The Sun and Moon
Disclaimer: I DO NOT OWN any rights to INUYASHA or related products, titles, etc.
Chapter 9: Sunset's Desires / End of Day the ThirdKagome lay against InuYasha's back as he bounded through the forest. She watched the trees pass in boredom as they flew by, steadily slowing. InuYasha turned back to look at Kagome and offered a small smile. She smiled back, and then tightened her grip around his middle as he suddenly slipped off the next branch he landed on. He began to fall backwards toward the ground, and then righted himself just before Kagome hit. He hit the ground sooner than he thought he would, and his legs buckled under the sudden unexpected pressure. He sprawled out in a roll; desperately trying to stop so he wouldn't roll over Kagome before realizing she wasn't on his back any more.
Kagome had fallen off when InuYasha hit the ground, and after quickly checking herself, was running up to the slowing InuYasha. He lay on his back, having finally come to a stop, and Kagome tripped onto him, enveloping him in a hug. The force she hit him with sent him rolling again, but much slower. He was pretty stunned, only getting enough of his consciousness back to hold onto Kagome. He rolled over her a few times before holding his hand out and grabbing a small plant to stop them from rolling all the way down the hill. It snapped, and they continued.
Kagome ducked into him, and he kept one arm around her, trying to keep his body weight off her whenever he was on top. When they reached the bottom of the hill, Kagome felt herself stop moving and sat up slowly. She was lying with her front half on InuYasha and her feet were off to the side. She looked at his face, and nearly laughed. He was very dizzy, but not injured. Something like that hadn't happened in a long time… in fact, it'd never happened. She'd never pictured InuYasha stumbling then rolling down a hill.
Maybe it was kind of my fault… Kagome thought, somewhat guiltily, as she pulled InuYasha to his feet by offering her hand out to him. He stood and wobbled, leaning against Kagome. He looked at her to see if she would be mad at him for causing her to get all bruised up. He was surprised when she was laughing, although her eyes were deeply concerned.
"Kagome… are you ok?" InuYasha asked feebly.
"Yeah, I'm fine. Are you ok?"
"Been better, been a lot worse." Kagome smiled at him, and began climbing the hill. Her backpack, blanket, and bow were up there still… she'd taken them off to get to InuYasha when he went rolling.
It wasn't long before InuYasha and Kagome were on the move again, but InuYasha had to take semi-frequent breaks because his arm was too sore to hold onto her. Kagome eventually just told him to take off his shirt so she could get a good look at it, and saw a huge bruise formed along the side. She wrapped his upper arm a little tightly, and InuYasha moved his arm around to try the bandages. He smiled at her.
"Thanks, Kagome." Kagome smiled back. She loved the sound of his voice, and when he said her name… she sighed.
"No problem, InuYasha." InuYasha picked her up again and they were on their way. InuYasha thought her voice was the greatest treasure… she hadn't used it much lately, and when she said his name he felt at peace.
It wasn't long before the sun had begun its decline, and InuYasha put his plan into action. He came to a large cliff side and bounded up its face to a cave in the side. It faced opposite from the sun, but he didn't care much. It was a barren cliff, more like a rock in the middle of a forest, towering about twenty feet above the tallest trees. There was a lone tree growing at the top, filled with leaves of springtime turned to summer. InuYasha let Kagome off in the cave, and let her set up her things. The cave was rather large, and it had a ledge about three feet off the bottom of it. InuYasha didn't know much about this cave, just where it was and that some human had climbed here and made it, before a demon attacked them and made it its home.
Oh yeah… the demon… InuYasha sniffed the air and caught its scent at once. It was in the back of the cave, stunned that people would just come right into its home. Kagome set her backpack and weapon down on the ledge, and laid her blanket out about ten feet from the edge of the cave, which led to a small balcony-like rock, then a ledge some forty feet below. She looked over it, which sent shivers up her spine. She looked to the side of the front, and saw a small place where you could climb to the top. She started walking over to it but stopped in her tracks as she heard a demon voice.
InuYasha had been standing near her the whole time, watching the back of the cave. He now perked his ears up to listen better.
"How dare you enter my home! You sshall pay for thisss tresspasssing. You musst die!"
Kagome let out a small 'eep!' before running over behind InuYasha. A pair of glowing yellow eyes with slit pupils formed in the blackness of the back, and then a giant snakehead appeared. InuYasha had been ready to defend Kagome, but now stood as if someone had just asked him to kill a cockroach. He walked over to the snake after it had coiled in the light. It lunged at him, and he grabbed it by a tooth, slamming it to the rock floor. It coiled in pain, and InuYasha grabbed its tail and flung it out and far away from the cave. Kagome saw it crash through some trees, then slither to the top of them and give the two of them a final glare before leaving in a hurry.
InuYasha walked up to Kagome.
"Do you need help setting up the blanket?"
"Um… yeah, could you grab those two corners?"
Kagome got the bed set up, and InuYasha gathered rocks and made a circle of them near the opening, but far away enough from the blanket to be safe. He sat out on the landing, staring at the sky, wondering if the sun had set yet. Kagome walked up behind him and bent over, leaning on his shoulders.
"Want to watch the sun set?" She asked. InuYasha turned to her, and the gleam in his eyes told her everything she wanted to know. Kagome grabbed his hand, and after pulling him up, he didn't let go until they were at the top of the cliff.
Kagome walked deliberately across it, very joyful and certain. InuYasha watched her walk into the sun. It was about two minutes from touching the horizon. InuYasha was awestruck as Kagome stood at the edge of the cliff, very sure footed, and breathing in the refreshing air. He loved it when she was here, in the feudal era, because she always seemed to love it here. In this light, the sun made her look angelic, and as she turned slowly, it seemed, the sun was right beside her head, and her glistening hair swirled around her beautiful face. Tonight, I will get my desire, perhaps as the sun sets.
Kagome stood at the edge of the cliff, marveling at the colors the sky had been dyed. She took a deep breath, and looked back at InuYasha. He was staring at her as if she were an angel. He shook his head slightly, and walked over to her. Kagome sat on the edge of the cliff, and InuYasha sat beside her left side. He couldn't take his eyes off her face, but eventually wrenched his gaze away to look at the sunset. It was nothing compared to who sat next to him. Kagome gazed out, over the miles of flat forest, into the distance. It was all so beautiful, but not as astonishingly gorgeous as the one that was here to share it with.
As the sun touched the horizon, Kagome felt warmth on the back of her hand. She didn't even look down, just felt for the place on InuYasha's hand where hers fit perfectly, and laced her fingers through his. InuYasha felt extremely pleased with himself for this feat, but knew it wasn't his goal. Kagome sighed with the beauty of everything around her, and leaned against InuYasha. He released her hand and put his arm around her waist as her arm crept around his neck. He pulled her close to him, and he grew a little nervous as the moment approached.
Kagome sat against him, and her right hand found his free hand, and they held each other, while still staring at the sunset. The sun was half set, now a little more than, now almost gone. InuYasha lifted his head from Kagome's, and she looked at him to see if something was wrong. Her eyes shone as she saw the love in his, the genuine care, his soul, and the sun's sparkle. He let go of her hand, and slowly pulled her tighter to him from her waist. His hand touched her cheek, so softly, as he leaned towards her and she leaned to him.
Their lips met as the sun disappeared, but neither saw it go down, for they were to intrigued in the kiss. It was heaven yet rain; golden, yet fire. InuYasha kissed Kagome with such a passion, she wasn't sure if she could match. When he finally let go of her, she was gasping for breath, and rightly so, for it would have left anyone breathless.
InuYasha sat back, and took a deep breath. He watched Kagome, and saw her breathing slow to normal again as the colors faded from the sky. When Kagome turned to look at InuYasha, He reached toward her in the spur of the moment and hugged her fiercely. Kagome hugged him back, and gasped slightly as he lifted her up, one hand under her knees and the other behind her shoulders, as if she were an infant. She wrapped her arms around his neck, even though she knew he wouldn't drop her. InuYasha looked at her eyes, her deep, joyous embers of light, and stood still as Kagome leaned to him again.
He leaned down to her, and they exchanged a small peck, full on the lips. InuYasha stood still for a while longer, just watching her, before heading down to the cave. He set her down so gently that she didn't know she'd touched the ground until InuYasha let go of her. He smiled at her as he jumped off the ledge to the forest below, and soon after, Kagome saw a dead tree fall. InuYasha came back with a hollow log in sections, and a bunch of smaller branches. He set the log segments down, and set one up as a basket. He filled it with sticks, and Kagome lit it with a match. They sat back as it swelled, reaching to the sky and heating the cave. Kagome rested her head on her backpack and watched the flames. InuYasha had been on the opposite side, and she watched as his silhouette formed. It appeared slowly to condense, and Kagome watched in awe. Fire is excellent at creating illusions.
InuYasha walked around the campfire and up to Kagome. He sat behind her and wrapped his arms around her middle before leaning back against the blanket, pulling her with him. They sat in the hug, lying out across the blanket, until they fell asleep.
