Disclaimer: The characters of Inuyasha are owned by Rumiko Takahashi, but this story belongs to me.
Chapter Thirty-Two: Hide and Seek
Naraku had to die.
Inuyasha shook Kagome's arm in hopes of waking her up. It was another nightmare. She was another one of those priestesses and Naraku was killing her. Again. Usually it would start with a whimper. Then she would start thrashing. Her heart rate would race, threatening to burst. Then it would just… stop… her heart, not the dream. So far he had been able to wake her up, but it had taken years off of his life. And he lived in fear that the next time his luck might run out and she wouldn't wake up.
Not that he would intentionally let the dreams get that far. No. At the first whimper he would be at her side, calling her, shaking her, trying to get her to wake up. Sometimes she would wake up right away, but sometimes the dream would take her all the way to the end. Inuyasha suspected it depended on which priestess inside of Kagome was doing the dreaming. He wasn't sure if they were controlling the dream, trying to work through their own deaths by reliving them, or were torturing Kagome because she was alive and they were dead. Who knew the reason? He didn't. And he didn't care either. All he cared about was getting the dreams to stop.
Oh yes. Naraku had to die for what he did. For what he was doing to Kagome.
His first preference is to kill him nice and slow. And as painfully as possible. Maybe even recreate some of those torture sessions that Kagome dreamed about every night. Possibly all of them if he could keep him alive long enough to survive them. Then again, there was something to be said about a quick death. The sooner he was out of their lives, the better.
"Wake up, Kagome." He didn't even care that he had resorted to pleading.
Her heart rate began to speed up. Inuyasha cursed. These were the worst dreams. These were the ones where she died.
"KAGOME!" Maybe he could wake her up in time.
Her voice squeaked and her mouth opened in a silent scream. Then her heart stopped. Inuyasha pulled the young miko into his arms, trying not to cry. He ached. Literally ached. His own heart stopped as he begged Kagome to wake up.
"Ugn."
His heart began to beat once more.
"Kagome," he whispered.
Her eyelashes fluttered and she looked up into his golden eyes. For a moment she looked disoriented and confused. Then embarrassed. She pushed away from the dog demon and sat up. Looking around the camp she noticed that the others were not there.
"Where is everyone?"
Inuyasha took a deep breath, trying to calm himself. "I sent them on ahead."
"I guess I fell asleep."
"Yeah, you really gotta stop with those cat naps, Kagome."
She stood up and stretched. "They say that naps invigorate you. It's good for your mental health."
"Not for mine," he grumbled as he stood up as well. Experience taught him that she wouldn't want to talk about the dreams. She never talked about the dreams. "Let's catch up with the others."
Sometimes when she would wake up she was a little reluctant to have any sort of physical contact. Inuyasha breathed a sigh of relief when this time wasn't one of those times. He never asked about the dreams. He wasn't sure if he could handle them. Not yet. He was barely holding on to his rage as it was. The dreams would surely send him over the edge.
Kagome wrapped her arms around his neck and he grasped her legs as she rode piggy back. He smiled when she let out a little squeal of excitement as he ran. Picking up speed he managed to make her giddy with laughter. She loved it when they ran fast. It was another one of the reasons why he sent the others ahead. Besides the fact that he didn't want Kagome embarrassed by having everyone see her thrash around in her nightmares (or scare them), it gave him a great excuse for taking the miko for a run. He could make her laugh.
It didn't take long to catch up with the others. It would have taken an even shorter amount of time had he followed them instead of taking the scenic route.
"Have a nice nap?" asked Sango.
"Oh yeah, dreams of fluffy bunnies…" Kagome said as she lowered herself down to the ground to walk beside her friends. Inuyasha tried not to feel angry at the demon slayer for the comment. After all, he had worked hard at keeping the nightmares a secret from the others, it shouldn't bother him so much when they didn't know to stay away from a subject. Still irked him though.
At least no one asked why she was the only one who had dreams while they were in the game. Sure the others all slept, but it was a dreamless sleep.
"Fluffy bunnies?"
Kagome grinned at Shippo. "Yeah, fluffy bunnies armed with Algebra books. Talk about a nightmare!"
For the next hour they talked about dreams. Sango told about a dream involving dancing in a ballet in a duck costume. Shippo told about a dream where he was a hundred feet tall and kept stepping on everyone on accident. Miroku… well… he had some rather interesting dreams to share as well. Some of them resulted in him getting whacked over the head. Kagome told about her dreams about being chased by mathematics equations. Inuyasha kept his dreams to himself.
Kagome was in the middle of telling how she was outrunning a herd of polynomials when she suddenly stopped talking. She cocked her head to the side as if listening to someone.
"He's close."
Inuyasha froze. "Naraku?"
"Yes. She says he is close, and he is wearing a baboon pelt." She wrinkled her nose in distaste.
Inuyasha sniffed the air. It wasn't that he didn't trust the voices in Kagome's head… well… yes… it was that he didn't trust the voices. He was holding them responsible for the nightmares. At any rate, he would believe it when he saw, or smelled, it.
Sure enough, there was his scent. It was very faint, but it was there.
The dog demon followed his nose and led the group through the woods. Steadily the scent grew stronger.
"He's close."
"I KNOW that Kagome. I can smell it."
"Don't get huffy with me, mister."
Inuyasha turned his head to glare at the miko. The glare intensified when she smirked at him. Smirked!
"After all… the VOICES told me."
The dog demon snarled and kicked at the dirt. He was about to say some things he would likely regret very soon. Even as he opened his mouth, he knew what he was about to say would get him in some serious trouble.
"There he is!"
Who would have thought that Naraku himself would have been the one to save Inuyasha from certain death?
The group turned their attention to where Kagome was pointing. Sure enough, there stood a figure wrapped in a baboon pelt and reeking of Naraku's scent. Predictably, Inuyasha made several threats that were a physical impossibility (though showed some great imagination) and prepared to fight. But as he reached for his sword, something a little less predictable happened.
"He disappeared!" gasped Sango
"But… that shouldn't be possible!" Shippo shook his head. "He isn't a game sprite. Or even a spirit. He should still be confined to certain physical laws, like we are."
Kagome looked around, then slung her bow over her shoulder and picked up the pack she had dropped. "Yeah, well, I don't sense him anymore."
"Keh." Inuyasha scoffed. "I don't SMELL him anymore. I guess that means he's gone."
Clenching her fists, Kagome frowned at Inuyasha. Then, without a word, she picked a direction and started walking. Sango and Shippo decided to keep her company while Miroku blocked Inuyasha's path.
"Any reason why you are trying to pick a fight with Kagome."
"I ain't picking a fight." Inuyasha stepped to the side, only to be blocked again. "And it isn't any of your concern anyhow."
"Sure it is."
Inuyasha's eyes narrowed dangerously. "Oh… is it?" He took a step closer to the monk. "And just why is that?"
Not even blinking at the threat that the dog demon was trying to say with his body language, Miroku looked him in the eyes. "She is an integral part of this group and the main reason why we are here. What happens to Kagome effects us all. Besides, she is my friend and I care about her." He paused dramatically. "Like a younger sister."
Inuyasha continued to growl.
"It's about the dreams, isn't it?"
The dog demon stopped growling.
"You're frustrated with your inability to keep her safe from her dreams. You are angry at the souls inside of her who seem to be causing her great mental distress. You want to fight with somebody, and the only one you can safely fight without the fear of the mindless killing beast inside of you take over is Kagome."
Inuyasha's mouth hung open for a moment. "Since when did you get so smart?"
"I'm a monk," Miroku grinned. "It's my job to be wise."
Snorting in derision, Inuyasha laughed. "I don't think the word 'wise' would be the word I'd use to describe you."
Miroku made some smart comment, but Inuyasha didn't really hear it. His ears were trained on the sound of Kagome's feet racing back towards him. The monk was completely forgotten by the time she raced back into the clearing. She was grinning.
"They said he went this way!" she called as she sailed past him.
Usually he would have at least make some sort of token argument, but he was just relieved that Kagome seemed to be over being angry. He wondered if he still had to apologize even if she wasn't mad anymore. He sighed. Knowing women, she wouldn't forget the argument. Elephants had nothing on women in the memory department.
Picking up speed, Inuyasha nabbed Kagome and swung her around onto his back as he ran in the direction she had indicated.
"I wasn't mad at you," he tried to explain.
"You were just frustrated. And you hate the voices in my head. I understand. I shouldn't have brought them up like that. I'm sorry."
"You can't apologize when I'm apologizing."
"Sure I can."
"No you can't."
"Can too."
"Can not!"
By this time they had stopped running and were standing facing each other yelling at the top of their lungs. They were almost down to yelling about one being made of rubber and the other glue when the other three travelers caught up with them.
"Who started the fight this time?" asked Shippo.
"We aren't fighting," growled Inuyasha. "We're apologizing."
Three sets of eyebrows raised simultaneously. The sight of it was enough to send Kagome into a fit of giggles.
Suddenly Inuyasha froze. He sniffed the air.
"Naraku."
Sure enough, not twenty yards away, was the figure in a baboon pelt.
"Voices on a coffee break?"
"Shut up, Inuyasha."
Once again Inuyasha yelled out some rather dire threats as he took out his sword and prepared to attack. He leapt through the air and came back down to the earth with powerful force. And once again, the figure disappeared without a trace and without so much as a scratch. There wasn't a scent of him in the air. At least not for the next hour. They found him and lost him almost a dozen times by the time that night fell.
It was decided that it would be best to try and get some sleep before they began the hunt again in the morning. It was unsettling to have the baboon pelt floating in the air in the distance, but the group chose to ignore it as best as they could. After awhile they barely noticed it was there.
"It's like a really weird game of Hide and Seek," commented Shippo as he settled down to sleep.
Everyone said their goodnights. Kagome closed her eyes, until she was sure that the others were asleep. She wasn't planning on sleeping unless she absolutely had to. Besides the fact that she could constantly feel the presence of the pelt in the distance, she was terrified of falling to sleep and having another one of those dreams. It wasn't a surprise to find that Inuyasha wasn't planning on sleeping either. She grinned at the dog demon for a moment before getting up and going over to him. They sat together in silence for a few minutes.
"What was your favorite game as a kid?" she asked him. She was glad she did when she felt him relax. "Was it Hide and Seek?"
"Nah. I preferred Combat Tag."
"Combat Tag?" She rested her head on his shoulder and chuckled. "Do I even want to know what that is?"
"Probably not. What was your favorite game?"
Kagome stilled.
"It isn't Hide and Seek."
"Oookay… so what was it?"
She sat straight up. "No, Inuyasha. He wasn't playing Hide and Seek with us. I think it was Follow the Leader."
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Author's Note:
Sorry it took so long to get out this chapter, I've had a run of bad luck that kept me from writing. Thanks Shoomy2003 for proof reading this chapter for me.
