Kagome felt like dreaming, she just couldn't believe what had happened. She was suddenly so dazed that she was even unable to tell which way was up. Her heart was pounding in her chest and she couldn't seem to catch her breath. Although she was actually lying, she felt her legs like jelly and was quite certain that they would not be capable of supporting her, well not permanently. Slowly, she opened her eyes but didn't dare to look at Inuyasha.
The hanyou cursed himself in his mind – he had made things worse. Now she would want explanations and from the sound of her heart and her breathing he knew just how his actions had affected her. Oh yes, he could clearly hear her heart now – it was beating so fast that he thought it would burst out any moment. And this wasn't helping him to remain calm. He knew that she wasn't going to leave things like that and tried to think of an explanation as fast as his also dazed brain could.
Kagome tried to respond, although she knew that that was the last thing he wanted now, but she still couldn't find her voice. She cleared her throat and opened her mouth but felt him stiffen and closed it again. Out of the corner of his eye Inuyasha studied her as he watched her stare at his shoulder across her face. He took a deep breath and swallowed hard, as he nervously bit the inside of his right cheek.
'Well, I haven't been sat to Hell, yet.' he thought and bit the inside of his other cheek. He seemed to forget that he didn't want her to say anything and he most certainly didn't want to explain anything, but her silence was making him extremely nervous. 'Why is she just sitting there?'
"Inuyasha..." she started but in his panic of what she would say he interrupted her.
"Stupid, stupid girl..." he grunted, pretending to be angry with her. "I was supposed to do that after we defeat Naraku. But nooo, you had to act stupid and make me rush the things!" he said and heard her gasp.
Kagome swallowed hard and looked up at him. His eyes were closed and his whole face was flushed. "B-But...how did you... I mean, d-do you know...t-that I..." she stuttered and when he opened his eyes and met hers, she suddenly found herself unable to speak anymore.
"Don't tell me you think I am that stupid." he said a little touchy, emphasizing on the last two words. "You don't need to tell me that you lo..." he was cut short when Kaede entered the hut.
"Oh, I see you are alright, Inuyasha." the old woman smiled and walked toward the, strangely for her, blushing couple. "Do you still have fever? And what about you, Kagome?" she touched their foreheads, despite their franticly shaking heads. When she was sure that they were alright she went back to the door and called the others in.
Kagome was frustrated and in fact very flushed, just like the hanyou in whose lap she was sitting. It wasn't her or Inuyasha's idea to sit like that, but Miroku's and Kaede's, and now they were definitely having the fun of their life. The scar on the hanyou's chest was already gone and there was no need for him to hold her so close anymore, but the monk and the Miko just wanted to be sure that there won't be any complications. Well, it wasn't unpleasant to sit like that with Inuyasha but not in the presence of the others.
The schoolgirl's frustration wasn't because the usual things – a grumpy hanyou, an annoying monk, a kitsune's constant whining for chocolate and so on, but the fact that she couldn't be left alone with Inuyasha. The whole morning and afternoon their friends had stayed with them, discussing about the shouki crystal, the Shikon shards, Naraku and every evil demon they could think of and it was getting very annoying not only for her but for Inuyasha too. It was late afternoon and the sun was setting.
As if purposely trying to add more to her distress, Sango and Kaede had made her stay with Inuyasha even while the two women prepared dinner. Kagome picked at her food, not really hungry from the all too 'tiring' lying the whole day, and stared at the floor. She wanted to talk with the also not hungry hanyou behind her about what had happened, but she also knew that she didn't want to suffer his mood swings.
'If I say the wrong thing, or make him feel pressured, he'll get all defensive and we will surely start fighting.' she thought and looked at him with the corner of her eye. 'I'd better leave things like that, but just for now...' with that decided, she smiled to herself and started eating again.
Inuyasha felt the sudden change in her mood and gulped. 'It's too easy.' he repeated several times in his mind and eyed her suspiciously. 'She gave up too soon. What is she up to?' he fought the urge to shiver and chocked with his next bite, bringing all the attention again to him. His friends panicked immediately and despite that he was almost suffocating he didn't miss the opportunity to roll his eyes at their rather ineffective attempts to calm his coughing.
"So, what are we going to do now?" Miroku asked after his friend had stopped coughing.
"What do you mean?" Inuyasha looked slightly confused.
"I mean, are we going to rest or are we going to try to find Naraku?" the monk asked and before the hanyou could answer he added. "I suggest we rest for a few days, ok?"
"I..." Inuyasha started.
"That's a good idea, Houshi-sama." Sango nodded smiling.
"But!" the hanyou tried to protest, turning his head toward the demon exterminator.
"They are right, Inuyasha." Kaede was the one to interrupt him next. "Right?" she looked at Shippo and Kagome and only the small kitsune nodded.
'This is not good.' Kagome thought as she got the strange feeling that Inuyasha wasn't going to hold on much longer. 'They just don't know when to stop.' she braced herself for what was coming, as she felt him tense.
"Will you all shut up?" the hanyou simply exploded and picking the girl in his lap up, stood and then sat her down. The others started at him startled and didn't dare to speak anymore. "I am feeling fine. There's no reason to worry about me. We should start moving tomorrow, because I know where to find Naraku's hideout." at that everybody gasped.
"Are you serious?" Kagome was the first to find her voice and ask, and he nodded. "But how?"
"When he was trying to take control over me I got a glimpse of his castle." he explained sulkily and crossed his arms in front of his chest.
"And you can tell exactly where that castle is?" Miroku asked suspiciously and Inuyasha narrowed his eyes angrily at him. "Only by a 'glimpse'?"
"Yes." the hanyou snapped. "Got a problem with that?"
"No, Inuyasha, of course he doesn't." Kagome stood up to try to calm him down and pulled at his shoulder to make him sit down again. He reluctantly obeyed but although she tried to better his mood he still was angry.
The monk and Kaede exchanged knowing glances that he just couldn't miss to notice. Sango was also suspecting something and he made a mental note to be more careful with his outbursts. Shippo and Kirara were no problem – even if the cat demon knew something she couldn't speak, and the kitsune was just a stupid kid. The biggest problem was Kagome. He feared that sooner or later it would all become clear to her and it wasn't an easy thing to oppose her.
"Oh, come on, Inuyasha." she rolled her eyes as after almost an hour, the hanyou hadn't stopped glaring at their friends. "They are just worried..."
"Feh." he snapped and turned his head aside and started to stand up. "I ain't a stupid child... And I'm going out..."
"But you're acting like one." the girl snapped and stood up after him. Inuyasha followed her movements with the corner of his eyes and when she placed her hands on her hips and narrowed her ayes at him, he felt slightly uneasy.
"Wh-what?" he asked with a slightly nervous smile.
The others gulped. Whatever Kagome had in mind, it was definitely going to be painful. They all assumed that she was going to sit him but one can never know – sometimes she was just too unpredictable. Inuyasha unconsciously edged away a little and when she reached with her right hand toward him he shut his eyes tightly and prepared for whatever was going to happen.
"If you think that you are going to get away so easily, after only one night of not so good sleep, you are greatly mistaken." she said, her voice low and firm, as she grabbed his ear and pulled him toward her sleeping bag. He involuntary squeaked and that made the others chuckle.
"I don't want to sleep..." the hanyou pleaded while she was dragging him. "I'm not tired..."
"Yes, you are." Sango said as firmly as she could, trying to hold back her smile and stood up to help Kagome.
Latter that night, when everybody were finally asleep, Inuyasha laid awake on Kagome's sleeping bag with her. It wasn't that he didn't like to be like that with her, but he just wasn't tired. He wanted to get up and find Naraku. A quiet moan escaped from her lips and he felt her snuggle closer to him. Swallowing hard he tried to move away but she kept coming closer. Finally, tired of this, he sighed in defeat and let her do whatever she wanted. Some time during the night he fell asleep, tired of imagining different ways to kill Naraku.
When we speak about Naraku... Ne was restlessly walking back and forth in his dark room. Nobody was with him and he even allowed himself to curse out loud and to talk to himself. Since he had understood that Inuyasha had absorbed his shouki crystal, he had constantly been trying to take control over the hanyou but with no success. He knew that it was Kagome's purifying powers that was preventing him form doing so and that angered him the most.
'That little, annoying...' he thought and stopped as an idea crossed his mind. 'What if he transforms into full demon again?' he smiled at that. 'Without the Shikon shards he will be just a mindless monster and it would be easier to restore the control.'
"But I still have to separate him from Kagome..." Naraku tapped at his chin and seemed to come up with another idea. "Kikyou's arrow didn't destroy the connection between us and he would be able to find me wherever I go. I have to take care of the baby." he nodded at his decision and called for Kagura and Kanna.
"What are your orders?" the wind sorceress asked a little too ignorant than usually when she and the white-clad girl entered the room.
"Take the baby and hide it." Naraku said calmly. "I want you to protect it with the price of your lives. Call for Hakudoshi and Kohaku."
"Yes, Naraku-sama." only Kanna said, Kagura just bowed and the two exited the room.
After a minute the two boys entered. The evil hanyou was sitting at the farthest side of the room and the shadow of the wall was hiding him. At first Kohaku didn't even see him and Naraku noticed something strange in his eyes. Was this hate? Or maybe anger? He smirked and stood up, revealing himself. Seeing him, Kohaku's expression immediately turned serious and he looked at his master.
"Inuyasha and his friends are coming." Naraku informed them.
"How does he know of this place?" Hakudoshi asked.
"That doesn't matter." his master said calmly and walked closer to the two boys.
"You want us to hold them back until you escape?" Kohaku asked a little sarcastically, but Naraku didn't pay attention.
"No, I want you to kill them." he said and smiled when he noticed the boy's slight wince.
Hakudoshi smiled too and after bowing he and Kohaku exited the room. Naraku returned to his dark spot and sat down. His smile widened as he imagined how he would finally take the complete Shikon no Tama in his possession, after he kills the pathetic hanyou and his even more pathetic humans.
TBC