Okay, I'm behind by about a day and a half. I do have the next two chapters ready, I'm just proofreading the last chapter, but I want to upload them at the same time. (Mostly because it's a part 1 and part 2) So stay tuned because I will have those uploaded (hopefully) by midnight!
Chapter Four:
Along the Beach
"For the last time, Inuyasha," Kagome said, clearly agitated, "I can't make jewel shards appear out of thin air! I'm not a jewel shard summoner!"
They had been walking all morning and had yet to stop for some lunch. Their supplies were running on low, and thanks to Inuyasha, no one was able to eat much in the past day and a half. Inuyasha wasn't making the situation any better by bickering with Kagome either.
Shippou hopped on top of Kagome's shoulder after climbing down from the trees. "Kagome! Kagome! There's a big village up ahead! And I saw water!"
"Really? That's great, Shippou!" Kagome said, patting him on the head, "See? Why can Shippou do it but when I ask you to do it, you always end up starting a fight!" She was irked by Inuyasha's very presence at the moment, though it could have simply been because of the heat. It was the height of summer after all.
"Keep it up, wench!" Inuyasha said, his ears pulled back and his mouth upturned into a partial snarl.
"Or what, Inuyasha?" Kagome said, giving him a look, daring him to say something more.
Kagome and the others had to climb a small hill before they were able to even see the village come into view. "Come on, the sooner we get there, the sooner we can start cooling off," Sango said, attempting to alleviate some of the tension in the group.
Kagome huffed and continued on down the small hill with everyone in tow. When they were finally able to reach the village, they noticed it was significantly much cooler. There were many trees surrounding the village, which had almost blocked the view of the lake from where they had been. Upon closer inspection, they noticed many stands as soon as they breached the borders of the village.
"Excuse me," Miroku said as he approached a villager who looked to be selling pots, "do you think you could give me some assistance?"
"If you're a newcomer," the man said in a snotty attitude, "than the information stand is over there. Please move, you're blocking the view of my pots for actual customers, unless, of course, you're interested...?" As he came to the end of his sentence, he leaned forward with a smile on his face.
"Ah, no, thank you," Miroku replied, a little nervous, "I'll just be going now."
The man huffed and turned back to his stand to fix up his pottery pieces. Miroku reached the stand with everyone following right behind him. "Wow," Kagome said as she watched Miroku pick up one of the sheets of paper, "this might very well be one of the first brochures ever made!" Kagome said, excited.
"What's a brochure?" Sango asked as Miroku handed said 'brochure' over to Kagome.
"Well," Kagome said, "a brochure is like a summary of a place. It'll give you information about the locations and sights of the area that they are advertising, but in the future," Kagome began folding the paper into three long rectangles, "it will look more like this. With the front being some sort of eye catching picture." She handed the 'brochure' to Sango and allowed her to take a look at it.
The others watched as Sango unfolded the paper and her eyes lit up. "They have a bath house, Kagome!" She said with a mix of excitement and surprise.
"Really? I didn't know they existed in this era!" Kagome said as she huddled up next to Sango and pointed out different areas of the map.
"Ladies," Miroku said, "let us first determine where we will be staying for the next few days so that we can go sight-seeing."
Sango and Kagome nodded and pointed to an area on the map, "We'll be going here," Kagome said with a grin, Sango standing with much the same expression.
Miroku looked at the spot, and smiled. His pockets were already looking to be drained dry.
Kagome and Sango slipped off to the beach sometime after they had gotten a proper meal and some rest from the heat of the sun. Shippou and Miroku went to look around the village, while Inuyasha remained at the lodge they were at to take a nap, Kirara alongside him.
Kagome and Sango were, currently, sitting out on a couple of towels after wrestling with each other in the lake. Villagers had randomly gone out to watch but not a single one went into the water to try and get cool. The girls supposed they were just curious as to why there were two females bathing in the water, but no one ever said a word.
"So, Kagome," Sango said as she placed a wet towel on her head. Kagome had brought two extra mini towels with them, and Sango had decided to dip it into the lake and keep her head cool. "How are you and you-know-who?"
"You're talking about Sesshomaru, aren't you?" Kagome said, giving her friend a look that said ' I know what you're thinking!'. "I told you, Sango," Kagome gave her an exasperated look, "we're just friends."
"Yeah, but does he know that?" Sango said.
Kagome didn't give her an answer. Did Sesshomaru think of the two of them as friends? It wasn't ever explicitly stated as such but...
"Out of curiosity," Sango said, digging sand out of her nails, "have the two of you ever done anything intimate?"
"Sango!" Kagome scolded, her face blossoming into a beautiful cherry, "That's completely inappropriate, and totally irrelevant." Kagome said, before looking away, "He does have a nice butt, though..." She murmured.
"You've seen him naked?" Sango asked, looking over at her friend. "I was just joking, but holy-!"
"It's not what you think, we were bathing and-"
"He's seen you naked?" Sango asked, her eyes growing as wide as dinner plates.
Red blossomed across Kagome's face, fading out around her collar bone. "Sango... it's not what you think!" She said, throwing her hands up in the air at her defense.
"Mmmhmm," Sango said, "did you get to see-"
"NO!" Kagome exclaimed, covering her ears. Sango laughed and flopped back onto the towel, placing her wet towel on her chest. After a little while (once Kagome had officially calmed herself down) Kagome finally spoke up. "He has muscles in his thighs... his thighs Sango. For a guy missing an arm, he's rocking everything." Kagome shuttered as Sango's face lit up in her own shades of pink.
"What about you and Miroku?" Kagome asked.
"What are you talking about?" Sango said, rolling over onto her stomach, "There's nothing going on between us. There never is..."
"Oh, come on, it's clear that he's in love with you, despite being a monk," Kagome said.
"I know that he's a monk, and it's hard for him to have an emotional attachment to anyone. Especially with Naraku on the loose, but... I just wish he'd spend more time with me instead of chasing after women, you know?" Sango laid her chin on her crossed arms and closed her eyes. "Sometimes, while you and Inuyasha argue, Miroku and I would have a conversation of our own, but it's becoming more and more apparent that the closer we get to Naraku, the less attached he seems to be."
"I imagine it's a big deal for him," Kagome responded, "I mean, think about it. His father is dead because of Naraku. Let's not forget that being a monk is tedious as well. I don't know all of the details, but Miroku explained to me once that in order to maintain his holy power, he's got to remain untainted. Which, to me at the time, meant that he couldn't just go and do what he wanted, he needed to stay pure. But now that I'm thinking about it...
"What he really meant was that he couldn't commit any of the ten sins," Kagome said. "And seven of them are presumed to be deadly." Kagome shook her head.
"You know, my mother use to tell me that the quickest way to a man's heart, is through their stomach, but in order to do that, you have to first get noticed." Kagome reached out and touched her friend's shoulder, "Once he notices you, and he get's it into his mindset that you're interested - then maybe his lecherousness will actually go away."
"But look at me, Kagome," Sango said, pushing herself up to her knees, "I'm a demon slayer. I hunt demons for a living - I don't even own a single beautiful kimono!" She sighed as her shoulders drooped. "I don't even wear makeup...and I'm covered in scars!"
"Sango," Kagome said, "you're beautiful just as you are! And if Miroku can't see that, than there's obviously something wrong with him. I mean look!" Kagome reached into her small mini bag that she carried around everywhere with her. It was just a small bag of essentials - you never knew when you would need that one important utensil! "Your eyes practically tell your soul, your eyebrows are thin and your hair frames your face at an angle. When you let your hair down, you remind me of a celestial goddess because of how long your hair is!" Sango reached for the little pocket mirror that Kagome held out to her. "To be honest, I'm a little jealous that you have such long and beautiful hair. Sango, you have killer toned legs that people would die for. Let's not forget that no man, or woman for that matter, will ever come close to besting you in anything you do."
"You really think so?" Sango asked, a bit quiet before shaking her head. "But you said I need to get him to notice me. What do I even do for that?"
"Hmm," Kagome said as she thought about it, "take yourself out of your comfort zone!" She replied. "How about we do something special at the end of summer? Or early fall? That way it's not so hot."
"Sounds like a plan," Sango said with a smile. "Hey, I'm going to go ahead and head back, you coming? Or are you going to wait for a certain someone to show up?"
"Actually, I think I'm going to walk along the shoreline," Kagome replied with a wave of her hand. "Don't worry about my towel, I'll carry it back up with me."
"Alright, be careful, and scream really loudly if something happens," Sango said with a laugh.
"Can do!" Kagome said with a nod of her head as the two stood up. Kagome watched Sango disappear into the distance before she reached down and picked up her own towel to wrap around her waist.
She walked a short distance before she heard the voice of someone she missed over the last few weeks. "You are quite a ways from the safety of the village," his monotonous voice reprimanded, "and you are hardly clothed for appropriate audiences."
Kagome turned around and smiled, "Well, from where I'm from, this is how we dress when we want to cool off during the hotter seasons."
"Hn," Sesshomaru hummed, but didn't say anything on the matter.
"By the way, Sango knows about us," Kagome said, "you know, about how we became friends. At first she was skeptical and a little nervous about us being civil with each other, but I think she's learned to accept it." Kagome laughed. To be honest, she said these words because she was curious on whether or not Sango's implications would ring true. If Sesshomaru didn't see them as friends... he'd correct her, right?
"Anyway," she said, not really getting a response from him, "I didn't think Sango had anything to worry about. And considering how long we've been friends, I think it's safe to assume you're not going to hurt me any time soon.
"I think what I'm most worried about is Inuyasha," Kagome said, "Sango mentioned him earlier today, but only for a brief moment. My mind sort of trailed off when she was talking, but I listened.
"Anyway, I can't really imagine how I'm going to break the news to him," Kagome said, "He's not going to be very happy when he finds out that we're friends."
Sesshomaru made something that sounded an awful lot like a scoff, but it was so low, it was hard for her to hear it. "Inuyasha is of no consequence to me."
"That's another thing - why are you and Inuyasha at each other's throats all the time? I mean, it's obvious that you're not trying to kill him. And I'm sure Inuyasha isn't that stupid as to believe that you are either."
Sesshomaru really didn't give her a response. And for a long while they walked in silence before Kagome said, "I better be getting back. The sun is already beginning to set, and if I'm late again, Inuyasha's going to blow a hole."
Sesshomaru gave her a look and she apologized, "Sorry, it's just an expression that people of my time use."
Sesshomaru scooped her up with his only arm, his arm resting comfortably under her thighs and her back end situated in the crook of his arm. She never knew she was so tiny compared to him. And the second she was lifted to full height, she wrapped her arms around his neck, just before he took off at a high speed. They were some distance from the village, but with Sesshomaru's speed, they reached the front of the lodge in no time at all. Literally.
She liked to imagine that teleportation devices in the future would be something like what Sesshomaru could do.
"I do not have any desires of killing my half brother," Sesshomaru finally replied. "He is a product from our father and his human, we are related by blood, and because of such, there are going to be enemies who seek his life. It was because of our father's traitorous actions that Inuyasha came to be. Our father and his human paid the ultimate price, but Inuyasha was a product from treasonous events that he could not be held responsible for." Sesshomaru had stopped a little ways away from the door so that he could walk her up to the front steps as well as explain a few things to her.
"Inuyasha has managed to escape his fate from the hands my own mother," Sesshomaru replied, "allowing him to strive and grow stronger on his own. When my mother is gone from this world - Inuyasha and I will take soul possession of the palace. Changes will take place - I can guarantee it."
"I'm taking a guess here, but you seem to despise your mother," Kagome said, furrowing her brows.
"On the contrary," Sesshomaru replied, "she has raised This Sesshomaru to be who he is today. Because of that, This Sesshomaru owes her his life. Should the queen die of an accident, the palace belongs to the first born child. Should the child, a family member and rightful owner to the throne, take the life of any other family member or heir to the throne, all possessions of birthright are forfeited and given to the council to decide who will rule next."
"But that doesn't explain what I just said - Do you despise your mother?" Kagome asked, looking him in the eye. "You don't have to answer me if you don't want to, but it may be something you need to sort out yourself."
Kagome looked up at her friend who stared off into the rapidly departing sun before making her way up the front steps of the lodge. "I do," he replied. She turned around to respond, but he was already gone from sight.
When she walked in, there was a bustle of movement. The only one who didn't seem as concerned as the rest was Sango. The two shared a look as they laid down for the night. And as Kagome rolled over to her side, there was a crunch in her pocket.
She reached in and dug out the crushed dried leaves of a rosemary bush. And with a smile, she fell into a nice deep sleep.
Alterations Made:
Completely New Chapter.
Chapter Moved and Replaced.
Grammatically Corrected.