Get It Together
The raven haired girl sat quietly in the hut, watching the stew cook over the small fire. Quietness was not something she was used to anymore, so she took the silence for all it was worth. Her small kitsune friend was asleep in the corner, and her other friends were enjoying their 'quality time' in a nearby hut. Things had been a lot different since Sango and Miroku had been married. Poor Miroku took a beating at least every other hour. Things had definitely changed for the better in her own life, too. She glanced out the window at the hint of red hanging from the tree, signaling her hanyou was nearby. He had never been far away for the past eight months, not since Kikyo had....
"Oh, stew's done." She threw the blanket from her legs and crawled over to remove the small kettle from the flames, yelping when she got her hand a little too close. "That was stupid..." Yep, life was definitely good. Walking to the doorway, she curled her lips in distaste at the ruckus exploding from the other hut. In a way, she was glad the she and InuYasha had never gone that far. Their relationship remained steady and that was good enough for her. "InuYasha!"
His ears twitched, the shout bringing him from a peaceful, dreamless sleep before he turned to glare over his shoulder.
"Inu...."
"What?!"
Kagome placed her hands on her hips, a defiant glare attached to her beautiful features. "You don't have to get huffy!"
"I'm tired! What the hell do you want?!" He sat up, rubbing lazily at his eyes in a desperate attempt to avoid the daggers being shot at him.
"I just wanted to know if you were hungry. I thought just maybe you would want to come inside for a while." She relished the nights he would actually sleep with her, intimacy being the furthest thing from her mind. They had strayed away from lust, settling for a kiss every now and then.
"Come off it! I'm fine right here!"
"That old tree can't be that comfortable!"
"Listen, wench, I've been sleeping in trees longer than you've been alive!" He turned his back to her, satisfied that he had put her to silence. Wrong.
"InuYasha...." That innocent, sweet, low, scary tone warned him of what was to come.... "Sit!"
'BOOM!'
"Remind me next time to let you starve!"
He pulled himself from the hanyou-shaped hole in the earth, gritting his teeth to hold his composure. "Why you...." Kagome walked out, slowly kneeling to pat him on the head.
"Just give me a reason...."
He opened his mouth, huffing and turning his head to keep the insults from pouring.
"Now, come inside and eat." She got up and trotted back into the hut, unaware of the golden eyes following her every move. How he loved that girl. There were no words to describe how he felt for her. Love was an understatement. The past few months with her were like being in Heaven, aside from the occasional demon deciding it was big enough to take him on. He would protect her no matter what the cost. Dusting himself off, he obeyed and entered. "Here." Kagome handed him a small bowl of soup and patted the space beside her, offering him a seat.
"What's in this?" He sniffed the bowl curiously, dipping his finger in and cautiously placing it on his tongue.
"It won't kill you..." She sipped her soup and watched him begin to eat from the corner of her eye, "....today anyway."
"Funny." He scowled, wiping his mouth on his sleeve. Eating only half a bowl full, he stood and walked back outside to the obvious worry of Kagome.
"InuYasha?" She put her bowl down and took a seat beside him on the steps. "What's wrong?"
"I don't know. I just....I get this strange feeling..." He glanced at the worry spilling from her chocolate orbs and began to feel guilty. "It's nothing, I'm fine." A reassuring, genuine smile lifted the corners of his mouth slightly. Kagome returned the grin, laying her head over on his shoulder.
"InuYasha, do ever wish that you had went with Kikyo?" Kagome immediately felt him tense and pull away ever so slightly. "You don't have to answer. I was just wondering."
"I can't say I don't wonder what could've happened, but..." He dropped his head, trying to hide the questions floating through his golden eyes. "But...I like it where I am."
"Thank you, InuYasha." She scooted against him, laying one arm across his lap.
"For what?"
"For being you."
"You make that sound like a bad thing." He pulled away, hoping she would look at him. She only nudged closer.
"Far from it." 'I love you' was not something commonly said by the prideful hanyou, but she knew he did. She understood that he couldn't show weakness, especially toward her.
"Kagome..." He cut his sentence short, noticing by her even breathing that she had fallen asleep. Carefully scooping her into his arms, he carried her inside. Laying her gently on the mat, he pulled the fur blanket up to her chin and brushed the hair from her face. "Stupid girl..." Stretching, he headed back to his roost in the tree before a frightful thumping from the nearby hut caught his attention. "Stupid monk, does he ever get tired?" Leaping onto the bough, he reclined back with his arms behind his head. Miroku and Sango had been trying since the day they were married for children with no such luck. He secretly couldn't wait for the day he and Kagome could go that far, but he would be patient. Their excursions so far had never ventured beyond what Kagome called 'making out'. He didn't understand, but he wasn't about to question her. Besides, with the feelings he had been getting lately, he knew it wasn't safe to risk Kagome getting pregnant. Something was wrong, and he knew it.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
His feet pounded against the soil. His fangs drooled and yearned for the taste of blood. He had never felt this way when he was alive. Why did he feel it now? He desired that hanyou's flesh. To rip him limb from limb. Make him suffer for destroying his creator. His senses told him that a village was not that far away, smelling the disgusting odors of humans. He would stop there and satisfy his hunger. Maybe the half demon he was in search of would dare to step in. He could hope for nothing more.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Kagome? Kagome?"
The young woman allowed her eyes to flutter open, much to her body's protest. "What?"
"Are you awake?"
"Yes, Shippo, I'm up." She sat up with a yawn, feeling the common effects of sleeping on a hard mat. One day, InuYasha was going to fix her a bed. "What is it?"
"Nothing."
"You woke me up for nothing?" She tried her best to glare at the small fox, a smile bursting through. "Where's InuYasha?"
"Still asleep."
"Asleep? Are we talking about the same InuYasha? He's usually up way before the sun." She pushed herself to her feet, standing on her tiptoes to again stretch her legs. Walking to the door, she pulled back the flap and gazed into the tree just outside. Sure enough, there he was. "Huh..." She quietly stalked to the tree and began to climb as silently as she could, hoping to catch some more slumber before he woke up. Reaching the branch he was resting on, she crawled to where he lay and gingerly folded herself up in his arms. He snorted in protest before resting his cheek on her head and falling instantly back to sleep. 'This isn't like him....' Glancing worryingly above her, she settled back and closed her eyes. She deserved this. She knew she did. After all the heartbreak. The betrayals. The pain she had went through to end up here, she was going to enjoy it. She did miss her family. She missed them terribly, but they understood. They had to. She had to follow her heart, and all arrows pointed straight to that hanyou. Even if he had rejected her, she was sure she would've stayed. Just to be near him. She was tore apart the day she had to leave him. She was devastated the day he....died. Many times, it had ran through her head to join him. But he came back. He came back to her. Only her.
"What...what are you doing?" He released a fang revealing yawn as he pushed forward in an attempt to stretch without knocking her away.
"I just thought you might be lonely up here."
"Sure." He cocked an eyebrow, wrapping an arm around her and jumping down.
"Sorry for caring." She turned away as soon as they landed, hurt written all over her face.
"I'm glad you care." He mumbled, hoping she was the only one who heard. Nope.
"That is so sweet. Finally opening up, are we, my rough edged friend?" Miroku draped a cool arm over the hanyou's shoulder, gently punching him in the chest.
"Miroku..."
"Yes?"
"You should never be this close to me." His tone was low and even. Threatening.
"Point taken." Miroku eased away, working his way behind Sango.
The hanyou rolled his eyes before turning toward the forest, tapping his thumb on Tetsusaiga's hilt. "Time to check grounds." He crouched, preparing to leap before a small utter of his name grabbed his attention.
"I'll go with you."
"You stay here." He demanded as softly as possible, a little voice screaming 'bad idea' in his subconscious.
"Oh, shut up! I'm coming and there's nothing you can say to change my mind." Kagome grabbed her bow and quiver and prepared to climb onto his back.
"But..."
"Just remember, there is something I can say to change yours." She leaned over his shoulder, fingering the beads around his neck. InuYasha sighed in defeat, locking onto her knees to pull her up.
"Fine! We'll be back when we're back." He sprinted into a run, Kagome tightening her embrace around his neck.
"Don't you think it'll be good to spend some time alone?"
"Yeah, yeah. Whatever." He couldn't resist. Turning his head slightly, his features were graced with a devilish smirk. "Conniving, little wench." Kagome pulled back a little, her brow furrowing in anger.
"You better be glad I'm on your back!"
"Never been more happier."
Sporting a smirk of her own, she leaned forward with a smile, placing a kiss on his neck. "You have to let me down sometime." InuYasha gulped, mentally cursing the late priestess who gave Kagome that power.
A few feet away, the bushes parted, revealing a gleaming set of fangs. Scarlet eyes watched contently as the two galloped deeper into the dark wood.
"I never thought you would come to me."
*****Okay, I guess you guys are wondering why InuYasha didn't pick up on the demon's scent. You'll find that out later, I promise. *****
