Learning to Love Again
Disclaimer: Yeah, I don't own Sailor Moon or InuYasha, but I own everything else! No … just kidding. I only own my screwed up ideas, lol.
… … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … …
It was so quiet … she had never experienced this before and … the stars … she could see the stars so clearly and the moon was so bright. A slight restlessness filled the blonde girl and she quietly crept from her sleeping companions, the grass feelings so soft underneath her feet she didn't bother putting her shoes on again.
Rising to her feet, she looked over her seven friends with a slight smile. Shaking her head, she pushed her confusing thoughts out of the way and headed to the hot spring that the Kagome girl had shown her earlier in the day. She could use a good soak. Making her way through the trees and various plant lives, Serena came to a halt in front of it and smiled.
Listening and looking around, making sure no one was there to peep at her, she removed her clothing articles one by one, folding them neatly on a rock to make sure they stayed dry. Once wearing nothing but she was born in, the blonde odango haired girl stepped into the water and sighed when it touched her body.
Finding a natural made bench beneath the water, she sat down, resting herself against the rock that split the spring in two halves. Closing her eyes after a brief moment, she opened them again, looking at the stars.
"It's so beautiful here …" She said softly with a smile.
"It is." A strong male voice agreed. He smirked lightly when he heard splashing coming from the other side of the rock he was leaning against. He suspected that she was quite surprised to find that she wasn't alone, not that the great demon lord was spying on her; he would never lower himself to that perverted monk's level. Rather he was attempting to clear his mind and sort things out when he smelt her coming. Normally, the smell of a human made his nose wrinkle and his body to cringe but she, Serenity or Serena as they referred to her as, smelled like the earth would after a night's rain; fresh, crisp but soothing at the same time.
Sesshomaru unconsciously breathed in more of her scent that seemed to have such a calming effect on him. There was no mistaking that smell … as his entire being had longed to smell that smell again, however, the person that the smell was linked to was not the same, it couldn't be since humans were far less eternal than demons and yet … something was pulling at something inside him that hadn't been stirred since he had discovered Rin …
Serena frowned delicately, listening to try and decide if he was still there or awake or … anything. At first, she was so surprised that she plunged herself into the hot water up to her chin, thinking that it was someone come to spy on her but when nothing happened and no one appeared, she relaxed and her curiosity spiked but she ordered herself to stay put. With a light sigh, Serena aka Serenity leaned back against the rock.
"What do you make of all this?" The girl asked quietly, somehow certain that despite her quiet tone, he could certainly still hear her.
Golden eyes blinked at the question as Sesshomaru paused, trying to figure out what she was talking about. "What do I make of all what?" He asked in return. He smirked when he heard a bit of a frustrated sigh. So these circumstances were confusing for her as well.
Serena rested her head against the rock, looking up at the sky. "Of … everything that we are or were or to be or … I don't know …" Sesshomaru smirked, picturing her with frustration playing out on her features. He didn't say anything for a long while, trying to find the words that would soothe her but at the same time answer her question. She was her, this girl wearing the same type of strange clothing as his brother's female, this girl that was from the same time as his brother's female, the girl he was having a conversation with … it was her, his love from so long ago. Painful twinges from within him made Sesshomaru sigh audibly, placing a clawed hand over his chest.
"There is … no denying that you are her. Your soul is the same as is the magic within you though quite a lot of it is untrained." Sesshomaru couldn't get another word in as he was suddenly faced with annoyed blue eyes. He blinked in surprise that she moved so quickly. His chest tightened and his breath caught as his mind slowly began closing the difference gap between the two. It was that same face that did him in so many years ago …
"It really is you." The demon lord whispered quietly, slowly reaching out a hand, his fingers moving through the streams of golden hair that fell from her odangoes. Serena blinked, her heart pounding in her chest and her lips trembled slightly. She knew this feeling but … she had never felt it so strong with Mamoru
… … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … …
A certain young girl with dark hair and chocolate brown eyes tossed and turned in her sleeping bag, unable to sleep. With a bit of a sigh, she rolled to her back and looked up at the branch a certain hanyou occupied, well usually, she corrected when she saw that it was vacant that night. Curious and a little worried about her dog eared friend and secret or not-so-secret crush, she got up and stretched.
A familiar light caught her eye and her stomach plummeted though she gave herself a little pep talk. It worked until she saw a white snake of sorts flying in the sky, towards the trees. Her mouth went dry and her hands became clammy but she forced herself to follow it and confirm what her heart already knew; her special hanyou was with … HER.
"InuYasha, do you not love me as I love you?" Asked a young woman with skin as white as snow and hair as black as night wearing a traditional miko kimono locked eyes with the golden eyes of the hanyou as she watched him squirm.
"K-Kikyo … you know what … I promised …" Standing before the dead priestess, a part of the hanyou was telling him to forget about her, what happened between them wasn't their fault and they weren't meant to be. It was telling him to go back, go back to the first friends he'd ever had, to the happier life that he had since a certain teenage girl with so much love in her that it had made him love again. But … standing there, looking at the woman before him … could he really just do that to her, could he really just leave her to face hell alone? Golden eyes blinked in surprise when he felt a pair of arms go around his torso.
Just this last time, this would be the last time he'd hold her like this …
"Kikyo …" He began softly, looking into emotionless eyes. Unbeknownst to him, they had a certain audience and the scene was tearing her apart.
Kagome knew that she should just leave and forget this, store the pain away but her legs wouldn't move. Tears filled her eyes as she watched from her spot behind a near-by tree and her stomach knotted painfully. Shutting her eyes tightly, she tried to force her legs to move but she couldn't. Her body shook with suppressed sobs, desperately trying to keep herself hidden.
Why did she always have to do this to herself? As soon as she saw the light that came from Kikyo's Soul Catchers, she knew exactly where InuYasha was and who he was with. Even knowing all this, she still went, she still followed him. Every time it was the same deal, the same thing happened and she was always the one that ended up getting hurt. Every time she saw them together or every time he talked about her or followed her, a little piece of her died. And this time was no different.
She had to clamp her hands down on her mouth as tears streamed down her cheeks. It wasn't the first time she'd seen them kiss, it was more like the second or third though it didn't make it any less painful. Instead it made it more painful since the undead priestess always seemed to show up just when things were beginning to look hopeful. Finally, her legs were free from her bindings and she took a step back and onto a twig.
InuYasha's head whipped up and his eyes set upon Kagome. Tears were running freely down her face and she was off before he could even explain the situation.
"Kagome!" He made to go after her and make her listen to him but found himself detained. Looking at Kikyo, he looked in the direction of where Kagome had run off to. Sure, he'd seen her upset before but not THIS upset.
"Kikyo, let go." He told her, her face forever expressionless.
"What about your promise to me, InuYasha?" The hanyou paused for a minute. Sure there had been rough times with Kagome but … she was the only person that always came back to him, who promised to always be by his side, who always believed in him. And Kikyo? The Kikyo he used to love was dead and this body of hers was just clay and dirt. She didn't want him; she just wanted him away from Kagome, the one person that would cry for him.
"I'm sorry, Kikyo, you'll have to go to hell by yourself." With that, he took off, following the scent of Kagome and her painful tears. Catching up with her easily, he stood in her way, trying to ignore the painful jabs her tears were causing him.
"Go away, InuYasha!" Kagome shouted, trying to sound angry. She flinched when he reached for her, not trusting herself to break down and just accept him again. InuYasha just ignored it and reached for her again.
"SIT!" The hanyou went face down in the dirt. Kagome was shaking and the tears just wouldn't stop as she looked down at the hanyou who was struggling to get up.
"Kagome-"
"SIT!" Again he was pummeled into the dirt but again, he struggled to get up.
"Listen, Kagom-"
"SIT!" Once again, the hanyou found himself eating dirt but he fought against it, straining to get up. Before she could utter the word again, he did the only thing he could think of: kiss her.
Kagome's eyes went as wide as dinner plates and her hands clutched the front of his kimono though the fact that they were shaking so badly it was a little hard to do. Tears spilled over and down her cheeks again and the hanyou slowly pulled back, half afraid she would 'sit' him again.
"Stop crying, okay? Your setting my nose on fire." He said softly, wiping her eyes gently with his sleeve. Kagome sniffled and nodded, still clutching his kimono. InuYasha pulled her to him and breathed in her scent, trying to calm the butterflies that were in his stomach. It was now or never and he already faced Kikyo now all that was left was to fix things with Kagome. Even after all this time, it never failed him just how much she cared.
"I'm not going to hell with Kikyo, Kagome. I … what happened fifty years ago is in the past and Kikyo is not the Kikyo I knew from back then." Kagome's eyes widened and she fought off tears. Tears of happiness, tears of uncertainty, just … tears. She had waited so long to hear those words and now he was finally saying them …
"Kagome … I … I …" InuYasha gulped and steeled his nerves, "I love you, Kagome." He said quietly, into her ear. The tears that Kagome was barely holding back couldn't be held back anymore and they overflowed while her shoulders shook. InuYasha panicked a little, pulling her away from him so he could look at her face. He blinked in confusion when he could see one of the biggest smiles on her face he'd ever seen before.
"Kagome? Are you alright?" He asked with a bit of worry.
Kagome nodded, wiping her eyes though the tears wouldn't stop. "I've … just been wa-waiting to he-hear those words." She told him between hiccups. The hanyou still didn't understand why she was crying.
"Then why are you crying?" He asked a little concerned about her. She looked happy but she was still crying.
"Because I'm happy." She said softly as the tears slowly began drying up. InuYasha smiled and brought her to him again, finally feeling at ease.
"I love you, too, InuYasha." Kagome told him quietly, feeling all the emotional drama taking a toll on her system. She couldn't help but yawn, feeling a little stupid for ruining this perfect moment. To her surprise, InuYasha just picked her up bridal style and set her down onto her sleeping bag.
Kagome was so tired; her brain barely registered InuYasha placing a soft kiss on her lips before leaping back up to his tree branch that overlooked their much larger camp.
… … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … … …
A/N: Okay I realize that this is quite a smaller chapter than I usually write but … there were quite a bit of intense stuff in it, don't you think? I think so, which is why I made it shorter than usual.
A very large (VERY LARGE) thank you to Jay FicLover she helped me SOOO much and is very awesome :D
As she pointed out, there might have been some confusing parts in the last chapter sooo I am here to straighten things out!
First off – Sesshy – Yes it WAS him way back when and not just like some previous incarnation or something. It was Fluffy in all his poofy, fluffiness. My reasoning is that demons age REALLY slow and they're practically eternal so while Fluffy was young back then, he wasn't a whole lot younger than he is now.
Yes, it did happen during the time Queen Serenity ruled the entire solar system with the exception of Earth.
Now … I realize that in the manga, the Moon Kingdom and the Silver Millenium existed even before the dinosaurs but I don't know if I'm using to use that in here or not. I was doing a bit of research and I found that only the royal family had moon symbols as well as their advisors. It got me thinking on another way I could connect Serena and Fluffy. I've only ever seen one picture of his momma but she had a cresent moon on her forehead, just like Fluffy and, well, we all know that the royal family has a cresent moon, too, though it's not like the others (obviously).
Anyways … I hope this clears up a small amount of confusion.
Oh and to reply to a question: Yes, I do know I'm switching between Japanese and English names. I just like Mamoru better cause Darien sounds stupid (though I used to like it).
Till next time!