Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha or any of the characters. It's sad but the truth hurts.
Chapter 7- Rain, Rain Don't Go Away.
"Feh, Don't worry. I'm not here to hurt Kagome." He crossed his arms to hold back a twinge of guilt.
"I did not think ye were. I mean to say I didn't expect to see the likes of ye so soon." 'I didn't think I could ever come back here, but I can't seem to leave her.' As Inuyasha thought, a single bead of blood rolled off his finger tip, after leaving a dampened path along his arm. "You've been hurt. Let me take a look." Lady Kaede demanded by grabbing his arm and rolling the sleeve back. The red material revealed four small holes exact to the ones on Kagome's arms. "Inuyasha, you did this to ye self?" The priestess asked shocked.
"I'm fine," He said while wrenching his arm back from Kaede's grasp. "I heal fast," 'Faster than poor Kagome,' He thought to himself. "How is Kagome?" He kept the question short and avoided the priestess's eyes.
"She sleeps now, but I can not speak for her. Ye will have to ask her yourself." Kaede shot a glance at Inuyasha to watch his reaction.
"How can you want to send me in there alone? Don't you care about Kagome, or has she not told you what happened?" His voice was low but hysterical, and he edged slightly towards the door like has was going to throw himself out. After catching Inuyasha's face shrivel with dismay, Kaede jumped at him with an accusing finger.
"AH- HA! I knew it. Ye didn't mean to pin her to the tree, and ye regret every step of what happened. It was an accident and ye do love her." Inuyasha felt victim to the weight of her words, and dropped to the floor, Indian style, with a dazed expression. "Phew, for a minute there I thought I was losing my women's intuition."
"How do you know these things?" Inuyasha asked flabbergasted
"I already told you, women's intuition." Lady Kaede stated proudly.
"Fine, you know it was an accident, so what am I suppose to do now. How am I supposed to protect her if I can't even trust myself around her?" The Hanyou put his head in his hands to think.
"I don't think you understand, Inuyasha. It's not about trust, it's about control. You need to learn control, and I think I have just the thing for that." Kaede pulled a box from a loose board under the hut, and produced a necklace from the box.
"You're going to make me beautiful?" The Hanyou asked slightly confused.
"No, now I'm being serious Inuyasha, so stand up. This is ye choice, because it compromises ye free will. You put this necklace on, and whenever Kagome and only Kagome, says the word 'sit', then you will plummet into the ground, and you won't be able to move momentarily. It shouldn't seriously injure you, but I, myself, wouldn't give someone I don't trust that power over me." Lady Kaede handed the Hanyou the necklace. It was made of dark, round beads, and every five beads were separated by a fang. He held it between his fingers for a moment of consideration.
"I trust her," He said as he slid it over his head. Kaede and Inuyasha stood looking at each other for moment.
Kagome, who had been listening ever since Inuyasha passed by her window, slowly crept out of the cot, and closer to the door frame, between the front and back room, for a better view. 'I can't believe he trusts me enough to take away some of his free will,' She thought in aw.
"So, how do we know it is working? I think it would be bad timing to get in another uh... tight situation and realize it won't work." Inuyasha said uncomfortably.
"Well, there is only one way to tell. Kagome, you can come out now." Lady Kaede called behind her.
"What?! When... She's... but I'm...How did you know she was there, and I didn't even realize it?" Even his thoughts began incoherently. 'Wow, what... was she... what will she think... how could I not hear her? Have I let my guard drop that much?'
"Please Inuyasha; I have already told you twice. I have women's intuition. Now come out here child. I promise no one here will hurt you." Kaede commanded as she motioned to Kagome. Kagome slowly stepped out of the shadows, and for everyone one of her steps forward Inuyasha took a step back until his movement was stopped by the wall.
"Kagome." Inuyasha whispered once she stood still. His eyes were glistened, and he took her scent in like a flower. Quickly remembering the earlier incident, he broke eye contact, and folded his arms.
"Inuyasha," Kagome murmured back. She extended her arm toward him, but let it drop when he turned away.
"I'm sorry for..." Blushing deeply, the Hanyou changed his sentence. "Are you ok?"
"Well, I have my vision back, but I've had better days." Kagome smiled weakly.
"I really shouldn't be here. There is probably someone out there," Inuyasha gave a gesture to the exit, "who needs my help, or something else." His voice strained with guilt, and he clasped his hands together in an awkward manner.
"No, please don't go Inuyasha. We really should sit d..." Kagome's words were broken from her mouth as the necklace illuminated the small hut with a rosy pink light, and the Hanyou was forced face first into the ground with a shaky after shock. "I'm so sorry! I completely forgot!" With a panicked cry for forgiveness, Kagome beckoned Inuyasha to let her help him up with an out stretched hand. His fingers twitched in attempt to accept, but he caught sight of Kagome's bandages, peeking out of her short sleeve. The Hanyou's hand recoiled with disgust in himself.
"Great, it works!" Kaede smiled triumphantly. With an annoyed glance at the priestess, Inuyasha hoisted himself up.
"I'm fine, Kagome. It was only a short fall." He reassured her with a wave of his hand. "It's been a long day; I think you should go to bed now, Good night." Inuyasha was already walking out as he gave his hasty good bye.
"Perhaps he is right. Some sleep would do us all a world of good. Sleep well while you can, because Sango and Miroku will probably want to get back on the track for Naraku, tomorrow." Lady Kaede took a dramatic exit with a monstrous yawn, leaving Kagome still frozen with an outstretched hand.
"Hey wait!" Kagome called outside, automatically transferring her thoughts back to the fleeting Hanyou. "I need to...talk to...you," her voice trailed off into a pause as she peered through the empty night air, "but of course your not here." Kagome threw her arms above her head to exaggerate her sigh of distress.
"You're to easily deceived. I'm above you." Inuyasha said sloppily through another embellished yawn to mimic Kaede's. Kagome craned her neck back to get a good focus on the Hanyou, who was nestled lazily in the bow of a strong branch.
"Is this where you were going to sleep, in a tree?" She asked argumentatively.
"What's wrong with it? It's a perfectly fine tree." He persisted with an innocent tone.
"Nothing is wrong with it, but it looks like it may rain tonight." Kagome said with a gesture towards the gray clouds that looked like eraser smudges over the starry sky.
"Why are you so worried about me?" The Hanyou asked with muffled confusion. "I'll be fine. It's not like I've never spent the night outside."
"I just don't want you to get sick or something." Kagome uncomfortably twisted her foot in the dirt after expressing her concern.
"I'd be more worried about yourself if I was you. Go inside before it does start to rain, and good night." Inuyasha rolled over, foolishly thinking that he had put an end to the conversation.
"No, if you sleep out here, then I will too." She said with determination.
"What? No, it's not safe for you out here," Inuyasha let himself drop lightly from his branch, and a little cloud of dust rose around his feet upon impact. "I won't let you sleep outside." He directed a pointed finger towards the doorway of the hut.
"When is it ever safe for me in this era, and how are you going to force me inside if you won't even touch me? So until you come inside, I'm staying out here." Kagome told him with her arms folded across her chest. The two stood in defiance of each other for a while until a few loose raindrops broke their concentration of one another.
"Please Kagome, go inside where it's warm and safe." Inuyasha practically begged. Kagome simply shook her head against the Hanyou's will. "Ger, you made me do this." He lifted Kagome off her feet, and carried her into the back room while trying to touch as little of her as possible. As Inuyasha laid her across the cot, the few loose rain drops turned into swarms of thick water droplets being tussled by the wind. 'I guess I'm stuck inside now. The rain is coming down way to hard,' the Hanyou thought. He pulled back from the girl, but she still held onto his hand, and smoothed over a few times with her own.
"See that wasn't so bad, now was it?" Kagome asked with a sweet smile.
"What are you talking about?" Inuyasha tilted his head as though it would help him to understand.
"You touched me, and nothing bad happened, see" She said with another gentle stroke of her hand down the center of his palm.
"I guess you're right Kagome." He agreed in a pleasant whisper. As the night slowly drifted on through the thick sheets of rain, Inuyasha sat with Kagome and watched her fall asleep. 'It's so easy to make her happy, and yet it feels like the greatest accomplishment.' The Hanyou continued to drift in and out of thought for the next couple of hours. When he was awake he listened to the rhythm of her breath, and observed other innocent details about Kagome. Now falling back into thought, he gazed through the open doorway between the back and front room, and something caught his eye. A shadow encased the door frame for a moment before surpassing it in great stride...
A/N: Please review. I've started chapter eight, and I'll post it as soon as I think enough people have read chapter seven.