Chapter 4: Sunsets and Sunrises
Kagome awoke early in the morning, before the sun had even had a chance to peak over the horizon. She decided that she wanted to get a good start on the day, so she slid from her warm sheets and made her bed. As she opened the dresser drawer, careful not to wake Sango, she stole a glance at her best friend. Her face was peaceful, free of any emotion, and Kagome smiled. She didn't get to see her friend like this very often. Sango's features almost always held some form of sadness, and Kagome could only guess it was because she had never had a chance to know her real parents, or a brother who had died at birth with her mother. Sango had never known what had happened to her father though…
Kagome tore her gaze away from the sleeping girl, and grabbed a pair of jeans and shirt that said, "Tell your Boyfriend to stop staring at me" and changed her clothes. She closed the door silently and went outside.
She sat in a patch of grass facing towards the sunrise and watched the sun crawl upwards. The place where she chose to sit was still wet with the morning dew, the beads of water clinging to the blades of grass.
This is the kind of place I want to live in, she thought. Kagome had never liked the stuffy city in which she lived. She hated the rough concrete and tall buildings. When she grew up, she planned on living in the country, far away from that concrete prison they call a city. Where, she could climb trees and read books and go swimming in the lake she had near her home in the forest… that was what she imagined her home to be like when she got out of college and started writing. Oh, how she loved writing. Whether it be books, poems or even papers for history. It was the one true passion she held very close to her heart, and no one even knew about it. Not even her own mom.
And music, Kagome added. She could get lost in any type of music; country, rock, rap, you name it. As soon as the their notes reached her ears, it soothed her in a way that nothing else could.
She was so deep in her thoughts that she didn't hear someone approach from behind.
"Do you always wake up at the butt crack of dawn?" Kagome jumped and turned to see who had intruded in on her thoughts.
"Oh, it's you," she said heaving a sigh of relief as she finally got a glimpse of Inuyasha. "And no I don't, I just woke up and decided that I wanted to see the sunrise. I remember when I was a little girl; my father and I used to camp for whole summers. And sometimes I would wake up before the dawn and wake him just so that we could watch the sunrise together. We'd do that every summer before he died when I was eight… I loved those trips…I would give anything to see him again…" Kagome was once again lost in her thoughts, her eyes full of memory and sadness and happiness all at once.
"You really loved him didn't you?" he said.
"Yes," replied Kagome, only half listening.
"My father is still alive and he doesn't show anything resembling love, I mean if even recognized my existence once in a while that would be better than normal." said Inuyasha, wondering all the while Why the hell am I even telling her this?
Kagome didn't know how to respond to that, so she put a hand on his shoulder and squeezed it trying to comfort him. She could see a look in his eyes that were filled with a sullen resignation and she could how hardened they had become. He was past that now. Inuyasha had excepted that his father hated him a long time ago.
"But my mother, she was wonderful. She could light up my day any time I saw her. She was murdered when I was five, and I never really got over it. She was the one person who loved me." he finished now lost in thoughts of his own.
"I can't imagine your pain, but I don't know what I'd do if my mother died," Kagome said, and she moved her hand down to his and squeezed it too. They stayed that ways, hand in hand watching the sun creep into the sky. What they didn't know was that somebody was watching them. Two somebodys', in fact.
"They look so good together, they would make a great couple," said Sango with stars in her eyes.
"We should get them together, I've never seen Inuyasha let anybody hold his hand," added Miroku.
"Let's make a deal. We'll interfere and try to get them alone whenever we can. I already know that Kagome likes Inuyasha, and I think he likes her, because of the way he asked if she was one." Sango emphasized the last word so that Miroku would get the hint. "He was trying to make it sound as if he didn't care," she giggled at the memory, "Maybe we could lose them in the nature walk somehow…" Sango drifted off, already thinking of a way to get them together.
"Come on everyone, let's get a move on! We've got a long way to go," said Rin. Everyone groaned except for Kagome. She loved doing this, even if she knew what most of the plants that they were talking about. Rin walked up to a certain plant.
"This plant I want everyone to remember. I'm sure you've heard of it before. It's poison oak. It has three points on each leaf. It can be very irritating, but it can also be deadly to allergic people. And … Miroku! What are you doing! That's highly poisonous!" screamed Rin.
Miroku had picked up a blue and orange spotted frog to inspect it thoroughly. But once Rin had screamed, he dropped it at once.
"Let me see your hands." She said trying to keep her cool.
When he held them out, Rin could see that they were turning from a healthy pink to a burning red. That's when she lost her composure. "We have to get you to the nurse right away! If anyone wants to come, then follow, the rest have the day off." Rin said, already walking off.
"I'll go, you guys can stay here," said Sango, right behind them.
"That's gotta hurt," Kagome grimaced. She then started walking off deeper into the forest. "What an idiot," he said looking in the direction of the prevert's departure "Where are you going?" asked Inuyasha.
"Exploring," she called back. "You can come with me, if you want,"
Once Inuyasha caught up he said, "Why not, I don't have anything better to do,"
Kagome smiled.
They walked and talked and argued together for a long time before they came upon a clearing in the forest. Inside, there was a cliff and a river running over the edge, creating a beautiful waterfall dropping into a vast lake.
"Its incredible," said Kagome awed. Inuyasha smiled, "Yeah it is," he said, looking at her face. Her eyes danced over the scene, a happiness in them that he hadn't see before. He suddenly wished he could be the reason of her joyous expression. What? He asked his subconscious.
When Kagome had stopped staring at the scenery just in time to see Inuyasha turn away blushing.
She thought that her eyes were playing tricks on her so she dismissed it as nothing. Boy, it's hot she fanned herself for a moment before she got an idea.
"Inuyasha, turn around," she said.
"Why wench?" he replied, confused. "Just do it, and stop calling me wench. I have a name you know. Its Kagome," And he turned around without another question.
Kagome took off her backpack and made sure there was a way back up to the cliff. Then she threw off her shirt and said, "No peeking," she said, playfully. And she took off her shorts and shoes and socks. Now, only in her bra and underwear she walked to the edge of the cliff and dived.
The water was cool and refreshing to her sweaty body. When her head broke the surface and she threw her now sopping hair back behind her. She felt unbelievable.
When Inuyasha heard something splash, he turned around and ran to the edge of the cliff, and he saw Kagome break the surface of the lake. She looked like a goddess. And when she threw her head back, the water in her hair made it gleam. It took all that of Inuyasha's self control to keep his jaw from dropping to the ground. He slapped himself mentally.
"Come on in, the water's great," Kagome called up.
"What the hell are you doing?" he yelled down.
"Taking a swim, what does it look like?" she said. "Now come on in, I won't look,"
"Alright," he said. He smiled in spite of himself. He had never met anyone like Kagome that was for sure. He pulled off his shirt and jeans ran and jumped.
Inuyasha's cannonball made small waves go in Kagome's direction, but he didn't come up. Kagome looked around worried. She was just about to go under water when she felt someone grab her from behind, and all she had time to do was squeal before that someone pulled her under water.
When they came back up, she squealed, "Inuyasha!" before squirming to get free.
"What are you doing, you can't get away," he said laughing. He turned her around, while still keeping hold firm on her waist. "Hey," she let out her protest. She put both hands on his chest trying to get away. Then she looked into his face and saw a smirk the size of Texas and then into his laughing eyes. They were the most vibrant deep green orbs she had seen in her life. She let out a small gasp that was barely audible.
Inuyasha noticed that she had stopped struggling and looked down into her eyes. They were a beautiful blue-gray that bored back into his. They stared into each other's eyes for what seemed like centuries.
Then, on impulse, Inuyasha leaned down and met his lips to hers. At first, she didn't respond, but the she closed her eyes and slipped her arms around his neck.
When they broke apart, for breath, Kagome looked like she was walking on water. That was her first kiss, and to say in the least, it felt pretty good. She looked back up at his face and saw that he was blushing. He started to say, "I'm sorry," but was cut off when Kagome covered his mouth with hers.
When they broke apart again, Kagome's lips twisted into a mischievous smirk. She wiggled her way out of his arms and splashed water in his face. "And you said I wouldn't get away," she laughed and swam in another direction. Inuyasha floated there for a minute stumped.
"Oh, no you don't," Inuyasha said, finally swimming towards her. They played until the sun started to dip back down over the horizon. Kagome now sat in Inuyasha's lap, his arms wrapped around her both still half-naked and dried. And as she listened to the waterfall, and watched the sunset, she realized that this was the first time in a long while that she was truly content. She leaned her head back and looked up at his face and thought he was even more gorgeous in the fading light. He met her gaze, and kissed her for the third time that day, while the sun sank into the purple mountains. It was the first time he had kissed a girl in 500 years.
sorry the previous chappies are so short but they will be longer now!
And I revised all previous chappies so re-read them!