Trapped in the Threads of Fate

Disclaimer: Hey, ever wonder why they ask you to do this? Well, I don't! Mostly cause I know that Rumiko Takahashi doesn't want me to say that I own Inuyasha and Gang, cause that would be a LIE! So I don't own him...I can live with that.

A/N: Hi minna-san! How's it going? Well, I must say, I have gotten a few e-mails asking when I was going to update, and I don't mind at all! Just wish it didn't take me so long to get this up! Oh well, it's done now...well, at least it will be done when I finish typing up what I have on my paper! I must apologize for all of you who have been waiting for a long time! My only excuse that I can think of at this moment is that I had like 4 tests and 2 term papers that had to be done all within a two-week period. Ack, I am SoOoOo happy that it's all over and done with! I was beginning to wonder when I'd be able to do anything besides school and work! But here's the next chappie! It's mostly a filler chapter, but there is some plot advancement...some.

I REACHED 100 REVIEWS! YAY ME!!! THANX EVERYONE!

~*Recap*~

"HENTAI!!!" she screamed as she threw her bowl full of steaming hot food at the pervert.

"Sorry, sorry! I promise not to do it again!" he said as he cowered in fear of the outraged girl. "But I really did mean that it was interesting that they both didn't get in till late!"

"THAT is none of your damn business!" growled Inuyasha as he walked into the room with a scowl on his face.

~**~

Chapter Ten: Right Under Your Nose

::thump thump::

Kagome's eyes fluttered open. "Mm, I don't wanna get up yet!" she yawned as she stretched her arms and legs. Realizing that she wasn't in her room, she shot out of the strange bed. 'Where am I?' she thought as her eyes darted around the room. Unlike her room, it was completely void of any pink. Instead, the room took on a green look. There were thick forest green curtains where the window-door led to the balcony. There was no full-length mirror, but a small black couch instead. The room had a fur carpet that was from an animal she wasn't familiar with.

Looking at her feet, Kagome noticed they were bare. Then she realized that she was still wearing the revealing dress from just hours before. "What if somebody sees me in this?" she gasped aloud. Then, as if remembering the events of the night before for the first time, she plopped back on the bed. Her hands rushed up as she felt the red blush pour into her cheeks. "Oh my gosh, I must be in HIS room!" she breathed.

::thump thump::

'Oh crap! He's gonna find me in his room!' thought Kagome as she searched for a hiding place. She looked at the bed, 'Maybe I should pretend I'm still sleeping? No, I wouldn't be able to keep a straight face with this embarrassing dress on! Maybe I can just sneak out through the balcony?' Deciding that that was the best option, Kagome rushed to the window leading to the balcony and darted out.

As silently as she could, she closed the door and tiptoed to the edge of the balcony. Kagome moved towards her own bedroom balcony but stopped when she noticed that she'd have to make a bit of a jump. 'Wow, that's a long way down!' she thought as she looked over the edge.

::thumP thumP::

'It's now or never!' thought Kagome as she readied herself on the edge of the stone railing. Just before taking the risky jump, she took a deep breath. Feet left stone, and for a brief moment there was only air to keep her from the ground below. Then, suddenly her feet hit the balcony. Not ready for the impact, Kagome fell to her hands and knees. 'I made it,' she happily thought as she opened the hazel eyes she hadn't noticed were closed.

::thump thump::

'Sheesh, you'd think he'd give up be now and just open the door! It's not like I'm gonna answer it now!' she thought as she quietly slipped into the room she shared with Sango.

Feeling a slight breeze come in through the open door, Kagome became even more self-conscious of the silk dress that adorned her petite body. She rushed to the chiffonier and opened the wooden doors. When she looked inside, not only did she see the usual antique kimonos, but some REAL clothes too. Kagome's eyes went wide with surprise as they soaked in the t- shirts, jeans, skirts, sweaters, shoes, and all the other things she had been missing for weeks.

Suddenly feeling like all the wonderful NORMAL things would disappear, Kagome snatched up a pair of faded jeans and a black t-shirt. "Oh how I've missed you!" smiled Kagome as she slipped into the form- fitting jeans. "And I'm never going to take you off!" she giggled as the tight t-shirt slipped over her head.

Kagome went to the full-length mirror and gushed over her 'new look.' The faded jeans fit comfortably around her hips while they started to flare out a bit near her calves. The t-shirt fit like a glove and had the Japanese symbol for FATE on the front in an aqua color.

::thumP thumP::

Kagome rolled her eyes, "I can't believe he's STILL knocking on that door!" She gave out a small sigh and headed to the door. But just as her had reached to open it, something caught her attention from the corner of her eye.

Kagome spun around to come face to...ah, let's just say...fact to leaf with an emerald green vine. "Oh no! This is NOT going to become a regular thing for us!" she scolded as her hand reached behind her to open the door. The vine started to creep towards her and Kagome gasped. She turned high tide and ran out the door, not forgetting to slam it shut behind her.

::thumP thumP::

"If no one's answered be now, there's probably no one th-" Kagome gasped when she realized that she was alone in the gigantic hall. "I could've sworn someone was knocking a second ago!" she mused to herself as she started walking to the kitchen.

~*In the Kitchen*~

"IF YOU BAKAS DON'T SHUT YER HOLES RIGHT THIS SECOND, I'M GOING TO RIP YER HEADS OFF YER FUCKING NECKS!" yelled Inuyasha as his sharp claws dup into the kitchen table.

Sango sat across from the fuming hanyou trying her hardest to suppress her oncoming giggle with a hand covering her mouth. Miroku, in turn, was lying on the floor roaring with uncontrollable laughter. He didn't seem to care that Inuyasha would probably kill him later.

"IT HAPPENED THREE HOURS AGO! YOU GUYS DON'T HAVE TO KEEP LAUGHING SO HARD!" barked Inuyasha as he stood up to leave.

"Sorry Inuyasha, it was just so funny the way you were-" started Sango as she tried to hold a straight face.

"SHUT UP! YOU DON'T HAVE TO BROADCAST IT TO THE WHOLE FREAKING WORLD!" Inuyasha yelled while he walked over to step on a certain head. "WHAT DID I SAY ABOUT YOU LAUGHING LIKE THAT?" he addressed the tear- stained hyena.

"Gomen, Inuyasha, haha, gomen! I'll, hehe, stop now, haha, I promise!" Miroku choked out as the pressure on his head was slowly released. Miroku got up to sit cross-legged on the floor. "It's just that...you still have them on your head, even though Lady Sango told you what they were really for!" he smiled, pointing at Inuyasha's head.

Seeing Inuyasha's face turn at least ten shades redder, both Sango and Miroku burst into another fit of giggling and laughter.

Inuyasha started mumbling incoherent curses under his breath as he swiftly took the afore mentioned 'object' off his head. Giving Miroku a hard kick, he turned to Sango and threw the 'object' into her lap.

"What's going on? Why is everyone laughing?" asked Kagome innocently when she saw two of her friends practically having strokes from laughing so hard. She looked at Inuyasha, who now seemed to have a deathly pale face. She gave him a curious look.

'Oh Kami, please tell me she didn't witness any of that!' prayed Inuyasha as his look of pure horror melted into a death threat. "Any of you tell her, and I won't hold back on making you pay dearly!"

Miroku and Sango stopped laughing, both because of what Inuyasha said, and because they had just noticed Kagome's new 'look.' "Where did you find those?" blurted Sango as she tore from her chair to get a closer look at her friend.

"I found them in our closet!" Kagome smiled. "But don't change the subject, I really want to know what was so funny!"

Sango could feel Inuyasha's golden eyes boring a hole into her skull. "Are there more of those in the closet?" she asked instead while she snatched up Kagome's wrist and ran to their room.

"Sango, I REALLY want to KNOW!" whined Kagome's retreating voice.

"You do know she's going to tell her!" stated Miroku from his spot on the floor.

"Yeah, I know!" said Inuyasha as he plopped onto his former chair at the table.

"And since she's a girl, there's really not much else you can do about it!" Miroku said as he pulled himself into the chair across from Inuyasha.

"Who says?" Inuyasha growled with an evil smirk.

Miroku gave him an astonished stare, "You mean, you'd risk getting yer butt kicked? She is a Taijiya!"

"Who said I was going to fight her?" laughed Inuyasha, an eerie sparkle in his eye.

A shiver found it's way to Miroku's spine, "Now you're just plain scaring me!"

"HE DID WHAT?" came the horrified shriek of Kagome.

Inuyasha's golden eyes clouded over, "I hope she knows that this means WAR!" He lifted his gaze to meet the uneasy violet eyes of the boy in front of him, "Wanna be on my team?"

Miroku gulped, "Do I have a choice?" With a wink from Inuyasha, he eased up a bit.

"Of course not! But I promise you won't regret it!" came Inuyasha's thick reply.

"O...okay!" stammered Miroku.

"I'M GONNA KILL HIM!" screamed Kagome's voice as she was heard stomping to the kitchen.

"Oh shit!" blurted Inuyasha as he snapped into the real world. Just as Kagome stormed into the kitchen, he shot from his seat and hid behind Miroku's chair.

Instantly, Miroku dashed from his own chair. The look in Kagome's eyes could do more damage to his psyche than anything he'd ever seen in his life. "You're in for it now old man!" Miroku yelped as he sped out of the room.

"I can explain!" Inuyasha cried as he waved his hands frantically in front of his petrified face. Kagome slowly made her way towards him, all the while with a dangerous look in her hazel eyes. With every step that Kagome took, Inuyasha took two steps back. When he finally came in contact with something solid, Inuyasha's golden eyes retreated behind the shelter of his eyelids.

Kagome walked right up to the obviously terrified boy. She knew as well as he did that she couldn't hurt him physically, but she just HAD to see for herself. Lifting her hands up to his head, she placed the 'object' right on top. "Oh, I wish I had a camera!" she giggled.

Inuyasha's golden eyes shot open in horror. This was by far worse than getting hit by Kagome, she was making fun of him, "...and what the heck is a camera?"

"When Sango told me you put my panties on your head, I must admit that I was angry at first. But seeing you so frightened like that, I just had to see for myself," said Kagome through giggles.

Inuyasha snatched the panties off his head and threw them at Kagome. "I didn't know what they were! I thought it was a new kind of hat or something! Your time is so confusing! Not to mention strange!" he said through clenched teeth.

"Haha, at least you'll know better for next time!" she laughed.

"Feh!" snorted Inuyasha as he started making his way past Kagome and into the hall. 'Next time?' he thought as he tried to remain the same outwards in stance.

"Don't act like that! Come on Inuyasha, I was only teasing!" said Kagome as she kept herself just a step behind him.

'Looks like she fell for it! But I can't believe I almost kissed her! It's like she's a completely different girl from last night!' Inuyasha thought as he stopped dead in his tracks.

This sudden cease of motion made Kagome walk right into Inuyasha's back. "Hey, don't stop like-"

::thump thump::

"Did you hear that?" Kagome asked when Inuyasha turned to face her.

He was about to yell something at her, but stopped when he saw the look on Kagome's face. "Hear what?" he asked instead.

"A kind of-"

::thuMP thuMP::

"THAT!" she practically yelled at him.

"I didn't hear anything!" Inuyasha said as he strained his ears. 'There's no possible way she could hear something that I can't! She isn't part youkai like I am,' he thought to himself as he picked up the sound of Miroku shuffling his feet outside the girls' room.

Kagome watched Inuyasha's doggy ears swivel in every direction.

::thUMP thUMP::

"There it is again!" she whispered.

'Miroku's constant shuffling can't be the noise she's referring to...can it?' questioned Inuyasha in his mind. "Kagome, you're going to have to tell me where this 'sound' is coming from!"

::tHUMP tHUMP::

"U...upstairs! And it's getting louder! Can't you hear it?" she asked when she realized that his youkai ears weren't facing the direction of the sounds.

"No, but don't worry, you're probably just going crazy!" he smiled, their past almost-argument long forgotten.

"Gee, thanks!" said Kagome as she rolled her hazel eyes.

::THUMP THUMP::

Kagome jumped in surprise, "It's REALLY loud now! You sure you can't hear it?"

"Sorry!" said Inuyasha as he bent over. "Get on my back. Let's go see if we can find out what's making this noise!"

Hesitantly, Kagome got on his back and wrapped her arms around his neck and shoulders. 'I wasn't expecting to EVER get this close to him again!' she thought as she found herself enjoying the contact.

When he got her into a comfortable position for the both of them, Inuyasha took a couple of steps before leaping up the stairs in two bounds. 'I should do this more often!' he thought as he sensed Kagome excitement.

::THUMP THUMP THUMP::

As they reached the top of the stairs, Miroku stopped his incessant shuffling. "Hey, I see you're still alive!" he exclaimed when he noticed Inuyasha let Kagome off his back with a slight amount of reluctance in his actions.

"Yeah, I told her it was your fault and now she wants to kill you instead!" Inuyasha said in a joking manner that wasn't so noticeable to the boy. That caused Miroku to go pale for a moment which got a small smile out of Kagome.

::THUMP THUMP THUMP THUMP::

Inuyasha noticed Kagome go stiff beside him, "Say, Miroku? Have you been hearing any strange noises coming from around here?"

Miroku looked from Inuyasha's serious face to Kagome's hopeful one, "Sorry, can't say that I have!"

At that moment, Sango came out of her room sporting a pale pink mini skirt with a black halter-top. "I haven't heard anything either! Is there something wrong?" As if sensing lecherous thoughts, "If you even try, you'll be sorrier than a mouse just eaten by a cat!"

Instantly Miroku's twitching hand came back to it's place beside him, "You know me so well Lady Sango!"

::THUMP THUMP THUMP THUMP THUMP::

'Is that door moving?' Kagome thought. She looked to Inuyasha, "The...the door's pulsating along with the thumping."

"Which door?" asked Inuyasha as he looked from Kagome to the row of doors in the hall.

::THUMP THUMP THUMP THUMP THUMP THUMP::

"Yours," she answered while looking at the hanyou.

Sango walked up to Kagome and put a hand to her forehead, "You feel fine to me!"

Kagome rolled her eyes. Both Inuyasha and Miroku walked to up to the guilty door. Miroku put both hands on the door to see if he could feel vibrations, Inuyasha followed suit with one hand.

::THUMP THUMP THUMP THUMP THUMP THUMP THUMP::

"It did it again. Tell me you felt SOMETHING!" said Kagome in a hopeful tone.

Inuyasha just shook his head. Miroku closed his violet eyes in concentration. Sango held her breath along with one of Kagome's hands.

Tears started to fill her eyes, "Are you sure you can't hear ANYTHING?"

Sango looked at her friend, "I'm sorry, but there's just nothing-"

"ShHh!" Miroku demanded as he pointed to Inuyasha who had his eyes closed and eyebrows furrowing.

::THUMP THUMP THUMP THUMP THUMP THUMP THUMP THUMP::

Kagome brought her hands to her ears. The noise was only getting louder and more frequent. In fact, it didn't seem to be stopping for short periods of time anymore. The entire room started to pulse in front of her, but nothing truly moved. 'I'm 'seeing' the sound!' she realized as she watched the hall steadily seem to throb.

"It's faint, but if I concentrate VERY hard and everyone is silent, there is SOMETHING to hear!" said Inuyasha as he gave Kagome a reassuring smile.

"WHAT?" yelled Kagome over the noise that she alone was hearing at full blast.

Everyone jumped slightly when Kagome suddenly yelled. "NEVER MIND!" yelled back Miroku when he figured that she was having a hard time hearing them...although it wasn't that hard to figure out.

Inuyasha opened his bedroom door, "I can hear it faintly, but Kagome hears it better for some reason. I don't understand, why does she hear it so well? She doesn't have the hearing capabilities that I do!" Inuyasha walked in and strained his ears as best he could, barely making out the constant thumping. "And what the fuck are those disgusting things doing in here?" he growled as he noticed emerald green vines covering the ceiling right above his bed. But as soon as the words left his mouth, so did the vines leave his room.

Miroku, Sango and Kagome followed him in. "What things?" Sango asked.

"Never mind, they're gone now anyway!" Inuyasha said, brushing the vines to the back of his mind.

Kagome walked to stand right beside the hanyou, "IT'S ONLY LOUDER IN HERE!"

Inuyasha jumped from the sudden intrusion upon his eardrums, "YOU DON'T HAVE TO YELL!"

Kagome gave him a sympathetic look, "Sorry!"

Sango walked up to the two, "I'm gonna yell now, okay?" When Inuyasha put his hands over his sensitive ears, "DO YOU KNOW WHERE IT'S COMING FROM?"

Kagome looked around the violently pulsing room. Her eyes settled on the bed and without thinking, she started to stumble towards it. Seeing how pathetic she looked, Inuyasha decided to steady her by holding her arm. Kagome looked up at him, "Thanks!"

Inuyasha smiled back.

Miroku looked at Sango and pointed at the two. 'I think they like each other!' he mouthed.

'I think so too,' Sango mouthed back with a smile and a nod.

Kagome and Inuyasha finally reached the side of the bed that Kagome was sleeping on just an hour ago. Kagome started to kneel down while Inuyasha kept trying to steady her so she wouldn't hit her head or fall down too hard.

Realizing that Kagome meant to look under the mattress, Inuyasha immediately lifted it up. And no sooner that that had been done, the thumping and pulsing stopped completely, leaving a very dizzy Kagome.

Once she regained her composure, Kagome reached under the bed and pulled out the object of her misery. "THAT BAKA HID IT HERE?!" yelled Inuyasha as his golden eyes rested on a familiar sword hilt and sheath in Kagome's slender hands. "I'M GONNA FUCKING KILL HIM!"

Sango and Miroku ran to see why he was so upset. "Looks like it was right under your nose the whole time!" teased Miroku. This earned him a swift kick in the knee.

~**~

A/N: Yay, another chappy done! And I hope you're all happy! Cause I had typed this part yesterday and then had to go to work...and at work I practically killed one of my fingers! So I finished typing this with a half-dead finger just so's you people would be happy! But hey, at least it's done now! Oh and I was thinking of starting a new ficcy, so if anyone thinks I should do it...feel free to tell me in your review! Here's the idea that I have so far: Cursed in the Depths of Loneliness: (AU, Pairings not in stone yet, Rated R.) What if you were cursed? I mean really cursed! You could see, hear, and feel everyone around you, but they can't do the same to you. And the hitch is that you HAVE to live forever just as you are in a curse that would last for who knows how long! Wouldn't life be just...torment? Well, that's what happened to one Kagome Higurashi. I'd LOVE to hear if you'd like to read it! And I'm even thinking that I might have the first chappy ready by Halloween, but I'm making no promises! Anywho, please remember to review and tell me what you think! Bye for now!

KrysTheAngel

October 2003

And Sorry again for the Late Update!