"Inuyasha!'', Kagome shouted as she landed at the bottom of the well. She had hoped he'd be there to help her out. Instead, she looked up to find her favorite red-headed fox kit grinning down at her.
"You the only one up there, Shippo?" she asked, quite surprised they sent him for her alone. That almost never happened because Inuyasha still hadn't trusted him to protect Kagome on his own yet, even though he was eleven now. He was as strong as he'd ever been! Inuyasha needed to stop being such a jerk. Kagome was his friend, too, and he'd defend her just as fiercely as anyone else.
"Yup! The others aren't far away, though. Come on, before Inuyasha has a heart attack. He's been fuming about you taking too long, as always." Shippo warned her. He held out an arm for Kagome to grab, and pulled her up almost as effortlessly as Inuyasha. He was proud of his strength, and made sure to show it off in front of the group more often.
She followed Shippo to a comfortable spot under the God Tree, where they had finally found the rest of the gang. "Oh, there you guys are.", Kagome sighed in relief, as she took a seat on the ground next to Sango.
"Where the hell were you!? It's about time you showed up! They were getting 'worried', and wanted me to come after you.", Inuyasha spat at the two as he rolled his eyes.
"Typical Inuyasha.", Shippo muttered under his breath, just loud enough to where Inuyasha could hear it.
"Care to repeat that, twerp?", Inuyasha asked angrily, just before placing a large lump atop of Shippo's head.
"Inuyasha, stop being so mean to him all the time, he's still just a kid!", Miroku said. Shippo was ready to hit Inuyasha back for once until he heard Kagome speak. Why hit Inuyasha back and get into just as much trouble, when he could sit back and watch Inuyasha get in trouble all by himself? Maybe he'd hold off on showing his strength to the group for just a little while longer.
"Miroku, let me handle this.", Kagome said as nicely as possible. Inuyasha knew exactly what was coming. "Inuyasha...",
"Hai?...", Inuyasha answered, covering his ears.
"Sit.", Kagome said calmly. Inuyasha immediately plowed into the ground with a loud 'thump', causing a giant, suffocating cloud of dust to fill the air. 'Damn that runt..' Inuyasha thought.
******
Later that evening, Inuyasha had a splitting headache. Luckily for him, Kagome was very forgiving of him this time, providing him with an ice pack for his head. They decided to spend the night in Kaede's village. All were fast asleep. All but Inuyasha and Kagome, that is. Kagome couldn't possibly sleep without apologizing to Inuyasha first, for she was the cause of his terribly violent headache after all. As it seems, Inuyasha never sleeps, so the two of them sat in silence, minus the occasional crackling of the fire. Kagome was first to break the silence.
"Inuyasha?", Kagome asked completely self-conciously.
"Yeah?", Inuyasha asked as loudly as he could without waking the others.
"I'm sorry." Inuyasha gave her a confused gaze, forgetting she had caused his terrible headache. "Sorry for ... you know, when I 'sat' you. I didn't think you'd land so hard. I didn't mean it, I was only trying to protect Shippo.", she said softly, as if she was answering the question in the young hanyou's head.
"Keh. You know he's old enough to learn to start fending for himself, quit treating him like a baby. That's why he expects to always get what he wants. You do know that don't you?" Inuyasha said in a cold tone.
"Yes, I know. I think you're right though. But, since you put it that way, tomorrow things change. I'm gonna stop treating him like a baby, and start treating him like the young adult he is.", Kagome said in an even softer voice than before. That would take some time, and she knew it.
She stood silently, and Inuyasha appeared next to her instantly. "Shouldn't you be going to sleep now? It's late, wench.''
"No, not yet. I'm gonna sit outside and get some fresh air for a while. You wanna join me?", she asked.
"Sure, if you want." he answered. For some reason, they were always nicer to eachother when no one else was around. "Kagome?"
"Yes, Inuyasha?", she answered.
"I'm sorry I let you think my headache is your fault. I didn't think you'd feel so guilty about it. I should've known better, huh?" Inuyasha joked.
"Inuyasha," she giggled. "But if I hadn't made you... you know, the headache wouldn't be there." she argued.
"Whose to say that my headache was caused by your command?", Inuyasha retorted playfully.
"Well then why else would it be there? Huh?" she tried to sound playful as well, but it came off as downright pitiful.
He hadn't been expecting that. He stared into her eyes for a moment until she purposefully looked away to avoid his gaze. Inuyasha wouldn't have this. He grabbed her chin ever-so-gently and brought her eyes back up where he could see them.
"Stop blaming yourself for everything, wench. I'll be fine. A headache's nothing to me anyways. I've got demon blood in me, remember?" he tried to keep the playfulness coming. He just couldn't stand the scent of guilt and pity radiating from her beautiful, delicate, little body. This time, she held his gaze. Inuyasha moved in slowly to give her a chance to stop him. Seeing nor sensing any signs of hesitation from her, he closed the distance and tilted his head.
Images of their youth played like a movie in his head, like the one she had shown him back in her era. Every shared gaze, every embrace, every laugh they shared, and even every argument flickered through his mind in just the short seconds that led up to this kiss. Sure, it wasn't their first, but at least he knew neither of their lives were in danger this time. The two shared a long, needy kiss. Their tongues battled one another for dominance in a war of love, stopping only because Kagome needed to catch her breath.
"Inuyasha..." Kagome was shocked, but she definitely enjoyed it. Just what the hell made him wait so long to kiss her like that!?
''Kagome, listen to me." he stated calmly. Instantly, he could smell the different emotions emanating from her.
'Oh, no. Maybe he regrets it. Maybe it meant nothing to him. What if this is some kind of sick joke?' She opened her mouth to speak her mind, but he stopped her.
"Hey, calm down. It's nothing like what you're thinking. I really have wanted to do that for a long time now. I just need to tell you a few things, is all." he told her sheepishly. Was he really ready for this?
"Okay, then. Shoot." she spoke with false confidence. She still wasn't sure of what he'd say to her. What if he told her he'd never love her the way he loved Kikyo?
'Well, that'd just ruin my day...' Kagome thought sadly.
"Kagome, please stop thinking I'm going to reject you. You do realize I can pinpoint all your mood changes with this thing, right?" he asked, pointing to his nose.
"I'm sorry. I don't mean to do it, honestly. Just tell me what you have to say." she said calmly. She needed to hear this, already! The anticipation was killing her.
"Well, Kagome... We've been friends for six years now. Every day I've spent with you over the years has impacted my life in some way. I really am glad you came into my life, Kagome. And, in the last 6 years that we've traveled together, I've created this close bond with you. I mean, you're my best friend. I'd give my life to protect you in a heartbeat. And I know you know that. And I know we fight. I'm sorry about the way I act, but I just never wanted to come to you with these feelings I wasn't sure I understood and then have you reject me." he paused, waiting for her to say something. Instead, she stared up at him, urging him to continue.
"It took me forever to come to this realization, but, Kagome, you've always been there for me. Never once, did you push me away or try to hurt me because of what I am. You never, ever made me feel like I should be ashamed of either half of myself, regardless of how horrible I was to you. It's like you knew I needed you, even if I never dared show it to you... Kami, I feel so stupid for not doing this sooner. I'd always known I had feelings for you, but I never could come to terms with them because of my own insecurities. I never even gave it a chance, and, damnit, I can't take it anymore. I'd rather let you know how I feel and be rejected than to never know. I've developed some pretty strong feelings for you. I've tried to ignore them with Naraku around and all, but... Dammit! Kagome I love you."
...Akward Silence between the two...
"Oh Inuyasha, I don't know what to say..." she tried desperately to both fill the silence between them, and to find the right words to say to her beloved hanyou. He looked down at her with fear in his eyes, hoping this wasn't the rejection he'd feared for so long. How could she be speechless? Did she not feel the same way? But she kissed him back! This didn't make any sense. He needed her to say something - anything! Picking up on how tense he had become, she decided she needed speak to him, and now, before the moment was gone forever.
"I love you too, Inuyasha! You don't have any idea how long I've wanted this to happen. I almost can't comprehend it." she joked. His face lit up the instant he heard the word "love" pass her lips, and beamed down at her, eyes dancing happily. Tears of happiness threatened to spill down Kagome's now rosy-red cheeks. She threw her arms around his neck and giggled happily into his chest. Still a bit shocked by her response, Inuyasha stood motionless for a moment as she hugged him before wrapping his arms around her waist. He breathed in deeply, allowing her lovely scent to fill his nose and wrap itself around his senses, similar to the way she wrapped her arms around him.
The new couple shared another kiss, and Inuyasha held Kagome to him tightly as he leapt up into a nearby tree. He wanted to be able to enjoy this time with her now before he had to go back to camp and share her attention with the others. They'd have some explaining to do in the morning, but that could wait. Inuyasha didn't want to be away from her any more than he had to. He sat against the tree's trunk and let Kagome snuggle into his sitting form, where they both drifted off to sleep. He could definitely get used to this.