Chapter 1: Gazes

Disclaimer: I do NOT own Inuyasha in any way.


Kagome was drenched in a shower of blood and limbs. She'd wanted to shield her face with her arm but it was useless; the yōkai's remains splattered everywhere before she had any time to react. Her chest heaved, falling and raising heavily as she caught her breath. Her stance still held; her bow still poised to attack, a phantom of a scared arrow on her left hand. She was getting better and better at shooting at her targets but she wasn't aiming at the head of the yōkai, but rather the heart. She groaned, frustrated, but was secretly grateful that she'd been able to defend herself without the help of a certain hanyo.

She dropped her bow to the flood of crimson beneath her feet and examined her clothes. Kagome's green and white sweater was no longer that, but was now evidently a gross and slimy red. Her mini skirt wasn't spared either, nor her bare legs or shoes. She could feel a stream of warmth travel down her cheek. More blood, no doubt. She wrinkled her nose in detestation. Gross.

She decided to clean herself off; she'd left her yellow backpack by the hot spring, a few feet from where she stood. She had seen the dim lavender light illuminating from the shard of the Shikon no Tama before she had the chance to enjoy it. She'd left her belongings behind and had rushed to the scene.

Now, before the yōkai could regenerate itself, she stepped into the little hill of guts and organs, cringing as she did, and ripped the shard out. She placed it into the tiny glass jar that was bound around her neck. She turned her back to the pile of mess she'd created, retrieved her bow, and edged a bit deeper into the forest in the way she'd come. She brushed aside a few branches in her path until she spied her yellow backpack again. She had an extra set of clothes in there, but she didn't want to touch it with her bloodied fingers. She decided to strip off her clothing and sink into the lukewarm water. It sent an involuntary shiver up her spine; her cool skin warmed instantly. She dipped her head back, letting her black, wavy, locks soak as well. After a few minutes of this tranquil, all she really wanted to do was sleep.

Inuyasha was in a deep sleep inside of Kaede's little hut, cocooned peacefully in one of Kagome's fluffy blankets that she had brought from her era. It took a while for the stench of foul yōkai blood to reach his nose. The potent stench was enough to stir him awake and he instantly sprung to his feet. There wasn't any doubt about it; his nose never lied: he could smell Kagome along with the blood. It was somewhere nearby. His body had a mind of its own; he didn't even need to ponder it. He was dashing wildly to Kagome's rescue, which, in his opinion, he did fairly well.

He raced into the trees, his bare feet silently snaking along the forest floor. His senses were alive – not that they weren't always, they were way stronger than a mere mortals, of course – but when he was after something specific, his senses aided him, naturally allowing him to hunt down his prey. It was the hanyo in him. The stench grew stronger and before he knew it, he came face to face with the silenced yōkai. Inuyasha prayed silently (which was not like him at all) that Kagome wasn't among the corpse. But of course she wasn't. Not a single drop of her blood had been spilled. But still …

"Kagome!" he shouted into the trees and followed her invisible trail. He poked his head out of a bush, brushing past it to where Kagome was. He didn't notice her at first; he was too busy fussing, yanking leaves that were tangled into his silver tresses.

"Stupid leaves," he muttered. "Hey, Kagom–" he froze, wide eyed, staring at the miko before him. The sun that streamed through the treetops shone on Kagome's fair skin; the water droplets dripping from her body glistened beautifully like pure crystals. Inuyasha froze as his eyes explored her body. They roamed from her startled expression, to her flustered cheeks, to her rosy lips. Her hair was a tangled mess, but to him it just added more appeal to the picture he was seeing. He saw her gulp when he glanced at her neck, then they trailed to her full breasts that were in view, a white towel nestled in the space between them. He saw her pink buds harden to perfection and … and … she smelled amazing. Her natural scent was almost intoxicating.

He knew he shouldn't be there, looking at her like her was, but …had she always smelled this way? His head was in a strange trance, unable to control his mind frenzy. The way she stood there, unable to move, it was too much to –

"Hey! Inuyasha. Is everything alright? I saw you run like a madman and –"

Miroku's head popped out of the bushes, just like Inuyasha had done a mere minute ago. The hanyo whirled his head towards the monk to see him staring at Kagome. It took Miroku a few seconds to pick his jaw up off the ground. Slowly, Miroku's features morphed from the mimicked looks of horror from both Kagome and Inuyasha to one of pure anticipation. He raised an eyebrow and averted his eyes on Inuyasha's mortified face, grinning.

He cocked an eyebrow. "You know, if you two were doing things behind our back, you should've just told us. That way I would've known not to follow you –"

Kagome screamed a sudden screech that silenced the monk and broke the hanyo from his reverie. "Get lost! NOW! Both of you." She quickly turned her back to them and hurriedly wrapped the towel around her freezing body.

Inuyasha was taken aback. He held his hands up in a 'hold up' gesture and stuttered his nonsense. "I'm sorry, I thought you might've been hurt .. the yōkai.. the blood .. the .." he was still looking at her. Damn his traitor eyes.

"Inuyasha! SIT!" Kagome snapped, whirling around in fury. Her face was beat red. She was so embarrassed. Did he not have a sense of privacy? The way he looked at her .. ugh. He was so perverted. She could almost hear all the things that had ran through his mind. With each passing second it just infuriated her more.

Then there was Miroku .. Miroku .. who was nowhere to be seen, the young priestess realized, when she targeted him next. The monk had fled as soon as he realized he'd be in for a beating from her and Sango if he stuck around. Kagome snorted and glared at Inuyasha's head. He was a bit busy kissing the ground. She watched his twitching form with some satisfaction, snorted, grabbed her belongings, and went on her way to get dressed. She disappeared behind more trees.

Inuyasha let out a low groan and collected himself off the ground. Damn, he hated when she did that. What the hell was wrong with him? Getting all freaked over her. Was this any way to treat someone who always saved her sorry ass? He got to his feet, dusting off his red hakama and went on his merry way. Yep. Who cared about Kagome, anyway?

Although, he still couldn't help the blood that rushed to his cheeks. The way she looked back there was forever burned into his brain. C:


I hope you all enjoyed this first chapter. Honestly, this is my first time writing fanfiction or anything like this, for that matter. I know my writing needs improvement, but I'm working on it! So, your comments/advice would really be appreciated. :) I'm not sure when I'll be able to upload the next chapter (it's not even written yet) so please be patient with me. Hopefully it'll be up by next weekend. :)