Hanyou's Daughter pt 2
Shika woke up early the next day. She had to sleep in the extra room upstairs. She went downstairs and looked at the big mess. A few minutes later, Tamahome came downstairs in a good mood. He was whistling until he saw Shika standing in the middle of the messy room.
"Uh. I'm going back to bed. Wake me, when you leave, please," he said quickly as he tried to escape up the stairs, but Shika grabbed on to his tail and yanked hard.
"I am not leaving until you learn how to clean, wash clothes, keep your house, greet guests, and know your manners!! You are going to learn, and I'll stay as long as I need to." She took out her flute. "Even if I have to use this." She tapped the flute on her knee.
"Oh fine! Make this quick! I gotta go find my next meal," He said with a snobbish expression. Shika sat at the end of the cave.
"You won't leave until you know how to make your house at least look clean." Tamahome began to gather everything and shove them in a pile. Shika put her head in her hands. This is going to be more challenging than I thought. I think he's just making this hard for me. I've got to be though so he won't get away with anything.
"Done!" He said, a little out of breath, "Can I go now?" Shika looked at the big pile in the middle of the room. She sighed and got up.
"No," she crossed her arms. "That was the sloppiest job I have ever seen and you didn't make it clean. They're in a pile in the middle of the room! Everyone can see that! It's not even-"
"Well, what do I do then! Tell me!" he interrupted, as he looked longingly outside.
"You need to organize and focus! You are NOT going out until you get this right!" and she whacked him on the head with her flute.
"ITAI! Will you STOP with the hitting!" he yelled as he rubbed his head.
"No I won't. If you do not get this right in the next 3 tries, then I will be forced to take action. Is that CLEAR?" Tamahome frowned and turned to the pile. He sorted everything out. There was a pile for clothes and a pile for possessions. Shika smiled as she watched him figure out how to sort each item into its proper group. "Now, you need to know how to wash clothes. I can tell you don't know how," she said as she picked up a soiled shirt. "So don't even try to get out of this one. We need to bring all of the clothes to the river." She said as she tied her hair up in the regular buns. She tucked her ears under a headband that matched her uniform. She also hid her tail under her skirt. "Remember, after the humans finish washing their clothes, we'll go out and wash together, okay? We need to be quick because they use the river often, and don't forget to put on a shirt before we go out. That makes you look really sloppy," Tamahome muttered as he picked up a shirt and put it on, before he picked up the pile of clothes and walked out of the cave, following Shika.
At the river, the girls from the nearby village had just finished washing their clothes and were leaving. He dumped the clothes on the edge of the river and waited for instructions. Shika rolled up her sleeves and took a bunch of clothes and dumped them into the shallow part of the river. She soaked them and began to scrub them together. Tamahome did the same, but was much messier. He threw the clothes in and began to play in the water. Shika yelled, "Don't get distracted! We need to finish before they come back!" He stopped immediately and began to follow Shika's instructions, in fear of getting hit with her flute again. After they finished, they began to wring out the water and hang the clothes on tree branches. Following that, Tamahome took all the clothes and headed back home. When they arrived, Shika took the pile and lay the clothes flat on the floor in the sunlight. She took her headband off and rubbed her ears. She took her tail out of her skirt and directed, "Now, do what I did. Make sure that the clothes are spread flat, so they wont get wrinkled." He did as he was told and flattened the clothes. Afterwards, Shika began to look through the possessions that he had. There were a couple of books, some priceless jewels and a couple of herbs and ingredients for spells.
"Wha-what do I have to do with those?!" he asked nervously. Shika shrugged.
"You put most of them around your house as decorations, I guess. The herbs and other things go in the kitchen, where they can be easily accessed. Did you have any use for these, anyway?" she asked.
"I really don't know what I was going to do with those, but I guess they'd make cool decorations." he muttered
"Then take these and out them where you think they would look the best. I'll come by and check to see if I like it, too. If I don't, I'll tell you to put it somewhere else." So for the rest of the day, she watched him move things and put them together. He studied their positions and fixed them. When he had finally finished, The clothes were dried and they needed to be folded.
"Are you going to teach me how to fold clothes?" he asked sadly.
"Well, duh! Now you have to learn how to fold your clothes!" Tamahome's ears began to droop.
"I hate folding clothes. It's too hard. Mother tried to teach me once. I couldn't get it, though,"
"Well, I'll teach you're a simple way, okay? Could you get me a book, preferably a skinny one, please?" He went to a shelf and got the skinniest book on the shelf. "Thank you, Tama-San. Okay. This is how you make it easy. You align the book with the collar of the shirt, then take one sleeve and put it on top of the book. Make sure the bottom follows and that it's all even. Then, you do the same on the other side. You take the bottom and fold it up onto the book and you're almost done. The last thing you need to do is, slip the book out and you're done!" Shika unfolded the shirt and watched as Tamahome aligned the book with the collar. He stopped, not sure if he was doing the right thing. Shika got closer to him and took his hands. He did the motions, with Shika's hands guiding him. She took another shirt and laid it in front of him. "This time, you do it alone, okay?" As he did all the shirts, she checked out what he had done around the house. She had to move a couple of things around, but it was pretty, overall. He has a good sense of style, for someone who has no form of organization.
"I'm done," He called. After Shika checked all the shirts, she taught him to do the pants.
"The pants are less tricky. All you need to do is fold in half the long was and then fold again." Tamahome look very clueless, so she sat in front of him and guided his hands again. He learned how to fold the pants much quicker that the shirts. "Now you need to put them away in your room, so you can change quickly. You have separate piles for everything, okay?" He carried the piles upstairs and organized them in a corner.
Before they knew it, the sun was already setting. They sat in the big tree outside the cave and watched the sunset. Shika was on a high branch and Tamahome was on a lower branch. Instead of watching the sun, he watched Shika.
Her eyes glow with such a beautiful gold-ish brown color at this angle. She's so beautiful. I wish I could just look at her like this forever. When Shika turned to Tamahome, he lost his balance and fell to the ground with a thud. He had landed on his back. Shika jumped out of the tree and rushed to his side.
"Hey, are you okay? You just kind of fell when I looked at you. What happened?!" Her face moved closer until her bangs touched his forehead. Tamahome closed his eyes.
I know what happened. You happened and I don't know what to do. I don't even know how to act anymore. When he opened his eyes again, He saw Shika's big, chocolate colored eyes staring at him. She looked worried.
"Did I work you too hard? You're all red." she said as she put a hand on his forehead, which only made his face turn redder that ever.
"No, I'm okay." Then he realized that he was still sprawled on the ground! He got up and dusted himself off. Shika began to laugh. Tamahome looked around and raised a brow. "What now?! Is it really that funny that I fell?"
"I know why you fell out of the tree! It just made sense to me. I also know why you carried me off in the first place! Oh, poor Tamahome-San! You must have been very lonely!" she giggled.
"I still don't get it. What are you talking about!"
"I think you like me! How KAWAII! Tamahome-San has a crush on little ol' me!" she went up to him and nodded. "See you're all red! You'd match my uniform!"
"NO! I do not! I can name a list of reasons why I don't like you. You are so annoying! You're so picky. 'Do this! Do that!' And most of all, you have the flute! That stupid thing has given me so many bumps on my head, I'm starting to feel dizzy!" Shika just laughed even harder.
"And I bet those are my good qualities?! Really, do you expect me to believe what you just said? Who are you kidding?! I know it's true. I was watching you when you were folding clothes. And when I helped you, you went extra slow, like you wanted my help after all!"
"AH CURSED WOMAN!" He covered his ears. "GET AWAY FROM ME!" he yelled as he ran into the cave.
"Yes, there is lots more to learn about women, Tamahome-San." She laughed to herself as she headed back to the cave. When she got there, Tamahome was searching for something to eat.
"Now I have noting to eat," he sighed as his stomach growled. Shika ran upstairs, grabbed her backpack, and headed back downstairs. She pulled out a perfect peanut butter and jelly sandwich, in a brown bag. Tamahome sat at her feet, trying to see what was I the bag.
"Here, taste it first. I don't know if you'll like this," She ripped a little piece off and put it in Tamahome's hand. He sniffed it and put it in his mouth. He chewed slowly and swallowed. He cocked his head to one side and said,
"That made me thirsty, but it was good. Can I have some more?" Shika ripped the sandwich in half and gave him the other half. He gobbled it up and licked his lips. "Yummy, but sticky," he said licked his fingers. Shika smiled.
How cute! He's like a little dog trying to clean himself. I wonder why he lives alone. He's lovable enough... I wonder where his family is. He said he had a mother. I wonder what happened. Shika dusted the crumbs off her backpack and reached inside and pulled out a bottle of water. She drank some and offered some to Tamahome. He stared at the bottle and cocked his head to one side.
"How do you get water from that?" Shika took off her glove poured some out on her hand and held it in front of him. He licked the water from her hand. With each lick, he got closer and closer, until he was almost on her lap. She poured some more and he lapped it up. When the bottle was finished she took out her buns and let her hair fall to her shoulders. She combed through her hair with her fingers to take out some of the tangles.
"Shall we go to bed now? We have to wake up early and teach you to be nice to guests," Shika said as she patted his head. Tamahome got up and stretched out on the floor.
"I'm going to sleep outside tonight. It's cooler outside," Shika nodded as she stepped over him and ran upstairs. She called,
"Then, I'll sleep outside, too! It sounds like fun!" she came back down with a blanket. Tamahome jumped up, took the blanket and ran outside. "Okay then! Let's go!" Shika chased after him
"Get your own blanket! That's mine!" The, he stopped and threw the blanket at her. She caught it and laughed. Tamahome jumped into the tree and landed on a low branch.
"I don't need one. I'll be fine," he said boldly as a sat down. Shika grabbed his tail. This time, she didn't yank him down. She just held onto it.
"No, you should have a blanket. I don't want you to get sick," He looked down at her and he looked into her eyes for a moment.
She looks so sincere. I am drawn to her eyes. I just can't help myself, like I have no control. I haven't felt this way about anyone, ever. What is so special about her? This is still confusing to me. Shika smiled and giggled.
"You think I'm special? That's so sweet! Thank you, Tamahome-San!"
"No, I don't. Where did you get that?!" He asked as he blushed a bright shade of red.
"I can read minds, you know," He tried to get up to protest, but fell out of the tree instead. He had forgotten she was hanging onto his tail. He was sprawled on the floor again, like last time. Shika looked at his tail in her hands and laughed.
"You forgot I was hanging onto your tail! Gomen, Gomen!" she held out her hand. Tamahome reached out and grabbed her hand and pulled her down, except she landed on top of him, instead of next to him. They stared at each other for awhile, and then Shika moved her head closer until her nose slightly touched his. Her bangs touched his forehead, every so lightly. He stared into her eyes and she stared into his. There was a long silence, like the world had stopped to watch them. The, Shika got off of him and dusted herself off. She ran her fingers through her hair to fix it a little. She sat next to the tree.
I really don't know how to describe what happened there. It was weird. I think I'm going to be up all night now. That felt weird and good at the same time. I'm more lost than I was before. Tamahome looked to Shika, who was now asleep. She was huddled in a little ball, to keep warm. He got off the ground and picked up the blanket. He wrapped it around Shika and carried her inside because it was getting cold. When he got inside, Shika grabbed onto his neck and buried her face in his chest. When he tried to put her down, she held on to his neck. She wasn't doing it intentionally, because she was asleep. Tamahome brought her upstairs. Since he couldn't put her down, he sat in a comfortable corner and held her for the rest of the night.
The next morning when Shika woke up, She found herself in Tamahome's arms, her own arms around his neck. Then, she recalled what had happened last night. She closed her eyes again and thought about it moment by moment, like it had been an impossible dream.
Was that really called for? Did he do that on purposes. or was it an honest accident? Now I feel a little mixed up. Did that really happen? She looked up at Tamahome, who was still asleep. I really don't know how you feel. so I can't make any assumptions. I could read your mind, but I don't think that will help me much. What I need id to hear it with my own ears. Tamahome opened his eyes slowly. He looked down at Shika, who was looking at him.
"Did you have a good rest? I didn't want to wake you up. so I just held you. because. you wouldn't let go of me," He said quietly. Shika leaned her head on his chest.
"Oh, it's quite alright. Thank you for your concern. I guess you do have a kind soul after all," He raised a brow and asked,
"A kind soul? I don't get what you're talking about,"
"It's actually quite simple. You were worried about me waking up, so you held me, instead of waking me up to put me down. You've learned to care." She kissed him on the cheek. "Thank you, for caring," She got up and fixed her wrinkled skirt. "What do you want for breakfast?"
"Uh. Whatever you're eating, I guess," He replied. Shika reached for her backpack and grabbed a beautiful, red apple. She tossed it to Tamahome and pulled out at peach for herself. She bit into the juicy peach and licked her lips. "Sorry, it was all I could find I there,"
"How do you do that? You just pull food out of your bag like magic." He stared at the bag in amazement. Shika's reply was a shrug as she devoured the peach.
"It was my mommy's when she was little. I guess there's a spell on it, then," He nodded. And asked,
"Alright then. What are we going to work on today?" he bit into his apple and juice dribbled down his chin.
"How about. cleanliness?" she said as she took a corner of her skirt and wiped Tamahome's chin. "I think this is something that will take all day so we'll be busy. Keeping clean is kind of a hard lesson to learn," she giggled.
"Eh? What's that supposed to mean?" She didn't answer him. Instead she grabbed her backpack and walked outside. He followed her.
"I'm going to take a quick bath, okay?" she said as she turned around and put her headband on. "I would think you need one, too. Why don't you take one after me? It'll be in the lesson anyway so you might as well take one now." she suggested as she adjusted her ears under the band. Tamahome raised an eyebrow.
"Okay?" he said, unsure of what else to say. Shika headed to the river with her backpack. The other women and girls were already I the river soaking up the sun. She took off her clothes and wrapped a towel around her body. She sat on the bank with her toes in the river.
"Is it okay?" asked a girl behind her. She turned to her and nodded.
"The water's lovely this morning," and she eased the rest of her body into the water. Her hand went up on her head to make sure her ears wouldn't be seen under the headband. No one noticed her tail because of all the movement. The girl she had talked to before slid into the water next to her.
"Do you know the demon that lives in the cave near here? I heard that there's a girl living with him now. They say she's from the future and has magic powers and can do lots of things."
"Oh really? Do you know who the girl is?" Shika asked innocently as she scrubbed her hair. The other girl shook her head.
"They say she's the one who guards the demon antidote. I'm not so sure about that though," Shika looked at the girl in surprise.
"Why are you not sure? Anything is possible, you know,"
"I thought that girl was with Inu Yasha. I thought she was helping Lady Kagome and him collect shards,"
"Shards, huh? Well, last I heard, a demon kidnapped her. Maybe she is the one living with that demon."
"She got kidnapped? I didn't know that." She gasped. " Well, it may be true then. Tell me, how did you know that?" Shika dipped her head carefully into the water.
"I am a close friend of Lady Kagome and Inu Yasha," Shika said. She climbed out of the river and grabbed her stuff. Suddenly, Tamahome jumped out of a near by tree.
"Why were you talking about me?"
"EEEEEKK! WHERE YOU WATCHING ME!? OHMIGOD! DID YOU WATCH ME GET NAKED!?" Shika shrieked as she clutched her things in her hands.
"Uh. no," he flushed a bright red.
"YOU PERVERT! AT LEAST TELL ME THE TRUTH!" She shrieked. Tamahome quickly covered her mouth.
"Shhh. You have to keep it down or they'll hear you. Then they'll know that you're the one living with me. Then, we'll attract attention! Inu Yasha will come and take you away from me. I DON"T WANT THAT TO HAPPENED!" he whispered quickly. They were both silent for a few minutes. Shika took her free hand and move Tamahome's hand so she could speak.
"Oh, Tamahome-San! I didn't know you felt like that." Tamahome took a step back.
"I-I-I didn't mean-" Shika put her finger on his lips.
"You don't need to make excuses. You already said how you feel and I respect that. I'll keep quiet from now on," she kissed him lightly on the lips. Tamahome stood for a moment, a bit stunned and surprised.
"What was that for?" he asked in a shaky voice. Shika didn't answer for a while.
"You finally told me how you feel about me and it turns out. I feel the same." She finally admitted. "I guess you've grown on me these past couple of days. Isn't it strange how fast we can fall for another?" she said lightly.
"MmHmm. You're right. We should get back. You're still in a towel and you're wet. You'll get sick," he picked Shika up and went back to the cave, where she was able to get dressed.
I wonder if this will change anything between us now. I mean, we know how we feel about each other and now we don't know what to think anymore. I'll just go on as if nothing happened and maybe he will, too. Outside, Tamahome was high in the tree. He was also thinking about what he had said.
I wonder what will happen next. Is she going to leave? I want her to stay. I said it to her but maybe she's weirded out. I don't know anymore. I thought that if I kept my feelings to myself, she'd leave and be out of my life forever, so I wouldn't have to feel like this anymore. To feel like she's the only person I could live with. To live without her, would be painful. But now, it's like she has to be here. Everything has just gotten worse, now that I've told her. Why couldn't I keep my mouth shut.? Then, Shika came outside holding her wet towel. Her soggy hair was down at her shoulders and there were tangles in it. "Are you okay?" he asked.
"Oh yes. I'm great. Why do you ask?"
"I just thought you'd be a little more stunned than me right now," Tamahome's ears twitched. "I think. there's-" but he had no time to finish, because of the huge monster that had almost squashed him. He sprinted out of the way just in time. They realized that it was a huge demon. How he got to that size, they didn't know, but they knew that this could be the end for both of them.
"GIMMIE POTION!" was all the large thing would say. He looked at Shika. "POTION!"
"You're going to have to have to take it," she yelled as she hung on to her pack. She noticed a weird shine in the middle of his stomach. What the fuck is that?! Is that what's making him crazy? Oh jeez. Then, the monster thing lunged at Shika. She dodged easily, while putting her pack on her back. She stood for a while, then took off her left glove.
Is she crazy?! Facing that thing with her bare hand? I gotta go help her! She's going to get killed! He jumped to Shika. "Come on! We have to get away! It will not be pretty if the villagers get hurt," Shika nodded and jumped on Tamahome's back. He jumped through the trees, going deeper and deeper into the forest, leading big foot farther and farther away from civilization. Shika jumped off Tamahome's back and took the backpack off her back. Tamahome scrambled up a tree. I wonder what she's planning to do. She's got to have a plan or she'll be squashed under this guy's little toe.
"You want this pack, right?" she held out the backpack. "Well, you're going to have to get through me first."
"ALRIGHT YOUNG ONE! I'LL CRUSH YOU AND TAKE THE POTION!" Shika put her left hand behind her back and lunged at the monster. Suddenly, her pinky nail grew and became very pointed and sword like. She stabbed the demon with all her might into the glowing spot on his stomach. The roared with pain and fell to the ground. He was still alive! The monster was about to squish Shika with his giant claw, but Tamahome was quick and brought her out of the demon's grasp. Suddenly, and arrow pierced the glowing spot again, but this time, the demon split open and the jewel shard popped out. Shika got closer and picked up the shard with her bare left hand.
"Keep your hands off the Shard!" a male voice yelled from behind her. Sitting in the tree behind them was Inu Yasha and Kagome. Kagome held a bow and had a quiver of arrows on her back.
"I'm sorry Shika, but we need that shard." Kagome said lightly. Shika threw the shard up to Kagome who caught it with ease and put it with the other shards they had collected, in a little jar.
"You can have it. I'm not interested," Shika began to walk towards Tamahome when Kagome called out,
"Shika, you're coming home with us now! We have a way to get you back home, to your own time." Shika stopped and looked at Kagome, bewildered. "You can go home to your mom now, Shika," Kagome climbed onto Inu Yasha's back and he jumped out of the tree.
"Really. I don't want. to go yet. I- I want." she said quietly. She couldn't think of what to say. Tamahome grabbed her hands and put his forehead against hers.
"I think it would be best if you went back to where you belong. I can't go back with you. I guess. Just remember that I'll always love you, no matter what. No matter where you are, I'll think about you. You can go home now. Back to your time," he let go of her hands and let his fall to his sides and he looked down to the ground." Go on. I know it's best for you,"
"But, Tamahome. I don't want-" she was interrupted by Inu Yasha, who was glaring at Tamahome.
"We need to get moving, Shika. Are you coming or not?" Shika wrapped her arms around Tamahome's neck and she whispered,
"I really don't want to go home just yet. Come back for me, please? When I play my flute, come to the village and take me, please?" She held onto him for a few minutes, then finally let go of him and walked slowly to Inu Yasha and Kagome.
"Don't worry. I'll come for you." Tamahome whispered under his breath. Kagome got onto Inu Yasha's back and he jumped into the tree. Shika turned back to Tamahome, who nodded slowly. She smiled at him and jumped into the tree, following Inu Yasha.
When they got to the village, everyone was waiting. As Kagome got off Inu Yasha's back, she went over to Shika and hugged her.
"Are you alright, Shika?" Kagome asked as she squeezed her. "We couldn't follow you because of that flute screech. I'm sorry,"
"I'm fine, thanks. You don't need to be sorry." Inu Yasha looked disappointedly at Shika.
"You shouldn't have run off like that. We were worried about you. You should know better than to chase after a demon by yourself," he lectured.
"You act like I haven't been here before. I was going along fine, you know. I didn't get hurt and I work alone, so I was fine, jeez." She folded her arms and glared at Inu Yasha. "Who do you think you are? My Father?" Inu Yasha opened his mouth, but shut it again. He didn't want to start an argument.
"We were worried, especially Inu Yasha, Shika. You gave us quite a scare," Kagome said as she brushed Shika's hair.
"I wasn't in trouble. I was just helping Tamahome." she said quietly. Inu Yasha sat in front of her.
"Next time, be more careful. I. I don't want to see you get hurt," He sighed as he got up and went into the forest. Kagome had finished brushing her hair and was starting to do a bun on the left side. Shika recalled the memory of Inu Yasha's smiling face.
Smiling. I wonder why. I want to know why he was smiling at me. But, this was from a long, long time ago. I didn't know Inu Yasha that long ago, only recently. How could I have known him? Kagome finished the left, and started on the right bun.
"Inu Yasha is just concerned, you know. He just wants to look out for you, that's all," she told Shika. This statement made her even more confused.
"Then, why does it seem like he's pushing me away? It doesn't make sense to me,"
"He did that to me, also. You have to get to know him a little more. It takes time," Kagome answered as she finished the right bun. "All done. Now why don't we ask Kaede about how to get you home?" She got up and fixed her skirt.
"Okay. Then, I could save mommy," Meanwhile, Inu Yasha was in the forest, looking for someone in particular.
Stupid Tamahome made Shika mad. Now I'm going to get him and everything will be back to normal. Just then, He heard some rustling in the bushes. "Come out of there," he yelled, ready to pounce on whatever it was. But, the pounce never happened because it was Tamahome who came out of the bush.
A/N: GO REVIEW! Ohk. dedication: chibi minamoto- you've been mai frend since the 4th grade n this is fer yoooooooh!! haha
Shika woke up early the next day. She had to sleep in the extra room upstairs. She went downstairs and looked at the big mess. A few minutes later, Tamahome came downstairs in a good mood. He was whistling until he saw Shika standing in the middle of the messy room.
"Uh. I'm going back to bed. Wake me, when you leave, please," he said quickly as he tried to escape up the stairs, but Shika grabbed on to his tail and yanked hard.
"I am not leaving until you learn how to clean, wash clothes, keep your house, greet guests, and know your manners!! You are going to learn, and I'll stay as long as I need to." She took out her flute. "Even if I have to use this." She tapped the flute on her knee.
"Oh fine! Make this quick! I gotta go find my next meal," He said with a snobbish expression. Shika sat at the end of the cave.
"You won't leave until you know how to make your house at least look clean." Tamahome began to gather everything and shove them in a pile. Shika put her head in her hands. This is going to be more challenging than I thought. I think he's just making this hard for me. I've got to be though so he won't get away with anything.
"Done!" He said, a little out of breath, "Can I go now?" Shika looked at the big pile in the middle of the room. She sighed and got up.
"No," she crossed her arms. "That was the sloppiest job I have ever seen and you didn't make it clean. They're in a pile in the middle of the room! Everyone can see that! It's not even-"
"Well, what do I do then! Tell me!" he interrupted, as he looked longingly outside.
"You need to organize and focus! You are NOT going out until you get this right!" and she whacked him on the head with her flute.
"ITAI! Will you STOP with the hitting!" he yelled as he rubbed his head.
"No I won't. If you do not get this right in the next 3 tries, then I will be forced to take action. Is that CLEAR?" Tamahome frowned and turned to the pile. He sorted everything out. There was a pile for clothes and a pile for possessions. Shika smiled as she watched him figure out how to sort each item into its proper group. "Now, you need to know how to wash clothes. I can tell you don't know how," she said as she picked up a soiled shirt. "So don't even try to get out of this one. We need to bring all of the clothes to the river." She said as she tied her hair up in the regular buns. She tucked her ears under a headband that matched her uniform. She also hid her tail under her skirt. "Remember, after the humans finish washing their clothes, we'll go out and wash together, okay? We need to be quick because they use the river often, and don't forget to put on a shirt before we go out. That makes you look really sloppy," Tamahome muttered as he picked up a shirt and put it on, before he picked up the pile of clothes and walked out of the cave, following Shika.
At the river, the girls from the nearby village had just finished washing their clothes and were leaving. He dumped the clothes on the edge of the river and waited for instructions. Shika rolled up her sleeves and took a bunch of clothes and dumped them into the shallow part of the river. She soaked them and began to scrub them together. Tamahome did the same, but was much messier. He threw the clothes in and began to play in the water. Shika yelled, "Don't get distracted! We need to finish before they come back!" He stopped immediately and began to follow Shika's instructions, in fear of getting hit with her flute again. After they finished, they began to wring out the water and hang the clothes on tree branches. Following that, Tamahome took all the clothes and headed back home. When they arrived, Shika took the pile and lay the clothes flat on the floor in the sunlight. She took her headband off and rubbed her ears. She took her tail out of her skirt and directed, "Now, do what I did. Make sure that the clothes are spread flat, so they wont get wrinkled." He did as he was told and flattened the clothes. Afterwards, Shika began to look through the possessions that he had. There were a couple of books, some priceless jewels and a couple of herbs and ingredients for spells.
"Wha-what do I have to do with those?!" he asked nervously. Shika shrugged.
"You put most of them around your house as decorations, I guess. The herbs and other things go in the kitchen, where they can be easily accessed. Did you have any use for these, anyway?" she asked.
"I really don't know what I was going to do with those, but I guess they'd make cool decorations." he muttered
"Then take these and out them where you think they would look the best. I'll come by and check to see if I like it, too. If I don't, I'll tell you to put it somewhere else." So for the rest of the day, she watched him move things and put them together. He studied their positions and fixed them. When he had finally finished, The clothes were dried and they needed to be folded.
"Are you going to teach me how to fold clothes?" he asked sadly.
"Well, duh! Now you have to learn how to fold your clothes!" Tamahome's ears began to droop.
"I hate folding clothes. It's too hard. Mother tried to teach me once. I couldn't get it, though,"
"Well, I'll teach you're a simple way, okay? Could you get me a book, preferably a skinny one, please?" He went to a shelf and got the skinniest book on the shelf. "Thank you, Tama-San. Okay. This is how you make it easy. You align the book with the collar of the shirt, then take one sleeve and put it on top of the book. Make sure the bottom follows and that it's all even. Then, you do the same on the other side. You take the bottom and fold it up onto the book and you're almost done. The last thing you need to do is, slip the book out and you're done!" Shika unfolded the shirt and watched as Tamahome aligned the book with the collar. He stopped, not sure if he was doing the right thing. Shika got closer to him and took his hands. He did the motions, with Shika's hands guiding him. She took another shirt and laid it in front of him. "This time, you do it alone, okay?" As he did all the shirts, she checked out what he had done around the house. She had to move a couple of things around, but it was pretty, overall. He has a good sense of style, for someone who has no form of organization.
"I'm done," He called. After Shika checked all the shirts, she taught him to do the pants.
"The pants are less tricky. All you need to do is fold in half the long was and then fold again." Tamahome look very clueless, so she sat in front of him and guided his hands again. He learned how to fold the pants much quicker that the shirts. "Now you need to put them away in your room, so you can change quickly. You have separate piles for everything, okay?" He carried the piles upstairs and organized them in a corner.
Before they knew it, the sun was already setting. They sat in the big tree outside the cave and watched the sunset. Shika was on a high branch and Tamahome was on a lower branch. Instead of watching the sun, he watched Shika.
Her eyes glow with such a beautiful gold-ish brown color at this angle. She's so beautiful. I wish I could just look at her like this forever. When Shika turned to Tamahome, he lost his balance and fell to the ground with a thud. He had landed on his back. Shika jumped out of the tree and rushed to his side.
"Hey, are you okay? You just kind of fell when I looked at you. What happened?!" Her face moved closer until her bangs touched his forehead. Tamahome closed his eyes.
I know what happened. You happened and I don't know what to do. I don't even know how to act anymore. When he opened his eyes again, He saw Shika's big, chocolate colored eyes staring at him. She looked worried.
"Did I work you too hard? You're all red." she said as she put a hand on his forehead, which only made his face turn redder that ever.
"No, I'm okay." Then he realized that he was still sprawled on the ground! He got up and dusted himself off. Shika began to laugh. Tamahome looked around and raised a brow. "What now?! Is it really that funny that I fell?"
"I know why you fell out of the tree! It just made sense to me. I also know why you carried me off in the first place! Oh, poor Tamahome-San! You must have been very lonely!" she giggled.
"I still don't get it. What are you talking about!"
"I think you like me! How KAWAII! Tamahome-San has a crush on little ol' me!" she went up to him and nodded. "See you're all red! You'd match my uniform!"
"NO! I do not! I can name a list of reasons why I don't like you. You are so annoying! You're so picky. 'Do this! Do that!' And most of all, you have the flute! That stupid thing has given me so many bumps on my head, I'm starting to feel dizzy!" Shika just laughed even harder.
"And I bet those are my good qualities?! Really, do you expect me to believe what you just said? Who are you kidding?! I know it's true. I was watching you when you were folding clothes. And when I helped you, you went extra slow, like you wanted my help after all!"
"AH CURSED WOMAN!" He covered his ears. "GET AWAY FROM ME!" he yelled as he ran into the cave.
"Yes, there is lots more to learn about women, Tamahome-San." She laughed to herself as she headed back to the cave. When she got there, Tamahome was searching for something to eat.
"Now I have noting to eat," he sighed as his stomach growled. Shika ran upstairs, grabbed her backpack, and headed back downstairs. She pulled out a perfect peanut butter and jelly sandwich, in a brown bag. Tamahome sat at her feet, trying to see what was I the bag.
"Here, taste it first. I don't know if you'll like this," She ripped a little piece off and put it in Tamahome's hand. He sniffed it and put it in his mouth. He chewed slowly and swallowed. He cocked his head to one side and said,
"That made me thirsty, but it was good. Can I have some more?" Shika ripped the sandwich in half and gave him the other half. He gobbled it up and licked his lips. "Yummy, but sticky," he said licked his fingers. Shika smiled.
How cute! He's like a little dog trying to clean himself. I wonder why he lives alone. He's lovable enough... I wonder where his family is. He said he had a mother. I wonder what happened. Shika dusted the crumbs off her backpack and reached inside and pulled out a bottle of water. She drank some and offered some to Tamahome. He stared at the bottle and cocked his head to one side.
"How do you get water from that?" Shika took off her glove poured some out on her hand and held it in front of him. He licked the water from her hand. With each lick, he got closer and closer, until he was almost on her lap. She poured some more and he lapped it up. When the bottle was finished she took out her buns and let her hair fall to her shoulders. She combed through her hair with her fingers to take out some of the tangles.
"Shall we go to bed now? We have to wake up early and teach you to be nice to guests," Shika said as she patted his head. Tamahome got up and stretched out on the floor.
"I'm going to sleep outside tonight. It's cooler outside," Shika nodded as she stepped over him and ran upstairs. She called,
"Then, I'll sleep outside, too! It sounds like fun!" she came back down with a blanket. Tamahome jumped up, took the blanket and ran outside. "Okay then! Let's go!" Shika chased after him
"Get your own blanket! That's mine!" The, he stopped and threw the blanket at her. She caught it and laughed. Tamahome jumped into the tree and landed on a low branch.
"I don't need one. I'll be fine," he said boldly as a sat down. Shika grabbed his tail. This time, she didn't yank him down. She just held onto it.
"No, you should have a blanket. I don't want you to get sick," He looked down at her and he looked into her eyes for a moment.
She looks so sincere. I am drawn to her eyes. I just can't help myself, like I have no control. I haven't felt this way about anyone, ever. What is so special about her? This is still confusing to me. Shika smiled and giggled.
"You think I'm special? That's so sweet! Thank you, Tamahome-San!"
"No, I don't. Where did you get that?!" He asked as he blushed a bright shade of red.
"I can read minds, you know," He tried to get up to protest, but fell out of the tree instead. He had forgotten she was hanging onto his tail. He was sprawled on the floor again, like last time. Shika looked at his tail in her hands and laughed.
"You forgot I was hanging onto your tail! Gomen, Gomen!" she held out her hand. Tamahome reached out and grabbed her hand and pulled her down, except she landed on top of him, instead of next to him. They stared at each other for awhile, and then Shika moved her head closer until her nose slightly touched his. Her bangs touched his forehead, every so lightly. He stared into her eyes and she stared into his. There was a long silence, like the world had stopped to watch them. The, Shika got off of him and dusted herself off. She ran her fingers through her hair to fix it a little. She sat next to the tree.
I really don't know how to describe what happened there. It was weird. I think I'm going to be up all night now. That felt weird and good at the same time. I'm more lost than I was before. Tamahome looked to Shika, who was now asleep. She was huddled in a little ball, to keep warm. He got off the ground and picked up the blanket. He wrapped it around Shika and carried her inside because it was getting cold. When he got inside, Shika grabbed onto his neck and buried her face in his chest. When he tried to put her down, she held on to his neck. She wasn't doing it intentionally, because she was asleep. Tamahome brought her upstairs. Since he couldn't put her down, he sat in a comfortable corner and held her for the rest of the night.
The next morning when Shika woke up, She found herself in Tamahome's arms, her own arms around his neck. Then, she recalled what had happened last night. She closed her eyes again and thought about it moment by moment, like it had been an impossible dream.
Was that really called for? Did he do that on purposes. or was it an honest accident? Now I feel a little mixed up. Did that really happen? She looked up at Tamahome, who was still asleep. I really don't know how you feel. so I can't make any assumptions. I could read your mind, but I don't think that will help me much. What I need id to hear it with my own ears. Tamahome opened his eyes slowly. He looked down at Shika, who was looking at him.
"Did you have a good rest? I didn't want to wake you up. so I just held you. because. you wouldn't let go of me," He said quietly. Shika leaned her head on his chest.
"Oh, it's quite alright. Thank you for your concern. I guess you do have a kind soul after all," He raised a brow and asked,
"A kind soul? I don't get what you're talking about,"
"It's actually quite simple. You were worried about me waking up, so you held me, instead of waking me up to put me down. You've learned to care." She kissed him on the cheek. "Thank you, for caring," She got up and fixed her wrinkled skirt. "What do you want for breakfast?"
"Uh. Whatever you're eating, I guess," He replied. Shika reached for her backpack and grabbed a beautiful, red apple. She tossed it to Tamahome and pulled out at peach for herself. She bit into the juicy peach and licked her lips. "Sorry, it was all I could find I there,"
"How do you do that? You just pull food out of your bag like magic." He stared at the bag in amazement. Shika's reply was a shrug as she devoured the peach.
"It was my mommy's when she was little. I guess there's a spell on it, then," He nodded. And asked,
"Alright then. What are we going to work on today?" he bit into his apple and juice dribbled down his chin.
"How about. cleanliness?" she said as she took a corner of her skirt and wiped Tamahome's chin. "I think this is something that will take all day so we'll be busy. Keeping clean is kind of a hard lesson to learn," she giggled.
"Eh? What's that supposed to mean?" She didn't answer him. Instead she grabbed her backpack and walked outside. He followed her.
"I'm going to take a quick bath, okay?" she said as she turned around and put her headband on. "I would think you need one, too. Why don't you take one after me? It'll be in the lesson anyway so you might as well take one now." she suggested as she adjusted her ears under the band. Tamahome raised an eyebrow.
"Okay?" he said, unsure of what else to say. Shika headed to the river with her backpack. The other women and girls were already I the river soaking up the sun. She took off her clothes and wrapped a towel around her body. She sat on the bank with her toes in the river.
"Is it okay?" asked a girl behind her. She turned to her and nodded.
"The water's lovely this morning," and she eased the rest of her body into the water. Her hand went up on her head to make sure her ears wouldn't be seen under the headband. No one noticed her tail because of all the movement. The girl she had talked to before slid into the water next to her.
"Do you know the demon that lives in the cave near here? I heard that there's a girl living with him now. They say she's from the future and has magic powers and can do lots of things."
"Oh really? Do you know who the girl is?" Shika asked innocently as she scrubbed her hair. The other girl shook her head.
"They say she's the one who guards the demon antidote. I'm not so sure about that though," Shika looked at the girl in surprise.
"Why are you not sure? Anything is possible, you know,"
"I thought that girl was with Inu Yasha. I thought she was helping Lady Kagome and him collect shards,"
"Shards, huh? Well, last I heard, a demon kidnapped her. Maybe she is the one living with that demon."
"She got kidnapped? I didn't know that." She gasped. " Well, it may be true then. Tell me, how did you know that?" Shika dipped her head carefully into the water.
"I am a close friend of Lady Kagome and Inu Yasha," Shika said. She climbed out of the river and grabbed her stuff. Suddenly, Tamahome jumped out of a near by tree.
"Why were you talking about me?"
"EEEEEKK! WHERE YOU WATCHING ME!? OHMIGOD! DID YOU WATCH ME GET NAKED!?" Shika shrieked as she clutched her things in her hands.
"Uh. no," he flushed a bright red.
"YOU PERVERT! AT LEAST TELL ME THE TRUTH!" She shrieked. Tamahome quickly covered her mouth.
"Shhh. You have to keep it down or they'll hear you. Then they'll know that you're the one living with me. Then, we'll attract attention! Inu Yasha will come and take you away from me. I DON"T WANT THAT TO HAPPENED!" he whispered quickly. They were both silent for a few minutes. Shika took her free hand and move Tamahome's hand so she could speak.
"Oh, Tamahome-San! I didn't know you felt like that." Tamahome took a step back.
"I-I-I didn't mean-" Shika put her finger on his lips.
"You don't need to make excuses. You already said how you feel and I respect that. I'll keep quiet from now on," she kissed him lightly on the lips. Tamahome stood for a moment, a bit stunned and surprised.
"What was that for?" he asked in a shaky voice. Shika didn't answer for a while.
"You finally told me how you feel about me and it turns out. I feel the same." She finally admitted. "I guess you've grown on me these past couple of days. Isn't it strange how fast we can fall for another?" she said lightly.
"MmHmm. You're right. We should get back. You're still in a towel and you're wet. You'll get sick," he picked Shika up and went back to the cave, where she was able to get dressed.
I wonder if this will change anything between us now. I mean, we know how we feel about each other and now we don't know what to think anymore. I'll just go on as if nothing happened and maybe he will, too. Outside, Tamahome was high in the tree. He was also thinking about what he had said.
I wonder what will happen next. Is she going to leave? I want her to stay. I said it to her but maybe she's weirded out. I don't know anymore. I thought that if I kept my feelings to myself, she'd leave and be out of my life forever, so I wouldn't have to feel like this anymore. To feel like she's the only person I could live with. To live without her, would be painful. But now, it's like she has to be here. Everything has just gotten worse, now that I've told her. Why couldn't I keep my mouth shut.? Then, Shika came outside holding her wet towel. Her soggy hair was down at her shoulders and there were tangles in it. "Are you okay?" he asked.
"Oh yes. I'm great. Why do you ask?"
"I just thought you'd be a little more stunned than me right now," Tamahome's ears twitched. "I think. there's-" but he had no time to finish, because of the huge monster that had almost squashed him. He sprinted out of the way just in time. They realized that it was a huge demon. How he got to that size, they didn't know, but they knew that this could be the end for both of them.
"GIMMIE POTION!" was all the large thing would say. He looked at Shika. "POTION!"
"You're going to have to have to take it," she yelled as she hung on to her pack. She noticed a weird shine in the middle of his stomach. What the fuck is that?! Is that what's making him crazy? Oh jeez. Then, the monster thing lunged at Shika. She dodged easily, while putting her pack on her back. She stood for a while, then took off her left glove.
Is she crazy?! Facing that thing with her bare hand? I gotta go help her! She's going to get killed! He jumped to Shika. "Come on! We have to get away! It will not be pretty if the villagers get hurt," Shika nodded and jumped on Tamahome's back. He jumped through the trees, going deeper and deeper into the forest, leading big foot farther and farther away from civilization. Shika jumped off Tamahome's back and took the backpack off her back. Tamahome scrambled up a tree. I wonder what she's planning to do. She's got to have a plan or she'll be squashed under this guy's little toe.
"You want this pack, right?" she held out the backpack. "Well, you're going to have to get through me first."
"ALRIGHT YOUNG ONE! I'LL CRUSH YOU AND TAKE THE POTION!" Shika put her left hand behind her back and lunged at the monster. Suddenly, her pinky nail grew and became very pointed and sword like. She stabbed the demon with all her might into the glowing spot on his stomach. The roared with pain and fell to the ground. He was still alive! The monster was about to squish Shika with his giant claw, but Tamahome was quick and brought her out of the demon's grasp. Suddenly, and arrow pierced the glowing spot again, but this time, the demon split open and the jewel shard popped out. Shika got closer and picked up the shard with her bare left hand.
"Keep your hands off the Shard!" a male voice yelled from behind her. Sitting in the tree behind them was Inu Yasha and Kagome. Kagome held a bow and had a quiver of arrows on her back.
"I'm sorry Shika, but we need that shard." Kagome said lightly. Shika threw the shard up to Kagome who caught it with ease and put it with the other shards they had collected, in a little jar.
"You can have it. I'm not interested," Shika began to walk towards Tamahome when Kagome called out,
"Shika, you're coming home with us now! We have a way to get you back home, to your own time." Shika stopped and looked at Kagome, bewildered. "You can go home to your mom now, Shika," Kagome climbed onto Inu Yasha's back and he jumped out of the tree.
"Really. I don't want. to go yet. I- I want." she said quietly. She couldn't think of what to say. Tamahome grabbed her hands and put his forehead against hers.
"I think it would be best if you went back to where you belong. I can't go back with you. I guess. Just remember that I'll always love you, no matter what. No matter where you are, I'll think about you. You can go home now. Back to your time," he let go of her hands and let his fall to his sides and he looked down to the ground." Go on. I know it's best for you,"
"But, Tamahome. I don't want-" she was interrupted by Inu Yasha, who was glaring at Tamahome.
"We need to get moving, Shika. Are you coming or not?" Shika wrapped her arms around Tamahome's neck and she whispered,
"I really don't want to go home just yet. Come back for me, please? When I play my flute, come to the village and take me, please?" She held onto him for a few minutes, then finally let go of him and walked slowly to Inu Yasha and Kagome.
"Don't worry. I'll come for you." Tamahome whispered under his breath. Kagome got onto Inu Yasha's back and he jumped into the tree. Shika turned back to Tamahome, who nodded slowly. She smiled at him and jumped into the tree, following Inu Yasha.
When they got to the village, everyone was waiting. As Kagome got off Inu Yasha's back, she went over to Shika and hugged her.
"Are you alright, Shika?" Kagome asked as she squeezed her. "We couldn't follow you because of that flute screech. I'm sorry,"
"I'm fine, thanks. You don't need to be sorry." Inu Yasha looked disappointedly at Shika.
"You shouldn't have run off like that. We were worried about you. You should know better than to chase after a demon by yourself," he lectured.
"You act like I haven't been here before. I was going along fine, you know. I didn't get hurt and I work alone, so I was fine, jeez." She folded her arms and glared at Inu Yasha. "Who do you think you are? My Father?" Inu Yasha opened his mouth, but shut it again. He didn't want to start an argument.
"We were worried, especially Inu Yasha, Shika. You gave us quite a scare," Kagome said as she brushed Shika's hair.
"I wasn't in trouble. I was just helping Tamahome." she said quietly. Inu Yasha sat in front of her.
"Next time, be more careful. I. I don't want to see you get hurt," He sighed as he got up and went into the forest. Kagome had finished brushing her hair and was starting to do a bun on the left side. Shika recalled the memory of Inu Yasha's smiling face.
Smiling. I wonder why. I want to know why he was smiling at me. But, this was from a long, long time ago. I didn't know Inu Yasha that long ago, only recently. How could I have known him? Kagome finished the left, and started on the right bun.
"Inu Yasha is just concerned, you know. He just wants to look out for you, that's all," she told Shika. This statement made her even more confused.
"Then, why does it seem like he's pushing me away? It doesn't make sense to me,"
"He did that to me, also. You have to get to know him a little more. It takes time," Kagome answered as she finished the right bun. "All done. Now why don't we ask Kaede about how to get you home?" She got up and fixed her skirt.
"Okay. Then, I could save mommy," Meanwhile, Inu Yasha was in the forest, looking for someone in particular.
Stupid Tamahome made Shika mad. Now I'm going to get him and everything will be back to normal. Just then, He heard some rustling in the bushes. "Come out of there," he yelled, ready to pounce on whatever it was. But, the pounce never happened because it was Tamahome who came out of the bush.
A/N: GO REVIEW! Ohk. dedication: chibi minamoto- you've been mai frend since the 4th grade n this is fer yoooooooh!! haha