All's Fair in Love and War

Chapter Eight

The Morning After

Inu Yasha awoke the next morning to the sound of the birds outside chirping, and the sun flooded his small room with light. He blinked at the bright light and yawned, but quickly snapped his jaw shut, feeling a sharp pain shoot through the side of his face. 'Last nights beating...' he thought, sure of the cause of this pain. He tried to lift his arm to wake Shippou but found it extremely painful to even try to move it, much less wake up the sleeping kitten on his chest

"Shippou." he said through a hoarse rough whisper, trying his best to keep his mouth closed mostly. The neko lying on him twitched an ear and slowly stretched out his paws in front of him making a short high pitched mew as he stretched. He looked at Inu Yasha with half closed eyes, still drowsy from being woken up. However his face changed into one of extreme worry when he saw Inu Yasha's face and the dried blood on his chest. Hew mewed worridly and Inu Yasha sent him a look that told him to be quiet. He was engulfed in smoke and with a small poof he was back in his human form.

"Inu Yasha... Are you okay?'" said the small nake reaching up his hand to examine the bruised face of the half breed boy. It was obvious that Shippou was holding back tears throughout the conversation. Inu Yasha looked sadly down at the worried child and tried his best to smile through his pain, though this only made his face hurt more.

"I'll be fine." he managed to choke out. Shippou looked up at his bruised face and tears welled at the rim of his eyelid. He nodded and wrapped his tiny arms around Inu Yasha's waist, nuzzling his side with his head. Inu Yasha lifted an arm and pat him on the head, rubbing his ears between his fingers. "I'll be alright, Shippou, don't cry." he grinned at Shippou and he tried his best to smile. "Don't worry 'bout me, Im...fine." Shippou looked up at him, his shimmering green eyes watery and sparkling in the morning sun.

Inu Yasha knew that he had to get up now, he figured it would take him a while. He leaned forward and put his palms flat against the floor. The he tucked his knees under his body, cringing all the while. He grabbed at the wall and tried to use the door knob to pull himself up. He stood, clinging onto the doorknob on shaky legs and trembling arms. He cringed under the pain of his wounds. Straightening his legs and locking them in place he slowly let go of the doorknob and spread his arms out to balance himslef.

When he had finally made it out of his room he looked around and spotted his backpack and walked over to it, carefully taking out all the books he knew he wouldnt need and placing them on the floor, knowing he wouldnt be able to carry them all. He put on his bag backwards so it wouldnt hit his back. He then wobbled out the door and to school.

Thirty minutes later he could see the school in the distance and he felt a wave of relief wash over him. He sighed and smiled dimly at the field he saw, knowing his favorite spot was not far from here now. He limped quickly towards the school his smile growing brighter with every step. Finally he was at the school gates and he went through, going as quickly as possibly to his tree. Finally, when he got there, he realized that he couldnt sit in it since he was too weak to climb. His smile quickly changed to a frown and he slowly slumped against the trunk, sitting at its base and sighing. He put his backpack to his side and lay down against it closing his eyes to rest.

"Inu Yasha?" someone lightly tapped his shoulder "Inu Yasha?" He slowly opened his eyes.

"Kagome? What are you doing here?" he asked rubbing his eyes.

"Well you were sleeping so soundly I was afraid you'd miss class." He checked his watch.

"But class doesnt start for another half an hour." She sat beside him. "What are you doing here so early anyways?"

"What are YOU doing here so early?" she said and poked him teasingly in the nose with her index finger.

"No fair, I asked you first!" he complained while rubbing his nose.

"Well if you really wanna know, it's so I can see you. I wake up early to get here early so I can talk to you, you know?" he looked up at her turned bright pink, blinking a couple times before turning away. Kagome gigled softly. 'So cute.' she thought. "How are you today Inu Yasha?" she asked

"Fine." he said trying to hide his grinning face.

She leaned over and rested her chinabove his shoulder her warm breath stirring the hair on the back of his neck. "Don't lie Inu Yasha, how are you? Its okay, you can tell me." she leaned forward just enough so that her forhead lay against the side of his face and the tip of her lips tickled his cheek, "I wont hurt you." she whispered, and closed her eyes

He stared into the distance, his eyes shifting from place to place, too afraid to look her way, afraid of the gaze that would meet him, knowing that once he looked into her eyes, he wouldn't be able to look away. His lip trembled slightly and his brain was frantic in trying to find find something, anything in response to her. But he couldnt think of anything BUT her, her warm breath, her head that fit so perfectly on his shoulder, the tip of her nosetickling his cheek.

A silence had settled between them, and in sounds absence he worried. He tried to think of something that could fill its gap, anything he could say, or do but in his search he found nothing. It was then he realized that he didnt need words right now, this moment was fine just the way it was. He knew he was happy, he was smilling. He couldnt even remember the last time he had smiled because he felt happy. Any time he had smiled it had been because he didnt wan't anyone to know what was really happening, too ashamed of his story to tell it to anyone.

So he smiled

It was then he came to the realization that all his smiles had come from the darkest pits of his despair. Smiling to comfort himself or others, smiling a lie. Even though he knew this he also knew just as well that it is better for one to live in a made up reality than one that hurts too much to exist in

"Inu Yasha?"

"...Yes?" he said, her voice stirring him from his thoughts

"Oh you found your voice!" she said giggling and lifting her head off his shoulder. "You dont have to tell me how you are."

"Hm? But I already did."

"Its okay, I can wait" she grinned and he couldnt help but hide his smile under a smirk.

"I dont get you." he said and sighed.

"Well you're not the first" she laughed. "I'm gonna nap, wake me up when the bell rings." she told him.

"Keh." he said. He was there first, shouldnt he be able to sleep? 'No fair' He thought.

Twenty minutes later the school was filled with tired grumpy school children, whining and complaining about how much homework they had and Inu Yasha was at the tree shaking Kagome awake. "Kagome? Wake up Kagome!" he tugged at her shirt collar. She groaned and her eyelids fluttered open and she caught sight of Inu Yasha's face, a mere four inches away from her face. So they sat uncomfortably, neither one knowing whether they should move or if the other would do it first. Inu yasha pulled his head away at last and turned around, muttering "Uh, we should go now."

Kagome stood up and dusted off her pants "Its so cute how easily you blush!" she laughed softly.

"Wh-what...?" he said and blushed.

"C'mon slowpoke, time for class!" she grinned at him and he rolled his eyes, ever so slightly. He brushed of the dirt on his pant legs and tried to stand up but he stopped as he felt a pain shoot up through his back. He hissed quietly and looked around for something to grab onto but found nothing. Kagome looked sadly down at Inu Yasha and noticed his ears that lay flat against his head as he desperately searched for something to grab onto.

"Here." she said holding out her hand.

"Huh?" he turned to her and smiled at her outstretched arm. He reached out to grab it but before he touched her fingers she leaned down and hooked her arms under his and gently pulled him up, which amazingly caused him no discomfort. The only thing is, after she helped him up her arms remained around his back, he didnt really want to but he knew he had to let go, "Kagome? Um..."

"Yes?"

"S-someone might see us." his face turned pink as he noticed a few people already starting to stare at the two of them.

"I know." She rolled her finger along his back on the place he recieved the slash from the beating from last night. He turned darker pink and tried to resist the urge to throw his arms around her and stand there forever. He just felt so happy right now, so happy and warm and just good. If only he could freeze time, he knew he would. It made him sad to know that any comfort he had now would leave him in a few hours when he returned home.

Kagome pulled away and looked up into his eyes "We should go now." she told him and backed away from him. He almost felt sad that she had had broken the embrace, however short it might have been. Something about the wamrth of her body and softness of the hug ... he liked it.

"O-oh..." he stuttered, looking uncomfortably down at his old tattered shoes. She walked towards the school building and he followed.

They walked through the classroom doors and were met with strange gazes from the children in the classroom. The sent awkward glares towards them and Inu Yasha looked down at his feet, turning his head in the other direction. Soon, one of them turned towards another and whispered "They're so wierd."

"I know, I heard they were like making out under the tree!" they said gigling.

"Really?" another one whispered as one by one the classmates of Inu Yasha were sucked into unconciousely turning the cranks of the gossip mill. Inu Yasha lay his head against his desk with his ears flat against his head, trying to keep their venom from reaching his ears. It was in times like this that he didnt like his demon senses. Really didnt like them. He remembered when he was little, their insults and impudent behavior hurt him so much. Now, however, he could watch them speak their evil to his face, spewing the most horrible and crude venom, and hardly feel a thing.

Author's Notes

The eighth chapter, finished! Woo, I finished it the day before I posted it. Like it? Oh, come one, I know you do. Well this was all the fluff I could possibly squeeze out of me. Pretty cute though? We got some nice physical contact there. Mmhmm. Too MUCH fluff for me in my opinion.

By the way, next chapter starts with a really cute little flashback on Inu Yashas childhood so you can get an idea of what his boyhood was like. It is really adorable, but also very sad. Inu Yasha has a very tragic life, remember? Only now is it starting to get better. Sad huh? But he is a very good sweet little darling, so karma will have its effect on him. (Thats a good thing by the way.)

REEEEVVVVIIIIEEEEWWWW!