InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Reflections In Your Tears ❯ Scroll Seven - Beautiful ( Chapter 7 )

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

Kagome and Inuyasha wind up at the beach. It's the only place Kagome ever wanted to go to, and the only place she could think of escaping too now she's free. But their company is soon interrupted by a ghost from the past. Kagome's long lost cousin - Kikyo and her mysterious hanyou husband.

Anime/Manga: InuYasha Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Action / Adventure / Drama / Romance | Type: Alternate Universe | Uploaded On: 03.03.2006 | Pages: 2 | Words: 4.0K | Visits: 342 | Status: Work In Progress

Scroll Seven
Beautiful

Kagome ignored the tears that fell from her eyes. The sea was truly beautiful - just like she had imagined it. At Inukoshuu's side, she had never been to the sea - they had always kept confined to the village. But now, now that she was free she could go anywhere she wanted. Anywhere at all.

Inuyasha picked up another rock and flung it into the sea, watching the amount of times it skimmed the surface of the water and went along for another jump. He didn't seem so taken with it, as if he had seen a million oceans and they were all just a common accessory for him. Kagome felt jealous, but she didn't say so.

The more she looked at him, the more she realised he wasn't Inukoshuu. They were so different. Inuyasha seemed more relaxed and laid-back. Granted, he had a bit of a short-temper, but he seemed a nice guy. So had Inukoshuu… before he bound her to the God tree. Kagome narrowed her eyes in silent recollection. She frowned.

“Hey, Kagome! Look!” Inuyasha called beneath her little sand dune. He was pointing out to a crab walking sideways out of the seawater - scuttling quickly away. Inuyasha fell back onto the sand, watching the pitiful creature with keen interest. He placed his head in his hands and sighed.

Kagome smiled. Crabs were odd creatures, always walking sideways. She could never imagine walking like that. She'd never seen a real crab before - only crab demons that lived in the lakes high in the mountains when they had been forced out of the sea. Even then, they had made she and Inukoshuu laugh.

The memories began flooding back to her.
Hiding in a bush… from Inukoshuu. Bathing in a hot spring and staying alert… in case Inukoshuu peeked at her. Hiding behind a tree with Shippo… spying on Inukoshuu. Lying inside the hut… with Inukoshuu next to her - keeping her warm.

Her mouth opened and for a moment she was just gaping, lost for words. Then she lowered her head and withdrew into herself for a while. Inuyasha turned back to look at her, about to laugh, when he saw her ears droop.

He froze. “K-Kagome?”
She didn't answer him. Instead, she kept looking down at her lap - trying to ignore the tears running down her cheeks. She knew she should be brave, she knew she should hate him for what he did to her - but how could she?

After all, she had stopped him from achieving his dream - to be a full-demon. And in spite of him, she had used the Shikon Jewel to become a hanyou, just as he had been. Inukoshuu…

“Inuyasha, tell me. What do you want most in the world?” Kagome asked, her head still bowed.

Inuyasha blinked for a moment, stepping over to her dune and sitting down next to her. He frowned. “Why?”
“Just answer the question,” Kagome whispered, keeping her eyes lowered.

Inuyasha sighed and averted his eyes, tossing his hair back behind his head. He scowled. “To be accepted for who I am,” he replied without flinching. It was strange; he had never been able to talk to anyone like this before - especially about what he wanted. If anyone had previously asked him he'd have said he wanted to be rich, or live happily or get a good job. But that wasn't the truth.

The truth just came out around Kagome, he knew that now. He felt like he could talk to her, now that they were both half-demons.
Kagome's lips parted, but she said nothing. Instead she nodded once in understanding. Inuyasha didn't think she was going to speak again, but he was wrong.

“Do you know what I want, Inuyasha?” she said softly, raising her eyes.
Inuyasha choked on the air he breathed, and then composed himself. “W-What?” he asked, trying to keep his voice steady.

Kagome smiled dreamily and looked up at the morning sky. It had only taken them the night to run here - now that she was a half-demon she could run and keep up with Inuyasha. Not that she had ever run anywhere with him before. She had always relied on Inukoshuu to carry her places because she would only lag behind. Now, she didn't have to worry about being too slow.

Inuyasha studied her face for a moment, before she continued.
“I want someone to love me. Someone who loves me for me, and someone who loves themselves.”

Inuyasha blinked furiously, staring at her.
Kagome smiled grimly. “Of course, Inukoshuu never loved me, did he? Otherwise he wouldn't have killed me like that. Binding me to that dumb old tree. And he never, ever loved himself. That was the reason we fell out in the first place. He wanted to use the Shikon Jewel to become a full demon, but I ran away with it that day because he was planning on using it.

I wanted him to stay the way he was - I loved him the way he was, but he couldn't see it. He wanted to be a full-demon, because he said he wanted to be `free' and accepted. And when he found out I had stolen it… he killed me.

He never loved me. He used me for the damn jewel,” Kagome hissed almost bitterly. She kicked the sand at her feet, frowning.

Inuyasha opened his mouth to speak and then shut it. He looked away. “Ya know, Kagome, I don't think he hated you. I think…”
Kagome's head jerked up, her eyes narrowed in fury. “Don't you dare say that! You didn't even know him!” she snarled, furious.

Inuyasha made a motion with his hands, telling her to calm down. He brushed back his hair, frowning. “You're a handful,” he told her.
Kagome's eyes darkened. “Say that again, mutt, and you won't be around fast enough to see me swipe.”

Inuyasha grinned playfully, yet he still bared his fangs. “Don't call me `mutt'! Take a look in the mirror next time, bitch!”
Kagome laughed back at him. “Oh, ha ha! Very funny,”

And she lunged at him. After about a minute of rolling around and giggling, Inuyasha ended up pressing Kagome to the floor, laughing triumphantly. Her dark hair was fanned out across the fine grains of sand around them, her brown eyes wide and startled. Her lips were open in confusion and disbelief, her cheeks rosy.

Inuyasha stared down at her, almost as if he were looking through her. His amber eyes grew foggy with longing, his silver hair billowing about his face.
Kagome looked afraid, yet she didn't pull away. “Inuyasha…”

Inuyasha leant down, a blush creeping up his own face as he did so. Kagome gulped and tried to push him away, but she couldn't. Because the moment his profile filled her vision, all she saw was Inukoshuu. She knew it was wrong of her, she knew she should have thought only of Inuyasha, but she couldn't help it.

She shut her eyes and waited for Inuyasha's lips to press against her own - accept in her mind, it wasn't Inuyasha kissing her. It was Inukoshuu.

“Kagome,” Inuyasha said against her lips as he kissed her again, more fiercely this time. Kagome let him kiss her, and began to kiss back - feeling a fire burn somewhere deep inside of her.

She knew it was wrong - but in a weird way it felt right. It felt right to be with Inuyasha. So right…
“Kagome? Inukoshuu? You're alive?” Cried a startled voice from the other side of the beach. Inuyasha's eyes snapped open and he pulled himself off of Kagome, his face beetroot red.

Kagome sat up and looked over at the far side of the beach. There, standing in long white robes tucked into red trousers, was her fair cousin. The two looked like twins more than cousins. They had the same face and eyes, even the same hair - whereas her cousin's was longer.

Kagome sucked in a deep breath before her eyes met with soft brown ones. She smiled awkwardly. “Kikyo,”

Kikyo stepped forward, carrying a basket full of shells that she was obviously collecting for some anonymous reason. This she dropped as soon as she realised that it was indeed her cousin. She ran over.

Kikyo was three years older than Kagome initially, but since Kagome had been informed by Inuyasha that she had been asleep for fifty years - Kikyo should have been sixty-eight by now. But Kagome's cousin knew a trick or two when it came to immortality.

Kagome and Kikyo were suddenly locked in a fierce embrace, clinging on to each other for dear life. Kikyo was even crying into her younger cousin's shoulder. “When I heard the news… I visited and I saw you on the tree and, oh Kagome - it was horrible. I tried to free you, I really did, but the spell held fast, and-”

Kikyo stopped. She let go of Kagome and slowly turned on Inuyasha, her face clearly showing her hatred.
Inuyasha backed away. She - She thinks I'm Inukoshuu…

“You…” Kikyo began, her eyes narrowing to the point of slits. She had a bow and a set of arrows slung over her back and now she withdrew her bow, aiming at Inuyasha. She pulled out an arrow and set it in place.

Kagome pounced on her cousin, stopping her before she fired. “No! Kikyo, no - that isn't Inukoshuu!” Kagome told her, briefly wondering why she couldn't realise this herself. Inuyasha isn't Inukoshuu… he can't replace him…

Kikyo blinked furiously. “W-What?” When she had recovered and had slung the bow back onto her shoulder, she gaped at her cousin. “How can he not be…?” she trailed off, finally taking notice of Inuyasha's clothes. They weren't like anything she had ever seen before.

Kagome sighed. “Kikyo, this is Inuyasha. Inuyasha, this is my cousin - Kikyo.”
Kikyo frowned in distaste. “What is it with you keeping in the company of hanyous, cousin?” Kikyo asked, scrunching her face up. Kagome knew she was only joking around, for Kikyo had a hanyou husband - that is if he had managed to keep alive this long.

Kagome opened her mouth to say something, but Inuyasha was staring at Kikyo as if she were mad. “Are you an idiot? Didn't you even look at your cousin properly?” he cried.

Kagome shot him a warning glance, but it was too late. Kikyo turned around, laughing almost, but then she caught sight of Kagome's ears and gasped. “Oh my-! You're… You're a…!”

“A hanyou,” Kagome finished for her, nodding. “Yeah,”

Kikyo balled her hands up into fists and turned back to Inuyasha. “You. You did this - you mated with her, you bastard!”

Inuyasha's eyes widened and his heart got lodged somewhere in his throat. “M-M-Mated?” he repeated dumbly, his voice weak. Kagome waved her arms as if telling Kikyo she'd gotten the wrong idea.

“No, no, no. We're just… acquaintances. Really, I hardly know him.” She told Kikyo, jumping into the conversation before Kikyo let rip at Inuyasha again.
One of Kikyo's eyebrows arced beautifully above her eye, mockingly. “Oh really? It didn't look like you were introducing yourselves from what I saw over there,”

Inuyasha stood up hastily. “I don't know what you saw, but whatever you think you saw isn't it. You have it wrong,”

“Yeah,” Kagome nodded furiously, tapping Kikyo's shoulder. “Inuyasha just fell over, that's all.”

“`Fell over', did he?” Kikyo mused, smiling slyly. “I'll be the judge of that. Naraku,”

Inuyasha gulped, not knowing what to expect. Was Kikyo calling some kind of familiar? Some kind of demon that was going to come over and rip him apart?
But Kagome's eyes were shining. “Oh! You are still together, then!” she clapped happily, grinning.

Inuyasha stared at her. Huh? She's acting like a little kid! Why wasn't she like this before…?
A moment later a man with long dark hair came stepping out of the woods bordering the north side of the beach. He flashed a brilliant smile in Kikyo's direction.

Kagome shook her finger at her cousin. “Fancy you mouthing off about hanyous, and yet you're still married to one.”
What? Inuyasha looked over at the approaching man. This guy's a hanyou?

“Kagome,” the man said softly, his voice dark. Inuyasha shivered when he spoke. The man named Naraku held out both arms in the direction of Kagome and Kikyo. The two cousins giggled, flattered, and ran into his arms - Kagome acting like a little child rather than a fifteen year old.

The man seemed to be in his twenties. Whenever he looked at Kikyo his eyes flashed with longing. They were obviously in love, except Inuyasha didn't know whether it was the kind of love he approved of. They both looked like commanding people who wanted to take control of the relationship. So far, it looked like Naraku was winning as he appeared to be the oldest.

“Kagome, my dear, you're still alive…” Naraku whispered, even though he talked around Kikyo's hair as he pressed his face up against his wife's. Kagome nodded against his purple kimono. “Uh huh.”

Kikyo smiled. “Where did you go?” she asked Naraku, curling his long hair in her fingers. Naraku seemed to have almost ruby red eyes. His gaze locked with Inuyasha's and he smiled maliciously. Inuyasha shrank beneath his gaze. I don't like this guy…

“I was looking for you, silly. Don't just run off like that…”
“But since we were so near the beach, I had to get the children some seashells,”

“Children?” Kagome pulled out of Naraku's hug and stared, open mouthed. “You two have children?”

Kikyo shook her head, giggling. “No, no. The children of the village, baka. We were just here for a visit, but I figured I should walk down the beach - I guess we're so well connected, cousin - it was our subconscious minds interweaving us together again.”

Kagome smiled, flattered. “Well, it was me who decided to come down to the beach. I've always wanted to see the sea - you know that,”
“Mm. It truly is beautiful, isn't it?” Kikyo nodded in agreement.

Inuyasha and Naraku were left out of the conversation now, Naraku still holding on to Kikyo. Inuyasha was still sat on the dune; staring off at the sea and watching the gulls fly ahead. Kagome and Kikyo were looking at it wistfully too.

“Well, there's no reason for us all to stand out here in the middle of nowhere.” Naraku smiled. “Let's go back to the hut, I'm starving.”
Kikyo turned and shook her finger at him, scolding him. “Now, now. Don't be too hasty.”

Naraku flashed a dazzling grin that made Inuyasha want to puke. “You're the odd one out now, my dear. We have nothing but hanyous in are company,”
Kikyo nodded, waving a hand as if it were unimportant. “Come. We should all get back to the hut. Inuyasha,” she turned on the dog-hanyou, grimacing. “You can come as well. Any friend of my cousin is a friend of mine,”

Inuyasha opened his mouth and then nodded his head in thanks. Kagome suddenly withdrew into herself again, the excitement over seeing her cousin vanishing. “Hai,” was all she said - as she began to follow Naraku and Kikyo back to their temporary lodgings. Inuyasha followed wordlessly behind her, his hands jammed into his pockets.

He didn't know what it was he didn't like about Naraku, but there was something strange about that man. Something very strange…