InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ The Flower Girl ❯ Faith ( Chapter 71 )

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

Disclaimer: I do not own the characters of Inuyasha.

---oOo---

Kagome hopped into the well, disappearing into the timeslip with a worried frown on her face.

It had been months since the final break with Inuyasha, her death and revival - and her betrothal to Sesshoumaru... and her family didn't know about any of it.

Oh, man... mom's gonna have a fit! And Gramps! She groaned as she touched down at the bottom of the well in her era, and began the climb out. Trying to explain why I didn't tell anyone any of this - and that I'm getting married! And to a youkai Lord...

She made it out of the well, and wearily climbed the steps to the door. Well... this is gonna be fun.

It was a matter of mere minutes until she was in the house and facing her mother and grandfather across the kitchen table, and she sighed, trying to find a good place to start the long-overdue explanations.

"Well, Kagome?" her mother asked, a slight smile on her face as she watched her normally loquacious daughter struggle to find words.

"Uhm... well... it's just, you know, a lot's happened in the last few months, and I really haven't said anything to anyone about it all, so... well, now I have to..." she trailed off, looking down at her hands in her lap, and blushing.

"You know how Inuyasha's brother joined the group, right? I told you about that when I started buying the scrapbooks and the flower meanings booklets." She waited, then continued when her mother nodded.

"Well... not too long after that, I got... well," she flinched, "killed," she said, with a startled squeak as her mother's jaw dropped, and her grandfather roared, "What!?"

"Kagome Higurashi, I think you'd best start explaining why you didn't tell us about that before!" her mother said, obviously upset.

"Hai, mama. It was Kikyou. She shot me with an arrow," she shivered, her face darkening as she remembered the coldness that she'd woken to - the chill in her flesh that she sometimes still felt.

"Anyway... Inuyasha didn't... he didn't save me - his brother did, though, and it's thanks to him and his sword, Tensaiga, that I'm even here now."

Her grandfather stared at her for a moment, then looked away, his jaw tightening as he fought himself. Finally, he slumped in his chair with a sigh.

"If this youkai saved you, and brought you back to life, then I will honor him for that," he said diffidently.

Kagome smiled at him gratefully. "Really, grandpa?"

"Hai, Kagome. Really."

Her mother smiled at the two of them, and said, "Okay, Kagome, finish. I know that's not all."

"No," she grinned ruefully, "it's not. So, anyway, after that happened, my Lord decided that Inuyasha was no longer a suitable protector, so he took over that role. And since he's the most powerful daiyoukai that's pretty much ever lived, his protection is the best. I haven't even gotten a scratch since then," she chuckled.

"Well, that's good, dear. And?"

She blushed, and peeked at her grandfather. "Uhmm... well, this is where it gets interesting," she giggled nervously, "after a while... we, uh... we... oh, mama, I love him!" she finally spit out, nervously watching as her mother's eyes widened in surprise, and her grandfather's jaw dropped.

"Kagome... what..." her grandfather sputtered, unable to get anything else out.

"Sesshoumaru-sama asked me to marry him, and I said yes," she said, hurriedly.

Silence met her announcement.

Her grandfather stared at her narrowly.

"Kagome... did you say Sesshoumaru-sama?" he asked.

"Uhm... yes?"

"Sesshoumaru-sama... my granddaughter is going to marry Sesshoumaru-sama?" he yelled.

Both of the women stared at him uncertainly, and he flung his arms up in exasperation. "If either of you ever listened to me, I know all about this youkai Lord! He was the most powerful youkai to ever live - and you tell me you're marrying him!? Oh, blessed day," he hollered, as he stood up and left the kitchen, mumbling a mile a minute about blessing such a union.

Kagome and her mother stared after him, then looked at each other, and Kagome finally giggled.

"Wow... I never expected that," she said, eyes wide.

"Neither did I, dear. Your grandfather can certainly be strange at times." She met her daughter's eyes, then, and reaching out, grabbed her hands, holding them softly.

"Kagome... are you sure that you love him? I mean... after Inuyasha..." she trailed off, and Kagome knew exactly what she was asking.

"I'm sure. There's absolutely no comparison, mama. Trust me... I love Sesshoumaru."

"And he? How does he feel about you?"

She blushed again, still finding it hard to believe that he really wanted her, but said, "He loves me, too. I... want so much for you to meet him, you know. If only..." she sighed, then and shrugged her shoulders.

"Oh, well... I guess we can't have everything. Anyway... I just wanted to tell you guys all the news - so you'd understand why I'm staying in the past instead of coming back here."

Her mother held her gaze for several moments, then squeezed her hands and let go. Standing, she moved towards the storage area near the back door, and dug around for a few moments, before making a small, "Ah-ha!" sound, and turning back to her daughter.

She was holding a large compartmentalized container, and Kagome smiled when she realized what it was.

"Flower seeds, mama?" she asked, a little bewildered.

"Hai," she said, as she opened the box and began to search the different compartments and layers. Finally, she smiled and pulled a small packet out.

"I want you to take these seeds, dear, and plant them somewhere at your new home for me. These are passionflower - pink and white rakhi from India... and they mean 'faith'. I want you to always be able to look at them and remember that I believe in you, and trust you to make the right decisions. If this is truly what you want, then I will stand behind you, daughter."

Kagome stood up and threw herself into her mother's arms, tears escaping her tightly closed lids as she hugged her mother for all she was worth.

"Thanks so much, mama," she whispered. "You don't know how much that means to me."

"I do know, dear." She hugged her daughter hard, then stepped back and smiled. "So... when are you going back?"

"In a little bit, mama. I just came to catch you up on everything, but I'll be back probably tomorrow, okay?"

"Okay, dear. Why don't you take a picture of your youkai lord so we can at least see what he looks like?"

Kagome started, then grinned. "Oh! I didn't even think about that!" She dashed out of the kitchen and up the stairs into her room, grabbed her camera, and ran right back down. "That's a great idea, mom... I'll show it to you tomorrow!"

Her mother chuckled and walked her excited daughter back to the well. "I'll see you tomorrow, dear. Enjoy your evening."

Kagome hugged her mother, and then jumped back into the well with a wave.

Well, that went a lot better than I thought it would...

Now, all I have to do is try to explain a camera to Sesshoumaru.

She laughed as she landed in the bottom of the well and looked up into golden eyes.

This oughta be fun...

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A/N: Okay, now that that's out of the way, we can go visit Sesshoumaru and see what he's doing to Naraku... hope the spider likes his cramped new home!

Amber