A/N: I don't own Inuyasha! And I would like to thank everyone for their
lovely reviews. I'm excited to introduce more blatant romance into this
chapter, and it promotes my favorite pairing. But...just because it's my
favorite pairing doesn't mean it's gonna happen. I write this story as it
goes along in my sick mind, so Kagome could end up any one of a number of
people!
Don't forget to review and tell me what you think!
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Kagome and Inuyasha were in the well house, about to jump down.
"Ready?" He asked, looking at her.
"Yes. I just hope we're right."
Inuyasha was confused. It wasn't hard to confuse him. "Wait... You actually HOPE that Ho-ho is running around in the Feudal Era with a jewel in his arm? I don't get you sometimes, Kagome."
"Well, it's better than coming up with this big explanation only to discover that we're wrong! I mean, what if Hojo is at home right now doing a project and not even giving me a thought? THAT would be embarrassing."
Inuyasha bristled. As much as he hated to admit it, he was jealous when Kagome talked about Hojo. But from the way she talked about him, he seemed like a good guy. But something always seemed to rub him the wrong way. It wouldn't surprise him if Hojo were Koga's reincarnation. He couldn't stand even the sound of their names.
They grabbed hands and jumped down the well together. Upon reaching the Feudal Era, Inuyasha realized that Kagome was still holding onto his hand, even though she could have let go ages ago. He blushed slightly but pushed it to the back of his mind. Goal one was getting the Hobo back to his own time. And goal one and a half was to make sure he never bothered Kagome again.
Inuyasha ascended the ladder first, sniffing the air at the top. "I smell that scent again, Kagome."
Kagome was suddenly excited. It was strange to think that one of her peers was in the Feudal Era with her. She didn't know how to react. She did want to see how Hojo was reacting to everything. She was sure he'd be more curious than she had been upon her first arrival in Feudal Japan. Hojo was quite observant like that.
"What direction are you picking it up, Inuyasha?"
"Toward the forest... it's getting strong...Oh... no."
Kagome knew it wasn't good news if Inuyasha was the one saying 'oh, no.'
"What is it, Inuyasha?"
Inuyasha, realizing that he was still on the ladder, jumped out in order to lend his hand to Kagome. "He's not alone."
Kagome's heart beat with excitement. "You mean-"
"Koga," He said, grasping tightly onto Kagome's hand in order to hoist her out. Maybe he had grasped her a little bit too tight, because as soon as she had been pulled out of the well, her hand started bleeding. Inuyasha knew he probably had dug his claws into her hand a little too hard.
"I'm sorry, Kagome! I didn't mean to make you bleed." Inuyasha produced a spare ACE bandage Kagome had given him from his Kimono.
Kagome smiled as she wiped the blood onto the grass. "It's okay. I didn't even feel it... I guess I'm used to your claws, by now."
He looked at her as he bandaged her hand, not familiar with the look in her eyes. She smiled, and he felt like everything would be okay. Mixing among the other smells in the air, was the strong scent of her blood, a sad and salty smell of redness. She moved closer to his face, and he felt a kiss coming on, one more gentler than the one he had planted on her earlier. To put it frankly, he was nervous, but a good nervous. Besides, he had no time to react.
She felt him smile under the kiss, and she felt incredibly happy. She was no fool; she knew that both Koga and Hojo had feelings for her. But the only person's feelings that she truly valued above everyone else's were those of Inuyasha. She made to put her arms around his shoulders, like she had seen in the movies. Her mind was surprisingly clear and calm, while his was a mixture of emotions, all of which were good.
Suddenly, a howl broke the night air. They froze, their lips halted together. "Your blood," Inuyasha sighed as they reluctantly drew apart. "HE can smell it."
By "HE", Inuyasha of course meant Koga. Kagome looked sort of nervous. "Well? What should we do?"
"Get on my back, we'll hop in the well onto the ladder," Inuyasha said, crouching so Kagome could get on his back.
They hopped into the well, just a few feet from the spot they had just been standing. Inuyasha, Kagome still on his back, climbed the ladder so she could peer out of the well.
"What do you see?"
Her hands absentmindedly massaged his shoulders. "Nothing just yet... Wait. Okay, I do see Koga. He's running right toward the place I was bleeding. And OH!" Kagome had to hold back a laugh.
"What's so funny?"
"Well, we were right about Hojo being here. He's carrying YOUR ramen and running after Koga.
Inuyasha could hear this Hojo character shouting in a voice that signaled familiarity, "Koga! I found it! I found the ramen!"
He could then hear Koga's voice, feet from the well. "Oh, uh, that's great, Hojo. I, however, have picked up a blood trail." Hopefully he wouldn't look in. Kagome's hand was bandaged tight enough so that the smell of blood wouldn't be so strong. But he knew that Koga could still smell Kagome's natural scent, anyways.
IJust let him find usI, Inuyasha thought.
In the meantime, Koga was sniffing the ground. "This- this is Kagome's blood," Koga said
I Nice one, Genius, I thought Inuyasha, laughing inwardly.
"What? You mean... Kagome's...DEAD? THIS IS ALL MY FAULT! I NEVER SHOULD HAVE LET HER RUN AWAY!" He began to cry very noisily.
Kagome couldn't stand it. "I need to go show him that I'm alive, Inuyasha," she whispered, making his ears tickle.
"Fine. Let's do it."
Inuyasha jumped out of the well in the best Crazy!Inuyasha way he could with a girl on his back. Upon landing, Kagome jumped off. It really looked quite cool to the average person, namely Hojo. Koga yawned, as he had seen it all before.
"Whoa! Kagome! You're alive!" Hojo said, ceasing his former blubbering. Kagome smiled and nodded.
"I'm sorry I worried you, Hojo!"
Koga stepped forward, a hurt look on his face. "Kagome, what did Dog boy do to you? I... smelled your blood, and thought that you might be in trouble, so I came as fast as I could."
"My ass, you did!" said Inuyasha, glaring at Koga.
"What, you don't think I care about her any more than you do? She's MY WOMAN, Inuyasha!" Koga yelled.
Hojo looked confused and Kagome just looked angry. "Koga, I am NOT your woman. Now will you two please shut UP for two minutes? There are introductions to be made."
The two demons fell silent.
"...Thank you. Hojo, this is Inuyasha. Inuyasha; Hojo."
Hojo stepped forward, a goofy grin plastered on his face. Inuyasha really wanted to slap it right off. Hojo held out his hand to Inuyasha, who reluctantly took it. "So you're the famous Inuyasha! Kagome just has the nicest things to say about you," Hojo began.
"She does?"
"She does?"
"I DO?"
Hojo nodded. Kagome finally saw what he was trying to do. He was trying to get on Inuyasha's good side. It appeared to be working a little bit, as Inuyasha's wary expression softened a small amount.
"Well... she has non-stop nice things to say about you, too...Hojo." Inuyasha put on the best smile he could imagine so that he could not only put on a good face for Kagome, but also scare the hell out of Hojo with his teeth.
Kagome smiled. "Well, Hojo, it seems like you've met Koga, so I guess we don't need an introduction there."
Hojo's face lit up even more, if that was humanly possible. "Kagome! The weirdest thing! Hojo and I have figured out that I'm actually a-"
"Reincarnation of Koga, yeah, we know that. Don't you think it's about time you got home, Hojo?" Inuyasha was sort of pushing him toward the well. Kagome smiled in spite of herself.
"Wait, how do you know that I'm his reincarnation?"
"We figured it out. Kagome and I, that is. We both are pretty smart people. If you were smart, you'd probably get home too, Hojo. Kagome's family knows she's here, but if I'm not mistaken, yours doesn't. Don't you have something to take care of in any case?"
"Well, yeah I had my project I was supposed to be working on, but I have all of tomorrow and Sun- OOF!" Inuyasha had picked Hojo up with ease and dumped him over the side of the well. -----------
During this entire transaction, Koga had come up behind Kagome and put his hands on her shoulders. "How've ya been, Kagome? I've missed you being around, you know," he said, keeping his voice low as he observed the Inuyasha and Hojo spectacle.
Kagome, not wishing to be rude but also wishing to get away from Koga, gently removed his hands from her shoulders and turned around. "Oh, you know, I'm okay... been busy collecting shards, saving villages, slaying demons... you know. The normal stuff."
"You know, Kagome, I've been giving a lot of thought to kidnapping you, lately. The idea appeals to me, and I was just wondering if you'd...be interested in coming with me for a while." At this point, Inuyasha had picked Hojo up over his head.
Kagome laughed nervously. "Eh, heh, no thank you Koga. I wouldn't want to be abandoning my duties to the Shikon, now would I- OOF!"
At the exact same time that Inuyasha had thrown Hojo into the well, Koga had decided on a whim to hoist Kagome up over his shoulder and run away. Kagome had absolutely no time to react, really, as Koga was quite fast. But as soon as she realized what was happening, she was already halfway through the Enchanted Forest. No one would hear her if she had wanted to scream.
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Inuyasha peered down in the well to watch Hojo fall back to his time. "Bye Hojo! I'll make sure to tell everyone else good bye for-WHAT?"
Instead of looking down into a well full of bones, Inuyasha discovered a well full of bones AND a very unconscious Hojo.
Why didn't he go through, Inuyasha thought frantically. He could see Hojo breathing lightly, but he was clearly conked out.
Oh, God, if Kagome figures out that I almost KILLED Hojo, she'd kill ME!
He was so flustered, he turned to explain. "Kagome, how can I say this without sounding- KAGOME?"
He turned to discover an empty field, and no sign of Kagome. OR Koga.
"Well THAT'S JUST GREAT! LEAVE ME HERE, WHY DON'TCHA!"
He did, however, catch a hint of a scent. He almost ran after it, until he heard the groan at the bottom of the well.
"Well, this is just great. Kagome RUNS off with the Wolf-man and leaves ME with the stupid kid who can get IN to the Feudal Era but can't seem to get OUT!" Inuyasha shook his head. He could tell that he would be in for a long, not to mention tedious, ride.
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A/N: Well? What did you think? I hope this will be a sufficient enough chapter, as I'll be gone until Sunday. But I'll try to think up more stuff for the next chapter while I'm on vacation. REEE view and lemme know what I can improve on.
Don't forget to review and tell me what you think!
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Kagome and Inuyasha were in the well house, about to jump down.
"Ready?" He asked, looking at her.
"Yes. I just hope we're right."
Inuyasha was confused. It wasn't hard to confuse him. "Wait... You actually HOPE that Ho-ho is running around in the Feudal Era with a jewel in his arm? I don't get you sometimes, Kagome."
"Well, it's better than coming up with this big explanation only to discover that we're wrong! I mean, what if Hojo is at home right now doing a project and not even giving me a thought? THAT would be embarrassing."
Inuyasha bristled. As much as he hated to admit it, he was jealous when Kagome talked about Hojo. But from the way she talked about him, he seemed like a good guy. But something always seemed to rub him the wrong way. It wouldn't surprise him if Hojo were Koga's reincarnation. He couldn't stand even the sound of their names.
They grabbed hands and jumped down the well together. Upon reaching the Feudal Era, Inuyasha realized that Kagome was still holding onto his hand, even though she could have let go ages ago. He blushed slightly but pushed it to the back of his mind. Goal one was getting the Hobo back to his own time. And goal one and a half was to make sure he never bothered Kagome again.
Inuyasha ascended the ladder first, sniffing the air at the top. "I smell that scent again, Kagome."
Kagome was suddenly excited. It was strange to think that one of her peers was in the Feudal Era with her. She didn't know how to react. She did want to see how Hojo was reacting to everything. She was sure he'd be more curious than she had been upon her first arrival in Feudal Japan. Hojo was quite observant like that.
"What direction are you picking it up, Inuyasha?"
"Toward the forest... it's getting strong...Oh... no."
Kagome knew it wasn't good news if Inuyasha was the one saying 'oh, no.'
"What is it, Inuyasha?"
Inuyasha, realizing that he was still on the ladder, jumped out in order to lend his hand to Kagome. "He's not alone."
Kagome's heart beat with excitement. "You mean-"
"Koga," He said, grasping tightly onto Kagome's hand in order to hoist her out. Maybe he had grasped her a little bit too tight, because as soon as she had been pulled out of the well, her hand started bleeding. Inuyasha knew he probably had dug his claws into her hand a little too hard.
"I'm sorry, Kagome! I didn't mean to make you bleed." Inuyasha produced a spare ACE bandage Kagome had given him from his Kimono.
Kagome smiled as she wiped the blood onto the grass. "It's okay. I didn't even feel it... I guess I'm used to your claws, by now."
He looked at her as he bandaged her hand, not familiar with the look in her eyes. She smiled, and he felt like everything would be okay. Mixing among the other smells in the air, was the strong scent of her blood, a sad and salty smell of redness. She moved closer to his face, and he felt a kiss coming on, one more gentler than the one he had planted on her earlier. To put it frankly, he was nervous, but a good nervous. Besides, he had no time to react.
She felt him smile under the kiss, and she felt incredibly happy. She was no fool; she knew that both Koga and Hojo had feelings for her. But the only person's feelings that she truly valued above everyone else's were those of Inuyasha. She made to put her arms around his shoulders, like she had seen in the movies. Her mind was surprisingly clear and calm, while his was a mixture of emotions, all of which were good.
Suddenly, a howl broke the night air. They froze, their lips halted together. "Your blood," Inuyasha sighed as they reluctantly drew apart. "HE can smell it."
By "HE", Inuyasha of course meant Koga. Kagome looked sort of nervous. "Well? What should we do?"
"Get on my back, we'll hop in the well onto the ladder," Inuyasha said, crouching so Kagome could get on his back.
They hopped into the well, just a few feet from the spot they had just been standing. Inuyasha, Kagome still on his back, climbed the ladder so she could peer out of the well.
"What do you see?"
Her hands absentmindedly massaged his shoulders. "Nothing just yet... Wait. Okay, I do see Koga. He's running right toward the place I was bleeding. And OH!" Kagome had to hold back a laugh.
"What's so funny?"
"Well, we were right about Hojo being here. He's carrying YOUR ramen and running after Koga.
Inuyasha could hear this Hojo character shouting in a voice that signaled familiarity, "Koga! I found it! I found the ramen!"
He could then hear Koga's voice, feet from the well. "Oh, uh, that's great, Hojo. I, however, have picked up a blood trail." Hopefully he wouldn't look in. Kagome's hand was bandaged tight enough so that the smell of blood wouldn't be so strong. But he knew that Koga could still smell Kagome's natural scent, anyways.
IJust let him find usI, Inuyasha thought.
In the meantime, Koga was sniffing the ground. "This- this is Kagome's blood," Koga said
I Nice one, Genius, I thought Inuyasha, laughing inwardly.
"What? You mean... Kagome's...DEAD? THIS IS ALL MY FAULT! I NEVER SHOULD HAVE LET HER RUN AWAY!" He began to cry very noisily.
Kagome couldn't stand it. "I need to go show him that I'm alive, Inuyasha," she whispered, making his ears tickle.
"Fine. Let's do it."
Inuyasha jumped out of the well in the best Crazy!Inuyasha way he could with a girl on his back. Upon landing, Kagome jumped off. It really looked quite cool to the average person, namely Hojo. Koga yawned, as he had seen it all before.
"Whoa! Kagome! You're alive!" Hojo said, ceasing his former blubbering. Kagome smiled and nodded.
"I'm sorry I worried you, Hojo!"
Koga stepped forward, a hurt look on his face. "Kagome, what did Dog boy do to you? I... smelled your blood, and thought that you might be in trouble, so I came as fast as I could."
"My ass, you did!" said Inuyasha, glaring at Koga.
"What, you don't think I care about her any more than you do? She's MY WOMAN, Inuyasha!" Koga yelled.
Hojo looked confused and Kagome just looked angry. "Koga, I am NOT your woman. Now will you two please shut UP for two minutes? There are introductions to be made."
The two demons fell silent.
"...Thank you. Hojo, this is Inuyasha. Inuyasha; Hojo."
Hojo stepped forward, a goofy grin plastered on his face. Inuyasha really wanted to slap it right off. Hojo held out his hand to Inuyasha, who reluctantly took it. "So you're the famous Inuyasha! Kagome just has the nicest things to say about you," Hojo began.
"She does?"
"She does?"
"I DO?"
Hojo nodded. Kagome finally saw what he was trying to do. He was trying to get on Inuyasha's good side. It appeared to be working a little bit, as Inuyasha's wary expression softened a small amount.
"Well... she has non-stop nice things to say about you, too...Hojo." Inuyasha put on the best smile he could imagine so that he could not only put on a good face for Kagome, but also scare the hell out of Hojo with his teeth.
Kagome smiled. "Well, Hojo, it seems like you've met Koga, so I guess we don't need an introduction there."
Hojo's face lit up even more, if that was humanly possible. "Kagome! The weirdest thing! Hojo and I have figured out that I'm actually a-"
"Reincarnation of Koga, yeah, we know that. Don't you think it's about time you got home, Hojo?" Inuyasha was sort of pushing him toward the well. Kagome smiled in spite of herself.
"Wait, how do you know that I'm his reincarnation?"
"We figured it out. Kagome and I, that is. We both are pretty smart people. If you were smart, you'd probably get home too, Hojo. Kagome's family knows she's here, but if I'm not mistaken, yours doesn't. Don't you have something to take care of in any case?"
"Well, yeah I had my project I was supposed to be working on, but I have all of tomorrow and Sun- OOF!" Inuyasha had picked Hojo up with ease and dumped him over the side of the well. -----------
During this entire transaction, Koga had come up behind Kagome and put his hands on her shoulders. "How've ya been, Kagome? I've missed you being around, you know," he said, keeping his voice low as he observed the Inuyasha and Hojo spectacle.
Kagome, not wishing to be rude but also wishing to get away from Koga, gently removed his hands from her shoulders and turned around. "Oh, you know, I'm okay... been busy collecting shards, saving villages, slaying demons... you know. The normal stuff."
"You know, Kagome, I've been giving a lot of thought to kidnapping you, lately. The idea appeals to me, and I was just wondering if you'd...be interested in coming with me for a while." At this point, Inuyasha had picked Hojo up over his head.
Kagome laughed nervously. "Eh, heh, no thank you Koga. I wouldn't want to be abandoning my duties to the Shikon, now would I- OOF!"
At the exact same time that Inuyasha had thrown Hojo into the well, Koga had decided on a whim to hoist Kagome up over his shoulder and run away. Kagome had absolutely no time to react, really, as Koga was quite fast. But as soon as she realized what was happening, she was already halfway through the Enchanted Forest. No one would hear her if she had wanted to scream.
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Inuyasha peered down in the well to watch Hojo fall back to his time. "Bye Hojo! I'll make sure to tell everyone else good bye for-WHAT?"
Instead of looking down into a well full of bones, Inuyasha discovered a well full of bones AND a very unconscious Hojo.
Why didn't he go through, Inuyasha thought frantically. He could see Hojo breathing lightly, but he was clearly conked out.
Oh, God, if Kagome figures out that I almost KILLED Hojo, she'd kill ME!
He was so flustered, he turned to explain. "Kagome, how can I say this without sounding- KAGOME?"
He turned to discover an empty field, and no sign of Kagome. OR Koga.
"Well THAT'S JUST GREAT! LEAVE ME HERE, WHY DON'TCHA!"
He did, however, catch a hint of a scent. He almost ran after it, until he heard the groan at the bottom of the well.
"Well, this is just great. Kagome RUNS off with the Wolf-man and leaves ME with the stupid kid who can get IN to the Feudal Era but can't seem to get OUT!" Inuyasha shook his head. He could tell that he would be in for a long, not to mention tedious, ride.
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A/N: Well? What did you think? I hope this will be a sufficient enough chapter, as I'll be gone until Sunday. But I'll try to think up more stuff for the next chapter while I'm on vacation. REEE view and lemme know what I can improve on.