Chapter 5: Nighttime Whispers

"You know, when I said that we should anything we can to get them alone, didn't mean anything. Especially not something hazardous your health," said Sango, looking down at Mirokou's now bandaged hands.

"You think I did this on purpose? I just wanted to see that weird looking frog up close. No one ever told me not to touch the bright colored animals," said an annoyed Miroku. "I thought that's the kind of thing you learned in camp,"

The nurse, Yura, came back in the room. "I'm going to take the wraps off, and put some more ointment on them, they should be fine by morning, and if they aren't, then come back and see me." she said taking the white cloth from his hands.

Miroku's hands had bulged to two their normal size. They had turned from a bright red to a dark purple and back to their slightly pinkish healthy color in an hour. After the nurse had put some medicine on them, he was allowed to leave. On the way out the door, he put a finger in the middle of his palm.

"Hey, I can't feel my hands… wait a second," Miroku then grabbed Sango's behind.

Slap

"Still nothing," he said.

When they arrived back to the cabins, they went inside the boys' room for a change. It was an exact replica of the girls' cabin… only 10 times messier.

"Jeez, how do you even get out of your cabin?" asked Sango.

"Its not that bad," said Miroku.

Sango walked over to the bed she supposed was his and tried to move all the clothing and other junk off it so she could sit down. When she finally cleared a space to sit on she remembered the other people who shared the cabins with them.

"Where are Inuyasha and Kagome?" she asked.

They heard laughter along with some footsteps heading toward their room to answer her question.

The door that was adjacent to the mini kitchen opened and through it came Inuyasha and Kagome.

"What a pigsty," was the first thing out of Kagome's mouth. "Do you even know how to keep a clean room?"

"Just what I was wondering. Where were you guys?" asked Sango.

"Oh, we were just exploring the forest. I think we found the lake that we are camping by tomorrow." Kagome tried to sound off-handed, and not succeeding. Sango gave her a look that said 'I'll hear about it later' and smirked. The whole time Inuyasha had just plopped onto his clothes covered bed and stared at the ceiling.

Then the boys' counselor came in. "Ok, everyone. Tomorrow we are going to a lake called Devon's Ware. We are getting up at 7:00 and we want your bags packed by then. Make sure you pack lightly, because I don't want to hear any complaints. Got it?" he said.

Kagome raised her hand. Sesshomarou nodded in her direction.

"Are we going to be doing anything else other than rock climbing and camping?" she asked.

"I think we are going to go on the rapids in Jason's River, and we might go canoeing in the larger river, Neeka's Maze, after we make camp, that is only if we have time." he answered. "I think that the girls should go to their cabin, and get ready for bed,"

The sun had set maybe an hour ago, and the sky was darkening every minute. As soon as Kagome and Sango were alone in their cabin, Sango said, "Spill,"

"Spill what? There is nothing to spill," answered Kagome, a little too quickly.

"Sure, like I said Kagome, I am psychic, so I can tell when you are lying to me, especially when your cheeks are the color of blood," said Sango, smugly.

"Fine," said Kagome, her shoulders drooping in defeat. "After you went with Miroku, Inuyasha and I went hiking, and we found a cliff that a river dropped into a lake and we… we went for a swim." She said the last part very quietly. And if her cheeks were any redder, they would burn themselves.

"That's why your hairs' all wet. But why are your clothes dry? What did you swim in?" asked Sango.

It was much the same interrogation in the boys' cabin, except that the questioner got a few bumps on his head as a result.

By the time everyone had fallen asleep, it was hardly 8:00. But there were two restless teens (if you count that being 517 a teen) still up, tossing and turning in their beds. And they were wondering:

He kissed me.

I kissed her.

It was my first kiss.

Why did I kiss her? 'Because she is hot and you like her.'

Where did you come from? 'I am your subconscious'

Well, it is true that she is hot, but I don't like her.

'Yes you do. You just are afraid that she doesn't like you back.'

No I don't.

'Yes you do.'

What do you know?

'HELLO, I am YOUR subconscious.'

Oh. Right.(sometimes you have to wonder about Inuyasha's mental state) But why would I like that wench? She's annoying and stupid.

'Sounds like someone I know. You are the perfect couple.'

You know, by insulting me your only insulting yourself.( WOW Inuyasha has a good comeback! But isn't he talking to himself? SWEATDROPS)

Inuyasha's subconscious went quiet at that.

Does this mean that we are together? Kagome asked herself before falling asleep.

--

"Let's get a move on, everybody. If we get camp up in time we might be able to go canoeing," said Sesshomarou.

The group that consisted of four campers and the 2 counselors had walked for 20 minutes straight to get to Devon's Ware. Sango and Kagome had gotten their tent up without a hitch but the boys, well…

"How do you put this piece of crap together?" said an annoyed Inuyasha. He had been alive 517 years and he couldn't figure out how to put a tent up. (It's kind of sad really...)

"Doesn't this thing come with instructions?" asked Miroku.

"Need some help, guys?" Kagome giggled.

"I think we should Kags, I mean I heard it was going to rain." Sango almost burst out laughing when she saw what the boys' had done with their tent.

The tent covering was in a pile thrown by a tree 5 feet away. The structuring for the tent was in a tangled mess in Inuyasha and Miroku's hands. And the looks on their faces were so priceless, that Kagome had fetched her camera and snapped a picture of the Kodak moment. After the flash had gone off, it also set off the girls' laughter. They were rolling on the ground, clutching their sides from laughing so hard.

"Oh, and you could do better." huffed Inuyasha.

That stopped the girls' giggles right then. Kagome stood.

"Wanna bet?" Kagome's smirk mimicked Inuyasha's.

"What are the terms?" he asked.

"If I can prove you wrong then you have to…" Kagome whispered the rest in his ear.

"And if we win you have to…" Inuyasha murmured the rest in her ear.

"Deal," she said.

The race was on.

5 minutes Later…

"Yeah! We beat the guys!" yelled Kagome.

"Hey, Kags, what was the bet if we won?" asked Sango.

"They have to be our slaves for a day and that's not even the best part! We are going to give them a makeover," said Kagome mischievously.

"Oh, really… like this bet…," said Sango, already imagining ideas for Mirokou's makeover.

"And we get to choose the day that they are our slaves, too," Kagome added.

"This sucks," said Inuyasha.

"You're the one who agreed to it," said Miroku, smirking.

"I know," he answered, ruefully.

"Alright, everyone. Now that your camp is set up, we are going canoeing. Change into your bathing suits, and we'll meet at the shore of the lake," said Sesshomarou.

Kagome came out of her tent, sporting a blue/green bikini, and Sango had on a black one. Inuyasha came out of his tent, wearing a pair of (you guessed it) red trunks and Miroku had on a deep violet colored pair.

Inuyasha took a glance at Kagome, and wished he hadn't. He couldn't tear his eyes away from her.

Kagome was about to turn around and call on the guys, but no words left her now dropped jaw. His attire showed off a muscled torso and biceps. The same happened with Sango and Miroku, only Miroku's mind was a bit more perverted than the others. (the biggest understatement of the year)

When Kagome realized that he was staring at her too, she quickly dropped her gaze and said, "Come on you guys, the counselors are waiting."

Everyone then turned away in a blush. Except Miroku, for obvious reasons.

"Ok, now get into your canoes," said Rin. "Inuyasha, you are partnered with Kagome, and Sango you are partners with Miroku."

Once everyone was positioned, Sesshomarou and Rin got in a boat of their own and explained how to control the canoe and paddles.

They had started off in the gentle lake, then the counselors led them to a faster pace river, which had a lot of runoffs in its path. That's when things started to get rough. The river was slating downward now and the rapids started to get bigger, and the rocks weren't as noticeable.

"Keep together, and watch out for the rocks!" yelled Rin from upstream.

As if on que, Inuyasha and Kagome's canoe hit the side of an unseen rock that turned them into a tributary of the river. They thought that they were in the clear, but then they crashed into another unseen boulder. Kagome pitched forward and crashed headfirst into the water.

"Kagome!" shouted Inuyasha at the top of his lungs. He then dived in where he thought she had been thrown in.

He could hardly see under the water. He turned around franticly searching for any sign of her. He saw a hand floating in the water a mere foot away from him and grabbed it and pulled with all his might.

But what he saw wasn't Kagome. It was a girl, but her skin had a sickening white twinge to it, and her eyes were wide in an unchanging fear. And what was on her neck…? Inuyasha immediately let go of the hand he had grasped knowing exactly what it was. A corpse.

But he couldn't think of that now, he had to find Kagome. He saw a flash of blue and black strands and swam towards it.

Once he saw her face he almost sighed in relief, and if they had not been under water he would have. He swung his arm around her waist, and hoisted her up to the surface of the water. As soon as he broke the surface, he swam straight to the side bank. He pulled her up to the shore and checked her heart rate. It was very faint, but it was there. She wasn't breathing. He cursed himself over and over for taking so long to find her. He knew what he had to do.

He closed her nose up and breathed out into her mouth. He released his hold and put his hands on her upper ribs and counted. He repeated this process again and again. He almost thought that her lungs had taken in too much water, but by the 5th try, Kagome sputtered and coughed up the water that was in her airway.

Inuyasha felt like picking her up and hugging her in his arms in relief, but decided to just say, "Thank god,"

Kagome felt like she had been pulled from an inch away from death and brought back to life. Her breathing was harsh and all she could remember was being under water, drowning, looking up at the shiny surface of the glassy water before the blackness over came her.

She also remembered the fear, the growing pit in the bottom of her stomach. And now, through her coughing fits and labored breathing, she looked to her savior. As Kagome looked into Inuyasha's eyes, she saw relief, and she also saw concern. Before she knew what she was doing, she threw her arms around his neck and sobbed into his shoulder. "Thank you," she cried.

Inuyasha tensed for a moment, but then he put his arms around her in a tight embrace, and never wanted to let go. "Are you alright?" he asked, unconsciously stroking her long brown terraces, trying to comfort her in any way he could think of.

"Except for almost drowning, sure," she answered, trying not to break down completely. It felt good to be in his arms, and she didn't want to lose the warmth and comfort he provided.

Inuyasha smiled at the way she had attempted to lighten the situation. Reluctantly, he let go of her. He saw in her eyes the disappointment of losing her comfort. But it didn't last long.

"Our boat!" she looked downstream, and sure enough, it was floating away. Kagome stood and ran toward their canoe, with surprising stamina. Inuyasha was right behind her.

It took about 10 minutes to retrieve the canoe and pull it to shore.

"The others must be way ahead of us. What do we do? We don't know which way they went. And there must be a hundred different runoffs," Kagome pondered.

"I guess the only thing we can do is wait at the beginning of the runoff that took us here," said Inuyasha.

So they both lugged their canoe there and sat down. Kagome was shivering something fierce, considering how wet she was, and that the sun had set a while ago. Inuyasha noticed this and went to the canoe, looking for the emergency pack that was usually waterproof. He found it quickly and opened it to find a blanket big enough for three people. He grabbed it and went over to Kagome, wrapping it around both of them. Kagome was grateful for the warmth and pulled it tight around her. Inuyasha put his arm around her and she snuggled closer to him.

It was silent until Kagome's curiosity burst, and she asked, "What are we?"

"Huh?" was his o-so-intelligent answer.

"I mean, we kissed back at the lake, and that was my first kiss," she said the last part almost inaudibly. That took Inuyasha by surprise. "It was?"

"Yeah," she said, sheepishly.

"What do you think we are?" he asked.

"I don't know, but that's probably because I've never had a boyfriend before." she answered.

"Do you want to be my girlfriend?" he looked down into her eyes.

"Yes," she mumbled.

"What?" he had heard it, but it was unexpected.

"Yes," she said, louder.

"Really?" he asked.

"Really," she said softly, and boldly, kissed him. He was surprised at first, but then kissed her back. He was also surprised that she was good at kissing, since it was only her second time (if you don't count the second kiss at the lake). She wasn't bad the first time, either. She combed her hand in his brown hair and put her other on his shoulder. He had one arm around her waist and the other in her hair. He pulled her into his lap.

They finally drew apart, for air. Inuyasha then started to place kisses down her neck. He could feel the veins pulse in her neck and felt his fangs slid out. How long had it been since he had tasted human blood? Too long. It must have been years.

Kagome felt wonderful. She was in a heaven she had never felt before. She had heard that it felt good to be in someone's arms, but she had never been told that it felt like going to explode with desire. She couldn't think, she could only feel. She felt safe, in his strong arms and amazing, the feel of his body pressed against her own. She shivered in pleasure. She lifted her chin a little higher.

That was almost like an invitation for Inuyasha. He growled in deep in his throat, opening his jaw and was coming down to bite her neck…