InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Bishies Without Shirts ❯ Moments in a Dark Room ( Chapter 10 )

Chapter 10: Moments In a Dark Room

"Hey Mom!" Sota called, running down the hallway. From the soothing darkness of her bedroom, Kagome saw him run past her doorway, casting crazy shadows on her bedroom wall as he continued down the stairs. In all the time that had passed since Inuyasha had fallen asleep, she hadn't moved from the side of the bed where he lay. She had heard her Jii-chan and Sota come home a few hours ago, and she had listened longingly to the sounds of laughter and happy conversation that floated up from the dining room as her family sat down to dinner together. She had heard Sota bringing Sesshoumaru up to his room when dinner was over, yakking about Pokemon the entire way. She had been hoping that Sesshoumaru would stop in to check on his brother before retiring, but he hadn't. She supposed that it was possible that she had imagined the concern that she had seen in the youkai's eyes earlier that day, a result of wishful thinking on her part. Oh well. She had enough to worry about right now without dwelling on the unfortunate relationship between the boy she loved and his onee-san. She sighed as she picked up the washcloth that her mother had been using earlier to cool Inuyasha's forehead and began to sponge the dried calamine lotion off of his body. As she wiped the damp cloth over his forearms and shoulders, working her way to his chest and stomach, she sang softly to herself.

"Deatta ano kora wa, (Back then when we met,)

subete ga bukiyou de (it was all awkward)

toomawari shita yo ne, (we went the long way, didn't we?

kizutsuke atta yo ne…" (we got hurt, didn't we?)

All around her, Kagome could hear the sounds of her family settling down for the night. She heard her mother telling Sota to sleep in Jii-chan's room, and she heard Sota complaining that Jii-chan snored like a bear, which the old man denied fervently before smacking Sota lightly upside the head and telling him to respect his elders. She heard her mother wishing them both sweet dreams, then walking down the hall to Sota's room, where she wished 'Sessho-kun' a pleasant evening as well. She listened as her mother's light footsteps continued down the hall, stopping right outside the doorway to her room. Her mother stepped quietly into the room, the light from the hallway spilling in behind her, casting her in shadows, but Kagome could see that she carried the spare futon and a pillow in her arms.

"Goodnight, Kagome." her mother whispered as she handed her the bedding. "If you need anything during the night, I'm right down the hall."

"Arigatou, Mama. Goodnight." Kagome kissed her mother on the cheek, and went about the task of setting up her own little bed on the floor. When she was finished, she decided to change into something more comfortable, to settle down for the night. She went through her drawers and found a short, lavender nightgown. She was about to change into it when she noticed something red lying on the floor near the bed. It was the stupid 'Hamtaro' T-shirt that her mother had brought home for Inuyasha. Feeling only a little silly, she brought the shirt up to her nose and breathed in deeply. There was no mistaking it; it smelled strongly of Inuyasha's scent.

'Well…' she thought to herself, smiling at her own foolishness, 'As long as he's not using it…' Making sure that he was still asleep, Kagome quickly undressed, then pulled the T-shirt over her head. Maybe it did look a little ridiculous, but it was soft and comfortable, and his scent was all over it.

'I'm sure I'll have good dreams tonight.' she thought, then giggled when she realized that that could be taken more than one way. However, as much as she liked dreaming about Inuyasha, she was nowhere near ready to sleep, so she resumed her place at his side, this time sitting on the edge of the bed and staring down at him. She grabbed up the washcloth again and carefully started to wipe his face clean.

"…Itsuka eien no (…Until the day I reach eternal sleep,)

nemuri ni tsuku hi made (That smiling face will)

douka sono egao ga taema naku aru you…" (have to stay with me without fail…)

Perhaps it was the sound of her voice, or the coolness of the washcloth against his skin, but either way, Inuyasha began to pull himself from out of his fever-induced coma. As she wiped around the bridge of his nose, his eyelashes began to flutter. Kagome gasped as his arm shot up, catching her wrist in mid-swipe. His eyes popped open, staring strait into hers.

"Hello." she said softly, smiling down at him. "Welcome back." It took him a moment to find his voice, but when he finally did, he asked,

"Where is everybody?"

"They've all gone to bed." she whispered, placing a finger to her lips.

"Sesshoumaru?" he asked, lowering his voice to a whisper.

"He's sleeping in Sota's room."

"Stupid Pikachu sheets…" Inuyasha mumbled, smiling to himself. "Sota's not in there with him?" he asked, suddenly concerned.

"No, he's bunking with Jii-chan." Kagome laughed.

"Poor kid…Higurashi-jiji snores like a beast. I think I can hear him from here." Inuyasha said, smirking. Then suddenly his mood changed, and he flashed Kagome a very serious look.

"Your mother left you in here alone?" he asked. "With me?"

"Why not?" she said, flippantly. "It's not the first time you've spent the night. Besides," she teased, "you're hardly in any condition to give her something to worry about."

"Hey, I'm a lot stronger than you think." he said, struggling into a sitting position.

"Oh no you don't!" Kagome said firmly, pushing him back down onto the bed. "You need to rest or you'll get sick again."

"Again?" he asked, confused.

"Are you serious?" Kagome said, giving him a funny look. "You gave us all quite a scare! You don't remember?"

"No, I don't remember." he said, furrowing his brow.

"You were violently ill…" Kagome said incredulously. "you kept throwing up?"

"Nope." he said, shaking his head.

"You were…calling for your mother. You thought Sesshoumaru was your oyaji…you…you…cried." she said, her voice thick with emotion.

"Feh!" Inuyasha snorted disdainfully. "You're making this up."

"No, I'm not!" she said, her eyes filling with unbidden tears. "I was really scared! You weren't yourself, you were delirious!"

"If you say so." he muttered.

"You don't remember anything?" Kagome cried. Her words seemed to prod at something hidden within him. For a brief moment, his cheeks flushed and he refused to look her in the eye.

"Inuyasha?" she said, questioning him with her eyes.

"I remember dreaming…" he finally said, vaguely. "You said something to me…"

"What did I say?" she asked, moving closer to him. For a moment, he seemed on the verge of confessing, but then he quickly turned his head away from her.

"It was only a dream." he said quietly.

"Dreams can be strange." Kagome admitted, her heart pounding in her ears, "but let me see if I can guess anyway. In your dream, did I say…did I say 'I love you, Inuyasha'?" She stared at him, holding her breath, afraid that if she were to move or make another sound, the whole world would fall to pieces. At first, she was met with silence, but then he brought his gaze up to meet hers.

"How did you know that?" he whispered.

"Because," she said, taking his face in her hands "I said that to you while you were sleeping."

"…K-Kagome…" Inuyasha breathed, drowning in her blue-gray eyes.

"What is it, Inuyasha?" she whispered back, her face inching ever closer towards his.

"Why are you wearing my shirt?"

In another dark room, down the hall, Sesshoumaru, Lord of the Western Lands, lay curled up in a bed much to tiny for his imposing figure, snuggled beneath several layers of Pokemon blankets. He hadn't been able to sleep much, as may serious thoughts plagued his troubled mind, keeping him from slumber. Not the least of which, though he would be hard pressed to admit it, was the condition of the whelp. It disturbed him, slightly, that Inuyasha had succumbed so thoroughly to such a mild illness, to the point of delirium and hysteria. It was that cursed mix of blood that ran through his half-brother's veins that was to blame. What had Chichi-ue been thinking when he paired with that human wench…

*thump!*

Sesshoumaru's thoughts were interrupted by the sound of soft knocking on the far bedroom wall. If he wasn't mistaken, that wall was shared with the girl's room… He trained his ears in the direction of the wench's bedroom, listening intently. There was another thump, this one a little louder. He remained still, straining to hear what was going on in the other room. Soon he was rewarded with the low sound of Inuyasha moaning in pain. It occurred to him that his brother was probably thrashing about again, hallucinating. That weak human girl would need help restraining him, or he was liable to hurt himself…or her… Not wishing to wake the rest of the household, Sesshoumaru rose from the bed and stealthily left the little boy's room, creeping down the hall as silently as death itself. As he approached the doorway to wench's bedroom, the noises grew louder. Seeing as how there was no door to knock on, he slipped into the room unannounced. His hand fumbled on the wall next to him for a few minutes, until he found a switch similar to the one that he had seen Sota use to turn on the lights in his bedroom. He flipped it up, and the room was instantly bathed in bright, unnatural light. He looked over at the bed in time to see Inuyasha turning to look at him over his left shoulder, an angry glare on his face. Sesshoumaru stared at his brother, confused, until a second later when, from behind Inuyasha's bare shoulder popped the flushed, startled face of the Higurashi girl.