The Eternal Bond, Trust Chapter 13, an inuyasha fanfic

The Eternal Bond, Trust ch13

Author's Notes: Wow! I got so many pleasant reviews on this story! I was kind of surprised because this story has been getting as much popularity as my other story, Inuyasha's Demon Mistake, and I just figured you guys liked it better. But then I realized in your reviews that half of you that read this story also read that one! I am so humbled… (blush)

Okay, there have been a couple of questions about Naraku… and the answer is yes, he will be making an appearance as the bad guy once again, I mean come on now Inuyasha has to extract his revenge for both of the priestess's!

Oh, and Kikyo is gone for sure, so no more stressing over if she will get in the way of Inuyasha and Kagome. But…she might help in the fight with Naraku a small bit, so expect her to be an ally. Why? I don't know, I guess I kind of feel sorry for her… even though I hate her guts… not that she has any because she's kind of dead.

Well, you don't have to worry about my chapters being so darn short (I have received some…ahem … rather opinionated concerns on that subject) because I promise this one will be at least two pages longer than the others…

Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha… and I don't have any cool made-up characters in my story that I created… so I basically don't own anything or anyone (sobs) SO ALONE!

Kagome raced through the forest, doing her best to remember where it was exactly that she had met with Kikyo last night. She vaguely recalled leaving her bow in the clearing, and not having the presence of mind to pick it up again. Leaping over a small fallen log, Kagome created a zigzag trail around the dense trees that cluttered the area.

A moment later she slowed to a walk, clutching the fabric over her rapidly beating chest in a futile attempt to calm her pumping blood. Adrenalin coursed through her veins, giving her the extra boost needed to continue, and in a matter of seconds she was off again, tearing through the woods.

Finally she reached a spot that seemed familiar. Closing her eyes, she tried to envision the clearing that she had been in the previous night. Flashes of tall trees swaying in the breeze passed in her mind's eye, but no distinct markings came to her, and with a humph she slid down a trunk and sat on its roots.

Her breathing took a while to even out, but once it did and was quiet enough, Kagome leaned back against the rough bark and listened peacefully to the relaxing sounds of the forest. Nearby, she could barely discern the song of cicadas buzzing. It lulled her slightly with its soothing melody.

No! she firmly reprimanded herself, her chocolate eyes widening, I can't fall asleep in the middle of the forest! That's way too dangerous!

Yet somehow, despite the reasoning behind her thoughts, Kagome couldn't find it in her to stand up again, the effects of her lack of sleep taking their toll on her body. It was so nice and warm, with the hint of a breeze that tickled her features reassuringly, that Kagome lazily decided closing her eyes for a few seconds couldn't hurt…

The next minute she was fast asleep beneath the leaves.

The cool grass soothed Inuyasha's calloused feet as he treaded through the small meadow, the wildflowers springing up everywhere their petals could reach. Inuyasha smiled rather absentmindedly, inwardly pleased by the relaxing afternoon. In every sense, it was a good day. There wasn't a cloud in the sky to dampen his spirits from the night before. Kagome was alright with what happened, she didn't hold him against it, and for once he could finally start to let go of Kikyo's memory.

He felt so good right then he probably could've even tolerated an appearance from his pompous brother.

But he was still glad that Sesshomaru was nowhere in range.

Inuyasha sobered with the thought of the oncoming fights that were obviously going to result from this. When he saw that damn Naraku again, the bastard had better be prepared to withhold a good defense. Trying to crumble his life for the second time, there was definitely nothing that was going to stop him from tearing the bastard's throat out with his claws.

Stretching lethargically and placing his hands behind his head in a comfortable position, Inuyasha checked the wind, wondering what else was going on in the world.

He froze at the scent that met his nose.

Again!? He shouted inside of his head. Doesn't she realize that it's not safe for her to wander alone through the forest??

Darting off with his inhuman speed, Inuyasha took advantage of the treetops, as they were faster to travel on. "Stupid girl," he muttered furiously under his breath, but the wind whirling about him whipped his words away.

Crouching momentarily on a branch, Inuyasha searched for the direction Kagome was in, and his golden eyes widened in dread as her scent told him something else: she was asleep. "What the-?" he almost yelled.

Inuyasha cursed darkly. As he flew off in the direction of her location, he wondered how the hell she could justify sleeping in the middle of a demon-infested forest. All I know is she better have her damn bow with her…

Relieved as he neared her presence and found no threats nearby, Inuyasha took his pace down a notch and slowed to a walk as he rounded a tree. There she was, slumbering without a care in the world, and without a bow.

What the hell was she thinking? Inuyasha's eye twitched. Running a hand through his silver bangs almost exhaustedly, the half demon swore violently again.

His eyes were drawn to her prone figure again. It was a very good thing he had gotten here in time… another couple of minutes and she would have been someone's lunch. This thought sparked his anger again, and without another minute to spare he marched over and squatted in front of her.

Briefly a doubt flashed across his mind. Should he wake her? She seemed so tired, the way she was sleeping so deeply she had to be thoroughly drained.

Growling softly, Inuyasha relented, his more gentle side intent on her getting sufficient rest. Nimbly, he jumped straight up, landing in the branch directly above Kagome. Once comfortable in the conjunction where the bough and trunk met, he snuck a glance down at the serenely slumbering girl below.

"Feh." He mumbled, before slowly resting his head on the strong frame of the tree and closing his eyes, keeping an ear trained for any signs of movement.

Kagome stirred restlessly in her sleep, her eyelids cracking open to the bright rays of sunlight filtering down on her through the emerald leaves of the trees. She stretched slowly, her mind fuzzy with sleep, and yawned, covering it politely with one hand.

There was a rush of air and a slight noise to the right of her and when she opened her eyes once more, piercing golden ones were looking straight into hers. For a moment, she was stock-still. Then… "Eeek!"

Flinching violently, Kagome flung herself backwards to put some space between her and the unknown person, and in her haste and confusion forgot about the tree trunk directly behind her. Inuyasha halted her before she could give herself a concussion, quickly slipping his hand between her and the tough bark.

Instantly Kagome's tense muscles eased as recognition flashed across her face. "Inuyasha…" she mumbled stressfully, "Please don't ever do that again! You nearly gave me a heart attack!"

A scowl set onto his features as he snapped, "Damn good thing it was me. You're lucky you didn't wake up to the inside of some demon's stomach, wench."

She colored at the remark, knowing it was true, and frowned. Caught unaware in the middle of the forest… without her bow and arrows no less! It was nothing short of a miracle that Inuyasha reached her before some other predator.

"What the heck are you doing all the way out here, anyways?" Inuyasha questioned suspiciously, an eyebrow raised inquisitively.

At least I have a good excuse for that… Kagome thought. "I was trying to find my bow and arrows… I left them in the clearing last night."

Inuyasha practically gaped at her. "Bows and arrows? You could have gotten a fucking new bow!"

Kagome's expression lightened. It seemed Inuyasha was back to his normal surly self, all traces of guilt gone from his voice. "They were the ones Kaede gave me, the bow was actually hers once, and she gave it to me as a gift. I'm not going to lose it!"

"That's no excuse…" Inuyasha cut through her explanation again.

She crossed her arms angrily over her chest, an aggravated look on her face. Did he have to be so… uncompromising? "It is for me!"

Inuyasha could clearly see this was heading to a fight, and for once he had the insight to realize he didn't want to trigger an argument. "Feh." Turning his head to stare at an unparticular tree to the side of him, he stood. "If you wanted your dumb bow you could've just asked me…" was all he grumbled, but then kept it at that, deciding it was a hell of a lot better to just prevent an oncoming sit.

Caught off guard by the sudden ending of the argument, Kagome was rendered speechless for a few, silent seconds. Eventually she snapped her open mouth shut and smiled at the positive sign. Maybe something good did come out of this whole deceit mess…

"Well then…" Kagome started slowly, taking him up on his suggestion to ask his assistance, "could you help me find my bow?"

Inuyasha glanced at her sideways, his golden eyes glinting in the bright sunlight. An answering smile crept up onto his lips, barely visible, but present nonetheless. "Yeah, sure, why not," he replied, offering his hand to help her in standing.

She accepted it graciously, and he hoisted her up onto her feet, releculantly releasing her hand. "Come on, wench," he added, presenting his back to her in a signal to hop on. Kagome didn't need to be asked twice. She carefully lifted herself onto his awaiting back and, once arranged properly, they were a mere blur in the trees.

Her bow and quiver of arrows were in the exact same place she had left them, right underneath a notably ancient willow. Clicking her tongue impatiently as she realized she would've never found it on her own, Kagome turned to Inuyasha. "Thanks," she said gratefully, slinging the strap of her quiver over her shoulder carelessly.

He didn't respond, as she knew he wouldn't, and merely watched as Kagome checked her bow for any scratches or breaks, and then plucked her string experimentally. "Great! No damage done!"

"Remarkable," Inuyasha commented sarcastically. What was the big deal? So her bow survived a few hours outside, whoop-de-do.

Kagome frowned. Someone didn't seem to be in a conversational mood, it seemed. Then again, she responded to her decision, when is he ever in a talking mood? A silly grin peeked out from beneath her frown, but she muffled her fit of giggles.

Very much aware of her current amusement, but severely confused on why, Inuyasha continued to suspiciously stare at her. It obviously had something to do with him. Narrowing his eyes and scowling, Inuyasha darkly asked, "What's so funny, wench?"

"N-nothing…" Kagome replied, stopping her laughter from being heard, "Come on, let's go back to the village. We've been gone the whole morning… right?" Whirling her head around to the sky, she found the blazing sun shining directly overhead, confirming her belief.

"Pretty much." Inuyasha added, his gaze lazily drawn upward. "It's about mid-day."

Her stomach growled softly, demanding nourishment and focusing Inuyasha's attention on Kagome. He raised an eyebrow. Of course she'd be hungry… he mentally smacked himself for forgetting her basic needs.

Kagome smiled sheepishly at the noise. "I guess I'm a little hungry… I didn't eat breakfast." She wrapped an arm around her waist in an attempt to appease her stomach.

Inuyasha felt the worry creep into his mind. If she didn't get some food down soon, she'd definitely get stomach cramps from hell, not the best sickness to have when you need to be healing a wound on your stomach. Glancing around quickly, Inuyasha hoped to find some berry bushes.

The sweet aroma of mulberries met his searching nose. Honing in on his sense of smell, Inuyasha traced the fruit, following its distinct smell. Inuyasha motioned for Kagome to follow, and she obliged.

Pushing back some branches of the thick undergrowth, Inuyasha found his prey… the mulberry bush. He crouched next to it and waited as Kagome daintily made her way through the thorns and twigs to him. Spotting the berries, Kagome sat down cross-legged beside the plant and picked a few of its fruit off, popping them in her mouth.

"Mmm," she hummed happily, and offered a hand full of mulberries to Inuyasha. He shook his head disgustedly, although he was grateful of her to ask him. He was a dog, basically, and all he really ate was meat.

Finally, Kagome finished, swallowing the remainder of the messy berries, and licking her lips of the juice, earning her a glance from Inuyasha which she didn't see. "Done!" she proclaimed, her face radiant as she was blissfully satisfied by the snack.

Inuyasha looked at her while she tried to tidy herself up. Her hair hung down in soft waves, hiding her face from view as she was glancing down at her skirt. Purple mulberry juice stained her fingertips and, as she lifted her head up, Inuyasha noticed that her lips were stained too, making them more enticing than ever. Unintentionally, he leaned forward.

Kagome saw him move out of the corner of her eye. Turning around to face him half-way, she was taken aback by the peculiar emotion in his eyes. It was almost… caring, enhancing his golden color to a deeper amber. The effect was so mesmerizing to her that she had to blink several times to make sure it wasn't a result of the light.

Snapping out of his reverie at this slight movement, Inuyasha felt his face grow hot as the realization that she noticed he was staring at her. Shit! How long have I been sitting here like an idiot?! Shaking his head, Inuyasha hastily stood.

"Maybe we should return to the hut…" he suggested.

Kagome quickly agreed. "Yes, I think we should," she said, nodding and standing to her feet. She was also embarrassed by the way he heart had done somersaults by the strange gleam in his eyes. It had been so… captivating.

She blinked rapidly again. There you go, daydreaming! She scolded herself. "Let's go," Kagome suggested further and, with a grim nod from Inuyasha, she hopped onto his back. After securing her in place so that she wouldn't fall off, the dog demon took off again.

The half demon dropped from the sky, landing crouched before the entrance to the shabby old hut Kaede called her home. Kagome slid off of his back, and smoothed her short skirt down as it had ridden up during the ride. "Thanks," she smiled at Inuyasha, over her earlier mortification. He muttered a "No problem," in return and they both simultaneously walked into the entrance room of the hut.

Kaede did not look up from the pot she was busy stirring, but Sango and Miroku did. "Where have you been? We thought you had gotten lost for sure!" Sango fretted, worryingly gazing up at her best friend.

"It's okay, I'm fine," Kagome reassured the almost frantic demon slayer, taking a seat next to her.

Inuyasha remained standing, preferring to instead lean against the doorframe, crossing his arms in a macho exterior. Miroku side-glanced the nonchalant half demon. "I have important news," he announced to the room. "I did not want to reveal it until our companions returned. It appears Naraku has been sighted close-by."

Automatically Inuyasha stiffened, drawing up to his full height. "What? Where?" he questioned hastily.

Kagome and Sango had too frozen, both of their attentions directed on the monk.

Miroku closed his eyes calmly, resuming his customary meditating position. "I came across villagers from a neighboring village, as they were trading. They reported signs of an ominous presence in the forest by them, as well as having one man see a figure in a baboon pelt wandering about. It's Naraku, alright." He watched apprehensively as a mysterious dark gleam entered the silent half demon's expression.

Inuyasha threateningly cracked his knuckles, revealing his dangerous claws. That bastard isn't fucking getting away this time… it's now or never to finish him off once and for all.

Author's Notes: Okay, sorry to disappoint you guys with a short ending like this… but the next chapter will probably be the big 'battle' so to speak. Naraku won't be easy to defeat, so it's going to take maybe a whole chapter or two. You can tell I like going into detail. None of you can complain about the length of this chapter though. It's two pages more than the others; I'm pretty faithful to my word.

-kikyohater92-