Chapter 5: Bed time story
Something was wrong. Really wrong.
Kagome fights back tears as she holds her breath and keeps still, her eyes not wavering from her prey: a big, fat and beautiful buck by the river. She inhales silently and lets the arrow fly. It hits the target.
A tear rolls down her cheek.
Kagome is hunting. Something she has to do herself since Inuyasha isn't nice anymore… yet… whatever. This isn't even a problem if compared to the reason of her stress. Because, really, for heaven's sake, where is Sesshoumaru? Myouga not showing up is okay, not that big of a deal since she already knows what he has to say, but… Isn't Sesshoumaru looking for the pearl of the right eye? Where is he?
About a week after I first arrived here
T-tha-t's to-too long
It's been a week already since the day he should have shown up. It's been twelve days since she second arrived here!
Kagome wipes the tear and raises to her feet, walking towards the dead buck and trying to think of a way to take it to the camp. The previous game she hunted were considerably smaller so she had little difficulty in dragging them, but this one is pretty large and she doubts she can do it. The worst part is that the only solution to her predicament is likely to refuse helping her, she just knows it.
But trying won't kill her.
"Inuyasha! Could you come here?", she called loudly. Nothing. "Inuyasha!" Only crickets. Growling, the girl takes a breath and says calmly. "Sit."
A boom and a crack sound echoes not far from where she is standing, which makes her even angrier. After all, if he's this close, why hasn't he answered her? She sighs exasperatedly. 'Sometimes I forget he's not my Inuyasha anymore – yet – agh!'
"You witch!", he barks, bursting from the trees and stopping only when his nose was touching hers. "I said to stop doing this."
Kagome's surprised by the personal space intrusion, but of course she wouldn't step back. "And I said to stop ignoring me! We're together on this, then let's stay together, okay?"
"Yo-" Inuyasha raises his hand to point a finger at her face, but thinks better of it; last time he did it she bit it. "You! You are full of this 'together' and 'friendship' crap, yet you still haven't told me who the fuck you are, why you're strange, how you know every single detail about me, and why you are helping me with a problem that is MINE and only YOU know of!"
Kagome frowns deeply, glaring at him as if it'd do him some harm. "I said that I'd tell you all the truth, but I also said that I'd do it when you're ready.", she sighs. "And you aren't. If I tell you now you won't believe me."
Inuyasha tsks grumpily and kneels down to skin and clean her game. Not that he's doing it for her - he's not - but his anger seems to have been reaching a whole new level since meeting this wench; keeping his hand busy is a must. "What are you so stressed about?"
"What...?"
"Stress is all over your scent – What's up?"
Kagome chews on her bottom lip out of nervousness. She can tell him a little, can't she? "I was waiting for someone to show up seven days ago. He didn't and now I'm worried."
Inuyasha grunts and continues to clean the deer, never looking at her. "Your husband?"
"You know it's not."
"Yeah, just checking.", he shrugs. "Who is it?" If she wants to get visitors, fine, but he can at least know who the guy is.
'Nosy.' "Oh, I'll not spoil the surprise.", the girl gulps.
"Wait", Inuyasha glares up at her. "I know him?" She nods. "What's his name?" Though he's afraid he already knows it.
'Sesshoumaru, Lord Inu, love of my life, your brother... You pick it.' "Myouga."
Inuyasha blinks. "Oh." Not who he'd thought. "Maybe he doesn't know I'm awake yet."
Kagome nods, considering what he said until it finally hits her and she gasps. That's it! Since she decided she wouldn't meet Kaede for now, they haven't gotten near a village, so of course the rumors about Inuyasha wouldn't have started yet. Sesshoumaru hasn't shown up because as far as he knows Inuyasha is still sleeping; all they need to do is spread the word!
And they do. Well, SHE does actually. After a lot of convincing, Kagome gets him to walk along with her around the villages' entrances, including Kaede's, making sure that at least two citizens see them. Of course, they freak out. But it's something for later, though. The main goal is the news about Inuyasha's return reaching Sesshomaru.
"Why are we doing this? It's stupid." Inuyasha complains during one of the walks.
"Why?"
"Do you think they're gonna freak out and that's it?" He snarls, shoots daggers at her with his glare and breaks darkly, "They'll come to finish me off."
Inuyasha just wants her to see how stupid and dangerous this is, just wants to see her resolve finally break in apprehension and give this shit up. And that's why his eyes widen when she giggles.
"I'd love to see them try."
x-•°•°•-x
Now that the word is spread, new worries fill her mind and keep her awake at night. Did it get to Sesshomaru? What if Naraku hears about it too? How long will it take Myouga to show up? So many questions and no answer at all - the only thing she knows is which rock she'll hit Inuyasha with if he doesn't stop moving his head!
"If you get it in your eyes, I'll laugh at you as they burn!" Kagome vows while scrubbing his hair.
"And if it gets in my ears, I'll bark until you go deaf!" he shoots back.
"I already said it won't! I've done this before!"
The words were supposed to stay in her mind, but before she knows they're out. She's given Inuyasha baths before, but he doesn't know that.
"What?!", he turns around to pin her with saucer-sized eyes.
Kagome brushes her lips together, avoiding his look like the plague and swearing mentally for her big mouth. "Look, I… I can ex–"
"So you are a whore, then."
Her mind shuts down from shock for two seconds before hurt takes over. She used to feel angry, but now she just feels lonely. "No, you know I'm not a whore.", the girl whispers, still washing his hair.
"An unbidden geisha?"
"No." Kagome groans, tears prickling in the back of her eyes. "Just from the future. It's normal to dress up like I do, or wash a friend's hair… Normally we use swimsuits, but it's not been invented yet…" she trails off when he starts shaking his head.
"Again with the future crap – What do you take me for, wench?"
"An idiot who should trust his nose a little more.", she rasps. "You know when I'm lying."
Inuyasha falls silent to this. 'And ya have yet to lie…', he muses. Point taken. "So… From the future?"
Kagome blinks, startled. What is she doing differently that is making Inuyasha easier? She sure was expecting more reluctance from him. "That's right," she says softly, massaging behind his ears affectionately like she used to do.
And like he used to – or will use to – he sighs and closes his eyes, but doesn't lean into her touch as always. "And we know each other?"
The girl changes to brushing the dirty silver ends, fighting back bittersweet memories that would only make her feel depressed for what is no more. "Not anymore.", she murmurs. "I know you, our friends, but you all don't know me anymore – yet, whatever – Well, it's not like there's a future for me to go back to. Time has been rewound."
A grunt is his only answer. Half because there's not much he could say and half because he is getting sleepy from her ministrations. She's a stranger; he met her eleven days ago and knows very little about her, and he had never exposed himself or opened up to someone so soon like this, but it's because of her. She is a stranger, but emanates such familiarity, such intimacy, such comfort that he can't help but drop his guard.
And relax.
"Tell me.", Inuyasha asks and turns to her to show he's being deadly serious. "Tell me everything." A week and four days is a very short time, but it was enough to know one thing about her: she doesn't lie. "I believe you."
Inuyasha has lived little time among women – only a few years with his mother – but enough to learn that they are weird creatures. But he never expected this woman to burst into a million tears and throw her arms around him in a tight hug.
'Fuck!', he barks mentally, totally unprepared for the assault . Is she nuts?! He is naked! And she is wearing this ridiculously revealing two-piece thing that covers so little that she might as well take them off already!
Kagome sobs loudly in his ears for several seconds; the only thing helping him to not think of their position: flesh-to-flesh contact, hot spring and breasts pressed against his chest.
Oh, boy…
"Uh… You still owe me a story." Inuyasha tries, patting her shoulder sympathetically.
Kagome sniffs and laughs a little, letting go of him but fixing her eyes on his, and when he avoids them she grabs his face and forces him to look back. Then smiles. "Thank you."
The hanyou blushes and turns away again. "The story."
x-•°•°•-x
"Kikyou didn't betray me?"
"No."
x-•°•°•-x
"… and then we meet Shippou by the clearing near th–"
"The kit?"
"Yes."
"Can we skip him?"
x-•°•°•-x
"Who are 'they'?"
"Miroku-kun and Sango-chan – a monk and a demon-slayer."
... "A monk and a demon-slayer?" The woman nods and he shrugs. "Good thing I'm just a fish, then."
x-•°•°•-x
"You broke it?!"
"Well, it's not broken now, is it?!"
x-•°•°•-x
"Thank God we're not meeting him."
"Eh? Why not?", Kagome asks, readying herself for a fight.
"You said yourself that we meet him while searching for fragments because he had two. – And the jewel is not broken now, is it?" he mocks back.
Later that night, Kagome mourns.
x-•°•°•-x
"I'd never say that. You stink."
"You jerk! You really said it, I swear!"
x-•°•°•-x
It's night. It's raining. But they are still talking.
"I see you naked."
"We do bathe together, y'know."
"Out of water."
"…Oh…"
x-•°•°•-x
"There was this guy…" she starts.
"Hm?"
"And he's in love…"
"Yes?"
"With you."
It's the first time Kagome sees ramen raining.
x-•°•°•-x
"I… turn into a full-demon?" She nods. "Awesome!"
"You kill dozens." He halts. "You even hurt me."
He stays silent for a moment until he looks back up. "'Even'? You make it sound as if it's impossible."
"Yeah… I mean a lot to you by then."
x-•°•°•-x
"People try to steal my soul. More than once."
"People? Like in different enemies?"
"First it's Urasui," Then comes Kikyou… "Then it's Naraku, Tsubaki…"
"What are you made of that everyone wants you? Rice?"
x-•°•°•-x
" Now go to sleep."
"What? Why?"
"Because I need to sleep."
"But it's early yet – Tell me more."
"Tomorrow."
"Tonight!"
"If I'm not sleeping, I'll be sitting you to hell until morning comes!"
That shuts him up. And makes him smile at her back.
Kagome is funny when she swears.
