A boy ran through the dark forest, panting heavily with exhaustion. Someone was hunting him. Someone with a passionate hatred in their heart and the blinding rage to kill…
An arrow struck the tree next to him with a shower of pink sparks.
"Die InuYasha!"
He halted and turned around in shock. Her voice was familiar. No, it couldn't be…
"Ka…Kagome?" he stuttered in shock.
"Die!" She screamed and loosened the sacred arrow in her bow.
Whizzing through the air, the shining arrow embedded itself into his chest; and exploded into a dazzling pink light.
InuYasha could feel his body slowly disintegrating as the purifying aura of the arrow enveloped him. His consciousness began to slip away.
His last coherent thought was, 'Why Kagome?"
InuYasha awoke to the sounds of birds singing sweetly; and to the pain of falling out of a tree.
"BLOODY FUC-"
"Oh I see you're finally awake. About time if you ask me."
A pair of long, long legs that disappeared under a tiny mini skirt swam into his blurry vision.
"So, you want Ramen for breakfast?"
InuYasha shook his head slightly and got up; only to look into the face of his nightmare murderer. He scowled angrily and yelled without thinking, "You bitch!"
Kagome gasped at the completely unexpected insult. Why was he so angry at her? It couldn't have been something she had said, right? All she had done was ask him what he wanted for breakfast!
"What's the matter InuYasha? Did you fall out of the wrong side of the tree today?" she asked casually, giving him her most winning smile. It was best to keep calm, find out what was wrong. After all, she really didn't feel like beginning the day by quarrelling with him.
InuYasha didn't reply, but his vehement glare immediately softened into a frown. Then he just walked away…
Leaving Kagome totally confused and flustered. What was wrong with InuYasha?
InuYasha hunkered down onto his hunches and dipped his hands into the rushing river. With a few splashes of that icy water, he felt the last dregs of sleep finally slip away.
But his nightmare still stayed; looming over him like an overcast storm.
What was the meaning of this dream? It wasn't like the others, where it was Kikiyo that shot him. Not Kagome. She would never do a thing like that.
InuYasha shut his eyes and saw in his mind the surprised and hurt expression that had flittered across Kagome's face; before she hid her emotions behind a smile smile. She was always so bloody happy; even when he knew she felt rotten inside. That was Kagome: stupid, air-headed, overly ecstatic and downright annoying.
But she was also kind, loving, understanding, pure and so beautiful she nearly took his breath away; especially when she smiled at him. Her smile made him feel like it was meant for him, and only him. It also made his knees go all soft...
InuYasha groaned. 'Stupid touchy mushy feelings,' he thought disgustedly, 'I'd be better off without them'. But he couldn't stop the stab of guilt in his heart at the memory of Kagome's shocked eyes. Damn. Now he would have to apologise, or else he'd never be able to live with himself.
Kagome sighed softly as she pierced a fork into the boiling mass of noodles in the pot. Stupid InuYasha and his stupid ability to control her stupid moods; if he hadn't been such a jackass just now, she wouldn't be feeling so down at this very moment. She started swirling the fork around in circles, watching as the noodles soon became a soggy vortex of doom; ready to suck all those nearby into its destruc…
There came a sudden rustle in the bushes.
Kagome was startled out of her hypnotic stirring and looked up, only to see the most disturbing sight. Her heart nearly stopped. Wasn't it enough to have to start the day with InuYasha yelling at her for no apparent reason, but now this? How much of a shock could one girl take?
She heard footsteps come up from behind her. Then they faltered suddenly and there came an exclamation.
"WHAT THE HELL?"
Kagome didn't have to turn around to know it was InuYasha. She also didn't have to look at him to know that he was almost pissing himself laughing. Heck, she could even feel a giggle coming on…
Miroku stared at his friends in bewilderment. What were they laughing about?
Kagome was clutching her sides and shaking with every silent sob of laughter. Tears were running down her cheeks. InuYasha was no better. He was rolling around the ground, howling with mad hilarity.
"WHAT IS SO FUNNY!" Miroku yelled irately.
"YOU!" InuYasha gave a garbled yell; his voice shaking with mirth.
Miroku checked his body for any peculiar marks; but he found none whatsoever. His irritation and impatience grew.
"No!" Kagome gasped, "Your face. Look at your…" She fought valiantly against a next tide of laughter, but failed and was overwhelmed by giggles.
Miroku raised a jerky hand to his face and brushed his fingers against his cheek. His mouth dropped open when he saw that his fingers had been stained a blood red. With a strangled cry, he ran past his so-called friends, not stopping until he got to the river.
Then he'd almost blacked out.
That could not be his reflection. No way. Not a chance in hell.
A pale face with eyes outlined with bright pink liner, lips painted a ruby red, and to top it off, two perfectly round red circles on each cheek, stared back at him in disbelief.
Something clicked in his panicked mind. Miroku threw his head back and yelled, "SANGO! I'M GOING TO GET YOU FOR THIS!"
Not far off, leaning against a tree, a girl smiled serenely. She had heard his choked scream, seen his frantic dash to the river, and felt the satisfaction of Miroku's shock when he realised what had happened to him whilst he slept peacefully last night. It didn't matter that her that the confirmation that her plan had worked came in the form of a threat. It still gave her all the contentment she had been expecting. That would teach that perverted monk not to fool her again.
Sango drew in a deep, cleansing breath. It was so nice to know that there was some justice in this world after all.
Miroku stormed back to the campsite, his face all pink from his intense scrubbing by the river. Thankfully, all that face paint Sango had evilly smeared on him was removable. Else he would have to do that perfect body of hers serious harm. Not that he wouldn't refrain from exacting his revenge on her. That girl had it coming.
Who would have known that under the exterior of a sweet demon exterminator, (ohh! that rhymes!), beat the heart of a really conniving wench? So what if he had pretended to be deliriously sick for the better half of two weeks! He had only done that to get her attention! Though, he probably should have suspected that his scheme had gone south when he awoke this morning to find her gone. She had usually been there with a concerned look on her face, ready to make all his pains go away...oh dear, sweet Sango…
She was going to suffer. And that was a promise.
InuYasha eyed Kagome cautiously over his bowl of Ramen. Was she still upset about his insult this morning?
Well, after Miroku had ran off in a tiff (and boy did InuYasha intend to have fun teasing him later on), they had exhausted themselves together with laughter, each setting the other off with so much as a giggle or chuckle. Then there had been a long and comfortable silence.
At that time, he had almost summed up the courage to apologise to her when a muffled yell had rang out; from the direction of the river. Then they had collapsed into another fit of laughter. Miroku had probably just had the shock of his life.
Then, just as everything was going so well, she just HAD to refuse to give him any Ramen. And make up some sop-story about it being not ready. Of course he'd just scoffed at her and grabbed a bowl anyway. Anything Kagome cooked was edible as far as he was concerned. And there was nothing that could ever come between him and his Ramen.
He slurped up a long strand of noodle and immediately splattered his face with soup. Without thinking, he wiped it off with his sleeve. Hmmmm. There was something different about today's Ramen. He couldn't quite place his finger on it, but who cared! It was good, that's all that mattered. After the final gulp, InuYasha put his bowl down with a satisfied burp.
But wait. There was something missing. Something that always gave him the feeling of complete contentment. Something that always happened after he finished eating…words that were said…
That was it. Kagome always asked him after he'd finished his Ramen if he was full. Without fail! It was practically a tradition!
He snuck a glance at her, hoping to see her smile at him and utter those magic words. But was sorely disappointed. She wasn't even looking at him with that silly concerned face of hers that somehow always managed to make his heart beat faster…what the hell was she thinking of!
Kagome gazed off into the distance, unseeingly. She now regretted adding that extra clump of dirt into the soup. There was no telling what was in it. Probably countless icky germs and an earthworm or two. Not that InuYasha knew any better, the poor dolt; he just inhaled it like he did every other day.
InuYasha really should have listened to her when she said to not eat the Ramen. After sharing a friendly bout of laughter with him, Kagome knew that in her heart she had already forgiven him for yelling at her earlier on. She was even going to make a fresh, non-dirt contaminated, batch. Just for him! But he had to get all stubborn. Really, sometimes Kagome felt that he liked his Ramen more than her.
She pondered on whether it was wise to tell him about the true contents of his breakfast…probably not. At least not until she was a hundred feet away…or if he was out cold. Alright, she would tell him whilst he was sleeping tonight; that would ease her conscience…
A hand fell into her line of sight and jerked her out of her deep contemplation of what to do about the how-to-tell-InuYasha-that-he-ate-earthworms-without-risking-bodily-injury problem. She turned instinctively to her right; narrowly missing a collision with InuYasha's nose by mere millimetres.
Damn her. Why did she have to move just then? Now he was stuck gazing directly into those alluring eyes of hers and not being able to do anything about it, seeing as his body refused to obey his commands to get away. Did she even know that she had this kind of effect on him? His blood inadvertently heated up immediately at the sight of her full, slightly parted lips. They were calling to him, inviting him to touch, to kiss…
Kagome saw InuYasha lean toward her. Was he going to kiss her? A strange sense of déjà vu swept over her and all her muscles went limp. Then suddenly, she snapped out of it and did the only think she could think of. She slapped him. Hard.
"What was that for bitch!" InuYasha howled as he fell back, clutching the painfully red handprint on his face. For a mere slip of a girl, Kagome had a really strong arm.
"Don't you ever do that again!" she yelled into his face before jumping up and stalking off into the forest.
How dare he! One moment he was calling her names, and the next? He'd almost kissed her for goodness sake! How did he expect her to react!
Kagome had already resigned herself a long time ago, to the fact that InuYasha was still in love with Kikiyo, and that all she'll ever be to him was a friend, nothing more. Then he just HAD to pull that stupid stunt! It was cruel, really, to lead her on when they both knew that his heart still belonged to Kikiyo. Hmph, which was probably why he'd intended to kiss her in the first place. He was 'seeing' Kikiyo again. Man it really burnt when the moron you loved only wanted to kiss you because you looked like his bleedin' ex-girlfriend!
Miroku felt a wave of relief as he was finally only a few yards away from their campsite. He had encountered many malicious tree roots during his terrible journey, now he just wanted to lie down and get over his dreadful shock at the river. And figure out how to get his revenge. He pushed his way through a particularly prickly bush, only to be nearly bowled over by a fuming Kagome. He could practically feel the anger radiate off her in searing waves. Wait. If Kagome was angry, that meant…
Miroku spurted forward with a new burst of energy and ran into the clearing.
InuYasha looked up from his brooding. Oh gee, the pretty-faced monk was back.
"What are you staring at monk?" he spat angrily, taking in the thrilled expression on Miroku's face and not liking it one bit.
"So InuYasha," Miroku said delightfully, not missing the slightly reddened cheek of the half demon, "what did you do this time?"
"I DIDN'T DO ANYTHING!" InuYasha exploded, and added in a huff, "It's not my fault she's overly sensitive and paranoid. I mean all I was trying to do was…was…"
Miroku smirked as hanyou's cheeks deepened into a scorching red, "You were trying to do what?"
"NONE OF YOUR FUCKING BUSINESS!" Came the outraged reply.
A snap of a twig had them swinging their heads in that direction.
"What did you do to make Kagome so angry this time InuYasha?" a slender demon slayer said with a knowing smile on her lips.
"I said I didn't do anything!" he growled from between clenched teeth (uh…fangs?).
"Really. Then do you care explaining why Kagome is heading for the well as we speak?"
"WHAT?" InuYasha yelled, "WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL ME THIS SOONER?" And with that, he shot out of the clearing and after his Kagome. No way was he going to let her go back. Not after what just happened…
"So Sango…" Miroku said a few moments after InuYasha dashed off.
"Miroku," she returned charmingly, "Did you like your make-over?"
"That was a dirty trick! How could you!"
"What do you mean how could you?" Sango retorted, mimicking his last three words perfectly, "how could YOU do such a low-down, despicable, disgusting thing such as PRETENDING TO BE SICK!"
"Huh. You're just upset because I got you to show how much you care about me." Miroku said triumphantly.
"Oh I care Miroku, I care alright…"Sango said dangerously, hooking her hand into the clasp of her beloved Boomerang, "I care to see your dead body CUT IN HALF!"
And with a yell, she charged at him.
"Sango! My dear sweet – ah – Sango! Really, please, there's no need for such a display of affection! Really – ouch –"
"COME BACK HERE MONK!"