Inuyasha woke up feeling the sun shining in his face but no matter how hard he tried he just couldn't make his eyes open. He felt stiff and his whole body ached but still tried to move himself. Of course that sent a wave of pain from his head to the tips of his toes and he couldn't suppress the groan that escaped his lips. When the pain subsided a little he felt that there was someone else lying beside him, under his cover that seemed like his own haori.
That someone moaned something incoherent and snuggled closer to him. He stiffened even more, if that was even possible, not having the slightest idea who might be sleeping with him. Then he felt a soft small hand move across his chest and go to his neck. That sent a shiver down his spine and a relaxing warm feeling overwhelmed him. A small content sigh came from him and he felt his body relax.
He inhaled deeply and her scent filled his nostrils, now he was sure that she was lying with him. He cursed himself for not recognizing her at first. It didn't matter to him that his senses must be pretty messed up – not recognizing her was just unforgivable. "Kagome..." he whispered in relief and he felt her stir.
The girl opened her eyes, and still a little disoriented, didn't notice where she had been sleeping. She moved her hand down Inuyasha's chest and let it rest on his stomach, snuggling closer to him. Suddenly she felt his muscles stiffen and realizing what she was doing, she immediately bolted up in sitting position. She breathed heavy, looking down at his calm face and sighed glad that she hasn't woken him up.
When she had sat up she had removed the haori that was covering them and now she saw him shiver slightly. She frowned and placed the red cloth back on him. Then looking around the hut she noticed that it was empty and that by the fire were left two bowls with some soup. Smiling to herself, she thanked her friends for taking care for her and Inuyasha and took one of the bowls. She ate her soup and turned to look at the hanyou. He had started trembling slightly and she moved closer to him.
'It's not so cold, Inuyasha.' Kagome thought concerned and adjusted the haori better. 'Even for a human...' she sat next to him and continued to just look at his face.
Before Kagome had moved away from him, his body had just started to relax and now, when she wasn't by him, it was even stiffer than before and every breath hurt. He tried to concentrate and ignore the pain but with no luck. The more time Kagome was staying away from him the more it hurt and he didn't have even the strength to speak. His mind was becoming foggy and he felt his limbs heavy and numb. With his last strength he managed to open his mouth but only a quiet gasp came out.
Kagome, however, heard him and leaned closer to him placing one hand on his chest, the other on his forehead. That made him gasp again and his eyes opened. They seemed darkened and unfocused and it didn't look like he was seeing anything at all. He lifted his hands and placed them on her, which was on his chest. That startled her and although her first thought was to pull away, she didn't and even moved her hands so that she was able to squeeze his. She wanted to show him that she wasn't going to leave him.
"Inuyasha, say something." she said and leaned closer to his face. "Please, don't scare me."
He didn't answer her but gradually calmed down and relaxed. He closed his eyes again and his breathing started to become even again. Sighing in relief, Kagome sat back down and tried to pull one hand away to wipe the sweat from his forehead, but he tightened his grip and tugged on her hands. She almost fell on top of him but managed to remain on her place.
"You are awake, aren't you?" she asked when she saw his eyes move under his eyelids. "Tell me what is happening to you." she demanded.
"Lie back down with me, please." he said, his voice quiet and weak, completely surprising her with such a request. When she didn't move he forced his voice out once again. "I'll tell you... Just... Please..."
Not wanting to listen to him beg her for something that even she wanted, Kagome lied next to him and moved under the haori. He made her place one hand over his chest and held her as tight as his weakened body allowed him. They stayed silent for a while and when he opened his mouth to speak, she moved her hand to place it over his lips. She didn't have to speak for him to understand that she was giving him some more time to gather his thoughts.
After a few minutes Inuyasha was ready to talk. As he took a deep breath he felt her tense and that gave him an uneasy feeling. Then he decided that rather than explaining everything from the very beginning he should let her ask her questions. It would be better that way not only for him but for her too, at least he thought so. "What do you want to know?" he asked, his voice sounding harsher than he wanted it to be.
"I want to know everything." the girl said firmly. "From the very beginning till the very end."
Inuyasha cursed in his mind but decided to do what she wanted. "You know that along with the Shikon shards I absorbed one shouki crystal, right?" he said this as a question but it was more like a statement and that made Kagome shiver slightly. "It stayed in me when I removed the shards. I went to see Kikyou because Naraku was trying to take control over me using the shouki crystal." he paused for a moment to take a breath and then continued again. "Kikyou shot me to destroy that bastard's control."
As Kagome listened to him, she felt herself wanting to cry. He had gone to Kikyou. That alone wasn't a problem but the thought that crossed the girl's mind was. Why hadn't Inuyasha asked her for help? She was the dead Miko's reincarnation, she could do everything Kikyou could – she was even better sometimes. A single tear slid down her cheek and fell on the hanyou's shoulder, where the girl's head was rested.
"I went to Kikyou because after she fired the arrow she didn't have enough purifying power to oppose Naraku's attempts to restore his control over me." Inuyasha said, perfectly aware of why she was so depressed. "I could've asked you to do that but then I would have to stay with Kikyou... You wouldn't want me to hold her like that, right?"
Hearing his last words, Kagome gasped and her eyes widened in surprise. She lifted her head a little to be able to look at his face and if he wasn't so weak she was sure that he would have blushed. "What about you?" she asked quietly, trying to see some sort of a sign in his calm face.
"Lie back down." he simply said and sighing in defeat she complied. "And stop crying over stupid things."
"Ok." she nodded and snuggled closer to him. "How long do you need me to stay like this?"
"I don't know." he said but in fact his thoughts were other. He wanted to stay with her forever; to be able to hold her like that was the best thing that had happened to him in days.
Kagome frowned at his answer but remained silent. Then she lifted the haori to look at the scar on his chest. With relief she noticed that it was smaller than the last night and the bluish color was fainter. An idea popped up in her mind and she raised one brow. Inuyasha saw her and narrowed his eyes at her. She lifted her head and couldn't help but smile at his concerned expression.
"What is it?" he asked quietly.
"The scar is fading away." she pointed, not missing to notice how he shivered when she moved her hand across his stomach to raise it above his chest. She swallowed, her cheeks reddening a little, and continued. "Maybe you'll be alright when the scar completely disappears."
"M-Maybe..." the hanyou stuttered and also gulped.
"The only bad thing is that you'll have to tell everything all over again to the others." she said and lied back down.
"No need for that." he grumbled. "They're outside and heard everything."
At his last words something outside of the hut rustled and it was clear for him that his friends were trying to escape as fast as possible. Kagome gave out a surprised gasp and bolted up, not caring that she put all her weight on her hands that she placed on Inuyasha's stomach to get up easier. She practically knocked the air out of him and he started coughing.
"I-Inu..." the girl stuttered and didn't dare to touch him as he curled into a small ball.
"Are..." coughing, "...trying to kill..." more coughing.
"I'm sorry..." she said, her voice dangerously shaky.
Inuyasha had calmed down by now and immediately noticed the change in her voice. "Oh, great..." he rasped. "Don't you dare cry on me now..." he coughed one last time and breathed heavily.
"I won't..." Kagome sniffled and held her right hand over her mouth and nose. "You ok?"
"Yea..." the hanyou said and relaxed on his back again. He looked at her a little strangely and his cheeks reddened a little.
'If he can blush, he's definitely ok.' Kagome thought happily but then wandered why was he blushing in the first place. She hadn't done anything embarrassing again, well not yet. 'What does he want with me now?' she asked herself and then her eyes widened slightly. Swallowing hard she lowered herself and lied back down next to him. 'Idiot. He can ask me to lay with him when the others are here but when we're alone...' she stiffened as she felt his hand move under her shirt and his claws brush against her back.
'Now what?' Inuyasha wandered as he felt her tense. His arms were still a little numb and he couldn't really feel where he was touching her. 'Typical for her... I'll never understand her...' with that he relaxed and closed his eyes.
Kagome was rigid for a while but when she noticed that his hand wasn't doing anything except just keeping her closer to him, she started to relax. After a while she felt his grip on her loosen and his breathing become more even. When she was sure that he was asleep she moved herself so that her hands were on his chest and her head was rested on her hands. His hand slipped from under her shirt and in his sleep he placed it on her behind. That made her squeak and his eyes shot open.
"Kagome?" Inuyasha asked sleepily, oblivious to his hand's position, again.
"C-Could y-you..." she stammered in a slightly squeaky voice and swallowed before continuing. "Y-Your hand is... Um..."
"Oh, sorry." the hanyou said a little breathlessly and moved his hand up to her waist.
Inuyasha didn't say anything about the way she was practically laying on top of him and Kagome finally relaxed. His eyes were closed again but she was sure that he wasn't sleeping. After a while she lifted herself to look at the scar and smiled as she saw that it was even fainter. She knew that Inuyasha had looked too and didn't bother him. They stayed silent for almost an eternity for Kagome and finally she spoke.
"Inuyasha, why did you say that I wouldn't want you to hold Kikyou like that?" she asked quietly and he sighed. "I mean, you and her are..."
"Can we not talk about that right now?" he asked purposely a little harsher, without opening his eyes to look at her.
Kagome bit her bottom lip and looked away sadly. "Alright, if you wish so..." she said and sighed too.
Suddenly the hanyou growled and opened his eyes, startling her. He pushed himself up, along with her, placing his right hand on the right side of her face and pulled her closer to his face. The last thing that she saw was Inuyasha's face coming closer to hers and the last thing she expected him to do was exactly what he did. He kissed her. He lightly brushed his lips over hers and took advantage of her surprised gasp to deepen the kiss. After it was over he pushed her slightly away, not making eye contact with her, lied back down and pulled her closer to himself.
TBC