A/N: I know....it's been a long time. I'm trying to get back into the swing of things with writing. I hope you enjoy the chapter and thanks to all of you for reading!
Timeline:
The Slayers takes place two years after Try. Lina is 19.
Inuyasha takes place while Kagome is 17. She is still dividing her life between her present and the past. The group is still after Naraku.
Disclaimer:
I do not own Inuyasha or The Slayers.
The Lesser Kindred
Chapter 13: Realizations
Kagome couldn't sleep - but then again, she was not the only one in this predicament. Lost in her thoughts, she sat around the fire poking aimlessly at it with a stick. Needless to say, today was probably the worst day of her life. She had lost Kouga and that alone was enough to leave her in tears. Unfortunately, it had just gotten worse from there.
Kagome had made it through dinner tear free, but with the silence that had followed Lina and Xelloss' exit, she couldn't hold back anymore. She had softly excused herself and made her way outside. All she had wanted was some peace and quiet. Feeling claustrophobic, she had to get away from the others; too bad Inuyasha had decided to follow her.
He had found her sitting outside underneath one of the many trees crying. She had been crying for the loss of her friend, and over the helplessness she felt in the following fight. Her and Amelia had let Kagura escape, and then she had returned to a wounded Inuyasha. Kagome had known, deep in her stomach that even if she had been there during that fight, she would have been no help. It was frustrating. Kagome hated feeling useless.
It had been in this state of mind that Inuyasha had found her. Of course, he hadn't understood as to why she was upset. Stop your fucking whining, he had said. What's done is done. He hadn't seemed to understand her guilt for not being able to help. Nor he hadn't seemed to understand why she wanted to go back and honor her friend with a proper burial. He had just argued with her about her being stupid and stormed off into the night.
He hadn't even been around when Xelloss had come back with a limp Lina in his arms.
The fact of the matter was, today sucked. Really sucked.
Kouga.
It hurt just thinking his name.
She gave the fire a hard poke that shot sparks into the air. If they could have only arrived sooner then he would still be alive right now. They would have had the jewel shards and then Kouga would have never been in danger. Kagome should have never let him keep the shards in the first place. She was the one who had put him in danger. Inuyasha had always insisted that they should just take them by force. Why hadn't Kagome listened?
If she had, then he would be safe right now. Sure, it would have hurt at the time, but it would have been worth the pain.
Anything would have been better then this.
Then, to make matters worse, she had almost lost Inuyasha. Of course he hadn't seen it that way, and it was another thing that they had argued about earlier. Kagome didn't know what she would have done if he hadn't made it. Hell, she didn't even want to think of it. Just the thought made her stomach churn. If it hadn't been for Amelia's talent with healing and the guidance that she had given, then Kagome would have lost him as well.
Kagome looked away from the fire and towards Amelia. She was currently snoozing against Zelgadis' shoulder. While the man had looked annoyed at first, it quickly settled into acceptance that she wasn't going to move. Kagome's gaze drifted to Miroku who sat next to her in quiet conversation with Zelgadis. Sango had taken Shippo with her to bed ages ago. The little demon had put up quite a fight in an effort hang out with the 'big kids' before falling asleep in Kagome's lap. Kagome was grateful that the kid was gone; while Shippo was practically a son to her, everyone needed their alone time every once in awhile.
Amelia snorted a mini snore and shifted her weight. The movement caused her to slide off of Zel's shoulder and onto the ground; more importantly onto the rock that was behind Zelgadis. Her head hit with a jarring smack causing her leap in pain.
"Aw!" she said sitting up grasping her head. "Ouch ouch ouch!"
"Well that's what you get falling asleep on my shoulder," Zel replied with a slight smile.
"I was not asleep," she defiantly replied only to turn to Kagome and whispered. "Was I?"
"Um, yeah you were," Kagome answered.
Amelia frowned and continued to rub her head.
They sat in silence a few more seconds and Kagome began poking the fire with renewed force.
It was Miroku who spoke broke the silence.
"Will Lina be okay?" he asked. It was a topic that had been avoided for most of the night. Kagome looked up from her poking and at Zel.
While no one had said that the subject was taboo, it seemed like it wasn't something that anyone wanted to talk about. Xelloss had returned hours later after dinner with Lina in his arms. Gourry and Zelgadis had rushed over instantly. It had only taken a second for Gourry to take her from Xelloss.
From that point on, things had escalated.
As soon as she had left Xelloss' arms, Lina began convulsing. At the same time that Lina had begun her convulsions, Zelgadis had been busy punching Xelloss in the face. It had to hurt considering that the man was part rock.
Gourry had called for Amelia and Zelgadis seconds after he had taken Lina. Amelia had been there in an instant running her hands on the girl. Zelgadis had given Xelloss a murderous glare (after the initial punch) before rushing to Lina side. Kagome had a feeling that if Lina's condition hadn't been so serious, there would have been quite the fight between the two. Kagome wasn't quite sure what had happened to Xelloss after that, he seemed to disappear amongst all of the chaos.
And chaos it had been for at least the next hour.
Kagome had no idea as to what the priest had done to Lina. But whatever it had been, had not been good. They hadn't even bothered relocating to the inside of Kaede's hut. Instead, they had just laid Lina down on the grass and crouched over her. Zelgadis and Amelia had talked rapidly over what exactly had been done to Lina and how to fix it. The spell work had been too complicated and theories too advanced for Kagome to understand. Some sort of conclusion had been made and Amelia and Zelgadis spent the next half hour casting.
During that time Lina had only gotten worse, or at least that's what it had looked like to Kagome. She had gone from convulsing to screaming and flailing. While Kagome hadn't been sure of spells they were casting, the intent of the spells was obvious. Dark energy had begun to pour out of Lina. It had filled up the air around them and had choked Kagome's senses. Kagome had to hold back the bile that had threatened to come up her throat. Thinking back on it, she had no idea as to how Lina survived being consumed with so much evil.
There had been a point that Lina had to be held down by Gourry. He had practically pleaded with her to calm down. He had reassured her time after time that everything would be okay even though it was obvious that she couldn't hear him.
It wasn't until Amelia and Zelgadis seemed assured that the red head would be fine that they moved her inside.
"She'll be fine," Zelgadis replied breaking Kagome out of her thoughts.
"Yeah," remarked Amelia. "She's strong like that. You should have seen her after she beat Hellmaster. She had problems doing magic for at least two weeks. She was so exhausted that she made Gourry do everything. After three weeks he finally started refusing to help Lina anymore. She was so angry that she started shooting flare arrows at him. It was kind of obvious by that point she was faking."
"Wait just a minute," Miroku said leaning forward. "Lina defeated Hellmaster? The Hellmaster - the one who created the barrier that separated the lands?"
"Who's Hellmaster?" Kagome asked Miroku.
"He's one of the nine demon lords. I've heard the names but I don't know much about them beyond the legends," Miroku said before turning to Zelgadis obviously expecting more of an explanation.
"Amelia," Zel sighed.
"What?" she replied with a confused look on her face.
"I thought that that fact was going to remain a secret," he glared at her. "I had thought that we had agreed to not complicate matters."
"Oh," Amelia said deflating a little. "Sorry, I had forgotten about that."
"So, it's true? She fought one of the nine demon Lords of Shabranigdu?" Miroku asked.
"Yeah, it's true," Zel smiled. "She fought and won I might mention."
"Amazing," Miroku replied.
"Now just hold on a minute," Kagome huffed. "No one has explained yet why defeating this guy was so amazing. And who's Shabranigdu? Lina had mentioned him earlier as well."
Kagome remembered that Lina had said his name during the conversation with Xelloss earlier. Unfortunately, so much of that conversation had been over her head that there was no point in asking questions at that time. Kagome had told herself to leave the questions unanswered for now and then she'd ask Amelia to explain it later.
"That's right," Miroku said turning to her. "I forgot that although you spend most of you time here with us, you're not from here. We've been so busy dealing with Naraku that there was really no time, or any reason to get into our history. Shabranigdu is said to be the Lord of all Demons."
"That's not true," Zelgadis interrupted. "All Mazoku are ruled by the Lord of Nightmares, even Shabranigdu."
"Really?" Miroku frowned. "I hadn't heard of him."
Kagome watched as Zelgadis searched around the campfire for something. He grabbed a sturdy stick that was lying not to far away.
"I won't call it a him. The Lord of Nightmares doesn't have a tangible form. Instead think of it more like a massive cloud of energy," Zelgadis scribbled a small design into the dirt. Kagome moved closer to him in order to see what it was. It looked like a star with some lines scratched across it. Reaching down from it he drew four more lines stemming outwards. "Now The Lord of Nightmares has four Mazoku that serve it. Ruby Eye Shabranigdu is its main hand in our dimension or realm. The other three are Chaotic Blue, Dark Star and Death Fog however they do not live on our plain of existence." Zelgadis drew four more symbols representing the demons he just spoke of. "A long time ago Shabranigdu was defeated by the Dragon King Ceiphied and spilt into seven parts and scattered around the world." He looked up at Kagome. "Follow me so far?"
"Yep," she replied staring at the names he had scribbled into the dirt with the corresponding lines. Kagome had a feeling that it was a lot more complicated then that but Zelgadis was keeping it at the bare minimum so she could follow along easier.
"Now Shabranigdu has main minions that he created as his servants. These are Deep-Sea Dolphin, Dynast Grauscherra, Greater Beast Zelas-Metallium, Chaos Dragon Gaav, and Hellmaster Fibrizo. While Shabranigdu might not be active in our world any longer due to his parts being sealed away, most of his subordinates are. All other Mazoku, including the ones that we fought earlier today, are spawned for these six."
Kagome nodded. "Even Xelloss?"
"Xelloss works for Zelas-Metallium," Zelgadis replied. "In fact, from what I hear, he's her right hand man."
"And Lina beat one of these Lesser Lords or whatever they're called?" Kagome asked.
"She defeated Hellmaster."
"Which must have been what caused the barrier to go down two years ago," Miroku said clearly in thought. "What was she, like eleven at the time?"
Zelgadis snorted as Amelia broke out into laugher.
Kagome looked at Miroku and shrugged. She wasn't sure what was so funny. Kagome had thought that Lina was only thirteen, maybe fifteen at the most. She thought that there was a chance that Lina was older then she looked, but wasn't sure by just how much.
"I'm sorry but that's kind of scary," Amelia said. "I don't even want to image an eleven year old Lina Inverse. I bet she threw even bigger temper tantrums then she does now."
"I bet," Zelgadis muttered back looking just as taken back.
"So how old is Lina?" Kagome asked.
"Oh lets see," Zelgadis said. "I met her when she was fifteen and that was about four almost five years ago. I'm guessing nineteen."
"Huh," Kagome said genuinely surprised by his answer. "That's older then I would have thought."
"How disappointing," Miroku said. "To be a woman but still have breasts so small."
"Miroku!" Kagome swatted him. It had nowhere near the effect that Sango usually had. He rubbed at his arm anyway and gave her an innocent look. Kagome glared back, he was so not fooling her by pretending innocence.
"So," Kagome said not wanting to continue the conversation that Miroku was directing it. "If Lina defeated Hellmaster, then Naraku won't be much of a problem, right?"
"It depends," Zelgadis replied. "I'm not going to lie, defeating Hellmaster was not easy. In fact, she used some heavy magic that no sane person would ever touch. There are other spells that if used correctly might do the trick, but it will still be difficult. While Naraku is nowhere near as powerful as any Mazoku, he does have at least two of them working with him. Killing Mazoku is never easy."
"What about Xelloss?" Kagome asked. "Would he help?"
"Yeah right," Zelgadis snorted sarcastically. "If something is in it for him, then there is a slight chance, a very slight chance that he will. He prefers though, to have someone else do his dirty work for him."
"Although," Amelia piped in. "He has helped before."
"Only because he was ordered to," Zelgadis sternly replied. "But that does not make him in ally in any sense of the word."
Kagome wanted to ask more questions, but Zelgadis looked like he was done talking about the subject for the night. Kagome turned to Amelia. Now she would talk some more about the subject, Kagome was sure of it. In fact, Kagome had the suspicion that Amelia would also give always those little details that Zelgadis was obviously hiding.
Kagome tried not to smile too widely as a plan formed in her mind.
"Well," Kagome said as she stood up and gave a stretch. "I think I'm going to head to bed. You want to come with me Amelia?"
The girl looked like she was half asleep despite the talk they had earlier. The loud yawn that escaped her mouth only confirmed that she was far beyond ready for bed.
"Yeah," she said almost struggling to get to her feet. "Warm camp fires always make me sleepy."
Amelia followed Kagome towards the house. They entered as quietly as they could; Kagome didn't want Shippo coming awake. It didn't seem to matter where the kid was, whenever he heard the front door open, he would be there in seconds - he was sort of like a puppy in that way.
Even though the small front room was dark, there was still enough light for her to look around and see that it was empty. Sango and Shippo must be in the main bedroom with Kaede. There were two mats laid out on the floor with some blankets folded neatly on the edges of both of them. The next time she saw Sango and Kaede, she was going to hug them. It was nice that they would take the time to set it up for her when she's had such a crappy day.
Kagome walked to the corner of the room where she had put her bag earlier. She pulled out her blue nightgown and quickly removed her school uniform. After living in the feudal era, nudity in front of other girls became almost like a standard.
Amelia took the time to change as well.
"That must have been some fight," Kagome said sitting down onto one of the mats. She briefly considered sharing with Amelia, but quickly decided that the boys could just sleep outside or on the floor. "Between Lina and Hellmaster." She tried to say it casually so hopefully Amelia wouldn't consider her trying to snoop. Even though, she completely was trying to.
"Yeah, it was," Amelia said settling down on the mat to Kagome's right. "And I wasn't even awake for most of it."
"What happened?"
"Well," Amelia paused to pull up her blankets. "Hellmaster had kidnapped Gourry in order to lure Lina to him. We chased them and ended up in a cursed city that was filled with his walking dead zombies. It was horrible. They were people who we had meet before, but had died a year ago when the city was destroyed."
"I can imagine," Kagome almost shuttered just thinking about it. She couldn't image meeting people she knew as zombies - especially not after what had happened today.
"Hellmaster wanted Lina to do something that only she could do for him," Amelia said then frowned.
"What was it?" Kagome asked.
"I don't know," Amelia answered. "Not for sure anyway. I mean I have an idea but haven't really worked up the nerve to ask Lina. I was unconscious for most of the fight and Lina never told us afterward. I think Zelgadis knows though, but I don't think I'd like the answer."
Amelia took the moment to pull the blankets over her and lie down. She put her arms behind her head and stared at the ceiling. Kagome was practically itching to hear more, but she could wait for Amelia to start talking again. The answers were too important for Kagome to try to rush the subject.
Kagome glanced at Amelia who looked as though she was lost in her thoughts of the past. She was clearly remembering the event and from the look on her face, Kagome could tell that it had not been pleasant memories. Kagome used the moment to get settled into bed as well.
It was a few minutes before Amelia spoke again.
"When I came to, Lina was possessed by The Lord of Nightmares," Amelia said. "She must have cast the Giga Slave which is one of the most powerful spell in black magic. While most black magic draws energy from Mazoku Lords or Shabranigdu, the Giga Slave is one of the few spells that draws power directly from the source - The Lord of Nightmares. It's a very dangerous spell and it's said that if it goes out of control, it has the power to destroy all life."
Kagome chewed lightly on her lip. Whether or not what Amelia said was true, she really didn't like the fact that Lina might have the power to do something that dangerous. What really scared Kagome though was the fact that Lina used a spell like that despite the consequences. No wonder Amelia didn't want to ask Lina about what exactly happened on that day. Kagome wasn't sure if she even wanted to know the truth either.
"In the end, Hellmaster was killed," continued Amelia. "But the Lord of Nightmares didn't want to give Lina up, apparently she was the price for the power."
"Then how -"
"Gourry followed after them. The Lord of Nightmares tried to leave while still in Lina's body." Amelia answered Kagome's unasked question. "Zelgadis and I tried to follow too but we couldn't go with. For some reason though Gourry could and he brought her back to us."
Kagome remained silent letting the story sink into her mind.
"Wow," Kagome let out a long breath after a few minutes. "I suppose that means she's not Zelgadis' apprentice."
"Nope," Amelia replied.
Kagome flopped over to her back as she thought about what Amelia had just told her. Was Lina really that powerful? It seemed so far fetched but Kagome wouldn't doubt Amelia for a second. In the short time that they'd traveled together, Kagome had gotten to know Amelia enough to know that she wouldn't lie about something like this. In fact, the girl seemed concerned so much about truth and justice that it reached levels that could be considered unhealthy. No, there was no way that Amelia would be lying to her about this. This was way too important. The look on Amelia's face was enough to tell her that.
Lina was probably one of the most powerful people that she had ever met.
Kagome wasn't sure if she should be worried or comforted by that thought. On one hand, it would seem that it should make their fight against Naraku much easier. At the same time, it might make their fight against Naraku more difficult.
"Amelia, is what happened to Hellmaster well known?" Kagome asked.
"Yes and no," she answered. "It's known that he died considering that the barrier is down, but only a few people know it was Lina who killed him. With Mazoku though, it's a different story. What happened to Hellmaster was a huge shake up and most of the Monster Lords made it their business to find out what happened and pass it on."
"Oh," Kagome replied. If Mazoku knew that it was Lina who killed Hellmaster, then it was a good chance that the Mazoku that Naraku hired knew that as well. That would make their fight against Naraku more difficult. No doubt they would be calling favors or hiring assassins or something in order to deal with the fact that now they have to fight Lina.
In the long run, the thought that Lina was rather powerful did not comfort Kagome one bit.
Despite going to bed late the night before, Kagome was up early the next morning. She woke just as the sun was coming up over the horizon. She quietly folded her blankets back up and crept to the door. Amelia was still sound asleep as Kagome walked passed. There was no one else in the room, which meant that Zel and Miroku must have spent the night under the stars.
What Kagome really hoped to do this morning was to take a long bath. A long hot bath actually, and there was only one place where she could get that. At home.
She grabbed her bag as she went out the door. Perhaps she could get some of her mother's delicious cooking too while she was at it. Unfortunately, she would have to be careful so that the new additions of their group wouldn't be too suspicious.
She lightly tapped Miroku as she passed. He had fallen asleep in front of the fire pit on top of a sleeping bag that Kagome had brought back with her from one of her trips home. He woke with a slight jerk.
"Shhh," she hushed as he came awake. Gesturing to the still asleep Zelgadis, she tried to convey the fact that she didn't want him to wake up.
Miroku nodded seeming to get what she was trying to say.
"I'm heading home for the morning," she whispered. "I'll try to be back by noon. Can you cover for me?"
"Of course," he replied. "Don't worry, I'll think of an excuse for you."
Kagome practically tip toed her way into the forest and to the well. While she trusted Miroku to cover for her, she wasn't entirely confident that she'd like the reason he'll make up for her absence. But Kagome needed this. She really needed some time to process everything that had happened this past month. With her powers growing and the final showdown on the coming up soon, she need some time to think.
Unfortunately, her mind kept going to the one subject that she didn't want to think about.
Kouga.
Damn it! She would not cry!
Kagome had done enough crying yesterday about his death! She didn't have any more time to cry about the subject. And just thinking about that made her think about Inuyasha and their fight last night.
Oh, you bet that she was still mad at him about that.
How dare he insinuate that she shouldn't care that Kouga died!
About half way to the well, her quite foot falls turned into loud stomping.
"If you're trying to sneak back home," a voice came from above, "you're going to have to do better then that."
Aw, just that idiot that she was thinking about. Kagome looked up to see Inuyasha standing in a tree above her. Arms crossed in front and looking rather annoyed at her actions.
The look he was giving her only pissed her off even more. He had no right to look at her like that. Especially since he had been gone all night without a word to anyone where he was going! What a jerk!
"Hmfph," Kagome huffed rather loudly and continued to walk forward.
"Running away?"
"I am not running away!" She stopped and turned. Inuyasha had jumped down to the ground so that he was now on the same level as she was. Good, that just made him easier to hit. "For your information I'm at least a week over due for checking back in! My parent's are probably worried sick! Not to mention that it's been a really bad week and I would like a morning to myself to process it all! Is that too much to ask?!"
Kagome didn't wait for his answer. Instead she turned around and stomped away. She didn't want to talk to him. If he didn't want to admit that he was being a jerk, then why should she even give him the time of day? And to think, she was worried that he was dieing yesterday! Of all of the stupid things to worry about.
"You're acting like a fucking brat Kagome," Inuyasha said from behind her. Kagome was not going to dignify that with a response. Oh, she knew that he was following her, but that does not mean that she would acknowledge his presence. She continued walking on, not even looking back once the entire way to the well.
"Don't even think about following me home!" she yelled at him as she jumped in. It was useless, she knew it was useless. He would follow her, he always did.
Kagome climbed up the other side and stomped all the way to her house. She was finally starting to calm down by the time she opened the front door. The house was still quiet, so she made as little noise as possible as she headed up the stairs to her bedroom.
The first thing she did in her room was lock her window. She did not need Inuyasha interrupting her peaceful bath time!
Kagome walked into her adjacent bathroom and smiled as she forced herself to take a deep breath. It was good to be home no matter what the circumstance were. She didn't mind bathing in lakes and streams, but nothing beat her beautiful claw-foot tub that was almost big enough for two people. Her mother had wanted to replace it with a newer model, but Kagome refused. She liked to have a lot of space when she bathed, and didn't mind that fact that if she wanted to shower, she would have to go to the bathroom on the first level. Turning on the hot water, she fiddled with the knobs until the water was the right temperature before peeling off her cloths. Although she had washed very thoroughly yesterday, she still felt like she was covered in grim and blood. It was not a good feeling. Just thinking about it made her want to puke.
Dumping in slightly more bubble bath then what was needed, she watched as the water foamed up. Slowly she climbed in reveling in how the water warmed up her chilled body. She filled the tub up until the water was almost to the brim, and then used her feet to turn off the dials at the other end. It was a skill that she had mastered long ago. She then sunk down until it was only her head above water. Leaning back, she closed her eyes and relaxed.
At least she was relaxing until she heard the distinctive sound of the bathroom door hinges creaking open. She opened her eyes and turned her head to see Inuyasha standing in her bathroom doorway.
"Inuyasha! I thought I told you not to follow me," she hissed, the small bit of relaxation and contentment that she had managed to obtain left her completely. "Get out!"
Kagome was relieved that she had filled the bath with more bubbles then what was needed.
"No way," Inuyasha replied. He glared at her in a manner that stated if she wanted him to leave, she would have to get up and force him out herself.
Kagome though, was not one to be out done. She returned the look with so much ferocity that he tensed for the smallest of moments.
The idiot didn't leave though.
"Fine then," Kagome huffed. "I'm trying to enjoy my bath. Could you at least close the door and wait until after I'm done to bother me? You practically ran off as quickly as you could last night, so I highly doubt that there's anything important that can't wait another twenty minutes."
"Don't you even want to know where I went?" Inuyasha replied after a long moment of silence.
"Off to sulk?"
"No you idiot," Inuyasha shot back. "You couldn't stop blaming yourself for what happened - which is fucking stupid and pointless - and you couldn't seem to get the retarded notion out of your head of going back to bury Kouga - despite the fact that it could be dangerous and not to mention probably the stupidest idea you've had in a long time - and it was driving me crazy!"
"Oh that's right," Kagome exasperated. "I drive you crazy."
"Would you just listen?" Inuyasha sneered. "I couldn't have you risking your fool neck or the jewel shards doing something so pointless and stupid so I went and did it myself!"
"Of course you care about the jewel shards, can't have them getting away! I mean - wait what?" Kagome stopped as what Inuyasha said sunk into her brain. He said that he went and did it himself. No way, there's no way that he went all the way back there and buried Kouga.
"Well I didn't actually bury him," Inuyasha mumbled. "I figured that he'd think it was a rather lame way to be put to rest, so I disintegrated him with my wind scar and let him scatter into the night. I figured the stupid mutt would rather have it that way."
Kagome just stared rather blankly at him as her brain got up to speed on events. Inuyasha didn't seem to like the quiet.
"Oh come on Kagome," he sighed. "I couldn't let you go. Just seeing the battlefield would get you all upset again and then you would cry and I just didn't want to deal with that. I mean give me a fucking break here."
"Thank you Inuyasha," she quietly said. She was at a loss for anything else to say. He rarely, if ever did anything this insightful and Kagome wasn't quite sure how to take it.
"Like I said," Inuyasha replied. "I couldn't have you risking you neck over something so stupid."
"It's not something stupid," Kagome half-heartedly replied. The anger that she had felt minutes before had completely dissipated now that she knew that Inuyasha cared in his own way. "He was a friend, and now he's gone because of me."
"Just give it a rest," Inuyasha walked further into the bathroom. He paused in front of the chair that sat in the corner behind her head and hastily tossed the bubble bath and shampoo that she usually kept on it to the floor. He moved it into the center of the room and sat down. "It's not your fault. Kouga knew damn well the dangers of keeping the jewel shards."
"I should have listened to you," she insisted. "We should have taken the shards away from him the first chance that we got."
"Damn right we should have," Inuyasha said. "But that does not mean that you are to blame for Kouga's death. You did not kill him. Naraku did, end of story so I don't want you to sulk about it anymore."
Kagome tried to sink even lower into the water. She knew that Inuyasha was trying to help her feel better, but his words couldn't stop the lingering doubts that kept forming in her mind.
"You know damn well that if we had taken the shards away from Kouga," Inuyasha continued, "he would have fought long and hard for them. Hell, the fucking guy probably would have died for them rather then have his pride damaged. He would have never given them to us willingly. No matter how fucking much you talked and begged the guy, it would have never worked."
Inuyasha was right, but that didn't make her feel any better about it. She glanced over at him to see that he had flipped the chair around straddling it with his arms crossed over the back. It was a wooden green chair that her mother had painted flowers on a few summers ago when she was going threw her 'crafty' stage. Mom had also made birdhouses and Christmas wreathes that year.
Part of her wanted to yell at him for not leaving the room earlier. At least then she would be back in normal territory instead of this. But she just couldn't seem to get the words out of her mouth. The times when Inuyasha actually seemed to care about something were few and far between; especially when that something was her. It didn't seem to matter that underneath the water and the bubbles she was naked.
"How did you get in here anyway?" she asked after the silence had stretched to minutes and he still showed no intention of leaving anytime soon. "I thought I locked my window."
"You did," he smiled. "But you had forgotten to lock the front door when you stormed inside."
"Oh." How could she forget do something as mundane as that? After all, it was one of those things that had kind of been ingrained in her since grade school.
"No more sulking," Inuyasha said. "Okay?"
Kagome nodded, not quite trusting her voice. She watched as Inuyasha leaned over to the side and pickup one of the many bottles he had flung off of the chair. He flicked it open and gave it a tentative sniff.
"Hmm," he half muttered under his breath.
"What?" Kagome asked not quite sure what his fascination was with her shampoo.
"Is this why you always smell like strawberries?" he asked still looking at the bottle.
"Um, I guess," Kagome frowned to herself. "It's just my shampoo, you know for washing my hair."
She caught herself before she made a rude comment about his lack of bathing - considering it wasn't necessarily true. She new for a fact that Inuyasha bathed, just soap was often hard to come by in the feudal era and he would always get affronted when she offered him some from her home.
"Speaking of which," she said sitting up while simultaneously making sure that she was still thoroughly covered by bubbles. "Can I have it? I've probably been in here long enough and the water will get cold soon."
Inuyasha uncurled himself from around the chair and moved it back to the corned he had originally gotten it from. She held out her hand, expecting him to give her the bottle but instead heard him sit back down. Kagome had to crank her neck around in order for her to see what exactly he was doing. Inuyasha was sitting in the chair almost exactly like he had been before. His red over-shirt sat on the tile floor next to him as he dug around in a basket that used to be on the chair. He pulled out one of her black hair bands and fashioned his hair into a loose ponytail.
"What are you doing?" Kagome asked rather alarmed. She was used to his weird behavior every once in awhile but this was beyond normal.
"Shut up and turn back around," he snapped, with a little less force then what was normally in his voice. Kagome didn't though and continued to stare at him. He fidgeted before letting out a loud huff. "Fine. If you must know, whenever I had fucking awful day - and I used to have a lot of them - my mother used to wash my hair for me. And then, it must be some universal female thing because Kikyo did it a couple times too."
Kagome was sure that her face went about ten shades redder then what it should have been. She quickly turned around not sure what to think about what he just said. It wouldn't due well to yell at him about bringing up Kikyo when she was the one who had asked. Not like it mattered though, she was mad anyway. Stupid Kikyo always had to be brought up in the worst moments. It's not like she wanted to know what kinky crap the two of them did together. Urgh, just thinking about it made her want to slug him.
"I just thought that you might like it as well," Inuyasha said rather weakly. He must have noticed her abrupt reaction and didn't like it. The next words came out rather forcefully. "But hell, what the fuck do I know? Here I am trying to be a nice guy and shit -"
"Be quiet Inuyasha," Kagome interjected as she heard him moving to get up. "And sit back down."
Kagome wasn't sure if he was going to do it. Things were going so well too until she had to open her big mouth. Seconds stretched out and Kagome was pretty sure that he was going to leave. It came as a surprise when a hand came splashed into the water and another one slid into her hair.
She involuntarily tensed up at the touch.
The hand that she could see scooped up water and she could feel it trickle onto her head.
Kagome forced herself to take deep breaths. While she had no idea what type of jester this was for Inuyasha, it was definitely a very personal one for Kagome. But Inuyasha just kept wetting her hair one agonizing slow moment at a time. She was half tempted to tell him to stop; cause considering how fast her heart was beating right now, she was certain that this meant more to her then it did to him.
There was movement as Inuyasha got up. He crossed the short distance to the sink and picked up the glass that was sitting on the rim before returning to his previous position. It was then, she realized that he was looking for a better way of wetting her hair. She was about to protest and say that this was stupid when Inuyasha silenced her.
"Jeez, can't you relax," he said.
Kagome didn't respond with words. Instead, she just closed her eyes and tried to let the warm water calm her nerves.
It wasn't long until the scent of strawberries filled her nose. The steady stream of water that was being dumped on her head stopped and Inuyasha's hands filled its void.
It felt wonderful.
His strong hands kneaded her scalp, messaging the shampoo in her hair. How he managed to accomplish this without shredding her skin with his claws was a mystery to her. It was just the right amount of pressure.
Kagome let out an unintentional moan. She didn't even realize that she had done it. When she was younger she had loved getting her hair cut because that meant someone else washing it. Just the feel of someone messaging her scalp was enough to practically put her to sleep. But this was different. This time it wasn't a stranger who was paid. No, this time it was one of the most important people in her world.
It took Kagome a long time to realize what Inuyasha meant to her. And, even when she finally had, it took her even longer to admit it to herself. But after a moment like this there was no denying that the feelings were there. She really did want something more from Inuyasha.
Every circular motion of his hands on her scalp and the tiny pulls of her hair that accompanied them made her surer of her feelings. The few dates that she had attempted to go on when she returned home from the feudal era were a waste of time. Those boys were nothing compared to the man that sat behind her now. They had been unsure and treated her like they thought she couldn't fend for herself. Sure, Inuyasha took his roll as her protector quite seriously, but he knew that she was no push over.
Inuyasha never shied away from her when they fought. He never treated her like she could break any moment and he sure as hell was there when she needed him the most. This morning was not the only instance. There had been others. Times where he'd say something so small that would cheer her up so greatly. Even times where he'd go out of his way to catch some fish because Kagome had commented earlier that she would like some for dinner that night.
It had always been little things. Things that had meant so much to her.
Warm water began to flow down her head and back again washing the shampoo away with it. The sound of the water splashing was the only noise in the room. Cup full after cup full he pored it on her head taking the time to message her scalp along with it. It seemed to take a lot longer then it should for him to rinse the shampoo out.
When his hand finally untangled from her hair, she couldn't help but wish that it wasn't over.
Kagome kept her eyes close, but she could hear him get up and move away from the chair. She was half tempted to start lecturing him about the importance of conditioner but stopped herself. Instead, she sat up straighter and opened her eyes. His back was to her and he was just about to shut the bathroom door behind him as he left.
"Thanks," she called after him causing him to halt and turn around.
He smiled softly back at her and after a moment replied. "No problem."
He stared at her a little longer. Kagome could see that words were at the tip of his tongue but he was having a hard time getting them out.
"I can hear your mom making breakfast downstairs," he settled on. "I'll let her know we're here. Hurry up before your brother eats it all."
With his last words he shut the door leaving Kagome alone with her thoughts. She let out a shaky sigh and picked up her luffa. Dimly, she noted that the water had lost almost all traces of the bubbles that were there when she had first gotten in. With that observation came the realization that Inuyasha had a full view of her naked body. Kagome wasn't sure if she should be mad, embarrassed or a little turned on. Grudgingly, she realized that it was the last emotion on the list that wouldn't stop running through her head.