How Will I Know
Disclaimer::gasp:: I don't own InuYasha. Go figure.
Chapter 18: Demon Within
Kagome slowly opened her eyes. She was in a great mood for some reason, but she couldn't remember… She rolled over to get up, but she was firmly encompassed in an embrace. When she realized this, she remembered, and InuYasha woke up. He backed away quickly, then looked at the ground, a faint pink on his face, or maybe it was just the sunrise coming in through the window. She also noticed a bit of regret. What had he regretted? Leaving so quickly, or being that close in the first place?
Kagome sat up and stretched, and she looked across the hut she and InuYasha had returned to. Sango and Miroku were laying in each others arms again, and as she watched, they woke up together slowly. Miroku smiled at Sango, who smiled back, and he placed a soft kiss straight on her lips. When he pulled away, they remained in the embrace, seemingly lost in each other's eyes. Kagome feared InuYasha would say something to disturb them, but he remained silent. She glanced over at him, and he watched the couple with a strange expression that seemed to be surprised and calculating. When Sango sat up and noticed her friends watching her, she turned a deep crimson, a shade that was even visible through the red hues of sunrise that were being cast throughout the hut. InuYasha smiled and turned away as Miroku laughed. Kagome clasped her hands together and squealed her delight. Sango turned a deeper shade, and Miroku wrapped his arms around her middle. She smiled up at him, the blush leaving.
Shippou and Kirara awoke, and Ekonika's head appeared through the window.
"How's everyone?" Ekonika said cheerfully in a tone that revealed she knew everything that'd happened. Sango didn't blush again, she just looked at Ekonika.
"We're fine." Miroku said, and everyone nodded.
"More than fine, I'd say." Shippou added, watching Miroku and Sango; they were still hugging. Miroku helped Sango to her feet, and she set out to cleaning up the hut and rolling her bed-mat. Kagome soon helped, and when she met Sango's gaze, she smiled at her teasingly. Sango just smiled back, seemingly unable to blush anymore and off in dreamland somewhere. Kagome knew that feeling… she smiled to herself, and it was Sango's turn to smirk. She looked at Kagome pointedly, then glanced to InuYasha (who was rolling up him mat) and back. Kagome blushed, which served to widen Sango's smile. They both looked at each other and burst into giggles. InuYasha and Miroku looked at them quizzically before turning to each other, shrugging, and getting back to work.
When everything was ready to be dispersed throughout the group for that days travel, Miroku came up behind Sango and kissed her cheek. She laughed, then Miroku turned to the group.
"InuYasha, Sango and I would like to go off and take a break for a few days." He dropped his arms to his sides and looked at Kagome, who had a shocked and knowing-expression on her face. "No… nothing like that, Kagome! I thought I was the perverted one!" He held his hands up in feigned surrender, grinning superficially. Kagome blushed away the thought, but still glared suspiciously at Miroku. InuYasha stepped in, and Kagome sighed, obviously thinking Miroku was hopeless.
"How long'll you guys be gone?" Kagome was stunned. InuYasha, the InuYasha, was letting their friends / allies leave to go take a break when they were hunting Naraku and the shards?
"About- well, a month?" Miroku said. InuYasha looked at him in disbelief.
"Three days."
"Three weeks?"
"One week."
"Two?"
"Fine." Kagome stared at InuYasha, shocked at his compatibility.
"Alright!" Miroku said, before InuYasha could take it back. "Sango and I will be off now, and we're taking Kirara with us. We'll find you in two weeks." He grinned and loaded Kirara with his and Sango's possessions. They set off down the road, and after about a minute, InuYasha and Kagome continued walking, Shippou trailing along, being generally annoying from InuYasha's point of view. He was skipping and talking about Miroku and Sango to Kagome. InuYasha was ignoring them for the most part, except for the soft sound of Kagome's voice. He could hear it as words, or as sounds and feeling. Now he was listening to the simple sound of it, not listening to the words. She was happy, and laughing in her head. He could feel her emotions, and they slowly came over him too, although he kept himself composed as irritated. Suddenly, a sentence caught his attention.
"InuYasha does that too!" Kagome had said it, and Shippou giggled. InuYasha spun to face them.
"I do what?!"
"This." Kagome stepped up to him and Shippou jumped off her shoulder. Kagome kissed him on the lips, and he forgot Shippou was there. He returned the kiss, and Kagome pulled away, smiling.
"See?" She spoke to Shippou, and InuYasha suddenly felt very stupid. Irritation replaced it, as well as a longing to kiss Kagome back, and show her who was dominant again. She could only stop kissing him when he SAID it was alright. He grabbed Shippou by the tail and held him out to the side. Kagome was about to scold him when his lips crashed into hers. Needless to say, she was taken aback, and pulled away.
"What are you doing?" InuYasha was daunted, but he didn't let that stop him. He dropped Shippou (who had a mischievous grin on his face) and took Kagome's hand.
"I'm kissing you, wench. You can't just stop, I have to allow it." His voice was unnaturally rough, and he wasn't sure if he got his point across, but he didn't care. This time when he kissed Kagome, she kissed him back, and InuYasha made a point to ignore Shippou, who slowly seemed to have an idea dawn across his face. Ekonika grunted, and InuYasha backed up, surprised. He'd forgotten the horse was with them. Kagome was staring at him, starry-eyed. Shippou jumped onto her shoulder again.
"InuYasha, I'm ashamed of you. Already thinking of taking Kagome as your-" Shippou was cut off as InuYasha swatted him of Kagome's shoulder and whacked him on the head. Shippou grumbled, and Kagome sat InuYasha. He picked himself up after a minute, irate. He crossed his arms and turned from Kagome.
"Wench! I can't have you doing that! I'll have you know I won't tolerate it in the future!"
"Sit! And stop calling me wench!" InuYasha glowered at her from the ground.
"Do I have to prove my dominance again?"
"I'll sit you before you can get near me!" He hit the ground again, just when he was picking himself up.
"Oops, I didn't mean it that time."
"Yeah whatever, idiot."
"What?!"
"Nothing…" InuYasha grumbled.
Shippou rubbed his head and picked his face up out of the dirt, spitting out a mouthful. He stood and jogged up to Kagome, who had started walking again, leaving InuYasha on the ground. InuYasha stayed there for a little longer, then ran up to her and picked her up bridal style, bringing Shippou as well. He bounded on some tangent path through the wilderness, and Kagome folded her arms and refused to look at him. Soon enough, however, he arrived at his destination, his anger fading.
The destination was a quiet little shrine by a waterfall, where they'd all been at least once before; Master Mushin's temple. He set Kagome down and soon sniffed out Miroku's teacher and friend, the Monk Mushin. Ekonika snorted when the scent of sake hit her nostrils.
"Right, well… I'll be seeing you guys…" Ekonika choked, and began running. She suddenly stopped and came back.
"Also… I, uh… won't be back for a long time. Maybe a year or two. So, bye!" She hugged InuYasha, Kagome, and Shippou as best as a horse can and took off running. On her last stride, she lifted off the ground and jumped above it, occasionally touching a boulder or tree branch to keep going. She was out of sight in no time. InuYasha shook his head, grinning.
"What's so funny?" Kagome asked.
"Huh? Nothing. She just gave me some advice before she left."
"Like what?"
"I'll tell you later." InuYasha said suddenly, then a door to his right flew open, and there stood Hachi.
"Hey guys. What brings you here?" The raccoon-dog stood leaning on the doorway casually, and had a cup of a clear liquid in his paw. Noticing their glances toward it, he explained.
"Master Mushin was kind enough to share some of his sake. Want some?"
InuYasha whispered to Kagome, "My plan is to get a babysitter, and I'm not so sure this is the best place anymore." Kagome giggled, and Hachi grinned at the two.
"What're you grinning for, idiot?" InuYasha said as Hachi just smiled unnervingly at him and Kagome.
"Are you two mates by now?" He said, finding delight in this prospect.
Kagome turned bright pink and shouted "No!" while turning away from the demon, mortified. InuYasha froze, stunned for a second, then delivered a hard punch to the unfortunate demon's head. He crashed into the wooden floorboards of the walkway outside the room, and lay there unconscious. InuYasha turned away and flexed his arm in a circle; he may have overdone it a bit. He then turned to Kagome- it was time to get this cleared out of her head.
"Like I'd ever want to be your mate!" She froze, and he was confused, but not for long. She spun towards him, almost angry.
"Oh really? Why NOT?! Am I not good enough for you? Good, because I don't want to be your mate either."
"Kagome, wait, I- didn't mean… that came out wrong." She turned bright pink again.
"Wait, you DO want me to be your mate?" She asked, oddly and embarrassed, kind of resentfully. InuYasha was thrown off balance and desperately was trying to find words suitable for himself. If she does want to be my mate, but she doesn't, then what's the right thing to say!? She left no room for me to explain! Women…
"No, wait, th-that's not what I meant, I just meant, well…" They were interrupted by Hachi slowly standing up. He looked at all of them and seemed to be sober. "Well, I'm glad that punch knocked some sense into you." InuYasha said, and turned away, folding his arms and a blush on his face.
"What did I say?" Hachi said curiously.
"Look, Hachi, we came to ask if you would like to have some extra company around here. Could you baby-sit Shippou?" Kagome asked, with puppy-dog eyes. Hachi thought for a minute, and a vision came to mind.
Master Mushin sat on a cushion, drinking sake.
"Well hello, fox-child. Would you like some?" He passed some of the alcoholic drink to Shippou, who politely refused, but eventually was persuaded to have a sip.
A half-hour later, he'd downed three cups and was lying out on his back asleep with little weeping mushrooms all around him and muddy kitsune footprints all over the walls and ceiling. He himself was getting to work cleaning the whole temple.
"Absolutely not." Hachi said, and folded his arms, spilling the sake. He looked over at Kagome out of the corner of his eye and she had her hands clasped together, pleading. He sighed. "Well, all right. But only because you've been so nice to me, Lady Kagome. For how long?" InuYasha picked up Shippou by the tail and dropped him into Hachi's arms. His eyes were still closed, and he turned slightly away with a forced grin.
"Not that long…" InuYasha said as he picked up Kagome again. He bounded off a good twenty feet, then paused. "Just two weeks!" He shouted back, then took off, ignoring Hachi's surprised look.
After InuYasha had bounded a mile, he looked down at Kagome in his arms and smiled with a falsely wicked smile. Kagome laughed at him, then sent him tumbling to the ground with a word.
"Sit."
She landed on top of his back, and climbed off, laughing.
"That was for being so rude to Hachi." InuYasha glared up at her, but shook it off. He'd gotten himself alone with her again, and wasn't about to spend it all being mad at her.
"Fine, but now I have to punish you. You disobeyed me." Kagome laughed, and sat on his back again. She closed her eyes and grinned as InuYasha's breath left him for a second.
"Oh really? How did I disobey you? Why do I have to obey you in the first place?" InuYasha stood up easily, knocking Kagome off his back. He clenched his teeth, trying not to yell. How could she not know what she'd done?
"You 'SAT' me!" So much for not yelling… "I told you I wouldn't tolerate it in the future, and here we are!" Kagome grinned up at him, picking herself up and dusting her skirt off.
"Yes. Here we are." She said calmly. InuYasha looked at her, and she smiled at him. Obviously, she'd gotten that they were now alone together, and didn't want to be fighting either. She balled her hands into fists and put them on her hips, pretending to be furious. However, when she spoke, it was soft as anything.
"InuYasha," She said, saying each syllable as if evaluating his name, "I want to know what you are up to right this minute. You've been acting strange lately, and I want to know what it is. Go."
"You really want to know?" InuYasha spun away from her and sat, arms folded.
"Yes!" Kagome leaned forward, fists still on her hips. InuYasha spun and looked at her over his shoulder, with the most--- alluring--- expression Kagome had ever seen. His eyes gleamed, and Kagome sucked in her breath. InuYasha fluidly walked over to her, each smooth step closing the distance between them by an amount greater than any footstep should have covered. InuYasha took Kagome's breath away once again as his lips pressed to hers so softly it seemed she was kissing water. Kissing water… My dream! But… the demons… No, there aren't any demons, or Naraku. Just InuYasha and me…
InuYasha felt Kagome's strange mix of emotions, and pressed his lips further into hers, wishing she would stop. He didn't want to think, he wanted to kiss her. Thankfully, she seemed to calm down and return the gesture at last. He pulled away and left her standing there, eyes closed, as if she wasn't done yet. He smirked to himself and when she opened her eyes her placed his hand on her cheek.
"You still want to know?"
"Yes." It came out as a breath, which she was still trying to return to normal. InuYasha met her eyes and his gleamed red at his will; he'd learned to do that, and Kagome caught her breath. She didn't know why, but she was suddenly terrified of his answer. He leaned towards her and whispered into her ear.
"To seduce you."
He remained next to her ear, and she doubted if he'd really said it. She began breathing again, and considered shoving him away. When InuYasha felt her anger rising, he began laughing. He pulled away from her and his laughter grew and deepened. Kagome stared at him like he'd just said some sort of sick joke and she was disgusted, which, after all, it seemed to be. InuYasha playfully shoved her, and Kagome grabbed his haiori sleeve, pulling him over too, but he caught himself with the result that Kagome was standing against him holding the chest of his shirt. He grinned before kissing her nose as he slipped her hands off his shirt. He bounded away and landed on hands and feet, watching Kagome. She cleared her head and proceeded to tackle him to no avail; he held his ground easily. She began to rub his ears, and then shoved him over with only a finger. The wrestling turned from one side to another as time passed.
About an hour later, InuYasha and Kagome lay panting in the grass with their hands behind their heads. InuYasha turned his head to the side and kissed Kagome's cheek again, and her smile widened. His followed suit and he turned to look back at the clouds. They sighed in unison, and Kagome snuggled against InuYasha's side. He felt an odd tenderness when Kagome was curled up next to him like that, and he wrapped one arm around her. She was obviously content with this, and rested her head on his bare shoulder. InuYasha watched the clouds float by and reflected.
The wrestling match had pretty much ended when, after he'd ended up taking off his haiori, (it was too much of a setback- Kagome had caught him by it one too many times) he'd tackled Kagome and spun in midair and skidded along his back hugging her. She'd pulled away and sat straddling him, then both realized what an awkward position that had been. InuYasha had cupped Kagome's face in one hand, and she'd tackled him to the ground unhesitant, and kissed him. And, now, here they lay.
InuYasha shifted slightly – his shirt that he and Kagome were laying on had a wrinkle in it. After he pulled it smooth, he was disturbed by Kagome sitting up and squealing in delight. He followed her gaze, and saw a brownish-red dog walking through the deep grass about twenty feet away. At Kagome's squeal it turned towards them, and there was something in its giant, puppy-dog eyes that InuYasha immediately despised.
Kagome stood and walked up to it, talking in a soothing voice to the dog.
"Kagome…" InuYasha said warningly. He was sitting, tense. She turned to look at him, and smiled.
"InuYasha, it's just a stray dog." However, she stopped coming towards it, and even took a step back towards InuYasha. The dog watched the whole thing with curious eyes, but there was something lurking there, at the depths, in the very back of the dog's vision. InuYasha could tell it was at the front of the dog's mind, and for some reason, he tensed even more. He pulled on his shirt quickly, not wanting to miss a second of whatever he was sure was about to unfold. The dog looked at Kagome, and she seemed to hesitate all of a sudden. She took a few more steps towards InuYasha, and he stepped towards her, knowing she'd seen it too.
The dog yawned, and InuYasha caught a glimpse of unnaturally small fangs. He relaxed a little; its teeth were so small they could hardly even tear grass. Still, he moved towards Kagome. The dog closed its mouth with a click, and snarled at InuYasha. InuYasha stared at it, clearly understanding it. Kagome looked back and forth, confused.
"Kagome, he's saying we're in his territory." Kagome looked at the dog, and realized it was a wolf. It was extremely matted, so it had looked like a dog.
"Ask him if he knows Koga." Kagome told InuYasha. InuYasha rolled his eyes, clearly displeased, and began to make an odd half-snarl half-bark noise. The wolf shook its head sideways, and looked up at InuYasha, his eyes shining. It growled and looked at Kagome and then back. InuYasha's face grew shocked, and he moved into a protective stance in front of Kagome.
"What did he say?" Kagome asked, alarmed.
"He said he can understand you, and he asked me if I wanted to help him take you down." InuYasha laughed after he finished translating, and the wolf grinned up at him, clearly amused. InuYasha snarled suddenly, bearing his own fangs and claws, finally recognizing the gleam that gradually grew in the wolf's eyes. It was the instinct of a killer. The wolf was transforming slightly, and InuYasha recognized it as a demon. No, a half-demon! It was part wolf, and part wolf-demon. He drew Tessaiga, and braced himself for whatever attack it had planned. It disappeared. InuYasha spun around, looking for the enemy, and found it on the other side of Kagome. It all happened very quickly then.
The wolf launched itself at Kagome with dazzling speed, and she pulled her arm up to her face. As the wolf swiped at Kagome, an equally fast punch set off the power of his swing, but his claws grazed Kagome's arm in shallow yet long cuts, in two sets of four. The wolf hit the ground some twenty feet away, and lifted a forepaw, revealing what the tall grass had kept hidden. Its claws were large, and sharp. The longest were four inches, on his front paws. They seemed disproportionate, but with the skill the wolf wielded them with, they seemed extremely fitting. InuYasha faced the wolf as it licked the blood from its claws, and asked if Kagome was alright. She said she was fine, and he sent a Wind Scar hurting at the wolf.
Just before it hit, the wolf jumped out of the way, disappearing again. InuYasha grabbed Kagome into a protective hug, and held Tessaiga out in front of her. He spun to face wherever he heard the wolf, but he was always too late. He sent a Wind Scar all around him; if the demon wanted to circle, then it couldn't escape this. He looked up and the demon descended onto Tessaiga, clamping it in between its claws. The blade's aura faded, and it transformed back, but set up a barrier because of Kagome. InuYasha swiped at the demon as it was thrown back from Tessaiga, but he missed again. He gave his sword to Kagome, and looked around for the wolf.
"There aren't any shadows for you to hide in now!" InuYasha yelled. And it was true. The Wind Scar he'd sent in a circle had flattened and destroyed the foliage. There was no sign of the wolf, but InuYasha still felt his aura. Suddenly, a long set of claws tore across his face and chest, barely touching his face, but the full swing was aimed at his ribs, it seemed.
Alright, alright! Sorry for the cliffie, folks, but the next chapter's going to be a boring, short-ish, gory battle scene! All who don't want to read it should wait until chapter 20 where I will write a short summary so you'll know what the outcome of the fight was. I'll update asap! Thank you! Don't forget to review, all the beautiful reviews (and even the not-so beautiful ones) have inspired me to go on writing! I'm planning on ending this story with Naraku, and I just have to find a way to work that in. The next chapter will only be until one of the battling duo drops dead, everything past that will be moved on to chapter 20, like the victor standing, triumphant and exhausted, over the corpse of the other. - well, I'm just gonna say it'll be hard for me to write, and I'm quite chatty today, don't you think?