Author's Note: Now, I haven't decided on my pairings yet. I would really like it if you guys would vote in your reviews. Should it be Sess/Kag or Inu/Kag? I know how I want this to go and it could be either way :D Thanks!
IN MY EYES
CHAPTER ONE
"Inuyasha!"
The silver-haired hanyou lifted his head sleepily and, with a golden eye, peered down from the tree where he was perched. When he saw the impatient raven-haired girl, clad in a simple schoolgirl's uniform, tapping her foot impatiently, Inuyasha promptly shut his eyes and fell back asleep.
"Inuyasha! I know you are awake. Get down here, now," shouted the girl, annoyance written in her dark brown eyes.
Still there was no answer -- Inuyasha slept on.
"Inuyasha! Do you hear me? I know you do." She paused for a moment before debating what to do. With Inuyasha far out of her reach, and he ignoring her calls, she was left with no choice. "Sit, boy!"
With a sudden crash, Inuyasha fell from the tree and landed, facedown, at her feet. After a moment's wait the half-demon rose to his feet, angrily pulling at the restraining necklace around his neck. "Why do you always feel the need to 'sit' me, Kagome? I was trying to get some sleep. It wasn't easy fighting that demon last night, you know."
Kagome rolled her eyes as she walked away from him. "Whatever you say, Inuyasha."
"Kagome, don't walk away from me when I'm talking to you. Kagome!," he cried when she paid no heed to him and continued to walk away. Sighing in annoyance, Inuyasha pounced after he and landed directly in front of Kagome, blocking her path. "Kagome! Don't you ever listen to me?"
Have I ever before? "No." Kagome swerved around him and continued to walk to where she, Miroku, Sango and Shippo had set up their camp the night before.
Inuyasha growled to himself. Why must she pick fights with me so early in the morning? "Kagome, I wasn't finished with you. Get back here."
You wish. "Nope, I don't think so, Inuyasha," She answered before arriving at their make-shift camp and sitting down.
"Fine. Whatever. It's not like I wanted to talk to you anyway. It wasn't me that woke you up when you were dreaming. Feh. I'm going back to my tree."
"Inuyasha?"
"What now?," he sneered, turning back to face Kagome.
"Get your sorry butt over here and have a nice little cozy breakfast with me," Kagome said, trying to hide a smile. She loved driving Inuyasha crazy like that and her expression did nothing to hide that fact, try as she might.
Inuyasha grumbled for a moment before walking to where Kagome was sitting, placing fruit in front of two places. "Is that what you woke me up for, Kagome? Breakfast? Why didn't you just eat with Sango and the monk this morning so I could sleep?" he asked, turning his back on her so that she couldn't see the pink tinge that colored his cheeks. She wants to have a cozy breakfast with me? Just me?
Kagome, noticing that Inuyasha had turned his back on her, grabbed his fruit and crawled on her knees so as to face him. "Here Inu--" She stopped mid-sentence when she noticed a faraway stare in his golden eyes and his crimson cheeks. "Ummm, are you O.K., Inuyasha?"
Inuyasha shook his head and regained his pompous attitude. "Of course, I'm O.K., why wouldn't I be? Sheesh, sometimes I think you worry too much."
"Me? Worry too much? What about you, Inuyasha? I can't go anywhere without you standing behind me making sure that I'm still there," Kagome retorted with a hint of a pout in her voice.
Of course I have to make sure that you're still there. What would I do if i let you get hurt? Inuyasha pushed the thought out of his mind as a lie replaced it's place on his lips. "Of course I have to make sure that you're still there. I need you to find the jewel shards for me after all."
Kagome flinched when she heard his words, but tried to make like she hadn't. "Oh, yes. The precious jewel pieces. Of course they are your only concern. How could I forget?," whispered Kagome, a definite pout in her voice, as she got up and walked a few steps away from Inuyasha before sitting back down.
Damn, that was definitely the wrong thing to say. "I -- I -- never mind," he finished before crossing his arms on his chest and staring off into the forest, berating himself in thought while appearing unruffled to Kagome's eye. Stupid, stupid, stupid. Don't you realize that Kagome means more to you than just a jewel shard detector? Inuyasha groaned inwardly. How come he always knew what the right thing to say was inside his head, but it came out all wrong by the time it reached his lips?
"Whatever," answered Kagome, turning her head back so as not to watch Inuyasha sit there so unbothered while she felt so confused. Why must he never return my affection for him? It's just me and him sitting here, yet he still insists he only needs me for his own purposes. Maybe I've just been imagining the sparks that have flying between us for so long. Maybe it is Kikyo he wants. But what about that hug? Kagome hugged her knees to her chest as she remembered one of the first times she realized that she had, unknowingly and unwillingly, fallen for the half-demon dog boy. It had been right after a fight with his brother, Sesshoumaru, that had left him severely injured. Realizing that he wanted to protect Kagome at all costs, Inuyasha gave Kagome a tight hug goodbye before pushing her into the bone eater's well, in order to send her back to her own time.
Yes, but didn't he use that hug as a diversion so as to steal your piece of the Shikon jewel? Kagome bristled as a little voice in the back of head reminded her of what had happened next. Inuyasha, knowing full well that Kagome wouldn't be able to return without any jewel shards, stole hers off of her before pushing her into the well and destroying it directly after. But he only did it all to protect me. And, look, I got back here anyway, didn't I? Well, didn't I? "Yes, yes I did," Kagome whispered, answering her own question.
Inuyasha's brusque voice broke up her thoughts. "Did you say something to me?"
"No, I'm not speaking to you now," Kagome replied, anxious to think of anything else than what was on her mind at the moment. Sure, she knew she loved him -- but it hurt so much to know that he didn't feel the same way.
"Why not?," Inuyasha asked, though he knew full-well why. Because you're an idiot, that's why, he reminded himself, while slowly turning his head to look at Kagome.
"Because a simple jewel detector has no right to converse with the great Inuyasha, that's why. Isn't that so?"
Inuyasha's head snapped back when he heard the biting tone of voice. Kagome rarely talked to him like that, but, when she did, he knew he had touched a nerve deep down. Basically, he said to himself, Kagome's voice took on that sound whenever Kikyo was mentioned or the accidental cracking of the sacred jewel. Inuyasha sat for a second, listening to the awkward silence between the two, before realizing that they had actually been alone for quite some time. Wasn't there a lecherous monk somewhere to be found? Or a show-off-y demon slayer? Or an annoying little kitsune? "Hey, Kagome? I know you ain't talking to me right now, but where's Miroku and the others? Why ain't they eating breakfast, too?"
"I don't know. Myoga said he had to tell Sango and Miroku something about y-- I mean, something. I guess their talk is taking longer than they expected."
Inuyasha paid no attention to Kagome's near slip, instead looking all the more confused. "If that flea had something to say, why didn't he say it in front of everyone? Imagine them walking off and leaving you all by yourself, unprotected. Why couldn't you have gone with them. I would have been able to finish my nap then," he finished.
"Yeah, well, I would have liked to but they told me I had to stay here and I would know in good time." Kagome paused for a second before purposely antagonizing the hanyou. "Besides, it was about you and someone had to make sure you didn't interrupt them in the middle of their discussion."
"What?! They're talking about me?" Inuyasha leapt up and looked off into the woods as if to spy them all pointing and laughing at him. "Where are they? I'll kill them."
Shoot. I had to set him off, didn't I? Kagome bit her lip, wishing she could take the words back. True, Myoga had said he needed to discuss something with Miroku and Sango, but did it have to do with Inuyasha? Kagome assumed so, but she didn't really know for sure.
"Where are they, Kagome?" he said, taking a few bounds in her direction so that he was standing directly next to where Kagome was sitting. "Kag--" he began but stopped suddenly. His dog ears began to switch as he sniffed the area, golden eyes flashing menacingly. Then, without another second's warning, he began to growl at Kagome.
Frightened by the sudden animal-like attitude, Kagome jumped back. When Inuyasha didn't stop growling, instead leaping forward and pinning her to the ground so as to get a closer scent, Kagome did the only rational thing she could think of. She screamed.
