Disclaimer: I'm much too out of it to own Inuyasha. It makes sense if you take enough prescription medication, really…
A/N: Hoo boy. Slight delay here. Blame Christmas and family stuff and Life. They suck. …Well, except for Christmas.
Mmmm. Filler. Apologies to everyone hoping for actual story, but the way I am at the moment, I just might ignore my outline and do something really stupid ("Sango! You're really my half-brother!"). Yeah. Maybe something'll come up. Writing stuff now…
(Note: wrote this A/N just before New Year's, so it doesn't quite apply anymore; it does, however, provide a bit of insight as to why this chapter took so long. Moving right along--)
Beast
Chapter 32
Inuyasha knew his nose was semi-permanently attuned to Kagome's scent by now, even as he slept – he'd gotten used to keeping himself aware of his surroundings at all times after the third or fourth attempt to kill him as a child – but he was slightly surprised when he woke up feeling out of sorts, assessed his surroundings, and found that the girl had already left Miroku's room. That in itself wasn't as surprising or irritating as figuring out that he'd woken up because her scent had grown distinctly fainter. Dammit. He knew he shouldn't have let the bouzu whine his way into switching rooms again. Now the wench had one more way of screwing with his head and didn't even know it. Dammit!
Stomping down to herroomand findingKagome not in ithelped little. "Good morning," Miroku said pleasantly. The hanyou grunted, and Kohaku, who was using the TV as a backrest next to Shippou, promptly excused himself and went to go fetch their breakfasts.
"Kid needs to grow a spine," Inuyasha mumbled, sniffing the air discreetly. It was the work of an instinctive half-second to disassemble the layers of smell patterning the little room, and Kagome's was stale, from last night at the very latest. Where the hell was she?
"Not everyone is used to putting up with you, Inuyasha," Sango pointed out. She was propped up comfortably, Miroku hovering in close attendance even though she looked and smelled almost back to normal. "Kagome-chan is the exception, not the rule."
"Keh. That's why she snuck out this morning, is it?" He folded his arms into his sleeves, further irritated that she hadn't taken the bait and let him work off some energy like Kagome would have.
"Shewent to answer nature's call and saw no reason to come back and wake you afterwards," Miroku said reasonably. Inuyasha scowled. "I doubt it was meant as a personal insult." Inuyasha's eye twitched. "Kagome-sama no doubt merely wanted to avoid inconveniencing you." Twitch twitch. "It's really hardly anything to get upset abou—"
"Who the hell said I was upset?"Three sets of deadpan looks were more than his diminutive patience could withstand, and he was halfway through the shoji – almost literally, till he caught himself and slammed it open – before they could react. "If the wench comes by, tell her to keep her ass here till I get back."
Inuyasha didn't wait to see their reactions, but took off at an angry stalk down the corridors, leaving servants whispering urgently to each other behind his back. Not for the first time, he wished they didn't all think he was some kind of monster. It would've been exceedingly convenient to be able to simply stop one of them and ask where Kagome was.
He was almost to the kitchen when an idle remark from a small side room brought him to a dead halt. "Never seen such a bad case of lovesickness all me life, not even all those girls after the houshi-sama."
Why this would interest Inuyasha, he had no idea: all he knew was that his feet suddenly didn't want to move, and his ears were so rigidly attentive that he nearly expected them to somehow try to pull the rest of him through the closed shoji.
"Aye," another old woman's voice agreed sadly. "None of those girls ever stuck to 'im so close as she does to him, either."
Stupid gossip, probably talking about some brainless laundry maid and a pimply woodcutter whose voice hadn't even changed yet. That pretty much covered all the servants, he arbitrarily decided, even though he knew most of them were older and the younger ones much more presentable than that. There couldn't be any point to standing here and listening further. Why wouldn't his feet get that?
"But she's another suitor, doesn't she?" yet another wheezy voice chimed in. A light thud indicated that they were folding futons, probably in preparation to be taken out for airing. "Best to choose a man with solid breeding, I always say."
There were noises of agreement, and Inuyasha abandoned his resolution to wonder instead why they were being so damn vague. Why did they have to employ subtlety now? Was it deliberate, or just cruel coincidence?
"If she don't choose him, though, we're all…" The words trailed off into grim silence.
"It may be better for her an' for us, just let 'im get chopped an' some peace at last," the second speaker grumbled.
Inuyasha suddenly decided he liked vagueness much better. At least it didn't make him feel sick.
"The choice ain't ours, 'specially not when she's simple-hearted enough to love him." Footsteps sent him scrambling for cover even as his brain reeled. "Hold those tighter, Saya, or they'll slip. Did I tell you what that grandson of mine said to me last night?"
His ears decided that they didn't care about recalcitrant brats and relaxed, leaving him free to chew things over as he recovered his usual indifferent exterior.
Thatcrap about breeding, the suitor, and so on did sound quite a bit like himself and that damn wolf, not to mention the "peace at last" bit. But putting that together with Kagome would also mean they thought she was in love with him, and that wasn't really an option, either. At all. He didn't even know where to begin thinking about something that ridiculous.
Instead, a way around it came to mind, and he seized upon it gratefully: Well, we are talking about the same hags who still think I'm just taking a break from Sango. Irritating as the thought was, it was also very soothing, and he released a huge breath he hadn't known he'd had captive. That's another mark against 'em. Stupid dried-up crones and their damn stories are gonna drive me crazy before the damn curse is up at this rate.
Yep, that was definitely a relief. Inuyasha set off again down the hall, concentrating on the slight humor in the situation. Next thing you know, they'll be telling me Shippou is actually some kinda god in disguise or something.
He was vaguely wondering what the kit would do with unlimited powers when startled exclamations up ahead caught his ears. As he came around a corner and stopped, the source of the noise nearly flew right into him; Inuyasha pivoted on the ball of one foot and caught Kagome neatly around the waist just in time. "What the…?"
"Sorry," she said over her shoulder, grinning apologetically at the women she'd nearly knocked over. Her difficulty in standing upright and the streaks in the floor's waxy polish gave her away instantly. "I couldn't resist, and I didn't think anyone was coming this way." They bowed, murmuring apologies for impeding her.
The hanyou scowled at her. "Idiot." Kagome merely grinned wider, but Inuyasha was annoyed to see the servants' bemusement turn to disapproval, directed at him. He ignored them—so long as Kagome knew he wasn't really angry, he didn't care if they wanted to take her side. Never mind the fact that even the kids knew better than to slide on the floors… Gotta give her credit for not falling on her ass, though. "What do you think you're doing, anyway?"
"I went out to take my dose early, and I wanted to do something to get my mind off the aftertaste." She made a vividly grotesque face. "It tasted even worse today. I hope you appreciate it."
The servants remained impassive, but Inuyasha fancied he could feel their amusement as his face heated slightly. Did she have to be so damn direct? "Whatever. C'mon, it's time to eat."
Kagome shook her head, smiling a little. "I promised the kids I'd go back out to see them as soon as I told you I wouldn't be at breakfast. My appetite's pretty much shot thanks to that stuff."
"Why the hell did you take it before you ate, then?" Inuyasha caught the barest of coughs behind them, turned to scowl at the servants, and belatedly realized he was still holding Kagome's waist. He released it as if she was suddenly made of live coals.
"Itwasn't that badyesterday. Didn't make me feel like this at all." She shrugged, but her eyes were downright mischievous, and she rather casually let her bare arm brush his as she backed off slightly. If it wasn't for the servants' presence, he would've almost thought she was flirting with him…but the next moment, she was all business again, half-bowing. "Sorry for skipping out. I'll get something later if I get hungry before lunch."
"Not if I tell the kitchen staff you wasted their food," Inuyasha said absently, knowing that if he did, they'd listen solemnly, promise to be discreetly unaccommodating toward Kagome-sama at lunchtime, and then send someone to take her a packed box the moment he was gone.
"Cranky." She lightly tugged his forelock, less casual than usual. "I'll be out at the back."
"Back…?" Inuyasha shook off puzzlement and some unhealthy thoughts, sending the servants a pointed glare to deflect their avid scrutiny.
"Yep. See ya." She turned to give him a short, oddly sweeping wave, then sauntered off towards the entrance area, feet miraculously unwavering despite the wax she had to have accumulated on the bottoms.
Inuyasha couldn't stop his ears from flicking curiously. Sango had never acted like that when she took the suppressant…but then again, she'd been taking it for years. He'd have to ask the hag about it later. In the meantime… "You're dismissed." The women bowed and veered off in opposite directions as fast as their stumpy legs would move, no doubt seeking out whichever of their friends would spread gossip the fastest.
Well, this morning was shaping up to be fun already. He could deal with her being a little strange with him…he thought so, anyway…but having her run off without even Sango in tow was a little disappointing. It wasn't a big deal to admit that there was nothing else to do but keep the wench entertained, after all. Or the other way around, a little voice piped up. He told it to do something unspeakably rude, unaware that his countenance was provoking further whispering down the corridors. Now what?
Kagome knew she was in a weird mood; she'd woken up unusually energetic, and her decision to slip out without waking him was more based upon good sense than any desire to go visit Kaede for the foul-tasting stuff, which she'd been told she was really supposed to take three times a day, as she'd never had it before. I came this close to going for a marker and coming back up to draw on his face before he woke up… Definitely weird.
The brew had turned her stomachat the first sniff, but her strange liveliness hadn't diminished, and Kagome almost skipped as she went outside, to the ground level and around the side of the castle. Funny, but she'd never been so far back. It was where most of the servants slept, the younger, the further from the castle, so that the occupants thereof – who had been largely demon and endowed with sensitive, easily offended noses and ears – wouldn't be disturbed every time a lowborn infant or child woke everyone in the middle of the night.
It was a long walk with no one for company, starting out the side entrance she was accustomed to using. The shrine was on the opposite side, so that she had nothing to look at as she walked except some poorly maintained gardens, sheds, the little practice range they'd used when she tried out the bow – maybe I should pick it back up again some time – and a strange, open, empty area tucked against the very back corner of the main keep. It gave her pause by virtue of its very ordinariness, as if it was trying to tell passerby not to look.
Kagome frowned, pausing about ten yards away, and took a step toward it. Where else had she felt something like this? …No,the impression it gave wasa lot different, but the same general kind of feeling—
"Kagome-sama! What a pleasant surprise," a woman chirped behind her, and Kagome shook herself, smiling and responding politely as several girls tumbled out of the huts to greet her. It momentarily became apparent that they had been too excited to tell their mothers and aunts about the visit, but several apologies and assurances smoothed things over slightly; Kagome was invited to discuss the weather with the more elderly ladies while the girls were shepherded inside to hurriedly clean their living areas should Kagome-sama want to inspect them.
Saki rescued her from an intense discussion of chickens and their living habits – especially one particularly fat hen and an oddly splotched cockerel chasing each other around in bizarre, dizzying circles – by coming out with Hanako on her hip. "Good day, Kagome-sama. Would you like to come this way for a drink, perhaps?"
"Thank you," Kagome whispered as soon as they were out of elderly earshot—perhaps three feet away. Then, in a normal tone, she asked after the twins' health, Saki's other children, and the other servants in general. "I understand some of them have been sick?"
"Oh, no, a little weakness, nothing more, Kagome-sama," the older woman replied quickly, shifting Hanako. "Please forgive me, Kagome-sama, but I hear Yukiko—"
"Not at all. May I?" Kagome accepted the baby and Saki's words of thanks, bemused as the woman hurried off and a full-throated wail began to build from one of the back huts. Saki had doubtless been keeping an ear out for her, and Kagome, eyeing the oldsters gathered around the chicken coops, marveled at the sheer energy the women had to have to keep up with their chores, the children, and their own needs here. Of course, there was no onein the castleto take care of except her and Inuyasha, but…
Hanako fussed, and Kagome made her trademark buzzing noise. Thankfully, it worked again – tricks like that usually failed when they were needed most, in her experience – and Hanako seemed content to let the strange girl hold her for now, watching Kagome gravely.
Whew. Kagome sank to her knees in the shade, examining the baby absently in the respite before someone found her and started trying to pamper her again. The scrunched little features were beautifully compact, a soft blob of dark hair covering the baby's awkwardly shaped crown. She smells a lot like Souta did when he was really little. Despite the heat and the infant's weight, Kagome stood again, rocking her from arm to arm and humming her favorite waltz. Crap. Should've asked Saki how long she was going to be. …Well, she'd been in a hurry…but, still, Kagome couldn't very well put the baby down or go wandering around the huts like this…
A huge smile suddenly broke Kagome's absent reverie, and she grinned at the baby, unable to restrain a giggle at the thought of a pair of tiny ears atop her head. Good Lord, Inuyasha had to have been SO cute when he was born! Wonder if any of the older servants could show me in the mirror… What would a half-hanyou baby look like...?
Prickles on the back of her neck had her alert and scanning the area instantly; the old women drew back, muttering angrily amongst themselves as Kirara came forward in her large form and the girl sighed in relief. "Don't scare them like that, Kirara," Kagome advised without coming out of the shade.
The fire-cat rumbled,flaring back into her kitten size as the commotion drew out the immediate huts' occupants, who promptly exclaimed over Kagome-sama having to stand out in the heat, holding a baby, unattended, et cetera, and one of Saki's friends took Hanako, freeing Kagome to be seized by the children and politely dragged inside.
The girls were enjoying a pre-lunch break and now also got to bask in the prestige of having not only an older girl who was genuinely interested in them to show off to their friends, but Kagome-sama herself; those who joined them, not to be outdone, also wanted to show Kagome their huts, their favorite rag dolls, any precious bits of paper onto which they had managed to dab their names, a few battered hair clips and formal kimonos brought out of storage with great flourish, an old turtle shell whose origins were viciously debated till Kagome asked for a drink of water, sending them all scrambling to be good hostesses…
All were treated with appropriate respect and admiration on Kagome's part, and by the time the sun stood directly overhead, the girls' shyness and reserve were gone. As Kagome had expected, she was treated a long round of very respectfully prying questions: why she was wearing such funny clothes, why she looked like, well, another lady they used to know, where her family was, whether she was going to, well, you know—
Finally, a pair of laundry maids, aunts and mothers of several girls in Kagome's impromptu court, located the hut housing most of the noise and scolded the children for their imposition on Kagome-sama's kind patience, begging the latter to excuse their lateness in curbing the children's enthusiasm.
"Oh, no, it's really no trouble," Kagome said honestly, remembering what a treat it had been when Akemi or Nabiki had tolerated her and her friends when they were very small. That seemed to be another universal point, regardless of time or circumstance: little girls loved to have older girls to pay attention to them, and, as her own mother had once cautioned a family friend's teenage daughter in front of 5-year-old Kagome and Yuka, "They'll show you their underwear if you let them."
Well, at least I got away without a game of dress-up. She left the huts exhausted but nostalgic, as full of goodwill as she'd come, and flattered when Kirara jumped onto her shoulder to ride along the way she normally did with Sango. Their moms are probably just happy I didn't teach 'em any more farting noises. The hula hoops had also been misplaced at the earliest possible excuse, she'd noticed, and she couldn't blame them, either.
It was awfully hot, though, almost as bad as the day before yesterday. Kagome gathered the front of her light, sleeveless blue-checked dress, trying to swirl the knee-length skirt around to get some cool air moving. What's Inuyasha mad about now? Her efforts to get that scowl off his face – or at least knock some of the real grumpiness down – had seemed to confuse him. Maybe it had been a little much, but her adrenaline had been flowing, and she couldn't help it.
Kagome giggled despite herself, veering her steps off towards the woods despite Kirara's questioning mew. Whatever was in that stuff, maybe I shouldn't complain so much about the next doses. True, she'd woken up feeling uncharacteristically perky – man, what a long word…'uncharacteristically,' of course, not 'perky' – but…
But it was friggin' hot, no mistaking it. Kagome flapped her dress again. She still wasn't hungry—maybe she shouldn't go inside yet. Sango had been feeling better, and Miroku was there to take care of her anyway. If Inuyasha wanted company, well, he was a smart puppy and could find her in a snap…especially since it was so bloody hot. No way she was going in without going for a swim first. Time to switch directions, into the woods.
She just barely caught herself skipping. "Easy, Kag, you're not six years old," she murmured aloud, then yelped as she stepped on a stone the wrong way, slipped and fell directly backwards, as if the forest floor was metal and her butt magnetic. "Ow…" She eased up onto her feet, patting the area in question to ensure that it wasn't damaged. Magnets would hurt, besides the way they'd have to put 'em in in the first place, but they'd be interesting. I'd be just like…which girl was it in that one manga, with all the unbelievably pretty guys, the one who wouldn't quit whining and always got in trouble and fell down and tried to look cute a lot and got all the guys just because she was the star? What was her name…? Rhymes with an English word for poop and our word for 'idiot'…
Okay, that did it. She sounded like she usually had on her birthdays before her family's little personal version of the Great Depression, except worse. …Can't believe I forgot about that manga. Ye gods, those guys were gorgeous. Why four or five of them wanted an airhead like…the annoying girl…I remember, we spent hours trying to figure that out.
That was probably her problem, just too much nostalgia. A little exercise was definitely in order, or else she was going to make an ass of herself in the castle.
Kirara mewed again, more displeased, and Kagome explained that she wanted a swim before she headed back inside. The little cat looked stricken at the prospect of permitting oneself to get wet, but leapt down obediently. Instead of transforming, though, she scurried off ahead, confusing Kagome till she realized that the way the river curved, it was probably much faster to walk to a bend of it near the castle instead of flying to the area she knew. Besides, it only made sense for the servants to be able to get water from a close source.
Sure enough, it was less than a minute on a well-worn path to reach the water, and Kagome wasted no time kicking off her shoes, nearly running straight into the river with a laugh of sheer anticipation—and a yelp as her feet encountered cold and wet. "I know, I know!" she called at a knowing sound from the fire-cat on the bank.
Well, it was either cold or hot, and she was too sweaty to tolerate hot much longer. Emitting little squeaks at random, Kagome forced herself to wade into the frigid water, standing in brief indecision on the smooth rocks as the slow current lapped icy wetat her knees. Eh. Here goes.
Kirara went rigid with shock as her charge suddenly threw herself forward, slapping the water with her feet in a deft forward kick and soaking the fire-cat to the skin. If she had had vocal cords, Kagome was sure as she surfaced and burst out laughing at the sodden little demon's feline indignation, Kirara would have had some very choice words for her. As it was, she could only shake herself off, stalk away with utmost dignity, and curl up at a safe distance, pointedly ignoring Kagome's laughing apology.
Her body soon became accustomed to the frigid water.Aware that she was alone save for a highly disinterested Kirara, Kagome slipped back under, delighted to find that her skirt wasn't too heavy underwater for her to swim. Even when her breath ran out and she tired of kicking with the heavy material in her way – no way she was going back for her swimsuit or taking the dress off – Kagome could just surface, lie on her back, and float, letting the sun bake her face to make the occasional dip back under even sweeter as her thoughts rambled.
This reminds me of a song…well, probably a bunch of 'em, as long as I'm frolicking like this… What a stupid word. No one actually ever used it, except maybe in porn movie titles—not that she would know, of course. That definitely reminds me. What was that depressing musical I stopped listening to a while back…? It had been fairly new, but she'd put the burned CD away after only a few times through. Too ironic, dark and melancholy for her, even if she did like the music. One melody in particular,introducing the hero, a charming ne'er-do-well of a prince whose love for the unfairly reviled heroine had caused his death, or something like that, she didn't care to remember…well, at least his first number was happy, in a cynical kind of way.
Even as Kagome grimaced, she had to laugh. Lying around like this was eerily perfect, almost too well-suited for that song. Something about dancing through something, totally inappropriate yet appealing the first time she'd heard it on her Discman as she cleaned out the bathroom…despite herself, she could still remember several verses.
Kirara's ears lifted from her snoozing form as Kagome's voice drifted from the middle of the river, singing words that would have bemused the cat had she understood English.
Pleased by her lack of rustiness, Kagome continued, skipping around or substituting forgotten words freely with no one around to criticize or know the difference.It was fun to pretend she had no obligations but to swim around and annoy Kirara with her singing for now, though. And in all this space, she could hear that her vibrato wasn't bad at all. If she worked at it, she might actually be an okay singer some day.
Oooh, that last note was fun. She'd have to try holding it longer next time. In the meantime, though, her body was indicating that swimming and singing was for mermaids, not human girls in operatic moods, and it was tired of supporting her for now. Her shoulder also reminded her politely that the bruise wasn't entirely gone, and she usually liked to heed those kinds of warnings.
The dripping cotton dressbegan to smother her the moment she reluctantly left the water, stepped onto a relatively dirt-free patch to avoid muddying herself and lay down comfortably, head pillowed on her arms. Sunlight mercifully lifted as the sky clouded over, and Kagome let out a long sigh. This is the life.
Another song popped up, and as she placed it and dredged up some lyrics, Kagome smiled a little. Going from carelessness to wild hope, another song she'd liked. It tended to make her think extremely unlikely but pleasant things.Maybe she could appeal to Kikyou…and maybe Inuyasha would hit his head, forget about the priestess, and declare his love for her instead for absolutely no reason, so she could accept him without reservation, and then Kouga would leave her alone, and Sesshoumaru would disappear, and her family could go live in the Bahamas and they'd all live happily ever after. …But if he hit his head, he wouldn't remember to propose. …But if he loved me, he might anyway.
Really. She was getting soft in the head again. Sobered by her own idiocy, Kagome stretched out, catlike, twisting her cooled muscles into a more comfortable position as the energy seemed to seep out of her, into the grass under her back.Then she flung her forearm over her eyes, still-chilled flesh scalding her hot eyes. If that stuff she was taking was supposed to keep Inuyasha from attacking her in a few days, she wasn't even sure she wanted to take it—
No! Kagome forced herself to sit upright, dragged herself to the water, and slipped her feet in, letting the cold shock her back into some semblance of good sense and out of thoughts she'd thought buried safely. I'm not going to throw myself at him and hope he'll take me anyway. I'm not desperate enough to seduce him. I'm not. She edged herself in up to the waist, sitting half submerged. He's not mine, and he's not going to be, so get your mind out of the gutter, Kag, or you're just gonna embarrass everyone. Tears threatened again. Where was that unnaturally good mood now? Does that stuff induce PMS early and get it out of the way, or what?
Almost unthinkingly, she dove forward into the water, not noticing that Kirara was gone till she kicked to the bottom, spent a few long moments staring up at the dully sparkling surface, arched up…and spotted a familiar pair of bare feet standing right where she'd been sitting.
Gloom vanished almost instantly, and from her vantage point just under the surface, Kagome smiled. Was he looking for her? She slowed her strokes and made her way towards the banks, swimming toward him at an angle he couldn't see without being under as well.
Inuyasha couldn't believe he'd lost sight of her. He'd tracked her from the servants' huts to the river, and as she started singing yet another other-language thing – honestly, how many did she know? – he'd come forward and indicated to Kirara that he would take over guarding her. The cat had been only too glad to relinquish her post, and Inuyasha's amusement and care to avoid being seen had worked against him: he had been watching the forest and listening in absent approval to the snatches of song, only looking for her when sound and scent disappeared under the water. Now it was almost a minute later, and he was rapidly approaching the outskirts of panic. "Kagome?" He'd even stepped into the river, too worried and irritated to enjoy the cold on his feet or mind being in non-bath water. "Oi! This isn't funny, dammit!"
Nothing. No bubbles, and when he angled his head to look further out, he could see plenty of fish, rocks, grass, water, and a notable lack of Kagome. Where the hell was she? She was too unnatural to drown, he told himself repeatedly, scanning the river. He'd seen her swimming around likesome kind of scaleless fish, and she hadn't had time to…had she? "Kagome, get your ass out here! Now!"
"Something wrong, oji-chan?"
Inuyasha whirled around, and he had the briefest impression of his niece standing a few feet away with an odd silver shape held to her eye before a flash blinded him. "What the…" He stumbled back, raising an arm to swipe at his vision. "What the hell did yahhhOW!"
Shimoko raised an eyebrow at the splash as his heel slipped and he fell heavily backwards, tailbone jarring painfully on a large rock; he was too angry to notice another flash, though, as Kagome's head had popped up just under the lip of the bank's edge to swim over where he was now sprawled on his back in freezing water, and the wench had the temerity to look amused as well as concerned. "Are you okay, Inuyasha?"
"What the fuck makes you think I'd be okay?" Inuyasha lunged forward and grabbed her forearms, heedless of how his hair and clothes were getting soaked as he shook her angrily, barely minding his strength or claws. "Don't ever do that again! What if something had grabbed you under there! Do you think it's funny to scare the shit of me like that, or were you just too brain-dead to think of it?" Before Kagome could do more than flinch, Inuyasha yanked her off balance, catching her awkwardly against his chest. One sodden red sleeve thumped her back as his arm looped around her shoulders, pressing her so closely that she could feel him trembling, heart thumping impossibly fast. "You idiot!"
"I was over there, against the bank," Kagome said lamely, ducking her head unconsciously in shame. She had no clue he would get that worked up. But, then again, why wouldn't he? She could hold her breath much longer than most people…
Too remorseful to look up, Kagome tried to burrow into the wet haori. "I'm really sorry."
"Stupid moron. Don't ever scare me like that again, or I'll…" What he would do was never made clear, but she understood the way his cheek rested against her wet hair and his arms kept her gently trapped against him just fine, and Kagome relaxed into him.
"Stupid." The whisper sounded odd, so unlike his worried recrimination that Kagome pushed herself up to look him in the eye. He was looking at her, almost distantly, but when she flushed and tried to pull back, hands on her upper arms kept her in place. Her face heated further. What's he doing now?
What he was doing was thinking of the servants, and their stupid theories, and their mindless gossip and harebrained conclusions. He'd been trying to ignore it, but she wasn't exactly helping right now…
If Kagome seemed more tolerant of him, even seemed to like him where no one else ever had, that didn't mean she was in love with him. She wasn't that stupid. If she liked being around him, he could chalk it up to her weird notions of friendship. If she didn't mind touching him and was genuinely upset with herself for upsetting him now, it just meant she was a good person. If she'd kissed him—
He didn't mean it, really, but he was only…well, half human, but entirely male, and adrenaline and relief ignited an oft-ignored corner of his brain, which now sprang to life, cut in and finished for him, while the rest gaped and stuttered in shock: if she'd kissed him before, she wouldn't mind if he tried it now, right? Right. …Would she? Only one way to find out.
Kagome didn't quite understand what was happening till it happened. One second, a thoughtful look. The next, a gentle pull on her forearms and ruby eyes drifting alarmingly close. Half another and her cold lips suddenly weren't so cold anymore, her vision obscured by a near-closed eye and striped cheek. Wet fingers trailed up her bare arms; she leaned up and closed her eyes, began to lean up harder—
Flash and the warmth was gone, the imprint of light dancing under her left eyelid. Inuyasha had jerked his head away, whirling her around so that he was between her and the bank. "What the hell was that?"
"Didn't Auntie explain what a camera does, oji-chan? The flash probably isn't necessary, but it is a bit cloudy now, after all." Shimoko did not smirk or otherwise tease them as Inuyasha looked up at her, then down at Kagome's wide-eyed, mortified expression.
Then he suddenly recalled information about cameras he'd received one very short, angry conversation almost two months ago, looked at Kagome's face again, and realized what she'd just caught them doing. "You didn't!"
"You need to give me more information than that before I can deny or confirm doing something, you know." The demoness was looking at the object, the camera, and fiddling around, making little sounds completely alien to Inuyasha's indignant ears. "I didn't…what?"
"Shimoko-san, why did you do that?" Kagome asked plaintively, almost childishly, from behind Inuyasha's rigid back. She'd thought Shimoko liked her, too!
"It would've been criminal not to, dear Auntie. You may treasure this some day, after all." She tossed it casually from hand to hand. "Ask oji-chan what he was doing kissing you when he knew I was here."
"You did?" Kagome asked, the same time Inuyasha snarled, "It's none of your damn business!"
"Yes, he did, and we've established that it is my business already, oji-chan." Her tone hardened. "Here are the things you requested, Auntie. If you'd like to start now, I believe lunch is over." Kagome took the hint and the opportunity to get up, giving Inuyasha the briefest and sweetest of embarrassed smiles before she climbed out.
Inuyasha tried not to notice the way the wet cotton clung to her, failed spectacularly, and was further annoyed to notice Shimoko noticing, though she mercifully kept quiet and made no move to use the camera again. He stared at the water instead as the sun emerged from the clouds, baking them steadily.
Shimoko said something else to Kagome, and when he glanced up at the sound of footsteps, the girl was gone, his niece kneeling not far off. "Well…"
"Well what?" Inuyasha steeled himself.
"Well, the suppressant's failing spectacularly. Her cycle's going to start too soon for that." He frowned suspiciously at her crisp, objective tone. She ignored him and held up her palm, letting a small box fall into it out of thin air. "Here's the item you requested last time. I'll send it to your room—" The box was gone before he could inspect it further. "And I've also a small something to give her. I was going to wait, but at this rate, you'd best give them to her and tell her to put them on immediately."
Inuyasha sat up, hauling himself out of the water, scowling as she wrinkled her nose ever so slightly at his smell. Her voice remained even, though, and she pulled another box from nowhere with a little flourish. "See…" Shimoko held it up on one palm, passed her free hand over it twice, and swept the lid off without appearing to touch it the second time. "Ta-da!"
"What the…?" Inside the box, on some downy white stuff that reeked of overpowering perfume, was a little nest of metal loops, two gold and two silver, all etched with curving designs. "I don't want this crap."
"Idjit." Shimoko flicked the lid from where she'd concealed it between her fingers, thumping him square on the nose. "For one, it's not for you, remember? It's for Kagome, but you also benefit. And for another, these cost more than twice what her father's house in Tokyo did when they were still wealthy, so you'd best appreciate it."
"And how do I benefit from this…stuff?" Inuyasha gingerly lifted one loop with his claws, surprised at the metal's delicacy. "It's too small to go on her neck."
"There are four bands there, oji-chan. She has four limbs, and jewelry is fairly common nowadays. Do a bit of arithmetic." Shimoko neatly snatched the gold loop from him. "Now, listen carefully, because this spell is very intricate."
That got his undivided attention, and he obediently took the box as she indicated he should hold it while she put them on. To his surprise, she slipped each gold loop over a wrist, and managed to wrangle the silver onto her ankles with more difficulty. "I hate putting these damn things on. Never did like anklets…"
That said, she held out her arms, and the breeze shifted to her back, wafting directly into Inuyasha's face. "Notice anything?"
Inuyasha prepared himself for the blast of Fluffy/Naraku scent…and blinked. The residue of his niece's smell was still there, on the box he was holding and the ground where she'd stood, but the more the wind blew, the less of Shimoko he could smell. That should have been impossible, so long as she was there to give scent off. "What happened to…?"
"Yep! As long as I wear these, no smell." Shimoko removed the gold bracelets, and suddenly her scent was so strong that he almost gagged on it. She scowled. "Something else worth mentioning: she can wear the gold to diminish her scent without extinguishing it, but the silver alone will emphasize it. I bought these with a mind to keep her from having to take that awful stuff, but sometimes you'll find the silver quite useful, too—mind out of the gutter, oji-chan! I was referring to bad weather, illness on your part, or any other case in which you might need to track her scent." His look remained stubbornly skeptical, though inwardly he was already wondering how in the hell he was going to repay her for the convenience. "That's it, really, for now, though I've also been asked by Kouga to deliver something while his cohorts are busy playing in Hawaii…"
Inuyasha snarled reflexively, but the obvious followup to that remark evaded him as Shimoko, cursing, removed the anklets and placed them back in the box, her camera swinging from a wrist strap. He coughed, trying to sound casual. "When does that thing make those picture things?"
"When I tell it to." Shimoko smiled faintly, but she lapsed into silence, and whether he was grateful to avoid her nagging about Kagome or disappointed in not being able to satisfy his sudden curiosity about what it looked like on that thing, he didn't know.
He did know a second later, when she bowed and raised her hand to transport herself away. "Oi!" It came out so gruffly that Shimoko stopped dead, both eyebrows raised. Inuyasha swallowed, looking around despite himself, and his niece drew a little closer, expression elaborately casual to encourage what was evidently going to be an interesting question. "Do…" He glanced around again, and it took all of Shimoko's patience and training not to squirm or urge him on. "Do girls now do…that…a lot?"
Silence. Shimoko's eyebrows nearly joined her elegant hairline. "You mean kissing?"
"Does it mean anything?" Inuyasha's face rivaled the shade of his eyes, head bowed and voice so low that a human wouldn't have known he'd spoken. "Just yes or no."
Shimoko composed herself, speaking as neutrally as she knew how—considering she had well over a century of listening to Sesshoumaru to her credit, this was saying quite a bit. "Well, attitudes and rules governing courtship have changed a great deal, and modern girls will often kiss or…become intimate with males they don't necessarily intend to marry—but girls with integrity never do so unless at least some degree of feeling is involved, and fidelity is still highly prized." She let that hang, then added, almost as an afterthought, "If she makes the first move, especially, you shouldn't assume that she's permissive with every male she knows unless you've observed it firsthand, and you have an advantage over human males when it comes to detecting that sort of thing." He caught and accepted the subtle rebuke with a short nod. "You're very lucky in that the females you know are very closely committed, one way or another. It's simply up to you to decide the next step."
Inuyasha couldn't help snorting. "Kagome's not committed to anyone. She already told me."
Shimoko didn't answer, but her scent remained steady, discounting the possibility that she'd disappeared as the seconds ticked by. He hazarded a glance up at her downturned face, light playing on her features from the thing in her hands. "What're you looking at?"
"A fairly solid commitment." A glance, cryptic as her tone. The brightness flicked off, and Shimoko was gone in a whisper of wind.
What the hell was that supposed to mean? Inuyasha's brows knitted. He gazed up at the forest on the opposite bank and blanched as rapidly as he'd just been blushing. "Kikyou!"
The priestess said nothing. She looked at him, head tilting slightly to one side, and drifted backwards, losing herself amongst the trees. Inuyasha stood by the river alone, letting his haori drip freely, and let his mind wander, more confused than he'd been in a long, long time.
Kagome was delighted at the speed with which the kitchen workers agreed to help her in cutting up and preparing the things she brought in as they began to prepare dinner, and even happier with the way the final product turned out.
"It looks delicious, Kagome-sama," one freckle-faced girl told her earnestly.
"Thanks, Koharu." Kagome swept away the last of the apple shavings, giving the bowl one last shake. "Do you want to try it first, or should we go find Inuyasha first?"
"I believe Inuyasha-sama and the houshi-sama are having a practice match in the second courtyard," a woman remarked thoughtfully.
Kagome blinked. That was new. To her knowledge, they hadn't done so for well over a month, at least. "I guess we should go tell them it's ready so we can eat it before supper."
Sango wasn't in the room, which had the unused feel of a place that hasn't recently been occupied, so Kagome shrugged it off and went outside. From there, the duel was easy to locate from the sounds of grunting, sword striking staff, and cursing.
"Hey, Sango-chan," she greeted her friend as the little crowd of lingering servants parted respectfully for her. "What're they doing? Besides the obvious."
The slayer rolled her eyes. "Inuyasha was feeling out of sorts, so he challenged the houshi-sama to a duel to work it off. They have a wager going, too."
"Oh, really?" Kagome watched Miroku gracefully dodge a double-handed swing and retaliate with a series of quick jabs with the razor-edged staff head. She took more interest in the exercise as it dawned on her what Miroku would ask if he won. "Hoo, boy…"
"What's that, Kagome-chan?" Sango had spotted the little bowl in Kagome's hands.
"Oh, it's—"
The fight was very abruptly over. The sound of Inuyasha's head meeting the ground startled everyone in the vicinity, and Kagome made a face at Miroku's show of kneeling next to Inuyasha to make sure the hanyou was all right.
"…my fault you cheated!" the loser was hissing as they approached. If the purpose had been to make him feel better, Kagome judged that it had rather fallen short. Inuyasha looked more apoplectic than relaxed. "I want a rematch!"
"Too late," the monk said lightly, hopping nimbly over a swipe at his ankles and coming over to them with a bow. "Witnessed, I hope?"
"Nope, we weren't watching," Kagome said honestly, and Miroku's head fell to the side with a dramatic sigh.
"You lost fairly, Inuyasha," Sango told him, scowling. Kagome was relieved to see that she was largely back to her normal self, standing unaided and unwavering under Inuyasha's glare. "You know the conditions set before the fight."
"Yeah, yeah, but it's one more night. That's it, or I'll skin you both myself." Inuyasha slammed Tetsusaiga back into its sheath and stalked past them, ignoring Kagome's attempt to get his attention.
"Let me guess…" Kagome would have put her head in her hands if not for the bowl. "I'm bunking with Grumpypants again tonight?"
"And all by virtue of Inuyasha's gullibility." Miroku was nearly beaming, and both women looked at him warily. He raised his hands at the unspoken accusation. "Now, now, my dearest ladies, I only suggested that I wondered why Kagome-sama would come out here unclothed, and he was simple enough to take my suggestion at—"
A swift blow cut him off, and Sango raised her fist again threateningly as he protested that the fault lay with Inuyasha for succumbing to such an obvious diversion. Kagome didn't know whether to laugh or join in the beating, and settled with heaving a sigh as she headed back inside, leaving them to argue and entertain the servants who had missed the fight. Shippou would appreciate the treat, even if no one else would.
"There you are."
It was nearly dusk by the time Kagome found him. He was in their usual dining room, even though there was no food set out and she'd already eaten with the others. She sat down, squinting across the table at him in the nearly nonexistent light. "You okay?"
He grunted, and she opted not to tease him. "Here…" She set the bowl down on the little table, prying the lid off and shaking the syrup from its underside as he peered in noncommittally. "It's something Mom used to make for us on hot days. You can bake 'em when it's cold, but I like these better."
As he looked for chopsticks, Kagome shook her head, reached into the bowl, and daintily picked out a sliver of apple, popping it into her mouth quickly. "They're apple slices. Apples are a kind of fruit, very good for you, and these are a little on the sweet side. I added some other spices and stuff, so you might not like it, but I wanted to offer anyway." She giggled. "Shippou and Kohaku almost came to blows over it."
"That bad, huh?" Inuyasha speared a piece on one claw and ate it carefully, glad for the darkness. Otherwise, she might've caught his expression of surprise at how little he hated the stuff. He speared another.
"It's not much, just apple slices, some light syrup, brown sugar and cinnamon," Kagome said conversationally, waiting for him to take another before she reached in. "So…looks like I'm up here again tonight."
He grunted. She'd already bathed and eaten, so she'd probably want to go to sleep now. "Well, it's not…like…" Memory deftly whapped him upside the head. "Oh, yeah, Shimoko had something for me to give you."
The mention of the demoness had her face red almost instantly, but Inuyasha was already up, grabbing another slice as he stood and went back into his room, leaving her little choice but to follow.
The silence was a little awkward, and she tried to think of something lighthearted to say. But the vestiges of her dark mood from the river crept over her as they walked, and Kagome nearly squirmed with self-consciousness as she settled to her knees just inside his room.
"Here." Inuyasha grabbed a box from under his futon and thrust it at her, retreating to his haunches a few feet away. "Put 'em on so I can explain what they do."
Kagome swallowed hard, stuffing down all sorts of things she wasn't supposed to be feeling. There was a pair of braziers lit near the window, and she moved near them, lifted the lid, and caught her breath.
"You owe Shimoko," Inuyasha grumbled, kicking his futon's cover aside and sitting on it so he wouldn't have to look at her. "You can tell the hag you don't have to take that crap from her any more." He was too angry with Miroku for putting them in this situation, too busy trying to remember what the things did, to realize he'd said something reasonably amusing without meaning to. An irate glance at her: she wasn't moving, just staring at the box. "What, you've never seen those things before?"
"Things?" Kagome swallowed again, and she squinted at him in confusion. "There's…there's only one."
Inuyasha muttered under his breath and came up beside her to look at the box. To her dismay, he growled deeply, slamming to his feet and stalking away. "Fuck."
"Wha…?"
"I gave you the wrong one." He dug under the futon, located the other, nearly identical box, and stopped just short of throwing the damn thing at her. He closed his eyes, forcing himself to relax. Relax. Deep breaths, no snarling or shouting or treating her like this was her fault. …Well, it was, but it wasn't, not really, nothing to justify yelling at her.
"Then what is this?" Kagome lifted the strip of black velvet from her box, fingering the dark grey pearl that dangled from the middle. On each end was a tiny catch. "Inuyasha, this is…"
"One of those choking things you were talking about." He wanted to melt into the floor. Why had he asked Shimoko to get it? Kagome was just staring at the thing, winding it through her slender fingers, and each second she didn't say anything made him feel more like being somewhere else. He'd vaguely meant to give it to her later, maybe with a note so he wouldn't have to embarrass himself, and instead...ugh.
Finally she turned her face up to him. Her mouth opened, closed and lips pressed into a thin line. "Unless you've developed some kind of fetish, I'm guessing this is for me." She'd said she wanted one. He'd listened.
Inuyasha nodded mutely, unprepared for the turn of her back and upsweep of her hair into one hand, exposing her neck and the beginning of shoulders. "Hold my hair so I can try it on."
He dearly would've liked to refuse, but his limbs moved of their own accord, directing him to sit behind her and gently take the dark, soft mass away from her.Whatever the reason for the suppressing herbs' opposite effect on her body, it was making it very difficult to keep himself still as she took up the black band, set it low against her throat, and brought the ends around the back.
For a moment, he was sure the thing would be too tight, wincing as she carefully tried to fasten it, willing her to stop squeezing the delicate flesh…her neck had to be in pain under so much pressure, he wanted to make her put the thing down instead of…but, no, the ends caught and the clasps were fastened, smoothed under her fingers, and Kagome twisted around to look at him, head held back proudly to display it. "There." It was almost a challenge, he thought distantly. "How's it look? Hideous?"
It was beautiful, the pearl resting demurely in the tiny hollow of her throat as if it'd been measured and created just to do so, black velvet accentuating and restraining flawless white so casually that its very modesty drew the eye like flaming red.
It was beautiful, a pretty complement to a well-shaped neck, and he hated it.
"You're still holding my hair." Kagome's mouth was dry.
"Take that thing off." His arm circled her waist, hand resting on her hip so carelessly that her flesh burned. Breath tinged the back of her neck with warmth, curiously dead where the velvet kept him from her.
"I want to at least see it after all that trouble." Kagome had no idea how she was still able to speak. She was so lightheaded that her lean back into him wasn't entirely voluntary. Did someone put something in the apples?
"You can see the damn thing later." He pressed her side gently without knowing it, and he started when she grasped his hand, bringing it into the light to examine it, turning it over in her pale fingers. He shuddered at the contrast, his dark, knife-tipped hand a travesty against hers, and shuddered at the touches between his fingers, over his palm, creeping under his skin till he was shaking all over, as if the muggy air was unbearably cold.
For once, Kagome knew what she was doing, and, impossibly, all she could do was lean back harder, letting his trembling weight fall against her as she kneaded his palm. The hand in her hair drifted down to her front and fell into her lap.
"Kagome." Her name hung in the air, and she released him, spinning away and to her feet so fast that she almost stumbled.
"What was the other thing, the one Shimoko got for me?" Kagome's knees weren't quite steady, but her voice mimicked it admirably. Too close. The next time I see Miroku, I'm gonna...
"You said you wanted one." Inuyasha's eyes were still closed, and he spoke as if he was half asleep. She wasn't the only one feeling it, then... "Why did you want a collar?"
"Why did you get it for me?"
"You wanted it. I didn't know what it was." His eyes almost opened. "You need to put the bracelets on."
Kagomewas nearly convinced now that someone had slipped something into the apples and he was babbling, till Inuyasha made himself grab the box, showed her the jewelry and explained the purpose. But even as her scent disappeared, the graceful metal decorations bothered him, and his strange, resentful languor lingered.
"They're pretty." Kagome extended her arms and legs, watching the things slide off her wrists and catch on her ankles, glittering in the braziers' light. Her loose yukata was nice, he thought, it didn't mock him like her dress had. The collar and bindings were bad enough.
His feet took control again, making his legs carry him over to her, but his arms didn't quite share their resolve, raising halfway to her shoulders, then falling limp, twitching toward her wrists with no real purpose. Why couldn't he shake her off with her scent gone? What would happen if he lost his head again? Did she love him? Was it his imagination, the herbs, the choker? How much had Kikyou heard? Had she seen them? Did it matter?
"Inuyasha?" Kagome looked up, looked into him, and he shook his head, brushing past her roughly. She turned with him. "Inuyasha!"
"Going," he mumbled, and it wasn't till he was outside and gulping fresh air that he realized that she still hadn't taken the black band off. Shit. Why that would make him so angry, he didn't know, but he was suddenly livid. Shit! All he wanted was a few answers, not someone constantly playing with his stupid fuzzy head.
Fuzzy. She'd called him that that first night, along with a few other things. Would she call him that again if he provoked her enough?
No, provoking her would just hurt her now that they knew each other. Of course she'd fight with him, but it wasn't the same. Over a month to go of the curse still, and things were most definitely not the same.
At least her scent wouldn't bother him now. That was a load off his mind so profound that it almost made him dizzy. He let relief flood through him as he came back inside, wandering past his room and through the corridors, not permitting himself any memories of when the third floor had been the most crowded, the most important in the castle, and his prison till he learned he could escape outside for a little while every night and some days. Now, he really didn't care where he was, so long as that annoying wench was there…
"Oh, aye,she was watching him again today."
The same cracked old voice that had stopped him this morning. It was in a room just ahead. He stopped.
"Yes, yes, Mother," a younger, barely middle-aged woman said patiently. "Go bring this down to the kitchens, would you please?"
Creaky footsteps shuffled out and in off in the opposite direction. Inuyasha wondered if she knew that she was going the wrong way.
"Was she talking about her again today?" another middle-aged female asked, sounding amused.
"I'm afraid so." The daughter sighed. "Mother's really getting a little simple."
Inuyasha nodded fervently to no one in particular. Of course. There was nothing.
"Indeed. Even if he's half-blood—"
Inuyasha tensed. His fists curled, and it was on the tip of his tongue to snarl at them that he was sick of hearing it, and besides, she didn't care. She never—
"—he's just a rooster, after all."
Blink.
…Rooster?A dry chuckle. "Yes, she does tend to project stories onto strange things, but reenacting our predicament with the chickens is a bit much."
Chickens?"Next thing you know, she'll be calling that odd-colored, ill-mannered bird Inuyasha, and we'll be in real trouble."
Ill…mannered…"She does have a point in that his mother was the best layer we've ever had, never mind the different breeds, but talking herself into a great love story…" They shared a laugh. "If we have fewer eggs from her out of one male or the other, it won't be the end of the world."
"Tell that to your mother."
"Oh, my, no. Then she might start taking an interest in dung beetles instead."
A/N: There. Had to split it out of what was a 35-page chapter in Word; bf is leaving day after tomorrow, so I just might have the rest of it up very, very soon. Sorry again for the long interval.
...WOW. The site continues to mash words together against my will. Siiiigh... Well, till next time, peace out.