Eye of the Storm

Kagome wasn't sure what awakened her, but suddenly she was completely alert. Momentarily disoriented, she waited until her eyes grew accustomed to the dark. A cave...I'm in a cave... Full recall followed, and she realized what had pulled her from her slumbers.

It was completely silent outside.

Sitting up rapidly, she took stock of the situation. Shippo lay next to her on the blanket, snoring softly, but Inuyasha's pallet was empty. She glanced around their shelter, finally locating the dark-haired young man standing at the cave entrance, staring towards the ocean. Easing herself up quietly so as to not disturb the young kitsune, she wandered over to her friend and placed a hand on his shoulder.

To Inuyasha's credit, he didn't jump. "Is this the 'eye' you were telling us about earlier?"

Kagome stared out at the drizzle and nodded. "Yes. I guess this means it's half over."

The humanized hanyou stared at the clouds, silently cursing the invisible new moon. "And still hours before dawn."

"Well, there's nothing for it. We're relatively safe here, and in the morning we'll get Sango and Miroku out of the inner chamber." Kagome was intentionally upbeat. She stretched languidly and yawned. "I don't know about you, but I'm beat. I'm going back to sleep." She paused expectantly, but when he didn't respond, sighed and crawled back beneath her covers. Her last sight before slumber claimed her was his back as he kept watch on the storm.

-- --

Sango had been nodding off herself as her long watch progressed. A whimper from the sleeping monk jerked her to full alertness, and she leaned forward to retrieve the cloth she had been using to cool his forehead. "Houshi-sama, please get well.", she murmured prayerfully as she rose to get more chilly spring water. Submerging the fabric, the taijiya let her mind wander again. I wish I could make him love me; that would allow me to stop playing this game. Wringing it out, she brought it back to the fretful houshi and laid it again on his forehead. Smoothing back his hair, her eyes fixed on his slumbering features. But I can't. I won't stop being who I am, and I couldn't bear to see him traipse off with some cute bimbo after I've handed him my heart. It would shatter into more shards than the Shikon jewel, and destroy me utterly.

An aftershock suddenly hit, and the cave shivered. Once again Sango protected Miroku with her body, ducking her face into the crook of his neck to protect her eyes from the debris. Fortunately only a few boulders dislodged this time, but the taijiya dreaded reinspecting the corridor. She stayed where she was for a moment, drinking in his scent of sandalwood, as she screwed her courage up to go check on the damage to their escape route. A firm hand on her posterior and a teasing, "Why Sango, I didn't know you cared!" caused her eyes to fly open, and she scurried off the form of the hereto unconscious monk.

His dancing eyes were not only awake, but aware, and they were fixed on her. She dropped her face towards the floor as she blushed mightily. "We have had some excitement, Houshi-sama, while you slept. The ground has shaken twice, and you and I are currently trapped in here. Shippo, Inuyasha, and Kagome are in the outer chamber and I do not know their condition." She helped him struggle to a sitting position, at which point he pulled up his knees and sunk his head onto them with a groan.

"What is it, Houshi-sama?" She neglected to strike him for his earlier misconduct in her concern. "Are you unwell?"

He replied in muffled tones, "My head is pounding so that it feels as if my skull is leaving my shoulders. It is making me both dizzy and nauseous." He cracked his eyes open in an attempt to make light of his voiced complaints, but then closed them shut again. "Also, I appear to be completely naked. Did something else happen that I should know about?"

If anything, Sango turned redder. "Don't be silly. Inuyasha got you out of your soaking wet robes before he and Kagome went to get the rest of the wood and supplies. We got separated by the earthquake then."

He began to nod, but thought better of it. Keeping his eyes closed he asked as politely as his migraine allowed, "Could I have them back now, please? I'm still quite cold."

"Hai." Sango went to where she had laid them by the fire to dry, then presented the warmed clothing to the monk.

"Thank you." She began to walk away to give him some privacy, but Miroku stopped her. "Sango?"

"Yes?" she asked without turning around.

"I'm sorry, but could you help me with these? I feel weak as a kitten."

The demon-slayer's fists clenched. "Hentai! You just want me to see you naked."

Miroku snorted at this. "I assure you, my dear taijiya, that I do not care one way or the other. My usual goal is to see you naked. As there is no expedient method to do so at this moment, I assure you that I just want to get dressed and warm. I'll make certain that the blanket stays in place; once we get my torso clothed properly, the fabric should drape so you won't be subjected to any...unnecessary sights."

Sango turned, still suspicious, but the helpless sincerity in his eyes arrested any further thoughts along that line. She rapidly had the material sorted out, and he was soon properly attired. To her surreptitious disappointment, she really didn't see anything.

"That's better," Miroku murmured as he lay back down. Despite having slept for several hours, he was still exhausted, and his eyes began to close of their own volition. "Thank you," he whispered as he began to drift off.

"You're welcome," she whispered with a smile at his boyish expression. I'll never admit it to him, but he can be so cute sometimes...

Just then another aftershock hit, this one stronger than the last. A third time the demon-slayer threw herself protectively over her charge, but for once Miroku was awake. Automatically placing one hand over her head and the other around her waist, he began to roll so he would be protecting her instead. However, with reflexes slowed by pain and slumber, he was not quite successful and an errant stone struck her senseless.

"Sango!" he cried as he eased her to the blanket. His head swam momentarily as he tried to focus on her still form. "Speak to me!" He shook her shoulders gently. "Sango!!"

Her eyes scrunched closed in pain as her hand went to her forehead. "Ooohhhh...Houshi-sama...not so loud, please..." she moaned.

The monk was giddy with relief. He closed his eyes, allowing his chin to drop to his chest, as he asked quietly, "Are you all right, Sango?"

She sat up, keeping her face in her hands. "I now know what you mean about the headache. Owwwww..." She cracked an eye open. "How long was I out?"

Miroku was trembling, but managed a shaky grin. "Only a few seconds. Don't worry; nothing happened." He frowned as she turned seven shades of red. "I'm sorry. Did I say something wrong?"

"No, no...not at all." She began to shake her head, but, like the monk before her, thought better of it. I'll never admit that I kissed him when he was asleep!

Miroku was confused, but his head hurt too much to try to figure out what was going on. "Do you mind if I lay down for a minute?" He gestured to the blanket beside her. "It appears that we only have one."

"Oh, sorry!" Sango began to lever herself up.

Miroku gestured tiredly for her to stay where she was. Sighing in resignation, "I know I have given you no reason to trust me, but the cave floor is cold despite the fire, we are both injured, and we have but one blanket between us. If you do not trust my word that I will behave, please trust my fatigue; I am much too tired to try anything."

Sango stared intently into his eyes and, seeing no deception, nodded slightly. Miroku closed his eyes thankfully, then lay beside her. True to his words, his breathing deepened into slumber without a single straying of his hand. Sango soon found herself comforted by his nearby warmth, and fell asleep to the scent of sandalwood. The remainder of the night passed uneventfully.

-- --

Less than an hour following sunrise and the return of Inuyasha's hanyou strength, he had the tunnel cleared of debris. Scrambling through, Kagome, Shippo, and Inuyasha burst into the inner chamber, pulling up short at the sight before them. Both occupants slumbered peacefully, wrapped together in blanket near the smoldering fire. Miroku's arm was draped languidly over Sango's shoulders, with his other hand tucked beneath his head. Both breathed in time, deep and regular, as if they were meant to stay that way forever. A grin split Kagome's face as she soaked in the sleeping scene. The peace was shattered however, with Inuyasha's loud exclamation.

"Hoi, look at them! I told you we didn't need to worry!" He gestured before him in disgust.

"Inuyasha, shhh!" Kagome's warning came too late; Sango's eyes flew open at his words and she shot upright, blushing desperately. A befuddled Miroku blinked sleepily at her movement, and began to rise himself, only to be greeted by a flying ball of relieved kitsune.

"Miroku! You're all right!" Shippo squeezed his eyes shut as he hugged the monk in sheer joy. Miroku, confused, patted the young demon reassuringly on the back and looked askance at Kagome. The girl smiled back and shrugged happily.

"Well, I still have quite a headache..." his eyes followed Sango as she hurriedly scooted away to stoke up the fire.

Kagome knelt next to him to pry off the kitsune. "We were worried about you. First the storm, then the branch, then the earthquakes..."

Shippo stared up at the monk. "Yeah! I'm so glad you're OK!" He glanced down. "Thanks for saving me yesterday..."

"No problem, Shippo."

"Feh. If he'd been faster, neither of you would have gotten hurt." Inuyasha leaned against the wall, arms crossed. "Let's get going; time's wasting."

Kagome was immediately in his face. "Not so fast, wouldja? Let's all relax and have some breakfast!" It'll give Sango a chance to gather her wits... "I've got more ramen..." She added coaxingly.

Not too surprisingly, Inuyasha forgot his hurry to leave at the offer of his favorite food. Still, he couldn't just give in. Crossing his arms, he grunted, "Well, I guess a few minutes won't hurt..."

Kagome smiled. "Thank you, Inuyasha."

"Feh. Don't mention it."

The End

AN: You know, I just re-read this story, and realized that it WAS finished - I don't know why I thought otherwise. Of course, I seriously needed to proof the formatting on chapter 3...Anyway, I hope you enjoyed the story!