Adult-FanFiction.org : Inuyasha / Yashahime

Times Change
By : theMaven
Category: InuYasha > General
Views: 4397 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own InuYasha, nor make money from this story.
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                                                            Times Change
                                                                 Chapter 4
            All he ever did any more was wait. Wait for Kagome to come home from work. Wait
for her to come home from school. Wait for her to come back from visiting her family. Wait for
her to come back from seeing her friends.
            Wait for her to make dinner. Wait for her to do the dishes. Wait for her to do laundry.
Wait for her to be ready for bed.
            Wait for her to stop taking those pills. Wait for her to settle down. Wait for her to start a
family. . . Wait eight more years . . .
            He clenched and unclenched his fist as he sat in the windowseat in his room, staring
down at the rooftops, watching everyone else come and go as they pleased. He was tired of
waiting.
            The door to the flat opened and closed. "InuYasha?"
            And right now, he was tired of waiting for the night of the new moon to be over. "I'm in
here," he said.
            She appeared in the doorway. She was wearing her waitress uniform.
            "You're home early," he said.
            "Well, I know you don't like to be alone on nights like this, so I told the manager I wasn't
feeling well, and he let me off early." She entered his room and took a seat at the foot of his bed.
            "That's not gonna get you fired, is it?"
            She shook her head. "No," she said. "And if it did, I wouldn't really care. There are
some things in life more important than work."
            "That's a new one on me," he said.
            She turned her attention to the Tessaiga mounted on the wall above his bed. There wasn't
need for it as a weapon in this time, and with his new modern clothes, there was no way to keep
it at his hip. At first, he'd carried it around bare-handed in its sheath. "A swordsman without his
sword isn't a man at all," he'd said. But as time passed and more people began to take notice of it
and him, he decided it was best to leave the sword at home. He was trying to assimilate, after
all.
            He used to leave it in the umbrella stand by the door. But every time they went out, he
instinctively reached for it. Kagome had mounted her bow to the wall above her bed, so she'd
thought he might like to do the same. They had an old sword rack at the temple, so she'd taken
it, polished it, and given it to InuYasha. He then mounted the rack on the wall and let the sword
rest there. She couldn't remember the last time she'd even seen him touch it.
            "So, what would you like to do tonight, InuYasha?"
            He grunted. "I definitely don't wanna go out looking like this," he said.
            She tried to raise his spirits. "Well, this is one night you wouldn't need to wear a hat,"
she said.
            He waved her away. "Don't you have some homework or something you need to do? I'm
really not in the best of moods."
            "No," she shook her head. "I've got finals next week, so no homework."
            "Shouldn't you be at the library or the lab or something? Studying?"
            She smiled good-naturedly. "Are you trying to get rid of me?"
            "I've just got a lot on my mind," he said.
            Kagome sighed. "Like last night?" she asked. "Going back to the feudal era and staying
there?"
            He didn't answer.
            "I haven't been very considerate towards you, lately, have I?"
            He shrugged. "It's not a big deal."
            "I don't like to think of you being unhappy," she said. "Are you unhappy? Staying here?
Do you hate it?"
            He laughed to himself. "I hate having to wear a hat all the time."
            "Aside from the hats," she laughed. "Do you hate it here?"
            He gave a sort of shy smile. "I hate it when you're not around," he said.
            "Which is a lot, lately, isn't it?"
            He shrugged again. "You get used to it."
            "I don't want you to get used to it," she said. "You shouldn't have to get used to
somebody not being around."
            "I was lying, any way," he said. "I'm not used to it . . . This place feels so-empty without
you."
            "I don't like leaving you alone," she said.
            "Well, it's not really your fault," he said. "Your mother--"
            "My mother missed my father because he worked so much," she said. "I was talking to
her today about it. And how little I actually remembered about him . . . And she got a little
defensive. I mean, she wasn't rude about it or anything. But you could tell it hurt her to talk
about it. You could tell she wanted him around more than he was. I mean, she clearly
appreciated his point of view–why he had to do the things he did . . . but I think he left her
feeling rather lonely at times."
            He swung his legs around and faced her. "Kagome . . ."
            "And me, too," she said. "Most memories I have of him are him leaving out the door.
And that's no way to be remembered. I mean, I know he did more than work for us, but right at
this moment, it's hard for me to think of anything else he did . . . But this isn't about me; it's
about you. So tell me, InuYasha, do you really hate it here?"
            He slumped forward onto his knees. "No," he shook his head.
            "I don't want you to lie to me," she said. "If you're unhappy, just say so."
            "No," he said again. "You could never make me unhappy."
            "But I know you want a family," she said. "So I've decided to cut back on school."
            "What?"
            "I'm not quitting," she said. "I'm just cutting back to part-time from full-time."
            "But why?" he asked. "Not because of something I said . . ."
            "No," she said. "Actually, it was because of something my mother said. She said
sometimes things got tough, but we all got through it together. And . . . I always want us to be
together, InuYasha. Whatever sacrifices need to be made, I'll make them. But I don't wanna
lose you."
            "Lose me?" he said. "How do you think you'd do that?"
            She shook her head at him. "I know you're not happy here," she said.
            "I was just mouthing off last night. I'd never--"
            "And I'd never hope to put you in a position where you'd have to choose between being
with me or being happy . . . I always hoped being with me was enough to make you happy."
            "It is," he insisted.
            "No, it's not," she said. "Not when I'm not around, any way."
            "Don't quit," he said. "Don't quit school to satisfy me."
            "I'm not quitting; I'm just cutting back. And it'll make me a better doctor in the long run.
Passing grades don't mean anything if you can't retain the information."
            They were quiet for a moment.
            "What're you thinking, now?" she asked.
            "I thought I'd be happy," he said. "If you could spend more time with me . . . But if
you're giving up something else you love to do it . . .”
            "I don't LOVE school," she said. "I love what I could do for other people as a doctor. I
love making my mother's dreams come true. I love being self-sufficient . . . I don't love school,
though. It's just the means to an end."
            "So we're still going through the well at the end of next week?"
            Kagome nodded. "Right after Eri's wedding."
            "Do I have to go?" he asked.
            "It'd be nice if you'd go. I'd feel bad if I had to go by myself."
            He jumped down to the floor. "I'll go," he said. "That just means more clothes right?"
            "You could wear your old clothes, if you like. I'm the maid of honor, so I'll be in a
kimono."
            "Really?" he asked.
            She nodded with a smile. "You could even bring the Tessaiga along," she said. "You
wouldn't seem completely dressed without it."
            He eyed the sword, happily. "And no one'll stare?" he asked.
            "Well, we'll have to do something about your ears, of course. But aside from that, you'll
blend right in. No one'll look twice."
            His smile broadened.
            "Can I stay in here again tonight, InuYasha?"
            He didn't take his eyes off the sword. "Yeah. Sure."
            She stood and slipped out of her pink waitress uniform. "Sota asked about you today,"
she said.
            "Sota?" He turned his attention back to her.
            "He thought I'd brought you with me today. He wants us to come over for dinner some
time. Like we used to," she said.
            "That'd be nice," he said.
            "I thought so, too," she smiled. "Especially with Grandpa feeling better, now." She
walked around him and climbed into bed.
            He stripped and climbed in on the other side.
            "We have to go shopping for Ayumi's baby shower," she said. "We should get blankets
or something, I think. They've already got plenty of furniture, and since they don't know if it's a
boy or a girl, I'd hate to try buying clothes."
            "Toys?" he suggested.
            "I guess we could get a stuffed animal or a rattle or something. Maybe a mobile . . ."
            "Whatever you pick, I'm sure it'll be fine."
            She snuggled up next to him.
            "And despite what I say, I'd never really leave you," he said.
            "That's nice of you to say."
            "I'm not saying it to be nice; I'm saying it because it's true."
            "Regardless," she said, yawning and pulling the covers more tightly around her. "It's a
nice thing for you to say."
            He stared down at her sleeping face. "Aren't you gonna try and stay up with me?"
            "I always try, but I never make it, anymore," she said. "It's kinda pointless don't you
think?"
            "It's the thought that counts," he said.
            She opened her eyes. "I'll stay up as long as I can," she said. "But I've still gotta work
tomorrow."
            "Don't force yourself," he said. "I'm being inconsiderate."
            "It's only once a month," she said. "I used to go nights on end without sleep. Traipsing
around the forest, shooting my little arrows, collecting tiny bits of a jewel . . . Those were the
days, weren't they?"
            "Hard times, but good times," he said.
            She tugged at his ear. "And you used to give me so much trouble."
            "Hey," he said. "My human ears aren't as sensitive as my dog ears, but that still hurts."
            "It's supposed to hurt," she said.
            He raised an eyebrow. "Kagome?"
            She didn't reply.
            "Kagome . . ."
            "Instead of me staying up with you, why don't you try sleeping with me this once? Just
close your eyes and let go of everything . . . Relax. Breathe. Feel comfortable, feel safe."
            He shook his head. "I can't," he said. "It's been too long. I'm too set in my ways. I'll
never be able to sleep on a new moon night."
            "Changes are hard to come by," she said. "They take time and effort and patience. Not
to mention an iron will."
        "Some things just aren't worth changing," he said. "Like you said, it's only one night a
month."
            She shrugged and yawned. "If you say so."
            "And what's that supposed to mean?" he asked.
            "Nothing," she said. "You know what? Why don't we go watch some TV? Lying here
like this is just driving me crazy." She pushed the covers back and swung her feet on the floor.
            "TV?" he repeated.
            "Yeah. If I'm gonna be up all night, I might as well be entertained in the process. Come
on. There's gotta be something decent on."
            InuYasha scratched the top of his head. Was she mad at him?
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Times Change	By : theMaven Category: InuYasha > General Views: 4397 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own InuYasha, nor make money from this story.

Times Change