Journey of the Heart: Chapter 5 - Slipping
DISCLAIMER: Inuyasha and his companions are not mine to own.
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"Oww!" shouted Miroku in pain.
"If you don't want Sango to hit you with Hiraikotsu then you should stop being such a hentai," Shippo said dryly.
"No, it was worth it," Miroku replied with a dreamy expression which earned him a hard glare from the demon slayer.
"It is getting dark, and Kirara is growing tired so we should find a place to land soon," Sango said, trying to lure the subject away from the monk's lecherous ways.
Taking on a more professional air, Miroku considered her words. "We should try to find Inuyasha first. He should have slowed down slightly toward sunset, which means we may not be far from his location."
Sango struggled to scan their vicinity by the light of Kirara's flames. Something came into view directly in front of them, and Kirara came to an abrupt stop mid-air.
"What is it?" asked Shippo as he peaked around Miroku's robes.
"It is a mountain. A tall one," Miroku said as he craned his neck and squinted his eyes, trying to make out the top.
Kirara turned her head back to Sango momentarily, then immediately continued their flight upward with zeal.
"I guess she senses something," Sango said calmly when she noticed the wide-eyed reaction from Miroku and Shippo.
Moments later, they were at the top, and Miroku and Shippo both jumped from Kirara's back as soon as her feet touched the ground. Sango scoffed under her breath as she slid off to join them.
"We should scout around a little before we set up camp," Miroku said officially only to find Kirara and Sango disappearing into the shadows.
"Where are they going?" Miroku asked himself out loud.
He glanced to the small fox cub at his side, who shrugged, and answered, "Women," before scurrying off to join Sango and Kirara.
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Inuyasha could hear something rustling through the underbrush, and it was getting closer. 'Naraku's henchmen aren't going to take me without a fight; human or not!' He managed to pull his battered body up the trunk of a nearby tree as noiselessly as he could, although the urge to cry out was great. He crept out onto a limb and waited until his would be assailants were closer.
The effort he expended in the climb made it difficult for him to stay conscious, but he held onto the limb with everything he had. He could have buried himself beneath the foliage in hopes that the strong forest scents would mask his, but he refused to run from battle--even if he was hopelessly injured and outmatched.
With the extra shade the tree's thick leaves were creating even the moonlit sky could not penetrate, making it nearly impossible for Inuyasha to see his attackers as they moved into position beneath him. He gripped his nearly useless untransformed Tetsusaiga in his free hand, ready to attack.
'I've got one shot at this. I better make it count.' Inuyasha twisted his body off of the branch, so he would fall directly on top of whomever Naraku had sent after him. "You won't kill me that easily, Naraku!" he shouted on his decent.
As he plummeted, Sango pulled Kirara and Shippo out of the way, leaving Miroku to be flattened by the human form of Inuyasha. His staff had blocked the rusty Tetsusaiga from causing any harm.
"Who are you calling Naraku?" Miroku choked out from beneath the man who looked much lighter than he actually was.
Realizing his mistake, Inuyasha tried to push away from the monk, but the fall had managed to snap another weakened rib, and the pain was too much. Shippo found himself in a fit of laughter watching the two men writhing against one another, trying to extricate themselves from the embarrassing situation.
Sango noticed Inuyasha's strange behavior and immediately knelt down to gently roll the dark haired man in the bright red robes off of the monk. "Inuyasha, you are badly hurt. Who did this too you?" she asked as she quickly inspected his prone form.
"Keh!" he exclaimed loudly and tried to turn away but found he was even unable to do that.
"Inuyasha, we only want to help," Miroku said calmly now that he was free of the human hanyou. "If there are enemies nearby, we need to know."
In a very small, almost undetectable, grumbling voice Inuyasha caved, "It wasn't anybody."
The rest of the group exchanged a look. "We don't understand," Sango finally said for everyone.
"NOBODY DID THIS TO ME! I ran into a forcefield. It threw me against a tree, and this stupid human body snapped like a twig! THERE! Are you happy now?!"
After his outburst he refused to allow his dark eyes to meet theirs. 'Kami, now they know just how weak I am. They are human too, but you don't find them lying on their backs every time we meet up with a forcefield.'
"Inuyasha, don't you think you've proven yourself enough times that you are allowed to get hurt every once in awhile? It could have happened to anyone. We have all witnessed the breadth of Naraku's abilities. This is nothing to be ashamed of," Miroku said in a sincere tone.
"Keh," was the only reply Inuyasha could make without saying something nice he might regret later.
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Kagome was beginning to get frustrated as she quickly rubbed sticks together in hopes of starting a fire. 'This always works on TV! on fire. I finally convinced Kouga to let me stay here and set up camp while he looked for food, and now I can't even start a stupid fire. Where is a lighter when you need one? Oh yeah, back in the future or in my backpack. I am not a big fan of this place! Now come on, fire, light!'
One of the sticks snapped, and Kagome wasn't far behind. "OH! I said, LIGHT!" A ray of pink energy shot through her hand and onto the waiting sticks igniting them in flame.
A speechless Kagome stared at the newly lit fire as Kouga ran up behind her holding his findings. "I see you have everything ready," Kouga said warmly. Still in shock, she raised her eyes to meet his.
"Is something wrong, my lo--Kagome?"
'Aww, he is trying so hard to avoid calling me his love and his woman. That is so sweet of him and yet I find myself kind of missing it.' This thought made her slightly uncomfortable, but it had succeeded in taking her mind off of the unusual energy surge from her miko abilities. "Nothing is wrong, Kouga. Thank you for getting dinner."
"It is the least I could do. I hope I wasn't gone too long, but it took quite a while to find any game at all. I had almost given up when I spotted this rabbit. Are you still certain you want to cook it?" he asked hopefully.
"Yes, where I come from no one eats meat without cooking it first. Well, unless it is seafood or not meat, of course," Kagome explained awkwardly as she began to fashion a spit to cook the rabbit on. She was still praying that Kouga would take it upon himself to skin it. Everyone else in her group made fun of her for being so squeamish over such tasks, but she longed for the ability to buy prepared meat from the store.
Kouga crinkled his eyes slightly as he studied her. "Over time, I've heard you and the others make many comments about where you are from. Is it a distant village?"
Kagome opened her mouth to answer, but she closed it again when she couldn't decide how to respond. 'Should I tell him? We have always said the fewer people who know about the well the better, and Inuyasha would not be happy about it. But, well, why should I care what he thinks? Kouga is my friend, and if it weren't for Inuyasha maybe he would be working with us, and our shard hunt would be over by now!'
"Kagome?" Kouga tilted his head and watched her face go through a range of emotions as she delayed answering his question.
"Oh, Kouga, right, where I'm from... You see, the thing is, I'm not really supposed to say." She averted her eyes, feeling bad about not being more open.
"I see," Kouga said while withdrawing a knife from inside his fur-lined boots and quickly washing it off before preparing the rabbit.
'He seems hurt, but what can I do? I'm sure it is best this way. Maybe if I just start talking about something else he will perk up.'
"It, uh, it is really pretty out tonight." She mentally slapped herself for her lame attempt at conversation.
"It is," Kouga said almost curtly.
Kagome bit her bottom lip softly and racked her brains for another topic. "How are Ginta and Hakkaku doing?"
Kouga sighed and faced her. His eyes were strange and unreadable. "You still don't trust me. I have tried so hard to be everything you have need of, Kagome, but you won't let me in. I know you don't love me, but can't I even be your friend?"
Kagome's voice caught in her throat as she watched the wolf demon in disbelief. His honest words made her heart hurt. "K-Kouga," she slowly croaked out.
Kouga turned his intense blue eyes away from her. He felt guilty for giving her more of a burden to bear. "Never mind. I apologize for my outburst. Ginta and Hakkaku are well. They miss you and ask about you often." He was ready to return to their dinner when two arms curled around his waist.
"Kouga," was all she could manage to say as she pressed her body against his back, holding onto him tightly. Her cheek rested flush against his shoulder blade, and a small stream of tears leaked from her clenched eyes.
Touched by the gesture, he twisted her around to his chest so he could return her comfort. They held each other in silence for a few minutes before Kouga brushed her tears away with his forefinger. "You have been doing far too much of that over me lately," he said so softly she barely heard him.
"Oh Kouga, I'm so sorry," she said woefully.
"Shh," he comforted. "You have nothing to apologize for. I shouldn't have been so careless with my words."
"No, I mean it. I haven't been a good friend to you. And I'm sorry. I do trust you. And I..." Kagome's heart started beating ferociously as she realized she had almost said she loved him. 'It is a good thing I stopped. I do love him as a friend, but if I said it now he would get the wrong idea. It is the wrong idea, isn't it?" Her head swam and her heart was still pounding as she struggled to sort through her confused emotions.
Kouga had noticed her hesitation, and was looking to her for clarification. "And I want to tell you about where I am from," she finally managed to finish.
"You don't have to."
"No, I want to," she replied firmly.
Kouga smiled affectionately. "Then I would like that."
Kagome dried the remainder of her tears, and Kouga reluctantly returned to readying the meal as she told her impossible story of the future, the magic well, and how their mission for the shards began. Kouga said very little as she spoke, but it was clear he was astounded, especially by her details of the future.
When she was done, he handed her a piece of flat bark with a helping of cooked rabbit and a side of berries and roots. Kagome watched him carefully to see how he would react to such a fantastic tale and partially to take her mind off of the rustic feast.
'I hope he believes me.' She took a bite of the rabbit and forced a smile. It was not necessarily an unpleasant taste. Kouga had done a good job of cooking the meat, but the idea still bothered Kagome. 'I wish I had my ramen or a cheeseburger. Mmmm.'
"I guess that explains the clothes," Kouga said at last.
"The clothes? Oh, my school uniform, yes, I guess it is kind of unusual in this time period. Inuyasha always tells me I should wear something more appropriate."
"I knew there was a reason I didn't like that mutt," Kouga said as he wolfed down his food--no pun intended.
Kagome blushed at the implied compliment.
Something was bothering Kouga, but he was reluctant to mention it. 'She said the only other person able to travel through the well is that dog. What does that mean? If she was destined to come here then does that they are also destined for one another?'
Kouga's chest rumbled with a low key growl at the thought. 'NO! He is not as attentive as he should be to her. He still longs for the dead one. Even if she does not want to be with me she should be with someone who will love her the way she deserves to be loved.'
He gazed lovingly at Kagome as she picked at the food on her makeshift plate. Sensing his attention was upon her, she looked at him nervously. "I wasn't picking at it. I really like the rabbit," she said far more defensively than she meant to.
A knowing smile spread across the wolf youkai's lips. "Actually, I was just thinking how beautiful you are tonight, even if there is no moonlight to show it off."
Another blush overtook Kagome's cheeks at his charming words, but before she could respond, another thought entered her mind. "No Moonlight!"
"Kagome?" a very confused Kouga inquired.
"I had forgotten. It is the night Inuyasha turns human. I hope he doesn't do anything stupid to rescue me while he is in that state."
Looking slightly abashed Kouga spoke. "I am always willing to comfort you in any way possible, but I am sure whatever the dog is up to right now, you can rest assured, it is stupid."
Kouga released a heavy breath. His quip at Inuyasha's expense hadn't improved his mood. 'She is worried about him again. I can't let that keep getting to me every time. It will only upset her, and of course she is worried about him. She has a remarkable heart, and she cares about everyone. Hell, she probably cares about Naraku.'
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Almost as if he heard Kouga's thoughts, Naraku smiled a wicked smile. 'Well done, wolf. I have long suspected there was some link between Kagome and the well, but I didn't expect to come by the answers so completely and so easily.
'Still, if everything goes according to plan, I may not even get the opportunity to exploit this new information. But I really must remember to thank Kouga before I take his shards and his life. He has become an excellent catalyst for gathering information and distracting Kagome from the new intensity of her powers. Not to mention, for the fun I'm going to have playing with Inuyasha's emotions once they manage to get through my barrier.
Well, once they are through the barrier and past my pets. I can't make it too easy on them, or they would get suspicious.'
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Author's Note: Not long after I posted this chapter a reviewer brought it to my attention that there is no moonlight during a new moon. A little "phases of the moon" research later, and I made a revision--thanks Dragon Lady. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed the chapter. Please review!
FF Reviewers: A big thanks to Nichole Hibiki (Happy 2005 to you as well. Kagome is still figuring things out, but she'll get there!), Yoko-obssessor, Llamachick (I never intend to do that, but I think I must like making readers feel a little guilty about their pleasures because my other chapter fic is quite the sordid love triangle as well. Her powers didn't just jump for Kouga, though he was the catalyst. There will be more on that as chapters progress.), nunofyorbiz, Nikolyta (I especially hated editing this chapter, so it is always good when I hear it is appreciated.), BelleDayNight (I'm so glad you are back from break. Now I can plague you with questions and feedback again. Bwa ha ha!), becky, Angel6582 (Santa has been informed about your technological woes. Make sure to check your stocking thoroughly next year!)
MM Reviewers: I've been having lots of problems with posting and reading reviews lately on this site. I'll keep trying for now.
AFF Reviewers: Thanks to Cheshire Angel, kogasgirl1, and KogasHentaiLuver (Thanks for all the great reviews! There might be a little tragedy along the way, but there will also be kissing and sweetness and adventure. So hopefully it will balance out!)
Kouga's Den Readers: Feel free to email me reviews at wastedthoughts (remove spaces).