Title: Curses
By: Queen Beryl
@---^---Thank youall my reviewers *sobs* You guys are awesome! In one day I got 18 reviews! 18! I couldn't believe it! I mean, it's just completely amazing. Thank you so much!
*Stuffs Inu-Yasha and Co. in closet* Okay, I don't OWN them, but I currently am hiding them! Muahahaha!
Chapter Two: A Flea's Wisdom
"Well?!" Kagome demanded impatiently, glaring down at the flea-youkai. The old flea leaned back, a few sizes bigger than he normally was.
"Patience is a virtue." Myoga rolled onto his back, closing his eyes, contented.
"A virtue which I lack. Tell me now or I'll hurt you." Kagome narrowed her eyes menacingly. Myoga struggled with gravity until he was finally in sitting position.
"Inuyasha was indeed struck by that youkai's stinger. That specific water youkai is very powerful. It's only weakness is females. Inuyasha was lucky you were there to save him." Myoga nodded respectfully to Kagome before continuing. "The 'poison' that the demon released wasn't exactly poison. It was a certain chemical commonly known as Hitokoe. It's what... it's, well, more like a curse."
"A what?" Sango asked, scooting closer.
"A curse. Until this chemical wears out, if it ever does, or a cure is found... Inuyasha will not be able to speak." Myoga concluded in quite a serious tone. Miroku immediately burst out in riotous laughter.
"This... this is hilarious!" Miroku managed between laughs. Shippo giggled.
"Now he can't yell at us anymore!"
"Hey, Shippo's right!" Sango realized with delight. "No cursing, no foul remarks, nothing!"
"Now that everything is under control, would you mind taking me back?" Kaede addressed Sango warmly, a smile lighting the one-eyed woman's face.
"Oh, oh yes, of course. Shippo, wanna come?"
"Sure!" The little brown kitsune piped up ecstatically. Kaede always had paper and crayons.... The three climbed up onto Kirara and rose in the dark night sky for the second time. Myoga seemed to have disappeared, even though he should have been easier to spot, being filled with Inuyasha's blood, but he was nowhere in sight.
"Well, I'm going to sleep. If you need anything, just ask, alright?" Miroku scooted off a bit and leaned against one of the surrounding trees. "Night."
"Mmm. Good night, Miroku." Kagome turned back to Inuyasha, ignoring her numbly tingling legs. "I wonder what you'll want to say when you find out in the morning..." Kagome mused, a slight smile on her face.
& * & Kagome shivered slightly and scooted closer to the warmth of the fire. She only woke up completely when the fire wrapped an arm protectively around her wait. Kagome's eyes shot open in the very early dawn and came face-to-face with the sleeping silver-haired hanyou. In actuality, the fire had long since died and it was Inuyasha's body heat that kept Kagome warm. She would've yelled out 'sit,' but decided against it, remembering what had made her fall asleep by the fire instead of in her sleeping bag with Shippo. She tried to remove Inuyasha's arms, but to no avail; his grip was too strong, even in sleep. Kagome gave up and looked around; everyone was still asleep. Kagome put her head back down and closed her eyes. Perhaps things will be more normal later...
It couldn't have been more than ten minutes later when Kagome felt a tug on her stomach. She opened her eyes and looked down to find Inuyasha's hand still in place. She realized that instead of facing him like she was before, they were now partly in a spooning position. Kagome immediately blushed and tried to get up. His grip had loosened just enough for her to escape, sit up, and stretch. A sound of rustling leaves reached Kagome's ears, and she followed the sound until her eyes landed on the awaking Shippo.
Good thing I sat up before he was us asleep like that. Kagome almost cringed at the thought.
"Morning, Kagome!" He whispered loudly.
"Good morning." Kagome's voice was deep with sleep. Sango and Miroku awakened within moments.
"Where's Myoga?" Shippo asked, looking around.
"I'm here." An older voice called from Kirara's general direction. "Is Inuyasha still asleep? He must have taken too much poison in his human form." Shippo ran over, leapt onto Kagome's lap and poked the sleeping boy. A growl emanated from him, and he sat up.
"Are you alright, Inuyasha?" Shippo asked. Inuyasha glared.
"Shippo, he can't talk." Sango smiled and held out her hands for the kitsune. He would be safer the farther away he was from Inuyasha.
"Was Inuyasha-sama awake last night when I told the story?" Myoga asked wisely. Last night he'd noticed Inuyasha hardly move save it was for shallow breathing during the entire telling of the story.
Inuyasha folded his arms into his sleeves and nodded just before looking away. Kagome sighed and turned to Myoga who was sitting on Shippo's shoulder.
"So a cure has yet to be found?" Kagome asked, recalling last night's conversation.
Myoga nodded sadly. "Inuyasha-sama may be forced to remain speechless until his death. The Hitokoe will not disintegrate over time. I did some more research last night, and I discovered it remains in the victim's system until it is cured. Unfortunately, I could not discover what the cure was." Miroku and Sango promptly chuckled. Inuyasha just glared some more, his ears twitching slightly in frustration. Kagome remained expressionless. She decided it would be less hurtful to Inuyasha if somebody didn't laugh.
"So what do we do, then?" Kagome asked, adjusting her sitting position so she was more comfortable.
"Well, I guess we can search for a cure... sometime in the near future..." Miroku laughed.
"Near future? I mean, do we have to search for one at all?" Sango asked, snickering. Inuyasha scowled furiously.
& * & Inu-Yasha's POV [Point Of View] / TP [Thought Process] & * & Of all the unfair things that would happen to me... I had to lose the ability to speak. If that wasn't the worst thing, everyone seems to agree it's for the best. I wasn't that bad of a person, was I? All I did was try to get the Shikon shard. Kagome ended up bailing me out while I was in my human form. How embarrassing. Then I just collapsed. I fainted! Oh, how frail the mortal body is. If I couldn't even protect myself, how could I protect Kagome? Wait... why am I worrying about that? I did back then, too. I only worried about Kagome being safe from that water youkai. My own life didn't mean a thing back then. Why? Why was it so freakin' important to me that she was safe and protected? Why should I even care? It's just Kagome! Jeez...
& * & Normal POV & * & "Come on, you guys, let's eat something." Kagome quickly steered the topic of conversation over to the group's empty stomachs. "Miroku, can you get more wood? Sango, help him... he'll get lost."
"What?" Miroku protested, pausing as he exited the small clearing.
"She's right you know. You get sidetracked too easily. And if you even think of touching me, I'll be forced to rip your hand off. Both of them." Sango stalked off, a sulking monk behind her.
"Kagome," Myoga's voice piped up as Inuyasha began digging in Kagome's bag for packets of ramen. That, he thought, had to cheer him up, if just a little.
"Yes, Myoga?" Kagome sat back, stretching her legs out and yawning.
"I'm afraid I must be going for a few days, I'll search some more about any information on a cure for Inuyasha's sickness. Will you be okay until I return?"
"Inuyasha won't hurt me will he?" Kagome asked, wondering why the flea-youkai inquired if she would be okay. Inuyasha's movements slowed and his ears perked up, hanging onto the conversation for dear life.
"Probably not." Came the unreassuringly answer.
"What do you mean?"
"Hitokoe also messes with your psyche. Not being able to speak when you normally do, it destroys something. Many youkais who have gotten this disease before have gone... well, not exactly insane, but very, very hostile. They lose sight of what is proper and all reason goes out the window. Just... be careful." Myoga explained, clasping two pairs of hands in front of him.
Kagome thought for a moment and nodded. The ancient flea disappeared, hopping off into the tall, unmanageable grass. Inuyasha was still frozen in place. I might hurt her? I'd never! Not Kagome. Never....
"You all right, Inuyasha?" Kagome asked, hearing the crunching footsteps of the other two humans coming closer. Kagome looked around and wondered where Shippo had run off to.
Inuyasha turned to her, clutching a bag of ramen. He nodded and sauntered over, thrusting the package of noodles at her.
"Ramen for breakfast, Inuyasha?" Kagome raised and eyebrow and decided to humor him. After all, he'd just lost his voice... one of the things he just couldn't live without.
I hope you liked chapter 2! Please review it! I decided that to much of the demand of my wonderful reviewers, I'd include Inu-Yasha's POV because it's awesome! ^_^; Actually, I had sorta thought about writing a lot of Inu's thoughts, but his POV is so much better! I'll definitely put more of his POV in future chapters, too!
demented-squrriel: Hey, that's totally awesome! I wanna read it when you post it up!!
[And thank you everyone else for your awesome, uplifting comments!]
By: Queen Beryl
@---^---
Chapter Two: A Flea's Wisdom
& * &
& * & Inu-Yasha's POV [Point Of View] / TP [Thought Process] & * &
& * & Normal POV & * &
Japanese Word Translations: & :
Hitokoe: "A voice" and Youkai: "Demon"
