DISCLAIMER: I do not own the characters of the Inuyasha series nor do
I own the original storyline.
AUTHOR'S NOTE:
Yosh! Another chapter done! Yeah, don't worry, I'm trying my best to pick up
the pace of posting every chapter within 5 days. But I still can't promise I
can keep that pace because no matter how relaxed my schedule may seem, I still
get projects that need to be done and not to mention those horrible tests *grunts*,
so please forgive me ne? Enjoy reading!!
Italic: thoughts
-- --: locations
"...": spoken words
~*~*~*~*~: time gap
*...* : noises
-by Kittymui-
Fever
Previously:
He was lying on his stomach on the cold marble floor with his face lying on
its side. His red garments were drenched and his wet silver hair was spread
unevenly over his back with some strands plastered onto his pale, sweating face.
Short, yet deep pants caught her ears as she watched his back rise and fall
at an unusual pace. She quickly ran to his side and knelt down next to his waist.
"I...Inuyasha!!!!" she cried out his name.
~*~*~
Who's...calling...my name...? Inuyasha groaned inwardly as he slowly
opened his eyes. W-where...am__
"Arck!" he gasped as the bright light of the candleflame almost burned
into his retina and quickly squeezed his eyes shut again.
"Oh gomen!!" he heard a girl's voice apologize. After that he felt
the light dim a little and he opened his eyes again, only to find the candleholder
standing further away from his face. "W-who's there...?" he asked
with a hoarse voice.
"I-it's me...Kagome..." the voice replied.
Inuyasha's ears twitched. "What...are YOU doing here?!" he growled,
trying to sound as annoyed as possible.
"I-I was__" she began.
"Never mind...I don't want...to know..." he cut her off.
A short silence took place until Kagome decided to speak again. "C-can
you get up?" she asked with a small voice.
Without answering her question, Inuyasha slowly began to push himself up from
the floor.
"Here, let me help y__" Kagome said as she walked closer to him but
was halted when Inuyasha snarled at her. "Go away! I don't need anyone's
help!" And he continued to get to his feet.
After he straightened himself up, he turned to walk towards the stairs. But
as soon as he took his first step, as sudden dizziness took over and he began
to topple forward. He would have hit the hard floor quite painfully had Kagome
not ran to his side and grabbed his arm to steady him.
"What are you__" Inuyasha growled but stopped when she swung his arm
over her shoulder and supported him with an arm on his back, while holding the
candleholder in her other.
"Work with me, I can't pull you up the stairs on my own," she said
as she walked towards the stairs carrying him.
Inuyasha hated to admit it but he was definitely too weak at the moment to climb
the stairs on his own, so he silently gave in and let the girl help him.
~*~
A couple of minutes later, they were standing in front of the door of Inuyasha's
bedroom.
He pushed the door open and entered it with Kagome's help.
The raven-haired girl carried him to his bed and turned away as he slowly changed
into a dry white haori and hakama, threw his wet garments to the floor and settled
himself under the soft red covers.
"I'm fine by myself, now leave," he groaned as he closed his eyes.
Kagome really wanted to walk away and leave the hanyou be but she dropped the
idea when she saw the flower on his nightstand; the one she gave him almost
a month ago. She was surprised to see how well-tended the flower was as it looked
as though it was picked yesterday.
She silently took off her shoes and made her way out of the bedroom.
~*~
Inuyasha sighed after he heard the girl close the door behind her. God, this
headache is really killing me... he groaned mentally.
He became even more annoyed when he heard someone enter his bedroom again. Sheesh,
which part of 'leave' did she not understand?! he growled inwardly as he
knew it was Kagome.
"I thought I told you to leave," he muttered without opening his eyes.
But the soft footsteps came closer to his bed instead of going further away.
"I said l___" he growled aloud but instantly swallowed his words when
he felt a cold yet extremely comfortable sensation land on his burning forehead.
All of his anger and irritation vanished as the cold feeling started to ease
the pulsating headache he was suffering. He slowly opened his eyes and turned
his head slightly aside, only to meet a pair of dark blue ones.
Their gaze was broken when Kagome took the now warm fomentation from his forehead
and bowed to the bucket of water that she had put on the floor next to the edge
of the bed.
Inuyasha watched the serious yet gentle expression on her face as she diligently
rinsed the heat off of the cloth.
No wanting to know that he was looking at her, he quickly turned his head away
to the other wall when he saw her lift up her gaze to him.
He froze when he suddenly felt her cold hand on his cheek, gently forcing him
to look at her again. "You're having a fever," she said with a soft
voice as she gently dabbed his forehead with the cold cloth. "I have to
lower your temperature or it will get worse."
Inuyasha was surprised by what she said next:
"I know you're probably hating me right now and want me gone as soon as
possible, but at least...let me stay and take care of you..." she said
as she dropped her gaze.
Inuyasha silently pondered how he should respond to this and before he knew
it, he was already covering her hand, which she didn't pull away from his cheek,
with his clawed one.
"I-I don't...hate you...Kagome," he managed to say with his hoarse
voice.
Kagome immediately lifted her gaze to Inuyasha again and watched how he formed
a small smile with his dried lips. She was truly relieved to hear this and smiled
as she continued to dab the rest of his face. "Arigatou..." she whispered.
~*~ the next morning ~*~
Inuyasha slowly opened his eyes as several rays of light came through the windows
and landed on his face. He slightly turned his head aside to avoid the blinding
light and found himself looking at a clear blue sky with retreating leftovers
of the gray clouds of the day before. T-the rain...has stopped... he
thought.
Then he suddenly realized something. Wait...where's Kagome? he thought
alarmed as he quickly sat up and scanned the room.
He relaxed when he found her.
She was sitting half on the floor with her head resting on top of her folded
arms on the edge of his bed. A white clip on the back of her head held most
of her raven-black hair together with loose tresses hanging from it here and
there. Although it was done roughly, Inuyasha found it rather pretty, if not
natural. He concluded that she was still asleep as he watched her shoulder rise
and fall at a slow pace.
Inuyasha frowned when his gaze drifted to Kagome's clothes. The lower part of
her yukata, which should have been white like its upper half, was now brown
and filled with stains of dried mud.
It took him several seconds to realize that the girl had practically gone through
yesterday's storm to find his house...to find him.
"Baka, why did you risk your life coming here?" he whispered as he
removed some strands of hair from her face. "Your could have gotten lost
with that storm or worse...you could have died..."
Not really expecting an answer, he widened his eyes when Kagome suddenly groaned
in reply. "I..." she began."...was worried..."
He leaned closer to her and was surprised to realize that the girl was talking
in her sleep. Stupid girl... he chuckled inwardly as he continued to
watch her sleeping face.
His lips curled up into a small smile when he faintly recalled some parts of
what happened last night. Parts in which he saw the worried look on her face
as she desperately tried to cool down his head with the wet and cold cloth.
Parts in which he felt her cold hands on his forehead when she measured his
temperature. And parts in which he heard how she tried her best to be as silent
as possible as she changed the bucket of water.
His thoughts were cut off when he heard her wake up and saw her open her eyes.
"Hiya sunshine girl," he smiled, drawing her eyes to him.
She returned a smile and rubbed her eyes. "H-how are you feeling?"
she asked.
"A lot better than yesterday. My headache is gone and I think my fever
is gone too," he replied.
"Really? Let's check it out then," she smiled as she stood up and
sat on the edge of the bed.
She raised her hand to touch his forehead and compared the temperatures as she
covered her own forehead with her other hand.
This time, Inuyasha was the one who blushed after realizing the small proximity
between his face and hers.
He cleared his throat and averted his gaze as Kagome finally pulled away her
hand. "Your fever is indeed gone," she agreed. "But that doesn't
mean it won't come back, so you still have to be careful."
With that, she stood up, taking the bucket of water with her and turned to the
door.
"A-are you going to leave now?" Inuyasha suddenly asked when Kagome
was just about to open the bedroom door.
Kagome didn't quite know what he meant by that so she turned around to him.
"Do you want me to leave?"
Inuyasha frowned. "Hey! I asked you first!" he argued.
"Yeah and now I'm asking you!" Kagome responded. "If you want
me to leave, I'll leave. If you want me to stay, I'll stay." I can't
believe he's actually asking me that...he's just going to send me away after
all I've done last night to keep his fever down?! she thought frustrated.
"I don't..." he started after a short silence. "...I don't want
you...to..."
Kagome's face dropped. He's going to send me away... she concluded inwardly
and turned to the door.
"...leave..."
She froze and blinked several times before turning to Inuyasha again. "What...what
did you just say?" she asked.
"I said...I don't want you to leave," Inuyasha repeated.
Kagome smiled, partly because she almost scared herself to death and partly
because she was really happy to hear that from him. "Then I'll be right
back. I've hung your clothes outside after the rain stopped so they should be
dry by now...I'll get them for you so you can get changed," she responded.
"Thank you," Inuyasha smiled. "...for taking care of me last
night...and for coming."
"You're welcome," she replied, returning a smile and exited the room.
~*~
After Kagome closed the door behind her, Inuyasha slowly got out of his bed
and made his way towards the window.
He inhaled the mix of scents that lingered in the room and pondered which of
them smelled better; the flower called Kagome or the girl named after it.
As he continued his pondering, he didn't realize that the girl had returned
with his clothes and was literally staring at him.
~*~
Kirei... Kagome thought.
She wanted to call out to Inuyasha when she entered the room but she had lost
the ability to talk as soon as the beauty of the sight before her caught her
eyes.
His golden orbs were staring mindlessly at something on the horizon as the owner
of them stood silently in front of the window. His beautiful silver tresses
rested calmly on his shoulders while the rest hung loosely behind his back.
A sigh almost escaped her mouth when she watched how the silver-haired boy raised
his clawed hand and shielded his beautiful eyes from the blinding rays of the
sun.
~*~
How long is she actually going to stand there and stare at me? Inuyasha
mused inwardly. Hmm...would she be surprised if I asked her that?
A mental grin formed on his lips. Let's find out, shall we?
"How long are you planning to stand there with my clothes?" he suddenly
asked without looking at Kagome.
He had to suppress a chuckle when a small gasp confirmed the question he asked
himself a while ago. Although he didn't see it, he knew the Kagome had immediately
dropped her gaze and started to blush.
~*~
Kagome slowly walked over to Inuyasha and held up his red clothes to him without
looking up. "Here," she said. "I-I'll wait for you in the hall..."
With that she quickly turned around and hurried out of the room.
She closed the door behind her and leaned against it with her back. "Baka!
Kagome you baka!" she scolded herself softly. "You're not supposed
to stare at him like that...baka!!"
She continued to scold herself as she did her best to suppress the burning blush
that had started to color her cheeks.
Little did she recall that the door wasn't made of soundproof material and that
the boy behind it was in fact an inu-youkai and hence had an excellent sense
of hearing.
~*~
Inuyasha wanted to laugh out loud but managed to force it into a wide grin when
he heard Kagome scold herself behind his door.
He quickly changed into his favorite red garments and innocently continued eavesdropping
until a small squeaking-sound that came of the door caught his ears.
His lips curled into an evil grin as an idea popped up inside his head. Hmm...I
wonder...
~*~
Busy as she was with smacking herself mentally, Kagome didn't realize that she
had started to lean against Inuyasha's door with her full weight.
She widened her eyes when the support of her back disappeared as the door suddenly
swung wide open and she started to fall backwards. She closed her eyes and prepared
herself for the painful impact with the floor. But it never came.
When she opened her eyes again, she found herself in the arms of Inuyasha, who
had a victorious grin on his face.
"You meany!!!" she scowled as she quickly straightened herself up
and took several steps away from him.
A moment of silence took place as Kagome stared at Inuyasha with a scowl on
her face and he stared back with his victorious grin.
It broke when Inuyasha finally decided to speak. "Do you want to change
into something cleaner?" he asked, dropping his grin.
Kagome dropped her gaze to her clothes. She didn't realize before, but her white
yukata was dirtier than she had thought. "I guess..." she replied.
"All right then! Follow me!" he smiled as he walked away.
And Kagome followed.
~*~*~
"Tada!!" he said as he pushed open a pair of white doors and entered
a huge chamber.
Kagome almost dropped her jaw when she followed him into the chamber.
It was a very large room with sky blue walls and white carpeting. There were
bookcases standing perfectly next to each other against one wall, with a beautiful
red diva in front of them and a queen-size bed against the other wall from across.
There was also a dresser in the room with a beautiful small round mirror standing
on it.
"Feel free to watch and explore, but don't touch anything okay? I'll be
right back," Inuyasha said before walking towards a huge brown wardrobe
that stood near the bed.
Kagome nodded and started her promenade through the large room.
She stopped when she stood in front of a large portrait that hung on the wall
on top of a fireplace.
It was a portrait of a woman sitting on a red diva, which Kagome recalled was
the same furniture she had seen near the bookcases. She must be a noble lady.
she thought as she looked at her clothes.
The woman in the portrait was wearing a silky with yukata with golden flowers
embroidered on it here and there. Her hands were resting on a book that lay
on her lap as she had her upper body slightly turned to the painter.
A genuine smile could be seen on her calm face as dark hair framed it. The upper
part of her hair was held together on the back of her head by something, which
could only be seen and reached by the eyes of the memory, while the rest of
it either rested on her shoulder or hung loosely behind her back.
It took Kagome only a glance at the eyes, which held the color of chestnuts,
to realize who the woman -and probably the owner of this chamber- was. "Is
this...your mother...?" she asked.
"Yeah...how did you know?" Inuyasha replied as he approached Kagome.
"You have her eyes," she explained, shifting her gaze between Inuyasha
and the woman in the portrait. "Although they're not of the same color,
but the shape of them is identical."
Inuyasha smiled.
Kagome returned a smile and suddenly realized he was holding something in his
hands. "What's that?" she asked, pointing at it.
"Oh you mean this? I found it in my mother's wardrobe. It's from when she
was around your age so it'll probably fit you," he explained as he held
it up to her. "Try it on."
Kagome widened her eyes. "B-but I really shouldn't___"
"I'm sure my mother wouldn't mind me lending you some of her clothes,"
he cut her off.
Kagome hesitated a moment before taking it.
"You can change behind those screens," he pointed at a row of black
screens near the bed. "I promise I won't peek."
She nodded and walked towards the screens he pointed at.
~*~
Inuyasha stared out in front of him while sitting on his mother's diva until
he heard Kagome's voice.
"How do I look?" she asked, coming from behind the screens and spreading
her arms.
Inuyasha almost dropped his jaw at the sight of her.
She was now wearing a soft pink yukata with red edges and sakura blossoms embroidered
here and there. It looked as thought it was custom-designed just for her, for
it fitted her perfectly.
"You look great in it. My mother would be very happy to know that someone
was able to wear it and accentuate its beauty more than her," he smiled.
Kagome blushed. "Stop that! You're embarrassing me!" she cried.
"I'm only telling the truth," he replied as he walked up to her and
slightly bowed. "Well then, since milady is a visitor of this humble home
of mine, it would be my task and honor to make sure she is well-served,"
he teased.
Kagome giggled and decided to play along. "Now that you ask, I haven't
eaten since yesterday so I'm kind of hungry right now," she replied.
"In that case, let me guide you to the dining area," he responded
as he raised his arm to her.
Kagome put her hand on his arm and together they walked out of the bedroom of
Inuyasha's mother and made their way to their destination on the first floor
(ground floor).
~*~ later ~*~
"You sure that you'll be fine by yourself?" she asked, taking her
coat in her hands.
Inuyasha nodded. "I'll be fine. Besides, you wouldn't want your father
to worry too much about you, right?"
"What about your mother's yukata?" she asked, looking down at the
garment that she was still wearing.
He smiled. "You may keep it since it fits you so well."
"B-but__"
"No buts. I've already decided." he cut her off.
Disappointed that she had to leave so soon, Kagome reluctantly walked towards
the main door with Inuyasha behind her.
Before she raised her hand to the doorknob, an idea popped up and she quickly
turned around to Inuyasha, startling him. "Say, why don't you escort me
home?" she suggested. "You know it's not safe for a girl like me to
walk through that forest on my own."
Inuyasha raised an eyebrow as he recalled how she had managed it yesterday without
any complaints.
"Oh well, I guess I could...since I've got nothing betters to do,"
he finally replied.
Yey! Kagome cheered inwardly as she opened the main door and exited the
huge main hall together with Inuyasha.
~*~*~*~
*KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK*
The sound of footsteps could be heard as someone approached the door from behind.
"Who is it?" a male's voice asked.
"It's me, Kagome. I'm back," Kagome replied.
The door opened, revealing a middle-aged man dressed in a traditional dark green
haori and black hakama.
"Good evening father, I have returned," Kagome greeted him with a
polite bow.
Her father frowned. "I was really worried when you didn't come back last
night."
Just when Kagome was about to apologize, Inuyasha suddenly stepped forward next
to her and slightly bowed. "Please accept my apology in your daughter's
place, sir. For I was the reason why she had to travel through that horrible
storm yesterday," he said politely.
Kagome's father raised an eyebrow as he digested Inuyasha's words. "I see..."
he said after a moment of silence and turned to his daughter. "So this
is the 'very important friend' you mentioned?"
Inuyasha widened his eyes and turned to Kagome who was blushing dark shades
of red.
"F-father!!! M-mou...!!!" Kagome stuttered as embarrassment was written
all over her face.
"What? It was just a normal question," her father responded innocently.
"If he is indeed that 'very important friend of yours'..." he teased,
causing Kagome to blush even darker shades of red. "...then he doesn't
seem 'very sick' to me."
"That's all thanks to your daughter's help, sir," Inuyasha explained
instead of Kagome, who had spaced out of the embarrassment.
Kagome's father smiled. "Is that so? Then I should thank you for ensuring
her safety by escorting her back here."
"No problem," Inuyasha returned a smile. "But I think it's time
for me to go back."
It was then that Kagome snapped out of it. ...Eh? So soon...? she thought,
slightly disappointed.
"Don't you want to stay for dinner?" her father asked, wanting to
know this young lad better.
Inuyasha shook his head. "I would love to, but I cannot leave our house
unguarded," he explained.
Kagome's father nodded understandingly. "It can't be helped then. I'm sure
there will be another time. It was very nice meeting you," he smiled.
"Pleasure is all mine," the hanyou responded before turning to Kagome.
"I'll be seeing you around then."
Kagome returned a smile and nodded. "Be careful on your way home."
After that, he turned to leave and Kagome watched how he disappeared behind
the gate of her courtyard into the forest.
"He must be one of the two sons of the inu-youkai family that lives around
here, isn't he?" her father suddenly asked out of the blue.
"Yup. His name is Inuyasha," Kagome nodded.
"The eldest of the two?"
She turned to look at her father. "No, he's the younger one."
"That's strange," he frowned. "From what I've heard, the youngest
son should be a rude and foul-mouthed boy...yet this young lad seemed rather...polite."
Kagome grinned. "Well, you're not entirely wrong, because he was indeed
rude and arrogant when I first met him," she explained. "But he isn't
born that way...he's good by nature."
"Then how come the sudden change?" her father pondered aloud, half
innocently.
Kagome blushed as a possibility popped up in her mind but she refused to share
it with her father.
Then her father suddenly nudged her with his elbow and grinned. "Hehehe,
what did you feed him?"
She widened her eyes. "Father!! What the__"
"Just joking!!" her father laughed, cutting her off, and huggled her.
"It's not like I had expected anything else from my sweet Kagome,"
he smiled. "You must have melted his cold heart with your heartwarming
kindness, didn't you?"
Kagome's jaw almost dropped at this as tons of blood flushed her cheeks.
"Aha! You're not denying it so it's true!! Hahaha," her father laughed
as he released her and made his way back into the house.
"Stop making fun of your own daughter!! Mou!!!" Kagome cried as she
stomped the floor and ran after her father.
Liked it? Hated it? Found a mistake? Have a question? Please let me know with
a small review ^-^!! If you want to be notified whenever I update, just give
me your emailadress through your review and I'll add you to my mailinglist!
Please look forward to the next chapter!
Next chapter: A promise
~*~
\\"Who is it?"//
\\"It's me...Inuyasha, can I come in?"//
\\"NO!!"//
\\(...) w-when I look in the mirror, all I see is that...ugly...wound...now
everybody would say 'what an ugly girl' and then...I'll be all alone...until
the day I die...n-nobody would want to have a scarfaced girl...like me..."
she sobbed.//
\\"I will..."//
~*~
Vocabulary:
gomen: I'm sorry
hanyou: half-demon
arigatou: thank you
kirei: pretty/beautiful
baka: idiot/moron
inu-youkai: dog-demon
mou: geez, it's something people say when they're displeased with something
~*~
REPLIES ON REVIEWS:
Ks-Starshine: Thank you very much ^-^!!
Kyia: Thanks!!
sky77: Thank you very much for your compliments. I'll be sure to check
on your story from time to time ^-^!
seikkyokuka: Hahaha don't worry, Inuyasha is one of the main characters
of this story so it's quite impossible for him to die.
winged*wonder: Hmm, I don't think I recall someone mentioning in the
original series that hanyou's can't get sick but maybe I missed it ^-^. Anyway
this is an Alternate Universe and Inuyasha is half human and most importantly,
I'm the author so I can make everything happen *grins*.
Chibi-Call: Thanks!
Inukamisashi: Thanks for reviewing! I'll try to update as soon as possible!
Tig: Sorry about the cliffhangers but they make the story more interesting
don't you agree? Besides, I'm not that evil to let readers drown in the suspense
for more than a week, so don't worry. Thanks for reviewing!
whitemiko: Glad you liked the previous chapter! I hope you will continue
to like this story ^-^!
Kagura wind fairy: Pfew *wipes sweatdrops* I'm glad that you weren't
sad because of the cliffie hahaha ^-^! Thanks!
Guardian-of-the-night: Thank you for reading my other stories also, I'm
glad they inspired you to start your own story! Thank you for telling me!
~*~
Lots of greets
~Kittymui~
Posted: 6 February 2004
Last Edited: 6 February 2004
Spelling check: YES