Disclaimer: Inuyasha does not belong to me. He belongs to Kagome…lucky girl… :( ::teardrop:: Oh well…
Author's Note: Once again, I have deserted The Course of True Love Ne'er Did Run Smooth so that I could come out with another chapter of this which no one wants to read. I still only have 22 reviews for this…so sad! Well, anyway, this chapter has a bit of humor, and a teensy, weensy tiny dose of fluffiness. So, I hope you like it! Read on! ^_~
My Lady Miko
~ by Four-Eyed Bookworm
Chapter 6
Have you ever been asleep early in the morning, but still feel as if you are awake? Your brain can function and all your senses tell you that you're already awake, but somehow you know that your body is actually still sleeping. All you can think about is the fact that you should wake up, but you can't. It's a strange sensation, almost as if you're dreaming, because you can see and hear everything, but you can't move, and if you try to move your hand to push your blanket away, it just ends up passing through empty air.
Inuyasha was currently experiencing this bizarre predicament as he tried to get up. He could see that he was in a nice, averaged-size bedroom and covered with a relatively thick, warm, blanket. Likewise, he could easily "turn his head," in a sense, and see that there was a rumpled form of a slumbering human lying on the bed. However, beyond that, he was helplessly trapped in his body, unable to do anything but see and hear. Come to think of it, for some reason, he wasn't actually hearing or smelling anything either. Although the mornings after the new moon, Inuyasha was usually struck by an almost overwhelming but relieving wave of sounds and scents, he didn't sense this sudden change at all this morning. In fact, he almost felt as if he was still human, but of course, that couldn't be…
At that moment, he glanced at his shoulder, and caught a sideways glimpse of his black bangs. Wait-BLACK?!?!?! The shocking realization that he was still a human, jolted his brain enough to enable his body to fully wake up, and Inuyasha leapt up with a startled, almost canine yelp. As he pushed his blankets aside, he almost subconsciously noted that his right arm still ached when he moved it. That, too, was puzzling, because as a hanyou, his arm should have healed completely, but as a human, there was no chance that the bone regrew all by itself during the night. Mortal bodies were impossibly slow at regeneration. He scowled lightly at this predicament, forgetting, for the moment, about the girl that was still sleeping on the bed.
Why hadn't he turned back into a demon? This would certainly call for a sudden change of plans. Without his claws and fangs, he couldn't kill the girl. He also couldn't hold his sword with the full power of Tetsusaiga, because his right arm still hurt. And even if he did manage to kill the girl, he would die if he jumped out the window as a human. So what was he to do? Stay in the room and pretend that he didn't know why he was there when the girl woke up? I guess that'll have to do. And then the moment I figure out how to turn back into a demon, I'll kill her.
At that moment, while Inuyasha was trying to figure out how to approach "her," "her" decided to wake up. With a tired yawn and a flutter of eyelashes, her cobalt eyes flew open. The first thing she saw was a pair of stunning violet orbs staring straight back at her. With a soft gasp, Kagome bolted upwards in bed and did the only that that seemed sensible at the time. She screamed. "Kyaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!!!!!!!" The high pitched shriek pierced through the calm silence of the morning, scaring a pair of sleeping robins out of a tree branch outside. If Inuyasha had been a hanyou, he had no doubt he would have gone deaf by then, but as it was, an unpleasant ringing remained in his head for a couple of seconds after he clapped a firm hand tightly over the mouth of the frightened girl.
"Damn it, bitch! Are you trying to wake up the entire fucking neighborhood or something? Shut the hell up, willya? My ears are fucking ringing because of you!" He uttered in a low, fierce whisper. Oops. There went his whole chance of charming her into cooperation. Darn it. When would he ever learn to keep his big mouth shut for once? He glanced at the girl. Her blue eyes were wide with shock, but she didn't seem as scared as he had expected. Now, instead of screaming, she was glaring at him though making no move to try and escape his grasp. He sighed. This would never get him anywhere. He spoke quietly, trying to reassure her by showing that he posed no threat.
"Promise that you won't scream when I remove my hand?" The girl nodded quickly. He did so, cautiously removing his hand and tensing in preparation for another ear-splitting scream, but she kept her promise. Instead of screaming, she opened her mouth and started berating him.
"What did you just call me?!?! A bitch?!?!? How dare you – you rude, ungrateful boy! I just saved your life last night, and this is the gratitude you show me?" She huffed angrily, and glared at him with her stunning, cerulean eyes, as if daring him to contradict her. Inuyasha's mind took a second to process the information. She was the one who had healed his arm? That sort of explained everything, except for why he was still a human in the first place. But he decided that now that the girl was awake, he might as well try to get on her good side and act innocent. After all, frightening her into submission obviously wouldn't work…She was still facing him without a trace of fear, brilliant fire flashing in her eyes.
"Uh- Where am I?" He asked, pretending to be confused. This sudden change in attitude seemed to calm the girl, but also brought her back to her senses.
She inquired, "What are you doing here?"
He countered her question with another. "Who are you?"
She frowned, and replied, "What's your name?"
"What's yours?"
"Not telling."
"Fine, then I'm not either, until you do!"
"But I want to know!"
"So, I asked first!"
"Too bad, I still won't tell!"
"Tell me!"
"No!"
"Yes!"
"No!"
"Yes!"
"No!"
"Yes!"
"Yes!"
"No!" Pause.
Triumphant smirk from Kagome. "Ha! I win!"
"Hey, no you didn't! That's not fair!" Inuyasha cried out.
"Yes it is, I won! Nyahhh!!!" Kagome replied smugly, making a face at him.
Inuyasha pouted so cutely that the girl didn't have the heart to tease him anymore. She giggled. Wait- stop! What was she doing? Was she crazy?!?! Trading silly arguments with a total stranger, and a boy nonetheless! She had never been so comfortable around anyone her own age, but this young man just seemed familiar and casual, as if they'd known each other for years. She suddenly stopped laughing. Inuyasha noticed her sudden tenseness, and panicked.
Ack! No, she's going to start questioning me again! Quick! Try playing on her sympathy! A flash of pain flew across the boy's handsome, unmarred features, and he clasped his right arm to his chest with a wince. Kagome immediately noticed, and rushed to examine it.
"Oh no!" She cried worriedly, "Is your arm still hurting? I tried to heal it last night but I guess I must not have been doing a good job because I was still kind of sleepy. Let me see! Is it bleeding?" She gently took his arm away from him and pushed the red sleeve up, revealing his bare arm. Although it looked healed, she was taking no chances, and so carefully prodded along his wrist and up to his elbow to determine whether or not there was still anything seriously injured. This time, the young man didn't even have to pretend that it hurt, because it did, and a low hiss sounded through his clenched jaw.
"Oh! I'm so sorry! Did I hurt you?" She cried, alarmed.
He shook his head slightly, and replied with a bit of difficulty, trying to keep his voice careless, "It's okay. It just hurts a bit. No big deal." The miko's brow furrowed as she caught the tiny spark of pain in his lavender-violet orbs. She shook her head. He wasn't "okay." She could tell. She didn't know how, but she could tell that he was lying.
"Hold still for a sec, okay? Don't move." Taking a deep breath, she once again reached inside her inner reservoir of spiritual power. It was only a small, flickering candle of magic now, although it was still burning brightly. She had indeed exhausted herself last night, and really shouldn't be using her powers now, but she couldn't just stand there and watch him suffer, could she?
Inuyasha watched, amazed, as the aura of the girl began to expand and glow a soft rose pink color. And he almost cried out as the first thread of blue light streamed out through her fingers and diffused into his skin. Who, or what, was this girl, and what was she doing? But as soon as the light disappeared beneath his skin, he immediately began to feel drowsy. Strange, he thought that he had felt rather refreshed when he woke up that morning…Why were his eyelids threatening to droop close again? Suddenly, he felt a slight tingle inside his arm, and her cool touch moved away. Flexing his arms carefully, he was surprised to note that they no longer hurt or ached. In fact, they felt better than they had in a long time!
"Woah…" he said, speechless, as he looked with newfound respect and amazement at the girl. She looked a bit pale…"What did you do- Hey!" He shouted in alarm, for the girl that had been kneeling with closed eyes suddenly swayed precariously towards him and fainted. "Oof!" He said as he caught her in his arms. "Hey, girl, wake up! Hey, you! Are you all right? Say something, wench!" He shook her lightly, while trying frantically to feel for a pulse. Pressing his fingers lightly against her neck, he breathed a sigh of relief when he felt her pulse beat steadily against his fingers.
Whew. At least she's alive… His mind didn't stop to question why he wanted her to be alive when his whole purpose for being there was to kill her. Sighing, he gently placed her on the bed and pulled the blanket over her prone form. "Keh. I don't know what's wrong with you, but you better wake up soon so that I'll be able to get some answers out of you, okay?" He asked gruffly, pointing to his healed arm as he looked at the unconscious girl. He felt slightly foolish for talking to her as if she were actually listening, but shrugged, and sat back down in the corner to keep an eye on her while she slept. I don't even know her name…He thought silently…
A/N: So, do you like it? Huh? Huh? Do you? Personally, I think Inuyasha's a bit OOC, but I don't know…Please review and tell me! This really isn't a very interesting place to leave the story off at, but it's the best I can do…See review responses below! Arigatou!
kAoMi ~ Yep, your intuition is staggeringly correct! Of course Kagome won't be killed by Inuyasha! That would just be horribly cruel to all my readers! (As if I actually have any…-_-;;)
Minako-chan ~ Well, I updated! Hope you like what happens when Inuyasha is awake! Do you think he's in character?
Ann ~ Kagome is just that type of kind-hearted soul that would do something like that, ne? And, yes, I suppose you could say that she is still in danger…But I can't you tell any more or I'll give away the rest of the story! ^_~ Thanks so much for reviewing! I'm glad you liked my fic!
Crystal phoenix ~ Wow! I'm honored! Do you really like my story that much! ::gasp:: I feel so loved! :D I'm glad that you review every chapter, it encourages me to write more! Keep working on your fic! Ja!
ScratchesTheCat ~ ::Sigh:: Yes, you do have a point there…I guess the only reason I'm able to respond to your reviews is because I don't have that many to respond to! ::tear:: So sad! Thanks so much for the encouragement! Do you think I've made Inu-chan too soft in this chapter? Please let me know! And yes, Sango and Miroku will probably be present in this fic sooner or later, but for now, the spotlight's on my favorite couple, Inuyasha and Kagome!