I'd appreciate if, for anyone who normally skips this part, if you could at least skim through it today...
sigh> you guys are really too awesome... I don't even remember the last time I updated... what, like a month ago? And I still haven't received any flames about how I'm taking too long... not that I'm encouraging anyone, that is... just that you guys seriously rock, and I wish I could update faster.
But in reality, I really can't. The last few months have been really... painful. I just discovered I have ADD, I failed two classes for the very first time last term, I've been dropping in and out of bouts of depression and panic attacks like they were nothing, and it's seriously becoming more and more difficult to simply wake up in the morning knowing I have an entire day before I can go back to sleep and forget all my problems. So... things are rather... delicate, right now... which is part of the reason why I feel so great having reviewers that don't get on my case about this.
I'll be honest... I don't have the next chapter even started, and I have no idea how long it'll be until I do start it. But please bear with me. I am making no promises about when a chapter will be up, other than it WILL be up... I just don't know when. I have some other things to take care of, but that doesn't mean this isn't one of my priorities.
I appreciate anyone who understands, and anyone who doesn't understand, but doesn't try to flame me, anyway.
Thanks for listening (if you did, that is)
hEyKyRa13
Protect Me
Chapter 14
The Wagings of War
Whether she liked it or not, Kagome found herself complying with Inuyasha's one request- they went back to fighting.
Well, not so much fighting as just simply arguing. Because they were so good at it. One could even go as far as to say it was their primary source of communication between them… if communication isn't limited by volume, that is.
But it wasn't as if they argued because they still detested each other. Neither were quite aware of the point where they had passed that stage, but then again, neither really stopped to think about it long enough. If they had, like Sango and Miroku had slowly become accustomed to doing, they might have been able to acknowledge their "relationship" as more of a mutual friendship. Each gave back to the other to some degree, although Kagome found herself more on the "giving" end than Inuyasha.
Nonetheless, the other somewhat solved a need for their cohort- Kagome was in need of companions, and Inuyasha was in need of someone to vent out on. Of course, naturally, Kagome would retaliate against his venting, but that would typically result in further bickering, soon growing to a full scale battle in which the female would normally triumph over the male, basking in the glow of her victory while the male would sulk, using any means necessary to nag at his opponent, eventually picking up right where they left off.
Occasionally, Inuyasha would surprisingly claim his own victory, one of which he would gloat over the girl's supposed failure, not realizing it was her own pity and generosity that gave him the advantage he needed. But after understanding that she wouldn't snap at him for rubbing it in her face (like he would have done, and certainly wanted her to do), the two would find themselves in a rare moment of peace, a time where negotiations were made, a temporary truce was formed, and an alliance created over a plate of cookies.
Of course, all it ever took was a slipped word or an ill-tempered morning to rekindle the fighting spirits.
However, today found the two in a state of peace… for now. Kagome sat between Sango and Miroku on the couch, partly because she had to be a blockade to stop Miroku's hand from coming near Sango's rear, and partly because she wanted to hold the cookies from her and Inuyasha's most recent truce. Said hanyou sat cross-legged on the floor in front of them, making room between Kagome and Miroku to lean back against the couch, simply reaching back for a cookie when he felt like it. All were gathered in the living room, eyes fixed to the TV, the only noises being its dialogue, the occasional dramatic music, and the crunch of chocolate chip treats being chewed.
"Who do you think she'll go for?" Sango asked, eyes never straying from the screen. "The sophisticated doctor? Or the biker?"
"It's tough," Kagome admitted, taking a thoughtful bite of her cookie. "The doc's charming, handsome-"
"And filthy rich, right?" Inuyasha supplied dryly.
Kagome stuck her tongue out at him. "That's not the point. He's a nice guy, and he seems to honestly care."
The dog demon rolled his eyes, mumbling incoherently under his breath.
"But what about the biker?" Sango asked.
"He's rude and crude, but sweet when you get beneath the layers," Kagome pointed out. "I'm not sure who she'd go for."
Sango frowned. "But the guy's a player! He's always got three girls on each arm… sound like anyone we know, Kagome?" she added, casting a shady glance at the young man across the couch.
Miroku pouted stubbornly. "Sango, I'm crushed to think you'd compare me to him!... Besides, my sweetness is on the outside of my layers, not the inside."
"You wish," Sango retorted, flinging her half of a cookie at him. Miroku put up his hands just in time to catch it, throwing the woman a sly glance before bringing the treat to his lips.
"Mmm… still has your taste on it," he purred, licking his lips.
Whether her face burned from embarrassment or anger, no one knew, but it took all of Kagome's strength and skill to keep both the enraged woman in her seat and the plate of cookies in her lap.
"Calm down, Sango! Please! Don't make such a big-"
"My, my, Sango. Are you that eager to come to me?" Miroku asked seductively.
Sango struggled against Kagome's rather impressive defense. "Only to keep you from ever making children, Miroku."
Miroku grinned devilishly. "Well, if you're that willing to get to my-"
"Miroku!" Sango screeched.
"Would you two knock it off?" Inuyasha snapped, casting a weak glare at both of them from over his shoulder. "If you two want to knock each other, do it at your own place!"
"Inuyasha!" Kagome gasped.
His golden eyes flicked to meet hers, unflinchingly. "What? This is the part where the biker and the doctor duke it out, and I wanna see!" he whined.
Kagome sighed, shaking her head. I swear, he's got the mentality of a five-year-old. "Look, why don't you and Miroku go get some milk?"
His ears flattened against his skull defensively. "Why do I have to go? He's the one that's acting like a perverted bouzo!"
Kagome's glare dared him to defy her. She was not in the mood to be generous, ergo he was not going to win this. "Because I said so. Because we're eating cookies, and you drank the last of the milk this morning. Because you're giving me a headache, and if we leave Miroku to go on his own, he'll only get stalled by the female workers."
Miroku's eyes lit up at the prospect, but Sango's feral growl and death glare quickly quenched the thought.
Inuyasha looked unconvinced. "I still don't see why-"
Kagome sighed again. Five-year-old mentality- meet the ultimate defense.
"So, Sango, do you prefer using tampons? Or do you like the way the pads just wrap around-"
"Come on, Bouzo!" Inuyasha hissed, leaping to his feet, all the while using his long bangs to try to conceal the furious tomato coloring over his cheeks. In one swift move, he grabbed Miroku by his collar and literally flew out the door, ignoring the officer's protests about wanting to know Sango's answer. Obviously, he was more interested in the girl's topic of conversation than the hanyou.
Kagome grinned smugly as she watched his retreat through the window. "Works every time."
Sango snorted. "Wish I had as effective a weapon against Miroku."
"Sango, all it takes is one evil eye from you to put him in his place," Kagome pointed out humorously.
"Not anymore," Sango replied bitterly. "Didn't you see him? I swear, he just won't leave me alone. Not since-"
Kagome watched, both curious and amused, as the slightest hint of pink tinged her friend's cheeks before she effectively cleared it and looked away. The girl grinned.
"Not since that incident in Inuyasha's room," Kagome finished thoughtfully, watching for Sango's reaction.
Sango wisely remained silent, not wanting to further jeopardize her own pride. This, however, only served to reinforce Kagome's curiosity.
"Sango, you never did tell me what went on in there, did you?" she continued.
Sango eyed the girl warily. "I was hoping you'd forget," she admitted.
Kagome giggled. "You underestimate me," was all she said.
The officer sighed, standing slowly and walking into the kitchen, Kagome following behind like a dutiful little puppy. When she turned back around, she was surprised to come face to face with her charge's saucer sized chocolate eyes stare up at her with such an intensely forlorn expression, Sango felt her innards just crumble.
"Okay! Okay!" Sango growled, shoving the giggling girl away from her face.
"I sort of… well, we sort of… he… he tricked me!" was all she could come up with as her cheeks grew warmer by the minute.
"How?" Kagome pressed.
Sango's eyes flicked to her in a dark expression that all but screamed, 'If you were anyone else, I'd have killed you by now'. "He pretended to be bad at Blackjack. Acted crushed after every round I beat him."
Kagome nodded in empathy. "So you'd feel confident enough to beat him, no matter what the stakes."
"And I was so stupid to fall for it," Sango admonished angrily. "After a while, he finally made this ridiculous wager, a sort of winner-take-all deal."
Kagome thought she could predict where this was heading. "And the conditions?"
Sango's mouth twitched in an effort to conceal her grin as she remembered. "I told him that if I won, he'd have to grope someone else for a change."
Kagome's brow quirked. "And who exactly did you have in mind?"
Their eyes met, a mischievous gleam burning in Sango's. "Inuyasha."
Kagome's eyes widened. "Are you serious? Inuyasha'd skewer him alive!"
Sango snorted. "You say that as if it's a bad thing."
Pure shock and the attempt to picture the image delayed Kagome's next question. "But you lost," she pointed out thoughtfully.
Sango scowled. "Yup."
"So… that means Miroku won," she continued.
"Yup."
"So… what did he have you do?"
Kagome waited on baited breath for Sango's answer, but it seemed like it would never come. Finally, the woman's eyes flicked to meet Kagome's, staring hard, her lips pressed into a thin line as she lifted her finger to point at them.
With Kagome's already low control over her reactions, it was no surprise what happened next. She never stood a chance. She was on the floor in seconds.
Sango glared icily at the girl, but was irritated even further to find she was too busy laughing to notice. Instead, she opted for kicking the girl none too gently in the side, but all that accomplished was shoving the girl to the other side of the kitchen, still chortling uncontrollably.
"Shut up!" Sango screeched, her already pink cheeks burning new shades of red by the minute. "It's bad enough without you laughing at me!"
"I… I… I'm s-sorry," Kagome stuttered, making a valiant attempt to regain her composure, if only for Sango's sake. Unfortunately, she wasn't able to go any further as another attack of giggles took over.
It took several more attempts before she was successfully capable of comprehensible speech. By this time, Sango was watching her with an irritated scowl, her toes tapping impatiently.
Seeing Kagome finally regaining composure, she narrowed her eyes. "Are you done yet?"
Kagome flushed, genuinely ashamed. "I'm sorry, Sango. I just… couldn't control myself."
"I noticed," was Sango's dry response, her tone void of any sympathy.
"I said I was sorry," Kagome repeated, moving a safe distance away by plopping down onto the bar stool, leaning against her propped arm. She didn't miss the way Sango watched her warily, especially when she flashed the officer a rather devious grin. "So, was he a good kisser?"
"Are you serious?" Sango cried, torn between feeling outraged and staggeringly horrified. "You do realize this is Miroku we're talking about, right?"
"That may be true, but you've gotta face the facts- Miroku, no matter how perverted, is still a guy, and you're still a girl," Kagome reasoned.
Sango's eyes narrowed to dangerous slits. "If you even whisper any 'birds and the bees' crap, you won't wanna know where I'll shove those cookies," she warned.
"Only if you answer my question," Kagome shot back.
"Oh, I don't know!" she exclaimed, throwing her hands up in the air dramatically.
"What do you mean, you don't know?"
"Excuse me if the combining force of shock from losing at Blackjack and absolute disgust from that… that lecher actually… winning… left me a little numb!" Sango retorted.
"It was that good, huh?"
"Oh! You're impossible!" Sango exclaimed, turning away with an angry huff, plopping herself on the couch.
The thought that she might have gone too far had briefly crossed her mind before departing just as quickly, amused satisfaction settling on her features.
This did not go unnoticed by Sango. She shot the girl a murderous look through her scarlet face. "See if I ever defend you against Inuyasha again."
It was Kagome's turn to snort. "Not that I didn't notice you're lame attempt to change the subject, but he couldn't win no matter what the odds."
Sango allowed a small smile to drift across her face. "Oh, really?"
Kagome nodded firmly, moving out of her stool to seat herself next to Sango, tucking a leg beneath her. "In case you haven't noticed, he's somewhat lacking in the intelligence department."
Sango giggled. "If he were as strong as he were smart, you'd be in trouble."
Kagome's smile faltered slightly, but Sango didn't notice. She did notice, however, as Kagome's fingers came up to brush against her throat nervously.
"Kagome? Are you okay?" Sango asked, instantly worried.
"Oh, no, I'm fine," Kagome assured her, her fingers at her side in seconds. "Just an itch."
"Good," Sango replied. "I'm letting you know now, I'm never forgiving you for that incident with the eggs. You nearly gave me a heart attack!"
Kagome looked away, shifting uncomfortably. "I'm sorry… I didn't mean to."
Naturally, Sango misinterpreted her meaning, and smiled reassuringly. "Just make sure it doesn't happen again. As much as it might be another threat to your life, I'd almost be willing to let Inuyasha cook if it meant you wouldn't be choking yourself trying to do your own."
Kagome nodded and smiled, though it was completely fake and solely for Sango's benefit. The girl nearly breathed a sigh of relief when the door opened and the boys walked in donning a gallon of milk in each hand.
"It's about time," Sango told them, both her and Kagome moving to transfer the milk to the fridge. "What took you so long?"
Inuyasha delayed his response long enough to throw Miroku an irritated glance. "I got distracted by the snack table. Bouzo, here, got distracted by the chick behind the snack table."
"Not at all," Miroku argued, purposefully keeping his attention on anything but Sango's fuming expression. "I'm just as big a fan of processed beef as the next man."
Inuyasha rolled his eyes. "Right, and I suppose next you're going to insist that you merely didn't want to waste the processed beef as you wiped it off her chest."
"You read my mind," was the officer's jovial response.
"Are you sure you bought enough milk?" Kagome questioned curiously, not giving Sango time to vent her frustration as she eyed the four gallons going into the fridge.
"I didn't want any more distractions," Inuyasha replied sourly, returning to his spot on the floor. Reaching behind him, he grabbed the plate of cookies abandoned on the couch, popping a single morsel into his mouth before calling out, "Where's the remote?"
Behind him, the couch moved, and without warning, the plate was lifted from his lap.
"Hey!" he protested, glaring at Kagome.
She shook her head, smiling as she waved the remote before his face. "Chill out, dog-boy."
"What did you call me?"
"Sango, Miroku, are you guys coming?" Kagome asked, turning to face the kitchen.
"No, we'll be fine," Sango replied pleasantly, looking up to smile as she held her partner in a headlock under her arm. Miroku gasped for air, struggling like a fish caught on a hook, face slowly transforming from a lovely cherry red tomato to a round, ripe plum. "Go on and start without us," Sango continued.
Kagome blinked. "Um… maybe I should-"
"No, you shouldn't," Inuyasha interrupted. "They're obviously having a lovely time, so just do as the lady said and start the movie without them."
Kagome frowned but pressed play nonetheless, casting Miroku a last apologetic smile before her attention was forced away. Inuyasha was trying to tug the plate of cookies back out of her lap.
Suffice it to say, the truce had officially ended.
AN: sigh> a plate of cookies sounds good right about now... but, yeah, that's just me.
Review Responses:
Peppermint Shivers: You'll let me know how much you got for that toothbrush, right? ... and yes, the mighty Inuyasha, losing to the voices in his head... it's not like we don't experience it ourselves every once in a while... or maybe that's just me... at least I know IceSpikeXBlackRose does sometimes, too... so I'm not alone...hee
RoseFire246: yes... many underestimate the true force of a bowl of ramen... at least its impact on Inuyasha... and yes, our hanyou was a tad rough... but then again, in the anime/manga, he DID threaten to kill her on several occasions when they first met, so consider this my "Protect me" style interpretation, if you will...
misguidedangel: Really? Kagome wasn't as easy as you expected?... hm.. even I thought she was way too easy, and I'm the author!... but then again, I DO know the 'unforseen, cosmic, swirling plan', so that could have something to do with it... anyway, I'm glad you enjoyed... grin> I just had to add that tid-bit with Kaede... how could I resist?
yuyufreak77: smile> I make sure to mention all my reviewers, for they are all special to me, despite the fact that I think they are a little nuts for liking anything I write, but hey, I'm certainly not complaining! As for the idea, I'll admit, I really like it a lot, and I'll see how I can incorporate it in... still a bit stuck, but that idea is something I could really use... just need to sort of figure out the kinks of it is all...
Inuyasha'smistress:A lot of good points, all of which should be addressed soon... if I ever get around to writing it... but yes... ex-convict does suit Inuyasha well, doesn't it?... I mean, in the anime/manga, at the beginning, he was still feared as a notorious trouble-maker... this is more of a modern take of the same idea... And I do agree, Kagome did go easy... but as I told misguidedangel, I have an 'unforseen, cosmic, swirling plan' that will help Kagome's complacent attitude make more sense...
Kuro-chan: Thank you very much for the idea... it ended up giving me inspiration to sort of introduce one of Naraku's henchmen in the next chapter... I say 'sort of' because no one else will know it... I even wonder if you will recognize them?... duh duh duuuuuhhhh...
chestnut: grins> I'm glad you approve... Ialways have towrite something at least a little funny... full on depressed stuff really isn't my style, and will only result in getting myself depressed... with the exception, I suppose, of "An Unrelished Fate", butat least it ends on a super happy note... so I'm not sure if that counts...
helmet-head: nonsense! I was happy to dedicate that chapter to you... you were among my earliest reviewers, and have been faithfully reviewing almost every chapter ever since. I really will try to update soon, but as I said up top, I can't promise anything...
Knock-on-Wood: sniff> Aww... I just want to glomp you... it's reviewers like you that make me enjoy writing fanfiction... I am immensely pleased you enjoyed my humble little story, and will do my best to keep going!
Fluffy: bows> thank you very much! I hope you enjoy the rest as much as you enjoyed the first chapter!
oXoCrAzYMyHaNyOuXoX: Thanks. Hope you liked this chapter...
Animekitty07: Merci boucoup! I'll try to get the next chapter done when I can
Wolf : Again, I promise I'll update as soon as I have the next chapter done, but I'm glad you like it so far.
AN: Geez, there were a lot of reviews... 13... I think that's a new record, for me... anyway, this is normally where I post a preview of the next chapter, but... seeing as I really don't have a next chapter yet, I'm afraid there'll be none. I'm really sorry... but I WILL get it done when I can. I promise. Until then, please hang in there. You guys all r0x0rz my b0x0rz!