Chapter Eight:
Plots Aplenty
Inu-Yasha woke to find the most amazing scent filling his nose. Though he couldn't quite identify it, for there were many scents at once, he knew exactly from whence it came.
But that couldn't be right.
Afraid to open his eyes, Inu-Yasha tried moving some of his muscles only to find weight on his chest. It wasn't unpleasant— by far the opposite— and it just felt... what was the word? Right. Everything felt right just then. He felt as though he could just lie there forever and never even track Naraku down again. The scent made him feel warm, comforted, but it made his head spin a little.
A small noise— like a whimper — and a small movement from upon his chest caught Inu-Yasha's attention. Opening an eye halfway, what Inu-Yasha saw widened his eyes of gold to the size of those plates Mrs. Higurashi served food on.
Very basic and short thoughts went through his mind at that moment, "Kagome is sleeping on my chest. Her head is on my shoulder. Why is she smiling like that? What's goin' on here? Why is she...?"
Inu-Yasha's racing thoughts were interrupted when Kagome began to open her eyes. She looked at him for a little while, eyes puzzled and brain a little fuzzy from sleep. As soon as she saw what the source of her puzzlement was, she put her hands on either side of Inu-Yasha's head and pushed herself up.
Not a good thing to do when a hanyou has your scent in his nose.
Heart and thoughts racing, Inu-Yasha suddenly grabbed Kagome by the shoulders, lifted his upper body, and gave Kagome the smallest of kisses upon her slightly parted lips.
Surprise shot through Kagome's eyes, but no one was more startled than Inu-Yasha. He stiffened, waiting for Kagome to get up and deliver 'sits' until she was blue in the face. He watched her face, different emotions swirling in her eyes. Kagome opened her mouth, and Inu-Yasha just knew it was coming. That long string of a different sort of curse words than he used himself. This wasn't anything vulgar; it was worse. It would be that same damn word over and over and over again.
"I-Inu-Yasha.... wha...?"
His own mind befuddled by the fact that her first word of the morning was his own name, Inu-Yasha cocked his head at her and flattened his ears to the sides of his head.
"I'm sorry, K-Kagome. I don't know what ca..."
But something in Kagome's eyes wouldn't let him finish. It was there, he could see it quite perfectly; he knew what he was seeing, but he wouldn't believe it. That 'look' couldn't be there. Was she... happy that he had kissed her? Relieved, maybe? Inu-Yasha couldn't tell. His head was spinning faster now, as though he'd drunk too much saké or something.
He had kissed Kagome.
And she liked it?
"Inu-Yasha?" She asked again, reaching a hand to cup his cheek.
This was too much. He didn't know what to do. Wait, he knew what he could do. Yes, it was perfect; and also readily available. He could take advantage of it right now... and he intended to.
Giving Kagome a sorrowful look, Inu-Yasha pulled himself up and left the hut without a backward glance.
Dazed, confused, and deeply hurt, Kagome sat down against the wall, hoping it would support her. Pulling her knees up to her chest, Kagome heard noises outside. She paid them no attention, since it was probably a villager that had to pick something up.
A knock and a familiar voice made its way into Kagome's troubled thoughts, "K-chan? Are in you there?"
Though not really wanting to talk to anyone, Kagome invited, "Hai, I'm here. Come on in."
Walking in as casually as possible, Tora knelt in front of Kagome, trying to keep the triumph out of his eyes.
"What's the matter, K-chan? What happened? Are you all right?"
Taking a sniffle, Kagome look up at him as one tear fell down her cheek, followed by several more, "I don't know what to do, Tora-san!"
Lunging herself into Tora's arms, all Tora could do was return her hug and hope to comfort her without comforting her too much. If he gave her too much comfort, well, she might just get her heart set on him by accident.
"Hmph," he mentally shrugged, "I'm not a total hentai; I can't help it if women like me. I'm just so likable, that's all. I remember when Sama-sama liked me all those years ago. Back when we were in Tokyo serving Master Xavier. She used to love me... or at least she thought she did. Although, I could be wrong. She could have loved me, but I suppose I'll never know now that she's got Kouga-san."
Sitting on a rock were Shippo, Venita, and Kirara. Venita was trying to teach Shippo a hand game that she used to play as a child, but he seemed uninterested.
"Something wrong, Shippo-chan?" She asked, cocking her head at him.
Shippo pointed behind where Venita sat, and when Venita turned, she scented what Shippo must most likely have heard or smelled.
All of a sudden, Inu-Yasha burst through the trees, a sort of disturbed look on his face.
He pointed to Venita, "You. Me. Talk. Now."
Without waiting for a reply Inu-Yasha took off, leaving a dazed trio behind him. Shaking her head, Venita signaled for Shippo and Kirara to play somewhere else while she tracked down the elusive hanyou.
"Go play with Tora-san, all right? I'm sure he'd be so glad to see you." Venita smiled, taking to the trees to catch Inu-Yasha's scent.
Also not waiting to hear the response she would get from her implied command, Venita stopped on a branch to retrace the distinct scent she'd been following. Finally finding it once more, Venita landed in a small clearing.
"Took you long enough."
Turning around quickly, Venita saw Inu-Yasha sitting cross-legged on the ground, his bangs covering his eyes. His arms were crossed over his chest, and Venita felt confusion coming off of him in waves.
"Maybe so, but at least I came. What's the matter, Inu-Yasha-san? What happened?" Venita asked, stepping closer to him at a slow pace.
He allowed a growl to pass his lips, "I-I-I don't really know what happened, Venita-san. One minute I was sleeping, and the next..."
Venita cocked her head in feign interest, "What? What happened in the next moment?"
"I opened my eyes and...... and Kagome was just right there." He said, not really sure how to continue.
"Of course she was right there, Inu-san," Venita tried to say as reasonably as she could, "I was telling you that earlier..."
"No I mean, she was right there."
"Right where?"
Inu-Yasha began to look uncomfortable as he lifted his head, "She was on top of me."
Venita did the best she could to look surprised. She widened her eyes and her mouth opened a little bit. Then she quirked an eyebrow.
"Wow, I knew you two liked each other, but goodness, if that's goin' on you're both terrific actors. And here Tora-kun, Lunia-chan, and I were plotting to put you two together. Wow, you've saved us some hard work, Inu-san. I might have to start calling you Brother-in-Law, just to practice for when the time comes. If I'd had known you two were that far along in your relationship, well..."
"Would you shut up?!" Inu-Yasha interrupted, standing up with a blush on his face, "It's not like that with Kagome and me! I woke up and she was just right on top of me! And then I-I..."
Concern crossing her face, Venita wondered just what had happened after they'd woken up to each other, "Yes? What did you do, Inu-san? You can tell me. I won't tell anyone if you don't want me to, I promise. Not even Kouga-kun will hear of this if you do not wish him to."
Inu-Yasha turned this over in his head. Venita would keep something from Kouga? There was a surprise. But the thought of telling someone else what had happened was embarrassing, and also made him sound like Miroku.
"Never mind, I'm sorry I dragged you out here, Venita-san." Inu-Yasha said, turning to go.
"Oh no you don't," Venita said, stepping into his path, "you wanted to talk, so let's talk. Please, Inu-san, I won't tell anyone, of that you can be certain. Have I ever lied to you?"
"Well there was that time when you lied to us about being a girl, and being an assassin, a fire demon, and then a wolf demon. Did I miss anything?"
Venita smiled, "But I didn't lie to you then, Inu-san. I just refrained from mentioning. You can't lie if you don't say anything."
Sighing and flattening his ears to the side of his head, Inu-Yasha turned to face her, a slow blush creeping onto his face while emotions swirled in his eyes of gold, "You swear you won't tell anyone?"
"On my brother's grave." Venita said, putting her right hand over her heart while keeping her left hand visible so he couldn't accuse her of crossing her fingers.
"I kissed Kagome." He whispered, knowing she could hear it.
Inu-Yasha watched as Venita's right hand flew to her mouth and a gasp escaped her lips. Her eyes had widened and her pupils were the size of pinpricks.
As Venita's mind processed the information that had just been fed into her brain, she inwardly squealed with delight. She'd believed her plan perfect, and she had been right; however, she'd never planned for it to go this well! Now there were only a few things to be done before anything else could happen, and Venita would have to consult the experts on this.
"Of course, I'm sure Tora already knows what's happened through K-chan, so all that leaves is Lunia-chan to tell. Although, I'm sure she could find out any number of ways, and probably has. So then I really wouldn't be breaking my promise to Inu-san because she'd already know; and besides, Inu-san never said that she couldn't tell anyone else." Venita thought, walking closer to Inu-Yasha and putting her arms around his neck in a loose hug.
To say Inu-Yasha was startled would have been an understatement. When Venita let go, his eyes were wide and puzzled.
"W-what was that for?" He asked, "Won't Kouga get pissed off?"
Venita cocked her head at him as though she had no clue what he was talking about, "Kouga-kun doesn't mind if I hug other men, so long as their scent isn't too overpowering. As to why I hugged you, well, it's just my way of telling you that I am thankful for this conversation, and also thankful to the fact that you opened up to me. I am gladdened by this, Inu-san, and I hope it may continue. I'm always here for you to talk to, I swear it."
With a smile, Venita hopped back into a tree and gestured for Inu-Yasha to follow. He did, but he couldn't stop thinking about just how many people were so willing to help him, and how he never really used their help, even though he needed it.
"I should talk to Venita-san more often," he finally decided, "that way I won't blow up on the first person to talk to me."
That way of thinking burned into his mind, Inu-Yasha was a little startled to see Tora exiting Kaede's hut holding Kagome's hand. It infuriated him, but he immediately quenched his anger. She was probably talking to Tora just as he had talked to Venita. Yes, that had to be it.
So then why was she laughing like that? And why was she holding his hand like that? Too deep into his thoughts, Inu-Yasha nearly jumped when he felt Venita's hand on his shoulder.
"It's all right, Inu-san," she whispered, "they were just talking, I promise you. K-chan holds hands with people she trusts, and also when they've just helped her out with a problem. Just relax, don't explode, and everything will be all right."
"You're sure about that?" Inu-Yasha asked, looking down at the white-haired woman.
She nodded, "As sure as the hair on your head is white."
Inu-Yasha sighed and visibly relaxed. He seemed more at ease with himself, and for that Venita was grateful.
An angry hanyou was the last thing Kagome needed at the moment.
"What should I do?"
Looking at Inu-Yasha, Venita asked, "What do you want to do?"
"I-I want to go over there," Inu-Yasha said, his voice dropping with every word, "hold her close to me and tell her that everything's going to be okay and that I'm sorry for what happened this morning."
"Are you sorry?"
Venita's question startled him, but it also made him think, "No."
"Then don't apologize," Venita said, turning to go, "oh, and as to what you should do?"
"Yeah?"
"What you just said sounded just fine to me. Other than the apology. The rest is great. Keep up the good work." Venita said, a grin on her face as she began walking away from the wide-eyed hanyou.
Tora watched Venita walk off, noticing the smirk on her face, "I'd bet my entire teddy bear collection that Ookami-sama's already got another plan figured out."
And had the winnings been money rather than teddy bears, Tora would be a very rich man.
