BACKGROUND: Read the 1st chapter.
SETTING: As you enter upon this, the second, chapter, it is early morning (about 2 or 3'o'clock a.m.) in a fairly small clearing in one of the random dark forests found scattered about the Inuyasha universe. The only things that are visible are the faint outlines of the treetops and a smoldering pile of logs burning in the middle of the clearing, which used to be a weak fire, lit by Kagome in a desperate attempt to feel some warmth. Also, one would be able to faintly make out the outline of Kagome, who is not only feeling physically cold and drained, but emotionally as well, dozing lightly in a red sleeping bag on the short grass about two yards from the fire. Her yellow backpack, appearing a strange gray color in the enveloping darkness, lays inches from her head, and her bow and quiver of arrows are held loosely in one hand. She had been wandering for about two or three hours before coming upon a shallow river, washing herself and her clothes in it, then settling down for the night.
Disclaimer: As you are all aware of, the wonderful and brilliant Rumiko Takahashi retains all rights to the "InuYasha" characters. I own none of them (though Fluffy resides in my heart...) and do not wish to be sued, nor would it be beneficial to anyone to sue me, for I haven't any money.
"What a night..." Kagome said to herself as she rolled onto her back and brought the back of her hand to rest on her forehead. As she stared up at the sleek black sky, littered with small glowing orbs, she thought out loud, "I know I need rest, but...but...this is just unbearable! Every time I close my eyes, he's there. I can't stand dreaming of him – reliving all of these memories before I have time to sort out what just happened!" Positive that she would not be getting any more sleep that night, Kagome closed her eyes and let out a frustrated groan as she slowly brought herself to a sitting position and stared at the ground inches from the foot of her sleeping bag. In an attempt to get into lighter spirits, she tried changing the subject on her mind, "Wow, I'm really hungry." She laughed nervously and added, "I guess going without dinner'll do that to ya'," before reaching behind her and pulling out a graham cracker from her pack to munch on.
"Woo, it's cold!" Kagome shoved the rest of the cracker into her mouth, rubbed her hands free of crumbs, and reluctantly pulled out of her sleeping bag to rekindle the fire. As she crouched there poking the embers with a stick, her mind wandered back to the Inuyasha situation. *I can't believe he would choose Kikyo! I mean, sure, he didn't actually say that he chose her, but I saw the look in his eyes! It's the same look I probably have when I look at him...* Kagome set the stick down and plopped down on the ground in front of the slowly growing fire, hugging her knees to her chest. *How could you do this to me, Inuyasha? Don't you remember? There were so many times that I stuck up for you, so many times that I cared for you when no one else did. And now – now that Naraku is gone and we finally could have been together...now that I need you most, you...and her...* "Oh, Inuyasha!" She cried in dismay before burying her head in her knees and crying herself to sleep.
"Inuyasha!!!! We have to go look for Kagome!" Shippo yelled in the half- demon's fuzzy ear.
"Feh! She left of her own free will! We're better off without that stupid girl hanging around us all the time, anyway," Inuyasha responded indifferently and waved his right hand in a dismissive manner. Then a dreamy look came over his face and he added, with much less of an edge to his voice, "Besides...we've got Kikyo here. She can see the jewel shards and she's a lot stronger than Kagome could ever hope to be!"
"Ugh! You stupid jerk! How can you say that?" Shippo retorted, receiving a harsh smack on the back of the head, which sent him flying to the other end of Kaede's hut.
"Yeah, that's right, you heard me. Having Kikyo here is loads better than having Kagome always whining that her 'clothes got bloody'! No more having to save her from Sesshomaru or whatever other demon decides to attack her, no more constantly stopping to rest every two hours or having to carry her on my back, and, best of all, NO MORE 'SIT'!" Inuyasha put his hands behind his head, closed his eyes thoughtfully, and smiled. *Aaaahh...life without Kagome will be good...* Sure, he hadn't been sure about his choice at first, but now he was. Or so he thought before Miroku brought him back to reality.
"And no more long walks through the forest with just the two of you, no more soft, tender loving care for the injuries you're so prone to, no one to bring you back to your senses when you transform. No more defending and comforting you when you get really down on yourself, no more loving and crying for you and accepting the fact that you're half demon, which Kikyo, by the way, didn't do, no more..."
"OKAY! Geesh, I get it. But none of you understand. Kagome's always doing this to me, to us! She'll go crying to her mommy in the future and make me feel all guilty just because she got a little mad!"
It was Sango's turn to cut in, "Actually, Inuyasha, we do understand a whole lot better than you think! Kagome has every excuse to get mad and make you feel guilty! You've told her so many times to 'stay with you', and she has, though why, I can't quite see! She's taken more than her share of abuse from you, but instead of getting pissed off and killing you with her arrows, the most Kagome ever does is 'sit' you, which you recover quickly from and we all know it doesn't leave any lasting injuries!" By that point, Sango, in her anger, had stood up and was standing over Inuyasha (who was looking shocked at hearing Sango say 'pissed'), fists clenched, looking like steam should be coming from her ears. Unfortunately, Miroku happened to be sitting across from Inuyasha...so if Sango's face was to Inuyasha...
"HENTAI!!!" She shouted and whirled around to slap Miroku, whose face, once again, took on that goofy look of "it was worth it". With that, she stomped out of the hut looking very harassed. For what seemed like hours but was really only a few minutes, Miroku and Inuyasha sat in an uncomfortable silence (Shippo was in the corner pouting) until Miroku decided to follow Sango out of the hut. This left poor Shippo alone with the angry dog.
"What are you looking at?!"
"EEP! Please don't hurt me!"
The monk found the demon exterminator sitting by the river in her kimono- and-skirt combination, staring at the reflection of the sunset off the water. He stood by a tree behind her, knowing there was no need to announce his presence; with her trained senses, she should easily be able to recognize that he was there.
He was right. After a brief silence, Sango's quiet voice reached his ears, sounding scared and unsure, "She will come back, right? Kagome is my best friend..."
That was Miroku's cue to slowly approach and sit next to her on the riverbank. "Of course. After all, she always has."
"Yes, but...this time...it feels different..."
"Don't worry. You know how Kagome is. She wouldn't leave any of us without at least a goodbye. You and I are her friends, Shippo looks to her as a mother figure, and Inuyasha..." He let his sentence trail off. "Well, you know how that is," he chuckled.
Sango turned her head to look at the young man to the right of her *Despite all his clowning around, he's so kind-hearted.* "Thanks, Miroku." She blushed slightly and smiled.
"You're welcome, Sa-"he gasped in surprise. She had scooted closer to him and was now resting her head on his shoulder, with her hand on his arm. *Now this is new...and it's a nice improvement from 'hentai'!* He put his right hand on the back of her head to stroke her hair, and like that they stayed for quite a while.
"Ack! HENTAI!"
"I just couldn't resist," a twitching Miroku sighed from his spot sprawled on the ground.
Sango just shook her head and sighed sadly as she rose to return to the cabin. *When will he learn?*
Kikyo watched from her spot in the expansive field of wild flowers and herbs. *What ridiculous fools...Unfortunately, those ridiculous fools are all standing between my goal and me: Inuyasha. Every time he starts to forget that nonsensical little girl, they try to convince him that he still needs her.* She bent to examine an herb, then picked it, twirled it in her fingers inches from her face, and set it with utmost care into her basket. *I do believe I'll have to do something soon about these friends of his. But I can't kill them myself – he will become angry and retaliate against me, and then I'll never get what I want. However, that doesn't mean they can't be killed by someone else...perhaps an old friend of mine...*
A/N: To those who reviewed my first chapter: thank you SOOOO much!!! This is my first fic and I was afraid no one would like it. I tried to put a little Mir/San in there, hope you liked it. As requested, this will be an Inu/Kag fic (hahaha, Sesshy-chan is mine, all mine I tell you! *cough*), and I will try to put more of Kagome in chapter 3. Sorry about the run-on sentences...that's just me having too many ideas. Please REVIEW!
-It seems I've been hit with a sudden wave of creativity, for I am concurrently working on an original fiction story, the ideas for which have been swimming around my head for weeks if not months. It's an angst-filled shounen-ai (very sweet though – not lemon, just true love and loss) about two demons. One of the demons was killed a long time ago and the other one has been cold and alone ever since. When the living one has the chance to go back in time to see his love, will he be able to prevent his beloved from returning his feelings in order to save his life, or will he succumb to the loneliness and have to watch the death again? Kind of confusing, I know, but I think the story is pretty well written (less run-on sentences than this one, lol) and I personally like it.
A big thanks to cody_wyze for explaining to me the difference between yaoi & shounen-ai!
SETTING: As you enter upon this, the second, chapter, it is early morning (about 2 or 3'o'clock a.m.) in a fairly small clearing in one of the random dark forests found scattered about the Inuyasha universe. The only things that are visible are the faint outlines of the treetops and a smoldering pile of logs burning in the middle of the clearing, which used to be a weak fire, lit by Kagome in a desperate attempt to feel some warmth. Also, one would be able to faintly make out the outline of Kagome, who is not only feeling physically cold and drained, but emotionally as well, dozing lightly in a red sleeping bag on the short grass about two yards from the fire. Her yellow backpack, appearing a strange gray color in the enveloping darkness, lays inches from her head, and her bow and quiver of arrows are held loosely in one hand. She had been wandering for about two or three hours before coming upon a shallow river, washing herself and her clothes in it, then settling down for the night.
Disclaimer: As you are all aware of, the wonderful and brilliant Rumiko Takahashi retains all rights to the "InuYasha" characters. I own none of them (though Fluffy resides in my heart...) and do not wish to be sued, nor would it be beneficial to anyone to sue me, for I haven't any money.
"What a night..." Kagome said to herself as she rolled onto her back and brought the back of her hand to rest on her forehead. As she stared up at the sleek black sky, littered with small glowing orbs, she thought out loud, "I know I need rest, but...but...this is just unbearable! Every time I close my eyes, he's there. I can't stand dreaming of him – reliving all of these memories before I have time to sort out what just happened!" Positive that she would not be getting any more sleep that night, Kagome closed her eyes and let out a frustrated groan as she slowly brought herself to a sitting position and stared at the ground inches from the foot of her sleeping bag. In an attempt to get into lighter spirits, she tried changing the subject on her mind, "Wow, I'm really hungry." She laughed nervously and added, "I guess going without dinner'll do that to ya'," before reaching behind her and pulling out a graham cracker from her pack to munch on.
"Woo, it's cold!" Kagome shoved the rest of the cracker into her mouth, rubbed her hands free of crumbs, and reluctantly pulled out of her sleeping bag to rekindle the fire. As she crouched there poking the embers with a stick, her mind wandered back to the Inuyasha situation. *I can't believe he would choose Kikyo! I mean, sure, he didn't actually say that he chose her, but I saw the look in his eyes! It's the same look I probably have when I look at him...* Kagome set the stick down and plopped down on the ground in front of the slowly growing fire, hugging her knees to her chest. *How could you do this to me, Inuyasha? Don't you remember? There were so many times that I stuck up for you, so many times that I cared for you when no one else did. And now – now that Naraku is gone and we finally could have been together...now that I need you most, you...and her...* "Oh, Inuyasha!" She cried in dismay before burying her head in her knees and crying herself to sleep.
"Inuyasha!!!! We have to go look for Kagome!" Shippo yelled in the half- demon's fuzzy ear.
"Feh! She left of her own free will! We're better off without that stupid girl hanging around us all the time, anyway," Inuyasha responded indifferently and waved his right hand in a dismissive manner. Then a dreamy look came over his face and he added, with much less of an edge to his voice, "Besides...we've got Kikyo here. She can see the jewel shards and she's a lot stronger than Kagome could ever hope to be!"
"Ugh! You stupid jerk! How can you say that?" Shippo retorted, receiving a harsh smack on the back of the head, which sent him flying to the other end of Kaede's hut.
"Yeah, that's right, you heard me. Having Kikyo here is loads better than having Kagome always whining that her 'clothes got bloody'! No more having to save her from Sesshomaru or whatever other demon decides to attack her, no more constantly stopping to rest every two hours or having to carry her on my back, and, best of all, NO MORE 'SIT'!" Inuyasha put his hands behind his head, closed his eyes thoughtfully, and smiled. *Aaaahh...life without Kagome will be good...* Sure, he hadn't been sure about his choice at first, but now he was. Or so he thought before Miroku brought him back to reality.
"And no more long walks through the forest with just the two of you, no more soft, tender loving care for the injuries you're so prone to, no one to bring you back to your senses when you transform. No more defending and comforting you when you get really down on yourself, no more loving and crying for you and accepting the fact that you're half demon, which Kikyo, by the way, didn't do, no more..."
"OKAY! Geesh, I get it. But none of you understand. Kagome's always doing this to me, to us! She'll go crying to her mommy in the future and make me feel all guilty just because she got a little mad!"
It was Sango's turn to cut in, "Actually, Inuyasha, we do understand a whole lot better than you think! Kagome has every excuse to get mad and make you feel guilty! You've told her so many times to 'stay with you', and she has, though why, I can't quite see! She's taken more than her share of abuse from you, but instead of getting pissed off and killing you with her arrows, the most Kagome ever does is 'sit' you, which you recover quickly from and we all know it doesn't leave any lasting injuries!" By that point, Sango, in her anger, had stood up and was standing over Inuyasha (who was looking shocked at hearing Sango say 'pissed'), fists clenched, looking like steam should be coming from her ears. Unfortunately, Miroku happened to be sitting across from Inuyasha...so if Sango's face was to Inuyasha...
"HENTAI!!!" She shouted and whirled around to slap Miroku, whose face, once again, took on that goofy look of "it was worth it". With that, she stomped out of the hut looking very harassed. For what seemed like hours but was really only a few minutes, Miroku and Inuyasha sat in an uncomfortable silence (Shippo was in the corner pouting) until Miroku decided to follow Sango out of the hut. This left poor Shippo alone with the angry dog.
"What are you looking at?!"
"EEP! Please don't hurt me!"
The monk found the demon exterminator sitting by the river in her kimono- and-skirt combination, staring at the reflection of the sunset off the water. He stood by a tree behind her, knowing there was no need to announce his presence; with her trained senses, she should easily be able to recognize that he was there.
He was right. After a brief silence, Sango's quiet voice reached his ears, sounding scared and unsure, "She will come back, right? Kagome is my best friend..."
That was Miroku's cue to slowly approach and sit next to her on the riverbank. "Of course. After all, she always has."
"Yes, but...this time...it feels different..."
"Don't worry. You know how Kagome is. She wouldn't leave any of us without at least a goodbye. You and I are her friends, Shippo looks to her as a mother figure, and Inuyasha..." He let his sentence trail off. "Well, you know how that is," he chuckled.
Sango turned her head to look at the young man to the right of her *Despite all his clowning around, he's so kind-hearted.* "Thanks, Miroku." She blushed slightly and smiled.
"You're welcome, Sa-"he gasped in surprise. She had scooted closer to him and was now resting her head on his shoulder, with her hand on his arm. *Now this is new...and it's a nice improvement from 'hentai'!* He put his right hand on the back of her head to stroke her hair, and like that they stayed for quite a while.
"Ack! HENTAI!"
"I just couldn't resist," a twitching Miroku sighed from his spot sprawled on the ground.
Sango just shook her head and sighed sadly as she rose to return to the cabin. *When will he learn?*
Kikyo watched from her spot in the expansive field of wild flowers and herbs. *What ridiculous fools...Unfortunately, those ridiculous fools are all standing between my goal and me: Inuyasha. Every time he starts to forget that nonsensical little girl, they try to convince him that he still needs her.* She bent to examine an herb, then picked it, twirled it in her fingers inches from her face, and set it with utmost care into her basket. *I do believe I'll have to do something soon about these friends of his. But I can't kill them myself – he will become angry and retaliate against me, and then I'll never get what I want. However, that doesn't mean they can't be killed by someone else...perhaps an old friend of mine...*
A/N: To those who reviewed my first chapter: thank you SOOOO much!!! This is my first fic and I was afraid no one would like it. I tried to put a little Mir/San in there, hope you liked it. As requested, this will be an Inu/Kag fic (hahaha, Sesshy-chan is mine, all mine I tell you! *cough*), and I will try to put more of Kagome in chapter 3. Sorry about the run-on sentences...that's just me having too many ideas. Please REVIEW!
-It seems I've been hit with a sudden wave of creativity, for I am concurrently working on an original fiction story, the ideas for which have been swimming around my head for weeks if not months. It's an angst-filled shounen-ai (very sweet though – not lemon, just true love and loss) about two demons. One of the demons was killed a long time ago and the other one has been cold and alone ever since. When the living one has the chance to go back in time to see his love, will he be able to prevent his beloved from returning his feelings in order to save his life, or will he succumb to the loneliness and have to watch the death again? Kind of confusing, I know, but I think the story is pretty well written (less run-on sentences than this one, lol) and I personally like it.
A big thanks to cody_wyze for explaining to me the difference between yaoi & shounen-ai!