InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Emergence ❯ The Long Road Home ( Chapter 10 )

A/N: Sorry I'm a few hours late, but here it is. Since it's pushing four am I haven't gone over this for errors yet, but I probably will tomorrow and will be reposting when I correct them, but for now please try and ignore any mistakes you might find, or point them out so I can fix them. Either way I hope you enjoy...

*****

At long last the day had arrived and Kagome was finally being released from the hospital. She would still have to go through more therapy and rehabilitation, but she would be allowed to do so on an outpatient basis. As per hospital policy she had to ride down to the exit in a wheelchair, but she insisted on being allowed to step outside on her own two feet. The nurse had protested, but InuYasha had come to her aid He lifted her out of the chair and set her on her feet.

As Kagome walked outside into the sun she gripped InuYasha’s hand. It was a beautiful day; Clear, bright and full of possibilities.

While her mother had thought it would best if Kagome returned on the plane with her grandfather and brother, she had adamantly refused. She wanted to be with InuYasha. Knowing how stubborn Kagome could be her mother gave in and they headed for home.

~ * ~

The sun had finally finished its descent and the sky was now lit by the rapidly waning moon and the stars. InuYasha once again found himself thinking of Kagome and her fondness for the night sky. He made his way back to their cabin.

Kagome’s mother was lying down, asleep, and Kagome was sitting at the table looking through one of manga issues they had purchased before boarding.

“Hey.” He offered quietly.

Kagome looked up at him and smiled. “Hi.”

“Would you come with me?" InuYasha asked. "I want to show you something.”

“Sure.” Kagome replied, closing the manga and standing up.

Kagome slipped her hand into his and walked beside him, willing to go wherever it was that he was leading her. She felt him squeeze gently in acknowledgment, and she briefly leaned her head against his shoulder as they walked. Kagome gasped softly beside him as soon as they were out in the open air and clear of anything that would hinder her view of the sky.

“Oh wow.” She whispered. “It’s so amazing. There’s just so many of them.”

“So you like it then?” InuYasha asked.

Kagome looked up at him. “Very much. Thank you for thinking of me and bringing me up here to see this.”

InuYasha closed his arms around her waist and as she leaned back against his chest, content to hold her as they both stared out at the vastness before them. He nuzzled the top of her head and placed a gentle kiss there against her hair. He smiled when she sighed softly.

“InuYasha... This feels so familiar.” Kagome said quietly. She turned in his arms to look at him. “Being out here under the stars with you. Is that right?”

InuYasha nodded. “Holding you like this is new, but we have spent many nights together outside looking up at the sky.”

She blushed and a small smile turned up the corners of her lips. “So would you say this way is better than the old one?”

InuYasha smirked at her and leaned down to brush his lips across her ear. “Much better.”

Kagome shuddered at his husky tone and his hot breath as it caressed her ear. A soft gasp escaped her when his golden gaze met her own. The feral look in his eyes threatened to bring her to her knees and when his lips met hers everything else around them just disappeared.

InuYasha growled softly into their kiss as Kagome filled his senses to the exclusion of all else. The taste of her mouth, the rapid beating of her heart, and the heady scent of her arousal were the only things that mattered to him in that moment. She truly was everything to him.

After several intense moments InuYasha forced himself to pull away. Kagome whined softly and he kissed her twice more, gently, to appease her. He nuzzled her cheek and then held her close as her head rested against his chest.

“You ready to go back to the room? You need your rest.” InuYasha told her.

“Can’t we stay like this a little longer, please?” Kagome asked.

“Okay.” Her replied. Kagome, my Kagome. Don’t you know I could stay with you like this forever?

~ * ~

Kagome sat beside InuYasha in the back seat of the car. He held the manga volume in such a way that both he and Kagome could read it. Kagome had to be taught to read again, but as she learned, more and more of what she had forgotten came back to her and now she and InuYasha were at roughly the same level. When one didn’t know a certain character the other was able to come up with it.

Asami smiled as she looked into the back seat. They had both come such a long way. It was remarkable, the ways they healed each other. She supposed that she shouldn’t be so shocked at the special relationship the two shared. After all it wasn’t as though they ever should have met at all. The fates though had seen fit to right what went wrong so long ago and they had chosen her daughter to be the one to do it.

After a long day of driving, Asami stopped and rented two rooms at a hotel. They grabbed a quick dinner at a small restaurant near the hotel. She handed Kagome a key.“You two don’t stay up too late.” she said. “I’m going to go ahead and turn in.”

Some might have been shocked that she would allow her teenage daughter and the boy she loved spend a night together alone in a hotel room, but she knew she didn’t need to worry. If InuYasha had nothing else, she knew he had honor, and he had assured her in a necessary conversation that he would not move the relationship between himself and Kagome to the next level until she knew the whole story of their past. He also told her that he would not be telling her their story until she was home, so she knew she had no worries.

InuYasha took the key from a stunned Kagome and opened the door. He knew why her mother didn’t mind them sharing a room. He was surprised that there was only on bed though. Of course it wasn’t like had and Kagome had never slept beside each other before. “You coming in?” he asked.

Kagome nodded and followed him inside. InuYasha closed the door behind them. He set their bags down and headed straight for the bed to lay down. Kagome joined him and rested against his chest as he turned on the television. She looked up at him with a shy smile and he smirked before lowing his head to kiss her.

Soon Kagome was on her back with InuYasha’s body resting partially over hers as he kissed her. One hand slipped under the edge of her shirt but remained innocently placed on her side. Kagome reached up and began to massage his adorable furry ears gently in time with the caressing motion of his tongue as it ran along hers.

Much too soon for Kagome he growled softly and pulled away, rolling onto his back. She was breathing heavily as was he, but his seemed carefully measured as if he was trying very hard to get himself under control. His eyes were tightly closed, and she frowned.

“InuYasha, what’s wrong?” She asked quietly. Her face heated. “Why did you stop?”

InuYasha took one last deep breath and then looked at his blushing miko. “Because I shouldn’t even be kissing you, but I’m a selfish bastard and now that I know what it feels like to kiss you I can’t stop myself.”

Kagome blushed a much deeper red but smiled a little. “Why shouldn’t you? I... I want you to.”

“There are things I have to tell you before... Do you understand? I just can’t.” InuYasha tried.

“Oh... I understand now.” She said softly. “It wasn’t me or something I did-”

“Of course not.” InuYasha interrupted. “You aren’t upset are you?”

Kagome shook her head and then hugged him with one arm, as she moved to rest her head on his chest. “How could I be upset when you’re just trying to do the right thing, the honorable thing?” She paused. “My mother, she knows you feel this way doesn’t she?”

“Yeah.” InuYasha replied.

“I wondered why she would let us stay together. She seems like a good mother.” Kagome offered. “I feel like she is.”

“She’s a good woman.” InuYasha agreed. “But it isn’t like we haven’t slept in the same room before. Of course you usually slept in your bed and I would sleep sitting on the floor beside it. Though once I fell asleep on your bed and you ended up sleeping on the floor.”

“You’re different aren’t you and I don’t mean just the way you look.” Kagome tried. “That’s why my mother let you stay in room sometimes... I wish I could figure out what I’m trying to say. I hate this. I hate not knowing, not remembering. Please tell a story, something that has happened to me.”

InuYasha thought carefully for a moment before settling on something to tell her that wouldn’t require him to explain more than he was ready to.

“One time you got sick.” He began. “It wasn’t anything too serious, but you were coughing and fevered. We were supposed to be going somewhere but we couldn’t so I took you home. These three crazy girls and this guy showed up while I was gone. You wanted them to help you study for a test, but you really needed to rest. Finally they left and I made you some of my mother’s medicine to help you get better.”

“It worked, and the next morning you were well but you were upset anyway because you hadn’t gotten to study. You thanked me for the medicine, but I was an idiot and brushed it off because I was embarrassed. I really was happy that you thought it was nice of me and that it helped you get better.”

InuYasha noted that Kagome was half asleep, but that she was smiling.

“I knew... You blushed, but I didn’t say anything because I didn’t want to ruin it.” Kagome mumbled.

Before he could say anything a soft snore reached his ears and he knew she was asleep. He doubted that she even realized that she had remembered that all on her own. He found himself smiling.

~ * ~

InuYasha didn’t understand why riding in a car seemed to be so tiring when all he did was sit there, but it was. He climbed out of the vehicle when they stopped to eat lunch and stretched. What he wouldn’t give to come across a youkai that needed killing. He needed the exercise. It had been far to long since he had the chance to really workout his body.

They entered a small restaurant, modeled to resemble a fifties style American diner complete with jukebox, red vinyl booths and checked floor tile. Since it was just past two the lunch rush was over and so there were very few other people inside. They found a booth, and Kagome was first to sit.

“I have to run back out to the car.” Asami said. “I forgot to grab my wallet.” She hurried out leaving the teens.

“I’m going to go the restroom.” InuYasha told Kagome.

She nodded and he walked away. Kagome looked around while she waited for her mother and InuYasha to return. She wondered, as she did everywhere they went, if she had ever come to a place like this before. A shadow fell across the table and she looked up, not to find InuYasha or her mother as she had expected, but two unfamiliar young men.

“Hey, are you new in town.” The taller of the two asked.

“No... I mean... I’m on my way home. I’m just here for lunch.” Kagome replied.

“I’m Hiro and this is Dachi, and a pretty girl like you shouldn’t have to eat alone. Would it be okay if we joined you?” He questioned.

“Oh, I’m not alone. I’m with-” Kagome told them.

“She’s with me.” InuYasha cut in. “These assholes bothering you Kagome?”

“It’s okay InuYasha. They were just trying to be friendly.” Kagome replied. He eyed her suspiciously and she wondered if he was able to sense her relief.

“InuYasha? What kind of name is that?” Hiro asked.

“Yeah? So who are you, her brother or something?” Dachi added.

“Or something.” InuYasha replied. “But that ain’t none of your business anyway. Now get lost.”

“What if we don’t want to?” Hiro taunted. “I didn’t hear her asking us to leave.”

“Then I’ll make you.” InuYasha replied.

“Is that so?” Dachi asked.

Fortunately just as InuYasha started to growl softly in warning, Asami returned and stepped in. “If you would excuse us boys... We were just about to sit down to lunch and we do have to get back on the road.”

The two young men looked at her mother and bowed slightly before walking away to find their own table. InuYasha glared in their direction one more time before sliding in beside Kagome, making sure to sit close enough to her to imply that they were involved in a more intimate relationship than friendship, and a different one than is shared by family.

“So who wants to tell me what that was about?” Asami asked.

“It was nothing.” Kagome replied. “They were just talking to me while InuYasha was in the restroom.”

“They weren’t just talking to you.” InuYasha snorted. “I’ve been hanging around that bouzo long enough to know a come on when I see it.”

Asami noticed Kagome blush and the young hanyou’s irritation was plain. “Oh well, no sense in dwelling on it. Let’s eat shall we.”

Later when Asami went to the bathroom Kagome turned to InuYasha. “I wasn’t interested in those guys.” She offered quietly. “I was about to tell them I was with you, when you came back.”

InuYasha noticed traces of guilt in her scent. He frowned as she looked back at her plate. He hadn’t meant to make her feel bad. He was irritated with those two jerks, not with her. “I know and I wasn’t upset with you, okay?”

To emphasize his point he reached over and took the hand that rested in her lap. She looked up at him and he squeezed her hand gently. After a few seconds, she offered him a small smile.

~ * ~

Kagome looked out the window. In a little over an hour she would be back at the shrine her family, and she had once called home. The only problem was that she wasn’t exactly sure how she felt about that.

It was a place that should feel familiar, that she should know and be relieved to be returning to at last, but she was worried that it would only serve as a reminder of what she had lost. She had been told that being home could help her begin to remember more of her life, however it was just as likely that it would have no effect on her memory and she didn’t know if that would be something she was really ready to handle.

InuYasha wondered what Kagome was thinking about to seem so lost, so distant. He reached across the seat and took her hand in his, hoping that she would take reassurance in him. He wanted her to know that no matter what, he was always going to be with her, right beside her.

Kagome squeezed his hand gripping it firmly and offered him a small but grateful smile. She scooted closer to him and rested her head on his shoulder, remembering that as long as InuYasha was with her, she was going to be fine. She sighed softly as he nuzzled the top of her head briefly, but also blushed as she noticed her mother smiling at her in the rearview mirror.

~ * ~

Asami parked the car in the area reserved for visitors of the shrine and all three passengers climbed out. InuYasha went to the rear of the car to retrieve the bags. Together they all ascended the long stone steps.

Kagome looked around hoping to see something, anything that was familiar that would give her some sense of home. While InuYasha and her mother headed into the nice sized house she felt drawn to another location. She let her instincts guide her and found herself under a great tree.

By the sheer size of it she knew it had to be very old, but there was more to it than that. Kagome didn’t know why but this tree was very important to her. Unconsciously she reached up and ran her hand across the smooth wood of the place on the trunk free of bark.

“You okay?” InuYasha asked from behind her.

Kagome jumped and turned. “You scared me.”

“Sorry.” InuYasha offered. “Did you remember something?”

Kagome shook her head. “Just more feelings, but no memories. This tree, why do I feel like it’s so important to me?”

He shrugged. “Could be for a lot of reasons I guess. It’s where we met for one.”

“I’m sorry-” Kagome began.

“You ain’t got no reason to apologize.” InuYasha interrupted. “You ready to go inside?”

Kagome nodded. She let him take her hand and lead her toward the house.