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Chapter 13 - The Jewel

"Hello Inuyasha," she smiled, coming into the clearing. He looked up, a great smile on his face. He bound over to her, picking her up and swinging her around happily. When he put her down, the smile on his face remained, but he looked a little embarrassed. So did Kagome.

"Thank you," he said shyly. She smiled.

"For what?" she asked. He grinned.

"You're doing it! You're really helping me, I swear!" He resisted the urge to take her in his arms again, but the want showed on his face. Kagome thought about it.

"You mean... when you hugged me the other day, it healed you?" Inuyasha gulped, but nodded. Kagome bit her lip, trying to figure it out. She finally just shrugged.

"I guess you just need contact with humans more. I've been suspecting all along that this was a spell, but..." she paused as Inuyasha's eyes widened. "I never thought it was someone who looked like me," she finished. With a grim expression, Inuyasha sat down on the grass, and Kagome followed suit.

"Not just looks like you, you know." Kagome looked up at him expectantly, hoping for another peek into the past. He obliged. "She was kind, too, but she wasn't as..." he stopped to examine her, thinking. "She wasn't as bouncy as you." Kagome made a face, and he smiled.

"She looked pretty boring in her painting, too," she added. Inuyasha shrugged with a rueful smile on his lips.

"She wasn't boring, exactly. She was just more serene, and peaceful. It was nice to be around her, definitely." Inuyasha paused, picking at the grass. "But she thought about herself more than she thought about anyone else." He looked at Kagome, scratching the back of his neck with an air of confusion. "I knew what she wanted, but I had nothing to give.

"When my mother died, I didn't want to love. I didn't want to have anyone taken away from me again."

Kagome bit her lip, reaching out her arm and laying it on his. Inuyasha's hand came up and grasped hers. They sat like that for a while, just reveling in each other's nearness. Eventually the silence became unbearable.

"Inuyasha?" He looked up with an open expression. "What did she do to you, then? I know you can't tell me, but I'd like to know something." His face clouded over, but he obliged, sighing heavily.

"Fine. When she found that her efforts were for nothing, she..." Inuyasha pursed his lips. "She got all bitchy," he ended lamely, and Kagome giggled. He pretended not to notice.

"And then she cursed me," he said with a shrug. "I'm a demon, not a damned miko, so I have no clue what she did." His face gained a slight pink hue, telling her otherwise, but she decided to let the subject drop, if a bit reluctantly.

Whenboth Inuyasha's denied her information, it had to mean something, right? Then something else occurred to her.

"What was her name?" she asked. Inuyasha blinked.

"Kikyo."

Slowly, Kagome began to sense something odd around them. Thin tendrils of fog traced through the trees, an eerie presence making itself known to them both. Inuyasha sprang up out of the grass, moving in front of Kagome as he growled. Curious, Kagome stood and peeked around him.

And felt like she was looking into a mirror.

Kagome's eyes widened as they traveled down Kikyo's body, finding it disconcertingly familiar to the planes of her own body. Her eyes were half-lidded, making the miko look like a sleepy lion; the embodiment of mystery and danger. Her black locks fell around her face, flat and smooth.

She was very beautiful, but the coldness that radiated from her soul marred her appeal. So did the fact that Inuyasha was growling.

"Hello again, Inuyasha," came her voice, soft and mocking. Inuyasha's growl grew in volume, his arm reaching back and coming protectively around Kagome. Kikyo's cool gaze followed his movements. She blinked and smiled.

"Leave, Kikyo." he ground out, and she merely sighed and looked around them vaguely, her gaze drifting and finally landing on Kagome.

"Interesting company you keep, these days," she said, lifting her hand to absently tease a tendril of fog as she studied them.

"Leave," he uttered softly again, and Kagome shuddered at the sound of his voice. Kikyo's eyes remained trained on Kagome, her eyes hiding a smile.

"You'd best hurry," she said, her hand manipulating the fog. "Has it begun to crack yet?" The smile spread to her mouth as her fingers formed a circle with the water vapor.

Kagome frowned. What was this woman talking about? Inuyasha's growl ceased. He spat on the ground.

"Leave, bitch."

Kikyo laughed then, the sound echoing off the trees and into nothingness. Inuyasha spun around and grasped Kagome by the arm, tugging her along as the sound of laughter followed their retreat.

Once they were alone again, he released her arm and looked sadly into her eyes. With a grim smile, he took her face in his hands.

"Goodbye, Kagome," he whispered, and he bent his head to kiss her.

Kagome opened her eyes, frowning. That definitely had to be the strangest dream yet. She sighed, and the sigh turned into a yawn as she sat up in bed and stretched. Her eyes fell onto the vanity, expecting Inuyasha to be there. To her immense surprise, he wasn't.

She flopped back down onto the bed, thinking.

She'd never been kissed in real life by any suitor. She had enough suitors, sure enough, but she'd never had any kisses reach her face. And all of a sudden, a young man in her dreams was kissing her as though the action were completely natural.

Sure, over the past months she'd grown quite fond of Inuyasha in the real world. Underneath that hard exterior lay a heart of gold, unwittingly performing acts of kindness and gentleness. Kagome's fingers caressed lips that turned up in a smile, remembering the warm embrace she'd been caught up in a month earlier, that day in the training room.

Demon he may be, but male he most certainly was.

Which got her thinking yet again. Surely, surely there was another reason why she was here. Healing him was no problem, really. It took little effort, and possibly any miko could do it. One older and more experienced would have done better than her.

And yet... she'd catch the servants whispering behind her at dinner, as they sat to eat. Actually, every time they sat together for a meal there were conspiring whispers being thrown around. Sango and Miroku were the worst; winking at her every time she laid a hand on him...

Kagome shot up like a bolt. Was THAT it, then? They wanted her to like him? Oh Kami... She grasped her head in her hands, shaking with mirth. What a bunch of...

A noise stopped her, and she raised her head. There, on her balcony, was Inuyasha.

And suddenly, she looked at him. Really looked at him, for maybe the first time. He wasn't the Inuyasha in her dreams, but that man was in there... somewhere. She could see it sometimes, in his eyes. The red would soften, and flicker in the candle-light. More often than not, it was when he was looking at her...

Kagome blinked. And when she looked at him again, she didn't see an angry demon, needing to be healed. She saw a man, whose heart needed to be loved.

So she smiled broadly, and her heart thumped in her chest when he smiled nervously back. The smile itself was nothing more than the turning up of the corner of his mouth, but it was a smile to her. For her.

Inuyasha entered the room, his right arm hidden behind him. Without a word, he leapt onto the bed and sat at its base, staring at her. She raised an eyebrow.

"What are you hiding behind your back, then?" He bit his lip, a large fang protruding. He glanced at her, then away, and then whipped his arm around. Kagome flinched, but relaxed when she saw the box.

It was the same one she'd glimpsed before, hidden beneath bits of pottery and broken furniture. It was beautifully made, the gleaming silver intricately wrought and designed as leaves and tiny flowers on the lid. The whole thing fit in the palm of Inuyasha's hand, and he thrust it at her without comment. Hesitantly, she took it. With a nod from the hanyou perched in front of her, she opened it.

The glow that the small ball threw off filled the entire room, and Kagome had the urge to slam the box shut again. But instead, she gazed in awe at the tiny jewel, at all of its pink perfection.

"What is it?" she breathed, afraid to disturb the silence that had fallen like a curtain around the room.

"The Shikon no Tama," he mumbled, and glared at it. She raised her eyes to his.

"But... I mean, is it worth anything? Why do you have it?" she asked curiously. He smiled, though no humor was in it. He looked forlornly out the window.

"My life is tied to it," he said softly, the underlying growl almost imperceptible in his voice. "This is part of my curse." He swallowed heavily. "I just thought you should know." He reached inside the small box and picked up the ball, cradling it in his hands.

"I didn't know if it would after so long, but..." he paused, looking down at it. A shiver went down Kagome's back.

"'Has it begun to crack yet?'" she whispered, her eyes wide. Inuyasha looked up, his eyes suspicious.

"How did you know it was cracking?" he snarled. Kagome jumped, her eyes slowly coming back into focus on his face. She blinked.

"You mean it is cracking?" she asked hoarsely. When he nodded, she took his hands, opening them again. His finger pushed the ball, and it rolled over, baring it's tiny flaw. Kagome's hand went to her mouth. "No..." she whispered, then grasped his hands. "What happens if it keeps cracking?"

Inuyasha's eyes fell, and a flush came across his cheeks, though it was due to anger more than anything else. "I die," he said without feeling, and Kagome gasped.

"But... but how can we stop it? How much longer until it really breaks?" Kagome shook his arm in earnest. "Do you know?" she cried. When he looked out the window again, a look of pain crossed his face.

"How long have you been here? Four months?" he turned to see her response, and she nodded. He sighed. "And it was almost two months before you came that it happened." His hand tightened on the small gem. "Six months left then," he said softly. Kagome's mouth dropped.

"Six months? And then what? When it cracks, you'll..." she stopped as his sorrowful eyes met hers. She shook her head. "No... no, you couldn't just..." He blinked his great red eyes as tears filled her soft brown ones.

"You can't just... just die, like that!" she cried out, her eyes wide. He shrugged.

"I can," was all he said, then looked at her with hope. "Can you do anything? Stop it from cracking, I mean?" Kagome thought, but shook her head.

"No... I heal living beings, not... this." She looked up at him curiously. "But, surely I can do something for you. It's tied to you right? Well then, how can it be lifted? How do I heal you?" From the look on Inuyasha's face, one would think she'd committed a crime by asking the question. She glared, exasperated. "Well?"

Instead of giving her a fair answer, his face continued to blanch quietly, then he catapulted himself off the bed and out her window. Kagome sat still for a long moment, thinking. Then she made a noise in her throat, flopping back down into bed.

She was glad that Inuyasha had finally come to her, and opened up a little. Who knows how long he could have kept that to himself... Kagome smiled, thinking of him. He'd become her close friend, even if they didn't talk, they could still be together, in a comfortable silence, and be happy in the other's presence. And now, maybe, they were becoming something more...

Kagome closed her eyes, conjuring up the small things she loved about Inuyasha. The ears came first and foremost, of course, silky-soft and adorable. The way he tapped his fingers against his leg when he was nervous or thinking. The way his frown would slightly lessen when he smiled, though not always. Her heart sped up at the image of his rakish grin...

Kagome knew she could go on forever, but her mind ceased to function properly after she let loose the greatest yawn she ever had.

One thing the dreams left her with: sleep deprivation. Apparently, her soul needed rest too, and those midnight rendezvous with Inuyasha were taking place in real time; time that could be spent sleeping.

So Kagome closed her eyes, saving the thoughts of Inuyasha's curse for another time; she had six months after all...

"You want me to WHAT?!"

"Oh, hush Inuyasha, it's hardly a trivial matter at all," Miroku soothed. Inuyasha fumed.

"You bet it is, bouzu! How the hell am I supposed to court her when I'm like this?" the enraged hanyou shrieked, not caring who heard. Miroku, on the other hand, did care, and a great deal. He put his fingers to his lips with a frown, then dragged Inuyasha out of the room.

"Inuyasha, you must do this, and you know it," he said. Inuyasha pouted, looking slightly absurd with his great big red eyes as he did.

"So. It doesn't mean I have to like it," he growled. Miroku sighed, laying a sympathetic hand on the demon's back.

"I know, master. But just think of Kagome... and how she'll look in a brilliant purple kimono, with her hair falling softly about her face..." Miroku happened to meet Inuyasha's eye at this moment, and gulped under the fixating glare. "Or we could leave you to your own imagining, of course," he said under his breath.

"Good." Inuyasha stood silently for a few moments, then Miroku caught the tell-tale tapping of his claws against his thigh. He waited patiently for the outburst...

"Inuyasha?" Sango's voice drifted over to them from across the room at an opened door. "I was hoping I could help you -"

"Help me what? I'm not doing it!" Inuyasha's fingers remained in their steady tattoo against his leg even as their owner's face visibly paled. "There's no way, I can't!" Miroku watched in fascination as his master's face went from a startling white to a brilliant shade of red and back again in a matter of seconds.

Sango had since rushed up to the two young men, her hand on Inuyasha's arm. He didn't seem to appreciate the gesture.

"Inuyasha, you must. You need to fall in love with her or -"

"I'm not worried about that!" Inuyasha snapped. "I'm worried about the other way around," his voice ended on a whisper, his color reverting back to a pink tint. His two friends blinked.

"Oh, come now," Miroku jeered. "Who could resist such a loyal, honorable, friendly bloke such as yourself?" Inuyasha risked a tiny smile.

"Someone who can resist bald lechery and propositions of child-bearing," he said, looking pointedly at Sango. Miroku gasped like a landed fish.

"Obviously, she can't," Inuyasha continued, his smile slowly becoming a grin at the embarrassed look on both his friends' faces. Sango managed to slap Miroku, and he turned to her with mock-hurt on his face.

"I didn't say it! He did!" he pointed the accusatory finger at Inuyasha, who grinned genially in response. Both of his servants started at this; they hadn't seen him grin like that in quite a while. The addition of his brilliant red eyes might have added to it.

"You look mad," Sango whispered, and Miroku nodded, speechless. Inuyasha growled at the both of them.

"Well I'm not doing anything stupid and flouncy, like that idiot," he nodded in Miroku's direction. "I don't want it to be obvious." He pouted, flushing. "It can't be obvious," he added softly. Sango nodded, trying to think.

"But how are we to do that?" she asked, and both men looked at her, as dumbfounded about it as she was. None of them had much experience with the Wonderful World of Courting, bar Inuyasha, who only had the tiniest amount of lordly behavior... not that he exhibited it in any way, shape, or form.

So together they shrugged, hoping to come up with a better plan sometime in the future. As his friends began to make their way out the door, Inuyasha stopped them with a raised hand.

"What?" Miroku asked. Inuyasha glared.

"No dancing."

Yeah, I bet you all thought I was gonna re-do the famous Beauty and the Beast scene with them dancing. Bah humbug. I'd like to think of myself as a little more original than that :) I'm glad no one's confused so far... I sure am. Writing is hard... even when you have the whole plot set out, piece by piece, the characters run away with themselves, and you have nooo control. Honest. There are so many things that I never meant to write... but did. Like So Much for Pretending. That started as an English assignment people. Blech. Well, please leave a review! I'm gonna have to start asking for them! Just kidding... maybe :) -Ariana