Potential

By: Camigwen

- Chapter 7 -

Poor Inuyasha had been utterly miserable throughout the duration of their flight to the United States. When they finally arrived at their destination in Los Angeles, California, Inuyasha had to be practically dragged off the plane by Spike and Giles and tossed into the back seat.

He lay now with his head in Kagome's lap, barely aware of his surroundings. She felt a little guilty, but knew this was going to be great black mail later on. However, she would spare him the torture on their flight back home to Japan, remind herself to give him something for his airsickness.

Inuyasha stirred, obviously not liking the motion of the car anymore than he did the plane. Kagome ran her hand through is still black hair, attempting to calm him. "Are we going to be there soon?"

From the front seat, Giles answered her. "In a while. I have to make a stop to get a book from a…colleague of mine."

She nodded, "I see."

Spike grumbled in protest, in English words that Kagome couldn't make out. Giles seemed annoyed by his dismay and ignored him.

Soon Giles' rusty old car came to a halt and he got out of the car. Spike seemed irritated and stayed within the confinements of the car, glancing every so often to Kagome and incapacitated hanyou in her lap.

Giles returned a few minutes later and got back in the car. He waved to a man with glasses standing a few paces away from the car, who Kagome assumed to be the colleague he spoke of earlier. A taller man, clad in a duster similar to Spike's stood near Giles' colleague. Something about him made Kagome quiver, but she ignored the feeling.

It was probably nothing.

Soon, they were off on the road again. It was a good thirty minutes before they reached the small Californian town of Sunnydale. Kagome was all to glad when they pulled into the driveway of their destination.

Spike opened the backdoor for her and helped her ease Inuyasha out of the car.

Inuyasha had no clue where he was and could barely make out the figures of two female humans who strolled up to him.

"So," the blonde female inquired, "you must be Kagome."

Kagome didn't understand any of what she said except for her name, plus she was to occupied with holding Inuyasha up to try to translate the English words in her head. She quickly looked to Giles for translation.

The Watcher nodded, understandingly. "She says, well, basically that she assumes you're Kagome. Which, you are."

The miko turned to the blonde and cast her a 'duh' look and tightened her hold on Inuyasha.

The other girl, with wavy brown hair, placed her hands on her hips as her eyes rolled over Inuyasha's form. "Who's he?"

Giles translated for her and Kagome answered, "A friend," after a few moments. Giles translated it back for them. She was sure that Inuyasha would've been angered by her giving away his name right away, so she decided that 'a friend' was best.

The girl shrugged.

"Giles," Kagome asked, tightening her hold even more on Inuyasha, "who are they?"

"They," he motioned to the blonde, "are Buffy and," he then motioned to the brunette, "Faith. They're the two Slayers I told you about."

So, those were the famed Slayers? They looked like normal girls to her. Then again, she appeared to just be a normal girl--save the illnesses her grandfather kept telling everyone she had.

Suddenly, Inuyasha twisted in her grasp and let out a cry of pain.

She looked up to the sky and saw the sun beginning to creep over the horizon. Spike had long headed into the house, so she assumed she wasn't seeing things.

One of his hands gripped her shoulder. She watched in amazement--even though she had seen him transform many times before--as claws appeared. His human ears vanished and were replaced with his dog-like ones, hair turned from black to white, fangs reappeared, and his eyes took on the all to familiar demonic glow once again.

Kagome couldn't hold him up any longer and as his knees gave way, she was dragged down the ground alone with him. Immediately, she released him and got back to her feet.

Inuyasha's eyes snapped open and he bolted to his feet in a sudden burst of strength. He took a good look at his surroundings, glanced questioningly at Kagome, and then proceeded to pass out on the front lawn.

Apparently the flight, the car ride, and transforming had taken too much out of him.

Sighing, Kagome--with Buffy's help--hoisted Inuyasha's unconscious form off the ground and into her house. They took him up the stairs and into, what looked like Buffy's bedroom, and laid him on the bed.

Faith stood in the hallway, shooing away a swarm of curious girls, whom Kagome assumed to Potentials like herself, while Buffy had a few words with Giles.

Buffy left and Giles explained to her that Buffy said that she and Inuyasha could have her room for the day, since they were obviously exhausted. Kagome told Giles to relay her thanks to the Slayer and he left the room, closing the door behind him.

Kagome sighed and moved to sit on the edge of Buffy's bed, next to Inuyasha. He was still unconscious, and the sleep would probably do him good. Come tonight, or even later today depending on when he woke up, he'd be right as rain.

She, however, was beginning to get tired. Reaching out one of her hands, she ran her fingers along the side of his face.

He didn't stir.

Yawning and sure that he was sound asleep, she pulled herself fully onto the bed and curled up beside Inuyasha.

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"That was Inuyasha!?" Willow, Kennedy, and Buffy exclaimed in unison.

Faith was slightly confused. "Alright, who's this Inuyasha fellow?"

"In the book," Willow said, "that told us about Kikyo--"

"--Whom Kagome is the reincarnation of," Giles added. A stern look from the witch's girlfriend shut him up and he allowed her to continue.

"--said that Inuyasha injured her and thus got pinned to the tree by Kikyo as a result."

At Buffy's side, Spike sighed, glancing to Giles. "Well, we've been over this, but to make a long story short: Inuyasha and Kikyo were tricked into betraying each other by that evil bloke by the name of Naraku, and after dog-boy was pinned to that tree for fifty some odd years, Kagome freed him."

"What I don't understand," Kennedy spoke up, "is why Kagome brought him with her. Which is why I ask, why?"

Giles sighed and removed his glasses, swiping at the lenses with his shirt and putting them back on. "She insisted that he come along. He didn't seem too happy about the idea… Which reminds me… Willow?"

"Yes?"

"Do you think you could look for a spell to, er, charm a pin or something that we could attach to Kagome and Inuyasha's clothing so we could communicate without me standing in as a translator?"

"Ooh, like those universal translator things off of Star Trek! Yeah, I could do that. I'll get on it right now." Willow gave them all a bright smile and scurried off up to her room with Kennedy in close pursuit.

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'What…Where am I?' Something soft and squishy was beneath him, not the usual hardness of tree branches that he usually slept on. Even with his eyes closed, he could tell it was daylight outside. And even so, he felt more tired than he had been in a long time.

Still not opening his eyes, he shifted onto his side and his hand brushed something warm. At this, his eyes shot open and he found him starring at Kagome's sleeping form, snuggled up to him.

Utterly confused and not quite sure exactly where he was, he settled back down next to Kagome and drifted back off to sleep.

Perhaps this was all a dream.

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To be continued…

I do not own either Buffy the Vampire Slayer or Inuyasha. I am just a fan.

AN: Sorry that it took me so long to update. I've got the next chapter in the works, so it should be up sometime next week. Thanks for the continued reviews! =D

3/18/04