Disclaimer: Well I said it and I'll say it again, Inuyasha and the gang does not belong to me.
Note: Another review from demdova this time, I can't believe it, 3 reviews for my first story, thank you :))))))
Chapter 6 : Feelings revealed
Miroku sat lazily against the well happy that the others had not decided to bug him like they did the day before about his insistance to wait for Kagome by the well. He had said it was to help her carry her bag to town, but they had not bought it. Truth be told, he would have been surprised if they had, but it was the only thing he could think of at the moment. So most of the day yesterday had been spent fending off their constant curiosity. At dusk, they had finally realised that they wouldn't be able to get anything out of him and had left him to enjoy a few hours of peace and tranquility. She had not arrived the previous day however so he was here again today hoping that Kagome would arrive soon.
His patience was eventually rewarded around midday as a shuffling sound and a few curses were heard from the bottom of the well. "Is everything alright Kagome-sama?" he asked peering down.
"Miroku?" asked the surprised teenager. "What are you doing here?" she finished confused. While her friends would most of the time be close to the well to greet her when she got back, they never actually sat BY the well like the monk had obviously been doing.
"Don't you think it would be best if I answered that question after you get out of the well?" he answered with a tint of humor in his voice.
"Right." she said seeing the wisdom of his words. She then proceeded to climb the rope ladder she and her friends had installed for convenience reasons. When she was within range, Miroku extended his hand and helped her out for the last few steps.
"Are you alright Kagome-sama, you look a bit… tired." Asked the monk once he had taken in her appearance.
"I'll be fine Miroku, my friends and I simply had a little too much fun yesterday so basically I'm paying the price today." she said with a small chuckle. "You however owe me an explanation. What were you doing sitting by the well waiting for me?" she asked in a demanding tone.
"You see I promised Inuyasha that I would deliver a message to you. He said he would wait for you under the goshinboku." He started.
Upon hearing the hanyou's name, Kagome's mind froze. "He wants to see me! What could he want? Is he alright?" her mind was flooded with questions all of which she couldn't answer. "When?" she finally managed to whisper her heart hammering in her chest in anticipation.
"Well according to his word, he sould be there right now." the monk answered.
At that news, Kagome let out a small gasp and Miroku, who had been looking intently at her reaction could see tears starting to form in her eyes. Before he had time to muse on this though, the girl had bolted off at full speed in the direction Inuyasha was waiting. "So much for being sore." he thought ruefully. "Well then, I better get you to the village." he spoke to Kagome's discarded backpack. He slung it on his shoulder and turned around only to be confronted by a very angry Sango. "Maybe keeping my promise to Inuyasha will not be as easy as I thought at first." reflected the monk feeling a trickle of sweat running down his back.
"Alright Miroku… Spill!" demanded Sango in an icy tone.
Inuyasha was standing under the tree, true to his word. He had smelled her the minute she had exited the well and instantly his heart had started hammering in his chest. Every fiber of his being commanded him to run away as fast as he could, but he had managed to resist it so far. But now she was getting closer and the instinct was also getting increasingly more difficult to control. In one last effort to control his behavior, he dug his claws in the palm of his hands, his knuckles turning white with the effort. Then without warning she was here. Her chocolate eyes fell immediately on him and he suddenly felt rooted to the spot.
"Inu… yasha." She said slightly breathless from the run she had taken to come here from the well. A small gust of wind sent a whiff of her scent his way and he reeled back from the shock. Her natural aroma mixed with the more tangy odor of sweat made his head spin. "How can she smell so good?" he thought as he tried desperately to get his body to obey his will once more.
For her part Kagome didn't know what to make of the hanyou's reaction. Almost as soon as she had entered the clearing, he had fallen to one knee and was now hunched over as if the wind had been knocked out of him. "What the hell is wrong with him?" she thought worriedly. Determined find what was afflicting Inuyasha, she made her way to him and placed her hand on his shoulder. "Inuyasha, what's wrong?" she asked concern evident in her voice.
As soon as he had felt her touch, the hanyou's eyes had suddenly widened in surprise. "No! This is too much! Please Kagome let me breath!" he thought desperately as shivers started to run down his spine at her touch. He was panting now, trying desperately to hold on to his sanity as his mind was assaulted in every direction by the girl in front of him.
Kagome was worried, she could feel his body trembling under her hand. His muscles were so tense that she was surprised they hadn't snapped already. His breathing was coming in short, strangled gasps. She was afraid he was going to suffocate at this rate. She was about to ask him what was wrong again when his voice interrupted her. "Ka… go… me!" he said in a hoarse whisper.
His head, up to now, had been lowered and it's position had not allowed her to get a good look at his face. However, when he had pronounced her name, he had slowly shifted his gaze from the ground to her face. She felt her heart frantically trying to leap out of her chest at the look she saw in his eyes. "It's the same look he had in Kaede's hut a few nights ago." she realised. She suddenly felt a surge of hope rising in her chest. "Could it be that…" she started unable to finish her thought.
Inuyasha couldn't for the life of him look away from Kagome's eyes. He was drowning in the depth of her hazel orbs so it was no surprise when he noticed her gaze changing from concerned to hopeful. "Dammit! She's hoping now… I gotta talk! Work you stupid mouth! WORK!" he cried in his mind.
Yet as much as he tried, he couldn't get any words passed his constricted throat. He was growing desperate now, "THREE WORDS FOR HEAVEN'S SAKE! SAY THEM!" his mind yelled, but it was no use. He could see doubt starting to show in Kagome's eyes and his heart sank at this. "No! Please no!" he cried. "God help me, I have to say it!" he thought frantically.
Wether god had helped him or not, his prayer was answered when the figure of Miroku appeared in his mind. The parting words he had said to him suddenly coming back "sometimes actions speak louder than words" he had said. "THAT'S IT!" his mind screamed in triomph and before he could even stop himself, he had Kagome wrapped in his arms and his lips pressed to hers. She tensed up against him and for one mortal second, he thought that he had done something wrong. She quickly relaxed though and as her arms came around him and she began to kiss back he knew everything would be okay, he knew that she had understood what his voice had been unable to tell her. The tension started to drain from his body and he could feel himself being carried away by a powerful flow of emotions. Before he was completely gone though he managed one last thank you for wathever diety had made him remember the monk's last words in time.
Kagome had pictured herself kissing Inuyasha many times before. The taste of his lips, the feel of his arms, the silkiness of his hair, the rippling muscles under his haori. There was not a single detail she had not envisionned. Yet nothing she had imagined came even remotely close to what she was experiencing now. Ripples of pleasure coursed through her body as her hanyou tightened his embrace. She felt herself respond in kind by pressing her lips harder against his trying to deepen the kiss even more if that was possible. Her tongue started to probe his mouth gently, begging for entrance and she moaned in pleasure when he complied and she was allowed to explore the confines of his warm cavern. She moaned even more when his own tongue started to dance with hers in a waltz of intoxicating passion. Nature, however, can have a way of ruining the most perfect of moments. In this case, the need for air eventually became too great to ignore and they both had to break away in order not to suffocate.
Over the course of the years, Inuyasha had built a virtual fortress in order to protect himself from the constant abuse his hanyou heritage attracted. But then Kagome had come into his life and the shell had started to crack. Her infinite patience and kindness had gradually wore away all of his layers of protection. And now, as his golden eyes stared into her deep hazel orbs, the last wall crumbled into dust. His heart, frozen cold by years of suffering started beating again and for the first time in a long time, he felt truly alive.
"I… love you Kagome." He finally managed to say in a low voice.
"I love you too… Inuyasha." She answered, smiling tenderly at him before snuggling against his chest and sighing in contentment.
At the sound of these words, the hanyou felt a surge of happiness course through his body. True, he had known about it when they shared the kiss, but actually hearing her say it made a world of difference. Burying his face in her hair, he closed his eyes and inhaled deeply, allowing her sweet sent to permeate his senses. As he gently caressed her silky hairs, he let his mind drift, remembering all the things they had been through together. He couldn't suppress a light chuckle at the strange irony of the situation.
"What's so funny Inuyasha?" asked Kagome pulling slightly away to look in his eyes.
"Well… it's just that… 53 years ago, Kikyo pinned me to this tree. Then, three years ago, you came and lifted her curse. And now… you and I…" he said looking at her fondly. "It's just that every important event in my life seems to happen under this tree."
"You're right." she said giggling lightly. "So I suppose that having our wedding ceremony in this spot will be the natural thing to do." she added.
"Yeah, I…" he started before his mind suddenly realised what she had just said. "Kagome, are you… I mean… Did you just?…" he trailed off looking at her face intently.
Her lips curved upward in a mischevious grin "Oh? Did I just what Inuyasha?" she answered her eyes glinting in amusement at seeing her hanyou's embarassement.
He looked at her for a few seconds trying to discern any sign of deception, but he could not see any. He did note however that she was enjoying his surprise a little too much for his taste. "So that's how you want to play it he? Well let's see how you handle that one." He thought wickedly. "Well I suppose I'll be a sight to see. I can already picture myself wearing a cap and a pair of gloves on my way to the local store to buy ramen." He said in a pensive voice.
"Oh god, now that I would definitively have to see." She said bursting out laughing. It died in a strangled choke though as the full implication of his retort suddenly came to her mind. If she had had any doubts, seeing his satisfied expression wiped them all away. "You? Being subtle? When on earth did that happen?" she said looking at him in astonishement.
"Feh!" he said putting on his traditional scowl. "So now I'm a brainless idiot, is that it you stupid wench?" he said trying to sound offended, but failing miserably.
"You're a terrible liar, you know that?" she said giggling at his pitiful performance.
"Oh! Making fun of me now are you? You're not getting away with this!" he said in an overly dramatic voice.
She laughed out loud this time at his antic, until she felt his hands drawing dangerously close to one of her sensitive area. "You wouldn't dare!" she said her eyes widening in horror. He didn't bother to answer, he only looked at her with an evil smile. Moments later, she was frantically squirming, trying to break free from his iron grip as he tickled her senseless. "Inuyashaaaa!!! St… Stop it… Please!!!" she squealed desperately. "I'm sorrrrrrryyyyy! I swear!!!!!"
"That's what happened to those who dared to make fun of me." He said in a triomphant voice.
"I swear, with an attitude like that, I might just have rethink my decision to stay in the past with you." She eventually managed to say once her breath had come back.
This brought the hanyou's playful mood to a screeching halt. "You're serious?" he asked incredulous.
"I like your ears too much to force you to hide them under a cap." She said with a smile. To emphasize her point, she brought her hand to his ears and started to rub them gently elicting a soft growl of appreciation from Inuyasha.
"You really are the most incredible woman I've ever met." He said looking at her fondly. "I mean, what woman would actually ask a man to marry her, it's generally the other way around." He added wryly.
"That's funny, I don't remember asking you anything of the sort." She mused with an innocent look in her eyes.
He was about to retort when he realised that she was technically telling the truth. He chuckled slightly before going down on one knee. He took her hands in his lightly and looked at her intently. "Kagome Higurashi, will you do me the honor of becoming my wife?" he asked, knowing full well what the answer would be.
"Yes, I will." She answered, smiling brightly at him.
He could only smile back before embracing her for the second time this day. As reason gave way to passion once again, he could feel the fear that had paralysed his heart up to now dissolve away before the simple realisation that he would never be alone again.
Author's note: You wouldn't believe how much trouble I had writing this chapter. It took me three days to come up with what you've just read. I hope everyone likes it. Well that's pretty much all I have to say for this chapter, it's longer than it's predecessors but still a bit on the short side. Well then, as always, read and review.