Chapter Three
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Disclaimer… yeah, no one, only the plot line…
((Chapter three))
"I'm hungry!" Shippo complained, riding on Kagome's shoulder.
"I know, Shippo, but can't you wait just a little while?" The priestess tried to calm the kit. He shook his head, tears coming to his little eyes.
"It's all Inu-Yasha's fault! He was the one in such a hurry to leave!"
"Shut-up back there gaki, we'll stop soon." The hanyou in front of the group growled back to the kit and priestess.
"See, even Inu-Yasha gets hungry sometimes; he didn't have breakfast either remember." Kagome said with a smile. The Inu grumbled under his breath. The girl was right, his stomach wasn't much quieter than the kit's, but they had only just gotten started it seemed.
There's a nice river bed just a little ways up, with a hot spring for the girls… We should reach it by noon… The hanyou thought. His stomach growled again. "Fine, we'll stop." Inu-Yasha snapped as Shippo's cries became louder in his sensitive ears. All of the hanyou's companions sighed and slid to the ground.
"My feet hurt…" Kagome said as she took off her shoe to rub her foot. Shippo jumped off of the girl's shoulder as the demon slayer moved to the younger girl's side.
"Yes, it seems like we've been walking forever." Sango agreed, nodding.
"All you people do is complain!" Inu-Yasha growled.
"Hey!" Kagome snapped, looking up at the hanyou. "We've been walking on empty stomachs since just after sun up. In case you didn't realize, the sun is past noon now. With your hanyou body you forget that us weak human's need more rest than you!" The priestess was on her feet now, yelling in the hanyou's face.
"Why does any of this matter to me!" He yelled right back. The silver haired boy had lost track of the time…
"Because it's your fault that we are like this!"
"My fault! Why is everything my fault!"
"You are the one who rushed us out without breakfast, and then you wouldn't stop for lunch!"
"If I remember, you wanted to get on the road as much as I did!"
"What does that have to do with anything! I didn't suggest that we skip breakfast, I even offered to make you ramen!"
"And did that happen!"
"NO! You pushed us on the move!"
"So!"
"AH! Oswuari!"
"Umph! KAGOME!" The hanyou growled as he lifted his head out of the indent in the ground. "What was that for!"
"Just lay there and wait for your breakfast/lunch/snack to be done!" The priestess huffed before going to find some firewood. Her friends all watched her go, nothing but understanding on their faces.
"I'll go with her." Sango said, getting to her feet slowly.
"No," Inu-Yasha growled as the spell wore off. "Stay here." He snapped as he stormed off after the priestess. This time the remaining travelers blinked in confusion. Miroku finally sighed, shaking his head.
"Will he ever learn?" He questioned.
"No, probably not." Shippo replied, shaking his head. Everyone sighed again and shook their heads, going to work on clearing space for a fire.
((View Switch))
Inu-Yasha muttered under his breath as he followed the priestess' scent through the trees all around. What is her problem? No matter what I do, something changes and she has something else to complain about! The hanyou stopped as Kagome came into view in front of him. He stayed in the shadows to just watch her for a second.
She does look nice… The hanyou's breath became shallow as he thought about what the priestess looked like under her cloths. He shook his head as heat bubbled in his veins again. Come on, control yourself. He chastised his body.
Golden orbs slowly turned back to the young woman kneeling on the ground in front of them. Just another minute…
((View Switch))
Kagome knelt on the ground, her heart pounding. What's going on? Why do I suddenly feel like this? I've been with Inu-Yasha almost a full year now, and none of these feelings have come until now…Or, maybe they've been there all along… I just wouldn't let myself pay attention to them. The thought almost scared the young priestess. She had tried to only think of the hanyou as a good friend, no one to become close with, fall in love with. I'm just a jewel finder… His heart belongs to Kikyo… Doesn't it…? She gasped at the thought that his heart may have changed. But… why…?
The priestess jumped to her feet as she felt someone's eyes on her. "Come out, I know you're there." She reached for an arrow from her quiver, her bow at the ready. Kagome pulled the arrow taught as something moved just to her right. "Come out, now." Her voice was sharp, in control. Her stance faltered as something snickered.
"Put down your bow, Kagome." Inu-Yasha said as he stepped out of the shadow. The priestess did as she was told, lowering her arrow to her side.
"Inu-Yasha! What are you doing here?" What if I had shot him… like before…? Only this time, it really would have been me doing it…
"I came to make sure nothing happened to the shards." He smiled lightly, throwing her story to Miroku and the other's back at her. The priestess lowered her face slightly.
"What would you have had me say? Oh yeah, he followed me to make sure I was ok? They'd believe that more." Her voice was sarcastic. Her face lifted as he chuckled lightly.
"You don't think that they were thinking that anyway, Kagome?" Inu-Yasha stepped toward her again, closing the gap quickly. "Did you want that to be true…?" He whispered as his hand slowly rested on the side of the priestess' neck. "Did you want me to follow you only for the jewel?" His golden eyes seemed to stare into her soul.
"Inu-Yasha…" Kagome breathed, her bow and arrow falling to the ground. She smiled and leaned into his touch, her left hand covering his on her neck. "Of course I don't want you to follow me only for the shards… but what you want is more important to me."
"Why is that?" I'm just a half-breed, why would anyone care about what I want? The hanyou thought as he lifted his other hand up to the side of the girl's neck, cradling her head lightly.
"Because you mean the world to me, Inu-Yasha, and I'm happy if you're happy." The priestess replied.
"How can that be? I'm a mutt, a hanyou."
"Remember when we were on our way with Hojo and the Celestial Robe, sitting at the fire, and I told you that there was nothing wrong with staying just the way you are? I love you as a hanyou, that's who you are, it's what makes you you. I wouldn't change a thing about you, Inu-Yasha." Kagome's eyes filled with tears, but she continued to smile.
The hanyou blinked a few times. That's right… I remember now… When Kaguya tried to take my human blood I saw Kagome, and she brought me back… because she loves me as a half-demon. "Kagome…" He breathed, pulling her into a tight embrace. "Please don't cry over me… I don't want to make you cry." He whispered into her hair. The priestess slowly nodded, trying to stop her tears.
"If that will make you happy… I shall try."
Inu-Yasha pulled away only slightly, using his right hand to pull the girl's face up to his own, sealing his lips over hers, giving the priestess a light kiss as a sign of gratitude. Her breath was rough as he broke away again, trying to hold back her tears. The hanyou pulled her back into his strong embrace.
He kissed me again… Oh Inu-Yasha, what do you mean…?
((View Switch))
"What could be taking those two so long?" Shippo asked, unaware of what was going on between the hanyou and priestess.
"Just give them some time to work things out, Shippo." Sango said with a smile at the kit.
"Yes, I do think that neither will remember to bring wood when their done, so would you accompany me to get some, Shippo?" Miroku put in. The child nodded as he got to his feet with the monk.
"Ok, do you think that they are fighting that bad?" The kit asked, still clueless to the real reason. The male human only laughed lightly as they walked off.
The remaining human sighed, a light smile on her face as she turned to look at Kirara on her lap. "I do hope those two will find a way to look beyond their arguments." Sango whispered as she stroked the small youkai's back. Kirara only purred as a reply.
The demon slayer's head lifted as she heard footfalls in front of her. "Kagome, Inu-Yasha." Sango said, getting to her feet and moving to meet the two. "I guess you did something right, Inu-Yasha," the slayer said as she stopped in front of her friends. "You don't seem to have any new marks on your face." She smiled widely.
"Feh, shut-up," he growled.
"I guess Kagome has rubbed off on you. Now if only Miroku could figure that out too…" Sango added thoughtfully. Kagome laughed as she moved the older girl's side.
"Do you really think that will happen?" The priestess asked.
"No." The girl's laughed together as Inu-Yasha grumbled.
"Can we eat now?" He asked, walking around the humans to the fire pit.
"Well, that would be alright, if you had brought back some wood." Sango replied, following the hanyou. He hid the curse that passed his lips at forgetting why he and Kagome had gone off on their own.
"Where are Miroku and Shippo?" Kagome asked the slayer.
"They also went out hunting for fire wood. They should be back soon."
"Alright… Hey Inu-Yasha, did you eat those potato chips yet?" The priestess asked as she walked over to the hanyou. He turned his golden stare to her again.
"No, why?"
"You could eat those as a snack until the ramen gets done." She replied with a smile, going into her yellow bag. "Here," the priestess threw the bag of chips at the hanyou, who easily caught them.
Inu-Yasha tore open the bag as he turned to Sango. "How long ago did they leave?" He asked, eating a hand full of the crunchy chips.
"Not to long, right before you two got back, actually."
"So what makes you think that they will be back soon?"
"We are surrounded by a forest, Inu-Yasha, and unlike you, we only had collecting wood on our minds." Miroku replied for the demon slayer. Kagome, Inu-Yasha, and Sango turned to watch the monk and kitsune walking back toward them. The older looking of the two grinned at the hanyou, while Kagome's face hinted at a blush.
"And what does that mean, monk?" Inu-Yasha growled, stepping toward Miroku, the hanyou's fist clenched in front of his face.
"Why, nothing at all…" The monk replied with a laugh.
"It better not…" The older male growled, before returning to Kagome's side.
"Now, now, Inu-Yasha," The priestess said with a small laugh before she reached into her bag again, this time looking for the lighter to get the fire started quickly.
"What?" He asked rudely.
"Miroku did go and get the fire wood, without that you would have no ramen, so I would be a little nicer to him." The girl replied, finding what she was looking for. The hanyou growled as a reply.
"Feh, whatever." He put his arms into his haori sleeves and turned to look up at the sky. It was beginning to get late. Under the cold exterior, the hanyou winced. He did feel bad for making his friends skip breakfast, then lunch, for it was now close to time for the evening meal. Damn it all to the hells… I can't believe the runt didn't complain earlier about not eating…
The sun was almost to the western horizon.
"Inu-Yasha… the ramen will be done in a minute, do you want to come join us?" Kagome asked, breaking him out of his thoughts. His golden orbs vanished for a second as he blinked back to reality.
"Yeah, I'm coming…" He got to his feet, for somehow he had walked all of the way over to the cover of trees and was seated under one of them. The priestess smiled at him again, her eyes dancing with the firelight as he came to sit next to her, but not to close.
"So, do you smell Naraku?" The youngest girl tried to make conversation.
"No. Have you sensed any jewel shards?"
"No…" Everyone fell silent, just waiting for the food to be done. "Here, hope it hits the spot." Kagome said with a smile as she handed out the bowls of noodles.
"I'm sure it will, thank you Lady Kagome." Miroku was the only one to reply, for the others had already begun to eat. The teen just laughed lightly as she watched.
Not that I can blame them…I'm starving myself… With that thought, the priestess also dug into her food.
((F.F. slightly))
Inu-Yasha stood in a low limb of a tree, arms crossed in his haori, standing lightly on his toes. He could see the whole campsite from here. The sun was not entirely below the land yet, but it had already begun to turn the world to blood. The hanyou had not forced the group to move on, instead letting both their meal and they settle in for the night.
A silent sigh escaped his lips as he heard more than saw the girl move below him. His eyes lowered slowly to the ground as she called his name. "What is it, Kagome?" His voice was not harsh, not sarcastic, but an honest question, for he had no idea why the priestess would come looking for him.
"Could you come down, I'd like to talk."
"Why don't you come up here." His voice continued to be soft, abnormal for him.
"Because I can't climb trees, that's why." She smiled up at him as she spoke. He grinned as he casually stepped off of the branch, landing lightly next to her. She didn't have any time to breathe as he lifted her into his arms and again jumped into the tree, this time going higher up, as high as the tree would allow.
"Watch, we'll talk in a little while." He breathed as he sat with his back against the trunk, the priestess on his lap, her head resting against his chest. He could feel her heart flutter as he wrapped his arms around her upper arms, coming together be entwined just below her collarbone. His heart skipped into an unnatural rhythm as she put her hands over his.
"Sunsets are always beautiful, especially when there is someone with you to share them with." She whispered as her fingers slowly ran up and down his own. He didn't trust his voice at the time, so he just nodded into her hair.
The hanyou and priestess just sat silently as the red ball of fire sank below the horizon. They continued to sit as the red faded into indigo, and then deep sapphire, with small specks of crystal blinking at them. Inu-Yasha slowly took a deep breath. "You wanted to talk?" He reminded her, letting out the breath.
She shook her head slightly. "Not anymore, it can wait… Can I stay here with you?" The priestess finally whispered. She felt him nod.
"Yes," was all he said. They both fell silent, just watching the stars, she taking comfort in his strong, warm embrace, and he taking comfort from her gentle scent and touch.
((Author Notes))
How was that? I hope alright, but you need to tell me (as kindly as possible…or at least being helpful) so that I can make it better for you all. I am constantly trying to find ways to make my writing better, and all of you (that have reviewed) have done so much, so thanks. Anywho… leave a review for me, and I will update soon, promise! You all know where the button is… please push it! Until next time,
Myst