InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ One Step Forward, Two Steps Back ❯ Step 11: You mean he didn't do it? ( Chapter 11 )

A/N: Happy birthday to my sister! How old is she, you ask? Well, she's...OLD!

 

Heh...such are the joys of being the baby of the family. No matter how old you get, they can never, ever say that about you!

 

Anyway, now that 'Trouble' is finished, I am going to work some more on this story again! So yes, it is time for the craziness and Inuyasha torture to continue! I have far too much fun with this story, and being able to work on it again without feeling guilty for neglecting my other story will be nice. Though I might break and start posting a new story soon, lol...but don't worry, this one will always get its fair share of attention!

 

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Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters that I am using in this story. I also don't own the setting. So what DO I own? Just these lovely words that I type, straight from my heart...man, I have a sadistic heart...

 

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One Step Forward, Two Steps Back

Chapter Eleven

 

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'Okay, where is that idiot?!?!'

 

A still fully enraged Kagome darted her head from side to side in an attempt to detect the location of her prey. It had been several minutes since she'd said 'the word,' but judging from the resounding impact he'd made, the accused clothing thief would most likely still be laying in the same spot that he'd fallen. No one, whether they be human, hanyou, or youkai, would be able to recover from a fall like that in just a short amount of time.

 

Luckily for him, she had thus far resisted the urge to say it again, though she was sorely tempted.

 

"Ugggh...Dammit..." A pained moan followed by a curse drifted from within the forest, unknowingly giving away his position and spurring Kagome to head in the direction it was coming from. He was close, and she wasn't about to give him enough time to recover and escape if she could help it.

 

A few moments later a tree came into view that was sporting a large, raw area quite a ways up its trunk. It was obvious that a sizable branch must have been forcefully ripped off very recently, and she was pretty sure about how it had happened. With that knowledge came an unexpected twinge of guilt, but she forcefully pushed it away and concentrated on her anger.

 

He was the idiot that had stolen her clothes! He didn't deserve her pity!

 

Looking down to the base of the tree when it came fully into view, her thoughts were proven correct as she noticed a pile of what looked to be the remains of the broken tree branch...and Inuyasha, laying flat on his face and groaning into the dirt.

 

Again, guilt struck, but this time so strongly that it made her pause in her effort to reach him. 'Wow, that must have really hurt him.' She thought, wincing in sympathy as she stared at his prone figure. For a moment she felt the urge to apologize, but forced herself to ignore it and continue on her course of action.

 

"Inuuyashaaa..." Her voice warned him of her approach, and he cringed as he noticed that it was quite a bit deeper than normal. That was always a sign that she was dangerously angry, and he wished with all his might that he could move well enough to run away.

 

But sadly for him, that wasn't going to happen any time soon.

 

Her footsteps were right beside his head by this point, and a moment later she had knelt down next to him.

 

"Inuyasha, WHERE are the rest of my clothes?"

 

He voice had gone from deep and angry to almost TOO sweet. If possible, that voice scared him more than the first one had!

 

His mind frantically raced around, attempting to come up with anything that might save him from his predicament. Hadn't she noticed her clothes yet? He'd had them in his hands right before he'd fallen out of the tree, so surely she could find them without having to ask-

 

Wait! Maybe she couldn't see them!

 

Wanting to test his theory, he shifted his sore body just enough to realize that the very uncomfortable lump underneath his stomach was, indeed, the rest of Kagome's clothing. He had been holding them so tightly that he hadn't lost his grip on them during the fall. Could this possibly work to his advantage? He decided to try his luck and find out.

 

Turning his face towards the kneeling girl next to him, he gave her one of his best glares. "Keh! I don't know what you're talking about, you stupid girl!"

 

Her eyes widened at his words, before narrowing into menacing slits. "Don't lie to me, Inuyasha." She reached down and grabbed his forelocks before bending until they were nearly nose to nose. His glare noticeably wavered at the intimidating gesture. "I am only going to ask you this one more time. WHERE...ARE...MY...CLOTHES?"

 

Realizing that it might be a good idea to give up before she tried to detach his hair from his head, he reluctantly shuffled to the side far enough that she could see the spot where he'd been laying.

 

Kagome gasped and released him.

 

"My...my...CLOTHES! They're ruined!" She picked up the sad-looking scraps of cloth and held them at eye level. "What am I going to do? Mama's going to KILL me!" She wailed.

 

Inuyasha, meanwhile, wasn't paying a bit of attention to the clothes she was holding or her words. He was completely focused on something else entirely now that she wasn't forcing him to look her in the face.

 

And he'd thought his view at the river had been good!

 

A few moments later Sango and Miroku happened upon that very scene. Kagome was mourning the loss of the rest of her clothes, and Inuyasha was still lying on the ground and staring at the rip in the shirt Kagome was wearing...or rather, what the rip revealed. Obviously the young school girl had forgotten about it again in the midst of her distress.

 

"Kagome-chan!" Sango hurried over to the younger girl and closed the gap with her own hands in an attempt to save what was left of her friend's modesty.

 

The arrival of the slayer and monk snapped both Kagome and Inuyasha out of their dazes and made them realize exactly what was going on. He blushed and turned his head away, hoping Kagome hadn't noticed what he'd been doing, and Kagome blushed about twenty shades of red as she realized what Sango was doing for her. How in the world had she forgotten about it AGAIN?

 

Miroku just stood to the side, inwardly smirking at the fantastic scene.

 

"Sango-chan..." Kagome sounded as if she were about to cry, and the older girl hugged her while still managing to keep the shirt closed. "What am I going to do? My clothes! And...and...my...almost everyone's seen my..." She couldn't even say it, it was so horrible.

 

"Shhh. It's okay, Kagome-chan." Sango turned around to glare at both Miroku and Inuyasha. They were both going to DIE later; she'd make sure of it. "I promise that it isn't as bad as it seems."

 

"Yes it is!" Kagome cried. "And it's all HIS fault!" As if someone had flipped a switch, she stopped crying and made an attempt to lunge at Inuyasha like an angry cat wanting to claw his eyes out.

 

Despite the pain in his body, Inuyasha managed to skitter out of her reach as Sango thankfully kept the angry girl away from him.

 

"Kagome-chan, STOP!" Sango commanded as they struggled. "If you don't stop, they'll see again!"

 

"I don't care! I'm going to make him pay for this-!"

 

Miroku sighed, seeing that there really was no help for it. He needed to intervene before Kagome managed to do in both Sango and Inuyasha.

 

"Kagome-sama, Inuyasha did not steal your clothes."

 

The struggling between the two girls stopped like magic as Kagome turned to eye Miroku suspiciously. "What did you say?" Surely she hadn't heard him correctly...had she?

 

Miroku stepped closer and nodded to the pile of dirty rags that had once been Kagome's clothes. "Please, Kagome-sama. Do you think Inuyasha would ever find the nerve to do such a thing?"

 

She stared at him flatly, clearly not impressed with his reasoning after all the crazy things Inuyasha had been doing recently. "And who ELSE would have done it, Miroku-sama? You? Or perhaps Shippo-chan?" Sango laughed nervously when Kagome turned to glare at her, obviously remembering the excuse she had been giving while they were still at the river.

 

"Of course not, Kagome-sama." Shaking his head, Miroku spoke as if Kagome were a dense child. "Haven't you considered the possibility that it was not Inuyasha spying on you in the bath, but another youkai? And that it might have been he that took your clothing?"

 

Inuyasha blinked. Another youkai? Did he really expect Kagome to fall for such a stupid excuse? As if he'd EVER let another youkai get that close to Kagome while she was bathing! He'd have gutted it long before it would have been able to get anywhere near her! She knew that!

 

"Oh...well...no, I hadn't actually thought of that." Kagome bit her lip, looking suddenly doubtful.

 

Her response nearly made Inuyasha fall over. How dare she doubt him for even a second? He made a move to protest her lack of faith in him, but was quelled by glares from both Sango and Miroku.

 

"But, if it was another youkai..." Kagome seemed to slowly be forming an argument in her head the longer she thought about Miroku's words. "Then why does Inuyasha have my clothes? And how did another youkai manage to get there without any of you noticing?"

 

Miroku wasn't worried in the least as he answered her questions, knowing that he excelled at concocting falsehoods. "This youkai was an unusual one that we have not yet encountered on our journey. His aura was not very powerful, and he was obviously as expert at hiding himself from the senses of other youkai as well as those with spiritual powers. He did not seem very dangerous, so perhaps he only uses those skills to spy on unsuspecting young ladies? Whatever the case, Inuyasha was the one that managed to sense him first as he passed by the camp with your stolen clothing, so he went after him to get them back for you." He stared at Sango pointedly as he finished his short tale.

 

The area was silent for several moments, until Sango finally understood the look Miroku was sending her. "T-that's right! I saw the whole thing! When you came into camp right after it happened, you were so angry that we didn't get a chance to tell you about it!"

 

Looking from one person to the other, Kagome seemed to be contemplating if she should believe them or not. On one hand, she had a hard time believing that Inuyasha would have let a threat to her go undetected like that (Inuyasha would have felt much better, had she only spoken this thought aloud), but on the other hand, she also had a difficult time believing that Inuyasha really would have had the guts to actually do it himself.

 

"Well, I guess it being another youkai would be more likely than Inuyasha suddenly deciding to become a peeping tom..." She muttered, still looking a little torn. And perhaps she also seemed a bit...disappointed?

 

Miroku smiled widely. "Now then, shall we all head back to camp since everything has been cleared up? I'm very worn out after all this excitement and I would like to get some rest before we resume our journey tomorrow."

 

The group nodded while looking unusually subdued. Sango was watching Kagome worriedly, and Kagome seemed preoccupied as she went to apologize to Inuyasha and help him back to camp. He reluctantly accepted the offered assistance and in return gave her his haori to wear over her torn shirt.

 

A few minutes later they were walking silently side by side, his arm wrapped around her shoulders and her arm around his waist, when she finally spoke. "I'm really sorry for getting so angry without finding out what actually happened first. And I'm also sorry for hurting you like that."

 

She sounded ready to cry again, and he cringed guiltily. He'd been so sure that he would feel better since she wasn't out to kill him anymore, but instead he just felt worse! "Keh. Don't worry about it." He didn't want her to sound so miserable anymore, and he REALLY didn't want her apologizing to him for accusing him of something he really had done!

 

"But I SHOULD be worried about it!" She protested, looking miserable. "I feel so terrible for doing that to you! I'm so sorry, Inuyasha..."

 

If he had felt badly before, then the words she had just spoken made him feel like the scum of the earth.

 

"Oi, I said don't worry about it." He glanced at her from under his bangs as they walked. Yep. She was about to start crying any second. "I'll be fine! You barely even hurt me, okay? I'm just letting you help me so you'll stop feeling so bad about it!"

 

She sniffled. "But-"

 

"But nothing!" Jerking to a stop, Inuyasha turned to face her while still keeping his arm around her shoulders. Just the threat of her tears was enough to break any resolve he might have had to keep quiet. "Dammit, you didn't do anything wrong so just stop sniveling already! I deserved it!"

 

"Huh?" Now Kagome was completely confused, and the look on her face told Inuyasha that he'd probably made a big mistake. By trying to console her instead of sulking or getting angry as he normally would have for an undeserved sit, he was making her more than a little suspicious again. But maybe that was for the best, he decided, because he was already sick of feeling so guilty about it. At least now she would find out, kill him, and get it over with already. "Inuyasha, what do you mean by that?"

 

He steeled his resolve. "Kagome, I-"

 

As if he'd been waiting for just the right moment, Miroku suddenly appeared beside the pair, smiling cheerfully. "Kagome-sama! Sango-sama would like to speak with you for a moment about something very important. If you will be so kind and join her, I will be more than happy to help Inuyasha back to camp in your place." While he spoke, he managed to subtly remove the couple's holds on one another and push a still confused Kagome in Sango's direction. He was so efficient that she didn't stand a chance of protesting.

 

Inuyasha eyed the monk angrily behind the retreating girl's back. Miroku and Sango had been walking ahead of the them just a few moments before, but obviously he'd picked up on their conversation and had come back to do damage control. "Bastard." He muttered under his breath when Kagome was far enough away.

 

"Inuyasha, do you WANT to die by Kagome-sama's hands? Instead of being angry, you should appreciate the fact that you have someone much more level-headed than yourself to stop you from making such terrible mistakes." Miroku sounded like an overly patient adult speaking to a child. When the hanyou didn't respond, the other man sighed and reached out to take hold of Inuyasha's arm. As promised, he would help the stubborn idiot back to camp. "Come, we must not keep the ladies waiting..."

 

Inuyasha jerked his arm back. "Don't touch me, pervert!" He growled an additional warning, and Miroku put up his hands in a placating gesture.

 

"I wouldn't dream of doing anything improper! All I want to do help you back to camp as I promised Kagome-sama and nothing more. You have my word as a man of Buddha."

 

"Keh! I'm fine, and I can make it back to camp WITHOUT your so-called 'help.'"

 

With that, the two men slowly and silently started to follow the path that the two women had taken, Inuyasha walking very carefully despite his body's ability to heal rapidly. It would probably take him a few more hours before it would be in perfect condition again.

 

"Oi..." Inuyasha finally broke the awkward silence, unable to stop himself from asking a question that was on the forefront of his mind. "Why the hell did you help me with that stupid story back there, anyway? I thought you were out to ruin my relationship with Kagome..."

 

Miroku smiled at the hanyou's muttered question. "Why, what relationship is there to ruin?"

 

Inuyasha's glare told him how NOT funny that response was.

 

Resisting the urge to laugh, Miroku figured that he'd best stop the other man from asking anymore questions. Didn't want him getting suspicious, after all.

 

"To be perfectly honest, Inuyasha, I saved you because a dead man wouldn't be worth much to either I or Kagome-sama. It would be a shameful waste." He managed to say it with a perfectly straight face, knowing how Inuyasha would react to such a statement. And sure enough, Inuyasha moved over and gave the other man a much wider berth as they walked, and didn't say another word.

 

And that was exactly how Miroku wanted it.

 

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~*~*~*~*~*~

 

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Later that night, Kagome lay awake in her sleeping bag while the rest of her companions slept peacefully around her. And no matter how hard she tried, she just couldn't seem to join them in their slumber.

 

Turning over with a huff of annoyance, she almost squished poor Shippo and didn't even notice because she was so preoccupied. Her mind just wouldn't let go of the last thing Inuyasha had said before Miroku had successfully intervened. It was bothering so much that she wanted to scream in frustration.

 

'Why the heck did that idiot have to go and say something like that? I want to know what he meant by it so badly, and Miroku's timing makes me even more suspicious. Could he have really been they culprit, but they're all hiding it from me for some reason? But why would Sango help them lie about it? If anything, she would have been the first one to kill him for hanging around the river while either she or I bathed.' That, more than anything, made Kagome doubt her suspicions. Sango wouldn't help them if they were being perverts, idiots, or both, would she?

 

Agh! It was just too much for her poor brain to work through, especially as tired as she was feeling.

 

'Something is going on, I know that. Things have just been too strange lately, and the chance of it all being one big coincidence is very unlikely. I somehow need to get to the bottom of this, but how? I can't just sit everyone down and accuse them of lying to me! Because if they are up to something, Miroku is far too slick to let himself or the other two get cornered like that...' Kagome resisted the urge to start pulling her hair out in frustration. 'Gah! If only Miroku hadn't interfered before Inuyasha was able to explain!'

 

Interfere...

 

'Wait a minute! That's IT!' Kagome suddenly sat up, launching poor Shippo off her sleeping bag and into the dirt beside the sleeping bag. He didn't even stir. 'What would Inuyasha have said if Miroku hadn't had a chance to stop him? He was acting as if he were about to confess something, so perhaps if I can just get him alone...'

 

Kagome smiled into the darkness as she resettled herself and Shippo. Now that she had a plan, it shouldn't be too hard to act on it, right? Get Inuyasha (or if that fails, Sango - either one would work) away from the others and press them for information. Without Miroku around to pull the strings, surely they would eventually crack and tell her what was going on.

 

With her decision firmly in place in her mind, Kagome managed to finally fall asleep, completely unaware of the fact that another member of the group was still awake and watching her.

 

He had a guess as to what must be going through her head, and he was planning accordingly...

 

The next day was sure to be interesting.

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A/N: Wow, it didn't take me long at all to write this chapter! It just seemed to take on a life of its own as I wrote it, so by the end a lot of things ended up happening that even I wasn't expecting! But I like the way it turned out. It should be interesting to see where the story goes from here, because even though I have plans, they obviously don't' always go the way you expect them to. And I have a feeling that this isn't the last time that will happen, LOL! Anyway, I appreciate comments and reviews, so I hope you guys will leave me some!