Tailz here, back from her jaunt to the place of all things funny—er, sunny.
Yup. Spring break is done, and I am forced back into my old
routine.....yadda, yadda, you don't care. You want me to get my lazy fingers
back to typin' up these stories, ne? Well, okies, I'm working on it! Sorry
for the super late update, and happy belated Easter, everybody! Here're the
A/N's!
Emmy & J.C: I don't believe in violence. Peace, friend. *Hands them daises*
Moogle: Oh, don't you worry, dear child......there will be......major.......FLUFFINESS before Kagome dies! BWAHAHHAAHA! I'm probably going to drive you all insane with it, actually! Thanks for sticking around this long! Daisy crowns.....Shippo and I are planning to tie Inuyasha up and cover him with little pink tulips. ^_^
UniGirl: *Nodnod* What's the point of all this character-mutilation? Save the Inu-Crew from unjust butchering and OOC-ness! (I am suuuucch a hypocrite.....) *Hands hanky* Tailz is sorry for the evil cliffy, but......now that I have readers.....I can't help but abuse my power! ^_^'
Darkangel: Hee hee! Glad you liked it! Here comes the update, with cherries on top!
Sanosa: You and I should start a goody-goody club! We could RULE THE FREE WORLD!!!
JoJo: Yup. Update. Would you like fries or cheese with that?
Lazy-log-in-Yuna (tee-hee): Sanks for the compliment! You better go update before Tailz has to lock you in a room with Miroku! Don't make me do it! *Gets camera, just in case*
Hanyou-elf: Glad to please my readers! Actually, I'm a hypocrite, cause if Kagome died in someone else's ficcy I would have a 3-eyed cow and leave a long-winded protesting review! *Smiles* you're a good person to put up with all this!
Okay, guys. Here we go. I KNOW you have comments and shtuff, so, here's what I'm gonna do. I've got AIM (aol instant messanger). If you feel like dropping me a line next time you're logged in, my screen name is CuteSilverSpirit. I also have yahoo, so if you need that then please don't hesitate to say so in your review. M'kay, now that that's done with......on with the show!
@-}---------------------------
'First thing tomorrow' came and went much more quickly than Inuyasha would've believed possible. It took the whole morning to pack up and leave the village boundaries (where they had been camping just outside) because Kaede insisted they stay and eat breakfast (and then lunch) with her in her cabin. Inuyasha was strongly against all this, but he was outnumbered four to one. Kagome seemed completely neutral to anything anyone brought up.
Lunch was a bowl of herby broth and a basket of fresh vegetables. It went relatively normally until Kaede hailed the young priestess to come outside 'to help with some herbs' for a moment. Kagome followed, looking puzzled, and returned several minutes later nothing short of edgy. The two took seats again in the circle, offering nothing to the curious bystanders.
By the time they were released, it was mid-afternoon, and Inuyasha's temper pushed them out the door all the faster. Kaede followed them to the forest's boundaries as always, waving and murmuring wishes of good travels. The group traveled down the road at a sturdy jogging-pace and was soon lost to her sight.
"Is something the matter, Inuyasha?" Miroku fell in step with the hanyou, looking curious.
"What do you mean, monk?"
"You seem......preoccupied today. Worried."
"It's nothing, okay?" Inuyasha snapped irritably. What was the point of telling him? It wasn't like he could do anything about the situation anyway. "Just thinking."
"Thinking," Miroku repeated, looking away. There was doubt apparent in his dark eyes, but as he didn't bring it up again, Inuyasha let the matter lie. The fact was that the monk—and everyone else, for that matter—could be as suspicious as they liked. He wasn't as easy to fathom as they suspected—not some big, dumb ogre without feelings. Sure, he had feelings. They were just a little further from the surface most of the time.
Or hidden by choice.
Normally the latter.
At the moment, though, his secrecy was clumsier than usual. He couldn't hide all the worry at once, along with all the anxiousness and thoughts that bombarded his head. What was he going to say to Kagome about all this? Surely everyone else had noticed as well......maybe one of them would ask her first, and he wouldn't have to. No, that was like running away from his problems.
Running was never the answer, he knew from experience. He'd have to confront her about this eventually—but something was stopping him from doing it. You could call it a gut feeling. You could call it an invisible force. You could call it whatever you liked, but that wouldn't change that it was seriously annoying to a—dare he admit it—concerned hanyou.
They wandered around the countryside until nightfall without so much as a fragment's vibe. Setting camp took but a few moments as they were all used to it; many, many weeks' worth of traveling had made their fingers deft at the tasks. As soon as that was finished, Sango went off for a bath in a hot spring she claimed was very close. Miroku left to 'meditate' somewhere (Sango threatened him with his very life as they left, much to the monk's glumness.) Shippo and Kilala went to explore together the new countryside.
Inuyasha was mildly pleased. It couldn't have been more perfect if he'd planned it.
And so he waited in the trees, watching as Kagome stirred the supper's stew in her heavy metal thing and contemplating the right moment. He waited until the very last possible second he could force himself to before impatience forced him from his branch, only to land, catlike, on his feet, and just as silently. Kagome didn't turn or acknowledge his presence at all as he crept forward.
Stupid wench, he thought. If I were a demon, she'd be dead or captured by now.
Much to Inuyasha's annoyance, the girl didn't react at all until he was a mere foot and a half behind her. Grabbing the spoon and wheeling around with fear in her eyes, Kagome whapped Inuyasha over the head as hard as she could, snapping the handle in two pieces. The two stared at each other for several minutes.
"I-Inuyasha!" Kagome sat back with the broken ladle in her hands, both of which were twisting nervously. "You scared me to death!"
"Feh! Stupid! What if I were—"
"—A demon? Yes, yes, I know. I'd be dead, I'd be eaten, and then there'd be no shard detector. I know," she interrupted irritably, turning back to save the stew that had begun to boil over.
Why's she being so short-tempered? Inuyasha wondered angrily. I was just being concerned!
You were NAGGING, a voice in his head shot back. It's annoying. You bite everyone else's heads off when they badger you, and here you are doing the same thing.
"Fine, fine. No need to bite my head off." Inuyasha took a seat beside her in his typical Indian-style pose, watching as she tried to stir the soup with half a ladle, succeeding only in burning her fingers and dropping the spoon into the dish. She waved her burnt hand absentmindedly, trying to fish the ladle out with the other half. "So....I have something to ask you."
"Really?" Kagome sounded about as interested as if he had begun a report about pocket lint.
"Yeah, REALLY," he shot back snappishly, studying her face. She frowned, though he couldn't tell if it was at the soup, the ladle, or at his statement. So he continued. "I wanna know....well....I......you have to tell......" It was more difficult than he had thought. The words were getting stuck in his throat as he wondered, did he really want to hear the answer? Of course, he shot back mentally to himself. I might be able to help with whatever it is. So why couldn't he just come out and say it? "I.....you....."
"This isn't working," Kagome interrupted, still staring into the depths of their potential dinner as if she might see the future in it.
"Well, I'm working on it!" Inuyasha snapped, his anger at himself projecting as crabbiness.
"I meant the ladle," came the cold reply.
"Right....well......" That's it, he scolded himself. Just come out and say it. Now. Now. Okay, NOW!! "Tellmerightnowwhat'sgoingon," he blurted, so fast that no one in the Feudal Era or otherwise could've deciphered it. Other than a confused look, his first attempt had gained nothing. So, sighing, he tried again. "What's going on with you, Kagome?"
"What do you mean?" Her tone was light and careless, but it hid another emotion. Subtle enough, to be sure, but it was there. Just as....before.
"Don't give me that. You know EXACTLY what I mean."
Silence.
She didn't explain, so Inuyasha decided to elaborate. Or rant. Whichever came first.
"You've been acting weird since you came back. You're cheerful one minute, depressed the next. You haven't been acting normal, Kagome. Even Shippo's noticed it, for God's sake. You haven't sat me once. Tell me what's wrong."
Kagome stood there, as if absorbing his words and weighing them on some unknown scale. For a moment he was sure there was a breakthrough, for something mysteriously like tears sparkled in her eyes.....but when she looked up, there wasn't a trace of moisture. And when she spoke, her voice was steady.
"There's nothing to tell, Inuyasha. Everything's fine."
Emmy & J.C: I don't believe in violence. Peace, friend. *Hands them daises*
Moogle: Oh, don't you worry, dear child......there will be......major.......FLUFFINESS before Kagome dies! BWAHAHHAAHA! I'm probably going to drive you all insane with it, actually! Thanks for sticking around this long! Daisy crowns.....Shippo and I are planning to tie Inuyasha up and cover him with little pink tulips. ^_^
UniGirl: *Nodnod* What's the point of all this character-mutilation? Save the Inu-Crew from unjust butchering and OOC-ness! (I am suuuucch a hypocrite.....) *Hands hanky* Tailz is sorry for the evil cliffy, but......now that I have readers.....I can't help but abuse my power! ^_^'
Darkangel: Hee hee! Glad you liked it! Here comes the update, with cherries on top!
Sanosa: You and I should start a goody-goody club! We could RULE THE FREE WORLD!!!
JoJo: Yup. Update. Would you like fries or cheese with that?
Lazy-log-in-Yuna (tee-hee): Sanks for the compliment! You better go update before Tailz has to lock you in a room with Miroku! Don't make me do it! *Gets camera, just in case*
Hanyou-elf: Glad to please my readers! Actually, I'm a hypocrite, cause if Kagome died in someone else's ficcy I would have a 3-eyed cow and leave a long-winded protesting review! *Smiles* you're a good person to put up with all this!
Okay, guys. Here we go. I KNOW you have comments and shtuff, so, here's what I'm gonna do. I've got AIM (aol instant messanger). If you feel like dropping me a line next time you're logged in, my screen name is CuteSilverSpirit. I also have yahoo, so if you need that then please don't hesitate to say so in your review. M'kay, now that that's done with......on with the show!
@-}---------------------------
'First thing tomorrow' came and went much more quickly than Inuyasha would've believed possible. It took the whole morning to pack up and leave the village boundaries (where they had been camping just outside) because Kaede insisted they stay and eat breakfast (and then lunch) with her in her cabin. Inuyasha was strongly against all this, but he was outnumbered four to one. Kagome seemed completely neutral to anything anyone brought up.
Lunch was a bowl of herby broth and a basket of fresh vegetables. It went relatively normally until Kaede hailed the young priestess to come outside 'to help with some herbs' for a moment. Kagome followed, looking puzzled, and returned several minutes later nothing short of edgy. The two took seats again in the circle, offering nothing to the curious bystanders.
By the time they were released, it was mid-afternoon, and Inuyasha's temper pushed them out the door all the faster. Kaede followed them to the forest's boundaries as always, waving and murmuring wishes of good travels. The group traveled down the road at a sturdy jogging-pace and was soon lost to her sight.
"Is something the matter, Inuyasha?" Miroku fell in step with the hanyou, looking curious.
"What do you mean, monk?"
"You seem......preoccupied today. Worried."
"It's nothing, okay?" Inuyasha snapped irritably. What was the point of telling him? It wasn't like he could do anything about the situation anyway. "Just thinking."
"Thinking," Miroku repeated, looking away. There was doubt apparent in his dark eyes, but as he didn't bring it up again, Inuyasha let the matter lie. The fact was that the monk—and everyone else, for that matter—could be as suspicious as they liked. He wasn't as easy to fathom as they suspected—not some big, dumb ogre without feelings. Sure, he had feelings. They were just a little further from the surface most of the time.
Or hidden by choice.
Normally the latter.
At the moment, though, his secrecy was clumsier than usual. He couldn't hide all the worry at once, along with all the anxiousness and thoughts that bombarded his head. What was he going to say to Kagome about all this? Surely everyone else had noticed as well......maybe one of them would ask her first, and he wouldn't have to. No, that was like running away from his problems.
Running was never the answer, he knew from experience. He'd have to confront her about this eventually—but something was stopping him from doing it. You could call it a gut feeling. You could call it an invisible force. You could call it whatever you liked, but that wouldn't change that it was seriously annoying to a—dare he admit it—concerned hanyou.
They wandered around the countryside until nightfall without so much as a fragment's vibe. Setting camp took but a few moments as they were all used to it; many, many weeks' worth of traveling had made their fingers deft at the tasks. As soon as that was finished, Sango went off for a bath in a hot spring she claimed was very close. Miroku left to 'meditate' somewhere (Sango threatened him with his very life as they left, much to the monk's glumness.) Shippo and Kilala went to explore together the new countryside.
Inuyasha was mildly pleased. It couldn't have been more perfect if he'd planned it.
And so he waited in the trees, watching as Kagome stirred the supper's stew in her heavy metal thing and contemplating the right moment. He waited until the very last possible second he could force himself to before impatience forced him from his branch, only to land, catlike, on his feet, and just as silently. Kagome didn't turn or acknowledge his presence at all as he crept forward.
Stupid wench, he thought. If I were a demon, she'd be dead or captured by now.
Much to Inuyasha's annoyance, the girl didn't react at all until he was a mere foot and a half behind her. Grabbing the spoon and wheeling around with fear in her eyes, Kagome whapped Inuyasha over the head as hard as she could, snapping the handle in two pieces. The two stared at each other for several minutes.
"I-Inuyasha!" Kagome sat back with the broken ladle in her hands, both of which were twisting nervously. "You scared me to death!"
"Feh! Stupid! What if I were—"
"—A demon? Yes, yes, I know. I'd be dead, I'd be eaten, and then there'd be no shard detector. I know," she interrupted irritably, turning back to save the stew that had begun to boil over.
Why's she being so short-tempered? Inuyasha wondered angrily. I was just being concerned!
You were NAGGING, a voice in his head shot back. It's annoying. You bite everyone else's heads off when they badger you, and here you are doing the same thing.
"Fine, fine. No need to bite my head off." Inuyasha took a seat beside her in his typical Indian-style pose, watching as she tried to stir the soup with half a ladle, succeeding only in burning her fingers and dropping the spoon into the dish. She waved her burnt hand absentmindedly, trying to fish the ladle out with the other half. "So....I have something to ask you."
"Really?" Kagome sounded about as interested as if he had begun a report about pocket lint.
"Yeah, REALLY," he shot back snappishly, studying her face. She frowned, though he couldn't tell if it was at the soup, the ladle, or at his statement. So he continued. "I wanna know....well....I......you have to tell......" It was more difficult than he had thought. The words were getting stuck in his throat as he wondered, did he really want to hear the answer? Of course, he shot back mentally to himself. I might be able to help with whatever it is. So why couldn't he just come out and say it? "I.....you....."
"This isn't working," Kagome interrupted, still staring into the depths of their potential dinner as if she might see the future in it.
"Well, I'm working on it!" Inuyasha snapped, his anger at himself projecting as crabbiness.
"I meant the ladle," came the cold reply.
"Right....well......" That's it, he scolded himself. Just come out and say it. Now. Now. Okay, NOW!! "Tellmerightnowwhat'sgoingon," he blurted, so fast that no one in the Feudal Era or otherwise could've deciphered it. Other than a confused look, his first attempt had gained nothing. So, sighing, he tried again. "What's going on with you, Kagome?"
"What do you mean?" Her tone was light and careless, but it hid another emotion. Subtle enough, to be sure, but it was there. Just as....before.
"Don't give me that. You know EXACTLY what I mean."
Silence.
She didn't explain, so Inuyasha decided to elaborate. Or rant. Whichever came first.
"You've been acting weird since you came back. You're cheerful one minute, depressed the next. You haven't been acting normal, Kagome. Even Shippo's noticed it, for God's sake. You haven't sat me once. Tell me what's wrong."
Kagome stood there, as if absorbing his words and weighing them on some unknown scale. For a moment he was sure there was a breakthrough, for something mysteriously like tears sparkled in her eyes.....but when she looked up, there wasn't a trace of moisture. And when she spoke, her voice was steady.
"There's nothing to tell, Inuyasha. Everything's fine."