"The End to the Feudal Fairy Tale"

Chapter 7

Author's Notes: I must be crazy, another update and I posted a one-shot the other day. Yup, definitely crazy. For those of you waiting for fluff, now's your chance to get your fill for a while. WARNING! Loaded with fluff, I didn't realize I got a bit carried away until it was too late. Oh! And please, please, please review gives big puppy dog eyes pretty please?

Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha, oh? Can I? Can I? Can I? Darn. All I own is my fan art. All characters belong to Rumiko Takahashi. The story is mine though, so please respect it.

What if she's in trouble on her side of the well? "I should go check on her." He crashed a closed fist into his other hand with the resolution. Spinning around to make doubly sure no one saw or heard him, Inuyasha climbed over the edge of the well and felt time slip around him.

vvvvvvvvvv

Kagome slammed the textbook closed. "I can't take anymore math tonight!" she announced to no one in particular. She glared at the clock; it's unfeeling hands told her it was close to eight. "All I did today was take tests and now I'm just studying my brains out. Ohhhhhhh!" Kagome huffed and rolled backwards on her chair. Unfortunately, it was just a bit too far back. "What the-" she toppled off of the chair and landed swiftly on the floor with a loud thud.

"Kagome-chan? Are you alright?" her mother called from downstairs.

"Ouch." She rubbed her back, checking for any cuts or bruises. "I'm fine mama!" she called back.

"Okay hunny, just-" her voice cut off.

"Mama?" Kagome picked herself up from the floor and lifted the chair back to its place at her desk. "Hmm." She stepped towards the door. The doorknob twisted easily in her grasp and the door swung open soundlessly. Kagome expected the hallway to greet her, not a wall of red. Naturally, she did the only thing one could do in this situation, scream and fall back.

To her surprise, the floor didn't feel so hard this time. It was actually rather soft and- and muscular? "Huh?" she gasped, opening her eyes wide. Inuyasha met her gaze with a worried scowl. She shrugged off the possibility that a stranger had entered her room. If anyone could make a face like that, it was Inuyasha.

"Just what do you think you're doing now, wench?" his voice broke her daze.

"Put me down! You scared me!" she squirmed free.

"Keh."

Kagome stumbled backwards and ended up sitting on her bed. "What are you doing here?"

"Making sure you didn't get yourself into any trouble while I was gone." He crossed his arms.

"I'm fine!" she mimicked his pose and stood again. "I should have passed all my tests this week with any luck and after I study this weekend, I'll be ready to finish up the exams on Monday. So, yeah, I'd say I'm doing fine!" she all but shouted.

"Keh. I don't see why some stupid tests are so important to you anyway." He leaned casually against the doorframe.

"Hey-" she let her arms fall to her sides as she turned quickly towards the closed window. "How did you get in here anyway?"

He seemed nervous for a moment, but then it was gone. "Your mom let me in."

"Oh, so Mister 'I'm a big strong half-demon ' has to have my MOM let him in?"

"Hey!" he closed the gap between them. "For your information, I am HUMAN tonight! In case you haven't noticed!" Inuyasha poked her sharply on the nose with his now clawless finger.

"Oh." Kagome looked down at her toes, how could she have missed something so obvious? "I'm-" she raised her head to find herself nose-to-nose with Inuyasha. All and all, it was a little too close for comfort. Inuyasha didn't seem to notice their proximity, he was still scowling.

She clumsily pushed against his chest as her blush elevated her distress to a literal code red. Inuyasha just stood there, unmoving. Even without his usual strength, he was still a very fit, strong human being. That thought just made her blush more.

"Kagome?" he leaned back. "Are you alright? Are you sick or something?"

"No! No. I mean-" Kagome raised a hand to her forehead. She was hot, no surprise there. Taking a deep breath, she sighed, "I'm just fine."

She tried to stay calm by telling herself that she was supposed to be hiding her emotions from him, but so far she'd failed miserably. So maybe she'd change the subject; that might work. "Inuyasha?" she began, taking a seat on the bed. "How are things in the past?"

"Everyone's fine. That stupid wolf managed to do something right for a change. He must be proud. It's probably the first and only time he'll ever succeed." He plopped down cross-legged on her floor.

"Inuyasha!" she commanded. "You shouldn't be so mean to Kouga-kun!" Kagome paused. She felt as if she'd lit a fire under the half-demon. His glare could have burnt toast.

"That fucking wolf deserves it! The way he boasts and lies!"

"No he doesn't! He's always been nice, unlike a certain ill-tempered-"

"Don't say it!" Inuyasha started to stand.

"narrow-minded-" she continued.

"Bitch! I said don't say it!"

"grumpy-"

"I said stop!"

"unfeeling dog!" she spat.

"Dammit, Kagome!" Inuyasha lunged towards her.

"OSUWARI!"

His face met the hardwood floor up close and personal. "Oops." Kagome held a hand over her mouth. She hadn't meant to 'sit' him in the house. Her Mom was downstairs! Stepping over Inuyasha's body with a scoff, she opened her door and waited to see if anyone noticed the noise. She heard nothing for about twenty seconds and she breathed a sigh of relief. As she turned though, a voice rang out.

"Kagome-chan? If you're going to yell, sweetheart, please take it outside. Souta is studying too." It was her Mother.

"Sorry about that Mama!" she called back. "I promise we'll go outside and Inuyasha will be leaving very, VERY, soon!" Kagome glared at the poor guy who was just now standing up. "Outside." She pointed downstairs.

Inuyasha just walked slowly out the door and down the stairs in silence, his head hung low. She'd defended Kouga and called him worthless. Maybe she did want to go with that wolf. If that were the case, he'd just let her go. Inuyasha sighed heavily.

What was wrong with him? Kagome stood dumbfounded. He hadn't said a word; he just left. She wondered just what was going on inside his mind. Sure, he acted a bit different when he was human, but she'd always been able to see the same personality in him despite the difference in appearance. Inuyasha was always arrogant, self-confident, and overprotective, even while human. Was there something more to him that she was missing? The thought of when he'd told her she smelled nice popped into her head. Kagome let her pointing arm drop in defeat. Something was off. He seemed worse than a woman with PMS and she was going to find out why.

Kagome passed her Mother in the kitchen. "Sorry about the noise, Mama."

"Never mind that." She waved her hand and smiled sweetly, then frowned. "Was something the matter with Inuyasha?"

"Huh?"

"He just seemed like he wasn't himself." She placed a finger to her cheek and eyed Kagome knowingly. "Do you know what might be troubling him?"

She felt like slime on a rock. "Uh- not sure. I'll find out though." She continued through the door. Scanning for some sign of Inuyasha, Kagome panicked when she didn't see him anywhere.

"Inuyasha?" she called.

No response. Maybe he hadn't heard her?

"Inuyasha? Where are you?" Still no answer, he never went far, especially after she 'sat' him. Where on earth could he be? Surely he didn't go down the well. What if he did?

Kagome's stomach lurched, if he had gone back, did that mean that he was upset, or worse, that he hated her? That thought was too much. She wobbled towards the God Tree. "Inuyasha? Please, if you're still here, I need to talk to you. What's wrong with you?"

"Keh." It was quiet, but it was definitely coming from nearby.

She heard someone walk out from the well house. A sudden chill wind caused her to shudder. The shadow moved towards her in slow motion. Tucking a stray hair behind her ear, she realized that she'd forgotten to take a breath. Kagome sharply inhaled. When Inuyasha's shape became clearly visible, she let herself exhale. "Inuyasha." She whispered.

"Whatever it is, make it quick. I'm leaving." She couldn't yet see his face.

"What's wrong with you?"

He replied flatly, "Nothing's wrong."

Kagome held a hand out to touch him, to make sure he was really there. He drew back.

"If that's all, then I'm leaving now."

"Wait! Please!" Kagome's thoughts raced in her head. This felt very strange indeed. "You're acting strange. Was it something I did?"

"Keh."

Okay, so it was somehow her fault. "Are you upset because I said 'it?'"

"No. You always do that." He huffed.

One step closer to normal. "I won't know what I did, unless you tell me!" she was getting frustrated at an alarming rate.

Inuyasha's face shot up. "You want to know what you did? You fucking know! You proved to me that you want that bastard, Kouga! To top it off, you showed me where I stand! I don't know why I'm even still here!" he shouted.

Something inside Kagome wanted to curl up and die. Somehow though, she suppressed her rage enough to speak. "I-I'm sorry."

He turned away. "It's too late for that."

"But- I- I- didn't mean it that way." She held out her arm again, in a desperate attempt to see his face again. When he said nothing, but didn't move, she took it as a cue to explain herself. "I was just defending Kouga-kun because he's my friend and you always treat him badly."

"Oh right, I forgot I'm ill-tempered." He mumbled loud enough for her to hear.

"I don't understand why you're always so angry with him." She drew back her arm and rubbed at her sore shoulder. It was then that she noticed how chilly it had become, despite the spring weather.

"I'm grumpy, remember?" From the distance, she noticed that he'd folded his arms again.

Kagome gulped down another dose of her own anger. If she was going to reason with Inuyasha, she had to keep from getting angry with him. It was just so hard to keep rage contained. "I don't know what I did! You always keep things from me!"

Inuyasha gritted his teeth. Suddenly he was less than a foot from her. "You want to know?" he yelled. "Fine!" Kagome shrunk back, but he grabbed her firmly by her arms. She winced in pain, but he didn't seem to notice. "You called me worthless! You- of all people! I don't give a damn if you go with that wolf! I thought you were a better person than that! You- I-" Kagome blinked hard. He was either going to kill her or explode. She squished her eyes shut tight, awaiting the outcome. Inuyasha released his grip on her arms. Something snapped.

"I'm not an unfeeling dog."

"Huh?" she opened her eyes. He hadn't yelled that time.

"Kagome." His eyes held something that frightened her. It was as if those rich, brown eyes had grasped her very soul and rooted her to the spot. What emotion was in those eyes? Kagome was still transfixed. Wait. They were shutting, and getting- closer.

Kagome couldn't even think to react. In one heart-thumping moment, Inuyasha leaned forward and pressed his lips to hers. It was a bewildering kiss, fierce, but yet unsure. It was only for a moment, but Kagome couldn't remember any other time she'd felt so unusual. Her arms shook, he legs felt like jelly, her mind whirled, and her heart raced. It seemed that her mouth had also gone dry; she couldn't make her jaw work either.

"I may be a half-demon, but I'm half human too." He all but whispered.

Kagome was still frozen stiff.

"You should go inside. It's cold."

"Inu-yasha-" Kagome gripped his shirt. "I-"

"I know, you're sorry." He pulled her hands free of his clothes and hurried to turn his face from her prying eyes. He sighed. "Just go inside, okay?"

Kagome was still in shock. Hesitantly, she took a step forward. "Inuyasha?"

"What now?" he struggled to hide the blush that threatened to consume him.

"I know that you have feelings-" Kagome made a circle in the dirt with her toe. "and I'm sorry that I hurt them."

"Keh." Well, at least he was back to normal. The sudden show of emotion had really scared her. "Just get inside, wench. We might need you to find Naraku soon, so get some rest."

Slowly, she managed to walk into the house. Kagome peaked over her shoulder to look for Inuyasha, but he was nowhere to be found. Maybe it had been a dream? A very nice dream. What did he mean by all of that? It had to be the moon or something. Slipping past her Mother and Grandfather, Kagome made her way up to her room. As if in a trance, she sat on her bed and hesitantly touched her lips. "If it was a dream, I hope I never wake up."

vvvvvvvvvv

"Why do ye persist in your ways with the young Sango?" Kaede remarked, never turning her attention from Kirara whom she was currently caring for.

"I can't seem to help myself. She is just too fair to resist." Miroku absently rubbed the handprint on his left cheek.

"I really shouldn't help you y'know. That was really stupid." Shippo held up a cold cloth for the swelling bump on Miroku's head.

"I know. But-"

Sango cut him off with a loud huff. "You need to learn better manners, Houshi-sama. No woman will want you if you continually grope and promise yourself to other women!" She had to restrain herself from striking him again. As it was, she'd moved to the far end of the hut.

"Miroku! Why don't you out and cut some firewood for Kaede!" Shippo happily bounced. He didn't have Inuyasha to pick on, but tormenting Miroku was turning out to be pretty fun too.

"Shippo, I don't think that's such a-"

"Aye. That sounds like a fine idea to me. My old back can't handle that sort of labor. Miroku-sama, would ye be so kind as to help an old woman?" Kaede spoke with such a straight face that even Shippo was shocked.

"Yes, Houshi-sama, some time outside may do you some good." Seeing where this was going, she winked at Shippo and continued. "Perhaps it will help with the swelling?"

"Ah." Miroku sighed heavily. He was beaten. "Very well. I shall be outside then." He set down the cold cloth and trudged, defeated, out the door.

Once he was out of sight, Sango shifted from her position to join Kaede and Kirara on the other side of the room. "Thanks, Shippo. I'll tell Kagome-chan that you've been a really good boy while she's been gone."
"Really?" He pounced into her lap and wagging his tail wildly.

"MmmHm." Sango happily pronounced. Shippo grinned wide before bounding off to follow Miroku. "Have fun." Sango waved.

"I believe that Kirara will make a complete recovery in the next few days." Kaede spoke when she noticed Sango staring at her resting pet.

"Thank you, Kaede." Sango reached down to pick up Kirara. She mewed a little at being disturbed, but settled almost instantly into Sango's arms.

"I'll have to thank Kagome and Inuyasha when they return." She sat up straight and Kirara shuffled in her grasp. "Where are Inuyasha and Kagome?"

"I believe that Inuyasha took Kagome back to her time."

"Oh. Well, then at least they're okay." She felt a bit embarrassed that she'd totally forgotten about her friends.

"Get some rest child. We'll make sure that Miroku does not try anything further this evening." Kaede gave her a knowing look.

"Thank you again." Sango went back to petting Kirara's head gently. She giggled inwardly as she thought about all of the horrors that Shippo and Kaede could inflict on Miroku while she rested.

vvvvvvvvvv

Kagome slipped an arm out from under the sheets to pound her alarm clock into submission. She was in the middle of a very nice dream, in which Inuyasha was kissing her. She paused and silence assaulted her ears, was it really a dream? Kagome sat bolt upright. She definitely remembered yelling at Inuyasha. "Okay, just what happened last night? I remember yelling, it upset him- Wait." Inuyasha never got emotional like that, and he certainly didn't do things like kissing her. She touched her lips. Had all of it been a dream?

She hastily donned a sundress and ran a brush through her hair. Where was Inuyasha? If he'd been there last night, wouldn't he still be around? Hold on. Her arm fell limply to her side, brush still in hand. What if it was real, and he regretted it. "I have to ask him." She breathed. Deciding that her hair was sufficiently brushed, Kagome trotted down the stairs and out the kitchen door. She made it about two steps when a twinge in the back of her mind forced her to go back into the house.

"Inuyasha?" Kagome leaned against the counter, her mind unable to come up with an explanation for why Inuyasha was sitting at the table eating ramen with her mother.

He didn't even look up from the noodles. "Hi, Ka- gomph- me." A little broth dribbled down his chin.

"What are you doing here?" It looked like her face was going to crack, she was in such shock.

"He was outside this morning and I invited him in dear." Her mother replied casually.

"Mama?"

Inuyasha slurped down the last of the cup ramen he'd been devouring. "You healed yet?"

"I'm fine." She lied. "Inuyasha?"

"Huh?" He was avoiding eye contact for some reason. That didn't bode well.

"Outside."

Inuyasha's ears drooped when he met her gaze. He did not want to talk about the events of the past evening. What if she hated him now? After all, she'd chosen Kouga; she'd said as much. Sure, Kagome apologized, but he hadn't. Inuyasha cursed under his breath. Damn his human night, it always made his life a living hell. It didn't seem to matter if he was facing demons or his own emotions, he'd be damned either way. Slinking out of his chair, Inuyasha put on his best façade. "Keh, make it quick, wench."

Outside, Kagome tapped her foot in anticipation. He was doomed. The only way to keep life as usual was to ignore it and move on. That way nothing changed. "Nothing changes." Inuyasha mumbled.

"What was that?"

"Nothing."

"It didn't sound like-" she took a deep breath, "Never mind. Just tell me, did- last night- I- you- what happened?" Kagome folded her arms tight against her body. Just focus. If she focused, she could get a straight answer out of Inuyasha. Yeah right.

"It doesn't matter." He huffed. "Nothing happened. We haven't got any leads yet, so you stay here. I'm going to go see if I can track down Naraku." Inuyasha smirked. He'd covered that up quite well.

Kagome fought back tears; she was so sure he'd kissed her. Now he was denying it. Did she really imagine it, or was it just that Inuyasha wanted to forget it happened? If he didn't want to remember, then he didn't care and that meant that she didn't care, right? Kagome bit down the bile that was rising in her throat. She just had to make things normal again; she could stay by his side if things were normal. "I'm going with you!" she resumed her traditional role in the argument, opposing whatever Inuyasha suggested.

"No. You're going to stay here. You'll just get in the way."

Didn't she want to stay? She had the last of her exams on Monday, it was only a few more days. There were other ways to be obstinate. "Fine. I'll stay."

"No! You're-" he stumbled to a halt and the smirk slipped from his face. "What?"

Good, he was confused. "I said, I'll stay here."

"Now we're getting somewhere! You're actually gonna listen to me for once?"

"Uh-huh." Kagome nodded brightly.

"Good." The smirk was back. He thought he'd won? Just wait.

Kagome hid a smirk of her own. "But-"

"But?" Inuyasha's ears twitched nervously.

"I have exams until Monday, so I don't want you to come get me before then." She sweetly smiled. "No excuses."

"Keh. Like that's a problem. So I won't have to drag your sorry butt around for a few days, sounds great to me!" he boasted.

"Glad we understand."

"Keh. I'm leaving then." He eyed Kagome with suspicion.

"Yup."

"Really going now."

"Uh-huh."

"Standing on the well!" he yelled from the well house.

The anger was surfacing again.

"Jumping in!"

"Inuyasha?"

He paused on the edge, this was what he was waiting for, she was going to beg to come along. Inuyasha listened intently.

"Osuwari!"

He fell forward through the time slip cursing the whole way.

vvvvvvvvvv

"Damn wench! Why does she always have to-" Inuyasha sniffed the air. He smelled it before he heard the others approach the well. Something was burning, and Naraku was involved.

"Inuyasha!" Shippo launched himself at Inuyasha's head.

"Mphm Shmmphm!" He pried the fox off. "What the hell is going on?"

"Ah! Inuyasha! We were hoping we'd find you here." Miroku stopped to catch his breath. He must have run all the way from Kaede's hut. "It's a huge fire to the west!"

"Keh. Tell me something I don't know." His hand automatically fell to Tetsusaiga's hilt.

"I can sense Naraku's evil." Miroku continued.

"That's not all." Sango landed with Kirara.

"What else is wrong?" Inuyasha was getting frustrated at the slow release of information.

"The fire. It's concentrated near the caves where we fought the Birds of Paradise!"

"Damn it all." He started running. Now he was going to have to save that mangy wolf's hide again.

"What about Kagome-chan?" Sango called out.

"I can handle it without her! Hurry up!" Inuyasha yelled without looking back.

"Do you think that's really a good idea?" Sango asked while Miroku climbed onto Kirara's back.

"No. But I don't think we really have a choice in the matter. We don't have time to reason with him either." Miroku settled into his place behind Sango. Shippo perched on his shoulder.

They launched into the air. "There's no way she could be completely healed yet, maybe Inuyasha is afraid for her safety." She urged the fire cat to fly faster.

"It doesn't matter." Miroku spoke up. "If we don't hurry, the whole wolf tribe could be decimated before we arrive."

Kirara growled in agreement and chased after the speeding half demon. Hopefully, they wouldn't be too late.

vvvvvvvvvv

A/N: Okay! Fluff galore! I'm trying to stay pretty true to the original characters, so I hope I didn't deviate too much for everyone. Next chapter, look forward to the battle for Kouga's life, Kikyou's intentions, another Sesshoumaru guest appearance, and Naraku's master plan. Keep reading and please review!