Disclaimer: I don't own InuYasha or any other anime - I just like making up stories…oh, and this is my third official fan fic and my first InuYasha fan fic so I'll just apologize now if it sucks. Sorry!
Chapter Fifteen: On the Road Again
The sun came up slowly and brought with it a new, cheery brightness to the cave. Kagome looked much better after getting some dreamless sleep and the others felt much better knowing she wouldn't be shooting arrows at them again. It took some time to clean and bind all the wounds they received from their fight, but after a little breakfast the friends were just about ready to move on.
Shippo and Kirara were playing just outside the cave, enjoying the fresh air and waiting for the others. Sango had pulled her hair back and walked towards the entrance when Miroku called her name.
"Oh Sango, are you sure you should be up and walking around so soon? Isn't it a bit dangerous to put any weight on your leg? If you want, you could lean on me while we travel. Here, you should just let me lend you my strength to keep your balance. There's nothing I hate more than a beautiful woman in pain." The monk placed an arm around her waist, groping as he went and as usual ended up with a red, hand shaped welt on his face.
"In your dreams, Monk." Sango put her hands on her hips.
"Huh?" He looked shocked.
"Don't play dumb with me Miroku, I know all about them. And to think I was just starting to trust you!" She growled. "I should have known you were having perverted dreams about me! You're such a lecher!"
With an uneasy look Miroku swallowed. "Er, perverted dreams? Sango? How'd you know?"
Sango gave a curt nod in the direction of a certain han'yo, who merely shrugged and gave a mischievous smile, before she turned and stormed away. Miroku shot Inuyasha an angry look before running after the demon slayer calling an apology as he went.
Kagome pulled her yellow back pack on her back and with one last stretch, stepped towards the cave's mouth for the last time. She couldn't wait to be under the blue sky again, but first one thing had to be done. She glanced around the cave looking for a familiar face, she saw him towards the back of the cave facing away from her. She took a deep breath and got to her feet. Of course he'd be in the back of the cave. If there were ever a time to ignore my responsibility and run it would be now. But I've gotta say it, so I'll just deal with it, and make it short and sweet...
Inuyasha was sniffing at the cavern walls and scratching his head with frustration. He still couldn't understand how he had missed the scent of that demon in the first place, but he figured it was pretty hard to smell something that didn't have a smell. The entire experience had angered him, he had come so close to losing her that he felt like killing everything in sight, of course that wouldn't have solved anything and he knew better, but still he had been tempted. He was so focused on the mystery that Kagome's presence almost took him unawares. Almost.
"Inuyasha?" She spoke softly.
He didn't turn around but snorted his reply. "Yea?"
"Now that you know how to get into my dreams, are you going to ever come into them again?" She looked up curiously.
"Nah, I don't think so, that's stuff's a little too messy for my taste. Besides, you've got enough going on in your head without me being there." He grinned at the wall, keeping his back to her.
Kagome frowned slightly, unsure of his meaning. But she couldn't allow him to distract her; she had something to say, so she cleared her throat and took a deep breath. "Inuyasha, I, er, I also wanted to thank you for saving my life, again." She blushed and bowed slightly.
There was a pause before he answered. "Whatever, it wasn't like I was just gonna sit back and let him kill you. It was no big deal." He shrugged modestly.
"That's not true!" Kagome protested. "You went beyond what anyone else would have, you risked your life for me and –" But her sentence was left unfinished. Inuyasha had turned back around and looked her in the eyes as he interrupted her.
"Listen Kagome, I didn't have any options. I couldn't just leave you here or let some pathetic demon take control of you, so there's nothing special about that." He placed his hands on her shoulders.
"But, you didn't have to do all the things you did, and say all of that stuff… I wasn't strong Inuyasha, and I should have been." Kagome hung her head.
The half demon surveyed the woman before him and then pulled her into his arms for a hug. "Don't start getting all weepy. You know what; you're stronger than you think. In fact, you're pretty impressive when you want to be." He gave her a tight squeeze that made her blush, and then as if recognizing what he was doing for the first time, he loosened his grip quickly and lightly continued his thoughts. "Eh, don't worry, you're all right Kagome, now if only you smelled better you'd be pretty amazing." He released the girl, turned and started to walk away with a very large, satisfied smile on his face.
Kagome stood for a moment, her head swimming from his hug but her heart burning from his insult. How can he be so unfeeling? I swear, that's it! From outside the cave, and even from quite a distance, was heard the sound of a woman yelling. "Inuyasha!Sit!" Of course, the yell was swiftly answered by a howling cry of a certain half-demon who was suddenly finding himself face first in the dirt.
I want you to know how hard it was to write an ending to this story. I wanted to do something a little more romantic, but because I was also trying to keep it true to the series (as many of you requested) I just couldn't. So... this is all I got. I figured that I'd rather err on the side of 'too much like the series' than 'too much not like the series'. Well kids, there we have it. THE END! lisa
