Here's chapter one, as promised! Please review as they always serve to give ideas to further the story along. The chapters aren't quite as long as I would like them to be, but hopefully they'll grow as I go. Thank you to those who have already reviewed. It's very encouraging! ^_^
Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha despite how much I would like to.
Chapter One
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"Inuyasha?"
The soft voice floated up through the branches of the tree to the hanyou. It did not startle him. He had heard Kagome's approach. He opened one eye, then slowly the other, lowering his gaze to the base where the girl stood. The others were sleeping, so he kept his response soft as well. Not that he cared if he woke anyone up.
"What?"
"Can we talk?"
Damn. When a female wanted to talk, it was not usually a good thing. Especially not with this female. "Can't it wait till morning?" He inquired grumpily. Not that he was really that tired. He didn't require as much sleep as those weak humans. He just didn't want to talk.
"I would prefer we talk now..."
Well, he wasn't left with much choice, was he? He could either come down and talk with her, or she would use The Word. That is what he had now dubbed it- The Word. He hated The Word with a passion, surpassed only by his hatred of Naraku. Well, Naraku... and Kouga. But after Naraku and Kouga was The Word. He bared his fangs briefly at the moon before jumping gracefully down to the ground. "Whaddya want?"
Kagome offered him a brilliant smile, unperturbed by his grouchiness. She was used to it. "I'm worried about Shippou."
Inuyasha folded his arms before him, ignoring her smile. Not that he had to ignore it. It wouldn't have affected him at all if he had paid attention to it. Of course not. Fortunately, he wasn't forced to test his theory because her words managed to bring him the necessary annoyance, "Shippou?" Don't tell me she had me come down to discuss the little runt!
Oh, but she did, and her next words confirmed it. "I think he's been upset lately. Didn't you notice how down he was today?" Inuyasha hadn't, so he was glad when Kagome didn't wait for an answer, "He seems bothered that he can't be a part of the battles."
"Feh. Of course he can't. He's still a kid." Inuyasha rolled his eyes towards the heavens, wondering who he had managed to tick off enough that he was burdened with such a group. A lecherous monk, two females (There needed be no adjectives added to them. To the hanyou, being female was enough.) and a fox cub. Kirara wasn't included in his list of burdens. She was generally handy to have around.
"I know that, and you know that, Inuyasha, but Shippou is having troubles accepting it. So I was thinking if you talked to him…" Kagome continued talking, but it seemed like time was slowing down for Inuyasha.
She is not going to suggest what I think she is going to suggest.
"You could give him some advice. It'd be a bonding moment."
And she did. Damn.
"No." Considering that enough of a reply, Inuyasha turned and lept onto the first branch of the tree.
"Inuyasha! You can't just say no!"
"I just did." He proceeded to prepare to jump to the second branch. But Inuyasha had made a fatal mistake, one he often made with Kagome. The mistake of thinking he could get his way.
"Inuyasha! SIT!"
Inuyasha violently obeyed. Unfortunately, Kagome had also made a mistake. The one of standing under a tree once you used the word of submission on a stubborn hanyou. Inuyasha landed right on top of Kagome.
It seemed a property of the beads that the force of Inuyasha's fall was directly connected with how angry Kagome was at the moment. It was fortunate, then, that she was more frustrated than angry when she called out the command and that he didn't land that hard. The breath was knocked from her, but she sustained no serious injury. No, the more pressing matter as she struggled to regain her breath was that Inuyasha's full length was pressed against her. It was quite a discomforting realization. She stared into his dazed golden eyes, no longer certain if her lack of breath was due to being knocked down or the fact that the hanyou was still on top of her.
Shaking his head in an attempt to clear the stars from his gaze, Inuyasha blinked owlishly at Kagome as he fully comprehended their position. To her amazement, a blush crept over the confident warrior's face and he quickly sat up. "You okay?"
She sat up carefully, tentatively checking for any broken bones. "Uh.... Yeah. I think so."
Inuyasha leaned close, sniffing the air near Kagome experimentally. "I don't smell any blood." Apparently satisfied with the knowledge that Kagome was fine, he offered grouchily, "Now you know how it feels."
Kagome frowned at him, but felt a twinge of conscience. Perhaps she did use The Word too much. She would think on it later, but there was a more important matter to consider, "So, will you talk to Shippou?"
Stunned, Inuyasha simply stared at her before inquiring intelligently, "What?"
Kagome rose to her feet cautiously, dusting off her clothes. She spoke in a slower tone, as if suspecting that the fall had addled his wits, "Will…you…talk…to…Shippou?"
The hanyou scowled, "I heard you the first time, wench, I just can't believe you actually expect me to. What the hell do you expect me to say to him?"
Any contrition Kagome felt at using The Word promptly disappeared at the word 'wench.' She raised her chin, staring down at the still-seated Inuyasha. "Just talk with him, Inuyasha, or you may not get any ramen for a while!" With that ghastly threat, she turned on her heel and stomped off, leaving Inuyasha with one thought.
Damn.
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Please review and as always, comments and suggestions are welcome. Chapter two should be up soon. Shippou is about to discover that getting what he wants may not be so great after all.
