Inuyasha: The Spirit Within

By: Guardian Angel

Chapter Nine

                 Kagome took her seat and let out a sigh. Maybe Inuyasha really doesn’t have those kinds of feelings for me. I know I don’t. Or do I? If I don’t then why is my heart beating so hard and fast? She looked down at Inuyasha who had finally entered the arena. Inuyasha.

                Inuyasha frowned. “Where’s my opponent? Did he chicken out?” He closed his eyes. “He probably saw me and knew he wouldn’t stand a chance so he ran off.”

                “I thought you were the one who had chickened out,” a deep voice said.

                Inuyasha opened his eyes to see Nekairu. He grabbed out Tessaiga. “I never chicken out of fights. I only leave them when I know my opponent is a weakling. Say, for example, you.”

                “We’ll see who’s a weakling, half breed,” Nekairu said. He pointed his ax at Inuyasha. “Let’s begin.”

               The announcer went between the two. “Well, this looks like a promising match. So, let’s fight.” He ran off.

               Nekairu held his ax in front of him. Inuyasha charged at him. He then jumped onto the ax and got ready to go in for the kill. Nekairu smiled and got ready to swing his ax.

               “Shouldn’t he be scared?” Shippo asked.

               “Yes, he should,” Sango said.

               “Considering he’s so big, huge, and carries a large, heavy ax, he should be scared because he’d be slow while Inuyasha won’t, but he also has some points that would help him,” Miroku said.

               “Yes,” Leon said. “Since he is so big it will be hard to move him. It will also be hard to hurt him.”

               “Though this is true, my brother will still beat him,” Sesshomaru said.

               “He’d probably lose if someone wasn’t here,” Jaken said.

               “Who?” Rin asked.

               “Who do you mean?” Kagome asked.

               “You should know,” Shippo said.

               “Well, I don’t,” Kagome said. Or do I? Do they mean me?

               “You are so clueless,” Jaken said.

               “What was that, toad?!” Kagome demanded.

               “Kagome, I thought you knew,” Sango said.

               “It’s so obvious,” Miroku said.

               “Huh? Oh, now I know who you’re talking about,” Rin said.

               “I’m completely lost,” Leon said.

               “Join the club,” Kagome muttered.

               “I can’t believe you don’t know,” Sango said.

               “Yes, I, too, can’t believe it,” Miroku said.

               “Tell me already,” Kagome said.

               “It’s you, Kagome,” Sesshomaru said. “Without you my brother is a weakling. I thought you had noticed that when you saw us first battle. In other words, he fights for you and when you’re gone, apparently to him, there’s no reason to fight.”

               “Meaning he loves you,” Rin said.

               “Loves me?!” Kagome asked in surprise. She started blushing. “That arrogant, selfish, rude, bratty, stubborn, quick to anger, easily to get jealous jerk loving me?! I don’t think so!” She looked down at him and calmed down. “ Besides, he said he doesn’t feel that way about me. Kikyo is the only one who has a place in his heart. I’m just here for the shards. He even said so.”

               “No, that’s not it at all,” Sango said. “He’s just too full of himself to admit his feelings to you. Why else would he get jealous of Koga?”

               “I don’t know,” Kagome said. Inuyasha, do you truly love me?

              Nekairu swung his ax. It cut Inuyasha on the side. Inuyasha landed on his feet and swung his sword at Nekairu. Nekairu jumped on top of it.

              “What the hell?! How’d you do that?!” Inuyasha demanded.

              “Heh, that’s my little secret, hanyou,” Nekairu said.

              “Impossible,” Leon said.

              “How can he do that?” Rin and Shippo asked wide-eyed.

              Kagome gasped. “Inuyasha, there are two shards in his upper right shoulder and in his lower left leg!”

              “Well, that explains it,” Inuyasha said.

              Nekairu looked up at Kagome. “She can see the shards? Guess that baboon was right about your woman being the reincarnation of the ancient priestess who protected the Shikon no Tama.”

             “Naraku hired you and told you about Kagome and Kikyo?!” Inuyasha asked. “How dare him! That bastard!”

             “He must’ve been right about you being in love with her,” Nekairu said.

             “Don’t talk about her,” Inuyasha said. He charged after Nekairu.

             “Haven’t you learned?” Nekairu asked shielding himself with his ax.

             “That idiot,” Sango muttered.

             “I think he has a plan,” Kagome said.

             “You do love him,” Rin said.

             Kagome blushed. “No, I don’t.”

             Inuyasha continued charging. He then fell down and slid between Nekairu’s legs. Then he slashed at Nekairu’s leg and took the Shikon shard. Nekairu turned around angrily and swung his ax at Inuyasha. It hit Inuyasha in the shoulder. Inuyasha got up and began charging at Nekairu again. Nekairu charged as well.

             “He’s changing his strategy,” Miroku said.

             “He still won’t be very fast, will he?” Shippo asked.

             “I don’t know,” Sango said.

             “Well, if what you say is true, then it won’t really matter because Inuyasha will win,” Kagome said. But I really don’t think he does love me. If he did, he would’ve admitted it, wouldn’t he? He admitted it to Kikyo, so he should be able to admit it to me.

           Inuyasha jumped up. Nekairu threw his ax. It hit Inuyasha in the leg. Inuyasha fell down onto his knees. Nekairu came over and got ready to go in for the kill.

           “Inuyasha!” Kagome cried.

           Inuyasha put his sword up to shield himself from the ax. Nekairu and Inuyasha used all their strength to push against the weapons.

           “Now half breed, you will die!” Nekairu cried. He lifted his ax up.

           Inuyasha took this to his advantage. He used his Flying Blade Blood Claws.

           Nekairu fell down with his back to the ground. He tried getting up.

           Inuyasha sheathed Tessaiga and went over to Nekairu. He punched him knocking him out. He then took the Shikon shard that was inside Nekairu.

           “Yo, Kagome, catch,” Inuyasha said. He threw the Shikon shards at her.

           Kagome caught them. “I was worried he was going to forget about the last shard.”

           “You purified them and can see the shards,” Leon said. “Then you truly must be the ancient priestess’ reincarnation.”

           Kagome sneezed.

           “You okay, Kagome?” Shippo asked.

           Kagome nodded. “Don’t worry about it.”

           Inuyasha took his seat. Koga joined him.

           “So, when’s your match?” Inuyasha asked.

           “In a couple of minutes,” Koga said. “And guess who I get to go against.”

           “Who?” Inuyasha asked not really caring who it was.

           “Ryouken,” Koga said.

           “Who?” Inuyasha asked.

           “The fighter who can defeat a demon with one hit,” Koga said, “but I’ll be the one to defeat him with one hit.”

            Inuyasha frowned. “That’s what they call arrogance and underestimating your enemies.”

           “Whatever,” Koga said.

           Kagome and the others entered the room. Kagome sneezed again.

           “Kagome, are you sure you’re okay?” Shippo asked.

           “Yes, Shippo, I’m fine,” Kagome said. She sneezed again. “Okay, so, maybe I’m getting a cold, but I’ll be alright.”

           “Lady Kagome, maybe you should go to your era and stay there until you are no longer ill,” Miroku said.

           “She’s not going anywhere,” Inuyasha said. “How else am I suppose to know if my opponent is using a Shikon shard or not?”

           “That’s all I am to you, isn’t it,” Kagome said. “All I am is a Shikon shard detector. Inuyasha, you are such a jerk!”

           “Feh! I’m no jerk,” Inuyasha said.

           “Yes, you are,” Kagome said. She coughed.

           “Kagome, perhaps Miroku is right,” Sango said. “Maybe you should go home until you are no longer ill.”
           “I’m fine, really,” Kagome said.

           “Give me a break,” Inuyasha said. “She’s a wimp if she has to go home just ‘cause she’s getting a stupid cold.”

           “Inuyasha,” Kagome said.

           “What?” Inuyasha asked.

           “Sit,” Kagome said. After Inuyasha fell down, Kagome left.

           “Wow,” Leon said. “Kagome must be a powerful priestess to make Inuyasha fall to the ground with a single word.”

           “No, actually it’s because of the necklace he wears,” Miroku said.

           Kagome left the tent and went to the center of the village. She spotted a water fountain with an angel in the center holding a jug with water coming out of it. There were human children playing around it. She spotted another little kid sitting beside the fountain and not playing with the other children. She went over to the other children. “Why don’t you guys play with that little boy? He’s very lonely.”

           The children looked at the boy disgusted.

            “We don’t play with half breeds,” a girl said.

            “Why not?” Kagome asked.

            “Because they’re just weird,” a boy said.

           “Weird? But some of them aren’t,” Kagome said. “Some of them are really good people. Sure they may look a bit odd, but you won’t really know how they are unless you get to know them.”

          “You must also be a half breed to say such things,” a girl said.

          “That or she’s half fox demon disguised as a human to convince us to play with weirdos like her,” a boy said.

          “What? But I’m not a demon at all,” Kagome said. “I’m human.”

          “Then why do you wear strange clothes?” a girl asked.

          “Yeah?” a boy asked.

          “Tell us,” another said.

          “Because I’m not from this era,” Kagome said. “I’m from the future.”

          “Then tell us, are there any demons in your era?” a girl asked.

          “Yeah, and are there any half-breeds?” another asked.

          “Huh? Well, uh, not really,” Kagome said. “So far I’ve only seen two demons in my era and…”

          “Ah-ha!” a boy said. “See, we humans take over this world while the demons die out.”

          “Listen to me, you little brats,” Kagome said. Wait! He’s right. We do take over this world. We leave nothing for the demons or half-breeds. The humans’ hatred for demons and half-breeds is probably what got of them in the first place. No! I won’t let that happen! I won’t let them die. I can’t lose Shippo, Koga, Jineji, and, most important, Inuyasha. “I don’t care about that. That’s my future. Not yours. We can change our future. Demons and half breeds can live in our world as long as we don’t hate one another.”

          “Like that’s ever gonna happen,” a boy said.

          “It will,” Kagome said.

          “Yeah, so shoo, brats,” a familiar voice said.

          Kagome turned around to see Inuyasha.

         “Now either leave or go play with the boy,” Inuyasha said.

         “Let’s leave,” the oldest boy said. He and the kids did.

        Kagome looked towards the young, lonely half demon. “Why are people this way?”

       “Because they’re afraid,” Inuyasha said.

       Kagome looked towards him. “Of what?”

      “Of what might happen if they treated demons and half breeds equally,” Inuyasha said.

      “Afraid or not, all of them should be treated equally,” Kagome said. “Inuyasha, you had to go through this, too, didn’t you?”

      “Yeah, I did.” His fists clenched. “I was always picked on. I felt left out. I wanted to have friends, but I didn’t have any. I grew up all lonely until I met Kikyo. She, too, was lonely. She wanted to live a normal life instead of protecting the Shikon Jewel, but she knew she had to. You know the rest of the story.”

      “Yeah, I do. But, Inuyasha, even after Naraku made you two betray each other, you weren’t really alone. Kikyo died so she could be with you because she thought you would die, but you didn’t. After I released you, you and I had become friends. Sure our meeting wasn’t exactly a good start, but we became friends. Then you and I both got new friends. We got Miroku and the others. I know what you what you’ve gone through because I use to be treated, in a way, like that. In first grade, two boys had asked me how old I was. I told them I was seven and I was. They said I wasn’t and was four. I suppose I’ve always looked younger than I really am. That summer, my best friend betrayed me and got a new friend. She and him began teasing me. That was when Dad was still alive and we were living in Kyoto. Then we moved to Tokyo where I now live. I had trouble making friends during elementary school, but I had. Most of my good friends moved a lot so I always had to find new ones. The new ones, however, always betrayed me. Half way during seventh grade I had finally found my real friends. Ever since then we’ve hung out. Near the end of eighth grade, I had lost my dad. All my friends came over to comfort me. That’s what I call friendship. But now I have two best friends. One in my world and another here. I have two guys trying to win my heart. One here and another there. It almost seems as though I have two brothers, Sota and Shippo. Miroku, Sesshomaru, and Jaken are like friends to me. Rin is like a little sister. But, out of all the guys here, only one has won my heart even though he may not know it. I have almost lost him more than once, but, so far, he hasn’t failed and I hope it will always be that way. I will always love him even though his heart belongs to another.”

         “Well, either that guy is stupid if he doesn’t know how you feel or he does know and is a jerk by ignoring your feelings and not returning them.” Inuyasha looked up at the sky. “Tell me, Kagome, who is it that you love?”

         “Isn’t that a personal question?” Kagome asked. She let out a sigh and sat down on the seats beside the fountain. “Besides, I thought you knew.”

          Inuyasha sat down beside her. “I can take a guess about it, but I don’t want to be teased if I’m wrong.”

          “Well, I don’t want to sound like an idiot when I tell you who and find out he doesn’t have those kinds of feelings for me.”

           Sango, Shippo, and Miroku hid behind the bushes near enough to see and hear Kagome and Inuyasha’s conversation.

          “Do you think they’re going to admit their feelings for one another?” Sango asked.

          “I’m not sure,” Miroku said.

          “Knowing Inuyasha, he’ll find a way to make Kagome mad so he doesn’t have to admit his feelings,” Shippo said.

          “Kagome, would it help if I told you I’m afraid of admitting my feelings to a girl I’ve fallen for?” Inuyasha asked.

          Kagome looked up at him. “Afraid of what?”

          “Rejection, I suppose,” Inuyasha said.

          “I guess we both have the same problem,” Kagome said. The wind started blowing. She shivered against the cold and sneezed.

          Inuyasha took his red shirt off and put it on her. “It’ll keep you warm.”

          Kagome hugged him and closed her eyes. “Thank you.”

          Inuyasha hugged her back. “Whatever.”

          Kagome thought about what he had said about falling for a girl and afraid of being rejected by her. Wait a sec! There are only three girls in our group. There’s Sango, Rin, and me. Sango can’t go with him because she’s with Miroku. Rin can’t because she’s too young. That leaves me. She opened her eyes and looked up at him. Inuyasha, do you really love me?!

           “And the winner is Ryouken,” the announcer said.

           Koga got up and looked towards Ryouken in surprise. The rumors had been true. This guy could defeat a demon with one hit.

           Sesshomaru looked down at Ryouken. That guy is definitely not human.

           He’s got to be Riku, Rin thought.

          “That’s no ordinary demon,” Jaken said.

          “Indeed,” Leon said. That or he has some Shikon shards in him.

           “Let me see! Let me see!” Shippo cried. Miroku had been covering his eyes. “What are they doing?”

           “Stuff that young children should not see,” Miroku said.

           “Huh? They’re just hugging each other,” Sango said. “Well, whatever you say.”

           “Inuyasha, maybe we should get back to the others,” Kagome said.

           “Fine, but you have to tell me who you love first,” Inuyasha said.

           “If you tell me first,” Kagome said.

           “You tell me first,” Inuyasha said.

           Kagome let him go. “Forget it.”

           Inuyasha didn’t release her. “Tell me.”

           Kagome tried to get free. “Let me go.”

           “Not until you tell me,” Inuyasha said.

           Kagome let out a sigh. “Inuyasha, please, I don’t want to be hurt.”

           Inuyasha looked down at her. “What? It’s not like the guy you love is me.”

           Kagome looked towards the fountain sadly.

          “Huh? Don’t tell me it is me,” Inuyasha said. If it is then… He released her. “Kagome, I-“

          “Don’t worry about it. It’s my fault for even mentioning it,” Kagome said.

          “You didn’t even let me finish,” Inuyasha said.

          “I don’t have to because I know what you’re going to say,” Kagome said.

          “No, you don’t,” Inuyasha said.

          Kagome got up to leave. “I know you perfectly well to know what you’re going to say.” She was about to leave, but Inuyasha gently but firmly grabbed her wrist to stop her. She turned to face him. He got up and hugged her.

          “No, Kagome, you don’t know what I’m going to say,” Inuyasha said. He hugged her tighter and closed his eyes as he rested his head on her shoulder.

          Kagome looked at him. “Inuyasha.” Oh, he is freaking me out.

         “Kagome, I do love you,” Inuyasha said.

         Kagome pushed him away. “What did you say?!” He is officially freaking me out now.

        “I said I hate Koga,” Inuyasha said.

        “No, you didn’t,” Kagome said. “You said you love me.”

       “Feh! Why would I say that?!”

       “I don’t know. I’m not you.”

       “Well, for your information, I didn’t. I don’t feel that way about you.”

         Maybe it wasn’t me he was thinking about, but Kikyo instead. But what if he did mean it and was referring to me. She then remembered what the others had said about Inuyasha loving her, but was too full of himself to admit it. Then she remembered what Inuyasha had said about falling for someone, but was afraid to admit it out of fear of rejection. He was afraid of me rejecting him. “Inuyasha, please, tell me right now if you do love me.”

         “Huh?” This had taken Inuyasha by surprise. He hadn’t expected her to say that. Instead he had expected her to yell at him. “Kagome, I…we can’t-I can’t-“

         “Do you or do you not love me?” Kagome asked. “Inuyasha, I have to know that way I can know if I’m a fool or not.”

         “Ah-ha! So you do love me!”

         “That’s not the point. Just tell me already.”

         “Kagome, the answer is yes, but-“

         “Do you truly?”

         “Yes, I do. Kagome, do-“

         “Yes, Inuyasha. I also love you.”

         The two hugged each other.

         “Kagome, we have to keep this a secret, or Naraku will-“

         “I know, Inuyasha. You don’t have to tell me,” Kagome said not letting him finish.

        “Kanna, it seems we were right about Kikyo’s reincarnation revealing Inuyasha’s weakness,” Naraku said.

        “Indeed,” Kanna said.

        “He finally admitted it,” Sango said.

        “I didn’t think he would,” Miroku said.

        “Can I watch now?” Shippo asked.

        “Watch what?” a voice asked.

        Sango, Shippo, and Miroku turned around to see Koga. The three came out of hiding.

        “Uh, nothing,” Sango said.

        “Yeah,” Miroku said.

        “I really didn’t see anything,” Shippo muttered.

        “You’re lying and you know it,” Koga said.

        Kagome and Inuyasha heard the noise and looked towards the direction it was coming from. Koga, Sango, Shippo, and Miroku looked towards the two to see that they had spotted them. The two let each other go and watched the others in embarrassment. Kagome looked down at the ground and blushed. Inuyasha crossed his arms, looked away, and blushed.

        Koga went over to Inuyasha. “What were you doing with my woman?!”

       Shippo joined him. “Yeah.”

      Sango and Miroku went over to Shippo and Koga.

      “I don’t think it’s really any of our business,” Sango said.

      “Which reminds me, why were you three spying on us when you knew it’s none of your business what we were doing?!” Inuyasha demanded.

        “Uh, well, you see-“

        “Well, since you two saw everything, tell me what that mutt was doing with my woman,” Koga said not letting Miroku finish.

         “She’s not your woman and I’m not a mutt,” Inuyasha said.

           Koga smiled. “So, you’ve finally admitted it to her, eh? Didn’t think you were going to.”

          “Huh? Wadda ya mean I finally admitted it to her?!” Inuyasha demanded.

          “That you finally admitted your feelings to her,” Koga said. “Guess I don’t have to be in this tournament anymore.”

          “You lost, didn’t you,” Inuyasha said.

          Koga let out a sigh. “Yeah, but the fight was unimaginable. I thought I had had the upper hand, but I was tricked. When I was about to knock him out he surprisingly was able to do that to me. When I had awakened I saw he didn’t have a single scratch and was just fine. I was played for an idiot.”

           “So, then the rumors are true,” Miroku said.

           “What rumors?” Sango asked.

           “The rumors about a fighter so strong they can defeat anyone with a single hit and could walk away unscratched,” Miroku said. “They call him Ryouken named after the legendary half breed samurai who could do such things. His real name is unknown, but Rin seems to think he’s Riku.”

             “What happened to the real Ryouken?” Kagome asked.

             “Well, like any human, half breed, and demon, he had his weakness. His enemy had taken advantage of it and used it against Ryouken,” Miroku said.

             “What was his weakness?” Kagome asked.

             “A human,” Miroku said. “He had fallen in love with a princess. The enemy had hired the princess as his spy. She traveled alongside Ryouken. Even though it wasn’t suppose to happen, she and Ryouken fell in love. Ryouken’s enemy found this out and, well, turned them against each other. Ryouken ended up killing the one he loved, though, he didn’t want to. The king found this out and executed Ryouken.”

               “Who was his enemy?” Kagome asked.

               “One word,” Inuyasha said, “Naraku.”

               “So, exactly how long ago was this then?” Kagome asked.

               “Fifty years ago,” Miroku said. “Three months after Kikyo’s death and one month after my grandfather got the wind tunnel.”

               The announcer came over. “Inuyasha, your next match is tomorrow morning. You’re going against Jentaro.”

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