I did iiiiittt!

Also, this is officially going to be a full fic. I love it too much to drop it!

Holding on by a Thread

Chapter 2

"I never want to talk about that again." Kagome whines.

"Agreed." Inuyasha says sullenly. "Besides, you'll have to do the same if I have to take a piss."

"Don't remind me." She groans.

She glances back down at their 'entwined' hands. Her left and his right. They were so close, it was almost as if they were holding hands, and she didn't even know the guy!

And she's still reeling at the fact that she had to pee… So close to him! Sure, he was on the other side of the tree, both of their hands stretched out beside the trunk for adequate privacy, but he could still hear everything! It was so embarrassing, not to mention that there's no toilet paper here!

She wanted the ground to swallow her whole.

Thankfully, he agreed to put it behind him, so she'll try and do the same, and, no she will not cry about it!

He's currently leading her to the village to meet this miko. From what she's learned, this is Japan, but probably quite a few centuries ago.

She wishes she didn't sleep through most of history.

And apparently that's what Inuyasha's been doing, too, cause he doesn't know anything, either! He just knows what goes on in 'his forest' and in this single village.

Sounds boring, she muses.

They finally reach a hill that connects to some rice paddies down below, a dirt path leading straight from the forest through the village. He keeps walking, not really minding the strange looks given to him by the villagers. He'll nod occasionally, acknowledging them when they greet him with an awed look. Quite a few of them gawked at her as he led her down the path. A blush continues to reside on her face when he stops them in front of a small hut.

"Oi, babaa! I'm coming in!" He shouts, and he pushes aside the reed mat that acts as her front door. In the back of Kagome's mind, she thinks that what he just did was probably a form of breaking and entering.

"Inuyasha? What a… Pleasant surprise. And to what do I owe this intrusion?" The old woman calmly turns to him with an amused glint in her single eye, which widens when she spots the scantily dressed girl next to him.

"Cut the chit-chat, Kaede, I've got a problem." He holds up his hand, dragging Kagome's slightly with it.

She peers at the string that attaches them to each other, then clears her throat, "Well, what exactly is the problem?"

He growls, "It won't fucking come off! And we can't even stand more than this far from each other!" He turns to Kagome and motions with his free hand towards Kaede. "Well? Tell her what ya told me!"

She dumbly nods and walks forward a bit, giving Kaede a small wave. "Um, hi, I'm Kagome, and uh, well, we both woke up with this string wrapped around our pinkies, and we can't… Get it off." She finishes quietly.

Kaede holds back a grin at the suddenly shy girl. "That does sound like quite the predicament. Tell me, did either of you tie this string?"

They both shake their heads no.

"Interesting." She mumbles. "Well, if it makes you feel any better, it'll come off at some point, but even I can't remove such a powerful force like that."

Inuyasha chokes as Kagome lets out a keening wail. "W-why not?!"

"What do ya mean a 'powerful force'?! It's a piece of some cursed string, not some damned will of the Kami!" Inuyasha goes to move forward but the saddened Kagome prevents him from moving.

"Inuyasha and, Kagome you said it was?— have either of you ever heard of the 'thread of fate'?" Kaede continues calmly stirring her breakfast for the morning.

They answer in unison.

"Thread of what?"

"I have!"

"So, you have, Kagome? And what do you know about it?" Kaede asks, motioning for the two to come and sit.

Kagome moves forward and Inuyasha follows directly behind. "Actually, I only just learned about it yesterday when my grandpa gave me this ball of red thread for my birthday." She kneels across the fire from Kaede, and Inuyasha sits cross-legged next to her. He resists the urge to stuff his hands in his sleeves, and it annoys him that to do that, he'd have to sit closer to Kagome.

He likes his personal space, thank you very much.

Kagome continues, "He said that this string would lead and connect those who are far or lost to their soulmate, but I thought it was just a story!"

Kaede chuckles, "As would any, child, but does your situation seem like a lie?"

Kagome gasps and glances over at the silver haired boy next to her. "Are you saying…" Kagome points a finger at him, turning back to Kaede with an incredulous gaze. "That he's my soulmate?"

Kaede's answer is interrupted by a livid snarl from said hanyou. "No." He grinds out. He glares at Kagome. "I don't do that lovey-dovey shit. I spend my time alone, and I'd like to keep it that way!"

Kaede frowns at him, "Do not be foolish, Inuyasha. No one can take that thread off," Kaede pauses. "Then again, no one can make you love her, nor her love you. Even still, you're stuck together until…" She hesitates at Inuyasha's grumbling, but continues, "Until you two can… Sort this out." She finishes.

"B-but I have school! And family and friends back at home! How can I explain this to them?" She asks hurriedly, twiddling her fingers.

Kaede raises a nonchalant eyebrow. "I suppose they'll understand, if you explain the circumstances, and of course, if they aren't against those with youkai blood," Inuyasha flinches and quickly avoids her eye at that. "Though I'm not sure what this 'school' you speak of is."

Kagome sighs, "It's fine, don't worry 'bout it…" She goes to stand and lightly tugs the string to bring Inuyasha with her. "Thank you, Kaede-sama, we'll leave you now."

Kaede gives her a wrinkled smile, "Of course, Kagome. And please, don't fret, Inuyasha is not as rude as he may seem."

"Hey! What's that s'posed to mean?!" He raises a fist.

"Honestly, Inuyasha? I said you aren't rude," She turns away and mutters under her breath, "Then again, I've been wrong before."

"I heard that, ya old hag! You wanna say somethin', then say it!" He barks.

"Inuyasha, she's complimenting you, goodness!" Kagome intervenes by putting a hand on his chest. "I'm disappointed, too, but it's not her fault we're in this mess!"

He stops growling and lays his ears back at that, a momentary look of shame crossing his features. It quickly disappears, replaced with an annoyed frown. He forces out a goodbye, "I'll see ya later, babaa."

Kagome's face scrunches up in displease. He is so disrespectful! How can this jerk be my soulmate?

She's forced out of her thoughts as Inuyasha begins walking back to the forest. As they walk to some unknown destination in silence, she begins to not only worry about her situation, but about her family. They're probably worried sick!

After moments of her trying to keep up with him because her bare feet keep stepping on twigs and rocks here and there, he finally stops and lets out a harsh sigh. He whips around and without hesitation, picks her up bridal style.

Kagome, not expecting this, lets out a shrill squeal, "What're you doing?! Put me down!"

"Quit yer blabbering! I live kinda far, and I don't want to end up there at fucking midnight!" He retorts. He then gives her a sly smirk, and it makes her skin crawl at the look of amusement. "If it makes you feel any better, I can't drop you."

"What do you mean by 'dropping me'?" She whispers in slight fear.

Her answer is a rush of air as he starts sprinting at break neck speeds. She yelps and holds herself close to him, not wanting to fall, nor wanting to get whiplash.

After only a few minutes of running and leaping, he begins to slow down.

After setting her down in an exaggeratingly gentle manner, she lets out a frustrated growl and smacks his arm. "You're such a jerk! I could've died!"

The hit doesn't even faze him, his fanged grin never even wavering. "But you didn't, did ya?" He replies matter-of-factly.

She continues to glare daggers at him, her cheeks red from her near heart-attack on the ride here.

Speaking of… Where exactly is here?

She looks around the wooded area, taking in her surroundings. A narrow stream cuts through the small clearing, and if she didn't know any better, it almost seems manmade.

While wondering if that was even possible, Inuyasha walks past her towards a curtain of vines, adjacent to the mouth of the creek. She's forced to follow him, trying to prevent herself from being de-fingered by keeping fairly close to him. She glances up at his face, his expression somehow looking both annoyed and bored.

Her eyes begin to roam her supposed soulmate. He's quite a few inches taller than her, but that's all she can really tell body-wise. His form is mostly masked by his billowy red outfit. A slight movement at the top of his head catches her attention, and for the second time today, she tries to figure out how those ears ended up on his head. They look like puppy ears…

And despite his awful personality and rude attitude, she can't deny that his ears are oh so adorable.

I really wanna touch 'em…

What a damn nightmare.

Here he is dragging around a helpless human girl, that he is literally attached to, and he has to just deal with it?!

He can't hunt, he can't have any privacy, Hell, he can't even sleep in his favorite tree anymore!

He knows that she more or less feels the same way, but that doesn't make him any less furious about the whole situation. Thankfully, they can probably get by on fish from his stream, rice from the village, and vegetables he has stored in his cave. At least, until this whole mess is sorted out.

He dares to peek at her from his peripheral and nearly growls at her awed stare. It's not aimed at him, no. She's staring at his ears.

His most obvious label as a freak.

An involuntary twitch of one grants him a surprising reaction, and that self-depreciating voice in the back of his mind shuts up. Her mouth opens slightly, and she giggles, her lips curving into a small smile.

This was different from when he told her his name, though. The first one was more awkward, but this? He feels as though she thought they were cute.

Does she think they're cute?

One half of him is annoyed with the thought. She better not! I'm not cute.

The other half sounds almost hopeful. Does that mean she doesn't mind them? Maybe she likes them?

He breaks out of his internal argument when they reach his humble abode. Pushing aside the vines, he hears her mumble to herself behind him.

"… almost like a bead curtain…"

"A what?" He asks.

"What? Oh, you heard that?" She laughs under her breath. "It's nothing, just something I wanted when I was a kid."

He hums in reply, and the cavern becomes nearly pitch-black when the last vine covers the mouth of the cave.

Kagome halts to a stop, "Uh, Inuyasha? I can't see where I'm going…"

He sighs and tugs on what feels like a lead at this point. "You don't have to, I can see just fine. I'll get a fire started, so just stay behind me until then."

Warily trusting him to be her eyes, she lets him lead her through the darkness. She uses her right hand to hold on to the middle of thread, using it as a sort of measurement for how far she is from him.

She hears the clattering of what sounds like wood, and suddenly she's being pulled down. She crouches next to him; not even sure which way is up or down now.

Inuyasha gives the string a slight tug to make her let go. She does, but from the look on her face, she doesn't seem too fond of the idea.

"I'm gonna strike up a flame, you should move back a little." His utterance echoes softly through the darkness, and he can see the wave of relief wash over her face. She obeys, holding her arm out for his own to move freely.

It takes him two strikes to get the small flame started. He picks up the hot kindling and places it into his fair-sized firepit, the heat not even bothering him.

The fire quickly grows until the orange hue lights up the entire 'room'.

He watches her face closely as she quickly surveys his little home, curiosity the only emotion present on her face. Blue suddenly meets gold as she turns to give him a tiny smile.

"What a homey little cave you have here!"

He raises an eyebrow. "Homey?"

Her smile falters at his lack of reaction, but she powers through and tries again. "Yeah! You've got everything a home could need. I mean, I see you have all of your food stored in one area, along with baskets and bowls, and those pots and pans you must use for cooking!" She raises a hand and points towards the back of the cave. "I see a bunch of furs and a quilt mes— I mean, neatly piled, so I'm guessing that's where you sleep," She switches her aim behind them, towards the pile of firewood and a few other cloth covered baskets. "And I guess you keep all your miscellaneous stuff over here, right?"

He thinks over her words and finds that, yeah, she's not wrong. "I never realized that's how people set up their homes," He says softly. "Are they all like that?"

Kagome grins at the sound of his current mood. "Yep! I mean, you saw Kaede's home, right? Hers was pretty similar, and mine is sorta the same, too!"

He debates over where this conversation could venture and decides to play along. He'd rather her not be angrily screaming while in his secret cave. Just because he keeps his forest quite clear, doesn't mean roaming youkai don't show up.

Some search for him specifically to fight over the territory, but he's stubborn. If he lost this forest and died in the process, he'd be proof that half-breeds are weak. If he lost this forest and lived? Sesshomaru would never let him hear the end of it.

"So, what's your home like?" He decides to ask her questions to keep her calm. Better to learn about her than her learn about him. Besides, she already knows about his home. Fair is fair.

She rests a finger on her chin and cocks her head to the side, "Weeeelllll, my house is a little different from the huts you've seen. It's like, multiple huts put together, and some are also stacked on top of each other for more rooms in a smaller area."

Despite wanting to keep his façade of 'not caring about anything she tells him', this little fact catches his attention. His ears perk in interest, and he urges her on, "Really? How does that work?"

Surprised, but pleased, to know that he's listening, she continues, "We use stairs! Oh, I guess you all call them steps." She mutters the last part with a chuckle. "And we have to use a lot of planning and building materials to do it. It takes a long time to make them." She decides to divulge in her own description of her home, even if he doesn't ask. They both seem to be in a good mood at the moment, why not keep it? "My own room is, and now I'm a little embarrassed to say this, almost entirely pink and purple, and it has been for nearly my whole life," A strange look comes over him, and she suddenly feels self-conscious. "They were my favorite colors as a kid, and I was so used to it, I kept it that way." She finishes nervously. Does he hate the color pink or something? What gives?

"You said your room was almost entirely pink and purple?" He asks, sounding dumbfounded.

She blushes under his odd gaze. "Y-yeah, what of it?" She shoots back, feeling a little defensive.

His eyes widen, and he quickly raises his hands in a placating gesture. "Easy! I was asking cause, well," He avoids her eyes, thinking about how crazy it may sound. "Never mind, you'll think it's stupid."

She realizes that he genuinely wasn't trying to be rude, and quickly readopts her earlier bright smile. "It's fine! What was on your mind?"

He looks back at her and has a weird duel feeling of both unease and calm at her smile.

This'll take getting used to.

"W-well…" He starts, looking away again. "I had a really strange dream last night…"

A/N: Be on the lookout for chapter 3, coming soon! :D