Title: Better Left Unsaid
Rating: PG, because if I rate it G everyone will think it sucks. I would.
Summary: Just a one-shot vignette between Kagome and Inuyasha, inspired by numerous fights with my roommate. Not that they're always my fault, but I can be kind of an ass sometimes.
Disclaimer: Rumiko Takahashi created the characters and scenarios here, I'm just playing with them. Shonen Sunday and some other companies have all the monetary rights. Tempting as it is, then, I can't accept payment for my work here ;)
Feedback: Please leave some. I don't care if you love it or hate it, just tell me which one and why. Thanks!
Use of this story: Please don't copy or quote this story without my permission. My email is BulkyMonsteryahoo.com, just ask and I'll gladly share.
He was examining his fingernails when she found him. Odd, she thought; they were just ordinary human nails, which is what she supposed held such a fascination for Inuyasha the one night of the month when he had them.
"Um," she announced her presence rather awkwardly, waving a flashlight in the air.
"Another one of your weirdo toys from the future?" he guessed correctly. "Turn it off. It seems to be attracting mosquitos and it'll probably attract other things soon enough."
"I haven't sensed any evil energy for a while now." She shut off the flashlight anyway.
Inuyasha shook his head in what Kagome figured was a dismissive gesture. She sat down beside him, hugging her knees and looking up at the stars that shone so brightly without the interference of any artificial light, without the moon shining either to drown them out.
"What are you thinking about?" she asked him after a moment of silence.
"Augh. Why do you always ask me stuff like that?" he murmured, sounding less annoyed than he wanted to.
Kagome shrugged. "Because I want to know. You don't normally tell anyone what you're thinking when you go off by yourself."
"Maybe I'm off by myself for a reason," he countered.
"Yeah, yeah," Kagome waved him down. "I know, you don't like the new moon and you don't like human feelings and blah blah blah..."
The hanyou quickly turned his head, tossing his dark hair with childlike arrogance. His expression, hidden from her view, was a cross between profound annoyance and a sheepish grin at her eerily accurate teasing. He cleared his throat with a "keh!"
"So what are you thinking, then?" she asked him, persistent.
He groaned in exaggerated vexation.
"That's fine, you don't have to tell me," she declared loftily before he could say another word. "It must be something pretty embarrassing, since you won't say it."
"Hey, if you have to know, I was thinking about… why… there haven't been any demons around here," he covered hastily, because Kagome had guessed right. "It's pretty strange, don't you think? A little suspicious?"
"Sure."
"Don't take that attitude with me!"
"What attitude?"
"The one where you think you know what I'm thinking about!"
"Inuyasha, I would never presume to think I could read your thoughts."
"Like hell you wouldn't."
Kagome shook her head, eyes narrowed in irritation. "Whatever you say. Listen, I came up here to chat with you and to see if you wanted yaki-imo. I thought it might be nice to try something a little bit special and healthier than what we usually eat for once. They're traditional where I'm from and are really good, but if you want to sit here by yourself..."
"Yeah, I do," he interrupted.
"...then I'll go rejoin the group," she continued gracefully, and stepped away. Clearly, though, she was a little hurt. That selfish jerk didn't realize the trouble she'd gone to in order to come up with something fun. She'd been thinking of him, specifically of this night, and tried to think of something that would cheer him up during a time when he was always somewhat miserable. She'd spent hours at the high school library, studying for her tests, while all that was on her mind was the feudal era and her friends there. This idea had given her something to look forward to during the drudgery of study hall, but now she just felt disappointed and rather put out.
"Kagome," he sighed, trying to make his voice sound threatening when all he felt was reticent.
"Come join us if you change your mind," was all she said.
It was not until much later that he rejoined them. Sango and Miroku were already asleep. Kagome was staring at the diminished fire, absently running a hand over Shippo's forehead. An overindulgence of roasted sweet potato had made him a bit sick. Long after the kitsune had fallen asleep, whimpering lightly in her lap, she had sat up alone and lost in thought.
"I was actually thinking about you," he said, speaking with the sullen tone of a child forced to apologize to a sibling. "OK?"
Kagome smiled into the fire, but didn't answer.
"What?!" he asked, flailing. "What else do you want from me? I told you I was thinking about you!" It's not fair. I tried to make up for it! She doesn't even give me a chance!
"Shh. Be quiet, you'll wake everyone up."
"Oh. Sorry," he was immediately recalcitrant, relieved and puzzled at once. Wasn't Kagome still mad? He sat down beside her, crossing his legs in a semi-zazen position and looking in the opposite direction from the miko. An early autumn night breeze swept pleasantly across them, carrying with it a spice-scented chill. Shippo nestled deeper into his own tail, sighing in his sleep.
"I thought you were thinking of something else," Kagome murmured after a moment's pause.
"Like what?" he asked, surprised enough to whirl around to face her. Kagome whirled around and looked directly into his eyes, causing Inuyasha to stare at his crossed ankles.
"I was thinking..." he began, in an evasive manner. Honestly, Kagome, I was not thinking about Kikyo for once. This time, it was you. "I was thinking about weaknesses."
"Do you ever think about anything else besides strength and weakness?" she asked. Her question was posed in such a non-threatening tone that Inuyasha found himself responding without hesitation.
"Not much. I think about how to make myself stronger, and about what my enemies can do or what they know. I was thinking about how they see you."
It was Kagome's turn to be surprised. She stared at the hanyou, but he was talking now and therefore adamantly refused to meet her gaze.
"I was thinking about how my stupid older brother and that idiot Naraku think that you're one of my weaknesses," he explained, then laughed shortly. "Little do they know I wouldn't even be alive if it weren't for you. But they still try to use you against me. Ain't too bright, are they?"
"Inuyasha..."
"Don't go getting all mushy on me," he interrupted her, warily. "It's bad enough being human for one night as it is without you starting all that..."
Kagome smiled patiently. "I was just going to say thanks for noticing, and that it's about time. I'm no wimp. Thanks for saying so, but I already knew that."
"That's the last time I tell you what I'm thinking," he grumbled.
"No, Inuyasha... I really mean it. Thank you. It means a lot hearing it from you."
"You're welcome," he muttered, almost inaudibly. He was grateful for the dying firelight, so Kagome couldn't see him blushing. This conversation had become highly uncomfortable. Inuyasha tried to crack his knuckles, only to frown at the total lack of cracking noises the gesture produced. Instead, his stomach growled to remind him he hadn't eaten in quite some time.
"Is there any of that yakiimo stuff left?" he asked. "It smelled kinda good."
"Yeah. We cooked some extra. Under the leaves."
"Thanks." He dug a roasted sweet potato out from the leaf pile and took a huge bite out of it. "Hey, this isn't bad," he said after a minute.
"No kidding. I told you so."
Inuyasha chewed in silence, at ease now that their discussion had turned away from all the gushy personal stuff. What he hadn't said was that what he really wanted her to know was just how opposite from weakness she really was. It was a little frustrating; he wanted to tell her that whatever their enemies thought, trying to pit them against each other or use her to toy with his memories and feelings, she was still one of his greatest strengths. He just couldn't bring himself to say it. It was awkward enough to be telling as much as he already had, and humiliating enough to be in this weakened state without making himself even more vulnerable. Not that he didn't trust her; far from it. Inuyasha surmised that this weird human girl with her crazy ideas about how he should act would probably respect him more if he told her more about what was going on inside his head more often, but that didn't make it right. Even if he wasn't a demon at the moment, he was Inuyasha no matter what form he was in and he couldn't just go pouring his heart out on the one night he looked a bit different. He had a little pride left even tonight.
I just hope you're as good of a mind reader as you think you are, Kagome. Because I'm really glad that I have you around. You're my greatest strengths. I want you to know that, I just don't want to tell you. If you're so smart, you figure it out.
"Well, I'm going to bed," Inuyasha announced with an exaggerated yawn and stretch. "You should, too, 'cause I don't want you draggin' your feet all day tomorrow." He leaned back against a tree trunk slightly outside the group perimeter, cross-legged, Tetsaiga in its scabbard propped against his shoulder. He wouldn't rest easily, though, knowing he still had hours to go before the safety of dawn and the return of his usual strength.
"Yeah, I guess it probably is pretty late. Goodnight, Inuyasha," Kagome replied, stifling her answering yawn.
"G'night, Kagome," the other replied, closing his dark eyes. She didn't miss the all-but-undetectable softness in the way he said her name. Kagome smiled, and knowing all was well again, drifted off to sleep.
The End