Dislcaimer: don't own the rights to Inuyasha in any form, nor make any money, nor know how to dance to any songs from the anime.
Chapter 12 – The Mental Meanderings of a Married Man
"What are we going to do?" whispered Inuyasha. He was sitting next to Miroku as they both watched over the women. Fast asleep, Shippou was curled up between Sango and Kagome on the only available futons. The sun was contemplating sneaking over the horizon already, and Inuyasha still hadn't managed to sleep a wink. "What are we gonna do?" he whispered, softer, and finally elbowed Miroku in the stomach for an answer. The monk startled and his drooping head popped back up.
He groaned. "Inuyasha! I was almost asleep. Can you not worry about this on your own?"
"No, you stupid idiot. If you hadn't asked Kagome about kissing in the first place, I wouldn't be in this mess. So, if I can't sleep then neither can you." He cast a disgusted glance at Miroku's sleepy form. "Why aren't you more worried? At least I know Kagome can't kick me into the next province. How are you going to keep Sango from killing you?"
Miroku sighed and slumped down against the tent wall. Thank the Gods we at least have a place to stay! he thought in exhaustion. "It's not that I don't worry, Inuyasha. However, Sango-sama is a reasonable woman…"
"Eh? When did that happen?"
"…as I was saying? She's a reasonable woman, and I'm sure if I simply explain the situation to her, she'll understand. Far better wed to a friend than to a complete stranger." Inuyasha raised an eyebrow skeptically. "Oh fine then. I'm planning to tell her that without you, this entire episode could have been avoided. And pray. A lot. But after I get some sleep." He pointedly closed his eyes and tried to ignore Inuyasha's grumblings.
"Hmph. This wasn't my fault." Inuyasha muttered to himself, "You started it, stupid houshi. " he accused, still under his breath, and turned back to Kagome. She lay bonelessly on her back, snoring lightly, and he felt his lips curl briefly into a smile before he stopped them self-consciously. After a quick look confirmed that Miroku had already fallen asleep again, Inuyasha crept up and crouched next to Kagome. Her hair was sticking out wildly around her head, reminding him of a baby cat whose fur was too short to lay flat. He chuckled and reached out a hand, smoothing her hair carefully as she lay there, oblivious. After he was done, he drew back and sat on his heels, watching her. His wife.
He let his eyes take their time and follow the curve of her body as she slept. She was so beautiful. Even drunk, she's beautiful, he thought, smiling. It was so strange though, trying to view her as his wife. In every fantasy he'd ever had regarding her, he'd never allowed himself to get that far into their relationship. Hell, he'd never even really thought about them having a relationship at all; he'd simply viewed her as something that was his, as someone he needed to protect. He didn't think that and a few vague sexual fantasies counted as a relationship.
Those fantasies were not vague, interrupted his conscience.
Shut up. And what are you doing here anyway? I thought you were leaving until the bloodshed was over?
Well, what do you expect me to do when you start lying to yourself so blatantly? C'mon….ripping off her top and sucking on her breasts while she rubs your ears?
So I like her breasts, it wasn't that explicit…
Sliding off her skirt, putting your face between her legs and licking…
That was only once!
Kagome on her knees, taking off your hakama and putting her mouth around Little Inuyasha? That was vague?
Sorta.
Yeah, right.
Well, it's not like she's ever done it before! There's a lot of details missing!
Or how about the one with Kagome bathing in the hot springs when Sesshoumaru comes and tries to attack her? Remember? She's naked and pink and slick; you get to run in all heroic and kick Sheshoumaru's ass. I think the best part of that was when she flings herself at you to say thank you and you throw her down on the moss to take her from behind while she's screaming out your name as she comes.
…You saw that one?
Oh yeah, that was definitely one of my favorites.
Shit. I can't believe you saw that one. How fucking embarrassing.
Like I said, that's one of my favorites. Sesshoumaru gets an ass kicking and you get some of Kagome's ass…it just doesn't get any better than that.
Will you fucking shut up already! Inuyasha closed his eyes, flushing hotly. Stupid, voyeuristic asshole…
And by the way, make sure you clean off before the wedding night. No one wants to make love to someone who reeks.
Hey, fuck you! I do not reek! He paused. And what the hell is up with you? I thought you were supposed to tell me not to marry her and 'stay away from Kagome,' and ' do not even THINK about…making love,' and all that shit.
Well, considering you're crouched here next to your wife, you moron, you can see how effective that sort of talk was. I'm tired of ramming my head against a brick wall.
So why don't you just shut up, then?
'Cause at least I can have fun insulting the brick wall. Man, what an idiot.
Hey!
Seriously, though, bathe. Soon. The tent isn't big enough for you and your smell both.
Inuyasha humphed, and then covertly leaned over to sniff his sleeve. When his eyes started to water, he grimaced and remembered holding Kagome at the side of the path while she threw up…multiple times. It looked like it hadn't all landed on the path. How disgusting. Now he couldn't wait to get clean. He made his way over to Miroku.
Poke. "Hey, wake up, you sorry excuse for a monk. I'm going out. Don't let anything happen to Kagome or I'll kick you ass." When one bleary eye opened to stare up at him, he took that as acknowledgement and, after grabbing some soapberry pulp from Miroku's things, left the tent. There was running water not too far from the village somewhere; he'd been able to smell it before they entered the village.
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After a frustrating hour long search for usable water, complicated by the huge number of scents around with such a large group of people, Inuyasha finally found a small stream he could make use of and managed to get himself clean. He dried off as best he could and headed back to Kagome, cursing as he felt the damp spot on his back grow larger. He hated wet hair. He had barely entered into the mass of people that had originally been a village when the back of his neck started to prickle. Someone was watching him, he was sure of it. Raising his head to look around, he stiffened and his hackles rose. Every person he saw had stopped what they were doing to watch him. What the hell…? Most of them were glaring at him, although there were a few smiles here and there. But no matter where he looked, they were watching him.
He sniffed the air carefully, and they all smelled human, but…something was wrong. Were they possessed? Was this some trick of Naraku's? He had to get back to Kagome! He sprinted as quickly as he could through the crowd, leaping over the thicker knots of people, and shoved open the covering to their tent, ready for anything. Looking up at his dramatic entrance, Miroku and Shippou stared at him curiously. They had been leaning contentedly against the tent wall, finishing up some rice porridge. As if nothing out of the ordinary was going on.
"Inuyasha, you're back." Miroku said with a smile, and then he noticed Inuyasha's rather wild expression. "What's the matter?"
"What's the matter?! Have you been outside? "
"Yes, as a matter of fact. We went out to get something to eat."
"Yeah, and it was really annoying! Everybody knew about Miroku's wedding! It took us sooooo long to get to the food, with everyone telling him 'congratulations' and 'best wishes' and 'you're new wife is lovely' and 'you better be faithful to a wife who can kill demons' and…" Shippou stopped talking as Miroku's hand covered his mouth.
"Yes, well, as I said, we've been out. I didn't see anything that would be that disturbing."
At some point in Shippou's speech, Inuyasha's shoulders had slumped, and now he simply looked at Miroku and Shippou with a rather sad look on his face.
"Inuyasha?" Miroku was starting to feel more concerned.
Inuyasha turned away from them and went over to Kagome. Leaning over, he scooped her up quckly and headed towards the tent opening. Kagome didn't even stir. "Kagome and I need to leave, Houshi."
Miroku looked at him strangely. "All right. I'll wake Sango and we…"
"I don't have time. If everyone knows…. Kagome and I need to leave, now. Just…just..." he sighed. "Could you get Kagome's stuff and bring it with you? Please?"
Shippou stared at Inuyasha with huge eyes. "What's going on, Miroku?" he whispered to Miroku, "Inuyasha's saying 'please!' What's wrong with him!"
Miroku ignored him and nodded slowly to Inuyasha. "I would be happy to. Where will we meet you?"
"Eh? Oh, right…we'll be on the far side of the village, however far it takes us to get out of sight. I'll keep an eye out for you." And then he turned and quickly left the tent with Kagome.
Shippou stared after him. "Is that what they mean when they say a man changes after he gets married? That's scary! I'm never getting married if that's what…"
"No, something else is happening. I think…" Miroku headed towards their things and started to gather them up. "I've got a rather bad feeling about this. I don't think we should linger." Shippou and he quickly gathered up Kagome's pack and then Miroku looked at Sango and her hiraikotsu. He slumped. "How on earth am I going to carry both of them again?!" he grumbled, finally grasping the hiraikotsu by the handle and dragging it towards the doorway.
"Why don't you pick it up, Miroku? Wouldn't that be quicker?" Shippou asked curiously. Miroku pretended not to hear, but Shippou noticed sweat starting to roll down his forehead. He snickered. "You can't pick it up, can you.? I think Inuyasha's right. You're married to a woman who can really kick your.."
"Shippou, I can honestly say that Inuyasha has my total sympathy at this point."
"Huh? What's that got to do with…"
"Or maybe I should just say that I can understand the uncontrollable urge to say, 'shut up, runt.'"
Shippou stuck his tongue out and went back to ensuring everything was packed into Kagome's bag as Miroku left the tent. Miroku returned almost immediately without the weapon.
"Hurry, Shippou!"
Shippou barely had time to get out of the way as Miroku yanked Kagome's bag out of his hands and threw it on his own back. Then he reached down and scooped up Sango, staggering a bit with the weight, and turned to leave. "I said hurry, Shippou! It's ugly out there!"
Shippou followed him quickly, covering his ears as soon as they emerged from the tent to try and keep out the sudden increase in noise. "What's going on, Miroku?" he wailed, finding a mass of people headed their way. Miroku was putting his wife's dead-to-the-world body sitting slumped on Kirara's back, but turned to answer as soon as he finished.
"Use your eyes and ears and answer the question, Shippou!" He yelled over the crowd as he grabbed the giant boomerang and looked for a place to put it. Shippou uncovered his ears a sliver and finally started to listen to what the sea of humanity in front of him was yelling.
There was only one theme: Get out, you filthy half-demon.
Realizing they were almost upon them, Shippou gulped and leapt onto Kirara, landing behind Miroku. Kirara leapt into the air just in time as the huge mob converged on the tent. Dodging the few stones thrown their way, she flew away from the village and off to meet up with Inuyasha.
"Why are they all mad at Inuyasha? He hasn't been here long enough to make everyone angry…has he?" Shippou asked once they'd gained some altitude, confused.
Miroku shook his head. "Unfortunately, this mob's anger is not related to something he's done, it's simply what Inuyasha is."
"A jerk?"
"Ah, no, I don't think that's it. It's simply the fact that he's a hanyou. Although I'll admit I'm surprised to hear you ask about it. I'd have thought we'd encountered enough hatred towards demons that you would recognize it by now, Shippou."
"I know they hate demons!" Shippou said indignantly, "But they were fine yesterday! I don't understand why they're all getting mad about us now!"
"Aaaah. Yes, well…yesterday, a half-demon hadn't married a human woman." he said sadly, looking down at Sango resting against his chest.
"Oh." said Shippou quietly, and for once didn't have another word to say.
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Inuyasha sat high up in a tree 2 miles outside of the village, cradling Kagome in his arms. He was such an idiot. He should have known this would happen. If he was honest, somewhere deep down, he had known this would happen, he'd just chosen to ignore it. He had vague memories of slurs, and other more tangible things, cast at his mother because of her choice of mates. He didn't want Kagome to ever have to go through that, and now look what he'd done! She was married to him and they would run into this everywhere they went. He couldn't stand that; seeing her smile fade and disappear, seeing her spirit slowly crushed as it happened over and over again. And what if they had children? Any little ones would have it even worse. All because of him… She'd be better off if they just pretended this marriage had never happened…
Jeesh, what a whiner. Stop moping and just kill the sorry bastards, said his conscience.
What!
Anybody pulls that sort of shit with Kagome, kill 'em.
Kill them? What..I…wait…I thought you were supposed to be my conscience!
Oh, right. Kick the ever-loving shit out of them, his conscience corrected. Sorry, but all of you loves Kagome, me included. Hey, I think she deserves somebody better than you, but what's done is done and we do not let anybody hurt Kagome, right?
Riiiight, Inuyasha thought slowly to himself, sitting up straighter. You're right. They can't act this way towards Kagome!
Right.
I don't care if they hate demons or not, they had better not mess with Kagome or they'll have to deal with me!
Right.
I'm going to go back there right now and…
Okay, dumbass, don't get carried away. Who gives a shit what those idiots think about you? Kagome doesn't even know, and you're out of there already. Just wait for Miroku and get on with things…like the wedding night. I gotta tell you, that's something I don't wanna miss.
Hey! Shut up, you hentai!
What, you think I won't be in here watching? Make it something to remember, huh? It's been, oh, NEVER since we've had anything but a fantasy to make love to.
So what, I…Don't forget to kiss her.
Excuse me?When you're making love, don't forget to kiss her. That mouth of hers is so soft and wet, I could just eat her up. It has got to be the hottest, slickest thing I've ever felt.
I know that!Well, the hottest, slickest thing I've felt yet.
Hey, you're not supposed to be thinking about that, you pervert!Make sure you pay attention to her breasts too, while you're at it.
What?!Her breasts? You know, those gorgeous, soft round globes on her chest? The ones you can't keep your eyes from when she runs?.
H-hey! Inuyasha started to feel a little flushed.
And her ass! Don't you just want to grab it and starting kissing it all over?
I would n-never… He started blushing madly at the images that suddenly ran through his head. His face flamed even more when he felt himself actually harden underneath his clothes. Stop talking like that!
And I really, really can't wait to see what it feels like when we're inside…
"Inuyasha, are you and Kagome all right!" Miroku yelled from nearby, and Inuyasha's head snapped up to see everyone sitting on Kirara and flying a few feet from his perch.
He cleared his throat nervously, still scarlet faced as he wondered if his thoughts showed on his face. Stupid damn hentai conscience.
"We're fine, monk," he said hoarsely.
"I can see a nice clearing set back from the road a few miles ahead. Can you follow us there?" Miroku called out again.
"Yeah, sure, whatever. Just shut up already and go!" Inuyasha grumbled, trying to shake free from the lust that was gripping him. He hopped down from the tree with Kagome, amazed to see that she slept through it all. How much sake did she drink, anyway? He wondered again. Damn but she was going to be feeling it when she woke up, he thought.
You know, you could be feeling her before she wakes up, his conscience muttered.
Shut the fuck up! Crap, when did you start being such a pervert?
Inuyasha, considering that I'm your conscience, be impressed that I turned out as well as I did.
Inuyasha growled under his breath and simply followed Kirara's receding flames. Maybe now that Miroku was up he could actually get a little sleep, as it didn't look like Kagome was waking up in the immediate future…
When Inuyasha leapt into the clearing with Kagome, he saw Miroku sitting on the grass, leaning against a tree, and then as he saw where Sango was situated he stumbled so badly he almost fell on top of Kagome. Sitting on Miroku's lap, her head tucked under his chin, was Sango.
"Sesshoumaru in a pink kimono! What the hell are you doing, Monk? Are you insane?" He hissed out.
"I said the same thing!" Shippou piped up from his hiding place across the clearing from Miroku. "Well, except for the bit about Sesshomaru." he admitted. "I'm not coming near him until she's woken up and killed him." He said, and ducked down on the other side of the moss covered log he'd been using to hide behind.
"There is nothing wrong with a man holding his wife." Miroku said calmly, then he sighed. "Besides, would you deny me the last time I may have to hold her? I doubt that she'll allow me this once she's awake, not for a long time yet. And likely not without quite a battle."
"Got that right." Inuyasha said. "And you can bet your ass that's the last time you'll hold her, because she's gonna rip off your arms if she catches you doing it!" Inuyasha plunked himself down on the ground next to Miroku and studiously ignored Miroku's pointed glance at Kagome still clutched to his chest.
"Correct me if I'm wrong, but weren't you questioning my sanity for holding my wife as I sit here?"
"Feh." Inuyasha turned her head away from the monk as his cheeks reddened slightly. "Didn't you say there's nothing wrong with a man holding his wife?" he asked belligerently.
Miroku reached up a hand to run through Sango's hair. "Yes, I believe I did. It's hardly even an event worth mentioning, is it?" he asked softly, inhaling the scent of her hair.
"Yeah…I guess not." Inuyasha murmured, and laid his head back against the tree as he savored the feel of Kagome in his arms. "Hardly worth mentioning…"
Miroku watched him for a moment. "I'm sorry, Inuyasha."
"Huh?"
"The villagers…"
Inuyasha closed his eyes. "Yeah. Whatever. They just better not try anything with Kagome or they'll regret it." he said harshly.
Miroku was silent for a minute and then chuckled to himself. "Quite a pair, aren't we?"
"Huh? What do you mean by that?"
"A hanyou married to a human, and a monk married to…well, anyone at all. Not exactly the most accepted couplings, are they?"
Inuyasha shook his head. He hadn't even really considered Miroku's situation, with everything that had happened. "I…"
"I suppose we'll simply have to stand up for each other, hmmmm?" Miroku said with a smile. "That's what friends do, don't you agree?"
Inuyasha looked at him with huge eyes. "Uh, I…"
Just nod, you dummy, said his conscience.
And he nodded, a small half-smile quirking up his lips. "Uh, yeah. Yeah, they do."
