Author's Note: As promised, another chapter. I might finish this earlier than I plan to, but if I do, I'll be making a sequel. Too many loose ends.
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Chapter Twelve: Forming the Route
Inuyasha closed the door on the servant, having successfully sent her away, and whispered the all-clear. Miroku and Sango came out of their hiding places. Miroku was struggling to hold onto Kagome, whose limp body was dead weight.
'Dead...about as good as she is to us now. I hope there's a way to reverse this.' Inuyasha thought with a grimace.
Inuyasha took possession of Kagome, lifting her to his bed. Her raven locks were fanned around, framing her face. The first thing it made him think of was a fairy-tale. Would a kiss work to wake her though? Inuyasha was lost in his world of thought. Gently, the hanyou took her chin within his fingers, leaning her face away.
Her neck was tempting. Too tempting.
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She had to be dreaming. What other explanation was there? Miles of green grass and forest all around...
"Kagome. I'm over here, Kagome!"
'Inuyasha...' She thought, before calling out his name.
She spun in a circle, trying to see where he was. Was he hiding? Was it a game? Then she spotted him—just about to enter the forest. He turned slightly, waving a hand as a sign for her to follow. His bangs overshadowed his face, and his ears were missing... What happened to his ears?
But Kagome didn't mind that just now. If this was a dream it was a sweet dream, full of fulfilled desires that gave her everything. Maybe Inuyasha had everything in this dream, too. Kagome gave chase, figuring she might as well enjoy it. Something nagged slightly at the back of her mind for a second; but before she could figure out exactly what it was or why it was there, it was gone.
"Kagome..."
His voice was all around her. Cascading, wrapping her in a blanket, making her feel loved. Kagome sped up.
"Kagome..."
She spotted him in a clearing, standing beside a well.
"Inuyasha?"
"Kagome." Inuyasha said again.
"What are we doing here?"
"Kagome... you have to wake up." Inuyasha said suddenly.
Kagome tried to respond, tried to say something as she moved forward to stand next to him. But only her mouth moved... What happened to paradise?
"Just listen to me, Kagome." Inuyasha begged.
Why wasn't he facing her? His back was to her, and all she saw was a red haori. Clearly, Inuyasha didn't want to see her. That stung.
"You have to wake up. I know that it's hard, but I'll be waiting for you when you do. I'm waiting for you right now to wake up, because I want to see you." Inuyasha said evenly, as if trying to make a deaf person understand.
Again, Kagome tried to speak, but again nothing came out.
"Please, Kagome." Inuyasha begged.
'This is a dream. I know it's a dream. Inuyasha wouldn't beg me... would he? Why can't I speak? Where are Inuyasha's ears?' Kagome thought frantically, before the more demanding question took charge. 'Why won't he face me?!'
Kagome reached out, fed up with Inuyasha's refusal to face her.
...and her hand reached right through his shoulder.
Inuyasha turned around slowly. "Kagome, you must wake up."
But it wasn't Inuyasha. It was Inutaisho. "Kagome, wake up. He's waiting for you. If you don't wake up you'll lose him forever."
Somehow Inutaisho was behind her now, and she found herself staring into the darkness of the well. It was dry. Kagome swung around to face him. Inutaisho had that endearing grandfatherly smile on his face... until he reached out and pushed Kagome backwards.
As she tumbled down the dry well, fearing she'd break her neck on impact and die, Inutaisho called to her. "Time to wake up, Kagome. He's not going to stand waiting for you."
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Sango and Miroku had finally gone back to their hut. It was a shame that Sesshoumaru's new law kept them from staying with him. But now it meant that he was alone... with Kagome.
And damn it all, every time Inuyasha turned around he found himself facing his very own Sleeping Beauty, waiting for her Prince to kiss her and make it all better.
"Kagome." Inuyasha whispered. "My Kagome..."
The hanyou ran his fingers gently over her eyes, her soft cheeks, touching her tender lips. "Kagome you have to wake up. Just listen to me. My voice." Suddenly he found that he couldn't tear his fingers away from her lips. They were so inviting...
He needed to stay focused here. "Kagome, you have to wake up. I'm waiting for you here, no matter how hard it is. I'm here... waiting for you to wake up... I want to talk to you, Kagome... My Kagome."
Here he could stand it no longer. He kissed her once, then again. And he kept kissing her, until he was working on basic animal instinct. He trailed his kisses across her cheek and down her neck, nipping at her flesh. The thought that she might not wake up again, that he was doing this for someone who couldn't feel it, disturbed him. And enticed him. What if this was just what she needed? To feel loved.
As he reached where her shoulder met her neck, he bit down. Inuyasha didn't relinquish his hold as his fangs dug into her skin, dripping her blood into his mouth. He let go as soon as he felt the tangy liquid.
"Kagome, you have to wake up. I don't want to lose you forever..." Inuyasha mumbled.
He grasped her shoulders a little more roughly than he'd intended and crushed his body to hers, wondering on the side how he had come to lay down right next to her. But it didn't matter anyway.
Suddenly, Inuyasha began to growl.
There was another man's scent now on her collarbone. It smelled a little like him, as it should, but Sesshoumaru's scent was there too, fractionally, as well as his mother's and Sesshoumaru's mother, though he had no idea how he knew the last scent. Just as suddenly he stopped growling. That would be impossible.
"Inu—yasha?"
"Kagome?"
Kagome blinked underneath him, and yawned lazily in his face. "Inuyasha, what happened?"
Inuyasha hadn't let her out of his one-sided hug, but found she was gladly returning it. "You were paralyzed. Miroku did his best to subdue whatever poison was given to you, but we have yet to find an antidote."
"That might explain why it hurts so much just to move my arms..." Kagome said wearily.
Inuyasha finally let go and began resting his face in his hand, leaning sideways on his elbow. "You have to drink the thing Miroku left twice a day to keep the poison subdued until we find the antidote, but since you can barely move and it's not yet safe to hand you over to Kaede, you have to stay here."
Kagome leaned up, carefully not responding to his new proclamation. "Your mother sure holds a grudge."
"It doesn't matter. We'll find a way through this mess." Inuyasha assured her.
"I almost forgot..." Kagome said slowly, working her way to stand.
Inuyasha was at her side in an instant when she began to falter. "Forgot what?"
"Shippou..." Kagome murmured.
"Keh—what about the brat?"
"Inuyasha..." She chastised warningly.
"Alright, alright. What about him?" He prodded.
"He had a plan to escape. I think we should put it into effect. But not just me. Sango, Miroku, and Kaede, too."
Suddenly Inuyasha didn't think that helping Kagome would be that easy or fun anymore.
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"Psst."
Sango and Miroku were leaning on opposite sides of the doorway, have pushed the shoji screens out of the way. Sango looked around for the disturbance, but Miroku kept his eyes closed, basking in the warm air around them.
"Did you just hear that?" Sango asked quietly.
"Hm?" Miroku asked. Then noticing her questioning expression, quickly changed the subject. "Warm day for the start of autumn, isn't it?"
"Psst."
Sango looked around again. "Miroku..."
Miroku however, sighed. "Alright, we hear you Shippou. What is it?"
Except that it was Inuyasha who burst out of the bushes instead. "Ehh?" Both Sango and Miroku were a little dumbfounded.
Inuyasha put a finger to his lips. "Shhh..."
"Inuya—," Sango began, but Miroku covered her mouth, repeating Inuyasha's movement. Sango nodded and Miroku dropped his hand.
Inuyasha hopped over their legs and crouched down behind Miroku. It took all of the two servant's willpower not to burst into laughter at the incredible bulge in the back of Inuyasha's pants. Back...?
"I want you two to pretend like I'm not here."
Miroku blinked, looking at Sango. She did the same. Inuyasha's voice sounded strangely squeaky... "Wait a minute..." Miroku mumbled, irritated.
"Never mind that. I am a youkai." Shippou said simply for the answer.
"What is it that you want exactly?" Sango asked, on the pretense that she was asking Miroku instead.
"What I want is to tell you two the plan."
Sango gave him the quickest of glances and Miroku clutched the rosary around his damaged hand. "Go on."
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TBC.
Author's Note: As always, free to ideas. So chuck 'em at me, I'll be waiting. Just kiddin'. As much as I enjoy your ideas (though you can still feel free to provide them), I think I have a basic idea of what might be going on for this little plan. Between the space of then and now though, Kagome is stuck in Inuyasha's room... just what to do you all want to go on? Behave in your reviewing now!