Chapter 22: Camping
Inuyasha was walking slowly thinking about his fake marriage with Kagome. He considered his mistake with Kikyo and murdering her—for that was the way he saw it. Had he meant to kill Kikyo? He'd always thought he'd loved her, but if he loved her, why in hells name did he kill her? Slaughter her, leave her in bloody shreds across the ground, disembowelled and with shock painted on her once lovely face.
It had been because of Kagome. A neko! For gods sake, his father would be turning in his grave with disgust. He needed to see her—the sudden urge held him so tightly he thought he would start panting with need. What was it about her, she was a complete and utter—dare he think it?—bitch at times. Beauty wasn't everything, although he'd admit that it was her supreme loveliness that first caught him and forced him to let her stay, but after? She was so...wild, fierce, loyal, smart, but was that really what Inuyasha wanted? Did he want some wild cat?
Inuyasha tried to picture how he'd want his mate...did he want a docile, tame little inu, or a fierce feral neko? If he took an inu no one would wrinkle their nose in distaste, yet if he choose a neko—who's name shan't be thought—the chaos that would ensure. But his fake marriage to her hadn't shaken any boundaries at all. Not a single person had remarked on the total ridiculous idea of a neko, inu mating. When would the bomb be dropped upon this peaceful uncaring fake union?
Kagome and Sango were headed to the forest with their new recruit, Ayame talking about nothing in particular when Kagome got this twinge in her belly. "What the hell?" In her mind the image of a worried Inuyasha flashed into her mind but she quickly brushed it off and sped up the pace. She would not start thinking of that mangy flea bag, not when she was already caught in this whole mess because of him...Although he had saved her from an awful decision. Jaken, or Hojo, she shuddered, Inuyasha, she smiled.
As the girls sank deeper into the night falling forest Kagome was hit by a terrible realization, she had developed real feelings for the dog boy! Ayame was pining; already she missed Hojo and she had only been separated from him for a couple hours. How pathetic, if she couldn't last a couple hours without her lover than she wasn't fit to be with him. Ayame squared her shoulders, raised her chin and marched steadily behind the other two girls. Sango's thoughts were of Miroku and she just couldn't see him as a one-woman kind of guy. She cared for him, sure, that was obvious, but...? Something was holding her back from declaring her love for him, did she really love him, or was her mind playing tricks with her? Perhaps it was just lust, or a simple crush; that would better describe what she felt for the lecherous houshi youkai.
Each girl was secretly guilty about their straying thoughts. The point if the camping trip was to relieve some stress and forget about lovers and fake lovers, but somehow every thought drifted uncomfortably back to them. They knew it seemed like they were pathetic youkai who couldn't go ten minutes without their hotties, but meh, what could they do?
Inuyasha had rounded up Miroku and—although he hadn't wanted to—Hojo and asked them if they had seen the girls. Both youkai's answered no and were nervous not knowing where the girls had disappeared to. "Fuck! Don't they know that the herbs they ate for the faking mating will dull their senses?! They could be in trouble and here we are doing nothing to protect them! Why didn't you guys keep a closer watch on them?!" Inuyasha ranted. Hojo studied him and asked, "What fake mating?" Inuyasha choked and answered, "Fake mating, what faking mating? You must have misheard me. I said, erm...make sating, Kagome makes me sat. Ya know..." Hojo raised an eyebrow and said slyly, "So this whole thing is just a sham, eh?" Inuyasha said nothing and cursed his stupidity. "Thank god! I almost married Kagome, and I hadn't even met Ayame! So, let's get going; seeing as you guys used the herb too, only Ayame and me have our full senses." Miroku and Inuyasha stood their shocked and recovered enough to say, "Okay..."
The girls reached a nice little patch of flat, lush green ground that had a close by river and hot-springs. Sango was suspicious at first but Ayame reassured her that when ever she went camping this was her spot too and it was perfectly safe. They leisurely set up makeshift tents, poles for clothing and a niche for food, and then Kagome offered to dig a latrine. Ayame hunted for food and Sango secured the premises. By the end Kagome and Ayame were sweaty and Sango felt bored so when Ayame begged for a bath they all agreed to it.
Hojo had finally located their scent and they had tracked them down to their campsite but no one was there. The guys lounged around waiting when they heard a terrible shriek. All the guys rushed forward and found themselves at the edge of the hot springs.
Sorry for the wait people. Because I couldn't write a chapter next week, I'm gonna quickly write up another before I leave. Doesn't it seem like a lot of chaos occurs at hot springs? lol. Enjoy guys, so sorry.