As always- thank you for reading, and leave me a review if you are so inclined.
This story has won 3rd Place for Best 'In-Character' fiction (Inuyasha) at the Feudal Association (July 2013)! I'm thrilled and honoured!
I don't own Inuyasha.
A Good Night's Sleep
Inuyasha nimbly leapt out of the Well and strode swiftly into Kagome's kitchen. Mrs. Higurashi, like always, was pottering about there. Inuyasha absently wondered why she always seemed to be in the kitchen. Shrugging the thought away, he greeted her shyly,
"Hello,"
"Inuyasha," Kagome's mother smiled when she turned around and saw him. "What a pleasant surprise. How are you, dear?"
"Keh. Fine."
"That's good. Looking for Kagome? I expect she's in her room. I'm not very sure what she's doing, though..."
With a quick "Thank you", Inuyasha began walking towards Kagome's room. He couldn't believe she had talked him into this. The sneaky little thing.
The group had been in need of a break and their supplies needed replenishing rather desperately. Kagome had also been growing morose after a rather extended period away from her family. Realizing that staying on the road would only do more harm than good, Inuyasha had reluctantly agreed with the others when they proposed going back to Kaede's village for a little while. Once there, Inuyasha had walked Kagome to the Bone Eater's Well to see her off. She was just about to jump when she suddenly sprung back and looked into his eyes rather intensely.
"Tonight," was all she had said. It was all she needed to say.
"Yeah," Inuyasha sighed.
"It slipped my mind. I'm so sorry, Inuyasha."
"Keh. S'fine. I'll be fine."
"Come home, Inuyasha."
"Huh?"
"Come. In the evening, if you prefer. Please? It'll do you good...give you some peace of mind."
Her eyes had gotten all big and, well, that had been his undoing. He now gazed sulkily at sun that would soon dip below the horizon; he willed it to stay up in the sky for as long as possible. Oh, how he hated the night of the new moon. How he loathed it. And now, he was spending it in Kagome's time.
Shaking his head, Inuyasha stumped up the stairs, feeling the strain of the past few months. The door to Kagome's room was closed. Knocking softly, he waited for a response. When he didn't get one, he gently turned the knob and the door creaked open.
Kagome was fast asleep. In her trademark baggy pyjamas, she was all curled up on her bed, the shadows under her eyes betraying how tired she was. Inuyasha bit down whatever he was going to say and softly shut the door. He settled down on the floor, near the bed, his back to the wall. He hugged Tetsusaiga to himself, wondering whether he might just drop off to sleep. His stubborn nature taking over him, he resisted sleep and just sat there thinking.
Kagome stretched out, a yawn curling her tongue. She had been so exhausted once she reached home she had fallen asleep as soon as she took a shower. She blinked blearily, wondering what time it was. She was relatively sure that she had fallen asleep in the afternoon and it was dark now. She turned on her side, just getting ready to get out of bed, when she suddenly saw a pair of eyes blink and a flash of red. She screamed.
Inuyasha jerked upright when Kagome screamed. He looked around for one wild second, imagining every threat possible, and when he realized that it was because of him that she was screeching in terror, he quickly flipped the light on and yelled to make himself heard over her, "Kagome!"
Blinking furiously against the sudden flood of light, Kagome squinted and said incredulously, "Inuyasha?"
"Keh." He leaned against the wall again, scowling as half his face was hidden behind a curtain of hair as dark as Kagome's.
"I'm sorry, I just wasn't expecting you!"
"You're the one who called me over!"
"Yeah, but I didn't expect you to...I don't know...hover around as I was sleeping!"
"I wasn't hovering. I was just sitting there."
"It's still creepy..."
"Keh." Inuyasha's scowl deepened.
Kagome's expression softened as she took in the sight of a now human Inuyasha leaning against her wall. Combing her tousled hair with her fingers, she looked up at him and asked, "How are you holding up?"
"M'fine."
"Alright, then. I'm going to go and freshen up quickly; stay here."
Nodding, Inuyasha flopped down on her bed, looking at his blunted fingernails in distaste as Kagome padded to her bathroom. She was out in fifteen minutes, her eyes no longer blurred by sleep and her hair combed into a ponytail. She sat on the bed next to Inuyasha and said, "You know you can sleep tonight, right? No one's going to get to us here. We'll eat dinner and have a good night's sleep. God knows how long it's been since you had that."
"We'll see," replied Inuyasha noncommittally.
"Why didn't you sleep in the evening when you came? Why did you just sit in my room?"
"I dunno," shrugged Inuyasha. "Gotten used to watching over you, I guess."
"Oh. Well, thanks," said Kagome, ducking her head a little.
"Keh." managed Inuyasha, fighting to keep his human emotions under control.
"Doesn't it get boring?" asked Kagome abruptly.
"Huh?"
"Just sitting there, so many nights on end..."
"Not really." He said dismissively. "I got enough things to think about."
"But don't you ever get tired?" pressed Kagome, trying to push boundaries and take advantage of the fact that he most likely to talk this night than any other one.
"Well..." mumbled Inuyasha reluctantly, "If I get real tired, or if my thoughts are not exactly things I want to think about, I watch you for some time. It calms me down a little."
"Me?" echoed Kagome in mild horror. "Why?"
"I dunno," said Inuyasha, squirming a little, looking like he already regretted saying anything.
"I want you to stop watching me when I sleep!" said Kagome resolutely.
"Why? It's not like I stare only at you!"
"Just...no."
"What the hell? What's gotten you all knotted up? It's not like I'm Miroku or anything."
"Because-"
"Because?"
"Because I'm unattractive in my sleep!" burst out Kagome.
"What?" Inuyasha started laughing.
"I meant... it's creepy!" amended Kagome, turning beet red.
"That's not what you said, K'gome." Another snort escaped Inuyasha.
"Don't laugh!" exclaimed Kagome, colouring again.
"I'm sorry," said Inuyasha, schooling his features. "What did you mean, though?"
"I didn't mean anything."
"Kagome." Inuyasha looked into her eyes and her breath hitched.
"Alright, alright. If you must know what I meant, it's just that I'm so weird when I sleep! I'm not one of those porcelain beauties you read about. I don't sleep 'like an angel'. My skin gets oily, my hair is all over the place, my mouth is sometimes open..."
"And you make these little noises," Inuyasha completed, a small smile on his face.
"What?"
"Yeah. It's between a snuffle and a snore."
"I do not snore!" declared Kagome indignantly.
"Never said you did," said Inuyasha smirking.
"Argh! Baka! You're so annoying!" Kagome turned her face away from him.
"Kagome, what does it matter?"
"It doesn't!"
"If it didn't, you wouldn't be all wound up like this." reasoned Inuyasha.
"I said it doesn't matter!" her voice rose in pitch and she sounded angry.
"Kagome!"
"What! You don't think I'm pretty anyway, so what does it matter! It doesn't. Drop. It." She suddenly got off and the bed and began striding towards the door, fire in her step and tears in her eyes.
Inuyasha was right behind her and caught her wrist just as she was about to leave the room.
"Let me go!" she turned around to face him, furious.
"Can you please just give me a minute?" Inuyasha pleaded.
Sighing in exasperation, Kagome wrenched her hand from his and went back to the bed, sitting on it with a huff.
Inuyasha sat beside her and looked into her eyes again. He said softly, "Listen, Kagome...I'm real sorry, okay? I never meant it whenever I said you weren't pretty. I guess I was just trying to push you away. I know it's stupid of me, but sometimes it's like I can't help it...I just say stuff that's the frickin' opposite of what I really mean."
"Really?" Kagome's voice quivered a little.
"Yeah... Actually," said Inuyasha, hesitantly taking her hand in his, "I think...I think you're beautiful." His voice dropped to a whisper.
Kagome ducked a little, made shy by what he said. Inuyasha's heart soared when she didn't pull her hand away and when he noticed that even though her head was bent, her face was lit up.
"And all the stuff you do in your sleep that you say makes you 'unattractive'?" continued Inuyasha, squeezing her hand, "I think it makes you real. I push you away some times because I keep thinking you're too good to be true. It's like something this good in my life cannot possibly last. So when you snore-"
"Ahem!"
"Snuffle," amended Inuyasha with a grin, "When you snuffle or whatever, it just helps me hold on to the fact that you're real."
Kagome finally looked up, her eyes shining. "I'm not going anywhere, Inuyasha."
"I know. And neither am I."
"Good. Because I'd be just as lost without you as you'd be without me."
She pulled him into a hug and Inuyasha unabashedly hugged her back, not resisting the urge to nuzzle her head. He let his eyes drift shut and as he sank into the feeling of embracing Kagome, he thought that maybe human emotions were not all that bad after all.
After some time, Kagome pulled back a little and smiled at him, "How about some dinner? Then we can both have a good night's sleep."
"Hell yeah to dinner!" exclaimed Inuyasha. "I might be human now, but I still got youkai's appetite!"
Laughing, Inuyasha and Kagome headed downstairs, hardly realizing that they were still holding hands.