Disclaimer- I do not own any of the Inuyasha characters.
A/N- I'm getting so many awesome reviews and thanks so much to those people! But it seems I have gotten quite a few complaints about the last chapter though. I will continue this story though because the good reviews have outnumbered the bad ones. I'll try to make this chapter better. And I'll try to explain better Inuyasha's last statement in chapter 8. Thanks again, ciao.
Chapter 9- Free DaysKagome was breathless for a moment. The thought of Naraku actually being in Venice shaking her to her core... and the thought of him watching her frightened her to no end. "Kagome are you all right? You're shaking." Inuyasha cupped the side of her face with one hand and looked down at her with a bit of alarm on his face.
Kagome looked up in his eyes and realized something... he said he kissed her cause he saw Naraku watching her... he KISSED her cause he saw another guy looking at her! THAT'S THE REASON HE KISSED HER! "You jealous bastard!" Her hand shot up and slapped him hard across his face leaving him with an absolute priceless picture of shock spread across his face.
"WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT FOR!" Inuyasha had let go of her taking a step back just in case she let loose all Hell on him and slapped him again for no reason.
"You kissed me just cause you saw Naraku here! You don't give a damn about me you just want to make his blood boil don't you!" Kagome turned on her heel and was about to storm off when she felt him grab her hand and pull her a bit roughly back to him.
"I did NOT kiss you just cause I saw Naraku watching you! I kissed you before that too remember idiot."
Kagome starred at him for a minute then let out a little nervous laugh. "Hehe... oh yea I forgot about that..." She looked up at his face (where a particularly bright red hand mark shone clearly) trying to look like the perfect picture of innocence.
"You are a complete idiot." Inuyasha let out a little huff before letting her captured hand go.
"But that kiss was different from the others! So you need a bit of jealousy to get any motivation, huh?" She heard him let out a little frustrated growl before bringing one of his hands up to where she slapped him and rub it gently.
"Ok so that kiss was a bit different from the rest. But if I just wanted to make Naraku jealous then I would have kissed you like that when I knew he was watching... not now when I tried to catch you alone."
Kagome let out a little blush that she had been trying to hold in for awhile. Inuyasha just looked so adorable when he was embarrassed. She figured he wasn't usually in this situation. He was after all one of the most popular guys in the school and a gang leader, she keeps forgetting about that... "Then why was this kiss different from the rest?"
She looked up at him waiting for an answer but before he could say anything, before he could think of an excuse they both heard Sesshomaru yell for everyone to get back on the bus because they were already late. Inuyasha didn't hesitate a moment he was gone before Kagome could ask another question. She let out a sigh and followed his footsteps back to the bus. She got there after her friends who were all giving her that 'I-Caught-You-In-The-Act' looks. But she had no time for their nonsense. As soon as she sat down she was asleep.
When Kagome woke up she was lying in the hotel bed still in her tank top and shorts from the day before. Everyone else was already awake and starting to get dressed. Today was their first free day to basically do whatever they pleased in the city as long as it was legal. "How did I get up here? I don't remember waking up on the bus and walking here." Kagome sat up and swung her legs over the side of the bed so she could stand up.
Sango let out a little laugh, "Well your lover carried you up here."
"Lover? What are you talking about Sango?" Kagome rubbed some of the sleep out of her eyes before looking back at the girl for an answer.
But it was Ayame who spoke up next. "Don't you remember that oh-so romantic kiss back at the gardens in the sunset?" Ayame let out a little giggle that seemed to sound slightly sinister to Kagome.
"What? I can't believe you guys were watching us!" Kagome was now fully awake and tearing clothes out of her suitcase looking for something to wear.
"Oh Kagome we didn't just watch." Kagome looked over her shoulder at Rin who looked so completely innocent sitting on the edge of the bed that Kagome knew something was wrong.
"What do you mean you didn't just watch?" Kagome was getting more nervous by the second and her fears were realized when Rin produced a slim compact camera from her purse.
"Well it was such a sweet moment that I thought you would want pictures." Rin smiled at a now pale and wide-eyed Kagome.
"Rin... give me that camera now..." Kagome's voice was deadly and Rin found herself laughing a bit nervously while she scooted off the bed and behind Sango for protection. "Rin I said give me that camera NOW." Kagome didn't wait for a response she leaped at Rin is a desperate attempt to destroy the photos while Rin let out a scream and ran for the door to the room. Unfortunately for her she was caught and Kagome was soon flipping through the pictures to delete any of her and Inuyasha.
"Kagome, Kagome, Kagome. I am ashamed. Do you really think Rin was the only one who bought a camera on this trip?" Kagome let out a sigh giving Rin back her camera. She knew when she was defeated.
"You guys are so cruel." She flopped down on the bed while the other three laughed in the background.
"Oh. Come on Kagome. It's our free day number one! Get dressed so we can go do something!" Sango and Ayame both grabbed one of Kagome's arms each and pulled her off the bed and too her feet before shoving her toward the suitcase lying forgotten on the ground.
"Fine, fine, I'm coming! I have such evil friends..."
"We heard that! Now hurry it up! We're all ready to go!" Sango was standing next to the door. Her hand was resting on the handle ready to fling it open and leave.
"Well if you had woken me up I would have been ready by now too!" Kagome quickly threw on a tie-dye tank top and some white shorts with a pair of flip-flops and was out the door with the rest of them in a minute.
"What is this I hear about you kissing MY Yashie!" The girls' conversation was cut off when they heard a particularly annoying screech behind them. They turned around to see Kikyo, looking very pissed, and her two friends glaring at Kagome. "Well? Explain yourself Higurashi!"
Kagome brought a hand up to her forehead rubbing it gently trying to get the sound of Kikyo's screech to stop echoing. "I wasn't kissing him, he kissed me! Believe me I didn't ask for it. And last time I checked he made it perfectly clear that he was not yours Kikyo. Now if you would excuse us we are leaving, ciao." Kagome grabbed unto Rin's arm and turned her around gesturing for the other's to ignore Kikyo and follow her out the doors to the car Ayame had rented, they were so lucky Ayame's parents were loaded or they might have had to ask someone else for a ride.
"Don't turn your back on me Higurashi! We're not done here!"
"I think we are, now bye!" Kagome was getting frustrated fast. Why did she have to move here? In her old school there weren't any annoying cynical girls out to get her. She let out a little sigh trying very hard to ignore Kikyo's screams at her to stop walking away.
"Wow Kagome you just have horrible luck don't you?" Sango jumped into the driver's seat of the little rented sedan while Kagome got into the passenger's seat and Ayame and Rin piled into the back.
"What do you mean Sango?"
"Well you have Inuyasha desperate to make your life as challenging as possible it seems, Kikyo is all over you, and... well it just seems like you never have a nice quiet day."
"Well thanks for reminding me that suddenly my life turned from quiet to complicated. I never asked for any of this! I do have such lousy luck..." Kagome leaned back in her chair closing her eyes for a moment before snapping herself back to reality. "So what are we doing today?"
"Well I hear downtown they have some amazing markets, let's shop!"
"Sounds good to me." Kagome smiled lightly. Today would be amazing. Shop a bit in the outside markets since it was a beautiful day then maybe head down to a cafe.
When they got to the market it seemed as if everyone wanted to look for something else. Ayame wanted some new purses, they do say Italy has some of the best leather. Rin wanted to look for some souvenirs for her family. Sango said she was starving and wanted to check out some of the dessert carts and Kagome wanted to look around for some cool accessories. They decided to split up and get what they all wanted then meet back at a small cafe on the corner when they were done. Everyone said their good-byes and went off in their own directions.
It had been a couple hours now, yes they were amazing power shoppers. Sango had gotten her desserts and had met up with Kagome while she was looking at some leather boots. Quickly getting bored she had decided to be a nice daughter and get souvenirs too. Rin had finished shopping for her family and was in a record store. Apparently even though she could barely understand a word any of the musicians were saying they had a hot accent so she wanted to get a couple CDs. Ayame really was the champion shopper though, and the one with the biggest credit card collection. She had already purchased two leather purses, a leather belt, some leather sandals, and was now looking for a nice leather coat. Get Ayame shopping and she would shop till she dropped... literally. Last time they went to the mall after school the security guards had to drag her out after closing time. Kagome smiled a bit at the memory.
It was almost dark and the first day had gone by wonderfully. The girls had hung out for hours before splitting back up again. They were at a different marketplace now, one right off the Canal Grande. Kagome smiled at the gondolas making their ways up and down the water. It was already 8:30 and the sun was setting. Sesshomaru hadn't set a time to get back or anything so they were probably going to stay a little while longer.
Kagome was rummaging through a necklace display when she heard someone step up behind her and tap her shoulder a bit. Thinking maybe it was Rin looking for a nice necklace for her mom as a gift she turned her head to the side a bit to say hello, but her breath caught in her throat when she saw familiar black wavy hair and piercing eyes looking down at her, Naraku. When she first met him she really didn't have time to get a good look at the creep. After all he was about to kidnap her and Inuyasha had a gun so she was a bit sidetracked at the time, but now all it seemed she could do was stare in complete shock at the man before her.
"You know it's not safe running around a crowded place alone Kagome." She shuddered when he said her name and took a tentative step back. It was almost like her name wasn't safe in his mouth. She knew in the back of her mind she should be running, screaming, something besides standing there like a complete fool but she was frozen. Where was Inuyasha with his gun now? If she hadn't been so terrified at the moment she probably would have realized that Inuyasha having a gun was probably the most dangerous thing in the world with his temper. But of course if she was thinking she would have realized that Naraku had taken another step closer to her and that his pale hand had reached out and grasped almost painfully onto her shoulder. Yea, now would be a good time to scream.
She opened her mouth to yell but his hand covered it quickly. You would think that in the middle of a very crowded street someone would have seen them, someone would have noticed but it seemed that they were invisible. A blur to the shifting crowds around her. Where was Sango? Rin? Ayame? It was hopeless; he was already pulling her off to the side. Her mouth still covered and his hand still digging painfully into the flesh of her shoulder. She wanted to cry but then again she didn't want to give that bastard the satisfaction, she was stubborn to the core.
"Now, now don't worry girl. I won't hurt you... I just want to talk." Kagome glanced up at him. The way he said that it sounded like he really wasn't thinking too much about talking just then. She couldn't believe she had so soon forgotten what Inuyasha had said last night. If she had remembered she wouldn't have been caught alone! What was she thinking? What was going to happen now? Thoughts were racing through her mind. How could she escape? They were already in the ally. How could she signal for help? They were practically invisible to the crowd around them. She was screwed. In the back of her mind she knew he was talking to her. But she wasn't listening her body had gone numb. She just may cry no matter how she tried to hold it back. Laughter from her left, he was laughing at her, bastard.
He finally let go of her when they were completely out of site of the marketplace and threw her roughly onto the ground. She winced a bit when her knee took most of the force. Stupid... she should have put out her hands. Then again she was being particularly stupid this evening. But so was the rest of the world it seems. How could someone have not noticed her being dragged off?
"Well it seems you have some lousy luck, not one person noticed us." Naraku smiled cynically down at her. She didn't feel like standing up and facing him just yet.
"Strange... that's just what I was thinking." Her eyes quickly took in the surroundings. She thought she had roughly twenty minutes before sunset. Definitely not enough time.
Naraku took another step closer to her and she knew she was completely screwed now. The girls weren't expecting her for awhile and no one else had any idea where she was in this city! Let alone that she might be in trouble. As Naraku got closer she found herself wishing that someone would come, anyone. Sango, Ayame, Rin, Inuyasha, Miroku, Hell even Koga would be nice! Luck was not her strong point.
Naraku had hold of her arm now and he yanked her to her feet painfully. She winced a bit when she heard a growling sound. At first she thought it was Naraku but then she felt him stiffen near her. She dared a peek and opened her eyes. It was Inuyasha. Damn that guy had good timing! She felt her heart race and a smile break her face. Inuyasha was here! She wasn't going to ruin the moment by questioning how the hell he had managed to know about her meeting with Naraku, or how he had gotten here. She was just happy to see him.
She felt herself thrown back down to the ground once again painfully. She sent a glare to Naraku. She noticed Inuyasha's eyes dart to her quickly then back to Naraku. "Back down mutt. Last time you had a gun and I must admit I wasn't prepared for that but this time... this time you have nothing."
Inuyasha's glare hardened, "I don't need a gun to kick your ass." Naraku just let out a little laugh smirking down at Inuyasha.
Inuyasha's body tensed a bit and he launched himself at Naraku attempting to hit him hard in the face. Naraku quickly dodged the attack and landed opposite of Kagome and Inuyasha on the other side of the alley. Inuyasha flew at him again but this time Naraku wasn't able to dodge completely. He was still regaining some of his balance from the last punch and moved a little too late. Inuyasha's fist brushed the right side of his face not enough to throw him down but enough to leave a bruise. Naraku quickly got up and hit Inuyasha hard enough to knock him back a bit. He let out a little laugh at Inuyasha before glancing down at Kagome out of the corner of his eye.
"Well I think we've had enough fun for tonight. Your friends should be worried about you now hm? I'll be seeing you two." With that Naraku turned and disappeared down the alley. Kagome just now realized how dark it had become and thought that it had to be past nine o'clock already. She looked up at Inuyasha. He had walked up to her and leaned down gently grabbing her arm and helping her up.
"Thanks... how did you know I was in trouble?" Kagome looked up into his eyes concerned but most of all relieved that he was there.
"Well I told you about Naraku yesterday, remember?" Kagome let out a little blush remembering that certain... conversation. "This morning when I went up to your room to see what you and the girls were doing I ran into Kikyo and she told me you had left. I... well I was worried about you so I grabbed Miroku and went out to find you." Inuyasha looked down at the ground not wanting to look her in the eye yet.
"Why'd you grab Miroku?" Kagome glanced around the alley finding no evidence of the pervert. He didn't seem to be much of a help to Inuyasha right now. He wasn't even there to back up Inuyasha against Naraku.
"It's Miroku, he has like a sixth sense or something, he always seems to know where Sango is..." Kagome just laughed at that comment. They had started walking out of the alley and back to the marketplace. "Well he used his sixth sense and guessed that you guys would be hitting all the big marketplaces. We ran into Sango, Ayame, and Rin and they were looking for you so I guessed that you being the complete fool you are had been found by Naraku."
"Oh thanks... I'm not a complete idiot. Anybody could have been kidnapped by him, I mean he is a gang leader." Kagome crossed her arms over her chest letting out a little huff.
"Well if you aren't a complete idiot why didn't you scream when he started to drag you here?" Inuyasha gave her a superior look knowing he had won this argument. "If you'll let me continue now. I didn't look around the marketplace cause I figured him being Naraku and everything he would drag you off somewhere where no one would see you. This must have been the ninth or tenth alley I looked in." Inuyasha risked another glance down at her. She wasn't looking at him but at the marketplace, which was now in full view. He noticed her scraped knee but besides that she looked fine. He smiled down at her.
"What's with the smile?" Kagome let out a little laugh when Inuyasha quickly looked away from her.
"I'm just happy... that you're all right. I was really worried. I guess I was almost scarred." Kagome looked up at Inuyasha surprised. He had a light blush on his face that she could see cause of the lights in the marketplace. His eyes were looking everywhere but at her. He was actually kind of cute when he was like this. Did he really care about her that much?
"Thanks Inuyasha." She stood on the tips of her toes for a second and kissed him lightly on the lips. It was quick at it seemed before Inuyasha really realized what was going on the kiss had ended. He was about to say something but then noticed the three girls and Miroku making their way quickly through the crowd toward them.
"There you are! We were so worried! What happened!" Sango stopped in front of Kagome breathless looking for any signs of injury. She noticed the knee and frowned slightly.
"Sango, you guys, don't worry about it. Everything is fine." Kagome gave Sango a quick friendly hug before stepping back again. "But I am exhausted. Ayame you done shopping? Good, let's get back to the hotel. Do you guys have your own car?"
"Nah, Inuyasha had us take a taxi." Miroku smiled at Kagome glad to see her all right. Inuyasha had been so worried.
"All right then we'll give you guys a ride back!" Kagome smiled and started to turn to walk back to the car.
"Hold on girl. You forget our car can only hold five people at most and that is a little tight. We have six people here. Plus I have all these bags!" Ayame held up her bags helplessly.
"Well I guess Rin can drive and Sango can sit in Miroku's lap now let's go I'm tired." Kagome just smiled at Sango's complaints and at Miroku's sudden will to get to the car as fast as possible. She was exhausted and right now all she wanted to do was sleep. Today had been more then eventful; hopefully tomorrow would be calmer. With a groan she remember that she had dropped her stuff when she had seen Naraku at the booth earlier.
"You guys I dropped my stuff by the necklaces! I need to go run back and see if by some miracle it's still there." Kagome let out a little groan. She highly doubted it would still be lying there but it was worth the look.
"Don't worry about that. When we were looking for you we found it on the ground. That was right before we ran into Inuyasha and Miroku, here." Rin held out a bag of Kagome's newly purchased accessories and her purse.
"Thanks Rin!" She gave Rin a quick hug before hopping into the car. To Miroku's utter dismay Sango was driving and refused to let him sit behind her to he was in the passenger seat. Rin and Ayame quickly got into the car before Inuyasha or Kagome forcing them to squeeze together. Kagome had refused to sit on him so now she was crushed against him. She didn't know if fate was being cruel or kind. She rested her head on his shoulder and was out like a light. She faintly remembered being woken up briefly to go to her room then as soon as she was on the bed she was asleep.
Kagome let out a little yawn as light shinned in her eyes. It was morning already and her evil friends were yanking her out of bed and telling her to get dressed. Tomorrow was their last day in Venice and they had to make the most of it. Kagome was thinking to herself that she had had quite enough of Venice for now. She let out a yawn and yanked her shirt over her head. Today they were just going down to a cafe and hanging with the guys. Simple, Kagome had a feeling they didn't want to do anything that would involve her being alone fore a minute.
"So what cafe are we going to today?" They had returned the sedan and had gotten a SUV so that everyone could fit comfortably.
"Oh this one is supposed to be really good. Don't worry!" Miroku smiled happily as he took a sharp corner going at least 20 over the speed limit.
"How can I not worry when you're driving!" Sango was holding onto her armrest like it would somehow save her life if they crashed.
Miroku just laughed as they pulled to a stop parking the car and stepping out to go into the cafe. They all piled in and started talking about everything from the weather to sports. They had been there almost an hour when they decided to step out and walk around the city.
"Hey Kagome!" The party turned around a little surprise to see non-other then Koga running toward them. Inuyasha immediately started growling and Kagome let out a small groan. She did not need this right now. "How are you Kagome? I'm so glad I found you again!" Koga grabbed Kagome's hand. Inuyasha's growling increased while Kagome politely lifting his had off of hers and dropped it.
"Hey Koga, it's nice to see you too. Would you like to join us?" Inuyasha gave her a 'what-the-hell-' kind of look but she completely ignored him. Although by the end of the day it seemed that Kagome's plan had worked perfectly. Ayame had immediately started talking to Koga and by sunset when they were saying goodbye they had exchanged numbers and Koga even gave her a kiss goodbye before waving to the rest and walking off. Kagome just let out a small smile. They sure did move fast.
They all headed back to the hotel pleased that the day had gone by without a hitch and that tomorrow was the last day in Venice before they flew to Rome.
The next day was pretty much like the one before it. They hung out together for most of the day minus Ayame and Koga, they had gone on a 'date' together somewhere. But somewhere during the day they had lost Rin too. Apparently she had seen Sesshomaru in the crowd and quickly ditched the gang before running off to see him. Inuyasha gagged a bit when he saw her run off to his brother but the other's just laughed at him.
"Hey, sorry Inuyasha, Kagome but me and Miroku are going to go down to another garden on the outskirts of the city. Apparently Miroku wanted to show Sango the sunset or something like that. Inuyasha made a small comment after they left that it Miroku got his way they would be out of sight and he would be looking at something far more interesting then the sunset. Kagome had given him a small playful slap for being a complete pervert. So that left Kagome and Inuyasha alone and in awkward silence afterward.
"Hey come with me I got something to show you." Inuyasha grabbed Kagome's hand and started to drag her off somewhere.
"Inuyasha, where are you taking me!" Kagome walked with him. Either she walked or was dragged. He turned and just smiled down at her.
After a couple of minutes of Kagome being completely confused she heard the sound of running water and figured they were near another canal. Of course Venice was basically a collection of canals so she wasn't surprised. Inuyasha pulled her to a dock and finally let go of her hand. She gave him a confused look but before she could say anything a gondola pulled up.
Inuyasha jumped into the boat and extended his hand to Kagome to help her in. "Come on! You can't visit Venice and not go on a gondola ride at least once." He smiled up at her again and she melted letting him pull her into the boat.
"Inuyasha, this is amazing!" Kagome was looking around in wonder. The sun had set and lights were on in the streets making them dance on the water. She could see a full moon over her head and smiled a bit. It was actually... kind of romantic. She gave a shy glance to Inuyasha and noticed that he was looking at her.
"Kagome..." It seemed he was about to say something important but stopped.
"Yes?" Inuyasha did never say another word, but he leaned over and kissed her again. This kiss was just as heated as the last one in the garden... maybe just a bit more romantic due to the gondola.
When they parted she was breathless and flushed holding unto the side of the gondola for support. "And what was that all about?"
He smiled again; his smile held no arrogance or confidence this time though. It was almost a shy smile. "Well Kagome, I'm falling for you."
Her breath was caught in her throat. She had a fleeting thought that maybe this was the closest Inuyasha would ever say about love. She smiled at him the blush still burning in her cheeks. "I've fallen for you too."
A/N- all right what did you think about that? I'm surprised I wrote this chapter so fast! Well I had fun writing. I hope you guys liked it too. Inuyasha is not quite ready to say 'love' yet but they have finally admitted to themselves that they do really care about each other. Next chapter will be the plane flight and day one and maybe two of Rome. Naraku is back. I don't like the whole Koga-Inuyasha rivalry so I got rid of that but don't worry Koga will still be in the story. I think I may make this story... 15-20 chapter. I'm not sure yet. Please give me your opinions. Thanks again, ciao!
