Me: Wow, here's the next chapter in record time, probably because I had an idea of what I wanted to write already. This is most likely the longest chapter in the story too. It was my first try at writing an action scene, so I hope it came out okay. Thanks for the review, Tache!
Just a reminder, this fanfiction does contain shoujo-ai stuff in it.
Disclaimer: "Inuyasha" is property of Rumiko Takahashi, Sunrise, Viz, and all those other people who bring this series to us!
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Kisu (Kiss) Chapter 3
It was nightfall, and the stars shone overhead as Inuyasha and the others slept soundly in a cabin they had found. Well, nearly all of them. A certain reincarnation of a Miko we all know was still lying awake – thinking... again. She rolled over onto her side with aggravation.
'Arrrgh... No matter how much I want to stop thinking about it, I just can't. Why?' Kagome brought her right hand over her forehead. 'It can't be because... I have...' she gulped. '...a crush on Sango-chan?' She grinded the palm of her hand against her head. 'No way! I can't believe I even thought that!' She flipped over onto her back, staring up at the ceiling. 'It can't be! I mean, she's a girl, I'm a girl – it wouldn't work! Besides...' she shifted her eyes. 'I have Inuyasha, and she has Miroku.'
Kagome sat up and looked around. Her eyes fell upon Sango's sleeping figure, the firelight illuminating her face enchantingly. She watched her for a while, as if she were mesmerized by the sight of her friend. She crawled over towards her, being careful not to wake the others. 'But... I can't help feeling what I feel.' She laid down next to the sleeping taiji- ya.
Nearby, Miroku cracked an eye open. He had noticed Kagome moving restlessly and opened his eyes a bit to watch her. His mind wondered why she had finally decided to move over next to Sango. Usually she would go near Inuyasha or decide to be by herself. He glanced over at the hanyou, whom he was sure noticed too, regardless of his eyes being shut at the moment. Miroku was startled when Inuyasha snapped his eyes open suddenly.
"Something's coming," he told Miroku. Miroku straightened up with surprise, his brows furrowed. He calmed down, and then sensed it too.
"You're right," Miroku replied as Inuyasha got up. Miroku shook Shippo awake. "Shippo, get up! A youkai's coming!"
"What?" Shippo said groggily, rubbing his eyes. He took a moment to process what Miroku had just said fully, before crying, "Oh no!" He shot up onto his hind legs
Kirara woke up "mewing" near Sango, her fur on end. The noise caused Sango to stir, and she slowly opened her eyes.
"Kirara? What is it? Eh?" Sango looked down to see Kagome sleeping soundly next to her. 'What's Kagome-chan doing over here? Wasn't she sleeping over there?'
"Sango, hurry!" Miroku called out to her. Sango twisted around at the sound of his voice. "The youkai's coming!" With that, he dashed outside after Inuyasha. Sango grit her teeth and stated suiting up for the fight.
"Kagome, wake up!" Shippo shook her. "It's a youkai!" Kagome turned over and sat up sleepily, a dazed expression on her face. "Kagome, a youkai's outside!" Shippo repeated. The word "youkai" opened Kagome's eyes up all the way, and she looked around for Inuyasha.
"Inuyasha?" she said uncertainly.
"He's already outside." Sango picked up her Hiraikotsu off the floor, running towards the door. Kirara ran out with her. Kagome and Shippo followed outside, to see a huge beast looming over them.
To Kagome, it resembled a dragon from fairy tales, what with its large flapping wings, long neck, and lizard-like face. The black dragon- looking youkai had horns protruded from its head, as well as black smoky fangs from its mouth. Its talons gleamed in the moonlight, preparing to rip through anything which got in its way. Most dragons though, didn't usually have poisonous bugs flying around them
"Keh! This'll be an easy one," Inuyasha retorted confidently. "One Kaze no Kizu and it's history!" He raised Tessaiga over his head, preparing to slice through with a devastating blow. "Kaze no – ," but as soon as he had started, the youkai pushed him back with a huge flap of its leathery wings, the wind knocking him off balance. Inuyasha dug Tessaiga into the ground, providing him with something stable to hold on to.
The youkai lunged towards Kagome and Shippo, one of its clawed hands outstretched ready to grab them. They both cringed at the sight, waiting for the impact.
"Keep your claws to yourself!" Inuyasha charged towards them. "Kaze no Kizu!" he shouted, as his attack ran across the ground, headed towards its target. It collided with the youkai, light shining in all directions. "Yes!" Inuyasha cried, but at a second glance, he found that the youkai had flown up to dodge it. "What!?"
"It's fast for something so huge!" Miroku exclaimed, staring up at the oversized reptilian.
"Houshi-sama, get on!" Sango came by on Kirara's back, waiting for him to climb on with her.
"Thank you, Sango." He hopped aboard and Kirara took off towards the youkai, which was flapping its wings ominously.
"Hiraikoutsu!" Sango flung her weapon at the youkai, but it only managed to hit against it when it came back to her. "Hiraikotsu couldn't slice through?"
"It's skin must be very tough to deflect that," Miroku deduced. "Alright, get closer so that I can jump onto it."
"What? Are you crazy?" Sango looked back at him incredulously.
"I'm going to look for a weak spot," he told her, as he prepared for his leap off.
"What!? Wait!" Miroku jumped off at Sango's last words, latching onto the youkai's neck. It roared with rage as Miroku tried to hang on, flailing its large body around in the air. It reeled its neck back as if it were about to spit something out. Kagome saw sparks dance around its mouth, before it let out a stream of fire across the ground. The flames caught onto the cabin they had been in, setting it ablaze.
"Oh, no!" Kagome cried. She set Shippo down on the ground. "Shippo- chan, stay here," she told him, as she made to dash to the fiery cabin.
"Kagome, wait! Where are you going!?" the young kitsune called. Inuyasha looked round at them.
"I have to get the Shikon shards!" she shouted without looking back.
"What?" Inuyasha exclaimed. "Wait! Get back – gragh!" The youkai had flown down and picked up Inuyasha by his head, its talons scratching his neck. "Let go of me you stupid youkai! Augh!" The youkai tightened its grip on Inuyasha, its talons threatening to separate his head from his body.
Up above, Miroku was frantically looking all over for something which may help figure out how to defeat the youkai. With Inuyasha defenseless below, he tried thrusting his staff into its scaly armour to distract it. This just proved to irritate the youkai even more, his body trying to buck Miroku off.
"Hiraikotsu!" Sango threw her bone boomerang at the arm connected to the claw grasping Inuyasha's head. As before though, it had virtually no effect.
"Sango! Forget me!" Inuyasha shouted at her with difficulty. "Go get Kagome!"
"Kagome-chan?" Sango blinked. She glanced down at the ground, searching for the aforementioned girl.
"She ran back into the cabin, but it's on fire!" he gasped. He was having trouble breathing with the youkai's talons closed around his neck. "That was a while ago though!"
Sango took another look down, finding that Kagome was no where to be seen, and that the fire the cabin was caught in was spreading.
"Hurry!" Inuyasha gurgled urgently.
Annoyed with Sango and Kirara flying around, the youkai whipped its tail around to strike them. Unexpectedly, the scales on it rose on end, showing off how razor sharp their edges were. Miroku's eyes widened at this new development.
"Sango, look out!" Miroku hollered. Sango looked up as the tail came whizzing at them. Kirara dove down to avoid it, but it wasn't fast enough as the tail slammed into Sango, knocking her off Kirara. "Sango!" Miroku watched her hurl towards the ground, the impact causing a cloud of dust to rise upwards. When it cleared, he saw her form lying on the ground. He was relieved to see Sango sitting up, at least able to move.
Shippo came sprinting over. "Sango! Are you okay?" He kneeled next to her, worry all over his face. Kirara soon came down to land next to Sango, with growls of concern.
"I'm fine," Sango replied, though her voice strained. Shippo looked aghast at the many gashes cut into Sango as she said that.
"A-are you sure?" he asked nervously, watching as a drip of blood traveled down Sango's cheek.
"It's nothing serious," she assured him, getting up onto her feet.
"Wait! Should you even be moving?" Shippo still fussed over her.
"It's okay," she said, lifting up Hiraikotsu. "Besides, I have to go get Kagome-chan."
Shippo gasped, looking back at the burning inferno. "That's right – she hasn't come out yet!" Tears began to well up in his eyes. "What if she's – "
"Kagome-chan's alright. I know she is. She's strong." Sango began walking over to the cabin. "Kirara, go help the others. Shippo, stay here and keep an eye on them."
Kirara growled somewhat reluctantly, and took to the skies once more.
"R-right." Shippo nodded his head as he watched Sango limp away from him.
Back up above, Miroku was developing a plan in his mind. Spotting Kirara, he decided to follow through with it.
"Kirara!" he motioned for her to come closer. Kirara flew by, Miroku climbing onto her back before the dragon-like youkai could attack them. "Okay, just hover around for a bit near the youkai, just to get it agitated," he instructed. Kirara did as she was told. The youkai roared, infuriated. Just as Miroku had expected, it once again let the scales on its tail stand on end to strike them. Miroku twisted around and thrust his staff at the exposed flesh underneath as it came upon them. The youkai howled in pain, releasing Inuyasha from its grasp.
"Inuyasha!" Miroku shouted as the hanyou began to descend. "Aim the Kaze no Kizu at its tail!"
"Heh, alright!" Inuyasha lifted up Tessaiga over his head. "Kaze no... KIZU!" The attack sliced through like a laser, taking out the entire tail. The damage began to affect the rest of the youkai's body, from the inside out. Soon its entire body had disintegrated into nothing.
Inuyasha landed onto the solid ground, along with Miroku and Kirara.
"Geez, how troublesome!" Inuyasha scowled. "That Naraku really gets on my nerves..."
"Inuyasha! Miroku!" Shippo came running up to them. "Kagome... she made it out of the cabin, but..." he sniffed, "Sango didn't come out with her!" The boys' eyes widened.
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Sango used Hiraikotsu to clear her path when she got to the door, and entered the conflagration. Beams of wood lay strewn across the room, flames flickering all around. The smoke made visualization difficult, so Sango called out to Kagome. "Kagome-chan!" she shouted. "Where are you?" Sango cupped her hands around her mouth. "Kagome-chan!"
"S... Sango... chan..." Sango scarcely heard from over in a corner.
"Kagome-chan!" Sango made her way towards the direction of the voice, pushing away any fallen beams which got in her path. As she got closer, she saw something which looked green in colour. 'It's Kagome-chan's clothes!' "Kagome-chan!" Sango found Kagome huddled in a corner, a handkerchief wrapped around her face. "Kagome-chan, are you okay?" She bent down to make sure she wasn't hurt.
Kagome looked up at her and nodded. "Yes... I'm okay." She got into a fit of coughing before passing out.
"Kagome-chan!" Sango caught her by the shoulders before she fell to the floor. 'I wonder how much smoke she might have inhaled...' Sango took out her poison protection mask and tied it around Kagome, taking the cloth for herself. 'I have to hurry and get out of here.'
Sango heaved Kagome up onto her back, carrying her bag and Hiraikotsu with her. She began to follow the path she had made earlier. As she moved, the heat began to have an effect on the wounds she had received, making them feel feverish. 'Hang on... Kagome-chan...' Sango weaved in between the smoldering planks of wood daring to lick at her legs, sweat dripping down her face.
She was close to the door now. Just then, she heard something creak above her. The cabin was giving way. With the rest of her strength, she tossed Kagome out the door before the roof caved in. Sango blacked out as the weight came down on her.
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"What!?" The boys' eyes were wide.
"She must still be in there somewhere," he sobbed. "But... the roof caved in and..." Shippo trailed of with tears streaming down his face. The others quickly dashed over to the scene, the fire rising ever higher.
"Stand back!" Inuyasha instructed the others. "Kaze no... KIZU!" he swung Tessaiga down, the forceful wind it created putting out the blaze. As soon as it was out, Miroku dashed in to search for Sango with Kirara. Inuyasha slid Tessaiga back into its sheath, as he heard a groan from behind him. He turned whipped around to see Kagome stirring. Shippo came next to her as Inuyasha kneeled down.
"Kagome! Are you okay?" Shippo frantically asked between sniffles. Kagome coughed up a bit. Inuyasha sat her up to lean against him. He loosened the poison protection mask to pull it down from her face.
"Inuyasha..." she looked up at him. "What... what happened?" Kagome had a dazed expression on her face. "Did you defeat the youkai?"
Inuyasha nodded. "Yeah, we did."
"That's good to hear," Kagome replied. She tried to sit up on her own, when she noticed Sango's mask hanging around her neck. "Eh? Why is..."
"Urgh!" The three on the ground looked around at Miroku, carrying an unconscious and soot covered Sango from the burnt wreckage. Kirara followed them.
"Sango-chan..." Kagome murmured. "Sango-chan!" she tried to get up, but her weakened body wouldn't have it so. Miroku walked over to them and laid Sango down, untying Kagome's handkerchief around her face.
"She's alright – she's still breathing," he informed the others, "just unconscious." He looked down at her sympathetically.
Kagome stared at Sango's worn body, from the soot on her face to the cuts on her arm. She clutched the poison protection mask around her neck. "What happened?" She looked at the others, who looked back at her.
"Well... most likely the cuts are from when the youkai hit her with its tail covered in razor-sharp scales," Miroku began informing her.
"Then she had to save you from the fire because the youkai caught me in its stupid claws," Inuyasha grimaced. "If it wasn't for that, this probably could have been avoided." Shippo sniffed.
'If it wasn't for that...' Kagome frowned, '...or if it wasn't for me?'
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Me: Ah, another chapter finished! Sorry for the lame youkai, and the fact that I wasn't exactly sure what condition Kagome and Sango would be in after being in that fire. I was pretty sure they would have needed some kind of resuscitation or whatever, but... oh well? [laughs nervously] Anyways, please review, but no flames (can't you see what they can do to cabins, not to mention "InuYasha" characters' wellbeing?)