Demon Body, Human Heart

Part 1: Feelings of Frustration

Kagome sighed heavily, running a hand through her dusty hair, her eyes showing hints of annoyance as they approached the village. Inuyasha was the cause of her impatience. He'd been more irritable than usual since that morning, ever since dawn, when he woke everyone up by either kicking them or dumping water on their faces. Kagome had the latter awakening, as had Sango. Shippo, and Miroku had recieved the former.

There was no doubt in any of their minds. Inuyasha was right pissed off about something. Yet, Kagome sensed there was more to it. She looked towards her companion, her eyes softening. Something was bothering him. He seemed almost...worried.

Harshly, she shook her head. She'd always had a blind spot where that demon was concerned. I suppose it didn't help that she was head over heals in love with him, even though he didn't have the faintest idea how she felt. He was too wrapped up with Kikyou. She sighed heavily, looking towards him again, this time, catching him looking at her with a soft expression. Both of them averted their eyes at the same time.

Kagome sighed heavily, pushing her bike through the dry dirt. This had to be the worst drought she'd ever dealt with in her life. The ground was dry, and cracked, and most of the springs had dried up, save for a precious few she always managed to find shortly before it was time to sleep. Not that it mattered.

By the time she woke up, she always was covered in dirt and dust again. It was more than annoying. It was down right, maddening. She desperately wanted to go home and take a nice long soak in her wonderful bathtub. But no. She was here. Exactly where Inuyasha always wanted her.

She sighed in exasperation. Sometimes, she wondered why she loved that idiot. He treated her kindly, considering he was a demon, but he always gave her such a hard time about going home.

A shiver raced through her as they finally entered the village. Most of the people were trying to save the already long-gone crops. Kagome looked around, noting most of them were covered head to foot with dust. Alot of them even had hankerchiefs tied around their mouths and noses to try to keep out the dirt.

Kagome sighed, looking towards the dry, dead forest. Only one twinge of green shone among all the brown. One twinge she knew belonged to the gods tree. It was amazing how even in the dead of winter, that tree managed to keep all of it's leaves, and stayed green. It was like Inuyasha himself. Always the same, unbending, unchanging-She stopped that line of thought quickly.

Because Inuyasha had changed. He'd changed a great deal in the time she'd known him. He wasn't as cold hearted as he had once been. Now, he seemed almost...well, sweet, sometimes. He was extremely protective of her, and treated her with a suprising tenderness. Probably because she looked like Kikyou.

That was the only reason.

She felt a twinge of pain knowning she'd never measure up to Kikyou. The dead Miko always had a leg up on her. Something she'd shared with Inuyasha that Kagome had not. Like that kiss...

She shook her head hard, trying to clear her mind as they entered the hut. "Ohayo, Kaede-san." She said, smiling brightly. "How are things here?"

The old woman's grey-white hair was smudged with dirt. "It is a dark summer, Kagome. This unaccostumed dryness must be caused by something evil." Kaede raised her milky eyes towards Inuyasha. "How did the mission go?"

"Not well. This irritating git insisted we come back before we'd even gotten a scent of the jewel." The dog-demon growled roughly, his voice vuagely haughty.

Kagome jumped to her feet, her irritation already elevating. It was hot, and dry, and she hadn't had a decent bath since the last time she'd been home. "We were running low on supplies! What if we'd run out of water out in the middle of nowhere!"

"You always manage to find water to camp near." The demon sneered.

"OSUWARI!" Kagome cried, her entire frame shaking with anger.

Inuyasha was promptly sent kissing the floor, his back roaring from the sudden pressure. "You wench..." He growled, forcing himself into a sitting position. A soft sniffle emitted from Kagome and he urked, spinning around quickly. "Wh-what the heck are you crying for!"

Sango put a comforting arm around Kagome and guided her from the room. "Come on, Kagome-chan, let's go for a walk." Sango said softly, pushing open the door for her. Inuyasha came storming into the room, and had barely opened his mouth when Sango glared at him. "I think you've done enough damage. Just leave her alone."

Inuyasha straightened, then sprinted out the door his golden eyes shining with unnatural light.

Kagome watched him go with a sad expression.

"Are you okay, Kagome-chan?" Sango asked, leading her towards the forest. She'd never understood why the younger girl insisted on protecting Inuyasha. Kagome always acted as a proverbial shield, and all she ever got in return was name-calling and sarcasm.

Kagome nodded slightly, letting out a heavy sigh. "I'll never under stand him..." She said softly. "He was normal until this morning...he hasn't treated me like this since-" She stopped herself, feeling tears welling in her eyes. She didn't want to cry over that jerk. She wanted to be able to say she didn't love him, but...

She did.

She felt a comforting hand on her shoulder and threw her arms around her only female companion. "Oh, Sango..." She sobbed. "Why does he always treat me like that?"

"Because, he's a jerk." Sango said firmly. "I really don't know why you let him bring you back all the time. If it were me, I'd stay in my home." She patted Kagome's back.

Kagome released Sango and sighed heavily, rubbing her arms. "I don't know either. I get upset with him and run home...but I know he'll come for me. He always has." She looked around and realized they were standing under the Goshinboku. She rested her hands against the rough bark, and sighed. "I love him, Sango." She said in a whisper that she was almost certain her friend couldn't hear it.

Her hand ran across the scar on the tree from where Inuyasha had been held by the enchanted arrow. She slowly turned to look at her friend.

"Oh, Kagome..." Sango walked forwards and hugged the girl. She'd heard of this emotion before. The girls from her village frequently talked of falling in love. Yet, Sango had never felt what love should feel like. She blinked. "Kagome, what does love feel like?" She asked softly, looking at her friend.

Kagome sat on one of the thick, upraised roots and leaned against the trunk. "It's...being dipped in ice water and a hot spring at the same time, hot and cold all at once. It's comforting and painful...happy and sad, annoying and frustrating, but at the same time...wonderful and exciting." She shook her head. "I can get the shivers from just being near him, and that's part of the reason I let him bring me back."

"What's the rest of the reason?" Love was complicated, Sango decided, frowning a bit.

This was the part that was harder to talk about. "Well, I like watching him fight. He protects me like no one else, and...when he's fighting, with me or trying to get a jewel, his eyes get so passionate..." She blushed. "Besides...I know he enjoys my company, even if we fight alot...in fact, I think that's WHY he likes my company."

Sango tilted her head in confusion. "I'm not sure I understand..."

With a flourish, Kagome waved a hand. "Neither do I. I don't delude myself into thinking that he feels the same. I know better. He still loves Kikyou..." She looked down, her eyes blurring with tears. "All I can do is be there for him...and love him. He really does need friends, and love, Sango-chan..."

Sango patted Kagome's shoulder, her eyes sympathetic. She may not understand why Kagome loves Inuyasha, but she did understand friendship. "Don't worry, Kagome. We all care for Inuyasha. Maybe not as much as you, since you've known him longer, but we all care about what happens to him."

"I know, Sango-chan...I know..."

Inuyasha was pacing the length of the hut, ignoring the feel of Miroku's eyes on him. He'd never felt so annoyed, so...frustrated, in his young life. This was nothing like he felt about Kikyou. True, he cared about Kagome. He protected her, because she couldn't protect herself, because it was the right thing to do. Yet, he had no way to explain the feeling of possessiveness he had other than-dare he think it?-love. It frightened him to think he was falling for someone from a different time.

Frightened, and worried him.

Miroku watched Inuyasha pace with an obvious irritation. "You're annoyed with her, are you?" He stated more than asked. He watched Inuyasha stumble and felt amusement course through him as the shocked eyes of the demon turned towards him.

"Wh-what are you talking about?" Inuyasha growled, begining to pace the floor once again. That stupid bouzu was sticking his nose where it didn't belong. If he kept it up, Inuyasha would be forced to rip it off the monk's laughing face.

"I think I can understand your frustration..." Miroku said softly, all amusement suddenly gone from his face. "You don't wish to admit you care- or dare I say, love-someone, lest they get taken away or reject you..."? He lowered his eyes to the floor, tracing the lines in the wood with a long finger.

"Bah..." Inuyasha growled. "I don't feel anything for that wench." He lied, glaring out the window, towards Kagome's scent. Yet, recently, whenever he was worried or even frightened, stormy grey eyes were what came to his eyes. Long, thickly lashed, accompanied by a sweet scent. Kagome's scent. He felt his expression softening slightly and quickly forced it back into it's normal glare.

Miroku stood, looking in the direction the girls had gone. "Yet, you do, Inuyasha." The monk looked towards Inuyasha, his face completely calm, showing understanding. "You don't want to, but you do. You do not need to lie to me, Inuyasha. I've known since I met the two of you, which is why I don't seriously pursue her. I have kept your secret well, or so I think."

Obviously, I didn't keep the secret to myself well enough. Inuyasha sighed at the thought. He didn't really want it to be a secret. He wanted to tell Kagome...something. He couldn't because she'd be in more danger if he did. Silently, he wondered if she knew how he felt, herself. If she, like Miroku, had realized how he felt. Secretly, he hoped she had.

Then, maybe they could both find some measure of happiness.

He noticed Miroku studying his face and realized he was wearing a somewhat wistful expression. Quickly, he put his "?hard-ass' image back into place. "What!" He snarled, glaring at the Bouzu.

Miroku looked off towards the forest. "They return." He said calmly, although there was a look of turmoil in his eyes.

Inuyasha followed his gaze and realized the monk was looking at Sango with an expression of tortured longing in his eyes. He remained silent.

When the girls entered the hut, Kagome was laughing, as was Sango, and Kagome continued speaking. "And then, he climbed up the balcony, but the set wasn't that strong, and he fell!" Kagome had tears rolling down her face. "He broke his tail bone, and we had to postpone the rest of the play for two months! It was so embarassing! The "?Romeo' of the play falling flat on his butt during one of the most romantic scene's! Hojo'll never live it down!"

Sango was giggling merrily and they stopped, noticing that they were the only people in the room aside from Miroku and Inuyasha. She blinked. "Where are the others?"

"They're out, looking for water." Inuyasha said softly. "Sorry, you two are going to have to deal with just us for company." His voice was incredibly grumpy, and Kagome could tell he was still smarting from when she'd said "?sit'.

"Inuyasha..." Kagome said meekly. "I'm sorry I told you to-..." She clasped her hands behind her back, hooking one ankle around the other and looked up at him from under her eyebrows. "I'm sorry I said "?It'."

Inuyasha stared at her, suddenly disarmed. He hid the blush that was rapidly spreading across his face by looking away and tutting. "Like I care." He growled. But deeply, he was relieved. He glanced at her out of the corner of his eyes and saw her smile sweetly, and suddenly, she was hugging him tightly. "URK!"

"I'm still sorry." She said, then ran off into the other room, leaving Inuyasha with a pounding heart and a flushed face. He looked towards Miroku after Sango left. "What...was that!" He whispered fiercely.

Miroku just grinned. "That, my friend, is a girl." A wider grin. "A very happy one."

Inuyasha was confused. VERY confused.

Kagome could feel the dark aura's of a demon. She'd noticed this when she was pulled into the well. She could sense when a demon was nearby. Each demon's aura had a specific fingerprint. Inuyasha's was weak, and also felt good to her. It felt...well, honestly, it felt like the opposite of Naraku's.

Naraku's was dark, and scary, and very evil.

She'd grown accostumed to the feeling of demons nearby. Traveling with three demons did that to you.

It was youki that was keeping her awake tonight. A high concentration of youki, all coming towards her. She could feel it in the air, a suffocating type of pressure, almost painfully strong. It made her feel sick to her stomache.

She sat upright, and looked around the room. Inuyasha was slumped, sleeping against the wall. Kirara was curled up in her tiny form next to Sango. Shippou was on her own sleeping bag, sleeping peacefully. All the demon's were accounted for.

She shivered slightly, rubbing her arms. Slowly, she stood, and walked towards the window. There was a full moon, this night. She frowned slightly, staring out. She hadn't felt such a concentration of youki since when they had arrived at the cave from which Naraku extracted his new body. She shivered again, then heard a movement behind her.

She jumped, glancing back.

It was Inuyasha. He was watching her, his gaze heated, almost dangerous. It was the expression he wore when facing an enemy. It made her shiver.

I'm not his enemy...right? She thought, her hands shaking. She watched as he stood and stalked towards her. "Inu...yasha?" She questioned, her knees trembling, her face flushing from the passion in his eyes. She backed against the wall. "What's wrong?"

He finally reached her, and stared down into her glazed, waiting eyes. There was a promise in those eyes. He felt a tremor wrack his body and he reached out, brushing a strand of hair behind her ear. "You should be asleep." He said softly, his hand automatically cupping her face.

Is he seeing me? Her mind screamed that he wasn't, yet her heart was screaming he was. She swallowed hard, looking up into those untamed, golden eyes, eyes she loved more than life, willing to drown in them if he'd let her. "I...I couldn't sleep..." She forced herself to turn away from him before she said something that would hurt her in the long run.

"What's wrong?" He rested his clawed hands on her forarms. "Are you worried about the village?"

"It's...it's not that..." She let herself lean back into him. "I...I can sense demons coming this way..." She shuddered as his hand slipped up her arms to her shoulders and slowly turned her towards him. She refused to meet his eyes, simply slipping her arms around him and holding him tightly. She always felt safest in his arms, although she'd never admit this. She couldn't. He didn't feel the same.

Inuyasha rested his cheek against her hair, looking through the window, knowing she was right. "Don't worry about it." He said softly, his entire body trembling. There was something about the way the moon made her skin glow that just made him want to take out into the woods and make her his for eternity. Yet, he knew he could never do that to her. So instead, he held her gently, soothing his frayed nerves, and hoping he had the same affect on her.

There would be time to worry about the demons later. Let them come.