For a special holiday treat, I'm giving you what is undoubtedly the fluffiest chapter I have EVER written! Uweeheeheheheeehee….
Anywhatever, I'll respond to a few reviews, then get back to ya!
Gossa: Yes, yes, it's Kikyo again. Don't worry, she's pretty important in this fic, so we'll be seeing a bit more of her. Sorry.
Tanwen Whitefire: Cliché? Drat, I tried not to make it to cliché. Och, well. You liked it, so that's what's important. Hehe…
TaintedInuShemeeko: Yay! I've got a fan girl. Or boy. I'm not sure which, but it really doesn't matter. Thanks very much for the support.
RobinofYJ: Inu hasn't quite chosen yet, but it won't be to long now. He's getting closer with every chapter.
Rayame325: Yay! You can review! I know what you mean about the server. was funky for a while there. Thanks for the support.
Valese: Yaya, happy birthday-four-days-before-mine! Kagome will be fine, I'm sure. Just read the chapter, and I think you'll be happy.
Jadere: Yippy skip! I have a little nagger again. I missed you! Hehe, thanks for coming back! As a reward, I'll give you a nice little update to read. updates Oh, and 'sweat pea'? Sweat pea? No comment on that. ;)
Ohiowriter: Yay! A new reviewer. Welcome to the fold, young padawan, and thankies for the support.
Time's Mortal Enemy: Yeah, yeah, I know I had a few little spelling errors. Sorry about that. Anywho, if you love interaction between Inu and Kag, well then you'll love this chapter. Bweheeheheeeheee. Anywho, here ya go.
Enjoy, everbuddy.
Quiet. Quiet is a blessing. It's when you're studying for a test, and your mom just chased your little brother out of your room. It's when you get off the school bus after being surrounded by millions of screaming third graders. It's when you take a walk among the falling cherry blossoms when they're in full bloom.
Silence. Silence is a curse. It's when you scream at your mother, and she says nothing, leaving your words echoing in silence. It's when your best friend slaps you and walks away, and you can't think of anything to call back. It's when you are alone in bed at night after a parent has died. It's that time where you would sell your very soul just to have a cricket to start chirping off in the distance.
But a cricket wasn't there. It was never there.
There was only the endless crunch, crunch, crunch of his steps echoing just a little in front of her. A million little questions wriggled through Kagome's mind as she walked, eyes dropping to the ground right in front of her.
Why? Why had he done it? He loved Kikyo… it was written all over his pained expression. Why had he chased her off like that? Why had he defended her so strongly? She could still remember InuYasha's steely face, placid with determination as he led her away from the path: away from the path to the one he loved. The panicked, almost fearful look in his eyes when he had turned to see her encased in a barrier. The fury in those molten, golden orbs of his when he had whirled to face Kikyo. Even now, the raging storm brewing deep beneath his fair features made all the questions brewing in her quell in fear of what they might bring on.
InuYasha walked ahead of her, shoulders hunched, and arms swinging dangerously at his side. With every step, he limped ever so slightly on his left foot. He must have completely forgotten to pretend that it didn't hurt. Somehow, in the midst of all the confusing rushing around in her mind, that was the only fact that made it to the center of her brain. It came rushing out of her mouth in the form of a very soft giggle. One of the hanyou's ears instantly wriggled around to face her. Then, like one guard alerting the other to a prisoner's escape, the other swiveled too. "What is it?" The half demon muttered softly, a growl in his voice.
"You're still limping." She remarked ever so smartly.
The hanyou froze, pausing for just a moment. Much to Kagome's relief, he actually chuckled just a little bit. "Damn, you're persistent." He muttered, and kept on walking, making no attempt to disguise the limp.
Kagome took the bait. "Well, if you'd just let me take a look at it…"
"No way." The hanyou insisted. "I'm fine."
"Are not." The young miko countered.
"Are too."
"Why are you so stubborn?"
"Why are you so annoying?"
"Well, if you'd just let me look at your leg, I wouldn't be!"
"I said I'm fine!" InuYasha whirled around to face her.
Kagome leaned so close that their faces were almost inches apart. "Then let me look!"
InuYasha rolled his eyes, and crossed his arms. "Fine." He muttered.
Kagome blinked. "What?" Had he just… agreed?
InuYasha crossed his arms, and sat down on the side of the path. "You said you wanted to look, so go for it."
The miko blinked, and did a double take. She hadn't actually expected that to work. She had been more hoping for a good argument to last for a few hours that would bring him out of the slums. Oh, well… she had gotten what she asked for, after all. She knelt down next to him on her knees.
InuYasha kicked out his hurting leg, and lifted up the baggy leg of his hakama. "See, I'm fine!" he said, without even looking.
Kagome blinked at the leg, mouth hanging open just a bit. "Inu…" She breathed softly. The leg was marred, right across the back of the knee, with a long, red looking slash. Kagome winced just a little, averting her eyes from the crusted blood. "InuYasha." She said, her voice wavering just a little.
InuYasha looked down, and his eyes widened just a little at the sight of the cut. Just as quickly as it was there, the expression disappeared, and her spat. "Keh! I'm fine, wench!" He snarled, trying to throw his hakama leg back down.
Kagome caught the cloth, and lifted it back up. "Are you a complete idiot?" She demanded at him, snarling right back in his face. "It's infected! Do you wanna live the rest of your life as a cripple? Now shut up for a minute and let me clean it!"
InuYasha, slightly taken aback by the outburst, merely let out a 'keh,' and nothing more.
Kagome leaned over to the backpack, and grabbed the little med-pack out of the front pocket. "Now hold still. This'll sting." As she worked, gently cleaning the wound and ignoring the hanyou's pained winces, her mind slowly began to tune out, and wander here and there. Inevitably her mind wandered back to the encounter with Kikyo.
Why had he tried to get away from Kikyo like that? Why had he chased her off? Why, dammit? Was it… because of… herself?
The wound was clean, and she quickly reached for a bandage, noticing that her hand was trembling slightly. With smooth motions, she placed the gauze over the wound, and began wrapping it with the clean white bandage. She chewed her lip as she wrapped, mulling over the encounter.
"Kagome…" InuYasha muttered.
"What?" She asked, not looking up.
"Your hands are trembling." The hanyou whispered.
She looked down, and saw it was true. Her hands, loosely grabbing the ends of the cloth bandages, were shaking wildly.
"What's wrong, Kagome?"
She looked away. "Nothing." She muttered, surprised at the tremble in her voice.
A clawed finger caught her chin, and lifted her eyes to his. Kagome blinked numbly as a small bit of water ran down her cheek. It took her just a moment to realize that it was a tear. InuYasha's amber eyes narrowed angrily, and his hand shifted till he was grabbing her jaw firmly. "What's wrong?" He demanded.
Kagome turned her head away, embarrassment turning her cheeks red. It was no big deal. Why was she so worked up? After all, all he had done was chase away his old love. For her. She bit her lip as she felt another tear roll down her cheek.
"Kagome…" InuYasha growled threateningly. He grabbed her hand, and lifted the bandaged finger to his face, looking at it like a hawk. "Are you hurt?"
Kagome jerked her hand away, and looked up at him through the corner of her eyes. "Why?"
InuYasha blinked, and withdrew his hand. "Why what?" He demanded gruffly.
"Why did you chase her off?"
InuYasha glanced at her. "Feh!" He scoffed, grabbing the ends of the bandage and tying them off himself. "You're the one who broke her barrier."
The young miko glared up at him. "Stop playing InuYasha." She commanded. "You tried to avoid her, you tried to yell her off, and you even threatened her. Why?"
InuYasha took a sharp breath, and rose to his feet. "I told her that. I didn't have time to mess with her right then. We have to find Miroku and Sango, remember. Besides, I was hurt, as you keep on reminding me."
Kagome's eyes narrowed, and she rose slowly to her feet. Being busy had never stopped him from running off to see her before. Neither had being hurt, or any concern for Miroku or Sango. That couldn't possibly be the reason. That wasn't the reason. Somewhere, deep down inside, it hurt too much to think that it was. The miko felt a few more tears begin to form on her face.
InuYasha spat, and crossed his arms. "Dammit, wench. Stop crying."
But she couldn't. She didn't know why. She was confused, she was tired, and something deep inside was hurting. Tears just kept coming.
Snarling, the hanyou threw his arms up in the air. "Jeez, I can't win with you. I run off to see Kikyo, and you go all ballistic on me, and for once I try to avoid her, and you end up crying. I don't get women."
Kagome looked up at him, some of the hurt fading. "Is that it?" She asked timidly.
InuYasha glanced at her, looking suddenly nervous. "Is what it?"
Rubbing a tear from one of her cheeks, she took a step forward. "Did you try to drive her off for me?"
"No." The response came instantly, far too quickly.
The hurt disappeared a little more. "Didn't I tell you last night? You're a lousy liar."
InuYasha glared at her. "Okay, fine!" He crossed his arms. "Maybe I did try and drive her off to keep you from getting upset. So what, big deal!"
"But you never did that before."
The hanyou rolled his eyes. "What, so I have to always act the way I used to now?"
"But you love Kikyo!" Kagome exclaimed.
InuYasha paused for just a moment, then leaned down towards Kagome. "Listen, wench." He hissed. "I loved Kikyo. I love Kikyo. I always will love Kikyo, okay?" He turned around. "Gods, it's like I can't love two people or something."
Kagome froze.
InuYasha froze.
Slowly, he turned, his expression the same of a criminal who just admitted to the crime. Slowly, his face warped back into the angry, standard hanyou scowl. "Just…" He growled. "Hurry up. I wanna get to the shoreline tomorrow." With that, he continued to walk, stalking angrily down the path.
Kagome waited just a moment, hands clasped in front of her chest. She looked down on the bandage on her finger, and then back up. The hurt was gone, replaced by a warm little fuzzy feeling. She slowly resumed walking too, not saying anything.
Quiet. Quiet is a blessing. It's when you're studying for a test, and your mom just chased your little brother out of your room. It's when you get off the school bus after being surrounded by millions of screaming third graders. It's when you take a walk among the falling cherry blossoms when they're in full bloom.
It's when you just got told something so great that every worry on your mind melts away, and you can't speak.
No words came to Kagome for a very long time, but she found herself humming a random, nondescript tune as she walked, just a few paces behind InuYasha. She felt like a giddy little ten year old was running circles around her stomach. Had he really admitted what she thought he had? Love? An almost crazed grin spread across her face, and she giggled despite herself. This was… really cool. Just… wow. Love? Had he really said the word love?
After another few miles worth of hiking, the hanyou stopped, and lifted his nose to the sky. A few sniffs, and he shrugged. "We're pretty close to the ocean." He muttered. "We'll camp here, and look for a way to cross tomorrow."
Kagome shivered just a bit as a cool gust of air wandered across the grassy knolls. The ocean must be close enough that it was cooling things down. She hugged herself instinctively. "Can we make a fire, then?" She asked hopefully.
InuYasha raised one eyebrow at her. "Cold?"
"Well, excuse me for not having superhuman resistances to really cold air." She muttered, hunching her shoulders as another breeze pulled at the raven strands of her hair.
Scoffing, the hanyou turned towards the woods, and began to head off. "I'll go get some firewood." He muttered, pulling out the Tetsusaiga loosely, and throwing it over his shoulder. "Get some food out."
As he disappeared into the woods, Kagome flumped to her knees at the side of the road, and slung the heavy backpack off her shoulders. She hummed a little ditty as she rummaged for a few packages of Ramen, and snatched up a few bottles of water to cook with while she was at it. It was amazing the changes a single word could make. Love. Even the sound of it made her feel giddy.
Of course, he still loved Kikyo, but that didn't really matter. Let him love the dead miko. What difference did it make? Did she really ever expect him to stop loving her? Heck, would he even be the man she thought he was if he stopped loving her? It didn't matter. As long as Kagome had a place in his heart, she could be happy.
InuYasha leaned back against the soft grass, picking his teach with a chopstick. "Not bad, Kagome…" he muttered, belching loudly.
Wrapped deep in the depths of her sleeping bag, huddled as close to the fire as was humanly possible, Kagome smiled at him. "A compliment, InuYasha?" She asked. "That's so unlike you."
One of the hanyou's eyebrows went up. "Don't push your luck, wench." He threatened. "I didn't say it was good. It just wasn't as bad as normal."
Kagome scowled at him. He still had the 'wench' thing going on. Idly, she wondered if he would ever stop calling her that. Most of the cognitive ability, however, was obsessed about how very cold she was. The temperature was dropping like mad, and her sleeping bag was quickly becoming obsolete. Maybe she could manage to distract herself with some conversation. "Say, InuYasha?"
"Eh?" One of the hanyou's ears perked.
"What are you going to do about her? Kikyo, I mean."
The hanyou sat up, and stared at the slowly dying fire. "I dunno…" He admitted. "She says that she belongs in hell, and has told me more than once that she wants to take me there with her."
A little chill ran down Kagome's spine, not just because of the drop in temperature. Hell didn't sound like a very nice place. "Do you think you want to go?"
"To hell?" The hanyou almost chuckled. "Not particularly." He shook his head. "I dunno what I'm going to do. She really doesn't belong here, anyway. She… died a long time ago."
"But you love her." Kagome interjected.
The hanyou scoffed. "Oh, that's just great. Now you want me to go to hell with her."
Kagome got just a little defensive. "I didn't say that!" She declared. "I just… umm…" She pondered off, wondering exactly what she had been trying to say. "You can't just… let her go, can you?"
InuYasha stared at the fire again. "I never said I was gonna." He muttered. "I just don't know what I am going to do about her yet. But I don't think that eternal suffering is a very good way to spend quality time with her, either."
Kagome nodded. "Good point."
InuYasha sighed, and rose to his feet. "You need to get some sleep," he commanded. "Go to bed."
Obediently, Kagome leaned back, and curled herself up around the fire, propping her head up against some clothes from her bag. Almost instantly, despite the cold, Kagome began to feel lethargy take over, and her eyes drooped. It was only when she was nearly asleep, a quarter hour later, that a strong gust of wind tore across the path, throwing the warm sleeping bag from her shoulders. Instantly freezing, the girl whimpered, and struggled to wrap herself once again in the warm confines of the cloth.
"Damn, wench." InuYasha's voice rang from above her. "You really are pathetic."
Kagome glared up at him, and stuck her tongue out, still grabbing at her sleeping bag. He sat up in a tree, smirking down at her. "Need some help?" He demanded. Before she could even respond, he dropped down next to her, and scooped her up, sleeping bad and all.
"InuYasha…" She whined. "Lemmee sleep."
The hanyou only chuckled in response, and leapt again, eliciting a squeal from Kagome as she instinctively scrabbled to wrap her arms around him. He landed on the thick branch again, and quickly reclined, positioning Kagome so that she was leaning against him, and wouldn't fall. He spread out his red, fire-rat haori, flung it over her as an extra buffer against the heat. "Better?" He demanded.
Kagome blinked once or twice, her face practically bursting into flames. But then again, her head leaning against his chest did seem really nice. And she was warm, too. Maybe this wasn't… so… bad…
And then she was asleep.