The Storm

By: AniuLonewolf

Chapter 5 - Sleep in My Arms

Inuyasha was leaning against the wall, listening to the soft pitter-patter of the rain, lost in his own thoughts. Since that little talk with Mrs. Higurashi, he felt like he finally had a place to belong. It was something so new to him, having people who cared about him and not wanting him to change. He had never been truly accepted for who he was, not since his mother had died.

Since he was little, demons have wanted to get rid of the half breed that looked weak in their eyes and humans wanted him away from their families to protect them from his strength because he was a freak. He had learned not to look too ahead in the future; he had to live in the moment, in the present. Be one step ahead of the enemy or he could die. And with no one to love him and show him kindness, he never wanted to daydream about any future because he knew it would only be a future of being alone and being hated.

But then something caught his ears' attention, snapping him out of his own thoughts and back into reality and to the present – to a possible future to look forward to.

Footsteps.

Looking over at Mrs. Higurashi, he smiled to himself as he watched the woman dance around the kitchen, grabbing different spices to put into Kagome's soup. He was thankful to Mrs. Higurashi for being so accepting of Kagome's travels to his time and being so understanding of his feelings for her daughter. In the short conversation he just had with Kagome's mother, she was able to put so many of his doubts to rest.

His ears perked up once again when he heard a sound come from the other room. Opening his senses to the questionable noise, his ears hearing the snuffling, his noise picking up a scent and in that moment he knew who it was. It was Kagome.

Inuyasha pushed himself off from the wall and walked over to the stairs. Just like he thought, there was Kagome. She was coming out of the bathroom with a pair of green pajamas on, rubbing her wet hair with a towel. She was turning to the stairs when she caught sight of Inuyasha and smiled.

Mrs. Higurashi had followed Inuyasha out of the kitchen and into the living room where the stairs led up to the second floor. When she saw her daughter, she went back to the kitchen to get the soup ready for Kagome to eat.

Inuyasha stayed at the bottom of the stairs, watching Kagome who was about to walk down the stairs. His keen noise could pick out that her fever hadn't gotten any better and she still had a distinct scent layered in hers that told him she was still sick. His eyes also caught the purple bruise on her ankle just below the pant leg of her pajamas.

"Have a good time with my Mom?" Kagome asked, pulling her hair up in the towel and took the first step on the flight of stairs. "Hope she didn't bother you too- mu- ahhhh… ahhchooo!" Her sentence was cut short when another sneeze came.

Inuyasha watched as her balance was thrown off when she sneezed. But he could see that on top of her fever, she had taken a very warm bath and was flushed. The sneeze brought on a sudden headrush and Kagome lost balance, losing her grip on the railing.

Acting quickly when he saw she was in danger, Inuyasha darted up the stairs just in time to catch Kagome in his arms.

Her eyesight had gone black with the headrush and she thought for sure she was going to fall down the entire flight of stairs. But instead she fell into the slightly hard and warm chest of the half demon that caught her. Looking up, she met the concerned golden eyes of the half demon that caught her. "Thanks Inuyasha. You're always there to catch me." She said faintly as she rested her spinning head on his shoulder.

"Any time." He whispered, wrapping his arms around her so he could help her get down the stairs safely.

"Oh, goodness! Kagome, you should take an easy while you're not feeling so well," Mrs. Higurashi walked into the living room to see Inuyasha helping Kagome down the stairs. "Why don't you come into the living room and you can have your soup."

Kagome nodded and headed over to the couch, Inuyasha sitting beside her and watched her mom place the bowl of soup on the table in front of her. Kagome thanked her mother and picked up the bowl of soup, spinning the spoon around in the hot liquid. While Inuyasha sat beside the raven haired girl, he could see that her face was still flush, and she let out a couple coughs before taking a spoonful of soup. The towel had fallen from her hair when she almost fell down the stairs, leaving her long black hair damp and flowing down her back.

"Did you want anything to eat or drink Inuyasha?" Kagome's mother asked the half demon and was answered with a silent shake of his head saying he didn't need anything. "Will you be ok for tonight Kagome?" Her daughter gave her a nod and she looked back at Inuyasha. "Will you be spending the night?"

Inuyasha didn't say anything at first, not wanting to intrude if Kagome didn't want him around anymore. He looked at Mrs. Higurashi and then at Kagome for an answer.

Kagome met his questioning gaze and smiled and then turned to her mother. "Yes, Inuyasha will be spending the night." She saw again from the corner of her eye that Inuyasha's face broke into a small smile.

Mrs. Higurashi smiled down at the two on the couch. "Ok well I'm going to go to bed now. Get to bed after you're done your soup. Goodnight you two." And with that, she turned and walked up the stairs to her bedroom, leaving the two alone.

After Mrs. Higurashi left, it became very quiet. All they could hear was the rain outside, the clock ticking on the wall and the clang of Kagome's spoon against the bowl.

Inuyasha was looking at the pictures on the wall. There were some of Sota, Kagome's younger brother playing soccer. Some were of Kagome with her mother and grandfather. There were two pictures of Mrs. Higurashi and a guy he had never met before. Inuyasha guessed that he was Kagome's father because Kagome had his smile. They were dressed up; Mrs. Higurashi in a big white dress and was holding flowers and Mr. Higurashi was in a black suit.

It was their wedding. That got Inuyasha thinking. 'Should I ask her?' A sneeze from Kagome snapped him back to reality. He looked over at her and smiled. 'I'll ask her when she's feeling better.'

Kagome wasn't hungry. She was just playing with the soup. 'My life is so different from before my 15th birthday. None of my friends at school would ever believe me,' She smiled, thinking about her birthday three years ago. 'That day was the best thing that ever happened to me,' She looked over that the silent half-demon sitting next to her. He seemed to be preoccupied looking at the wall of pictures. 'If Buyo had never gotten lost in the well house, then I wouldn't have been pulled down by Mistress Centipede. Then I would never have met Inuyasha.'

As if he heard his name in her thoughts, Inuyasha looked over at Kagome. "You sure eat slow." He said, teasingly. He kept his voice down, no wanting to wake the rest of the family but also not wanting to startle Kagome. The atmosphere in the living room seemed to be heavy with silence that it felt like he couldn't raise his voice.

Kagome looked down at the bowl in her hands. "I'm not really hungry." She admitted in a low murmur.

"Then do you want to go to bed? It is late. And your mom is right; you need your rest to get better."

She nodded and got up from the couch, followed by Inuyasha. She walked into the kitchen and put the bowl by the sink. Then she left the kitchen and came back into the living room, heading for the stairs. She was about five steps up the flight of stairs when she saw Inuyasha was still at the bottom of the stairs. He was just standing there, looking almost like a lost puppy, not knowing where to go.

"Umm, Inuyasha?" At her voice, he looked up at her with his golden eyes shining in one of the soft lamps that were kept on so no one would fall down the stairs in the middle of the night. His eyes were almost glowing. She took a moment to just look into his eyes. His eyes where one detail that she would never forget but at the same time, never be able to memorize. "You can sleep in my room if you want."

"You sure?" He got a nod from her. "... Ok." He said, and followed Kagome up the stairs. When they got in her room, she went looking in her closet, looking for a futon for Inuyasha.

Her closet hadn't been touched in months, not since she found her giant yellow backpack and sleeping bag. After all, that was all she really needed from the closest when she went back and forth to Inuyasha's time. There were so many things in this unkept closet; she had no idea where the extra futon would be. "Damn. Where is that stupid thing?" She said digging through the closet, throwing clothes all over the room.

"Umm… Kagome?"

Kagome looked up at Inuyasha who was standing behind her and when she saw him, she giggled. She had thrown things all over the place in the search for the futon that she had thrown a shirt right in the half demon's face. "Sorry." She giggled as she took the shirt from him.

Inuyasha folded his arms over his still bare chest. "You know, you don't need to get me anything."

"Mmm?" She asked, as she continued to look through the closest.

He smiled, "It's not going to bother me to sleep sitting on the floor." He said gruffly. He had been out on his own for so long, it almost made him uncomfortable to be cared for so much. And plus, it wasn't like he didn't know how to take care of himself.

Kagome turned around and looked up at the half demon. "But…" She started but was cut off when Inuyasha smiled down at her. "It's one night you don't have to sleep on the forest floor on the wood floor of a hut. I just want you to be comfortable."

"Don't sweat about it," He shrugged, placing his hand on Kagome's shoulder. "You're sick, you need your rest. It's not going to kill me sleeping on the floor for the night. I do it all the time."

Kagome scowled up at Inuyasha and then looked down at the floor. "I don't think that would be very comfortable."

Inuyasha signed, smiling softly down at Kagome. "You're so stubborn," He laughed, giving her a quick kiss on the forehead. "Just go get ready for bed." He turned her back to the door, pushing her towards the bathroom.

While Kagome was gone from the room getting ready for bed, Inuyasha cleaned up the mess Kagome made while search of the futon. When he finished cleaning the room, he waited for Kagome to come back. Sitting on the carpeted floor of her bedroom, Inuyasha tried to lean against the walls in one corner but it wasn't very comfortable. So he tried leaning a different way against the wall but still, couldn't get comfy.

Kagome walked into her room, her mouth feeling minty fresh from brushing, to see Inuyasha trying to find a spot to sleep on her carpet. "I'm telling you, that's not a very comfy place to sleep."

"Well it's raining. I can't go sleep out in the tree outside your window." Inuyasha sighed, lightning outside proving his point.

"I would never ask you to go sleep outside." Kagome's face showed a frown as she walked up to the half demon, grabbing his hand and pulling him up to his feet. Before her brain could think of what she was doing, she pulled Inuyasha over to her bed, pulling him up onto the mattress.

They were quiet for a moment, just sitting there looking at each other. Both of them in bed together, it would be very hard not let your thoughts go in that direction.

But Kagome broke the silence by yawning and Inuyasha couldn't help but laugh. "Lay down Kagome, you need your rest." He whispered as he pulled the blankets up to cover Kagome as she lay down, resting her head on the pillow.

Swallowing, Inuyasha looked down at Kagome's frame underneath the blankets before settling down beside her. At first he tried to stay the farthest away from Kagome, leaning on the very edge of the bed. He lay there, surrounded by Kagome's scent, listening to her breathing slow and even out.

Soon, Kagome was asleep and Inuyasha was still awake. He could hear all the noises from Kagome's house; the big box downstairs that held the food hummed, the snoring of Kagome's grandfather on the other side of the house, but Kagome's breathing was what he focused on.

Letting out a soft sigh, Kagome suddenly rolled over, throwing her arm over Inuyasha's chest. Even in her sleep she was completely comfortable with Inuyasha in her bed and she cuddled up to him, letting out a soft noise in content.

Inuyasha stiffened when she rolled over and got close to her. But a smile appeared on his lips when he heard her murmur his name in her sleep. As he laid his head down on the pillow beside the sleeping girl, he couldn't help but let out a yawn, suddenly feeling really tired. With one last intake of breath to surround Kagome's scent around him, he relaxed beside Kagome and fell asleep.

Inuyasha © Rumiko Takahashi

The Storm by AniuLonewolf