Love, Lust, and Loss
Two
As Kagome picked up the lighter and some food, she found other things to bring. From her text books to shampoo and soap; if she thought that she might need it, she packed it in a smaller bag she had.
Kirara chirped again. Loudly.
"Shh," Kagome hushed the cat-demon. She shot a glance back at Inuyasha, then, after determining that he was still asleep, scooped her up and rushed off.
Be the time that Inuyasha woke that morning, the sun had already risen high in the sky. The others were already awake, breakfast was made, and it was a peaceful scene. Sango was handing out bowls of rice and stew, while Shippo hovered over her. Miroku was eating quietly as he leaned against a tree, the side of his face sporting the usual hand-print. But...
"Where's Kagome?" he asked, suddenly alarmed by the lacking presence of his mate.
"She was gone by the time I was up," Sango said.
"She'll probably come back soon," Miroku added.
Inyasha growled. Kagome did like to go off on her own occassionally, and she never did go very far, but it made him feel uneasy. A demon could easily sweep in and tear apart her mortal body, or even just capture her. He knew that he would catch the scent of the demon before it struck, but that was not entirely certain. What if he took too long? What if she and the demon were downwind and he couldn't catch their scents?
What if it was the scent of Kagome's blood that told him he had failed her?
He leapt to his feet.
"That stupid woman!" he yelled. "What's she thinking?" He glanced in every direction he could. He tried to hear her, tried to pick out the scent of water--he could only guess that she was bathing again--but everything seemed out of range.
"Oh, calm down, Inuyasha," Sango sighed at him.
"Yeah, Inuyasha," Shippo agreed. "You're so clingy with her."
Miroku and Sango snickered, remembering the conversation that Shippo had overheard. Inuyasha was out doing an errand for Kaede at the time, and Kagome had taken the chance to give a mini-rant to Kaede and Sango; Miroku had been there, occassionally coming by to feel Sango up, but he'd caught enough of that conversation to know what it was about.
"What was that, runt?" Inuyasha growled.
"You heard me!" Shippo dodged a swing from the half-demon. "You. Are. Too. Clingy. Uwaa!"
Shippo evaded another blow from the attacking half-demon, laughing, as a chase ensued. He was slowly getting faster, and better, at play fighting with Inuyasha.
The monk and demon exterminator just shook their heads and went about their own business.
"It is a good thing that Shippo knows how to distract Inuyasha," Miroku commented.
Sango nodded in agreement. "And at least Kirara is with her. I would have objected to leaving her alone otherwise."
"She's at the lake we passed yesterday, don't you think?" the monk mused.
"That's where Shippo said he saw her." With a heavy sigh she watched Inuyasha and Shippo. They acted almost like brothers... "She's cleansing herself as she does every chance she gets. He should just leave her alone. She doesn't like Inuyasha watching her when she's doing it." She peeked at Miroku from the corner of her eye, and under her beath said, "not that I blame her."
The cold of the water brought a gasp to Kagome's lips. She shivered, feeling the strange pinpricks before her body adjusted to the cold. She dunked herself under and swam. She swam until her lungs were about to burst, then resurfaced.
She realized that she was nearly half-way out into the water, and no matter how wonderful it felt to clean up after a fews days of travel and battle, this was dangerous. Demons, or even lesser predators, could come upon her. Even with Kirara there, speed and strength were important. And what if she was too far out to be protected by the cat-demon?
Inuyasha would scold me if he saw me right now, she said to herself, starting back to the shore.
As she neared the shore she noticed that the small dmeon was sniffing at the air. She could not smell anything but the smoke from the fire that she had started to heat their breakfast.
But Kirara could smell it. It was familiar to her, though not a scent she caught often. It was wild, and male, and demon. Past experiences told her that it was nothing to worry about, to go on. Kagome was in no danger; the scent belonged to an ally.
"Whatcha lookin' for, Kirara?" Kagome asked when she reached the edge of the lake. She grabbed her towel and wrapped it around her body. The cat-demon chirped and neared the fire. I guess it was just a wild animal.
Please forgive how long this took. I really do apologize for it. I've been in a slump lately, and haven't gotten much done, though I wish I had.
Sar, alwaiz n foreva, kagome, thank you for reading and reviewing.
Demon Houseki, I hope that this has caught your interest a little bit more. The real plot doesn't start until the next chapter, though.