Disclaimer~ I don't own Inuyasha or any related products.
Dialog~ "Meep meep meep."
Thoughts~ 'Meep meep meep.'
Author's note~ Okay, I had wanted to get this chapter up by last week but certain unexpected difficulties hindered this. I do apologize profusely. Thanks to everyone who's been patient. Thank you so very much.
Chapter 11
It was morning again; Sango could feel it. She didn't want to believe at first, since she hadn't remembered how her evening ended and now found herself in her tent, soon to have to get up and look forward to another day of walking. She could hear Inuyasha and Kagome arguing outside, which gave her a sinking feeling in her stomach. To add to her problems she could feel the newly risen sun beating down on her, making her feel warm and slightly sticky. She sighed and gave in, getting out of her tent and facing her less then cheerful surroundings.
"Good morning, Sango," beamed a very happy Xen. "How did you sleep? Well, I hope."
She was a bit taken aback by his early morning enthusiasm but was glad to see a friendly face. "Yes, I slept fine. I don't remember much of last night though. I was very tired."
He nodded; listening to Sango while eating a plate of rice Kagome had made for them earlier. "Yeah, yesterday was long, so I don't blame you. I fell asleep early myself. You ready for another long day?"
"No. But I'll try to be."
Xen chuckled lightly to himself and fixed Sango a plate of rice and handed it to her. "Here, eat up. Since it's going to be a long day you're going to want all the strength you can get."
She smiled back at Xen as she took the plate and sat down. She was pretty hungry so it didn't take her long to chow down on the rice. Kagome and Inuyasha managed to stop yelling at each other long enough to eat as well. As always though, peace and tranquility never lasted long with this group.
"Oi, wench, whatever happened to that good ramen stuff we used to eat? I'm getting tired of eating all this rice crap." Inuyasha shot a glare at Kagome who was trying to ignore his complaint. "Well?"
"Well! As you know I've been in the Feudal area for quite a while now. I can't exactly go to grocery store and get some ramen here. God, Inuyasha, some days you're just such an inconsiderate idiot."
"Nobody is making you stay here! You've just been a total annoyance these past few weeks. Just go home, Kagome," Inuyasha sneered.
Sango let out a long sigh. Sometimes those two just didn't know when to stop. 'I thought we were over this already,' she thought. 'What happened between these two? They're at each other's throats now more than ever.'
Sango cleared her throat and ended the argument in a quick but efficient manner. "If you two are done acting like children I would like to leave. I want to get to the nearest village by nightfall instead of listening to you two bicker all day."
Sango's scolding reminded the two of the task at hand, and they quieted down and just left the other alone. It was obvious however there were some unsettled issues.
Xen was glad to see Sango taking charge of the situation. He wanted to himself but felt odd about yelling at people he didn't really know, or felt he didn't know.
"Okay, so we're ready then?" Sango questioned. She was feeling anxious for whatever reason and really felt like getting out and going. Which was funny since Inuyasha usually acted like the drillmaster.
"Yeah," the group responded in unison.
Sango smiled at this, finally, things were getting done. "Good."
For whatever reason Sango's sudden enthusiasm seemed to jump-start everyone else and in a flash they had set off. Not sure in what direction to travel they began wandering the countryside. They were just looking for a village.
The idea sounded easy enough but things are never as easy as they sound. With a group as dysfunctional as theirs not only would the trip probably be unpleasant between Inuyasha and Kagome's bickering and Shippou's constant whining, but it would also consist of constant walking all day long. The even bigger problem being they not knowing where they were headed.
Yes, the trip would be hell, but you have to endure the storm to see the sun shine the next day.
Taking the initiative of wanting to be near Sango on this trip Xen walked next to Sango, getting as close as he could possibly get before walking on the poor girl.
Sango took notice quickly to this but decided instead not to say anything. She rather enjoyed Xen's company and preferred it to walking alone. Though, neither of them got the nerve yet to say anything to each other.
They both seemed shy in that way, not knowing what to say, or how to act, things like that. Communication is hard between people at times.
Xen began opening his mouth to say something but stopped when Sango's eyes were glued to him the minute he tried to speak. Nervous? Very. 'Damnit,' he cursed at himself. 'Just what the hell is my problem? I've never had this sort of trouble before, really.' He sighed; things were getting overly frustrating when they didn't need to be.
Sango, being a fairly perceptive person noticed this. "What's wrong, Xen? If you have something to say, just say it. It's alright. I don't bite." She smiled at her last comment, appearing to look playful.
A smile spread over Xen's face as well, seeing Sango smile made him all the more happier. "I was just wondering, where exactly are we going anyway? Do we have any idea?"
Seeing that tinge of concern on Xen's face had made Sango uneasy. The last thing she wanted was him to not trust her, but she honestly didn't really have any plan. That's how their group had always worked though, no real plan of action. "Well, no, actually."
The look of shock on Xen's face was priceless, and Sango quickly realized she must explain. "I mean, don't take it like that. We have a more general plan of action. We listen for rumors of strange happenings in villages and work from there. Just picking up what we get, so to speak."
Seeing Xen still looking confused made Sango think a little more about what she had said, replaying that in her mind. 'Wow, when I say it like that it really does sound stupid. Typical Inuyasha strategy at work there.'
"I see," Xen mused with himself. "So, we have no strategy?"
"Exactly."
The two looked at each other for a moment and began cracking up in laughter. It was indeed an anticlimactic mood they were in.
"They're sounding really energetic this morning," grumbled Inuyasha.
"I know," replied an annoyed Kagome.
"What's with you two?" squeaked Shippou. "You guys sound like zombies."
Inuyasha let out an annoyed growl. So long as Shippou was around he couldn't have any one-on-one time with Kagome, which he desperately needed. "Shut up Shippou, or you'll be the one who's dead."
Smart enough to not respond to Inuyasha's threat Shippou hopped off of Kagome's shoulder and walked alongside Sango and Xen instead.
"Finally," sighed Inuyasha.
Kagome, however, was not as relieved as Inuyasha. She was actually more agitated than anything else. "What was that all about? Honestly, Inuyasha, you're so mean."
Deciding to blatantly ignore Kagome and go in for the kill Inuyasha responded saying, "Why are you so upset with me lately, Kagome? What did I do?"
Kagome's eyebrow twitched in frustration. "What did you do!? You have to be kidding!"
"No."
"God, Inuyasha," she wailed. "You've been acting so mean to me since Sango came back. I'm not the one with a problem. You are!"
The older less mature but equally hotheaded Inuyasha would now throw a fit and go ballistic on her, but he didn't. Instead, he did something that was least expected of him. "I'm sorry," he said softly.
"W-what?" Kagome's voice quivered as she tried to speak. 'I must be dreaming,' she thought. 'Inuyasha doesn't apologize.'
Inuyasha could tell he had to elaborate and quick before Kagome goes into a state of shock. "After we uh," Inuyasha paused, looking for the right words. "After we got "close" I've been feeling very indifferent towards you."
'This must be a dream. Yes, that's it, I'm dreaming.' Kagome felt faint as she continued walking. Like she was floating on air.
Clutching her arm in his hand he pulled Kagome over to him, getting her close and in his face. "Don't be mad. I just didn't want to act like things have changed between us. I feel like I'm getting soft."
Being as dazed as she was Kagome couldn't muster a response to this. She felt hurt and betrayed. She could the tears welling in her eyes. Not wanting to cry in front of Inuyasha she turned her back to him and kept on walking. Leaving the matter to be resolved later.
Inuyasha could only stand there utterly shocked and pondering how he could mess up a simple apology. "Damnit, I really messed things up this time."
The two of them had totally different trains of thought. Kagome feeling that Inuyasha's reputation was more important to him than her. Then Inuyasha being totally clueless as to what he did and growing in anger towards Kagome for not forgiving him. Yup, things were just heating up.
The rest of the afternoon went as follows; Xen and Sango continued meaningless side chit-chat to pass the time as they walked, Shippou merrily walked along with nothing going on in his empty head, Kagome walking in- between Xen and Sango next to Kilala, and Inuyasha trailing everyone else grumbling about Kagome being some sort of bitch.
It was now late in the afternoon and the group's empty stomachs began to act up, growling every other minute it seemed. They had planned on stopping earlier and eating, but they were making good time and decided not to stop, thinking a village would pop up eventually. One hadn't and they couldn't wait anymore.
Food must have been on everyone's mind as they all said, "Let's eat," nearly all at the same moment.
"There," Xen pointed, "we can eat under that tall tree and get some shade and relax."
"Agreed," said Kagome in a rushed tone. "Come on, Sango. Let's get over there and prepare some food." Not giving her a chance to respond Kagome grabbed Sango's arm and dragged her off quickly with Kilala and Shippou running after them from behind.
Xen and Inuyasha watched this transpire and both seemed to shrug. Odd was the best word of choice for the moment.
"What was that all about?" asked Xen, turning to Inuyasha.
He just shook his head in confusion. "No idea."
Asking the obvious question Xen said, "You guys have an argument?"
"No," Inuyasha said. "In an argument two people express their views on a situation, not storm off while the other tries to apologize."
"Oh," said Xen thoughtfully. "So then you're in trouble?"
"Bingo."
"Enjoy that."
A small grin pursed Inuyasha's lips. "Don't you know?"
Xen gave him a quizzical look, very confused at the moment.
"I thrive on anger, anxiety, and argument. Hell, it's what I live for. It's all part of the game."
Xen couldn't hold it in any longer and burst out in small fit laughter. "Enjoy your final moments because you're going to be dead soon. From what I've seen Kagome is pretty temperamental."
"You haven't seen anything yet," he replied grimly.
Sango fumbled around with getting the food ready, Kagome was admitting a kind of aura from her body that was terrifying and made it hard to focus. Trying to be a supportive friend she jumped off the ledge and decided to at least say something to her. "Kagome, what's going on between you and Inuyasha? Your behavior towards one another is quite, well, uh, unusual."
"It's nothing Sango, just don't worry about it," she responded quickly. She tried busying herself with the food so as to not attract more attention to her.
Not being an idiot Sango could easily catch on to what was happening but chose to say nothing. She too didn't want to invoke her friend's wrath, even if she was nicer to Sango; it just wasn't a good idea.
"Something smells good," said Xen happily. "I take it lunch is ready then, Sango?"
The sound of Xen's voice quickly brought Sango out of her daze, startling her just a bit. "Oh, yes, I'm sorry. Sit down and we can eat."
A wide smile spread across Xen's face, for whatever reason he was feeling very happy and bubbly. "Great, I'm starving."
"Same here," snarled Inuyasha. "What are we eating anyway?"
"What I give you," replied Kagome rather coldly. "It's food so just eat it and don't complain."
Inuyasha thought about responding but was smart and kept his mouth shut. He and Kagome had enough of each other already this morning. The process didn't have any need to continue.
Xen and Sango gave each other weary looks but merely shrugged and began eating, not caring too much if Inuyasha and Kagome tore each other's heads off. Then at least they'd have some peace and quiet.
"This is really good, Kagome!" exclaimed a happy and well-fed Shippou. "What is it?"
'I'm glad someone is enthused about my cooking,' Kagome thought wearily. "It's just some rice dish I cooked up Shippou, big deal."
"It's really yummy!"
"Pansy," coughed Inuyasha.
"What was that, Inuyasha?" roared Kagome. "Can't you be nice to one person for once in your life. You're always so mean!"
"I, well, um." Silence. Inuyasha gave up on trying to come up with an excuse good enough to please Kagome. He just kept his mouth shut and instead decided to not speak for the remainder of the meal and trip, if possible.
Putting in an effort to settle the mood Xen chimed in with a, "I agree with Shippou, Kagome. This really does taste good."
Sango sighed and just decided to let things fall apart, it would be more interesting that way and besides, Xen's plan was going to fail miserably anyway. There was no point in saying the wrong thing and add to the fire. She knew her friend well enough to just let her fizzle out.
"It's nothing," mumbled Kagome angrily. "REALLY, don't say anything more. Please."
The group took that as a hint as Kagome saying, "Just shut the hell up and leave me alone!"
However, silence was going to last long. Inuyasha's nose twitched. "Shit you guys! I can smell smoke, something is burning."
"There!" yelled Kagome. She pointed just over the horizon where there was a bright scene of red engulfing a village. "Oh, god, those people, they're probably being burnt alive."
The gang watched in horror as the smoke grew thicker and the flames spread. They could hear the screams of the villages pleading for help, as the flames mounted and engulfed their village.
Inuyasha let out a low growl, his hearing being more sensitive he could hear the crackling sound of the fire as it maimed human flesh. "I can't take it anymore. Let's go."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~End of chapter~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Okay, so, yes, I did pick a crappy place to end but that's one of my many talents. I can't tell you how sorry I am for writing so slowly and not showing much for my update. It's just been a really tough couple of weeks. I have a valiant excuse for the amount of time this took to write but you people don't want to hear that. I'm sorry. A piece of good news being I got very few reviews meaning I got this chapter up quicker because I didn't have to write so many responses. Now, this is the part where you either laugh nervously or just don't give a damn. Your choice.
Aamalie~ I noticed that error and went back and fixed that, adding a few new paragraphs and editing some of the story. Thanks for that. Yeah, I'm lazy too. Laziness is great, isn't it? ^^
Small-buttercup~ Inuyasha and Kagome haven't been too frisky lately. They've had what I call over exposure to one another and now must take a break. That or they're just both on their periods. ^_~ Thanks for the review.
Lar-lar~ I thought his flashback was more of a frightening sudden experience and he'd be more surprised then he would be terrified of Sango, though you make a good point. I'll try to remember that if I incorporate more flashbacks. Thank you.
Rissi-Sama~ What am I, a fluff machine? I can't just pull out nice romantic moments out of my ass. I love writing fluff but getting too random hurts stories. *cough* Crimson Tears *cough* Look forward for some fluff near the end, I promise, you shan't be disappointed.
Rain angst~ Yeah, don't worry, there will be a nice resolution. Patience is the key. Thanks for the nice review.
Backsplash007~ Don't flatter me too much, I might start thinking I'm actually a good author. I try, and that's all I really do. I fail miserably most of the time but sometimes I get it right. Thanks for your kind words, I really appreciate the compliments.
Okay, that's all of my kick ass reviewers for chapter 10. Thanks for everyone who reviewed, I hope to hear from you guys for this one. Take care, till next time.
Expect next chapter... God knows when. I'm going to say next weekend but it'll probably end up not until the weekend after. We'll have to see. Thanks everyone.
Till then,
Zero.
Dialog~ "Meep meep meep."
Thoughts~ 'Meep meep meep.'
Author's note~ Okay, I had wanted to get this chapter up by last week but certain unexpected difficulties hindered this. I do apologize profusely. Thanks to everyone who's been patient. Thank you so very much.
Chapter 11
It was morning again; Sango could feel it. She didn't want to believe at first, since she hadn't remembered how her evening ended and now found herself in her tent, soon to have to get up and look forward to another day of walking. She could hear Inuyasha and Kagome arguing outside, which gave her a sinking feeling in her stomach. To add to her problems she could feel the newly risen sun beating down on her, making her feel warm and slightly sticky. She sighed and gave in, getting out of her tent and facing her less then cheerful surroundings.
"Good morning, Sango," beamed a very happy Xen. "How did you sleep? Well, I hope."
She was a bit taken aback by his early morning enthusiasm but was glad to see a friendly face. "Yes, I slept fine. I don't remember much of last night though. I was very tired."
He nodded; listening to Sango while eating a plate of rice Kagome had made for them earlier. "Yeah, yesterday was long, so I don't blame you. I fell asleep early myself. You ready for another long day?"
"No. But I'll try to be."
Xen chuckled lightly to himself and fixed Sango a plate of rice and handed it to her. "Here, eat up. Since it's going to be a long day you're going to want all the strength you can get."
She smiled back at Xen as she took the plate and sat down. She was pretty hungry so it didn't take her long to chow down on the rice. Kagome and Inuyasha managed to stop yelling at each other long enough to eat as well. As always though, peace and tranquility never lasted long with this group.
"Oi, wench, whatever happened to that good ramen stuff we used to eat? I'm getting tired of eating all this rice crap." Inuyasha shot a glare at Kagome who was trying to ignore his complaint. "Well?"
"Well! As you know I've been in the Feudal area for quite a while now. I can't exactly go to grocery store and get some ramen here. God, Inuyasha, some days you're just such an inconsiderate idiot."
"Nobody is making you stay here! You've just been a total annoyance these past few weeks. Just go home, Kagome," Inuyasha sneered.
Sango let out a long sigh. Sometimes those two just didn't know when to stop. 'I thought we were over this already,' she thought. 'What happened between these two? They're at each other's throats now more than ever.'
Sango cleared her throat and ended the argument in a quick but efficient manner. "If you two are done acting like children I would like to leave. I want to get to the nearest village by nightfall instead of listening to you two bicker all day."
Sango's scolding reminded the two of the task at hand, and they quieted down and just left the other alone. It was obvious however there were some unsettled issues.
Xen was glad to see Sango taking charge of the situation. He wanted to himself but felt odd about yelling at people he didn't really know, or felt he didn't know.
"Okay, so we're ready then?" Sango questioned. She was feeling anxious for whatever reason and really felt like getting out and going. Which was funny since Inuyasha usually acted like the drillmaster.
"Yeah," the group responded in unison.
Sango smiled at this, finally, things were getting done. "Good."
For whatever reason Sango's sudden enthusiasm seemed to jump-start everyone else and in a flash they had set off. Not sure in what direction to travel they began wandering the countryside. They were just looking for a village.
The idea sounded easy enough but things are never as easy as they sound. With a group as dysfunctional as theirs not only would the trip probably be unpleasant between Inuyasha and Kagome's bickering and Shippou's constant whining, but it would also consist of constant walking all day long. The even bigger problem being they not knowing where they were headed.
Yes, the trip would be hell, but you have to endure the storm to see the sun shine the next day.
Taking the initiative of wanting to be near Sango on this trip Xen walked next to Sango, getting as close as he could possibly get before walking on the poor girl.
Sango took notice quickly to this but decided instead not to say anything. She rather enjoyed Xen's company and preferred it to walking alone. Though, neither of them got the nerve yet to say anything to each other.
They both seemed shy in that way, not knowing what to say, or how to act, things like that. Communication is hard between people at times.
Xen began opening his mouth to say something but stopped when Sango's eyes were glued to him the minute he tried to speak. Nervous? Very. 'Damnit,' he cursed at himself. 'Just what the hell is my problem? I've never had this sort of trouble before, really.' He sighed; things were getting overly frustrating when they didn't need to be.
Sango, being a fairly perceptive person noticed this. "What's wrong, Xen? If you have something to say, just say it. It's alright. I don't bite." She smiled at her last comment, appearing to look playful.
A smile spread over Xen's face as well, seeing Sango smile made him all the more happier. "I was just wondering, where exactly are we going anyway? Do we have any idea?"
Seeing that tinge of concern on Xen's face had made Sango uneasy. The last thing she wanted was him to not trust her, but she honestly didn't really have any plan. That's how their group had always worked though, no real plan of action. "Well, no, actually."
The look of shock on Xen's face was priceless, and Sango quickly realized she must explain. "I mean, don't take it like that. We have a more general plan of action. We listen for rumors of strange happenings in villages and work from there. Just picking up what we get, so to speak."
Seeing Xen still looking confused made Sango think a little more about what she had said, replaying that in her mind. 'Wow, when I say it like that it really does sound stupid. Typical Inuyasha strategy at work there.'
"I see," Xen mused with himself. "So, we have no strategy?"
"Exactly."
The two looked at each other for a moment and began cracking up in laughter. It was indeed an anticlimactic mood they were in.
"They're sounding really energetic this morning," grumbled Inuyasha.
"I know," replied an annoyed Kagome.
"What's with you two?" squeaked Shippou. "You guys sound like zombies."
Inuyasha let out an annoyed growl. So long as Shippou was around he couldn't have any one-on-one time with Kagome, which he desperately needed. "Shut up Shippou, or you'll be the one who's dead."
Smart enough to not respond to Inuyasha's threat Shippou hopped off of Kagome's shoulder and walked alongside Sango and Xen instead.
"Finally," sighed Inuyasha.
Kagome, however, was not as relieved as Inuyasha. She was actually more agitated than anything else. "What was that all about? Honestly, Inuyasha, you're so mean."
Deciding to blatantly ignore Kagome and go in for the kill Inuyasha responded saying, "Why are you so upset with me lately, Kagome? What did I do?"
Kagome's eyebrow twitched in frustration. "What did you do!? You have to be kidding!"
"No."
"God, Inuyasha," she wailed. "You've been acting so mean to me since Sango came back. I'm not the one with a problem. You are!"
The older less mature but equally hotheaded Inuyasha would now throw a fit and go ballistic on her, but he didn't. Instead, he did something that was least expected of him. "I'm sorry," he said softly.
"W-what?" Kagome's voice quivered as she tried to speak. 'I must be dreaming,' she thought. 'Inuyasha doesn't apologize.'
Inuyasha could tell he had to elaborate and quick before Kagome goes into a state of shock. "After we uh," Inuyasha paused, looking for the right words. "After we got "close" I've been feeling very indifferent towards you."
'This must be a dream. Yes, that's it, I'm dreaming.' Kagome felt faint as she continued walking. Like she was floating on air.
Clutching her arm in his hand he pulled Kagome over to him, getting her close and in his face. "Don't be mad. I just didn't want to act like things have changed between us. I feel like I'm getting soft."
Being as dazed as she was Kagome couldn't muster a response to this. She felt hurt and betrayed. She could the tears welling in her eyes. Not wanting to cry in front of Inuyasha she turned her back to him and kept on walking. Leaving the matter to be resolved later.
Inuyasha could only stand there utterly shocked and pondering how he could mess up a simple apology. "Damnit, I really messed things up this time."
The two of them had totally different trains of thought. Kagome feeling that Inuyasha's reputation was more important to him than her. Then Inuyasha being totally clueless as to what he did and growing in anger towards Kagome for not forgiving him. Yup, things were just heating up.
The rest of the afternoon went as follows; Xen and Sango continued meaningless side chit-chat to pass the time as they walked, Shippou merrily walked along with nothing going on in his empty head, Kagome walking in- between Xen and Sango next to Kilala, and Inuyasha trailing everyone else grumbling about Kagome being some sort of bitch.
It was now late in the afternoon and the group's empty stomachs began to act up, growling every other minute it seemed. They had planned on stopping earlier and eating, but they were making good time and decided not to stop, thinking a village would pop up eventually. One hadn't and they couldn't wait anymore.
Food must have been on everyone's mind as they all said, "Let's eat," nearly all at the same moment.
"There," Xen pointed, "we can eat under that tall tree and get some shade and relax."
"Agreed," said Kagome in a rushed tone. "Come on, Sango. Let's get over there and prepare some food." Not giving her a chance to respond Kagome grabbed Sango's arm and dragged her off quickly with Kilala and Shippou running after them from behind.
Xen and Inuyasha watched this transpire and both seemed to shrug. Odd was the best word of choice for the moment.
"What was that all about?" asked Xen, turning to Inuyasha.
He just shook his head in confusion. "No idea."
Asking the obvious question Xen said, "You guys have an argument?"
"No," Inuyasha said. "In an argument two people express their views on a situation, not storm off while the other tries to apologize."
"Oh," said Xen thoughtfully. "So then you're in trouble?"
"Bingo."
"Enjoy that."
A small grin pursed Inuyasha's lips. "Don't you know?"
Xen gave him a quizzical look, very confused at the moment.
"I thrive on anger, anxiety, and argument. Hell, it's what I live for. It's all part of the game."
Xen couldn't hold it in any longer and burst out in small fit laughter. "Enjoy your final moments because you're going to be dead soon. From what I've seen Kagome is pretty temperamental."
"You haven't seen anything yet," he replied grimly.
Sango fumbled around with getting the food ready, Kagome was admitting a kind of aura from her body that was terrifying and made it hard to focus. Trying to be a supportive friend she jumped off the ledge and decided to at least say something to her. "Kagome, what's going on between you and Inuyasha? Your behavior towards one another is quite, well, uh, unusual."
"It's nothing Sango, just don't worry about it," she responded quickly. She tried busying herself with the food so as to not attract more attention to her.
Not being an idiot Sango could easily catch on to what was happening but chose to say nothing. She too didn't want to invoke her friend's wrath, even if she was nicer to Sango; it just wasn't a good idea.
"Something smells good," said Xen happily. "I take it lunch is ready then, Sango?"
The sound of Xen's voice quickly brought Sango out of her daze, startling her just a bit. "Oh, yes, I'm sorry. Sit down and we can eat."
A wide smile spread across Xen's face, for whatever reason he was feeling very happy and bubbly. "Great, I'm starving."
"Same here," snarled Inuyasha. "What are we eating anyway?"
"What I give you," replied Kagome rather coldly. "It's food so just eat it and don't complain."
Inuyasha thought about responding but was smart and kept his mouth shut. He and Kagome had enough of each other already this morning. The process didn't have any need to continue.
Xen and Sango gave each other weary looks but merely shrugged and began eating, not caring too much if Inuyasha and Kagome tore each other's heads off. Then at least they'd have some peace and quiet.
"This is really good, Kagome!" exclaimed a happy and well-fed Shippou. "What is it?"
'I'm glad someone is enthused about my cooking,' Kagome thought wearily. "It's just some rice dish I cooked up Shippou, big deal."
"It's really yummy!"
"Pansy," coughed Inuyasha.
"What was that, Inuyasha?" roared Kagome. "Can't you be nice to one person for once in your life. You're always so mean!"
"I, well, um." Silence. Inuyasha gave up on trying to come up with an excuse good enough to please Kagome. He just kept his mouth shut and instead decided to not speak for the remainder of the meal and trip, if possible.
Putting in an effort to settle the mood Xen chimed in with a, "I agree with Shippou, Kagome. This really does taste good."
Sango sighed and just decided to let things fall apart, it would be more interesting that way and besides, Xen's plan was going to fail miserably anyway. There was no point in saying the wrong thing and add to the fire. She knew her friend well enough to just let her fizzle out.
"It's nothing," mumbled Kagome angrily. "REALLY, don't say anything more. Please."
The group took that as a hint as Kagome saying, "Just shut the hell up and leave me alone!"
However, silence was going to last long. Inuyasha's nose twitched. "Shit you guys! I can smell smoke, something is burning."
"There!" yelled Kagome. She pointed just over the horizon where there was a bright scene of red engulfing a village. "Oh, god, those people, they're probably being burnt alive."
The gang watched in horror as the smoke grew thicker and the flames spread. They could hear the screams of the villages pleading for help, as the flames mounted and engulfed their village.
Inuyasha let out a low growl, his hearing being more sensitive he could hear the crackling sound of the fire as it maimed human flesh. "I can't take it anymore. Let's go."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~End of chapter~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Okay, so, yes, I did pick a crappy place to end but that's one of my many talents. I can't tell you how sorry I am for writing so slowly and not showing much for my update. It's just been a really tough couple of weeks. I have a valiant excuse for the amount of time this took to write but you people don't want to hear that. I'm sorry. A piece of good news being I got very few reviews meaning I got this chapter up quicker because I didn't have to write so many responses. Now, this is the part where you either laugh nervously or just don't give a damn. Your choice.
Aamalie~ I noticed that error and went back and fixed that, adding a few new paragraphs and editing some of the story. Thanks for that. Yeah, I'm lazy too. Laziness is great, isn't it? ^^
Small-buttercup~ Inuyasha and Kagome haven't been too frisky lately. They've had what I call over exposure to one another and now must take a break. That or they're just both on their periods. ^_~ Thanks for the review.
Lar-lar~ I thought his flashback was more of a frightening sudden experience and he'd be more surprised then he would be terrified of Sango, though you make a good point. I'll try to remember that if I incorporate more flashbacks. Thank you.
Rissi-Sama~ What am I, a fluff machine? I can't just pull out nice romantic moments out of my ass. I love writing fluff but getting too random hurts stories. *cough* Crimson Tears *cough* Look forward for some fluff near the end, I promise, you shan't be disappointed.
Rain angst~ Yeah, don't worry, there will be a nice resolution. Patience is the key. Thanks for the nice review.
Backsplash007~ Don't flatter me too much, I might start thinking I'm actually a good author. I try, and that's all I really do. I fail miserably most of the time but sometimes I get it right. Thanks for your kind words, I really appreciate the compliments.
Okay, that's all of my kick ass reviewers for chapter 10. Thanks for everyone who reviewed, I hope to hear from you guys for this one. Take care, till next time.
Expect next chapter... God knows when. I'm going to say next weekend but it'll probably end up not until the weekend after. We'll have to see. Thanks everyone.
Till then,
Zero.