InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Fragment of Eternity ❯ Thank You. . . ( Chapter 8 )

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

Disclaimer: I do not own Inu-Yasha. But I wish I did. In fact, I bet we all wish we owned Inu-Yasha.

Author's Note: XD Hiya! I love you all! (Except ploosh. ^_^ You may burn in brimstone.)

Wow! I was so surprised! Only one or two peoples seem to hate me for chapter seven! -^_^- Aww! Thankies thankies thankies! ::huggles:: And, so, as reward- - - SEMI-FLUFF THIS CHAPPIE! XD (Between Inu and Kag, of course. ^_^)

Let's see, questions and comments. . .

One: Lots of confused people it seems. What exactly confused you? I'll explain a few things:

Sango's line `no one truly lives twice'- Kikyo was torn out of Kagome's soul. Since Kagome is technically not Kikyo, Kikyo will be a little different than in life. Oh, and the line where it says `Kikyo barely notice where she was- much less where she was' etc. That was written really badly, I apologize. I meant something like `she barely noticed she was in a yard, much less her OWN yard'. With the tub- it was sort of like in the manga and anime. Think about that scene, that's sort of what happened. ^_^

I'm sorry for my terrible grammar- I know it sucks. ^_^;;;;;;; I really am trying, though.

Two: ~I'm also not completely clear on what happened with Kikyou... she came back as a ghost? Or what?~

Yes, she came back as a ghost. When she said `I'm alive' it was more like `I'm back' sort of thing. ^_^;;; I suppose I could have just said that, huh? ::nervous laugh:: -_-; Yeah, I'm sorry, I suck. . .

Three: ~But you see, now they'll have to exorcize two spirits.~

^_^ I know. That'll be discussed soon.

Four: ~Are Kag and INu going to fall in love?~

::Deep breath:: YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS!!!!!

How many times do I have to say it?! Does no one trust that this is an Inu/Kag fic?

Five: Laurelyn, don't apologize! There's nothing to apologize for! ^_^

Six: ~ i keep going with your word, but i think that inuyasha should have fought kikyo more, instead of believing her instantly? i haven't watched all the shows of it, but i would think he wouldn't be that soft. very good chapter though.~ and ~YOU'RE TOTALLY RIGHT - I DO HATE YOU! Well...sort of...I can understand though... Anyway, very good chapter!! I'm looking forward to some fluffiness! No offense, but Kikyou was a tad out of character...or did she act like that in the manag or anime? Can't remember... Update soon! ^__^~

Well, I'm trying to stay true to the manga/anime. Inu-Yasha's always had a weak spot for Kikyo (and, now, Kagome). You'd think he'd fight her more, but in the manga/anime, he barely fights her at all! In fact, he doesn't fight her so much as he just yells at her in confusion for a moment, before trying to save her from falling off a cliff. -_- Stupid Inu. No matter how much he said he hated her in the manga/anime before she was resurrected, when she came back he hugged her and tried to sort things out. ::sigh:: He's too loyal for his own good. . .

As for Kikyo- she sort of acted the way she did in chapter seven in the manga. Not in the anime, if I recall correctly. She allowed Inu to embrace her as she cried- - - before trying to kill him. And throughout the mangas she's shown moments of *gag* love towards Inu-Yasha. Anyway, we'll delve more into her character as the plot moves along. ^_^

Okay. . .

I think that's all. . .

^_^ Please enjoooo~oy!

~*~

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~Fragment of Eternity~

Chapter Eight: Thank You. . .

*

*

*

"*- - -Nt sparkling white teeth? Then try n- - -*"

Bzt!

"*- - -h, John!" "Oh, Mary!" "Oh, John!" "Oh, Mary!" We'll be right back to Stereotypical Soaps in a mi- - -*"

Bzt!

"*- - -Ainy skies today, with a chance of flurries to the far north. A cold fro- - -*"

Bzt!

Kagome sighed loudly, finally flicking the TV to the history channel- hoping to find something *marginally* interesting there. At least. . . something to erase the image that was currently replaying over and over in her mind. `. . .' Leaning against the armrest and pulling her knees to her chin, she rested her sketchbook against her thighs; tugging a pencil out from her loose ponytail. Tossing the remote to the floor, she kept her ears trained on the television and her eyes on her paper.

"*And now, back to our documentary on haunted houses- past and present. Are they really possessed by spirits? Are they really the homes of gh- - -*"

!

THUMP!


BZT!

After diving out of her seat and grabbing the `clicker', Kagome rapidly pressed the channel button- eventually landing on Cartoon Network and keeping it there. `Seems the world is out to get me today. . .' she mentally grumbled as she righted herself on the carpet. Pushing charcoal strands of hair behind her ears; she began brushing invisible dust off her sketchbook. `Good thing I didn't bend any of the pages. . . It would be a shame since it's all but new.' Recreating the position she had taken on the couch; she slowly relaxed on the floor. Lightly trailing her drawing utensil over the starch white page, she frowned. A soft gray streak was left in the graphite's wake, staining the page- but not beyond repair. Idly twirling the pencil between her fingers, the girl pressed the eraser down and gently scrubbed, clearing the page of the smudge.

. . .

If only she could do that sort of thing to her life.

Rolling her eyes at her pointless, depressed thoughts, Kag glanced boredly up at the TV, watching blankly as one character blew up another with a fake looking gun. `Stupid.' Shaking her head and wondering why she was wasting the electricity, she made to grab the remote again- - -


When her hand froze.

. . .

Then she pulled it back. `Whatever. I'll keep it on. . . Just for a while. Maybe something good will come on in a minute. This show should be almost over.'

. . . And she needed the noise. It was too quiet in here. . .

Besides, her mother was paying for her first year of television. No need to worry about bills or anything. . . `So no worries.' Returning her eyes to her non-existent picture, she casually tapped her eraser against the book. `Now. What to sketch. . .

What to sketch. . .

Whant to srech*. . .

Want to retch. . .

Want to re- - - !

What the heck am I thinking?! I do not!'

. . .

Groaning to herself, Kagome whapped the back of her head against the base of the chair. `Oh, who am I kidding? I DO want to retch! At them! I'm mad! I'm mad that after all the work I put into helping Inu-Yasha- after all the fear I swallowed- that that Kikyo person was the one who could. . . could make him. . .

. . . smile. . .

. . .

It was nice to see him happy- really it was! But. . .'

Sighing once more, she closed her sketchbook and tossed it lightly over her shoulder; hearing it land with a muffled `thump' on the cushion behind her. She didn't feel like drawing right now.

"*It's 11 pm,*" the `card' on the Cartoon Network screen read. Kagome blinked. `I didn't realize Cartoon Net- - - Oh. Must be Adult Swim. . .' It'd been a long time since she last sat down to watch TV. . . "*Time for one of our favorite shows. Not that we don't love all our shows. . .

We just love this one more.

And if you don't, well. . .

Bite a rock.


Neko-Sakura is up next.*"

Kagome smiled half heartedly, wrapping her arms around her legs and resting her chin on her knees. As her mind filled with fond memories of reading the `Neko-Sakura' manga at the bookstore, her hands lightly entertwined; resting against her kneecaps. `I haven't wanted this show for ages. . . Didn't even realized it was still around. . . Heh.'

"What're *you* doin'?"

Kag jumped lightly, surprised at the sudden voice. Glancing hurriedly up, she found herself looking at Inu-Yasha, who was glide through the wall; eventually coming to float a few inches above the couch. She quickly turned her face away- - - but continued to watch him from the corner of her eye.

"I'm writing a symphony," she told him dryly.

"Looks more like you're watching the box," he replied calmly.

"Because I *am*."

"Oh. You could have just said so."

Kagome simply rolled her eyes. "It's called sarcasm."

"Whatever."

Silence filled the room, broken only by the upbeat Japanese pop song that was pouring through the TV's speakers- Neko-Sakura's theme. The girl's stormy blue orbs remained glued to the screen; half because she loved the show (but hadn't seen it for ages), and half because she knew that if she spun to face Inu, she might yell at him. But why? He had done nothing wrong. She wasn't even angry at him, per say. She was just. . .

Just. . .

`Oh, I dunno,' she finally admitted to herself. `I guess I'm just frustrated that, in the end, I couldn't help him. Only *Kikyo* could.'

She heard the ghost snicker quietly from her right and she turned slightly to see what was so funny. His golden pools were locked on the television; his lips curled in a small, amused grin. "That Neko sure is an idiot," he chuckled as the cat hanyou fell out of a tree after being yelled at by the heroine of the story. "I mean, what's with tumbling from the branches?"

"Sakura told him to `come here'. See that necklace around his neck? The one that sort of looks like your's?"

"The one with the beads and bells?"

"Yeah. It's a subduing spell. It's a parody to real cats. You know, `here kitty, kitty, kitty?'"

"No kidding," he nodded, only half paying attention as the two characters argued. "Huh. Well, the way they're going at it you'd think they were mated."

"Yup. They argue like an old married couple," Kagome nodded with a tiny grin. "I was a big Sakura/Neko shipper when I was younger. `Course, I had a `crush' on Neko myself. I loved his kitty ears! All my friends called me Sakura because of that. . . "

"Oh," Inu-Yasha replied, not sure of what else he could say. He didn't really care, but whatever. "Are you still that big into it?"

"No, not anymore," the girl said wistfully. "Not that I don't want to be `into it'- I just don't have time, I suppose. . . And there was this big gap between new episodes and I got into different animes. . . Some of my old friends still call me Sakura, though. Not often."

"Oh. . ." the ghost repeated, still unsure of the proper way to respond to this sort of thing. (And he still didn't really care much.) "That's. . . nice. . ."

They went back to watching the show, listening only to the dialogue and music, forgetting to speak. Until- - -

Ame. Sakura's rival in love- and Neko's past girlfriend- made her grand appearance in the episode.

Kag's eyes narrowed. She had never liked Ame, much- and she definitely wasn't helping now. Especially not when she was reminding Kagome so much of someone ELSE. . . Someone by the name of- - -

"So. . ." the girl drawled casually as commercials took over the screen. "Where's Kikyo. . . ?"

"Hm? Oh," Inu-Yasha started. It took him a minute to realize he was being spoken to. "She's looking for a place to stay."

?


Kag blinked in confusion. "What? But this was her house too, wasn't it?"

"Yes," Inu replied calmly, totally missing the point as his eyes remained locked on the tube.

"Well?!" Kagome cried in exasperation, forgetting that Sango and Miroku were already in bed- probably asleep. (But with Miroku around one could never be certain.) "Then why not live here?"

"Well, duh. If she remains too close to you for a certain period of time, even after adjusting to her new `body' and `life', your subconscious would suck her portion of the soul back in," the ghost responded with a slight shrug.

The girl's eyes widened. "Really?"

"Yup. It's the way these things work."

"Oh. . ."

The show chose that moment to return in full measure, taking only a second to replay a bit of what had happened before the short recess. Neko was chasing Ame, who had just fled the scene of a crime she had `not meant to commit'. Heh. Ame was a strange characters- with powers she `couldn't' control. Kagome remembered that when she was an avid fan of the series she was all but sure that the female knew exactly what she was doing- that she was only trying to look helpless so that Neko would pity her and take her back. See, they had been split up for a century thanks to the tricks and lies of the main bad guy in the show- Kagi. But instead of dying like planned, Ame put herself in an enchanted sleep to wait for Neko. It was supposed to wear off after 100 years- but just before that happened Sakura accidentally found a book that transported her back to the time this all happened. And then she met Neko, who had been turned to stone thanks to Ame's `accidental' betrayal and Kagi's curses. Yet despite the odds, Sakura was able to awaken him- with nothing but a touch. That was more than anyone in years had been able to accomplish. Sure, he had awoken hating her because he had thought Sakura was Ame (who he had `died' hating) but. . . Well, one thing led to another, and now they were traveling together to try and take down Kagi. It was a complex plot- but that was what had made it fun to follow.

"Are you getting any of this?" Kagome asked in monotone. She was only able to understand everything thanks to countless childhood years of apt attention, and she doubted this show had even been thought of in Inu's time.

"I'm getting the gist of it," he returned. "That guy in the fur wrap? He's the main villain, right?"

"Right."

. . .

"Not really all that menacing with his bear skin, is he?"

"Shut up, you're ruining my childhood."

"Whatever."

And so quiet blanketed once again, this time so thick that Kagome half considered leaving. What was the point to his being here, anyway? She might as well just go to bed- no point in just sitting here and watching TV!

She shifted her weight, positioning her knees underneath her and preparing to stand, when Inu-Yasha suddenly looked away from the box and in her direction.

. . .

?

"Yes?" she questioned, pausing momentarily to pull her hair from it's pony tail. It was starting to aggravate her. `What's with the look?'

. . .

. . .

. . .

"Wel- - -?!"

"Thank you."

. . .

?!

The girl's eyes widened as her mouth fell open a bit. `D-did he just- - - ?'

"Ex-excuse me. . . ?" she choked out, totally taken aback. "For what?"

"Thank you," Inu-Yasha repeated quietly, quickly averting his gaze. "Thank you for. . . helping me. You pushed aside your fears just to assist *me*. No one's ever done that for me before. So. . .

Thank you. . .

Kagome."

. . .

And then it hit her like a bolt of lightning. Not only his gratitude, which was weird and thrilling in its own way, but- - -

"You. . ." she blinked, frozen in shock. "You. . .

You used my name. . . ?"

"What of it?" he retorted hurriedly, jumping to his own defense in a slightly colder tone. "Is that a *crime*?"

"No, no!" Kag waved her hands in a dismissive fashion. "Forget I said anything! I just- I- I mean- - - well. . ."

. . .

"Unless you don't like your name, or something," he grumbled. "If it means so damn much to you, I could call you `Sakura' or something equally as stupid. . ."

Kagome smiled- genuinely smiled- for the first time in what seemed ages.

"No. That's okay. `Kagome' or `Kag' is good."

He snorted with a soft "Keh."

Returning her gaze to the TV as the ending credits rolled, Kag continued to grin.

She suddenly liked her name a whole lot more, just the way it was.

*

"Pst! Kagome!"

The girl groaned softly, eyes slowly fluttering open as her bed suddenly sagged with a new, warm weight. Who could be up so fricken' early. . . ? It wasn't even light out, yet! She had just gone to bed! "G' `aaaaay. . ."

"Kagome!" the voice pressed, being joined by a pair of rousing hands- ones which grasped her shoulders and gently shook.

"Wha-a-a-a-a-at?" Kagome whined quietly, her bleary eyes slowly focusing on the colored blob before her.

Sango.

"Are you awake?" the exterminator asked quietly.

"I suppose," Kag mumbled thickly. "Though I would prefer not to be. . . What's this all about? Is it so important that it couldn't wait until morning?"

"This is morning."

Kag twisted the lead weight of her body to face her digital clock.


"It's 12!" she cried in soft exasperation.

"Still, it's technically morning," the exorcist replied lightly.

"Sango, stuff it. Now- is this *so* importan- - - "


"Yes," the second girl interrupted, turning slightly on her behind and crossing her legs on the mattress, looking serious despite her poka-dotted flannel pjs. "Sorry, but I couldn't risk Inu-Yasha overhearing."

"He could still overhear us right now," Kag pointed out dryly, rubbing her half-lidded eyes.

"I saw him on my way over," Sango informed her easily. "He's sleeping half way up the steps to the attic."

"Oh."

Kagome suddenly frowned at the mention of the attic. `I should really go see what else is up there. . .'

"Anyway," the exterminator continued briskly, "we were obviously successful in resurrecting Kikyo."

"Obviously."

"However, it has yet to help us find out WHY or HOW he died."

"I noticed," the blue-gray eyed girl replied coolly. "By the way- question."

"Hm?"

"How will this help?"

"I told you- we'll find out Inu-Yasha's unfinished business and- - -"

"Yes, yes- but after that we'll still have a ghost on our hands. Just a different one."

"Oh, that's easy," Sango dismissed with a wave of her hand. "We'll just bind her with some magic beads and stick her in a room with you. Eventually your body with suck her back up."

Kagome grimaced slightly at the thought but mentally shook it off. "Why didn't we just use those beads on Inu-Yasha?"

"They'd just tie him up- not get rid of him."

"Ah."

"Now where was I. . .?" Sango murmured distractedly, tapping her finger to her chin. "Uh. . . Oh! Yes, exorcising Inu. Well, we have Kikyo here now and that's bound to help. But. . ." The girl exhaled deeply, twisting her arms around her legs. "I want you to keep looking for information. Do you have any idea where some clues would be?"

Kagome thought for a few moments, brow furrowing. `The attic, I suppose. . . and. . . wait. . .' She gasped aloud. "That diary!"

The magenta eyed female blinked. "Um. . . diary?"

"Never mind," the girl replied quickly. "I'll tell you later. But I do have an idea now."

Sango instantly perked up. "Really? Excellent. In that case, I'll just go to bed."

Kag smiled wryly. "Please do. I'm sure your husband misses you"

Her new friend glared half-heartedly. "Ha ha."

"*I* thought it was funny."

"Eat a pillow," the exterminator grumbled as she left the room.

"That wouldn't go down well!" Kagome called softly after her, a smirk on her face. Chuckling softly, the girl flopped back against her un-digested pillow- - -

And frowned slightly. `I don't really feel 100% right, reading the diary of a woman who was just resurrected, but. . ."

Tugging the drawer open, Kag pulled out the old book and examined it in her hands. `I can't say I'm not curious.'

~*~

^_^ Hope you enjoyed. And just so you know- Neko-Sakura is made up. Mine.

. . .

Well, sorta. It's supposed to be a parody to Inu-Yasha. Get it? Inu means dog, Neko means cat. . .

^_^;;;

-_-; Okay, I'll shut up.

Thanks for reading! Please R&R!

Ja ne!

* That was spelt wrong on purpose. It's a thought process thing. ^_~