Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha or any of its characters, but the characters that I made up belong entirely to me.
Author's Note: Chapter 7 is up! Hope it's interesting! By the way, does anyone know a good way to describe Inuyasha's scent? Please tell me!
The Course of True Love Ne'er Did Run Smooth…
Chapter 7
A musky scent of damp earth and fresh green trees wafted past her nose. Even though she was unconscious, Kagome could recognize Inuyasha within her subconscious brain. A slight shift of balance alerted her to his movement, and a strand of something long and soft tickled her bare neck. She wanted to open her eyes and see his face staring down at her, but some dark force was preventing her, pushing her down. Suddenly, something brushed against her lips, then came down again with more force. The warm, smooth feel of Inuyasha's lips against hers seemed to provide her with enough strength to hurl herself out of the dark dream world she was in and back into the real world. She opened her eyes carefully, and her heart soared as high as an eagle to see his face so close to hers, with a mild, peaceful expression showing through his eyes. "Inuyasha…" she whispered with a faint smile.
He gently silenced her with a finger pressed softly against her lips, "Shh, Kagome, rest now, talk later. Welcome back, princess." He smiled at her with an unreadable expression, then lightly kissed her on the forehead before standing up stiffly and walking calmly out of the door.
A week later, everything was back to normal. Kagome was her cheerful, healthy self again. No else one knew of what had happened in the hut that early morning. When Kagome managed to catch him alone to privately question him, Inuyasha was embarrassed about his moment of supposed weakness, and responded to Kagome's interrogation with a haughty 'feh', "I was just worried that you died. I need you to find the Shikon shards." However, Kagome knew the truth and smiled brightly at him with understanding in her eyes. He had cared, actually cared for her and her alone, and she so stopped pestering him and the group continued on their quest as if nothing had happened.
But no matter how hard the two tried to hide it, something had changed after the fight with Taiyo. Inuyasha no longer teased Kagome as often as he used to. He tried, half-heartedly, to stop her from returning to the Bone Eater's Well, but it was obviously not a serious attempt. The dog-demon seemed mellow, more serious, and was often caught looking at her with a gentle expression in his eyes. He was more considerate, and at time, stopped to set up camp at night without even being nagged by the rest of his traveling companions. Kagome no longer used 'Osuwari!' to sit Inuyasha, even when she was upset. She wheedled, cajoled, and whined, but never used the necklace any more. It was as if the two had reached an unspoken compromise or truce, and neither bothered the other unnecessarily. They acted like good friends, but were more than once seen by Shippou to be just gazing silently into each other's eyes. It was puzzling, and the kitsune cub, Myouga, and Kaede each tried but failed to arouse them to a full-blown argument.
One dreary June day, when the summer thunderstorms were wrecking havoc on the forest trees and the strong winds gusted over the entire area without stop, the party was trekking wearily towards the northern mountains of Musashi's Domain. They had heard a rumor of a giant snake Youkai that possessed a Shikon shard that enabled it to re-grow its head every time it was chopped off. Shippou was huddled inside Kagome's giant backpack, trying to retain some warmth. If anyone had managed to pull him out of it, he would have looked like a small, wet, angry, brown furball. Myouga, Inuyasha's loyal flea retainer, was crouched down next to his master's ear and clinging tightly to a thick strand of his wet, white hair as if it were a lifeline. Kagome was pedaling slowly on what Inuyasha called a 'metal horse', soaked to the skin and shivering with cold. Inuyasha was also drenched with rain, but, being the stubborn half-demon that he was, he refused to stop and find shelter in a dry cave.
"Inuyasha!" Kagome called through chattering teeth, "Can we please stop and wait out the storm in one of the many caves that we've passed along the way? If we rest now, we'll have much more energy to continue when the rain stops, and we'll be able to move much faster if we're dry. We're not making much progress, and the rest of us are all cold and wet and hungry."
Shippou popped his furry head out from Kagome's backpack and sniffed, "Besides, Inuyasha, you smell like a wet dog." Inuyasha growled at the fox angrily, then whirled around, ready to berate Kagome for mentioning the word 'rest', when he saw Kagome's pitiful state. Her dark hair was plastered miserably against the side of her face, her clothes were as wet as a bathing suit, her cold lips held a tinge of unhealthy blue, and her face looked worn and haggard from lack of sleep. They had left their last camp at 5:00 this morning, and now it was almost too dark to see. The group had been traveling through wild terrain for four nights already, and Kagome looked ready to collapse on top of her bicycle. Inuyasha sighed resignedly, as if loath to waste time resting, although he was actually worried about Kagome's welfare.
"Fine, have it your way, woman," he scoffed, "We can stop in that cave over there for tonight." He pointed to a small dark cavern that was only a few yards away, and then motioned for everyone to follow him as he stepped towards the entrance. Kagome smiled at his back approvingly as she wheeled her bike after the retreating red figure.
After everyone had quickly made it into the cave, Kagome bustled around handing out dry towels, collecting a few dry sticks, and building a small fire in the center of the stone cave. Knowing Inuyasha's favorite food, she took out a three cups of instant Ramen for everyone to eat. The warm noodles were as welcome as hot chocolate after a snowball fight, and everyone except Myouga (who had disappeared without a trace a few minutes before) slurped their dinner contentedly. By and by, Shippou began to rub his eyes blearily, and Kagome yawned softly every few minutes. Inuyasha remained still and silent, staring dully into the depths of the cave, but glanced at Kagome once in a while to see if she was okay.
Just as Kagome had taken out her sleeping bag and a blanket for Inuyasha and Shippou, and gotten ready to go to sleep, a sudden sound was heard. There was a tremble in the ground, then a loud rumble, and the entire roof of the cave shattered unexpectedly and crashed down around them. Kagome screamed as a large boulder almost crushed her, then a large warm mass grabbed her by the waist and pulled her down to the ground, keeping her below it and protecting her from any debris that fell down. When the dust cleared, two dark shapes were huddled in the middle of the floor. Inuyasha got up and looked around. Shippou was trembling on the cold stone floor, while Kagome stood up shakily and dusted herself off. In the dim light of the cave, her face paled as she looked toward the cave entrance. A pile of large rocks blocked the opening and left spaces not even large enough to fit a flea. She covered her mouth in unspeakable horror, and grasped Inuyasha's arm urgently.
"Inuyasha," she gasped out. Inuyasha turned to look at her, then gaped at where her other arm was pointing.
They voiced out in simultaneous dismay "We're trapped!"