Disclaimer: I own 8 Inuyasha books, I am proud to say, but, unfortunately, not the actual characters ='(
Hey! Sorry I took so long getting this chapter out, but I had a writer's block and I had lots of hw to do. Grrr… high school… Anyway, thanks for all the reviews! I'm almost at my goal of 100! So, I'll be announcing whoever is the 100th reviewer! Chapter 12…
Ch. 12Miroku pulled the sliding side door of the van open. Inuyasha and Kagome were still sleeping inside. Inuyasha's head had lolled onto Kagome's at some point during the ride and both of them were snoring softly, with Inuyasha slightly louder. It would have been a great picture moment, but they hadn't brought any cameras.
Gently, cautious of his grumpy attitude, Miroku shook Inuyasha's shoulder, "Wake up, Inuyasha, we're here."
Groggily, he opened his eyes, "Here where?" he asked with a slurred voice. He felt too comfortable to get up. Instinctively, he pulled Kagome closer to his side, and leaned his head back against the car seat's headrest. He closed his eyes again.
"At the place we'll be camping for the night." He replied.
"Okay, okay, give us a few minutes." Miroku nodded and slid the door shut. Slowly, Inuyasha forced his eyes to open up once more. He looked to his left to see the black hair of the top of Kagome's head. She had her face nuzzled into the crook of his neck. One of her hands was resting on his chest. He could feel her soft, warm breath on his neck, sending shivers down his spine. Carefully, he scooted down to her ear and whispered softly, "Come on, Kagome, it's time to wake up. We're here."
She snuggled closer to him, seeking warmth and mumbled, "Here where?" much like he had done minutes before. He chuckled and pulled her up into his lap, her legs straddling his. Still half asleep, she wrapped her arms around his neck. Burying her nose in his shoulder, she murmured his name. She then proceeded to fall back asleep. Inuyasha was tempted to fall asleep as well, holding her like that, but fought the urge. He knew that Miroku would eventually come for them. Damn the monk.
He shook her shoulders and told her again to get up. When she resisted him, an idea struck him. "Miroku's watching us," he whispered to her.
Kagome's eyes immediately shot open and her head turned wildly in search of him. Inuyasha laughed and attempted to calm her down. "I was just kidding Kagome, he's not here." Kagome oriented on him and scowled in a very Inuyasha-like way. The half demon in question had an amused look on his face.
"You…" She said, her eyebrows lowered in anger, "I was just getting comfortable too!"
"I could see that," he smirked.
Kagome's face immediately lit up with a bright red in embarrassment. With a humph that couldn't hide her mortification, she turned her head to the side and refused to look at him.
"Aww, come on, Kagome, don't get mad." Inuyasha continued to wear the smirk on his face. He traced his claws lightly down her jaw line. She shuddered from his touch and his coaxing fingers soon brought her eyes to lock with his. As she gazed at him, all her anger left her body and she found that she couldn't remember why she was angry in the first place. His hand cupped her chin and brought her face closer to his but stopped as his lips came tantalizingly close to hers. Kagome gave a growl of frustration and with her hands she brought his head up, his lips crashed onto hers in a soul-searing kiss.
Inuyasha was surprised by her bold action, but he had no objections. Her lips were soft and warm and they caressed his lovingly. He returned her kiss eagerly, letting his own lips consume hers, releasing all the frustration that had built from the past 24 hours. His arms had wrapped themselves around her torso, his hands running up and down as if they had a mind of their own. Inuyasha allowed his tongue to slip out and trace her lips. Kagome opened her mouth obediently and his tongue tapped her teeth and past them into the interior of her mouth. He explored every crevice and engaged her tongue in a war of dominance, biting back a moan at the feeling of her tongue rubbing against his.
Kagome was in similar bliss. She had never, in her life, felt so good before. She almost purred as she felt his tongue embrace hers in such an intimate way, feeling shocks throughout her body. Her hands had found their way to his hair, one at the back of his head, stroking the thick, silky strands and the other traveling to the ears at the top of his head. She placed her four fingers on the soft, furry outer shell and placed her thumb on the warm interior. She proceeded to rub furiously from there. Inuyasha groaned against her lips and arched his neck to push his head into her hand. Encouraged, she stroked his ears more sensually, and giggled when, she felt a rumble come from his masculine chest.
Regretfully, they broke apart to breath in lungful after lungful of oxygen. As Kagome panted, she rested her head in the crook of his neck and breathed in deep gulps of air, taking in his scent as well. She lay her hand over his and was delighted as she felt his fingers entwine with hers.
"Kagome…" Inuyasha breathed, "I… I've never felt so wonderful before. You make me feel so calm and happy, Kagome." He nuzzled her hair. "I'm not all that good at expressing my feelings, but I'm absolutely sure about this. Kagome, I… I love you."
"Inuyasha…"
Kagome could feel tears bead at the corner of her eyes. She wrapped her arms around his neck tightly and pressed her body to his as close as physically possible. "I love you, too, Inuyasha!" She sobbed happily. "I love you so much…"
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Puffs of frigid breaths formed at Shippo's mouth from the frosty air around him. The weather sure had taken a quick change. It had been perfectly sunny the other day. But, then again, he thought, it was winter now and it tended to get pretty chilly around this time of year. Shippo took a large leap for a kid his size and landed on Miroku's shoulder, his miniscule hands clutching onto the thick fabric of the man's coat.
"Ah, Shippo, you're back," Miroku exclaimed, "So what is taking Inuyasha and Kagome so long, did you find out?"
The young fox nodded, his teeth chattering from the cold, "Yeah, but the window was kinda foggy and I don't really know what they were doing. They looked like they were trying to bite each other's mouths off. How strange…" He cocked his head uncertainly.
Miroku's trademark grin appeared on his face and Sango felt her eyebrow twitch. Taking the giant boomerang she was polishing, she whacked the monk from behind with surprising ease for a weapon of its size. The boomerang was an old family heirloom that had been passed on to her. It was made of the bones of a giant lizard demon and had been passed down for generations, still useful despite the years that had been placed upon it. She was quite proud of it and her ability to lift the heavy weapon to say the least. The mass of demon bone was no lightweight. She predicted that the monk would be knocked out for a while yet.
Sango sighed and gazed into the distance, her mind wandering aimlessly.
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Without warning, Kagome felt herself freeze. She couldn't move at all. A strange feeling came over her and she vaguely heard Inuyasha calling out her name. Her mind was clouded as if she was surrounded in a murky fog. She was unable to process any thought. Without warning, she felt as if her very heart had been torn in half. She tried to move to clasp her hand to her chest to ease the pain, but she was still immobile. A shapeless blue blob drifted from her body and slowly faded the moment it hit the car wall.
A fraction of the moment later, a odd, almost sexless voice rebounded through her mind.
When the emotions synchronize… The voice trailed off venomously.
The life returned to her limbs and she slumped against Inuyasha, strangely exhausted as she panted heavily. She became aware of the warm arms around her shoulders and the soothing hand stroking through her tresses. Inuyasha nuzzled her neck lightly and murmured, "Are you okay, Kagome? What happened?"
Kagome shook her head, as if to shake off her exhaustion and frowned slightly, "I… don't know."
"Are you okay?" He repeated.
She gave him an unconvincing smile and nodded her head. "I'm fine, Inuyasha. It's probably just something I ate. How about we go join the others now?"
His eyebrows dipped in suspicion but he didn't question her, "Sure, I'm getting hungry." He gave her another caressing kiss on the mouth and helped her out of the car.
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"What is it, Miroku?" Sango asked as the monk visibly stiffened. In the back of her mind, she wondered how and when he had awoken, but pushed the thought away.
Miroku relaxed his tense shoulders, "A strange aura. I sense a strange aura around us, something that is not of this world. It's gone now, you needn't worry, Lady Sango." He reassured her.
His gaze flicked to his right to see Inuyasha and Kagome approaching. He noted with a grin that they were holding hands. Inuyasha seemed to be blushing about doing something like that in public, but Kagome was oblivious to his discomfort. She was a girl who wasn't afraid to show her feelings.
Dinner was a quiet event. Each spoke only if the need came up. Everyone seemed to be drowning in personal thoughts. They ate in silence, they cleaned up in silence and they set up their tents in silence. Kagome wasn't sure why it was so quiet and, frankly, she didn't really care much for this kind of atmosphere. Unable to take the tension anymore, she spoke up, "So… Who's going to sleep where tonight?"
"You'll be sleeping with me, Kagome." Inuyasha replied shortly.
Miroku's eyebrows disappeared into his bangs and had opened his mouth to say something when Sango kicked him in the shin. He resolved that he would be much better off to keep his mouth shut and hop around in pain instead. So while, Miroku jumped on one foot, holding his shin with his hands, Kagome shrugged her shoulders noncommittally and climbed into one of the tents, followed by Inuyasha. Sango and Miroku followed suit with the remaining tent, while Shippo debated on which pair he would rather sleep with. In the end, he slipped into Sango and Miroku's tent.
Kagome had her back turned to Inuyasha as she pulled on a nightgown. He crept up to her and hugged her from behind. Kagome gave a startled jump and Inuyasha muffled her surprised shriek with his mouth. Kagome melted against him and returned the passionate kiss. Inuyasha's lips left hers and trailed down her jaw line and down her throat. He gave tiny little nips and licks that sent shivers through her body.
"Inuyasha…" She gasped.
Inuyasha moved to her ear, "So, are you going to tell me what happened in the car today?" He whispered softly, purposely letting his breath caress the tender skin of her ear.
Instantly, Kagome's mouth pulled tightly into a frown, "Are you trying to seduce me into talking?"
"Aha," he exclaimed triumphantly, "Something did happen after all! 'It's probably just something I ate' my ass!" He mimicked her.
"Curses," she muttered.
"So, you gonna talk?" He smirked.
"No way!"
"What, can't you trust me?" Inuyasha drooped his ears and pouted at her pathetically.
"Oh, no! I'm not falling for the old puppy dog eyes routine! Heh, how ironic for a dog demon, eh?" She smiled, tugging lightly on his ears. Inuyasha huffed and crossed his arms.
Then, an idea sparked in his head and a devilish smirk passed his face, "Well, since I can't seduce it out of you, they I'll just have to tickle it out of you!" He proclaimed dove on top of her, his nimble fingers seeking her sides. Kagome giggled and tried to escape his grasp. Inuyasha grabbed her flailing arms and pinned them down in one hand. He straddled her hips and his remaining hand delved into her ribs and tickled mercilessly as Kagome squirmed underneath him.
He leaned down to her face, "You give up yet?" He grinned arrogantly.
"Never," Kagome whispered, panting from laughing so hard. She reached her head up unexpectedly and caught his lips. He reciprocated eagerly, unintentionally letting his grip on her wrists loosen a bit. Kagome smiled against his lips and pushed Inuyasha down so that she was now on top. His eyes widened in surprise, as he gawked at her boldness. She giggled again and reached her own hands down to tickle him like he had done to her. Before long, the two found themselves in an all out tickle war. By then, Inuyasha's initial intention had completely slipped his mind, to Kagome's satisfaction.
Inuyasha sat up from his sleep. He looked around, not knowing what had awoken him. By his side, lay Kagome sleeping peacefully in the tangle of sleeping bags that was the result of their tickle war. He smiled down at her and absently tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear. He kissed her cheek softly and decided to take a refreshing walk outside.
He quietly opened the flap to their tent and noted that it was still nighttime, the moon hanging brilliantly in the sky. He took in a deep gulp of air and sighed in contentment. Life couldn't get any better than this. Well, actually, if they didn't have to worry about some lunatic demon holding the Shikon Jewel in his grasp, yeah, life couldn't get any better than this.
But before he could get even ten steps away from the campsite, a blazing ball of energy streaked pass him to imbed in a tree to his right. It was an arrow and it stuck out from the tree barely three inches from his nose.
"Inuyasha!" A voice called out angrily.
Slowly, he turned his head in the direction of his assailant.
He couldn't move. He couldn't speak. He couldn't breath.
There, standing exactly like she had looked centuries ago, with a bow in her hand and a quiver of arrows on her back was…
Kikyo.
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Heh heh. Okay you guys are probably all gonna kill me now, right? Doo dee doo ::whistles innocently::
Okay, I know I said that I wasn't going to bring her into this story, I changed my mind, alright? The temptation was too much to resist. Hey, don't complain! I gave you guys the kiss right? Anyway, review! Just as a warning, I might not get the next chapter out very fast. And also, I'm editing my other chapters right now. You know, just some grammar/spelling errors, and changing a few things I don't like. You can read the chapters over again, but it won't make a big difference. I'm just gonna change some small things, nothing big. Ja minna!
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Review ResponsesEr… sorry, but these responses will be short. Sorry! Sorry!
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AnimeBrat: Heehee, you bet! Hope you enjoyed this chapter!
Angelstar= mitsukai-hoshi: LOL! Yeah, I hate it when other people do that in their stories, but I love to do it to my own! Hope I didn't keep you waiting too long!
Funky Nassau: Wow, thanks! But, yup, you're right! There will be lots of fighting with Naraku now. Don't forget to review.
Leomae108: Haha, I love fluff too! I luv to lots lots lots! Anyway, no I won't make Inuyasha die. That would be like creating a whole different plot and starting all over again. I like plot twists, but that's too big of one! Thanks for reviewing!
DemonKitty: Mr. Kenshin…? Oh, well, I'm not going to ask. LOL. Well… there's a cliffhanger here. Hehe, sorry! I love cliffies though. They're so fun! And I totally agree with you. I LOVE FLUFF!! LOL.
squeakyinuears: That's okay, lots of people don't review my story ::sigh:: I would really appreciate it if you read my other story as well. Though… maybe you shouldn't cuz I haven't updated it in a while and I haven't even started on the second chapter! Heehee, I wish I could kiss his ears too! Thanks for your encouragement!
Inu Yasha III: Hey, no prob! I don't mind, so don't worry yourself over it. Plus, can't blame you if it was your comp's fault!
chibilee: Yeah, I love Inuyasha's ears sooooo much! They're sooooo cute! Heehee. LOL, yeah, well you know Miroku… He's not going to interrupt this time! I think I'm going to rewrite his speech though… it sounded a bit too rushed to me… Anyway, thanks so much for your encouragement! I am actually having fun at my school! Except for this 'friend' that won't stop insulting/hitting me and some other guy who likes me and won't stop staring at me ::shudders:: Don't forget to review!
inuficcrzy: Fluff, fluff, fluff! LOL. I love it too. I really like angst n stuff, but a little waffiness won't hurt anyone! I think there will be lots of angst coming on though. Not too sure, but just as a warning… Well, Kikyo has made her appearance, though I hate her guts, and Kohaku might make his. Might. Thanks for your review!
Rubber Duckie General: Hmmm, interesting name! Anyway… thank you! I really appreciate the compliment! Though, if you really want well-written, you should check out some of Rosefire1's fics if you haven't already. They are really good! Thanks for the review!
Again, I apologize for short review responses. I seem to be doing that a lot now, ne? See ya!