Part Eight : Why Did Shippou Lie?

Inuyasha had no idea how long they had been travelling, nor did he know how long they had been standing here, holding one another. All he really knew, at the moment, was that Kagome had just started crying after he told her he enjoyed having her around. Was that a bad thing? Was it because he was a hanyou? In the long run, did she really hate him because he was a hanyou? Was she disgusted with him?

It almost didn't surprise him.

"Kagome, it'll all be okay, you know," he assured her once more, feeling her press her face into his haori. Her request seemed a little weird to him. Why would she need him to tell her that everything would be okay? And why exactly was she crying? She wouldn't tell him. "If we're going to find that shard, we'd better get a move on."

He could feel her muscles tense, and she pressed her face into his haori even harder. He perked an eyebrow at her actions before simply resting his hands about her waist.

'Does she like me?' he asked himself, inhaling her scent deeply. It was delicious; he wanted to hold her like this forever.'Or am I really just a worthless hanyou? I love you so much, Kagome... never think of me like that. Never leave me for someone else.'

She let out a tired moan, and pulled away from him. Her eyes were a little red and puffy from the crying, but other than that, hell, even including that, she was beautiful. She closed her eyes, looking up at him.

"You look... beautiful, Kagome," he breathed, staring into her eyes.

She shook her head and pulled away, beginning to fix her hair.

"Are you kidding!" she declared, mostly in disbelief of his words, wiping the remaining tears away as well. "I must look deathly! I can't believe myself, crying for no reason like that! I bet my eyes are red and puffy and my hair's messed up, even though that doesn't seem possible!"

He blinked at her. In the blink of an eye she was her normal self again. Maybe it really was nothing. She was just tired or something. She didn't cry or get angry after he'd kissed her cheek, in fact, he was sure that he'd seen her blush a little after he had. A small smile tugged at the ends of his lips and he turned away from her.

"Okay, Kagome, let's get a move on!" he declared, starting to head in the direction she had been leading him. At least, he was sure that was the direction she had been leading him. "Hey, Kagome?"

"Oh, uh... yeah?" She growled, then said, "I hate that about crying... it always give me a headache..."

He blinked, looking back as she hurried to catch up.

"Why did Shippou lie about having a stomach ache?" he asked curiously.

"H-He did, did he?" she tried to sound as surprised as she could.

"Don't play games, Kagome," he pressed. "If Shippou was really sick you wouldn't have just left him with Sango and Miroku like that. You've taken a mother's role with him, and you didn't seem very worried, either. So why did he lie?"

"Don't know what you're talking about, Inuyasha!" she replied playfully, hoping that he'd just drop the subject. 'I hope he doesn't know... what if he laughs at me for it? What if he really does like Kikyo better?'

"C'mon, we don't want to run into any trouble, right?" he sighed. Kagome was weaker, and he understood that sometimes she didn't want him to feel obligated to protect her. He liked that about her, but at the same time, fighting to protect her made everything seem right. "I think there's a village near here... Definitely a stream o something; I can smell the water."

"Oh, yeah? Well then, how about we stop and I'll make you some... chawanmushi?"

"Sounds good." He grinned as his stomach growled loudly. A little too loudly. "Hop on my back and I'll take you there fast."

Chawanmushi is a Japanese meal; steamed egg curd with meat and vegetables, if I remember it correctly.