Chapter 4
A Hopeless Invitation
The sleeping bags Kagome had provided had proved to be quite comfy…for the ones who got to use them. Inuyasha lay across the lumpy tent floor, a thin covering of fabric of the tent keeping the itchy sand underneath from the hanyou's pale skin. Being him, it didn't bother him too much, or disturb him from his sleep. Strangely, a lot of things didn't disturb him from his sleep that night.
A soft warmth grew over him and he felt himself move his arm around a source of warmth. He let the scent of sakura blossoms and strawberries fill his awaiting nostrils. He pulled himself closer, he held the warmth against him as the warm spot began to grow and the acid of the hanyou's dreams started to fade from his head. It wasn't much longer that he defined the spreading warmth as the stroking and groping of Miroku's hand on his behind.
With a violent jerk, Inuyasha yanked himself away from the perverted, dreaming Houshi. A look of disgust planted on his face as he slapped the monk's hand away from his backside and removed his own arm from around his companion. He let out an surprised and irritated growl, raising a clenched fist as Miroku raised from his sleep with a confused jerk.
"MONK!" He shouted, momentarily taking Sango's role to whack Miroku over the head for his annoying groping. They all knew he was desperate, but not that desperate. Not desperate to go after a man while he was sleeping. And all the Houshi could do was stare with wide, confused, horrified eyes as Inuyasha jumped up, angrily wiping the warm feel from his butt and ducking out of the tiny tent.
"W-What's going on, Inuyasha?" Sango mumbled, poking a sleepy head out of her own tent. He could hear Shippo stirring inside with a loud yawn. Kagome was rustling around somewhere in there, obviously already awake. The look of pure disgust was still planted firmly on his features as he stomped over to the edge of the shore, a low growl spilling from his lips. How dare that monk interrupt his nice dreams with that cursed wandering hand of his?
"WhooHOOOO!" Was all the hanyou heard as a warning before catching a rush of ebony hair whizzed by him and collided with the rushing waves of the ocean. A tidal wave of water splashed over him, drenching his comfortable, yet slightly sandy, haori with salty beach water. It was just one thing after another, and usually he was the first one up. What a wonderful wake up call.
"What the hell, Kagome?!" He cried accusingly, shooting a violent glare at the miko, gently pushed and pulled by the careful tide. Her big brown eyes batted up at him innocently, this sickeningly adorable smile on her pretty little lips as she giggled childishly and dunked her raven colored head under the water.
"Come in!" She suggested excitedly. This was the perfect thing to wake her up early in the morning. It felt like heaven, but not quite the relaxation of a wonderful hot springs. But it was the ocean! A beach that had just popped up out from the middle of nowhere. How could she complain? "The water feels so gooood!" She teased, dipping down her upper half was under the water, even though she was wearing a nice conservative blue one piece bathing suit.
"No! No way in hell!" The angry half-demon refused.
"Jeez. Who woke up on the wrong side of the bed today, huh?" She replied, brows furrowing slightly in a pouty way, trying to coax him into the water. Of course he wasn't going to come in the water to swim with her. She knew that even before she decided to go for a swim. She knew that when she had first come upon the beach.
Inuyasha was just about to explain his embarrassing, disgusting incident with the Houshi when, speak of the devil, he waltz out of the tent, a weary smile on his lips as he looked over to Sango. The guy had no shame. Then again, maybe it was just best to forget about it. After all, what did one say after something like that? They all knew Miroku was nothing like Jakotsu.
Next thing he knew there was a second splash, this one smaller, and a whole new wave rushed over his ankles. He growled at the little kitsune that had jumped into the water, now staring up at him with a smug smile. Were they all against him today?
Then everything was silent. Kirara trotted awkwardly out from Sango's tent in the midst of it. Miroku stared at Sango, and Sango stared back. Kagome stared longingly at the hanyou, and he couldn't help but stare back at her. The hanyou grit his teeth like he was resisting something, the miko shifting uncomfortably. A dark blush crawled over Sango's cheeks and Miroku seemed to be zoning out. Shippo and Kirara exchanged confused glances, completely lost in the sudden silence.
"Hey…Helloooo? Anyone there?" Shippo called out, trying to break the older ones of the tachi from their trance.
This battle to keep back their emotions wasn't over yet, was it? They were all still itching to hold each other, staring and touching any time they could get without making things too obvious. Kagome quickly looked away, breaking the circle of silent stares. She blinked dramatically, as if she really didn't feel like opening her eyes again after closing them in that long blink. Didn't he know about all the things she did just to be close to him, to feel the warmth radiating off his body, just be near him?
So they swam, Sango soon joining the miko and kitsune in the churning waves. Miroku sat at the shore, his bare feet lingering in the watery sand, his eyes moving over the two girls splashing playfully at each other, laughing and having a good time. Inuyasha stood tall, eyed fixed on the horizon, neither on Miroku nor the girls, nor anything or anyone else for that matter. And you know the Houshi had tried to start a conversation with him, just to lighten the mood and silence, but the only thing he really heard the hanyou say was something rude, muttered in an irritated tone. He still hadn't gotten over his unfavorable wake up call.
After awhile, Sango and Miroku moved off silently to begin making breakfast, deciding to give Kagome a rest from cooking for them so much. Then Shippo bounced out of the water, his little fingers like prunes. Eventually, Kagome wandered back to shore, the current easing up, the miniature waves making her frail frame sway gently in the shallow part of the water, close to the shore, as she sat there, drawing circles in the wet sand with her finger, silent.
"You know…"
Kagome stopped dead in her tracks of trying to attempt to make a conversation at the sight of Inuyasha's eyes boring down on her. What was his problem? What had she done to deserve his attitude? She furrowed her brows, looking up at him in confusion and slight anger.
"It's not my fault, ya know! Whatever happened to you to make you such a grump, I didn't do it! So don't give me that attitude stuff!" She cried, glaring at him with suddenly angered hazel eyes. She felt the weight of his stare lighten until he looked away.
"What's wrong with you anyway?" She asked.
"Nothing"
"So you're just mad for no reason?"
"No."
"Then why are you so irritable?"
"I'm not."
"Yeah you are!"
"Not."
Kagome replied without words, but with the single stroke of her hand in the water, sending a light spray over the hanyou. His angry gaze came hurtling back to her with renewed rage. He needed to learn how to calm his temper.
"Kagome!" He shouted her name heatedly, a growl working its way up his throat. She'd been splashing him ever since he had woken up. He was already wet from before, and the way he had woken up had just started his day off all wrong. He hadn't gotten hardly any sleep, he still felt stupid for saying what he had the night before, and now he was wet and irritated and hungry. Kagome just wasn't helping.
"Come here." She commanded, motioning him to come closer to her.
"No way." He refused, turning his face away from her.
"Come here, Inuyasha!" She pleaded.
"No."
"Please?"
"NO!"
"Inuyasha…"
The hanyou glanced down at her, meeting big brown eyes, pleading with him to give in. He could never resist her, that look of innocence she could pull off so well. He could never resist her at all. He was giving in, kneeling down in the sand to bring himself closer to her, because she asked him to, because she pleaded him to, because she looked so lonely down there in the water.
Before he knew it, Kagome had her arms snaked around his neck, her face pressed against his shoulder. His amber eyes went wide with shock. Her slim body was pressed to his. He could feel her warmth, the wetness of the water that dribbled from her, dampening his clothing. He could feel the miko place her lips close to his ear, and he could barely resist himself, her, the temptation to crash his lips over hers.
"Lighten up." She told him, and sank out of the embrace, back down into the water with a smile.
He was officially soaked. Maybe it was a hoax just to get him wet. He wasn't sure anymore. With Kagome, you never knew what she was trying to do, or what she meant by her strange actions. He couldn't ask her. It would ruin the thrill of wondering, even if it was burning a hole in the middle of him, just to know whether she did it for the affection or not.
"There's a party tomorrow." Kagome announced quietly, straightening her body like a board over the surface of the water. She stared up at the cloudless blue sky, her ears under the water. When she talked, it sounded funny.
"So?" Inuyasha muttered.
"So…So I think I'm going to go. Yuka and Eri and Ayumi will be there. I haven't gotten to spend a lot of time with them lately. A lot of people will be there. It's always nice to meet new people."
"Keh.."
Kagome bent again, sitting down on the sandy bottom, the water coming up only around her stomach. She looked up at Inuyasha, seeing the wet spots she had left on him. A faint smile crept over his lips. He seemed irritated again. More irritated since he heard that she might be leaving tomorrow. She gnawed on the inside of her lower lip.
"You could…come….if you want." She offered quietly.
"Whatever." He replied simply.
"So you're going?" The miko asked, lifting her eyes to his. He looked away from her, out to sea, refusing to meet her gaze.
"I said whatever."
"So that's it then? You'll come with me to the party?"
Inuyasha switching his golden eyes down to her briefly, then looked back out to sea, his lips in a straight line, so smile or frown, no emotion. He shrugged like there was nothing to it. Kagome smiled faintly. She knew he must be feeling more enthusiasm than he was giving out, because Inuyasha was just like that.
"Someone's gotta bring you back from there. Otherwise, you'll take forever."
They both turned away from each other to hide the gentle smiles that forced themselves to the surface of their lips. Flattery swelled inside them as the sound of sizzling eggs reached their ears. The aroma of food touched the air.
"BREAKFAST!" Sango shouted out from way up on shore.
So it was settled. They would head out tomorrow and have a grand time at that party. Anything, anywhere, any amount of time, as long as they could spend it together, it was enough.
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I'm so sorry this chapter took so long for me to get up. Jeez. Did I say this for the last chapter too? Grrr. I'm just having a rough time coming up with some muse to write this thing. Don't worry, I will not abandon this fic, I promise. You will see the end of it, and you will love it...hopefully. By the way, I'll be leaving tomorrow for Christmas vacation so I won't get back to updating until sometime next week. SO SORRY!
Kyome- Oh thaaanks! Yeah, he is too stubborn.
MyInuyasahObsession- OMG! That is so incredibly SWEET! I can't believe you were actually printing off chapters of my story to read in school! AWWW! feels happy inside AWWW! I can't stop, someone save me...
xcurlyinuyashax- REALLY? Haha. Well, you just draw whatever you want to from this fic or any other fic of mine. You are welcome to use any scene! Merry Christmas to you too!
haydenlover19- You betcha!
Kelly- You better believe it, it's weird. And no, I wasn't just having a lack of creativity and a cheesy sense of romantic scene by putting that beach in there. You'll see later. PEEHEE!
BlackParade- YESSS. I got both MCR CDs for Christmas which I had today, by the way. And Iunno what happened to little miss inu! I miss her to! AW! Jeez. She needs to get back here...
kaginufan88- Iunnooooo! You could be right, you know. But yeah, that beach is weird. I was half asleep when I came up with this plot so you'll have to excuse me if it's a little off.
SweetInuLover- Oh! That sounds pretty cool. And yeah, it's the truth too. We're not soup cans...are we now?
Interruption- AAAAHHH! OMG OMG OMG OH EM GEEEE! I hate bananas...updates
inuyashangel- Me? Pwshaaaa. blush
Kiba- Really? Your friends too? Jeez, I'm so flattered right now from all you guys. I really do appreciate it.
pocky obsessions- Uhmmm. Oh, sorry. If you think there's hardly any fluff now, you'll just have to wait till later! It'll be here before you know it. Or not. I told you school has been really hard on me. I got an F, okay? Grrrr. Stupid math.
AlyAnne0900- Greeaat! I just hope I haven't already lost you by updating so slowly. I promise I'm not usually this slow at it. It's just school and vacations and drama happening in my life. You'll have to forgive me. But thanks alot!.
THANKS EVERYONE! AND MERRY CHRISTMAS!