Disclaimer- I don't Inuyasha, or these dresses...but I figured I should show you what the dresses look like...too bad this site won't let me put in the site..if you really want to see them,email me and I'll send you the picture!
Chapter 21-The Saviors from Hell's Fire
"What's taking them so long?" Rin crossed her arms as she glanced towards the direction of the kitchen. Since the night was so dark, it was hard to see anything far from the fire. "It's been over twenty minutes."
"Don't worry about them; they probably just lost themselves somehow. Knowing Kagome, I wouldn't be surprised if she couldn't find her way out of a paper bag." Kikyo replied.
"I don't know it shouldn't take that long to get marshmallows. They should have been back by now, even if they were walking slowly." Miroku watched for any disagreement from the other four.
"I guess you're right, it shouldn't have taken all this time. Do you think we should send anyone after them?" Before Rin could respond to Kikyo's question, a little child called out her name. She glanced towards them and with a soft sigh, looked back at her campers.
"Look I'm really sorry but one of the kids looks like they burned themselves. When I get back, if they still aren't here, I'll send someone after them alright? In the meantime, try to think about something else." When Rin had walked away, Inuyasha let out a slight growl of annoyance.
"How does she expect us to just sit here and do nothing? It's not like we're pets, we can't just be told to do something and forget everything else. Sango and the wench are out there alone and there's no telling what happened to them."
"Do I sense a bit of concern in his voice?" Miroku asked, watching Kikyo and Kouga both nod simultaneously.
"It's not that, I'm just hungry." Inuyasha replied, crossing his arms as if daring anyone to challenge his words. Miroku only chuckled and looked at the fire.
"Oka Inuyasha, so you don't care." It's just you can't be too hungry for marshmallows, since you hate them. Stupid kid, shouldn't he realize that I know almost all of eating habits? I do most of the grocery shopping anyways. Must have gotten that from my…
"So Inuyasha, is it true that you and Miroku live together?" Kikyo asked. Inuyasha only nodded. "How did that happen?"
"Well, we both were sick of our houses and we didn't like being alone, so we just decided to build a house." Inuyasha replied.
"Wait, you're telling me you two built your own house?" Kouga asked, slightly curious. Miroku just smiled.
"Well we did need some help from contractors and stuff, but we did most of the work. Since we were a little short on money, we did all the actual constructing by ourselves, aside from help from some of our friends back home. It wasn't as bad when we had them, but they wouldn't work at night."
"And I'm guessing you two did?" Kikyo inquired.
"Well most of the time. We didn't really have anywhere else to go. The sooner we got it up, the better." Inuyasha responded.
"Plus, if we didn't finish it quickly, rain would ruin what we had done. It's not a huge house, but it works for two people." Kikyo watched in interest as Miroku described the house.
"Where do you two live anyways?" Inuyasha snorted at Kouga's question.
"Why do you want to know? Going to come egg us later?"
"Oh yes, just what I want to waste my time doing. But maybe one day when I'm bored…"
"I find one piece of yoke on my house and you will die." At one point Kouga would have flinched at the strong comment, but he had now grown accustomed to Inuyasha's harsh exterior.
"We live around the edge of the city. It's not exactly the biggest of towns, but it's pretty cool." Miroku said.
"Why don't you go to my school?" Kikyo watched Inuyasha shrug.
"What school do you even go to?"
"Haling high school. (HA! Bet a bunch of you thought I was going to name is Shikon huh?) What about you?" Kikyo watched boy boys glance at each other before turning back to her in slight shock.
"Is that the one that's shared between a smaller town and the city?" Inuyasha asked.
"Is there another school called Haling? I mean seriously, how many people name their school that?" Kikyo asked sarcastically.
"Well I guess we will be seeing more of each other after summer." Miroku responded, ignoring the rude comment.
"Oka holds up. How come you go to the same school as you and yet I've never seen you there?" Kouga asked, glancing at Kikyo. Kikyo looked shocked and stared at Kouga, wide eyed.
"You go to my school? How do you not know me? I'm one of the most popular girls there!" Kouga smiled goofily as he remembered an interesting fact.
"Oh I get it, so you're 'snobby Kiki'?" Kikyo went to reply until she finally let his sentence sink in.
"Who calls me that!"
"Almost everyone at school? I mean you do treat everyone like dirt from what I hear."
"I do? How come nobody tells me these things?" Kouga blinked in astonishment.
"Maybe because it was obvious?" When she sent him a deadly glare, he only threw his hands up in defense. "Hey, I didn't start the name calling! And if you haven't noticed, nobody here has either."
"Well that's because Kagome and Sango already knew me from previous arrangements, and those two-" She pointed to Inuyasha and Miroku. "-Don't go to our school!"
"Well at least we didn't before." Miroku mumbled. The soft comment was loud enough to catch Kikyo's interest.
"What do you mean?" Kikyo didn't get a response, for Inuyasha had broken the soft conversation with a sharp turn of his head. His eyes now glanced over to the bonfire, before looking back at the group.
"Where's Myoga?"
"Um, I think he's over with the kids at the bon fire, why do yo-" Inuyasha was on his feet and walking away before Kouga could finish his question. "Idiot, where are you going? Rin told us to stay here."
"Yea well I need to go check something out. Miroku, you coming?" Inuyasha didn't have to wait for Miroku's answer, knowing immediately his friend would come.
"Right behind you." Miroku waved to the two remaining before catching up to Inuyasha. "What's wrong, you see something?"
"No, something else. I uh…smelt something." Inuyasha lowered his voice at the end of his statement. Miroku's head nodded as he listened to his friend, being unfazed by the strange comment.
"Well what was it?"
"It was strange, but I thought it was smoke." Inuyasha replied.
"But couldn't that just be from the bonfire?"
"Two things are making me think other wise. One it that it's coming from the opposite direction of the fire.
"The fire is pretty big though, couldn't the smoke just travel in the direction and you're getting the after smell?"
"There's still something else that is bugging me though." As they approached the fire, they noticed that Rin was now sitting across from a boy who was now getting a bandage placed on his finger. They tried to stay out of her vision as they looked for Myoga, knowing she'd send them back to where Kikyo and Kouga were.
"Boys, what are you doing over here?" They glanced across to see a pair of old brown eyes staring back at them.
"Hello, how is the fire going?" Miroku asked, being polite. Inuyasha was not in the mood to be as kind.
"Myoga, what was used to start this fire?" Myoga blinked at the odd question before thinking about the birth of the flames in front of them.
"Well we just used many logs and a couple matches. Nothing that extravagant." He replied. Inuyasha wasted no time in plunging into another question, which was more rushed and eccentric than the first.
"There was no type of gasoline or petrol used, right?"
"No, though I don't get why you are asking you're asking me this."
"Is there anything like that on the camp right now?"
"Well besides the older kitchen, no-" Before the rest of the sentence could be spoken, Inuyasha was sprinting away from the fire.
"I think you should call the fire department, and tell them to go to the kitchen! He smelt gasoline…" Miroku responded quickly, running after his friend. Myoga silently realized what the boy meant, and wasted no time in making his way to a phone.
Scene Change
"Kagome I can't breathe!" Sango tried not to cough as she cupped her hands over her mouth, trying not to inhale the smoke that now hung heavily in the air. Kagome glanced across to her friend, who now was hunched over herself.
"It's going to be Oka Sango, just cover your mouth with your hands for a little while." Kagome glanced back down at her task, pulling the fabric of her ruffles harder. When she heard the small sound of ripping, she only tugged twice as tough, causing the top ruffles to come off. Without wasting time, she forced the fabric into Sango's hands.
"Kagome-"
"Go ahead and take it, you have weaker lungs than me." Kagome didn't wait for a response as she stared at the room in front of them, which was now burning down. Bright side to this? Oh yea, even if this burns down and we DIE, they'll still have another kitchen…what kind of bright side is that!
"How are you planning to get out?"
"Don't talk; it'll make it harder for you to keep your lungs clean." Kagome replied, ignoring her question. The reality was Kagome had already figured their way out of this. Of course it would be when people hauled their bodies out, and they would already be gone by then. No, don't think like that. You have to get out; there is no way you'll let Sango die like this.
"I…Sango, I have to…." Kagome's vision was starting to blur, and she grabbed the front of the table to keep herself stable. She shook her head as she felt a fit of coughs fill her throat, her body finally responding to the smoke.
"SOMEONE HELP!" Kagome heard Sango's scream, which sounded strangely off pitch. She had guessed it was because of the cloth. She glanced up to see Sango's face, which now had streams rolling across her tan skin. Kagome would have laughed at the fact that she doubted anyone could hear them, but she didn't have enough strength to release the sound.
"Please, someone…" Sango's brain was trying anything to get them away from the flames that now raced towards the table, causing Sango to crawl more towards the middle. She glanced back at her friend, who was too busy coughing to notice how close the fire was. "Kagome!"
Kagome barely had time to register her name was screamed before she felt a sharp pain strike her hand. She pulled it back only to see the top of her hand had been nicked by the fire's tongue. She quickly pushed her hair, which had fallen out a long time ago, out of her face so she could stare at a piece of wood that now fell from the roof.
"The whole place is made of wood." She slowly backpedaled to Sango, who now grabbed her hand.
"Are you Oka?" Sango asked her mouth muffled from the fabric pressed to her lips. Kagome smiled weakly and nodded, causing Sango to suck in a breath and drop the rag that Kagome had torn before grabbing for the bottom of the dress, tearing at the frill there. She always takes care of me; it's time for a change.
Kagome felt her dress being torn, and looked down to see blue fabric in Sango's hand. She grabbed it and placed it against her mouth, watching Sango smile brightly and reach for her own. How Sango could still hold such a hopeful look in such a desperate situation would always be a mystery to Kagome. She wished that some of Sango's mood would slowly push into her heart, but all she could feel was the heat from the life-stealing blaze around her.
Inuyasha…help Kagome's voice was too weak to speak, as if the spirit was drained from her very soul. As if someone above was listening, the door was pulled opened, catching both girls' gazes. The terror that gripped Kagome's heart loosened greatly when she saw her secret savior. She smiled before her arms gave out, causing her to drop to the table.
Scene Change
"God damnit! I shouldn't have let them go!" Inuyasha now raced towards the kitchen, the smell increasing greatly as he came closer. There was no doubt now, it was coming from the older kitchen. He prayed that the fire wasn't as huge as his mind had already had processed.
His heart stopped cold when he saw the inferno that was now tearing the kitchen down. He tried to move, but it seemed that his legs were frozen against the ground below him. He glanced around frantically, looking for any hint that the girls had escaped the fire. When he realized that there wasn't, he heard a heart stopping scream.
"SOMEONE HELP!" His blood ran cold when he pinpointed the sound inside of the kitchen. His feet melted instantly and he was racing towards the kitchen, only to see someone was there.
"Where the hell have you been! I ran right past you and you didn't even notice!" Miroku call out, trying to push something away from the door. A softer call caught Inuyasha's ears.
"Please, someone…" The small sound caused him to shove Miroku out of the way, using all his strength to shove the object that had been placed in front of the door away.
"Inuyasha?" Inuyasha glared back at him and growled, causing Miroku to hold down a shout of shock out. Damnit I've got to warn him! Before Miroku could speak, Inuyasha had effortlessly ripped the door open, catching a scene he would have never wanted to see.
Kagome was staring at him; her mouth completely covered with a dirty piece of material, and looked as if she would pass out at any moment. Though he couldn't see her lips, he knew she was now smiling. The small gesture almost set his fear away. But what set him into motion again was when Kagome had dropped to the table, and Sango was now screaming.
"Get Sango out of there." Was all Inuyasha said. Miroku nodded and watched his friend dart into the room, avoiding the deadly fire. Inuyasha was making a path for Miroku to follow, and Miroku did not miss one step.
"Kagome are you Oka!" Sango shouted, the rag still softening her voice. When she saw her friend nod and struggle to push back up, Sango swiftly hooked her arms under her friend's and helped her back up. Kagome barely had time to send a thankful look before two arms encircled her, hoisting her up against a strong body.
"Sango, you Oka?" Miroku asked.
"I'm fine, a little hot but I'm Oka." Sango said, watching him nod. She looked back at her friend who had already been picked up. "Kagome saved me."
"Remind me to send her a thousand thank you roses when we get out of this hell." Sango would have thought about this statement more, but two things caused her to stop all thought.
The first thing was that they were now running through the room, following her two friends who seemed to be beating the path for them. The second thing had to do with Inuyasha, or rather, Inuyasha's changes. She blinked, and was surprised to see that they had disappeared. I must be imagining it…them…ugh, those! There is no way I wouldn't have noticed those earlier.
The cold air hit Sango's skin, drawing her out of thought. She now closed her eyelids as darkness blocked her vision, causing her eyes to sting slightly. She could feel Miroku's movements had slowed greatly, he was now walking. Loud noises were blaring all around her, sounds of sirens and children screaming. The sudden sounds were causing a migraine to sweep into her head, and she reached up to gently rub her temples.
"You Oka?" Miroku whispered, causing her to nod.
"The noise is just hard now. I'll be fine soon." She opened her eyes again to look back up at her rescuer, finally realizing what he had done. "I'm sorry that you had to do that."
"It's Oka, I would do it all again. As long as you were safe." Sango smiled and leaned up, lightly kissing his cheek. When she pulled back, she giggled at his expression. She hadn't decided if he was shocked or happy. Both seemed to describe his look. She seemed to decide on pleasantly surprised.
"Sango, were you crying?" She looked up at him, seeing his concerned eyes made her smile. "I can still see the marks on your face."
"I just thought I wasn't going to make it. The thought scared me a little." She replied gently, feeling him hold her closer.
"It would have been a terrible loss to the world if you hadn't." He continued before she could speak. "And an even bigger loss for me." Sango was speechless, her jaw slacking when she heard his word. Before she could fully thank him, she heard her friend's voice in front of her. Oh god, two minutes out of a deadly situation and they're already at it.
Sango glanced at the two, expecting to see furious faces, and was shocked deeply at what she had gotten. It was, to say the least, a little different that she had predicted.
Scene Change
Is this real, or did I pass out? Did Inuyasha really risk his life…for me? The question seemed so simple to answer, but Kagome wasn't sure if her assumption was correct. Maybe she had just seen Inuyasha, but it was really someone else, or it was a look alike.
But these theories were shut out quickly when she realized that she was now resting comfortably in Inuyasha's arm, and they were walking away from the fire. Her eyes had been hard to keep open when she noticed the light difference, but she was determined to keep them from closing in order to find out where all the noise was coming from.
She was shocked to see many people gathered around outside, a couple being in uniform and putting out the raging fire. Children were crying, and even some counselors had tears in their eyes. They must have thought that we were going to die…which might have happened, if Inuyasha and Miroku didn't come for us. But, weren't they in just as much danger as us, if not worse by barging in? Feeling a sudden rush of anger at her find, she started to squirm.
"Will you stop moving?" Even in a time of danger, he keeps his stupid attitude together, She thought bitterly.
"Put me down!"
"What's wrong?" He slowly let her feet touch the ground, though he regretted it. As soon as she had reached the floor, she whirled around to face him, her hand coming in sharp contact with his face.
"You jerk!" Everything seemed to go silent as she screamed at the boy who saved her. The cheek barely stung, but he held his hand to his cheek as if she had wailed on him. His face held surprise as he noticed her angered face, but something set her mood off. It wasn't the dirt smudges on her cheeks, or the forgotten hairdo that was now falling apart. Her eyes seemed to be coated in a layer of water as she tried to hide her tears. "You stupid, inconsiderate, unreasonable jerk!"
"Kagome, stop." His command was sharp, but Kagome didn't listen as she continued to rant.
"You were stupid! You could have been killed; you could have died in there! That fire could have caught your clothes and-" Grabbing her wrist, Inuyasha pulled her to him, wrapping both arms securely around her back. She stared across his shoulder for a moment before realizing what he was doing. She tried to pull away, but she stopped when she felt his grip tighten.
"I made you a promise, remember? I promised I'd keep you safe…and I've messed up once before. I refuse to make that mistake again."
"You could have died." She managed out, struggling with her tears. She hated how weak she had been so far, how many times she had cried at this one camp.
"It would have been worth it." He whispered, feeling her shift her head into the crook of his neck. Her hands came alive as they balled into fists, digging her nails into her own palms. I refuse to cry, I refuse to be weak…
"I'm not worth that." She gritted her teeth to keep her sobs down. He smiled feebly at her comment.
"You are worth it." He didn't bother asking the obvious as he felt water run down his neck, nor did act differently. "You always were."
"Inuyasha…" Inuyasha looked up from the girl to stare at his best friend. "Kaede said we all should get checked out in case we inhaled too much smoke."
"We'll be right there." Inuyasha responded. When he saw his friend return to Sango, he nudged Kagome's head with his own, waiting for her brown orbs to look up.
"I'm sorry about that." She quickly pushed her unwanted tears away from her face.
"Whatever." He shrugged his shoulders slightly before pulling away from her. "Come on, the old hag wants us to go see her in case we're going to die or something. Something she should have done about…200 years ago." Kagome slapped his arm and gave him a stern look, though it was distorted from the eyeliner Sango had put on her.
"That's not nice." She reprimand, though he only rolled his eyes.
"Especially when she's right here." Inuyasha stumbled forward, barely missing Kagome, and landing on the ground. He growled as he looked up at Kaede, who now stood in front of her. "If you weren't the reason the girls survived, I would have done much worse."
"I didn't do anything you old bat. I just saw the fire and came."
"Or rather smelt." Kagome glanced at the boy on the ground, who now had a panicked look filling his features. "You didn't tell her?"
"Smelt?" Kagome asked. Inuyasha glanced over at her before stumbling over his excuse.
"We-well yea! I smelt the fire. I mean it's not hard, anyone can smell a fire, who can't smell a fire? I mean other than people who can't smell anything, but that's rare and…stop looking at me like that!"
"You're babbling first off, so I have the right to look. Secondly, we were too far away for 'anyone' to smell the fire…and how could you see, it's too dark to see smoke?" Inuyasha quickly stood, turning away from her questions.
"I don't have to answer anything. Come on, let's go. I have a feeling Rin has a bone to pick with me and Miroku." He started walking towards his other friends, leaving Kagome with one thought. What is Inuyasha hiding?
Chapter 21 is now completed!...just because it's midnight doesn't mean people won't read it...on a wends...oh well, I hope you guys found it interesting. I do try my best and all, though it sometimes gets a little boring. But anyways, who started the fire? Was what Sango really saw on Inuyasha really there? What will Rin do when she finds out? Flip out maybe...but stay tooned to see!
Chapter 22- Was it all in my Head?
