(A/N) Hallo again! 'Tis me, shastar27 presenting you with another installment of this fic. Special thanks go out to all of you that reviewed favorited and alerted this story. It makes me happy to know that you like this so I'll continue to post as much fast as I can. Now that it's summer I'll have more time to work on it so we'll see how well that goes. Also this chapter is a little shorter than the last one (^-^U) sorry. I write fic this down in journals before I type it up and I was getting tired and I kept nodding of so I kind of wrapped it up fast and went to bed.
Read and Review and let me know what you think please!
Now, shall we move onto the fic?
Chapter six: Two Peas in a Pod
Rinsuke gave an exaggerated sigh. He and Kagome had been traveling for two days non-stop. The young priestess refused to slow down in her impromptu escape from the village. The man did best to keep up, but by the end of the second day he found himself lagging behind.
"Miss Kagome, do you think that we could possibly take a small break now. We've been walking for days and though I commend your…um…determination, I think in would behoove the both of us to take a rest and regain our energy."
Rinsuke received no verbal reply from the young priestess. Instead she quickened her pace to spite the man behind her. Rinsuke sighed in exasperation once again, and did his best to keep pace with Kagome. However even with his expended effort he began to lose sight of her.
"Hey slow down!" he yelled, starting to run after Kagome. The girl stopped turned around with a devious smile. She held up to fingers in the gesture of the peace sign just before she turned back around in order to bolt. As she ran away her childish laughter could be heard around Rinsuke. The blue eyed man shook his head and ran after her.
The both of them ran for a while longer; Kagome keeping the lead. Rinsuke continually quickened his pace, but finally lost sight of her over an upcoming hill.
"I'll meet her at the bottom." he told himself aloud as he slowed down. Once he reached the top, he began to look for Kagome. He turned his head to the left, then to the right. His first sweep of the area revealed nothing of Kagome's whereabouts. However as he neared the bottom, Rinsuke found his prey.
Kagome was paralyzed behind a rather large tree at the bottom of the hill. Rinsuke raised an eyebrow in question at the girl's action. As he made it to the bottom he made his way over to the young priestess. Once Rinsuke was behind Kagome, he put a hand on her shoulder. The girl jumped in surprise.
"What's wrong?" Rinsuke asked her. Kagome turned her head to look at him.
"I'm fine…just had a sense of déjà vu." she responded nervously. Rinsuke was wary of Kagome's answer, but he decided not to force the issue. He grabbed her hand and pulled her into the nearby clearing.
"Come on," he instructed Kagome. "Let's find a place to camp out."
Kagome just nodded her head and let Rinsuke pull her off into the distance.
Rinsuke was lying on his side as he watched Kagome comb out her hair. He watched as Kagome took the time to part her hair and comb out one side then the other. Once she was done with her hair Rinsuke decided to ask her a question that had been on his mind since the earlier incident.
"Hey Kagome." He said to get her attention. Kagome turned to look at him. She found his azure blue gaze to be a somewhat captivating.
"What happened earlier, when seized up behind that tree?"
"Oh…um…well, I was thinking about someone and I thought I saw someone that looked like them, just bigger…" she paused to look at Rinsuke again.
"Oh…well I though you looked slightly shaken…I was just wondering if you were okay," he mused aloud. Rinsuke decided to try to gain more information since the girl was talking already.
"Who's the person that you were thinking about?" he asked her.
"His name is Shippo," Kagome answered with a throw away gesture of her hand. Rinsuke read her gesture as a sign of not wanting to continue the conversation. The man stopped hid quest for answers, doing his best not to pry.
There was an awkward silence between the two traveling companions. Kagome didn't feel like talking any longer, and Rinsuke had thrown away the questions that he wanted to ask. After a moment longer the two both decided to rest for the night. Kagome laid down on a blanket that she had packed while Rinsuke shifted on his own. They both said their good nights and drifted off to sleep.
Rinsuke was the first one to drift into complete unconsciousness. However, Kagome was not as lucky. Every time she closed her eyes she saw her old companions waving for her to catch up. She could see Shippo playing with Kirara while Sango and Miroku argued about the logic of asking several women to bear the monk's children. The worst part was that she could see Inuyasha. Granted he was crushing Myouga the flea into the ground with the heel of his foot, but just seeing him made Kagome remember all of her painful memories involving the half demon.
Kagome opened her eyes in pain. Knowing that she wouldn't be able to get back to sleep that night, she got up from her blanket and grabbed a towel that Rinsuke had grabbed for her out his hut.
Kagome made her way to a nearby stream and she began to undress. The girl took off her white shirt, and then she removed her red pants. Once she removed the sufficient amount of clothing she stepped into the cool water. Kagome sank into the stream feeling a chill run through her body.
Oh this feels so nice, though it might be a little more relaxing if it was a hot spring… Kagome thought to herself as she sank further into the water. She let the cool water run over the various aches and pains that her body had. In walking nonstop for two days her muscles had become sore and stiff. She wondered absently if she had overdone it in her frantic escape from the village. She also wondered if Rinsuke was feeling just as sore as she was. These thoughts didn't stay on her mind for long though. Soon her thought process changed to the events of earlier in the day. She reviewed the image that had run passed her eyes in front of the tree that she had been positioned behind.
It really did look like Shippo, but he was a little to tall to be…well it's been four years, I guess he would have grown up by now…he was just so small when I met him though…maybe he hit a growth spurt…
Kagome ran over a multitude of outcomes in her mind.
Get a grip Kagome there are other fox demons out there…that probably wasn't even him! She continued to her mind wander as the stream current ran over her.
Kagome sighed and decided to head back to her makeshift camp with Rinsuke. She got up from the stream and wrapped the towel around her body, beginning to dry off.
Kagome had begun to pick up her clothes in order to get dressed, when she heard a loud thud near the campsite, causing the girl to drop her clothes. Rinsuke raised his voice at another entity and Kagome became concerned. She forwent getting dressed in favor of wrapping the towel closer to her body. Kagome then began to make her way back to Rinsuke to see what the commotion was about. As she ran she drew her towel in closer in order to avoid a potentially awkward situation.
"Not a very light sleeper, are you?" Kagome heard someone say in the distance. She didn't recognize the voice so she picked up her pace once again.
After what seemed like seemed like an eternity Kagome made it to the campsite to see a rather interesting sight.
Kagome couldn't help herself; she lowered herself carefully to the ground and began to laugh. She saw Rinsuke pinning an orange haired teen with pointed ears to the ground with his body. The teen was lying under Rinsuke, his stomach to the ground and his back was being thoroughly crushed by Rinsuke's body weight. The orange haired intruder looked rather perturbed and Rinsuke looked slightly murderous. Kagome laughed even harder at the implications that could be taken from her friend's current situation.
"Maybe I should leave you two love birds alone," the priestess said in between fits of laughter.
Both Rinsuke and the orange haired teen whipped their heads around in order to see Kagome. At the sight of the young woman the teenager with orange hair began to struggle to get out from under Rinsuke.
"Get off of me! Get off of me!" he yelled at Rinsuke. In response Rinsuke sat harder on the poor boy. The stranger began to struggle even harder. Kagome was only able to laugh in morbid fascination.
"Come on man, get off of me!"
Rinsuke only glared in response. The orange haired boy looked to Kagome for assistance. Kagome giggled even more before getting up to tap Rinsuke on the shoulder. As Rinsuke turned to look at Kagome his catch slipped out from under him, causing him to land on the ground with a slight thump.
The orange haired teen looked at Kagome and smiled. Kagome smiled back as the boy lunged at her with widespread arms. Rinsuke's eyes widened in concern as the teen latched onto Kagome. They both fell to the ground laughing and hugging each other, all with Kagome keeping her towel in place. After a bit, their laughter died down and the orange haired teen began to speak to the towel bearing priestess.
"Wow Kagome, I haven't seen you in forever. It's so good to see you!"
Rinsuke's jaw dropped when Kagome went to respond.
"It's good to see you too Shippo, gosh it has been like forever hasn't it?"
Rinsuke decided it was time for him to get some information so he broke into the happy reunion of the two friends.
"Excuse me Kagome," Rinsuke began. He waited until Kagome was facing him before he continued. Once he had her attention he began again.
"Uh Kagome, you know this demon?"
Kagome looked at Rinsuke with a broad smile as she answered him.
"Yeah! This is Shippo!" she exclaimed as she gestured to the orange haired demon in question.
"I met him when I got stuck in this era." Kagome smiled at Rinsuke again. The blue eyed man looked at Kagome in confusion.
"Era?" he questioned her quietly with his eyebrows furrowing as time passed.
"Oops," Kagome said outing her hands in front of her mouth in a muzzling motion.
"Oh no do continue," Rinsuke said with a slight edge to his voice. He crouched next to Kagome and Shippo, waiting for them to elaborate.
"Well it's kind of a long story…right Kagome?" Shippo asked while Kagome stared at Rinsuke cautiously. Kagome then nodded her head in response to Shippo's evasive question.
"Well I'm sure we've got plenty of times since none of us seem to have any other pressing engagements," Rinsuke amended sneering at Shippo.
Kagome looked between her to friends, deciding that it would be easier to explain every thing to Rinsuke.
"Well then, I guess you should get comfortable, you're in for a long…ride." With this statement Kagome began her tale.
Rinsuke blinked a couple of times and shook his head for good measure. Kagome was right; her story had been long, and rather unbelievable in Rinsuke's opinion.
Kagome could see the disbelief in Rinsuke's features, but she was unable to say anything that would justify her claims, or make her tale seem any more believable. In all honesty, she barely believed it herself. Her only proof had been Inuyasha's role in all of the madness the she called her life. However, she didn't feel like seeking him out just to prove her point.
An awkward silence hovered in the air around the three people. Kagome began to twiddle her thumbs as she waited for Rinsuke to reply to her. When no reply came she made the motion to get up in order to retrieve her clothes form the stream. In her haste to get back to Rinsuke, she had forgotten to pick up her clothes.
As Kagome walked, she turned around to see both Rinsuke and Shippo following. She turned around and instructed them to head back because she wanted to get dressed in peace. They both complied only to resume glaring at each other. Kagome sighed and continued her trek to the stream.
At the stream Kagome began to get dressed. She did so slowly, prolonging her time away from both Rinsuke and Shippo. Yes, she was very happy to see Shippo, however he brought back a lot of memories that she didn't feel like facing.
You can't blame that on Shippo though! She reprimanded herself.
Shippo was not the only reason why she didn't want to go back to camp too soon. She was slightly upset that Rinsuke was not treating Shippo well. The young priestess was also slight perturbed by the fact that Rinsuke didn't believe her story. Yes she found it unbelievable herself but she thought that Rinsuke would trust her enough to know that she would never lie to him.
Kagome sighed and continued getting dressed. As she put on her white shirt she heard bickering in the distance. The young woman rolled eyes as she shrugged on the rest of her outfit.
There they go again…she thought dejectedly. Kagome began to walk back to camp in order to get some sleep. She figured that it was about one in the morning, but with no watch or alarm clock she couldn't be sure. All she knew was that she was tired and ready to get some sleep. She would deal with Rinsuke and Shippo later.
"She was my friend first!" Kagome heard Shippo yell in the distance.
Or I can deal with them now. Kagome sighed internally.
Kagome walked into the camping site to find Shippo and Rinsuke literally at each others throats. Rinsuke had Shippo's neck in a death grip and Shippo was clawing at Rinsuke's chest. Kagome settled for glaring at the two of them until they noticed her.
Shippo was the first to react. He saw her expression and immediately stopped his end of the altercation with Rinsuke. The other saw the other's change in attitude and posture. He turned his head in the direction of Shippo's gaze and saw Kagome's fuming stare. Rinsuke dropped Shippo and turned the rest of his body to face the priestess.
Satisfied Kagome walked back to her sleeping place and settled down. She watched as Rinsuke and Shippo stumbled over each other as they tried to get to their respective sleeping areas. Rinsuke made it to his blanket and Shippo took to a nearby tree. He was still small for his age so he was able to get comfortable on one of the lower set branches.
With both Rinsuke and Shippo asleep, Kagome closed her eyes and drifted into unconsciousness.
Kagome awoke with a start. Her heart was pounding and her breaths were coming in short bursts. She began to hyperventilate, but before she could suffocate herself, both Rinsuke and Shippo were behind her rubbing her back.
Once Kagome was calmed down, Rinsuke decided to voice his concern.
"What happened, Kagome?"
Shippo glared at Rinsuke while Kagome began to shake her head.
"It's nothing I'll…I'll tell you later."
Kagome pushed herself up from the ground effectively removing the comforting hands that had been placed on her back. She walked over to her bag and began to pack all of the little odds and ends that she left out over night. Once she completed this task, Kagome walked over to her blanket and began to fold it. With the blanket folded and put away, the young priestess began to tie her hair up with her white ribbon.
During Kagome's packing, Rinsuke had taken his cue and he had begun to pack as well. Since Shippo had nothing to pack he just watched Rinsuke and Kagome go about their business.
With both Rinsuke and Kagome packed, the young woman decided that it was time to get a move on. She started to walk out of their campsite, not waiting for Rinsuke or Shippo to follow. That didn't matter though; both Rinsuke and Shippo fell into step with Kagome seamlessly.
The group walked for a while with little interruption. They traveled in a comfortable silence, until Shippo began to grow curios. He wanted to ask Kagome about her dream, nightmare really, but since she hadn't brought it up he decided that it would be better for him to ask a slightly less intrusive question.
"Um…Kagome?" he asked, grabbing Kagome's attention. She hummed in reply gesturing for him to continue; continue he did.
"Well, I was wondering, where exactly are you trying to go Kagome?"
This question stopped Kagome in her tracks. Rinsuke hadn't been paying attention, so due to Kagome's abrupt stop; he managed to run into her. Kagome barely took notice.
"I don't really know…" she trailed off trying to answer Shippo's question. "I guess I've kind of been going on autopilot, sort of like someone's been telling me where to go…"
Kagome watched as Shippo contemplated her words. He seemed slightly confused. Shippo looked to Rinsuke then he looked back at Kagome.
"I'll be right back," he told Kagome more so than Rinsuke; with that he was off running into the distance.
Now it was Kagome's turn to be confused. She looked to where Shippo had run off then she looked at Rinsuke. She looked at him with a look of question in her eyes. Those eyes seemed to say well what was that about? Before Rinsuke could supply an answer, Shippo returned and he has grinning from ear to ear.
"Good news," Shippo said directing a smile into Kagome's field of vision. "I found a village about a days walk from here. I bet they would let stay there for a while."
Kagome smiled at Shippo's efforts to help. Truly, she would be happy to rest in hut instead of lying on the ground. She didn't mind camping, however given the choice she would pick the hut over sleeping in the great outdoors.
"Shall we go?" Shippo asked, gesturing in the general direction of the village. Both Kagome and Rinsuke nodded. However, Rinsuke seemed slightly apprehensive. Kagome saw the hesitation in hid expression.
"What's the matter, Rinsuke?"
Rinsuke shook his head, brushing Kagome's question off. He gestured for Shippo to lead the small group toward the nearby village. Shippo took his cue and began to walk in front of Kagome and Rinsuke.
AS they walked forward, Kagome lagged behind in order to observe Rinsuke. He seemed rigid to her, almost edgy. Kagome decided to question him once they got to village. In the mean time she decided to drop the issue in order to keep some semblance of peace within her little group.
Kagome let her thoughts wander. Her thoughts strayed to memories of her first time in the feudal era. She let her thoughts stay on her memories as Rinsuke and Shippo walked ahead.
The group traveled with Shippo leading the way. They traveled until the reached the edge of the village. Kagome saw Rinsuke hesitate once more before he entered the gate. Kagome followed closely behind, watching the man with azure blue eyes and the adolescent fox demon as they searched the inhabitants of the village.
None were found.
Rinsuke and Shippo looked at each other with questioning gazes. They both found it rather odd that the entire village was empty; however Kagome had no qualms about using their homes while they were out.
"We can rest here for a bit, and then we'll start going again," Kagome stated to Rinsuke and Shippo. The two only nodded in response. They listened to Kagome's next orders telling them to get ready to sleep. After a time the group settled down and drifted into to a forced state of sleep. They all silently decided to deal with the missing villagers later.
W00T! Another chapter done and typed/edited! Go me! Once again I say thank you to those of you that have: favorited, reviewed, and alerted this story. I really do appreciate your support so much and it helps me get the story written faster.
Please review and I will see you in the next chapter X3
Read and Review please X3
~shastar27