Author's Notes: Hello everyone, so happy to be back with you all! I'm absolutely loving everything you say about the story so far! It's so exciting to read what you guess about what's going to happen next! It's so interesting to see who gets close to what my outline is! Thank you all again for sticking with me. I hope you enjoy the chapter!
Beta: Penthesileia
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Chapter 34: The Acorn Shard
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Inuyasha
"You know what you have to do right?"
Kagome nodded, her brows drawn together in determination, though her eyes actively avoided looking at the dead body at her feet.
"What do you do if I tell you to get into the cave?"
"I drop everything and immediately get inside the cave," she repeated the words he'd said just a few moments earlier.
"Keh, good," he handed her the collapsible shovel Kaede had packed away for them. Old hag thought of everything. "Don't take too long."
"What, don't take too long digging the six-foot hole in the forest floor?" sarcasm dripped from every word as she yanked the shovel from his hand. "You do know what you're asking me to do, right?"
"Not what I meant," he growled.
"No? What did you mean?" she was already stepping out of the cave and into the sunlight.
"I just don't like you being so damn exposed. You're helpless."
She whipped around to glare at him, her eyes narrowed into slits. "You weren't saying that when I burnt Kikyou to a crisp," she raised the shovel above her head and struck the spear into the dirt.
Inuyasha watched her work. She was slow, just like he knew she would be, but the sooner the wolf body was buried the less chance they'd have of being re-discovered before nightfall. Plus, it stunk, just like all wolves stunk. It was filling up the cave and giving him a headache.
His ears swiveled diligently, determined not to let his guard down again, not just in regards to possible attackers, either.
I was a fucking idiot.
He should have stayed awake, should have kept more distance between him and Kagome.
Won't be making that mistake again, he huffed as he watched her work. Sweat started to gather at her hairline and above her lip as the pile of dirt rose painfully slow. She paused to sweep her hair up into a ponytail, exposing the back of her neck. A few strands had fallen free and were starting to stick to her skin as she worked.
He could still feel her curled up beside him, fitting perfectly against his chest and hips.
And damn if he hadn't slept more peacefully than he ever remembered. It was the best sleep he'd gotten in awhile. The next few months were going to be brutal, now that he knew how it could feel.
It took her all fucking day to dig that hole, which meant he had all fucking day to stew there in that stinking wolf-cave and pretend like he wasn't watching the nape of her neck, to fool himself into thinking his deep slumber earlier meant absolutely nothing other than he was fucking tired.
And he was tired. He was ridiculously-fucking-tired.
Finally, finally the sun set, and Inuyasha stepped out of the cave, his muscles sore from being so on-edge. He let his shoulders slump and rolled them around a few times, working out the kinks before taking the shovel out of Kagome's hands.
She'd taken a couple of breaks over the hours, and her terrible, human pace had slowed to an even more-agonizing crawl. He could smell the blood from the blisters that formed and popped and rubbed raw past the layers of her skin. He frowned, ignoring her panting. He gripped her hand in his fingers. He turned it over to look at her palm.
A pang of guilt? Is that what that was? That little sharp twist in his chest that kinda hurt a little bit? Are you okay? He wanted to ask. It was on the tip of his tongue.
"Why'd you work so hard?" he said instead, his tone accusatory, "if you were bleeding, you should have stopped." He watched her brows furrow and her lips turn down. She jerked away and cradled her hands together.
"Are you kidding me? You practically threatened to feed me to the wolves if I didn't dig the hole."
"Keh," he replied, pushing back a disturbing urge to wrap her in his arms and comfort her. Instead, he threw the shovel to the side and crouched down in the hole - which was only one-third complete - and sunk his claws into the dirt. It was semi-soft. This would be easy for him.
"What are you doing?" Kagome asked from behind him. Inuyasha turned over his shoulder. He couldn't help the grin that spread across his face.
"I'd move if I were you," he warned. Then he started to dig. Dirt sprayed out behind him as he worked, stopping only moments later when he heard Kagome shriek.
"Stop! Stop it!" She cried, running around the hole so she was out of Inuyasha's warpath. He looked up from his digging, eyebrow cocked as she shook her head and clothes, trying to get the dirt off of her.
She was laughing.
Inuyasha stood and watched as she danced around. She looked ridiculous, and her laughter was contagious. He smiled despite himself.
"Inuyasha, I'm covered!" She said, holding her sides and falling to her knees in laughter. He leaned against the side of the hole, which was considerably deeper now, thanks to him, folded his arms on the ground and rested his chin on his forearms, watching as her body shook.
"I warned ya," he said, a chuckle escaping from his chest.
"You did not!" a new fit of giggles overtook her.
He watched her, and his chest tightened. Damn, she was pretty. He couldn't help the swell of relief he felt that she was still human, still normal, still somewhat like the high-schooler he'd run into on that first night inside the museum.
He wanted that. That normalcy. He ached for it.
What would his life have been like if he wasn't born hanyou? Would he and Kikyou have had a normal relationship? Had whelps and grown old and died like normal, weak humans did?
...Well, probably not with Kikyou. She was, despite being human, too extraordinary to form any sort of lasting bond with normal humans, that's why she'd been drawn to him in the first place: his otherworldliness. If he had been born human, she wouldn't have looked at him twice.
Keh, you'd have been better off, idiot.
...But what if he'd been born a regular human in this time? Gone to school and met Kagome there? Would she have wanted to be his friend? Would they spend their afternoons going to more of those burger food places she took him to? Would they talk on those phone things all the humans carried around?
He imagined it as she laughed. Imagined that he was normal and she had never gone into the museum and never discovered the jewel hidden in her side. Keh, of course she'd had a boyfriend, with her hair and lips and the way she kissed and that laugh, although he questioned her taste in human men.
If I were born human, would she choose me instead of Hojou?
Her laughter lulled him, even as it died down to lighter giggling, her breath heaving in and out as she tried to catch it. Would he rather be anywhere else right now? Would he trade her laughter for anything?
"It's good," he said before he realized he was speaking out loud, "that you can still be happy."
Her breathing stopped short and she sat up straight.
"Oh?" she said, after a moment's pause.
"Yeah, I was... worried, you know, after everything that happened to you. Most people wouldn't be laughing. You're still laughing."
He watched her face in the growing darkness. She seemed shy suddenly, a blush creeping up her cheeks. He could hear her heart start to pound as she drew her knees to her chest, and slowly started picking out smaller bits of dirt from her hair.
"I've been thinking about it," she said. She was choosing her words carefully, he could hear the hesitation in her voice, "and you're right, a lot has happened. I'm still not sure about my family. About Sango or Hojou. And at first, I hated you. For making me go after the shards, for not letting me go home... But-" she emphasized as he opened his mouth to argue, "it's true that this is bigger than me. I don't know the full extent of what Kikyou can do, or what she's willing to do. Heck, I don't know the extent of what I'm able to do." She held her palms up, looking them over. "I do know I can't protect my family just by being near them. I can barely protect myself. I certainly wasn't able to protect my friends. And throughout all this, the only one telling me the truth… the only one keeping me alive…" her eyes darted up to his, "is you." She leaned forward and reached a tentative hand out, grazing his forearm with her fingertips, her voice almost a whisper.
"You're the only one actively trying to keep me alive. And I know it's for the jewel. I know you have your own agenda. But that's okay because it's the only chance I have of protecting my family and friends. And I… I want to thank you for that, really, I-"
"Keh," Inuyasha snorted, pulling away from her touch. She couldn't fucking touch him right now because he wanted her to touch him more, wanted her to move closer to him and put her lips on his, and fuck, he just couldn't control himself. "It's nothing. You're right, we both have the same goal - get rid of Kikyou. For us both to be free of her. Let's just keep focused on that."
He tried not to notice how her lips pulled down at the corners, how she sighed long and heavy, how the absence of her laughter was frustratingly louder than it had been before.
He kept digging.
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Once Inuyasha dumped the body into the hole, he gathered as many broken, discarded pine branches as he could and rubbed them around the floor of the cave, over and over again, soaking up the blood and masking up the smell of dead wolf as best he could. He threw each one into the hole on top of the body before filling it back in with dirt. By the time he was done the moon was a third of its way on its ascent into the night sky. He glanced at it, making a note in his head of when the full moon would come around. Luckily there was a good amount of time left to go. If he was lucky, they'd be long gone from Wolf territory before then.
They packed up quickly and left. For the next few nights, Inuyasha was tediously careful. As soon as he stumbled upon a cave he thought would work they immediately took it as their own, no matter how much night time they had left available to them. He wasn't going to take any chances of running out of daylight and being forced into a sleeping arrangement he wasn't comfortable with. Plus, the less time he spent in the mirror, the better.
He would say nothing to Kagome because it was none of her business, but he could feel the spell Kikyou had over the mirror weakening. It had been weeks now since she'd been able to re-weave the spell, and just like he suspected, it was slowly coming apart, bit by bit.
If Miroku hadn't been in the attic, that damn, lecherous monk, he would have killed Kikyou for good then and there, the spell would have eventually worn away and he wouldn't have to find the damn shards. He would have eventually just been able to walk away from the mirror a free man.
The jewel shards would be his insurance. Once he had them all together, he wouldn't have to worry either way.
The same thoughts tumbled through his head every day they made camp, going over and over and over his plan, trying to think of every possible turn of event that could happen, what the outcome would be, and how he'd be able to turn them in his favor. Every daybreak that they laid down to sleep Kagome left her extra pillow out for him, and every day he pushed it away from him, curling up as far from her as he could and keeping his ears on alert.
One evening, Kagome stiffened as they were packing up camp. Inuyasha caught the slight shift in her breathing, caught the way her shoulder muscles tightened up. He whipped his head around to glare at her.
"What?" he asked accusingly.
"I think I sense a shard."
He jerked back, shocked. "What?" he repeated.
"Yeah, I… I can sense it. It's coming this way." She frowned. "It's moving weird."
"What do you mean, 'moving weird?'" he growled.
"I don't know, I can't… it's moving in short bursts, and kind of... sporadically? I don't know how else to explain it."
Inuyasha could feel his youkai blood pumping, could feel it resurfacing again. "Does it feel like how you sensed it with the spider youkai?"
She shook her head. "No, the movement's weird. It's different."
"Different how?" he asked, agitated.
"I don't know, it's just-"
He heard it then, movements in the underbrush. He swiped out his hand, a signal for Kagome to shut up, and was satisfied that she obeyed him immediately. Ignoring the satisfied chuckle of his youkai, he stepped forward to the mouth of the cave, keeping Kagome behind him and crouching low, sniffing the air. It wasn't a wolf, he was sure of that. But he did smell that distinct youkai scent.
What intelligent youkai would be in Wolf territory? The dumb, mindless ones were one thing, but the intelligent ones... they kept to themselves, rarely teaming up with other youkai sects. This youkai was all over the place, not trying to hide at all. His scent also seemed to dart around…
Sporadically, as Kagome had said.
And she was right, it was headed their way.
Inuyasha let out a low growl, keeping his youkai right at the edge, ready to release him if needed. He could hear the sharp, little panting breaths, and… cursing, high-pitched and whining.
"The fuck…?" Inuyasha mumbled, standing straight and cocking his head to the side.
He watched, wide-eyed, as a squirrel - a fucking squirrel - ran out from the bush.
"Oh!" Kagome breathed beside him. In his shock, he hadn't realized she'd moved right up behind him. She was peeking around his side, her hands fisted in his fire rat coat. "Ohmigosh, how cute!" she cried, her pitch reaching a note like scratched glass in his ears. "Oh - oh look, Inuyasha it's got an acorn!" She moved from behind him and plopped down on the ground, one hand up to cover her mouth, the other pointing at the stupid creature. "It's got…" she trailed off, her back stiffening again.
"So what, it's a dumb acorn."
"Uh," she said smartly, "it's got… a shard…"
"Hm?" He bent over Kagome's head, trying to get a look at the rodent. Its hands moved quick, turning the acorn around and around in sharp, jutted motions with its tiny hands, its eyes rolling in its head as it sized the two of them up. Inuyasha's sucked in a breath when he saw the light pink sliver gleaming in the fading darkness.
There it was.
A fucking jewel shard.
"Shit," he spat "don't move, Kagome, I'll get him," and crouched low. Usually he'd just pounce, but squirrels were slippery little fuckers, he didn't want it to run off on him and possibly lose it.
"Don't hurt it!" Kagome angry-whispered out of the corner of her mouth.
"Keh," he whispered back, "you make everything more complicated than it fucking needs to be." ...But fine, he wouldn't kill the fucker.
"Let me grab a snack bar, maybe I can entice it over to us?" She moved back towards the cave slowly, step by step. Inuyasha flicked his ears back as she rustled through the pack. She reappeared then, creeping towards him.
The creature moved.
Inuyasha jumped, coming straight down at it from above. At the last second the little shit darted away.
"Goddammit!" He cursed before wheeling around and taking off after it, ignoring Kagome's cries to wait. He followed it with his eyes, tracking it zig-zagging across the sloping forest floor. Every attempt he made was useless until he finally made the right guess as to where it would go next. He slapped his hands into a mini-dome over the rodent, ears twitching as it chirped in a panic.
You deserve to suffer, you little shit, he thought, slowly compressing his hands together until he had a firm grip around it.
Don't hurt it! Kagome had said.
"I won't fucking hurt you," he muttered, picking the acorn out of its grubby little hands and turning it over to see the shard. It was still there, jammed into a crack in the acorn's otherwise smooth exterior. The creature squeaked in his hands and the thought flitted through his mind that he could just give it a little squeeze for good measure - not to hurt him or anything, but as punishment for making Inuyasha chase after him like an idiot.
"Inuyasha!" Kagome breathed, breaking through the bush and panting heavily. "I can- I can barely see, I thought I lost you for a second."
"Idiot, stay back at the cave, I would have-"
"I saw it," she gasped as she tried to catch her breath. "A youkai, I saw it."
"What?" he seethed, heart pounding in his chest, adrenaline rushing through him. How the fuck could he have completely forgotten about the youkai he'd sensed? Was he so far gone that just a glimpse of a shard made him lose his rational thought? He stood up and whipped around to face her. "Where?"
"Right here."
The voice was small and squeaky, not unlike the squirrel Inuyasha still held in his hand. He stood no more than two feet tall, his face chubby, his hair deep red and wild. He was shirtless, saved for a fur wrap laid over his shoulders, and he wore a dirty, torn up pair of pants, tied at the waist.
He puffed out his chest, his cheeks filling with air and pushed his bare feet wide, his hands pressing into his hips, trying to look bigger than he was, which was impossible for such a runt. His wide, blue eyes stared Inuyasha down, dared him to make a move.
"That's mine!" He shouted, pointing towards the acorn in Inuyasha's other hand. His finger shook, the anger coming off of him in waves. "Give it to me!"
Inuyasha dropped the squirrel who immediately ran off into the bush. He held up the acorn with two fingers, showing it off.
"What, this?" he asked, sneering down at the demanding brat. "This belongs to me. Finders-keepers."
"No, no! I found it first!" the kit cried, hopping on his little, gimpy feet and waving his stumpy arms in the air.
"Well it came from inside her, so really, she found it first," he bit back, jerking his thumb in Kagome's direction.
"H-hey!" he could see the blush rising into her cheeks. Why did he like the way that looked so much?
"Shuddup! It's mine! If you won't give it to me, I'll take it by force!"
What a load of crap, he was a kid, a kit, a little shit who was too far away from mommy. "What the hell are you even doing here, brat? You're a fox, don't you know who's territory you're in?"
"I can take care of myself!" He shouted, his little fingers balled up into fists as we waved them into the air. "Besides, you're one to talk, you're just a dog! Just a stupid, stupid dog! You'll be sorry if you don't hand it over!"
"Keh. What are you going to do about it?"
"Argh!" he cried. A loud popping sound echoed through the trees, and suddenly there were seven of him.
"Wha- what?" cried Kagome, as Inuyasha took a step back. Fucking foxes with their trickery... He kept his eyes on the one he was sure was real.
"You think you can fool me, you little shit? You're not getting the shard, end of story!" He held the acorn up above his head, taunting the stupid fox. Kitsune magic was lame, nothing but trickery of the eyes.
All seven fox's leapt into the air, and Inuyasha stepped back in preparation. They each whipped out a little bow and arrow, aiming them right at him.
"Inuyasha, no!" Kagome shrieked.
All seven arrows released at once and flew through the air, merging into one before piercing him right through his heart and into the thick bark behind him. The wind knocked out of him as he was flung up against a tree.
He roared out into the night, his hand coming up to remove the arrow. He would break that fucking fox in two!
It fucking hurt!
But the arrow wouldn't budge. He yanked and pulled tried to snap it off. It stayed impaled in him.
The fox was now back to himself, the six copies gone. He ran up Inuyasha's leg and onto his shoulder, swiping the acorn from his hand and jumping back down onto the floor.
"I told you!" He taunted, sticking his tongue out for good measure.
"Fuck you, you little shit, get it off me!" Inuyasha kicked out with his legs, but it did no good. "Kagome!" he roared.
She was on him then, her hands wrapped around the arrow shaft, trying to wrench it out of him.
"I- I can't!" she gasped, struggling with all her might.
It stayed put.
"Fuck!"
"Next time you'll listen to me, you stupid dog!" the runt yelled before running off into the forest.
"Wait!" Inuyasha growled, his hand reaching out. He couldn't be trapped here forever, that little brat had to free him!
"Don't worry, Inuyasha, I'll get him and bring him back!" Kagome said, turning and running off after him, already stumbling in the darkness.
"Kagome, wait! Wait!"
She disappeared between the thick trees.
"Kagome, you can't leave me pinned like this!" He shouted after her, struggling and twisting under the arrow, ignoring the shooting pain that radiated from his shoulder every time he moved. "Fuck, Kagome!"
"Kagome!"
Only silence met him back.
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Argh, Kagome what are you doing, running out into the woods all by yourself in the middle of the night? I hope you guys enjoyed the chapter! I had a lot of fun writing it because Inuyasha and Kagome are my favorite POV characters to write from. I kinda wish I could tell this whole crazy story just from their POV, but alas, I'm bound by my mind. :O
See you all next week!
