Wow, it's been awhile, hasn't it? Sorry, but I did warn that I probably wouldn't post over break. :) Oddly enough, it's easier to write when I have less time. But that's going to be put to the test this semester. Idiot that I am I'm taking four writing intensive classes that require a lot of out of class work. So, chances are, updates will be few and far between. Much apologies!
I made a wonderful discovery over break! Cartoon Network shows Inuyasha at 3 in the morning! So, when I get up at 3 to work at 4, I can watch it! That made me very happy!!
Anyways, hope everyone had wonderful holidays! ;)
Lady Tristana Rogue: Hmm, I think I left off with you last time, but it's been so long that I can't remember! But anyways, thanks! And sorry that it took so long to update!
Henio: Thanks! Sorry for the update delay!
X5-452Star: Hey, I would never shoot a reviewer! They're too rare. ;) I really do appreciate the comments, but that doesn't mean I agree with them either. (Return the favor and don't shoot the writer!) While I do have a mild case of writer's block right now (or rather… haven't even glanced at the notebook recently), I actually really enjoy the filler chapter. It was a lot of fun to write. I know I should be writing for the readers, but I hoped that some would enjoy it too. Besides, some of my favorite Inuyasha episodes are the ones that are fillers. :)
Lady Tristana Rogue: Hi again! ;) Here here here!
KhmerGirl: Thank you! Glad ya liked it!
shadinah: Oh, the story only gets more romantic from here on out! :) (Or, as romantic as I can write it.)
Jabba1: Thank you! Hope your holidays were wonderfully pleasant!
Prophetess of Hearts: LoL, that was probably the only sing along they'll have. At least as far as I know. It just may scream to be written at some point, but probably not.
amanda: Sorry that it's not all up, but it is a process. I find it annoying to have to wait for updates for the stories I like too, but patience is a virtue, after all! :) (If I had it all written, I'd throw it up right now, but as it is, I'm only halfway through the next chapter.)
Leira1: Hi! I'm glad you liked it! I had too much of a conscience to leave it at an exciting part for a month. :) (And I don't have a death wish!) As far as I can tell, it won't be ending for awhile… probably because I'm not quite sure how to get to the end yet…. :\ Hee hee… I should probably figure that out, shouldn't I?
Simply a Lady: Oooh, I sympathize. I have so many stories floating around in my head right now I barely have time to concentrate in class. Sometimes I don't. And that's very, very bad! Last time I bothered to count I have 5+ stories clogging my brain… all Inuyasha stories. Sad thing is, the only one NOT floating around in there is this one! Bad! Bad!
EvanescenceShine3: Oh yeah! I've heard of Pontiac! Hey… you changed your name, didn't you? You must've. Aren't they great? (Evanescence). Actually, that's the CD in my stereo right now! I *love* My Immortal!
Dria: Thanks for the encouragement! Yeah, I do really like both, though right now more Inuyasha cause I actually have access to it…
Sailor Chibi Moon14: Ya know, it never even crossed my mind… you actually made me think on it for a moment, but then, I couldn't seem to work it in there. So, no, sorry. They'll probably be in the story towards the very end though, but just not in Feudal Japan.
Phew! Lots of reviews! Thank you very much!
Chapter Sixteen: Action - nope, Fluff - yupyupyup! And you're gonna hate me for some of it!
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Inuyasha did not get much sleep for all of the thinking he did. He thought about Kagome and Kikyo, about what was going to happen once the jewel was complete and Naraku was dead. Would he survive the final battle? Would any of them? - He growled at himself for that. In the very least Kagome would survive. He would make sure of that. - But if they both survived, what then? Would she leave him for her world? Would she stay with him? Would she - would she want to be his mate?
His thoughts followed along several paths that night, but they all led to Kagome. If he had truly stopped and thought about it Kikyo only entered his thoughts anymore when it was in connection to Kagome. But he would not let himself think about it. Not yet. Not until he was sure that she would not leave him forever.
With all the thoughts bombarding his mind, Inuyasha did not get any sleep that night. It was all right for him though because he could survive the day on no sleep. Kagome on the other hand, who had not fallen asleep until just before dawn, could not. The fact that she too could not sleep had tinged in his mind all night, but he had the sense that she too was in deep thought and did not want to be disturbed.
That may have been a mistake, not making her get some sleep, because she refused to wake up when Sango told her that breakfast was ready. They all decided to let her sleep longer, but when Shippou tried to wake her up, it was to no avail.
"We should get going," Miroku said. "Who knows how long Kagura's scent will last." Everyone nodded in agreement. "Now… we've just got to get Kagome up," Miroku reminded them.
"I'll do it," Inuyasha said, startling them all. He felt satisfaction at having made Kouga stop in his movements towards Kagome.
Kagome was tired, really tired, and she did not want to get up. So when someone shook her shoulder for the third time in the space of an hour, she snapped.
"Would you leave me alone!" She did not even bother opening her eyes, she just rolled over and tried to fall back asleep. She was startled from her attempts however when the fabric covering her was suddenly pulled back. There was not time to complain though because an instant later she felt arms under her legs and behind her back lift her away from the warmth of her sleeping bag. She opened her eyes and looked at the culprit.
"Inuyasha?"
He smiled down at her, shocking her all the more. He set her down and turned his back to her.
"Get on."
"Huh?" Kagome said, too tired to comprehend this kind gesture from Inuyasha.
"Get on. We have to get going, but you're still tired. So get on and you can sleep."
As this information sunk in Kagome had the urge to be cliché and say 'Who are you and what did you do with Inuyasha?' but held her tongue. She turned to look back at her inviting sleeping bag, but found it already rolled up and in her bag - done by a proudly grinning Shippou. With a defeated sigh she climbed onto Inuyasha's back. She had always felt safe and comfortable on Inuyasha's back, so it was not long before she felt sleep sneaking up on her. Before she fell asleep though she whispered to Inuyasha, "You can be so sweet sometimes."
Inuyasha smiled, but did not bother answering her, for she was already asleep.
Inuyasha was content to walk ahead of the group, still following the tell tale signs of Kagura's scent. It was not until he looked back at his friends behind him that he noticed the addition to his group.
"What are you still doing following us, wolf?" he said, just loud enough for Kouga to hear, but not loud enough to wake Kagome up.
"Kagome invited me to join the group, so I am," Kouga yelled.
Inuyasha had to hold back a growl when Kagome began to shift, having been disturbed from her sleep by Kouga's yell.
"Keep it down idiot! Kagome's sleeping!" He hissed to the wolf demon, again as quietly as possible. Then to Kagome he said in a soft voice, "Go back to sleep. Everything's okay." No sooner had he said that then Kagome was once again sleeping. He gritted his teeth and quickly said what he said next. "You can stay, but don't make me regret it." He then turned his back on Kouga and continued on, not allowing for further exchange of words. It helped that Miroku and Sango looked at their weapons pointedly whenever Kouga opened his mouth.
They walked in silence for the rest of the morning, broken occasionally only by whispered conversations between Sango and Miroku or Darien and Serena. By the time it was time for lunch, Kagome was awake.
"Sleep good?" Inuyasha asked her once he was sure she was awake.
"Yeah," Kagome said with a yawn.
"Want down?"
"Not particularly," she said after hesitating for a moment. She closed her eyes, ready for the "Too bad" and the drop to the ground. It never came. She relaxed the muscles that she had tensed unconsciously and rested her chin on Inuyasha's shoulder.
"Did you have to invite that wimpy wolf to tag along?" Inuyasha asked after several minutes of silence.
Kagome giggled. "I was wondering if you had even noticed, considering he's still with us."
"Keh, would you have preferred that I fought him?"
"Of course not," she said, reaching up and tweaking his ear.
"Hey! Leave the ears alone!" he yell indignantly.
"Oh, but they're so soft!" Kagome gushed teasingly as she stroked a finger from the tip of his left ear to the base. She giggled when it tried to flick away from her finger.
"Keh!" was his reply, but Kagome could see a blush creep up his cheek. She decided to leave his ears alone for the time being, and got a little more serious. "I'm glad you're not making a big deal about Kouga joining us. If we really are getting closer to finding Naraku then we'll need all the help we can get."
"I know," Inuyasha admitted grudgingly.
Kagome was about to tease him about admitting that he needed help when her stomach growled violently.
"Hungry?" Inuyasha asked her, chuckling.
"Kinda," Kagome replied, a bright red blush appearing on her face.
"Yeah, well you haven't eaten since lunch yesterday. I bet you're hungry."
"Hmm," Kagome mused. "I guess I haven't eaten in awhile. I didn't notice." It surprised her that Inuyasha would notice when even she did not. Then her stomach growled again.
"All right, all right. We'll stop for some lunch. Stop growling at me," he said, a cheeky grin on his face.
"Oh shut up," Kagome grumbled. She received a throaty chuckle in reply. She was about to tweak his ear in retaliation when Inuyasha crested the steep hill he had been climbing. At the bottom of the hill was a meadow that had a river running though it lazily. So entranced with the view was she that Kagome missed the evil grin that crept onto Inuyasha's face. Though she did notice the evil chuckle.
"What?" she asked suspiciously.
All she got for a reply was "Hang on!" before Inuyasha ran down the hill at a pace that left her breathless. As suddenly as he had started, he stopped. He let Kagome down off his back a moment later, but kept one arm firmly around her waist as she was unsteady on her feet. She turned her head and looked at him, an unreadable expression on her face. When she did not say anything for several moments he began to panic.
"S-sorry! I won't do that again!" he said, worried that she was mad at him. He was understandably a bit shocked when she broke out in a grin and hugged him.
"No way! That was fun! You've never gone that fast before just for the fun of it!" she grinned up at him.
"I'll just have to do it more often then," he said, smiling down at her. Her eyes twinkled in joy at the knowledge that he was basically saying that his back would be offered to her more often.
They continued to smile at each other, but then they both seemed to realize the position they were in at the same time. Kagome's hands were locked behind Inuyasha's neck, and his hands rested on the small of her back. The smiles faded from their lips as their heads inched almost imperceptibly closer.
They were achingly far from their mutual goal when an angry growl reached their ears. Both their heads snapped in the direction the noise came from. It was not so much the infuriated wolf demon that made them spring apart as it was the two couples that were looking at them with knowing smiles.
"Err, uh, we're stopping for lunch," Inuyasha explained, face red with embarrassment.
Kagome's face was equally red, but slowly turned horrified as Sango and Serena approached her with evil little grins on their faces. She looked to Inuyasha for help as they each grabbed an arm and began leading her away with the claim of looking for firewood. He looked back at her, a helpless expression on his face. It was obvious to Kagome that Inuyasha was just as confused and flustered by what had happened - almost happened - as she was. So Kagome was pulled unresisting into the woods where she was then attacked by questions.
"Were you two going to kiss?" Serena asked.
"Sure looked like it," Sango commented.
"Why did he take off like that?"
"What were you two talking about?"
"What was up with the ear thing?"
"Why were you so tired this morning?"
"And why didn't you kiss him?!" they said in unison, ending the short tirade of questions.
Kagome blinked back at them as they stared at her. "Well?!" they exclaimed at her after a full minute had passed. That startled Kagome from her silence.
"Uh, okay… well... I was up most of the night thinking about stuff and didn't fall asleep until this morning. We were talking about Kouga joining our group and helping to beat Naraku. I like his ears. He went fast for the fun of it. And I guess we were going to kiss, but we'll never know for sure now, will we?" she finished, glaring at her two friends, who had enough grace to look abashed.
"Hey, we weren't going to interrupt," Sango said with a wave of her hands. "Kouga getting a little pissed off is what stopped you two."
"A little pissed off?" Serena said with a laugh. "Both Darien and Miroku had to hold him back from trying to kill Inuyasha then and there."
Kagome had to giggle at that. Then a deliciously evil idea crossed her mind.
"Speaking of kissing," Kagome drawled out. "Have you and Miroku kissed yet?" she asked Sango.
"Wha- huh? Uh, uh…" Sango stammered nervously, her face flushing a bright red. "Oh! Look! Wood! Going to get wood!" she yelled as she ran off.
"Turning the tables, eh?" Serena chuckled.
"Hey, gotta get the heat off of me… and don't you start!"
"I won't, I promise," Serena said, grinning.
The grin slowly faded from Kagome as she remembered what she had wanted to ask Serena. "Uh, Serena? If what you told me is true and the Shikon jewel is waiting for me to purify it, then…. Well, how do I do it? Why wasn't it purified when I had it and it was whole?"
Serena had been expecting this question and was prepared with an answer.
"You didn't purify the jewel when it was whole, so it was still subject to corruption. As for how to purify it, I can't tell you that. That is something that you'll have to figure out on your own."
"Does that mean you don't know how to purify it or you won't tell me how?"
Serena just smiled and remained silent.
"Figures," Kagome said, putting a fake pout on her lips. A moment later the two girls broke out into laughter as they made their way back to the clearing. When they arrived they saw that Sango was already stoking a fire to life, a blush still apparent on her cheeks. Darien and Miroku had duplicate looks of exasperation on their faces as they listened to the growling match going on between Inuyasha and Kouga. Shippou, on the other hand, was finding it all very interesting as he looked on enraptured from Miroku's lap.
"Oh, knock it off!" Kagome said out of annoyance before going to Sango's side to help her with lunch. She barely noted that the growling had stopped, and went to her bag. She opened it and groaned.
Inuyasha heard the groan and his head automatically snapped away from his glaring contest with Kouga to rest concerned eyes on Kagome. "You okay?"
Kagome's head shot up to meet his eyes. "I'm fine, it's just that we've got only enough food for lunch. After that, we're basically out."
"Don't worry about it," Inuyasha said with a shrug. "Kouga and I will hunt."
"We will?" Kouga said with a raised eyebrow.
"Do you want to eat?" Inuyasha retorted. That silenced the wolf demon.
"Thanks," Kagome said to try to ease the tension. She and Sango set about fixing lunch. They ate quickly and after Serena and Darien did the dishes, packed up and continued on.
"Is the scent getting any stronger?" Sango asked after two hours of the fast pace that Inuyasha had set.
"Not really," Inuyasha admitted.
"Could we be walking into a trap?" Miroku asked musingly. He received a shrug in reply.
"Let's hope not," Kagome said over her shoulder from her position next to Inuyasha.
"I don't think so," Kouga said seriously. "Kagura was probably too scared to mask her scent completely."
"Probably," Kagome said hopefully.
They continued on like that for the rest of the day. Inuyasha following his nose, the group following Inuyasha, Kouga following Kagome. Conversations were limited, even between the couples, for a sense of anticipation had settled over them all. Something loomed ahead of them, they could feel it in their very bones. The time to face down Naraku would be soon.
Kagome was lost in her thoughts as she walked beside Inuyasha. She knew that they were walking towards what could be the end of their lives. She hated to think of the possibility that her friends would die, and the thought of Inuyasha dying brought an especially painful pang to her heart. But she knew the risks they were taking and she knew probably only a quarter of the actual number of how many people Naraku had killed or hurt in his quest for the Shikon Jewel. So, there was a high probability that they could be added to that list. She decided then and there - while walking beside Inuyasha towards a darkening horizon - that there were some things she had to tell him before they met with Naraku. Tonight she would bare her soul.