Together

* . * . *

Means that it's the same POV just a shift in time / place.

Chapter 2

= Inuyasha =

I woke up to the feeling of sunlight warming my face. I sat up and rubbed my eyes as I looked around. Miroku was the first person I looked for. He was still asleep on his mat in one of the darker corners of the hut with his staff lying beside him. Nearer to me, but off to the left, was Sango and Shippo who were both still very much tucked in. I sat there thinking of what to do. If we were out looking of Naraku or jewel shards, we would all be getting up now and looking for breakfast before we broke camp and continued on.

But like this, there was no rush to go anywhere. After knocking down a few ideas I chose to go to the hot spring and take a bath. I got up and walked into the next room where we kept our supplies and such. I got my soap and drying cloth. As I was putting back the stuff I didn't want, a book fell from one of the blankets. It looked like one of Kagome's. On the cover I saw her name and a word I hadn't seen before. I flipped through the pages to see a few numbers on the first few pages, but most of the book seemed to be empty. I smiled to myself as I slipped it into the sleeve of my kimono alongside my book.

Soon I was walking down the steps and down the path to the hot springs. Before I stepped into the clearing I heard voices coming from ahead of me. I was slightly disappointed to realize that I wasn't the only one there. I looked up then jumped into the tree to see who was there. It looked like a family. I sat down and decided to wait them out. I placed my things on a slightly higher branch of the tree and took out my book and pen and started to write down what I wanted to remember and maybe someday share with him.

I started with what went through my head while I was at the well yesterday afternoon. That filled out the last page that I had in my little book. I looked at the new one I had just gotten. It was put together so much better than the one I had made. I asked Kagome how she made it once. She looked at me as if she couldn't believe that I didn't know. She then said that she didn't do it, and that a place called a factory made them. I thought that the people who lived in a factory were taught the craft very well. I then asked her how many people lived in a factory. At this she just started to laugh. Miroku and the others turned to see what was so funny and I didn't want to look like I said something stupid, so I told Kagome that she didn't have to pretend that I asked a dumb question and then laugh to hide the fact that she didn't know the answer. Not everyone knew everything, not even her. That got her to stop laughing at me. I took a quick glance over in his direction, and he seemed to be smiling for me. My heart grew warm and I crossed my arms in victory. Then my ears rang with the next word Kagome said.

"Osuwari!"

As I was spitting out dirt I realized that I should have expected her to do that. Around the time I was able to move from that spot without much pain, I remember her saying that a factory was a building where people go to work to make things. No one lived there.

My eye was now twitching from remembering that osuwari. I took my pen and crossed out her name and that other word. I almost wrote my name next to where her name use to be, but my other book didn't have my name on it. It was good enough that I had taken it from her. I ripped out her pages and put them in my sleeve to burn later. I picked up my old and now filled book to see where I left off. Thoughts I had of Kagome and Miroku at the well yesterday afternoon. Yes, and it was complete. I put it away and opened the new one to press my pen to the very white paper and to start writing what I remembered of my dream. My skin got hot as those scenes played though my head again.

After I wrote the last word, I breathed deeply and didn't hear anything human, just the rush of the stream next to the spring. I looked over to the spring and saw that it was empty, and it was the same for the stream. I gathered up my things and jumped down. I dropped everything into a pile, and stripped down before picking up the soap and dry cloth. I walked into the stream and found the warmest spot to scrub my skin in. I then left the soap on a rock as I walked over to the hot spring. I found a nice seat under some shade and soon I found myself nodding off.

= Miroku =

I looked around as I blinked my eyes. I saw Sango, but no Shippo and no Inuyasha.

"Good morning Sango," I said as I sat up.

"Good morning Miroku," she answered back. "Did you sleep well?" she asked, continuing our small talk.

"Yes I did," I answered as I started to think back if that was true or not. I didn't remember waking up during the night and what I remembered of my dream wasn't bad, just a little bit odd. Most of the girls I dreamed of turned into Inuyasha and no matter what I did, he didn't slap me. I was surprised the first few times when I didn't feel any breasts, but by the fourth time I didn't miss them anymore. He had such a nice voice.

"Miroku," I heard. "Miroku," I heard again. Inuyasha's tempting quiet voice was being replaced by Sango's louder one? I snapped out of what was turning into a nice day dream.

"Ah, yes?" I said in Sango's direction as my eyes began to focus again.

"You're drooling with an odd look in your eyes. Are you really awake?" she asked me. The look on her face told me that she had a clue of what I was possibly thinking about. She would only be half right today.

"Yes," I said to both of us. "I'll go take a bath before breakfast," I said as I stood and went to get what I needed.

* . * . *

It wasn't so bad. I said to myself as I walked towards the hot spring. It's not that I've never thought of being with a guy, but Inuyasha never fell into that category for me. Well, at least not until now. He's my friend and it may not be that wise to damage that friendship.

My pace slowed as I got closer to the hot spring. The idea that I came up with last night started to come back to me. The more I thought about it, the more I didn't think that it was that good of an idea. How was I suppose to get the book from Inuyasha? I knew he had to carry it on his person.

When I entered the clearing around the hot spring, I looked up and came to a complete halt. There was Inuyasha, asleep in the hot spring. But more importantly, there was Inuyasha asleep and naked in the hot spring. I started to look around for his clothes. They were closer to me than they were to him. I slowly got closer to them and when a careful look over at Inuyasha confirmed that he was still very asleep, I quickly looked through his things to find the book. Two books? I asked myself as I saw the one I found the day before and a new one that looked like it was one of Kagome's. I wrapped them in my drying cloth and walked over to the stream, after putting his things back to how they looked before I searched for the books. I covered the cloth and books with my own clothes as I stripped down for my own bath.

I was scrubbing my back when I heard something like a snort coming from Inuyasha's direction. I turned to see if he was waking up. I saw him as he raised a hand out of the water to wipe it down his face. As his saw me his eyes grew a little bit bigger. I smiled to myself and turned my back to him, continuing with my cleaning.

= Inuyasha =

His skin was shining with the light reflecting off the water that covered him. I followed his hand as it slide across his chest and over his arm. I swallowed and licked my lips as my own hand came to rest on my stomach.

"Good morning Inuyasha," he called to me as he started to get out of the stream. GET OUT OF THE STREAM?! OH KAMI! I had a full view of him. A full, complete view. I grabbed a rock that was below the surface of the water as he came closer and I could see the water in his black, curly hair. I licked my lips again as he stepped into the same body of hot water I was sitting in.

"How long have you been here?" he asked, taking a seat and leaned back, closing his eyes.

I looked up at the sky to see how far the sun had moved. "Not long," I told him with as much interest as I could fake. It's been at least an hour since I started my bath.

"Okay," he said, lifting his head to look at me.

As he continued looking at me, I raised a hand to my face and asked. "Is there something on my face?"

"No," he answered. "I was just thinking that we haven't talked in a while." Then he leaned closer. "How have you been Inuyasha?"

"Ha?" Where did that question come from? "Why did you ask me that?" I asked him.

"Like I said, we haven't talked in a while. I wanted to know how you were. Are you missing Kagome?" he questioned with a smile on his face.

"No, I don't miss her. Who told you I missed her?" I asked him.

"No one," he said. "You have just been acting odd since she left, that's all." He rested his head back and closed his eyes. He didn't say anything else.

I looked at him openly since he couldn't see me and I let my eyes travel up his arms and chest to his neck that was bent back and looked so soft. That lead me to his black hair that stuck to his skin, then I looked over his ear and over his cheek, to end at his lips. The spring was heating his skin to show it off in a glowing pink color. This was very true for his lips.

"Yes, Inuyasha?" I heard him ask me.

"Ha?" I asked.

"Is there something you wanted to tell me, Inuyasha?" he asked me.

"Why do you think I have anything to ask you?" I questioned him.

"Because you came close to me like you wanted to share a secret," he told me.

I blinked at this statement and then realized that I had moved from my seat to cross half the distance that was between us.

"Oh. No. Not really," I told him as I tried to think of something. "It was nothing big," I said, not able to think of something fast enough.

"It doesn't matter how big or small it is. What did you want to tell me?" He sat up more and looked at me, waiting for an answer. My mind started to spin again.

"It's just that I was going to get out and get some breakfast. See? Nothing," I finished with a very small laugh as I headed out of the spring. I thought that I felt his eyes on my back as I stepped out of the water, but when I looked back his head was back and he eyes were closed again.

I wiped off most of the water with my drying cloth and then got dressed with my back to him. I started to look around frantically when I realized that the books weren't where I left them. Where did they go?

"Did you lose something, Inuyasha?" I heard Miroku call to me after I crawled from behind a boulder looking for my books. I had hoped that one of the village kids had hid them there or close by as some kind of joke when I was asleep.

"No, nothing," I lied. "I think I left it at the hut and thought I had it with me." I know they were here. Where did they go?

"Ok. Can you tell Sango that I'm going to be here for a while and I'll be back just before lunch? I want to meditate," he said as he looked at me, while I continued to look around the area. "What did you lose? I can keep an eye out for it for you," he offered.

"No. I was just making sure. I'm sure it's at the hut now," I lied again. "I'll tell Sango what you said," I told him as I grabbed my drying cloth, wet rag and soap before turning to leave. DAMN! I have to come back after lunch and look all over that place for them. If I smell Shippo's scent on them, I'm going to pummel him. I stalked back to the hut felling hungry and scared that Miroku might find them before me.