Disclaimer: Don't own.
Chapter 10
Alliances
Upon finishing his meal, which consisted of Instant Ramen for the first time in days, he was happy to note, InuYasha stood. After pausing to stretch his limbs for a moment, aggravated by their tingly feeling from being inactivate for too long, he made for a nearby forest.
He was pleased to note that no one had questioned him.
Sesshoumaru was currently occupied with Sango and Miroku, Rinn was busy eavesdropping on that conversation (he could read Rinn like an open book), and he honestly couldn't care less about what Jaken or Kagome were doing. This, he reasoned, gave him a good 60 minutes to run, considering how long it would take to clean up camp.
It was one of his favorite things to do-had always been. To just run, plain and simple...to him, it was a beautiful thing. Using his youkai speed, he was able to outdistance any creatures, and race the wind.
The process was meditative. While running, he rarely felt the urge to do serious thinking. It was rather an activity to clear his mind.
This time, however, his running _was_ to think. He wanted-no, needed-to think about current events. He needed to put things into some order, some pattern. Despite appearances, InuYasha hated it when his life wasn't organized.
He had liked his previous schedule. It was simple, by day, hunt for the Shikon no Tama shards, by night guard the camp. It was routine. In fact, his love of order was one of the many reasons why he despised it when Kagome left him. Then, what was he to do? He had no other life, except for the Shikon, and even that left him with too much free time. The delay was disruptive. Normal event could not occur without Kagome. In fact virtually nothing could be done. He was forced to loaf around all day, yearning for the girl's companionship and something to do...
Kagome. That was the reason he was running in the first place. He was muddled; what did she mean, and what did she want?
Could he simply characterize this girl as some devious, virulent schemer with a kind and bubbly persona? Someone who was only an ersatz friend, but in actuality loathed him at heart? Or was their more to Kagome? Was she the person he had been waiting his whole life for, someone who could, and would, understand him? A friend...who had made a mistake...
Grunting, the hanyou increased his pace. He had 45 more minutes left...
***
'While sneaking around so that one can spy on Sesshy, it is prudent to be as quiet as possible,' thought Rinn. She was seriously thinking of writing a book on how to sneak around the demon lord. She nodded slightly-she would have to remember that sentence. It would work nicely in the eavesdropping chapter.
Of course, Rinn was well prepared. She would never be the type of person who foolishly gets caught while eavesdropping and, upon being questioned, becomes tong-tied. No, not Rinn. She even had a few choice phrases stored in case Sesshy caught her-they would be included in her book also. Rinn hated being caught unawares.
Sadly, this was not a joyous occasion. This was business, unlike most spying trips. Normally, Rinn would sneak for fun, not for any particular information. Sesshoumaru wasn't one to confide in people anyway, so she rarely ever heard him speaking on her spy trips. Scratch that-she had never heard him speaking. Most of the time, she was forced to spy on Jaken out of boredom. And a skittish demon who repeatedly talks to himself is not fun to spy on...the experience was sometimes a little scary. Emphasis on scary, not little. Boy, did he sure have some problems...
Chiding herself, Rinn stopped musing Jaken's issues and continued her mission. She had to know what Sango and Miroku where up to. After all, the situation did involve her directly. And so, the girl scurried up the branches of a handy tree, careful to be silent.
Today, she would get to test her spying skills out on Sesshy once again.
***
Hesitating slightly, Miroku stepped forward. Now was the time to be even more self-assertive. It was certainly not the time to go to pieces.
'Get a grip on yourself! This was your suggestion in the first place after all...no one should be allowed to be that intimidating...stop it! Focus Miroku! Look at Sango-she's behaving naturally-why can't I?'
Unfortunately, this was a misconception. Sango was a wreck.
'...it's not like he's going to suddenly attack. Sesshoumaru is being completely civilized...no reason to be frightened...none what-so-ever...'
She shivered slightly.
***
Ten minutes later and InuYasha wasn't any nearer reaching a conclusion than he had been before...
He still did not know what to think. First, Kagome had been his friend. His first friend in a long, long time. He still clung to the idea of her as his friend. Because of that conception, however, he was having difficulty separating the truth and what he wanted to be the truth.
Taking a deep breath, he began again.
Kagome had been his friend, he had trusted her. She had gotten angry, and yelled at him. She had hurt him. He had run away. Next, he was found by his half-brother. She had found him again, and apologized. Then, he had heard her mumble in her sleep that she loved him.
Those were the facts. Now he could return to his previous question. Who exactly was Kagome? Oh, he knew the basic stuff, she was from the future, she was a teenage girl with miko powers, yadda yadda yadda, but who was she really? Was she the kind of girl who was naturally manipulative, and had he fallen right into her hands? Or was she who she had first appeared to be; a girl who cherished her friends above all else?
What was he to believe?
In the end, he would most likely be forced to call on his instinct, but his instinct was pushing him two separate ways. One towards Kagome and one far, far away from her.
***
"Sesshoumaru, I'll get straight to the point," said Sango, "we are worried about InuYasha," here she paused, as if waiting for an utterance of recognition before continuing. She received none. "As is said...we are worried about InuYasha. As long as we've known him, he's never behaved this way. Also, we've never known Kagome to behave this way....She's a sweet girl, and she would never hurt InuYasha! I don't know what happened, but I'm sure it was just a mistake!"
Sesshoumaru suppressed a groan. The girl was about to go into some awful speech, one which she would think excellent and fantastically persuasive, and he really did not want to hear it or any of the cliches that were bound to be in it. He had humored her and the man by listening to this much, and he could already tell where this was going. He cut her off rather abruptly
"You want me to influence InuYasha so that he will forgive Kagome. Don't speak anymore; I can tell where this is going. Now, listen up, as I am not inclined to be verbose, and I won't repeat myself. I will help, but not by influencing InuYasha, for reasons of my own. Is that clear?"
Mutely, the houshi and the girl nodded.
"Excellent, now leave me-and don't interfere with what I do."
With that, Sesshoumaru closed his eyes as a sign of dismissal.
It might to be interesting to note the conversation that followed between Miroku and Sango whilst they stumbled rapidly (if stumbling rapidly is possible, that is) back to Kagome:
"Well...he certainly doesn't believe in euphemism..."
Torn between slapping the houshi for such an inappropriate comment and nodding along with the truism, Sango settled with a simple "Indeed."
***
"Rinn, come here."
Feeling significantly put out by being so easily discovered by Sesshy, Rinn sorrowfully relinquished her position in the tree. Still, she would not be remorseful, and instead began skimming through her list of excuses...
"Why hello Sesshy! Fancy meeting you here!"
Sesshomaru hid a smirk as the girl continued rambling, giving him highly persuasive and highly entertaining excuses. After a minute or so, however, he cut her short.
"Enough. I am not angry with you, but keep silent about what you now know. How would you like to help me?"
Rinn blinked in shock. Slowly, two things surfaced to the top of her mind. a) Sesshy wasn't mad and b) Sesshy, her hero and savior, was asking her for help.
She was so saying yes!
***
OWARI OF CHAPTER 10
AN: I'm experimenting with the format...my chapters never show up how they're supposed to. I use Word Perfect, and ffnet's uploading system isn't compatible, forcing me to write my chapters on WP and then copy and past 'em in Notebook to upload. Upon uploading, they always look cramped and spaces and tabs which I inserted aren't there...Well, that's all until next time
Ja,
sakura hikaru
REVIEWS
Chapter 8 Reviews
Long Shot~hopefully your less confused now! Glad ya think it's good!
AZTECDRAGON DEMON~sry about the confusion!
Anonymous~thanx so much for the compliment! I was going to make the temporary amnesia a bigger theme, but decided against it. You were right-I was rushing it! Hope you like the change!
eddie~hehehe...several people agree that it looked like I was rushing it! ^_^
Demon Girl~I apologize for that...ffnet says that I have a chapter done that I don't...don't worry, everything's there! Wow...thanx for reviewing so many times!
Starlet Girl~I'm glad you like it so much!! Yeah, InuYasha is too good for Kagome...he's too good for anyone, really...
Cat Silver~I read and reviewed it!
Koneko-chan~thanx for the compliment!! I'll watch out for my spelling and grammar better...I hate it when there are a lot of errors, and I don't always catch every mistake...
Melinda~thanx! Don't worry, I'll keep on writing!
SSJ Viper5~lol, Rinn is pretty hyper...
japanese blader girl~thanx! I'm trying to keep the plot original. I'll email you soon!
LadyoftheLake40~I agree, Sesshy and 'Yasha bonding is pretty cute...I'm going to try to work out the ending so that everyone keeps in touch...
Chapter 9 Reviews
LadyoftheLake40~well, now you know what happens next!! ^_^
Riinuka~your welcome! ^_^ *hugglez InuYasha plushie and tosses Riinuka a plushier* thanx for the plushier! ^_^
Inuyokita~I'll try to put in everything! Thanx for the Jaken compliment! Hope you like the update...
Celebwen Starmaiden~thanx for the review! And I feel a lot better ^.^
Celeorien~thanx for the condolences and sry about your computer! I agree with the suffering and the kag+inu 4ever...
Cat Silver~lol!! You didn't even have to sit him! I can't fall asleep quickly either... 11 out of 13?! That's not low, that's high!! ^_^
Chapter 10
Alliances
Upon finishing his meal, which consisted of Instant Ramen for the first time in days, he was happy to note, InuYasha stood. After pausing to stretch his limbs for a moment, aggravated by their tingly feeling from being inactivate for too long, he made for a nearby forest.
He was pleased to note that no one had questioned him.
Sesshoumaru was currently occupied with Sango and Miroku, Rinn was busy eavesdropping on that conversation (he could read Rinn like an open book), and he honestly couldn't care less about what Jaken or Kagome were doing. This, he reasoned, gave him a good 60 minutes to run, considering how long it would take to clean up camp.
It was one of his favorite things to do-had always been. To just run, plain and simple...to him, it was a beautiful thing. Using his youkai speed, he was able to outdistance any creatures, and race the wind.
The process was meditative. While running, he rarely felt the urge to do serious thinking. It was rather an activity to clear his mind.
This time, however, his running _was_ to think. He wanted-no, needed-to think about current events. He needed to put things into some order, some pattern. Despite appearances, InuYasha hated it when his life wasn't organized.
He had liked his previous schedule. It was simple, by day, hunt for the Shikon no Tama shards, by night guard the camp. It was routine. In fact, his love of order was one of the many reasons why he despised it when Kagome left him. Then, what was he to do? He had no other life, except for the Shikon, and even that left him with too much free time. The delay was disruptive. Normal event could not occur without Kagome. In fact virtually nothing could be done. He was forced to loaf around all day, yearning for the girl's companionship and something to do...
Kagome. That was the reason he was running in the first place. He was muddled; what did she mean, and what did she want?
Could he simply characterize this girl as some devious, virulent schemer with a kind and bubbly persona? Someone who was only an ersatz friend, but in actuality loathed him at heart? Or was their more to Kagome? Was she the person he had been waiting his whole life for, someone who could, and would, understand him? A friend...who had made a mistake...
Grunting, the hanyou increased his pace. He had 45 more minutes left...
***
'While sneaking around so that one can spy on Sesshy, it is prudent to be as quiet as possible,' thought Rinn. She was seriously thinking of writing a book on how to sneak around the demon lord. She nodded slightly-she would have to remember that sentence. It would work nicely in the eavesdropping chapter.
Of course, Rinn was well prepared. She would never be the type of person who foolishly gets caught while eavesdropping and, upon being questioned, becomes tong-tied. No, not Rinn. She even had a few choice phrases stored in case Sesshy caught her-they would be included in her book also. Rinn hated being caught unawares.
Sadly, this was not a joyous occasion. This was business, unlike most spying trips. Normally, Rinn would sneak for fun, not for any particular information. Sesshoumaru wasn't one to confide in people anyway, so she rarely ever heard him speaking on her spy trips. Scratch that-she had never heard him speaking. Most of the time, she was forced to spy on Jaken out of boredom. And a skittish demon who repeatedly talks to himself is not fun to spy on...the experience was sometimes a little scary. Emphasis on scary, not little. Boy, did he sure have some problems...
Chiding herself, Rinn stopped musing Jaken's issues and continued her mission. She had to know what Sango and Miroku where up to. After all, the situation did involve her directly. And so, the girl scurried up the branches of a handy tree, careful to be silent.
Today, she would get to test her spying skills out on Sesshy once again.
***
Hesitating slightly, Miroku stepped forward. Now was the time to be even more self-assertive. It was certainly not the time to go to pieces.
'Get a grip on yourself! This was your suggestion in the first place after all...no one should be allowed to be that intimidating...stop it! Focus Miroku! Look at Sango-she's behaving naturally-why can't I?'
Unfortunately, this was a misconception. Sango was a wreck.
'...it's not like he's going to suddenly attack. Sesshoumaru is being completely civilized...no reason to be frightened...none what-so-ever...'
She shivered slightly.
***
Ten minutes later and InuYasha wasn't any nearer reaching a conclusion than he had been before...
He still did not know what to think. First, Kagome had been his friend. His first friend in a long, long time. He still clung to the idea of her as his friend. Because of that conception, however, he was having difficulty separating the truth and what he wanted to be the truth.
Taking a deep breath, he began again.
Kagome had been his friend, he had trusted her. She had gotten angry, and yelled at him. She had hurt him. He had run away. Next, he was found by his half-brother. She had found him again, and apologized. Then, he had heard her mumble in her sleep that she loved him.
Those were the facts. Now he could return to his previous question. Who exactly was Kagome? Oh, he knew the basic stuff, she was from the future, she was a teenage girl with miko powers, yadda yadda yadda, but who was she really? Was she the kind of girl who was naturally manipulative, and had he fallen right into her hands? Or was she who she had first appeared to be; a girl who cherished her friends above all else?
What was he to believe?
In the end, he would most likely be forced to call on his instinct, but his instinct was pushing him two separate ways. One towards Kagome and one far, far away from her.
***
"Sesshoumaru, I'll get straight to the point," said Sango, "we are worried about InuYasha," here she paused, as if waiting for an utterance of recognition before continuing. She received none. "As is said...we are worried about InuYasha. As long as we've known him, he's never behaved this way. Also, we've never known Kagome to behave this way....She's a sweet girl, and she would never hurt InuYasha! I don't know what happened, but I'm sure it was just a mistake!"
Sesshoumaru suppressed a groan. The girl was about to go into some awful speech, one which she would think excellent and fantastically persuasive, and he really did not want to hear it or any of the cliches that were bound to be in it. He had humored her and the man by listening to this much, and he could already tell where this was going. He cut her off rather abruptly
"You want me to influence InuYasha so that he will forgive Kagome. Don't speak anymore; I can tell where this is going. Now, listen up, as I am not inclined to be verbose, and I won't repeat myself. I will help, but not by influencing InuYasha, for reasons of my own. Is that clear?"
Mutely, the houshi and the girl nodded.
"Excellent, now leave me-and don't interfere with what I do."
With that, Sesshoumaru closed his eyes as a sign of dismissal.
It might to be interesting to note the conversation that followed between Miroku and Sango whilst they stumbled rapidly (if stumbling rapidly is possible, that is) back to Kagome:
"Well...he certainly doesn't believe in euphemism..."
Torn between slapping the houshi for such an inappropriate comment and nodding along with the truism, Sango settled with a simple "Indeed."
***
"Rinn, come here."
Feeling significantly put out by being so easily discovered by Sesshy, Rinn sorrowfully relinquished her position in the tree. Still, she would not be remorseful, and instead began skimming through her list of excuses...
"Why hello Sesshy! Fancy meeting you here!"
Sesshomaru hid a smirk as the girl continued rambling, giving him highly persuasive and highly entertaining excuses. After a minute or so, however, he cut her short.
"Enough. I am not angry with you, but keep silent about what you now know. How would you like to help me?"
Rinn blinked in shock. Slowly, two things surfaced to the top of her mind. a) Sesshy wasn't mad and b) Sesshy, her hero and savior, was asking her for help.
She was so saying yes!
***
OWARI OF CHAPTER 10
AN: I'm experimenting with the format...my chapters never show up how they're supposed to. I use Word Perfect, and ffnet's uploading system isn't compatible, forcing me to write my chapters on WP and then copy and past 'em in Notebook to upload. Upon uploading, they always look cramped and spaces and tabs which I inserted aren't there...Well, that's all until next time
Ja,
sakura hikaru
REVIEWS
Chapter 8 Reviews
Long Shot~hopefully your less confused now! Glad ya think it's good!
AZTECDRAGON DEMON~sry about the confusion!
Anonymous~thanx so much for the compliment! I was going to make the temporary amnesia a bigger theme, but decided against it. You were right-I was rushing it! Hope you like the change!
eddie~hehehe...several people agree that it looked like I was rushing it! ^_^
Demon Girl~I apologize for that...ffnet says that I have a chapter done that I don't...don't worry, everything's there! Wow...thanx for reviewing so many times!
Starlet Girl~I'm glad you like it so much!! Yeah, InuYasha is too good for Kagome...he's too good for anyone, really...
Cat Silver~I read and reviewed it!
Koneko-chan~thanx for the compliment!! I'll watch out for my spelling and grammar better...I hate it when there are a lot of errors, and I don't always catch every mistake...
Melinda~thanx! Don't worry, I'll keep on writing!
SSJ Viper5~lol, Rinn is pretty hyper...
japanese blader girl~thanx! I'm trying to keep the plot original. I'll email you soon!
LadyoftheLake40~I agree, Sesshy and 'Yasha bonding is pretty cute...I'm going to try to work out the ending so that everyone keeps in touch...
Chapter 9 Reviews
LadyoftheLake40~well, now you know what happens next!! ^_^
Riinuka~your welcome! ^_^ *hugglez InuYasha plushie and tosses Riinuka a plushier* thanx for the plushier! ^_^
Inuyokita~I'll try to put in everything! Thanx for the Jaken compliment! Hope you like the update...
Celebwen Starmaiden~thanx for the review! And I feel a lot better ^.^
Celeorien~thanx for the condolences and sry about your computer! I agree with the suffering and the kag+inu 4ever...
Cat Silver~lol!! You didn't even have to sit him! I can't fall asleep quickly either... 11 out of 13?! That's not low, that's high!! ^_^