How Will I Know

Disclaimer: I feel like exploding! But… I don't know, whatever. I don't own InuYasha. MY chicken nuggets! MINE::snarls and moves to a protective stance, then bops dog on the nose, then tosses him a piece of nugget::

Chapter 22: Spring's Beginning

"So what should we do today?"

"Get out of this place."

"What, this abandoned house?"

"No, this four-sided, roofed, empty, cold, deserted, breezy, stupi-"

"Alright already, help me pack up then." Kagome spun her bedroll up and dropped it with a small thud onto her backpack. Inuyasha grunted and rolled his. They were ready to go, and as Kagome walked out in front of the shelter they'd spent the last two days at, she halted.

"Where to?"

"Anywhere. Let's just find some outdoor shelter down the road, and stop there. Then we can go swimming or something; it's warmed up quite a bit."

They set off in a random direction; there was no road. After about a mile had passed in silence, they came upon a trail of some sort that looked like a game trail. The pair turned onto it, and Kagome hoisted her backpack up on her shoulders. She looked around her and was dazzled by the sparkling sunlight and the abundance of birds and wildlife; birds flew through the air above the path, announcing the arrival of the two people and the fauna watched curiously. Kagome started jogging when walking became kind of boring; InuYasha was surprised, but kept up. Normally when Kagome had her backpack, the last thing she wanted to do was jog. However, he wasn't complaining.

Kagome paced herself, and before she knew it she'd gone a mile, yet it only seemed like a five minute jog to her lungs and body. The birds around them now had long since heard of their arrival, so they chatted away with news and such, mostly the coming of spring. InuYasha's ears swiveled as he followed one pair's chatter. He grinned to himself as they spoke of building a nest and how warm it was. InuYasha glanced at Kagome for a second, then returned his gaze to straight ahead. He'd never told her he could understand other animals besides dogs. It had occurred to him to do so, but he would grow ashamed, seeing this as something that set him apart from her.

"I wish I could hold a bird." Kagome said suddenly. "If I could hold one, just a small little sparrow, I would be content." She thought of the haiku off the top of her head, and it took InuYasha a long time to process that it was poetry. Well, I could maybe tell one to land on her hand, like they (They! Those anonymous tyrants! Disregard these parentheses) say, 'A bird in the hand-'

"Is worth two in the bush…"

"What?!" InuYasha half-shouted, stunned.

"Oh, nothing, I was just remembering an old proverb. 'A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush.'"

"Oh. Yeah." They walked on, and an awkward silence fell. "Kagome?"

"Yeah?"

"I could- I could ask a bird to land on your hand if you want." Here she goes, she's going to ask if I can talk to animals, and maybe she'll feel unnerved to be near me, but I have to tell her sooner or later if I want to know that she loves me for who I am.

"You could?" InuYasha was taken aback as Kagome clasped her hands together and spun to face him, hopefully inquiring. He stopped in his tracks and Kagome stood. His mind reeled as he accepted that either she didn't care he could talk with animals, or she missed that connotation.

"Y-Yes." He finally managed to stutter. Kagome hugged him, then sat on a small flat rock holding her arm out.

"Could you do it now?"

"Yeah, ok give me a second. Don't you even care that I can- talk- to animals?"

"Yes, I care. And, I think it's great." InuYasha couldn't help but smile. Not only does she accept it, she likes it! He looked around and found a sparrow on a small branch, sitting alone. He began to make odd whining noises, and, as Kagome watched, the sparrow hopped along the branch closer and closer to InuYasha. It tilted its head and twittered back, and InuYasha nodded. The bird looked at Kagome, then hopped to InuYasha's arm. He took it slowly over to Kagome, and it cheeped questioningly. InuYasha made a short sound, and the bird hopped to Kagome's arm. It stood and looked at her, then began singing. Kagome smiled at it, and the bird paused to ruffle his feathers and settle in. Kagome looked at InuYasha.

"Tell him he's got gorgeous feathers. He's such a handsome bird." InuYasha proceeded to translate, and the bird twittered excitedly.

"What did he say?"

"He said that- that you're a pretty one, and he wishes you were a bird. Also, he wants to know how you knew he was a boy." Kagome looked down at the sparrow, who watched her with round eyes.

"I don't know. I just- knew. Tell him thank you for the compliment."

InuYasha translated once again, but couldn't be annoyed when Kagome was so joyful. He was surprised how still she was sitting for how excited she must be. When he finished, the bird began chirping merrily, and Kagome could tell it was delighted. It began singing a song-story, and InuYasha translated as the bird continued.

"When I was young, my mother took me out of the nest, and I plummeted. But, my wings spread, and I flew, and have not been envious of creatures that walk since then. I met my wife come two winters ago, near this very place, and I miss her, for she was attacked in a swarm of demons, charged by a great demon by Na Ra Ku. They took apart our home, where our young chicks had grown, and as they left I was only with me. I came back to here, and have not seen her since. I believe that we will be reunited, be it in life or death. I have lived a moon here, and will not leave until I find her; that is my loyalty."

With the ending of the song, InuYasha finished speaking, and Kagome brushed a comforting finger across the sparrow's back-feathers. It warmed up to her, and then chirped again.

"Goodbye, sparrow." Kagome said, and then watched it fly off into the sky.

"How did you know he said goodbye?"

"Sometimes, girls just know." Kagome looked into the sky for a few more seconds, then turned to InuYasha. "When Naraku passed by here, he was probably on his way to the castle, so it doesn't help us at all. I can't believe how many people and animals he's hurt. We have to stop him as soon as possible." InuYasha nodded.

"But we can't despair, we WILL get him. I'll kill him for you Kagome."

"You'll destroy him WITH me; I'll stay by your side." InuYasha grinned and placed his hand around Kagome's back, encompassing her in a one-armed hug. She placed her arms around him and squeezed before letting go. They walked on in an extremely comfortable silence. Kagome took in a deep breath of the fresh spring air and let it out slowly. She saw something sparkle through the trees ahead, and quickened her pace.

"Kagome, you've been awfully energetic and strong today." InuYasha hadn't been able to hold it in any longer; Kagome had been stronger and faster, almost unnaturally so, since Ekonika's healing.

"Yeah, I thought about that, and I think it's just because I'm not sore and tired because of all the relentless traveling. My muscles are relaxed and full, like completely healed. They're stronger this way."

"The traveling made you sore? Was I pushing you too hard?" Have I tired her out? Why does she keep her suffering locked up and away? Doesn't she know I'd help her carry her problems? It wouldn't trouble me at all.

"No, I'm fine. Don't worry about it."

"You know, I would have slowed down for you."

"Well, I was getting stronger." They walked out into a large clearing; it was more of a meadow, at least a square mile with a large pond on the side. A bank was close to Kagome, and she jogged up to it. When she peered into the water, it was incredibly shallow; about ten feet out it was only four feet deep, and ten more feet, it was about seven feet deep, and incredibly clear. She kicked off her shoes on a rock that had noon-shade, but barely. It was right by the edge of the water, but it angled up to it. She dropped her backpack with a huff, and began undressing after she pulled her swimsuit and a towel out of her pack. InuYasha cleared his throat, and Kagome waved her hand at him. He turned away and sat down while she changed, but he was within ten feet of her.

Kagome finished and clapped her hands together.

"Ok, you can look now."

InuYasha turned around and resisted gaping. In her one-piece swimsuit (which left few things to the imagination- InuYasha didn't see why it was any different from going naked as far as curves went) Kagome was brushing her hair out. She looked at him, and explained.

"I'm brushing my hair so if it gets wet it won't turn into a tangled mess."

"That's not what I was looking at." Kagome looked at him sideways, not hearing him at first, then she realized what he said. She almost glared, then decided, for the sake of the peace, that he was looking at something behind her.

"Come swimming with me."

"Huh?" Kagome walked past InuYasha to the gravelly slope that lead into the water slowly so she could adjust to the water. She put her foot in carefully and discovered it was pleasantly cool. It only had one stream flow into it, and it was tiny and had traveled across the whole mile of meadow.

"Come on, it's warm." InuYasha put his hand into it.

"It's not warm."

"Well, with the sunlight being so warm, it's pleasantly cool. Come on?" InuYasha sighed.

"I can't swim in my clothes."

"Well, I don't have a spare swimsuit." Kagome walked out into the water, turning her back on InuYasha, who stood, forlorn, on the bank. Soon, Kagome was wading, and the water was up to her waist. She dragged her fingertips through the water, creating pleasant ripples, and she spotted something shiny on the bottom of the water. She began trying to get it out of the water, and sunk her arm in, ignoring InuYasha. He paced back and forth along the bank like an abandoned dog, then decided to swim too. He took off his shirt and over shirt, then his pants until he was only in his 'swimsuit'. (A/n- we'll call them swim trunks, but it's like… not to give the wrong impression, but like… hmm… a skirt that's closed at the bottom except for two perfectly fitting holes for legs. In other words, not revealing. Oh, and it doesn't do that bubble-fill-with-air-thing.) He put a foot tentatively into the water and discovered it was rather nice. He began running, sending water flying on either side, out to Kagome.

Kagome had just about given up on retrieving the scintillating object when it occurred to her to pick it up with her feet. Suddenly, she heard a large splashing noise behind her, and turned to see InuYasha barreling through the water, sending it flying on either side. When she looked back down, the object was gone. She reached down one more time up to her neck to see if it might still be there when one of InuYasha's 'walls of water' came up over her and soaked her thoroughly. She stood, dripping wet, and InuYasha pulled to a sudden stop a foot from her.

"Sorry, Kagome. It was just so nice, and I wanted to be out here with you." Her irritation faded as InuYasha's ears drooped, and she playfully skimmed the top of the water with her hand, sending a flurry of droplets onto InuYasha. He backed up a step, wiping it off his face, then grinned.

"So, that's how you want it to be, hm? Get ready to run!" Kagome sent up a wave with both hands in a false panic, and InuYasha had to pause. She took off running, the water's drag hardly slowing her, but she still headed to the shallows where it was easier. By the time InuYasha was able to see, Kagome was twenty feet away, dashing through the water easily, where it was only a foot deep. She lifted her legs above the surface to create less resistance, and InuYasha simply jumped towards her, clearing all the water, and landed five feet behind her. She spun for the deeper area, confident she could swim faster than InuYasha. He stayed right behind her, using the space she'd cleared to run with less force. He was soon right behind her, only an arm's length away, but the water deepened to about five feet. Kagome lunged forward and threw her feet out behind her. They bumped against InuYasha's chest, so she gathered herself and looked back for a second with a smile before kicking off his chest, shooting herself forward.

InuYasha stood for a second, surprised but not affected by the kick. He ran another step, then dove under the water and quickly got in front of Kagome, popping out of the water in front of her. She stopped and her toes found the bottom of the pond, and she held her hands up in surrender. InuYasha stood, triumphant, then Kagome spit out a stream of water at him, and it hit him right on the forehead. InuYasha recoiled, then jumped after her before she could get too far. He pulled his arms around her stomach and used his weight to take her underwater. She spun to face him, smiling. Under the water, her hair spread in all directions, as did InuYasha's. She laughed as she kicked off his knee, but he held her hand, forcing her to turn back around. He pulled her to him, and she stopped a foot from his face. Her hair soon caught up and obscured him from view.

They began to run out of breath, and broke through the surface face first to keep the hair out of their faces. InuYasha let go of Kagome's hand and splashed her.

"Now we're even." As Kagome finished rubbing the water out of her eyes, InuYasha started walking back to shore. Kagome swam a few strokes more before she could walk, then did so right beside him. Soon they were in the shallows, and Kagome looked down as she felt something brush against her ankle.

"A fish!" She bent over and rested her hands on her knees, watching the fish. InuYasha stopped and came back, and soon spotted about twenty little inch-long fish in a school. Kagome dipped her hands into the water, but when she pulled it up, there was only water. She tried to catch one of the fish, but eventually gave in that they were faster than she was. InuYasha laughed at Kagome's misfortune, but mostly because she was charming when she tried to catch a fish. Kagome looked up at him, smiling despite her failure. InuYasha grinned and waded back into the water until he began swimming. He was about thirty feet out when Kagome saw him take a breath and dive underwater.

After a second, Kagome ran out into the water until she was about where InuYasha disappeared thirty seconds ago. He surfaced to her right, and about ten feet away. Kagome ducked underwater as he did, and spun around to watch him swim quickly after a fish that was almost a yard long. She let out a stream of bubbles in surprise, and returned to the surface. After another few seconds, InuYasha joined her, with the fish in one hand.

"Let's go over there where we can stand." InuYasha paddled over by placing the fish in his mouth and holding it by the skin on its back. It held unnaturally still. When they came up to where the water was just above Kagome's chest, InuYasha turned to face her. He took the fish out of his mouth and it flopped once, so he dipped it in the water. When he pulled it back up, he held it out to Kagome. She took it by right in front of the tail and right in front of its dorsal fin. It flopped once again, and splashed InuYasha with its tail. He shook himself off and stood behind Kagome. He moved so he was right behind her and placed his hands right next to hers.

"Well, should we eat it? I caught it to provide for you." Kagome blushed as InuYasha rested his head on her shoulder.

"Thank you InuYasha, I really am grateful for it, but I don't feel like eating a fish that I've held as if it were a pet." She turned to look at InuYasha gratefully, and kissed his cheek.

"Alright, we'll let it go." He took his hands off it and it began thrashing, seeming to understand it was spared. Kagome held it until it stopped, then gently lowered it into the water where it resumed swimming, and was soon far out of reach. She spun to face InuYasha, fish slime coating her palms. InuYasha saw her grin mischievously before he felt the cold, slimy pressure of her hands against his chest. He jumped back in alarm and realized Kagome was using him as a towel. He wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her to him, pinning her arms against himself.

"InuYasha!"

"Well, now you can't move, so there." Kagome looked up at his face, and did something that caused InuYasha to drop her, but made her forget their battle: She kissed him. At first, Kagome was only trying to get him to release her, but when he did, he began kissing her back and nothing else existed. This time was different, though; InuYasha parted his lips slightly, but Kagome didn't know what to do, so she pulled away. InuYasha rebounded quickly by catching her hands in one of his, then wiping his other hand off on her shoulder, causing her to shiver with slimy-ness. She ducked under the water and began scrubbing herself frantically, taking off all the slime. InuYasha did the same, but not as thoroughly; he left some accidentally on his abs. (A/n- I like typing 'abs'. )

When they surfaced in the 3.5-foot water, Kagome saw the sunlight glint off the slime, and wiped it off InuYasha's chest. She bent down to wipe it off her hand, and when she looked up, she really saw InuYasha's abs for the first time. She held her hand out tentatively, and her fingers brushed against the muscle. Her expression grew to a ponderous one, and InuYasha watched her, proudly, confused, and suddenly, extremely self-conscious. As Kagome continued to marvel in the smooth muscle, InuYasha's gaze grew soft and exceptionally tender. She's going to… Kagome, stop it! Kagome ran her hand up to his pecs, and he grabbed her hand, not sure how much more of this he could take. She looked up at him, startled out of her reverie. InuYasha locked eyes with her, trying to communicate what she was doing to him without having to say it.

After a minute of silence, and no ease in tension, InuYasha dropped Kagome's hand and turned away. He ducked under the water and began swimming, trying to clear his head and calm his pulse. Kagome stood still, also trying to calm herself. It was somehow the most romantic encounter with InuYasha yet, but there hadn't even been a kiss; they just stood there, hand in hand, gazing into each other's eyes. She shivered as she remembered InuYasha's gaze. Something about it was warning her, yet another part loved.

Kagome decided he probably needed to calm down, so she went and sat in the shallows, playing with the underwater rocks. After a while, she began to grow bored, so she walked out to where it was three feet deep and ducked her head under, crawling along the bottom on all fours. She watched the baby fish swim by, and the sunlight glisten off the rocks. The water was so clear that she could see InuYasha swimming in the deep part thirty feet away; well, his silhouette. She pressed her stomach to the floor and relaxed until she needed to breathe. She spent a minute catching her breath, then dove under again.

After Kagome went under, she saw a foot-long fish. I wonder if I could catch it like InuYasha caught that one. What did he do…? I think he just used everything at the same time, like... the frog kick. That would work. She set out after the fish and was nearly upon it before it decided it was time to leave. Kagome frantically kicked after it, spinning and swirling as it did, keeping at most ten feet from it, at the least, almost within arm's length. Just when she was about to give up, a hand caught hers, spinning her swiftly but gently. The fish spun to her right sharply, and with a quick jerk, her free arm darted out and grabbed the fish by the muscle right in front of its tail. Another hand came out of nowhere and locked over hers on the fish. Suddenly, she was pulled into the air.

"So, going fishing?" InuYasha chuckled, pulling Kagome into a hug against his chest. She kept a tight hold on the fish that she'd worked so hard to catch, but InuYasha easily pried it from her hands. She spun around to find the fish, and nearly walked right into it. InuYasha held it still so she could reassure her grip, then let go.

"Yes, and I caught it, too." Kagome stated, feeling like a dork.

"I can see that."

"I know."

"So what are you going to do with it?" Kagome shrugged, then picked it up above her head. It thrashed incredibly powerfully for such a small fish, and she passed it off to InuYasha. He took it and threw it about fifty feet, and it landed out in the middle of the pond, headfirst, struggling the whole way through the air. InuYasha scrubbed his hands as Kagome did, then took her hand.

"Come swim with me." He said, before turning away and pulling her along by the arm. When they reached an area about seven feet deep, InuYasha let go of her hand and treaded water, facing her. He raised an eyebrow, and Kagome smiled. Without a word, they took a deep breath and dove under together. They swam in a circle, both watching the other's hair flow around them and laughing. After the circle, Kagome sank to the bottom and got a good footing against the rocks. She kicked off, and when she reached the surface, she shot out of the water about three feet before coming back down. InuYasha did the same next to her a second later, and she began laughing. They tread water right next to each other, until their legs brushed. Kagome kicked herself backwards as InuYasha did, and a thought entered their minds at the same time: Wow, s/he's muscular. Their eyes met and they blushed before swimming back to the shallows.

The couple sat there in the inches-deep water for a few seconds before they grew bored. Kagome glanced sideways at InuYasha, who was watching her. She reached towards his chest slowly, then placed both hands on it and shoved him backwards into the water. He splashed her before she could get away, and then stood and hoisted her onto his shoulder. He held her legs with one arm, and she spun around his neck to see where he was going. She wrapped her arms around him as well as she could from the awkward position; his hair acted like a blanket, shielding her from the wind as Inuyasha picked up speed. He ran in large circles for a while, and when they were almost dry, he set Kagome down in a way that would have been rough had the landing not been a soft patch of lush, green grass.

Kagome sat up, but InuYasha tackled her with a hug and stayed with his arm around her shoulder. He nuzzled his face against hers and closed his eyes, and his hand slid from her shoulder. It fell across a place where Kagome felt uncomfortable -on her chest- and she stiffened. InuYasha lifted his head and looked at her face, then at his own arm. He immediately realized his 'breach of comfort' and stumbled backwards, ashamed. Kagome sat up, shaking it off. She couldn't ignore the blush on her cheek, and turned away flustered. At least he had the good character to back away… I'm not sure how this would have gone if he didn't.

InuYasha sat away from Kagome, troubled. He hadn't meant to do that, it was just more comfortable for his arm to be at that angle from his body… now she wouldn't forgive him, or be angry… He gazed at the ground and sighed. Kagome watched him from five feet away, and slowly rose to all fours. She crawled toward InuYasha, who lifted his head and watched her, curious and astonished. When Kagome reached him, he realized he was forgiven. He stood and held out his hand. Kagome took it and he lifted her to her feet. They looked into each other's eyes for a second, then InuYasha squeezed her hand in a gesture of apology. Kagome squeezed back, and they formed a wordless pact of boundaries. They dropped hands awkwardly and turned back for the pond side by side.

There's so much more to this chapter, but I don't know if you could take reading any more… I'm sure you've had to go to the bathroom for a while… I know I do. Go on, I can't write any longer. But, yeah. They've kind of taken a step back in the relationship. Bad chapter, I know. They stll feel the same way about each other, just are gonna hold back on the physical affection. or should I say Aww… well, later.