Chapter 2

Advice from the past

Silence.

Damn that silence. It always seemed to shroud them at the worst time, holding them there, trapped in the middle of time. And it was always around each other, when there was nothing left to do or say, nothing they were allowed at the least. It never seemed to end until one of them walked away or spoke aloud. But even speaking to each other was dangerous now.

"I…I guess I'll have to change into something dry now." Kagome threw out, casting her brown eyed gaze down to the muddy ground in which her feet were swallowed by. Hadn't she just changed back at home?

"You should be more careful, reckless fool." Inuyasha muttered, throwing in the 'reckless fool' just for good measure, just so any listening demons knew that nothing was between them anymore.

The miko took a deep breath, signaling perhaps that this conversation was over. Her eyes trailed back to his, only to meet those passionate amber eyes. She had to look away instantly. Taking a step around the hanyou as he almost served as a sentinel standing before the hut entrance, she caught his scent. She was so close, and it seemed to radiate off him. The smell of crisp firewood and pine needles. The scent of rain clinging to his long silver hair.

The warm glow of bright golden flames welcomed her back home. She settled inside the doorway, sending a sweet smile to Miroku and Sango who stood awfully close in the far corner of the room. For awhile, they didn't notice her as they spoke quietly, softly, smiling all the while. What were those two up to now?

"Welcome back, Kagome!" Sango chimed, stepping away from the thin hut walls to give her friend from the future a small wave. Miroku was close behind at the waving and sweet welcome-back-but-we-were-kinda-in-the-middle-of-something smiles. She got the hint and started to make a reason to leave the hut again. They were just talking, right? They wouldn't risk their safety, would they?

"I guess I'm just going to go change into some clean clothes. I…fell…" She muttered, taking a soft brown eyed glance back at the swinging bamboo weaving. She caught a mild glimpse of her former lover's bare feet padding away from the doorway and off somewhere on their own. Why was it that everything was always so awkward now? Were they all trying just that hard not to mess things up now that they had gotten them back into place?

The two nodded, and Kagome smiled in reply. She turned quick on her heels and headed back for the doorway, her bag slung heavily over one muddy shoulder. By the time she tossed aside the bamboo weaving, Inuyasha was no where to be see. She simply headed towards the forest, eyes low, breathing silently- almost as if she wasn't breathing at all. Thankfully, it wasn't long before she was deep in the dense safety of the emerald forest.

The sound of rippling water caught her human ears just as she tugged her dirty white school blouse over her head. Curiosity flooded her brain for a moment and she found herself paralyzed. She knew there was a lake nearby, and Inuyasha definitely wasn't back at the hut. Dare she? Yes. Yes, yes, yes.

And there he was, as soon as Kagome turned around the tree trunk and peered through the vast opening beyond the crowd of dark tree trunks. There he stood, stark naked at the edge of the water. Kagome's eyes moved up from his bare feet, and when they his the bare of his knees, her cheeks reddened. She whirled back around, pressing her bare back to the tree again, her heart thumping madly in her chest.

She couldn't resist.

Moments later, she was back snooping again, face poking around the trunk of the tree once more. Her heart calmed a beat to see that he was still there, not disappeared quite yet, but then picked up a beat at the realization that he really was still there. He was there, out in the open, not a shred of clothing on his muscular form.

Crystalline droplets of water slipped down his body, moistening his pale, firm skin. His muscles rippled, his hair sopping and clinging wetly against his soaked and dripping back. He looked like a model, his body shaped and curved and muscled and carved just the right way. The way he stood in the cool morning sunlight made the glow of the sun rays shadow against him, stenciling the silhouettes of the discolored leaves of the trees against his skin. His silver hair clung to his cheeks, hid his intimate parts that would surely make the young miko blush if she were to see them.

For the first time, she noticed how the ends of his ivory tresses curled when they got this severely wet. And how beautiful he was without clothes, how those baggy Hamakas and haori and Yukata shirts really didn't do his body justice. The way the little trails of clean water streaked his pale flesh in gleaming, wet streaks, was just…amazing.

Her cheeks were already bright red and burning with the heat of the sun. She watched silently, brown eyes wide and staring intently as the hanyou rose clawed hands to run through his soggy hair. He whipped his mane of silver hair over one shoulder, exposing the span of his bare back. Water dribbled down, falling into the long dip down his back. The miko didn't dare let her eyes stray below his jutting hips.

'Oh…my…'

Kagome felt her entire body begin to vibrate, her eyes intently examining almost every bit of him. She felt guilty for watching him like this, spying on him as he bathed like Miroku would do. Somehow, she just couldn't look away. The way the sunlight hit his body, the bulges and dips of his body shadowing certain parts of his skin, making other parts shine with gold. He was…beautiful.

Suddenly, Inuyasha's nostrils flared, his body tensed, his bright gold eyes narrowed. Kagome whirled back around the trunk of the tree, bringing her shirt up to her mouth to stifle the sound of her breathing. Oh, of course. He could smell her scent. Duh. How long had she been there, staring at him? Had he just taken a whiff of her scent just now?

The soft whoosh of air as Inuyasha left the grassy ground to take private shelter in the trees caught her attention. She sighed. There was no doubt he had recognized her scent. He'd made it clear to her that he could pick it out of a thousand other scents coming at him all at once. She remembered him telling her that, back when they were still lovers.

So he had taken her advice, hadn't he? Once upon a time, she could remember taking him back to her era, and making him bathe regularly. He'd never smelled better before in his entire life. Is this where he came now, when he went off, no where to be found? He dipped his bare body into this refreshing water, cleaning every crumb of dirt and grime from his wonderful build. She had never really noticed it before…how beautiful he was without cloths. She had never gotten that far with him when they were still lovers, and the few times he came across her path like that, she was too busy throwing things at him and yelling.

Quickly, Kagome shrugged out of the rest of her clothes and wiggled into her second pair of school clothes her mother had washed for her the other day. It was hard to keep her mind on anything but the sight she had just endured. She was so dazed, so distracted that she nearly put her skirt on as a shirt and then her shoes on before her socks and skirt. Her eyes were permanently stretched wide, her cheeks died a rosy color. When she was finally dressed, she gave the treetops above her a quick sweep with her hazel eyes. She saw a dot of red, and she was out of there in the blink of an eye.

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He could feel her eyes on him, staring and staring. It wasn't long before he switched his amber eyes over to her, catching the sight of her brown irises flashing away. Ever since he had caught her heavenly scent drifting over to him at the lake, it had been like this. Every second passed like a minute and everyone was silent. He didn't know what to say about it, whether to randomly bring it up or what. No. He knew better than to ask her about it. It was probably an accident. She might not have been looking at all, probably just came near him in the forest to change clothes and he had smelled her then.

"So…." The young miko's voice broke the heavy silence of the room with a soft coo. She didn't know what to say, what to do.

Suddenly, Inuyasha gave a jerk of the head towards the bamboo weaving. A malign snarl left his peeled back lips, his ears flicking wildly. It was a relief, having something to do and occupy their minds and bodies. Kagome nearly jumped out of her skin at the chance to actually do something but sit and remind herself of what she had seen.

But the hanyou didn't move. He didn't get up, he just sat there with wide, almost scared eyes. He knew that scent. Of course he did, but for the first time, he didn't jump up and run. He remembered, so long ago, a time like this. He had jumped up and run into an incarnation named Sanraku that he knew at first sight that he couldn't beat. This was just like before, Naraku's dirty scent splitting his nose, turning it dry.

"Let's go." He demanded.

"When?" Kagome asked, confused of why he had started to growl. Miroku, Shippo, Kaede, Sango, and Kirara simply stared.

"Now." He replied. "Get your stuff. Let's go."

"Where, Inuyasha?" Miroku questioned, secretly creeping his hand back away from Sango's. Every member of the tachi was staring in confusion, brows furrowed.

"Just do it."

One thing he knew, as he stood and snatched his sheathed sword and attached it back to his hip, was that he wasn't going near that forest again. He wasn't going to let time repeat itself. It wouldn't work a second time. He was going to follow this scent, of course. But he wasn't going anywhere near that path they had tread before, leading themselves straight into a trap that nearly cost Kagome her life.

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Heeey. Sorry this one took so long. School has been a butt hole. Anyway. I think I might just have a good fic in the making as I'm doing this one! Of course, I'll have to wait awhile. And it won't be as long as the last one. But, it looks good to me. Crappy plot, kinda. Iunno. It takes place all in present time.You'll have to see. Some of you might like it, if you like my work. ANYWAY

Alexa - le cough Wellll. The true definition of lemon is an explicit sex scene. Uhmmm. But I shall not be doing so. It is a sex scene...or...half of one, and it's not explicit. Like I said, I'm no sicko. But I am very mature, and this is something in the plot. Sooo. Yup! Someone's doin' the naughty dance!

kagomesdouble07- Oh, come on. It was more than a week. More like...19 days. I counted, yes. SHUT TUP! I was really, really anxious.

Interruption- Haha. Yeah. Lemon. That's what I like about you. You tell me what parts of the story you liked best and why, and tell me which little sayings were cute. Haha. Yeah.

Inuyashangel - Ahhh. Thanks.

BlackParade - Did I ever mention how much I effin' love that song? The Black Parade by My Chemical Romance. But anyway. I CAN write the lemon, but I choose not to. I'm not much into going all the way through it. It won't be really stupid like one kiss, then skip to the morning. It'll be better than that. You'll see!

xcurlyinuyashax - Aw! There you be, curleh! I was wondering when you'd pop up on my new fic. Anyway. Yesss. Thank you, thank you. Squrtal? Eeeeehmmm. Kay . I'll check out that fic! Definitely!

Kelly - Oops. Sorry I took so long then!

Kyome - I'm glad you liked it! And the first one too!

Akina315 - Well, school has been tougher than I expected so this one DID take awhile. Sorry. .

Hanako Horigome - Haha. Cute. I'm glad you're excited. IT MAKES ME FEEL FUZZY INSIDE! Kidding. But thanks for reading.

haydenlover19 - Awesoooommmme. New reviewer? I love you.

Inu2neko - You're going to love me in a little while. You all will. unless you get annoyed instead. I no telllies. You'll see.

XxpockyxXobsessionsXx - Haha. You were just waiting for this, eh? Ohhhh, the anticipation.

bluefoxfaerie - It's okay. I'm just happy your at least here!

sammy - Ommmmgg. Thank you so much! AHHH! That makes me happy. You officially made my day. I'm very self concious about my writing and that made me really confident. How long did it take you to read it all?

SweetInuLover - Fo sho? What's dat meeean? Sorry, I'm a geek, remember? Haha. Not really. I'm a really emo/gothic/no glasses geek who is failing history, science, and math...PEEHEE!