The Storm

By: AniuLonewolf

Chapter 2– It All Began with a Fight

Thunder rumbled through the valley, lightning danced through clouds as rain fell down in hard sheets, forcing all the forest animals to take shelter in the trees. The families of the village at the bottom of the mountain were sheltered from the storm in their homes. Mothers tucked their children into their beds, telling them bedtime stories while the fathers of the house listened in the doorway as he admired his family.

The sky was black with nightfall; the only source of light was the frequent flickers of lightning dancing through the clouds. A small soft light could be seen through the rain; a small fire coming from a hut on the outskirts of the village, near the forest. It was in this hut that we find our heroes and where our story starts.

The first to speak was a young woman dressed in a pink and green kimono. "We need to act now; Naraku won't be staying in this area for long. He'll want to keep moving to search for more jewel shards." This young woman's name was Sango, the demon slayer of the group. While she sat on the floor in front of the fire, she absentmindedly stroked the fur of her demon cat companion Kilala, who was sleeping in her lap.

"This will probably be the only chance we will be able to corner Naraku at his castle," The man sitting next to her on the floor spoke up. He was dressed in purple and black robes for he was Miroku, the monk of the group. While he talked, he played with the rosary around his right hand. The beads on his wrist were the only thing holding back the Wind Tunnel curse, hidden beneath the purple glove he wore. "We can't waste anymore time." He said, Sango who was sitting beside him nodded in agreement to his statement.

"Well…" The other woman started to say, too afraid to lift her voice over a soft whisper. She kept her brown eyes on the glowing fire as she played with the tail of the little fox demon who napped in her lap. "I have an important test in a couple of days back in my time. I should really go home and study for it." She sighed as she continued to play with the fox demon's tail. The little kitsune, whose name was Shippo, have a little snort in his sleep and curled more up in the girl's lap.

It seemed like it was only yesterday that it was Kagome's fifteen birthday – even though it was well over four years ago. The day of her birthday changed her life forever when she discovered the ancient well on the shrine grounds that her family ran.

But this well wasn't any normal well; the Bone Eater's well as it was called held a magical power that pulled her into the past – 500 years into the past to be exact. Kagome was now nineteen years old and she was very surprised that she had made it to grade twelve, even with all the school she had missed.

The group of humans heard a growl coming from the corner of the hut. A man got up from his sitting position and walked up to the rest of the group around the fire. His long silver hair reached down to past the small of his back and it was like the colour of the moonlight that was hidden behind the clouds. But if it wasn't the silver hair that caught your attention, it was the triangular silver dog ears that rested atop his head or his golden eyes that reflected the light of the fire. The man, Inuyasha, was a half demon; born of a mother who was a mortal human and a father who was a dog demon.

"Why do you always have to leave? We're so close to finally getting Naraku and you have to go and take off to that stupid era of yours." Inuyasha growled as he crossed his arms over his chest, his eyes glowing with silent anger.

The schoolgirl from the future looked up at the silver-haired half demon that was standing across the fire from her. 'Why does he always have to be like this?'She thought to herself and let out a sigh. "Maybe you don't need my help anyways Inuyasha. I won't be much help except getting in the way."

"Feh," was all that came from the silver haired half demon.

"What's that supposed to mean Inuyasha?" The little fox demon Shippo asked. No one had noticed that the little kitsune has woken up until he had spoken.

"It means little one, that Inuyasha doesn't want Kagome to home. But it also means that he does not want her to get hurt." The old woman spoke up as she served supper. The elderly woman was Keade, the priestess that watched over the village and aided the group in their travels.

"I didn't mean it like that, ya old hag!" Inuyasha barked, fisting his hands at his side. But while he growled, he cursed the old woman for knowing him so well.

"Then what did it mean?" asked Kagome with hurt evident in her voice. She hated getting into fights with Inuyasha, and she could feel that there was another fight about to start. With the stress of Naraku's evil looming over their heads, it seemed that Kagome and Inuyasha got into more fights as the days went on.

Inuyasha turned his gaze from Keade to the young priestess from the future. "It just meant that we need you to find the shards that Naraku has," He sorted through his words, looking down at the fire instead of looking at Kagome. "We can't find Naraku's shards without you. You're the only one that can find them."

"Well maybe you could find Kikyo and asked her to help you. I'm sure she's just wandering around here somewhere. It wouldn't be that hard for you to find her and I'm sure she would be much more of a help them I am." Kagome snapped back hotly.

Sango and Miroku watched from their places on the floor as Kagome and Inuyasha continued to argue. And when Kagome brought up Kikyo they both took a sharp intake of breath and drew very still. They both knew that when Kikyo was brought up in an argument, it was only going to get worse.

Kikyo was the young priestess who used to protect the village from demons who searched for the sacred Shikon no Tama, or Jewel of Four Souls. The young priestess and the half demon had history together and had developed feelings for each other before a terrible demon named Naraku turned them against each other; leaving Kikyo fatally wounded and Inuyasha pinned to the God Tree in an enchanted slumber for 50 years.

Inuyasha huffed and stuffed his hands in his sleeves of his haori. "I'm sure she would be more help than you would," He agreed curtly, tilting his head to the side to look at Kagome sideways. "Kikyo wouldn't run off when we were so close to finally getting Naraku."

At what the half demon said, Kagome stood up, knocking Shippo off her lap. She glared at Inuyasha angrily from across the fire and yelled, "That's all you care about isn't it? Kikyo and that stupid jewel! Go ahead and find Kikyo! And then when all of this is over, you can go ahead and go to Hell with her!" And with that she ran out of the hut and into the rain.

Miroku, Keade and Sango all looked at the door where the angry girl ran out and then turned to look at the arrogant dog demon that made her run out in the first place. Inuyasha's expression showed anger but also a hurt expression; for that was the first time Kagome told him to go to Hell with his ex-lover.

"Smooth move, dog-breath!" Shippo yelled from where he fell on the floor when Kagome got up. He always hated it when Inuyasha made Kagome mad or sad – which happened quite frequently.

WHAM!

"Owwwwww!" cried Shippo, rubbing the big bump on his head that Inuyasha just gave him. "You meanie, why do you always have to go and make Kagome mad? Sometimes I wonder why she even comes back when you just go and make her upset again."

"Shippo does have a point Inuyasha," Miroku said, his voice staying calm though his expression was tired. It happened almost every time they discussed Naraku; Inuyasha and Kagome would get into a fight and Kagome would run off to the well to go back to her time. "Kagome might not come back now, and you know as well as we do that we can't do this without her."

"So go and say sorry," Sango said as she sent her own glare at Inuyasha, her dark purple-maroon coloured eyes reflecting the fire's light. "We need her with us and you know it." Her words were intensified by a large flash of lightning from outside.

Inuyasha's expression darkened; he hated being ganged up by everyone. But he lowered his eyes before turning to the window. The half demon knew it was his fault that Kagome had gotten upset and ran away. Keeping his growl low, he looked out the window just when a flash of lightning lit up the sky.

o-o-o-o

The forest was black from the moon being hidden by the clouds. The rain pelted down and felt like it could cut through her skin as Kagome ran into the forest. She kept running, her eyes stinging from the rain and her tears, her feet stumbling over the tree roots, her arms being cut by sharp tree branches but she didn't care – she kept running, not caring about where she would end up.

"Stupid, stupid, stupid," She told herself out loud, her breath coming out in short bursts as she pushed her legs to carry her away from the village. "How could I be such an idiot and actually fall in love with that arrogant jerk? He doesn't care about me; he loves that walking pile of clay!"

It was true; she was in love with the half demon that she had left back in the hut. She didn't know when it first started to feel like she was in love with him; at first he kept her around out of convenience since she could see the jewel shards and she followed because it was her fault that the jewel broke in the first place. But then after traveling with Inuyasha for some time, she then realized that she had started to develop strong feelings of love for him.

But why? Why did she have to fall in love with someone that fought with her, someone who loved someone else?

A flash of lightning lit up the night sky as she ran through the forest. 'The thunder and lightning remind me of when we first met Shippo and helped him fight against the Thunder Brothers,' Kagome thought to herself as she let out a sigh mixed with a sob. 'And when I fooled Hiten and Manten that Inuyasha loved me.'

:.: Flashback :.:

"Now hand over the shards of the Shikon Jewel. Or you'll never she your lover alive again!" Hiten yelled and lightning flashed through the stormy sky to intensify his threat.

"See my lover?" Inuyasha repeated from down below on the ground while Hiten, Manten and the captive Kagome floated above him.

'Some people just can't take a joke.' Kagome thought as she saw Inuyasha's blank face from where she was floating in the cloud with the younger of the Thunder Brothers.

"Um there must be misunderstanding," Inuyasha started, walking closer to the Thunder Brothers. "Let me get this straight, you and I are supposed to be lovers?" He asked as he looked up at Kagome with a very questioning look on his face.

"This is no time to get all shy." Kagome said nervously. Great, he was going to ruin the plan.

"You little vixen, I knew you were fibbing." Manten said, giving Kagome a noogie where he sat next to her on the cloud.

"You actually think I'd hand over the shards as a ransom to get you back?" Inuyasha yelled angrily.

"Of course because that's what a lover would do." Kagome shot back, looking down at Inuyasha. She had told the Thunder Brothers not to kill her because Inuyasha was in love with her and would hand the shards over to get her back. She thought he would be able to see her plan and go along with it to save her - guess not.

"Well we ain't lovers. And without love, the whole argument kinda falls apart." Inuyasha yelled back.

"So now some little gems are more important than me? How dare you say that after all we've been through together! In the meantime, you better admit to yourself how much you really love me." Kagome said, pointing her finger at him.

:.: End Flashback :.:

'How could I be so stupid,' Kagome's mind yelled at her. 'I've been traveling with him for four years now and I should know better than to start that fight again. He's in love with Kikyo and there's nothing I can do about it.'

The lightning flashed again and Kagome tripped on a root and fell to the wet cold forest floor. She looked up and saw that she tripped on a root from the God Tree.

The tree was so special to her; it was the one tree that surpassed the time differences and stood tall and strong in her own shrine's property while it also stood here, 500 years in the past. She had many memories of the tree when she was growing up, playing under its shade, sitting underneath the leaves to think. She had many pictures of growing up with the tree; happy pictures like when her brother was born, sad memories of when her father had passed away.

This tree had memories for Inuyasha as well. Memories of when Inuyasha and Kikyo were tricked by Naraku and Kikyo pinned Inuyasha to the tree with her arrow, putting him under a spell that made him sleep for fifty years – until Kagome had found him and broke the spell.

She got up and sat on an uprooted root, hoping that the tree would give her some shade from the rain. 'This is the first place I met Inuyasha. When he was pinned to this very same tree,' She thought to herself as she ran her hand down the old bark and then sighed. 'He thought I was Kikyo...'

o-o-o-o

Inuyasha stood at the door of the hut. He tried to keep it from the human's eyes but he was leaning towards the exit of the hut. He took slow and deep breaths to try and use his keen sense of smell to catch Kagome's scent.

'Damn rain,' He inwardly growled. 'I can't pick up her scent.' He could feel that the storm was growing worse, the rain was starting to come down in hard sheets and the wind was making even the strongest trees bow in its force.

He was getting worried about Kagome. She had been gone for a while now and with the storm getting stronger, his imagination was getting the better of him and he was imaging her hurt somewhere in the forest. What if a demon, walking through the storm had come upon her? She left her bow and arrows in the hut; she wouldn't have been able to defend herself.

He suppressed another growl, knowing he should be out there looking for her. But part of him made him stay back – after all, it was his fault that she ran away. It was his fault that he couldn't shut up about Kikyo. Kagome was really upset this time, more upset than previous fights they had. He doubted that Kagome would be happy to see him so soon after she ran off. She needed time to cool off.

Shippo knew better than the humans, being demon himself he knew that Inuyasha was making silent steps towards the door. "Even if you went through the forest, tree to tree, what makes you think that she would come back to you? Or even answer you if you called out her name?" The fox demon spoke up, from behind Sango so that if Inuyasha were to strike, the demon slayer would stop him.

Inuyasha heard the fox demon's comment and turned around to glare at him. "What did you say?" He asked through clenched teeth.

"Why would you go after her anyway?" Sango added, picking up on Shippo's plan to make Inuyasha angry. Because when Inuyasha would get angry he would no doubt, go after Kagome. "You'll just make her even more mad." She said, not meeting the dog demon's eyes and played with Kilala's tail.

"What if a demon were to find her?" Inuyasha questioned. "Aren't you worried that she could get hurt?"

"Of course we care," Keade spoke up. "The question is if ye care enough to protect her?" The old woman turned his words around.

"And why are you worried in the first place?" Shippo spoke up again. "You keep calling her your 'Shard Detector'. Kagome's right – you should just go find Kikyo." Shippo's voice wavered at the end, knowing that if he mentioned Inuyasha's past lover he would surly get a smack. He hid more behind Sango for protection.

"Shippo has a point Inuyasha; you always go and run after Lady Kikyo," Miroku spoke up this time. "You hurt Kagome more and more every time you run away."

"NO!" Inuyasha yelled, rocking the hut into silence. Shippo, Miroku, Sango and Keade fell quiet to wait for the dog demon to say any else.

"'No' what?" Sango asked, looking up at Inuyasha this time.

Inuyasha let out a very loud and angry huff that drew the others to his direction. He turned around to glare at the group that sat around the fire. He struggled with himself to just blurt out the words that he wanted to. 'No, I care about Kagome,'He wanted to say to them. 'She showed me friendship and she doesn't care that I am a half demon.'

But he felt his pride and stubbornness stop him from saying those words that he wanted to say. But having those thoughts suddenly run through his mind, he realized something so important. He suddenly realized something that everyone was trying to show him and he was just too blind to see it; He didn't love Kikyo – he loved Kagome!

Sango, Miroku and Shippo just sat around the fire and watched Inuyasha's face change from anger to questioning to sudden realization.

But his thoughts were running away from him control and showing him all the stupid things that he had done. Kikyo didn't love him for who and what he was, not like Kagome. Kikyo wanted human, to use the Shikon Jewel on him so she could be a normal woman. Inuyasha thought he loved her but it wasn't real love.

His memories flashed before him, sitting with Kikyo on the hills above the village, just sitting, sometimes talking. It wasn't love; it was just something that was mistaken for love – that was why Naraku was able to make them hate each other so easily.

"And even after all the crap you two have been through Kagome had always stayed by your side," Sango murmured, almost mirroring Inuyasha's thoughts. "Even after all those other times you made her upset."

All of these realizations were coming at him too fast that it was giving him a headache. But it wasn't just a headache, it was heartache for he knew now what his heart was telling him – he loved Kagome.

There wasn't much time, either Kagome has already gone to her own time and locked herself up in her room or worse, she could have gotten hurt or lost. He had to go and find her – and tell her the truth.

Without saying a word to anyone else, Inuyasha suddenly dashed out into the rain, leaving the rest of the group watching in question.

"I guess he finally came up with an answer," Miroku smiled and passed around the bowl of soup that was being served for supper.

Sango looked down at Shippo and gave him a pat on the head. "Very cleaver little kitsune," She smiled at she gave him a high-five.

"It's about time Inuyasha figure out his feelings for Kagome," Shippo smiled triumphantly as he looked out the door that Inuyasha had run out from.

Inuyasha © Rumiko Takahashi

The Storm by AniuLonewolf