Carefree

After staying for a few more minutes cuddled together, Inuyasha stood up from the floor and helped Kagome to her feet. Though the cold seemed to have no effect on him, Kagome still shivered from the sudden rush of chilly air on her bare body. Wrapping the bear skin around her form, she hurried past Inuyasha, who was putting on his Fire Rat, to the small basket in the corner where she kept her clean clothes. Kaede has suggested she wear traditional priestess robes, but she rejected the idea; she didn't want to look any more like her dead counterpart than she already did. It was far too cold to wear her school uniform, so she decided on a pair of faded blue jeans and a light blue sweater. Picking up her bra, panties and yesterday's clothes from the floor, she tossed them into the pile that had to be washed. While slipping on fresh undergarments, she quickly ran a brush through her hair and grabbed her bow and arrows.

Inuyasha watched in amusement as she hurried around the hut, almost tripping over her own feet. He didn't know why she wore new clothes every day; she never smelled bad. Her delectable scent clung to everything and it drove him mad with need most of the time. On their travels, he sometimes would be a little angry and impatient around her. They would always get in fights and she would always demand to know what his problem was. He always told her he was fed up with not being able to find Naraku or the nights he was transformed human by the new moon, but those were only two of the three excuses. The third was because once a month, she would go into heat. Before they admitted their love, he would just try to block his thoughts about her powerful scent to keep his sanity. Even now, it took all his willpower to stop himself from giving in to his lust and need for her. He promised he would wait until she was ready. Still, the dreams he had about grabbing her hips and pounding into her wet heat lingered in the front of his mind.

"Ready?" she asked, snapping him out of his fantasy.

"Keh … I've been ready woman." He teased, pushing aside the woven mat door and stepping out into the frigid air. She playfully slapped his arm and took his hand, making her way down the ridge to the village. He always insisted on carrying her and running down the hill, but she liked the short walk down the curvy path and enjoyed the scenery. He rolled his eyes. Carrying her always brought him comfort, but he was still happy just to hold he hand.

"I asked Kaede if she would help me with my priestess training a little today. I can shoot arrows fine, but my barrier making skills are still kind of sketchy." She said, brushing some fresh flakes off her sleeve. "You could come to help me if you want to."

The hanyou cracked his back and flexed. "Sure, it's been awhile since I have had any real exercise. Any demons worth fighting have not appeared since Naraku was killed."

She smiled at his boasting, shaking her head. Even if he wouldn't admit it, she knew Inuyasha was happy that they didn't have to worry about being killed every day. She enjoyed watching him sleep so peacefully every night, like the time he was watching her study and he dozed off on her bed. He was right though. Since the rumor of him being the protector of the village had spread around, the area had been rather quiet. The only action the group had seen was the occasional call to nearby villages to slay small nuisance demons. Neither Sango nor she never really had to do any fighting; Inuyasha and Miroku always had it done in a matter of minutes.

Lost in her thoughts, she hadn't noticed she had stopped walking. Inuyasha turned to see why she did and noticed the distracted look on her face. "Oi, Kagome! Hurry up! Spring will be here before we reach the village!"

She quickly hurried to catch up to him but stopped short, a crafty grin appearing on her face. Seeing that he still had his back turned, she slowly knelt down and grabbed a wad of snow and shaped it into a perfect ball shape. Knowing she would regret it, she pitched the perfect snowball through the air right towards him. Inuyasha tried to turn in time when he heard it whizzing toward him, but he was too late. The frozen sphere hit him square in the face, momentarily blinding him. Wiping his eyes and sputtering, he glared at her.

"So, you think that's funny?" he growled.

She giggled and smirked at him. "Yep."

He took a step toward her. "You're playing with fire."

"What you gonna do about it, dog boy?" she countered, backing away. "Come and get me."

Before he could answer, she raced off into the bushes. Wanting revenge he sped after her, following the sound of her shoes crunching on the frozen ground. Wanting to have some fun, he didn't try to catch her immediately. Instead he hunkered down low and stalked her tempting form through the shrubs. Her blue sweater stuck out through the leaves as he watched her move farther away. He lost her from his sight, but only for a moment. He smirked when he realized what she was doing as her scent moved down wind.

"Crafty little minx." He muttered under his breath. When he was far enough away from her, he darted up into a nearby tree and watched her push through the brush.

She glanced around and tried to sense his aura. "Inuyaaaasha? Where are youuu?"

As he was about to jump down to scare her, something caught his eye. A large pile of snow had collected on the hefty limb below him, ready to be shaken loose. Hoping down and catching himself on the side of the tree he kicked the branch hard, freeing the snow. Just as Kagome looked up, she was doused by a heap of white and leaves. As she struggled to free herself from the mound, Inuyasha jumped down from his perch and landed lightly beside her. Seeing her frustrated red cheeks, he wanted to howl in laughter.

She swore as she tried to wipe snow from eyes. "Dammit! I'm freezing!"

"Whoops, sorry." He said with a taunting smile.

She huffed and held out her arm. "Help me up please. It's cold!"

Not seeing her sly smile when he grasped her hand, she yanked him down to her. He landed on top of her with an "Ooof!" and glowered at her. "What the hell did you do that for?!"

Rather than answer him, she leaned up and pushed her lips to his. Sitting up and pulling her into his lap, he gently ran his claws through her hair. As the kiss heated up, she sucked at his lower lip and ran her tongue over his fangs. Growling deep he ran his hands down her hips, lifting her sweater up an inch and resting his thumbs on her soft stomach. She shivered at his touch, totally forgetting the cold. As his fingers were about to slip into her jeans, she pushed them away and pulled back to look at him, his hot breath making her dizzy.

"Not here, we have to go and see Kaede." She muttered, attempting to stand up.

He stopped her and licked her collarbone. "Feh … let the old hag wait."

She squirmed against him. "C'mon, let me up."

He held her in place. "No, I don't think I will. You can't just kiss me like that and bail from it. I liked what we were doing a minute ago."

"I promise that we will have some time for this later, but right now we have to meet with Kaede. I want to hurry and meet with her because this weather is not good for her to be out in very long." She said, pulling free from his hold. "Now let's go."

The hanyo huffed and pulled her up with him but rather than letting her walk, he kneeled down and motioned for her to climb on. She smiled and braced her hands on his shoulders as he picked her up. Giggling as she saw his face flush red, she buried her face into his back and felt him shudder. Trying to clear his mind, he then sped off down the hillside with her clinging to him. Seeing an opportunity to mess with him, she timidly reached up and touched one of his ears. It flicked in her hand and she rubbed it a little harder, hearing him grunt. When he suddenly skidded to a stop, she squeaked and clung to him from fear of falling off.

He glanced over his shoulder and gave her a pleading look. "If you keep that up, we won't be seeing Kaede for a few hours."

She blushed and kissed his cheek as he continued to sprint. The weather had really made the land beautiful. She admired the white landscape and the icy wind blasted her face. Flakes pelted her eyes and some landed on her nose, making her sneeze. She felt Inuyasha shake with laughter as the village came into view.

"What's so funny?" she asked.

He gave her amused grin, one of his fangs protruding from between his lips. "Can the wimpy human not take a little snow?"

She pinched his arm. "Shut up and run."

Many villagers waved and yelled greetings at the pair as they walked into the village. Inuyasha crossed his arms and scowled of into space while Kagome was suddenly surrounded by people wishing her happiness, offering food and asking her to bless their newborns. One little girl pushed her way through the mass of adult legs and held a pretty handwoven necklace with a blue topaz stone hanging from it. Her name was Ting if Kagome remembered correctly.

"Lady Kagome, this is for you." She murmured shyly. "I helped my Momma make it for you."

Kagome knelt down to her level and accepted the necklace with a smile. "Why thank you Ting, that is very sweet of you. It is very beautiful. Make sure to tell your Mother Thank You for me too." The girl nodded and waved goodbye, running back to her mother and two brothers.

After a few moments, she politely made her way away from the mob of well-wishers and sighed in relief. These people really thought of her as a hero and somewhat of a saint; it was overwhelming. After listening to them all for just a few minutes she felt as if she needed a nap. Inuyasha saw it was over and caught up to her.

"Are you okay?" he asked while analyzing her face.

She laughed and glanced at him. "I don't know if I will ever get used to that. Every time I come here it's like they worship the ground I walk on. It's flattering and exhausting at the same time."

He elbowed her and lightly kissed her forehead. "You deserve it wench. You helped defeat the worst demon of this century. They damn well should respect you. Except I don't like the way some of these men are undressing you with their eyes. They'll know you're mine if I have to beat it into them!"

She laughed at the way he flexed his claws when a few men were still watching her. "Oh, is somebody jealous?"

He ignored her as they spotted Kaede walking toward them. Inuyasha was worried about the old woman. She looked frailer every day and the cold weather wasn't doing her any good. It looked like she only had a few more years left in her. He knew the village would be devastated when she passed on, Kagome especially. Kaede had taught her everything she knew and given him good advice now and again. He remembered the fight he had with Kagome about him accusing her of being in love with Kouga after The Birds of Paradise attacked his pack. He didn't know at that time that his feelings of anger and betrayal were his own way of admitting he had new feelings for her. Like the pig-headed fool he was, he made her mad enough to where she left to go back to her era. He sat and pouted in the village and waited for her to come back, never wanting to admit he was wrong. Shippo eventually dragged him to Kaede's, insisting he wanted to help. After he told her the story about the weird pictures he drew, he somehow had ended up in Kagome's room while she was asleep and had fallen victim to her saying the "S" word in her sleep. After she returned, he told her the only reason he was apologizing was for murdering that damn loud alarm clock of hers. Miroku and Sango much to his displeasure told her he really was sorry for what happened and things returned to normal. He never would have had it in him go and apologize if Kaede hadn't dropped the hint that it was his fault. The old woman didn't know how much he was grateful for her help that day.

"Hello Kaede, how are you feeling today" Kagome asked as she walked up and hugged her warmly.

Kaede smiled, the lines on her wrinkled face broadening. "I am alright child. I have just come from a visit with Miroku and Sango. They informed me they will be getting married in a week or two once they are able to contact Master Mushin and Kohaku."

Kagome's eyes lit up and she was practically jumping in place. "That's wonderful! We will have to stop by on the way back to congratulate them. I hope Shippo will make it back in time to be here for the ceremony."

Inuyasha scoffed and shook his head. "It will be a miracle if he shows up. The runt has been so wrapped up in his fox demon trials that he doesn't think about anything else."

"Are ye ready to go and practice you spiritual powers, Kagome?" Kaede asked. "We had better start now before it gets too late in the day."

Kagome nodded and tried to act tall. "Yes. Let's go!"

Kaede smiled at her enthusiasm and pulled her bear skin wrap tighter around herself. Before Kagome followed her toward the well, she bounded over and took Inuyasha by the hand. He smiled at her but groaned when she tugged him along behind her. This was going to be a long day.