InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ A Hanyou's Heart ❯ Captured Memory ( Chapter 2 )

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]

Disclaimer: The InuYasha franchise and all of its characters belong to Rumiko Takahashi.

- The next installment! As promised ;D



InuYasha studied her room with both fascination and endearment.

It was exactly the same - nothing had changed since the last time he'd ventured there. The walls were the same shade of light mellow, the bed the same soft, baby-pink array of quilt cover and duvet, pillow and sheet, and on the opposite wall stood the old wooden desk she used. It was still dotted with the many revision packs and past papers she'd spent long and frustrating hours with her nose stuck into. Everything was immaculate to the hanyou's eye.

Of all the things that were different as a result of his wish, Kagome's room, with its modest imperfections, was exactly the same as he remembered. And her scent... her wonderful scent still heavily saturated the air.

It was like coming home, like dispelling a feeling of homesickness; his own personal victory against the darkness that had clouded his heart ever since that regretful day had passed.

He closed his eyes slowly, bent his head back, and basked in the feeling. Home.

InuYasha clearly remembered how much he'd disliked this era and its strange ways. From the moving picture-box contraption that constantly buzzed from downstairs to the metal 'demons' that ran noisily across the hard concrete roads. This world had been a complete mystery to him. So busy and bustling had it been. He found it an obstacle just to find some small place of peace and quiet where he could unwind and relax.

The only place really free of the restless expanse of every-day Tokyo life had been Kagome's bedroom. It really had been the only place that InuYasha had truly been able to gain some peace of mind and tranquility. And it wasn't just the calm and quiet that lured him here. Most of the tranquility was due to Kagome herself; her very presence calmed him. It always had. Despite the things that were changed, it always would. He had never been more honest before the day in the meadow with Kagome; the day he'd almost left her to pursue and protect Kikyou.

"When I'm with you, I feel so peaceful and happy..."

Never had words been spoken that were more genuine.

That feeling of peace was washing over him again, relaxing his fatigued muscles and allowing his mind to slip into a blissful unconsciousness that he hadn't experienced in so long...

Something rather perturbing caught his keen eye in the few short moments he’d been back in her room. This something had only registered to him as of now. Her desk... there was something missing. Something truly out of place, however, it took him a few more moments to register exactly what was missing.

Ah... feh!

He finally figured out what was absent from her desk.

Well, of course that would no longer be there. Technically, in this day and age, the one he'd wished for Kagome to live and be happy in, the missing something had never existed. Foolish hanyou.

The photo, one of the very few photos that had actually made it back unharmed from the sengoku jidai, wasn't there. It had always sat on her desk in its mahogany frame and now it was gone.

The photo had been somewhat blurred and he'd denied actually liking the captured memory to Kagome on more than one occasion, but in truth, it had really touched him. The photo had included all of them; a 'shot' (as Kagome had put it) taken just weeks before the final battle with Naraku. She asked them all if she could take it. Something she could 'remember' them all by, if the worst came to pass.

At the time InuYasha and their friends had been adamant the photo wasn’t necessary. What a stupid notion that Kagome wouldn’t always be there! They couldn't be sure of the future, but they were fairly certain Kagome would be a part of it with them, even after the final battle with Naraku. She wasn't from their era but she was still such a big part of it. Her leaving or her being forced to leave them had been an incomprehensible thought at the time.

No one, of course, had counted on the feelings of doubt that had steadily grown in a certain hanyou's head after the photo was taken. Could Kagome ever be truly happy in the jidai with him, a soiled half-breed? Surely, after everything she'd done for him, for all of them, she deserved better, right?

Before those ill-feelings of doubt and uncertainty had fully overcome his mind, this photo had been somewhat of a blessing. A symbol of hope. Something they could all rely on.

InuYasha had memorized every detail of the photo. It had been his pillar of strength, his personal symbol of hope.

From the right, an overly perky looking Miroku had stood, his staff held high, his violet eyes twinkling. Sango stood next to him, smiling prettily, but still keeping one eye trained on the houshi who had a suspicious looking arm looped around her shoulders. Kirara had sat in her mistress's arms, ears and tail erect and her eyes closed in bliss with a preoccupied Shippou gently scratching her chin from his position on Kagome's shoulder. The kitsune's bright jade eyes, of course, had lit up and stared full at the camera.

And then there had been Kagome herself.

A bright, warm smile full of child-like innocence had spread across her face. Her large and shining chocolate brown eyes had been practically glistening, her skin glowing in the sun's rays. She was beaming, perfectly happy with where she stood and the people she was with.

Lastly there stood InuYasha; the only one really not smiling though he didn't exactly look unhappy, either.

He'd been standing in his signature stance: arms crossed, ears alert for danger, a scowl locked in place and an almost unnoticed lean in the miko's direction. It had been a very slight change in his usual stance, hardly there really, but InuYasha noticed it right away. He wondered nonchalantly if Kagome had noticed it, too, not that he'd ever find out now. Kagome Higurashi was living in a world where she knew nothing of him.

A familiar wave of sadness and loss washed over him.

“InuYasha! Wake up!”

Huh?

“Come on, idiot! You promised Kaede you'd meet her at her hut by noon!”

Darkness enveloped Kagome's room as it seemed to shrink further and further away from him. Then there was a flash of light as his eyes opened to the sudden brightness.

His opened eyes were met with the sight of a very peeved looking Shippou staring down at him, apparently standing on his chest trying to grab his attention.

InuYasha yawned tiredly, and sent Shippou a glare.

"Whaddya want, runt?"

Shippou pouted and glared straight back. "I told you! You've been sleeping ALL day! Now you're gonna be late to meet Kaede!"

InuYasha sighed. He had promised the old woman he'd be there by midday, at least. Shippou hopped off of his front, jumped out of the tree and landed on the ground with a small thud.

"Hurry up then!” shouted the kit.

"I'm comin' ya whiny little pest!" InuYasha yelled back. The kit had certainly been much less tolerant of his 'slacking' behavior these days that was for sure.

His momentary annoyance with the kit passed, and it was once again replaced with a deep sadness that always seemed to haunt him nowadays, reminding him of just how much he'd given up to make a certain futuristic girl happy. It came out in his dreams, haunting him in his sleep mostly. Like just now.

A future for Kagome without him or any of their friends in it.

And Shippou had yet to forgive him for it.


Special thanks to April ;D

Chapter three will be up next week sometime. Meanwhile, I hope you enjoyed the chapter, and please, please give me some feedback! lol. The excitement of recieving a new review never diminishes with me XD I won't be able to reply directly to them though, will have to PM ya'll!