"Some say that the best way to forget your troubles is to wear tight shoes, but I say, go out and hug someone."
Bear Hugs for Friends
Inuyasha, as per his usual attitude, was silently sneering. Unusual, though, were his drooping ears and the quiet cloud of gloom woven through his aura. The group was staying at the village while they waited for Kagome to return, though no one else shared the dog-demon's melancholy. Miroku happily flirted with some female acquaintances while Sango napped. Shippo was off playing with the village children, something he didn't often have the chance to do. But high in the Goshinboku, Inuyasha brooded unhappily.
"Stupid wench. She's safer back in her own time than she is here. But we need her to get the Shikon shards! The faster we gather them all, the sooner she can go back and I won't have to worry about her anymore. In fact, I won't have to ever see her again!" Inuyasha's thoughts were running around in circles. This past battle had nearly seen Kagome liquefied, a sight that greatly shook the hanyou. Once more, his conflicting feelings debated within him. His shard detector had gone home a little woozily, saying she needed a few days to recover from the horrific experience and her wounds. Wounds that, Inuyasha thought guiltily, were his fault. He should have been a little faster, a little more aware.
A large caterpillar, about 6 feet long, suddenly loomed up behind Kagome. Inuyasha actually started to laugh at the thought of such a meek looking demon doing any harm. Kagome spun around as soon as it started moving toward her, drawing her weapon of choice. She could handle this one alone, without any help from Inuyasha, as it looked rather mild. When Sango and Miroku came back from looking for Shippo, they would be pleasantly surprised with the two extra jewel shards.
Kagome aimed carefully. This particular demon, thought it seemed set on hurting them, didn't appear to pose a threat, so she just aimed to stop the beast. If it was stunned enough, she could reach in and pluck off the jewel shards that were lightly attached to its back. Unfortunately, shards do unpredictable things to those that wield them...
As Inuyasha looked up to see if the demon was gone, a blinding light exploded through the clearing. He nearly screamed at its intensity, but a thought flashed through his suddenly mirthless brain. Kagome was right there!
The arrow had certainly done a lot more than she thought it would! Kagome, lacking the masculine pride of her hanyou companion, screamed with all her might. "Inuyasha! Where are you? Inuyasha!"
"Kagome!" He blinked back the dazzling splotches of color still nestled inside his eyelids and raced toward the girl. "What happened?!"
"I shot it with an arrow and it burst into light!" Her fully human eyes, having received the brunt of the blast, were not as quick to recover, so Inuyasha set to stopping it himself. "There are shikon shards on its back, Inuyasha!" Kagome warned, still rubbing her eyes. "Don't lose them!"
"Gotcha! KYAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!" With a wild war cry, the dog-demon attacked.
The contemplating dog-boy snarled at his stupidity. The caterpillar, during the flash, had morphed into a venom-spitting butterfly. He hadn't known its danger as soon as he saw the new bug, of course, but had approached it with a slightly more cautious mind after what had happened before. Unfortunately, his yell had startled it into an offensive mode. The ball of poison saliva sped towards the girl on the ground, still unsuspectingly rubbing her eyes.
Inuyasha's eyes widened. "KAGOMEEEEEEEE---!" He desperately ran to push her out of the way, butterfly-thing forgotten.
He didn't make it.
Luckily, through previous experience, Kagome had learned to heed his warnings. She jerked out of the way, still unseeing, and staggered to her feet just as Inuyasha ran into her. His familiar set of arms scooped her up and dashed her away as the spot she had been resting in sizzled to oblivion. She was set down gently but her eyesight, still gone, failed to pick up even a blur running away again. No fear. Kagome knew that if she needed it, Inuyasha would be back at her side faster than humanly possible.
No longer careful, Inuyasha barreled headlong into the demon, claws first. Now that he took it seriously, the battle was a short one. A quick dodge, a swift blow, and the hanyou was already racing back to Kagome. He quickly gathered her again and brought her back to the battle site. She shakily stood and pointed to the glow she faintly detected. "There...there. Two of them." Then she sat down while he got them.
When Sango and Miroku returned with Shippo in tow, they insisted Kagome go back to her own time. "Her healers are far better than the ones we have here," Miroku sagely advised. "It would be well if they looked at her eyes."
Sango nodded in agreement. "We don't have much for sight here. It would be best for her to take a short trip home."
And so, with a kitsune guide, she left.
"Hey, Inuyasha!" A voice called up through the branches, breaking the mentioned's concentration. When he didn't answer, Sango hmmphed and began to climb up. She reached the limb where he rested and sat in silence for a few moments before saying what she needed to.
"You know, the best way to forget your troubles is to go out and hug someone."
Inuyasha looked at her, startled. He had expected something to do with the near-miss, or with Kagome's problem, or that another journey should be started. Definitely not that he needed a hug.
"Feh," was the only response he could come up, accompanied by a sniff. The girl only laughed and started to climb down. She paused, catching Inuyasha's attention, and finished. "I bet Kagome needs one, too. Losing one's sight, if only temporarily, can be devastating." She left.
Kagome wasn't really in need of a hug. She had been smothered with them since she stumbled to the house. Her mother had sent her to bed and called in the family doctor immediately. His prescription had been a few days of rest with a dim, constant light nearby. Bedridden, blind, and furnished with a good meal, Kagome asked her mother to let her sleep. She was tired after the ordeal, but only got a few hours of rest before a familiar squeak alerted her to an opening window. Groggily, she asked, "'Yasha? Dat you?"
"Shhhh. Yeah, of course, wench. Go to sleep." Happily, she complied, and Inuyasha found himself in a dilemma. Sango's advice had really struck home, and he felt that Kagome needed a hug (never mind himself, of course. What kind of tough hanyou needs a hug?). For the next few minutes, he just sat there. She was resting so peacefully that it was catching. The dog-demon yawned, curled up on the floor, and fell asleep too.
Kagome stirred and opened her eyes. Unfortunately, they were still the same. "Unnnnaaaahhh!!!" she groaned. "I wanna see!!!"
"It's not that bad, wench!" A familiar grumpy voice was followed by a sharp crack, obviously a product of a large yawn. "Hmmph. So says the one WHO CAN SEE!" Kagome was obviously miffed. Looking up, Inuyasha was surprised to see tears gathering at the corners of her eyes. "Why do you get off crying when I'm the one who has to carry around all the guilt?!" The waterworks started. "Aaaaagh! Kagome, don't cry, just—" Sango's words came back to him. Jerkily, Inuyasha reached up and gathered her into his arms.
Hmmm. He did feel better. What's more, Kagome was shocked into silence.
Well, not completely.
"What...what's gotten into you?" Insulted, Inuyasha awkwardly released her. "Well, if you don't need a hug, just say so!" Kagome started to smile, then initiated an embrace of her own. "That's not what I meant," she whispered.
"Sango said it might be a good idea."
"Oh, really?"
"Well, I was...kinda...sulking..." Kagome laughed silently. So what's new? "And she said that the best way to forget your troubles is to...hug...someone...and she said...you might need a hug," he added tentatively. The girl smiled.
"Well, that, or wear tight shoes." The hanyou stiffened. "Why couldn't she have said that instead?! It would have been a lot easier!!" Kagome sat up straight in anger, releasing her hold. She started to grope around the floor when something was shoved into her hand. "Looking for these?" They were her shoes. "Yeah, thanks." She threw them at him. "Ow! Geez wench, do you a favor and what happens? Get brained in the head with a shoe..." He continued to mutter, but he had hurt her feelings. "Oh, put them on, jerk," Kagome snapped. She rolled over and tried to get back to sleep, but a hesitant hand touched her shoulder. "Sorry, Kagome..." And...she melted. " 's 'k, Inuyasha, but I really need to sleep. Maybe my eyes will heal by the next time I wake up."
"OK. You'll come back as soon as you can see, right?" She rolled her eyes. "Of course. Good night...morning...afternoon...Bye." He left.
Miroku chuckled as Sango's antics. "I see we have a budding matchmaker among us." His eyes twinkled as Sango grinned. "Well, they both needed it. Maybe next time they'll remember it, too." Her look softened. "After all we've been through and all we have left, they'll need all the hugs they can get." Miroku's silent nod showed his agreement. With a slight shuffling of cloth, he reached over and gave her an innocent squeeze around the shoulders. Then he trundled off to bed. Sango smiled. "Oyasumi."
"Oyasumi."
Hugs to all. Remember, a hug is never out of place.