Yes, this is me, back again (but in a different section _) this time, it's a fluffy Kagome x Inu-Yasha fic… (fyi- I have seen it as Inuyasha, InuYasha, and Inu-Yasha, so don't talk to me about spelling…) heh, I'm in love with fluff! ^_^ plus a little comedy and angst… same old same old (sweatdop) but, please read and review!
By the way, I'm not sure if I got the timeline and stuff right… so if I botched it, please tell me!
Disclaimer: Inu-Yasha, Inu-Yasha… how do I love thee… but I do not own thee (cries)
Kagome's POV
I shifted the weight of my backpack on my shoulders and took a deep breath. It was holiday break, and I had a full two weeks off from school. I stared down the dank depths of the Bone-Eater's well and my hearth began to beat faster. I couldn't wait to meet up with Shippo and Miroku (pervert though he was) again. But Inu-Yasha… I looked around nervously, even though I was alone. I took another deep breath, and climbed over the edge of the well. I started down the ladder, willing my heart to stop pounding. I had a job to do, regardless of what he and I had said. I couldn't let it get in the way of my duty, and my other friends.
I half-turned and jumped from the ladder, and fell the last four feet. But instead of dropping to the dirt floor, my feet sunk through the earth, and I fell into a world of beautiful blue moving lights. I floated through the realm, biting down on the anxiety that rose in my throat again and again. 'It isn't important,' I told myself again and again.
Soon the earthy, vine-covered walls of the feudal Bone-Eater's well materialized around me and my feet found solid ground. I stood confidently, and began to climb up the well. A thick, cold fog enveloped my vision when I reached the mouth of the well. I glanced around, but it wasn't any use. I couldn't see anything anyway…
The muscles in my arms strained as I pulled my heavy backpack and myself over the lip of the well, and I leaned there for just a moment, catching my breath. My hair was already clinging to my face and neck from the damp air that seemed to gather around my face.
'Perhaps it wasn't such a good idea to come here now. What if I can't find Lady Kaede's hut? I cold get lost!' I swung my legs over the edge of the well, and sat there for a moment. Even the surrounding trees were invisible, and every breath was like breathing cold soup.
A twig snapped nearby in the forest, and I spun around. All I saw was white and I wasn't even sure where the noise had come from.
"H-hello?" I called, choking down the apprehension that stuck in my throat.
"Kagome?" a distant voice called back. A few more twigs snapped and the voice spoke again. "Kagome, is that you?"
"I'm over here!" I called again.
Some leaves and grass rustled nearby, and something soft ran into my leg. I reached down blindly, and grabbed onto something furry. I raised it close to my face, trying to make out what it was.
"Kagome, I'm upside-down!" the furry thing said.
"Oops, sorry," I replied, flipping it over. I held it closer to my face. Two huge eyes peered at me under light brown bangs.
"Shippo!" I exclaimed happily, hugging him.
"I'm so glad I found you! This fog is awful!" he bubbled.
"Where's Inu-yasha?" I asked him as the boy fox-demon climbed up to perch on my shoulder.
"I don't know. We got separated."
"Huh," I sighed. "INU-YASHA!"
Shippo lost his balance and I put my hand up to catch him.
"Next time warn me when you do that," he whimpered.
"Sorry," I apologized. "Again?"
I felt Shippo nod against my hand before he sat up again.
"INU-YASHA!" we called in unison.
We waited for several seconds, but silence was our only answer.
"INU-YASHA!" Shippo called again. I had an idea.
"Sit boy!" I called. A sharp, surprised cry rang out through the fog and a loud, leafy THUMP followed it closely.
"YOU WENCH!" a distant, and strangely disembodied voice floated to us from somewhere in the forest.
"He's over there!" Shippo pointed into the fog, then hopped off my shoulder and disappeared.
I waited patiently and before too long sounds of snapping twigs and muttered curses reached my ears.
"I found him, I found Inu-Yasha!" Shippo's voice exclaimed excitedly. I strained my eyes and waved a hand through the milky fog, trying to see them. Inu-Yasha appeared suddenly in front of me, dangling Shippo rudely by the tail.
"Kagome?" he called, nearly falling over my feet at the same time.
"Right here," I said meekly over his quiet snarls as he tried to regain his balance.
"Come on, we have to get back to Lady Kaede," he said gruffly.
I adjusted my pack again and reached out into the blinding mist.
His hand found mine and he practically yanked me up and after him.
We stumbled through the forest in a direction I wasn't sure of. He ran into a tree once or twice and growled under his breath. I was tempted to ask if he knew where he was going, but I didn't dare. He and I were too preoccupied with keeping our footing to speak, and Shippo stayed respectfully silent.
After what could have been hours or minutes, our silent trek was halted when Inu-Yasha ran right into the side of a house.
"You found Kaede's hut! Good job, Inu-Yasha!" Shippo sprang out of Inu-Yasha'a grasp and disappeared. Soon Lady Kaede was leading us around to the door of the hut. Once we stepped inside, my vision cleared drastically, and I saw Shippo and Miroku sitting by a fire in the center of the building.
"The mighty hunter has returned!" Miroku greeted us. "And what beautiful game he's brought back, too!" He quirked an eyebrow at me.
"Shut up, Miroku," Inu-Yasha snapped. Shippo snickered.
"Child, ye are soaked to the bone! Come by the fire and dry ye-self off," Lady Kaede shooed me toward the fire.
I hadn't even realized that my clothes were drenched just from walking from the forest to Kaede's hut. I noticed it now, the way the school uniform clung to my skin like a flexible layer of ice. I clenched my teeth to stop them from chattering and gratefully sat down by the fire. Inu-Yasha shook like the dog he was, arousing protests from Shippo and Miroku, who had been dry. The hanyou flopped down by the fire in his usual froggy-looking pose. He pushed some stray hair out of his eyes and his ears twitched. Shippo and Miroku edged closer to the fire, throwing Inu-Yasha dirty looks all the while.
It was so quiet. I stared into the fire, wondering why nobody was speaking. I squirmed as close as I could to the fire without getting burned. The silence was becoming unbearable. Then it happened.
Inu-Yasha sneezed. He reeled forward, his hair whipping past his face into the fire. He sat back groggily and his ears twitched. My breath caught in my throat and I pointed a limp finger at him, unable to speak. Miroku's eyes were larger than saucers as he stared at the puzzled half-demon.
Inu-Yasha glanced up and his eyes darted around the fire at everyone. "What the hell is wrong with you?" he demanded, his head whipping around to glare at each of us in turn.
Then he took a sniff of the air. He sat very still and took another sniff. His face became more and more puzzled… until he looked down.
"IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!" he shot up, almost hitting the ceiling. He raced around the room, a small ball of fire trailing after him, and the smell of singed hair began to fill the room.
"Inu-Yasha stand still!" Kaede yelled at him, holding a bucket of water.
"Sit," I whispered.
Inu-Yasha fell face first into the dirt and Kaede dumped the water on his burning silver hair, which was now much shorter.
Miroku's eyes were still wide. "You…"
Inu-Yasha lifted his face from the mud and snarled at the priest wrathfully. "I what?"
"You… you sneezed."
"Yeah, so?" I said, and Miroku turned to face me.
I looked back at Inu-Yasha. He looked angry, confused, and a bit shocked.
"I didn't know hanyou's could get sick," Miroku said, awed.
"I… but I…ahh….ACHOOOO!" Inu-Yasha's face went back into the mud with another forceful sneeze.
I was very confused. Hanyou's didn't get sick? Well, come to think of it, I had never seen Inu-Yasha sick before, but nobody ever brought it up.
Inu-Yasha lifted his head again, his nose twitching in irritation. "I don't get sick! I must be allergic to something." He turned his golden stare on me. "It must be her."
My mouth dropped open in indignation and I put my fists on my hips defiantly. "You've never been allergic to me before and you known me for how long? Two, three months?" I could feel my cheeks burning and I crossed my arms and looked away, a small hnph escaping my lips.
He was doing it again.
Inu-Yasha sneezed once more, his face once more in the mud, where it belonged. At this rate, I won't even have to say 'sit,' I thought. Shippo scampered over to me and hid behind my skirt.
"Whatever it is, I don't want to catch it," he declared.
"I'M NOT SICK!" Inu-Yasha'a head shot out of the mud.
"Lady Kaede, do you know what this is all about?" Miroku asked earnestly.
"Strangely enough, I know not whether half-demons can catch illnesses, though I had always expected them to be immune," The old woman said, turning to fetch some blankets from the next room.
"For the last time you old bat, there's nothing wrong with…ahh… ACHOOO!" SPLAT.
Miroku rose to his feet.
"Where are you going," I asked.
"Lady Kaede is a long time with the blankets. Besides, I need something to eat."
"Wait! I'm hungry too!" Shippo cried, hopping after Miroku.
I watched them until they were gone from the doorway, then I looked back at Inu-Yasha. He was motionless, face first in the mud. It can't be easy to breathe like that…
"Inu-Yasha," I began.
"Don't talk to me," he growled.
My face grew hot with frustration. "What, now you don't have anything to say? You seemed to have a lot to say the last time we met, remember that?"
He pulled his face out of the ground again, the muscles in his back and neck straining more than I thought was usual. His amber eyes rose to mine coldly. "You're an idiot, Kagome."
"Right back at ya, dog boy!" My heart was beating painfully inside my chest. I didn't want to start this again. But I couldn't stop.
"Wench."
"Brainless."
"Worthless!"
"Heartless!"
"Stupid school girl!"
"CAT!"
A deep growl resonated in his throat. "Bitch."
"Cur."
"Hell-spawn."
"Demon."
He stared at me. Tears welled up in my eyes and I turned away from him. I bit my lip to keep it from trembling. I couldn't look at him. I knew he was looking at me.
"Feh," he said quietly, but it sounded different, even strangled. I heard a rustle of fabric and glanced at him, only my eyes moving.
He was turned away from me, lying on his side with one hand supporting his chin. His once waist-length hair now fell to about mid-back, the singed ends a startling dark brown in contrast with the rest of the silvery mane.
I let out the long breath I had been holding and allowed one tear to slip down my cheek before wiping it away. It hurt, every time he said those things. When I knew we weren't just kidding around. But I knew what I said must have hurt so much more. He was half-demon, after all, and full demon is what he wanted to become. My angry expression cracked as I realized what a mistake I had made.
Miroku appeared in the doorway before I had time to think. He was looking at Inu-Yasha. A serious expression formed on his face. What was he looking at?
"What are you lookin' at?" I jumped as a certain hanyou's voice savagely echoed my thoughts.
"Nothing," Miroku said calmly, closing his eyes and arching his eyebrows. He sat down by the fire and took a sip from the bowl he was carrying.
I cleared my throat. "Where's Kaede?" I asked casually. Maybe a little too casually…
"I'm not sure." Miroku sipped whatever was in his bowl again. "Shippo went to look for her."
Kaede came in with a bundle of blankets in her arms.
"Where's Shippo?" I asked, searching the folds of the blankets for the little fox.
"The young fox demon?" Kaede inquired. "Was he not here with ye only moments ago?"
"He went to look for you," said Miroku, giving her a sideways glance over the top of his bowl. Kaede nodded ever so slightly, and she glanced at Inu-Yasha. What on Earth was going on?
"Oh dear. I'd better go find him," Kaede turned and started walking to the doorway.
Miroku set down his bowl and got up. "I'll go with you."
I stared at them suspiciously, then got up. "I'll go with you too," I said, starting towards them.
"We can handle it, Kagome," Miroku said glibly.
"Make use of the blankets, child, or ye shall end up ill as Inu-Yasha," said Kaede over her shoulder before disappearing into the hallway.
"I AM NOT ILL!" screamed Inu-Yasha in exasperation, his fist hitting the floor. "I…Ahh…ACHOOOOO!"
I sighed and wrapped one of the blankets around my shoulders. They had done that on purpose, I just know they had. I stared at the fire, exercising an iron will not to look at him. I was dying to see what Miroku and Kaede were so keen to get away from. Inu-Yasha didn't move or make a sound.
Maybe if I'm really careful and move slowly… I shook my head. I wasn't going anywhere. I didn't care about whatever was wrong with Inu-Yasha. He could suffer for all I care. My eyes began to wander in his direction again.
He was sitting, hunched, staring into the fire neither turned away from me nor toward me. His hair was a little straggly, probably from being wet, and it seemed to droop around his face. His eyes were haggard, and his nose twitched every once in a while. His ears were back, making him look like a sad stray puppy. My anxiety and anger eased a little when I saw that he didn't seem irate anymore, just… sick. His golden eyes snapped over to me and I jumped, quickly looking away.
We sat in that tortured silence for a while. I tried to hide my increasing yawns, but he noticed anyway. I wrapped the blanket a little tighter around my shoulders and tried to keep my drooping eyelids open. I was barely aware that my chin was slowly sinking lower and lower. Soon, I couldn't keep my eyes open any longer, and I drifted off to sleep.