Disclaimer - I don't own Inuyasha, I don't claim to own Inuyasha, blah blah
blah... Okay, I officially don't claim to own Inuyasha for the rest of this
fan fiction, because I don't want to write this anymore! Erp.
A/N - Yeah...that disclaimer was starting to bug me. ¬_¬ And did I mention that you don't need to worry about me stopping this completely? ^ ^ I wouldn't do that. *grin* I kinda like this story...heh heh. And plus, I wouldn't want to let you guys down! And again, I apologize for making you wait so long... ^ ^;;; I'm really sorry!! ^_^ So yeah...Enjoy chapter 8!
With You
Chapter 8
Sit!
Once reaching the end of the road, she turned right like Kaede had said and slowed her pace to a walk. There seemed to be more people around here... maybe she was getting closer?
She watched a group of young children playing ball as she walked, but slowed to a stop as she noticed something rather heartrending.
There was a young, white-haired girl (A/N - No no... not long white hair, short and cute. ^-^ Not that Inuyasha wasn't the most adorable little kid on the planet...) amidst the group of five and six year olds that was getting left out. Every time she'd try to join into the game, the group would move; leaving the girl by herself. And whenever she'd call for the ball to be passed to her, she'd be avoided or shunned by the rest of them. Finally, they gave up on the game and left the area completely; leaving the girl to herself as well.
Kagome watched her with concern as she sat herself down on the ground and buried her head in her arms, tiny sobs racking her small frame. She walked towards her, ignoring all the calls of 'Don't bother with her!' and 'That's just the orphan girl.' until she was only a few feet away, and then froze at what she heard.
"...Orphan...?" the girl echoed as she cried quietly. "...Is that why nobody loves me...?"
Kagome couldn't move; how could they treat that little girl that way? Not caring about her at all, and leaving her all alone...just because she was an orphan?
Then it hit her. That...that's what Inuyasha must have felt like; all alone, without anyone to care about him. Not a single friend in the whole world. That must have been why he was so calloused... why he was so mean.
He was just...lonely.
Now she understood. She was finally aware of why Inuyasha was so unkind and defensive. She finally got it. So then...all he needed...was a friend, right?
She stepped forward and wrapped her arms around the little girl and talked to her soothingly "It's alright... everything will be okay..."
After she'd settled down a bit she turned her around and looked at her. "What's your name?"
"H-hana..." she stuttered as he stared up at her. (A/N - It's pronounced with short a's... as in 'la la la'; like that. ^_^)
"That's a pretty name." she smiled "It means flower, you know." (A/N - This was originally a little boy, and his name was Yukito; it means snow bunny! ^.^)
"Really?" she beamed as Kagome wiped the tears off her face.
"Mm hm." she nodded and stood up. "Well, Hana, do you want something to eat?"
"N-no..." she answered quickly and shook her head.
"Why not?" Kagome frowned as she kneeled down beside her again.
"Because I don't have any money to pay for it..." Hana said as she looked at her feet.
"Well I'll pay for it!" she scooped up the girl and pranced of to the end of the road, and once reaching the blacksmith shop, turned to her left.
Hana lay in Kagome's arms, looking rather perplexed as she was carried into the market area. "Wait!" she cried. "I'm not supposed to go into the markets!"
"What?" Kagome blinked as she stopped. Why wouldn't she be able to...?
"The market owners told me that I'd be in trouble if I ever went in there again..." she said quietly as she ducked her head.
"Nonsense!" she exclaimed as she flounced her way into the market, looking for any sign of an apple. "They'll let you go in there if I come with you!"
"But what if I get in troub-"
"Hey!" Kagome spun around at the sound of a woman's voice "That girl isn't allowed in this market! Why did you bring her in here?"
"I wanted to get her something to eat." Kagome answered plainly "She was hungry, and I was planning on coming in here anyway."
"Excuse me miss!" the woman huffed as she stomped towards her and grabbed her shoulder. "You can't overpower the laws of the town!"
"I'm sorry, ma'am, but I happen to be a prince-"Kagome stopped short as she stared up at the familiar figure nearby. "A...prince's hand servant!" she finished smoothly. That had been a close one...
But how was she supposed to explain what she'd said to him?
~~*~~
"Damnit..." Inuyasha cursed. He hadn't been careful enough, and Kagome had seen him. Running off right in front of her would look a little suspicious...
But hey, what did he care?
He looked down at his stomach...which was now resorting to causing him pain instead of growling or barking at him. "Ugh..." he groaned; maybe he'd have to grab something to eat before he left... Kagome was causing quite a commotion down there, so it'd be a simple job. It just bothered him the way she was staring at him like he was supposed to be her knight-in-shining-armor as all the marketers came over and started shouting and snatching at her...
And with the whole hand servant thing... she'd never said anything about being a prince's right hand man! He'd suspected that she was something higher than your average peasant; with her fancy dress and all. But he didn't think she worked directly with a royal family...
Now the similarity between the two of them was bothering him even more. If Kagome had been any higher up on the ladder, she would have been a princess; just like Kikyo.
Inuyasha growled as he turned his slightly angered gaze away from Kagome and to the nearest unmanned food cart. She'd gotten herself in trouble, now she could get herself out.
But just before Inuyasha was about to hop down from his place on the blacksmith's roof, he stopped. That little girl she was holding...was that Hana? Could it really be the same Hana from last year?
~~Flash~~
"Leave her alone you jerks!" Inuyasha shouted as he slammed his fist into the tall man's stomach. Even though he was a little busy at the moment, he could spare a few minutes to help a kid.
He threw a few more punches and kicks, knocking the few men present to the ground; he didn't want to kill them with his claws...so he'd just shut them up with his fists. "You better leave her alone from now on, you hear me?!" he barked down at them.
He walked away semi-coolly as he looked up at the sky, determining which way he'd have to go to get back on track.
"Th-thank you...!!" the small orphan's voice yelled after him from several yards back "Thank you for helping me, mister!"
"Whatever..." he shrugged "The name's Inuyasha." He said as he turned to her with a smirk "Just take care of yourself, okay Hana?"
She nodded timidly as she gazed up at him, a little stunned.
Inuyasha faced forward, keeping the same expression on his face as he pranced off on his way. He was pleased he'd remembered her name when one of the townspeople had said it... that'd had given him a rather dramatic departure.
Anyway, back to the task at hand!
~~Flash~~
He sighed heavily as he stared down at the little white haired girl in older girl's arms. She probably didn't know he was there...little Hana would be staring at him as well if she'd seen him. Now he knew how Kagome had gotten herself into that mess...she'd been trying to help Hana.
Crap... now he'd feel really awful if he left both of them there...
All the same, he hopped down from his perch; sneaking his way over to the large vegetable cart nearby. Oh! They even had some potatoes...
"M-mister Inuyasha...!!"
Inuyasha turned around slowly - vegetables in hand - at the sound of the familiar young voice. Oh damn... he inwardly kicked himself for not being a tidbit more cautious; now that Hana had seen him, she'd probably cry if he left...
But she'd been crying before...and Kagome had helped her, hadn't she?
He hadn't been paying attention to Hana's scent, so he hadn't noticed how it had been lightly mixed with the soft scent of her tears. And he'd also noted how Kagome's scent was on her; not to mention that it was streaked across her face. Sometimes he wondered why he was so sensitive to Kagome's scent...maybe it was just unique...?
Grah!! He'd started to think about her again!
Inuyasha quickly turned his attention back to Hana as she started talking to him. "Mister Inuyasha...is that you?" she asked quietly as she peered over at him. Great; now everybody was staring at him.
So what should he do?
He turned around promptly, not sparing Kagome a glance. "I gotta go, so I'll-"
"Inuyasha!" Kagome called as she yanked her arms free from the grasp of the villagers and ran towards him; still holding Hana. "I was going to go look for you today! Didn't think you'd be easy to find...but umm..." she shuffled her feet in the dirt uneasily as she set the young child down next to her. "I wanted to apolo-"
That was it. She'd said the first three syllables of a word he didn't want to hear her say, and one that he wasn't going to let her finish. Besides, he'd already decided that he wasn't going to associate with her. "Sod off, girl!" he interrupted coldly as he started walking again. "Why don't I just jump right out of here...?" he questioned himself. That would have been the quickest way...so why was he still walking?
"What...?" Kagome whispered as she stood in his wake, staring at his back while she held onto Hana's hand. "What's wrong...?" she wondered. Had she really upset him that much? "Inuyasha, wait a minute!" she hollered after his retreating figure. "Hey! I said wait!" Why wasn't he stopping?
Kagome dropped Hana's small hand and darted up to Inuyasha, seizing his forearm and shooting in front of him; making him drop a few of his precious potatoes in the process. "Inuyasha, you're not still mad at me, are you?" she asked anxiously. She wasn't about to let this guy just walk off; he needed her to be a friend to him.
He clenched his teeth and wrenched his arm away from her. Did she really have to make this so difficult? "No, stupid, that's not it!! Now go away!" he barked and stomped his way forward again.
"Hold up a minute!" she trudged after him and talked while she walked "If that's not it then what is it?"
"Leave me alone!"
Ugh!! He was so stubborn. "No! Answer the question first!"
"You wouldn't understand...!" he growled as he glared at the moving air in front of him.
"Well I might if you'd just tell me!!"
Inuyasha halted abruptly, turning to face her with frustration "You - wouldn't - understand! Is that concept really so difficult to grasp!? You wouldn't understand - end of story. Now quit bugging me!" he whipped forward again and leapt off the ground.
Kagome was mildly alarmed as she watched Inuyasha jump into the air. What was his problem? Was he really so desperate not to have any friends!? "Inuyasha!! Will you just stop running away!?"
He landed smoothly on the roof of one of the larger huts and tried to spring off again, but his body didn't want to cooperate with him. The last few words she'd said were still echoing in his mind; 'quit running away'. He wasn't really running away, was he?
He thought about it for a moment...and she was right. He was running away. But if he didn't keep running away from people, he'd get attached to somebody. And if he got attached to somebody, everything would just end in pain. Letting himself get close to someone else was a bad idea...That theory had proven itself correct with Kikyo, so why should he listen to naïve little Kagome? She was just a stupid little girl...she didn't understand anything. She didn't understand loneliness or pain...she'd never experienced any of that.
Besides...people can't be trusted. Not even people like Kagome. They were all liars and cheaters...even if they seemed kind and friendly on the outside, they were all really the same at the core. For all he knew, Kagome could be working for Sesshomaru or something...
Now there was a scary thought.
"Sorry, I'm leav-"
"Kagome!" she spun around (A/N - Lot of spinning lately, huh? ^ ^;) to see Kaede coming towards her from the market entrance. "Stop him, quickly! The first word you speak to him will be the binding spell!"
Inuyasha and Kagome stared at the old woman with quite puzzled expressions. "What are you talking about...?" Kagome asked, clueless for the most part.
"Just say something to him! Anything will stop him now!"
She raised an eyebrow at the older woman, but shrugged and turned back to Inuyasha. Whatever she was talking about was worth a try... (A/N - I bet you know what's coming, don't you? ^_^) "...Sit?" Kagome watched with growing bewilderment as Inuyasha was dragged down off the roof, face first into the ground.
After a few seconds, Inuyasha shot up out of the dirt. "What the hell did you do!?" he snarled as he shot them each some of his mass-produced glares.
Kagome turned to Kaede helplessly "What did I just do?"
Kaede ignored the raging hanyou as she spoke "I thought I had sensed something was wrong, so I decided to come down here and check if my senses served me right." She explained and walked towards Kagome. "When I saw the situation between the two of you, I looked for an opening that I could assist you in, Kagome."
The younger miko girl grinned at that comment.
"I had noticed that Inuyasha was wearing some prayer beads around his neck, and I took the opportunity to place a spell on them. It was a restraint spell, and I made you in control of it. So now, since you chose the word 'sit' as the activation word for it, whenever you say that word 'sit' the beads will pull him down to the ground. Do you understand?"
She nodded in response as she glanced back over at Inuyasha. A very angry Inuyasha. He wasn't even shouting anymore, he was just shooting fierce glares at her and Kaede. No...he wasn't just angry, he was enraged beyond compare.
"How dare you!! You put a damn spell on my necklace!! It was a gift from Kikyo!! You cursed it you old hag!!! Not to mention you just put that girl in control of it!! What am I, a fucking lap dog!?!" he roared as he sprinted over to Kaede.
But before he could do anything drastic, Kagome stopped him. "Inuyasha, sit!" he crashed into the ground at her command, but instead of getting up, stayed there and weighed his situation. This really sucked. That old bitch had cursed the necklace Kikyo had given him as a present and put Kagome of all people, in charge of it. Now he'd have to listen to her every beck and call, and he wouldn't be able to get away from her.
Inuyasha snapped his head up to face the sky, still lying in the same place where he fell, as he wailed his complaint. "What did I do to deserve this!?!" he stood up and turned to Kagome with frustration. "What do you want from me...?!" he growled.
Kagome didn't speak. She'd hadn't heard anything after 'It was a gift from Kikyo!'; she'd zoned out. Kikyo...Inuyasha, he knew Kikyo. And it seemed like he had had some kind of an attachment to her...But what kind of relationship could he have had with her? Kaede had told her that Kikyo was a kind person...gentle and delicate. They were complete opposites. (A/N - Ha! That was such an insult to poor Inuyasha...) So how could Inuyasha be so fond of her that he'd break out like that?
"How do you know my sister?" Kaede broke in quickly as she stepped forward. Apparently, she hadn't heard any more than Kagome had.
Inuyasha narrowed his eyes at her "What the shit do you mean, 'your sister'. Kikyo only had one sister, and she was only a little kid!"
Kaede sighed and shook her head "I am her sister. It's a long story..."
"So don't ask." Kagome said.
He narrowed his eyes further "What's your name?"
"Kaede."
Kaede! That was ringing more than one bell... "Wait!" he whirled on Kagome "Is this the Kaede that got the brick out of the wall?! The one that started this whole mess?!"
She nodded innocently and stared at him.
He turned back to Kaede, frustration rising in him once again. "You! This is all your fault! If you hadn't opened up that space in the cell wall none of this would have happened!!"
Kagome blinked at his abruptness "Inuyasha, I think you should calm down-"
"I swear, if I could get my hands on you right now without getting a face full of dirt, I'd strangle you, you old hag!!"
"Hey, I said to cool it-"
"Once I figure out how to get the damn curse of my necklace, you're gonna get it!!"
"Sit!!" he slammed into the dirt with another 'Nangh!' as Kagome stood there with her hands on her hips. She'd ask him about Kikyo and such some other time...right now, she had other business. "Hana," she started as she turned and smiled to the disorientated girl "C'mere for a second."
She scampered over quickly, and the two of them walked past a cursing Inuyasha to Kaede. "Miss Kaede...do you think that Hana...could stay with you?" Kagome asked unhurriedly.
Kaede laughed and squatted down in front of the young girl. "Of course she can, dear. Would you like to come stay with me, Hana?" The little girl nodded earnestly and, simple as that, the pair walked out of the market and down the road to Kaede's house.
"Well..." Kagome blinked "I didn't expect that to be so easy- Eep! Inuyasha, what do you think you're doing?!" she squeaked as he picked her up and leaped out of the market; leaving the perplexed villagers to themselves.
"Bringing you to a river." He answered nonchalantly.
She frowned at him "To do what?!"
"Drop you in it!" he barked.
"You will not! I'll say 'the word' if you even try something like that you jerk!" she threatened and waved her finger at him.
"That would be really stupid on your part, because I'm the only thing that's keeping you from falling! If I fall, you fall with me!" he scoffed in a 'duh!' tone of voice.
"What's the point in dropping me in the river anyway?!" she said, exasperated.
"To get rid of you! Why else?! If you're underwater, you can't scream that word at me, therefore I'll be able to get away from you!"
"Are you saying you're going to try and drown me?!"
"No!" he scowled at her. "I'll just drop you in a little river...you can swim, can't you? You won't drown." What did she think he was, Satan? He didn't want to hurt her; just get rid of her.
She snorted as his inconsiderate attitude; what a jerk. But...she actually thought it kind of funny that he thought he could escape her like that. Just drop her in the river? Humph. All she had to do was say 'sit' right when he dropped her. There'd be no way for him to get around that. Plus...she was actually a very good swimmer; she wouldn't be surprised if she beat him shore!
A smirk crept across her lips in a manner that annoyed Inuyasha. "What's she smiling about? I'm about to toss her in a river!" Speaking of...there it was! He copied her expression, only with a bit of a mocking flavor as he jumped above the river and released his hold on her, letting her fall smoothly down to the water. But, much to his displeasure, she'd decided to bring him down with her. Her 'Sit!!' echoed through the surrounding forest as they fell into the chilly waters.
Kagome sprung back to the surface with quick intake of breath, and paddled her way through the freezing water to the browning grass along the shore. She clambered up quickly, getting her clean dress quite dirty and mud-covered in the process, and curled herself up in a ball on the shore. Damn...her bandage had gotten wet too...
She rubbed her legs in an effort to warm them up as she stared at the surface of the water, waiting for Inuyasha to float himself up. What was taking him so long?
Sure enough, after a minute or two of waiting, he popped up amidst the blue ripples on the water, coughing and sputtering as he paddled his way to shore.
He crawled up onto the riverbank, glaring daggers at Kagome as he sat down next to her. "Do you know what just happened?" he asked.
She shook her head and blinked back at him. "Besides us both falling into the river...? No..."
Inuyasha narrowed his eyes as he stared at her "You see this?" he pointed to the prayer beads around his neck "It dragged me to the bottom of the river. But that isn't the bad part; while I was down there, it got itself stuck on a rock. I was trapped down there until I got the damn thing out. You know why?"
Kagome shook her head again.
"Because the old hag cursed them; she cursed them, then put you in charge of them. And because you used them against me, I almost drowned! Not to mention how freaking cold it is down there!"
"Umm...." She looked up at him "...Sorry?" Kagome rattled herself out of her daze and shot back another reply. "Hey! I'm really sorry that you got pulled to the bottom of the river and all, but it wouldn't have happened if you hadn't dropped me in there in the first place!"
"Well if you hadn't said 'sit'-"
"Then you would have left!"
"But that was the point!"
"And the point in my saying 'sit' was to get you to stay- Oops!" she stared down at his sprawled form "Sorry, Inuyasha! I really didn't mean that one..."
He hauled himself back into a sitting position and snapped one of his 'what's your problem?!' looks at her. "Well then watch what you say!" he seethed.
"Okay, okay!" she held her hands up "I'll be a bit more careful next time!"
"Whatever..." he grumbled as he stood up. "Are you gonna let me leave yet or do I have to throw you in the river again?"
"Leave?" she frowned and looked down at her feet "That reminds me...I have a question-"
"And whatever it is, the answer is no." he cut her short rudely.
"-for you. I wanted to know if you could help me...help me get home." She looked back up at him.
"Yeah - the answer is definitely no."
"But why?!"
"Because I have no reason to help a girl like you!" he stated and turned on his heel, walking away from her.
"Well what if I promised you a lot of gold and jewels when we get back?" she reasoned and ran up next to him.
He paused for a minute and thought over her new proposition. Money wasn't something he had a whole lot of... maybe he should help her? But no...if he went with her, he might get 'attached'. He didn't want that to happen again...but he really needed this money. "How much is a lot?" he inquired as he turned back to her.
Kagome grinned to herself; she'd found his weakness. "A lot more than you'd make in a year by stealing."
Hmm...that was a pretty good deal...but there was always his part of the deal he'd have to keep. He better not get himself in over his head... "How far would I have to bring you?"
Aw crap...she'd hoped he wouldn't ask that. "To the main castle...in the west kingdom."
Inuyasha nearly jumped out of his clothes "That's quite a journey, you know! You want me to bring you all the way over there?!"
"It's your choice!" she tossed back "If you want the reward, you have to earn it! And I don't really know the way home...so I need someone to help me; hence why I asked you."
He sighed and crossed his arms in front of him in a conceding gesture. He wouldn't get attached to her; totally mind over matter. He'd just keep his distance, bring her where she wanted to go, and be off with his prize. "Fine...I'll take you home. But that's it. And you can't just decide not to give me what you promised when get there, wench. Okay?"
"I promise!" Kagome grinned. "So..." she began as they walked off together "Did your wounds heal up yet?"
A/N - Ha ha! No cliffy! ^-^ Yet somehow...I'm feeling very...cliché. ¬_¬
A/N - Yeah...that disclaimer was starting to bug me. ¬_¬ And did I mention that you don't need to worry about me stopping this completely? ^ ^ I wouldn't do that. *grin* I kinda like this story...heh heh. And plus, I wouldn't want to let you guys down! And again, I apologize for making you wait so long... ^ ^;;; I'm really sorry!! ^_^ So yeah...Enjoy chapter 8!
With You
Chapter 8
Sit!
Once reaching the end of the road, she turned right like Kaede had said and slowed her pace to a walk. There seemed to be more people around here... maybe she was getting closer?
She watched a group of young children playing ball as she walked, but slowed to a stop as she noticed something rather heartrending.
There was a young, white-haired girl (A/N - No no... not long white hair, short and cute. ^-^ Not that Inuyasha wasn't the most adorable little kid on the planet...) amidst the group of five and six year olds that was getting left out. Every time she'd try to join into the game, the group would move; leaving the girl by herself. And whenever she'd call for the ball to be passed to her, she'd be avoided or shunned by the rest of them. Finally, they gave up on the game and left the area completely; leaving the girl to herself as well.
Kagome watched her with concern as she sat herself down on the ground and buried her head in her arms, tiny sobs racking her small frame. She walked towards her, ignoring all the calls of 'Don't bother with her!' and 'That's just the orphan girl.' until she was only a few feet away, and then froze at what she heard.
"...Orphan...?" the girl echoed as she cried quietly. "...Is that why nobody loves me...?"
Kagome couldn't move; how could they treat that little girl that way? Not caring about her at all, and leaving her all alone...just because she was an orphan?
Then it hit her. That...that's what Inuyasha must have felt like; all alone, without anyone to care about him. Not a single friend in the whole world. That must have been why he was so calloused... why he was so mean.
He was just...lonely.
Now she understood. She was finally aware of why Inuyasha was so unkind and defensive. She finally got it. So then...all he needed...was a friend, right?
She stepped forward and wrapped her arms around the little girl and talked to her soothingly "It's alright... everything will be okay..."
After she'd settled down a bit she turned her around and looked at her. "What's your name?"
"H-hana..." she stuttered as he stared up at her. (A/N - It's pronounced with short a's... as in 'la la la'; like that. ^_^)
"That's a pretty name." she smiled "It means flower, you know." (A/N - This was originally a little boy, and his name was Yukito; it means snow bunny! ^.^)
"Really?" she beamed as Kagome wiped the tears off her face.
"Mm hm." she nodded and stood up. "Well, Hana, do you want something to eat?"
"N-no..." she answered quickly and shook her head.
"Why not?" Kagome frowned as she kneeled down beside her again.
"Because I don't have any money to pay for it..." Hana said as she looked at her feet.
"Well I'll pay for it!" she scooped up the girl and pranced of to the end of the road, and once reaching the blacksmith shop, turned to her left.
Hana lay in Kagome's arms, looking rather perplexed as she was carried into the market area. "Wait!" she cried. "I'm not supposed to go into the markets!"
"What?" Kagome blinked as she stopped. Why wouldn't she be able to...?
"The market owners told me that I'd be in trouble if I ever went in there again..." she said quietly as she ducked her head.
"Nonsense!" she exclaimed as she flounced her way into the market, looking for any sign of an apple. "They'll let you go in there if I come with you!"
"But what if I get in troub-"
"Hey!" Kagome spun around at the sound of a woman's voice "That girl isn't allowed in this market! Why did you bring her in here?"
"I wanted to get her something to eat." Kagome answered plainly "She was hungry, and I was planning on coming in here anyway."
"Excuse me miss!" the woman huffed as she stomped towards her and grabbed her shoulder. "You can't overpower the laws of the town!"
"I'm sorry, ma'am, but I happen to be a prince-"Kagome stopped short as she stared up at the familiar figure nearby. "A...prince's hand servant!" she finished smoothly. That had been a close one...
But how was she supposed to explain what she'd said to him?
~~*~~
"Damnit..." Inuyasha cursed. He hadn't been careful enough, and Kagome had seen him. Running off right in front of her would look a little suspicious...
But hey, what did he care?
He looked down at his stomach...which was now resorting to causing him pain instead of growling or barking at him. "Ugh..." he groaned; maybe he'd have to grab something to eat before he left... Kagome was causing quite a commotion down there, so it'd be a simple job. It just bothered him the way she was staring at him like he was supposed to be her knight-in-shining-armor as all the marketers came over and started shouting and snatching at her...
And with the whole hand servant thing... she'd never said anything about being a prince's right hand man! He'd suspected that she was something higher than your average peasant; with her fancy dress and all. But he didn't think she worked directly with a royal family...
Now the similarity between the two of them was bothering him even more. If Kagome had been any higher up on the ladder, she would have been a princess; just like Kikyo.
Inuyasha growled as he turned his slightly angered gaze away from Kagome and to the nearest unmanned food cart. She'd gotten herself in trouble, now she could get herself out.
But just before Inuyasha was about to hop down from his place on the blacksmith's roof, he stopped. That little girl she was holding...was that Hana? Could it really be the same Hana from last year?
~~Flash~~
"Leave her alone you jerks!" Inuyasha shouted as he slammed his fist into the tall man's stomach. Even though he was a little busy at the moment, he could spare a few minutes to help a kid.
He threw a few more punches and kicks, knocking the few men present to the ground; he didn't want to kill them with his claws...so he'd just shut them up with his fists. "You better leave her alone from now on, you hear me?!" he barked down at them.
He walked away semi-coolly as he looked up at the sky, determining which way he'd have to go to get back on track.
"Th-thank you...!!" the small orphan's voice yelled after him from several yards back "Thank you for helping me, mister!"
"Whatever..." he shrugged "The name's Inuyasha." He said as he turned to her with a smirk "Just take care of yourself, okay Hana?"
She nodded timidly as she gazed up at him, a little stunned.
Inuyasha faced forward, keeping the same expression on his face as he pranced off on his way. He was pleased he'd remembered her name when one of the townspeople had said it... that'd had given him a rather dramatic departure.
Anyway, back to the task at hand!
~~Flash~~
He sighed heavily as he stared down at the little white haired girl in older girl's arms. She probably didn't know he was there...little Hana would be staring at him as well if she'd seen him. Now he knew how Kagome had gotten herself into that mess...she'd been trying to help Hana.
Crap... now he'd feel really awful if he left both of them there...
All the same, he hopped down from his perch; sneaking his way over to the large vegetable cart nearby. Oh! They even had some potatoes...
"M-mister Inuyasha...!!"
Inuyasha turned around slowly - vegetables in hand - at the sound of the familiar young voice. Oh damn... he inwardly kicked himself for not being a tidbit more cautious; now that Hana had seen him, she'd probably cry if he left...
But she'd been crying before...and Kagome had helped her, hadn't she?
He hadn't been paying attention to Hana's scent, so he hadn't noticed how it had been lightly mixed with the soft scent of her tears. And he'd also noted how Kagome's scent was on her; not to mention that it was streaked across her face. Sometimes he wondered why he was so sensitive to Kagome's scent...maybe it was just unique...?
Grah!! He'd started to think about her again!
Inuyasha quickly turned his attention back to Hana as she started talking to him. "Mister Inuyasha...is that you?" she asked quietly as she peered over at him. Great; now everybody was staring at him.
So what should he do?
He turned around promptly, not sparing Kagome a glance. "I gotta go, so I'll-"
"Inuyasha!" Kagome called as she yanked her arms free from the grasp of the villagers and ran towards him; still holding Hana. "I was going to go look for you today! Didn't think you'd be easy to find...but umm..." she shuffled her feet in the dirt uneasily as she set the young child down next to her. "I wanted to apolo-"
That was it. She'd said the first three syllables of a word he didn't want to hear her say, and one that he wasn't going to let her finish. Besides, he'd already decided that he wasn't going to associate with her. "Sod off, girl!" he interrupted coldly as he started walking again. "Why don't I just jump right out of here...?" he questioned himself. That would have been the quickest way...so why was he still walking?
"What...?" Kagome whispered as she stood in his wake, staring at his back while she held onto Hana's hand. "What's wrong...?" she wondered. Had she really upset him that much? "Inuyasha, wait a minute!" she hollered after his retreating figure. "Hey! I said wait!" Why wasn't he stopping?
Kagome dropped Hana's small hand and darted up to Inuyasha, seizing his forearm and shooting in front of him; making him drop a few of his precious potatoes in the process. "Inuyasha, you're not still mad at me, are you?" she asked anxiously. She wasn't about to let this guy just walk off; he needed her to be a friend to him.
He clenched his teeth and wrenched his arm away from her. Did she really have to make this so difficult? "No, stupid, that's not it!! Now go away!" he barked and stomped his way forward again.
"Hold up a minute!" she trudged after him and talked while she walked "If that's not it then what is it?"
"Leave me alone!"
Ugh!! He was so stubborn. "No! Answer the question first!"
"You wouldn't understand...!" he growled as he glared at the moving air in front of him.
"Well I might if you'd just tell me!!"
Inuyasha halted abruptly, turning to face her with frustration "You - wouldn't - understand! Is that concept really so difficult to grasp!? You wouldn't understand - end of story. Now quit bugging me!" he whipped forward again and leapt off the ground.
Kagome was mildly alarmed as she watched Inuyasha jump into the air. What was his problem? Was he really so desperate not to have any friends!? "Inuyasha!! Will you just stop running away!?"
He landed smoothly on the roof of one of the larger huts and tried to spring off again, but his body didn't want to cooperate with him. The last few words she'd said were still echoing in his mind; 'quit running away'. He wasn't really running away, was he?
He thought about it for a moment...and she was right. He was running away. But if he didn't keep running away from people, he'd get attached to somebody. And if he got attached to somebody, everything would just end in pain. Letting himself get close to someone else was a bad idea...That theory had proven itself correct with Kikyo, so why should he listen to naïve little Kagome? She was just a stupid little girl...she didn't understand anything. She didn't understand loneliness or pain...she'd never experienced any of that.
Besides...people can't be trusted. Not even people like Kagome. They were all liars and cheaters...even if they seemed kind and friendly on the outside, they were all really the same at the core. For all he knew, Kagome could be working for Sesshomaru or something...
Now there was a scary thought.
"Sorry, I'm leav-"
"Kagome!" she spun around (A/N - Lot of spinning lately, huh? ^ ^;) to see Kaede coming towards her from the market entrance. "Stop him, quickly! The first word you speak to him will be the binding spell!"
Inuyasha and Kagome stared at the old woman with quite puzzled expressions. "What are you talking about...?" Kagome asked, clueless for the most part.
"Just say something to him! Anything will stop him now!"
She raised an eyebrow at the older woman, but shrugged and turned back to Inuyasha. Whatever she was talking about was worth a try... (A/N - I bet you know what's coming, don't you? ^_^) "...Sit?" Kagome watched with growing bewilderment as Inuyasha was dragged down off the roof, face first into the ground.
After a few seconds, Inuyasha shot up out of the dirt. "What the hell did you do!?" he snarled as he shot them each some of his mass-produced glares.
Kagome turned to Kaede helplessly "What did I just do?"
Kaede ignored the raging hanyou as she spoke "I thought I had sensed something was wrong, so I decided to come down here and check if my senses served me right." She explained and walked towards Kagome. "When I saw the situation between the two of you, I looked for an opening that I could assist you in, Kagome."
The younger miko girl grinned at that comment.
"I had noticed that Inuyasha was wearing some prayer beads around his neck, and I took the opportunity to place a spell on them. It was a restraint spell, and I made you in control of it. So now, since you chose the word 'sit' as the activation word for it, whenever you say that word 'sit' the beads will pull him down to the ground. Do you understand?"
She nodded in response as she glanced back over at Inuyasha. A very angry Inuyasha. He wasn't even shouting anymore, he was just shooting fierce glares at her and Kaede. No...he wasn't just angry, he was enraged beyond compare.
"How dare you!! You put a damn spell on my necklace!! It was a gift from Kikyo!! You cursed it you old hag!!! Not to mention you just put that girl in control of it!! What am I, a fucking lap dog!?!" he roared as he sprinted over to Kaede.
But before he could do anything drastic, Kagome stopped him. "Inuyasha, sit!" he crashed into the ground at her command, but instead of getting up, stayed there and weighed his situation. This really sucked. That old bitch had cursed the necklace Kikyo had given him as a present and put Kagome of all people, in charge of it. Now he'd have to listen to her every beck and call, and he wouldn't be able to get away from her.
Inuyasha snapped his head up to face the sky, still lying in the same place where he fell, as he wailed his complaint. "What did I do to deserve this!?!" he stood up and turned to Kagome with frustration. "What do you want from me...?!" he growled.
Kagome didn't speak. She'd hadn't heard anything after 'It was a gift from Kikyo!'; she'd zoned out. Kikyo...Inuyasha, he knew Kikyo. And it seemed like he had had some kind of an attachment to her...But what kind of relationship could he have had with her? Kaede had told her that Kikyo was a kind person...gentle and delicate. They were complete opposites. (A/N - Ha! That was such an insult to poor Inuyasha...) So how could Inuyasha be so fond of her that he'd break out like that?
"How do you know my sister?" Kaede broke in quickly as she stepped forward. Apparently, she hadn't heard any more than Kagome had.
Inuyasha narrowed his eyes at her "What the shit do you mean, 'your sister'. Kikyo only had one sister, and she was only a little kid!"
Kaede sighed and shook her head "I am her sister. It's a long story..."
"So don't ask." Kagome said.
He narrowed his eyes further "What's your name?"
"Kaede."
Kaede! That was ringing more than one bell... "Wait!" he whirled on Kagome "Is this the Kaede that got the brick out of the wall?! The one that started this whole mess?!"
She nodded innocently and stared at him.
He turned back to Kaede, frustration rising in him once again. "You! This is all your fault! If you hadn't opened up that space in the cell wall none of this would have happened!!"
Kagome blinked at his abruptness "Inuyasha, I think you should calm down-"
"I swear, if I could get my hands on you right now without getting a face full of dirt, I'd strangle you, you old hag!!"
"Hey, I said to cool it-"
"Once I figure out how to get the damn curse of my necklace, you're gonna get it!!"
"Sit!!" he slammed into the dirt with another 'Nangh!' as Kagome stood there with her hands on her hips. She'd ask him about Kikyo and such some other time...right now, she had other business. "Hana," she started as she turned and smiled to the disorientated girl "C'mere for a second."
She scampered over quickly, and the two of them walked past a cursing Inuyasha to Kaede. "Miss Kaede...do you think that Hana...could stay with you?" Kagome asked unhurriedly.
Kaede laughed and squatted down in front of the young girl. "Of course she can, dear. Would you like to come stay with me, Hana?" The little girl nodded earnestly and, simple as that, the pair walked out of the market and down the road to Kaede's house.
"Well..." Kagome blinked "I didn't expect that to be so easy- Eep! Inuyasha, what do you think you're doing?!" she squeaked as he picked her up and leaped out of the market; leaving the perplexed villagers to themselves.
"Bringing you to a river." He answered nonchalantly.
She frowned at him "To do what?!"
"Drop you in it!" he barked.
"You will not! I'll say 'the word' if you even try something like that you jerk!" she threatened and waved her finger at him.
"That would be really stupid on your part, because I'm the only thing that's keeping you from falling! If I fall, you fall with me!" he scoffed in a 'duh!' tone of voice.
"What's the point in dropping me in the river anyway?!" she said, exasperated.
"To get rid of you! Why else?! If you're underwater, you can't scream that word at me, therefore I'll be able to get away from you!"
"Are you saying you're going to try and drown me?!"
"No!" he scowled at her. "I'll just drop you in a little river...you can swim, can't you? You won't drown." What did she think he was, Satan? He didn't want to hurt her; just get rid of her.
She snorted as his inconsiderate attitude; what a jerk. But...she actually thought it kind of funny that he thought he could escape her like that. Just drop her in the river? Humph. All she had to do was say 'sit' right when he dropped her. There'd be no way for him to get around that. Plus...she was actually a very good swimmer; she wouldn't be surprised if she beat him shore!
A smirk crept across her lips in a manner that annoyed Inuyasha. "What's she smiling about? I'm about to toss her in a river!" Speaking of...there it was! He copied her expression, only with a bit of a mocking flavor as he jumped above the river and released his hold on her, letting her fall smoothly down to the water. But, much to his displeasure, she'd decided to bring him down with her. Her 'Sit!!' echoed through the surrounding forest as they fell into the chilly waters.
Kagome sprung back to the surface with quick intake of breath, and paddled her way through the freezing water to the browning grass along the shore. She clambered up quickly, getting her clean dress quite dirty and mud-covered in the process, and curled herself up in a ball on the shore. Damn...her bandage had gotten wet too...
She rubbed her legs in an effort to warm them up as she stared at the surface of the water, waiting for Inuyasha to float himself up. What was taking him so long?
Sure enough, after a minute or two of waiting, he popped up amidst the blue ripples on the water, coughing and sputtering as he paddled his way to shore.
He crawled up onto the riverbank, glaring daggers at Kagome as he sat down next to her. "Do you know what just happened?" he asked.
She shook her head and blinked back at him. "Besides us both falling into the river...? No..."
Inuyasha narrowed his eyes as he stared at her "You see this?" he pointed to the prayer beads around his neck "It dragged me to the bottom of the river. But that isn't the bad part; while I was down there, it got itself stuck on a rock. I was trapped down there until I got the damn thing out. You know why?"
Kagome shook her head again.
"Because the old hag cursed them; she cursed them, then put you in charge of them. And because you used them against me, I almost drowned! Not to mention how freaking cold it is down there!"
"Umm...." She looked up at him "...Sorry?" Kagome rattled herself out of her daze and shot back another reply. "Hey! I'm really sorry that you got pulled to the bottom of the river and all, but it wouldn't have happened if you hadn't dropped me in there in the first place!"
"Well if you hadn't said 'sit'-"
"Then you would have left!"
"But that was the point!"
"And the point in my saying 'sit' was to get you to stay- Oops!" she stared down at his sprawled form "Sorry, Inuyasha! I really didn't mean that one..."
He hauled himself back into a sitting position and snapped one of his 'what's your problem?!' looks at her. "Well then watch what you say!" he seethed.
"Okay, okay!" she held her hands up "I'll be a bit more careful next time!"
"Whatever..." he grumbled as he stood up. "Are you gonna let me leave yet or do I have to throw you in the river again?"
"Leave?" she frowned and looked down at her feet "That reminds me...I have a question-"
"And whatever it is, the answer is no." he cut her short rudely.
"-for you. I wanted to know if you could help me...help me get home." She looked back up at him.
"Yeah - the answer is definitely no."
"But why?!"
"Because I have no reason to help a girl like you!" he stated and turned on his heel, walking away from her.
"Well what if I promised you a lot of gold and jewels when we get back?" she reasoned and ran up next to him.
He paused for a minute and thought over her new proposition. Money wasn't something he had a whole lot of... maybe he should help her? But no...if he went with her, he might get 'attached'. He didn't want that to happen again...but he really needed this money. "How much is a lot?" he inquired as he turned back to her.
Kagome grinned to herself; she'd found his weakness. "A lot more than you'd make in a year by stealing."
Hmm...that was a pretty good deal...but there was always his part of the deal he'd have to keep. He better not get himself in over his head... "How far would I have to bring you?"
Aw crap...she'd hoped he wouldn't ask that. "To the main castle...in the west kingdom."
Inuyasha nearly jumped out of his clothes "That's quite a journey, you know! You want me to bring you all the way over there?!"
"It's your choice!" she tossed back "If you want the reward, you have to earn it! And I don't really know the way home...so I need someone to help me; hence why I asked you."
He sighed and crossed his arms in front of him in a conceding gesture. He wouldn't get attached to her; totally mind over matter. He'd just keep his distance, bring her where she wanted to go, and be off with his prize. "Fine...I'll take you home. But that's it. And you can't just decide not to give me what you promised when get there, wench. Okay?"
"I promise!" Kagome grinned. "So..." she began as they walked off together "Did your wounds heal up yet?"
A/N - Ha ha! No cliffy! ^-^ Yet somehow...I'm feeling very...cliché. ¬_¬