A/N; This chapter was posted as the prompt for InuKag Week day 6. Still, give it a read and some love.
And there's going to be the next chapter posted today, so stay tuned!
Beta: Cstorm86
The Miko and A Storm
The clouds came from the east, from the direction of the ocean. They were thick, heavy and dark, promising a long, strong storm. The wind picked up suddenly, catching Kagome off-guard when she was hanging her laundry in the back of the house. One glance upwards and the miko was hurriedly collecting her damp clothes and relocating them to a drying rack inside the house.
Meanwhile her grandfather closed and secured the gift shop. They both went about preparing the shrine and the house for the storm, moving as fast as they could, putting everything away and making sure all windows and doors were closed as the wind tugged on their clothes.
Finally they were back inside the house, Kagome preparing flashlights in case there would be no power for a while, her grandfather making tea. A gust of wind hit forcefully against the house and the surrounding forest, the sound of a distant thunder filled the air as it rumbled overhead, echoing off of the mountainside.
That was when Kagome realized something.
"Grandpa?" she asked while closing the drawer containing the flashlights. "Where does Inuyasha stay during a storm? Or during winter?"
"Inuyasha?" the old man shrugged. Kagome thought that maybe he had a home hidden in the forest somewhere, one she hadn't discovered during her visits as a child. "Sometimes, when it's really cold, he uses the shed."
"Don't tell me you mean the shed where you store your work tools and..." Kagome gasped.
"Honey, we have only one shed," the old man reminded her. "Besides, he doesn't like to be around other people or stuck inside for too long and always brags that he doesn't need any 'shelter for weaklings who can't stand the weather'. I tried to convince him to use the attic, but he is as stubborn as a mule, so I just made sure he knew where the spare key to the shed lock was and keep a few blankets there. But during the rainy weather... I mean he can change in his dog form, his fur looks thick enough to keep him warm and dry, especially if he stays in the thicker parts of the forest... And here she went..."
Kagome didn't hear the ending of his comment about Inuyasha's coat. She was already running outside, pulling on a raincoat and putting on her shoes practically without stopping.
She was a miko on a mission.
A recovery mission. A mission to bring to the safety of her house one handsome, gruff dog-eared individual.
As soon as she ran around the corner of the house a strong wind blew drizzle on her face and pushed her breath back into her lungs. Kagome slowed down a bit before she leaped towards the shelter the trees provided.
Sadly the drizzle changed to a real downpour somewhere in the middle of her mad dash for the forest. Kagome gasped when she felt the cold rain running down her neck, but just a second later she was in the forest, shielded from the rain by the canopy of tree limbs - at least for now.
"Inuyasha!" she called, but at the same moment a thunder rolled overhead, much louder now. The shadows of the trees danced when the light flooded the area for a second. "Uh, this was not that far... Inuyasha!"
After the intense light blinked in and out of existence the world seemed even darker than it had before with the low, thick clouds obscuring the sky. Kagome followed the path towards the Sacred Tree, hoping Inuyasha would be there.
As she ran, calling out Inuyasha's name, the forest shook around her with every powerful gust of wind. Thunders were rumbling, but luckily the bolts of electricity were hitting the mountainside higher or not touching the ground at all. Here and there, where tree limbs were less thickly intertwined, rain was reaching the forest floor and Kagome's hair was already damp and sticking to her face and neck. Good thing her raincoat was keeping her warm and dry.
Inuyasha wasn't under the Sacred Tree, but from that place she could sense his youki somewhere deeper in the forest, so she decided to find him and drag him by his tail to the warmth and safety of the house. The forest wasn't a good place to spend a storm, she knew because she wasn't enjoying being there. The wind was whistling in the treetops, breaking weaker or dry branches, shaking the leaves loud enough that Kagome feared the boy wouldn't hear her.
The forest was harder to wander through, since there was no path to follow, just empty spaces between bushes and trees. But Kagome didn't turn back, stubbornly making her way forward, grabbing branches for support and stumbling over the roots, calling out the name of the shrine guardian.
In her imagination she could see the boy in red, his bare feet cold and covered in mud and dry leaves, his white hair hanging in wet ropes and sticking to his blue skin, his cute little ears droopy and miserable.
She was the shrine owner now and she refused to let anyone of her household to stay out in this kind of weather while she could do something about it.
"Inu-!" she called. At the same time she heard a loud crack, much different from the whip snaps of the lightnings, as if whatever was cracking could actually wail in pain. She didn't have time to look up, because something hit her and tackled her to the muddy and rough ground, pushing her breath out of her lungs.
'Dumbass!' Kagome looked up and had the pleasure of seeing Inuyasha's impressive fangs mere centimeters away from her face. The next thing she saw was a pair of blazing golden eyes of an irate youkai. The dog's snout moved back and upwards, granting the girl the view of the rest of the world.
The huge canine stood on wide spread legs, shaking off bits of bark and pieces of wood which had been a dry branch that had almost hit her. Kagome carefully moved to sit up and reached a hand to touch the fluffed out ruff on Inuyasha's chest, prompting him to look down at her again, his ears twitching in annoyance.
"I was looking for you," she said.
'Why? There is no youkai or any other trouble,' the dog guardian grumbled. 'You should stay at home during a storm, not wander aimlessly through the forest.'
"But... But I wanted to bring you home. It's not fair for you to stay here when you could be dry and have some tea and snacks with me and grandpa. We could play Go," Kagome said, throwing in the promise of the game. From what she knew from her grandfather Inuyasha liked to play, even if the guardian was too proud to admit he enjoyed it himself.
The dog looked at her with his head tilted in a classic 'puzzled puppy' expression. A thunder rumbled somewhere in the distance and Kagome saw that his ears pressed against his skull, his body shook visibly as if he felt cold.
'Go home,' he barked at her. Kagome gripped his fur tighter.
"Go with me."
'Keh! I don't need to hide from some wind and rain! You, on the other hand, should go back and change clothes,' the dog lifted his nose in the air in defiance. This time she felt him shake when the next thunder boomed overhead.
'I bet he would growl at me if I pointed out he's trembling,' she thought. He was part dog youkai, Kagome guessed that his hearing was as good as any dog's. That meant that the sound of a thunder was more unpleasant to him than it was to her.
"But... Do you have a safe place to stay?" she asked. There was no use to argue with him, she had to come up with a plan to lure him home. But she doubted she could just simply fake a twisted ankle. He had trust issues, it was better not to give him any reason to doubt her word.
'Keh! Stop pestering me and go home!'
"Alright, but you have to carry me. The ground is slippery and I barely can see anything, I'd trip and hurt myself," Kagome said sourly as she looked around the darkened forest. The dog guardian sighed and lowered himself until his belly almost touched the forest floor.
Kagome tried not to look too smug when she climbed on top of the canine. His fur was wet, but only on top, it was also thick and so soft... Without thinking she wrapped her arms around his neck and pushed her cheek in the divine softness.
'Don't get too comfy,' Inuyasha grumbled and dashed between the trees swiftly approaching the edge of the forest. His steps were smooth and the feeling of the cool wind made her push her face in his fur more. In a few more leaps he was in front of the home. He barked to get her attention, but Kagome just held on tighter, her legs wrapped around his body as well. 'Oi! Let go!'
"Come to wait the storm out inside?" Kagome replied, her voice like steel. She had him just in front of the house, she wasn't going to let him prance back in that dark, wet forest. The dog shook himself, but she held on tight.
He growled in annoyance. 'I told you I don't need...'
A lightningbolt struck nearby.
Kagome smiled at her grandfather standing in the kitchen door when Inuyasha, now in his humanoid form,slid the door behind them. The old man returned the smile and went to fetch them dry towels and one damped in warm water for Inuyasha's feet.
It was just when she watched him wipe his feet off that Kagome realized that she had rode on this boy's back after basically tricking him to carry her home.