Chapter 5: True Words and Truer Actions

Disclaimer: Inuyasha + other characters = not mine. Who says math and english are incompatible?

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By the time they found a suitable place in which to camp for the night, the sun was beginning to set in the sky, blanketing the surrounding mountains in a soft, orange and pink glow. Yet despite the beauty surrounding them, the group was somewhat silent, all of them lost in their own thoughts. Inuyasha had put Kagome down as soon as they agreed upon a place to camp, and had stalked off alone to find firewood and other essential supplies. Miroku had woken up briefly a few hours ago, but Sango had quickly pressed some herbs into his mouth, effectively putting him to sleep until the next morning. When Kagome had questioned her, she had said, somewhat defensively, that it was better he rest and regain his strength. When Kagome touched her hand, understanding in her eyes, Sango's tight lips had relaxed, nodding her head in a silent apology for her impatience.

They both knew that Miroku was going to be okay, but Sango couldn't help herself from taking extra precautions, and Kagome had yielded immediately. She understood Sango's worry all too well, having nursed Inuyasha back from multiple wounds that should have caused far more damage than they had.

Now, having finally arranged and set up their resting place to meet her high standards, Kagome sat on her back on her comfortable pallet, watching the sky change colors. Sango was sitting over by Miroku, cleaning her boomerang and other weapons while keeping a close eye on the slumbering monk. Shippo was napping near Kagome, his tail curled over his face. Silver had slithered off, probably to hunt for squirrels or small rodents for dinner. She knew he would be back.

And Inuyasha..

Kagome sighed. Despite her attempts at distracting herself, she couldn't prevent her mind from wandering to thoughts of their fight earlier today. He hadn't spoken to her since returning with the firewood, although he'd made a fire large enough to keep her quite comfortable for the next few hours. She knew he would return, but it made her uneasy when he disappeared. Secretly, some part of her, a small, stupid, childish part of her always feared that one day he wouldn't come back.

Kagome turned over, pushing herself up with her hands. Such thoughts weren't useful right now, and they were only putting her in a bad mood.

"Sango," she called out.

"Yes, Kagome" came the quick reply.

"I'm going to go to the river and get clean. Come?"

"No thanks, Kagome. I'll bathe tomorrow." Sango's eyes flickered down to Miroku, her hand moving unconsciously to push away a hair that had fallen onto his face. Kagome nodded, getting up to collect her bathing essentials - strawberry shampoo and conditioner, vanilla body wash, and a white fluffy towel - from her pack.

When she slipped from the clearing, Sango called out after her. "Stay close, Kagome."

"Okay, Sango" came Kagome's cheerful reply.

Without a look backward, Kagome strolled through the woods, looking for the small stream that they had found earlier. The rush of water called her, and soon, she had found a secluded spot where she could undress and bathe in privacy. The water was cool from the nighttime air, but summers in feudal Japan were warm enough that it wasn't uncomfortable. Her skin adjusted quickly, and soon, Kagome was lost in that feeling of bliss only achieved through a complete cleansing of oneself. She poured strawberry shampoo into her hands before massaging it into her scalp, allowing the gentle motion to calm her wayward mind. Later, when she rinsed conditioner from her hair, she pictured all of her many emotions and uncomfortable thoughts washing away with it.

She had just finished finally rinsing herself off when she heard a twig snap nearby. She paused, sinking lower into the water, her head cocked, listening for any strange sounds. She heard movement again, just outside of her rocky hollow. Moving slowly through the water, keeping her eyes and ears peeled for any signs of life, she sought out her towel and clothes. It was still twilight, but the growing darkness of the night was making it more difficult than usual to see.

Sliding out of the water, she wrapped her towel around herself, knotting it tightly around her chest. She would have appreciated the security and comfort of clothes, but didn't trust that whatever was out there wouldn't find her while she was in the middle of dressing. Her quiver - now a constant presence wherever she went - lay near her clothes. She e snagged an arrow, holding it in one hand, her bow in the other. She strung it quickly, and then lowered herself into a crouch, preparing to fight if anything untoward should come her way.

She waited for a moment, barely breathing, and then began to edge out of the rocks. All of her senses were alert, focused. The night was silent except for the chirping of birds and the rustling of small, woodland creatures in the brush. Just when she was about to lower her bow, she heard a flash of movement to the left of her, and she reacted instinctively, turning her body to face the threat, her arrow poised to fly, and came face to face with Inuyasha.

The bow dropped from her hands as if she were dropping hot coals.

"Inuyasha, what are you doing?" She all but yelled at him. "I could have shot you!"

He shrugged his shoulders in a typical Inuyasha manner, but his eyes were serious as he looked at her. His silver hair sparkled in the twilight, coalescing around his face. If it weren't for the arms folded over his chest, he would have looked like some kind of heroic angel come to protect her. Instead, he just looked like an irritated dog demon with a bone to pick. Literally.

"What are you doing here?" she asked him again. He didn't answer her right away, his eyes taking in her body from head to toe. It wasn't until then that Kagome realized that all she was wearing was a soft black towel which hugged her breasts and showed off her lean legs. She crossed her arms over her chest, scowling at him as if daring him to comment on her attire.

He opened his mouth as if to say something, and then closed it again. Kagome stared at him in shock, never knowing Inuyasha to stop himself from blurting out whatever came to mind. It was another moment before he spoke.

"I'm here to protect you." He said in a low voice.

Kagome's eyes widened slightly as she shifted her hands from her chest to rest on her hips. "You don't have to do that, Inuyasha. I've got everything covered." She flashed him her most dazzling smile.

He didn't move, but she could see his muscles clench in frustration.

"You almost got yourself killed today, Kagome" he reprimanded her, his voice tinged with anger. "Your little magical stunt with the sit command almost cost you your life."

She looked at him cooly, ignoring the way her body flinched involuntarily at his rebuke. "I had good reason to do what I did."

"Don't ever use magic on me again," he told her, his voice suspiciously like a snarl. In that moment, he looked almost feral, eyes open, gaze heated, fingers flexing and unflexing. He looked savage, as if his body was preparing to fight.

Your little stunt with Kikyo cost twenty villagers their lives, and now countless others." Kagome refused to allow him to intimidate her. She wasn't sorry that she had be-spelled him, and she'd be damned if she was going to apologize for doing what she considered the right thing.

Inuyasha visibly flinched at Kikyo's name, but instead of lessening the anger, he seemed almost more upset than before. Something inside Kagome twisted at his reaction. She was exhausted of his endless concern for a woman who not only no longer lived, but who now killed mercilessly to sustain her own damned existence. She expected Inuyasha to close up at Kikyo's name, to end the conversation. She wasn't prepared for what came next.

"I'm not going to allow you to kill Kikyo".

She couldn't help it. She lost her composure.

"She's a murderer, Inuyasha!" She screamed at him, uncaring that her loud voice would echo unforgivingly and harshly in his sensitive ears. "She's killing innocent people and trapping their souls all to sustain her own pathetic and miserable existence. How can you let her do that?" By the time she finished screaming, she was right up in his face. Her voice was raw now, her hands clenched into fists.

He looked down at her, refusing to say anything. Kagome shoved at him, hard. When he barely moved, she shoved him harder. He didn't do anything, allowing her to vent her frustration on his body.

"Dammit Inuyasha," she said, throwing her hands in the air. She paced near him, fueled by anger and hurt she couldn't contain. "If you love her so much, why don't you go back with her and leave the rest of us alone?"

At those words, Inuyasha stepped back, looking as if she'd slapped him. Where her physical blows hadn't touched him, her words had.

"How can you say that?" He asked her, his voice low. "How can you ask me to leave you?"

"Oh now it's my fault," Kagome said bitterly. "Don't put this on me. Stop pretending like you care." She plucked the vial holding the jewel shards from around her neck and held it out to him. "These are all you want. Take them."

He stood there, dumbfounded by her reaction. She looked at him scornfully, and moved to put them in his hand, but never got there. His hand shot out and grabbed both of her wrists, and, just like earlier, she couldn't wrench away from him no matter how hard she tried.

When she finally stopped struggling, it was to find Inuyasha's face mere inches away from hers. His eyes bore into hers, making her feel as if he were looking into her very soul. With his other hand, he forced the vial from her hand, and placed it back around her neck. She could feel them glowing on her skin as her magic re-purified them.

In that moment, she was painfully and starkly aware that all she was wearing was a towel. Her skin still glistened with water, and her dark hair, still wet, hung around her face, cascading down her back. The fabric of the towel suddenly seemed such a flimsy barrier between them. In the twilight, Inuyasha's silver hair sparkled, catching the last light of the sky and the rising glint of the moon's rays. His amber eyes stared into hers, and she could feel his breath hot on her face.

"I won't take them from you, just as I will never leave you. Ever. Until you want me to go". His voice was so low, she could barely make out the words.

She licked her lips, trying to make her voice strong. "You have nothing here for you except them." The words 'what else is here for you?' were on her lips, but she couldn't make herself say them, couldn't muster up the courage to face what they meant.

His lips were inches from hers, and she longed to close the distance between them. She wanted to kiss him, taste him, breathe him in and then allow him to breathe her in. She needed no oxygen when he was around. He was her life force. She longed to run her hands through his silvery hair as he bent her head back and kissed her passionately.

Instead all she got were five words. "Everything for me is here". Then, the feeling of emptiness as he unhanded her, and disappeared into the night, though she could feel his presence nearby, scanning the area and watching for dangers.

She ached, her body asking for pleasure that had been denied it. Her heart beat fiercely in her chest, and blood rushed through her veins, leaving her dizzy and lightheaded.

She retreated back into her rocky pool, sliding halfway in to let the cool waters alleviate some of the heat she felt building in her body, wishing for an ECA to appear and swallow her. But one never came.

Twenty minutes later, when she could finally breathe and focus again, she sat up and dressed, swinging her bow and arrow back over her back. She trudged back to camp, busying herself with preparations for dinner. Later, she ate her dinner in silence, happy, for once, that Sango's sole focus was on tending Miroku. She needed to be alone with her feelings, thoughts, and motions. Inuyasha ate his ramen up in the branches of a tall tree where no one could reach him, but close enough to the ground he could be there in moments if danger threatened.

Kagome left half of her dinner uneaten, too emotionally drained to care about food, and curled up into her sleeping bag, unaware that, up in a tree, a silver haired half-demon looked down and watched over her as she slept.

Author's Note:

Hey guys. I just wanted to address something I think people might be thinking while reading this story. I know that the characters don't act exactly the way they do in the show. I guess that I'm trying to capture what they would be like, if given time to grow and mature, while trying to still stay true to the fundamental things that make them who they are, regardless of their age.

I hope that comes across.

:) JadeElemental