Summary: It was an unusual occurrence—Inuyasha and Kagome having the same dream concerning hers and another's death. But the fear they felt—the pain, the loss—will require them to console each other to a state of tranquility. Note: The Comforter rewritten.
Rating: T for Language and Suggestive Themes.
He was running. He didn't know why, but his feet wouldn't stop. He automatically skipped and flew over rocks and protruding tree roots, as if his body had a mind of its own.
It wasn't too long before he recognized the surroundings; he was headed straight towards Goshinboku, the God Tree. He felt the muscles of his face stretching into a small smile, and he realized with slight surprise that he was grinning because he felt like it.
Her scent wafted up to his nose and he breathed it in headily, his grin widening. Vanilla and cherries; it was an odd combination, but he absolutely adored it.
It was when the metallic scent reached his nose that his eyes snapped open and he ran even faster than he thought was possible. He could feel the red seeping into his eyes; his claws lengthening painfully, his fangs sharpening into piercing incisors, which cut easily into his lower lip, but he pushed the sensations down, trying with all his might to stay sane.
His trained ears easily picked up the sound of a small babies cry, along that of its mother and the twang of a bow.
He reached Goshinboku, and, suddenly, all that he saw was red.
oOo
Kagome jerked awake in a frenzy, her hands slamming to her chest to feel for the arrow that wasn't there. Hastily wiping the sweat from her face, Kagome sat up and moved for her water bottle, which was laying beside her. After a nice, long swig of water, Kagome lay back down on the ground under the tree where Inuyasha was seated and attempted to get back to sleep, but the dream was still haunting her.
Looking up through the branches of the tree, Kagome was suddenly glad that Sango dragged Miroku and Shippo back to the exterminator village to repair her Hiraikotsu. For at least a week, it was just her and Inuyasha; just like it was before.
She searched for the hanyou through the branches and leaves, but couldn't find any sign of red, and decided that he probably didn't want to be seen. She lay back down on the ground and closed her eyes, trying to fall asleep again, but there was a nagging feeling in her chest that wouldn't let her. Kagome sighed and rose from her comfortable sleeping bag, intending to walk herself to exhaustion so she could sleep.
Kagome had barely reached the tree line of the forest when a hand wrapped around her arm and pulled her back, a rough voice saying harshly, "Where the hell do you think you're going?"
She was a bit startled by the gruffness of the voice—it sounded different—but she wasn't surprised when she found herself in the hard planes of her companion's chest. Inuyasha's hand squeezed her arm—almost affectionately—before releasing her. He then moved out of the way so she could go back to her sleeping bag, but kept his head down and his eyes shaded.
Kagome ducked her head slightly to see his face, but Inuyasha turned away and pointed to her sleeping bag. Kagome reared back, surprised.
"Are you all right, Inuyasha?" she asked tentatively.
"Just go to sleep, wench," the half-demon replied. But Kagome made no movement. Instead, she stood there and stared at him for along while before grabbing his forelocks and forcing him to face her.
Kagome almost gasped in surprise when red, slightly puffy golden eyes met hers. But this wasn't the red hue of his demon eyes, it looked more like—
No, Kagome thought. It couldn't be!
"Inuyasha, were you…crying?" Kagome inquired. Inuyasha's eyebrows furrowed together and he shook his head to make her release him. When he was free, he turned and growled at her and made to jump into the trees, but Kagome's loud "Sit!" forced him to stay where he was.
"Damn it, wench!" Inuyasha cursed rather rapidly with his mouth full of dirt, but Kagome ignored him, knelt down, and pressed a warm hand against the small of his back.
"Were you crying, Inuyasha?" Kagome pressed again, softening her voice in an attempt to keep him calm and open. She figured she'd give herself credit for trying when it didn't work.
Slapping her hand away, Inuyasha stood up in a flurry of dust and dirt in his haste that Kagome was forced to shield her eyes to protect them. She squeaked slightly when her body suddenly defied gravity as Inuyasha tossed her unceremoniously onto her sleeping bag with a loud plop. She grunted with the impact, rubbing her tailbone and wondering if she broke it on a rock that might lay hidden beneath the blanket.
Kagome felt her tolerance dissipate when she felt a bruise beginning to form on her bottom. Her hands clenched in indignant anger and frustration—she was worrying over him, losing sleep over him and this is what she got? A painful bump on her rump?
She saw him begin to jump away again and sat him so many times that even the separate strands of his hair formed a crater. She waited for the dust to clear away, her eyes narrowed into angry slits as she glared at him.
"Damn it, Kagome! What the—"
"What is your problem, Inuyasha?" Kagome cut him off. She shouted so loud that several startled birds flew out of their nests and circled above them. Inuyasha looked as surprised as the birds did that she shouted at him, but he quickly got over it and jumped to his feet. "Why won't you just let me help you?" Kagome asked. Her hands fisted again, her knuckled turning white and her face turning red with her anger.
"I don't need your help, bitch—"
"Sit!"
Inuyasha met the ground again and groaned in frustration. Kagome hovered like an angry storm cloud above him, her pounding fists like lightening bolts on his body. She didn't mind so much that he had insulted her—she heard that one before—but more that he outright lied to her in her face. She knew he need help and he knew it, too.
"What is the matter with you?" Kagome gasped in exasperation, angry tears forming in her eyes as she shook her head in frustration. "Why are you being so—so stubborn?" She knew that was a pointless question—he was always stubborn, but that terrifying dream from earlier still haunted her memories, twisting her feelings into something ugly.
"I said I don't need help from a stupid, weak girl like you!" he spat harshly as he stood. Kagome reared back, her teeth gritting in shock and anger before she slapped him hard across the face. He stood there, stunned, almost not noticing that Kagome was marching away in an angry huff into the woods.
It didn't take him long to sniff out the scent of her tears, but when he did, he felt his heart do a funny little jump and his stomach plop. Moving without thinking, Inuyasha grabbed her arm again and pulled her back to him, his nightmare forcing him to take involuntary action to make sure that Kagome was with him and safe.
"Don't leave," he said softly, but Kagome, too absorbed in her frustrations, didn't hear him.
"Let me go!" Kagome cried. Her small fists pounded weakly on his hard chest and Inuyasha quickly held her hands between their bodies with one of his own lest she accidentally strain herself. He kept his other arm wrapped tightly around her waist, his eyes glazed slightly as he remembered the way he held her as she lay dying in his arms.
His grip tightened, his muscles flexing and twitching almost violently as he sprang into the air and landed on a perch in a nearby tree. Kagome yelped her surprise and clung to him, something that Inuyasha took advantage of as he breathed in her heavenly scent. He shuddered, closing his eyes at her proximity before settling her in his lap and nuzzling her neck to quiet her.
"You're gonna' wake the entire forest, wench," he said gruffly. He felt Kagome stiffen against him and slowly pulled away to find her glaring at him.
"So now I'm loud?"
Inuyasha grunted his frustration and banged the back of his head on the bark of the tree. "Yes—" Kagome eyed him daringly, "—No! Just—Just stop talking for a minute!" Inuyasha groaned and rubbed his eyes tiredly, but stopped when he felt Kagome's warm hands cover his. She pulled them away and stared closely into his eyes, all of her previous anger gone.
"Your eyes are really red," she said quietly. She dismissed the fact that hers must be too and focused on him. "Will you tell me why?"
Inuyasha shamefully looked away, not finding the courage to look her in the eye anymore.
"I had a nightmare," he said quickly, and then instantly regretted it. Damn it, why did he tell her that? Now she must think that he was a fool—crying over some stupid dream!
"What was it about?" Kagome's curious voice invaded his thoughts and Inuyasha looked at her with a surprised look in his eyes. He blushed and turned away again, his hands fumbling with the ties of his sash.
"Nothing," he said evasively. He risked a quick peek at her, slightly worried that she might cry because he wasn't talking to her like she wanted him to, but she was staring at him motionlessly.
"I had a nightmare, too," she said finally. Inuyasha felt his ears twitch in interest. "I was standing by Goshinboku with a child—" Inuyasha's eyes widened more and more as she continued with her reminisce. "Kikyo was there and she shot us both with an arrow—" Kagome paused and hastily wiped the tears from her eyes. "And it hurt—not physically, but—but watching that poor baby die in my arms hurt so much! And then you showed up, but it was too late…" Kagome bit her trembling lower lip and clenched her eyes tight together, her tears leaking out in the corners.
Inuyasha sat there, stunned that she had the same dream as him. He felt his teeth clench as he recalled holding them—Kagome and his pup, for he knew that the child belonged to him—he didn't know how, but the gut feeling, the pain he had experienced in his heart told him so. He wondered briefly if this was some sort of premonition, but shook his head, not wanting to believe it.
Kikyo had changed over the past few years, but no matter what happened, he wouldn't let any harm come to Kagome because of the dead woman. That was a fact he would make sure to enforce.
Inuyasha wrapped his arms tightly around Kagome as she sobbed and held her close to him, burying his face into the crook of her neck and inhaling deeply to hold his own tears at bay. He didn't have to tell her that he had the same dream—not now. Later, yes, but for now, they would console each other like their lives depended on it.
They sat there for a long while, simply holding each other and breathing. Kagome couldn't remember the last time Inuyasha held her like this, but was silently grateful for the chance. Her mind kept drifting back to the dream she had, resulting in her clinging to Inuyasha like a life line as tears repeatedly welled in her eyes. Inuyasha responded by tightening his hold on her and making comforting, guttural sounds from the back of his throat; Kagome was surprised when he first did this, but quickly relaxed into it and discovered that the calming noise took her focus off of her nightmare.
Inuyasha began to gently rub her back up and down in a very soothing manner as Kagome rested her head on his shoulder. When she had fallen asleep, he let his head rest against the tree and sighed, a small blush forming on his cheeks.
"It hurt me, too," he whispered softly. Kagome's hand clenched on his clothing and Inuyasha looked down, slightly worried that she had heard him, but her breathing pattern didn't change and her eyes remained closed. Deciding to watch her sleep, Inuyasha gently twirled her hair between his fingers and pulled her tightly to him, wanting to mold their bodies together so he'd never have to worry about her safety again.
Inuyasha couldn't help but expand a little on that thought, wondering what it would be like if he and Kagome coupled like mates were suppose to, but he cleared his mind of it and settled against the tree. He wouldn't need Kagome feeling his excitement when she was sleeping in his lap.
Quickly changing the topic, Inuyasha looked back down at Kagome when she whimpered and clung to him. He stroked her cheek and whispered sweet nothings in her ear, knowing somehow that she was reliving the dream of her and their child's death. She calmed quickly and Inuyasha breathed contentedly as he sensed her heart rate return to normal.
He found it quite odd that Kagome had to spill her feelings to him to make him feel better, while all he had to do was hold her and she'd let the tranquility of the moment consume her. Inuyasha figured that it was much easier for them to communicate physically rather than verbally, but then decided that moments like this touched deeper then skin.
They had touched each others hearts, and contact like that, no matter how miniscule, would last them a lifetime.
Well, that certainly took a while to rewrite. I hope you guys liked this newer version I wrote of The Comforter. I realized in the older version that Inuyasha and Kagome (well, Inuyasha more-so) were WAY out of character, so I tried to depict them a little better in this version.
Review please!
~Hannahkimi