Allís Fair in Love and War

Chapter Thirty Slevin

Closer, Closer

Inu Yasha found himself impressed at how particularly wonderful Sango was at checking in to hotels. He got the feeling that this was not the first time she had done this and in some way, it made him relate to her. It seemed like her mom was so self involved. Even the way she sat on the couch, a blanket wrapped around her body, hanging limply over her shoulder, a thin fragile strand of smoke streaming and curling through her pursed lips. She had stared so intently at the television that he had wondered if she even knew he was there, in her house, walking with her daughter, staring at her so curiously.

She walked casually to the registration desk, and had a few words with the man at the desk. They smiled and laughed and chattered, for a larger tip, thought Inu Yasha. Maybe he knew Sango was loaded?

The room was amazing. It was huge. It was soft and carpeted and included a kitchenette that awed Inu Yasha. This might have been because he actually found it more attractive than his own. He was in a hotel and he preferred it to his own home.

He flopped down on the bed and lay there, huffing a few breaths. He couldn't wait for the night to come, so he could snuggle under the comforter, cocooning himself within it's folds, enjoying being encased in this secure and safe bed within a hotel in which nothing bad could ever happen.

Then he remembered the pool. He loved water, actually, maybe it was a dog thing. However, he longed desperately for an excuse, any excuse, not to set a foot into the water. He couldn't think of anything and in a way, he didn't want to. He wanted to think of an excuse, any excuse really, that would pardon him to the side of the pool. Something to let him wear shorts and a t-shirt and get away with laughing as he dangled his feet in the water as his friends all bobbed around and floated through the water, splashing him occasionally.

What would he say? That he couldn't swim? That would work, though it was embarrassing.

Presently, Sango felt hungry and everyone decided it would be a good idea if they ate lunch. Inu Yasha was excited and nervous. Why did he feel like being here was stealing? This was supposed to be a celebration for Sango almost turning another year older, but it felt like he was the one being given to. He knew this couldn't be right. But what he didn't know was that he poured more heart, more effort, more blood and sweat and soul into his small, neatly packed trinkets of appreciation for his friend than her father could have spent at work for a few hours.

The restaurant was pretty and formal and Sango and Kagome felt right at home, being used to beautiful and grand things. Miroku and Inu Yasha felt spoiled. Inu Yasha found that staring at the intricacy of the crown moldings inspired him. He remembered Kagome's mother, her love of amazing detail. He wanted to draw something, and his fingers itched for a pencil. He had only a shiny silver fork, however, and that better suited his purposes, as the chicken dish he ordered was well on its way. Shippou looked eagerly at the food and then Inu Yasha realized that not once in his entire, albeit short, life, had Shippou ever used silver wear.

The boy was seated next to him, so Inu Yasha made a pathetic and badly hidden attempt to try to show Shippou that no, the knife wasn't used like a drumstick, and yes, throwing your silver wear on the floor would get you new utensils and however fun it was to throw them, YES, the bus boys would surely pee in his soda if he kept dropping them like that. After Shippou had attempted to pick up the beef dish he ordered with his tiny little fingers, Inu Yasha chided him and softly showed him how to cut meat. The entire table found this entertaining, especially Sango, who got out of her seat to direct Shippou's untrained fingers with her own. He squirmed and giggled and looked cute, but learned nothing. Hopefully, Inu Yasha wished that the rest of his friends thought that this was what normal four or five year old children do. He doubted it and was glad that at least Shippou looked adorable trying.

Inu Yasha ended up cutting the boys meat himself, utterly defeated. When this wonderful little time was over, they wouldn't be eating off of beautiful plates with painted sides or using shiny silver forks and knives, engraved with flowers and swirls. Where they were going, they didn't even know if they were going to be eating at all, only that somehow they would somehow survive.

Kagome kept looking at him. He would glance over at her and stare at her eyes for a split second they were locked. In that fleeting moment he could see through her eyes and he wondered that if he looked into them longer, would he be able to find out why she turned away from him? But also, maybe more curiously to him, why he turned away as well.

It made him feel awkward, and that was all he could find out. Maybe that's why they would look away, but then why did his eyes keep wandering back to her?

The five of them had spent an hour or so wandering the halls of the hotel. Inu Yasha wanted to look into each and every room and absorb the beauty like a sponge that knew it would be wrung dry very soon, and very quickly. This place was so pretty.

The hotel had many accommodations. A work out room, a computer room with internet access, a pool (which he dreaded) and a few functional restaurants. Sango had brought with her some food, however. This included a cake mix, as well as frosting and other decorating things. (He eyed a bottle of red disc shaped candies and some multicolored sprinkles.) There were snack foods as well, like chips, potato stick snacks, and some sugary things like fruit gummies and sweet bean candy.

There were a few things Inu Yasha didn't know about Sango that he found out on the day he arrived at the hotel. One was that she had a credit card. This was shocking, only because he thought that not even all adults had these things. (His father mostly used cash.) Sango said she only used it scarcely. Only to pay for clothes, and special occasions that beckoned the need for it, like her birthday, she told him. As she flashed the plastic to the waiter Inu Yasha found himself swallowing a lump and being slightly attracted to Miroku's bug eyes. Sango wouldn't have to work a day in her life. Conversely, he had to work hard, every day, just to live. It didn't seem fair somehow. What did he do to deserve a dead mother and an abusive drug addicted father?

He found his thoughts lingering to Sesshomaru. He longed to see the boy's face.

The room that the four were to stay in was large and spacious. There were not one, but two television sets. He was shocked! Two!

And there was a room with two big beds, either queen or king. He didn't know the difference, only that they were large and he liked them. He couldn't help but keep his mind from going back to the thought of those beds; those large soft clean beds.

After attending the lunch end exploring the hotel, they decided to take a walk along the beach. Since no one was going to swim in the freezing ocean water, as it did get very cold around this time, they all left their bathing suits at the hotel, except for Inu Yasha and Shippou, since they had no suits.

Inu Yasha found plenty of joy sitting on the beach and running the chilly sand grains through his fingers. They were soft and grainy and not like dirt, though there was some resemblance. Shippou pranced along the shore, allowing his feet to pad through the wet sand. But when the waves would come close to the shore, he would run away from them, finding momentary shelter on the dry sand until the wave receded and slipped back into the ocean.

Kagome plopped down next to Inu Yasha and slid her fingers through the sand. "It's cool, huh?" she said and then laughed. "It's actually kind of cold!" The girl giggled shyly and wriggled her way into the sand. "Have you ever been to a beach before Inu Yasha?"

"No, not that I remember." he said and picked up some more sand.

"I used to take trips here sometimes- when I was younger. We don't live very close to the beach. My parents would drive me down here sometimes during the summers. They thought it was cool, but I always thought the beach was a stupid trip." She arched her back as she leaned forward, pressing her palms into the sand.

"It's beautiful."

"Not that I didn't like the sand and the water, don't get me wrong." she corrected. "But I just got pretty bored of it. Personally," she said, leaning closer to him and lowering her voice, as if she was telling him something deeply personal, "I always loved rummaging through the hotel- looking through our room, wandering the hallways. I loved seeing new places. All the whites and beiges and neutral colors of the hotels were strangely exotic to me. Maybe if you grew up on a shrine, you might know what I'm talking about." she finished and chuckled to herself.

"It's strange to me, too." he said honestly. "Probably not in the same ways it's weird to you though." He laughed mirthlessly.

She pushed her hands under the sand and he felt her hand slide against his under the blanket of beach the hid them. She giggled sweetly again and lifted her extremities in the air, the sand spraying ocean ward because of a light wind.

He smiled.

He found that the later on the day got, the more anxious he got. And the more anxious he got, the more guilty. How could he be nervous now? He was exactly where he wanted to be! What was he thinking! On the other hand, no one could see his chest and the later it got, the more likely someone would suggest they swim. He couldn't do it, he just couldn't let them see his destroyed and shattered form. His body- they would be repulsed. But maybe the fact that they couldn't possibly be as disgusted by it than he could would comfort him. No, that wasn't much comfort at all.

He did however long to be with them- his friends that is. He wanted to mingle among their company, and laugh and talk with them. It was a rare occasion that one is surrounded by only the people that he wishes to associate with and this was just such a situation. He wanted to be with them, pretend he was one of them, one of these people.

Inu Yasha and Kagome stood in water halfway up their shins after being tired with the sand. The wind whipped around flicked his hair into his eyes painfully so he grabbed it and stuffed it into the back of his his shirt. Kagome waded over to him and fell back against his chest, asking him to pretend she was Rose from the movie The Titanic, which she had seen in America. However, he didn't know what she was talking about and just stared at her, confused. She laughed coyly and walked away from him, pink. Why was she laughing?

He turned around and found Sango snuggling against Miroku's warm body affectionately, whispering something into his ears. They got along really well, he noticed. They pulled each other so close, it almost made him forget that they were only fourteen. He wasn't that way when he was fourteen was he? He tried to remember what he was like at the age and some memories came, but they weren't of girls and cake and beaches. He suddenly ached, unexplainably, in his side and was tempted to look under his shirt to check to see if a certain scar was still visible. He remembered, with a bit of terror, the first cut he had ever received from him.

His attention was drawn away from the ocean as he heard his name being called. He looked over at Miroku and Sango, who were now covered in sand, wiping their faces and spitting. Kagome laughed heartily before Sango got up and ran after her. Somehow, Sango managed to tackle Kagome to the ground and was presently grabbing her sides so hard that she was left gasping for breath from the laughter.

After several hours of playing on the beach and wandering about the different areas of the hotel, Inu Yasha noticed the sky getting dark. Dinner time was drawing near and maybe, he thought, he wouldn't have to end up going swimming. Somebody found an order in menu that showed an impressive list of food that you could order from the hotel's kitchen. The teenagers decided that maybe they should just order, well, everything. Then they could eat it buffet style. Inu Yasha felt like he was stealing as he heaped food onto his plate. Sango order chicken and fish dishes, plenty of different appetizers including dumplings and rice balls, and several noodle dishes. He decided it all looked good so, why not? He felt the blood drain from his face as he realize that everyone had not even half of what he had piled on his plate. The four of them stared at his food mountain and some couldn't help but choke a laugh.

Shippou took a certain interest in the fish. Inu Yasha discovered the boy had a unique love for anything that lived in the sea. He pulled several rice balls onto his plate and then broke them open, pulling out the nugget of fish or squid or octopus that was contained within, leaving a pile of plain white rice on his plate. Sango and Miroku helped him eat some of it. Actually they just ate it for him. The boy hated starch.

Inu Yasha, to everyone's surprise, cleaned his plate. He would have eaten it all and more, but he knew that his friends would look at him strangely. And surely, he knew, they would wonder why it is someone can eat so much and be so skinny. That thought however, he wouldn't allow them. He couldn't.

Sango suggested dessert, so they all started to work on the cake mix she had brought with her.

Using the raw eggs she had purposely ordered during dinner, and a pan and some more ingredients she had brought, the cake was in the oven and baking very soon. The five of them sat on the couch and two arm chairs in the living room and flickered through the different channels as the cake baked. No one really watched television, except for Shippou, who was mesmerized by the man in the pink rooster outfit on the t.v. who clucked about some new egg product that was supposedly from chickens who were free roaming and fed all natural grain.

The cake was taken out of the oven, frosted and eaten promptly. There were no matches so after everyone sang happy birthday to Sango as she blew at the icing, pointlessly. However, the group laughed and smiled. Inu Yasha took a large piece and ate it slowly, absorbing every bite like it could be his last. Shippou ignored the cake almost completely, and Sango marveled at the only child she knew of that didn't like sugar. This wasn't true, however. Shippou liked sweet milk, especially chocolate milk, which Inu Yasha later wondered the negative health affects of.

The five of them lounged about the sofa area until Sango announced, to Inu Yasha's complete horror, that she wanted to go swimming. Inu Yasha mentioned how they would all get cramps because they had eaten and she argued that that was an urban myth and no one ever gets cramps from swimming after eating. He then said Shippou had no bathing suit, so she said she would take him to the hotel shop and buy one for him as a gift, since she liked him. He then said that she didn't need to do that since Shippou couldn't swim anyways, and he didn't want her to have to buy him something. But she liked Shippou, and he was just so cute so don't worry, it's no problem to buy him something from the shop. But Sango!

"But this but that, Inu Yasha. Look, I'll get him a suit, it's no problem, really." she said. She sounded irritated.

"It's just, well ..." he looked around cautiously and then whispered in her ear "he's afraid of the water." Sango looked thoughtful for a moment.

"Don't worry, I'll hold him." she said. "Shippou, honey, want me to teach you to swim?" she said enthusiastically.

"Yeah!" he chirped. Inu Yasha wasn't entirely sure he even knew what swimming involved. Well, except for that it involved Sango, he knew that. As long as it involved Sango, Shippou would do it. Inu Yasha moaned under his breath. Nothing was working and Shippou wasn't helping.

"So it's okay, Inu Yasha." she said. She made her voice louder and announced to the crowd, "Girls change in the bath room, and boys in here!"

She ushered Kagome into the bathroom and left Inu Yasha with Miroku. "Uhhh..." he hummed, nervously. Once Inu Yasha realized that in order to change, Miroku would have to remove all his clothes, he turned around and stared at the wall, his face a light pink. Inu Yasha could hear the shuffling of fabric and, for his own amusement, tried to guess which article of clothing was being removed. First the shirt. "Are you changing?" Miroku asked.

"No."

"So you're swimming in your clothes?" he asked and saved Inu Yasha. That was it! He would swim in his clothing! Why in the world had he not thought of this earlier? So simple, but so genius! Oh, he would just hug the life out of Miroku right now if it weren't for the fact the boy had no pants on.

"Yeah!" he remarked, a little enthusiastic, but who cared? His problems were over! He would not have to worry!He pulled out the most unappealing shirt and short combo he had with him and slipped into it. This was just spectacular. He just had to love when things worked out perfectly for him. This was probably because they rarely did, but he couldn't think about that now, he was too happy with his newfound solution. If only Miroku could know how much his seemingly worthless comment meant to him.

"Inu Yasha?" he asked.

"Hm?"

"..." The boy's pause unnerved him.

"Yeah?"

"Well ... Never mind." he mumbled.

Inu Yasha knew what he wanted to ask. What ever happened to that cat of yours you wanted to bring? Why isn't he here? And what about that cousin, Inu Yasha? How is he human and you not? He looked through his luggage for the lightest thinnest pants he had with him and pulled them on.

In the next room, which was the one with the two beds, he heard the laughter of girls and decided that the two were done changing. "Are you guys finished?" he heard Sango call.

Miroku looked at Inu Yasha out of the corner of his eye and saw he had clothes on. "Yeah." he called back.

Then, the knob turned and out came the two of them, suited and with towels slung around their shoulders. Kagome's jet black suit contrasted with Sango's bright flowery two piece. Her entire midsection was exposed and Inu Yasha guessed that if any less of her were covered up, she would not be able to go out in public. Kagome had her long wavy hair tied up into a messy bun and Sango's was tied back in a high ponytail.

"Come on!" Sango giggled. The group followed her out the door and down to the lobby where she took Shippou by the hand and asked politely for everyone to wait while she bought him a suit. About ten minutes later, after finding and being fitted with a pair of trunks, the five exited the lobby and walked to the pool area. Miroku was the first to enter, cannon balling into the water and then shooting up to the surface. Sango, who slipped into the pool by the side, was second. Third was Kagome, who stepped in on the stairs. And finally, Inu Yasha and Shippou. Inu Yasha longed to leap into the pool, but he didn't know what to do about Shippou who downright refused to go anywhere near the body of water.

"It'll be fun." he told him.

Shippou merely whimpered and held strong to Inu Yasha's leg. Sango waded to the side of the pool. "What's wrong, baby?" she asked him. Shippou looked at her with big fearful eyes and whimpered. She reached out her arms for him. "Come on, I'll hold you. I can teach you to swim. It's really easy!" He looked at her and then the water, and then at Inu Yasha and took a tentative step towards her hands. Well, she was going to hold him. Sango took him up in her arms and waded towards the steps, so that he could have proper footing.

Inu Yasha slid into the pool and was quite surprised at how warm the water was. It was chilly tonight and getting colder, but the water was like a hot bath. He floated on his back awkwardly for a little bit until he felt two hands lightly touching his back. Kagome was holding up his torso. He looked over to her and smiled. "I'm floating he chirped, happily.

"No," she said, "I'm making you float." She grinned and then pushed him along with her hands, making him go around the pool on his back. The sky above was black and empty, all stars drowned out by city lights. Kagome suddenly pulled her hand away from his lower back and pushed on his shoulder to flip him upright. "We can race?" she suggested softly.

"Oh ... Um, I'm not really that great of a swimmer." he murmured, shyly. "Actually, I don't even think I ever learned." he stated, and then screwed up his face a little. Kagome found this funny. She laughed.

"Well of course you can do the dog paddle, right?" she asked and giggled nervously, hoping she hadn't walked across ice too thin.

"What's that?" he asked, curiously.

"You don't know?" she said, shocked. "Oh, well, it's this." She then lay across the water, her head bobbing just above the surface and flailed her arms and legs underneath the water, moving her from one area to another painfully slowly. Inu Yasha couldn't help but laugh at her, at how stupid she looked. He was amazed to find that she didn't feel embarrassed when she was doing this. He noted a few people around the pool deck. They could have seen, they could be watching. But she didn't care, she didn't even notice. She wasn't like him- guilty, afraid, ashamed- she just laughed, because she did not care about people that would judge her happiness.

For some time, and Inu Yasha didn't know how long, they all swam and played in the water. Shippou, even though he was in Sango's arms, refused to let the water come above his knee. He spent most of the time splashing around on the steps leading into the pool and running around the deck, shouting to Sango and Miroku, who on occasion splashed him. Sango and Miroku basically swam together the whole time, but were sometimes joined by Kagome. Inu Yasha liked swimming alone and especially enjoyed laying on his back and staring up at the sky. It was so dark, and he couldn't see the moon. He determined in was a new moon. It was pretty late, and currently, there were hardly any people in sight and the only thing that could be heard was splashing water and the soft laughter of his friends.

He heard them all talking. Sango wanted to play Marco Polo. Kagome and Miroku decided that would be a good idea. "Inu Yasha, do you want to play with us? We're going to do marco polo. Sango's it." Inu Yasha flipped himself upright and waded over to the three of them.

"Sure." he said.

"Okay okay, everyone scatter while I count." Sango announced.

She counted to ten as the rest of them swam around her at the farthest edges of the pool. Five minutes later, Sango had not caught, or come close to catching a single person. She was not able to move very quickly as she constantly had to fix or adjust her bathing suit to make sure no one saw anything they shouldn't be seeing. The flimsy ties kept loosening, and she would have to tie them tighter frequently. However, Inu Yasha noticed that she was wading in Kagome's direction, and rather quickly. Kagome smiled at him and then slowly lifted her self out of the pool, step by step. She put a finger to her lips as she started to creep along the pool deck. Shippou looked puzzled and then laughed as he blurted out. "Kagome, you're not supposed to run away from her!" he giggled and Kagome started running towards the pool again.

Sango grinned and shouted out "Fish out of water!" Just as Kagome slipped on the pool deck and fell down, face forward. Her stomach made a large plopping sound and she hissed in pain, quickly curling inward on herself like a snail that had been covered with salt. Inu Yasha leapt out of the pool and was at her side in an instant. He gently held her back up, so she was in a sitting position, with his hand, as if he were afraid she would fall without his support. She clenched her eyes and looked as if she were holding back tears. "Are you okay?" he asked softly. She whimpered and grabbed his arm.

The others were with her soon, and they cooed and asked her if she was all right. They all knew she was fine, but still, they worried. Kagome attempted to lift herself to her feet and succeeded with Inu Yasha's help. She limped against his side and looked at him as she whispered. "Take me to the room. Please."

"I'm going to take her to the room, okay? You guys can stay here at the pool." he said. He held her tenderly in his arms, but securely enough so that she would not fall from his grasp. She limped to the room, and he limped with her, patiently taking every step in accordance with her own. He held her up and moved his arms in any way he thought would make her more comfortable. Eventually they made it to the room, and Inu Yasha slipped it into the slot, pushing the door open with his side and easing his way inside.

"Put me in the bath, kay?" she said softly. He did as she asked, gently depositing her into the tub and then continuing to fill it with warm water. He spent at least a minute tinkering with the water to make sure it was the right temperature. She laughed. He looked at her and raised an eyebrow, silently asking her what was so funny.

"You're so nice, Inu Yasha." she said and rolled onto her side. "Too nice." she added, a little less humorously. He smiled shyly from underneath his stringy bangs. His wet clothing continued to cling to his upper chest as he leaned over.

"Well ... you're my best friend, Kagome." he said gently as he turned the hot water on a smidgen more.

That's funny." she said quietly. A long silence prevailed until the bath water filled all the way up. "Inu Yasha?" she asked. He looked over at her, and a drop of sweat from the hot steam of the bath rolled down his face. "Come in." she told him and sat with her legs over the ledge.

Author's notes

So, I decided I would leave this chapter on a cliffhanger of sorts. Maybe you can tell me where this is going. Hehehe.

I'm sure you are all glad that this is going somewhere. Yeah, all, like, thirteen of the the people that are still reading. Sob. But anyways, hope you enjoyed. Next update will come at a reasonable time, within two weeks. Yay!