InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Easy as 1, 2, 3... ❯ Conversations and Revelations ( Chapter 16 )

So sorry about the long wait! This story is finished and has been for a long time (posted on ff.net), I've just been reformatting the chapters so I can post them here as well.

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Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha, but if I did, his hair would no longer turn black when he turns human.

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Easy as 1, 2, 3…

Chapter Sixteen

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Inuyasha felt like someone had just punched him in the gut, and he suddenly had the urge to tear something apart. Deep down he had somehow expected it, but thinking about it and her actually leaving were two different things altogether.

"YOU'RE LYING!" He raged, lashing out at the bearer of bad news.

"Like I said before, she left."

Inuyasha glared at his calm brother from his spot across the library, not wanting to believe what he was hearing! Kagome actually left him while he was in the shower? After everything between them, she suddenly just left without a single word?

Even though he kept telling himself that he didn't need her, some part of him still wouldn't accept the fact that she was gone, that she would leave him without giving him a second thought. Was she lying that night when she said she didn't hate him?

"Why didn't someone stop her? Why didn't YOU stop her?" Inuyasha growled at Sesshoumaru, furious and determined to take his anger out on someone.

"Oh? My mistake. I didn't realize you cared for her so much."

That statement almost caused Inuyasha to snap, but he managed to hang onto the one small thread of sanity he had. "For your information I DON'T CARE FOR HER! I only need her because she's a miko!"

Looking nothing short of bored, Sesshoumaru reluctantly put his book down and shrugged his shoulders carelessly. "I didn't stop her because I saw no reason to stop her. She obviously wasn't happy here, and another miko would do just as well if that's all she was good for."

Inuyasha had to bite his lip to stop himself from denying this statement, drawing blood with his sharp fangs. If Sesshoumaru noticed any of this, he gave no sign.

The hanyou settled for glaring daggers at his half brother and pointing out the problem with that idea. "You know we can't find another one that easily!"

Sesshoumaru raised an eyebrow. "Are you sure? What if I told you I found one?"

The younger demon paused, not quite sure what to make of this odd statement coming from his brother. "What do you mean?"

"About the same time that your mother found Kagome, I happened to locate one myself. I would have told, but because of Kagome I saw no reason to."

The shock Inuyasha felt at hearing this was beyond description. "I don't see what this has got to do with anything!" He finally snapped.

"I can tell you where to find her." Was Sesshoumaru's only response.

"But I don't want an-" Inuyasha paused, refusing to finish what he was about to say.

"I figured as much." Sesshoumaru smirked.

Inuyasha gaped as his brother's facial expression, trying to process what it meant. It didn't take long before understanding finally dawned, causing him to point an accusing, clawed finger in his brother's direction. "You just set me up, you bastard!"

Sighing, Sesshoumaru rolled his eyes. "Someone had to. A hanyou like you is too stupid to do anything without help - unless it involves kidnapping girls." Another look of amusement crossed his normally blank face.

Inuyasha couldn't seem to form an answer for this, even if it was insulting. The only thing he could think and manage to actually say was "Why?"

"Why am I actually helping you, or why are you so stupid? I can't answer the second question, but I suppose I ought to answer the first." He ignored Inuyasha's angry spluttering and growling. "I'm helping you because I heard your stupid blunder this morning."

"What blunder?!?! I told her exactly how I felt!" Inuyasha yelled. "And you shouldn't have been listening anyway!"

For the first time since their conversation had started, Sesshoumaru's face turned dark, and slightly angry. "You really are an idiot. All you did this morning was confirm her biggest fear, and now she may very well hate you for it."

"H-hate me? Why?" All Inuyasha's anger turned into a cold dread in the pit of his stomach. What could he have possibly done to upset her so much?

"You told her you needed her, just like you told me you needed her just a few moments ago. Or at least that's how she thinks you meant it."

The simple answer took a moment to seep into Inuyasha's brain, and when it did, he let out a deep groan. "Oh God, how could I have done that? She thinks I only need her because she's a miko? I didn't mean it that way!"

Sesshoumaru watched his brother wallow in misery for a moment with a rare look of pity on his face. "I'm sure you can fix it if you just go talk to her."

Inuyasha ran one of his hands through his hair, not at all sure about that. "She probably won't have anything to do with me now."

The bland look was back on Sesshoumaru's face, realizing he'd accomplished exactly what he'd set out to do. Despite how he treated Inuyasha, he truly did care for his brother, and he didn't even mind Kagome, even though she was human. But those weren't the real reasons he got involved.

He would never be able to make Inuyasha's life miserable if he didn't have nieces and nephews to tell embarrassing stories to! And he really didn't want that new video camera to go to waste either. He'd paid good chocolate money for that thing!

Sesshoumaru cleared his throat and tried to get his mind back on track. he could deal with that later. For now, this problem really needed to be finished up. "Does it really matter if she doesn't want to have anything to do with you? It didn't stop you last time."

A sheepish smile crossed Inuyasha's face at the pointed reminder that he'd had the gall to kidnap her once. If nothing stopped him from doing that, surely he could do something as simple as getting her to talk to him.

"I see what you mean." Looking outside, Inuyasha noticed exactly how late it was getting, and decided that he had better get moving if he planned to make it to the shrine before dark. "Do me a favor and don't tell anyone where I went."

"For a price, little brother. For a price..."

Inuyasha groaned and checked his pockets for money. "What kind?"

A small, slightly dreamy smile made it's way to Sesshoumaru's normally stoic face, and he pressed the tips of his fingers together lightly. "Reeces. Extra large bag."

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~*~*~*~*~*~

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After making a short trip to the store and dropping the goods off with his brother, Inuyasha headed across Tokyo, careful to keep his ears concealed from people on the streets. He didn't feel like taking the time to skirt the city like usual, and instead went right through. Quite a few people knew of the existence of Youkai, but very few had ever seen one with such obviously demon traits as his ears. That was the main disadvantage of being a hanyou, and a very good reason why he preferred to be a recluse.

By the time Inuyasha made it to the shrine, the sun was beginning to set, slowly dropping behind the tall buildings in the area. He still had a little daylight left though, so he took full advantage of it.

Without blinking an eye, Inuyasha took a strong, flying leap and ascended the shrine stairs as easily as someone might jump over a small mud puddle. He wasn't even breathing hard by the time he made it to the top.

Skirting the shrine grounds, he sniffed the air carefully, trying to figure out exactly how many of Kagome's family members were home. He didn't particularly relish the idea of having an audience when she tried to kill him.

"That's funny, I can't really tell anything." He muttered to himself while sniffing more carefully. His sense of smell just didn't seem to be as sharp as it usually was. "Maybe going through Tokyo with all those strong smells instead of around it is causing problems."

Deciding to check around the house and listen carefully instead, he slowly made his way around the place, looking in windows and checking for sounds. He could detect no movement or sound in any of the rooms downstairs, and he could think of no reason for everyone to be upstairs or in bed this time of day.

"There doesn't seem to be anyone home at all." He muttered, worry lacing his voice. "Where could Kagome have gone?"

At that very moment, he suddenly felt that familiar cold chill run down his spine, along with the pulsing, burning feeling of his demon blood as it began to ebb.

"Oh great, please not now!"

At just that moment, the final rays of the sun sunk below the horizon, and Inuyasha cursed loudly. This had to be most awful day of his life, and it was getting worse by the moment! What would Kagome say when she saw him?

He honestly wasn't sure he wanted to know the answer to that question.

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~*~*~*~*~*~

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Miroku and Sango listened to the peaceful house in shock, not sure they could really believe that death and destruction had not reigned while they were gone on their little errand. A tremor of fear shot down Sango's spine at the possible reasons why.

"Do you think he's so upset that he might have killed himself or something?" Sango whispered quietly.

Miroku shook his head, doubting that was the case since he had his own theory. "No, I don't think so. More likely, he's probably off sulking somewhere after killing everyone ELSE in the house."

Sango slapped his arm, causing Miroku to yelp in pain. That joke was decidedly NOT funny and she let him know it.

Both of them were carefully searching the house for any signs of horror or destruction after arriving home that day, but they couldn't find anything out of the ordinary. Peace and quiet was the last thing they expected to come home to!

"Hey!" An idea had suddenly occurred to Sango. "Maybe since it's his time of month, he's off hiding somewhere and he doesn't even realize she's gone!"

Miroku nodded thoughtfully. "That is certainly a possibility. I had lost track of the time, so I forgot that tonight is the new moon. Do you think he ever told Lady Kagome his secret?"

Sango frowned. "Probably not. If he had, she probably would have been more interested in staying long enough to see."

Miroku's hand snaked out and grabbed Sango, but for once it wasn't in a perverted location! The action startled her out of her thoughts, and he smiled disarmingly at her.

"Since the house is so quiet Sango, we could take advantage of it."

"YOU PERV-" Sango's voice cut off when Miroku's lips made contact with hers.

Immediately melting into his arms, Sango let her mind go blank, and just enjoyed the feeling of finally getting something other than grabbed. If you have ever wondered why she puts up with such a lecherous jerk, then this is your answer. It's moments like these that Sango waits for.

Too bad for both of them that Miroku would never take his own romantic advice. If he would, then maybe, although not very likely, the poor guy wouldn't be a regular at the nearby emergency clinic.

Watching from a short distance down the hall, Sesshoumaru rolled his eyes and turned to head towards his room. 'Sometimes I wonder if it's really a good thing that people forget I'm alive so easily. I like my privacy, but really, this is absurd.'

Holding his bag of chocolate almost as tightly as the two lovebirds were holding each other, Sesshoumaru left them alone.

Sango and Miroku never noticed a thing.

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I tried hard to give you a little Sango/Miroku fluff! I just have a hard time taking Miroku seriously in a romantic sense (he's so comical to me!) so it was hard. But I hope it turned out well! Anyway, review! ^_^