A/N: I'm back, once again, after... quite a while. Whoops. Sorry. I tried to update this sooner, but... ah, screw it with excuses. I'll just admit it: I got lazy. Hehe... Gomen gomen! dodges tomatoes But hey,I updated, so there! Anyhoo, thankies for all of the fabulous reviews! But enough ranting. Our story continues... this time, as a little treat, in Inuyasha's POV!
Golden Eyes
Natsue Arishima
Chapter Four
"Inuyasha? INUYASHA!"
My ears twitched and I groaned, squeezing my eyes shut and rolling over on my branch, not wanting to see anyone right now. Especially not damn fox cubs. I already had enough things on my mind, and even though beating that kid repetitively over the head was amusing enough, I couldn't find the energy to do anything right now.
Thoughts were swarming in my mind that I just couldn't get rid of. Of that damn wolf, that stupid fucked up wolf. Had he been toying with me? Even so, it had been disgusting. Utterly revolting. My nose twitched and I rubbed at it with a clawed hand. It had already passed several days, and yet I still smelled like wolf. Would this damn scent ever wash off?
I growled when the stupid kitsune continued to whine. He was really pushing it... One more cry and I couldn't take it anymore. "URUSAI!" I roared, patience finally snapping. I jumped off the branch angrily, glaring at him.
The demented thing gave a screech and took off. Pathetic.
"Come back here, dammit!" Once again, I was racing around and around after him, even though I felt no joy this time. So why was I chasing him? I wasn't obligated to it. Damn Shippo probably just wanted another excuse to have Kagome 'osuwari' me to the ground.
I slowed to a stop and just turned back to my previous hideout, hoping that my furious movements would keep others away. With another angry snarl, just to make sure that Shippo wasn't following me, I jumped up into the tree again, settling down sideways on the branch and adjusting my sword.
Shutting my eyes, I sighed. Perhaps sleeping could take my mind off of its problems right now... But no... even then, the fierce blue eyes of the damn wolf blazed behind my eyelids.
I beat my head with a fist, muttering and cursing under my breath. Why? Just why did he have to do that? Shouting and punching was fine with me, but actually kissing...?
I shuddered at the thought. Why the fuck had he done that? Unconsciously, I licked my lips, running my tongue over several blood clots where he had bit me. My eyes widened at my body's automatic movement and I hissed, spitting venomously onto the ground below me. I heard a surprised whine and rolled my eyes. It was the kitsune's own fault that he had tried to sneak up on me again.
"Argh..." I muttered, sitting up. This wasn't helping. I needed to do something... anything... to get my mind off of him.
My ears perked up as I heard a new set of footsteps approaching and my angry state faded away almost immediately. Kagome.
It surprised me when I first started having feelings for her, the very girl that had Kikyo's blood running through her veins. But how could I not, when I realized that she possessed almost all of Kikyo's good traits plus some of her own. It was impossible to stay angry at her, and I always felt relaxed around the miko reincarnate. Opening my eyes, I jumped down to meet her.
I noticed almost immediately that there was something wrong. Besides the fact that she hadn't talked to me for several days, there was something else in her eyes, something that I couldn't place and yet looked strangely familiar... like how she looked whenever I was with Kikyo...
"Oi... Kagome," I drawled, waving a hand in front of her face and placing on my usual bored expression. Her eyes were hidden underneath her lock of bangs. This was odd. I'd only seen her like this a couple times in the past. Wasn't she supposed to be smiling like usual? I plopped down onto all fours.
"How... how've you been?" I questioned awkwardly, my gaze up at the sky and occasionally sneaking glances at her.
"Fine. Kaede's been nice to me, and the villagers are always loading me with free food. I haven't seen much of Sango-chan and Miroku-sama though." She sat down next to me with a small laugh, though I knew that she wasn't amused at all. "Think they're finally hitting it off?"
"Feh. I bet that perverted Houshi's forcing her into it or something." I glanced at her again, hoping to cheer her up, but Kagome continued to avoid my gaze.
It was quiet. Too quiet. "Where's that damn fox?" I tried to start up the conversation again. No such luck.
"He's inside with Kirara."
After several other attempts, when Kagome had made it obvious that she didn't want to talk, I couldn't take it any longer. The silence was killing me, and the fact that I was still confused about the whole wolf deal didn't help either. Swallowing and hoping that she wouldn't take advantage of the stupid charm around my neck, I finally snapped, "What the hell's wrong with you?"
Shit. That... came out wrong...
She froze. I could feel her shock and distress seeping into my skin, and goose bumps sprouted on my arms. Uh oh. I squeezed my eyes shut, ears straining for that one word...
I was surprised when she abruptly stood up, hands in fists at her sides. She lifted her head so that her eyes were visible and faced me directly. I could tell that she was unsure of herself, and almost afraid. That got me frowning. Kagome? Afraid of me? What the fuck?
"Ano..." Her gaze shifted to the ground before she looked up again immediately, as if ashamed at her momentary weakness. There was pain in her eyes. Yep. It was going to be one of her probing questions. But I didn't see why it was necessary. The question was usually related to my 'love life', if I even had one, but I hadn't spoken to Kikyo for months. I... couldn't... speak to Kikyo, even if I wanted to. Naraku had made sure of that.
Angry flared inside of me but I quenched it quickly. Kikyo was gone. It was all about Kagome down. And I wasn't going to let her go; I wasn't going to have Kagome suffer like Kikyo did.
"Inuyasha..." she stuttered. "What... I mean..." I could practically see the sweat pouring down her face. Seriously, relax...
"What do you think of me?"
Silence.
That caught me off guard. My eyes widened as I looked up at her, mouth partially open. Of all the things I though she'd say, this phrase was the one least expected. I suddenly choked. Hadn't... hadn't Kikyo asked me the very same question, fifty years ago? I didn't know what to say.
She must have noticed my stunned expression, because she continued talking, eyes downcast and hands wringing hopelessly together. "Ne, Inuyasha. I just want to know. You're probably thinking I'm insane right now... but... please, tell me. Do you feel anything... anything at all? For me..." Her words grew fainter, until the last two were barely a whisper. There was an obvious blush in her cheeks.
"Kagome... I –"
She cut me off, smiling faintly as she turned away. "Don't. I don't want to know. I saw it. I saw everything. With you... and..." she choked, "K-Kouga- kun..."
Once again, silence followed her words. But this time, they took longer to sink in...
What the fuck? I stared numbly at her back, shock exploding into all of my senses. What the hell was she talking about? Seen me, with that wimpy youkai? When was...
Then it hit me. Shit.
She had seen him... kissing me. I gaped at her in shock, mouth flapping uselessly. What was she, insane? Kouga? The one who's constantly out to get Kagome? Me? The one who chokes whenever wolves are close? I nearly gagged, but couldn't find my voice. She made it seem like I actually liked that fucked up wolf! My rival, my enemy! Like I would even think about it! I'm not even gay, dammit! Hell no!
"I'm... I'm not –"I stuttered, feeling dumb and stupid. "Kagome, you'd actually think –"
"It's okay, Inuyasha. I just wished... that you'd actually trust me enough to tell me." There was a bitterness to her voice. My hand reached up weakly to stop her but she had walked away, out of the ring of trees and towards Kaede's hut.
"Kagome..."
Damn that wolf.
Stupid, gay, idiotic, foul, dumb, ass, pathetic, weak, filthy, smelly... No word was fit enough to describe that egotistical, sick, and horribly weak youkai with a brain the size of a pea. I fumed in anger, walking well ahead of the rest of the group. Behind me, Sango and Miroku were trying to get Kagome to talk, but all she did was stare at my back. I shifted uncomfortably, increasing my pace.
With a flash of fire, Kirara jumped gracefully to my side. The great cat demon purred, rubbing her head against my shoulder, and Sango leapt down from her back. Transforming into her other form, Kirara jumped into the huntress's arms. We walked for a while in silence, with the Taijiya fingering her boomerang and me avoiding her eyes. Finally, when the awkward silence became madly deafening, Sango stared hard at me. "Inuyasha. What happened between you and Kagome?"
I growled angrily, and had it been Miroku or Shippo, I would have most likely been left alone. But this was Sango, and the demon huntress never backed down from a youkai.
Ignoring this fact, I remained silent and kept on walking. We had left Kaede's hut in the afternoon, and the sun was already low in the sky. Kagome had avoided me for the most part, and the aftereffects of my shock still hadn't left me. The only thing I could do was blame everything on Kouga. Stupid, dumbass Kouga.
Sango sighed next to me. "You should apologize, Inuyasha."
I twitched. Why the hell was I the one who needed to apologize? Kagome was the one who wouldn't believe me! It was always, 'Oh Inuyasha! Kagome's mad. Maybe you should go apologize!' I was about to snap, but realized that yelling at Sango would be rather unfair.
Grunting, I just turned around and glared at Kagome, nearly tripping on the row of bushes in front of me, before stalking away again. This time, Sango let me go without a word.
I could hear the others quietly setting up camp behind me and I didn't bother to help. I could sense Miroku wanting to stop me, but before he said anything, Kagome spoke up. "I'll go talk to him."
Her voice was so quiet that it frightened me. Swallowing, I continued to walk forward, towards the nearest tree, but it didn't take an idiot to figure out that my pace had slowed dramatically.
Now at the base of the tree, I sighed and sat down, leaning against it and cushioning my head with my arms. Breathing out, my eyelids drooped over golden eyes and I relaxed for that split second, bitterness and anger fading.
There was a crunch of leaves and Kagome settled down next to me. I squeezed my eyes tighter, not going to say anything if she wasn't going to.
"Inuyasha."
Silence.
"Ne, Inuyasha. Sorry... about my behavior earlier. I know I wasn't exactly supportive, but..."
What the? Was she still assuming that Kouga and I were... Ugh. Not going there. I swallowed, clenching my fists. Didn't the girl know that I liked her? And the fact that she thought I was gay... Fury bottled up inside of me.
"Kagome!" I snarled, sitting upright and forcing her to look at me. She did, unwillingly, with doubt in her eyes. "I don't know what the hell you're talking about but that damn wolf and I have nothing going on! You claim that you saw us, but I doubt you heard what we said. Seriously... I don't know why you would even consider me together with that bastard." Glaring at her, I growled angrily, unable to find any more words to voice my disgust, before bolting to my feet and jumping onto a higher branch. I didn't want to yell more than I already had.
She was quiet below me and I regretted my outburst almost instantly. "Kagome..." I tried again, forcing my voice to remain soft.
Her weak laughter cut me off. I glanced below me, towards her bright face. She looked up at me, dusting the dirt off of her uniform as she slowly stood up. "So. That's it. Gomen, Inuyasha. I was stupid for doubting you." She suddenly smiled, and it was one of her dazzling innocent smiles. I had to grin back. "You know," she whispered, leaning against the tree, "Now, when I try picturing you and Kouga-kun together... it's a bit weird. I should have figured that out earlier. But... why was he..."
I cleared my throat loudly. "That's his damn problem. How am I supposed to know what goes on in his fucked up mind?"
I jumped back down to her again, knowing that she was now back to normal. She grinned, deep in thought as she stared up at the sky through gaps in the high branches. Before I knew what had happened, her arms were around me, face buried deep in my clothes. Slowly, I relaxed, shutting my eyes and hugging her back. I smiled as I breathed in her scent.
Kagome...
It was dark. The only source of light was the flickering fire in front of me. I stared at the flames, at the shadows sliding across the ground. The sky was vast and empty above me, void of the moon and stars. Just a pure, dark sheet of ebony.
The fire snapped and I nearly jumped. Groaning, I sat up and prodded the firewood with Tetsusaiga's sheath. Red and orange flames hissed before settling down again.
Besides me, there was a rustling of cloth, and I turned just in time to see Kagome sit up, eyes wide. She shook her head, as if trying to push a thought or idea out of her mind, before rubbing her eyes furiously and staring nervously around her. Her dark hair gave off a bluish tinge in the glare of the fire.
"Kagome?" I whispered, careful not to disturb the sleeping Miroku, Sango and Shippo. Kirara opened a scarlet eye. I expected her to go back to sleep but the fire cat must have sensed something in the air, perhaps Kagome's unease, and stood up, tail swishing.
"Inuyasha..." the girl of the future whispered, clutching her blanket closer to her body. "Shikon shards... A lot of them. They're getting closer." Her hand rested lightly on top of her bow.
"Nani?" I exclaimed, a bit too loudly, and the rest of the group woke with a start. It amazed me how quickly everyone could spring into action; loosening my own sword, I watched out of the corner of my eye as Miroku reached for his staff and Shippo jumped into Sango's arms.
Before I could say anything, something burst out of the bushes in front of me with a swirl of wind, branches, and leaves. It was too fast; I wasn't given time to think, wasn't given time to draw out Tetsusaiga. Something impossibly strong and hard rammed into my stomach and pain shot through me. I heard Kagome scream but didn't comprehend it as I was sent flying through the air, winded and stunned.
My back slammed into someone else's body and both the person and I sprawled backwards, skidding across the dry ground. I stared upwards, shock still rendering my senses, and the thing beneath me squirmed and a fuzzy tail popped up near my nose. Shippo...
A few feet away, Miroku was yelling and running towards me. When my surprise and pain had passed, I groaned and struggled to my feet. Someone hissed behind me and I turned to see Sango struggling to get up, supported by a large cat and a pale-faced monk. Kagome was running our way as well.
"Damn," I snarled, turning around and unsheathing my sword. Tetsusaiga transformed and I braced it in front of me, shaking my hair out of my eyes until my vision was clear.
What I saw made my mouth drop.
Eyes hidden by shadow, the demon's smirk was the only visible feature on his face. The amber wolf's tail twitched behind him, merging with his fur- made garb and chest armor. I gaped, eyes trailing up the muscular frame until they rested on the hidden face. I knew that scent. I could recognize it anywhere.
Laughing softly in a way that made the hairs on my neck stick up, he stepped forward, blue eyes blazing. Beside me, Kagome gasped, eyes wide and gripping my sleeve. "K-Kouga-kun..."
