One day early. Go me!

Chapter 5: Beauty of Darkness

Night had not a face to show delight, but its opposite, the sun, to provide happiness. As it always did, the sun faded away into the hilltops and left the sky pink and orange over Feudal Japan. Soon it would be replaced by millions upon millions of twinkling lights to take life's breath away, and one silver moon to light the paths of youkai and misguided humans to rest. Earth had no fondness of night, but of the beauty of light which night emphasized. The moon could not be silver without the darkness of night to contrast the reflection of the sun, nor would the stars be seen as stars without something for light to break through. When all was hidden away, light was the salvation of all living things to experience beauty. The night that had been frightening and alone torn away from recognition. There had been no beauty in not seeing.

Why do you steal away from light,

As if you wish to go?

Does it mean I should follow thee…?

For Inuyasha, the sight or the absence of the moon meant a great deal more. Once again, its presence determined his form: hanyou or human, white or black, strong or weak. Being human meant such a burden to Inuyasha. He had no claws to attack, nor the power to wield Tetsusaiga. His sensitive hearing and smell were lost to him. Most of all, it was that he was most sensitive emotionally now. Time and time again he promised he would experience no human frailty even of the heart, but his nature defied him. The others could notice his change of heart on such nights. Those dark eyes had shown more than he cared to imagine, like his sadness, his loneliness, and his love.

…into the dark?

There was but one who knew that even as a hanyou, Inuyasha's heart had softened. She called, "Inuyasha…"

Around the hut she went four times before giving up on him coming to her call. The hanyou would not listen to reason, even if the new moon limited his chance of survival if he came across a battle. Kagome shook her head and sighed, 'Sometimes I can't believe how stubborn he is.'

As she made her way to the door of the hut once more in search of a flashlight, something else caught her eye. The flower vase outside next to the door. It had been a little over a month since Inuyasha had given her flowers for her birthday, and by nature, they should have been dead by now. Yet somehow they happened to remain in bloom. Or at least that's what Inuyasha wanted her to believe. Nothing could get pass Kagome. She knew that whenever the flowers were starting to droop, the hanyou would collect new ones to replace them with. What he hadn't considered was that the kinds of wild flowers had changed each time, as well as their positions in the bouquet arrangement. So much for a one-time thing.

Something needs saying, but won't be said.

At least by the emptiness of simple words.

If I follow, perhaps I will tell you…

Kagome smiled and stared off into the night. She had tried to thank him before for the new flowers, but he assured her they were the same flowers as before. He was rather aggressive about insisting he had no involvement in their supposed immortality. Inuyasha was never one to show he cared, but this was just one example of how he was sweeter than he seemed. As she looked at the bouquet now, she estimated it would be another two days before they would be replaced again.

When she entered the hut, she was just in time to see Sango's handprint being soothed away by the perverted monk. Sango's face was as red ever, and her eyes possessed the same fire as her skin. Not to mention her knuckles were tense in desire to strangle that hentai. Kagome just shook her head and made her way to her backpack without a word. In the background, Miroku continued to speak, "Honestly, Sango, if we're going to be staying together once Naraku is defeated, how can you expect this to last forever?"

"Well you'll just have to hope I don't up and leave you before you get that chance," the exterminator huffed.

He turned to Kagome for support, forgetting that he would never get it from her, "Kagome-sama, would you please talk some sense into her?"

She rolled her eyes, "You're asking the wrong girl, Miroku-sama."

Miroku rubbed the sore spot again, realizing it was foolish of him to think another woman would agree with him on this one. "Ugh, surely there's someone around here who agrees with me. Inuyasha, at least."

Sango scooted away from him and out of his grasp. "Dream on."

She turned to Kagome, "Speaking of which, where is Inuyasha? It's a new moon tonight, isn't it?"

Kagome sighed in frustration and nodded, "Remind me to give him a piece of my mind when I get back. For now, I'm off to bathe. See ya later."

She flung the strap of the backpack on her shoulder and made for the door. Sango's voice beckoned her back, "Kagome-chan, you want me to go with you?"

"That's okay, Sango-chan. I'd rather be alone for now."

Sango was about to say that Inuyasha would be angry, but decided against blowing the ember of Inuyasha's stubbornness into a full-blown fire. Over the two years they had known each other, Sango gained a special friendship with Kagome. She had learned that Kagome wasn't the damsel in distress that Inuyasha made her out to be. In fact, there had been many times when Kagome had come to the rescue of them all, even if Inuyasha failed to recognize it. But Sango had faith enough in her friend now to know she would be alright by herself, especially when the spring was so close by. She nodded and waved her off.

As Kagome stepped back into the darkness with flashlight and backpack in tow, she glanced one last time at the assumed immortal flowers on her porch as the petals fluttered lightly in the breeze. 'Your flowers won't save you from my command once I find you again, Inuyasha.'

He could feel the grass beneath his feet a lot more when he was human. His feet felt somehow heavier, so that the grass could give way to his touch. As a hanyou, his toes practically hovered over land, he could run so fast. Now he only walked slowly, and with nothing to guide him but his poor memory. Inuyasha glanced at the moon, or where the silver moon should have been. Like every month prior, the moon chose tonight to toy with his form in its absence. He eyes squinted in disgust at the empty place in the sky, as if to say, 'Show yourself, you coward.'

… this is what makes the heart.

The secrets of the moon may have been hidden from his eyes, but he knew it was there, playing hide-and-seek with him. Targeting his power, the monthly moon haunted his sense of smell, hearing, emotion, and time. He hated not knowing everything that was around him. If there was a youkai nearby looking for a fight, his chance of survival was slim. Not like that would stop him from proving that he was capable of taking care of himself. All his ears could do now was pick up the steady beat of his own heart. The heartbeat always seemed deeper and faster during these nights. No doubt because they held the secret to human weakness, and fought to stay afloat. The promise that light provided would have been welcomed with open arms, if only it would make its appearance.

He approached Kaede's hut, where he could see the light of a fire still going. He eyed the flower pot which he would replace about every 5 days, and pondered how Kagome could be suspicious of him, the naïve hanyou. But her suspicions never stopped him of doing this task. A part of him felt like it was natural. During that time, there was no alternate motive for him, no benefit to his needs. Perhaps just a benefit to his heart. Only the knowledge of what it would do to her eyes again, and to her smile. He walked inside to be greeted by Shippou, a bruised Miroku, and a frustrated Sango. To his surprise, it was the hanyou she was frustrated about. "Where the hell have you been? Kagome was worried sick about you."

He looked around the room for his miko's angry face, but found none. He looked to the others again, "Where is she?"

"Out," and she continued on her previous comment, "Now you know we can't afford to have you fighting youkai when you're human…"

"Out?.," Inuyasha's eyes flamed up, "She's gone out, by herself?.! Baka! She's gonna get herself killed."

Not paying any mind to the others, he turned and made a run outside. For a few moments, Sango stay frozen and her eyebrow twitched a few times in rage. The hanyou didn't even notice how angry she was. Eventually, she came to her senses and became reminded of the unfortunate facts at hand. "Inuyasha! Wait!"

She ran outside to catch him, followed by Miroku and Shippou. "Inuyaasshhh-shit."

The poor boy had already disappeared into the forest in search for Kagome. Sango put her head in her hand, and replied calmly, "She's bathing."

Miroku slapped the wall as he started to crack up. This was definitely something he wanted to here about when Inuyasha got back from the soon-to-be sit-fest.

When she reached the spring, Kagome couldn't spell how relieved she was. After their rigorous battle that day with a disgruntled youkai, she felt like she reeked from that boar's flea infested fur. She couldn't count on taking a bath exactly everyday when Inuyasha was always pressuring the group to keep going, but since it was a new moon tonight, she finally had an assured time-period when she could just relax. She removed her bathing products from her backpack and placed them on the rocks. She then proceeded to undress herself and then slip into the hot spring. The warmth of the water wrapped around her body just above the waist, and she finally appreciated the coldness of the night air. She walked through the pond a few times to get used to the heat.

She looked up at the empty space in the sky where the moon was hiding. Inuyasha was never one to admit that he was vulnerable on these nights, but she knew better of course. What bothered her was that he refused her support on these nights. Out of pride? Out of hatred? She didn't know, but at times she certainly didn't feel wanted, or needed in many ways. But she always reminded herself of her real purpose, to collect the shikon shards. Once the jewel was complete, and her purpose gone, she too would leave and return to her old life. At least, that's what she assumed Inuyasha would want.

Inuyasha didn't have the senses to guide him to Kagome, there was only one hot spring nearby that he knew of. He clenched his teeth and used his hands to shoo away the branches, "That baka Kagome. I swear to God that woman is impossible to get through to. She knows better than to wonder off alone."

He may his way up to a cliff and climbed onto a fallen-sideways tree trunk to get a glimpse at the hot spring below. His eyes found the long lost girl straight away, but steered clear once he noted that she was undressing herself. His cheeks blushed a crimson red equal to his haori. He pondered for a good amount of time about what to do. He couldn't look at her when she was naked, but he couldn't very well take her eyes off of her for a second without something happening to her. If he left her there and went back to camp, a youkai could easily attack her. He forced his eyes to the ground, but kept his ears as open as possible for any movement. This time, he had to work extra hard not to notice his heart's rapid fire.

For this moment at least, I'll follow you.

I'll let my heart speak, but may not listen.

I have not the ears to hear thee.

The blush on his face began to calm down over time, and he found himself concentrating on the most unusual things, like his human hands, rocks, and kemari. He heard the clacking of water droplets as she waded out through the pond. Every inch of him told him it would be impolite to look, not to mention unfounded. But one characteristic always remained with him no matter what state she was in. He always wanted to see her, he wanted to assure himself that he was needed, and wanted. Finally, he heard the water become still. It stayed quiet for a long time, until Inuyasha got worried something had gone wrong. He timidly turned around to check on her, only to come across her form rising from the water again fresh from the dunk. A feverish blush consumed his face and he held his breath at the sight of her naked. Water droplets trickled unchecked down her light skin and her hair wiped around to one side of her neck and stuck to the skin, which left her supple back entirely exposed to the night air.

He gulped when he found that try as he might, he couldn't look away from her, not because of her unclothed state, but because of her siren-like features on this night. Her pale skin glimmered in dampness with only the light of her flashlight as a source. Inuyasha didn't have to look up to know there was no moon tonight, but it sure felt like there was. Her hair held the essence of the moon: darkness and silver. Even with hair as dark as mysterious night, the light discovered crevasses of her hair to exploit. Her hair, although now a tangled mess, bloomed a magnificence he had never known before, and small strands reflected back the light to his eyes. Her sweet face was calm and unmoved by her vulnerable state, and her earth-colored eyes hypnotized the earth itself in its beauty. Her lips even seemed pinker than usual, but that especially he tried to ignore. Yet he couldn't help the itch in his skin to reach out to her. He couldn't help but ponder for a split moment… the smoothness of her kiss.

He could recall now the feeling of her smooth kiss against his rough lips. The kiss suited enough for a fairy tale, as it broke him away from the evil spell of Kaguya. Somewhere deep within his decaying human mind, one memory could not be soiled… that of Kagome. It was that kiss which cried out for the memory to take hold of him. It begged him to remember every battle, every stare, every fight, and every heart beat in-between. When he allowed himself to kiss her back, something happened that hadn't before. For the first time in all recollection, Inuyasha achieved ultimate peace. He felt his muscles, his hearing and smell, his blood flow, and his nerves finally come to a full rest. Had it continued, the force of its rescue and its power could have shaken him to fall. Inuyasha didn't have to feel her kiss now to know that his entire body was once again in that state of entirety.

Kagome lathered shampoo in her fingers and ran her hands through her hair. Inuyasha sighed at the loss of that glimmer, but as he saw her eyes were closed, he saw less shame in running his eyes over her once to take in the illumination of her skin. She dunked her head again to release the shampoo and rose again to send another waterfall down her own body.

She lay on top of the surface and started to propel herself backwards with her feet. His eyes began to slowly glaze over. She truly was beautiful, inside and out. What seemed strange to him was that he felt like her beauty was only meant for him. He didn't want to think about what he would do if anyone else saw her naked, but it was more than that. Her beauty and her kindness were dangerous, because she would be wanted, and vulnerable to being wanted. More over, if she was taken for such features, it would mean great suffering for him. He didn't want her beauty to be claimed, by anyone, even if he was forbidden from having her. Selfish indeed. He wouldn't admit it was bad for him. But he didn't even remember his plan to yell at her for going off alone, he was so entranced.

Do you have to be so wondrous before my eyes if not mine?

If I asked of you, would you always be near?

Her illumination seemed almost unnatural, and it beckoned him to a place he knew he could not go. He didn't want to go, did he? Much like darkness, she prevented something forbidden, unseeable, unreachable… and as such had to be undesirable. But she was the light too. The beauty emphasized by darkness, by her own mysteries. When she tied her hair into a bun to keep it from getting more soaking wet, he felt upset at the loss. It was like imprisoning her free spirit, and keeping it in the dark forever.

Would you keep me?

He leaned forward to get a closer look at her silhouetted form in front of the glow of her flashlight lamp. But in his trance, he had forgotten that he had become human in the night, and his balance failed him. As he felt himself falling through air, he waved his arms like a bird, trying against all odds to stay aloft. But it was to no avail, and his face was already blushing again furiously as he descended roughly to the ground below. He yelped as he hit right on his left thigh. The rest of him met the dust soon afterwards. Even in his pain, he could hear her gasping, and then falling silent. 'Don't look up. Don't look up. Don't look… shit.'

He just couldn't help himself, could he? How would she react to this intrusion? His chin lifted off and his eyes met the angry gaze of Kagome. Yep, it was about that time again.

"OSUWARI!.!.!.!.!.!.!"

Definitely one of those days again.

To be continued…

Haha… now it gets interesting. Time to mess stuff up. Hehehehe! Fun fun fun!

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