-AN: Chapter Three is up! Enjoy!
My Perfect Guy By The Mediocre One
Chapter 3:
Kagome screamed again, her voice reaching the peak of its height. Then, as if she'd managed to compose herself for a second, she stopped and stared at Inuyasha before swooping down to grab her pack from the ground.
"Who are you? And what have you done with Inuyasha?" she asked through narrowed eyes, her backpack positioned threateningly at her side.
Inuyasha was bewildered. Kagome acting the way he'd imagined and Kagome acting the way she was did not match up. He had expected a different sort of expression on her face—not the hostile "DANGER! DANGER!" look, but rather, the dreamy "I'm Heads-Over-Heels" mode. To put it simply, he had expected her to fall in love with him immediately.
Like that was going to happen.
First of all, Kagome was looking nowhere near dazed or hypnotized. On the contrary, she seemed ready to attack him with her bag at any sign of movement. Love? To hell with that. She was like one millionth of a percent in love with him at the moment.
Reality was so cruel.
He hadn't let Miroku dress him like this for her hostile attitude— that much he was sure of. (Miroku had insisted that his studies showed that the clothes were those of the latest fashion in Kagome's time).
"Darling," he tried again, using the word Miroku had forced into his vocabulary, but winced when he saw Kagome's backpack come a threatening inch off the ground. He abruptly stopped and took a hesitant step toward her, and was rewarded with a glare.
"Oy, Kagome! It's me, Inuyasha!" he shouted desperately, allowing his old self to resurface for a brief moment. He felt his heart leap hopefully as Kagome's face lost some of its hostility.
"Inuyasha? It's really you?" Inuyasha's sudden outburst had brought a surprised glimmer to her eyes. She continued to stare at him in a somewhat dazed state, as if memorized by his face.
Inuyasha felt a smirk spreading across his face as his former arrogance came back to him. Now that Kagome realized that he was Inuyasha, his new look could begin its work on her—giving her no choice but to fall in love with him. A smile played upon his lips as she took a timid step towards him. Her eyes were fastened intently on him; her mouth was upturned in adoration. Heh, Inuyasha mused, --getting her to fall in love was a piece of cake.
"Inuyasha…"
He bit down to hide a laugh. Why, she was already breathless for hi—
"SIT!"
CRASH.
"Y—you wenc--!!" Inuyasha sputtered angrily as he struggled to block the curses that were on brink of exploding. Girls, he thought crossly. One moment they're ready to hug you—the next, they cause you bodily harm.
His sullen face failed to faze Kagome, whose own face was now the epitome of delight. "Oh! So it is you, Inuyasha!" she gasped out, not noticing Inuyasha's gloomy aura.
Instead, she plopped down next to him and stretched her arms out in her usual, Kagome-ish way. "Sorry for that," she smiled apologetically. "I wasn't sure—you know, with that new look and all."
Inuyasha wasn't sure whether he was supposed to frown or be happy about that last comment. He stared at Kagome as she kept blabbering on as if nothing had happened. She kept the nonstop chatter about her day going, making little hand motions here and there to add drama, when suddenly in the middle of a thorough explanation on her breakfast, she stopped and looked at Inuyasha, her forehead creased.
Inuyasha, who had managed to calm down and had been drowsily listening to her, looked up in surprise as Kagome's head suddenly leaned an inch closer to his. Instinctively, his own head moved back a little—in case it was an accident on her part and all, but apparently it wasn't, as her head advanced forward again.
They were now only a mere half-inch apart.
Inuyasha could feel Kagome's eyes studying his own with intense concentration, her gaze drifting over him. Was it possible that she was going to---no, it couldn't be. Or could it? The question reran through his mind as her head tilted upwards, so that her lips were at an angle with his. She was going to kiss him, Inuyasha thought with a sudden quirk of thrill. It would mean the whole freaking end to this tiresome charade as a so-called gentleman—and maybe even more?
The contours of her face were becoming increasingly magnified as she bent closer and closer. His heart raced, faster and faster, in eager anticipation of the inevitable.
"Inuyasha," she whispered in a husky pitch that made Inuyasha shiver, "WHAT ON EARTH IS THAT SMELL?"
Inuyasha (who had been busying himself with optimistic thoughts) felt his ears completely devastated by the unexpected shout/shriek.
"The smell?" He asked, confused and somewhat disappointed in spite of his many continuous denials that Kagome was anything more than a friend. But still…
"Yes, the SMELL. What is it?"
Bewildered, Inuyasha gave himself the once-over. "Oh, that," he said carelessly and at the same time, relieved. "It's just Aroma du Sweat." He couldn't help but smirk at Kagome's sudden look of wondrous disbelief. "Miroku lent it to me. He said that the miraculous human perspiration—whatever that is, would help enhance my manliness."
Kagome nodded slowly, with a seemingly strange smile plastered across her face. "So you say that Miroku helped you out, hm?" Her voice was sugary—one would say almost too sweet.
(But sadly, our beloved hanyou did not detect that edge in her tone. He only knew that Kagome was falling deeply in love with him and rapidly falling out of love with her devious, over possessive "boyfriend" with every passing second.)
At this, Inuyasha could barely contain his glee at Kagome's sudden interest in him. She was so lapping up his gentleman-act. Never mind that "sit" from a few moments before; that had just been a tiny fluke. Kagome was definitely captivated by him. Miroku had been right—that perspiration thing had done the trick, even though he had no idea what it was. It might smell funny, but it did the trick. Only three minutes and Kagome was already close to swooning.
Oh, really? His inner conscience argued.
You don't believe me? Inuyasha retorted back slyly. She's sitting right next to me and practically lapping up everything I say.
Eager to prove his point, Inuyasha turned around to look at Kagome, ready for more fawning. His mouth dropped open.
She was gone.
The wind whistled across the open space where she had been sitting. Inuyasha rubbed his eyes to make sure that he wasn't hallucinating.
Nope. She was really gone.
Inuyasha whirled around frantically, his eyes scanning the scene until they stopped on a pair of fresh footprints left in the mud.
"She's not making this easy," Inuyasha hissed through gritted teeth in a very un-gentlemanly way. Ignoring his taunting inner self's "I told you so's," the hanyou stomped off through the forest, weaving through shrubs and fallen leaves, chasing the girl that, if things had gone as planned, was supposed to be chasing him.
--
"Where is Miroku?" Kagome demanded crisply the moment she arrived at the village campground.
"He's roasting the snakes and eels for dinner." Sango absently replied, in the midst of polishing her Hirakotsu with a scrap of cloth. "Why?"
Easy, Kagome fumed inwardly. He was going to tell her how he transformed Inuyasha into a total wack-job, and where he'd gotten all those materials from. Suits and Cologne du Sweat? She hadn't even realized that Miroku spoke foreign languages!
Not hearing an answer, Sango looked up from her chore, and noticing the furious expression and rapidly twitching nerve on her friend's forehead, worriedly asked, "He didn't grope you or anything, right? Because if he did, I'll—"
"No, no," Kagome interrupted, her eyes still cast in a dangerous angle. "It's about Inuyasha."
"Inuyasha?" Sango inquired, a puzzled look forming on her features. She turned to Kagome, who was already starting toward the campfire. "Don't tell me that our infamous houshi has converted the hanyou to holy Pervert-ism."
"It's worse," Kagome shouted back, her tone blunt. "You'll see."
"What?" Her reply only served to make Sango even more confused, but Kagome had already disappeared from view. Sango shrugged and returned to the polishing, though her mind was still brooding on the matter. "But I thought that—"
Her sentence was abruptly cut off as a familiar looking hanyou in strange garb whooshed before her, trailing the path that Kagome had taken.
"Oh my…," Sango sucked in her breath, her eyes goggling. "Never thought I'd see that."
Pondering this with a strange look crossed across her face, she craned her head to look at a mysteriously phony-looking pair of shrubbery alongside the right.
"Now, I suppose you're behind all this, dear houshi?" she asked sarcastically, raising an eyebrow as the underbrush revealed itself to be a disheveled monk.
Miroku dropped the branches (with dead leaves rice-pasted onto it) that he'd been holding up. He brushed himself off delicately, and turned to look innocently at Sango.
"It wasn't very nice of you to suggest that I'd even think of groping Kagome," he said with a pointing finger.
"Don't change the subject, Miroku. Did you, or didn't you?"
"I don't believe I know what you're talking about. I've just been sitting here for hours—"
"And I suppose posing as foliage is without a doubt, a most fascinating hobby, I'll bet," Sango commented dryly.
"As a matter of fact, yes." Miroku did not seem to appear disturbed by Sango's accusing tone. "I was just peacefully pondering the relaxing effects of masquerading as vegetation. That is, I was, until you so blasphemously accused me of being the mastermind behind Inuyasha's new look."
"You know," Sango interrupted crisply, offhandedly holding up a suspicious looking needle and fabric with the label "Property of Miroku" tagged to it. "Kagome would be very interested to know that I found these objects hidden in the clothing of a certain monk…"
Miroku's face paled at the sight of the small collection, but his face quickly transformed into that of a wheedling expression.
"Now Sango, where'd you find those things? I'd been looking for them since they disappeared last month."
"Nice try," Sango interrupted with a smile, "but I'm not that stupid. Now tell me, did you, or didn't you?"
Miroku, seeing as his sweet-talk was going nowhere, gave a small sigh of surrender. "Okay, so I am behind all of this—but listen!" he quickly added as he caught Sango's accusing look. "Inuyasha wanted my help in making Kagome fall in love with him. So, being the expert at love that I am, I suggested that I give him a makeover. It was because of my concern for his welfare that I did what I did—sewing and weaving throughout the day's last hours."
Sango, who had stifled a snort at the last part, now looked at him with skepticism written all over her face. "So you're telling me that Inuyasha, our brash, insensitive hanyou, wants you to play matchmaker? And instead, you brainwash him into acting like some conceited noble from Kagome's time?" She gave Miroku a suspicious look. "Are you sure there isn't another purpose behind this, like oh—revenge or something like it?"
Miroku gave the appearance of being wounded. "Why, Sango! I am deeply hurt that you would think that I am capable of plotting immature schemes like that."
"Like what?" came a voice behind them.
Sango and Miroku jumped up in alarm and quickly whirled around. There stood Kagome, glowering at Miroku dangerously.
"Miro—ku…" she started, an eerie light glinting in her eyes.
"Ye-es, Kagome?" stuttered Miroku nervously, despite his efforts to remain calm.
"What did you do to—"
The group was once again interrupted by another person's appearance.
"Sweetheart!" came a vibrant cry.
Sango saw Kagome's face pale a few shades before weakly managing a feeble looking smile.
"Inuyasha…," Kagome croaked, "how nice to see you again."
Sango shook her head out of pity for her friend. Kagome seriously needed some help at acting. First off, although her friend had said "how nice to see you," her face totally proved otherwise. Not that Sango could blame her. Inuyasha in his current state wasn't really something she could stand coming face to face with after a tiring day.
Even after her quick glimpse at him earlier, it was still quite a shock to see him in "strange garb." She could now clearly understand why doom at Kagome's hands was inevitable for Miroku.
Inuyasha, seeing as Kagome was not leaping up in joy at the sight of him, tried again. "Kagome…"
The girl pretended to be deeply immersed in studying the grass beneath her feet. Forgetting his "gentlemanly" behavior, Inuyasha shot a frustrated look at Miroku— Sango observed. The monk only rolled his eyes and did a mini Pictionary demonstration, with his left arm sliding around Sango's waist. (She gave him a dirty look.) Inuyasha's mouth dropped open in shock and he looked at Miroku pleadingly. His friend only winked at him and jabbed his elbow towards Kagome's direction suggestively.
After a few moments of gathering up his courage, Inuyasha licked his lips and edged nervously towards Kagome. As soon as he was situated as close as he could get, he gave a gulp and slid his arms smoothly around Kagome's waist.
Sango saw her friend tense up as soon as contact was made, and much as she wanted the two together, the time wasn't right. It just wasn't morally correct to force two people together like that. Especially if one looked a little different from usual.
Plus, Kagome looked like she needed saving big time.
So, Sango picked up her Hirakotsu and threw it as hard as she could, wincing as it made a loud BONK against Inuyasha's head. And I just finished polishing too, she thought wistfully. Oh well, friendship was more important, after all…
Inuyasha yelped as a loud bump sprouted on his head with his hand releasing Kagome's waist in pain. "Sango!" he shouted, a stormy look crossing his eyes. "What in the seven hells was that for?"
"I was just trying to polish my boomerang-throwing skills," she carelessly replied, giving Kagome a small wink from the corner of her eye. 'Now get out of here before Inuyasha remembers you,' Sango mouthed to her friend.
Kagome gave a quick smile of gratitude to her before quietly tiptoeing away in the opposite direction. Inuyasha, who had been completely oblivious to her escape, looked at Sango suspiciously.
"What are you saying?" he asked her, his eyebrows narrowed.
Hm…the hanyou was starting to act like his grouchy old self again…should she have really helped Kagome escape? Maybe the guy really was starting to fall in love with the girl, and just couldn't help acting all strange around her.
Or maybe it was just all Miroku's brainwashing… Yep, that was it. From what she'd witnessed so far, Inuyasha wasn't the mushy type who'd confess love with flowers and choruses of 'Darlings!' He was more the kind who stuck to revealing affection through insults and rough comments.
So it was all that monk's fault that Kagome and Inuyasha were entangled in this huge mess, Sango thought, grimacing. In that case; in order to set all wrong to right, she would need Miroku to reverse the "gentleman" effect. And she had just the plan to do it…
"Oh, you were asking what I was saying?" Acting as if she felt flustered and dazed, Sango took a step toward the hanyou. "I was just murmuring to myself what a handsome dog you were," Sango continued on in an airy voice while batting her eyelashes furiously at Inuyasha. "And I was thinking that if Kagome didn't want you, I'd be sure as glad to keep you all to myself."
Inuyasha gaped. So did Miroku.
A hidden smile twitched at the corners of Sango's lips. Mission: Flirtatious Woman was off to a good start.
"You think I look good?" Inuyasha asked, his eyes surveying her in disbelief.
"Sure!" Sango took a step closer, until she was practically leaning against Inuyasha. Boy, am I acting OCC-ish, she thought dryly, but only said, "Why wouldn't I?"
The surprise drawn in Inuyasha's features became an arrogant looking smile, and he turned his head to smirk at the unbelieving monk. Miroku only blinked some more and rubbed his eyes a few dozen more times, all the while looking a little peeved.
"Sango," he started, "If I wore clothing identical to that, would you cling to me too?"
What? "NO!—I mean, it just wouldn't be the same," Sango added hastily, trying to cover her mistake. "Inuyasha just looks so dazzling and natural in this outfit, other males would dull in contrast," she drawled as she twirled a lock of Inuyasha's hair.
Inuyasha swallowed uneasily. The atmosphere around him was definitely tensing up—and not in a good way, from what it seemed. Sure, it felt good to have his ego stroked by Sango's sudden attentions. After all—what guy would turn down a chance to feel manlier than he was already? But might as he did enjoy it, the person that was the supposed object of this situation was gone. Kagome was gone.
And on top of that, Miroku didn't seem too happy at him at the moment, what with his beloved Sango literally hanging onto Inuyasha. He was looking over his way with a very scary smile on his face…
The hanyou gulped. He quickly turned to Sango, trying to remove her fingers from his shirt as fast as he could. "Listen Sango, you're a dear and everything, but I've got my sights set on other—!"
He suddenly stopped mid-sentence, and pointed his nose at the air, sniffing intently. His head snapped up, and his eyebrows deepened.
"Kagome!"
Then without a word, he bounded away, the wind whistling after him. Forgetting the situation beforehand, Sango and Miroku shared a wary look and chased after the hanyou.
--
"Oi! Kagome! I'm so glad to see you again!"
Kagome sighed, her fingers rubbing her temples—trying to alleviate the headache she'd gotten from the unrelenting day; the day she had been trying to escape.
No such luck. Once again, she found herself face-to-face with another of the male species that was currently trying to woo her into his arms with mushy phrases. Only, this was Kouga, and the phrases he used consisted of "my woman" instead of "darling."
What was it with males and their possessiveness? She was seriously getting sick with it all. Of course, she already knew that she couldn't expect anything more than the usual "you're my mate" stuff from Kouga—she had come to accept it as part of him. And ordinarily, it wouldn't have bothered her much—maybe it would've even flattered her a little, only that today, she already had more than enough of the love calls, having already received a round of it from Inuyasha.
And that was what frustrated her. One minute she thought she understood him, the next; he went all bonkers on her.
"Kouga," she began, making all effort to sound patient. "I really appreciate how much I mean to you, but today's probably not a good day to—"
"Aw, come on, Kagome. I haven't seen much of you lately, and I just wanted to see if you were doing okay with Dog-turd. Say, where is that bastard?" Kouga gave a quick glance around Kagome, then smiled when he saw nothing of the hanyou. "Oh great! Did you leave him? I always said that you were too good for him."
"Don't get your hopes up, wolf!"
Kagome groaned as she saw Inuyasha skid across the vegetation and screech to a stop right in front of them— black suit, sunglasses and all. If there had been any sort of weapon in front of her, she would've gladly put herself out of her misery.
This was going to be so embarrassing…
The yourouzoku-prince glanced at his adversary, his eyes slowly digesting the hanyou's outfit from top to bottom. His eyebrows cocked up in strange smugness and superiority, and he crossed his arms with complacency to the action.
"Now I see why you left him, Kagome. " A toothy grin revealed pointy fangs. "He's no longer manly enough for a woman like you." He finished the insult with a wink to Kagome.
But she didn't react to the yourouzoku's flirtations, only watching Inuyasha closely, wondering how the hanyou would react to the wolf's crude remarks. Kagome chewed at her bottom lip nervously and her feet tapped against the ground with perpetual motions.
Maybe Inuyasha would return to his senses, Kagome prayed. Maybe Inuyasha would start screaming that he was going to rip off Koug—
Instead, Inuyasha looked offended. "I am too manly enough! Isn't that right, Kagome?"
She could've died on the spot. Or strangle Inuyasha, for that matter. What was wrong with him? Why couldn't he just unsheathe his sword and threaten to pound Kouga to hell? She'd thought that maybe the wolf would put his mind in the right place again. But no, Inuyasha just had to start talking about his masculinity again.
She wished the word manliness never existed.
"Kagome? I am manly, right?" No answer.
Trying to force down a faint uneasiness blooming inside of him, as well as trying to avoid the smirk of a certain conceited wolf, Inuyasha hurriedly turned to look at Miroku and Sango, who'd just arrived on the scene.
"Tell them I'm manly!" It was more of a reassuring statement than a question.
"Not right now…," Miroku muttered through gritted teeth. Sango busied herself in staring at the soles of her shoes.
"Hmph," coughed the wolf, not bothering to hide his satisfied look. "If you really want to prove that you're not the wussy turd you are, then let's prove our skills with a battle."
It was a direct challenge—a challenge in which one's masculinity would be lost, and the other's masculinity proved superior. Yes, it would be a deciding battle, the pride of both riding on its outcome. The group looked at Inuyasha with apprehension rising with each moment of silence, anxiously awaiting his reply.
"Well?"
"Why can't we just settle this argument peacefully, as gentlemen would?"
There came a loud crash behind the hanyou as looks of open disbelief were exchanged, mainly between two girls and a monk. Kagome had had enough. Choosing the heaviest stone she could find, she picked it up and hurled it at the hanyou's head. "Idiot! Just DRAW YOUR SWORD!"
"B-but—"
"DO IT!"
He didn't need a third reassurance. With a quick whoosh, the Tetsusaiga stood imposingly, glinting dangerously at any who dared to oppose it. Before anyone could blink again, the fang was suddenly a silver current, sharply slicing through the air to reach its target. Swiftly, the wolf-prince dodged to the right, though not quick enough to avoid a nick at the shoulder blades.
"Hm," Kouga smirked as Inuyasha paused to catch his breath, "not bad. But you'll have to do better than that to defeat me."
Inuyasha replied with a smile, allowing a sharp fang to slide into view. "Ah…then take THIS!"
A sudden quick movement sent the Tetsusaiga back at the wolf, sweeping the ground with a strong stream of air. Kouga however, was longer settling for only the defensive; jumping to avoid the attack, he then wove around to the side until he was behind the hanyou. Just as Inuyasha swerved around to meet him, Kouga slashed him alongside the jaw, leaving bloody stripes in its place.
The hanyou swore and messily wiped the blood off his cheeks before rebounding—leaping into the air to deliver a strong blow to Kouga's leg. In return, he was rewarded with a sharp swipe to the arm that would have severed it, had he been human.
Kagome took the brawl in, watching the two fight—claw against fang. Watching Inuyasha leaping, dodging, and swerving Kouga's kicks with hard-felt slices with his sword. He looked so intent, so concentrated onto his task—so like the old Inuyasha. With his hair drifting in the wind, glinting against the bright rays of the sun, he seemed almost magical. Like a Greek god, almost. Now, if only he wasn't wearing that ridiculous looking MIB outfit… Kagome sighed.
Kouga, who had begun to notice Kagome's increased attention in their direction, decided that her intent gazes were naturally focused on himself. She was just too shy to make her intentions clear to him, Kouga decided. Just like the cute girl she was. Quickly ducking another one of Inuyasha's attacks, he turned around and waved at his "ardent admirer".
"Oy, Kagome! No need to hide your love from me!"
Kagome felt her eyebrows spring up incredulously. What love? "Eh?"
She felt the gazes of Miroku and Sango on her as well as that of the hanyou. Inuyasha…
"Such a shy person ya are, Kagome! Well, fine--," Kouga winked at her roguishly, "if you're going to deny it, how about we just settle with some kisses. Why don't you blow me some?"
Kagome was flustered. Inuyasha, on the other hand, was very near combustion. "Kouga…," the hanyou growled in a dangerously low voice, "why don't you just DIE IN HELL!" His muscles rippling, Inuyasha swung the Testusagia with a mighty thrust, throwing all his weight down on the sword. Kouga barely missed it by a millimeter.
"Oh, ho!" the wolf smirked. "So Inu-kuro finally starts playing tough, eh? Now this is way more fun." He took a confident stride toward the glaring face opposite of him. "Why don't we make it so that the victor receives a kiss from the lady?" Kouga whirled around to direct another smile at Kagome. "That way, Kagome won't have to hide her feelings any longer."
"Why don't you cut out all the crap!" Inuyasha, no longer following the chivalrous code of gentleman, instead, started towards Kouga again, directing his sword at the wolf with a quick swing. His opponent jumped and managed to avoid a second thrust at the neck.
"Inuyasha," Miroku called, in a sing-song tone. "Profanity doesn't make a gentleman!"
"Shut the hell up!" Inuyasha swore, his eyes still dangerously watching the wolf. "He's going die for THIS!" Once again, his body darted toward Kouga, his arm raised upward, the steel-fang in hand. He swerved to the left then right as Kouga attempted to land side blows on him. With a quick skid, the hanyou leaped up in the air, the Tetsusaiga raised high for the final swing, strengthened with pure anger and fury.
"Heh. Going to aim for my head, dog?" Kouga jumped up, anticipating an attack on the skull. The miscalculation cost him.
Kagome, along with the rest of the group, watched in wide-eyed shock as the wolf prince leaped, his legs utterly defenseless as Inuyasha suddenly dropped down and swung. She watched in silent horror as the fang cut the flesh, a silver blur jutting in, releasing pools of blood that fell like rain. Kouga's back arched in, his face writhing with a terrible expression of pain across on his face. Time seemed to stop before he finally collapsed onto the ground, rivers of blood seeping from his legs.
Kagome didn't realize that she was shaking until she tried standing up, her legs wobbling under her. She was forced to fall back down, with her hand stretched out toward the direction of the hanyou. "Inuyasha…" He didn't answer her. His back was still facing them, the wolf-prince gasping at his feet.
She tried again, this time, managing to succeed at standing up. She silently made her way around the others to Inuyasha, stopping when she was some feet from him. He hadn't moved; his face still cast in shadows and his face tilting down.
Kagome hesitated before stepping forward, not noticing that her hand shook as she placed it on Inuyasha's shoulder. "Inuyasha…" she said softly.
Suddenly, he was facing her, his face darkly twisted in a medley of self-loathe and deep frustration. His hands were on her shoulders, his claws digging into her flesh in desperation. But she could only notice his face—how alone and painful it looked.
"Inuya--"
"You hate me now, right?" His words were harsh, sharply woven with hostility. "Not a gentleman…nothing but a beast. Too damn worthless to be anything else." The last words were spat out, meant to hurt. Inuyasha's mouth curved into a bitter smile, "Isn't that right, Kagome?"
She could only look at him, her eyes threatening to brim over. He stared at her for a second; then roughly pushed her away from him, hastily making his way towards the woods' interior. He didn't look back at her, only moving forward, moving forward until he was only a faint spot in the darkness of the forest.
"I…" She struggled to say, but her throat seemed constricted in foreshadow of tears. She stopped. But the tears came anyway, one following another as they made wet streams across her face. "I…" She tried wiping them away with her sleeve.
I didn't mean it like that…
I didn't.
Sango and Miroku watched her, their faces shadowy and etched with worry. The tayji, her heart wrenched by her friend's crumpled figure, pulled the monk's sleeve tightly.
"Get Inuyasha," she hissed to him. "Now." The monk looked at her, hesitating for a second before nodding his head and starting after the hanyou's trail into the woods. "Get him before it's too late…"
--
A/N:
DARN IT! I was writing a comedy here, and it just turned angsty!!!! Um…was the transition too quick? Actually, I hadn't been planning to insert angst in this chapter; this was supposed to be just a straight waff-comedy fic. And it was supposed to end with the next chapter, too!!
Now, with this depressing scene, I have doubts about having one more short chapter... *sigh* Oh well, review, ne?