blazing anger and
frustration gilded his gaze as it locked with hers. “You were
in a coma for an entire fucking year, and you never said a damn thing
about it.”

She
froze, for a moment unable to even blink.

Coma?
Her eyes widened. How does he…?
She swallowed, anxiety twisting a cold leaden ball into her gut.
Souta.

“I….”
This time it was she who wouldn’t look at him. Against her
thighs, her fingers twisted in the light material of her skirt. “I
didn’t think it was important.” That coma had not been a
pleasant thing to happen in her life. She had lost so much that year,
and no one had believed her when she told them what happened. “It
was a long time ago, and it has nothing to do with now.”

“More
than you know.”

Kagome
bit her lip and looked up, her worry growing at the harshness of his
tone. He was resting his forehead against his fingertips now, his
eyes narrowed as he peered down through the gloom. She edged a little
closer, trying to get a good look at the face he had turned away from
her. “Hey. Are you all right?”

He
let out a soft growl. “Tch. Of course I’m all right. This
place is just….” He made a slicing, dismissive motion
with his free hand. “It’s just a headache.”

She
blinked at him for a few moments, surprised to hear that he could
suffer from something so mundane as a headache, and even more
surprised that he would admit to such a weakness out loud. Then she
wondered how bad it must be for him to have said

anything
about it in the first place. She suppressed a wince of sympathy,
wishing there was some way she could help. None of the painkillers
that Mama was to likely have on hand would be effective for a youkai,
and it wasn’t as if they had time to go all the way back to the
clinic just so she could mix up some herbal tea.

Abruptly,
she pushed back onto her feet. His ear swiveled, following her
movements, though he didn’t look up. The mattress dipped under
her weight as she settled herself on the bed behind him, crossing one
leg underneath her and letting the other hang to the floor by his
side. His head came up then, and he started to twist around to face
her.

“Kagome….”

“Shhhh.”
Her hands at the sides of his head stopped him before he got even
halfway around. Her fingertips, cool from all the chopping and
washing she’d done, smoothed against his temples. He stiffened,
but she ignored it. She started a slow massage, rotating with gentle
pressure against his skin, going for a few of his pressure points.

For
a few seconds he just sat awkward and unmoving under her
ministrations. She held her breath, afraid he would stop her. She
felt him relax, and breathed out as his shoulders sagged back to rest
warmly against her leg. His head tipped back just a fraction to
accommodate her hands, and in that moment, he reminded her of Buyo
whenever he presented her his tummy in a lazy demand for attention.

Not
that he would appreciate being compared to the family pet.

A
smile flickered across her lips and she widened her reach, fingers
delving into his hair, nails giving the occasional light scratch,
fingertips digging very gently into the thickness at the base of his
ears. They quivered ever so slightly every time she scratched at the
delicate skin. Her smile deepened, and she had to beat back a wayward
urge to lean down and brush a kiss along one of the finely furred
edges, not wanting to startle him out of letting her touch him like
this.

A few more moments of quiet, and she was certain she heard the
faintest hint of a rumble -- one of those deep ones, from low in his
chest. Then both his ears gave a slight jerk, and she heard him draw
a deep breath and sigh.

“Kagome….”

She
hadn’t been expecting him to speak just yet, much less in such
a somber tone. She blinked. “Hmm?”

He
hesitated for a heartbeat. “What happened?”

“What….”
More blinking as she tried to figure out what he was talking about.
Her rhythm slowed. “What happened….”

He
huffed softly and his ears flicked again for emphasis. “The
camping trip. The accident. Tell me about it.”

“Oh.”
Her fingers stilled against his scalp, and she focused down on the
fine strands of silver into which they’d disappeared. This was
not exactly her fondest subject. “Well…. I guess I
was….”

“Not
what the doctors told you happened.” He interrupted her, voice
laced with impatience. “Fuck the doctors. What do you
remember.”

Her
eyes widened, wondering just how much Souta had told him. Suddenly
uncomfortable, she started to pull away. “I --”

His
hands clamped down over hers, trapping them in his hair, and his
swiftness startled her. She stared down at him, but he didn’t
move. Quiet descended, falling over both of them like a heavy
blanket. A breath of wind pushed through the window, stirring the
curtains, a brief rush of coolness over both of them.

She
closed her eyes and allowed her fingers to resume their circular
motion. After a few seconds of following her movements, his hands
released hers. One of them dropped to wrap possessive warmth around
her bare ankle. A ghost of her previous smile curved her mouth.

Her
lids lifted, and she studied him in silence for a moment. “Why
do you want to know?”

“Because….”
He trailed off. Growled softly. His fingers tightened. “Just
tell me.”

She
sighed, but relented. She took a moment to think, and her brow
wrinkled with the troubled memories. “Our class wanted to
celebrate the fact that we would be leaving middle school after that
year. We had entrance exams coming up, and it was supposed to be fun
and relaxing before all the stress. We thought a camping trip sounded
like an adventure, and to me it was exciting because they scheduled
the trip for over my birthday.” She smiled. “I would get
to leave fourteen and come home fifteen. The national park just
outside the city was supposed to be a good place. It was supposed to
-- was free of dangerous youkai….”

She
sighed again, her fingers still massaging absently because the action
proved to be as soothing to her as it was to him. “My friends
all said I went sleepwalking that night. They said they followed me,
and that I tripped and fell on the hiking path --” His fingers
gave a warning squeeze around her ankle, and she glared down at the
top of his head. Even if he couldn’t see, it made her feel
better. “But that’s not what I remember.”

She
fell quiet for a moment, doubting herself as she often did when she
thought about that night. “My memories are so hazy. They could
be…misleading.” The doctors and medical professionals
that had overseen her recovery had insisted that she was wrong,
regardless of how many times she’d insisted that she wasn’t.
That park, after all, had been cleared -- and kept clear -- of youkai
just so that humans like herself would have somewhere safe to camp.

His
voice was uncharacteristically soft. “So could your so-called
friends.”

Her
frown grew agitated; so did her grip on his head. “But that
park is swept regularly for youkai. They went back and checked after
I woke up. There was nothing there.”

He
snorted. “They didn’t find anything after a fucking year?
What the hell does that prove?”

She
glared at him. “No one else has been attacked by youkai in that
park since. Why would a youkai attack me but no one else?”

“Just
tell me what the hell happened!”

She
growled at him as he often did at her, only not nearly as
effectively, then closed her eyes in concentration. “I don’t
remember how I got onto the trail. I remember some kind of dream, I
think, but that’s about it. One minute I was sleeping, the next
I was on one of the hiking trails. There was an old woman. A youkai,
maybe an oni. She was short and shriveled and she stank, but she was
so strong that I couldn’t fight her when she grabbed me. She
had some sort of scythe weapon that she carried with her and she
threatened me with it so I wouldn’t struggle.”

Her
nose wrinkled, and she was barely aware that her hands had ceased
their movement. “She took me to some sort of cave, and I
remember being immersed in some disgusting smelling water It was some
kind of ….spell, I guess. It made feel really sick, as if
something were trying to pull me apart from the inside out. It….”
She hesitated again, and a hand went to her chest, rubbing absently.
“It felt like a punch in the chest, only backwards. I fought
it. I tried to keep whatever it was of myself that was trying to get
away. But it was hard. I couldn’t seem to make it come back,
and every time I pulled, I felt weaker. I didn’t realize how
much time was passing -- it felt weird, like forever and a split
second at the same time.”

She
drew in a deep breath, and let it out slowly. “And then
everything just snapped back into place.” Her eyes snapped open
when the warmth of his palm moved to her calf, and the weight against
the leg she’d drawn under her disappeared.

She
glanced down to see he’d sat forward, away from her, and had
his head resting on his palm. The thick pale fringe of his bangs fell
forward to obscure his eyes. He was muttering something, too, so soft
that she almost didn’t hear it -- a soft curse, a sincere,
infuriated “fuck”.

Worried,
she scooted closer, trying to get a better look at his features.
“InuYasha?”

His
throat moved, his voice garbled. “You nearly died.”

She
sucked in another breath and decided she was going to murder Souta.
“Well…. Yes. I guess at one point, my vitals dropped so
low that my heart nearly stopped. But it didn’t, and it was
right after that that I came out of it.” She stopped, biting
her lip, then sighed. “When I opened my eyes, I was in a
hospital room. Mama was sitting beside me, and it was my sixteenth
birthday. An entire year later.” She knew she sounded sad, but
she couldn’t help it. The coma had completely displaced her.
The year that had followed had been one of the roughest in her life
-- in her mind, second only to the year her father had died.

He
still hadn’t moved, but his grip on her calf tightened almost
painfully. Tension radiated off him in waves of drifting, uneasy
heat. Kagome frowned, far more concerned about InuYasha than with
disturbing memories she’d long since come to terms.

“It’s
all right,” she murmured, trying to be matter-of-fact. “It’s
been over for years.”

Before
she’d realized he was moving, he was on his feet by the window,
standing with his back to her and his fists at his sides.

“Hey!”
She scrambled to her feet, reaching out to put a hand on his back.
She paused and gave a blink when she felt the tautness of the muscles
through his shirt. “What’s wrong?”

He
shook his head, refusing to turn around and look at her. “It’s
not all right.” His voice oozed quiet fury. “I didn’t
know. Dammit.”

“What?”
Her heart gave a funny little skip and she rolled her eyes,
half-exasperated and half-touched at his anger. “How could
you have known? Why does it matter?”

He
responded with a soft growl.

She
frowned at him, her gaze confused as incredulity struck her. Why was
he so upset over something that had happened to her years ago? His
anger didn’t fit. Yes, it had been difficult for her, but not a
terrible tragedy. She’d survived, gotten over it, moved on to a
full life. It certainly wasn’t something that he should feel
guilty about.

“You’ll
be safe with me, Kagome. I promise I’ll keep you safe.”

She
blinked, but was less startled by the fervent declaration than she
should have been. She nodded serenely. “I know,” she said
softly.

And
for once, she surprised him, because his head jerked around at her
response and he stared at her, eyes wide in the faint light of the
room. She caught a strange glint in them, similar to what she’d
seen earlier, under the Goshinboku, before he covered it with a sharp
breath. His fingers grasped at her shoulders and gave a tug. She let
out a tiny gasp as she fell against his body, and his arms slid
across her back, enfolding her tightly -- so tightly she had a
difficult time breathing.

And
it hit her suddenly -- a flash of certainty she’d never felt
before, and she accepted it without question. For InuYasha, it all
meant more than he was willing to show. The hug, the dinner, the
relationship they’d raced so blindly into -- it all carried
hidden levels of meaning and purpose, and because he wouldn’t
share it with her, it took a heavy toll on him.

She
relaxed into him, her hands clutching at the material covering his
back. She wished he would stop trying to do everything alone. She
wished she could tell him that she was here, somehow communicate that
she was willing to bear whatever burden he carried, that she wanted
with all her heart to make it easier for him.

But
in the end, all she could do was stay here, in his arms, holding him
up and hoping that the comfort he took from her was enough. Her hands
tightened.

It
took him a minute, but his grip gradually eased. His head ducked a
little closer, his nose tucking just behind her ear. His breath
stirred her hair, and the hug went from desperate to comfortable. A
smile flickered across her lips and she, too, tucked in a little
closer, happy to have been able to affect even that little change.

She
didn’t know how long it had been when he suddenly lifted his
head and turned it toward the open doorway. She looked as well, and
couldn’t suppress her grin at the aged voice that drifted
energetically from the stairwell.

“Kagome’s
here? Where is she? Kagome! Why didn’t you wake me? Kagome!
Come greet your beloved grandfather!”

The
look he gave her said ‘Now what?’.

Her
grin widened and she took his hand and yanked him toward the door.
“Now you get to meet Jii-chan. Don’t worry about the
ofuda. I don’t think they’ve ever done anything but look
useful.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Dinner
itself was a basic success, despite some lingering animosity from
Kagome’s grandfather and a brief altercation with that damn cat
of theirs when he finally made his lumbering appearance in the
kitchen during dinner.

Souta
eyed him with barely concealed glee during most of the meal, shooting
a never-ending list of questions at him between bites and making time
for bouts of good-natured bickering with his sister. Kagome’s
mother just sat back with a gentle smile and played the even-handed
referee, her eyes twinkling at him knowingly every time they rested
on him. Even Kagome’s Jii-chan seemed to be over most of his
suspicion by the time Souta finished expounding on his better traits
as a hunter, and InuYasha got the feeling the old man’s initial
animosity had less to do with his job or nature than the fact that he
was a guy sniffing after his granddaughter. Which was something he
understood.

All
told, he really liked her family -- not that he had expected anything
less. He found himself quite satisfied by the time they left,
especially because Kagome looked so happy that everything had gone so
smoothly. The strong reactions to the house and its occupants had
hurt, though, so he was a little relieved when Kagome did finally
pull him toward the entrance.

She
zonked out on the drive home -- home meaning his apartment -- but he
was so preoccupied with his thoughts that he didn’t notice
until the car had stopped in the grass between the buildings. He
pulled the key from the ignition and glanced over to find her body
lax against the seat beside him, her head tilted at an awkward angle
between the headrest and her shoulder. He paused for a moment. In the
darkness her pale skin looked luminescent and her eyelashes cast
thick shadows against her cheeks. The gloom made the black of her
hair pitch, and it spilled across her shoulders and onto her jacket
in inky, light-absorbing waves.

He
felt the harshness of his thoughts melt away as he stared at her.

No
wonder she fell asleep, he mused as he reached to unbuckle the
belt holding her in place. She’d worked all day after only an
hour or two of sleep, and that family dinner thing on top of it all.
She’d held up admirably until now, with barely a yawn to betray
herself. She must be exhausted.

Because
of me.

A pang hit him, punctuated by the faint thud of the seatbelt snapping
back into it’s original position. Kagome stirred and murmured,
but didn’t wake. He grimaced, and only briefly contemplated
waking her. No point in doing that just to make her walk, especially
when she was so tired.

He
slipped quietly from his side and walked around the car, pulling open
her door to lean in and hook his arms underneath her knees and back.
With minimal movement, he lifted her out of her seat and settled her
securely against his chest. She gave another murmur and her head
nuzzled against his shoulder, but even after all that jarring didn’t
wake.

Yep.
He’d sure as hell worn her out.

A
small, smug grin quirked his mouth, and he turned and made his way
over to the building. Her purse he left on the floor in the car,
figuring if she really needed it, he could get it for her later.

He
didn’t see anyone until he hit the second floor, where those
damn wise-cracking twins were just coming out of their apartment.
They both jumped and stared as he paused on the stairs, and one of
them--the one with the green hair on the bottom half of his head--got
a sly look and opened his mouth to comment. He cut the kid off with a
soft snarl, and continued on his way, accepting the fact that the
whole building would know about his human companion by the end of the
day tomorrow. He shrugged mentally and let it go. They had to find
out sometime, and as long as they didn’t come knocking on his
door, he didn’t give a damn who knew.

He
got her to bed without waking her up, and didn’t run into any
problems until he realized she was still dressed, and he probably
shouldn’t let her sleep like that. Since she was still dead to
the world, he sighed and began the irritating chore of trying to get
her clothes off. After a few minutes of struggling with tiny buttons,
impatience won out and he just cut her clothes off her, all the way
down to her bra and panties. Then, just because he felt like it, he
cut those off her too. He tossed his own clothes to join her pile of
newly formed rags, and curled around her, pulling the covers securely
around them. Kagome mewed like a kitten in her sleep and snuggled
back against him before settling.

He
stared into the calm darkness, figuring he’d have to do without
sleep tonight. He had too much running through his head, too many
concerns and questions that didn’t have easy or comfortable
answers.

He
hadn’t expected this kind of connection to crop up. Hadn’t
expected that part of his life to be so closely connected to hers.
Which was stupid, because it was all connected to her.

Eleven
years ago she’d been knocked unconscious by a youkai witch
who’d stolen her soul. He should have known. Even with
as much as he hadn’t realized back then, he should have known;
he should have realized and done something. But he still hadn’t
really understood back then, and Kagome had lost a year of her life
as a consequence.

It
made him wonder what else he still didn’t understand.

Things
were coming together; he could feel it, see it around him. He didn’t
think he would be able to stop it, and he was pretty sure he wasn’t
supposed to anyway. Although, at this point, he would have given
almost anything to change it. To change his own stupidity.

His
chance would come, and the only thing he could do about it was to
prepare.

Don’t
fail. Not this time.

Kaede.
That old bat knew more than she was saying. He’d known that for
a while and hadn’t really done anything about it. He needed to
understand as much as possible. Tomorrow, he would pay her a visit
and ask the questions that he’d been avoiding.

He
stared into the darkness, eyes unblinking and body tense, the thought
of sleep and dreams far away.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
- 17
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Waiting on a Wish