Hi everyone!^_^ Okay, first off, tell me if this story tends to be confusing or if it jumps around too much. I'm having a little bit of difficulty getting everything I want into my chapters and making sure it's not too random.^_^; This story has a lot more going on than my last one did, and, to be honest, I'm getting a lost myself sometimes.^_^; So yeah, I would really appreciate it if you e-mailed me or something and told me what you think on this topic.^_^ Critiques are always welcome.^_^
Lunemangelus- Yeah, got to love those ears.^_^ there's only one problem with that though, fic wise anyway, are you sure that he actually has them?^_~* As for a bunch of Mirokus, I'd rather just be Kagome; she has free access to the ears when others aren't around, and he wouldn't kill her, especially not for that.^-^
DemonChic- Lol no problem.^_^ I'm not planning to stop this story any time soon.^_^
Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha or any of the characters in it. If I did I'd be rich, but I'm not... and if I had lots of money I'd probably spend it on anime anyway so pleeaasseee, don't sue me.^_^ lol
Oh, and as always,
_= thoughts *_* = sound/ italicized "_" = speech
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Rolling down his window, he smiled contently, fore atop his head stood two beautiful, snow-white dog ears, twitching as the wind flew through the window to delicately graze the fine hairs that resided there. He certainly was a puppy after all.
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Do the Math
Chapter 14: Sweet Dreams
Why won't it go away?
"Kagome, are you okay?" At the touch of Sango's hand on her shoulder, Kagome turned and gave her best friend the brightest smile she could muster.
"Hai Sango-chan."
At least Sango hasn't changed....
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I wonder what's wrong with her... The form of a young girl lay, resting in the shade of an old tree near the school. She had been on the grass field for sometime now, arms behind her head, feet crossed at the ankles, simply looking up at the sky and thinking, moving only for the occasional itch produced by the grass as it tickled her flesh. Beside her lay a lonely, half-read book, shaded by the tree above, yet still with signs of age and fading. It seemed as if that book had gotten a lot of use over time, but for that day, it would sit alone.
Ever since the incident with Kouga and Naraku, Kagome had been acting strangely. She had been shying away from almost everyone and had become somewhat distant to even they, her best friends. What was even more odd was that, although a week ago she couldn't stand him, it was almost as if Kagome enjoyed Inu Yasha's company. She tried to deny it, but they could tell, could see how she relaxed when he was nearby. By then, everyone knew about the fight and Inu Yasha's rescue, so maybe that was why Kagome was calmer around him; it hadn't been the first time he'd saved her, though probably one of the most important, and she probably felt safe around him for that reason, but still, something wasn't right; Kagome wasn't one to act oddly after conflict, even with everything that had been happening, and this definitely fit into the "acting oddly" category.
"Sango?"
"Hmm?" Shading her eyes against the bright light of the sun, Sango shifted her gaze to find Miroku smiling down upon her, her own reflection swirling about within his amethyst eyes.
"What's on your mind?" As Miroku lay down beside her, she returned her arms to where they had been behind her head, and looked upward, to the sky, once more.
"Just thinking about Kagome." Nodding, Miroku looked up as well.
"She has been rather distant lately." A few fluffy, white puffs of cloud floated overhead and Miroku smiled softly, positioning himself as Sango had done previously; nature was always so relaxing. Of course, having Sango nearby never hurt.
"I wonder what's wrong." In that moment, everything that had once been soft and gentle seemed to amplify, standing out more boldly against what it once was. The simplicity of the nature about them grew, contrasting greatly against the randomness of the woven, tangled strings of which their thoughts had become. The wind whistled through the trees, bringing with it thoughts of "what if"s and "maybe"s, causing the vibrant green grass to rustle, shimmering in the morning sun, and the pages in Sango's book to flutter open, the words seemingly spilling forth from within their pages to pollute her once clear mind. Had worry always seemed like this, like a tornado of possibilities? Words, phrases, all appearing to rid her of conscious desire, to draw her within her own imagination? Within those thoughts held an element, passed through from one to the other, bringing a short, yet almost tense silence to settle upon them. It was such a shame to have such beauty bogged down with worry.
"Dog."
"What?" Coming from her reverie, Sango looked towards the honeyed voice from the boy beside her. Pointing at a cloud in the sky, Miroku turned to face the confused girl and smiled.
"Dog." He looked at her so knowingly, with such a presence of wisdom, as if that one word held so much more than she could see. Shaking her head, Sango laughed lightly and looked toward the cloud he was pointing to.
"Dog." And so they lay there in comfortable silence, worry ebbing away, if only for that moment, as they enjoyed one another's company and the natural beauty of both the sky, and what imagination could bring, for as long as the bell would let them. Class would start again soon enough. (or too soon if you ask me.~_~;)
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"Okay class, you're dismissed." The bell had rung not a minute before, signaling most students' second favorite time of the school day, lunch. As the last of her peers filed haphazardly out of the room, Kagome slowly plucked her books off of her desk one at a time, putting them neatly away in a vain attempt to stall the inevitable. Once her bag was filled, there was no longer any choice; it was time. Her teacher, getting ready for the next class, still sat in the front of the room, muddling over papers and schedules, yet said a short goodbye as Kagome headed towards the door. This was it.
Taking a deep breath, Kagome steadied herself and, with a determined glint in her eye and a burst of willpower, exited her history classroom, heading towards Sango's. As she avoided the lunchtime rush-hour, Kagome tried her best to look straight ahead, yet not towards anyone in particular, but it had been getting harder and harder to do so, especially then, at the busiest time of the school day.
Ever since the incident with Kouga and Naraku, Kagome had been seeing weird things. At first she thought that it was just a side effect from the stress of everything that had been happening lately, but it had been almost a week and they were still there. She tried everything from hanging out and relaxing with friends to faking sick so that she could skip a few days of school to try and make it go away, to try and relax, but nothing worked. She could swear that she had a concussion or something, but, even after her mother took her to a doctor, they said that she was fine. Fine, how could she be fine if she was seeing these... things?! She wasn't going crazy; she couldn't have been, but what other explanation was there?
Kagome had almost had a heart attack when she had seen Mr. Khioto that next morning. He and his entire family were outside doing this and that, getting ready for the day, when he had said hello. That was when her whole world had changed. Inu Yasha, walking to school like any other day, still had furry white dog ears, fangs, and claws, *actual* CLAWS! It had been just like the car ride home the previous day, but it wasn't just him any more. The rest of his family had everything Inu Yasha did, minus the ears. Instead, theirs were normal, but pointed, and each had a set of stripes running across their cheeks and hands, some purple, some red. She had stood there, looking both at each one individually and all of them at the same time, making a futile attempt to understand what she was seeing. When rubbing and blinking her eyes did nothing, she made some lame excuse, apologizing for leaving, and bolted from the steps as fast as her feet would carry her. That was when Inu Yasha had started watching her. Since then, his amber eyes had always been upon her.
Kagome had spent the rest of that day trying to figure to what it meant, that Inu Yasha's entire family now looked animalistic, but seeing as the people on the streets didn't look different, as they had the day before, she naively assumed that she was getting better. How wrong she was. Soon she was seeing odd things on people everywhere! People walking down the street would be purple or gigantic; they'd have horns, tails, and crimson eyes, and some even had scales. Some looked like animals or insects while others, she didn't know *what* to make of them. It had gotten steadily worse since then, and, although she was beginning to get used to it, she still had a hard time walking around within their midst. Maybe she had damaged something unseen, and these were her inner demons projected onto others? No, there were too many, and that wouldn't account for Inu Yasha.
Ever since these... visions had started, Kagome had been more distant from almost everyone, especially Kouga. It was bad enough what he had done to her, but, in her eyes, his physical form had changed as well. It seemed that only about half of her class still looked the same to her, including Sango and Miroku. Thank Kami she still had them to rely on. The worst part of it all wasn't that she was seeing weird things and going crazy, but that Inu Yasha had been watching her more closely, and she didn't mind very much. It was getting harder and harder not to giggle when his imaginary doggie ears wiggled about or swiveled to hear something across the room. She was finding herself more comfortable around him merely because he looked, well, like a puppy half of the time; even when he was mad it was cute! She had started feeling safe around him, probably due to him saving her and all, but it was a far stretch from what she would've said weeks before. What was happening to her? Shaking her head in a weak attempt to clear her thoughts, Kagome, momentarily blinded by her swirling hair, accidentally tilted in her step and bumped into another student, dropping her books all over the floor, and causing them to intermingle with the other's.
"Oh, sorry I..." Gulping quietly, Kagome lowered her eyes and quickly retrieved the rest of her books. What was it about centipedes that scared the hell out of her? Apologizing again, she reached out, albeit shakily, and slowly helped the other pick up their things. Jogging away, Kagome breathed a small sigh of relief; maybe she was slowly getting used to this after all.
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"Sango-chan, are you sure we can't eat outside? It's such a lovely day!" Eyeing her best friend closely, Sango turned her head back towards the cafeteria doors.
"Kagome, you've been asking that all week. Besides, it's hot, and I would rather sit inside today." With a weak nod, Kagome followed the older girl inside, focusing on the sway of her dark, coffee-colored hair as opposed to the room around her. Smoothing her skirt and sitting down at one of the few cold, grey tables left unoccupied, she tried her best to look at nothing other than her food, her lap, or maybe Sango; anything else would get her in trouble. Oh, why did she have to be going crazy? It was too much work!
"Ahh, Sango, you are surely a sight for sore eyes." Kagome glanced to the side and raised an eyebrow, smirking slightly. Miroku, coming out of thin air, had appeared and knelt on the floor, head bowed with one hand holding Sango's while the other massaged her rear. Wearing that cute, quirky grin of his, he moved to the side just as Sango's hand came down, connecting with nothing but air by merely a centimeter. The demon exterminator had missed her target. It was truly and amazing day.
He's getting good. A sharp slap sounded beside her, and Kagome sweatdropped. Shaking her head, she sighed gently and returned to her food. But not good enough.... Picking at the lunch her mother had packed for her, Kagome's mind traveled once again to the changes around her, or potentially in her, concentration breaking only as a tray slammed down on the table beside Miroku.
No, she knew who it was; she couldn't look up. She couldn't look up. Oh, what the heck. Sheepishly raising her eyes, Kagome tried to remain relatively inconspicuous as she looked down the table at her friends. Miroku, though now sporting two huge lumps instead of the one he would've gotten before, was quietly enjoying his lunch with Sango who, when ever he started to speak, sent him a glare sharper than an axe blade just before it cut off your head. Somehow, Kagome could see that working between them, only with his hands, not his head. Pondering that a moment longer, she shivered at the mental image, subconsciously moving one hand to grasp her other wrist, when her eye caught a slight movement. Apparently Inu Yasha had heard her shift, or so it seemed. As much as he tried to pretend that he was still ignoring her, it was blatantly obvious that he wasn't, especially considering that he almost always had an ear directed towards her. Hmmm... what would it feel like to scratch one of his... no, they were imaginary, IMAGINARY!!! What was with her?! Was she really starting to believe what she was seeing?
Panicking, Kagome packed up her lunch and quickly excused herself from the table, attempting to keep her cool as she "calmly" headed out of the room. Noticing how sudden the change had been, though in her opinion, the boys were more or less oblivious to it, Sango rose to follow her best friend, leaving Miroku and Inu Yasha to themselves. If Kagome would tell anyone what was wrong, she'd tell her best friend right?
As Miroku watched Sango hurry away, he couldn't help but admire her. Ahh, the sway of those hips, how he'd love to... his gaze fell upon Kagome's form as she finally cleared the cafeteria doors, and he sobered some, remembering the problem at hand. Turning towards Inu Yasha, he noticed that he, too, was watching, and waited for his gaze to finish following Kagome out of the room before calling his attention. Inu turned and the two boys simply looked at one another. No words needed to be said, as their expressions conveyed it all. With nothing more than a "Keh," Inu Yasha turned and dug into his lunch, successfully keeping his "tough guy" face intact, while Miroku calmly began to nibble on his own. And thus, lunch ensued.
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Deep within the starry sky, grey clouds circled about the moon's face, blocking its view of the world. As they disappeared, the moon's light fell, dancing upon the dust in the air to travel over the houses and buildings, lamp posts and streets, only to arrive at the window of a teenage boy. Flowing over the windowsill as if water from a waterfall, it landed, white ink stretching across ruby sheets and climbing over silken flesh, highlighting hair as silver as the light itself. Said hair turned and tangled itself around the face of this boy as he tossed about in his sleep, sticking ever so slightly to the thin sheen of sweat that blanketed his forehead and continued across his bare chest, shining in the moonlight above.
"Kagome!!!" The shadowed form of a child fell, their cries merging with those of the darkness behind them. He couldn't get there; he wasn't fast enough. Rain plummeted unto his head, soaking his clothes and dripping from every inch of his body onto the cold ground below. Through the crowds of shadowed people, all looking, staring, watching, a single, emerald orb bounced through, its surface slowly clearing of the crimson liquid engulfing it, as it splashed through puddles of liquid hate and regret. He wasn't fast enough, wasn't strong enough, and now, others would pay for it.
Within the darkness of his room, the boy shot out of bed. Detangling his long mane from about his face and the sheets from his form, he drew his arm across his forehead instead, wiping away signs of guilt and allowing his wide, amber eyes passage through the dark as he rose, looking merely for release from his nightmares.
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"How'd you *do* that?"
Kagome rolled over in her bed, knocking her hand gently across the clock that sat on the bed stand beside her. Pulling the sheets more tightly around herself, she rolled back over and buried her head, and mind, once more.
"It's magic!" Placing a dead flower within a small, "magic" top hat, a little girl reached in. Chanting a few magic words, she released her hold on the hat and brought forth a beautiful daisy, as bright and fresh as the very day itself, before giving it to her awed companion. As they looked upon the small flower with wonder, it began to grow larger and larger, growing hands instead of leaves and scales instead of petals, the creature attacked, missing the girl by mere centimeters before coming back for more.
Bolting upright, she sat, breathing heavily, before pivoting and hanging her legs over the side of her bed. Reaching to the lamp next to her, she turned it on and hid her face in her hands a moment, allowing her eyes to adjust to the light, before heading to the bathroom down the hall.
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Cold, night air blew through the small neighborhood, lifting Inu Yasha's spirits as he walked along the sidewalk. If he couldn't sleep, he wasn't about to sit up restless all night long and drive himself crazy; a walk would probably do him good. Expression blank, his lips curled upward slightly as he caught a whiff of the cool, clean air, and enjoyed the feeling if it blowing across the sweat still beaded on his forehead. Taking his jacket off, he hung it over a bent arm and continued on around the block and back. On his way home, he stopped, lifting his head towards the heavens, and then to the tallest tree beneath, the God Tree. What was it about that tree that made him feel at home, calm, safe? He watched the tree's branches shuffle softly about within the wind's embrace before an illuminated patch caught his eye; what was a light doing on at that time of night? Walking up the shrine steps, Inu stopped at the base of the Higurashi residence, and realized that the light was coming from Kagome's window, but why was she still awake? Shrugging, he looked around and, finding something suitable for the occasion, picked up a small rock and tossed it up, making a slight ticking sound as it hit a pane of glass.
After a few tries, Kagome came to the window, hair jumbled and expression slightly spooked. What, was she afraid of the dark? Smirking to himself, he watched as she saw him and her mood changed from slight fear into one of curiosity and slight annoyance. What had she been afraid of? Sliding her window open as quietly as she could, Kagome leaned out to look down upon him.
"Inu Yasha? What are you doing here?" Oh yeah, definitely annoyance.
"Keh, your stupid light is keeping me awake." Giving him a doubtful look, Kagome entrusted a hand to hold up her head as the other draped itself across the sill. Narrowing her eyes, her tone became slightly sarcastic as she spoke, hushing it further.
"You can't see my house from yours." Caught, Inu simply shrugged his shoulders.
"Keh." Rolling her eyes, Kagome stood and, announcing that she was going back to bed, closed her window as quietly as it had opened, only to return a minute later, drawn by more ticking from below.
"Inu Yasha! What are you doing?!" The teenage boy scowled slightly at her and, when Kagome sighed and left again, tossed another rock at her window. This cycle continued until eventually, meaning after about ten minutes or so and half a dozen "sits"s, Kagome, pissed as hell, gave in and crept downstairs, depositing her slippers by her door as to reduce the noise while walking. Once she reached the first floor, Kagome opened the front door so that Inu Yasha could come in. What he wanted, she had no idea, but if she wasn't going to get in trouble, she'd have to let him in. That sounded kind of backwards didn't it? Storming back upstairs, pajamas and all, Kagome positioned herself in bed before Inu could reach her room and lay there, unmoving, hoping that if he thought she was asleep, he'd leave. What was he thinking anyway? It was the middle of the night! She closed her eyes and buried her head under a rose comforter. Though, it was nice to have someone around after a bad dream.
By the time Inu Yasha reached her room, Kagome was fast asleep.
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Keh, what's with this girl? One minute she's pissed and the next she's asleep? Shaking his head, Inu crept over to Kagome's bedside table and switched off the lamp, bathing the room in darkness once more.
I wonder why she was awake at this hour. Whereas Kagome seemed scared before, she was totally relaxed now. If he didn't know better, Inu Yasha would've thought that she had never woken at all. Maybe she had been up for quite some time and was just really tired, or maybe she'd had a nightmare as he had. Wait, why should he care? No matter what the case, she was asleep and maybe, if he stayed long enough, he could figure out what she was hiding; it had to be huge if it affected her. Kagome had always been a stubborn one. Besides, it was bothering a lot of people, and when others were bothered, they bothered him. Who knew, maybe it could be useful blackmail material some day, though remembering the last time he tried that, it would have to be some day *very* far away. Planting himself at the foot of Kagome's bed, legs crossed and arms in the opposite sleeves, he watched over her all night long and into the wee hours of the morning, leaving only at the slightest sound of life within the household, to return to his own room before he was caught.
Throughout that entire night he had only learned one thing. No, she didn't do, say, or hint at anything close to a suggestion about whatever that secret of hers was, but he didn't really care. Inu Yasha had other things to worry about. Standing there that morning, just before her window, open for escape, he stalled. He simply stood there, looking over his shoulder at the nightstand clock as it ticked away in the slowly dawning light, and listening to the steady rhythm of Kagome's breathing as she slept. He would never forget that moment, when the sunlight finally climbed above the windowsill before him, stretching around him, as if avoiding him in preference of her, to sneak across the floor and rise to her blankets, stealing away the night without depriving her of her peaceful dreams. He was mesmerized, enchanted by the way the golden light brushed tentatively over her cheek, caressing her as if stroking a lover, and timidly reaching forth as not to disturb her rest. She was literally glowing with life, with purity. Her small hands gripped the blankets around her lazily, pulling them up to her neck to ward off the rising sun as she ducked her head, compacting that sweet juncture below her chin as she did so.
He should've left then, but he couldn't, not until he saw those chestnut eyes, watery from a night of sleep, and drooping lazily with the weight of the morning pressing against them. Those long lashes held untold wonders beneath, and he could but dream of what lay within those orbs, once opened, showing him lustrous pools of dark chocolate, still unable to comprehend the world about them as they swirled around, attempting to solidify, to find their place within that unknown world of light. Rosy lips parted as he watched and locks of jet black hair toppled down around her face, covering her supple flesh with mounds of silken coal. His heart beat rapidly, pounding in his ears and drowning out all other sounds save for the gentle breathing from the girl before him. He almost envied those breaths, brought from the real world into warm purity, basking within it, even if only for a short time. Why did he feel this way? Why couldn't he just leave? The window was open and waiting for him, and surely there were people up by then. She was only Kagome after all; he'd known her his entire life. Suddenly, the alarm clock rang beside her, it's almost shrill cry snapping Inu Yasha out of his trance. He was out of there in an instant.
Why had he waited so long? Why had he stalled? Crawling through his own window, visions of flittering sunlight against ruby lips pressed themselves into his mind, branding their image into every wall, every cell, every part of his being. Kami he needed sleep. Not even bothering to undress, Inu Yasha slid beneath his covers and shut his window, locking the shutters against the rising sun, and closing his eyes to the visions that persisted to haunt him within his own mind. Stupid Kagome, keeping him from sleep... again.
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That morning at school, Kagome approached Inu Yasha rather sheepishly, as if embarrassed about something. Gathering her courage, she asked him about the night before, and received nothing but a glare and a "Keh" from the boy, as he mocked the fact that she had "dreamt" about him, doing "stupid things" no less. Of course, this caused her to "sit" him and leave thinking, not only that it definitely had just been a weird dream, but also that Inu Yasha was the biggest jerk on the planet... again.
Things were as they were meant to be, and, even with life's little secrets, everyone was rather content to just go about their day, mainly so that they could go home earlier, as was the wish of most students during school hours. And yet, the lasting thought on one boy's mind was more in tune with how much sleep he would get that night and how much of a headache he'd have the next morning.