Adult-FanFiction.org : Inuyasha / Yashahime

At the End of Days
By : inumom
Category: InuYasha > General
Views: 1784 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own InuYasha, nor make money from this story.
Chapter List
- 2
- 3
- 4
Disclaimer: Inu & Co. don�t belong to me. If they did, I would be off somewhere doing something else than this�.

AN: Sorry about taking so long to get this up--we�ve had some weather-related power issues recently, and I�ve lost this thing 4 times! Anyway, I know it�s kind of long, but I couldn�t find a really good place to divide it up. Major angst and serious fluff alerts!

3. Highs and Lows

If the hanyou had harbored any suspicions that the human woman�s offer was in fact a thinly-disguised form of charity, they were quickly dispelled as soon as Kagome left for the school the next morning, much to his relief. Dressed in a pair of her late husband�s jeans and an old t-shirt, he waited more or less patiently as she tied a cloth loosely around his head to hide the incriminating ears from any casual visitor to the shrine. As soon as he was ready, she set the young hanyou to work weeding and cleaning up the flower beds around the shrine grounds.
Although it was labor-intensive work, he was grateful for the job--the largely mindless labor allowed him ample time to consider his life. Although many of those closest to him would have thought him incapable of such deep contemplation, the long years spent in isolation had made him unexpectedly introspective. What, he wondered, was going to happen to them all once Naraku was destroyed? It would, he suspected, be soon--since their enemy had gathered almost all of the Shikon no Tama, it was only a matter of time before he came for them. After all, Naraku possessed nearly all of the stone: with the couple Kouga still had, the one in Kohaku, and the handful they had managed to collect, there could not be many left.
Although their victory in the final battle was no certainty, he couldn�t quite believe that they would lose. Despite his sometimes harsh words, he knew that his allies were strong, and growing stronger all the time--even the little kitsune they had picked up on their travels had developed an impressive command of his illusion powers for such a young kit. After all that he had gained over the years since his seal had been broken, he had no intention of losing any of it to something like that bastard Naraku.
His knees started shaking as he realized that he actually wanted the same kind of life that the humans in the village he watched over took for granted. He was truly shocked at the sudden knowledge that he did want the very things that he had scorned so vocally for so long. For the first time since his childhood he wondered if he could really be so unworthy of the simple joys he had secretly envied in the lives of the humans around him: a home, a family, the respect of neighbors, even--dare he even think it?--the love of a mate.
As he deposited the baskets of weeds and trimmings in the compost bins behind the shrine�s small storage building, he had convinced himself that acknowledging these impossible desires made no real difference. They would never be fulfilled. He was, after all, hanyou, something never meant to be. Such tender concern was reserved for humans--or even youkai--but could not extend to an offense against nature such as himself.
As he opened the bags of cocoa mulch and spread it carefully around the vivid blooms in the flower beds he resolved to give up his futile quest for acceptance, deciding that he would leave the vicinity of the human village as soon as he had fulfilled his obligation to see the Shikon no Tama restored to its original condition. He would not continue to dishonor the memory of his mother by inflicting his worthless presence on her kind any longer than necessary. He briefly considered going to hell with Kikyou, but rejected the very concept--even she had refused him unless he became human and gave up half of what he was.
He nearly leaped out of his skin at the soft touch on his shoulder. Blushing as he suddenly remembered where he was, he turned to face the woman who had shown him so much kindness. She frowned thoughtfully. �Are you okay? You look so unhappy.�
�It�s nothing,� he grunted.
She didn�t believe it for a second. Her �mom instincts� kicked in, and she gestured at the immaculate plantings around the grounds. �I can�t believe you did such a wonderful job--and so quickly, too. Come on inside, dear,� she said, turning back to the house. �We can have some lunch and work out what we�re going to do for the next few hours.�
The young man followed silently--he had nearly forgotten that he had agreed to help out around the shrine for the next couple of days. After carefully cleaning all traces of dirt, mulch, and plant material from under his claws, the young hanyou found himself sitting in the Higurashi kitchen facing an enormous bowl of beef-flavored instant ramen.
�I don�t usually use instant foods, but I seem to remember that this is one of your favorites. Once you�re done eating, you can help me with the shopping.� The woman glanced at the clock on the wall. �If everything goes all right we should be back before Kagome gets home. That would probably be best, don�t you think?�
His dubious expression was not lost on her. �If you say so,� he muttered. When he tried to stand up to place the empty bowl in the sink, she stopped him with a hand on his arm. He turned to look at her, questions growing in his eyes.
Now that she had his attention, she gestured at the seat he had just vacated. �Sit down,� she said. �We have some things to talk about.� Her tone would allow no disobedience. Once he had returned to his place, the questioning began. �Tell me what�s got you so miserable.�
He sniffed audibly, not quite able to bring himself to be any gruffer than that. �Just thinking, is all. I�ve finally decided to stop wishing for things I can never have.�
That sounded rather ominous to the human woman. �I�m sorry--I don�t understand. What on earth are you talking about?�
His voice was bitter, his eyes downcast. There was, he realized, little point in trying to hide anything from this woman--he had no doubt that she would badger him mercilessly until she had learned the whole ugly truth if he tried: she was more like Kagome than any parent had a right to be. �You know what I am, Higurashi-san, but I don�t think you understand what it means. I have no place in the world I come from: I�m something that was never meant to exist. Youkai think I�m too human to live, and humans think I�m too youkai to be trusted.� He took a long, shuddering breath. �For a long time I convinced myself that I didn�t want the things that the people I watched from the shadows had: homes, families, a mate. When I met Kikyou I decided that maybe those things could be possible for me, if I became human. She wouldn�t have me otherwise. Then I was sealed. Even though I was there for fifty years, it only felt like a few minutes. That was why I was so confused when I woke up--as far as I knew, Kikyou had just shot me minutes earlier. I don�t know if Kagome�s ever told you, but she really does look almost exactly like Kikyou. Except,� he said, looking at the human woman with a strange light in his eyes that slowly turned haunted, �For the eyes. Kikyou�s eyes were always cold--I don�t think I ever saw joy or even simple happiness in them. Anyway,� he said, �I�ve learned a lot since then. I�ll never have that mate or family.�
Now they were getting to the confusing part. �Why not? I mean, it�s not like there�s not somebody who would jump at the chance--somebody who loves you with a depth and purity of heart that the rest of us can�t even really understand.�
He nodded slowly. �That�s the problem.� At the woman�s expectant expression, he went on, staring at the floor. �I can�t take her as my mate--no matter how much I might want to. It would be like my mother all over again.� He stood, pacing across the kitchen. �I never told Kagome the whole story--it�s not something she should ever have to hear, you know? After my father died, my mother took me to live in a village that was near the palace her family had lived in before it was destroyed in the battle between the human lord who wanted her and the youkai she loved. Things were relatively quiet for a time--she was not loved by the people of the village, but we were mostly left alone. She was, after all, still the warlord�s daughter. When her father died, they turned against her--all because of me. It was only a matter of days before they made her a slave. Still, she endured it all to keep me safe. When one of the men in the village tried to rape her--even the �youkai�s whore� wasn�t beneath him when he was drunk enough--she fought back.� He turned away from her. �They tied her up so that she couldn�t fight them, raped and beat her until she was nearly dead, then burned our hut with her inside. I was just a pup--all I could do was run away. I can still remember her screams. How cold I risk somebody I loved that way again?�
His head snapped up as her arms wrapped around him, turning him in place and bringing his head to rest against her shoulder. Running her hands through his long silvery hair, she whispered, �It�s all over now. It�ll be okay.�
Once he could finally regain his composure, he straightened. Blinking rapidly, he blushed, refusing to look her in the eye. �I�m sorry, Higurashi-san. I didn�t mean to--�
She shook her head. �You have nothing to be sorry for, dear. You�ve been through so much, and you�ve survived it. You�ve not only survived, but you�ve managed to develop the qualities that make you loved by the people who take the time to know you. There is something you should know, though--my daughter has wanted you for a couple of years now, and I wish her success. You�ve been able to keep her alive and well through a lot so far. I don�t doubt that you�ll be able to keep her safe no matter what happens.�
He blinked. �She�what?�
The woman smiled softly. �She fights with you all the time, doesn�t she? Of course, she blames it on you as well. That�s what she does to protect herself--she believes that you�re promised to somebody else: she�s afraid of getting hurt if she lets herself get too close.�
He groaned softly under his breath: what had the wench told her mother? �She�s partly right�.� he conceded. At the woman�s raised eyebrows, he continued, �I am promised to Kikyou, but it�s not what it probably sounds like. I swore to protect her from Naraku. She was my first friend after my mother was killed, and because of Naraku she now has to consume the souls of dead girls to function.� He shuddered slightly, feeling suddenly unclean at the thought. �Even if we didn�t love each other, she deserves better than that. You see, it�s all my fault--if she hadn�t been involved with me, she would have been free to either accept or reject the paralyzed thief she had been nursing in secret: it�s possible that she wouldn�t have screwed everything up, that Onigumo wouldn�t have given himself to the youkai and become Naraku, that all the lives he�s destroyed since then would have been untouched. Once Naraku is gone,� he said, looking suddenly grim, �My obligation to protect Kikyou will be over, and I can return her to the rest that witch Urasue interrupted.�
The woman couldn�t contain her curiosity. �What will you do then?�
He shook his head. �I don�t know. Naraku has almost the whole Shikon no Tama, so I don�t think we�ll have that many more pieces to gather once he�s gone. The thing is, I don�t know what will happen after it�s done--whether the well will still work, or whether she�ll even want to come back and see us.�
The older woman shook her head. �You don�t know what it�s been like when she comes back here after fighting with you about it. She thinks that nobody notices that she sits in her room and cries because she thinks you don�t care about her. She loves you, dear, more than her family, or her world. She would give up everything she has for the chance to be with you.� The woman reached out, taking his clawed hand in her own. �Don�t you understand? Rejecting her would probably hurt her worse than anything else that could possibly happen.� Shifting gears again, she shooed him up the stairs. �I found some more of my husband�s old things. Go upstairs and change, and then we can get to the market.�

*

When Kagome returned home from the graduation rehearsal, she was more than a little surprised to see her mother leading the hanyou, laden down with a variety of packages, up the long flight of steps leading from the street to the shrine complex. Rushing forward, she relieved the young man of part of his burden, noticing that he seemed unusually thoughtful. �I see that you two have been busy today.�
As always, Inuyasha passed the matter off as of no consequence. �Your mother had some stuff to do, and I was bored hanging around here all day, so I went along to help with the packages.�
Once all of the food was put away, the girl took her companion outside to sit beneath the enormous tree that was a focal point of the shrine grounds. �I�m really glad you decided to stay here while I was taking my tests. It�s been so much fun, having you around all the time.�
He caught himself before he could shrug off her kind words. �Everybody has to be somewhere,� he said, �And I couldn�t stand the kit�s whining any more. Besides,� he said, grabbing her around the middle and leaping up to his favorite tree branch, �It�s not really as bad here as I always thought it would be.� Pulling her into his lap, he wrapped powerful arms around her, resting his chin on her shoulder. �What now?�
She shook her head. �It�s about an hour or so until din--�
He cut her off with a curt gesture. �That�s not what I mean. This �graduation� thing--exactly what does that mean?�
She thought about it for a few seconds. �It means that I�ll be finished with high school.�
His head snapped up, ears straining forward. �No more school?�
Kagome considered her answer for a long moment. �I don�t know,� she said, dropping her eyes to the clawed hands holding her firmly in place. �I mean, Mama always wanted me to go to college and have a career, but I�m not sure that that�s the right path for me any more.� She shook her head slowly. �I�ve changed over the past few years--things don�t seem quite as simple as they used to. I�ve got dreams of my own now, and they don�t revolve around working myself to death to advance in a job that would keep me locked up in an office someplace.�
She could feel his lean muscles tensing up, and he paused for a few seconds before continuing, �So, what do you want?�
She laughed softly, not entirely believing that they were even having this conversation. �Now, that�s a question! I can picture the life I want so perfectly in my head, but I have a hard time finding the words to explain it. First of all, I want to keep going back and forth through the well--I love my families on both sides, and it would tear my heart out to lose either of them. I want to learn how to keep the people I care about safe, and healthy, and happy, and I want to see my friends settle down and start their families.�
The rough voice was low, almost a purr in her ear. �And what about you? Don�t you want a family of your own?�
She looked around in a panic, wanting nothing at that moment more than to escape. Unfortunately, she was at least thirty feet up in the Goshinboku--if it didn�t kill her, a fall from that height to the stone paving below would at least leave her with significant injuries. She calmed a little, understanding that even this level of embarrassment wasn�t worth risking her life. Sighing in defeat, she nodded slowly. �Of course I want a family. I wish I could have one, but it�s not ever going to happen.�
Suddenly remembering what her mother had told him earlier that day, he tightened his grip on the girl. �Why not? You�re not exactly an ugly wench, as humans go. You should be able to find a mate without too much trouble.�
�Probably,� she said quietly, �But I don�t think I want one. I don�t want to love anybody ever again--it hurts too much.�
He sounded almost irritated. �What the hell do you mean, you don�t want to love anybody again? When was the first time?�
She shook her head slowly, fighting back the tears burning at her closed eyelids. �I�ve been in love with somebody for a few years now, but nothing will ever come of it.�
Having decided that he had taken the conversation too far to back out now, he sniffed disdainfully. �Why not? Is he stupid or something?�
She sat silently for a long time. When she answered, her voice was tiny. �No. He�s not stupid. It�s just that he wants somebody else, and I can�t possibly compete with her.�
�That�s stupid,� he grated out. �If this stupid son of a bitch matters so much to you, you should fight for him. Now,� he continued, �What makes you think that bastard wants somebody else?�
Keeping her eyes focused on her lap, she answered slowly. �He told me. I�m too stupid, and weak, and unattractive.�
He felt a horrible lurch in the pit of his stomach. What the hell had he done in the name of protecting himself by maintaining his distance? He turned her so that she was curled against his chest, running a hand through the strands of ebony hair. �Don�t listen to that asshole,� he whispered, his lips lightly brushing her ear as he spoke. �You�re not any of those things.�

*

On the next day, the hanyou spent much of this time working on decorating the shrine grounds for the graduation party the following night. His speed, strength, and agility made the task of stringing the brightly-colored lanterns between the shrine buildings a simple matter. Tables and chairs were set up, and empty spaces were left that would eventually contain a portable dance floor and the equipment that would provide music for the guests.
After a quick lunch of--what else?--instant ramen, Kagome�s mother led him out of the shrine in the direction of the nearest shopping center. The woman began her inquisition as soon as she was certain that no one was near enough to overhear. �What on earth did you say to her yesterday--she�s been awfully quiet since before dinner.�
He shrugged. �We talked about what happens after graduation--how she wants to keep traveling back and forth through the well, how she wants to see all her friends start families. Then I asked her if she wanted a family of her own.�
Her eyes widened as she pictured the conversation. �So, what did she say?�
He shook his head. �She said that she wanted a mate and family, but that she couldn�t have them. She said that the one she�loved didn�t want her--that she wasn�t smart enough, or strong enough, or beautiful enough.�
�And did you say all those things?� Her voice was dangerous in its softness.
He flinched a little under her direct gaze. �Of course I did! You never saw the looks we got every time we walked into a strange village together. It was the only way I could think of to protect her from them--by keeping distance between us, I could let them think that I was just a guard or servant or something without actually having to lie about it.�
She was struggling to understand. �So�. You wouldn�t lie to strangers, but you would lie to my daughter?�
His ears flattened to his skull beneath the cloth that concealed them. �It sounds like hell when you put it like that, but--yeah, that�s what I did. It was the only way I could think of to protect her, both from them and from me.�
That was a surprise! �Why on earth would she need protection from you?!�
He shrugged. �Every few weeks her scent changes. Don�t forget, I�m an inuhanyou--I have a pretty good nose. When it gets to be too much, I usually pick a fight with her. She usually �sits� me into a crater and comes back here for a few days. I go off into the forest to try and get a little relief, and hope that it�s over before she comes back.�
She blushed as she realized exactly what the young man was talking about. Deciding that it was probably best to return the conversation to its original subject, she said, �What did you say then?�
He shook his head. �I told her that the guy who said all that stuff was an asshole because she wasn�t any of those things, and that if she really wanted the stupid son of a bitch she should fight for him.�
�What happened then?�
He shrugged. �Damned if I know. She hasn�t said more than a dozen words to me since then.�
�You know what you have to do,� she said. �You have to tell her the absolute truth about how you feel.�
He cringed a bit at the thought of lowering the carefully-maintained defenses that had kept him alive for so long, then nodded slowly. �I know,� he said, eyes downcast, �But I�m not sure how.�
She shifted gears yet again, becoming all business. �We�ll work on that after we finish the shopping,� she said, grabbing him by the hand and forging ahead through the slower-moving pedestrians on the sidewalk.
The shopping was concluded quickly, now that she had an idea of the kind of things she wanted to purchase. Although she was a bit surprised by the young hanyou�s choice of a gift from a sporting goods store, she had to concede that it was undeniably practical, especially after talking to the salesman. Perhaps, she suggested, a little something else in addition to his chosen gift?
Always willing to do something for the human girl, especially since he had a legitimate, acceptable excuse, he allowed the woman to guide his choice, spending much of the time they spent in the store in questioning her about the customs associated with such a gift.

*

Although the graduation ceremony itself would not be held until early in the afternoon, Kagome left the shrine immediately after breakfast. She and her three closest schoolmates were going to have something called �facials,� then get something done to their hair before meeting their families at the high school.
Once she had gone, her mother shooed the hanyou off to the bath after making certain that he understood exactly how to work the knobs that controlled the water temperature. That hair of his would take a long time to dry, and she could use the time to begin working on the food for the party that night.
After he was thoroughly dry, the woman helped him brush the snowy mass to a gleaming, almost luminous, shine. Once he was dressed in the clothes she had purchased, he went out to the shrine grounds to help Kagome�s brother set up the odd black boxes he had been informed would supply music for the guests who would be arriving later. Although he had no idea how the nearly featureless objects could create any sound, much less music, he had seen enough genuinely amazing things while visiting this place that he didn�t for a second doubt that it was possible.
By the time the four interlocking wooden panels had been fitted together to create a dance floor beneath the spreading branches of the Goshinboku, it was time to go.
Although he wasn�t entirely comfortable with the city bus, he endured both the mechanical stink of the vehicle itself and the press of humans crowding it in silence so as not to embarrass the family who had accepted him as very nearly one of their own. Despite the ears hidden deep in the mass of his hair, he noticed that he was attracting a certain number of curious stares. Fortunately for the general population, Higurashi-san had warned him to expect this. As she explained it, most Japanese appeared superficially very similar--features such as his thick mass of long silver-white hair and golden-amber eyes would be sure to attract a certain amount of attention.
Realizing that the other passengers were not being intentionally rude, he resisted the impulse to flash a toothy grin that would have shown his impressive fangs off to their full advantage.
Fortunately, the graduation ceremony was being held at the high school�s athletic field, so he was able to shake off the lingering claustrophobia of the bus ride. However, their places in the bleachers did not permit even his sharp eyes to distinguish the girl he sought from the sea of nearly identical figures. He grew even more agitated as he realized that the large number of humans so close together effectively masked her scent.
A light touch on the shoulder by the girl�s mother drew his attention to the speeches being made on the stage that had been set up below. A glance at the ceremony program showed him that there would be several speeches made before they began to distribute the diplomas--whatever those were. They would be calling each of the students in turn, so he would get to see her after all, even if from a distance.
Once they called her name, he found it hard to believe that he could ever have been unable to spot her in the group--despite the similar clothing, none of them looked anything like her: it was as though everyone else receded into the distance, leaving her alone. The woman seated to his right looked at the raw emotion on his features, exchanging a knowing look with her father-in-law.
After what seemed an eternity, the ceremony ended, and the former students were released to join their families and friends in the seats before the head of the school made his closing remarks and they would be free to go. As she took the seat her family had saved for her the hanyou stared in frank disbelief--he had never seen her look like this before. Her hair was even shinier than usual, twisted up into a sleek knot on top of her head, a strand of ivory-colored pearls entwined through it. Her skin seemed subtly different as well, glowing a healthy pink that threatened to overpower the light in her eyes.
And then she took off the thin gown that all of the graduating students wore.
Her mother had helped her to choose the dress, and she was enormously self-conscious about it. Made of silk in a garnet-red shade that almost exactly matched the dress shirt her companion wore, it clung to her upper body like her own skin, held in place by two thin straps. The skirt flared out slightly from the hips, falling in soft folds to a point several inches above the knee. Even though it was somewhat longer than the school uniforms she had worn since they had first met, the low-heeled sandals that she wore made her legs look even longer than ever before.
She began to grow even more uncomfortable as he stared at her in silence. A deep red flush crept up from her neckline--which, he noticed with a faint reddening of his own face, was actually nowhere near her neck--to the roots of her hair. She stammered out, �Maybe we should go back to the shrine and change before going to dinner?�
�Hell, no!� At the looks he was receiving from the Higurashi family--looks that strongly resembled smugness--he amended his planned comments. �There�s no time for that, wench--you have people coming to the shrine in just a few hours.�
Her mother nodded briskly with a bright smile. �He�s right, dear. In fact,� she said, checking her watch, �Why don�t the two of you go on ahead to dinner--the rest of us really have to get back to the shrine and make sure that everything�s ready.� She gestured at the fence separating the athletic field from the parking lot. �There�s a car waiting. The driver has all the instructions. Just make sure that you�re home by eight: the others should start arriving around nine.�
It took some effort to keep his hands steady as he took her elbow to guide her to the waiting limo. Although he had been thoroughly coached by Higurashi-san, and was intimately familiar with the dinner plans, his abandonment by the rest of the girl�s family worried him a bit. What if he embarrassed her? Or made some horrible, unimaginable mistake at the restaurant? Or screwed everything up and made her mad, or--worse by far--made her cry?
As the silence deepened in the back of the car, he blurted out, �Maybe this isn�t such a good idea. Wouldn�t you rather go somewhere with your friends?�
She shook her head slowly. �I�m already with the best friend I ever had. Why would I want to ruin that? Besides,� she added, �The others will be coming to the shrine later on anyway, and we could both probably use a little peace and quiet before that.�
His ears emerged from hiding, twitching in the dim lighting in the rear of the limo. �I�m sorry about your family--I didn�t know they weren�t going to come.�
She shrugged, wondering briefly exactly what her mother had been thinking. �That�s okay,� she said. �You know what my family is like--they�re pretty much the same, even in a restaurant. I think we can have a great time by ourselves. Where are we going, anyway?�
He shook his head. �I�m not sure. She only told me that it was a place you liked.�
They sat in silence until it passed awkward and became nearly unbearable. After a brief glance at her companion from the corner of her eye, Kagome took in his red silk shirt and butter-soft black leather pants. �You look great in modern clothes,� she said, then smiled suddenly, �But there�s still something not quite right.� In a move almost too fast for him to have stopped even if he hadn�t been shocked into motionlessness, she reached forward and pulled the strand of beads peeking out from the collar of his dress shirt up and over his head, dropping them on the seat between them.
His eyes widened, and he stared in pure shock. When he could speak, his voice was choked. �Why?�
She focused her attention on the hands moving restlessly in her lap. Her voice was subdued. �When Kaede-baachan put those on you, we didn�t have any way to know that you wouldn�t slice me to bits at the first opportunity. After all, that�s what you said. But I don�t think I believed it even then--not really. The fact is, you could have killed me at any time, with or without the rosary. You never deserved that, and I probably should have taken them off a long time ago.�
His eyes gleamed in the gathering darkness. �The spell is broken, right?� At her silent nod, he continued, �Would you put them back, then?�
It was the human girl�s turn to stare in surprise. �Why on earth would you want them back? I thought you hated them.�
He shook his head slowly. �For a long time I did. At some point I stopped thinking of them as a mark of enslavement and started to think of them as just a link to you. No matter how mad you were when you went through the well, I knew I�d get to see you one more time--I always knew that you wouldn�t leave me forever unless you took them off first. They make me feel like you�re with me even when you�re back here.�
Without another word she picked up the prayer beads and settled them back into place on his shoulders. As she moved to return to her own side of the seat his hands came up to close around her wrists, immobilizing her. Her eyes flew open in surprise. �What are you doing?� Her voice was a broken whisper.
In a fraction of a second he decided on the simple truth. �I�m holding on to you so you can�t run off before I say something.�
A deep, lingering cold settled into the pit of her stomach. �Here it comes,� she thought, �I took off the prayer beads, and he�s going to tell me that he�s going to stay with Kikyou.� The light faded from her eyes, and she whispered, �Go ahead,� her voice flat and lifeless.
�First of all,� he said, �I have something for you.� He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small box covered in heavy white patterned silk. �I talked to your mother about it, and we decided that it would be best not to do this at your party, since it�s got nothing to do with your graduation.�
Her hands trembled as she opened the tiny box. The ring was undeniably beautiful: a simple silver band engraved with a vining rose, the leaves and blossoms crafted from chips of emerald and ruby. Her eyes filled as she closed the box again. �I can�t,� she whispered, her voice cracking. �You�re not from this world--you don�t understand what this kind of a gift means.�
He shook his head, refusing to touch the box. �I talked to her about this, too--she says that it�s the best kind of gift for what I�m trying to say.� He pulled her closer, resting her head on his shoulder so that he wouldn�t have to see the disgust on her features when she rejected him. �She told me that the only way I could fix some of the mess I�ve made of things is to tell you everything. I don�t want you to leave us when the Shikon no Tama is complete. Hell, that�s not exactly what I mean, either. What I mean is that I don�t want you to leave me.�
She desperately wanted to clarify the situation. �You already know that I�ll stay with you for as long as you let me--I decided that when you promised yourself to Kikyou.�
He laughed almost silently, then sobered at once. �Now you�re the one who doesn�t understand. Yes, I pledged myself to protect Kikyou from Naraku--it�s because of me that she exists as she does right now--if I hadn�t been stupid and said her name when I saw the fake body that bitch made, you wouldn�t have lost your soul, not even the little piece of it she still has.� He shook his head. �What you don�t seem to understand is that I�m going to protect her from Naraku as much as I can. Then, once that son of a bitch is gone, I�ll do what I should have done from the start: I�ll put her back to the rest she should be in. You never knew her when she was alive. She had a kind of purity that�s not quite like yours--she was able to care for a badly wounded thief or befriend a filthy, tainted hanyou.� His grip on her tightened as he felt her try to pull away. �Wait! That didn�t come out right--I didn�t mean that you wouldn�t have done those things, just that you would have done them differently. You would never have tried to nurse Onigumo secretly in a cave--you would have done it in the open, in the village miko�s or headman�s hut. Hell, if anybody gave you any crap about it, you would have shamed them into helping you. While Kikyou might not have killed an orphaned youkai kit fate put in her path, she sure as hell wouldn�t have adopted the little runt. She wanted me if I would become human. You never thought there was anything evil or repulsive about my youkai side. You never really gave a damn about what form I might happen to be in--you even managed to reverse my transformations a couple of times.� His ears flattened as he felt her slight body tremble beneath his hands. Still maintaining his grip on her, he ran his free hand through her hair and down her back in a soothing gesture. �That all brings me back to what I need to say. For a long time I thought that I had no room in my life for anything else until Naraku was dead and the Shikon no Tama remade. I was wrong about that--hell, I was wrong about everything. There�s no need to wait any more for what I want. What if something went wrong in the fighting? What if one of us was hurt--or even killed--before I got the chance to tell you that I�ve loved you for a couple of years now, and that I wanted to make you my mate for almost that long.�
She pulled away from him, eyes wide with shock. �You�love me?� Her voice was a breathless, unbelieving squeak.
He was encouraged: at least she hadn�t recoiled in horror at the very idea. He nodded slowly. �I think I started to care about you right from the start. You weren�t much of a fighter back then, but you never stopped trying to protect me--from Yura, from Sesshoumaru, from that spider youkai that was feeding on that human village. Remember how shocked I was that you actually cried for me?� At her silent nod, he continued, �I don�t know exactly when it started to become something more. I only know that I was torn when your soul was taken. I had to make a choice between my past and my future, and I couldn�t. It was like I was paralyzed or something. Then, every time I would leave you behind to go and see her I would hate myself. Anyway,� he said, pulling her tight against his firm chest, �That�s all in the past. What I need to know is, will you have me?�
If she hadn�t already been as close to him as possible without sharing the same clothes she would have leaped at him in her joy. �Of course I will!� Her brilliant smile suddenly flickered out. �What do you suppose Mama will say?� She knew, of course, that both her mother and little brother adored the hanyou, but this was an entirely different matter.
He flashed a brilliant grin that would probably have frightened anybody not expecting the sharp fangs. �Don�t worry about it. She�s been helping me all along. She even let me work around the shrine so I could get you a graduation gift. And this,� he added, retrieving the box from its resting place on the seat. �Will you wear it now?� he asked. �Your mom explained the custom to me, and I�d like to be able to tell all your friends that we�re together.�
She extended a tiny hand in his direction. �Of course,� she said. �I just didn�t want you to trap yourself because you didn�t understand the custom. I�ve heard about inuyoukai from Sango: I know that your kind mate for life.� She paused briefly. �What happens if one mate dies before the other?�
He shrugged as well as he could with an arm firmly wrapped around the girl. �Depends. If the mating bond isn�t formed right, not much. In general, the stronger the bond, the more serious the consequences for the survivor. If the bond is really strong, the surviving mate will either go mad from grief or follow his beloved into death.� At the sudden, overpowering salty scent of unshed tears, he raised her chin with a single claw so that he could look into her damp eyes. �It�s not what you think,� he whispered. �Not all youkai live as long as inus, you know. Dragon youkai live damn near forever, unless they get killed in battle. A few kinds of lesser youkai--weasels and badgers, mostly--don�t usually live all that much longer than humans. When two different kinds of youkai mate, there�s a way to extend the lifespan of the shorter-lived mate to match that of the other.�
She brightened suddenly. �There is? How?�
He shook his head. �I don�t know, but we can find out. Myouga-jiji will know, or Sesshoumaru. You know,� he said, �That we�re going to have to have three separate events--one for your family here, a human ceremony back home, and the youkai ritual.�
She groaned inwardly at the thought of the monstrous �event� her family was likely to arrange. �Do we have to?�
He pulled her even tighter against his body. �Only if you want to. I think it would mean a lot to them, and they did help us out a lot.�
She sighed, nodding slowly. �I guess you�re right.�
He reached out, wiping away the faint traces of moisture beneath her eyes. �Come on,� he said, opening the door and taking her hand carefully in his own, �We�re here.�
Later she would remember little about the dinner save that they had a small table all to themselves in the restaurant�s extensive gardens. Rather than large meals, they ordered a variety of small dishes to share.
When they were ready to leave, they were surprised to learn that the financial arrangements had been taken care of in advance courtesy of the Higurashi family�s Sunset Shrine.
Since they still had an hour or so before they had to be back at the shrine for the party, they decided to walk back. Rapping a knuckle on the darkened glass of the driver�s window, the hanyou said, �We�re going to walk back. What do we owe you?�
Bright blue eyes blinked in the darkness of the driver�s compartment. �Nothing,� he said, �You�re covered.� As the window closed, he added, �Have a pleasant evening.�
Kagome looked at her escort�s puzzled frown as they entered a small park across the street from the restaurant. �Is something wrong?� she asked. �You look a little confused.�
He shook his head slowly. �That driver was youkai, but he was using an illusion of some kind to conceal his appearance. I can�t tell what kind, because he was hiding his scent. But it wasn�t a perfect disguise: a little of his youki seeped through.�
She stopped walking and stared for a fraction of a second. �I didn�t think there were any more youkai.�
He carefully closed his fingers around hers to avoid scratching her with his claws. �You wouldn�t. A good illusion doesn�t just change the way something looks: it can also hide both scent and youki. The very best of them can even project a false scent or youki to make the youkai seem to be something else. Most illusions have a weak point somewhere.�
The girl at his side laughed. �Shippou�s tail,� she said. The little kitsune who traveled with them hadn�t quite perfected his control of his natural abilities: whenever he assumed another�s form, his bushy fox tail always remained. Although this would change with time and maturity, it was presently a source of great amusement to the kit�s surrogate family.
The hanyou nodded. �Something like that,� he said. �And yes, there�s a reason why you haven�t been able to sense them. Your spiritual powers are strong--the strongest in hundreds of years, if what they tell me is true. The thing is, you haven�t been trained to use them since you were barely old enough to walk. Your power doesn�t come from what you�ve learned--it comes from what you feel.�
He halted in his tracks when he realized that she was no longer moving. �I just realized something,� she said. �I haven�t told you exactly how I feel. I don�t suppose that it�s really a secret that I love you--that I always have.� Reaching up, she wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling his head down so that she could place a soft, feather-light kiss on his lips.
Once the shock wore off, a sound somewhere between a rough groan and a soft growl erupted from his throat and he pulled her closer, deepening the kiss. After an eternal moment spent lost in each other, he pulled back, holding her at arms� length so that he could let his head clear a little.
�Come on,� he said, unwilling to release the hand enfolded in his own. �We have to get back to the shrine. You don�t want to be late for your own party, do you?�
She blushed furiously as she realized that she had indeed forgotten about the party that evening. �You�re right,� she said, shaking her head at her not-so-sudden preoccupation with the young hanyou. �We really should be getting back.�

*

The girl�s mother was waiting for them when they arrived back at the shrine. �Did you two have a good time?� she asked. As her quick glance took in the girl�s soft smile, the young man�s broad, slightly dazed grin, and the ring on her daughter�s left hand, she nodded. �Never mind,� she said, �I can see that much for myself.� Looking at the strands of hair that had come loose during the emotional limo ride, she led her daughter up the stairs. �Come on, Kagome. Let�s fix your hair and get you ready for the others to arrive--they�ll be along soon.�
Turning to the hanyou left waiting in the living room, she said, �You look wonderful, dear. Just sit down--I�ll have her back right away.� Some long-buried instinct told her that it would be unwise to keep the two apart any longer than necessary.
After a brief conversation while repairing the younger woman�s hairstyle, she understood that the boy waiting downstairs must have followed her instructions to the letter and finally bared his heart to his beloved. She didn�t for a moment doubt that there would be difficult times ahead for the pair, but she was equally certain that their love was more than strong enough to see them through whatever might come.
As she returned her daughter to her future mate, she couldn�t help but notice the raw hunger in the young man�s eyes as he reached out to take her hands. Obviously, she would have to begin planning a wedding soon--a lengthy engagement, she decided, would probably be tempting fate.

*

Although an open invitation had been extended to the entire graduating class, only a couple of dozen people actually attended the gathering, and only a few remained for more than a brief time--there were many other parties being held this night.
As always, Yuka, Eri, and Ayumi, Kagome�s best friends in this world, arrived at the very beginning of the party. If they were at all surprised to see the two of them greeting the arriving guests at the top of the shrine steps they made no mention of it. They had, Kagome remembered, met the hanyou once before, and had been quite taken with him.
About ten minutes after the official start time of the party, Kagome�s mother made her way over to the small dance floor that had been placed under the Goshinboku. As the crowd of young people grew silent, she began to address the group, �First of all, to today�s graduating students, congratulations and good luck in the future. That is, however, only one of the events we are gathered here to celebrate tonight.� At a gesture from her, the two young people standing in the middle of a knot of giggling, whispering girls stepped forward to stand next to her. She gave them a reassuring smile before continuing, �I would like to take this opportunity to announce the engagement of my daughter to Izayoi Inuyasha. May they have a long life full of peace, prosperity, and love.�
Although he had not been coached in this part of the festivities, the young hanyou did what seemed to him like the most natural thing under the circumstances--he stepped forward, took his future mate�s hands in his own, and bent to place a soft, chaste kiss on her full lips.
Stepping back, he was entirely unprepared for the crush of people offering their good wishes. Kagome kept a tight grip on his hand, understanding that the small contact would help keep him from panicking in the strange situation. After a few moments, only a handful of the girl�s closest friends remained.
Naturally, they were intensely curious about the �mystery man� who had--in their eyes, at least--replaced Houjou in their friend�s affections.
Despite her unwillingness to lie to her friends, she knew that the complete unadorned truth would be difficult if not impossible for them to handle, so she settled on a series of half-truths: they had known each other for a number of years, and had only recently become much closer. No, he didn�t attend school. Instead, he was an accomplished martial artist specializing in a very old, little-known style. He didn�t have a job in the usual sense of the word, as he was the youngest son of a very old, respected family.
Through it all, the hanyou maintained an essentially neutral, pleasant expression. He had long understood that the girl�s friends were important to her, and didn�t want to be the cause of any trouble between them.
As he listened to the flow of the conversation around him, he grew even more amazed at his clever mate�s diplomatic skills: she had answered all of the girls� questions to their satisfaction without lying even once. He knew without a doubt that he couldn�t have done it.
Although he didn�t have the faintest idea of how humans in this time danced, he allowed himself--still looking more than a little dazed--to be led out onto the dance floor. He knew that the girl would never ask him to do something that would embarrass him. As he stepped onto the polished wood of the dance floor he noticed the actions of the other couples who had already started to dance. Apparently, there was a great deal of variation permitted: maybe he could do this after all.
Since it was apparent that the positions of the dancers reflected--at least to some degree--the relative closeness of their relationships, he was more than a little pleased to see that her arms wrapped around his neck without hesitation, her head resting lightly against his chest.
As the pair swayed gently to the soft music, he allowed his hands to drop down until they rested lightly on her hips, pulling her just a bit more firmly against his body. He smirked at the sudden surge in the intoxicating fragrance coming from the fragile creature in his arms, wanting nothing so much as to claim her for himself right then and there.
With a tremendous effort of pure will he restrained himself, leading her from the dance floor to sit down at one of the small tables while he went in search of something for them to drink.
The hanyou nearly dropped the drinks he carried back to their table at the sound of a harsh male voice. �I don�t want to hear that you�re sorry! I�ve spent a lot of time chasing after you, and now you�re going to go off with some half-albino freak?!? I don�t think so!�
He arrived back at the table just in time to see his intended mate dragged up out of her chair by a red-faced human boy about her own age. The snarling voice didn�t even sound like his own. �Get your hands off her, bastard!�
The human didn�t even glance away from the girl whose upper arms were already starting to bruise where his fingers dug into the soft flesh. �This is none of your business, freak! I put a lot of effort into making her mine, and no strange-looking jerk like you is going to--�
His rant was silenced by a clawed hand that shot out and grabbed him by the throat, lifting him until his toes dangled several inches above the ground. His hands clawed feebly at the arm that held him suspended, his eyes widening in horror at the red eyes, protruding fangs, and purple facial markings of the creature that was surely going to end his life.
Kagome stared in shock for a fraction of a second. As furious as she was with Houjou, she didn�t want to be responsible--however indirectly--for his death. Looking around in a panic, she realized that nobody could help her now: if anybody could bring the raging hanyou-turned-youkai back to himself, it would have to be her. There was no point in trying to talk to him--he would never hear her voice over the singing of the blood in his veins. Tetsusaiga was in her bedroom, too far away to be of any help.
Suddenly remembering a conversation she had once had with Sango about the unwavering devotion of certain kinds of youkai to their mates, Kagome sprinted for the buffet table. Grabbing a knife from the table, she gritted her teeth as she made a shallow cut across the outside of her forearm.
Turning back to where Houjou�s face was starting to take on a decidedly unhealthy purple color, she could see the first hints of returning consciousness. The raging youkai reluctantly released his prey, turning slightly from side to side in an attempt to locate the source of his mate�s blood scent. He was at her side in a single leap, sniffing to determine the exact location and extent of her injury. She watched, eyes wide in amazement rather than fear, as a single word rumbled up from his chest. �Hurt.�
�It�s okay,� she murmured, her face flushing as he bent his head to gently clean the trickles of blood from the wound. Surprisingly, she felt no pain from the shallow cut, only a pleasant tingling as the skin closed that ignited a fierce flame in the pit of her stomach.
While he was preoccupied with caring for her wound, she reached out with her free right hand and began to gently stroke his left ear from the base to the tip. He shuddered violently, pulling her even more firmly against himself.
When he looked up moments later, his eyes had regained their normal golden-amber shade, the jagged purple stripes beneath his eyes gone. He looked at the thin white scar on the arm he still held. �Did I--?�
She shook her head, smiling brightly. �No. I did. It was the only thing I could think of that might bring you back to yourself.�
A deep, feral growl rose from the depths of his chest. �I remember,� he said. �That bastard tried to take you from me. He hurt you.�
She smiled up at him. �Mostly, he surprised me. I mean, I�ve known him for years, ever since I started middle school, and I never suspected that he had that kind of a temper.�
The hanyou looked past the girl�s shoulder to the circle of curious faces watching them closely. �Kagome--� he began, his ears flattening to his skull.
She turned to the rest of the people attending the party with a brilliant smile. �I�m sorry about the disturbance, everybody. I would have preferred not to make a scene, but as you can see,� she said, turning so that the bruises on her upper arms were clearly visible, �He didn�t want to take �no� for an answer. We�ll be going inside for a little while--that was pretty upsetting. Please continue to enjoy yourselves.� Taking her companion by the hand, she led him back into the house.
He was suddenly glad that they would be returning home in the morning.

AN: I know--Houjou was more than a little OOC, but I�ve been dying to do a little Houjou-bashing for a long time. Besides, you know what they say--it�s always the quiet ones�.
- 2
- 3
- 4
You need to be logged in to leave a review for this story.You need to be logged in to leave a review for this story.
Report Story

At the End of Days	By : inumom Category: InuYasha > General Views: 1784 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own InuYasha, nor make money from this story.

At the End of Days