Holy geez, minna! I'm here, responding to the FLOOD of reviews that was
sitting innocently in my inbox this afternoon! I almost fell out of my
chair in shock! ^_^ Thanks to everyone that read the last two chapters. Now
for all my little responses......
Moogle: Thanks a ton for the compliment! Inuyasha is really clueless.....I kept him in character with that respect, ne? You'll just hafta wait and see what Kagome does..... *Shifty eyes* I COULD be really evil....we'll see.
CRAZYPERSON: Hehehe......*Evil* You'll have to....READ to find out what happens!! *Cue lightning* No, not really. If you have questions, just email me—address is in my profile.
Coey-chan: I'm working on it! ^_^
Inuyasha-gal97: Yes, mommy. *Runs to obey*
Sanosa: Okay, I'll work on that! But it's so hard to stretch it.....I don't wanna babble. I think I got the point across......
Emmy-Inuyasha-Freak: HEHE! Another person with alternate personalities! *Shakes hand enthusiastically*
Uni-Girl: Thanks! I really don't like OOC-ness—I mean, unless it's fluffy, like a blanket-scenario or something where it's necessary.
Jojo10: I will! I will! ^_^
Hottpinktwilight: Don't worry....it's coming.....HEHEHE!
Hanyouelf: *Hands hanky* Sorry it took so long.....but I've got so many ficcys! I promise to try harder!
Phew! Long one! If I skipped anyone, gomen big time, say something in the review and I'll put ya in the next chappie! If you have any questions or suggestions, don't hesitiate to email, sya so in the review, or IM me at CuteSilverSpirit (aol messanger).
@-}------------------
Dinner was an.....interesting affair. Shippo was hopping around manically between bites, wondering why it was suddenly so awkward and tossing bread and noodles at Inuyasha, who had refused to come down from his tree at all. Miroku's face had very little expression as he stared blankly at his tea; Sango was trying very hard not to show any sadness, but continued to babble with Kagome. Kilala was looking at them confusedly, at a loss for what was going on.
Inuyasha scoffed into his ramen, high above them. Did they think him incredibly dense? He could tell—far better than bratty little Shippo—that something was wrong. All the smiles had suddenly become fake and unbelievable. It seemed as if—suddenly—everyone was terrified of silence. What was going on? He could've let it slip when Miroku rose and hugged Kagome when she came back with the air of a parent comforting a toddler (though he certainly hadn't liked it.) It was the look on their faces that had made him first suspicious—frozen, forced, unreal.
But the last straw had been Kagome's smile.
He'd walked up to her from behind as they'd come back from the hot spring (after Sango had walked off to apologize for whatever had made Miroku so gloomy), being provoking as usual. He'd been complaining about something-or- another, making comments about being stuck there for another night, basically anything he could think of.
But try as he might, he couldn't get an angry response from her. She just kept walking, straight-backed ahead as though she'd not heard a single word of what he was saying—or ranting, for that matter—just absorbed everything and left it with silence as answer.
At last, his patience snapping, he had grabbed her shoulder. "Hello, wench! Are you deaf?"
Kagome had turned, slowly, and glanced over her shoulder. He'd have expected a nice long sitting then, or at least a good bit of yelling. An angry expression. Anything! What he hadn't expected was what she had done.
"I can hear you just fine, Inuyasha," she said patiently, smiling. "You don't have to shout."
He'd been at a loss for words. Her smile, her eyes.....they were hiding her true feelings behind them.
Her aura was so.....sad. Wistful. Distressed. But she'd put on a brave face and kept smiling, for them.
For him.
As he was thinking over it and staring, Kagome had reached up and gently taken his hand from her shoulder, giving it a small squeeze before walking away, saying nothing else as she made the short journey to camp. She hadn't seemed at all surprised at Miroku's odd greeting—rather touched, actually. And her hand had been so cold.....not at all with its usual self.
Something was DEFINITELY wrong. Her aura itself HAD shifted, in a way he couldn't put his finger on. But she didn't smell sick—she only smelled of the heavy scent of despair. It nearly covered up her own aroma.
Almost.
What wasn't she telling him?
Inuyasha slumped back in frustration, accidentally dropping his cup of ramen. The little Styrofoam cup spiraled downwards for a second or two, successfully spilling its hot contents all over Kagome. He watched guiltily as she jumped and bit back a yelp, looking up in confusion. Still, there was no anger. Confusion, discomfort, surprise—but no anger.
She simply stood, calm looking as Miroku on a normal day, wringing her pajamas out and shaking her soup-smelling hair from her face.
"Guess I'll have to take another bath," she said cheerfully, picking up her towel and heading in the direction she had followed earlier. Shippo glared up at the hanyou before shaking himself off as well (he had caught a bit of it, too) and began licking his fur, like a cat. Kilala joined in to help as Miroku and Sango watched, their faces cracked in genuine half-smiles.
Inuyasha looked away, unable to stand for the mystery any longer. He leapt from his tree to another, following the soupy scent towards the hot spring.
@-}----------------
There was a quiet BLOOP as the nimble body slipped into the warm water, quickly dunking her head under the water and squeezing it out. "Heh, ramen.....that's an interesting thing to be covered in." She slumped against the rocks, enjoying the warmth of the water. It was relaxing, now—for some reason more than before.
Perhaps it was that she was alone.....
....Or thought that she was.
High above the pool, Inuyasha sat on a branch, looking determinedly anywhere but down. He'd followed her, sure—out of concern. HE was no lecher like Miroku. HE had absolutely NO desire to try anything stupid like that and get his brains beaten out of his head and fried like eggs.
Eww. Brain eggs.
Stop that! He commanded himself, feeling incredibly senseless. First the tail thing and now this. That's enough already. Sheesh!
Below, Kagome glanced around the shadowy pool, suddenly with an interest for the details. She wanted to remember this forever—for eternity, memories of her last few days. Stop telling yourself that, girl, she reprimanded mentally, though it was a weak attempt. Like it or not, she was going to think about it.
The moonlight from above was casting shimmering silver patterns across the water's surface that moves as she did, circling all around. Small ripples kept the water moving—leaves kept dropping from the trees and floating like little boats across. The navy sky was reflected in the water, which was dark in an attempt at mimicry. Try as it might, the stars could not be duplicated. They were mere white pinpricks in the mirror image.
But, oh, the sky. How beautiful it was, in heavy contrast with the beautiful quarter-moon! There was not a single cloud visible anywhere—no smog to ruin the stars' bright shining elation as they lay, scattered like dream dust against the heavens. The forest's leafy arms reached up and circled around the single hole right above the pool, as if a sunroof had been installed purposefully.
Kagome sighed. No embroidery or painting could ever recreate that.....
Even as she thought of the beauty, her fragile lightheartedness faded.
"How in the world am I gonna tell him?" She whimpered to no one in particular. "I can't.....I can't make him worry like Miroku and Sango.....it's not right." There was a moment of movement as she stroked her fingers along the water's top, watching the ripples that followed like dolphin fins. "What can I do....?"
Above her, Inuyasha sighed silently with her, feeling the despair. He knew, with a sinking feeling, that she as talking about him, and that he wasn't going to like what she was going to tell him.
Moogle: Thanks a ton for the compliment! Inuyasha is really clueless.....I kept him in character with that respect, ne? You'll just hafta wait and see what Kagome does..... *Shifty eyes* I COULD be really evil....we'll see.
CRAZYPERSON: Hehehe......*Evil* You'll have to....READ to find out what happens!! *Cue lightning* No, not really. If you have questions, just email me—address is in my profile.
Coey-chan: I'm working on it! ^_^
Inuyasha-gal97: Yes, mommy. *Runs to obey*
Sanosa: Okay, I'll work on that! But it's so hard to stretch it.....I don't wanna babble. I think I got the point across......
Emmy-Inuyasha-Freak: HEHE! Another person with alternate personalities! *Shakes hand enthusiastically*
Uni-Girl: Thanks! I really don't like OOC-ness—I mean, unless it's fluffy, like a blanket-scenario or something where it's necessary.
Jojo10: I will! I will! ^_^
Hottpinktwilight: Don't worry....it's coming.....HEHEHE!
Hanyouelf: *Hands hanky* Sorry it took so long.....but I've got so many ficcys! I promise to try harder!
Phew! Long one! If I skipped anyone, gomen big time, say something in the review and I'll put ya in the next chappie! If you have any questions or suggestions, don't hesitiate to email, sya so in the review, or IM me at CuteSilverSpirit (aol messanger).
@-}------------------
Dinner was an.....interesting affair. Shippo was hopping around manically between bites, wondering why it was suddenly so awkward and tossing bread and noodles at Inuyasha, who had refused to come down from his tree at all. Miroku's face had very little expression as he stared blankly at his tea; Sango was trying very hard not to show any sadness, but continued to babble with Kagome. Kilala was looking at them confusedly, at a loss for what was going on.
Inuyasha scoffed into his ramen, high above them. Did they think him incredibly dense? He could tell—far better than bratty little Shippo—that something was wrong. All the smiles had suddenly become fake and unbelievable. It seemed as if—suddenly—everyone was terrified of silence. What was going on? He could've let it slip when Miroku rose and hugged Kagome when she came back with the air of a parent comforting a toddler (though he certainly hadn't liked it.) It was the look on their faces that had made him first suspicious—frozen, forced, unreal.
But the last straw had been Kagome's smile.
He'd walked up to her from behind as they'd come back from the hot spring (after Sango had walked off to apologize for whatever had made Miroku so gloomy), being provoking as usual. He'd been complaining about something-or- another, making comments about being stuck there for another night, basically anything he could think of.
But try as he might, he couldn't get an angry response from her. She just kept walking, straight-backed ahead as though she'd not heard a single word of what he was saying—or ranting, for that matter—just absorbed everything and left it with silence as answer.
At last, his patience snapping, he had grabbed her shoulder. "Hello, wench! Are you deaf?"
Kagome had turned, slowly, and glanced over her shoulder. He'd have expected a nice long sitting then, or at least a good bit of yelling. An angry expression. Anything! What he hadn't expected was what she had done.
"I can hear you just fine, Inuyasha," she said patiently, smiling. "You don't have to shout."
He'd been at a loss for words. Her smile, her eyes.....they were hiding her true feelings behind them.
Her aura was so.....sad. Wistful. Distressed. But she'd put on a brave face and kept smiling, for them.
For him.
As he was thinking over it and staring, Kagome had reached up and gently taken his hand from her shoulder, giving it a small squeeze before walking away, saying nothing else as she made the short journey to camp. She hadn't seemed at all surprised at Miroku's odd greeting—rather touched, actually. And her hand had been so cold.....not at all with its usual self.
Something was DEFINITELY wrong. Her aura itself HAD shifted, in a way he couldn't put his finger on. But she didn't smell sick—she only smelled of the heavy scent of despair. It nearly covered up her own aroma.
Almost.
What wasn't she telling him?
Inuyasha slumped back in frustration, accidentally dropping his cup of ramen. The little Styrofoam cup spiraled downwards for a second or two, successfully spilling its hot contents all over Kagome. He watched guiltily as she jumped and bit back a yelp, looking up in confusion. Still, there was no anger. Confusion, discomfort, surprise—but no anger.
She simply stood, calm looking as Miroku on a normal day, wringing her pajamas out and shaking her soup-smelling hair from her face.
"Guess I'll have to take another bath," she said cheerfully, picking up her towel and heading in the direction she had followed earlier. Shippo glared up at the hanyou before shaking himself off as well (he had caught a bit of it, too) and began licking his fur, like a cat. Kilala joined in to help as Miroku and Sango watched, their faces cracked in genuine half-smiles.
Inuyasha looked away, unable to stand for the mystery any longer. He leapt from his tree to another, following the soupy scent towards the hot spring.
@-}----------------
There was a quiet BLOOP as the nimble body slipped into the warm water, quickly dunking her head under the water and squeezing it out. "Heh, ramen.....that's an interesting thing to be covered in." She slumped against the rocks, enjoying the warmth of the water. It was relaxing, now—for some reason more than before.
Perhaps it was that she was alone.....
....Or thought that she was.
High above the pool, Inuyasha sat on a branch, looking determinedly anywhere but down. He'd followed her, sure—out of concern. HE was no lecher like Miroku. HE had absolutely NO desire to try anything stupid like that and get his brains beaten out of his head and fried like eggs.
Eww. Brain eggs.
Stop that! He commanded himself, feeling incredibly senseless. First the tail thing and now this. That's enough already. Sheesh!
Below, Kagome glanced around the shadowy pool, suddenly with an interest for the details. She wanted to remember this forever—for eternity, memories of her last few days. Stop telling yourself that, girl, she reprimanded mentally, though it was a weak attempt. Like it or not, she was going to think about it.
The moonlight from above was casting shimmering silver patterns across the water's surface that moves as she did, circling all around. Small ripples kept the water moving—leaves kept dropping from the trees and floating like little boats across. The navy sky was reflected in the water, which was dark in an attempt at mimicry. Try as it might, the stars could not be duplicated. They were mere white pinpricks in the mirror image.
But, oh, the sky. How beautiful it was, in heavy contrast with the beautiful quarter-moon! There was not a single cloud visible anywhere—no smog to ruin the stars' bright shining elation as they lay, scattered like dream dust against the heavens. The forest's leafy arms reached up and circled around the single hole right above the pool, as if a sunroof had been installed purposefully.
Kagome sighed. No embroidery or painting could ever recreate that.....
Even as she thought of the beauty, her fragile lightheartedness faded.
"How in the world am I gonna tell him?" She whimpered to no one in particular. "I can't.....I can't make him worry like Miroku and Sango.....it's not right." There was a moment of movement as she stroked her fingers along the water's top, watching the ripples that followed like dolphin fins. "What can I do....?"
Above her, Inuyasha sighed silently with her, feeling the despair. He knew, with a sinking feeling, that she as talking about him, and that he wasn't going to like what she was going to tell him.