22:52 20.03.04

INUYASHA&KAGOME-FIC

'The Cherry Blossoms'

by Sakin-chan

to Rumiko Takahashi,

the genius that gave birth to Ranma 1/2 & Inuyasha "Thanks, Takahashi-san."

A\N: I fixed the paragraphs! There really was a picture with this, but somehow, it doesn't get uploaded with the rest of the document. Once again, thanks to those people who R&R this for me. I'm grateful.

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Kagome's POV:

I sat there, next to Inuyasha on a low branch in a cherry tree. The pink petals of the cherry blossoms were floating all over the place, giving it a sort of dreamy atmosphere.

"It's... pretty, isn't it?"

"Hmm." Inuyasha, as usual, replied briefly. I looked at his face; his amber eyes, the white, furry dog-ears... they looked pretty cute! Wait a minute, what am I talking about? They looked... he looked... beautiful. I felt a few butterflies in my stomach, and sighed. If he knew what I was thinking about, he'd probably fall off the branch. I smiled.

"What're you smirking at?" Inuyasha growled which, of course, only made me smile even more!

"Oh...nothing."

"You're looking at me." My face suddenly went hot. (How'd he... never mind. I'll probably never figure it out anyway.)

"Maybe," I said, and turned away.

"...Kagome...I-" he was trying to tell me something.

I looked at him. "Inuyasha?"

"I want to tell you that I..." he scratched his neck, and swallowed. I wondered what it was that could make him so uncomfortable. Suddenly, something jumped on my neck. I screamed, and lashed out.

"Kagome!" Inuyasha cried, and tried to grab my hands.

"Kagome, calm down! It's just an insect." He plucked it off me, and held it in his hands. It was a big, blue beetle with big pincers. I shuddered. Suddenly, it beat its wings and took off, and I was so surprised that I jumped, and fell off the branch backwards!

"AAAAAAH!"

"Kagome!" The ground flew up; I closed my eyes, and prayed it wouldn't hurt too much. I felt a pair of strong arms catch me before I landed. I opened one eye, and saw Inuyasha. I breathed a silent thank you. I opened my other eye then, and noticed he was still holding me.

"...Inuyasha?" I was getting embarrassed. I was aware of my face getting hotter and hotter. Suddenly, Inuyasha did a strange thing. He put me down so I was lying stretched out on the blossom-strewn earth. My heart started to beat faster, and the feelings that I had had for him, the ones I had been trying to hide, began to stir within me.

(What is he doing?) I thought, unable to squash the suggestions popping up into my brain.

(Is he going to...?)

He just sat down next to me, and looked away.

"Be careful. Next time I might not be here."

I felt a twinge of disappointment, which I quickly destroyed. There was a strange sort of longing inside my chest; a longing for Inuyasha.

I stared at the side of his face, and sighed.

(Face it, girl. He doesn't love you. Not like you do.)

I turned away, tears threatening to overwhelm me.

Suddenly, I felt a hand touch my face, and gasped, as I felt the strange sensations clamoring inside my chest. My stomach gave a sharp pang, and I flinched. Inuyasha must have thought I was afraid of him, because he quickly took his hand away. I sat up quickly, and looked at him, trying to tell him, to make him understand without words that I didn't mind, it was all right.

"I see," he finally said, a strange note in his voice. "You think the love of a baka dog-boy beneath you? Well, it won't happen again."

But he didn't get up. I lay there, paralyzed.

(He just said...'the love of a baka dog'...OH MY GOD.)

After a considerably long silence, I tried to say something.

"Inuyasha, I don't think of you as an idiot. And I don't think you are beneath me." (Far from it, actually. I think you are better than both, better than humans and youkai.)

He turned on me. "But you don't want to be loved by a hanyou, do you?!"

His eyes were blazing. I felt angry.

"Honestly, sometimes you can be so blind! Of course I want to be loved!

Who doesn't?"

He pushed me down and stuck his face close to mine.

"I LOVE YOU, KAGOME." he said menacingly. I simply stopped breathing, and turned to stone. His words echoed through me, through my whole being, and sent shivers down my spine. I closed my eyes; I didn't think I could handle any more of this.

"...Do you love me?"

My eyes flew open. Did I love him? Did I love him?!

(YES!) I screamed in my mind; (I DO, I DO!) I tried to say it, but no sound came out of my mouth. I tried again; no words. I felt close to tears. I'd been waiting forever for this day, and when it finally came, my voice isn't working! IT ISN'T WORKING!

I looked into his eyes, trying to tell him. But all I could see there was pain. (He thinks I hate him. I feel so guilty. So stupid. This is all my fault.) I could feel big, salty tears running down the sides of my face (I was still lying on my back). Inuyasha looked horrified.

"No, no, nonononono. Please don't start crying, Kagome. Please. Come on, there's nothing to be sad about."

I know he hates tears. But there was no other way to show him.

Suddenly, I found my voice. "Inuyasha, Inuyasha..." I sobbed, trying to wipe my tears away; "I-I do... I do..."

I saw his eyes widening. "...What do you mean?" he whispered. I put my hands on his face, and pulled him close.

"I...I love you, hanyou."

Inuyasha's eyes widened, and his mouth opened and closed.

"Ka...Kagome? Are you serious?"

"Yes. I do love you." I smiled, and brushed my lips against his. He gasped softly, surprised. I pulled him closer, and kissed him. Inuyasha blinked; I think this was the first time he had ever kissed someone.

It was my first time, too. I closed my eyes, savoring the moment: the feeling of Inuyasha's body lying on top of me; of his lips pressing against mine; how his arms were wrapped around me, like he was never going to let me go. Our kiss became deeper, more passionate. I felt a wave of dizzying emotions rushing through me, and surrendered to them: my head grew fuzzy, my stomach was fluttering, and my heart was beating wildly. Inuyasha let me go, and stared down at me, wonder in his eyes. "That was..." He ran out of words. I took a shaky breath, and nodded, not trusting myself to speak.

"HEY, INUYASHA! KAGOME! WHERE ARE YOU GUYS?!" a voice screamed behind us. Inuyasha quickly got up, and dragged me up, too. I still felt a little weak, and had to fight to stay standing. I looked at Inuyasha, aware that something had changed between us forever. I was trying to work if that was a good thing, or a bad thing. As we watched the others clambering up the hill towards us, Inuyasha turned to me and removed something from my hair. He took my hand, and placed it there.

I blinked. It was a small, pink cherry blossom. He closed my hand over it, and put his finger to his lips.

"Not a word." He smiled then, one of his rare bright smiles that made me feel like I was melting into a warm puddle. I smiled back. None of the things that had happened between us would ever reach other ears.

I looked at Inuyasha, then at the giant tree that loomed over the little hill. This was our secret.

"Not a word."

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A\N: Well, what do you think? Again, if you can point out the flaws in here for me, I would be very grateful. Also, if I have made Inuyasha and Kagome completely different from the way they are in the series, I apologize to any fans that are reading this.