Chapter 2

You Shine, Kagome

"Shut up with the griping, Kagome." Inuyasha shouted back at the chattering girl. Each step she took, she murmured something to Sango with her brows knitted inward with deep thought. His ears twitched, but he only managed to catch a bit of their conversation as his nostrils flared, his attention directly ahead of him and the scent he was trying to follow.

"I'm not griping! I'm still trying to figure out where the heck you're taking us!" Kagome cried back. The hanyou was a good yard or two ahead of them, and she knew she didn't really need to yell. He could hear a cotton ball drop onto sand in the middle of a hurricane.

"Look, we've been stuck inside that musty hut for weeks without a trace of a jewel shard. If we move around, we're more likely to catch onto one." He replied grumpily, arms stuffed into the sleeves of his dark crimson haori.

He really did seem to be caring more about those Shikon No Tama shards lately. Ever since a long few months ago. It was as if he had fallen back, relying on that one wish to become a full fledged demon, forget his human feelings. But they had all thought he had ditched that wish a long time ago. The hanyou wasn't one to change his mind so quickly and suddenly. Though, anything was possible now.

For about an hour now, the group had traveled through the wood. Amazingly, none of them had ever tread over this slightly sandy soil. It was as if they had spiraled through some kind of portal and ended up here. The sun shone brightly overhead, casting rays of golden sunlight over the ivy covered trees. It was like a jungle. Moss clung to about every surface, branches of green leaves spread out overhead, lacing with each other and creating a canopy bed for the forest animals.

"Were're we going, anyway?" Shippo's little voice piped up from Miroku's broad shoulder. He had been strangely silent for the most part his teal eyes roaming the area around him rather sleepily.

"Keep it down, twirp. We're almost there." Inuyasha replied irritably. His nostrils flared seriously, his sparkling amber eyes narrowed in concentration. He'd lost the scent some time ago, barely picking up on it here and there. It was as if Naraku was trying to lead him into another trap, and it was really confusing the rest of the tachi each time he took a rough turn in direction.

It was only a few moments later that his senses were filled with the sharp tang of salt. He snuck a glance over his shoulder at the miko. She cried a lot, and he knew that, but why would she have a reason to now? He watched her carefully, for any sign of tears as they walked on, but the scent only seemed to grow stronger. She wasn't crying. She was talking contently with her slayer friend, the monk close at Sango's side, Shippo resting atop his shoulder.

His ears flicked, eyes snapping back ahead of him as Kagome started to catch on and snuck a miniature glance back at him as well. Their cheeks darkened a bit. It was then that the faint sounds of salty waves crashing upon a shore of sand stirred inside his ears. It was clear no one else could hear it, or smell it other than the kitsune, though he was deep in a little nap.

The next few minutes passed in silence, Inuyasha's irritable glare switching from one side of the forest to the other, to back in front of him. The sound of the waves and the scent of salty water had strengthened to where the rest of the group could hear. They, too, were silent, listing to the sound, trying to figure out why they hadn't come upon the source of the sound before from traveling into ever corner of Japan.

Soft coos of amazement echoed into the air as they tachi came upon a break from the jungle-like woods. Their feet tread over golden sand now, the forest giving way to a sandy beach. The sun was low in the aqua colored sky, sending a tangerine touch over everything. The gentle ripples in the wavy ocean held a golden hue over its deep blue water. It was beautiful. It wasn't long before each member of the gang was out roaming over the orange sand.

"How did we not notice this before?" Miroku thought aloud, crouching low to run his fingers through the tiny grains of sand. It was as if all of them were just trying to determine whether this was an illusion or not. "We've been all around this area and never come across this place even once."

"Damn suspicious if you ask me." Inuyasha muttered irritably. His nosed twitched as he stared out over the horizon, the ocean water glistening in the light. It was rather strange they had never come across it before. Something didn't seem right about this place.

"Not everything is a trap, Inuyasha. Lighten up." Kagome prodded, her feet already buried into the cool water of the ocean. The feel of the chilly water lapping at her toes was so refreshing. Her hazel eyes shot out into the horizon. It was a while longer of pure ocean water, and then tiny trees sprouting out up in the distance. She always had loved the beach, though never getting to visit one for as long as she would have liked.

"Keh." Was all Inuyasha replied with. He quickly received several disappointed glares.

"Let's make camp here!" the miko suggested, throwing her arms up into the air as a breeze rushed over her like a tidal wave. Her thin frame tottered in the wind, threatening to float away. Her mom was always telling her how skinny she was getting, her grandpa always bugging her to eat more meat.

Kirara gave a soft mewl, Shippo squealing with delight, and Miroku and Sango both nodding in agreement. It seemed like a nice place to camp out at. Even Kirara was agreeing, and she was, after all, a feline, a youkai known to despise liquid drenching their fur.

"Great idea, Kagome-chan!" Sango agreed, letting the heavy strap of her Hiraikotsu slide off her shoulder and the whole thing collapse into the sand. She heaved a relieved sigh, rubbing away the tense knots in her shoulder. "It's a wonderful day to be out. Besides, I'm sure we're all exhausted. It doesn't look like there are any villages nearby."

Despite the beauty of the place, and even though the Houshi agreed otherwise, he expelled a small groan of disappointed at the mention of no village nearby. That meant no new women. That meant he would have to rely on Sango with that wandering hand of his. Thank Kami that he was almost groping her before they had become lovers, and then broken it off. That meant he could still grope all he wanted without any demons catching on, since such a thing was normal for the perverted monk.

"Shut it, monk." the slayer snapped at the sigh lifting from Miroku's lips. She already felt the steam of her jealousy starting to soak into her veins. It wasn't that she was so jealous that the Houshi found love in other women, but just that it wasn't love for him. He was just plain out perverted. It was almost as if he did it to hurt her.

"Hey, I just remembered!" Kagome announced, swinging her backpack off her back and setting it down, with no easy struggle. It was especially heavy this time. "I brought a tent just in case we did head out! No, wait. I think I brought two! Lucky, huh?" She chuckled at the coincidence.

"What the hell's a tent?" Inuyasha replied sharply, the rest of her friends quiet in curiosity.

"You mean you guys have never seen a tent before?"

"Does it look like it? What is it."

"Tent, you know, those things you go camping out in."

The hanyou raised a thin, dark brow. Kagome let out a frustrated groan. She could have sworn she had brought her tent along once before, or at least they would know what it was. Tents hadn't been invented recently at all. But, none-the-less, the miko dropped down to unzip her bag and pull out a long cylinder bag that the tent was crammed inside.

"That's a tent?" Shippo questioned, staring down at it in awe. "What are we supposed to do with it?"

"No, silly. This is just it's carrier. We have to take it out first." Kagome explained, giving a confident grin to the rest of her friends that weren't muffled into a cross mood for no good reason. She gently tugged the tightly rolled tent out of the package along with the stakes and rings and everything else. She carefully unfolded the directions to it, staring cluelessly down at the little lines.

"Oh. But I only brought two sleeping bags. So I guess two of us will have to sleep on the tent floor." She mentioned, looking up at her friends, biting down on her lower lip. She giggled softly at the confused expressions of each of their faces. They had no idea what was going on or what a tent was or what the heck to do with it.

"Here. Somebody help me set it up."

The tachi crowded round, interested in seeing what this tent would come out to be. They each poked at it, helped unravel it a little and tried snapping together the plastic sticks that held it up. Kagome stood, laying the sheet of plastic and fabric out over the sand, someplace where the water couldn't touch it, even at high tide. Somehow, she managed to get her friends over, all but the grumpy Inuyasha.

"Take these sticks and help me push them through these little pockets over the tent. We'll get it to stand up straight that way." The miko explained with a cheerful smile to her confused friends. She began inching one plastic pole through the pocket, feeling a happy flutter in her chest as Sango moved to the other end to try to pull the rod through as she pushed.

Somehow, thanks to the help of little Shippo, Miroku, and Sango, they managed to get the tent standing up, though a little lopsided. It was terribly small, and one had to duck low just to get inside, but at least it was something to protect them from the itchy sand, the thrashing winds, and the heavy clouds that threatened rain.

They all gaped at it in awe. All but Inuyasha, who stood with his back to the halfway set up tent, his amber eyes cast out over the sparkling sea.

"Inuyasha!" Kagome called his name. She motioned him over, trying her best to lift him from his foul mood. He seemed disappointed in something, or searching something. She noticed how his ears kept flicking and his nostrils kept flaring, as if he was searching for a scent. Had that been what had drawn them here in the first place?

"Take these nails right here, see?"

The hanyou squinted.

"And drive them through these rings." She explained, pointing down to the little silver key chain rings clipped at each four end corners of the small green tent as she handed him the little rod-like nail things. A soft wind tickled by, and the

They all waited on him, staring expectantly at him, urging him on with dramatic blinks and intent stares. Finally, he took them. Carelessly, he dropped them into place and forcefully stepped down on them with the heel of his foot, shoving them deep into the sand. That tent definitely wasn't running away with the breeze any time soon.

"Happy now?" He muttered in a snarly tone.

The teenage miko nodded softly with an innocent smile. The hanyou had to turn his head before she could see the little grin creep onto his lips. Her smile was always so damn infectious. He couldn't help it. Her happiness was like a cold, you could catch it just by breathing the air around them, just by standing anywhere near them. He crossed his arms tightly over his chest, trying to fight it.

"One more!" She announced, handing the second tent to Miroku, Sango, and Shippo. They all pitched in this time on trying to set it up. Miroku and Sango pushed the rods through and Kirara and Shippo supported it from underneath and held it down against the wind. It wasn't long before the second one was up and Kagome was bugging Inuyasha to push the nails into this one too.

"What for? I'm not even gonna sleep in that damn contraption." He retorted, thin, dark brows furrowed in annoyance. The pouty look on the miko's face turned him completely around, and forced a defeated sigh from his lips as he took the nails and shoved them into the sand once more. It all took about twenty minutes to set it all up, including unrolling the sleeping bags and setting one by each tent.

"Phew! I'm beat!" Shippo exclaimed, wiping a miniature bead of sweat from his forehead. "Now what? How do we get inside?"

Kagome giggled softly, kneeling down to quickly unzip the tent the little kitsune sat upon. Inside, it was like a little gave with pea green fabric walls to protect them from the rain. Kirara gave a joyful mewl as she poked her head inside the flap, peering around into the emptiness of the tent. The miko tossed in a sleeping bag inside that one, and leaned over to place one inside the other.

"Kagome, why don't you and I share a tent and the boys share the other?" the taiji-ya suggested. Perhaps it was a good decision. Ex lovers sharing a tent? The tension would build up within the tiny tent. It would course in their veins, flame in their eyes, seep into every word they spoke until they exploded altogether. With such thoughts, Kagome nodded quickly, the boys having no choice but to take what they were given.

"But I wanna sleep with you guys!" Shippo pleaded, whining at the two girl's feet.

"Of course, Shippo." Sango answered. It was a given that the kitsune spend the night with the girls, as he was always allowed to do so. The devilish grin that overtook his immature, boyish features was obvious of his intention. Sometimes, the little boy would try to shove it in the monk and hanyou's faces that he was allowed to bathe with the girls, sleep with the girls, and basically go everywhere with them that they couldn't, because their minds were more developed and much more perverted.

"It's getting late. I believe I'll turn in for the night." The monk announced, staring quizzically down at the tent, as if he wasn't sure whether it was going to eat him or what. After a moment, he turned back to the rest of the tachi, standing awkwardly by their creations and looking around, not sure what to do.

"Let's make a fire!" Shippo cried out, plopping back down on the sand. "I still can't believe we found this place!"

"Good idea, Shippo." Miroku mentioned, stepping away from the tent, scratching that idea completely. "I'm not too tired anyway." He stepped towards the rest of them, Kagome already setting to work on gathering little sticks stuck lazily in the sand.

The entire time, there stood Inuyasha, silver hair wisping elegantly in the wind. Golden grains of sand thrashed about his bare ankles, moonlight shadowing over his handsome features. Cicadas chimed noisily in the forest bordering the back side of the beach. His amber eyes searched the sea, his ears forever flicking. He was searching for a sound of unusual breathing, smelling constantly for that familiar scent. How had he lost it so easily as he had found it?

He was angry at himself, disappointed and frustrated. And the loud chattering and laughing of the rest of his companions as they gathered sticks and piled them together near the ocean's lapping water wasn't helping at all. He wanted to think. He wanted to figure out why they had come here to this particular beach, this beach they had never seen before, this beach that was only a few miles from Kaede's village. It all seemed too weird.

It wasn't long before the flicker of crimson flames danced in the corner of his eyes. He watched them for awhile, Miroku trying to sneak in a good groping, he noticed, by his creeping hand. They all leaned forward, eyes fixed intently on Kagome. Shippo sat comfortably in the miko's lap as Kagome motioned frantically with her hands, telling a classic tale from the future. He could barely hear her soft, excited voice over the roaring of his own thoughts. And then they quieted, his mind, his thoughts, so he could focus on her. She was so beautiful, the golden glow casting over her angelic features making her pink cheeks and nose gleam innocently.

For the first time, Inuyasha shivered faintly. His fire-rat robe kept him cozy and warm through any kind of whether, but somehow, as he stared at that girl and remembered all they once had, he felt vulnerable and alone. He felt the coldness of the winter that was creeping over them now. The air was chilled, and fought it's way under the baggy linen the hanyou wore as clothing. He produced a small growl from the back of his throat, pushing his arms further into the hollow sleeves of his haori.

"Hey, you." a soft coo lifted to the hanyou's ears. He flicked them irritably, turning his gaze to fall on the raven haired girl who had paused from her story to call out to him. She motioned him over with one free hand, the other stroking Shippo's rust colored head. Inuyasha could barely bring himself to deny, so he took a few steps towards her, amber eyes narrowed slightly.

"I just got finished telling the story of Thumbilina. Remember that one? I told it to you some time ago, but I just realized nobody else had heard it." Kagome explained, her voice tired but still sweet and kind, just barely heard over the crackling of the fire and the slapping of ocean waves upon the shore. "Sit down, why don't you. Stop being just a grump and maybe I'll tell another story." She added, patting the dry sand beside her.

"Yeah, yeah!" the kitsune cheered from her lap. "Why don't you tell the one about the princess and that pea under the mattress?" Sango suggested. Kagome smiled softly.

"The Princess And The Pea? But you've already heard that one." She protested.

"Yes, but why not hear it again?" Miroku asked from beside Sango. She should have known he would take part in the suggesting of such a story. The lecherous monk would never let the opportunity of hearing about pretty women in bed slip by.

"Okay, fine."

As the miko started, Inuyasha felt himself drifting in and out of the story. Some parts, his attention was drawn in and other times, his amber gaze went out to sea, irises glazing over in thought. He related the events in the tale to the miko herself. How sensitive she could be sometimes. He wondered if she was just that sensitive, to feel a mere uncooked pea under several thick mattresses. For awhile, he felt like trying it out. Maybe he would.

Awhile passed before the flames of the fire began to die slowly into sparking embers. Kagome, who had chosen to tell the longer, advanced, special edition version of the story, was beginning to look more tired by the second. And then, like a answered prayer from heaven, the story came to an end. Miroku and Sango smiled contently, though he doubted they understood any of it. All throughout the tale, Miroku had been questioning about the women in the story and why the prince would fall in love with such a girl, a commoner. And Sango had been questioning about how a pea would disturb a sleeping human girl from where the thing was hidden underneath a hundred mattresses.

Shippo had fallen asleep, lying in Kagome's lap, snoring contently. Her hand was still twining sweetly in his hair in a motherly way. The other members of the tachi had trotted off to sleep, Miroku going into the 'boys tent' and Sango going into the 'girls plus Shippo tent'. Still, the miko sat up prodding at the dying flames and stroking the little fox youkai's head.

"You should sleep." Inuyasha suggested, his voice dropping into a low, concerned voice. It had softened over time and relaxation.

"I'm alright." She protested weakly. It wasn't very convincing at all, the way her lids kept dropping low and her shoulders hung lazily. Why was she trying to stay awake? Was something bothering her to where she didn't want to sleep? "You go on ahead."

"No way." Inuyasha snapped back, maybe a little more harsh than he should've, and way more than he had meant. "I'm not leaving you out here."

She chuckled sleepily.

"Why? It's not like I'm going to fall into the fire or something."

"No…but…"

Why was he pushing her to go to bed? Why should he care at all? The hanyou grunted out of frustration, turning his eyes back out to the sea, how it glowed only with pale moonlight and the golden hue of the fire. The waves were gentle, the tide low and the water sinking lower down on the beach.

"It's beautiful…isn't it." Kagome murmured. "I still can't believe….well, it's just so strange we found this place."

"You're delusional." Scoffed Inuyasha. Even though he hated it when Kagome got so mushy like this, talking about how beautiful something was, he had to admit, it was very pretty.

"No." She said softly, shaking her head, that same sweet smile on her lips. "It is. The whole place shines with beauty. It shines like….sunlight through a stain glass window. Like a kid after winning the spelling bee. Like a parent watching their child learn how to walk and talk and ride a bike and write and read and spell."

He didn't know what she was talking about. She didn't know what a spelling bee was and he didn't know what a stain glass window was, but he knew she was right about one thing. It did shine. But not like any of those things she had mentioned, even if he did know what they meant.

"Like…"

"You." Inuyasha suggested. "Like you. You shine, Kagome. Don't you know that?"

Damn. Why would he just say something like that? There were a few seconds of dreadful silence and then a large blush flared across the miko's cheeks and she turned away. He could see the smile on her lips even though she had tried to turn all the way away from him. He hadn't meant to make her blush. He hadn't meant to be nice at all. It just…slipped.

"Th-thanks…" She murmured quietly. "Right. Well…You're right, I'm tired. I think I'll go to bed now."

Kagome stood, carefully cradling Shippo in her arms like a baby. With a last shy eyed glance at the hanyou, she headed towards the tent Sango slept soundly inside, the blush still fresh on her cheeks, the smile still stuck to her lips. He watched her walk away, the gracefulness in how she easily put one foot in front of another to carry herself from place to place. Everything she did was just plain amazing. Even how she left him there in the dust to put out the last remains of the fire and saunter off to his own separate tent.

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I just have to say that I am SO SORRY that I've been lacking on the updates. School is really a killer and Iunno what's happening with me lately. Anyway, at least it's up. Now let's hope that some of you are still willing to read it and will forgive me for not posting it sooner. Please PLEASE if you are reading this story, just submit a review. Even if it's little, just so I know I'm not alone here. Sorry again!

Kyome- Haha. Yeah, but that's just Inuyasha, you know! He'll never admit he's the least bit hurt or anything like that.

xcurlyinuyashax- N-Naked time? Riiiight. Haha. Anyway. I think there might be a scene for you to draw out if you'd like. Funny this time! Iunno. Just know that I love you and all your wonderful drawings. ALWAYS.

kagomesdouble07- Well, I think if we had the chance, we would ALL peep on sexy inu. Duuhhh. Lol. Anyway, thanks.

Akina315- Aheh. Sorreh? Seems like forever since I've posted something for this story. Yeesh. Thank youuu for the sweet review!

haydenlover19- New reader/reviewer eh? Well, welcome to my humble (hardly) little story. Unless I've already done this, greeted you and all. PEEHEE

BlackParad- Yes, yes. Aaand. "Mama...we're all gonna die..." I like that song too. 'Mama'. Anyway. About the sex...hmmm...it seems this fic kinda revolves around it. Hence the title. Kidding, kidding, but yes, it does help.

SweetInuLover- Ooooh. The cookies. I love them things. I guess I could be considered the emo/goth type. Yeah, right. That's just what the people call me because of the way I dress and all. I don't label myself, so Iunno. I'm just ME.

Interruption- But the only problem with that cheese bit is that I LIKE cheese and I would probably EAT the cheese if you THREW it at me. grin

kaginufan88- Awww. Why, fank ya! I try to use good grammar and all that. There may be a few mistakes but just ignore 'em.