Chapter One: Promises
Written by Arsahi
"Kagome!"
The miko whirled, aimed, and loosed an arrow at Inuyasha's shout. Shrouded in a cloud of purity, the arrow sped forward and found its mark at the center of the youkai's chest. Startled, Inuyasha watched the youkai crumble and disappear. All that remained was a puddle of demon blood and the shard, which Kagome retrieved happily. She grinned at Inuyasha and added the shard to the jar, turning to congratulate Shippou, Sango, and Miroku on a battle well-fought. Frowning, Inuyasha realized, with some alarm, that a distance wider than the space between them had developed recently between the girl and himself. He couldn't understand it; it made him confused and more than a little angry.
"Let's go, Inuyasha!" Sango called.
"I'm right here, witch," he called back and jogged over, easily catching up with them. "Here, Kagome," he said, offering her his back.
"No thanks."
Stunned, Inuyasha stopped and watched the group go ahead of him.
"What...what the hell...is going on...?"
The gap seemed to grow wider as the night wore on. He felt his sense of smell face, his felt his ears melt to the sides of his head, he felt his claws become normal human fingernails, and he was actually grateful he was human that night. It would give Kagome and himself some common ground anyway, and maybe he could start bridging the gap. Along with these plans, Inuyasha came the startling revelation that he was lonely without Kagome. It made him shake, the magnitude of which he missed her cheeriness and even her "osuwari".
Which was why he stuck close to camp that night.
"This is good, Kagome-chan," Sango told her.
"Thanks, Sango-chan," she answered.
"Truly delicious, Kagome-sama," Miroku added.
"Definitely!" Shippou agreed enthusiastically.
Should Inuyasha say something?
Kagome didn't even look his way.
"It..." he started. Slowly, she looked at him. "It..." Now! his brain yelled. "Could be better."
Kagome blinked. "I'm sorry you don't like it." Then, she dug in her bag and handed him a cup of ramen. "Here."
"You're not going to 'osuwari' me?"
"Well, no. You don't like my cooking, that's okay. Can't expect everyone to."
He...had wanted to get sat.
Forlornly, he set the ramen to the side and left camp, finding himself in a clearing. "What happened to us, Kagome?" he whispered to the stars. "We used to be so close..."
From a tree nearby, Sesshoumaru watched.
Patiently, Inuyasha waited for Kagome to come give him the humanity pep talk. However, the long he waited the stiller the night became and the darker his mood became. She stayed with Shippou, Sango, and Miroku, leaving Inuyasha feeling abandoned.
Finally tired of getting ignored, he stormed back to camp and sat next to Kagome. Close to her, as usual.
However, she moved over.
"Kagome?"
"Yeah, Inuyasha?"
Good. She still called him without a suffix.
"Can I speak to you alone for a few minutes?" he asked softly.
"Can it wait?" she asked with reluctance. "Miroku-sama was in the middle of--"
"No. It has to be now," he pleaded, his eyes begging her.
Sighing, Kagome smiled. "All right."
Inuyasha took her hand and led her to the open field. Once there, he took her in his arms and held her.
"Inuyasha?" she asked uncertainly.
"I miss you. I miss you so much, Kagome. I miss this. The two of us...together, just us and the jewel..." he admitted quietly.
Kagome pushed him away, frowning. "What are you talking about? I'm right here, how can you miss me?"
"When was the last time we talked?" he asked of her. "This time doesn't count."
"Easy. We talked las--...no, yest--...no..."
"You see? What happened to us?"
Sesshoumaru... she thought, seeing the youkai in a tree nearby. However, she didn't tell Inuyasha. "I don't know."
"When did all of this start happening? Why? The only thing that truly matters though, Kagome, is that I miss you. Can we start rebuilding?" he requested of her, his human eyes begging like a little boy.
Kagome nodded, her eyes flickering once more to the tree where Sesshoumaru hid. Fortunately, Inuyasha failed to notice.
"Well..." he trailed off. "Where do we begin?"
Kagome shrugged.
"You...how are your 'tests'?" he asked, trying to look sincere.
Groaning, Kagome buried her face in her hands. "Tests...don't remind me. I need to go back for three of them in about a week." She looked up at Inuyasha. "Could you get my books out of my bag? I need to study."
"Can...can I help you study?" he asked tentatively.
"I have English, math, and history tests..." she trailed off. Just the mention of two-thirds of her tests made him turn green. History he recognized. English and math he did not. "Get my books and I'll see if there's anything you can help with."
Inuyasha trotted back into camp and once her disappeared from sight, Kagome gave Sesshoumaru the all-clear.
"What is he up to?" the youkai asked, once with Kagome.
"He wants to bond," she told him.
"Do you want to bond?" Sesshoumaru inquired. "You can, if you so desire."
Kagome frowned. "Sesshoumaru-kun...you don't own me. If I want to bond with Inuyasha, I will. With or without your permission."
Chuckling, Sesshoumaru nodded. "Of course. How silly of me to forget. You aren't one of my mindless followers. You're...you."
"Exactly."
"Kagome! Where is it?" Inuyasha called from the camp.
"In my bag!"
"I don't see it!"
"One's green, one's blue, and the other one is white!"
"Um..."
"Shippou-chan knows what they look like!"
"Hey brat, where are Kagome's books?"
Kagome couldn't help the small smile from creeping onto her face. Truthfully, she missed Inuyasha as much as he missed her, but...she had promised...
"Kagome?" Sesshoumaru asked.
"Hm?" she raised her eyebrows.
"Inuyasha comes. Farewell. I will meet you at the Bone Eater's Well in a week." Hesitantly, he kissed her on the forehead. "Stay well."
"Bye!" she called after him, watching him bounce away.
Inuyasha lumbered forth with her books and a blanket. "These?" he asked.
"Those," nodded she. I shouldn't get involved...I shouldn't get involved! It will make the promise even harder to keep...
Meanwhile, Shippou, Sango, and Miroku watched from the campsite.
"Jeez...it's about time!" Shippou sighed. "They've been strangers for the last year..."
Sango nodded, agreeing. While not in the feudal era, Kagome had studied hard and passed her junior high classes. When the spring break came and Kagome passed her high school entrance exams, she had practically lived in the feudal era. That had brought the defeat of Naraku who, with his dying breath, brought about the subsequent second shattering of the Shikon no Tama. Inuyasha, Kagome, Shippou, Sango, Miroku, and Kirara searched high and low for the shards and with a year had collected over half of them. No one like Naraku had risen from the depths of the youkai world, so it had been slow going.
"They really are perfect for each other," Sango said wistfully, with a glance at Miroku.
The priest saw this, took Sango's hand and squeezed it for a moment. Then he allowed his hand traveled around...
Sango slapped him.
Although Kagome and Inuyasha heard the slap, they didn't acknowledge it. Instead, Kagome spread out the blanket Inuyasha had brought and settled on it. However, she didn't have long in one spot, for Inuyasha sat down and pulled her on his lap protectively.
"Inuyasha..." she trailed off. She tried to up, but he held her in place.
"It's easier for me to help you study if I can see the book, right?" Inuyasha pointed out. With Kikyo gone...with Kikyo gone, Inuyasha felt stronger for Kagome than he ever felt for Kikyo, and he felt certain that Kagome felt the same.
Kagome stopped struggling and settled against Inuyasha, feeling safe with her ear near his heartbeat. "Want to start with history?"
"Whatever you need to study most," he murmured.