The Sun and Moon
Disclaimer: Ok, I wanna get to the good stuff, so I'll make this quick: I do not own InuYasha or any related characters, shows, or products.
Chapter 7: Night of the New Moon"InuYasha, the sun's setting. We should find some shelter." Kagome suggested.
They were now at the edge of the plain; the path had wound so much, but they had to follow it or risk getting lost. They only ran into one other traveler, or string of travelers, actually, along the way. It was a horse trader, and InuYasha had traded in the small gray horse for the great gray stallion they now possessed. The horse trader had given them so much because it had been covered in dragon blood, and he thought it was a magic horse. The brown horse had gotten them some money and a sack full of fruits.
InuYasha didn't see the point in getting another horse. He had argued with Kagome about it, but she had a way of maneuvering so that she got her way. Actually, it was rather direct. She said 'sit', and he hit the ground hard until he agreed.
So they were now traveling, looking for a small house or somewhere they could stay for the night. In the last light of the day, they came upon an abandoned hut in the side of a small hill, like a dugout. The doorway was facing the horizon opposite where the sun was setting. It was in great shape, three walls being made out of the hill, and the front had a large doorway. There was evidence of a fire pit inside, and InuYasha had barely enough headroom; his ears grazed the roof. He laid Tetsusaiga against a wall, and started tidying up the fire pit as Kagome searched for firewood.
InuYasha barely noticed as he changed; he'd completely forgotten about his transformation. His claws shortened and rounded, becoming fingernails, and his ears slowly disappeared, and human ears appeared on the sides of his head. His toenails shortened and rounded also, while his hair darkened in the last rays of the sun. His eyes became darker, more human. He sat cross-legged in the doorway when he had finished, with his arms folded, waiting for Kagome's return.
Kagome was going around the small thicket that wasn't too far away from the hut, and she was using her bare hands to break dead sticks off and throw them into a growing pile. When she had as much as she could carry, she headed back to the dugout, just after the sun had set and the sky was a dark blue.
When Kagome came down off the hill and turned to look at the house, she nearly dropped all the firewood. InuYasha was sitting there, and he was human! How could she have forgotten, it was the night of the new moon! She'd seen the last sliver of the moon last night! She picked up the sticks she'd dropped, and took them up to InuYasha, who took her load off and set the pile in the corner opposite the fire pit. He selected a few small sticks that would catch easily and a few larger ones that would burn for a while, and set them up in the fire pit.
Kagome lit a match to light it as she wondered why InuYasha was in such a good mood. Normally on the night of the new moon, he was agitated with his weakness, and made it known to others. Tonight, however, he didn't seem to notice. Maybe he really hadn't noticed. She should tell him, but he did seem happier… she would let him find out.
Kagome shook the match out, and put it in the ground. The fire was in a corner of two dirt walls, and she and InuYasha gathered around it, holding out their hands to warm them. The sticks began burning faster than Kagome had thought, and InuYasha volunteered to go and get more. He didn't like the smoke the dying branches were making. He insisted that Kagome stayed, because she had wanted to go with him. She sat down by the fire and sighed as InuYasha left. She sat with her back to the fire and watched the doorway.
InuYasha made his way to the small grove, and got his claws ready to chop up some trees. When he pulled his hand back, he caught a glimpse of his nails and examined them a little closer. He cursed it as he realized he was human. He scanned the night sky and quickly found the new moon rising above the tree line. He stared at it for a while, thinking of the emotions it caused him to become human.
He hated being human. Humans were so weak. They could hardly defend themselves. They had no keen senses, and no means of protection. They were slow thinkers, missing a few senses, and slow to react. Humans were tied up with so many emotions that he didn't know how Kagome could stand it. He was so much more stubborn when he was human, and felt more towards Kagome. When he was half demon, he loved her as if she were kind of an owner to a pet, but she didn't treat him as a pet. He was her equal. To her, everyone was equal. He didn't understand. When he was human, he loved her like another person, like there was nothing in the world between them. It was so strange to him, and this time, he wasn't surrounded by his friends. Just Kagome. He wondered how his friends were doing for a second before realizing what he'd come outside to do, and he set to work breaking the branches by hand.
Kagome sat, staring intently at the door. She couldn't just sit here; she wanted to be with InuYasha. He was a human at the moment, even if he hadn't noticed. He had told her to stay here, though, and usually, she did what he said and stayed out of trouble that could have made whatever situation worse.
She sighed again, feeling lonely, so she went to the front door where the horse was tied. The horse walked over to her and shoved its nose against her hand. She smiled at it softly, seeing it was bored too. She walked around to its side and launched herself onto its back. The horse was still tied right outside the door, and only shifted its weight when Kagome got on.
Kagome listened for InuYasha as she lay across the horse's back as it grazed. After she'd listened for a minute and didn't hear anything, she began to worry. She sat up to listen better, because she couldn't see the grove from where she was. She considered standing on the horse's back, as InuYasha had. She figured it would be fine, but was very shaky as she stood slowly. The horse glanced back for a second before tuning back to the grass at its feet. Kagome stood and saw the grove, and a shadow of InuYasha standing really still, staring at something. She traced his gaze to the new moon, and caught her breath.
What is he thinking about? Kagome wondered, and barely thought it before InuYasha suddenly moved towards the nearest shrub and began breaking it up. She looked around, to make sure nothing was around the grove that could hurt InuYasha, and then lay back down across the horse. After sitting there for a few seconds, a chill ran through her. It was pretty cold, now that the sun had set, and getting colder. Kagome slid off the horse and went to warm herself by the fire.
Ten minutes later, Kagome turned as her blanket she'd hung in the doorway was brushed aside, and InuYasha stood in the doorway with a huge bundle of firewood. He looked at her for a second, and then went to put up the wood in a corner. He came and sat by the fire, with his arms and legs folded, shivering.
"Inu… InuYasha?" Kagome said questioningly. She was pretty shocked. It wasn't that cold outside, was it? She reached out for his shoulder slowly, and when she touched it it was cold as ice. InuYasha turned his head to look at what was touching his shoulder. Kagome gasped when she felt how cold he was, and because whenever he looked at her when he was human, his eyes were so… deep.
InuYasha watched Kagome for a few seconds before turning back to the fire. Kagome slowly inched her hand up to his neck, then around his other shoulder when he didn't move. She wanted to warm him up but wasn't sure if he'd accept her help. She closed her hand on his far shoulder and gently pulled him into her. She sucked her breath in; he surprised her with his reaction.
InuYasha scooted closer to Kagome, and lay across her lap. He had his eyes closed, and seemed like he was perfectly content and very relaxed. Kagome jumped a little, because he felt like ice, and was lying across her lap. She reached down to hug him and keep him warm. She lifted him some, and the only movement he made was to help her move himself. Kagome hugged him to her, and set her chin on top of his head. She wanted to keep him warm, and safe, and comfortable.
After a while, she felt him sleeping. She gently lowered his head to her lap, and put a few more sticks in the fire. InuYasha had warmed up, and Kagome was tired. She stayed awake for a few more minutes to check for danger. She threw the biggest pieces of wood onto the fire, and then fell asleep, her last vision being of InuYasha's sleeping head in her lap.
If you didn't get it by now, I called it 'romance' for a good reason. If you are all squishy inside, like your insides will burst out your ears, they haven't even kissed yet. Yet. So I'm an obsessed fan, but guess what? You read this fan fiction, and you made it to chapter 7! I apologize to those of you that would like to barf. Please, if you feel nauseous at any time, DISCONTINUE READING! If you don't like it, don't suffer through it! Oh, and this will be kept clean: there will be nothing like any 'adult' themed stuff. If I've been hinting at it (They've been spending the nights together, sorry, get over it, it's rated T for a reason) it's NOT GONNA HAPPEN. I'm sure SOME sicko must have written something like that, so if you're into it, go read theirs. Did I cut my readers in half? I hope not. Well, I'll get to work on the next chapter as soon as I find out what's going to happen.
