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lavaffair · 2 years

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Begin Again - Rated T

Chapter Nine

You can read it on AO3!

Chapter 8 on tumblr here!

Wonderful fan art by my lovely friend @audrieberrie who I commissioned these two pieces for her to do. Please give her a follow and support her art! Her twitter here!

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Kagome ran her fingers across the silky, smooth fabrics displayed on the rack, a large range of colors spreading across the large room for miles. She could get lost in here honestly, but being locked in a store filled with gorgeous dresses didn’t sound too bad. There was just way too many options to choose from, and since Kagome had no idea what kind of dress she even wanted it made shopping more difficult.

“Kagome, what about this one?” Sango’s voice called out from beside her. She was rummaging through another rack filled with yellow and orange dresses.

“You sure orange looks good on me?” Kagome asked with a wrinkled nose, “I know it’s the color of the season, but it doesn’t work on me.”

Her friend rolled her eyes and lifted the gown from the hook, carefully laying it over her forearm so it doesn’t wrinkle or touch the ground. “I think you look hot in any color, so at least try it on please? We’ve gone to four stores with no luck!”

Kagome blushed with embarrassment, “Sorry Sango, I probably should have decided what color and style I wanted before asking you to come with me.”

A gentle hand patted her shoulder in reassurance, “Babe, it’s okay. Inuyasha asked you last second, and you’ve had too much going on to even think about dresses. I just want you to understand that you look good in everything.”

A little smile appeared on Kagome’s face, “Thanks. I think I’m just nervous.”

Sango snorted as she continued to search for more dresses. “Meeting the family of your future boyfriend sounds terrifying, I get it.”

“It’s not just that!” Kagome whined, completely brushing off the boyfriend comment, “I-I wanna make sure I don’t mess anything up.”

As her best friend picked up another dress, this time in auburn, Sango blew out a raspberry in response. “You won’t mess up anything. You’re going to do as we planned, and tell him after the wedding!”

Kagome looked up to the ceiling and groaned, the bright lights burning her eyes weren’t enough to distract her from her own misery. “Do I have to?”

Sango laughed from behind her, “You decided last night that you were confessing like this, not me! But I know you can do it.”

Her slender fingers gripped the hook of a blue dress, it was shorter compared to the rest that she had chosen, but it was very pretty and yet still wedding appropriate.

“Ooooo, I like that one a lot!” Her best friend praised, “I think that one would look so good on you!”

Nodding, she walked over to Sango and motioned over to the fitting rooms. “Let me try these on before we take the entire store with us.”

They giggled as they headed over to the changing rooms with their arms filled with different dresses. Kagome should have been more specific, but what Sango said was true; she had no time to daydream about a dress when so much happened in such little time.

The day after Kei showed up at her apartment again, Kagome had filled up the paperwork for the restraining order and dropped it off at the police department. She was told that he was released earlier that day, and although it made her very uneasy she was sure she would never see him ever again.

If the restraining order doesn’t hold him off, then Inuyasha’s threat to his life certainly will.

Nervously she explained what happened to her mother, Sango, and Miroku and they all roughly reacted in the same way. Except, Sango wanted to rip out Kei’s throat from how angry she was, and Kagome knew she was very capable of doing so.

Inuyasha never strayed too far away from Kagome after that either, having called in sick to work the first two days of the week so she wasn’t alone in her apartment herself. While she worked on her computer, he would nap on her couch or watch tv. Having him over really did help her calm down, and Buyo didn’t seem to mind either. They both shared the couch while they napped, and Inuyasha loved playing with her cat.

He stayed the night as well. Inuyasha would gather his clothes from his home quicker than Kagome could register his speed and he would be tucked into his temporary bed immediately after. They would cook together, eat together, and watch tv together until it was time for them to catch some sleep.

Even though it was just two days, it felt a lot longer, and Kagome couldn’t help but wonder if that was what her life would be like if they were to get together.

The idea made her heart swell up.

Another thing that didn’t help was that he was a lot more flustered around her like he didn’t know what to do sometimes. She had no idea what could have caused this shift in dynamic but it made her nervous and hyper-aware of how much he blushed around her. It was endearing, and it made her giddy to see just how much she could make him blush without any effort.

Something had shifted between them again, and she didn’t know what caused it, but she wasn’t going to complain about it. This shift could make confessing to him easier, however, the fear of messing it all up still hung up high above her head.

“You know,” Kagome started as hung the dresses neatly on the hook. “I don’t even know how I’m going to bring it up to him.”

Sango closed the door and sat down on the bench inside the room while Kagome began to change. “It doesn’t have to be something grandiose. I feel like that’s the complete opposite of what you two are anyway.”

Kagome laughed loudly as she fiddled with the orange dress. “What’s that supposed to mean!”

Sango hung her head back to catch her breath from laughing too, “You guys are complete messes! I think if either of you decided to do something romantic, it would turn into a disaster. But in a cute way!”

Nodding her head in agreement, Kagome couldn’t stop the giggles from bubbling out of her throat. Once the dress was on she took a look at her reflection and started laughing again. “I look like a basketball.”

The dress looked so cute on the hanger, the skirt was a bit poofy, but still flattering around her waist. However, it was so orange, that Kagome couldn’t think of anything else to compare it to.

Her friend grinned at her and snorted, “At least it fits the narrative! If he shoots his shot he scores?”

“That was terrible, Sango!” Kagome complained while she took off the dress. “You’re letting Miroku influence you.”

Sango watched as she hung the orange gown on another hook before grabbing at the auburn one and sliding it over her body. It landed above her ankles, made of satin and it bunched at the chest.

“I really like that one, and no I don’t!” Her friend wailed. “That was just a poorly thought-out joke.”

Kagome twirled in the dress and smiled at her reflection, “This is way better than the flat-out orange color, and it’s super soft.” She skipped over to the bench where she sat and lifted the fabric in her hands. “Touch it.”

Sango ran her fingers across the satin and shivered from the smooth touch on her fingertips, “You should buy this one even if you don’t choose it for the wedding.”

“You think so?” She asked giddily, immediately imagining herself wearing it on a night out with Inuyasha.

A vision also flashed in her head about him taking it off of her, and she flushed a deep shade of red at the lewd thought. As quickly as it came into her mind it disappeared, and she was left with a tingling feeling in her abdomen.

“I know so.” Sango winked, completely ignoring how intensely her friend was blushing. She didn’t need to think too hard about what her friend could possibly be thinking.

“Okay, it’ll go in the ‘maybe’ pile.” Kagome squeaked as she slid back over to the hooks to try on another dress.

As she continued to put on different styles, nothing else had hit her as crazy as the auburn dress. The ones they had chosen were all beautiful, but they were either too casual, or too fancy, and Kagome wanted something nice in between.

“Last one.” She announced while unhooking the blue dress in her hand. “Let’s hope I picked a good one.”

The color was close to a dusty blue, except one shade darker. with a slit on the side. The dress's length was above the ankle, and ruched on the right side above the leg slit. It was made of polyester with an off-the-shoulder design and it was beautiful. Kagome had made sure to ask if leg slits were allowed for the occasion, and as soon as he confirmed that they were; flushed cheeks and all, she happily made her way to the shops to begin her search.

“You look hot.” Sango complimented, completely stunned. “This is the best of the bunch.”

Kagome looked back at her reflection at different angles, making sure the dress wasn’t inappropriate or the slit was too high up for a wedding's standards and fixed around the sleeves at her shoulders until they were at a perfect spot. She looked different, mature, and sexy, and yet she still felt poised and glamorous.

“I think we found it.” She confirmed breathily, “I really like this one.”

Sango beamed up at her best friend and squealed happily. “You’re going to knock Inuyasha out as soon as he sees you.”

“S-Sango!” Kagome blushed, “Don’t say things like that.”

She scoffed and pulled her friend into a hug, “I only ever say the truth!”

Kagome took a quick photo of herself in the blue dress before changing back into her clothes and bunching them together with the silk, auburn gown. “Now that we’re done, let’s get some lunch. I’m about to keel over.”

Sango placed the rejected dresses onto the go-back rack and followed her friend. “Let’s head to the diner. You found your dress, and you’re going to confess to him? This calls for a celebration.”

_____

Today was the day and Inuyasha wanted to pretend he died in his apartment and never come back out.

Sesshomaru has been blowing up his phone all damn day which didn’t help his mood or his nerves.

‘I’m aware that you refused to be the best man, but you should still come early.’ He could hear Sesshomaru’s voice practically echoing in his brain.

“I’ll show up when I feel like it.” Inuyasha grumbled to himself, “Stupid Sesshomaru.”

He continued to fix up his tie in the mirror and groan in frustration at how annoying it was to fix this tie. Inuyasha was never that great at dressing up in a suit, he actually hated it, and it made him miserable. Today, he had no choice but to wear one. What makes things worse, is he has to wear a suit and regalia showing off that he’s the son of a general.

“I’m so close to ripping this thing off!“ He growled, “How do they wear this every day.”

There was a reason Inuyasha works at a mechanic shop and not his father's business besides rebelling against his dad and not following the plan. No, he also refuses to work in the Taisho company because he hates wearing suits.

His stomach was growling but he was too nervous to grab a snack from his kitchen. Sesshomaru wasn’t the only problem he was dealing with today, nor was he the main reason why he wished today would end already. Inuyasha was feeling the fluttering in his stomach and the tightening in his chest because he could hear Kagome getting ready and it was driving him insane.

She woke up earlier than she usually does on Saturdays and heard her cleaning around the house and cooking breakfast. It wasn’t until around two hours ago that he heard her go into the shower and give him another concert. She was singing along to a shuffled playlist of pop hits and took around an hour in there doing things and he was trying not to imagine her doing them.

He was failing.

Now, he could hear her humming along as she did her hair and make-up, the tune of her song sounded cheerful. Inuyasha knew they needed to leave soon because the ceremony starts in two hours and he has to be there to greet the guests along with the rest of his family.

Inuyasha sighed, extremely frustrated from everything that was happening all at once as he finished getting dressed. Thankfully his brother and fiancé chose to have a modern wedding instead of a traditional youkai ceremony. Those weddings require everyone to wear the traditional dress decorated with regalia that was too clunky for their own good. He didn’t particularly care about small details in clothing, but at least the only flashy part of his suit was his family’s inu-youkai crest and the gold buttons adorning his suit.

The worst part was the gold sash he needed to wear over his jacket, the sash that showed everyone he was part of the Taisho family and matched one of the colors of his father's kimono. Inuyasha didn’t particularly care about showing off his family name, but today he had no choice but to participate in the matter.

Inuyasha could hear a specific click-clack sound coming from Kagome’s apartment, and he suspected that she was dressed. He swallowed his anxiety, grabbed his wallet and keys, and headed out of the door.

“Now or never.” He told himself anxiously.

After locking his door, he immediately went to knock on hers and hoped that she was almost ready to go. Unfortunately, they had a deadline to meet, and he wanted to brief her on his family and on who may be coming.

The light pitter-patter of her feet had his heartbeat racing in anticipation, he wanted to see her and he also wanted her to walk slower to her door. He had no idea what he was going to see when she greeted him, and he had no idea how he was going to react.

The door unlatched and slowly swung open which did nothing for his heart.

“Okay, I promise I’m almost ready!” Kagome’s voice rang. “My hair isn’t cooperating!”

He didn’t hear her entirely, his ears were too busy ringing loudly while his heart was thumping so roughly in his chest it could break out. Inuyasha didn’t give a shit if she was making them run late, she could do anything right now and he wouldn’t mind it.

The dress she was wearing would make any man fall onto his knees and beg for her attention, something Inuyasha was considering doing right now. It wrapped around her body like a glove, perfectly accentuating her figure. The hair framing her face made her look like a goddess, and the ebony waves cascading around her looked similar to a halo.

Honestly, Inuyasha thought he was staring at an angel.

“Inuyasha?” She asked him softly, “A-are you okay?”

He noticed how pink her cheeks looked and he wanted to ravish her until she was pink all over. “You look incredible.” He says, voice tight with want.

Her cheeks turn red and she laughs breathily, “T-hank you.” Kagome clears her throat, “Want to come inside? I’ll be ready in five.”

Inuyasha swears he looks like a fumbling idiot as he nods at her with his mouth parted and follows her in, his eyes scoring through the back of her silhouette and shamefully falling on the plush of her ass.

“Oh, man.” He whimpers pathetically under his breath.

He sat down on her couch and laid his head back on the cushion in disbelief. “How am I going to survive this?” He murmured to himself.

Kagome is the most beautiful woman he’s ever seen, and he already knew that, but seeing her in that dress sealed the deal. How can a half-breed like him manage to find someone as incredible as Kagome and be lucky enough to fall for her?

He knew he needed to tell her how he felt, he can’t mess this up. There are only so many chances that the universe gives you before it gives up and shows you that you ruined your opportunity.

Her heels clicked on the hardwood floor at the same tempo as his heart and he immediately looked over at her. An embarrassing sound erupted from the back of his throat as he watched her walk toward him with a beaming smile.

“Okay, I’m ready!” She cheerfully announced, “ I have the essentials in my bag and the wedding gift is packed up too.”

Inuyasha scoffed in an attempt to shield his feelings. “Ya didn't have’ta get ‘em anythin’.”

Kagome rolled her eyes at him as she fished for her keys, “Technically, you paid for it because you didn’t want me to pay.”

Inuyasha stood up from the couch with a heavy sigh. “Tch. Of course, I did. The fuck am I gonna let ya pay for the gift when I asked you to be my date.”

She walked over to him and patted his shoulder, the light touch from her hand sending tingles down his arm. “Thank you, Inuyasha. You didn’t have to pay for it, but I knew you wouldn’t take no for an answer.”

“Bah.” The half-demon replied, “S’nothin’.”

Kagome bit her lip to suppress her smile as she turned around to pick up a box wrapped in glitter paper. “Okay, let’s head out before your brother has your head.”

Inuyasha stepped in front of her and took the gift from her hands. “Fuck my brother, I’m more worried about you walking down the stairs carryin’ this box.”

He walked towards the door in haste and Kagome finally had a chance to ogle him when he wasn’t looking. She was never the type to drool over men in suits, but Inuyasha looked so handsome that she wished she could just stare at him all day. The suit was pretty simple, besides the gold buttons here and there, and it just fit him so right. She wanted to run her hands all over him and kiss him senselessly.

If her confession goes right tonight, maybe she will.

Besides how he looked in the suit, he had his hair up in a ponytail. It was a pretty rare sight to see him in since he usually wears his hair down unless he’s out on a run. Seeing him in a ponytail just made her want to tackle him down and have her way with him.

“Kagome, relax.” She breathed. “You’re about to meet his family, you can imagine kissing him later.”

Letting out a gust of air she quickly followed him and locked the door, leaving Buyo with an endless amount of cat food and an entire house to sleep in.

“So, what’s your brother’s fiancé’s name again?” Kagome asked as she carefully descended the stairs.

“Her name is Kagura, and she can be a little intimidating when ya first meet her. I didn’t feel that way, but apparently, a lot of people do.” He explained.

Kagome nodded, anxiety creeping into her stomach. “Nice.” She simply replied. “I’m sure 99% of this party will be filled with intimidating youkai.”

“Tch. They’re nothin’ to worry about Kagome, don’t worry.” He scoffed, “As long as Rin likes ya, nothin’ else matters.”

Kagome met Inuyasha at the bottom of the stairs before walking at the same pace to his truck. “Rin is your brother's daughter?”

He nodded, “Yeah. If ya like Rin and she likes you, Sesshomaru immediately thinks yer worth somethin’. I swear, she made him into a softie.”

“Oh, that’s so cute!” She cooed.

“He’s still a huge asshole.” He grumbled. “You’ll understand when ya meet him.”

Kagome nervously laughed as she opened the door and climbed into the passenger’s seat. “Well, what about your parents?”

The car started smoothly as soon as he turned the key, and Inuyasha began to back out of the lot. “Nothin’ much to say from what ya already know. My dad’s a big guy but he’s got a soft spot for humans since ya know, he married my mom.” He paused, “And my mom’s the best person in the world, so there’s nothin’ more to say.”

Kagome smiled at his comment about his mother, making sure not to mention how adorable it was. Inuyasha struggles to express his feelings about people, and he normally describes others in the most simple way possible. However when it comes to his parents, specifically his mother, he doesn’t hold back about how much he appreciates her.

“Is it okay to say I’m nervous?” Kagome asked with a shaky voice.

As Inuyasha pulled into the highway, he snorted in disagreement. “I get ya, but seriously. There’s nothin’ to worry about. Stick with me and you’ll be fine.”

She wasn’t going to leave his side regardless, crush her damned, so she wasn’t going to disagree with him there.

“Okay,” She closed her eyes. “Anyone else I need to know about specifically?”

“Sesshomaru’s mom is uh… interestin’. She may or may not come to talk to ya. Then there’s Myoga and Totosai, they’re close with my dad. Besides them, there isn’t anyone else I can tell ya that matters much.”

The highway spread out for miles as it filled up with cars trying to get to their destinations before the evening traffic. Seeing everyone drive around allowed Kagome to relax a bit.

“This will be fun.” She replied as she played with the ends of her hair.

While he kept his eyes on the road and left hand on the wheel, he lifted his other hand and grabbed hers, the tresses of her immediately falling out of her grip as they intertwined their fingers.

He held her firmly as their hands landed on the soft cushioning of her thigh, “I’m never leavin’ yer side, the whole night, so just enjoy yourself.”

Kagome squeezed his hand and he squeezed back, it was warm and comforting, and their fingers fit perfectly together like it was meant to be. She flushed madly at the contact, and when she gazed over at him, his cheeks were tinted in red as well.

His hand was so warm, just like him, and the heat spread into her body and made a permanent home in her chest.

‘Oh.’ She immediately realized. ‘I never thought I’d feel like this again.’

He made her heart pound so quickly, and every time he smiled at her or laughed she swears she feels it skipping a few beats. Even if he knew of her feelings, he wouldn’t know just how deeply she felt for him.

The venue wasn’t very far from their complex, the distance being an hour at most, and after the conversation about his family they didn’t let go of each other’s hand the entire ride. They would fiddle around each other’s fingers here and there, but neither of them initiated a time where they wanted to let go. While they drove they continued to talk about Inuyasha’s parents, which in turn had Kagome telling him more about hers. Eventually, there was no conversation at all; just the two of them singing along to the songs that came on the radio completely out of tune while they danced in their seats.

“I think… we’re here.” Inuyasha alerted her as he turned into the humongous driveway that led up a small hill.

“Wow, your brother went all out for this,” Kagome commented in awe. The venue looked gorgeous from outside the driveway. It was a mansion, small in size compared to others but with a lot of lands. Made of white and grey brick and tall columns with balconies in between. Beautiful gardens surrounded the area, along with a few lakes and green pastures filled with trees.

“Leave it to him to be as extravagant as ever.” He grumbled as he parked his car on an empty square lot. “Kagura definitely had a huge say in choosing this place too.”

They climbed out of the truck in comfortable silence, the both of them missing the warmth from their hands, and walked over towards the grand entrance. The sun was still out, but it will begin to set a little after the ceremony is over. All of the birds were singing above them in the trees, the ducks and squirrels were walking along the ground, and the crickets were making sure that they could be heard. Nature was a big part of this venue, and Kagome absolutely loved it.

“I can’t deny that they don’t have good taste.” Kagome smiled, “I would definitely have a wedding here if I could afford it.”

Inuyasha’s ears flicked at her comment, taking note of what she said and storing it into the part of his brain where he doesn’t forget things. He may look like a fool for paying attention so closely to that, but he won't be one if everything plays out in his favor.

He opened the main door and let Kagome walk in front of him first, both of them reacting in surprise at just how big this place looked from the inside. The entryway itself was elegantly decorated with flowers along with a portrait of the newlyweds and a little girl. There was a small table with a photo album open, each page containing black and white pictures that were both taken professionally or by the couple themselves. There were empty spaces left beside each page for guests to write a message if they choose to.

Immediately Kagome went to sign the album and wrote a simple congratulations to the happy couple, and begrudgingly; Inuyasha signed his name beside hers.

“Guess we should go find my parents.” The half-demon announced nervously.

“Y-yeah, I guess we should.” Kagome nodded and stepped backward, yelling as she accidentally bumped into someone working staff who was setting the last touches around the venue.

Inuyasha pulled her into him by her waist at hearing her distress before she could lose her balance and make the poor stranger fall to the ground.

“Oí, are you alright?” He asked her gruffly.

“I am so, so sorry!” She apologized to the man, completely ignoring the half-demon that was holding her in his arms.

The man smiled at her and apologized as well, even though it was her fault she was so clumsy and accepted her sincere apology. As soon as he walked away, she sighed in relief and turned back around to stare right into frustrated golden eyes.

“W-what?“ Kagome asked breathlessly.

“I asked ya if you were alright.” He said again, his hold on her waist not loosening for a second.

“I’m fine.” She blushed, finally noticing how her hand splayed delicately on his chest. “I-I’m clumsy.”

His eyes flickered to her lips before meeting her eyes again. “I know.”

“I’ll be more careful.” She whispered. Was it suddenly hotter in this room?

“Ya better, or else I gotta keep ya glued to me the whole night.”

“T-hat doesn't sound like a bad idea.” She breathed.

“Yeah?” He smirked at her hungrily, with a little fang poking out of his mouth.

The way he was looking at her made her legs wobble.

“Inuyasha!” A loud, booming male voice echoed in the doorway, immediately snapping the pair out of a spell.

The half-demon sighed and dropped his head, the sound of his parents calling his name completely ruining the moment.

Kagome furrowed her brow and did not move from his hold, “Who’s-?”

“The two people yelling my name so loudly it echoes around the whole building? That would be my parents.” He chuckled embarrassedly.

A squeak escaped her throat as she noticed a couple excitedly walking over to them, a man who looked exactly like Inuyasha and a short human woman. What’s worse, Inuyasha’s arm was still tightly wrapped around her middle, and whether or not he was being of it she didn’t think he would let her go.

“Um?” She hesitated, the anxious tone in her voice causing her neighbor to look back at her. “S-shouldn’t you let me go?”

His ears flicked; which Kagome found very cute, and he immediately dropped his arm from her waist. She could still feel the warmth of his body on hers as she tried to stop her cheeks from turning a deep shade of red.

However, his hand didn’t stray far from hers as they brushed each other periodically.

“My sweet boy, how are you?” His mother greeted loudly. The overly sweet implications of his mother's words had Inuyasha’s face heating up.

“I’m fine, ma.” He answered her fatly.

“Inuyasha, try sounding a little happier when talking to your mother.” His father chastised,

“Sorry, ma.” He apologized.

Kagome couldn’t help but giggle at the scene in front of her. He reminded her of a child being scolded, and it was adorable.

His mother’s gaze landed on her immediately, and the resemblance he had to her was uncanny. Kagome had no idea which parent Inuyasha resembles most because when she looked at them individually it was like looking in a mirror.

“You must be Kagome!” She exclaimed happily, heeled feet quickly clicking over to drag Kagome into a tight hug.

“Yes, it’s nice to meet you, Mrs. Taisho.” Kagome smiled into her neck as she hugged the woman back.

“Oh please, call me Izayoi.” His mother quickly replied. She stepped away from the hug and motioned over to his father. “This is my husband, Toga.”

He was very tall and very big, almost intimidating; but his kind auburn eyes stopped her from feeling any nerves. “Kagome, it’s nice to finally meet the girl my son keeps talking about.”

Kagome heard Inuyasha choke from somewhere behind him and it took everything in her not to fall into a fit of giggles.

“I would hope he tells you guys good things?” She asked shyly.

“Oh yes, he’s always-“

“Alright, now, we got the introductions outta the way.” Inuyasha suddenly said, completely cutting off his father while Toga only coyly smirked at him. “When the hell are we gonna get started with this weddin’?“

“Wow Inuyasha, you’re suddenly so invested in your brother's wedding,” Toga said with a grin.

He glared at his dad and mumbled something incoherent for the human ear to hear clearly, but the look his father gave him made Inuyasha regret whatever it is he had said at the moment.

Before Kagome could say anything to stir away from the awkwardness, little footsteps scurried from down the hall, and a little girl who didn’t look more than four years old appeared in a baby pink dress. “Uncle!” She happily squealed.

Inuyasha bent down and caught the happy girl in his arms, lifting her up with ease and twirling her around while she giggled happily. “Rin! How are ya doin’ runt?”

“Good!” She replied loudly, her chest heaving to catch some air. “I’m papa’s flower girl!”

“The flower girl huh?” Inuyasha asked her, “You have the most important job of the day.”

Rin giggled, “You think so?”

“Does yer uncle ever lie to ya?” He stared at her with a smirk.

Rin thought for a moment and cocked her little head to the side, clearly digging around for an answer. “Sometimes.” She replied.

Inuyasha’s ears flattened in a reaction that made both Rin and Kagome laugh outwardly. The little girl heard her and turned her attention to Kagome, “Hi! I’m Rin! What’s your name?”

“My name is Kagome,” She smiled at her, “I think your dress is very pretty.”

Rin blushed and hid in Inuyasha’s chest from the compliment. “Thank you. You look pretty too!”

Sweet compliments from children always get Kagome worked up, and she did her best to calm her emotions. “Thank you, are you excited for your dad?”

Rin nodded and wiggled in Inuyasha’s arms, “Papa’s happy with my new mama, and she makes me happy too.”

Before Kagome could respond, another pair of footsteps echoed into the entrance. They were poised, almost hard to hear from how light each step was. Once the person came through the corridor Kagome immediately knew it was Sesshomaru. Tall, stoic, another copy of his father, except he had a crescent moon on his forehead; something Inuyasha and his father lacked.

“Rin.” Sesshomaru beckoned, still and cold. “Kagura would like to speak with you.”

“Okay!” Rin wiggled around in her uncle's arms, similar to a little worm, and thankfully Inuyasha’s strength allowed her to touch the ground stability instead of falling out of his arms and injuring herself. She ran towards the middle of the mansion before turning and waving at everyone she left behind. “Bye!”

Inuyasha waved at her until she ran out of view before his face fell into a scowl. “You know, you should talk to ‘er like she’s yer daughter. Don’t ya think?”

Sesshomaru stood a few feet in front of his brother with an emotionless face. “Hello to you too, brother.”

Kagome stood awkwardly beside Izayoi and Toga, the lovely couple rolling their eyes as they watched the two men in front of them. Really, it was as if Toga split himself into two pieces and created clones. The differences they all had was minimal, regardless of some of the obvious physical differences. Inuyasha’s the only one with fluffy ears, Sesshomaru has a crescent moon and red stripes on his cheeks, while their father’s cheeks stripes are blue. And although Inuyasha looked uncanny to his father, he also had his mother's beautiful features. It made her wonder what Sesshomaru’s mother looked like.

His sharp gaze landed on hers and Kagome had an instant urge to straighten her back and stand stock still. “This woman must be Kagome. Thank you for accompanying my little brother as his date.”

“N-no thank you needed!” She nervously replied, “Thank you for having me, and congratulations.”

He simply nodded at her before turning his attention back to the rest of the family. Kagome guessed that was as far as their conversation was going to go for the rest of the evening.

She listened quietly as he explained the gameplay now that everyone was here. As she understood, they would greet the guests as they trickled in, and ten minutes before the ceremony begins, they close the doors and go to their places. Rin would start the ceremony with the flowers and rings, Toga and Izayoi would walk down the aisle, followed by Sesshomaru and his mother, and Inuyasha would find his seat alongside Kagome where the ceremony will be taking place. It was a pretty simple task that she knew Inuyasha definitely didn’t want to do but was going to be forced to do anyway.

After the quick briefing, Kagome was dragged forward by Izayoi’s awaiting hand to learn more about each other, leaving Inuyasha alone with Sesshomaru.

“You actually found a date, good job little brother.” Sesshomaru chuckled.

“Only cause ya wouldn’t shut up about it.” Inuyasha defended.

“I know that’s not the only reason why.”

Sesshomaru was looking at him with this cocky look on his face and it took everything in him not to sock him in the face. “What are you sayin’?”

His older brother shrugged, “Easy. You like her.”

Inuyasha tried to hide his blush and failed, “Keep yer voice down will ya!”

The inu daiyokai let out a breathy snort, “She’s too busy talking to your mother to hear us.”

Inuyasha groaned in embarrassment and frustration, knowing his mom was probably asking Kagome a bunch of questions that he couldn’t interrupt. “I… haven’t told her yet.”

Sesshomaru made a noise and rolled his eyes at the obvious statement. “Not that I particularly care about what you do with your life Inuyasha, but if a woman chooses you when you act like a rabid animal most of the time, I would suggest making a move before somebody else beats you to it.”

The half-demon crossed his arms over his chest and huffed, “What do you know.”

“I’m getting married. I know enough.” Sesshomaru chuckled before walking away, “Just listen to me for once, little brother.” He said before he disappeared into the main room.

The half-demon continued to argue with no one in particular as he stood alone to sulk. He knows what he needs to do but he doesn’t know when to do it! He’s still reeling at the fact that Kagome’s feelings are mutual, which is something he didn’t think would be possible. She’s leagues above him, and could choose anyone else, and yet she picked him.

Her cackling laugh took him out of his stupor, the way she was doubled over from something his dad said made his body tingle. She was comfortable with his parents already, and the realization already had his head swimming with ideas and scenarios.

Kagome accepts him for his flaws, his strengths, and weaknesses, and doesn’t view him differently just because of his blood. She cares about him and has taken time to learn about his past, his likes and dislikes. Her heart is made of gold and yet it’s still permeable; allowing for empathy and her kindness for others to shine through. She was everything; the sky, the ground, the ocean, his morning coffee, his favorite show, the sunlight that peaks through the blinds when he least expects it.

“I have to tell her.” He whispered to himself, his voice wavering with every word. “Tonight. I have to tell her tonight.”

While he walked over to his parents and Kagome, the wedding guests had already begun to show up. To nobody's surprise, they were all demons; coworkers from their father's company, friends, and important close acquaintances. Inuyasha kept his greetings short, allowing for his parents to do all of the sweet-talking. In the frenzy, he caught Kagome standing still as she leaned on the door in a fit of nerves.

“You feelin’ alright?” He asked her, chuckling when she jumped at his sudden words.

Kagome slid a piece of ebony hair behind her head and laughed shakily. “Yeah, just nervous. Your parents are great, seriously, I didn’t expect them to take to me so kindly.”

“Mmm, sounds like there was a ‘but’ in there that ya didn’t say.” He pursed his lips.

She laughed, “Yeah, there is.” A pause. “I don’t want to mess up.”

He furrowed his brow at her in question, “Kagome, there's nothing that you can mess up.”

She released a shaky breath and pulled her head to the side to look at him, “And if there is?”

He shrugged. “Then fuck it, I’ll mess up with you. If you fall, I fall.” He leaned close to her, his warm breath tickling the skin on her neck. “But, ya won’t mess up. Yer incredible as you are.”

A flush appeared on her face and neck, coloring the skin so beautifully it made Inuyasha’s mouth water. “I-I am?”

He growled at her, low and non-threatening, and something about the sound made her body grow with need. “Woman quit doubting yerself.”

She swallowed down the urge to press herself closer to him and rolled her hands into fists. “Okay, I get it.” She giggled, “Thank you.”

They fell into a comfortable silence as more guests walked through the doors, the time was ticking closer to the beginning of the ceremony, and any stragglers were going to have to wait until the end for them to be let inside the doors.

Toga and Izayoi took their leave to prepare for their entrance, leaving Kagome and Inuyasha to greet the remaining few that made it just in time. With a few minutes to spare, they closed the doors and walked to the ballroom where two empty seats were waiting to be sat on. It felt a little overwhelming to walk down the aisle with so many eyes staring at them, but Inuyasha had grabbed Kagome by the hand as he led them to their assigned seats, and the idea to turn on her tail and run immediately disappeared from her mind.

The ballroom was huge, which was a lot to say because the mansion itself was gigantic. With raised ceilings and a giant window that showed the yard, this room looked like it could store hundreds of people. Kagome could spot a gazebo in the garden beside the lake, and it made the scenery behind the altar magical. The sun was starting to set, making the room bask in a warm golden glow. The light leaking in made the red roses even more beautiful, and it mixed in well with the white and gold drapery.

Kagome never let go of Inuyasha’s hand, and he never made a move to release hers as the music started. One by one, Inuyasha’s family poured into the room, with Rin happily adorning the ground with red petals as her grandparents happily followed behind her. After Toga and Izayoi found their seats beside Rin, it was Sesshomaru’s turn to walk out into the aisle; and the woman he was walking with was his mother. Their resemblance was also uncanny, and it made Kagome wonder just how strong youkai genes were.

Sesshomaru helped his mother to her seat before standing at the altar, he looked nervous; even though it was a little hard to tell. However, Kagome couldn’t think about that for too long because the music’s pace changed, signaling that the bride was about to make her appearance.

Everyone stood, including Inuyasha and Kagome; and the guests erupted in low gasps as Kagura appeared at the doorway. She was stunning, as gorgeous as was expected to be while walking down in her white gown. The dress adorned her figure beautifully, and the only color that popped was the red that tinted her lips.

Sesshomaru looked like he was too stunned for words.

The ceremony went by quickly, with the newlywed couple exchanging their vows and sealing their promise with a kiss. It felt magical, and the feeling that was left in the air was joyful and carefree.

Afterward, the guests were moved to another room where the reception would be held and it was just as grand and gorgeous as the ballroom. There was a door that led to the backyard, where the gazebo was located, and another bar. Inside the room is where all of the tables were located for the guests, room to dance, and a platform for Sesshomaru and Kagura to sit.

Kagome and Inuyasha sat at the same table as his parents and his niece, and during the couple's first dance Inuyasha slid his arm over Kagome’s chair, she could feel the warmth from his body radiating towards her back and it was making her skin prickle in goosebumps.

At first, she was tense, a complete nervous wreck knowing that he technically had his arm around her shoulders. She decided to take a quick peach over at him and noticed that he was just as stiff as she was, except his cheeks were flushed a pretty shade of pink, and Kagome couldn’t help but giggle from how cute he looked.

To his surprise, she leaned into him to feel a little closer and had to bite her lip to keep herself from laughing at how his body jumped in reaction to her movement.

Inuyasha stared down at her with a half-grin on his face, “Whatcha laughin’ at?”

Kagome looked up at him with a doe-eyed look and smiled. “Oh, nothing.” Just for the fun of it, she crossed her leg over the other, giving Inuyasha a perfect view of her thick thighs under the dim lighting.

She was going to be the end of him.

He groaned under his breath and hung his head pathetically, “Yer not playin’ fair.”

Shrugging like she was innocent, Kagome snuggled into his side and sighed comfortably. She could feel his heart thumping loudly by her ear like a drum. Knowing it was she who was making him react this way was selfish and indulgent; because Inuyasha is handsome and untouchable. It was unreal that a man like him could fall for her. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

Slowly, as if to keep her on her toes, Inuyasha slithered his left hand over Kagome’s thigh, letting it rest comfortably on the soft plush on her skin. He heard her squeak in surprise and felt her skin heat up from underneath his palm, and a cocky smirk played on his lips.

“Two can play at that game.” He whispered in her ear. She was flushed red, the heat coming off of her was addictive. He wanted to tilt her, grab her chin and kiss her mindlessly, but he had no choice but to simmer down those urges.

He can’t make out with her at his brother's wedding, sitting beside his parents.

So they sat like this as an unbelievable tension built up between them, thick enough to cut through it with a knife, and did nothing about it. While Sesshomaru and Kagura shared their first dance, Kagome and Inuyasha were trying not to explode from within their seats.

After the dance and some speeches, both of which Inuyasha did not partake in; the mood in the ballroom lifted to something more lively. A mixture of different conversations was brewing around the giant room as the waiters and waitresses bustled around bringing everyone their dinners.

Kagome had moved away a bit, now sitting comfortably in her seat instead of leaning on Inuyasha’s body, but his hand was still heavy on her thigh. She could feel it on her like a deadweight. His hand was so big compared to hers, and as it covered the soft skin of her thigh her thoughts were becoming dangerously risky.

The kind smile Izayoi shot her had those ideas melting away, the feeling of suddenly getting caught doing something bad making her push them out of her system.

“Kagome, you look absolutely beautiful tonight, doesn’t she, dear?” His mother motioned over to her son who was listening intently.

“Y-eah.” Inuyasha choked out, not expecting his mother to put him on the spot.

“Inuyasha, come on, I know you can do better than that.” Toga chuckled.

He wanted the ground to swallow him up.

“You-“ Inuyasha coughed, “You look beautiful.” His cheeks were so red, it would make his hoodie look brown in comparison.

Kagome laughed nervously and smiled, waving her hand at no one in particular. “Thank you, that’s very sweet of you both.” She managed to say without choking from nerves.

The waiter comes to their table and places plates of salads in front of everyone with a friendly smile, the salads look somewhat appetizing which is saying something because Kagome doesn’t normally choose a salad as a starter dish. Inuyasha snorts when he looks at her expression, which was probably one of half disgust.

“So Kagome, Inuyasha tells me you’re a writer?” Izayoi asks with interest. Toga doesn’t speak, instead, his eyes flicker between the two young neighbors.

Kagome smiles, “I work for a publishing company as one of their lead editors. It’s definitely a huge step from what I used to do, even though the work is nonstop.”

Toga fills Izayoai’s cup with more water from the tall glass on the table, “Big book fan I guess?” He decides to ask.

Her eyes lit up and Inuyasha’s heart pangs in reaction, “Yes! I’ve always loved to read and write, it was a huge stress reliever and a passion of mine as a kid.” She took a sip of her water and laughed. “Although I can't say the same about math.”

His parents laugh along with her and he can’t help but grin, a feeling of comfort washes over him as he begins to think that this might be his new normal if he puts his big boy pants on and asks her out.

Izayoi bends over to whisper in her ear, “Inuyasha was the smartest with math and science but english was where he struggled most.”

“Ma, I heard ya,” Inuyasha pouted at her while pointing at his ears.

His mother scoffed and tried to play it off, “And you heard me tell Kagome that you are my big smart, sweet boy.”

Toga coughed in an attempt to suppress a laugh, his eyes glued to Inuyasha’s face. “Izayoi, beloved, you’re smothering him.”

She smacked his chest lightly and he chuckled, going back to quietly eating his plate of salad with mild interest. Kagome glanced over at Inuyasha and grinned, wondering if his cheeks were going to stay that shade of flushed pink for the rest of the night.

“I am not, and if I was, I’m his mother. I'm allowed to smother him.” She stated matter of factly.

The waiter arrives with the second helping of food, this time it’s the main course, which was definitely the kind of dinner Kagome could get behind. As they ate, they continued to keep the conversation going with one another. To Inuyasha’s dismay, his mother brought up the story of when he played so roughly as a kid he broke his fang so badly that it grew back crooked. He had to go ahead and break it off again just so it could grow out straighter.

“He was a playful child, and Toga didn’t help his injuries when he would play roughly with Inuyasha as well.”

Toga laughed breathily, “My son was born with my strong, youkai blood. Of course, I had to show him how to win in any fight.” He nodded over at Inuyasha, “Isn’t that right son?”

Before Inuyasha could answer, Izayoi patted her husband's shoulder, shaking her head in response to his words. “Keep thinking that, honey.” Air released from her nose as she laughed, and Toga followed suit.

“Inuyasha!” A tiny voice bellowed, “Totosai wants to have a word with you.”

Kagome couldn’t find the source of the voice, as there was no one around them at the time. It wasn’t until Inuyasha looked down at the table and groaned at what appeared to be a small, flea youkai.

“Myoga, what do you two want from me now?” The half-demon grumbled.

“A word.” The flea repeated in a serious tone.

Toga raised his brow, grinning at the flea like he knew what the conversation would be about. “You speak so mysteriously, Myoga.”

Myoga laughed as he bounced onto Inuyasha’s shoulder. “Ay master, it seems to be a very important conversation.”

Inuyasha stared at his father and father with a look that screamed help me, which both of his parents innocently ignored. He then looked over at Kagome with pleading, apologetic eyes. “I promised ya I wouldn’t leave ya.”

Kagome flashed him a bright, beautiful smile and patted his arm, “I think your parents will keep me safe, go see what they need from you.”

He groaned in defeat and stood up like a child being disciplined and walked away from the table, making sure to look back at Kagome just once with one last attempt at being rescued by the girl.

“He’s so dramatic,” Izayoi laughed, “But Sesshomaru has him beat by a few points.” She glanced over at Toga for his opinion and he half-grinned at her.

“My oldest definitely taught Inuyasha the dramatics growing up,” he explained to Kagome. “They got away with a lot as children.”

Izayoi smacked his arm playfully, her smile never leaving her face. “That’s because you were easy on them,” she lulled her head over at Kagome and rolled her eyes. “I was a bad parent.”

Kagome giggled as she pictured two small boys causing trouble with their father, and Izayoi with her hands on her hips yelling at the three of them. “I bet there was never a dull day.”

“Dull? With a home full of demons? Ha!” Toga laughed. “Even when Sesshomaru was with his mother, Inuyasha would keep the both of us on our feet.”

Time passed as they continued their conversation, long enough that Rin came over after she returned from twirling around on the dance floor to tell everyone at the table little stories. Kagome had to clutch her stomach as she doubled over from laughter after Rin explained how she convinced Sesshomaru to buy shorts with bananas on them and then begged him to show Kagura after their first date.

It was safe to say that the entire table was the loudest of the bunch due to all of their laughter.

Kagome wiped her eyes and leaned over to Izayoi, “I’m going to go to the bathroom, do you need to go too?”

Izayoi sniffled and waved her hand as she tried to get her breathing back to normal, “I’m fine dear, go ahead. Maybe my son will finally return to the table by the time you come back.”

Kagome snorted, “I doubt it. I have no idea where he could have gone.”

“With Totosoi and Myoga, he could have gone anywhere,” Toga added with a grin. “He shouldn’t be long now”

After a quick trip to the restroom, Kagome wandered back into the ballroom where the reception was being held. She scored around the giant room looking for white, fluffy ears but was pleasantly surprised to see him seated back at the table with his parents.

When she got closer, however, she noticed his flushed cheeks and grumpy expression, “Inuyasha? What happened to you?”

He looked at her with blurred vision and grinned at her, it was boyish and very attractive, “I was challenged.”

She blinked, clearly confused, and looked over towards his mother and father, “What?”

Toga chuckled, “Koga bet he could drink more than he can and he fell for it.”

Kagome heaved a breath and shook her head, “Wow, that sounds familiar.” She sat down beside him and grinned, “You get challenged to drink offs a lot don’t you?”

He squinted his golden eyes and pointed at her, “I never back off from a challenge.”

Izayoi rolled her eyes and laughed, “Just like his father.”

While Inuyasha did his best to sober up, Kagome handed him little pieces of bread rolls that were left on the table while he sipped on water. As he ate, the conversation continued until the music started playing loudly in the ballroom. There was an announcement to call everyone over to the dance floor, where Izayoi excitedly pulled Toga and Rin up from their seats to get everyone moving.

Meanwhile, Inuyasha had perched his head on Kagome’s shoulder, finally feeling a bit better than before although the buzz was still lingering in his system.

Kagome hummed as she watched Sesshomaru and Kagura spin Rin around on the dance floor, “Inuyasha, do you feel better?”

He stared up at her from where his head lay on her shoulder, taking note of how her ebony waves fell around her face and the lighting shined on her skin. “Do you wanna go outside?”

Taken back from the sudden question she gazed down at him and raised her brow, “Okay, but why? Do you need some fresh air?”

The concern in her voice made his heart jump, and he wondered again how he got so lucky to have someone like her in his life. “Somethin’ like that.”

He moved from her shoulder and stood him from his chair, gradually stretching his back after being in the same position for a while. Kagome stood up soon after, making sure to adjust her dress and smooth it out of any wrinkles.

Inuyasha took her small hand into his, a heated blush spread all over his face that could easily be mistaken for the alcohol in his system, but Kagome knew better than that. In silence they walked past the dancing wedding guests and passed through the open double doors, the back garden was quieter and way more peaceful compared to the inside. The outdoor bar had a few patrons surrounding it as they waited for their drinks, and a few people were standing around the garden keeping light conversation. The pair of neighbors trudged past everyone on the patio as Inuyasha directed them towards the empty gazebo above the lake.

Kagome’s heart was pounding the closer they got to their destination, this was the first time they were going to be alone since they arrived at the wedding, and her head was ringing on high alert. She remembers what she had told Sango she would do, tonight she would tell Inuyasha her feelings and pray she was right about him liking her back. Now that she had her chance to confess to him, she wanted to turn her tail and run in the other direction. It’s been a while now since she’s accepted her feelings for him, but it took Kei’s second close call a few days ago that had her make up her mind about coming clean. But confessing is scary, and if she’s wrong, she fears her friendship with Inuyasha will be ruined for good.

Inuyasha wasn’t doing too well either, his senses were incredibly sensitive and completely focused on Kagome and what she was doing. He was definitely tipsy, no thanks to Koga and his persistent attempt of being better than Inuyasha at everything; the half-demon always fell for his crazy ideas just to prove the wolf wrong. He could hear her rapid heartbeat, not that he was any better, and her skin was flushed and heated. The alcohol in his system wasn’t helping him at all, because all he wanted to do was bring her over to him and kiss her.

They settled inside the gazebo and leaned over the wooden railing that overlooked the lake. The sun had officially set a while ago, now they were left with the songs of the crickets and the buzzing wings of the little bugs around them. The ducks and other little critters were fast asleep and away from all of the noise, and to make up for the lack of sunlight; there were string lights hanging around the patio and the gazebo. It lit up the area in a comforting, warm glow.

Too bad it wasn’t enough to comfort the two nervous neighbors that stood underneath it.

“You know,” Kagome broke the silence, “I’ve been meaning to ask since I returned from the bathroom. Who’s Koga?”

Inuyasha growled at the name and hung his head low, “A wolf demon and the most annoyin’ guy I’ve ever met.” He looked over at Kagome and smirked, “More annoyin’ than my brother.”

Kagome’s eyebrows shot up in surprise as a smile appeared on her face, “Wow, worse than Sesshomaru? I’ve gotta meet him.”

The half-demon growled again, “Hell no. Absolutely not.”

The sound did something to her again and she tried her best to shove that feeling down and away. “Why not?” The tone in her voice was curious, but also playful.

“‘Cause then he’s gonna challenge me again but it’ll be about you.” He answered simply, his golden gaze piercing through her, “And yer not some object that I gotta play for to win. I ain’t gonna treat ya like that either.”

Her breath hitched at his answer, and she knew he heard it because his ear flicked in her direction. “Y-you’ve never treated me that way.” She coughed, “But I appreciate your sentiment.”

“Yer too important for me to fall for somethin’ that stupid,” he added. “Koga wouldn’t understand that though.”

Kagome propped her chin over her hand and raised an eyebrow, “Why wouldn’t he? It’s not like it’s rocket science, a woman shouldn’t be treated like a thing, and if you refuse, then you refuse.”

Inuyasha turned around and leaned his back over the railing, leaving both of his arms to hang loosely while the banister supported his elbows. He had an answer for her, and in his tipsy state, he felt braver to tell her now than to hold it back for later, “‘Cause yer beautiful and he’s a fuckin’ youkai.”

She flushed dark red, the color spreading down her neck and chest. “R-really?”

“Yeah! He’s dumb, just like all of ‘em! Ya see somethin’ ya like, and ya gotta fight bare tooth and arms for it to claim it as yer own.” He sighed as he stared up to the ceiling, feeling dizzy and lightheaded, “I used ta hate bein’ half-human, but now, I’m fuckin’ glad I am. My mom gave me a brain that actually works.”

He was rambling and going off-topic and yet Kagome was still reeling over him calling her beautiful, the comment coming from him meaning more to her than she can admit. “I-I like you as a half-demon, too.”

A slow song came on through the speakers, and the music coming from the inside of the reception also played loudly in the back garden. It rang through their ears like a buzz as it echoed around them, the music was steady compared to their thumping hearts. They shared a look, nervous and intense, the tension between them so thick it was suffocating.

‘Fuck it.’ Inuyasha thought to himself before standing up from the railing and reaching out his hand. He said nothing as he looked into her eyes, the yellow lights above them reflecting off them like stars.

Kagome met his eyes before she looked down to his clawed hand and slowly reached for it, a gasp escaping her lips as he pulled her into him. While one hand was intertwined with hers, another snaked around her waist and stayed there like a heavyweight. Once it clicked into her head that he wanted to dance with her, she let her free hand rest over his right shoulder, and they began to spin.

It was slow and gradual, but on beat with the music that reverberated around them. It was awkward at first as they tried their best to find their fitting, Inuyasha wasn’t the best dancer and Kagome was too busy in the clouds to focus on which foot moved in what direction. It felt like they were the only two people in the world as they stared into each other’s eyes and swiveled around in circles.

The song continued on, long and slow, and the silence was beginning to set into the both of them and start an inner panic.

Kagome cleared her throat before she spoke, “You really think I’m beautiful?”

Inuyasha chuckled and a little fang poked out which made Kagome’s insides twist, “I wasn’t lyin’ earlier when my mom asked me about ya, and I wasn’t lyin’ now.”

“Oh,” she squeaked, “T-hank you.”

She was blushing prettily, the next questing coming out of his mouth before he could stop himself. “Do ya actually like me as a half-demon?” His tone was nervous, and the look in his eyes told her he was nervous about her answer.

“Of course I do,” Kagome tilted her head, “I wouldn’t want you to be any other way.” She smiled shyly, suddenly finding interest in his tie. “I told you I liked your ears when we first met, and again at the diner, and I’ll keep reminding you that I like them until you get it through your big head.”

Inuyasha laughed loudly, his smile enough to wipe away her nerves, “A big head and dog ears? Wow, Kagome, you sure have good taste.”

Kagome rolled her eyes at him and smirked, “Don’t make me take it back.”

He spun her quickly and abruptly which made a frantic scream leave her mouth, eventually, it was followed by laughter. “Ya can’t take it back now! Too bad for you, but my ego’s inflated.”

She smacked his chest while giggling madly, “Now we know where it’s stored,” she pushed his forehead back with her finger and smirked, “I guess it can’t be helped.”

They continued to spin in rhythm, finally coming to a synchronized movement as their bodies fit along together to the music.

“Also, this is totally irrelevant to our topic about your head, but I love your parents.” Kagome informed him, “They’re so cute together.”

Inuyasha hummed, “They definitely like you too,” he spun her randomly, causing a bubbling giggle from her, “But my mom also likes everybody, it’s my dad that you gotta convince.”

Kagome’s arms snaked around his neck once she was done being spun around, humming in understanding, “Well, does your dad like me?”

His hands held her at the waist before he could stop himself, and he thought about how perfect her body molded with his. “He hasn’t told ya a bad dad joke yet, so it’s hard to say,” he smirked.

“Oh man,” she replied with defeat, “I guess I have to try harder.”

Silence fell between them again while they danced, the tension was high, and their nerves were beginning to tear their bodies apart. It wasn’t until a few seconds later that Kagome realized the music had changed to something more upbeat and fun, and once Inuyasha picked up the vibrations from the bass of the music, he stopped them both in their tracks.

Kagome pulled herself away first before hugging herself in an attempt to calm down, and she said nothing when he released his hands from her waist, immediately missing the warmth.

There was an announcement made that the wedding cake was going to be cut soon, sparking the end of the wedding, and the duo laughed awkwardly to try to diffuse the intensity in the air.

Inuyasha spoke first, “I guess we should go back inside.”

He wanted to kiss her.

“Yeah,” Kagome nodded, her voice shaking, “That sounds like a good idea.” He was looking at her like he was looking through her and it made her shiver.

‘I’m going to kiss her.’

She pushed off first, stepping away from the half-demon and their shared moment within the walls of the gazebo to make her way back towards the party.

He watched her walk away, her hips swaying with every step, practically putting him under a spell, and he cursed himself. “You fuckin’ dick,” he spat at himself.

‘That was your shot.’

“Inuyasha?” Kagome called out, she was looking at him with concern etched on her face, and he wanted to wipe it off with a smile instead.

“Comin’.” He answered swiftly as he ran down the stairs to catch up to her.

“I was worried,” she explained to him. “You weren’t behind me.”

He poked her head gently which caused her to wrinkle her nose, “you worry too much.”

She rolled her eyes as she started to walk away, “Well, someone has to.”

Inuyasha snorted and followed right behind her, “That’s my mom's job.”

Once they arrived back at their table, more speeches were made and the cake was cut. Sesshomaru and Kagura took their pictures, and she had smeared frosting all over his face. Inuyasha found it so funny that he ran to take a photo of his brother’s cake-filled face and made it Sesshomaru’s caller ID.

Sesshomaru, on the other hand, found the entire ordeal ridiculous.

The reception was quickly over after that, and everyone wished the newly wedded couple goodbye as they left for their honeymoon. Rin was staying behind with her grandparents, and Sesshomaru’s mother would be staying for a few days to also spend time with her granddaughter while her father was away. Rin was happy for her dad, and she was talking into everyone’s ears about her new mother as well.

Inuyasha and Kagome bid their goodbyes to Toga and Izayoi after the wedding, and Kagome received a crushing hug from his mother and a much more gentle hug from his father.

Inuyasha received crushing hugs from both of his parents and expected to have two broken ribs that would heal by the time he got home. He made a promise to his parents that he would come to visit soon, and next time they’ll have dinner with Kagome included.

The implications made them both blush.

The ride home was smooth and enjoyable as they sang along to the songs on the radio, dancing around in their seats and bobbing their heads along to the music. It felt like a nice way to end their long day during their 45-minute drive home, bellies full of food, cake, and fluttering butterflies.

Once they arrived back at their apartment complex, Kagome jumped out of the truck with a vase full of red roses and baby's breath, stumbling awkwardly as she tried to regain her balance.

A clawed hand landed on the small of her back, “Did ya have to take the centerpiece with ya?”

Kagome scoffed at Inuyasha’s grumbling and waved him off, “These flowers would’ve been thrown away if I didn’t take them with me,” she frowned. “Your mother had her own too.”

“Yeah, and I told her the same thing,” Inuyasha replied.

She lightly hit his arm, “Don’t be such a grump!”

Inuyasha walked beside her up the stairs, “I’m not bein’ a grump, Kagome.”

“Hm,” she smirked. “That sounds like something a grump would say.”

They reached her front door and Inuyasha sighed, “You are impossible.”

Kagome fumbled with her keys before successfully unlocking the door, smiling triumphantly as she turned to her neighbor. “I’m going to continue to be impossible as I get ready for bed. Thank you, Inuyasha. Tonight was fun.”

Inuyasha shrugged with his hands in his pockets and blushed, turning his gaze away from her in embarrassment. “No big deal… I had fun too.”

His body was screaming to tell her, kiss her, remind her that she is beautiful until she was sick of hearing it, and then kiss her face some more.

But he didn’t.

She looked down at her feet and brushed a strand of hair behind her ear, anxiety spreading throughout her entire body. She knew what she needed to do, it was screaming at her, the possibilities of what if and he’s your second chance vividly playing in her head like a movie.

“Inuyasha.” Kagome let out, her voice wavering.

He met her gaze with an expression filled with wonder, “Yeah?”

It was on the tip of her tongue, the edge of her chest, her hands were shaking as they held the vase which made the flowers tickle her neck. “Nevermind,” she opened the door and stepped inside her doorway, pulling the door towards her body with enough space for her head to fit between the door.

She leaned forward in order to continue to speak to her neighbor, her foot helping her hold the door in place. “Goodnight, Inuyasha.”

She was smiling at him, kind and shy, and she looked so fucking cute Inuyasha almost got into his knees and begged for her to give him a chance.

Instead, he built up whatever courage he had left inside of him and leaned in suddenly, his lips grazing hers in a chaste kiss.

It was so quick, that Kagome almost missed what happened, her brain short-circuiting as she tried to process what just happened.

“Goodnight.” Inuyasha bellowed, loudly and awkwardly, before unlocking his own door and rushing inside his apartment.

His chest heaved as he leaned against his door and he whined in frustration, his hands instantly coming to his face as he hid from shame. “I fucked up,” he cried out, “I just fucked everything up.”

Kagome stared at the place where Inuyasha once stood, confused and a little hurt at the abruptness of the whole thing. Quietly, as if to not disturb him, she shut her door and locked it. In silence, she removed her heels and trudged to her bedroom where Buyo was sleeping soundly on her bed.

She sat down and looked back at her own reflection in her mirror, her expression holding so many emotions within one person.

“Buyo,” she whispered to her sleeping cat, “What the fuck was that?”

Kagome knew her cat couldn’t give her an answer. The only person capable of giving her one was the same person who caused her to ask it.

He was also the one who ran away, hiding in the safety of his own home.

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niansue · 3 years

Photo

An oldie but a goodie of Miroku Darai and Teppei Neru from Blue Lock <3

Ko-Fi ~ Commissions ~ Redbubble

#blue lock #anime #manga #Miroku Darai #Teppei Neru #honestly all my love for them #is purely for their physical appearence #their personalities are cute too #from the scaps I've seen lol #fjdklafjdlk

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canonconspiracy · 3 years

Text

My Chosen Mate (Koga x Kagome’sSister!Reader)

Fandom: InuYasha

Fanfiction By: @rmorningstar21

Pairing: Koga x Kagome’sSister!Reader Cross posted on ao3 under @canonconspiracy

Warnings: Koga fawning over Kagome. Honestly, no real archive warnings. This one is incredibly old, and I’ve been keeping it around in case I have time to make an actual InuYasha Oneshot Collection, but- I have not had time. As all of my one-shots that canon under 18, this is college aged AU!

WC: 1814

Peaceful. Today, for once, in the feudal era, it was actually a peaceful day. The way the wind lightly nipped your skin felt nothing but pleasant, traveling with your typical travel companions. Kirara decided to take solace upon your shoulder as the group traveled, and your sister walked up closer to Inuyasha. Sango had been beside you, engaging in the occasional idle chatter. Miroku had not even made a single perverted comment in the last hour, making the day even more perfect than it had been with the weather.

Any day had been a perfect day without bloodshed, anyhow. With any serenity in the feudal era, searching for the shards of the shikon jewel, it was often mucked up rather quick. Unlike Kagome, who often took every opportunity she could to go home, you had made yourself a permanent fixture in the feudal era. Everything just...fit better for you. It was impossible for you to explain, but you felt you fit in far more around demons and monsters, the constant onslaught of danger, than in the modern era.

"I can sense a shikon jewel shard," you could hear your younger sister call out, a hint of panic in her tone. "And it's coming in fast!"

Snapping you out of your wandering thoughts, you could feel Shippo grab your leg for support as your hands moved to your face. Quickly, you shielded your face from the massive onslaught of winds, a hint of panic rushing into your mind. As soon as you possibly could, you found yourself checking on your younger sister, worry flashing in your squinted y/e/c eyes.

As quickly as the wind came, it dissipated, followed almost immediately by the clenching of your heart. Midnight locks paired with a friendly smile quickly came into your vision, waving as he greeted the group. Before his greeting passed his lips, you could already feel your breath hitch in your throat.

"Yo," he called out in a friendly tone.

"It's Koga!" Kagome called out fondly, a hint of confusion in her tone.

"I picked up on your scent, Kagome," he started, striding towards your younger sister. "So I came to see you. You've been well, I hope?"

Your lips curled to an unnoticed grimace as your gaze hit the rocks below you. Heart dropping from your chest to your stomach, you could feel yourself holding a breath you couldn't quite release in his presence. Though you hated the idea of being jealous of your eighteen year old sister, you couldn't help yourself when it came to the handsome wolf demon.

Inuyasha stood in front of Kagome, his glare fixated upon the demon who casually walked up to the group. "What do you want, you mangy wolf?" Inuyasha spat venomously, clearly protecting your sister as he spoke.

Growls sounded from the two, while you took the opportunity to shift your gaze back to the handsome wolf demon. Everything about him was just so alluring to you, all the way down to his blue eyes. You almost couldn't see why Kagome had been so resistant to the man, but you couldn't complain. Seeing the two together would have shattered that simply drowning heart of yours.

"Come on," Kagome interjected. "Don't go picking a fight already!"

"Stay out of it," Inuyasha spat quickly. "I may have to kill him, or worse."

Scoffing, Koga replied with, "You haven't changed one bit, mutt. You'd think you could lose the arrogance once in a while. Kagome, don't you get tired of being with this guy?"

"And you'd think the two of you would have a little mutual respect for your own skills," you chimed in, finally fed up with the conversation as your arms crossed over your chest. "Instead of being at one another's throats."

Koga's blue eyes flickered over to you, a raised brow as he immediately spat, "It's the mutt's fault!"

"Surely the two of you strifing over my adorable sister doesn't have a part to play in the insults," you replied in a bored tone, walking over and wrapping your arm around Kagome's shoulder. "I'd just prefer the two of you don't kill each other."

"Why are you defending the mongrel?" Inuyasha chimed in defensively, trying to play off your words. He knew far better than to just strike you over the head, unlike if Shippo were to point out his attraction to Kagome. "Aren't you tired of him trying to go after Kagome, too?"

"Thoroughly, but I enjoy his company," you replied dismissively, trying to ignore the way that your heart tightened in your chest.

"Didn't you say before that you li-," Kagome started, before you quickly placed a hand over her mouth.

Scrambling, you sent a glare her way to get her quiet before you allowed her the personal space back. Moving to cross your arms over your chest, you glanced away from the group. "I guess forget I interfered," you said, a little dejected as you moved to slip further away.

"I'm sorry, Y/N, I didn't mean-," Kagome breathed out, flustered by the way your face practically dropped. "I…"

"What does she always get weird with the mongrel around?" Inuyasha questioned, all three now looking at you.

"I'm still here, you mangy mutt!" Koga chided.

"If you two are going to keep fighting, I'm just going on ahead," you spoke finally, the tension getting to you. You didn't want to be around your sister, nor any of your friends as you realized the way your heart rained inside your chest.

The last thing you could hear was even more fighting, indistinct as you continued to walk further on ahead. Sango, Miroku, and Kagome all trusted that you were able to take care of yourself, with the intelligence of being able to call out for help if any actual issues arose. Walking alone was something you relished in, the way you could allow your tears to streak down your face without the bother of the others.

You were not even sure how long you were walking, though the others still had not come in sight by the point you decided to take a seat upon the rocks. No one in sight, you allowed yourself to sigh, coming out as more of a choked sob. She's prettier, you thought morosely. Prettier, and able to see the shikon jewel.

Head resting in your hands, you had not even noticed the patter of feet beside you as you allowed yourself to cry. It had only been the point that someone's warm hand was on your shoulder that you jolted up, grasping for your blade. Panicked y/e/c eyes met blue eyes, and immediately your blade dropped. Quickly you turned your head as your other hand moved to hastily wipe away the sight of your tears.

"Hey, hey," he murmured softly, "It's just me." Pausing, he moved to sit beside you on the rocks. "Does us fighting really get to you that much?"

Calming your breaths, you had not shifted your gaze back to the man as you grimaced. "No," you admitted softly, "It's not the fighting. If anything, that just gets on my nerves that the two of you can't be present in the same area for more than five minutes."

"Then, what's got you down?" He questioned curiously, the heat practically radiating off of him as he sat beside you.

Biting your lip, you replied with a simple, "I'm more afraid than anything to admit that."

"I won't tell anyone," he pressed with a reassuring smile on his face, moving to try to catch your gaze.

The way his heat radiated off you made your cheeks heat with crimson, while the way he pressed the question made your heart sink. Swallowing hard, you had your gaze fixated upon the ground below, refusing to meet his gaze. "Your seemingly devout love to my sister," you replied finally. "It, well, it hurts to watch."

"Y/N," he spoke in a serious tone. "Do you love me?"

"I-," you started, baffled by the man's words. Biting your lip to the point it nearly bled, you thought over whether or not you wished to admit it to Koga, to admit that you were hopelessly infatuated with a man you had met merely a few times. For that matter, that you were a human, interested intently in a demon. Your voice had barely been above a whisper as you answered him. "I do."

"I want to hear you say it," he pressed, his breath practically against the shell of your ear as his voice was a dull growl. "And look me in the eyes."

Sucking in a deep breath, you forced your bloodshot y/e/c eyes to meet his blue gaze. "I love you, Koga," you murmured, your voice shy as your cheeks darkened at your own words. "But I understand that you don-"

Caught off guard with surprisingly fierce lips against your own, you found yourself instantly melting into them. Inviting his lips to ravage your own, you moved in sync, the slight taste of salty tears mixed in with a taste you could have only imagined. Upon your lips, you could feel the wolf demon smiling into the kiss.

Slender, strong arms found their way around you as he pulled you right into his warmth. Kissing you until the two of you needed to breathe, he rested his forehead against your own, the fluffy headband he wore pressed against your forehead. Blue eyes met your own as his words were quiet, meant for only you.

"You understand that wolves mate for life, right?" He questioned, his lips still curled upwards as he gazed into your eyes.

Your cheeks could not be any darker in blush as you listened to his words, still dizzied from the ferocity of his kiss. Even so, you found your own lips curling upwards, a skip of beat to your heart. "I do recall you saying that, but didn't you-," you started, before his words cut you off.

"If you actually want to be my woman," he spoke, his tone serious, "you will be my mate, for life. You're a fierce warrior, especially for a human, Y/N. Not to mention beautiful."

"May I at least ask why the sudden change of heart?" You questioned finally, wanting to clear up any sort of confusion. Merely twenty, maybe thirty minutes prior, the wolf demon had been chasing after your sister, after all. "Or if I'm a constellation since my sister keeps refusing."

"I claimed Kagome because of the shikon jewel," he explained softly. "You, Y/N, I have genuine affection towards. If you feel the same, I would like you to be my mate."

"Of course I will," you replied with a clear hint of excitement in your tone, your cheeks still as dark with red as they possibly could be. "Nothing would make me happier."

#koga x reader #inuyasha #koga x reader oneshot #angst and fluff #multifandom blog #tumblr exclusive #inuyasha oneshot #minor jealousy prompt

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lostinfantasyworlds · 2 years

Text

Sometime Around Midnight (WIP)

This is actually the first modern AU multi-chapter story I started writing about a year ago, before UTNL snuck up on me out of nowhere and took over my life. The first chapter is pretty much just a retelling of the song Sometime Around Midnight by The Airborne Toxic Event, and then goes from there. I have the whole backstory figured out, but not a clear idea of where I want the plot to end up after the first couple chapters. I’ll figure it out eventually!

-----------------

Inuyasha leaned one hip against the bar, throwing back the shot of whiskey without so much as a flinch. Some hazy part of his consciousness pointed out that he had officially lost count of how many drinks he’d had that night, meaning he should probably stop, but he paid it no mind.

It’s not like he ever went out anymore, plus he and Miroku were celebrating, damnit. In fact, it had been a while since he felt so content. Not happy per se, but he’d certainly come a long way from the all-consuming misery of the previous year.

Debating if he should order another round to bring back to the table, he let his gaze roam across the semi-crowded bar, his eyes landing on the stage on the other side of the room where the live band was shifting around. After a brief intro from the singer, the next song began, a slower ballad that for some reason seemed to soothe the buzz coursing through Inuyasha’s veins. As it rang out over the hum of dozens of voices all competing for dominance, he closed his eyes and let himself get lost in the music for a few moments, making a mental note to find out the name of the band.

When he opened his eyes a minute later, a new group of people had gathered in front of the stage, seemingly friends of the band based on the way they were enthusiastically swaying and mouthing along to the lyrics. Inuyasha thought something seemed familiar about one of them, but it was difficult to see with all of the people in the way. He was just about to give up and head back to his table when one of the women in the group turned around to accept a drink from her friend, and his world suddenly gave way beneath him.

Kagome.

She had been partially hidden from view by her group of friends he didn’t know, but now he recognized the blue-black sheen of her hair, her bright blue eyes, the little dimple she got when she smiled. And if that weren’t enough to squeeze all of the air out of his lungs, she was also wearing a short, white dress that hugged her body in all the right places and seemed to taunt him with what he no longer had. Taking advantage of her distraction as she chatted animatedly with her friend, he let himself stare for a moment, drinking her in as his thoughts raced a mile a minute.

Did she see me? Should I go talk to her?

I don’t wanna cause a scene. She probably still hates me, but...fuck.

With a groan no one could hear over the music, he turned around and signaled the bartender again, ordering two glasses of her favorite wine for a reason he couldn’t quite pinpoint. Liquid courage? A peace offering in case he worked up the nerve to talk to her? A self-sabotaging painful reminder of better days?

Fuck if he knew, but his way-past-tipsy ass seemed to think it was a good idea, despite the fact that he didn’t even really like the stuff.

As the bartender walked away to grab a bottle of chardonnay, Inuyasha chanced another quick glance over his shoulder, and his heart skipped a beat as he caught her looking his way, locking gazes with her piercing blue eyes for a split second.

So apparently she had seen him…and she hadn’t left to go to another bar.

That was a good sign, at least.

Feeling a little more confident, he turned back around and rested his elbows against the bar, silently inviting her to come talk to him. Openly staring at her this time, he watched her sway to the music, laughing with her friends as she gripped her drink, and his heart ached.

She was just as beautiful as ever.

The bartender brought the wine, and Inuyasha threw a few dollars down on the bar as a tip as he continued to watch Kagome. She glanced over at him a couple more times before finally excusing herself from the group and beginning to walk towards him. His heart leaping into his throat, he twisted around to grab one of the glasses of wine, downing the entire thing as she made her way through the crowd.

It had been damn near impossible to detect her scent amongst all of the smells of the bar, but it began to creep into his nostrils as she got closer, making him feel like he had just stepped off one of those fucking spinning teacup rides at the fair. He probably shouldn’t have chugged that glass of wine on top of all the other drinks he had tonight.

Or was it just her long-absent scent that had him feeling so intoxicated?

“Inuyasha, hi!” Kagome yelled over the music, stopping a short distance from the bar. “How are you?”

Her tone and accompanying smile were friendly, but reserved, sending another pang through his chest. She once was the love of his fucking life (and probably always would be), and now she was greeting him as if he were some random acquaintance she barely knew.

He pushed off the bar and took a few steps closer until he was standing right in front of her.

That was his first mistake.

Suddenly the full blast of her scent surrounded him, fucking him up even more than the copious amount of alcohol buzzing through his system. He looked her up and down once, too drunk to care if she noticed.

That was his second mistake.

As his gaze traveled over her familiar curves, the memories he had long repressed came rushing back with the sudden force of a dam breaking.

Kagome lying naked in his arms, her soft skin pressed against the length of his body. Summer nights spent walking The Highline hand-in-hand. Winter afternoons cuddled under blankets while they studied for final exams. The laughter, the love. The woman he had dreamed of spending the rest of his life with, before stupid shit got in the way.

#inukag #wip wednesday #sometime around midnight #oops I meant to post all my writing wips like 2 weeks ago sorry #I have a couple more #probably wont post today but we'll see!

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milaisreading · 11 months

Note

SIR GIMME TODDLER MANAGER PT.4

Author: impacted the literature more than Romeo and Juliette ever could😭 here u go and thank u for the request🩷

Warnings ⚠️: Reader uses she/her. Requests are open

⚽️Blue lock belongs to:Muneyuki Kaneshiro and Yusuke Nomura⚽️

Pt1 Pt2 Pt3

"Come here (Y/n), your favorite person ever wants to carry you!" Oliver laughed as he picked the reluctant girl up. Niou and Sendo shook their heads at the way he was holding her and how uncomfortable she looked while being held.

"Oliver, I don't think you are doing it the proper way." Sendo added as Niou nodded along. The black haired boy looked at the two in confusion and then down at (Y/n), who looked like she was about to burst out crying.

"I don't get it, I watched children being held like this on movies. You must just be picky then, huh?" Oliver teased the girl as she looked up at him. It was silent for a moment and Niou sighed in relief, thinking that maybe this was (Y/n)'s way of acting out, but all that was chucked out of the window as Oliver put her in the same position and the girl burst out crying. Panicking Sendo ran over and grabbed the girl while Niou pulled on Oliver's ear.

"Ouch!" The player yelled as the long-haired boy glared at him.

"I told you she was uncomfortable!"

"But that was how babies were held in movies!"

"Yes, movies! Not real life!" Niou said as he looked over at Sendo, who was rocking the sobbing toddler back and forth.

"She calmed down?"

"A little."

Oliver watched in weird awe at how well Sendo handled it.

"How do you know to calm down kids?"

"I used to babysit from time to time." Sendo shrugged his shoulder as Teppei and Hayate ran into the room.

"What happened?!"

"We heard crying!"

"Is everyone alright?" Miroku and Teru poked their heads inside.

"Yeah, it's just that Oliver doesn't know how to hold kids." Niou explained as Hayate took the girl out of Sendo's arms.

"Hey!" The blonde protested, earning a shrug from the taller.

"You all had the chance to hold her, I didn't." Hayate argued and got no response, as the rest knew he was right with that part. Oliver sighed in defeat and sat on the floor as Niou let his ear go.

"You alright, captain?" Miroku asked as Teru ran to where Hayate was.

"No... (Y/n) is so comfortable with all of you and just cries when she is with me. Am I that bad with kids?!" Oliver wondered as Sendo, Niou and him paid attention to what he said. Hayate, Teppei and Teru were meanwhile busy entertaining the toddler, the laughter she let out from Teru's funny faces hurt Oliver even more.

"I see... maybe we can practice with you?" Miroku suggested.

"What do you mean?" Sendo raised an eyebrow.

"Easy, we can help Oliver meanwhile the others can play and take care of (Y/n)." Miroku said calmly as Niou looked over at the rest.

"I don't really think those three will mind that idea." Niou added, pointing at the group. Teppei was holding (Y/n) now on his shoulder while she was patting Hayate's head, meanwhile Teru was taking pictures of the scene.

"So, Oliver the first lesson you need to learn is how to approach a toddler!" Sendo exclaimed as Niou wrote down on the board something. Oliver nodded his head and told the blonde to continue.

"Alright, shoot!"

"The first mistake you make is the tone of your voice, well... more specifically the volume." Miroku said.

"Children, especially those of (Y/n)'s size can get easily scared, so you yelling might be more off-putting than you seem to think."

"Children need a level of calmness, especially when picked up. You saw how I did it the first time, right?" Oliver nodded at Niou's question, remembering how calm and collected he was when they saw her first.

"Just act like that. Let's practice then!" Sendo announced.

"Here comes the train~" Teru exclaimed as he fed (Y/n) her lunch. The girl happily opened her mouth and ate the food while Teppei wiped the excess food off of her face.

"Aww~ this is really adorable!" Teru said as Hayate nodded his head and put it on top of hers.

"How do you think Oliver is doing in those classes?" The white-haired boy asked as the other two chuckled a little.

"I don't know, but just the image of Oliver taking classes on baby care is funny." Teppei commented as (Y/n) looked up at him, wondering what was funny.

"Let's just hope be learns a thing or two." Teru said as Hayater removed his head from hers and started ruffling (Y/n)'s hair.

"Alright! After an hour and 45 minutes, you are finally a lot calmer, this is what we need!" Sendo said as Oliver flopped on the couch. Miroku smiled fondly at the captain and watched as Noui wrote down the 2nd lesson.

"Alright! Next lesson is feeding a toddler! Babies need to eat, and knowing how to properly feed them is very essential for you." Noui started as Oliver sighed.

'This is exhausting... and people have kids willingly?!'

"Come back here!" Teppei yelled as he chased (Y/n) around the empty field. After eating her lunch, the three players decided to let her play before it's her nap time.

"Make sure (Y/n) doesn't fall down." Hayate warned as he observed the duo closely.

"Shhh... I need to have this on video." Teru whispered with his phone out and following (Y/n) with it.

"Yoh are obsessed with taking pictures and videos." Hayate commented.

"Well yes, but it's of (Y/n) as a toddler, you don't see that everyday."

"...fair enough." Hayate nodded his head and took his own phone out.

"Alright! This one took us like...2 hours but you got the hang of it!" Niou sighed as Oliver rolled his eyes.

"You guys are really counting?"

"Yes, yes we are. Now off to the 3rd and most important lesson!"

They looked at Sendo as he wrote something down.

"And that lesson is holding and picking up a toddler, which you lack in the most. That's why we found some videos that show you those." Sendo said as Miroku opened his laptop.

"Shhh! Teru!" Teppei whisper/yelled at the boy as (Y/n) slept on top of Hayate.

"Sorry, I forgot." The boy apologized as they looked at the door.

"Ahh? How did the classes go?" Teru teased as Oliver sent him a glare while Sendo and Miroku snickered.

"Did (Y/n) eat?" Niou asked the other two, who nodded their heads.

"Yeah, she fell asleep like two hours ago too." Teru told them as Oliver walked past them and towards Hayate and (Y/n). The white-haired boy raised his eyebrow at the captain and nodded his head.

"Be quiet, she is still asleep. Anyways, how did your lessons go?"

"Pretty much ready to be (Y/n)'s new favorite." Oliver smirked as Hayate rolled his eyes.

"Sure..."

"He did it... I am so proud." Sendo sobbed as Miroku patted his back and Niou rolled his eyes at the dramatic acting. Teru, Teppei and Hayate were staring at Oliver in disbelief as he held (Y/n), who seemed calm and content in his hold.

"Good job, you two. I never expected him to work this out." Teru chuckled as Hayate took a few pictures.

"It's kind of adorable to look at it." He said calmly as Sendo and Teppei nodded their heads.

"So, am I your new favorite?" Oliver asked excitedly as (Y/n) looked up at him for a moment.

"Boooo...." She said back and Oliver cooed at the sound.

"I'll take it as a yes!" The captain chuckled. Then suddenly the door opened and in walked Rin with Hiori following him.

"What did you two need?" Sendo asked as he walked over to the two. Hiori ignored him and walked straight to grab (Y/n), but was stopped by Hayate and Teppei.

"Hey!"

"Hands off!" They warned as Hiori and Rin glared at them.

"We came to pick up (Y/n), your babysitting duty is over. Now hand her over to Hiori, Aiku." Rin said as he glared at the fellow captain.

"No." Oliver answered back, earning looks of disbelief from their rival team members.

"What do you mean with no? That's our manager, give her back."

"Calm down Rin, we just want to babysit her a little more." Noui added.

"Besides, she doesn't mind staying with us." Miroku said, pointing at the girl.

"Like a give a shit, hand her over." Rin demanded as he started an argument with the the team, meanwhile Hiori tried to bribe (Y/n) into coming with them.

#bllk #blue lock anime #blue lock manga #bllk x reader #blue lock x reader #blue lock requests #manager reader #bllk u 20 #oliver aiku #sendo shuto #blue lock hayate #blue lock miroku #blue lock teppei #blue lock teru #kazuma niou #itoshi rin

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mythicamagic · 3 years

Text

Unorthodox: a Sesskag oneshot

Summary: Kagome is pleasantly surprised to receive a present from Sesshoumaru for White Day... until she glimpses the contents inside her gift box.

AN: Written for the Sesskag 2021 Big Bang event on tumblr! @chierafied

I was paired with @milomai-art and here’s their lovely artwork: https://milomai-art.tumblr.com/post/648766972634513408/unorthodox-mythicamagic-inuyasha-a-feudal

Rated K+

Words: 3,000

You can read it on Ao3, Dokuga or fanfiction.net.

Unorthodox

Valentine's day had come and gone, with a notable difference this year for Kagome compared with the last lonely three;

Her return to the Sengoku Jidai.

To celebrate reuniting with her beloved friends, she'd gone all out. Everyone received gifts, right down to Myoga and Jaken; no one had been excluded.

For all her efforts, however, she expected nothing in return. Though she'd explained the concept to the Inutachi, Sango and Miroku were much too busy looking after their children to keep track of dates, Shippo was often away at Kitsune school and Inuyasha had been absent as of late. Besides that, since their relationship had ended, the subject of Valentine's had become an awkward one. She'd had to stress the platonic intent behind her gift to him.

Therefore, Kagome had pretty much forgotten all about White Day by the time it rolled around.

Exiting Kaede's hut with a tub of water in her arms, intending to give the old miko's horse a good scrub down, she dug in her heels the second exquisite silks, armour and a fur pelt registered- having blinked into existence before her. Kagome gaped, swaying. Water sloshed, some spilling to their feet.

"Uh hi," looking up at grave, handsome features, she arched a brow. Sesshoumaru stared at her fervently. "Nice to see you, Sesshoumaru," adjusting her grip, Kagome sidestepped him and flashed a warm smile, used to his minimalistic approach to conversation by now. "Do you need something? Inuyasha isn't here. I think he's helping the next village over repair a-"

"I am not here for him."

Kagome noted his succinct tone, sounding more defensive than usual. Setting down the wooden tub carefully, she straightened, tilting her head. "Then what are you here for?"

"White Day."

"White... ah!" Kagome gasped, "that's right! How did you know about that?" she blinked, noticing he looked extra grumpy today. His jaw ticked, golden eyes narrow. Slowly, the miko brightened. "No way. Did you... get me something?" she breathed, strangely touched.

Of all people, Sesshoumaru had remembered? Was she dreaming?

A hand thrust out stiffly towards her, balancing a small box upon his palm.

Accepting it with thanks, heat touched her cheeks. Weird. She really shouldn't be indulging this- or feeling kind of happy. It didn't mean anything to be pleased, right? Was she even allowed to feel warm and fuzzy towards her ex's brother?

Opening the lid, Kagome tried to squash her excitement- peering down. Slowly, she reached in, retrieving a silky soft thing.

It appeared to be made of something long, silver and fine, the material woven into a pretty design. A bracelet of silk, if she could hazard a guess.

"Um, thank you," Kagome raised her gaze. "What's it made of, out of curiosity? It's very soft."

Sesshoumaru appeared pleased, preening a little. "Only the finest material."

"Really?" she stroked it. "I hope you didn't go to any trouble on my account."

He scoffed, midsummer gaze smiling slightly as his tone became haughty and prideful, "it was no trouble to use this one's own hair."

Kagome dropped the bracelet back into the box. "Whut?"

Lithe fingers combed indulgently into his fall of lustrous silver hair, "you need not be alarmed. The strands grew back quickly."

That isn't what's alarming me, Kagome silently screamed. Now that she was paying attention though, the pale bracelet really did resemble the demon lord's long flowing locks.

Her hand recoiled a little from the box. "W-well, um... thank you very much," Kagome said thinly. "It's a very thoughtful gift. Truly."

Sesshoumaru's keen, piercing eyes roved over her strained features, voice deepening. "If you do not wish to accept it-"

"N-no, I do! I'll wear it right now!" Kagome grabbed it madly, fiddling with the thing while repressing a shudder. She tried and failed to secure the clasp, stiffening when large hands closed over her hand.

The demon lord leaned forward- that same hair currently being secured around her wrist falling free from behind a pointed ear. Silver strands draped down like a gossamer curtain, tickling her flushed, sensitive skin.

Sesshoumaru tilted his head up, expression unreadable.

Shifting her wrist, Kagome observed the threads of hair wrapped around it. His bracelet felt odd, the concept totally foreign. However, she could feel how much the gesture meant to him. She didn't fear offending him because of his dark temper- more because she cared about his feelings and wanted to nurture any hint of a bond between them.

"Thank you," Kagome said. "No one else brought me anything today, so I'm...I'm grateful."

Even if it was the weirdest thing she'd ever received. A bracelet made of hair wasn't exactly traditional.

Straightening, Sesshoumaru's lips thinned as his eyes flickered with confusion.

Kagome blinked, wondering what else he'd envisioned her saying.

"Hn," inclining his head regally, he pivoted sharply and began stalking away quickly, giving a swift kill to the conversation.

---

Without a frame of reference for how long he desired her to wear it, Kagome tugged her sleeve down to hide the bracelet from curious eyes during the next few days. She tried to ignore the sensation of hair continually brushing her skin.

"I wonder if it means something important," Kagome examined it while sprawled out upon a grassy hill, taking a break from her miko duties Kaede had started dishing out ever since her return.

Sesshoumaru had seemed extremely serious while giving it to her. Then again, the gift could've meant nothing. Maybe his hair was just THAT valuable in the Daiyoukai's opinion. She snorted, twisting her wrist and watching silver threads catch on sunlight, making it shine white. "His ego is big enough. I'd believe it. Heh, maybe he'd also give me one of his eyelashes, or a fingernail or..."

Why was Sesshoumaru heading towards her?

Sitting up and fussing absentmindedly with her hair- removing a few stray leaves- Kagome felt heat flood her face.

Okay, no- she shook herself, putting a firm lid over the butterflies taking flight in her stomach. Too strange. Enough of that.

The Daiyoukai stopped a few feet away, expression detached. Kagome knew by now to ignore it in favour of looking into his eyes. They were intent and unblinking today, hinting at his seriousness.

"Hi," she said, patting a spot next to her. "It's rare for you to visit the village again during the same week. What's up?"

Sesshoumaru cocked his head to the side at her odd term. Kagome bit her lip, finding it endearing. Her attention strayed, noticing yet another box sitting innocently upon his hand.

She paled. Oh no.

Gracefully sweeping himself down onto one knee- he thrust the new box out towards her, giving Kagome a dizzying sense of Déjà vu.

I was joking about the fingernails. Please be something normal. Please.

Accepting it gingerly, blue eyes flicked up towards him. "White day is over, you know."

"This one is aware."

"So...why the new gift?"

Sesshoumaru pretended to be interested in the gentle bubbling stream not too far away. "Because it pleases me to give it to you."

He was so difficult to figure out. Not wanting to squash his newfound sense of generosity, Kagome carefully removed the lid.

The contents did not look promising.

Trying not to jump to conclusions, she reached in and removed the long necklace. A single solitary tooth hung from the chord.

"Ah," Kagome squinted. "Open your mouth a sec."

Sesshoumaru's lips parted wordlessly, mouth opening wider to reveal a gap where one of his sharp canines used to be.

"This...is yours?" she asked weakly.

Sesshoumaru closed his mouth and nodded primly. "It will serve you well, should you have need of it."

In what way would I ever have need of a tooth? a wrinkle marred her brow as she considered it, coming to a small realisation. "To make a sword from?"

"Hn."

Well, that explained a small piece of the puzzle. In a very 'Sesshoumaru' way- it almost seemed a little sweet, practical even.

However, this did not help assuage her naturally squeamish reaction while looking at the freshly plucked tooth.

"Thanks," she said lamely. "I-I'm sure it'll be very useful if I visit Totosai in the future."

Her answer didn't seem to be what he was looking for. Sesshoumaru's gaze flitted from her to the dangling fang. "Females... prefer jewels, make-up or clothing, I suppose."

Kagome scratched her cheek, "depends on the lady- but you really don't have to worry, Sesshoumaru," laying a hand over pale knuckles resting upon his knee, she gave a squeeze. "I'm touched you're being so thoughtful. There's no need to give me anything else though, I have more than enough."

His nostrils flared, jaw setting stubbornly. He drew himself up to stand, "you are too modest."

Feeling thoroughly discombobulated, Kagome could only watch as he pivoted with all the grace of a dainty dancer, stalking away with billowing sleeves.

---

For two weeks, Sesshoumaru continued visiting the village at random intervals. His flair for turning up at the most unexpected times made it difficult for Kagome to anticipate his visits. Sometimes he'd arrive bright and early, others- nearing nightfall. Occasionally he'd visit Rin, but their interactions seemed distracted. Rin would whisper fiercely to him while gesturing in Kagome's direction, but he'd ultimately leave without speaking a word to the miko.

It was odd, confusing. She'd used to think of Sesshoumaru as a fairly straightforward demon. As of late, he'd been downright unpredictable and... flakey. She kind of missed their previous easy interactions when she'd pick herbs and prattle on while he occasionally offered a word or two. His silence had felt comfortable rather than awkward.

I don't know how to get that back, Kagome thought sadly.

A chilly wind passed by, breeze rushing around her exposed neck. Adjusting her miko garb, she sneezed, shivering a little. Autumn would soon be on its way.

The heat of an intense stare sent a new chill down her spine. Kagome turned, sensing it- only to find Sesshoumaru gazing at her intently.

Was it her imagination, or did he seem absurdly pleased? As though struck by a revelation.

As was typical behaviour for him, the demon lord began walking away without a word.

---

Trudging back from training in the woods, Kagome shouldered her bow while walking around a thick tree- only to quickly stop, almost bumping straight into polished armour.

Sesshoumaru stood before her, holding another box. This time it was larger, more of a rectangular shape.

"M-more?" Kagome squeaked. Her heart thundered. It felt like so long since they'd last spoken.

Sesshoumaru inclined his head gravely, "hn."

Biting her lip and somewhat dreading what cast-off part of him could be inside this time, Kagome grasped the lid and removed it- only to slam it abruptly back down.

"What… what is that?" she asked thinly.

Sesshoumaru's lashes fell shut and slid open in an unruffled blink.

"My fur."

I thought as much.

Kagome removed the lid with trepidation once more, lifting out the lush, soft coat. Even while her hands sank into the cloud-like material, blue eyes remained wide with distress.

Sesshoumaru seemed to guess her line of thinking. "It is discarded fur that I have shed, not cleaved off. Do not worry."

"O-okay," she said thinly. It's still weird though. Too weird. Imagine if I'd made a coat of shed skin.

It was so odd that Kagome felt a line needed to be drawn, placing it back into the box and numbly accepting it from him. "Sesshoumaru… I have to put my foot down now. I appreciate your gifts but I can't accept any more."

He stiffened, the burning embers in his eyes freezing into glassy orbs.

Kagome rushed to explain, "it's very sweet of you, and I appreciate the thought. I'm just not, uh…sure they're suited for a human. Besides, you seem to be worrying about what to get me instead of talking to me. I'd rather we just spoke like old times instead of this awkwardness."

"I see," he said stiffly.

She took a step forward, eyes widening when he took one back and turned. "This one did not intend to give you things deemed inappropriate and unwelcome. Farewell."

"Wait-!"

Too late, Sesshoumaru blurred away from her outstretched hand.

Kagome grit her teeth, sighing and balancing the box on one hand. Damn it.

Slowly, Kagome lowered the box onto a tree stump and gingerly lifted the coat. It felt lush and divine, her hands disappearing within the sheer volume of fur. Sliding her arms into the sleeves and putting it on, Kagome wrapped it around herself, feeling like she were enclosed in a giant fluffy cloud. His static youki brushed her skin intimately, fanning out from the strands.

It was big. It was a little ridiculous. It was wonderful.

Kagome groaned, burying her face in her hands. Sure, the idea of him collecting his shed fur to sew into a coat was strange by human standards, but actually wearing the coat, she now understood his simplistic intent.

He'd just wanted her to be warm.

"You're such a weirdo," she grumbled, blushing and dipping her nose into the fur. It smelled like him; wild forests, with the hint of refined smoke from a pipe.

Maybe she was weird too.

---

He was absent for an entire month.

Sesshoumaru figured it would help ease the sting of rejection. The second he caught Kagome's fragrance, however, it was like an old wound had been ripped open again.

His lips thinned, firmly keeping all emotion locked tight behind a placid mask as he visited Rin.

Chatting with the girl allowed him to soothe his stung ego for a while, distracted by Rin's news about the village and her training. Occasionally she would mention the miko and his chest would tighten again. How pathetic of him.

Once his cup lay empty and Rin mentioned the need to leave in order to assist the older miko, Sesshoumaru took his leave.

Stepping foot outside Kaede's hut, however, he froze.

Kagome stiffened before him, swathed in furs- his furs- he dimly noted.

More than that, lithe fingers curled around the fang resting at her collarbone. The silver bracelet of his hair caught the light before disappearing beneath the length of her sleeve.

Kagome's cheeks heated, and she thrust out a box, letting it rest on her palm.

"I asked around," she muttered. "Inuyasha was clueless, and Shippo kept laughing whenever I tried to ask him what was going on. Luckily Myoga happened to stop by," blue eyes pinned him in place. "You could've told me what all the gifts meant instead of leaving me in the dark."

Sesshoumaru did not accept the box just yet. "I thought my intentions were achingly clear."

Embarrassingly so, for a proud demon.

"Not for humans!" she huffed, lowering her hands a little. "I was confused the whole time! How was I supposed to know that you were giving me a betrothal bracelet, or that the fang was for any half-demon children I might have when they need a sword? I kind of figured out the coat, but I didn't know it represented your intentions to provide for me."

Sesshoumaru stared. Oh. Perhaps he should've listened to Rin about courting the miko after all.

Cheeks scarlet, Kagome sighed, lifting the lid of her box off and removing something from inside.

"May I?"

Sesshoumaru nodded dazedly, golden eyes widening. His entire being thrummed, heart picking up speed.

Shifting closer, Kagome pushed some dark locks behind her ear, the length slightly shorter than usual. Sliding a black bracket around his striped wrist, Kagome swallowed. Her hair had been woven into a band much like his, though nowhere near as intricate.

The demon stared at it, fixated. Baser instincts purred.

Molten gold eyes slowly raised to pin her with a disarmingly reverent look. He spoke no words of poetry, no love or longing, but it was there, he hoped. Abundantly clear. Kagome seemed to recognise it for what it was now.

She smiled a little, hugging her arms and scuffing her foot. "Don't get the wrong idea; I'm not saying I'll jump into marriage with you, but it turns out I'm kind of interested in dating you. Really... interested," Kagome forced out, obviously embarrassed but soldiering on. "If it's okay, we could...do that," she finished lamely.

Sesshoumaru took a step forward, invading her personal space. She blushed exactly the way he'd hoped she would, babbling. "So the uh- think of the bracelet as a dating bracelet! Maybe down the line it could...it could become an engagement thing," she murmured, voice dimming in the wake of his proximity.

"Hn," honeyed eyes smiled, careful claws unfurling to find her chin. "That would be pleasing," he uttered in a faint rumble, tipping his head down. "I accept."

Satisfaction rolled through him fiercely as she tilted her head just so- lips meeting and brushing feather-light against his. Emboldened, Kagome's hands found the collar of his hankimono just as he took her by the waist as though entering a dance, tightening.

Sesshoumaru let his eyes flutter shut, inhaling sharply through his nose. He could smell her so bright and clear—the sweetness of tangerines, faint, exotic soaps—and her mouth so warm. Kagome kissed him, firmer, hand finding his hair- fingers curling. His breath began to roughen the longer their kisses went on. His heart chanted the truth of it all- 'yours.'

If the foolish woman wanted him, he'd already given himself to her. The ticklish brush of her hair claiming his wrist made him smirk against her mouth, glimpsing his own band of white around hers and revelling in a plume of possessive pride.

Perhaps it was unorthodox by her standards, but they were not exactly normal themselves. And so, Sesshoumaru drowned himself in the curious, raw newness of the strange miko, surrendering to all the oddities that would likely follow during their strange courtship.

End

#sesskag #sesshomaru x kagome #sesskag big bang 2021 #inuyasha #sesskag fanfiction

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hazelhalfpint · 3 years

Note

Hi Hazel! I’d love to see something for “I’ve been in love with you since we were kids.” for the fluff prompts🥰❤️

Ahh! Yes, I’m excited to do these!

Here is my take on an Inu/Kag version for this one 💜

Sorry it took a minute to reply! I was at work!

“I’ve been in love with you since we were kids.” Inu/Kag, fluff prompt. Also sorry if it’s a bit long lol I’m new to this stuff!

It was the hottest day of the summer yet, and the boardwalk was bustling with people and vendors alike. Little kids running through adults as they chased each other from vendor to vendor. Inuyasha pulled against the collar of his shirt nervously, his golden eyes searching for raven hair and blue eyes in the sea of people. He mentally chided himself for listening to Miroku’s advice on what to wear today. His normal tank top and shorts would of been much more comfortable than the stuffy polo he was currently wearing. She didn’t care what he looked like anyway. That’s one of the many things he loved about her.

15 years had passed since he’d met Kagome, and not a day had gone by that she didn’t find a new way to amaze him. She was the one person always in his corner, and today he wanted to show her just how much she meant to him. He wiped the sweat from his hands, and started down the boardwalk.

His golden eyes kept scanning the crowd of people for his girlfriend, recalling the first time they’d met, in this same place when his family first moved to California.

“Dog-boy! Dog-boy!” Three older boys and one older girl shouted at him as they circled the 7 year old hanyou, one of them bending over to poke at him with a stick.

“Ew!” the little girl shouted when his ears pinned back against his silver hair, “they move!” Inuyasha was growling now, though he was smaller, getting ready to pounce on one of the boys when a smaller voice from up above on the board walk caught his attention.

“Hey! Leave him alone!” A small rock hurled toward the group of bullies, thunking one of them on the forehead.

“Ouch! What the heck Kagome!”

“Toru, go home! I’m gonna tell your daddy that you’re picking on people again!” The girl was fuming, blue eyes shining with anger.

The nine year old boy, who Inuyasha now knew was named Toru, glared but gathered his friends anyway. As they stalked away, Kagome pushed past them rushing down the stairs to Inuyasha.

“Have fun playing with the dog-boy,” Toru called back to her. She growled this time, “Next time I’m gonna throw an even bigger rock at your big dumb head Toru.”

When she arrived in front of Inuyasha he was dusting himself free of sand,”You didn’t hafta do that.”

She cocked her head at him cutely, “Of course I did,” she disagreed smiling at him,”besides anyone who thinks you’re ears are gross is crazy. They’re cute!”

Inuyasha blushed at that, and she reached forward grabbing his hand, “come on, I’ve got two dollars for some ice-cream and you definitely need one!” She stopped when he didn’t immediately follow her, feeling the resistance against her hand on his.

“Oh, I’m sorry. My name is Kagome. You probably don’t wanna get ice-cream with a stranger, so there now were not strangers!” She smiled again and he did so as well, this time letting her pull him along.

“My name is Inuyasha.”

———

Finally he caught sight of her, steps bouncing lightly as she jogged toward him, arm high in the air waving him down. He grinned, swallowing back any nerves he may have. She was beautiful, radiating the energy of sunshine with waist length raven hair. How he got so lucky he wouldn’t even dare question. She was his.

“Hey!” She grinned at him, and he returned her smile, wrapping her in a hug.

“You looked so deep in thought I was beginning to think you wouldn’t notice me,” she teased, poking his cheek with a manicured nail.

“How could I not notice you? You’re so annoyingly cheerful, I’d hafta be dead to not notice you.” He teased back, and she pouted at him, bottom lip quivering in feigned sadness.

“ I thought you liked my cheerfulness.” Inuyasha laughed, lacing his hand with her own and tugging her along with him as they walked.

“Idk, sometimes you’re too cheerful” he wagered, jokingly and she whined.

“Inuyasha, you’re so mean.”

“Oh whatever,” he stopped in front of the ice cream vendor,bending forward to place a chaste kiss on her lips, “ you know I love your cheerfulness”

He purchased them two vanilla cones and they continued their route, leading them down the steps of the boardwalk into the sand.

She licked at her ice-cream, noticing they were moving further from the boardwalk, “Where are we going?”

Inuyasha swallowed nervously but shrugged,“ I just thought it’d be nice to take a walk.”

“Uh-huh,” Kagome eyed her boyfriend suspiciously, before they came to an abrupt stop her body barely bumping into his own. They were near the outer edge of the board walk in the sand.

“Do you recognize where we are?” He glanced down at her, as her eyes glanced around, widening in slight realization. When he realized she caught on, his smile and nervousness grew.

“This is where we met for the first time.”

“That’s right! That’s the day I threw that rock at Toru’s head. I still hate that guy.” Her eyes narrowed in annoyance and Inuyasha laughed loudly.

“You’ve always been so aggressive.”

“I am not aggressive; I just hate bullies!” She countered, huffing indignantly.

“It’s okay. I love you anyways.” Her glare softened as he pulled her into an embrace.

“ I love you too, Inuyasha.” She smiled, bumping her nose against his. He closed his eyes and inhaled her scent deeply, palming the small box in the pocket of his shorts.

“I’ve been in love with you since we were kids.” He spoke softly before opening his eyes to find her wide blue ones staring back,”Did you know that?” His heart was pounding wildly now, nearly vibrating in his ears as he spoke.

“Inuyasha,” his name came out a whisper, she was blushing at his affectionate statement, but he interrupted her next sentence with his own.

“Kagome, you’re the only person who has ever stood by my side fully from day one. You’re my person; my best friend. My heart hurts even thinking about you being away from me.” Her eyes widened and he pulled the box from his pocket, and knelt in front of her.

The sea air gently blowing their hair, his golden eyes were locked with her own, as he fumbled to pop open the suede black box. The ring was gorgeous, a rose gold band with a rose quartz gem adorning the center.

“Kagome Higurashi, I love you. I don’t ever want to know what a day in this life is like without you. Will you marry me?”

She cried, sinking to her knees as well and pulling his to her face to hers, holding it between both palms.

“ I wouldn’t ever want to marry anyone else. “ He grinned in relief and pulled her flush against him, placing a tender kiss to her lips.

“So that’s a definite yes?” He was grinning stupidly now the anxious feeling leaving him. She rolled her eyes in response.

“Yes you Baka! I’ll marry you. “ He pulled her to stand sliding the ring onto the appropriate finger and kissed her again.

“Thank you, Kagome. “

“ for what?” She asked, leaning her head against his chest. The gentle pace of his heart echoing in her ears.

“Just for being who you are.”

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akitokihojo · 3 years

Text

Monster - Chapter 3

chapter index

Miroku woke early the next morning, groggy, uncomfortable, and insanely stiff. His head was hurting, his eyes were still heavy, his mouth was as dry as cotton, and his side leading over to his back was sore as all hell. The air felt weird. Something was off. The sensation was so predominating, it quickly overpowered the physical ailments he’d focused on as soon as he’d come to.

He blinked several times, attempting to push away the sleep that beckoned him back, the pull of the lingering drowsiness due to fatigue and medicinal properties. He wished he could stretch, awaken his muscles, but he knew that wouldn’t have the same effect as it did yesterday morning. He knew it would only hurt like a bitch. Resolving to deal with the tension in his body, Miroku turned his head, taking in his surroundings to see if he could pinpoint anything in his bedroom that may have been out of the norm to create the awkward feel in the atmosphere.

Sota sat on the edge of his bed, a straight and sullen expression on his face, brown eyes holding still on their wooden flooring. His fingers gripped the fitted sheet of his mattress, and Miroku could see the lack of color in his cheeks from across the room.

“What’s up?” He tried, his tone huskier than he’d expected.

Sota glanced up, unsurprised that he was awake, but as his voice came out, it held no conviction. “Nothing.”

“You okay, munchkin?” Miroku tried again, slowly, slowly pushing his elbows beneath him to start sitting up.

Sota didn’t say anything that time, his eyes falling back to the floor.

“You have a nightmare or something. Are you sick?”

His gaze flickered back up to Miroku but avoided his eyes, unable to hold steady on him at all. They faltered away, then wandered back up, faltered, then lifted, finally meeting Miroku’s patient, indigo stare. “Kagome’s gone.”

Miroku’s brows gave a minute twitch together, unable to understand what his younger cousin had meant by that. The corner of his lips curled downward slightly, but when there was no elaboration given, he had to, inevitably, reach for it. “What do you mean, Kagome’s gone?”

“I mean, she’s gone.” Sota stated.

“Where? On an errand?”

“No.”

“Then where did she go?”

There was a moment of hesitation, one where Sota sucked in a suspenseful breath, the hollow of his throat emphasizing before he sighed it all out and gave Miroku the direct answer he was looking for. “To fight Naraku.”

A surge of ice rushed through Miroku’s body. Any expression he was holding fell away, eyes widening, and his body moving of its own accord as he jolted to sit upright. His ribs protested heavily, feeling as if they were stabbed through and bringing him to immediately regret the action, and he groaned, clutching his side and fighting the urge to curl into himself. He shoved the held air in his lungs out, forcing himself into composure, hardly even realizing Sota had rushed across the room to support him if he needed anything. When the boy’s hand, cold and clammy, met Miroku’s bare shoulder, he glared up at him. “Tell me this was a bad dream you had.”

At first, Sota didn’t know how to answer that. There was so much panic in that single moment with Kagome’s disappearance and the inability to help Miroku’s pain, so he couldn’t help but have the words, or lack thereof, catch in his throat from the unbelievable perturbation.

“Sota, you can’t be serious.”

“She’s gone.” He finally confirmed. “Whatever you guys were planning to do together, she’s doing alone.”

“Fuck!” Miroku cursed, swinging his legs over the edge of his mattress. He had to halt, to brace himself there as he caught his bearings, willing the pain to subside in such a dramatic moment. “When did she leave!?”

“I don’t know. Sometime in the night.” The defensiveness in his tone was rising. Although he’d expected Miroku’s justifiable temperament, he admittedly wasn’t very good at keeping a level head, himself, in the face of conflict.

“And, you knew!?”

“Yes.”

“You knew when she left, or you knew she was going to leave?” Miroku interrogated.

“I knew she was going to leave! Miroku, what are you doing!?” He extended his arms out, prepared to catch his cousin if he lost his balance as he rose to a standing, trudging over toward the door.

“Why didn’t you tell us!?”

“She asked me not to! You would have stopped her!”

“Yeah, that’s the point!”

“She really wanted to do this! She said there was no way to talk her out of it!”

“Sota, don’t you understand?” Miroku asked, winded as he braced against the doorframe of the door he’d just opened. “She could be killed on her own! We had a plan to do it together for a reason!”

“Sit down! You’re in pain!”

“She’s so stupid for going alone! We were supposed to help! God, why is your sister such an idiot!?”

“You’re hurt, Miroku! How could you have helped any? You can hardly walk!” Sota argued.

“She should have waited!”

“She should have, but she didn’t! There’s nothing we can do about that now!”

“Sota,” Miroku had barely moved a foot, leaning against the wall as he slowly turned to look at the younger boy. His heart was pounding within his chest, air pumping through his lungs like he’d run a mile, a heat in his eyes he knew his cousin felt. “How long did you know?”

Again, he hesitated with his answer, feeling nervous and strained. His jaw hung agape, but his tongue created no words, hardly breathing as he physically felt the anger coming from Miroku.

“How long, Sota?” He repeated slowly, clearly.

“Since Naraku’s men left; when I took her aside to calm her down. She told me then.” Sota admitted.

“What is going on?” His mother asked, looking shocked and upset and disheveled while she wrapped her arms around her center to keep her body heat in.

The two boys stared at her, their expressions wavering to match the other’s. Shoulders sagged and brows curved sadly, sympathetically, as they knew this was going to be the worst part of all.

Miroku couldn’t bring himself to say anything more, using the wall as assistance while he trudged down the hall to Kagome’s bedroom, Sota sticking very close while his aunt followed behind, small noises escaping her mouth as her confusion became more prominent. He didn’t bother knocking, though he’d almost raised his knuckles to rasp on the door, completely out of reflex. His fingers curled around the knob, twisting it and pushing it open.

The room was empty. Cold. The bed was unmade, the window was open, and the energy of the room felt lifeless. Kagome was long gone. He limped forward, straight to the open window, noticing the undisturbed dew and leftover raindrops on the windowsill, and even some that had made it to the wooden floor inside just below.

“Where’d Kagome go? I didn’t hear her get up this morning.” She said with a small voice. She could tell something was wrong. She was sure she’d heard her daughter’s name come from the boys while they were yelling, but she was barely waking up at the time and wasn’t quite able to process things well yet.

Miroku turned to look at her, noticing Sota had sat on his sister’s bed, his shoulders drooping further while his head had sunken down. As much as he wanted to pin the blame on Sota, he knew this was more so on him. He knew he was responsible for explaining since he’d helped originate the plan that Kagome had chosen to execute on her own. Sota actively failed to prevent the incident, but Miroku actually knew the details behind it.

“What is going on?” His aunt asked again, her tone slightly deeper, more serious.

“Auntie, sit down.”

“Tell me.” She sternly ordered.

He sighed, turning around to close the window. Again, his ribs protested, a sharp pain jabbing at his muscles and bones, so he was careful to move slowly as he locked it shut. He figured if he was able to do all this there was no way they could be broken.

“Kagome left to fight Naraku. On her own.” He said as he faced her once more, having the respect not to beat around the bush. “Kikyo’s messages really meant something to her, and you know how often she got them. What you don’t know is that we’ve kept up the training we were started on. Worse, actually.” He kind of flinched in preparation of his own admittance. “We’ve intentionally sought out demons - harmful ones - to test our strengths. That’s how Kagome really knew how to hide her powers whenever there were inspections. She’s learned how to use them pretty well. She didn’t want to be defenseless, and I agreed that she shouldn’t be. She’s a conjurer and they’re blacklisted, so she should, at the very least, know what she was capable of to potentially see why - if not only to protect herself. The thing was, and I’m sorry, but we all - Kagome, Sango, and I - planned on doing this exact thing together. She’s positive there are other conjurers receiving the very same messages that she is, so there’s probably going to be an army made up to take down Naraku. She wants to join, and Sango and I wanted to be part of the cause. But, apparently, yesterday she decided to do it all on her own. She left in the middle of the night without telling anyone. Except for Sota.”

There was a horrible silence that filled the air when Miroku had stopped talking. He could see that the information was sinking in with his aunt but her gaze stayed locked on him, only leaving to look at Sota when he was mentioned, and then shooting back to Miroku.

“You all had planned to leave together?” She finally asked.

“Yes.” He answered.

“Were you going to say anything when this happened?”

“No.” His blue eyes fell to the floor briefly, the shame evident. It wasn’t like they didn’t think about how it would affect their families; they’d discussed all the details several times over and eventually came to terms with their decisions. It wasn’t something he was prepared to face, though. “We were packed for it. Whenever Kagome felt like it was time to leave - as in Kikyo gave some sort of direct order or something - we were equipped to head out.”

“You - you were packed?” His aunt inquired, appearing somewhat taken aback.

“Yeah.” Miroku confirmed. “We kept our things hidden in the location we trained at, along with our weapons.”

She made a small sound of muddled astonishment, her brows shrugging and then furrowing. “I’d always wondered what had happened to Kagome’s bow and arrows.”

“Um - well, the bow you’re thinking of broke. We had to replace it a year ago, so we went and bought a new one.” He confessed, his jittery nerves showing a bit more.

“You - how - how did you buy a new one? Where?” She questioned speculatively.

“We’ve been doing side jobs outside of town for a while now - you know what, that’s irrelevant. What matters is that we were raising money for the trip so we weren’t empty-handed financially.”

“Good lord, it’s like pandora’s box is opening inside my house.” She groaned, rubbing her forehead. She exhaled heavily, regaining her bearings as she turned to her quiet son. “And, you knew about this?”

“Not all that.” Sota shook his head, his reply hasty while his fear of backlash rode on the surface. “When Kagome and I were in the treehouse yesterday she told me she was leaving, but she made me promise not to tell anybody.”

“And, you kept that promise knowing how dangerous the situation was?”

“It was a pinky promise.” He defended.

His mother opened her mouth like she was ready to quickly retort, but instead all he heard was the sharp inhale from her throat before she sealed her lips, leaving the air locked in her lungs as the hollow of her neck deepened. She closed her eyes, brows pinched together when she finally exhaled, once again rubbing her forehead with her fingertips.

“Anything else?” She asked testily.

Both Sota and Miroku shook their heads in reply.

“Do we know how long ago she left?”

“By the looks of it, hours ago.” Miroku said while Sota, again, shook his head.

“What are the chances of us finding her?”

“Slim.” Miroku answered. “There’s no saying what direction she went off in, and she’s got quite the head start on us. I can’t walk very fast in my condition, let alone chase after her. It’s not like we can gather up the town to get them to help out, because they’ll have questions and it’ll compromise her well-being and secret. Not to mention, even if we did miraculously catch up, it would be a fight on its own to convince her to come home.”

“So -“ There it was. The devastated expression he’d been waiting to appear on his aunt’s face finally emerged, though she valiantly tried to fend it off. “So, she’s gone?”

“We can look. See if she got far.” He breathed defeatedly. “But, yes. I’m pretty sure Kagome’s gone.”

—

“Alright, so I searched the areas we usually went to together, and she’s not there. But, she’s definitely been to the cave. Her weapon’s gone, and she took a few things from the bag we’d packed. I saw footprints in the mud nearby leading off onto the forest path, and thankfully the mud was soft so it left a deep impression. Unfortunately, it seems some horses and men have been on that path not too long ago, making it hard to follow, and where the mud gets firmer, her footprints have washed away. So, there’s no telling where she is, but we do know what direction she’s gone off in.” Sango said, a little breathless as she returned to her boyfriend’s side. She’d been flustered since the moment Sota showed up at her doorstep this morning, pale and rattled, and when she was caught up to speed after following him back to his house, she immediately went searching for clues.

“Okay, that’s something.” Miroku nodded, silently thanking her from his uncomfortable seat on the couch as he placed a hand on the back of her thigh.

“How is that something?” Sota queried.

“Because, we’ll know where to start when we’re able to follow her.” He answered.

“Thank you, Sango.” His aunt said from where she stood next to the kitchen table, sighing out a feeble ounce of stress.

“Wait, you guys are still planning on going?” Sota asked.

“Of course.” Sango confirmed.

“We’re not going to let her do this alone. The plan remains, and we’re going to help her. Unfortunately, I’ve got a handicap, but as soon as I’m good to go, we’ll head out.”

“And, my dad should hopefully be back by the end of the week. In the hopes that he won’t be out on another mission when the time comes, we’ll be able to take Kirara with us so we can hopefully catch up to Kagome faster. If you don’t mind, and I know this is wrong to ask of you, but would you keep this on the down low? We all know he wouldn’t allow this.”

“Rightfully so.” Kagome’s mother remarked. “This is incredibly dangerous, and I’m inclined to make you both stay out of this mess. We all saw a daughter violently torn away from her mother yesterday, my own daughter is now missing, and now my nephew and his girlfriend are ready to follow in her footsteps? Do you understand just what you’re getting yourself into?”

“Yes -“ Miroku barely got out before his aunt interjected.

“No, you don’t. Naraku is the demon of all demons. He’s singlehandedly ostracized beings for reasons unknown, put them on this hit list because he can, and you guys think you’re just going to walk up to him, challenge him to a duel, and leave unscathed? All because some Kikyo lady appeared in Kagome’s dreams and said so? I know you’re all adults and you’re capable of making your own decisions now, but you’re making the wrong ones so I’ll make them for you. Neither of you are going.”

“But, what about Kagome?” Sota argued.

“I can’t protect her, Sota. She’s already gone.” She slighted.

“They can help, though!”

“They’re eighteen, nineteen, and twenty acting like they’re as wise and experienced as the grown demon slayers in the village. Do any of you know exactly what those demon slayers had to go through to gain their knowledge and skills? And, don’t you answer that, Sango. I know your father’s the leader, and you’ve had a bit of experience yourself, but you don’t know the half of it. You think your dad’s told you all the stories? You think your dad’s let you in on every little, gory detail of his trials? It baffles me that you guys think training on your own and exterminating various demons outside of town would make you well-prepared for a journey like this. It’s a death sentence I won’t let you sign up for. You’re not going.”

“I understand where you’re coming from, Auntie, but we are. We’re going. Despite her decisions, I’m not going to let Kagome do this on her own.” Miroku spoke, keeping his tone as level and respectful as possible.

There was a moment of silence, one where his aunt clenched her jaw, dropped her shoulders, and plopped into the seat beside her. “You - all three of you - are too much like your fathers for your own good.”

“I know, I know.” He sighed. “It’s your number one complaint about Kagome and I. But, we’ve gotta see this through with her. At her side. I want to punch her as much as anyone in this room, believe me, but wouldn’t you feel more comfortable knowing she’s not alone? Wait, no, don’t answer that.” Miroku recoiled, holding up his hand to stop his aunt from saying anything the moment she glared his way.

“Thank you.” Sango softly spoke. “For showing how much you care about us. For expressing your concerns and voicing what’s on your mind. Thank you. You’re right, we don’t have nearly as much experience as we should. Truthfully, I don’t think there’s enough experience in the world that could prepare us for what we’re about to do. We’ve gotta try, though. This has been hell for us all, but imagine it from Kagome’s perspective. They’re after her. Her kind, but ultimately, her. We want to protect her just like you, we just show it in a different way. She’s justified in wanting to fight, so our way of demonstrating support and doing what we can to help is by going with her. Besides, you know Kagome. She’s as stubborn as a mule, so when her mind is made up, there’s no fighting it. There’s only going with the flow.”

Sota added his input by dramatically nodding in agreement, knowing all too well his sister's temperament and obstinance.

“She should have waited.” Miroku said again. “But, she can handle her own until we catch up.”

“Kagome can definitely handle her own.” Sango attested. “I don’t know if this matters to you, but she’s folded Miroku in a match before. She’s a tough cookie.” She smiled when her friend’s mother had to hide her conflicted giggle behind her hands, noticing her boyfriend’s slow, shifting, disapproving look from the side.

“It was funny.” She shrugged, not even bothering to hide her amusement.

“I wish I’d seen it!” Sota laughed.

“Are you guys sure?” Miroku’s aunt asked, more to see if there was any apprehension in their expressions. She could tell though, with their direct eye contact, their nods, their steady answers and confident demeanor, that even if she did attempt to forbid them, they would only be resolved to sneak out behind everyone’s backs - like Kagome. At least this way, being in the know, she would be able to help in whatever way she could. Whether that be in moral support, assisting Miroku to help him mend as fast as possible, or even making sure to help them pack for anything they may need.

Her daughter was brave. She was strong. She was like her father. What terrified her was that Kagome was mortal. But, she had to have faith. She had to take Sango and Miroku’s word for it that she could, in fact, take care of herself.

—

Kagome fluttered her brown eyes open, blinking away her sleep as she gathered her surroundings. She was fully and instantly aware that she was in the wilderness, incapable of forgetting that tidbit no matter how exhausted she was, but she needed to focus as best as she could in her sleepy stupor to make sure no demonic energies were nearby.

She was still safe.

The sun wasn’t too high in the sky yet, as far as she could tell from the trees and patchy clouds, so she had probably only dozed off for a few hours at the most, her fire reduced to nothing but flickering embers. She was still tired but she felt better than she had before, and she knew she needed to get moving. Where to? Who knows. She felt in her gut that she was on the right path, though. The only path, really.

Her back felt cramped and tense as she slowly peeled herself off of the tree she’d rested against, strands of her hair pulling while it stuck to the bark, making her groan. When she stood, dusting off her pants and stretching a bit, she felt life begin to flow through her muscles again. Kagome wasted no time in getting herself situated to head out. She adjusted her clothing, her bodice which had climbed up her chest a little, ran her fingers through her wavy hair, got her bag and bow and arrows situated over her shoulders again, and then kicked dirt over the remainder of what used to be called a fire, heading back toward the trail and on her way.

—

“Why’d you run?” Inuyasha asked.

“Why’d you chase me?” Hiten countered, an arrogant smirk on his face. His tan skin was moist with the afternoon warmth and the adrenaline flowing through his body, red eyes meeting Inuyasha’s proud stare. His long, brown braid swayed from side to side as it gradually began to still, heavy but neatly kept from his face.

“I caught wind that you’ve been a bit of an asshole. Apparently, rumors are true.”

“Yeah?”

“You wouldn’t have run if they weren’t.”

“Well,” Hiten shrugged, his smile widening, completely untroubled. “Looks like you just answered your own question.”

“I’ve warned you before, Hiten. I told you to watch your step.” Inuyasha reminded, swallowing the frustration that quickly built up in him whenever he dealt with cocky sons of bitches.

“Awe,” He feigned a pout. “Can’t you be cool and let me off with another warning, Inuyasha?”

“Unfortunately for you, I don’t like you. I don’t even know why I gave you an exception in the first place. This time, though, no chance. You killed a girl. That’s a dramatic escalation from what you did last time.”

“And, she was mighty tasty.” Hiten licked his lips.

Inuyasha cringed, his entire face contorting. “Ew! What? Hiten, what the fuck!?”

“What -“

“You ate her!?”

“Wait, what? You didn’t know that?” He questioned, all confidence fading from his expression as he looked skeptically over at his enemy.

“Does this look like the face of somebody in the know!? No, I didn’t know that! What the fuck!? Why!? You’re a fucking thunder demon, dude! You’re not even based off of a carnivorous animal! I don’t understand!” Inuyasha argued, absolutely and utterly disgusted. He was so appalled, he even took two steps away from the guy, his lips remaining distastefully curled.

“Wow - um - this is a little awkward.” He admitted, scratching his temple sheepishly. “Why are you here then?”

“Because, there’s money over your head!” Inuyasha exclaimed. “They want your head, I want their money, I got the gist of everything - I don’t know, I felt like it was a fair trade! You ate her!?”

“Y-yeah.” He shrugged again.

“Ew!” That time, Inuyasha cringed so bad his entire body convulsed, like a huge, unwelcome shiver ran down his spine. “Why?”

“I was - you’re not gonna like the answer to this.” Hiten said, giving fair warning. When Inuyasha didn’t decline further explanation, he proceeded. “She was - we were - nude, consensually of course, and - um - well, she smelled really good while we were - while I was - you know… So, like, during that I kind of wanted to - um - taste her.”

Inuyasha had deadpanned mid-speech, his mouth hanging agape, golden eyes blinking as he processed the given information. “Good sir, you took cunnilingus to a level it should have never gone to.”

“Yeah.�� Hiten grimaced, nodding in agreement.

“When her soul leaves her body, it’s supposed to remain metaphorical.”

“Yeah, I get that.” Another nod, another grimace.

“And, yet…” Inuyasha grumbled.

“I took it there.” Hiten confirmed.

“Are you proud of yourself?”

“I mean…”

“Never mind, don’t answer that.” The hanyou waved off.

“I really wish you didn’t know now.” Hiten said uncomfortably. “Like, the moment’s gone. I don’t really feel like fighting anymore.”

“Hey, I wish I didn’t know either. Believe me, I have a horribly vivid imagination, so this is gonna eat at me for days.”

Hiten chuckled, attempting to hide it behind his fist as he glanced away.

“Hey - oh god. No pun intended, you sick bastard. Moment’s back! Come here, I’m gonna kick your ass!” Inuyasha yelled, grossed out.

“No, thanks! I’m good!” He laughed, jogging backward.

“I don’t even give a fuck about the money anymore! I’m just gonna kill you!”

“Didn’t know you were such a feminist, buddy!”

“Don’t you ‘buddy’ me, you creep! Stop -“ The two demons halted in their tracks, alert, one with a blooming grin and the other with wide, uneasy eyes.

“Let me tell you, Inuyasha.” Hiten spoke gruffly. "Once the taste sits on your tongue, there’s no preventing the addiction. She wasn’t my first. And, it looks like lunch is nearby. Too bad I’m a lot faster than you since I can fly and all.”

Inuyasha tensed as the demon flew off in the direction he’d smelled a girl walking not too far away. Cursing under his breath, he finally sheathed his sword, sprinting to follow Hiten.

Kagome had gone off trail. She’d seen a town in the distance, but if she looked as bad as she felt, the last thing she wanted to do was attract attention to herself. She said it was for the sake of adventure - and privacy - that she’d decided to venture through the trees, her boots crunching the leaves littering the forest floor. The trees weren’t close together by any means, leaving plenty of walking room between, light easily breaking through the treetops. She figured she’d go around the village and continue on the trail from the other side. No harm, no foul.

Until she felt a sudden and alarming spike in demonic energy. It was heading her way and fast. So fast, in fact, that by the time she’d turned around, she was staring at a man at the top of a slope, a dangerous smile curling his lips.

“Hey. You lost?” He spoke, even the click of his tongue proving menacing.

Of course. Of course this would happen right now. Kagome mentally rolled her eyes at her luck, bracing with a dragged inhale. His energy was threatening, and he definitely meant harm. There was no reason for Kagome to entertain his question. She knew what was about to go down. Without response, she ran off. All she needed was to give herself time. Just a little space. Given how fast he’d initially approached, he was going to be on her in a matter of seconds, but that was all she needed.

Kagome rolled her shoulder, allowing her bow to fall off, slide down her arm and into her hand where she tossed it over to her left. She spun back around to face the oncoming demon, her feet sliding - almost stumbling in the dirt - from the speed, an arrow plucked from its quiver and pulled back into the string of her bow, ready to shoot. The demon froze just feet away from her, his shocked expression shifting into one of entertained as he held his hands up in front of him defensively.

“Woah-ho-ho.” He chuckled. “You’re fucking quick.”

Kagome didn’t say anything just yet, eyes locked on the demon as her chest pumped air in and out of her lungs. She had good aim; she could hit him for sure. The trouble was, could she kill him? With her conjurer powers, sure. Maybe. Yes. But if, by chance, she missed, her secret was out and she was dead. Honestly, if she missed either way, she was dead. She was resolved to go ahead and use her powers before she felt the nearing aura of another demon - one not quite as strong, one with an intriguing warmth radiating from it, one she felt a compelling pull to investigate but she forced herself to leave it alone. Two demons in the same vicinity typically meant they came together. But, if she used her abilities and the other sensed or saw it, she was done for.

No matter what, the situation was looking grim. If they were together, why wouldn’t she just use her powers? Why wouldn’t she just protect herself the way she’d trained for so long now? Why was a voice in her mind telling her not to do anything she’d regret? You know what she’d actually regret? Dying on her first day, that’s what.

“What do you want?” She asked, her raspy voice adding unintentional, dramatic flare.

“I just want to chat. Come on, put the bow down.”

“Not interested.”

“What do you think you’re actually gonna do with that?” Hiten asked, smiling. “The big, bad archer gonna shoot down a demon? Even if you stuck me, it’d hardly do a thing.”

“Want to bet?” Kagome challenged.

She watched his grin twitch wider, his slimy tongue gliding out but then vanishing altogether as an incredibly powerful, whirlwind of a strike came thundering from her left, dividing the two as it brought them both to jump away.

“Hiten, you five-head, ugly ass bitch!” Came a loud, deep, husky voice. “Your fight’s with me!”

Kagome had tripped in her attempt to escape the blast of power, her butt sore from landing on the protruding root of a tree, and though she took a moment to pity her rump and rub the immediate tenderness away, her attention was still on the scene before her. It was, for lack of a better word, bewildering. Unexpected. A man with a hostile scowl stood at the top of the slope the other demon had appeared on, a large sword encircled in demonic energy held tightly in his grasp. His hair was tied in a high ponytail, light in shade - appearing silver to the eye but almost white where light hit him. Pointed, animalistic ears atop his head told her he was of demonic lineage, but his energy didn’t feel as apparent as the demon’s across from her, still standing but gaze diverted the other’s way. She took that moment to regain herself, standing up to ready her weapon again, this time keeping it aimed low until she understood just what the hell was happening.

“Faster than I gave you credit for. What a fun-sucker.” The demon grumbled.

“Leave her alone!”

If it wasn’t clear before, it was perfectly evident now. The silver-haired demon wasn’t Kagome’s enemy.

“Hiten! Back the fuck up!” He shouted, tone appearing more lethal.

“Or, what?” Hiten chuckled, taking a few steps closer to Kagome while his attention continued to hold on the other demon. Kagome took that opportunity to raise her bow and arrow then, steadying her aim and locking on his chest. His heart. The jerk was, luckily for her, too arrogant to even mind what she was doing. “What are you gonna do? The closer I get to her, the less you’re able to use your fancy sword.”

“Hiten!”

“Oh no, look’s like the pressure’s on. Who’s gonna get her first?” Two more steps forward, his long legs closing the created gap easily.

Kagome pulled her arrow back a smidge, taking a moment to center herself, holding her breath.

“Stop!”

“It’s so easy to rile you up, Inuyasha.” Hiten laughed. “You’re so melodramatic.”

“Hey, wait, that’s kind of rude.” Inuyasha feigned a grimace, dropping his sword a few inches. “I don’t think I deserved that.”

“You called me ugly.” The demon countered with an odd sneer. “And, you said I have a five-head. I’d hardly call that rude in comparison.”

“You know what, that’s fair. Go ahead. She’s all yours.” The hanyou shrugged, resting the tip of Tessaiga to the ground.

Hiten barely thought about it, cocking a brow and turning to the girl before him. There was no time to react, no time to process, his breath caught in his throat so roughly he nearly choked.

The moment he turned to look at her, Kagome released her arrow, the sharp, pointed tip piercing through the left side of his chest. His red eyes widened, crimson staining the front of his dirty, white shirt, stumbling backward two feet from the force of her strike.

“Run, kid!” The order was barked, and Kagome didn’t need to be told twice. She used no spiritual power, so there was no way in hell the demon was dead. He was merely stunned, and she wasn’t about to wait around for him to gather his wits.

She took off like a bat out of hell, racing away, slipping on leaves but keeping her footing well enough to stay balanced and jump over tree roots. She heard, even felt, the strike from the silver-haired demon’s sword, the ground rattling slightly. Hiten’s roar of frustration echoed through her ears as it shifted into a maniacal laugh, haunting, his voice growing louder as he somehow grew nearer.

Kagome was grabbed by her hair, yanked back painfully and stopped in her tracks as she was slammed against a wide, aging tree, dropping her bow in the midsts. Her scream was muted by her own, broken voice, and she fought to push his surprisingly strong body away - despite how scrawny he appeared - while he now pinned her from the front. She didn’t even bother to register whatever taunting statement slipped from his tongue, only paying attention to the torn body of the arrow still in his chest but split apart so it didn’t protrude greatly, and she grabbed the frayed, splintered end, using whatever strength she could muster from her disadvantageous position to shove it further into the crevice of his ribs, even going so far as to twist so the arrowhead hurt him further, his pained shout and agonizing features telling her it was affecting him exactly as she wanted. Demon or not, conjurer powers or not, being stabbed never felt good.

“Let her go.” Came a gruff demand, and everything stopped. The tone was so alerting that even Kagome heeded the venom-laced warning. She could barely see over Hiten’s shoulder, but she knew the silver-haired demon stood right behind him, his sword pointed toward Hiten’s back. With the way Hiten froze entirely, she was willing to bet it was pressed against him. One false move, and he was done. “Now.”

And, he did. Hiten released Kagome, his hands held above his shoulders to show his compliance.

“Behind me.” He instructed, and Kagome knew that was directed towards her. Given they were still standing so close, she had to shimmy her way out from between the tree and the demon, her squished bag sort of sticking to the bark and adding a slight difficulty to the already-awkward glide free.

As soon as she was out, she crossed to the backside of the man with silver hair, picking up her bow along the way to strap over her shoulder. He even went so far as to reach behind, grabbing the loose hem of her green shirt to pull her flush behind his back, completely sheltered by his frame while he held his sword steady with one arm. From the glimpses she’d gotten of it, it seemed huge and heavy. It was impressive to see anyone hold the thing up, let alone with one hand.

There was a rumble in the sky, growing, growing, becoming increasingly louder, surrounding them as the clouds quickly flooded above - dark and ominous. Thunder boomed as if the storm had been brewing for hours, encroaching, but Kagome could have sworn she saw patches of blue just moments ago.

“Stop it.” Inuyasha ordered.

Hiten didn’t say anything, but from the way his shoulders broadened from behind, hands still raised where they were, and head held up high, his body language was radiating obnoxious pride.

“Hiten.” He growled.

The clap of thunder was so loud that time, it startled Kagome, causing her to jump just a little closer to her savior, the fingers of her hands curling into the loose fit of his shirt. It was somehow louder than any storm she’d ever witnessed, last night’s proving incomparable. She stared directly above them, watching as sparks of electricity danced and bounced along the bottom of the dark grey quilt, this result of the friction she’d never before seen. In fact, she was sure that something like this wasn’t even organically possible.

“Um,” She began, merely whispering to the demon she held onto. “We might want to move soon.”

Inuyasha could feel the girl’s anxiety, her nerves, her fingers bunching his shirt tighter. He could feel the demonic energy soaring from Hiten, creating the dangerous scenario above, but her words were what had caught his attention. The hanyou glanced upward, noticing the waltz of the electricity.

“Hiten!”

The opposing demon only laughed, shifting his head to look at Inuyasha as he slowly turned around to face him, modestly pushing his sword aside with the back of his hand.

“Am I supposed to just adhere to you?”

“Knock it off!”

“Or you’ll what?” Hiten challenged.

“You know what!”

“Apparently, your plan is to kill me either way. So, might as well go out with a bang.” He smirked, thunder blaring at that exact moment.

Kagome unintentionally clung to the man, the booming so loud she could feel it in her chest. His large hand grabbed her hip firmly, guiding her as he began to walk backward, and she took the initiative to give him more room, not wanting to make things harder or cause him to trip, so she made her fingers release his shirt.

Lightning struck the ground just to her right, and she hissed the same curse as the man before her. He was quick. Quicker than she’d expected in the moment as he spun around, grabbed her wrist, and dragged her off to run.

“In case you’re wondering,” He began, forcefully keeping her legs moving as fast as they’d go as he sought out shelter. “He’s a thunder demon and - fuck!” He shouted, sliding in the dirt as he came to an immediate stop, lightning falling directly in front of them.

“Where are we supposed to be going!?” Kagome asked as clearly as she could when they ran off in a different direction, never minding the protesting ache in her throat.

“Wherever the fuck we can to get away from this! You want to die!?”

“Not necessarily!”

“Then keep up, kid!”

“Have you ever outrun lightning before?” She questioned. The thunder overhead was nonstop now, electricity falling wherever it could. It was like Hiten held the ability to control it, but also lacked it once the friction built up too much. Nature took over then, and Hiten was merely impervious to her fury.

“Can’t say that I have!”

“Great.” Kagome breathed, her expression falling sarcastically.

Inuyasha found a tree with a decently-sized hollow in the bottom, pulling the girl over and gripping her shoulders to shove her down to her knees and in. “Stay!”

“What?” Her tone was half frantic, half perplexed.

“Stay here, and stay low! If I get hit, I’ll be fine. You? You’re dead.”

“Hey, wait! Lightning can strike trees! Lightning can strike trees!” Kagome protested, trying to crawl out, but the demon casually shoved the sole of his boot against her chest, thrusting her back beneath.

“Stay!” Inuyasha ordered emphatically, his one free hand held up as a sign to stop.

The demon ran off then, leaving Kagome appalled in her hollow, mouth hanging open, and completely taken aback by the sheer audacity of this guy. He did not just use his foot to push her. What was she even supposed to do there? Wait out the storm and hope she got lucky? Sit back and let the boys duke it out? Sure, she’d love to say she had faith in her savior, but she didn’t even know the guy. She didn’t know what he was capable of, how strong he was, or if he was mighty enough to take on the freaking descendant of Thor, himself. Though, saying that made her feel like she was giving him too much credit. Maybe he was a second cousin, twice removed. Sure.

Lightning was more inclined to strike the tall, and while she stood at a solid five feet - two inches, the tree she sat under was significantly larger. While she was certain it held plenty of potential to be safe, it just wasn’t a chance Kagome was comfortable on taking. Plenty of times, she’d seen huge trees charred in half from strikes of lightning. Of course, the thought of being in the open range wasn’t all that desirable either, but it was definitely more exciting; no one could deny that. Sitting back and waiting had never been her thing, anyway.

She could hear them shouting, fighting somewhere behind where she was bunkered, the lightning striking the ground with loud cracks and bright flashes. Carefully, Kagome crawled out of her hole, keeping low to the ground. She peeked behind the tree to see if she could get a visual, but it didn’t look as if they were as close as she’d suspected, bringing her to quickly crawl her way to an adjacent tree, following the sounds of insults, curses, demonic sword attacks, and focused lightning strikes. The thunder roaring didn’t help any, her chest rumbling unsteadily with the noise, muting the pounding of her heart.

Kagome continued her low travels from tree-to-tree, doing her best to remain unseen and not electrocuted. When she finally found them, she realized she had the worst vantage point to help in any way. She could see more of the silver-haired man than that Hiten guy.

Her protector was breathing hard, brows deeply furrowed while he wore a dangerous scowl. The muscles beneath his black, long sleeves were visible and flexed, the veins on the back of his fists that white-knuckled the hilt of his sword prominent even from where she squatted. His fangs were sharp and threatening, and his nose crinkled with severity as he fended off a strike from the opposing demon, retaliating with one of his own that had so much force Kagome had to duck behind the tree entirely to avoid being knocked over.

From the looks of it, he wasn’t getting anywhere. Not fast, at least. Hiten was good at countering, he was quicker than was fair, and apparently packed a punch. It seemed like he needed an opening; one where he could get in his attack and make it count. And, that was where Kagome came in.

She crawled around the trees cautiously, concentrating on staying hidden, and pausing abruptly as lightning struck just a few feet ahead of her. Kagome stared at the burnt spot with wide eyes, her fearful and startled squeak silenced behind her breath as she dragged it out, an oh my god slipping out at the tail end. Kagome couldn’t even begin to help the other melodramatic noises that emitted from her throat as she realized that could have easily been her, and it took a solid moment to talk herself back into crawling forward, literally chanting, “please don’t hit me, please don’t hit me, please don’t hit me,” over and over until she reached a spot where she had a clear visual on the thunder demon.

“This will work.” Kagome whispered, pinning her back to the tree as she prepared herself. She was crouched down, one knee on the ground as she shimmied the bow off her shoulder and pulled an arrow out of its quiver, readying the nock along the string. It didn’t matter if she hit Hiten. It would help, that’s for sure, but all she intended to do was distract him. If he would hesitate, only for a moment, Mr. Silver Hair would have an opportunity to strike. And, if he missed the opportunity, Kagome had justifiable reasoning to call him an idiot.

Would that help any? No. But, justifiable reasoning was justifiable reasoning.

Kagome began to inch her way out from behind the tree, watching the patterns of their movements. It was okay to miss Hiten, but she still needed to hit as close to him as possible in order to grasp his attention. The distraction wouldn’t necessarily work otherwise.

Typically, as with any bad guy that had pride as large as a mountain, he’d stopped for an antagonizing and arrogant speech. He was bleeding from the very same eyebrow he tauntingly cocked, the crimson dripping down the outer corner of his eye, darker than his irises, and gliding slowly toward the center of his cheek. Apparently, her savior deserved a little more credit than what she’d initially given. That didn’t mean she couldn’t hopefully make things a little easier on him.

Kagome stole the opportunity, utilizing the man’s vanity against him, and she positioned herself, quickly pulling back her arrow and firing. The arrowhead whizzed just passed Hiten’s face, the sharp side cutting the edge of his pointed ear, and piercing the tree trunk behind him. Yet again, the man was stunned, his voice dying off mid-word and eyes falling to her.

Inuyasha was almost as surprised by the random arrow shooting through, the damned thing flying right passed his own head before the thunder demon’s. He glanced behind him, noticing the stupid girl staring daringly ahead, crouched down with her bow beginning to inch lower. He didn’t even have a moment to say the insult directed at her on his tongue before his opponent was moving, and fast. Hiten was taking her challenge to heart, running forward, and Inuyasha tossed his sword into his left hand, doing the only thing he could do in such close proximity. Just as the demon came close enough, he pulled back his arm and threw his fist in Hiten’s face, punching him so hard that he completely fell backwards, his head colliding with the hard ground.

“Did you get him?” Kagome shouted, almost unclearly thanks to her broken voice.

“Duh!”

“Is he dead?”

Inuyasha flailed his arms at his side in an annoyed manner. “No, he’s not dead! I punched him, you dipshit!” He yelled, and as if to back up his statement, Hiten push himself from the ground.

“What is with this chick?” Hiten murmured, using the back of his hand to wipe the blood that dripped from his mouth.

“Beats me, but she’s showing you up.” Inuyasha jeered.

“Fuck this.” He growled, his temper spiking. The thunder gave a trembling roar that rattled the ground, the out-of-control lightning strikes ceasing as the clouds seemed to boil with increasing friction.

Inuyasha couldn’t help but avert his attention upward, seeing the disturbing force of inhuman nature bubbling through the break in the treetops. This was bad. This was really fucking bad. This was an attack there was no coming back from if Hiten successfully hit the girl. It was going to be concentrated and lethal, and Inuyasha had no choice but to use his backlash wave. As much as he wanted to avoid the once-unnecessary use of so much power on an annoying fucker like Hiten, it was inevitable now. His amber eyes flew over to the astonished girl, and as if she’d sensed him, her gaze met his a mere second later.

“Run! Go! Take cover, now!” He barked.

His tone was non-negotiable, and given the amount of demonic energy in the atmosphere, Kagome didn’t much feel like arguing that she could help. Honestly, she couldn’t. She had no idea what the thunder demon planned to do, but it felt dangerous and terrifying, and if the silver-haired guy said she didn’t need to stick around for it, then she wasn’t about to.

She didn’t waste time with crawling. Since the sporadic strikes had stopped, she was safe enough to run, and she bolted as quickly as she could, heading back to her sanctuary of a hollow. Kagome skidded around the designated tree, dropping to her hands and knees and making home in the hole. Even through her shirt, she could feel the hair on her arms standing on end from the static, a high-pitched sound budding in the sky, and when a loud crash came, Kagome ducked and covered her ears, protecting herself however she could.

Inuyasha had to wait for the perfect opportunity. With a thunder demon, with the creation of electricity, came scattered energy, like sparks, and he couldn’t use his backlash wave until it all came together. He had one chance, and he was going to get this right. Hiten spared the hanyou a glance with his red eyes, smirking as he raised his right hand into the air. Inuyasha could feel it. He could feel the static, he could feel the threat blossoming, but overall, he could feel Hiten’s demonic energy forming into a saturated mass. It grew larger and larger, figuratively becoming more solid, and as a beam of blinding lightning came shooting down from the sky, Inuyasha stole the moment, raised his sword above his head, his own demonic energy surging to collide with Hiten’s as he whipped the blade to slice it through.

The backlash wave overpowered the thunder demon’s strength, bringing the attack to bounce back at him. Hiten may have been resistant to the direct wrath of the sky, but he wasn’t impervious to Tessaiga’s force deconstructing his own to be used against him. Hiten was arrogant, vulnerable, and in the end, reduced to ashes.

Slowly, as the world outside her little hollow quieted, Kagome began to unfurl. She no longer heard thunder, no longer heard shouting, no longer heard sounds of demonic attacks clashing, no chaos, no fighting, nothing. It was hit and miss as to what had happened. Did her protector win? Did the thunder demon pull through? Was it over?

Inch-by-inch, she crawled out, evaluating the atmosphere. It was calm. Her sights shifted up toward the sky, and once again, the clouds were breaking apart, pieces of blue showing through as if they were never hidden in the first place. The fight definitely had to be over.

Kagome dusted off her knees as she picked herself up off the ground, the bandages on her left hand dirty, and she made a mental note to change them when she could. Strapping her bow over her shoulder where it belonged, she ventured back over to where she’d last seen the two demons, finding herself moving wearily as she neared.

“Hey.” The husky voice startled her more than it should have, and Kagome gasped, spinning around with her fists raised to protect herself.

Inuyasha flinched back out of reaction, his palms shooting up in front of him - half out of his natural instinct to guard and the other half out of surprise. He hadn’t expected her to be so on edge after boldly disobeying him to partake in the battle; he’d figured she was gutsy and idiotic and probably too brave for her own good. That was the first time he’d gotten a good look at the girl’s face, though.

Her cheeks were red - probably from the commotion and the comedown, but her natural shade seemed fair. Maybe a degree or two lighter than his own skin tone. Her eyes were large and brown, but not that muddy-looking brown he more commonly saw in people he didn’t care to look at for more than two seconds. Hers, though deep in color, were finely blended with hues of reds and golds. An artist would have had a field day painting the detail of her irises, finding the golden circle just around her pupils, and freckling the way light caught her colors. The girl’s hair was as dark as raven, faint hints of oceanic blue glimmering in the rays of sun through the breaks in the trees and clouds. It was very faint, but Inuyasha could see it. Barely, but it was there. At the corner of her mouth, on her left cheek, sat a slight scuff of pink that didn’t belong and wouldn’t seem to fade when the heat in her face settled. And, on her neck, most disconcerting of all, housed a thick, red and purple ring that curved over the front portion. The girl, whoever she was, had recently been roughed up. No wonder she was a little skittish.

“Sorry.” Kagome grimaced, uncurling her fingers and lowering her hands. “Are you okay?”

“I’m fine.” Inuyasha replied. “Are you okay?” And, he’d emphasized the word intentionally.

“I’m fine.” She said, giving a one-shouldered shrug. There was a moment of awkward silence where the two just stood there, and Kagome’s eyes bounced around, avoiding contact with his own. When they landed on her arrow in the tree, she figured she should just politely wrap things up here, collect it, and be on her merry way. “So, um, thanks. For your help.”

“Don’t mention it.” He muttered.

“Was he a friend of yours? You two seemed to know each other.”

“I knew him because he was a murderer, and he knew me because I’ve been on his ass for a while. It’d be kind of harsh if I just killed my friend without showing an ounce of remorse, don’t you think?” Inuyasha rebutted.

“That’s fair.” Kagome bobbed her head in agreement, regretting her choice of words before his own fully registered with her. “Wait, murderer?”

“Yes?” Inuyasha arched a brow quizzically. “Kid, what did you think he was gonna do with you?”

“I-I don’t know! I didn’t really think that far ahead of time! I only processed the danger!”

“That far ahead… wait, no - what is on the other side of danger?” Inuyasha asked, confused as all hell.

“Is that rhetorical?”

“No.”

“Well, harm, typically.”

The hanyou chuckled, almost defeatedly as his chest deflated. “Yes, and harm comes in all shapes and sizes, doesn’t it?”

“Okay, now that’s rhetorical.” Kagome deadpanned.

“Good job.” He slighted.

“Alright, well it’s been fun. Thanks for not letting me die. You’re a champ. You’re the M.V.P.. You are the man. I’ve gotta get going, so I’ll be sure to watch out for any other crazy murderers in the area.” Kagome presented a sarcastic, closed-lipped grin. “Speaking of which, are they common around here?”

“Don’t get out much, do you, Kid?”

“Hey, what’s with this ‘kid’ thing? Is this a common nickname you give strangers, or what? I’m not a child.”

“No, you’re not. Not at all. It just kind of came out, honestly. Though, now that I’m looking at you, you are puny.” He grinned, enjoying how easy it was to make her cheeks red all over again.

“Ex-excuse me?”

“Small.” Inuyasha clarified.

“I am not.”

“Okay.” He chuckled dismissively.

“Hey! I’m average height!”

“Please don’t yell. You’re voice gets all high pitched and breaks like a baby goat, and I’m sure it irritates your throat as much as it does my ears.”

Kagome stared at the man for a moment, wondering if he was trying to say all the wrongs things, or if he was just that witty and knew what he was doing. “You are really good at talking to people, did you know that?” She stated with satire, sauntering over toward the tree that harbored her arrow.

“So I’ve heard.” Inuyasha carelessly remarked. “Hey, thanks a lot, by the way.”

She spared him a peek over her shoulder, catching his tone, but rightfully not feeding into it. Directly, at least. “You’re welcome.”

He swallowed his huff, his annoyance beginning to grow. “No. Thanks a lot.”

“No need to repeat yourself; I caught your sarcasm the first time. But, I decided to take it as a thank you for using this arrow here to distract Hiten so you had an opening. Therefore, you’re welcome.”

“Oh, is that what you were trying to do?”

Kagome didn’t bother answering, pulling at the arrow that was lodged into the bark while balancing on the protruding roots. It was really stuck in there, so she tried to fidget with it a little to loosen up the grip.

“It’s because of that little stunt that I had to use my backlash wave. Now I know, being the simpleton that you are, you don’t know what that is, but I don’t really think I need to explain it. Go ahead and take a look around. Do you see Hiten?”

“Nope.” Kagome replied after not looking around, her tone a little more strained than usual as she continued to struggle with the arrow.

“Right. That’s because I killed him. More than that, really. I obliterated the mother fucker. He’s gone. No longer exists. Poof.” Inuyasha explained, using his fingers to gesture an explosion. “Thing was, and here’s the kicker, there was a bounty on his head. I may have been told ‘dead or alive,’ but either way, I usually need a body to show them so that I get my money. Again, do you see a body?”

Kagome exhaled heavily, aggravated, momentarily dropping her arms from her objective and turning around to face the man. “No, I do not.”

“You do not.” Inuyasha nodded, confirming.

“I don’t see what that has to do with me.”

“Well, problem was, you didn’t listen to me and stay where I’d left you. I was doing just fine without your so-called help. Then you just had to pissed the guy off and he went into final attack mode. Are you putting two-and-two together here?”

“Oh, please. Such a macho man mentality. Face it, me shooting my arrow shut him up and stopped him from focusing on you. I hurried things along.”

“I wasn’t worried about getting things done quickly! I wanted them done right! Besides, if you weren’t waltzing around where you didn’t belong in the first place, things probably would have never escalated this way!”

“Key word: probably.” Kagome sneered, shrugging heedlessly. “That means, it had nothing to do with me and everything to do with your skills. Or, lack thereof.” She finished, turning back around to return to freeing her arrow.

Inuyasha stood there, astonished, blinking his golden eyes in befuddlement. “Oh, okay.” The hanyou said gruffly, fighting back his surprised laughter as he walked over to where she stood. He grabbed the body of the arrow, preventing her from succeeding at anything as he gave an arrogant grin.

“Careful! Don’t break it!”

“Aren’t you a little too - um - banged up to be so sassy?” Inuyasha asked, gesturing to her marks.

“First of all, I don’t think the two go hand-in-hand. Second, no. I’d say, if anything, that’s the perfect reason to be sassy.”

“Why? A little sore?” He asked patronizingly, the cocky smirk still prominent on his face.

Without missing a beat, Kagome looked him dead in the eyes and said, “Yeah. Much like your ego. And, it only took one comment. You men are so fragile.”

Ignoring his large hand, Kagome gave a few more good pulls to the arrow, genuinely impressed by how stuck it was. She hadn’t realized she’d used so much force in how quickly she’d had to move. From the corner of her eye, she could see his expression holding amusement, shock, his tongue gliding over his teeth as he silenced his laughter and swatted her fingers to stop her from tugging. In quick retaliation, Kagome slapped his hand even harder.

He pulled back, rubbing away the sting. “Crap! With reflexes like yours, I’m surprised you’re -“

“Stop talking about my bruises!” She snapped.

Inuyasha forfeited, pursing his lips and holding his hands up to concede.

With one last jerk, she finally got her arrow free, but she didn’t make any move to walk away, her mind stuck on what she may or may not look like to him. She suddenly felt self-conscious. “Does it look bad?” Kagome innocently asked.

Inuyasha’s face twisted incredulously at her one-eighty, his mouth remaining sealed as he dramatically shrugged in question.

She groaned a response, knowing exactly what he was criticizing her for, and turned away, hopping down from the large tree roots.

“You know, you’re a…” His voice trailed off as he pondered, letting her take the lead as he casually followed. “What’s the term I’d use for you?”

Oh, this was gonna be good. Kagome did an about face, her heel gliding in the dirt from her smooth shift, eyes half-lidded in annoyance, and fingers wriggling her arrow at her side. “I don’t know. What is the term you’d use for me?”

“Gutsy, that’s for sure.” Inuyasha commented. It wasn’t where he was initially going, but it would have been impossible to miss the girl’s gesture to warn him. “What? Do you think you’re tough because you’ve got a pointy stick?”

“I could take you.” She stated.

“Hah! Okay!”

Kagome merely smiled. She knew, and she knew well, that she only stood a chance if she was able to use her powers. Otherwise, no way in hell. She wasn’t the strongest brawler, and the guy was definitely cut. She was merely looking to antagonize his pride a bit. He liked to dish out some teasing, so she’d do it right back.

“You aren’t actually serious?” It seemed more of a question than a statement.

“I am.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah.”

“Well, you’ve seen what I’m working with.” He mentioned, gesturing to the sheathed sword on his hip. “Tell me, truthfully, do you still think your flimsy arrow can compare?”

“Yes.” Again, if she could use her abilities, it was the truth.

“You’re kidding.” Inuyasha said wryly.

“Not at the moment.”

“Then, if I may be so bold to ask, why didn’t you handle Hiten on your own back there? When I showed up, you were already locked and loaded. Hell, you even shot him in the chest. What was stopping you from finishing him off on your own? Why’d I have to be the one to seal the deal?”

Kagome shrugged arrogantly, matching his energy and maybe even upping it a smidge. “Why break my nails when you’re right there to break yours playing hero?”

All humor faded from Inuyasha’s face, his eyebrows furrowing with a hint of indignation as he studied the girl before him. He saved her ass, and she was challenging his ego. He let go of his bounty to rescue her, and she had the impertinence to say something as bitchy as that. If that was the game she wanted to play, then fine. But, he’d come out the winner.

Kagome knew the moment the words had come out of her mouth that she’d gone too far. And, when his expression shifted precariously, a chill legitimately raced down her spine and she lost the gall to hold eye contact. Foot in mouth. Foot in mouth.

“So, you want to be an ingrate, huh?” Inuyasha asked, his voice low.

“No, that’s not it. I said thank you, and I meant it. That just came out so wrong.” She weakly defended.

“How was that supposed to come out?”

“Not -“ She bit her tongue in hesitation, knowing there was no way her statement could have been perceived playfully. “Rude?”

“How so?” He interrogated. He enjoyed seeing her discomfort expand.

“Look, I see I’ve upset you, and that’s fair -“

“Yup.”

“But, I have a feeling that no matter how I explain it or how many apologies I give you, there’s no take-backs and you’re still gonna be mad. Am I right?”

“You are.”

“Alright, so I’m just gonna get going. Thanks, again.” Kagome found herself talking faster, nervous. She reached over her shoulder and dropped her arrow into its quiver, her hands having nothing to play with thereafter and only fidgeting with one another. “Um - okay, bye.”

“Hold it!” Inuyasha ordered. The girl halted stiffly. This thought had been on his mind since he'd analyzed her bruises. Where’d she get them? Why’d she get her ass handed to her? What’d she do to deserve it? There’s no way a girl like her would get stuck in an abusive relationship - not that he could imagine. It could be a possibility, but for some reason, he could only picture her dishing the beating right back. It could be a rocky household situation, but there were no visible signs of old bruises fading to back that up. Which meant, as far as he could presume, this was a recent and infrequent occurrence. Which brought him back full circle: what did she do? “Given how messed up you look, I’m guessing you did something bad and you’re on the run.”

Kagome’s brows furrowed uneasily, a frown pushing at her lips as she turned back around to him. “No.” It took effort not to let that come out as a question, her bemusement pronounced.

“I’m willing to bet there’s money hanging over your head.” He added.

“Then you’d be out some, because you’re wrong.”

“And, I’m supposed to believe you?”

“You should. Better than wasting your time, don’t you think?”

“I think I can determine that on my own.”

“Look, I got myself into some trouble, but it’s not as deep as you’re thinking.” She tried explaining.

“You got yourself into some trouble, you’re on the run, and even if there isn’t a bounty yet, I’m sure there will be one soon enough.”

“No! Really!” She could tell whatever she was saying was in one ear and out the other. How did she get here? Sure, she insulted him, but how did things escalate so dramatically in the span of just minutes? One moment he’s saving her, the next they’re bantering, and now he’s threatening her and she wasn’t sure what to do. “Demon’s came to my village and I stepped out -“

“Shut up.” He drawled, rolling his eyes. “I tried being nice, but you dug your own grave. If you didn’t talk shit, I’d have let you stroll right on out of here without a second thought. But, something tells me I shouldn’t do that.”

And, it was true. Even if she was telling the truth, which may be slim - it was hard to tell since her body language was wonky at the moment - his gut was telling him not to let her go.

“Seriously! Listen to me, I’m trying to tell you -“

“Are you going to give in, or am I going to have to get rough?”

“Neither!” She shouted brokenly, her frustration at its peak.

“Those were your only options, kid.” Inuyasha shook his head, the fingers of his right hand curling over the hilt of the sword on his left hip. Obviously a blade was unnecessary here; he wasn’t going to maim the girl. He was trying to scare her into submission. Nine times out of ten, it worked like a charm. Slowly, he pulled Tessaiga out of it’s sheath, the sharp sound like music to his ears, but to his dismay, as he presented the weapon in a power stance, the sword was thin, dull, aged, and untransformed.

Kagome would have been lying if she said she hadn’t become the least bit horrified when the man went to pull out his sword. There was no cause for things to be this way. There was no reason for her life to be on the line right now. She’d sucked in a bated breath, the muscles in her neck tensing as she frantically thought up her next move. The demonic energy she’d expected had never emerged, though. And, the sword she once remembered looking unreasonably large and heavy was now small, frail, worn, and didn’t even seem like it was sharp enough to cut paper.

She stared at the weapon confused, holding her breath as she glanced up to the silver-haired man’s face. His golden eyes were glued to the untransformed blade, his look of disturbed bewilderment telling her that she was right. This wasn’t normal nor predicted. And, Kagome wasn’t about to wait around to find out what was wrong.

“Bye.” She said fleetingly, absolutely booking it away from him.

Her feet moved as quickly as they could, arms pumping along her sides as she simultaneously balanced herself while she maneuvered around trees and entangling roots, and willed her body to go faster. Kagome heard him shouting for her, demanding her to stop, his voice not as far behind her as she’d have liked. He was pursuing, and she didn’t even bother wondering if she was capable of outrunning someone with demon blood. She pushed herself even harder, heading over a little slope and sliding half the way down as she lost her foundation, her voice cracking from the unintentional yelp she let out from the incidental shock. Hasty to regain her footing, Kagome continued to run, her lungs burning, heart pounding, and adrenaline racing even faster than she was.

No matter how badly her body protested, she wasn’t slowing. She wasn’t safe yet. Fight or flight was in full control, and a red, neon sign was blaring flight to her brain. It was the sound of oncoming stomps that terrified her further. It was the growls he emitted, the heavy breathing, his deep voice grunting as he caught up to her that had her mind racking wildly to try and come up with a last second escape plan.

Inuyasha reached for the girl, grabbing her by the arm and yanking them both to a stop, turning her entire body to slam against the rough bark of a tree. He used his own to pin her there, grabbing both of her wrists and securing them behind the small of her back. He held them with only one hand, using his other to grip her thick hair as she continued to struggle and try to wrestle her way free. The hanyou growled a warning, pressing his torso firmly against her, one of his knees pushed between her legs to prevent her from thrashing her hips back into his groin. She was breathing heavily, frantic, but was finally settling into submission, and he shoved her cheek a little further against the tree to really solidify that he was in control.

Why was it when she whimpered the smallest “ow,” he pulled back? Why was it, when she showed an ounce of pain, he didn’t like it? Especially being the bearer of it. Felt apologetic, even. Inuyasha found himself relaxing the grip he had on her hair, allowing her cheek to simply rest along the bark as her chest pumped air so heatedly that he felt the wheeze vibrating through even her bag.

“Hey, calm down. Calm down. I’m not going to hurt you.” He promised. He’d admit his tone wasn’t the gentlest, but it was impossible to present that after chasing the chick. She was stupidly nimble.

“Please. Please.” Kagome whispered between breaths, scared, frenzied. “Th-there’s no money. I - I swear.”

She was telling the truth.

“Why’d you run then?”

“You - please.” Kagome begged, her voice dying mid-word.

“Breathe. Come on, kid, breathe. Calm down.” He was substantially softer that time, easing a little more off of her so her chest could afford the deeper, slower expansion, while still maintaining control so she wouldn’t buck her hips back. Inuyasha was patient as he waited for her body to relax, her breathing coming more evenly, minutes passing but he didn’t mind. The last thing he needed was her passing out on him. She still shook in his hold, her bottom lip quivering, and he even noticed a tear fall from her eye, the salt displeasing his nose. She was legitimately panicked. While that was what he was initially going for, and this was unavoidable after she took off, he didn’t like it. Why? Why the fuck did it matter to him? Why was his stomach in knots and why was his chest unsteady? Inuyasha swallowed harshly, willing the unnatural symptoms to subside.

“There’s no money. I don’t have a bounty. You have it wrong.” Kagome tried again, more stable, though her abdomen rocked with a shudder from her still-prevalent anxiety.

“Why did you run?” He repeated.

“You threatened me.” She replied shakily. “I didn’t know what else to do.”

That was fair, and as soon as she’d said it, he realized the answer was painfully obvious. He didn’t give her much other choice. Still, his gut was telling him not to release her. He couldn’t pinpoint the reason, but he felt it deep. He continued on with the thought that even if there wasn’t any money yet, there may eventually be some.

“Are you on the run?”

“No.”

“Alright, look at me.” He said, spinning her around. She gasped at his speed, grunting as he pushed her back up against the tree, easily pinning her wrists above her head. Again, he only used one hand to keep them there, curling the fingers of his free hand to tilt her chin up to look at him. “What are you doing out here?”

Kagome found herself holding her breath, despite her lungs protests - having just gotten back their oxygen supply. She wasn’t expecting their close proximity, and she wasn’t expecting to be at a loss for words - which almost never happened. His amber eyes pinned her as adamantly as his body, observing her, seemingly glowing even though no light hit them from his position. Kagome willed herself to relax as much as possible in his grasp, allowing herself to breathe again as her lips parted to speak.

“I’m looking for someone.”

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#inuyasha #inuyasha fanfiction #inuyasha fanfic #Inuyasha fic #inukag #inukag fanfiction #inukag fanfic #inukag fic #kagome #kagome higurashi #miroku #sango #sota #mama higurashi #monster #akitokihojo

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mrfeenysmustache · 3 years

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Banner art by @cakeit0n

Written for Discord Drabble Night

All word counts: 100

Prompt One: Cold

The blood on his hands. The ice in his veins. The rage in his heart.

There was a lot about him that others didn’t understand, and her feelings for him bewildered her friends.

But they didn’t see him. The gentle way he held her hand. The heat of his body wrapped around her in the night. The passion that simmered below the surface of his skin. The softness of him when he pulled her close, kissed her face, said her name.

He was controlled. He was reserved. He did not suffer any fools.

But there was nothing cold about him.

Prompt Two: Blur

In a blur of yoki, the silver fur that covered his body shortened and his body shrank and shifted, leaving behind a bedraggled man with knotted hair, tattered clothes and half feral eyes.

He took a deep breath and held it.

He recognized that scent.

Hundreds of years roaming countrysides hiding, waiting, searching, and Sesshomaru had lost nearly all his sense in isolation, but this scent held promise.

He stepped out of the trees onto the path, and beloved blue eyes widened and watered.

“Sesshomaru!”

She was in his arms and he sighed in relief.

He’d found her. Home.

Finally.

Prompt Three: Grim

“Oh, this is grim indeed.” Sango’s voice was serious, sympathetic. Grave.

Pitying.

Kagome rolled her eyes and huffed.

“I know it’s a long shot but I can’t help it! I can’t explain it either. He’s just… different from what everyone else thinks!”

Sango looked skeptical, Miroku ignored them to search through her underwear drawer, but Inuyasha snorted harshly from his spot lounging across the bed.

“A long shot. FEH! That bastard’s been mooning after you for months. Will y’all just bone and get it over with before you drive me crazy?!”

“Uuugh, Inuyasha!” She chased him cackling from the room.

Prompt Four: dread

A woman’s scream, sharp and shrill, sliced through his sensitive ears and ricocheted down his spine.

He smirked.

The part he’d been waiting for, the one he knew she’d been dreading, had finally arrived and the results had been better than expected.

He’d always said he had no use for horror movies. As long lived and powerful as he was he’d seen plenty of real, actual horror. But the way the sweetly scented woman pressed her soft body into his side, buried her pretty face into his chest, cling to him for safety and protection, had him reassessing those opinions.

Prompt Five: Shadow

Touching down at the edge of the little sun warmed meadow, Sesshomaru flared his aura, smiling softly as the door to the little hut opened and two puppy eared children raced out and leapt into his arms.

Kagome followed slowly, stomach round with another life. He nuzzled her hair, wrapped her in his arms, ignored the sadness in the depths of her eyes as he listened to the children tell him of their latest adventures.

He longed to bring them out of the shadows but it was still too dangerous, and he was not his father-

He would keep them.

Prompt Six: Ominous

Her heart fluttered rapidly, her palms sweat, and she around nervously, the ominous silence in this part of the forest putting her on edge.

The leaves rustled, branches cracked, the sound of footsteps echoed all around, and then out of nothing stepped the spirit of the forest.

Sesshomaru.

There he stood, beautiful and otherworldly, silently waiting for her request.

“M-my… my brother is sick, I’ve lost my job, I have no more money to help my mother with.”

“You know the price of my assistance.”

“Yes. My firstborn.”

He smirked, sending a bold of heat through her.

“Let’s get started.”

Prompt Seven: Obscure

“Grain Preparation in the Feudal Era” was an obscure class, one you could only attend at 8 am on Wednesdays on the farthest corner of the campus. It was related to her major, the one she’d chosen to keep her connected to her people and adventures in the past.

She was taking it for Professor Sessho Wantanabe, a professor who’s name she hadn’t noticed before.

Her heart thundered as she stood at the door, pushing it open slowly and gasping at the sight of him, golden eyes glowing warmly.

“I found you.” She breathed, and he rushed to her side.

Prompt Eight: Fear

He noticed her smile.

He noticed her glowing eyes.

He noticed the subtle notes and shifts in her scent.

He noticed the way his skin burned when she touched his arm.

He liked the way her cheeks bloomed like roses when he spoke softly to her.

When some fool in the village proposed to her it took all his strength not to rip his head from his shoulders.

When she was snatched naked from a hot spring by a bat demon he raged that someone had seen her so bare and vulnerable.

It was as he feared- he loved her.

Prompt Nine: Smother

Kagome twirled her fingers through the tendrils of silver silk that fell over her skin as his mouth smothered every inch of her body with his lips and tongue and teeth.

She closed her eyes and sighed, her blood singing and body humming, sated yet starved even after being locked away with him for days in his rooms once the ceremony linking them for eternity completed.

He crept back up, captured her lips, pressed her into the sheets with his full weight, sending her thoughts into a tailspin until they centered back on him and she sighed his name.

“Sesshomaru.”

Prompt Ten: Balance

Wearing her new white summer dress for her current visit to the Feudal era had seemed like a good idea that morning.

It was a clear summer day and she’d be sitting by the river while Rin and Shippo swam and played. The other adults were busy helping build Inuyasha’s hut for his new bride, but she’d been happy to volunteer to watch them.

Until she’d tripped and fallen in. Sesshomaru had shown up, eyes plastered to her chest in her now transparent white dress.

“Your balance is abysmal,” he said, “but I cannot say I find the results displeasing.”

#SessKag #discord drabble night #MayDDN #sesskag fic #sesskag fanfic #sesskag fanfiction #Sesshomaru and Kagome

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heynikkiyousofine · 3 years

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A new wip because I don't have enough of them already😅 Inspired by @neutronstarchild fic “The Last Unclaimed Soul” and @lemonlushff fic ‘A Worthy Sacrifice” because y’all are goddesses at writing InuKag and I love your work.💕

Also, a big shoutout to @enchantedink-ag for always keeping me hyped up on my work, your kind words keep me going. 😊

Inuyasha stumbles across a goddess while he’s hunting a deer. A quick decision ends up turning his whole life around, is he prepared for his own red string of fate?

Let me know if you want to be added to the tag list for this fic and let me know what y’all think!

The Red Strings of Fate

Inuyasha jumped from one tree branch to the next, a determined look on his hard features. His jaw clenched as he paced himself to stay next to the deer running below. If he could catch this one, he would have food for a few days, plus a new skin to keep warm at night. The fall nights had been gradually getting colder and his cave was getting harder to keep warm throughout the night. Seeing the chestnut furred animal dart to the left, he cursed himself for not focusing better and leaped, landing right on top of the running mammal. Feeling it struggle beneath his sharp claws, he quickly snapped its neck and tumbled the forest floor, gripping its now lifeless body tightly against him as he rolled to a stop. Sighing to himself, he closed his eyes and said a silent thank you to the gods above for providing for him.

Opening his eyes, he saw the glimpse of light blue silk hanging from a tree nearby. Bracing himself for an attack, he quickly scooped up the deer and draped it over his shoulders, taking a silent step backwards. Hearing a heavenly giggle from somewhere up above, he stopped moving, his ears twitching rapidly on his head.

Curious about the sound, he silently jumped up in a large tree and set the mammal’s body down, hidden away from anyone passing by. Hearing the soft giggle once again, he slowly crept along his branch, keeping an eye on the soft blue silk. Hearing a slight rustle in the trees, he heard voices below as he crept further along as silently as possible.

“Monk, keep your hands to yourself!” an agitated feminine voice called through the trees.

“My dear Sango, I cannot resist. A body as beautiful as yours should always be worshipped.” A deep voice responded, causing Inuyasha to freeze in place. He held his breath, his golden eyes searching ahead for the blue silk or anything else to give him a clue as to who they were. The soft giggle he so desperately wanted to hear again lightly flitted across his ears, coming from above him this time. Glancing up, he saw a young woman with hair as black as night falling down her back, blue silk sashes flowing beneath her in the slight breeze, and pale legs with barefoot feet, hanging from the thick branch she currently resided on.

“We must get back Miroku. Kohaku will get suspicious if we’re gone too long.” the woman’s voice called softer this time, assuming her name was Sango based on the not so quiet conversation below.

“If we must my dear.” Miroku replied. Inuyasha stayed hidden behind the red and yellow leaves as the two humans headed towards a village up ahead, their footsteps fading in the afternoon. He glanced up at the figure still sitting on the tree, who sighed as she watched the couple leave. Jumping once more to a branch nearby the woman, Inuyasha landed on his toes, his clawed hands gripping the tree trunk for support. He heard a soft gasp and locked eyes with startled grey ones.

Inuyasha tried to ask who she was, but couldn’t seem to get a word out, his throat closing tight. Swallowing quickly, he didn’t dare to move closer as the woman stayed still as stone, staring back at him in shock. After a few moments, she let out a deep breath, her shoulders relaxing a bit and a sweet smile gracing her lips. Her grey eyes sparkled, a striking contrast to her wavy midnight hair as it flowed around her shoulders.

“You can see me.” She simply stated. Inuyasha just nodded, still unsure of what to say or do. Gripping the branch beneath his feet tightly, he still didn’t move as she turn and draped one leg over the branch, so she was straddling as she faced him. “What’s your name?”

Giving her a skeptical look, she merely laughed, her melodic voice filling the air around him. Feeling as if the world was being lifted from his shoulders, he gaped at her in shock while she continued to laugh. As she began to relax, he did too and mirrored her position on his own branch.

“Inuyasha.” He whispered, afraid to speak louder, thinking he would break whatever spell this was. This woman, this goddess, was something he couldn’t put his finger on, but he knew he would never be able to forget this encounter for the rest of his long, lonely life.

“Inuyasha.” She repeated. The way his name sounds on her lips, he could die a happy man if that was the only thing she ever said to him again. Aching to hear it again, his ears wiggled in anticipation as she continued to speak. :The name is fitting for a handsome man like you. I like it, Inuyasha.”

At her compliment, he blushed, casting his eyes downward. He wasn’t used to such nice words, especially from a stranger. Most humans and demons only ever called him degrading names, hurling insults his way as he passed by villages looking for food. Hearing her call his name again questionably, he looked up.

“Do you not receive such praise?” She asked, sadness clear in her stormy eyes. Why did it make her sad? He wondered, as he shook his head. “Well, I hope I can make up for that. You know, most can’t see me, unless a god has decided it to be in their destiny.”

Inuyasha wasn’t sure to make of this woman, her last sentence confusing him completely. Was she not human? A ghost perhaps? Or a demon who was able to hide herself? Sniffing discreetly, he could only smell the soft scent of jasmine from her, her words speaking truth. Seeing the confused look on his face, she laughed once again, his ears twitching rapidly on his head.

“I am the Goddess of Fate.” She leaned in close and whispered, her eyes bright with mirth. “But you, Inuyasha, can call me Kagome.”

“The Goddess of what?” He sputtered at Kagome, staring at her in complete shock.

“Fate.” She giggled again, her perfectly manicured hand coming up to cover her mouth and his ears once again twitched madly at the sound. God, he was already in deep. “I’d rather you call me Kagome though. My mother, Themis, gave me the nickname when I was but a child. Legends have different names for me, most call me Moira or Fatum,” she shrugged, “depending on whatever religion they came from.”

“So, uh, what were you laughing at earlier?” Inuyasha asked, unsure of where to go from there, overwhelmed with the information, scratching his head as he continued to listen.

“Oh! I was pulling fate strings. My sister Aphrodite likes to have fun with human men and their love interests, so I was playing my hand at a couple who have been dancing around their feelings for each other. The woman though she is a feisty one, a bit of a warrior, so she won’t give into him easily.” Kagome exclaimed, her smile growing wider as she talked about the couple Inuyasha overheard earlier.

“Wait. You mean, you make them fall in love? Isn’t that like messing with destiny or some shit like that?” Inuyasha just stared at her, waiting for an explanation. This woman was clearly delusional.

“Inuaysha,” Kagome rolled her eyes and smiled softly at him, causing his heart to skip a beat at his name, “I am the Goddess of Fate! It is my job to intertwine earthly lives and such. I can’t make people fall in love, but I can set them, guide them, direct them along a path where they will be together with one who worships them. I use what many legends call the red string of fate to encourage them.” She held up a dainty hand, each finger with multiple thin red strings falling from her fingertips. Each strand went a different way, disappearing into the forest around them. When she lowered her hand, the strings disappear and she waited for his next question.

“You can do that with anyone?” He asked after a moment, his ears quivering in anticipation for her answer. Maybe she could help him, he suddenly realized, and that maybe he wouldn’t have to be alone. Nodding at him, she watched as he grew excited, her gaze rising to set upon his fluffy ears. He watched as she stared and twitched his right ear, watching her mouth open slightly, gaping at him. Preparing for the slur to fall from her lips, he cringed when she asked him a question.

“Can I touch your ears?” She whispered, so quietly, he wasn’t sure he had heard her right. She wanted to touch his ears? Who was she? He simply nodded and blinked at her with uncertainty as she brought herself closer, to the edge of her branch and reacher her slender arm out. Seeing that she was still a bit too far, he lowered his head and waited, closing his eyes in anticipation. No had touched his ears since his mother.

His ear twitched as soft fingers grazed over it, before stopping and rubbing the felt tip. Hearing her soft giggle once again, he flicked his ears and raised his head, waiting for her response. What he didn’t expect was her to be even closer, her wide grey eyes staring deep into his. Swallowing, he froze in terror, waiting for the disgusting remark about his demon heritage to come tumbling from her mouth and being completely shocked when she just smiled at him, not speaking. Her pink lips opened slightly as she smiled wider, revealing perfectly white, straight teeth and he was close enough, he could see the few light freckles that danced across her small nose. Taking a deep breath, unable to speak himself, he inhaled, his lungs filling with the overwhelming scent of jasmine. Her grey eyes watched his gold ones, an unknown emotion and longing filling both, Inuyasha felt like he suddenly couldn’t breathe. All he could see was her, a glimpse of a future with her, her scent intertwining with his own, her body beneath his as he devoured her. Feeling his gut churning in his stomach, he blinked, breaking himself free from her trance, knowing he couldn’t ever have a life like that.

Coughing and lowering his gaze, he fiddled with his robe sleeve as he heard Kagome get to feet. Looking up at her in question and a little bit of sadness, thinking she was already leaving him, Kagome held her hand out to him expectantly.

“Inuyasha,” she breathed, her grey eyes filled with excitement, “Would you like me to show you?”Deciding he could always come back for the deer carcass, his clawed hand gripped hers tightly as he stood on his feet.

#inuyasha #kagome #mirsan #inukag #inukago #red string of fate #inuyashaau #inuyasha au #love #romance #eventual smut #inuyahsa #wip #happy ending

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creative-hanyou-girl · 3 years

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The Witch’s Daughter (Pt.2)

Now with a cover!!!!

Disclaimer: I do not own InuYasha/Yahahime or any of its characters. All InuYasha characters belong to Rumiko Takahashi, Sunrise, and Viz media.

Genre: Family/Romance/Angst

Rated: Teen (for some cussing and depictions of violence)

A/N: First off, I want to give a big fat “Thank You” to all of you guys who left likes and reviews and for reblogging the 1st chapter of The Witch’s Daughter! I am so sorry for the long wait. A lot of stuff happened over the holidays and beyond that, and college has kept me pretty busy too. I hope you guys enjoy this chapter, and I’ll try to be quicker with the next one!!!

I should also say that while Touga holds both these titles in the story, in this universe, the title of Emperor is not the same as the title of Inu no Taisho.

Emperor: Ruler over the people, responsible for governing the country; Sesshomaru to be successor.

Inu no Taisho: Commander and General of all armed forces, literally translating to “Great Dog General”; InuYasha to be successor.

(trust me, knowing the difference is important.)

Chapter One

FF.Net

With that said, on with Chapter Two!

Chapter Two

Swinging the sword in his grip at a downward angle, Lord and General InuYasha huffed in satisfaction. His sparring partner and friend, Miroku, had his own weapon knocked out of his hands as a result of the half dog-demon’s offensive maneuver, the force of the technique even toppling the human man over to land on his butt.

Scenting the approaching threat from behind, InuYasha whirled around smoothly, his blade clashing thunderously with the sword that was about to come down on him.

This time facing off against his rival and soldier, a wolf-demon named Kouga, the two demons went at each other fiercely, weapons clashing and clanging loudly and violently at speeds that’d be impossible for a human to achieve no matter how skilled a swordsman they were. Sparks flew as the two sparring men met each other’s attacks with vigour.

Miroku, seeing an opening, grabbed his own sword and went to attack the young dog-eared general. Rushing at his seemingly unsuspecting target, Miroku’s blue eyes widened in alarm when InuYasha ducked, hunching his broad shoulders and back forward to avoid Kouga’s blade coming at him from the side. The human soldier couldn’t stop himself fast enough, resulting in him barreling atop his Lord’s back, only for said Lord to adjust his movements in order to have Miroku’s slightly smaller frame roll over the curve of his spine.

Kouga had no time to react before his fellow soldier rammed into his stomach, losing his grip on his own sword as both he and Miroku toppled over in a heap not too gently on the marble floor.

The two soldiers looked up at their General as he aimed his trusty blade, the Tessaiga, to be level with their eyes.

InuYasha smirked triumphantly down at his fallen comrades, his golden amber eyes dancing with victory, before swiftly shelving Tessaiga in its sheath and offering a clawed hand out to Miroku.

Grinning and shaking his head, the human male accepted, the two friends collapsing hands as the demon lord pulled the dark-haired man up before collapsing his shoulder good-naturedly.

Kouga grouchily climbed to his own feet once Miroku was off him, crossing his arms as he scowled at his rival, “How the Hell do you always manage to one-up us every time, dog-turd? Call me crazy, but I’d think you were playin’ dirty!”

InuYasha glared right back, “There ain’t no such thing as playing dirty on the battlefield, wolf-boy. You know that as well as I do; when you're out there facing a shit-ton of soldiers tryin’ ta lop your head off, ya don’t got the luxury of playin’ fair!”

“Yeah well the wolf tribes know to fight with honor, unlike you and your sad excuse of an army, General,” Kouga retorted, emphasizing the word ‘general’ in a demeaning, sarcastic tone.

The aforementioned general growled, shoving his snarling face into Kouga’s, his large, clawed hand cracking as he stretched the tendons in a threatening gesture.

He and Kouga had never gotten along ever since the wolf-demon was enlisted to serve under the Inu no Taisho’s armed forces, only to be surprised and furious when he found that the Emperor’s youngest son, a half-breed, had already taken charge of many of the imperial forces, as he was set to succeed his father in becoming the next Inu no Taisho. Under that position, he’d serve under the next Emperor, his brother, as the commander of all of their Empire’s armed forces, leading himself and his men into the battlefields while the Emperor governs the rest of the country.

Kouga was angered to be placed in one of InuYasha’s troops three years ago when he enlisted to be under the command of the current Inu no Taisho and Emperor, Touga.

He made it very clear to InuYasha from the get-go that he was displeased to be bossed around by an ‘honorless half-bred mutt’, though he knew better than to say as such around the Emperor and his family.

That didn’t stop the wolf-demon from expressing his disdain for his general with his fellow soldiers, many of whom also shared his bias, and to InuYasha himself when the imperial family wasn’t around.

The feelings were mutual, as InuYasha hated the wolf’s stench and despised his high and mighty attitude. But while the half-demon lord loathed to admit it, as his father had pointed out when the two of them were overseeing recruit training, Kouga was a strong and resilient fighter, quick on his feet and great at tracking scents from miles away.

“Almost as good as you,” his father had commented.

Almost.

Keh!

At the end of the day, InuYasha knew he’d be a fool not to enlist the canine demon just because Kouga held a prejudice against him.

Didn’t mean he had to like it though.

“Well we ain’t in the wolf tribes now, are we ya scrawny wolf!” InuYasha exclaimed back in the present.

The two canine demons continued to snarl and bark back-and-forth, until a previously forgotten Miroku shoved his way in-between the two feuding men, breaking them up after some struggle as his human body was much weaker compared to those of his demonic comrades.

“I believe it’d be wise to step away from each other for a while. We did just return from a five-month trip in the North, after all. Perhaps now’s the time to relax and take a breather after all our hard work, do you not agree?” the human male reasoned, his tone soothing and placating.

Kouga continued to glare as he looked between the two human and half-demon men, before huffing haughtily and stomping out of the in-door combat training room.

InuYasha watched him go before snorting and going over where he stashed his red cloak and armor, stepping next to the large water basin to wash his face of the sweat and grime he’d accumulated from the return journey and the sparring match that he had just won. All the while, Miroku walked along with him, washing his face and grabbing his own gear.

As the two friends strapped back on their heavy armor over their under garments, Miroku looked over at his companion.

“You know Kouga says that stuff at this point just to get a rise out of you, right?” he asked, locking the straps for his armor to his right arm.

“Pfft. Whatever, not like it matters,” the general mumbled, clipping on his ragged and torn up cape.

“Just take a break from him and other troops, InuYasha. Use this time to spend with your family for at least a few hours! Nobody will blame you, and who knows when we’ll be sent out to fight more battles again.”

“Ain’t that simple, Miro. I ain’t no ordinary, run-of-the-mill soldier like you; I’m gonna have to become the Inu no Taisho after my father. I have ta be on my toes all. The damn. Time. Add to the fact that I’m a half-demon, and that makes my job ten times more difficult since more and more people are questioning my authority and capability to lead them into battle. I don’t got time for a break, not yet anyways,” InuYasha argued, a hint of bitterness seeping into his tone.

It had become such a sore spot for him, being a half-breed. A mutt. When he was young, while there might’ve been a whisper here and a distrustful glare there, InuYasha had been fortunate to not have had to face too much discrimination for his mixed blood, but he now knew that was due to his status in the royal family. It was only when he snuck out at age thirteen in commoner clothing that he experienced first-hand how half-demons are really treated by the outside world when they have no status of nobility or royalty.

It was horrible; he returned home hiding the bruises and scars under his clothes before they healed by themselves. He never told either of his parents.

The incident still didn’t stop him from sneaking out to explore, though.

And then he was announced to be the next Great Dog General, the Inu no Taisho, after his father when he turned sixteen, and that news shocked and appalled many in the Emperor’s court and beyond that. Everyone had expected, nay, hoped that Touga would’ve named his eldest, pure demon son Sesshomaru as both the future Emperor and Inu no Taisho, seeing as Touga himself held both titles. No one had anticipated that his younger, impure half-bred son would’ve been named as Touga’s successor to anything!

If he was being honest, InuYasha was shocked too, but he didn’t want the role.

He’d never told his family, since he knew it’d hurt them, but the then teenage InuYasha had always hoped for a life outside of the castle walls. Even after the incident that happened when he was thirteen, the half dog-demon still wanted to go out in the world where nobody knew who he was, and explore with no obligations or responsibilities to anyone. The brief experience with the outside world when he was thirteen had opened his eyes to how fake court-life truly was, and he hated it.

Still, seeing everybody who didn’t even know him, already doubting and questioning his capabilities in such a rigorous, brutal, and powerful position just on the basis of him being a half-demon motivated him to take up the mantle he had previously tried to avoid.

He’d prove to them, all of them, that he was the man for the job, and that his mixed blood didn’t matter.

That was his motivation that still drove him even now.

“Enough about that. Whatta ‘bout you? S’not like your working to become General; Why dontcha go see Sango and the kids. Bet they’ve been missing their old man,” Present InuYasha said, intentionally driving the conversation away from himself.

Miroku suddenly grinned dreamily at the mention of his wife and kids, and InuYasha still couldn’t believe this was the same perverted seventeen-year-old soldier he’d met all those years ago.

They’d met when Miroku joined InuYasha when he had taken charge of overseeing his first troop of soldiers. When he wasn’t giving them orders or training them, InuYasha kept his distance from everyone in his troop as much as possible, just as everyone had kept their distance from him.

That all changed when Miroku approached him one night when they were traveling along the Eastern borders. The human had grinned mischievously, but no less kindly with a jug of sake and had asked to talk with him.

“Just want to get to know our fearless new general, is all,” is what he had said.

From there, their friendship grew, though it took months for InuYasha to start warming up to Miroku. It didn’t help either that the young soldier had the bad habit of rubbing up along any pretty woman’s ass and asking them to “bare his children” for him, whether the woman was human or demon.

And then Miroku met Sango, a female soldier and the only woman who knew how to put him in his place. From that moment on, the perverted soldier only had eyes for the no-nonsense woman, and InuYasha watched as his two only friends grew closer and closer for the next few years, eventually getting married and having a shit-ton of kids.

Now they were awaiting baby number...eleven? Twelve? The half-demon had honestly lost count. All he knew was that they were expecting yet again, and Sango was pissed not being allowed into the troops again until the pup was born.

The kids adored InuYasha, or ‘Uncle Inu’ as the little ones and even the oldest three, Kin’u, Gyokuto, and Hisui, liked to call him, and InuYasha, in turn, adored them all right back.

An old, but familiar lump settled in his throat.

He was happy for his friends. He really was, but InuYasha couldn’t help the feeling of jealousy and longing to swell up to the surface.

He wanted what they had.

He wanted love.

He wanted children.

But he’d never have any of it.

Because he was a half-breed, and half-breeds, royalty or not, never find love, real love, let alone have children.

“My Lord! My Lord InuYasha!!!” cried the familiar, but no less annoying voice of his brother’s servant, Jaken.

The aforementioned lord sighed in aggravation as both he and Miroku turned at the squawking cry, just in time to see the small imp-demon come barreling in only to trip over himself in his haste.

“Lord InuYasha! It is important, your father needs to speak with you at this very moment! It is urgent!!!” Jaken continued on.

Both half-demon and human arched their brows in confusion, exchanging concerned looks.

“You go on back to your family, Miroku. I’ll deal with this,” InuYasha said.

“You sure?” Miroku asked, still concerned.

InuYasha simply nodded.

With that, the future Inu no Taisho with his armor fully on once more, turned and followed the panicky little demon out of the training room without another word.

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

Making their way through the halls leading to the throne room, InuYasha contemplated the matter Jaken had frantically informed him his father wanted to discuss.

It wasn’t unusual for Jaken to overreact over certain matters, but the half-demon had never seen the servant as panicky as he was at that moment, even during the times he’d displeased Sesshomaru.

When he first followed after the imp-demon to the throne room where his family was stationed, the young general had briefly feared it was another marriage proposition his father had arranged for him. There had been quite a few of those over the years, all of which didn’t work out as they should have. It wasn’t necessarily that all the women the Emperor picked for him were bad choices (although there were some who were stuck-up bitches who only wanted him for the rise in status and wealth), but none of them ever seemed to...click, with him.

He could never explain it, but being with them just felt wrong.

Like he was betraying someone by doing so.

Someone who haunted him in his dreams the few times he slept, but could never identify by face or scent.

Someone he didn’t know.

Or perhaps….someone he didn’t remember.

As they got closer to their destination however, the less InuYasha began to believe the situation to be about something as trivial as matrimony. Jaken wouldn’t be reacting the way he was if it was simply about him being offered the hand of a noble woman.

The more he thought about it, the more apprehension and dread he felt in the pit of his stomach at the unknown situation that awaited him.

Stopping in front of the sliding doors separating him from the unknown, InuYasha glanced down at Jaken, who bowed in understanding at staying put outside the room. The demon lord and general huffed and slid the doors open, expecting but unprepared for the worst.

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

“How’s that feel, sweetheart? Is it too tight?” Kagome asked gently, wrapping the young girl’s injured arm in gauze.

Her silent patient nodded hesitantly, staring at the pretty woman treating her wound and glancing at the silent quarter-demon girl who’d saved her.

Kagome finished wrapping her up and patted the child assuringly on her back, “You're going to be just fine, little one. Now why don’t you take one of the beddings we have here and get some rest, hmm? In the morning, Moroha and I will take you back home, okay?”

The little girl hesitated for just a moment.

“...Th-Thank y-you.” she stuttered in a soft voice, averting her brown eyes shyly when the mother and daughter pair blinked in surprise.

The experienced spell-caster smiled pleasantly, nodding her head.

“You are very welcome, my dear. That’s what we’re here for, and I’m glad that you are okay.”

The child blushed, then glanced at the teenage girl still staring at her in shock, before bowing towards the teen in gratitude, which only served to shock the poor quarter-demon even more.

“...And th-thank you, too. F-for rescuing me from th-those big men,” the human girl said, keeping her upper body lowered in a bow of respect.

Moroha was beyond surprised; She was flabbergasted. Never before had anybody who wasn’t her mother thank her, much less genuinely. She was more used to people belittling and repaying her and her mother’s kindness with cruel words and actions. Yet, here this young human child was, wholeheartedly and genuinely showing them, showing her, gratitude for saving and treating her, knowing or at least suspecting very well who they were, what they were.

The young spell-caster blushed, flustered, “K-Keh! It wasn’t a big deal; I was just passing through!” she explained, defensive.

“Yes...just passing through.”

Moroha froze at the deadly calm tone. Cringing, the teen glanced slowly at her mother, flinching at the angered glare the older woman was shooting her.

Oh crap.

Turning back towards her slightly confused patient, Kagome adapted a cheery smile and clapping her hands together.

“Well, I believe that’s enough for now! Why don’t you go and get some rest, dear, and then we’ll get up bright and early tomorrow to take you home! That sound good?” the woman asked, her tone motherly and upbeat.

The girl nodded, getting up and taking a few steps towards one of the beddings close by. Before she got there though, the young brunette turned her head to look back at her temporary caretakers.

“Miss Pretty Lady, Miss Demon Lady? Really, thank you for saving me. I was really scared,” the child thanked them for the hundredth time, her words more confident and assured.

Moroha’s eyebrow twitched in annoyance, “Demon Lady?”

“Hey kid! We have names!” the spell-casting quarter-demon exclaimed, aggravated.

“Moroha!” Kagome scolded, her message clear.

Don’t dig yourself deeper into the hole you're already in, missy.

Understanding the silent threat, said ‘missy’ gulped and shut her mouth, not daring to utter another word that could get her in even more trouble than she already was.

Huffing, Kagome once again smiled kindly towards the younger girl.

“Please excuse her, she can be a bit brash. She’s right though; we haven’t introduced ourselves yet, have we? My name’s Kagome Higurashi, and that troublemaker over there is my daughter, Moroha. What is your name?” she asked.

The girl, again, hesitated. Only for a split second, though, as she soon opened her mouth and answered.

“My name is Rin.”

Kagome nodded, standing up and leading her previously unnamed charge over to the bedding, a gentle hand on the small of the brunette girl’s back.

“Well Rin, it's late, and you must be exhausted, so go to sleep and we’ll get you up in the morning. I’m certain your family misses you terribly and won’t be too pleased if you come back to them dead-on-your-feet tired, now will they?”

Rin shook her head as Kagome tucked her in. Unsurprisingly, the young girl was out within seconds, the craziness from the day catching up to her.

Once she was sure her charge was fast asleep, the spell-caster turned back to her nervous daughter, arms on her hips as she frowned at the teenager.

“Mama, I-”

Kagome put a hand up, abruptly cutting off her child’s excuse before it could begin, “Come with me over here. Now.”

Moroha shivered at the serious, deadpanned tone. Her mother only used that tone when she was about to give her a tongue-lashing. No doubt about it, she was in trouble.

Deep trouble.

The mother and daughter pair strode over towards the treeline that surrounded their camp. It was far enough away to where they could talk in private and not disturb their sleeping guest, but close enough so that they could still see and check in on the child if any danger invaded their camp.

Sighing and rubbing her temples, Kagome started, “Moroha, what were you thinking! I told you to not go any farther than you absolutely had to to deliver that medicine, and then you come back with bruises and scratches, blood on your clothes, and an injured child in your arms, telling me there was a mob riot in the village!? And that you used magic to eviscerate a demon’s arm!? Do you know what kind of danger you put yourself in!?”

Moroha winced, trying to keep the bruises on her neck hidden from her mother’s sight. When she had burst through the treeline back into their camp, carrying Rin who’s arm wound was still sluggishly bleeding out onto her and her clothes, her mother took one look at the injured child and sprang into action, having to clean and then stitch up the wound before it could get infected. So focused on ensuring the child be taken care of, Kagome had only noticed in passing the light bruises and few scrapes on her own child’s arms and legs, but they were superficial and were already healing, so Kagome and Moroha paid them no mind. Not when they had a much more serious, much more human injury, to be taken care of.

The demon girl was grateful that Kagome had been more focused on the human child as soon as she saw her. Otherwise, the dark, yellow and purple bruises on her neck from where the demon had a tight hold on her would have instantly been spotted on the older woman’s ‘Mom Radar’, as she liked to call it.

Moroha hadn’t wanted to cause her mother any more worry, so as soon as she was sure Kagome was too preoccupied with the human child to pay any mind to her, Moroha had taken the scarf she wore around her neck and readjusted it to hide the bruises that were still there. With how tight the demon had clutched onto her, the bruises were quite nasty looking, and would take longer for her demonic healing to get rid of them completely.

Of course, this act of secrecy equated to not telling her mother exactly why she’d had to eviscerate that demon’s arm with her magic. She still wasn’t so sure telling the truth about that was a good idea, but she had to say something!

“He gave me no choice, Mama! I had to use magic!” the teen defended, hoping her mother wouldn’t press the issue from there.

“And why was that, Moroha? What did he do to make you blow your cover and the cloaking spell to destroy his arm using magic?”

And of course, her mother pushed the issue.

“Uh…” was all that came out of her mouth, her mind running double-time to come up with a valid, but less severe explanation than what had actually happened.

Unfortunately, the world seemed to be out to get her that day. While Moroha fumbled, trying to make up a random excuse, Kagome had finally noticed the unusual way her daughter’s red scarf covered the quarter-demon’s neck, and had reached her hands out to remove the scarf.

“Wait! Mama, don’t-” Moroha panicked once she felt her mother’s hands moving the scarf.

“Moroha!!! What on Earth happened to your neck!?”

Too late.

Moroha winced when Kagome gently poked and prodded the darkened, abnormally large fingerprint marks on her neck. They weren’t as sore as they were hours ago, telling the inexperienced spell-caster that the healing process was already underway, but with how dark and severe the bruises were, it’d take longer for the bruises to completely vanish from her skin.

Prying her mother’s hands away from her injured flesh, Moroha cringed even more at the panicked expression, as well as the unshed tears, that she could see in her eyes and face.

She hated making her mama look like that.

“These were why I had to use magic; he had me by the neck,” Moroha swallowed, figuring there was no point in lying or trying to come up with another excuse anymore.

The older magic-user stared at the marks that dared to mar her baby’s lightly tanned skin before pulling the demon girl tightly into her arms, embracing her most precious treasure like a life-line, her anger completely forgotten.

Surprised at first, Moroha quickly regained her composure and wrapped her arms around her mother’s waist, embracing her just as tightly as the severity and exhaustion from the day finally caught up with her, and she buried her head into her mother’s shoulder as her small frame shook from her emotional turmoil.

For the first time in a long while, Moroha was desperate for her mother’s comfort.

She didn’t cry, but it finally hit Moroha just how much danger she put herself in that day, and how scared the whole ordeal made her, though she’d never admit it out loud.

Even so, the partial-demon couldn’t find it within herself to regret stepping in to help a child in need, and she expressed that sentiment to her mother, her voice muffled slightly from her face still being buried in her mama’s shoulder.

Kagome sighed and pulled herself and her daughter out of each other’s arms, though she still had a grip on the much more petite girl’s shoulders. Her face was resigned, but understanding as she addressed Moroha.

“I understand, sweetheart, and I would’ve done the exact same thing if I were you. But I’m your mother, and I just worry for you is all. I know you can take care of yourself, and I know you did what you thought was right, but I just can’t help it; I want you to be safe. You’ll understand one day when your a mother,”

Kagome grinned when Moroha blushed at the last part.

Moroha coughed awkwardly, shuffling her feet as she looked away from her mother’s grinning face, and Kagome had to stifle a giggle at just how familiar Moroha’s countenance was.

“She’s truly her father’s daughter, that’s for sure…”

“So, um...are we good?” Moroha asked, nervous despite herself.

Taking pity on her poor child, Kagome smiled and looped an arm around her daughter’s shoulder as they walked back away from the trees and led her to their own beddings for the night.

“Yup, we’re good.”

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

“You wished to speak with me, Father?” InuYasha asked, bowing respectfully before the Emperor and the rest of his family.

The second he entered the room, InuYasha sensed the tension in the air. His family all had grim expressions upon their faces, save for his mother who had a clearly worried look upon her soft features.

The feeling of dread in the pit of his stomach only intensified when he noticed Sesshomaru and his twin daughters clenching their clawed hands into fists, enough to draw rivlets of blood from all three of them. Sesshomaru’s eyes were also bleeding a light pink, telling InuYasha that whatever the issue was, it was enough to rile up the normally stoic demon lord that he was holding back from transforming.

But the most telling, and ultimately the most concerning, indicator was the absence of his young, cheerful adoptive niece.

InuYasha’s mouth went dry.

“Where’s Rin?” he asked, fear creeping into his heart.

“Missing,” his father simply stated.

A reverberating growl from the Emperor's eldest son rent the air in the room at the word.

“We need you, Sestuna, and Kouga to go and search for her; try to scent her out,” Touga continued, his tone authoritative and resolute like the leader he was.

InuYasha, stone-faced, kneeled on one knee before his father and family, head bowed as he addressed them.

“I will not rest until she is found and safe, Your Highness.” the half-demon general vowed, determination clear in his voice.

The current Emperor and Inu no Taisho nodded, eyeing his Setsuna imploringly. Catching her grandfather’s gaze, the half-demon princess nodded back and stood up, taking her naginata with her as she stepped off the raised platform to her uncle’s side.

“I have already sent a messenger to retrieve Kouga; he will meet you at the front gate. Now go,” the Emperor commanded firmly, to which both general and princess nodded sagely.

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

“InuYasha!”

InuYasha and Setsuna turned at the call, seeing his half-brother striding up to him with a serious glare.

“Father, what is it?” Setsuna asked, her tone deadpanned like her father’s often was.

The future Emperor stopped before his daughter and brother, his gaze steady but no less imposing.

“I urge you, little brother, to not be your stupid, impulsive self with this matter. It does, afterall, concern my daughter,”

Normally, such a reminder would cause InuYasha to roll his eyes and respond with a smartass retort.

But this time, InuYasha knew the severity of the situation, and he could easily spot the worry in his half-brother’s golden eyes.

They were the eyes of a father, worried for the whereabouts of his child.

Something InuYasha was sure he was never going to experience.

He nodded, his face grave and resolute.

“You have my word, Sesshomaru, that I will find your daughter and bring her home,”

The young lord glanced over at Setsuna, his niece catching his gaze.

“Both of them,” InuYasha concluded.

The older demon stared down at his brother, as though assessing the half-demon’s sincerity of his promise, before giving a single nod of acceptance.

With that, the two half-demons turned and made their way to the front gate, set and determined to bring back their loved one.

To be Continued....

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

A/N: Hope you guys enjoyed it!

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