InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Bittersweet Rhapsody ❯ Gloom ( Chapter 9 )

The night was dark, but Kagome weaved her way through the tangled undergrowth impeccably, almost as if she had navigated her path many times before. Through vines, through leaves, through the dew-filled grass she snuck, taking especial care to not make a sound. She had no idea where her destination might be, but what she did definitely know was that it would be revealed to her when she arrived.

Past another deeply-rooted tree, branches sighing mournfully in the wind, through another prickly bush, whose thorns scratched her skin unmercifully, through yet another clearing, quiet and peaceful under the watchful eye of the growing moon. Step-by-step...step-by-step she drew closer, the anticipation growing within her like a swelling crescendo...

Without warning the trees abruptly ended and suddenly she found herself out in the open, out again by the stream. It peacefully flowed through the tree-studded mountains, enveloped by the velvety black night sky, dotted by stars that glinted like tiny little diamonds. The sky, however beautiful it was, though, was not what was predominant on Kagome's mind...

There he was, completely naked, standing near a rock in the middle of the stream. The water completely covered his body from the waist up, but Kagome was provided no less tantalizing a view than had it not... His hair, slick and wet and sticking to his back, shone an unusually metallic silver as it glimmered under the waxing moon... And his slender form, which was clearly perceptible as he stretched his arms toward the night sky; though he was half-covered in darkness, it was still enough to send tremors down Kagome's spine...

She was too slow to react when suddenly he inclined his head in her direction and looked straight at her. She almost ran right then and there, but before the thought even registered within her mind Inuyasha smirked and dictated to her calmly, "Come in and join me, Kagome..."

Another violent tremor made its way down Kagome's spine. Looking at the half-demon in absolute disbelief, she somehow managed to stutter, "M-me? You want me?"

"Did I say anyone else?" The cool question floated back towards her weightlessly.

With great trepidation, Kagome slowly climbed her way down the bank and into the translucent, cool water, wading her way at a snail's pace towards the object of her affection. He said nothing, just continued to smirk as he towered over her more and more with each step...

"Not hasty, are you?" he murmured into her ear as he pressed her up against him, his arms locking around her securely. "Think we'll have to change that, won't we?" he added huskily as his lips softly nudged the spot below her ear.

Kagome wanted to struggle, she wanted to run away, but all willpower that she might have had before trickled away like rain off of eaves. She moaned torturedly as he continued on with kissing her neck, eventually working his way up to her mouth. She didn't even protest when he one-handedly removed her customary nightdress, now completely soaked with a combination of the streamwater and her sweat, throwing it onto the rock nearby.

The feel of his hard, wet body against hers was true euphoria, the feel of his soaked hair, the feeling of his lips as they streaked their way across her collarbone... This was what she had been waiting for, waiting for forever, to finally win his affection, for which she had strived for so long...

He continued on with his ministrations with a heated fervor, his kisses growing more intense and passionate as each second ticked by. Kagome did nothing to protest as he slowly arched her body backwards, pushing her roughly against the nearby rock as he went on to the culmination of the proceedings...

"Just hurry up," Kagome breathed raggedly as he paid special attention to the nape of her neck. "You're keeping me waiting again, Inuyasha, just like you always do..."

This time, however, Inuyasha did NOT keep her waiting. Instead he for once did exactly what she wanted, but---

"INUYASHA!" she shrieked as she snapped back into the waking world, sitting bolt upright in her snug cocoon of blankets. Looking around dazedly as her eyes focused in and out of view, revealing not a sultry, glittering river in twilight but dull green undergrowth and rocky ground bathed in dappled morning sunlight, she groaned as she realized what had happened.

"It was just a dream," she attempted to mutter to herself in consolation. "Just a dream...Honestly, screwing Inuyasha is about the last thing I'd want to do now." Which was what her brain was saying, at any rate. Her heart, on the other hand, was beating rapidly and her skin was flushed and sweaty. (Dammit,) she thought desperately, (HOW does he continue to affect me like that?)

She went on to stare at her surroundings, which, luckily, were abandoned. The fire was now nothing but a pile of cindery ashes and all of the bedrolls nearby were upset but unoccupied. Kagome wondered momentarily where everyone could have gone off to, but she decided not to look a gift horse in the mouth, as screaming Inuyasha's name probably wasn't exactly the best thing to be doing in front of other people, and especially if it was in front of Inuyasha himself.

No sooner had she thought this than she suddenly heard a great trampling in the undergrowth nearby. She barely had time to react before Inuyasha popped out of the bushes, looking harried and also, not surprisingly, as if he currently had a large twig rammed up his ass. "What?!" he growled at her impatiently, looking around the clearing as if he had expected demons of death or some other monstrosity.

"What do you mean, what?!" Kagome retorted in a strained voice, painfully aware that color was violently rising within her cheeks. She had, after all, been dreaming just minutes ago that the extremely disgruntled half-youkai in front of her had been getting ready to have mind-blowing sex with her...

"Well, you were screaming my name like a damn banshee a minute ago!" Inuyasha spat angrily, throwing up his arms in exasperation. "You mean to say that you're not in trouble, that you made me run all the way here for nothing?!"

Kagome, turning an even more violent shade of red, gritted her teeth. "No," she replied coldly, suddenly remembering what he had done to her the previous night. "You're the one in trouble!" She jumped to her feet, glaring daggers at the now confused-looking half-demon. "You ought to apologize for last night, you pervert!"

"Why?!" was the outraged answer. "What makes you think I was looking at you anyway?! You have absolutely nothing worth looking at!"

"Well, if I'm not well-endowed enough for you then you shouldn't be LOOKING!" Kagome screeched, her willpower almost exhausted as she tried her absolute hardest to not stroke his face--er---strike his face, as it was now hovering just inches away from hers.

"Well, YOU shouldn't be going off by yourself!" Inuyasha screeched in an equally loud voice, inwardly praying to every higher deity present that he would NOT get hot and bothered yet again from all the current electricity. It seemed to him that it happened the most when he was arguing with her...but damned if he'd ever admit that he had been watching out for her. That was almost as bad as her seeing him getting aroused from the whole thing in the first place.

"Oh, and what does THAT have to do with anything?! I'll have you know that-" He just stood and stared as her lips appeared to move but make no sound as she continued on with her enraged tirade. He almost shuddered as if automatically his eyes began to move up and down her body... Down along her supple hips, which were clearly visible due to that damned clingy nightdress. He had been seeing WAY too much of that nightdress lately; he just wanted to rip the damned thing into shreds, and for more reasons than one... And those rose-colored little lips, currently moving so vivaciously...it was all he could do to not just lean over and ravage them straightaway so that he could somehow ensure that those lips would never be nothing but his...Wait, what did he care if they weren't anyway?! He didn't want her, and even if that wasn't the case, he was still just lusting only after her body. And, as his inner monologue so eloquently put it, just once would be enough to take care of that... "-do you care about me anyway, because I know you don't! Why does it matter if I go off by myself or with Sango if you don't give a damn in the first place?! Hey, are you listening to me?!" Kagome suddenly put forth angrily, her cheeks growing even more crimson.

"Why should I?! You never say anything worth hearing anyway, you little twit!" Inuyasha, who was trying his best to glare daggers and knives at her face and not at her breasts, indignantly replied. "And besides, it's not YOU who I'm looking out for the safety for, but that of the Sacred Jewel! You're the only one who can find the shards, you worthless little-"

"Oh, worthless, am I?!" Kagome interrupted hotly, her eyes blazing so much that they could have toasted marshmallows. "Well, think about where your little quest would go without me! I don't need to be doing this, and I wouldn't even be here except for the fact that I want to help my friends! Which, of course," she added furiously, "does NOT include you!"

"Good! Who would want to be friends with you anyway, you ugly, whiny bitch!" Inuyasha snarled, now finally turning crimson himself in anger.

Feeling like she had gotten a brutal slap across the face as she desperately tried to hold in the warm, wet tears that were beginning to prick the corners of her eyelids, Kagome managed to dictate to him, "Just get away from me, Inuyasha! You're so arrogant and selfish and rude---and you think I don't know what will happen if we ever purify the Sacred Jewel?! You'll choose to become a full-fledged demon...and probably kill us all!"

"Well, wish I could now!" Inuyasha yelled back over his shoulder as he turned on his heel and started to head for the stream yet again, leaving her alone to sulk or do whatever girls did when they were angry beyond comprehension. He hoped that the sun wasn't very high yet so that the water there would be cold; after all, going around with a monstrous erection wasn't something that he wanted Kagome to see at the moment.

Dammit all, WHY was he doing this?! It seemed that the angrier and more hurt she seemed to get, the more aroused he seemed to get. It was a bit thick of him, however, to have called her ugly like that; on a list of all the things that Kagome WASN'T, 'ugly' would probably be one of the first items. Just the mere thought of her body currently was bringing him into spasms...her hair, her eyes, those shapely legs...Her intelligence and wit were also plusses (although she often used both to get the best of him sometimes), as was her fiery demeanor. In fact, it had been proven several times now that the more fiery it was, the more he wanted her...Why did he continue to want her like this, and especially when she didn't want him?!

"That goddamn water had BETTER be cold," he muttered angrily to himself as he tramped on through the forest.

***

Kagome had slumped back down into the covers and had sat weeping with her head in her hands for awhile, but after some time had passed she decided to harden up and get on with the day. After all, she concluded, she couldn't allow him to be her centering thought for the rest of her life; that would be allowing him to win! Slowly getting up from the tangled mess of coverlets that formed her bed, she slowly stood up (albeit a little shakily) and proceeded to find some of the biscuits and dried fish that Sango had packed into the provisions bag. She was suddenly feeling quite hungry...

As she restarted the fire and began to heat up the fish, however, she couldn't help but allow her mind to wander towards the conversation again... (There it was again,) she thought sadly as she set the pan of fish into the blistering coals. (There was that look of hatred again...he really loathes me, doesn't he? But still, I don't know why-) -at this her face crumpled up and her lower lip began to tremble- (-why he has to still hurt me like this...Why can't he leave me alone? Why - why can't he just go back to Kikyo?) She shook her head in frustration.

There was something, however, that seemed to just smell from the entire situation, Kagome ruminated. Something that had been bothering her ever since she had once again met up with Inuyasha... (Where IS Kikyo anyway?! Shouldn't he be running to her and doting over her and their thirty kids right about now?! Why is he even wasting his time helping us? I don't know, I just don't know... Why couldn't I have fallen in love with someone agreeable, like Hojo? Wait a minute, did I just say I'm in LOVE with him?! How could I be, after what he did to me?) She sighed dejectedly as she added water to the already sizzling fish.

At that moment she almost burnt her hand in shock when Sango suddenly came trampling through the undergrowth and back into camp. "Oh, good morning," Kagome said lightly, brushing aside her thoughts about Inuyasha for the moment. "Where have you been off to?"

"Oh...hello, Kagome," Sango replied, momentarily gagging from some unknown source. "I...I was just - just off in the bushes."

Kagome peered at her friend's face quizzically, which was an interesting greenish pallor. "Oh? You're not feeling too well, are you?"

Sango shook her head. "No...I've been throwing up for the past hour." She paused for a moment to turn away and retch painfully. "I knew I should have questioned Miroku about what he was putting in the stew last night, but I've found that with him it's always better not to ask."

Kagome gave her a sympathetic look. "Yeah, well...I hope it was nothing too poisonous. After all, I never had any, because - because-" She broke for a moment to glower.

"-because of that whole episode with Inuyasha last night, I know," Sango supplied for her. After another bout of gagging, she continued on in a shaky voice, "You know, I really doubt that he was doing it on purpose."

"Then why would he be doing it otherwise?" Kagome replied doubtfully.

"Oh, I don't know---I suppose it's something that I'd expect more out of Miroku, not him. And besides, maybe he was just looking for us. I know that even lately when you're not around he starts to look all over the place-"

Kagome cut her off with a humorless laugh. "Him, look for me?! Why would he do THAT?! Just this morning he basically called me a worthless shard detector!"

"Well, you know Inuyasha better than anyone, Kagome. Usually when something comes out of his mouth he's thinking the opposite, and-"

"Hey, guys!" Both women whirled around to see Shippo hopping out from within the trees, followed by Inuyasha, who, unsurprisingly, still had a scowl on his face. "Look who I found out by the stream!"

"Hey!" Inuyasha cut in indignantly, his face turning red. "I TOLD you not to mention that to anyone, you runny-mouthed little-"

"But it's true, Inuyasha!" Shippo insisted vigorously. "What's the big deal anyway?!"

"I told you to shut UP, you little-"

"My, my, we're all talkative and energetic this morning, aren't we?" another voice rang out from another direction, this time causing everyone to whirl around yet again. Miroku lightly stepped out from behind a spreading oak, for some reason or other looking slightly depressed.

"You oughtta talk," Inuyasha snarled. "And where were you, anyway?"

The monk, who had perfected his manner from countless years of lying, managed to shrug indifferently. "Oh, I was just bathing in the stream..."

Inuyasha stared at him beadily. "Wait a minute, I was at the stream, and I didn't see you anywhere! Just what were you really doing?!"

"Well, Inuyasha," Miroku began cheekily, giving the half-demon a broad wink, "I believe that the question would really be: just what were you doing?"

"Why, you----" The half-demon started towards the now-frightened monk, who, always the first one to go for human shields, managed to duck away behind Sango and Kagome. Inuyasha threw up his hands in frustration, but didn't look away until he had mouthed to Miroku, "You were looking for her clothes, weren't you, you bastard?!" without allowing the others to pick up what he was saying. He then sniffed and, turning his back on the others, sat down by the fire, but whether he was angrier at Miroku or angrier at the monk's implied accusation (especially being that it was true), even he did not know.

Kagome tittered nervously to break the now heavy silence. "Well...ah...so when are we leaving here?" She gestured towards the sky, in which the sun could be seen beginning to rise over the lofty trees.

"No idea," Miroku replied to her confidingly, so that Inuyasha could not hear. "Perhaps we should wait until he cools down."

Sango shook her head in a sordid manner. "Well, we can't afford to wait too long. It's going to take us at least another day to get over that mountain pass, considering we even find a path that's not so rugged!" She winced in revulsion as her stomach gave another turn for the worse.

'Well, YOU try getting Inuyasha to go, Sango-chan," Miroku muttered to her out of the side of his mouth.

Kagome rolled her eyes as she cautiously approached the fire to take the fish off. As she bent down to douse the flame their eyes somehow locked once again. Knitting her brows in confusion, she stared at him as his eyes hardened in utmost loathing at the sight of her. They both continued to glare at each other for almost a minute, neither one refusing to relent in their gaze. (I can't let him intimidate me anymore,) Kagome thought stoutly, not even looking down as she removed the smoking fish from the pan. (I can't let him know---I can't let him know that I- I-)

"Oh, what are YOU looking at?!" Inuyasha finally broke the silence, his lower lip twisting in scorn as an unkept snarl somehow escaped from his throat.

"An idiot," was the bold reply as Kagome swept off towards the others.

***

The searing red-orange sun, disappearing below the horizon in an explosive burst of clouds and colors, allowed darkness to now fall over the lonely peaks in the mountain range. The scenery of the remote region, looking desolate at best in broad daylight, now made everything about borderline terrifying to Kagome. Making sure to keep ahead of Miroku and Sango, who were bringing up the rear, she tried to stay alert of her surroundings despite the failing light. It was really quite silly of her, being seemingly afraid of the dark like this, but the far-away howling of wolves further down and the skeletal-like outlines of the fir trees (now more plentiful in response to the higher altitude) made her feel like she should constantly be on her guard. Breathing deeply in order to help shake off the nervous feeling residing in the pit of her stomach, she tried to shake off the feeling of unrest that had been growing within her all day and kept her eyes on the grainy outline of Inuyasha in the lead ahead.

They, of course, had been walking all day; once Inuyasha had decided he had had enough of staring the fire out he had announced that they would attempt to get over the mountains that day. This so far had not happened, hence the fact that they were now walking under a velvety sky filled with endless stars. In fact, they had only reached the summit and began descending just two hours ago. Everyone at one time or another (and some repeated times) had grumbled and called for a halt to at least catch a breather, but Inuyasha, always the stubborn mule, would have none of it. He was the only one who now did not look tired; he walked at a brisk steady pace, not even looking back to check if the others were keeping up, the breeze billowing out his long silky silver hair... Kagome stared at it mesmerized as she walked on tiredly; his mellifluous locks had always fascinated her, she just wanted to reach out and stroke them---

She cursed vehemently under her breath as she tripped over a rock that had been in her path. Gritting her teeth as the pain seared upward from her stubbed toe, she allowed Miroku to help steady her and continued to limp along, now making sure to watch where she walked. (Serves me right for staring at him like that,) she grumpily chided herself. (Seems like I don't even need HIM to punish me for ogling him all the time...)

The night continued to wear on, the waxing moon rising steadily within the dusky sky. Time was wearing on as well; it was by now, Kagome calculated, well past midnight. She still couldn't figure out why Inuyasha was being so insistent like this; what was the point in getting to Naraku and the jewel shards faster when they would be wearing themselves out? What was the driving force behind his relentless pursuit? Something was definitely motivating him, that was for sure, though she didn't have the faintest idea what...

"Inuya-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-sha-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-! !!!" Shippo whined pitifully, panting as he fell back behind the others. "Why can't we stop and sleep now?! We've been walking all da-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-y!!"

"Shut up," the agitated reply floated back, the half-demon not even bothering to turn around.

"FINE, then," Shippo huffed angrily. "Let my legs fall off!"

"I'll carry you, Shippo," Kagome offered wearily, bending down to pick up the exhausted little fox demon. For someone with such short, stubby legs, it was really no surprise that he seemed more tired than the rest of them...

"Thanks, Kagome," the little fox murmured gratefully, snuggling up against her chest as he immediately fell into a deep sleep.

Another half hour perhaps passed, the night taking even more of a hold upon the hushed land. Their pace was slower now; their path grew rougher and more gravelly as they descended. Soon they would reach the beginnings of the forest again, and then perhaps, just perhaps, Inuyasha would allow them to rest... She had noticed that now that she was on this side of the mountain range she could feel the aura of the Jewel Shard a lot better than before; in fact, she estimated it to be quite close by... Surely even Inuyasha would not go in pursuit of it tonight.

All of a sudden, however, the atmosphere of the sinister but quiet night changed. A wispy cloud seemed to without warning scud across the pale moon, and a cold northern wind whistled through the tall firs. Kagome gasped in fright as a gargantuan figure unexpectedly swooped down and grabbed the slumbering Shippo out of her grasp with treacherous, razor-sharp claws, giving a fell shriek as it did so.

Everyone, including Inuyasha, halted immediately, grabbing their weapons and looking all around them. Kagome, feeling shocked beyond words, buried her face in her hands as the bad feeling that had been crawling dormant in her belly suddenly surfaced.

"What the hell is going on?!' Miroku shouted, his hand playing with the beads covering his wind tunnel.

"I don't know!" Sango replied worriedly, "but whatever it is, it's got Shippo!"

"Dammit, where and what ARE they?!" Inuyasha gritted his teeth as he attempted to locate their winged opponent.

Kagome's eyes widened as she stared upward and to their right at the countless dark shapes flying in formation, preparing for another swoop upon their unfortunate little band. "Look, you guys!" she shouted desperately, pointing upwards. "It's the Birds of Paradise! The Birds of Paradise are back!"

Author's Note: If you didn't know, the Birds of Paradise actually have appeared in the series. They were these freaky looking bird things with demon torsos fused to their backs; they were trying to slaughter Kouga's tribe. Hmm...Kouga...mountains...Birds of Paradise...do you see what's coming next?

Simply a Lady: I did read the first couple chapters of Broken Wings; I want to finish it, actually, so I'll end up reviewing it as soon as I can. I didn't think the content in it was that explicit either; I mean, R rated movies have sex in them, don't they? Err---I don't think any lemons for this fic are going up on ff.net anytime soon...