Okay, this was one of the first Inuyasha oneshots I wrote, so I'm not sure how I feel about it. I am not used to writing short stories; please tell me what I can do to improve! Your advice and reviews mean everything if they'll help me become a better writer!
Many thanks to the reviewers of my previous Inuyasha oneshot. I loved reading your reviews! And thanks to all who added my story to their favorites or me to their favorite authors. I hope this oneshot and the others to come will do me justice and I live up to your expectations!
an Inuyasha fanfic by Lleidane
"Inuyasha, will you just sit still? This'll only take a minute!" Kagome said, wrestling with the silver haired hanyou, struggling to get him to keep still long enough for her to rub aloe vera on his badly sunburned shoulders.
"No way am I gonna let you put that goo on me!" Inuyasha cried stubbornly, struggling to free his haori from Kagome's grasp.
"Come on, Inuyasha. It isn't that bad," Sango said reasonably, smoothing some of the gel onto her own arms. "Feels kinda nice, actually."
"No," Inuyasha refused, finally freeing himself from Kagome and jumping to the closest tree branch, well out of her reach. "It doesn't hurt that bad. I don't need that stuff."
"Oh yeah?" said Shippo. He floated to Inuyasha in his balloon form and quickly transformed back into his normal shape. He smacked down hard on Inuyasha's sunburn and swiftly scampered out of the hanyou's reach, laughing as he went.
Inuyasha cried out and fell over from the pain, smashing into the ground with a loud thud. Kagome kneeled at his side and gently lowered his haori sleeve, revealing the hot, red skin beneath. Inuyasha jumped away from her, jerking his sleeve back up with a pained expression.
"Come on Inuyasha, quit being such a baby! I know with you being half-demon and all you'll heal soon enough, but you're in pain and this will help!" Kagome said, crossing her arms.
"Uh-uh. That stuff stinks worse than you do, Kagome. I'll be fine without it," Inuyasha stated, sitting in his usual position with his hands shoved into his sleeves, but he was tense, ready to jump up at any moment should she attack him with the aloe vera again.
Kagome stood up, huffing angrily. "Worse than I do? What's that supposed to mean?" she demanded, chucking her shoe at him. It struck true, bouncing off his temple.
"Oh no. Now he's done it," Shippo muttered. Miroku and Sango nodded in agreement and they all sat back to watch the show.
"Ow! Whadja do that for?!" Inuyasha shouted, rubbing his head.
"You're being a jerk and I'm only trying to help!" Kagome "hmph"ed and turned away from him disdainfully.
Suddenly Miroku smirked, getting an idea. "Hey Kagome, I could use some more of that aloe on my shoulders."
Kagome smiled sweetly and went to the monk's side, whose robe was already off so his previous application of aloe could dry. As she began squirting the green gel on Miroku's shoulders, Inuyasha cried indignantly, "Kagome!"
Sango looked ready to kill the both of them, but Miroku winked to show it was all play.
Just before Kagome's hands touched Miroku's shoulders, he was shoved out of the way and Inuyasha took his place, shrugging his haori off and taking his arms carefully out of his white shirt beneath. His shoulders were badly blistered and the skin on his back and shoulders was an angry red.
"Inuyasha, are you sure?" Kagome asked teasingly.
"Oh, just get it over with," Inuyasha groaned, laying on his stomach and moving his hair out of her way.
Sango, Miroku, and Shippo laughed at Miroku and Kagome's successful ploy and again sat back to watch.
Kagome squirted a layer of the green gel over Inuyasha's sore skin and he jumped. "Inuyasha, hold still!"
"That stuff's cold, all right?!" he defended.
Kagome sighed and gently rubbed the gel into his sunburned skin, slowly spreading it over every inch of redness on his back and up his shoulders. She felt Inuyasha stiffen and then relax as she continued her work. When she was finished rubbing it in she added another layer that she just spread around, letting the aloe sit so it could suck the heat from his burns.
Finished, Kagome took her hands off his shoulders, satisfied. "Feel better?"
"It feels all right," Inuyasha admitted grudgingly. "How long do I hafta wear this stuff?" he asked as Kagome moved to sit in front of him.
"It'll dry soon, then you can put your clothes back on. Besides, it's your fault for not listening to me in the first place."
It was true. Kagome had warned them all to wear sunblock before they went swimming the day before. Everybody except for Inuyasha had worn some, which was why his burns were worse than the others'.
"Yeah, yeah," Inuyasha grumbled, sitting up and crossing his arms.
Once everyone's sunburns had been treated, Kagome passed around lunch. Inuyasha was still sulking and wouldn't accept his food for a moment, but soon his hunger drove him to snatch the ramen from Kagome's hands and he turned his back on them all, slurring the noodles with gusto.
After lunch Kagome wandered away to the brook they had swam in the day before. She made herself comfortable on a rock that was slightly dipped into the water and began treating her own sunburned arms as she watched the water float by.
Suddenly Inuyasha was behind her. "There you are. You can't just wander off like that, Kagome. You had us all worried!"
"Well, you shouldn't have been. There's no danger here," Kagome retorted, braiding her hair to one side before she started lathering herself with aloe vera.
Inuyasha sat himself next to her and, without explanation, took the bottle from her hands and applied it to her skin as she had done to him. His hands were surprisingly gentle as they worked their way over Kagome's shoulders and down her arms. When he was finished covering her sore skin, he washed his hands in the brook and settled himself cross-legged beside her.
Kagome, her cheeks flushed pink, was slightly stunned at Inuyasha's actions and she asked, "What did you do that for?"
"I was only trying to help," he mimicked her from earlier, a small smirk tugging at his lips.
Kagome smiled, turning so he wouldn't see her blush. "Thank you," she said shyly, causing his cheeks to color.
They looked away from each other and stayed by the brook until the gel on her skin had dried and then made their way back to camp, where their bickering started up again and everything returned to normal.
But the moment shared between them was remembered, and each could still feel the touch of the other, could still remember the others' healing hands.
END
So, like I said, I'm not sure I like this one very much...Something just didn't...spark, I guess. My latest ones are better (I hope!) and I plan to post them up soon. I'd love some feedback, preferably some that include helpful tips! Thanks for reading!