Chapter Two: the Awakening

Author's Notes: So how was the first chapter so far? Hope you guys liked it despite all those typo and grammar errors. I'm really sorry for those, I think that's what happens when you try to type in the middle of the night after studying for a Psychology exam. Finals are coming up this week so that means no update for a while. I'm planning to update A HITOKIRI'S REPORT this Saturday and ON HOLY GROUNDS next week (after the finals). So please bear with this amateur for the mean time. Thanks a lot! ^_^


Disclaimer: I'd gladly accept Inu Yasha if they give it to me but it'll never happen. Hmph!



"..." – Dialogue
'…' - Thoughts


On Holy Grounds
Chapter Two: The Awakening



--++OHG++--



Inuyasha put his right arm over his head to block the sunlight that was straining his eyes. Another dream, he thought. Even in his sleep, memories of her kept on haunting him, daring him to deny the terrible mistake he had done to her. His heart pained every time he remembered the bittersweet memories of her and her tragic end. When was he ever going to be free? Never.


Inuyasha shifted so that he was now lying by his side. The bed under him felt strangely comfortable. The pillows were soft and the fabric of the blankets smooth, it smelt of cinnamon and something else he couldn't describe. He removed the arm that was over his head and for a moment he thought he saw her sleeping figure beside him. He was fully awake now but his vision was a bit swirly; it was when he realized that he was definitely not in his apartment. The walls were painted white while his were dark green. Everything was in order and no posters hung on the wall. 'Where am I?' His ears twitched upon hearing the sound of light footsteps walking towards the room's direction. He tried to stand but a wave of dizziness hit him and caused him to hold his head in pain. Inuyasha didn't hear the door open anymore, so absorbed was he with the throbbing pain in his head, nor felt the hands that were shaking his shoulders gently.


"Hey are you okay? What's wrong?"


Inuyasha was shocked at the caring tone of the voice. He looked up, his hands supporting him by acting as foundations when he sat. His eyes were still adjusting, not used to the blinding light in the room. It was a girl, that was the only fact that he knew about the creature in front of him and by the way her mouth was moving, he could tell that she was talking to him though he couldn't hear or clearly see her. Inuyasha pushed the girl away, not wanting to look helpless in front of her.


Kagome tumbled off the bed from his aggressive and unexpected move. She straightened herself and knelt at the end of the bed, still confused but her face wore the expression of concern for him.


Inuyasha shook his head and looked up at the ceiling until his sight became steady. When it did, he moved his head to look at the girl in front of him. His mind full of questions directed for her. 'Kikyou? Gods, she looks just like Kikyou!'


Kagome was beginning to feel worry for the stranger in front of her. All fear of him had dispersed when he crumpled and fell unconscious last night. It was then that she decided to take him home rather than leave him sprawled on the ground.



--++OHG++--



She hoisted him up and started to walk towards the direction of the bus station when she remembered his bloodied hands and unusual ears. Afraid to catch any unwanted attention, Kagome sat him on the bench where she dozed off earlier and took a seat beside him.


Confident that he was steady enough, she got the towel and cap she used during her P.E. class from her bag. She took hold of his hands and gently wiped the drying blood from his sharp claws, all the while admiring his soft hands. Then she returned her now red towel back to her bag and faced the stranger again.


She brushed off the hair that covered his face before putting the cap on. Carefully, she tucked his dog-like ears inside the cap but lingered for a while, enjoying the feel of his fluffy ears in her hand. Kagome continued to caress his ears and giggled when the stranger let out a purr. Kagome blushed. Oh gods, was he handsome! His facial features were unlike any other she had ever seen. It was almost out of this world. Kagome stared at the stranger for several minutes before realizing how inappropriate she was behaving. She rebuked herself. She wasn't supposed to think such thoughts – it won't happen again.


It had been hard to support his body all the way to the bus station since he was taller and heavier than her. Kagome did her best to balance herself and the stranger hanging onto her. They reached the bus station and the bus arrived minutes later. When they boarded the bus, Kagome received curious stares from the passengers courtesy of the unconscious guy she was with.


Thankfully she managed to position him in the second row seat near the window. The only embarrassment came after. The bus abruptly stopped causing the stranger's body to suddenly lean on hers. It had been okay during the first minutes but after a few minutes more his hands snaked around her body and he unconsciously sniffed her hair. Kagome turned ten shades red at his actions but the worse was yet to come. His hold on her tightened and he began kissing her neck, growling in between breaths. "You smell good." Kagome felt her cheeks heat up again.


It was just a whisper but when said in a really quiet bus it was enough for the other passengers to hear. Some turned their heads to look at Kagome in disgust. She pushed her temper away and smiled nervously instead. She nudged the stranger in the chest and was relived when he stopped his intimate actions.



--++OHG++--



Kagome snapped back to reality when she saw the stranger's nose right in front of her. Kagome gulped. He had a very angry scowl on his face.


"Uhh.. Yes?"


The stranger backed up a little, still bearing the same pissed look.


"I was asking you wench, where the fuck am I? And who the hell are you?"


Kagome blinked. Did he just insult her? Kagome pushed these thoughts away, he had a rough night after all.


"Bitch. Don't stare at me like that."


"I'm sorry. I'm Kagome and you're in my room. You passed out last night and I brought you here." Okay, this guy definitely has an attitude problem but Kagome pushed those thoughts away again, people don't usually act nice after a night of ripping trees apart, maybe he'd settle down after a few more minutes.


'Of course she isn't Kikyou, Kikyou's dead and it's my fault. But why?' Inuyasha saw the girl give him a puzzled look when she noticed that he was spacing off. Inuyasha saw this and composed himself. "What the hell did you do that for? Who do you think you are minding other people's business?"


Snap. That was it. The last straw. Kagome's balled her fist and stood up, towering over the sitting man. "You ingrate! Don't you dare insult me after what I've done for you!" Kagome was fuming, all pleasant thoughts of him forgotten.


This girl had guts, Inuyasha thought. He stood up and got out of bed. He walked towards the girl and stopped when he was exactly in front of her. He smirked when he saw that he was at least a foot taller. "Listen here bitch, don't give me that lecture 'cause I never asked for anybody's help so go mind your own fucking business!"


They angrily stared at each other for a while.


Silence.


But Kagome was the first to break it. "Get out!"


The stranger looked surprised. "What?!"


"I said get out! What, your ears can't hear now?"


"Bitch." Inuyasha hmphed and exited the room but before he even touched the door knob, he felt something hit his head. "What the fu.."


"Are you stupid? Have you forgotten that you had dog ears? You can't walk around like that." Kagome walked forward and bent to pick up the fallen cap on the floor that she had thrown to him. "You wouldn't want anybody to question you about these would you now?" Inuyasha was shocked when Kagome brushed stray hair away from his face. She was standing on her toes when she tucked his ears carefully so it was hidden and stroked his hair with her fingers.


Once again, Kagome found herself lost in his gaze. Just like last night, she thought. Then without warning, her mind reminded her that she was supposed to be mad at him. Kagome jerked away her finger from his hair, unfortunately some strands entangled with the ring that she wore.


For a moment Inuyasha was carried away by the gentleness the girl exhibited. It strangely felt like home. "Ouch! What the hell?!" That was until he felt his hair tear away from him.


"Moron!" Kagome spat back. "Get out already!"


Inuyasha scowled. "Whatever bitch, just get your hands of me."


Kagome blushed at that comment; too bad Inuyasha thought it was because of anger. With the sound of the door closing, Kagome realized that the stranger had left the room.


From where she was standing beside the door, Kagome heard a growl that was followed by Souta, her brother's voice. "Mom! I saw a guy leave Kagome's room!"



--++OHG++--



Inuyasha placed his hands inside his pockets. It was beginning to get colder everyday and that damn girl forgot to give him his jacket back. 'Damn it! Another human knows; I hope she shuts her fucking trap.'


He continued to walk until he heard flesh hit flesh nearby.


"Pervert!"


Inuyasha looked at the scene in front of him. The offended man was holding his slapped cheek and a seething woman was walking away. The man caressed his cheek. "That hurt."


"Serves you right you damn pervert. Old habits die hard eh?"


The man looked at the direction of the voice and smiled, almost instantly forgetting the pain from the slap. "Hey Inuyasha, how are you man?"


"Miroku, you never learn do you?"


Miroku shrugged. "I can't help it you know."


Inuyasha raised an eyebrow. Miroku was still the same guy he had known from before. Inuyasha waved his hand and walked away from him.


Inuyasha's retreating form was a few meters away when Miroku remembered what he had been waiting to tell him. He ran to his direction but the crowd kept on blocking his way. He jumped up in hopes of seeing Inuyasha's silver mane but his friend was far too far for him to see. Just then his cell phone alarmed. He stopped jumping to pick it up from his pocket and read what it displayed. "Oh right, I almost forgot."



--++OHG++--



Miroku was still thinking about his long time friend while he walked on the streets. They had known each other since high school. Their first meeting wasn't really nice to remember still they ended up the good friends after that. They even went to the same college together, though Inuyasha would never admit to anyone that he went there to be with his friend, Miroku knew him all too well.


"Miroku! Wait up!" Miroku spun around to see the owner of the voice. He saw her running towards him and he smiled. The girl stopped right in front of him, panting and flushed from running. He waited till her breathing evened out and was about to say something but she managed to speak first.


"You didn't forget did you?" She was frowning now.


Miroku shook his head. "No I didn't Kagome; in fact I was on my way there."


Kagome looked at him questioningly. "Miroku, you already passed by the coffee shop. You're a block away now."


"I did?"


Kagome only nodded.


"I swear I didn't forget!" Miroku said defensively.


She just sighed. I think he's telling the truth, Kagome thought and turned her attention back to Miroku who was now by her side walking towards the coffee shop.


"No problem. Let's go, Sango's waiting there."


"Here." Kagome handed the big grocery bag she was carrying earlier to Miroku. The thing was at least six pounds heavy, the main reason why she felt so exhausted after running a few meters with it.


Her companion accepted the heavy bag without any second thought. 'That's weird, he always complains whenever I do that.' She nudged her companion's side with her shoulder. "You okay?"


Miroku screamed at himself for looking so glum around Kagome. She had always had a knack for knowing when something was brewing, and lying was no use since Kagome claimed she knew when he was using his 'lying' voice. He decided against it anyway. "Yeah, just a little hungry is all."


Kagome didn't believe it a bit. Not one tiny bit. But whatever it was she decided to ignore since Miroku would normally share it afterwards when he was ready. "Okay."


In all honesty, she was getting really worried since Miroku seemed to forget and miss things a lot lately.



--++OHG++--


"What took you so long?"


Miroku placed the grocery bag beside under the table Sango was situated. The girl noticed that he taking time to rise and frowned when she remembered she was wearing a skirt. Sango instinctively kicked and was content when she heard an 'oof' followed by thud. Miroku appeared from under.


"What did you do that for?" He was covering his nose as he spoke.


Sango said nothing; instead she turned her face away from Miroku. She was going to ignore him this time, she didn't want the pervert ruin her potentially good day to be.


The two seemed to forget that Kagome was in fact seated with them, calmly sipping the iced tea that Kanna served them earlier. "Kagome, Kaede wanted me to tell you that she didn't receive the daily report yesterday. She's coming over tonight to get it; can you drop it over before closing?"


Kagome looked at Kagura who was currently replacing the empty shelves with more pastries. "The daily report? Oh right! Don't worry I'll bring it later. Thanks." "Sure no problem."


That was the first time Kagome ever forgot to give the daily report to Kaede, usually she would drop it off at her employer's house which was near her neighbourhood but the because of the incident last night it just slipped off her mind. 'That ingrate troublemaker! I hope Kaede's not mad.'


There were a few customers inside since it was still quite early. It was a fair sunny Saturday and Kanna and Kagura were to man the shop the whole day. What made the day quite different was that the shop was clean and tidy and Kagura and Kanna seemed occupied with their chores instead of chatting heartily like they always did. 'Kaede must have noticed too.'


Kagome noticed that her two friends were unusually quiet. She looked at them and was amused at the expression on their faces. Sango was trying her best to control her temper by not avoiding Miroku while he was wearing a hurt look. "Come on guys, we have to go. Mrs. Taro's waiting for us."


Both looked at her and nodded. Kagome stood and pointed to Miroku the grocery bag; the latter wrinkled his forehead in protest. Kagome ignored that and walked out the happily shop. "Bye Kagura, Kanna!" She said before the door closed in on her. Behind her, Sango waved to her two co-workers and Miroku gave both girls a boyish grin which made the two giggle.


"So, where are we going again?" Miroku questioned.



--++OHG++--






Author's Notes:
Special thanks goes to Maggie for being the first to review this fic. Thanks a lot! I'm glad you liked it! ^_^

Miroku's first appearance yey! I bet you all didn't see that coming did you? After all, what's an Inuyasha fanfiction without our resident lecher? This chap was really meant to introduce Miroku in the story. Hope you liked it, it was kind of boring but that's how it should be sorry. Next chapter will be coming out soon, specifically, next Saturday or earlier. Was that soon? *Sighs* That's the fastest I can go with all the final exams threatening to kill me. College sucks. And oh yeah, establishments in this fic (and in my other fic) are named after the actual shops in my hometown (i.e. the coffee shop) so if anybody has a clue where tell me in your reviews, I wont be telling unless somebody guesses right. Hehe. Thanks for taking your time reading ON HOLY GOUNDS!!! Till next time!


maybe_marce


^_~