Love and Responsibility

I have a nice little plan for this chapter here. I hope you all can enjoy reading it as much as I will enjoy writing it. I do believe I'll have some fun with the chapter after this one.

Warning: Sexual Content; Offensive Language; Violence

Rating: M for Mature

Couple: Inuyasha and Kagome (Based)

Sango and Miroku

Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha or any of the characters associated with the series.

"Talking"

'Thoughts'

Recap: Coming to a decision at last, Inuyasha grasped a hold on Kagome's quaking shoulders. He forced her back, gently. He could not allow this. For some reason, the half demon felt as though kissing her at such a time would be like taking advantage of her bewildered state of mind. No matter how much it would love to lock lips with her, now was not the time. Inuyasha would need to be patient, for both his and Kagome's sake.

"S… sorry…" He muttered. End Recap

Chapter 13: Aggravation

"Oh, I just can't wait! I've always wanted to go to a tropical island." Mrs. Higurashi gleefully shoved all of the toiletries should could manage into a small blue bag. Watching her with negligent golden orbs, Inuyasha had to ponder whether the woman's blissful semblance would ever so much as fade in the slightest.

From her spot beside her mother, Kagome let lose a lavish laugh. She absolutely cherished her mother's cheerful disposition. At the same time she wholly disliked Inuyasha's crabbed one.

"Oh, I just can't believe we'll be leaving the day after tomorrow. I don't know if I can hold out any longer!"

"It really is exciting. There's sure to be a lot of cute guys." Kagome clasped her hands together, eyes sparkling with hope. "That'll mean I'll have numerous opportunities for a summer romance!" She failed to notice Inuyasha's audacious growls.

"Keh! I don't see what the big deal is anyway." His aggravation was mounting. 'Summer romance!?'

"Oh, stop being such a grouch, Inuyasha." The miko insisted, zipping up the fully packed blue bag.

"I'm not being a grouch, Miss. Summer Romance!" With that, Inuyasha stomped out of the bathroom, fuming. The priestess stared after him, wondering just what had gotten him so thoroughly displeased. Apparently her mind had strayed to far from the recollections of them sleeping together, to consider that that might have something to do with it.

"Is he always like that?" Kagome handed the pack stuffed with hygiene supplies to her excessively chipper mom.

"Not always." The woman advised, knowing full well just why the half demon had marched away in such an ungraceful manner. "But most of the time. I do recall a certain young lady telling me a few times "He puts on a hard front, but he's a real softy underneath"."

"I said that?" The girl pointed to herself, as if it wasn't obvious whom Suteki had been referring to. The older woman let lose a chuckle.

"Who else could I have been mentioning? You're probably the only girl close enough to Inuyasha to realize such a thing."

"I am?"

"Oh my, we've only got two days to prepare for this trip. I must get packing. Surely Sota will want me to help, or maybe I should go check on the soup and rice?" Kagome stared off in the woman's wake, questioning whether or not Inuyasha and her were really as close as her mother would like it to seem. 'We did…sleep together…after all…' Just thinking such things dyed Kagome's cheeks crimson.

The priestess sat there for a few long moments. Her mind raced with images of Inuyasha. 'If we are so close, why would he of pushed me away last night?' In her head, Kagome saw recollections of her leaning in, ever so hesitantly, to kiss the half demon. Then she proceeded to see him tenderly force her off of him. She released a heavy, saddened sigh. 'I really thought it was going to be one of those extra romantic moments, like in the movies…'

"Breakfast is ready!" Apparently her mother had decided to check on their morning meal, rather than assist Sota. 'Romantic moments?' Kagome coughed. 'What are you thinking!? Get your head out of the gutter, girl…' She arose, preparing to go down to join the others for their breakfast.

Inhaling the scent of fresh rice and dried seaweed, the miko halted at the steps. While normally such a smell would gather the moisture in her mouth, this time it seemed to do no such thing. In fact, it appeared to have an entirely more negative effect. 'M… my stomach.' She brought her hand to her belly, gently running it under her shirt and over her bellybutton. Nausea reached her.

"Oh… no!" She stumbled back into the bathroom in a sickly rush. Falling hard to her knees, she leaned over the white, porcelain toilet. 'Not now! Now not! Not when everyone is so excited about this vacation.' She menacingly disrelished the idea of ruining everyone's buoyant façade due to her illness. 'Someone 'up there' must have a grudge against me…' She decided, finally releasing the vomit that had been bubbling within her.

The aching of her throat and tonsils, caused her optics to burn. She wasn't even the bathroom for more than ten minutes before someone came looking for her. The miko felt a descent amount of embarrassment when she saw Inuyasha leaning against the doorframe.

"You okay?" He inquired, actually sounding quite sincere. Kagome wiped her mouth and then flushed the toilet. She tried not to look the half demon in the eye, for she was preparing to lie to him.

"I'm fine. Just a little queasy. I think last night's dinner is starting to back up on me." She giggled, bending over the sink. In one hand she held her toothbrush. In the other, she held a tube of mint flavored toothpaste. She was hasty in brushing the taste of puke from her tongue and gums.

"You cooked last night's dinner." Inuyasha folded his arms, staring at her suspiciously.

"I know." She smiled, rinsing her mouth. "That's the sad thing." When she was finally finished, she used a fresh cloth to dry her lips. "Oh…" Before she made her exit, she grabbed a hold of Inuyasha's red haori's sleeve. "Don't mention this to the others. I don't want them worrying over nothing."

"…" Inuyasha admired her strength, even now when she was so helpless. "You… you drink black coffee whenever your stomach's upset." He explained. "You said that concentrating on the bitter taste keeps your mind of your squeamishness."

For the second time that morning, Kagome felt tears brimming her bottom eye lids. She could finally understand just how it could be so likely that she loved Inuyasha. 'Loves…' She corrected, beaming with enlightenment.

"What's that weird look for?" The half demon queried.

Kagome pulled her hand off his sleeve. She hadn't even realized just how intently she was watching the hanyou. She blushed, muttering an apology.

"If you want…" A small blush dusted Inuyasha's cheeks. "You can go in your room and I'll bring you the coffee. That way the others don't have to get worried."

"Y… you'd do that for me?"

"Feh!" His blushed deepened. "As long as you stop talking about that stupid summer romance shit." He didn't really understand why, but this caused the girl to break into a small fit of giggles.

"Fine. Fine." She agreed, making her way into her bedroom. "Oh. If they ask, could you tell them I'm not hungry? I'd rather just finish packing?" Inuyasha didn't say, or gesture a yes or no. He just headed down the steps silently. "I'll take that as a maybe…"

"Lady Kaede…" Sango called across the hut, to the elderly woman that was tenderly milling herbs. "I think she's coming to." The slayer eyed the awaking demon child, a smile dancing across her lips, a sense of relief budding in her chest. 'It took her so long to wake up… I thought she was a goner.'

"W…" The child squeaked out, seemingly finding even talking in the slightest to be quite challenging. "Where… am… I?" The girl found speaking a little simpler when she chose to pause between each syllable. At last her eyes were open enough to get a good look at them.

Sango gasped. 'They're the same color as that… that other demons…' So not only did she have the same color hair, she also had the same eyes. 'Are they related?' This girl did indeed resemble the older male that had been battling the griffon only a few days before.

"Ye are in the village that is surrounded by thy Forest of Inuyasha." Kaede took a damp towel and carefully placed it on the child's forehead, positioning it as perfectly as she could manage.

"A… a human… village?" The longer she was awake for, the less she felt she needed to pause between words.

"For the most part." Sango replied, thinking about her inhuman friends, Kirara, Shippo, and Inuyasha.

"Why… am I… here?" The girl let out a sudden and unsuspected chain of coughs. Kaede placed an aged hand right below the demon's collar bone, trying to sooth her fits. It seemed to work, because the girl's coughs were very fleeting.

"I found you…" Sango began. "In the woods, after that griffon-like creature had attacked you. You were wounded, so I brought you back here. Kaede's nursed you."

"Kaede?"

"That would be me, child." Kaede lifted a hand, to farther illustrate who she was. The girl nodded slowly.

"Why did you… choose to save… me?"

"You were hurt. I couldn't just leave you there…"

"But… I'm not human…"

"Just because I'm a demon slayer, doesn't mean I don't know that all demons are not bad." Sango crossed her arms, feeling a bit belittled. Her aggravation left her when the child gave her a gentle smile.

"I'm… not a demon…" She looked as though she was ready to giggle. The caused a great deal of confusion among the two women. They look at each other and then back at the girl. They repeated this action at least three more times, before questioning what the child had said.

"If not a demon, if not a human, what are ye?"

"I'm… a… a dragon, of course."

Kagome pulled her knees up to her chest, watching as two Eurasian tree sparrows flew by in a flurry. 'Seems like they're enjoying themselves…' Sadly, she couldn't say the same for herself. It was nearly lunch and she'd yet to have left her bedroom. She was positive her mother had begun to grow suspicious.

The miko no longer felt nauseous, but she refused to take the chance. It'd be quite unlucky if she were to get sick as soon as she finished her way down the small flight of steps that led to her living room. That would make all the time she'd spent in her room worth nothing. 'It would suck if I've sat up here, bored out of my mind, for nothing!' She sobbed silently, wishing she'd had some source of entertainment. 'I could always watch a movie.' She sighed. The priestess was in no mood to re-watch her movies yet again. Irritated, she began to tap her fingers on her bedpost, trying to find an interesting rhythm.

"Wah! Screw it!" The miko jumped from her bed and onto her recently vacuumed carpet. 'I'm not just gonna sit here like a book on an ancient shelf.' With that, she charged out of her bedroom and down her steps. She loved the sense of freedom merely exiting her bedroom gave her. A fleeting emotion of victory reached her. Kagome was very pleased that the smell of lunch did not make her as queasy as her breakfast had. "Smells delicious. What is it?"

"Well…" Suteki used a large, wooden spoon to stir whatever it was that was in the large pot heating on the stove. "What I'm mixing here is soba noodles, but I'm also making rice cakes filled with yummy red been paste. If you'd like, you can help me make them?"

"Oh, yeah! Definitely!" She was thrilled that she would at last have something to entertain herself with.

"Did you just say you're a dragon?" Miroku's eyes held a great deal of disbelief. For a moment, the others turned to watch as he entered the small, wooden hut. There attention was not on him for long, though.

"…I did…" The young girl kept in intent eye on the reactions of the humans around her. It almost seemed as if they'd never heard of dragons before. They stared at her as if she had two heads! She suddenly felt uncomfortable under their incredulous gazes.

"You look completely human!" Sango fought the idea that this child was being totally honest. Tediously, the dragon lifted herself up. She seemed so tiny and fragile. 'If she were human, she'd only be about eight…' Sango resolved, biting down on her lower lip.

"If what you say is true, than…" Miroku gave his companions a doubtful eyeball. "Dragons have discovered a way to disguise themselves as humans…"

"Found a way?" The dragon raised a diplomatic eyebrow. "Since when couldn't we? I don't know about the race of dragons you're thinking of, but I was born looking like this. I had to learn how to transform into a reptile when I was just a little girl."

"FUCK!" Inuyasha came storming through the door, swinging the bamboo to the side in a raging blur. The door nearly flung from it's weakened strings. His golden eyes held a look of complete and utter contempt. The attention of the occupants of the room momentarily turned to him.

"Inuyasha?…" Miroku stepped back, fearing the half demon's wrath. He heedfully kept an eye on the steamed up hanyou as he slammed his fist into the wall, sending thick pieces of wood flying.

Inuyasha paid no mind to the injured dragon beside Sango. He merely turned to his friends, preparing to holler about everything that had provoked him this day. "I can't stand it anymore! It's unbearable!"

"What is?" Sango felt foolish as soon as she allowed the question to slip from her lips. As if it wasn't obvious what the hanyou was barking about. The slayer slapped her forehead, so as to punish herself for her ridiculous question.

"Kagome!" Honey eyes flashed red, but the others knew their was no danger. Tetsusaiga was still firm at his side. "Ka-go-me! That fucking girl is driving me nuts!" His clawed hands flew up to his silver locks. He tore at the sides, trying to calm himself. "It's been two damn weeks. She hasn't mentioned remembering anything!"

"Inuyasha, calm yourself." Miroku stepped up, reflecting different ways that he could possible soothe his friend. "It's not as though she'll never remember…"

"Well it fucking seems like it." He prepared to punch the wall once more, but chose to kick the wood on the floor instead. Luckily, the flying scraps of timber did not hit anyone, although they did come close to striking a specific monk in a certain area.

"That wasn't on purpose, right, Inuyasha?" The lecher's eyes twitched with concealed irritation. The half demon folded his arms.

"Feh! Who knows?"

"Now, now, ye two… Calm yourselves." Kaede halted any chance of an oncoming battle. At this, Inuyasha scoffed. "Inuyasha we understand how ye are feeling, but that situation will have to wait. We've got more important matters to deal with at the moment."

"What?" Inuyasha looked on with skepticism. 'More important than Kagome?'

"This girl here, for instance." Kaede pointed to the young child.

"That's no girl." For the first time, since he'd entered the hut, the hanyou noticed that the usual dwellers were not the only residents. He leaned forward in the slightest, taking in the girl's scent. "She's got a smell like Ryuukotsusei…" He released a low growl. It was a warning to the dragon.

Shuddering back, the child searched for some source of protection from that 'rabid dog'. "Ry… Ryuukotsusei… I've never heard of him." She answered truthfully. "I'm just a dragon child." Like the others had been, Inuyasha was surprised.

"Now all that's left to do is turn on the oven and wait for them to finish." The sides of Mrs. Higurashi's lips curled up in an unfaltering smile. Throughout the whole process she'd held a somewhat serious look on her face, but now she was free to smile once more.

Kagome herself was very pleased with how perfectly the rice cakes had turned out. Her mouth watered from the scent that had already began to waft through the air. She inhaled, savoring the smell. "I can't wait."

"Me neither." Suteki cackled, pulling off her large, purple oven-mittens. "Now we should start cleaning up the kitchen, so that it's nice and tidy when we eat. After all, you can't enjoy such a delicious meal in a messy room."

"I agree." Kagome nodded. She chose to do the dishes, while Mrs. Higurashi chose to do the counters and the table.

It was only moments into the cleaning process when Kagome felt an unpleasant chill up her spine. Seeing it as nothing, she continued her dishwashing. To her displeasure, the chill soon led to her having a somewhat hammering headache. The miko paused, taking a second to rub her temples. 'Maybe I should get some aspirin.' She looked towards her mother and quickly came to the conclusion that she didn't want to bother the woman with such trivial matters.

"Kagome, you wouldn't mind sweeping? I'll do the mopping after lunch?"

"Oh, of course." She tried to give her mother her most gracious smile, but found she had a difficult time doing such a thing when her head was thundering as if her skull held the center of a hurricane within it. 'The migraine's getting worse.' Her lips curved downward. She could feel herself slowly losing it.

"Kagome?" Mrs. Higurashi reached out to the girl. Her heart skipped a beat when Kagome's eyes closed and the teen suddenly fell to the floor unconscious. "Kagome!"

Okay, that could mean two things. None of which I will tell you now. You'll have to wait and see. I really hope you adored this chapter. I found it to be a little more interesting than some of the others.