Disclaimer: I own an old sock. Do you like old socks? Because that's what you'll get if you sue me =P
A/N: Agg! Sorry I took so long to update, but hey, at least it wasn't as long as last time right? ::sighs:: Even though it's short, I hope you guys like this chapter! I decided there wasn't enough Mir/San fluff so there's some at the end of this chap =D
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Ch. 14 ~*~*~
Inuyasha woke with Kagome in his arms. He had a goofy smile on his face. Last night had been just one big make out session, including several see-how-far-you-can-shove-your-tongue-down-your-partner's-throat contests. He looked down at Kagome. Her hair was mussed and a droplet of drool had settled at the corner of her mouth, but he thought she had never looked more beautiful. Her slightly kiss-swollen lips helped with that statement of course.
He really did love Kagome, but now that Kikyou had come into the picture, he couldn't help but wonder what would happen. His feelings hadn't completely gone away. She was, after all, the first person to accept him after his late mother.
But she had betrayed him.
And yet, she seemed convinced that it was he who had done all the betraying.
He didn't know what to think anymore. He loved Kagome, but he also felt a certain faith to his old lover. What was he to do? His thoughts were cut off as Kagome began to awaken.
"G'morning," she muttered sleepily, reaching her arms up to pull him back down next to her.
"Same to you, beautiful," he replied.
She blushed a little. He snuffled lightly at her neck and gave her a quick peck on the lips.
"Love you," Inuyasha murmured.
A full smile bloomed on her lips. "Me too."
"Are you guys up yet?" Sango called from outside.
"No." Inuyasha called back.
"Ha ha, very funny," Sango said sarcastically. "Get up before the breakfast gets cold."
In ten minutes, they were all sitting around the campfire in a circle, munching on slightly burnt sausages (courtesy of Miroku) and bread rolls. It wasn't until several minutes later and Inuyasha realized three pairs of eyes were burning into him.
"What?" He asked, annoyed.
"Ew, Inuyasha." Shippo said, wrinkling his nose, "Don't talk with your mouth full."
"Then don't stare at me." He countered.
"Did'ja make up with Kagome or not?" The little boy asked.
"Yes."
"See?" He turned to Miroku and Sango, "I told you she'd forgive the moron."
A second later, he found himself with a painful bump on his head. "Kagome~e!" Shippo whined, clutching his head.
"Inuyasha!" Kagome reprimanded.
"What? He deserved it." Inuyasha mumbled against his bread roll.
"Apologize!"
"No. Why should I?"
Seeing an argument about to escalate, Miroku intervened. "We should get going, don't you think? Naraku might be aware of our whereabouts. We must get to him as soon as possible."
"You don't think I know that, monk? But we still have to visit Toutousai. I don't exactly know how to work this sword yet." He patted the sword at his waist.
"Who's Toutousai?" Sango asked.
"The guy that made my sword."
"Oh."
"Then that should be more of a reason to get a head start today." Miroku stood up and dusted off his clothes. "Come along now, we shall commence." Miroku began to walk away, hoping the others would follow him. Then he realized he didn't know where he was going. "Um, a little help here?" He asked sheepishly.
Inuyasha stood up, grudgingly. "It's too the north is all I know. Got a compass?"
"Yeah," Miroku said, rummaging through his knapsack. "Here." He handed it to Inuyasha.
Just their luck, the little needle of the compass pointed into the large clutter of trees to their right. There was no way they'd be able to drive their minivan through that.
"Well, it looks like we'll be traveling on foot," Kagome said, stating the obvious.
*
Several hours of traveling later, Kagome's feet began to ache and she felt the pangs of hunger begin to surface. They hadn't seen a single trace of where Toutousai's house could be.
"Where the hell could he be hiding?" Inuyasha shouted angrily, voicing everyone's thoughts.
"Maybe he just doesn't want to be found," Miroku said.
Inuyasha rounded on him, "And what's that supposed to mean?"
Miroku held up his hands defensively, "Nothing, my friend."
"It had better be nothing…" Inuyasha growled in a low mutter, turning back to face the road which happened to split in two directions.
"Come on, Inuyasha," Sango said, "Let's rest. We've been walking for five hours and we still have no clue where our destination. We've hit a fork in the road and we'll be able to think better on a full stomach."
Inuyasha angrily blew his bangs from his eyes.
"Please, Inuyasha?" Kagome cajoled, tugging lightly on his arm. "I'm tired. We could all do with some rest." She turned, what he called her puppy dog eyes, on him.
"You humans need too much rest," he scowled but complied with their request.
Kagome grinned happily and pulled his arm around her waist. Immediately, he wrapped his arm even tighter as if out of instinct.
Sango unfolded a small blanket to place their food on and smoothed out the creases. From Miroku's pack, she drew out a loaf of bread and some ham for sandwiches.
As they ate, Inuyasha pulled Kagome into his lap and she blushed. Sango and Miroku pretended not to notice. Slowly, as to not draw attention, Miroku reached his arm out and wrapped it around Sango, mirroring the other couple's previous action. The demon slayer gave a little squeak, but did not protest.
Shippo looked between the two couples and gave a disgusted little snort.
"Peh, you adults and your kissy, mushy behavior," he grumbled. They pretended not to hear him.
"Do you think maybe we should split up?" Kagome asked, chewing on her sandwich thoughtfully.
"But then how would we find each other again?" Sango asked.
Kagome contemplated her question, tapping her finger against her chin, "Well, you could send Kirara to us if you find something." The cat youkai gave a small mewl of agreement.
"But then how will we find you?"
"I could transform and report to him!" Shippo piped up, happy to finally be able to help.
With that, the group split into two smaller ones and went their separate ways.
*
A dark figure made its way through the forest several miles ahead of the odd group of travelers. As the person entered a clearing, another figure emerged.
"They are coming this way?" The second figure asked.
"Yes."
"Good. You have done all of what I need. It was smart of me to create you," He said, praising himself. "When I need you, I will call." As if on a second thought, he turned to talk again, "By the way, how did Inuyasha react to your sudden appearance, Kikyou?"
Kikyou tensed, "It went fine."
The man shrugged. "All right then. Be sure to stick around in case I need you."
She bowed and shuffled away, "Yes, Master Naraku."
*
Miroku and Sango walked in a comfortable silence, Kirara nestled in the latter's arms. Slowly, Miroku walked closer to Sango, putting his arms around her. Sango was startled for the second time that day but she let him pull her closer without resistance. She rested her head lightly against his shoulder, missing the delighted look that flitted across his fiancé's face.
"Hey, Miroku?" Sango looked up at him.
"What is it?"
"Don't you think it's strange, that we haven't met up with Naraku or any of his henchmen yet?"
Miroku looked down at her. "What do you mean?"
"Well… think about it. Naraku's pretty clever. We're getting closer to him and I'm pretty sure that he knows we're coming. He should have figured out by now that we're coming after him. But he's done nothing to stop us. It's almost as if he's luring us to him… and yet… what would be the reason behind that? He has the jewel. He has no reason to keep us alive. Why shouldn't he stop us before we get too close?"
Miroku stroked his chin. "That's a very good question, Sango. Truthfully, I have no clue. It would certainly make sense for him to kill us."
"Do you think… it's a trap?" She whispered.
"I think very much that it's a trap." He replied.
"Then why are we just walking into it?! We have to do something or else who knows what will happen!" Sango exclaimed.
Her companion sighed, "There's nothing we can do at the moment. He has what we want and so we must chase after it. As long as we don't know his intent, there is nothing we can to do."
Sango stopped walking and Miroku stopped along with her. "I will not just walk into a trap! This could mean all of our deaths! It's stupid and irrational!" She started to quake slightly, alarming her fiancé.
"Sango?"
She suddenly pulled her clenched hands over her eyes and her body shook with her silent sobs. Kirara gently nuzzled her owner's chin, seeking to sooth her distress.
"Sango?" Miroku asked again. "What's wrong?"
She pulled her hands away, revealing red, slightly puffy eyes, "The last time I fell into Naraku's trap, I came out with my entire family and village massacred. You are my new family, Miroku. I vowed that I wouldn't let him get to you like he did to my village. But now you're forcing me to go against my promise! You're forcing yourself to walk into a trap! I can't allow that!"
Miroku pulled her into his arms. Her tears surprised him. Sango was a woman who never cried and he realized that she was genuinely worried about the upcoming battle. "Oh, Sango. I know it's hard to do this. It's hard to go forward even though you know you may not come out alive. But for me, I have no choice. Remember? I'm cursed with this black hole. If I don't confront Naraku, it will kill me anyway. I'd rather take this risk than die through the curse knowing I could have done something to prevent it."
Sango rested her head against his chest, not speaking, knowing that he was right.
"So how about it?" He asked gently, "Are we going to fight this together?"
She looked up into his deep violet eyes, "You're right, Miroku. We'll have to face this eventually and I'm not going to let you do this alone." She said in determination.
"That's my girl," Miroku smiled. He kissed her lightly on the cheek and together they walked off, newly determined to fight the evil ahead.
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A/N: Bleh, I didn't like that last line but oh well… Sorry I took such a long time to update and it's so short! I don't know how I used to be able to pull out such long chapters… I'm losing my touch T_T Anyway, thank you for the lovely reviews! Don't forget to review for this one =P
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Review Responses
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Alana-star: Yup, and here's another chapter! I'm going to try to finish this fic before I start up Dr. Do-Youkai again. There's probably going to be like 4 more chapters or something, but I'm not positive. Thank you for being so patient! I know you like that fic and I'm sorry I'm making you wait! Thanks for reviewing! Kawaii-Inu-Inutaisho: Thanks! Akai Kiniro: Heehee, that is a lot of questions! I'll try to answer as many of them as I can without spoiling the plot ^_^ Okay, (1) um… I think Kikyou probably will die, but I'm not too sure. (2) She'll probably have some hidden powers she didn't know of before at the ending battle. (3) You probably won't be seeing Sesshoumaru until the end of the fic… Sorry ^_^ (4) And Kouga's probably going to appear at the end battle too. Okay, anyway, thanks for the review! Don't hesitate to ask if you have any more questions! Inugurl14: Sowwee… I know I'm really horrible at updating. Hey, at least this time it didn't take like 5 months right? LOL. I just had a writer's block last time and a bit of one this time as well. I'll try to work on my updating! However if you check out my other fic, Into the Darkness, I update at least once every week! ::hint hint nudge nudge:: LOL. Thanks for reviewing! AkuReix: Thanks! Sorry this update wasn't really fast but I hope you liked the chap! Angelstar = mitsukai-hoshi: Thanks! Yeah, you made a good point so I tried to clarify this chapter. Inu's confused about his feelings. He loves Kagome but he also feels something for Kikyou. And that time when he said he loved Kikyou, he was just blurting out something to make her stop trying to kill him. But that was a good question. Sorry I took so long to update! Here's the next chapter! DemonKitty: LOL. Thanks! Eh, writer's block hit me about a quarter of the way through, but here's the next chap! I hope you enjoyed it. Thanks for reviewing! Kikiume: LOL. I'm glad that you're so anxious to read this! Thanks for your review!