Disclaimer: From now on I won't write these suckers!
(A/N: I'm so ticked off today. I found that if I go on ebay.co.uk I can find a load of really good Inuyasha merchandise! INCLUDING DVDs of seasons 1 to 4. But the only problem is that they sellers don't accept solo cards! That really sucks! Because that's all I have! I'd ask my dad to help me out but he's as tight as a duck's backside (as in water tight) and my mum gets her money off him so she's pretty much broke like me. This means I have to wait at least two years before I can buy Inuyasha anime or anything like that... BUT I'm not a patient person! See my dilemma? I'm going nuts over here!
Anyway, this chapter is gonna be slightly longer than usual. YAY! Normally I would break it down into 2 chapters but... really can't be bothered right now.)
Anywho... ^_^
Two Faced:
Let Go
"So Kagome's an oyster?" Sango nodded. "Cool."
"Thanks dad." Kagome leaned against her bed and closed her eyes, still feeling quite sick in the stomach and her throat hurt a lot too.
"No - that's just an analogy." Mr Higurashi told them. "You know how Oysters filter all the grit and rock in the sea water through their bodies?"
"Naturally." Miroku nodded blankly.
"And then they create pearls?" her father held out his hands. "That's exactly what Kagome's done... or was it clams that did that...?."
"What, I've been sitting on a rock in the ocean chomping on grit?" Kagome pulled a face. "You're not making a lot of sense dad."
"Well, picture yourself as an oyster - or a clam." He told her. "You come into contact with evil and purity all day every day, right? You've been filtering it through your body - every one does it."
"Right..." Kagome frowned.
"And seeing as you had spiritual powers, you use those to filter it all." Her father sighed. "And when you came into contact with such immense evil from those demons, it must have jolted your system and forced your spiritual powers out of your body in a solid form."
"This..." Kagome held the jewel up. "Is my power?"
"That's why only you can touch it." Her father sighed. "It's how the prophesy will play out. That thing will irrupt and wipe out demons-"
"It can't do that!" Kagome yelped, suddenly covering it with her hands as if to stop it exploding.
"It won't unless it becomes defiles, Kagome." He warned her. "That's why you mustn't let anyone except yourself touch it. It absorbs the essence of anything it touches. If anyone else holds it, it will become defiled with evil. Which is why you must steer away from Miroku."
Miroku started choking on a chip while Sango patted his back. "Oh don't act so shocked." She told him. "Even you know you're pretty defiled."
"Yeah, but still!" he coughed out.
"I can't keep this thing..." Kagome scowled. "It's more trouble than its worth - it's already proven that!"
"You can't throw it away." Her father told her sternly.
"Why not?" she challenged.
"Because without your purity to sustain it, that bead will become defiled anyway and will irrupt to wipe out demons... and maybe even humans if it's stained with enough evil."
Kagome's face fell. "So..."
"So you must hold onto it and purify it..." Mr Higurashi nodded. "It should disappear when it absorbs enough of your essence..."
"Thank god..." Kagome sighed. "I don't want to hurt anyone else with it..."
"What are you... ?...oh..." Sango went quiet as Kagome shot a worried glance over to the other bed in the small room. Inuyasha was stretched out on that bed... stirring slightly as if he was dreaming... and not a very pleasant dream by the way he kept frowning and occasionally groaning.
"Hey... he isn't going to be happy when he wakes up, is he?" Miroku said slowly. "Maybe you should buzz him again to give us more time to sort out the problem with the..."
He trailed off under the two girl's glares.
"Or not..." he finished, clearing his throat. "Well, wow, look at the time, I better be off to bed."
"But it's seven o'clock." Kagome stared at him.
"Yeah well... it's been a tough day... carrying Inuyasha isn't exactly easy on the muscles." Miroku winced as he stood. "Besides, we have a long day ahead of us tomorrow."
"Yeah... I better be going as well." Sango stood up quickly. "I have to go... check on Shippo and Rin..."
"Me too..." Kagome's father stood as well and all three quickly trooped out of the room.
"What... do I have bad breath or something?" Kagome looked around, before realising. They just didn't want to stick around for when Inuyasha woke up. Cowards...
With a sigh she slowly crept over to where Inuyasha was lay... and the closer she approached the more he seemed to twist and toss his head as he slept. Another small trickle of blood was running from his ear this time... and she gently got the damp cloth she'd been using to clean it away.
The doctor had said that he'd had some kind of internal injury and was bleeding inside... but since they guy hadn't really known much about Hanyou anatomy, he'd been a little stumped at how to help. It wasn't that it was totally different, seeing as all the organs were all pretty much in the same place... they just kind of worked differently from human ones. He didn't know if Inuyasha would heal by a few hours or a few days.
Kagome was worried though... Inuyasha didn't usually fall unconscious after being injured... and what on earth was making him bleed at the ears?
Tenderly she brushed a lock of damp hair from his brow, only to be rewarded with a slight growl and Inuyasha turning away from her. Kagome blinked at him in surprise and went to touch his shoulder. With a groan he rolled away before she'd even touched him.
"Wow... you're still moody at me even when you're asleep." She sighed and left him to it.
Since she was still feeling pretty tired from her earlier feat with the demons and she had been travelling all day... she didn't mind taking to bed sooner than normal. Maybe when she woke up tomorrow Inuyasha would be feeling better... she hoped...
^_^
Cockroaches... they were everywhere.
They were crawling across the ceiling and the walls, infesting his food and his slippers... and were taking over his bed. Everywhere he stepped there was a crunching sound that sent the hairs on the back of his neck on high alert... cold shivers ran up his spine in disgust, even though he felt like he was in a sauna.
He absolutely hated cockroaches... they were the scum of the earth. Maybe one or two he could handle... but a whole sea of them like this was another story. When he was presented with this many... he could almost say it was a phobia...
He couldn't eat, he couldn't sleep... he couldn't watch TV because he didn't dare stand or sit in one place for more than thirty seconds in case they started crawling up his legs.
As he opened the kitchen door to move into the living room anyway, a few that had been hanging on the ceiling above it dropped down and landed in his hair.
"Ah!" he tossed his head madly batted at his hair to get them out. And even when he knew they were all out, he still didn't stop batting... he could just FEEL their filth on him.
This was going to take more than just one big rolled up newspaper.
"You know what's even creepier?"
He glanced up at the sound of a girl talking and saw Kagome sitting in the cushy chair before the TV set in the living room. Her back was turned to him, but from what he could see, the roaches were just crawling all over her, though the tresses of her hair and scuttling across her lap. She didn't seem to notice and continued to watch a nature program about cockroaches on TV, gradually making her way through a packet of crisps.
"Did you know that cockroaches fart like three times in a minute?"
"What?"
The sound of his own voice woke Inuyasha from his sleep. It took him a few seconds to realise he'd been dreaming, and that he'd just spoken aloud into the quiet room he was in.
It took him a little longer to stand down from that small little adrenaline rush of panic he'd been having in the dream... and as he gradually forgot the dream he started to wonder where the heck he was. The last thing he remembered was drawing Tessaiga to fight off a couple of very large demons that had been ready to attack. Everything after that was a blank... until this moment as he sat up on the bed in a swelteringly hot hotel room.
He quickly noticed the only other person in the room... Kagome. She was sound asleep in her own bed and wrapped up tight in her blankets like she was cold. He swung his legs off the bed and fanned his face absently with his hand... before beginning to tug at his loose tank top shirt to get some cool air on his body.
Funnily enough... the room and the air was pretty chilly... it appeared to be just him that was hot.
Glancing up again at Kagome he sighed. She was safe at least... she hadn't been harmed by those demons. But just to be sure she wasn't lying on her death bed, he rose and slowly made his way towards her.
As he got closer to her side, the heat seemed to increase. He ignored it for a moment until he got to her side and realised that it was beginning to bother him a lot... and it seemed to be emanating from Kagome. What was wrong with her?
Small flashes of memory suddenly rose up in his mind, images of pink light racing towards him. Kagome looking like she was having a seizure on the ground.
Something had happened to her...
With a frown he reached down to touch her cheek gently, but that heat in his hand became so unbearable it was starting to make the bones in his fingers hurt. He pulled back slightly, before suddenly noticing a small ball shaped stone hung around her neck. He'd never seen her wear a piece of jewellery like that... or any jewellery for that matter. And he had to say it did look pretty ugly for jewellery.
He reached out to touch it... before deciding not to. The closer he moved his hand towards it the more his hand started to ache, and tiny blisters began appearing over the pads of his fingers.
For some reason he couldn't touch Kagome without feeling pain. Even being around her made him feel uncomfortable and a little on edge, not to mention a little hot and bothered in the literal sense, not the ecchi sense.
So, quietly, he grabbed Tessaiga that had been laid out on the bed beside him and slipped out through the door. The air in the corridor outside was such a relief as his body started to cool at once. Kagome was definitely the source of that heat.
With a slight pout and a frown and leaned against the wall and slid down to sit on the floor with his back against it. It was better to sleep sitting upright than on a cushy bed in an incredibly hot room. Maybe whatever was wrong with Kagome would be fixed in the morning?
^_^
Kagome woke up the next morning, gradually pulling herself out of her dream. She frowned as she remembered small bits and pieces of it... something about her sitting in a room full of cockroaches and watching TV. Now that had been pretty creepy.
She sat up with a fuzzy head and peered blearily across the room to the second bed. It was empty, and it took her a few seconds to realise who was supposed to be in it.
"Inuyasha..."
She hurriedly managed to disentangle herself from the sheets and looked around. He wasn't on the floor... which meant he'd probably stumbled out of bed before her. Did that mean he was up and awake and feeling better?
Anxious to find out, Kagome tugged on some fresh clothes and shot out of that bedroom faster than she had in her entire life. Looking around anxiously she found her way downstairs to the breakfast room. Miroku and Sango were the only ones up so early and were sat across from one another on one of the smaller tables. They also seemed to be having a rather intense discussion since they seemed to think it necessary to speak with their noses almost touching.
"Hey!" Kagome called as she ran towards them.
Sango jumped up and clutched her heart like she was having one of Inuyasha's heart attacks. "Not so loud so early, Kagome!" she gasped out.
"Right - have you two seen Inuyasha around? He isn't in his bed."
Sango began shaking her head but Miroku smiled. "Oh - he's sleeping?"
"Where?" Kagome frowned.
"In the second bed in my room." He shrugged. "I found him snoozing in the corridor outside your room and since he barely had the strength to lift his head and insult me - I realised it was pretty serious and he needed some serious R and R."
"But... what was wrong with sleeping in my room?" Kagome didn't understand what had made him want to move.
"I don't know... you were in it, I guess." Miroku shrugged again. "You want some cornflakes?"
"Uh... ok..." Kagome sat herself down beside Sango, feeling a little dejected already. However, it was short lived.
"Mornin' Inuyasha." Sango called cheerfully a few minutes after Kagome had begun to eat her cereal.
Kagome was on her feet and hurrying towards him through the tables at once. He still looked half asleep and his hair was stuck up on one side, but when he saw Kagome coming, he also felt that painful heat coming too, and quickly made a point to step back.
Kagome saw his deliberate attempt to avoid her and put a table between them, and so stopped to stare at him. "Are you ok? You weren't there when I woke up - you had me worried."
"I'm ok." He said quickly, rubbing the sleep from his eyes, and also trying to rub away the approach of a headache.
"You had a fever... are you ok now?" Kagome edged around the table, reaching up to press a palm against his forehead. He saw it coming and knocked it away with the briefest of touches. She missed the wince he made as he did so.
"I'm ok." He said again, moving around her to go to the table, giving her wide berth as he did so.
Kagome stood with confusion for a moment, wondering what the hell was happening. Inuyasha was suddenly acting so... cold towards her... as if he didn't want to know her.
Wait... this hadn't been all of a sudden. He'd been acting like this since she'd turned him down flatly after he'd kissed her outside the inn. He really didn't want to 'just be friends', did he?
She'd have to fix that... later...
Meanwhile Inuyasha was having a little dilemma of his own. He probably should tell someone that he was having difficulty touching Kagome. It was more than a little problem. This could affect his performance if she ever got in trouble and he had to save her again. That would be difficult if he couldn't touch her or carry her.
Kagome soon plopped down beside him at the table and continued to eat her cereal, deliberately refusing to look at him.
She was probably taking it wrong, knowing Kagome. She had a habit of jumping to conclusions about stuff she didn't really understand... that was ok... but he needed to correct her about it.
He was about to open his mouth and say something when Hojo came in cheerfully and sat down opposite Kagome. "Hey."
"Hey Lemming boy." She greeted with a grin that they both chuckled at.
Great, Inuyasha thought with a roll of the eyes, now they had a little in- joke of their own that excluded everyone else, especially Inuyasha. Inuyasha glared at Hojo as the boy reached out and touched Kagome's hand. His fingers lingered there as he spoke.
"Hey, I was just speaking to the Stuart at the front desk and he says there are some great hot springs nearby (you all can see it coming can't you? ^_^). You have to go check them out sometime before we move on to the airport."
"Sounds great." Kagome responded with a smile.
Hojo finally removed his hand from Kagome's and Inuyasha's urge to kill went down slightly, but not very much. This went unnoticed by Kagome, but Miroku and Sango were staring at him. It was obvious from his rather tense expression that he wanted to rip Hojo a new hole... so what was stopping him?
Any thoughts of informing Kagome or anyone else about the problem with touching flew out of his mind when the little display with Hojo was over. The only thing that was keeping that boy from touching Kagome further was the fact that there were rumours that Kagome and Inuyasha were involved. But if anyone found out that they could no longer touch... Inuyasha wouldn't be able to defend her from the attentions of every man travelling with them.
He was lucky they weren't all moving in on his territory already... well... maybe Hojo had - but Hojo was a wuss that Inuyasha could easily take care of... as long as Kagome didn't know about it.
He'd have to talk to her later.
^_^
Those hot springs were a blessing after all. Kagome decided to go find them on her own later that day, so she could have some privacy. The water was lovely and warm and the trees around her shielded her from view of the hotel or the other springs... it was just so relaxing...
Here she could finally find the time to analyse her problem... or more like problems. First of all was this damn Shikon jewel hanging around her neck. She wanted to get rid of it as soon as possible... hopefully before the day of darkness which was less than a week away. To purify it in less than a week... was that even possible?
Even if she didn't manage to do it... she wouldn't unleash it's power on the demons, unless it was against her will. She didn't want to kill anyone... she couldn't stress it enough. And recently her father had been so supportive of her decision, which kinda sent her for a loop. It was such a turn around that she thought her father might have been kidnapped and replaced with another clone or something. After sixteen years of being a father... he finally decided to become paternal?
Kagome snorted as she thought this over and sank deeper into the steamy hot water to rub her arms. She had to remember that his decision to support her was going against his job, religion and what he believed was the good of humanity.
Pretty big when she stepped back and looked at it from another view point...
Her other problem was Inuyasha. Which, in her opinion, was a bigger one than the possible destruction of the world. After all, she was a teenager so naturally a love life came before life.
But he was so frustratingly confusing! She didn't get him a lot of the time.
One moment he was kissing her life she was his last life line, and then he was acting all callused towards her like she'd ruined his life... which maybe she had... but that was a little extreme. But it was like he was going out of his way to avoid her completely...
That saying; you don't know what you've got till it's gone... It fitted perfectly with the Inuyasha problem. Before she'd gone out of HER way to avoid him... and now that he was doing the same to her... she had to admit that she missed him a little...
She heard the sound of someone walking purposely through the trees behind her and she quickly ducked down further in the water so only her bare shoulders were visible.
"Who's there?" she called quickly, slightly worried about being caught on her own in a hot spring...
The walking stopped and she waited with baited breath for a moment until Inuyasha suddenly appeared before her. "Kagome?"
She relaxed and smiled. "Oh, it's only you."
She was naked... and she was right in front of him. Inuyasha figured that not only her proximity was responsible for the way his body heated up fairly rapidly the moment he saw her. He straightened at once. "Ok... I better go..." he turned to go.
"Wait!" Kagome stood up straight out of the water. "Don't run away... you can stay if you want."
"Um..." if he turned he'd see her... so he spared himself the embarrassment and just kept his back turned.
"Inuyasha, why have you been avoiding me...?" Kagome asked, not bothering to keep the hurt tone out of her voice. "I know what I said must have hurt... but I still want to be friends - you said you wouldn't leave me... but you are..."
"I'm not." He said quickly, still not turning. "I just... have to be somewhere."
"Yeah? Just where exactly is it you need to be?" she asked, her hands firmly planted on her hips. "Well?"
Naked Kagome was just occupying his thoughts and he really couldn't think of a good reason just then. "Um... I have to go... sew my shirt back up... yeah..."
"Sew?" Kagome looked at the back of his head incredulously. "That's believable."
"You're just mad cause you can't sew." He folded his arms.
"Will you look at me when you're talking to me?" she gasped with exasperation. "I want to know why you don't like me all of a sudden!"
"Kagome..."
"Look at me!"
"Hey, that's not what I signed up for when I took this job you-"
"Oh stop being a baby and turn around!" she snapped.
Inuyasha took a deep breath and closed his eyes as he turned around slowly.
"Oh for the love of... Open your eyes!" she hissed.
He cracked one open, before snapping both open and staring at her. Well... he was a LITTLE disappointed... mostly because she was just wearing a strapless swim suit... dammit...
She saw him relax visibly and wondered what the heck was going through his mind. "Now can we just talk for once like two civilised people?" she waded towards the bank, mindful of how she stepped since there were a lot of jagged, sharp rocks around her.
"No." he just bluntly, but sat down on the bank anyway. The distance between them was at least a metre, making him slightly hot and uncomfortable, but he could tolerate that for now if he could just be alone with her.
"We could still be friends, you know?" she asked, hands braced against the bank.
"We could be the last of a rare dying species of belly dancing worms... but we're not." He cast her a small glance. "Well, at least I'm not."
"You're only saying that to wind me up. It won't work on me. I know you too well." She said idly.
"Damn. Foiled." He snapped his fingers and looked away from her. "But it's not like I'm saying we shouldn't be friends. It's you that's making that impossible."
"Me?!" Kagome burst out. "How is this my fault?!"
"You and your superior morality." He snapped and suddenly feigned her voice in a mockingly high tone. "I can't trust you so how can I be your friend when friendship is based on trust and loyalty, blah, blah, blah, does my bum look big in this?"
"Inuyasha!" she scowled at him. "I do not speak like that!"
"That's not the point - but that's the way you act!"
"I do NOT say 'does my bum look big-'"
"No - I meant the part about trust." Inuyasha snapped angrily. "You have a problem with trust - so YOU'RE the one with problem with being friends."
He had her there, and her head dropped slightly.
He glanced back at her angrily. "If that's true then how can we just be friends?"
She wanted to trust him... she really did... but she needed more proof than just his word.
"Then we can't be friends... can we?" she said quietly.
He sighed quietly and turned his head away, determined that this time it was her own silly fault. When he didn't answer she swallowed hard and held up her hand. "Pull me out, would you?"
Inuyasha stiffened... he couldn't.
"Fine... be that way, then." Kagome grumbled as she started to heave herself out beside him. The tingly heat that spread through his body increased and he tried to lean inconspicuously away from her.
Suddenly Kagome gasped and squeaked as her foot slipped out from underneath her on the mud of the bank and she started to tip backwards. Almost out of instinctual reaction Inuyasha's hand shot out and grabbed her wrist to prevent her from falling onto the rocks below her... but quickly regretted that move.
"Shit!" he gasped and almost let go.
"Inuyasha!" Kagome grappled to hold onto him, teetering at a forty-five degree angle to the water. "Pull me up! Pull me up!"
The pain seemed to shoot up his arm in sharp painful stabs and with each stab of pain he almost released his grip... making it difficult to do much else that just keep her from falling.
Kagome glanced over her shoulders and winced at the rocks below her, before glancing back at Inuyasha to see what was taking so long. He looked like he was in agony... and she suddenly noticed that the hand that gripped her wrist was slowly going red and had already started to blister. "What the..."
"Ow... ow... shit... fuck... dammit... ow..." Inuyasha muttered as he breathed, trying to gather enough will to pull her back up straight.
His hand was beginning to blister like he was touching an iron... and it didn't take a genius to realise what she was doing to her. "Let go!"
"No!"
"Look at your hand - Let go! I'll be fine!" Maybe that was exaggerating... but she didn't want him to lose his hand over her.
"Don't be stupid - I can handle this!" he gritted his teeth.
"I'm not the stupid one here, you - whoa!" she gasped as she was suddenly jerked forward and toppled face first onto the ground. She braced her forearms against the earth as she heard furious splashing sounds behind her. "Well that's wonderful... now I need another bath..."
"Ow... ow... ow... ow... ow... ow..."
She glanced around and frowned as she shifted to crouch behind Inuyasha who was now lying on his stomach, dashing his burnt and blistered hand in the water. "Did... I do that? I'm sorry..."
"Not your fault." He grunted as scowled. "You know this would work a lot better if this water was fucking COLD!"
"What just happened?" Kagome shook her head. "That's never happened before... unless..."
"Unless what...?" he didn't bother looking up at her.
Kagome reached out silently, about to touch him square on the back. he seemed to sense her coming and suddenly rolled away. "What the hell are you trying to pull?"
"I just had to see..." Kagome reached up to finger the heavy Shikon jewel around her neck. "I can't touch you can I... without hurting you?"
Inuyasha sighed and sagged onto his back, his head dangling off the bank. "Yeah..."
"Since... since I choked up the Shikon...?" Kagome breathed. "This isn't good..."
"You're telling me..." he growled. If she let this get out then everyone (every boy) would be delighted that Inuyasha couldn't hold any right over her. That, he wouldn't allow. "Don't tell anyone, will you?"
"What? Why not?" Kagome frowned. "They could help?"
"By making me wear oven mittens - I don't think so." He sat up and held up his hand for examination. "Ew... what's that black stuff...?"
"You're just worried I'll become officially available if you really can't touch me." Kagome said suddenly and stood up angrily. "You're so damn self- centred and selfish!"
"That's not fair!" he was on his feet and at once reached out to stop her running away, but quickly changed his mind and moved to block her exit instead. "I just saved you from getting a rock shaped hole in your head - and that's how you thank me?!"
"Did you think that was a thank you?!" Kagome retorted. "What I meant to say was 'stop trying to dominate me you possessive git'!"
"Who's trying to dominate?!" he burst out. "Just because I don't want people to know I have a weakness means I'm trying to bully you?!"
Kagome was about to shout straight back when she stopped and thought about that for a moment. "Um... I didn't say 'bully'..."
"But that's what you're implying." He hissed.
Kagome threw up her arms. "Just admit it! You're jealous!"
"Ok! I'm jealous!" Inuyasha shouted back.
"W-what?" she hadn't expected him to really say it.
"I'm jealous! I hate it when Miroku suckers up to you! I hate it when that simpering lemming Hojo keeps touching you and making you laugh! I get jealous of your father for god's sake! You keep hugging him!"
"He's my father!" Kagome gasped at him.
"Yeah, well why don't you hug me?!" Inuyasha said, sounding suspiciously like a pouting child.
"Because you hurt my feelings!" Kagome snapped back. "More than that actually!"
"How am I supposed to make it up to you?!" he suddenly thumped a nearby tree, making it shudder. "Just tell me and I'll do whatever it takes?!"
"Would you jump off a cliff?!"
"Yes!"
"Stick a needle in your eye?!"
"Yes!"
"Seriously?"
"YES!... but please don't be serious about that..."
"Just to gain my trust?" she whispered.
"Yeah..." he sighed. "But you won't tell me what to do..."
Kagome looked down at the ground beneath them and thought very hard for a while. She knew that her silence was making him uncomfortable but she didn't care about that.
"You don't have to jump off a cliff." She smiled up at him suddenly. "I think... I think you've proved enough that you mean what you say..."
He watched her carefully.
"When you stopped me from falling... if you'd have been plotting to earn my trust you would have thought about grabbing my hand before doing it." She bobbed slightly, through nervousness. "You didn't think - you just did it... which is why you need to bandage that hand now."
"So you believe me?" he asked quietly.
Kagome paused a moment before nodding. "I trust you. I don't think I ever really lost it..." she waved a hand absently. "I was just mad at you."
"Great, so you put me through all that hell just so you can get your own back on me." He stepped back angrily. "You waited till just the right moment to tell me didn't you? Tell me when I can't touch you - well done!"
"I didn't plan that!" she ground out. "Right now I want to hug you - and I would... but I don't think you'd appreciate it..."
"No..." scratched an itchy ear and shrugged. "I guess... the best thing to do now would be to wait out this problem..."
Kagome was sick of waiting around... but she nodded anyway.
"Should we go back to the hotel now?" Inuyasha asked.
Kagome nodded, and almost reached out to slip her arm around his. She'd almost forgotten straight away! With a sigh she pulled back before she could touch him and frowned as she followed him. It just felt natural for her to touch him at a time like this. Even in the most innocent brush of skin or whatever... she missed being able to hold him, right when she needed it most.
^_^
"Stupid Kouga... such a kiss ass..." Kagura grumbled as she stalked along the dirt track with her crossbow slung over her shoulder. "Just because he has rheumatism -I- have to be the one to do everything..."
She'd been given orders to kill both Inuyasha and the prodigy girl. A fairly easy job. But she was cold and she'd had to skip supper for this... that just was plain mean. Why couldn't Sesshomaru get off his lazy butt and do something for once? Or was he too chicken to think about shooting his little brother?
"Coward." She breathed as the hotel came into sight.
She didn't think they'd be going straight on to the airport, since all the flights to the North had been cancelled due to 'bad weather'. More likely, the government up North didn't want the prodigy girl to leave the Southern territory and were going to great lengths to ground her there. No doubt they would be staying at this hotel.
She slipped into the trees that surrounded the building and planned to make her way around to the side where she could climb the outside wall and find the bedrooms of the two love birds. It was growing dark, so she hoped at least that they were in bed by now... hopefully sharing the same bed... then maybe she could literally kill two birds with one arrow.
The sound of voices close by made her stop and look around.
There at one of the side entrances stood Inuyasha, leaning against the wall and talking to the prodigy girl. At such a distance Kagura couldn't hear quite what they were saying, but it sounded like banter to her. Creeping closer, she stopped at the edge of the trees and went into a crouch with her crossbow rested on her knee.
This was going to be easier than she'd thought... but she had a problem. If she shot one of them, the other would run and attack her. And since she really needed to shoot the girl first... then Inuyasha would undoubtedly find her and get her before she could fire a second arrow to hit him. Not that an arrow would really slow him down anyway...
Kagura readied her first arrow silently and glanced up as the prodigy girl moved to nonchalantly touch Inuyasha's arm. He quickly moved away and she smiled and shook her head apologetically.
Sickening...
Kagura lifted the bow and aimed carefully at Kagome... closing one eye to make sure she didn't miss. Then without much suspense, she pulled the trigger and let the arrow fly with a loud snap.
The arrow hit it's mark... dead centre in the chest. The girl, Kagome, screamed and stumbled against the wall.
Inuyasha reacted like lightening but didn't really know what to do. One minute he'd been talking to her the next she was crumpling to the ground. He heard another snap behind him and he quickly turned away to avoid being hit by a second arrow with a poison tip. He located the source of the shots at once and heard a very Kagura like curse being uttered, before the sound of rapidly retreating footsteps.
Inuyasha should probably have given chase... but something else was more important right then.
He turned back and crouched down beside her, hand hovered over the arrow as she laboured for breath. Then suddenly she stopped gasping and choking... and just stopped...
Inuyasha stared in shock for a moment before leaning back. "Kagome... KAGOME!" he looked back at the hotel. "Someone! Get help!"
(A/N: long, huh? Anyway, next chapter - 'Kagome's Sacrifice' Sounds ominous, I know.)
(A/N: I'm so ticked off today. I found that if I go on ebay.co.uk I can find a load of really good Inuyasha merchandise! INCLUDING DVDs of seasons 1 to 4. But the only problem is that they sellers don't accept solo cards! That really sucks! Because that's all I have! I'd ask my dad to help me out but he's as tight as a duck's backside (as in water tight) and my mum gets her money off him so she's pretty much broke like me. This means I have to wait at least two years before I can buy Inuyasha anime or anything like that... BUT I'm not a patient person! See my dilemma? I'm going nuts over here!
Anyway, this chapter is gonna be slightly longer than usual. YAY! Normally I would break it down into 2 chapters but... really can't be bothered right now.)
Anywho... ^_^
Two Faced:
Let Go
"So Kagome's an oyster?" Sango nodded. "Cool."
"Thanks dad." Kagome leaned against her bed and closed her eyes, still feeling quite sick in the stomach and her throat hurt a lot too.
"No - that's just an analogy." Mr Higurashi told them. "You know how Oysters filter all the grit and rock in the sea water through their bodies?"
"Naturally." Miroku nodded blankly.
"And then they create pearls?" her father held out his hands. "That's exactly what Kagome's done... or was it clams that did that...?."
"What, I've been sitting on a rock in the ocean chomping on grit?" Kagome pulled a face. "You're not making a lot of sense dad."
"Well, picture yourself as an oyster - or a clam." He told her. "You come into contact with evil and purity all day every day, right? You've been filtering it through your body - every one does it."
"Right..." Kagome frowned.
"And seeing as you had spiritual powers, you use those to filter it all." Her father sighed. "And when you came into contact with such immense evil from those demons, it must have jolted your system and forced your spiritual powers out of your body in a solid form."
"This..." Kagome held the jewel up. "Is my power?"
"That's why only you can touch it." Her father sighed. "It's how the prophesy will play out. That thing will irrupt and wipe out demons-"
"It can't do that!" Kagome yelped, suddenly covering it with her hands as if to stop it exploding.
"It won't unless it becomes defiles, Kagome." He warned her. "That's why you mustn't let anyone except yourself touch it. It absorbs the essence of anything it touches. If anyone else holds it, it will become defiled with evil. Which is why you must steer away from Miroku."
Miroku started choking on a chip while Sango patted his back. "Oh don't act so shocked." She told him. "Even you know you're pretty defiled."
"Yeah, but still!" he coughed out.
"I can't keep this thing..." Kagome scowled. "It's more trouble than its worth - it's already proven that!"
"You can't throw it away." Her father told her sternly.
"Why not?" she challenged.
"Because without your purity to sustain it, that bead will become defiled anyway and will irrupt to wipe out demons... and maybe even humans if it's stained with enough evil."
Kagome's face fell. "So..."
"So you must hold onto it and purify it..." Mr Higurashi nodded. "It should disappear when it absorbs enough of your essence..."
"Thank god..." Kagome sighed. "I don't want to hurt anyone else with it..."
"What are you... ?...oh..." Sango went quiet as Kagome shot a worried glance over to the other bed in the small room. Inuyasha was stretched out on that bed... stirring slightly as if he was dreaming... and not a very pleasant dream by the way he kept frowning and occasionally groaning.
"Hey... he isn't going to be happy when he wakes up, is he?" Miroku said slowly. "Maybe you should buzz him again to give us more time to sort out the problem with the..."
He trailed off under the two girl's glares.
"Or not..." he finished, clearing his throat. "Well, wow, look at the time, I better be off to bed."
"But it's seven o'clock." Kagome stared at him.
"Yeah well... it's been a tough day... carrying Inuyasha isn't exactly easy on the muscles." Miroku winced as he stood. "Besides, we have a long day ahead of us tomorrow."
"Yeah... I better be going as well." Sango stood up quickly. "I have to go... check on Shippo and Rin..."
"Me too..." Kagome's father stood as well and all three quickly trooped out of the room.
"What... do I have bad breath or something?" Kagome looked around, before realising. They just didn't want to stick around for when Inuyasha woke up. Cowards...
With a sigh she slowly crept over to where Inuyasha was lay... and the closer she approached the more he seemed to twist and toss his head as he slept. Another small trickle of blood was running from his ear this time... and she gently got the damp cloth she'd been using to clean it away.
The doctor had said that he'd had some kind of internal injury and was bleeding inside... but since they guy hadn't really known much about Hanyou anatomy, he'd been a little stumped at how to help. It wasn't that it was totally different, seeing as all the organs were all pretty much in the same place... they just kind of worked differently from human ones. He didn't know if Inuyasha would heal by a few hours or a few days.
Kagome was worried though... Inuyasha didn't usually fall unconscious after being injured... and what on earth was making him bleed at the ears?
Tenderly she brushed a lock of damp hair from his brow, only to be rewarded with a slight growl and Inuyasha turning away from her. Kagome blinked at him in surprise and went to touch his shoulder. With a groan he rolled away before she'd even touched him.
"Wow... you're still moody at me even when you're asleep." She sighed and left him to it.
Since she was still feeling pretty tired from her earlier feat with the demons and she had been travelling all day... she didn't mind taking to bed sooner than normal. Maybe when she woke up tomorrow Inuyasha would be feeling better... she hoped...
^_^
Cockroaches... they were everywhere.
They were crawling across the ceiling and the walls, infesting his food and his slippers... and were taking over his bed. Everywhere he stepped there was a crunching sound that sent the hairs on the back of his neck on high alert... cold shivers ran up his spine in disgust, even though he felt like he was in a sauna.
He absolutely hated cockroaches... they were the scum of the earth. Maybe one or two he could handle... but a whole sea of them like this was another story. When he was presented with this many... he could almost say it was a phobia...
He couldn't eat, he couldn't sleep... he couldn't watch TV because he didn't dare stand or sit in one place for more than thirty seconds in case they started crawling up his legs.
As he opened the kitchen door to move into the living room anyway, a few that had been hanging on the ceiling above it dropped down and landed in his hair.
"Ah!" he tossed his head madly batted at his hair to get them out. And even when he knew they were all out, he still didn't stop batting... he could just FEEL their filth on him.
This was going to take more than just one big rolled up newspaper.
"You know what's even creepier?"
He glanced up at the sound of a girl talking and saw Kagome sitting in the cushy chair before the TV set in the living room. Her back was turned to him, but from what he could see, the roaches were just crawling all over her, though the tresses of her hair and scuttling across her lap. She didn't seem to notice and continued to watch a nature program about cockroaches on TV, gradually making her way through a packet of crisps.
"Did you know that cockroaches fart like three times in a minute?"
"What?"
The sound of his own voice woke Inuyasha from his sleep. It took him a few seconds to realise he'd been dreaming, and that he'd just spoken aloud into the quiet room he was in.
It took him a little longer to stand down from that small little adrenaline rush of panic he'd been having in the dream... and as he gradually forgot the dream he started to wonder where the heck he was. The last thing he remembered was drawing Tessaiga to fight off a couple of very large demons that had been ready to attack. Everything after that was a blank... until this moment as he sat up on the bed in a swelteringly hot hotel room.
He quickly noticed the only other person in the room... Kagome. She was sound asleep in her own bed and wrapped up tight in her blankets like she was cold. He swung his legs off the bed and fanned his face absently with his hand... before beginning to tug at his loose tank top shirt to get some cool air on his body.
Funnily enough... the room and the air was pretty chilly... it appeared to be just him that was hot.
Glancing up again at Kagome he sighed. She was safe at least... she hadn't been harmed by those demons. But just to be sure she wasn't lying on her death bed, he rose and slowly made his way towards her.
As he got closer to her side, the heat seemed to increase. He ignored it for a moment until he got to her side and realised that it was beginning to bother him a lot... and it seemed to be emanating from Kagome. What was wrong with her?
Small flashes of memory suddenly rose up in his mind, images of pink light racing towards him. Kagome looking like she was having a seizure on the ground.
Something had happened to her...
With a frown he reached down to touch her cheek gently, but that heat in his hand became so unbearable it was starting to make the bones in his fingers hurt. He pulled back slightly, before suddenly noticing a small ball shaped stone hung around her neck. He'd never seen her wear a piece of jewellery like that... or any jewellery for that matter. And he had to say it did look pretty ugly for jewellery.
He reached out to touch it... before deciding not to. The closer he moved his hand towards it the more his hand started to ache, and tiny blisters began appearing over the pads of his fingers.
For some reason he couldn't touch Kagome without feeling pain. Even being around her made him feel uncomfortable and a little on edge, not to mention a little hot and bothered in the literal sense, not the ecchi sense.
So, quietly, he grabbed Tessaiga that had been laid out on the bed beside him and slipped out through the door. The air in the corridor outside was such a relief as his body started to cool at once. Kagome was definitely the source of that heat.
With a slight pout and a frown and leaned against the wall and slid down to sit on the floor with his back against it. It was better to sleep sitting upright than on a cushy bed in an incredibly hot room. Maybe whatever was wrong with Kagome would be fixed in the morning?
^_^
Kagome woke up the next morning, gradually pulling herself out of her dream. She frowned as she remembered small bits and pieces of it... something about her sitting in a room full of cockroaches and watching TV. Now that had been pretty creepy.
She sat up with a fuzzy head and peered blearily across the room to the second bed. It was empty, and it took her a few seconds to realise who was supposed to be in it.
"Inuyasha..."
She hurriedly managed to disentangle herself from the sheets and looked around. He wasn't on the floor... which meant he'd probably stumbled out of bed before her. Did that mean he was up and awake and feeling better?
Anxious to find out, Kagome tugged on some fresh clothes and shot out of that bedroom faster than she had in her entire life. Looking around anxiously she found her way downstairs to the breakfast room. Miroku and Sango were the only ones up so early and were sat across from one another on one of the smaller tables. They also seemed to be having a rather intense discussion since they seemed to think it necessary to speak with their noses almost touching.
"Hey!" Kagome called as she ran towards them.
Sango jumped up and clutched her heart like she was having one of Inuyasha's heart attacks. "Not so loud so early, Kagome!" she gasped out.
"Right - have you two seen Inuyasha around? He isn't in his bed."
Sango began shaking her head but Miroku smiled. "Oh - he's sleeping?"
"Where?" Kagome frowned.
"In the second bed in my room." He shrugged. "I found him snoozing in the corridor outside your room and since he barely had the strength to lift his head and insult me - I realised it was pretty serious and he needed some serious R and R."
"But... what was wrong with sleeping in my room?" Kagome didn't understand what had made him want to move.
"I don't know... you were in it, I guess." Miroku shrugged again. "You want some cornflakes?"
"Uh... ok..." Kagome sat herself down beside Sango, feeling a little dejected already. However, it was short lived.
"Mornin' Inuyasha." Sango called cheerfully a few minutes after Kagome had begun to eat her cereal.
Kagome was on her feet and hurrying towards him through the tables at once. He still looked half asleep and his hair was stuck up on one side, but when he saw Kagome coming, he also felt that painful heat coming too, and quickly made a point to step back.
Kagome saw his deliberate attempt to avoid her and put a table between them, and so stopped to stare at him. "Are you ok? You weren't there when I woke up - you had me worried."
"I'm ok." He said quickly, rubbing the sleep from his eyes, and also trying to rub away the approach of a headache.
"You had a fever... are you ok now?" Kagome edged around the table, reaching up to press a palm against his forehead. He saw it coming and knocked it away with the briefest of touches. She missed the wince he made as he did so.
"I'm ok." He said again, moving around her to go to the table, giving her wide berth as he did so.
Kagome stood with confusion for a moment, wondering what the hell was happening. Inuyasha was suddenly acting so... cold towards her... as if he didn't want to know her.
Wait... this hadn't been all of a sudden. He'd been acting like this since she'd turned him down flatly after he'd kissed her outside the inn. He really didn't want to 'just be friends', did he?
She'd have to fix that... later...
Meanwhile Inuyasha was having a little dilemma of his own. He probably should tell someone that he was having difficulty touching Kagome. It was more than a little problem. This could affect his performance if she ever got in trouble and he had to save her again. That would be difficult if he couldn't touch her or carry her.
Kagome soon plopped down beside him at the table and continued to eat her cereal, deliberately refusing to look at him.
She was probably taking it wrong, knowing Kagome. She had a habit of jumping to conclusions about stuff she didn't really understand... that was ok... but he needed to correct her about it.
He was about to open his mouth and say something when Hojo came in cheerfully and sat down opposite Kagome. "Hey."
"Hey Lemming boy." She greeted with a grin that they both chuckled at.
Great, Inuyasha thought with a roll of the eyes, now they had a little in- joke of their own that excluded everyone else, especially Inuyasha. Inuyasha glared at Hojo as the boy reached out and touched Kagome's hand. His fingers lingered there as he spoke.
"Hey, I was just speaking to the Stuart at the front desk and he says there are some great hot springs nearby (you all can see it coming can't you? ^_^). You have to go check them out sometime before we move on to the airport."
"Sounds great." Kagome responded with a smile.
Hojo finally removed his hand from Kagome's and Inuyasha's urge to kill went down slightly, but not very much. This went unnoticed by Kagome, but Miroku and Sango were staring at him. It was obvious from his rather tense expression that he wanted to rip Hojo a new hole... so what was stopping him?
Any thoughts of informing Kagome or anyone else about the problem with touching flew out of his mind when the little display with Hojo was over. The only thing that was keeping that boy from touching Kagome further was the fact that there were rumours that Kagome and Inuyasha were involved. But if anyone found out that they could no longer touch... Inuyasha wouldn't be able to defend her from the attentions of every man travelling with them.
He was lucky they weren't all moving in on his territory already... well... maybe Hojo had - but Hojo was a wuss that Inuyasha could easily take care of... as long as Kagome didn't know about it.
He'd have to talk to her later.
^_^
Those hot springs were a blessing after all. Kagome decided to go find them on her own later that day, so she could have some privacy. The water was lovely and warm and the trees around her shielded her from view of the hotel or the other springs... it was just so relaxing...
Here she could finally find the time to analyse her problem... or more like problems. First of all was this damn Shikon jewel hanging around her neck. She wanted to get rid of it as soon as possible... hopefully before the day of darkness which was less than a week away. To purify it in less than a week... was that even possible?
Even if she didn't manage to do it... she wouldn't unleash it's power on the demons, unless it was against her will. She didn't want to kill anyone... she couldn't stress it enough. And recently her father had been so supportive of her decision, which kinda sent her for a loop. It was such a turn around that she thought her father might have been kidnapped and replaced with another clone or something. After sixteen years of being a father... he finally decided to become paternal?
Kagome snorted as she thought this over and sank deeper into the steamy hot water to rub her arms. She had to remember that his decision to support her was going against his job, religion and what he believed was the good of humanity.
Pretty big when she stepped back and looked at it from another view point...
Her other problem was Inuyasha. Which, in her opinion, was a bigger one than the possible destruction of the world. After all, she was a teenager so naturally a love life came before life.
But he was so frustratingly confusing! She didn't get him a lot of the time.
One moment he was kissing her life she was his last life line, and then he was acting all callused towards her like she'd ruined his life... which maybe she had... but that was a little extreme. But it was like he was going out of his way to avoid her completely...
That saying; you don't know what you've got till it's gone... It fitted perfectly with the Inuyasha problem. Before she'd gone out of HER way to avoid him... and now that he was doing the same to her... she had to admit that she missed him a little...
She heard the sound of someone walking purposely through the trees behind her and she quickly ducked down further in the water so only her bare shoulders were visible.
"Who's there?" she called quickly, slightly worried about being caught on her own in a hot spring...
The walking stopped and she waited with baited breath for a moment until Inuyasha suddenly appeared before her. "Kagome?"
She relaxed and smiled. "Oh, it's only you."
She was naked... and she was right in front of him. Inuyasha figured that not only her proximity was responsible for the way his body heated up fairly rapidly the moment he saw her. He straightened at once. "Ok... I better go..." he turned to go.
"Wait!" Kagome stood up straight out of the water. "Don't run away... you can stay if you want."
"Um..." if he turned he'd see her... so he spared himself the embarrassment and just kept his back turned.
"Inuyasha, why have you been avoiding me...?" Kagome asked, not bothering to keep the hurt tone out of her voice. "I know what I said must have hurt... but I still want to be friends - you said you wouldn't leave me... but you are..."
"I'm not." He said quickly, still not turning. "I just... have to be somewhere."
"Yeah? Just where exactly is it you need to be?" she asked, her hands firmly planted on her hips. "Well?"
Naked Kagome was just occupying his thoughts and he really couldn't think of a good reason just then. "Um... I have to go... sew my shirt back up... yeah..."
"Sew?" Kagome looked at the back of his head incredulously. "That's believable."
"You're just mad cause you can't sew." He folded his arms.
"Will you look at me when you're talking to me?" she gasped with exasperation. "I want to know why you don't like me all of a sudden!"
"Kagome..."
"Look at me!"
"Hey, that's not what I signed up for when I took this job you-"
"Oh stop being a baby and turn around!" she snapped.
Inuyasha took a deep breath and closed his eyes as he turned around slowly.
"Oh for the love of... Open your eyes!" she hissed.
He cracked one open, before snapping both open and staring at her. Well... he was a LITTLE disappointed... mostly because she was just wearing a strapless swim suit... dammit...
She saw him relax visibly and wondered what the heck was going through his mind. "Now can we just talk for once like two civilised people?" she waded towards the bank, mindful of how she stepped since there were a lot of jagged, sharp rocks around her.
"No." he just bluntly, but sat down on the bank anyway. The distance between them was at least a metre, making him slightly hot and uncomfortable, but he could tolerate that for now if he could just be alone with her.
"We could still be friends, you know?" she asked, hands braced against the bank.
"We could be the last of a rare dying species of belly dancing worms... but we're not." He cast her a small glance. "Well, at least I'm not."
"You're only saying that to wind me up. It won't work on me. I know you too well." She said idly.
"Damn. Foiled." He snapped his fingers and looked away from her. "But it's not like I'm saying we shouldn't be friends. It's you that's making that impossible."
"Me?!" Kagome burst out. "How is this my fault?!"
"You and your superior morality." He snapped and suddenly feigned her voice in a mockingly high tone. "I can't trust you so how can I be your friend when friendship is based on trust and loyalty, blah, blah, blah, does my bum look big in this?"
"Inuyasha!" she scowled at him. "I do not speak like that!"
"That's not the point - but that's the way you act!"
"I do NOT say 'does my bum look big-'"
"No - I meant the part about trust." Inuyasha snapped angrily. "You have a problem with trust - so YOU'RE the one with problem with being friends."
He had her there, and her head dropped slightly.
He glanced back at her angrily. "If that's true then how can we just be friends?"
She wanted to trust him... she really did... but she needed more proof than just his word.
"Then we can't be friends... can we?" she said quietly.
He sighed quietly and turned his head away, determined that this time it was her own silly fault. When he didn't answer she swallowed hard and held up her hand. "Pull me out, would you?"
Inuyasha stiffened... he couldn't.
"Fine... be that way, then." Kagome grumbled as she started to heave herself out beside him. The tingly heat that spread through his body increased and he tried to lean inconspicuously away from her.
Suddenly Kagome gasped and squeaked as her foot slipped out from underneath her on the mud of the bank and she started to tip backwards. Almost out of instinctual reaction Inuyasha's hand shot out and grabbed her wrist to prevent her from falling onto the rocks below her... but quickly regretted that move.
"Shit!" he gasped and almost let go.
"Inuyasha!" Kagome grappled to hold onto him, teetering at a forty-five degree angle to the water. "Pull me up! Pull me up!"
The pain seemed to shoot up his arm in sharp painful stabs and with each stab of pain he almost released his grip... making it difficult to do much else that just keep her from falling.
Kagome glanced over her shoulders and winced at the rocks below her, before glancing back at Inuyasha to see what was taking so long. He looked like he was in agony... and she suddenly noticed that the hand that gripped her wrist was slowly going red and had already started to blister. "What the..."
"Ow... ow... shit... fuck... dammit... ow..." Inuyasha muttered as he breathed, trying to gather enough will to pull her back up straight.
His hand was beginning to blister like he was touching an iron... and it didn't take a genius to realise what she was doing to her. "Let go!"
"No!"
"Look at your hand - Let go! I'll be fine!" Maybe that was exaggerating... but she didn't want him to lose his hand over her.
"Don't be stupid - I can handle this!" he gritted his teeth.
"I'm not the stupid one here, you - whoa!" she gasped as she was suddenly jerked forward and toppled face first onto the ground. She braced her forearms against the earth as she heard furious splashing sounds behind her. "Well that's wonderful... now I need another bath..."
"Ow... ow... ow... ow... ow... ow..."
She glanced around and frowned as she shifted to crouch behind Inuyasha who was now lying on his stomach, dashing his burnt and blistered hand in the water. "Did... I do that? I'm sorry..."
"Not your fault." He grunted as scowled. "You know this would work a lot better if this water was fucking COLD!"
"What just happened?" Kagome shook her head. "That's never happened before... unless..."
"Unless what...?" he didn't bother looking up at her.
Kagome reached out silently, about to touch him square on the back. he seemed to sense her coming and suddenly rolled away. "What the hell are you trying to pull?"
"I just had to see..." Kagome reached up to finger the heavy Shikon jewel around her neck. "I can't touch you can I... without hurting you?"
Inuyasha sighed and sagged onto his back, his head dangling off the bank. "Yeah..."
"Since... since I choked up the Shikon...?" Kagome breathed. "This isn't good..."
"You're telling me..." he growled. If she let this get out then everyone (every boy) would be delighted that Inuyasha couldn't hold any right over her. That, he wouldn't allow. "Don't tell anyone, will you?"
"What? Why not?" Kagome frowned. "They could help?"
"By making me wear oven mittens - I don't think so." He sat up and held up his hand for examination. "Ew... what's that black stuff...?"
"You're just worried I'll become officially available if you really can't touch me." Kagome said suddenly and stood up angrily. "You're so damn self- centred and selfish!"
"That's not fair!" he was on his feet and at once reached out to stop her running away, but quickly changed his mind and moved to block her exit instead. "I just saved you from getting a rock shaped hole in your head - and that's how you thank me?!"
"Did you think that was a thank you?!" Kagome retorted. "What I meant to say was 'stop trying to dominate me you possessive git'!"
"Who's trying to dominate?!" he burst out. "Just because I don't want people to know I have a weakness means I'm trying to bully you?!"
Kagome was about to shout straight back when she stopped and thought about that for a moment. "Um... I didn't say 'bully'..."
"But that's what you're implying." He hissed.
Kagome threw up her arms. "Just admit it! You're jealous!"
"Ok! I'm jealous!" Inuyasha shouted back.
"W-what?" she hadn't expected him to really say it.
"I'm jealous! I hate it when Miroku suckers up to you! I hate it when that simpering lemming Hojo keeps touching you and making you laugh! I get jealous of your father for god's sake! You keep hugging him!"
"He's my father!" Kagome gasped at him.
"Yeah, well why don't you hug me?!" Inuyasha said, sounding suspiciously like a pouting child.
"Because you hurt my feelings!" Kagome snapped back. "More than that actually!"
"How am I supposed to make it up to you?!" he suddenly thumped a nearby tree, making it shudder. "Just tell me and I'll do whatever it takes?!"
"Would you jump off a cliff?!"
"Yes!"
"Stick a needle in your eye?!"
"Yes!"
"Seriously?"
"YES!... but please don't be serious about that..."
"Just to gain my trust?" she whispered.
"Yeah..." he sighed. "But you won't tell me what to do..."
Kagome looked down at the ground beneath them and thought very hard for a while. She knew that her silence was making him uncomfortable but she didn't care about that.
"You don't have to jump off a cliff." She smiled up at him suddenly. "I think... I think you've proved enough that you mean what you say..."
He watched her carefully.
"When you stopped me from falling... if you'd have been plotting to earn my trust you would have thought about grabbing my hand before doing it." She bobbed slightly, through nervousness. "You didn't think - you just did it... which is why you need to bandage that hand now."
"So you believe me?" he asked quietly.
Kagome paused a moment before nodding. "I trust you. I don't think I ever really lost it..." she waved a hand absently. "I was just mad at you."
"Great, so you put me through all that hell just so you can get your own back on me." He stepped back angrily. "You waited till just the right moment to tell me didn't you? Tell me when I can't touch you - well done!"
"I didn't plan that!" she ground out. "Right now I want to hug you - and I would... but I don't think you'd appreciate it..."
"No..." scratched an itchy ear and shrugged. "I guess... the best thing to do now would be to wait out this problem..."
Kagome was sick of waiting around... but she nodded anyway.
"Should we go back to the hotel now?" Inuyasha asked.
Kagome nodded, and almost reached out to slip her arm around his. She'd almost forgotten straight away! With a sigh she pulled back before she could touch him and frowned as she followed him. It just felt natural for her to touch him at a time like this. Even in the most innocent brush of skin or whatever... she missed being able to hold him, right when she needed it most.
^_^
"Stupid Kouga... such a kiss ass..." Kagura grumbled as she stalked along the dirt track with her crossbow slung over her shoulder. "Just because he has rheumatism -I- have to be the one to do everything..."
She'd been given orders to kill both Inuyasha and the prodigy girl. A fairly easy job. But she was cold and she'd had to skip supper for this... that just was plain mean. Why couldn't Sesshomaru get off his lazy butt and do something for once? Or was he too chicken to think about shooting his little brother?
"Coward." She breathed as the hotel came into sight.
She didn't think they'd be going straight on to the airport, since all the flights to the North had been cancelled due to 'bad weather'. More likely, the government up North didn't want the prodigy girl to leave the Southern territory and were going to great lengths to ground her there. No doubt they would be staying at this hotel.
She slipped into the trees that surrounded the building and planned to make her way around to the side where she could climb the outside wall and find the bedrooms of the two love birds. It was growing dark, so she hoped at least that they were in bed by now... hopefully sharing the same bed... then maybe she could literally kill two birds with one arrow.
The sound of voices close by made her stop and look around.
There at one of the side entrances stood Inuyasha, leaning against the wall and talking to the prodigy girl. At such a distance Kagura couldn't hear quite what they were saying, but it sounded like banter to her. Creeping closer, she stopped at the edge of the trees and went into a crouch with her crossbow rested on her knee.
This was going to be easier than she'd thought... but she had a problem. If she shot one of them, the other would run and attack her. And since she really needed to shoot the girl first... then Inuyasha would undoubtedly find her and get her before she could fire a second arrow to hit him. Not that an arrow would really slow him down anyway...
Kagura readied her first arrow silently and glanced up as the prodigy girl moved to nonchalantly touch Inuyasha's arm. He quickly moved away and she smiled and shook her head apologetically.
Sickening...
Kagura lifted the bow and aimed carefully at Kagome... closing one eye to make sure she didn't miss. Then without much suspense, she pulled the trigger and let the arrow fly with a loud snap.
The arrow hit it's mark... dead centre in the chest. The girl, Kagome, screamed and stumbled against the wall.
Inuyasha reacted like lightening but didn't really know what to do. One minute he'd been talking to her the next she was crumpling to the ground. He heard another snap behind him and he quickly turned away to avoid being hit by a second arrow with a poison tip. He located the source of the shots at once and heard a very Kagura like curse being uttered, before the sound of rapidly retreating footsteps.
Inuyasha should probably have given chase... but something else was more important right then.
He turned back and crouched down beside her, hand hovered over the arrow as she laboured for breath. Then suddenly she stopped gasping and choking... and just stopped...
Inuyasha stared in shock for a moment before leaning back. "Kagome... KAGOME!" he looked back at the hotel. "Someone! Get help!"
(A/N: long, huh? Anyway, next chapter - 'Kagome's Sacrifice' Sounds ominous, I know.)