InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ DarkWorld ❯ On The Road Again ( Chapter 2 )

Disclaimer:I do not own Inuyasha. However, I have a friend who owns 1/124 of it. As for me -nope, nothing, nada. I only write fanfiction, draw fanart, and lay awake at night imagining what could happen if I controlled the wonderful manga or anime. . . Ah, dreams.

Chapter 2: On the Road Again

In one more day, they were gone. Kirara was left behind, with Kohaku and Shippo, both demons promising to keep an eye on Kohaku at all times. While Kagome was in her time, making preparations, Inuyasha was in his, killing any and all demons within his forest. When asked about it, he replied, saying that it was so the demons got scared and left. While Kirara was more than capable of killing the types of demons who still attacked now and again, he wanted to make sure nothing would happen.

It was responses like those that made Kagome smile at him. It was so cute, too, when he always got confused as to what he did to make her smile.

Neither had spoken of the incident at the edge of the forest, knowing that any mention of it would cause a dual blush for them, and both wished to avoid that. Kagome knew, however, that she would have to speak to him about it, but she was in no hurry to do so. She also wondered why Miroku had set their partners as he had, taking Sango along with him and leaving Kagome with Inuyasha. She only thought of it breifly before she realized the answer: she and Inuyasha were always together in such teams. She and he were a great duo as it was, and Sango and Miroku knew each other's moves more than well enough to make them equal in battle with Inuyasha and Kagome.

It was almost funny. A fifteen-year-old girl and a sixty-and-some-odd-year-old half demon, five centuries apart, the perfect battling partners. While a twenty-year-old female Demon Exterminator and twenty-three-year-old previously-cursed lecherous monk made a nearly-as-perfect fighting duo. She wondered, not for the first time, who would win in a battle of women vs. men of these four, but decided again not to try and answer that. On the one hand, she knew and trusted that Inuyasha would never hurt her, but on the other, she couldn't see him losing a fight. Of the time they were together, he had only lost a very small fraction of the battles she had seen him in, and those were always because he was injured.

Quite a man. Now if she could only gather her nerves to tell him so. Kikyo really missed out on him, she thought, smiling. Then she frowned. Nobody knew where Kikyo was. She had disappeared without a word after Naraku had died, and Kagome often wondered if she was preparing for her supposed journey to hell with Inuyasha in tow. She also wondered how she would ever let that happen.

Shaking her head, Kagome shoved the thoughts away. Now wasn't the time to think about these things. If anything, she should focus on Inuyasha next to her, as they walked along the set path. The nearest village with holy men and women was a week-long walk, and Inuyasha looked determined to get there in less than four days with the way he kept up his speed. She had taken her bike this time, which was lucky, considering Inuyasha wasn't letting up and had only stopped once so they could eat. She hadn't even piddled yet.

She paused long enought to get on her bike. "Inuyasha," she said heavily, nearly sighing. Ahead of her, he paused and looked over his shoulder. "It's just been three weeks since we've traveled like this; you can't tell me you've forgotten that I'm human and therefore slower than you," she informed him. She passed him halfway through her sentence and he started jolking -half walking, half jogging - again.

"Like I could forget something so obvious," Inuyasha muttered back. "You couldn't smell more human if you rubbed yourself against others."

"Watch it," she warned him and peddled faster. The speed of the bike was no match for Inuyasha, but she found she could surprise him with a burst of speed every now and again. Plus she could stop quickly and make him come back. That was fun.

In another hour she popped an innertube.

She cursed as she examined it, unnaturally irritated. Spending so much time riding Inuyasha's back had given her a taste for speed, for the feeling of the wind, and the bike helped. She had learned how to take jumps in her own time, and used it often. She scared Shippo to death the first time she went over a jump here, though - and Inuyasha 'saved' her by grabbing her and letting the bike crash. It was why she now had a new one.

Kagome sat back, glaring at the tube she now held. "These were supposed to be able to take a lot. The advertisement said they were near impoppable unless sharp metal objects were involved."

Inuyasha sighed. "Everything in your time breaks. You shouldn't bring that shit here anymore."

A glare shut him up. Still, she went in for overkill. "Shit, huh? Is that what you call your beloved ramen?"

He cringed. "I wasn't talking about food!" he complained.

"Plus, in case you haven't noticed, everything in my time breaks because you got ahold of it," she pointed out.

"Not always!"

She shrugged. "In any case, I didn't bring a spare so I can't change the tire."

"Why do you need that rubb-er stuff anyway?"

"Because it gets filled with air. It makes the bumps easier to take and it keeps the rim from bending." She stood up. "I need somewhere to put it until we get back."

Inuyasha was already looking. And sniffing, apparently. He also sounded like he was talking to himself. "Over here," he finally said, turning towards her. He inclined his head towards the spot he'd chosen, with thick bushes. Kagome winced at the thought of what all those thorns could do to the paint and what remained of her tires, but wheeled it in.

"So now what?" she asked, brushing leaves off her sailor uniform sleeves. She was answered when Inuyasha knelt down and presented her with his back.

She smiled and climbed on. Oftentimes when she rode him like this - with no shard to chase or demon to hunt - she thought of the first time she had ridden on his back. His speed had shocked her, but she had focused on shooting down the crow which swallowed the Jewel. She missed twice before Inuyasha tripped, seemingly because he simply couldn't believe how bad she was at it and went off on his own.

She hadn't admitted it at the time, in fact not until three weeks ago as they returned from their last hunt, but this was incredibly fun. In all truth she had never felt the wind move her hair so much, and it felt good. There was also the fact that the one who held her was always warm and buffered the wind - indirectly, of course. Plus there were two clawed hands holding her thighs, which was both innappropriate and thrilling at once - no boy had ever touched her thighs before. And she couldn't forget about the silvery hair in front of her face, hair which was always tangled and yet smooth in spite of it.

His hair was amazing. She had inspected the strands many times before and found that Yura of the Hair was wrong. Kagome couldn't find a single split end. Inuyasha's father must have been an incredible demon to possess such hair - or fur, as the case may be - and pass it down to his half-demon son. As far as she knew, Sesshomaru had to condition his.

Oh, to snicker behind the elder brother's back while he had gone temporarily deaf. . .

Kagome giggled at the thought. How badly she wanted to do just that. Sesshomaru was always so uptight and unemotional - she wanted to slap him to see if his cheek would turn red. She wanted to braid his hair to see what he would do. She wanted to kick him for the hell of it. Heck, she wanted to jerk his pants down and shove him off a cliff. The embarrassment would be good for him.

She laughed aloud. But once started, she couldn't stop herself. She leaned back and let go of Inuyasha's shoulders, trusting him completely with her life as she had done on countless occasions before. She spread her arms wide and yelled for the sheer joy of it, allowing herself a pleasure she had dared not attempt but three weeks ago. Within moments she felt Inuyasha land and begin running.

"Can you jump higher?" The words were out of her mouth before she had thought them.

Inuyasha nodded and leapt again.

Kagome gasped. A rush had gone straight through her as though she was on a roller coaster at the force of his jump. For a moment she was gripping tightly onto Inuyasha's shoulders again, and then she let go and looked around. The view was incredible. To think that she had never thought to look before. . .

The sun was high, as they had left early. To their left was open field which grew into more trees as they went higher. To their right was the path and the edge of Inuyasha's Forest. Before them lay their destination, still at least three days off - three days, that is, if Inuyasha could keep up this pace.

"Yes!!" she yelled, thrusting out her arms again. The wind was doing wonders on her spirit. She could almost see it growing as their speed increased. Inuyasha, she thought, you are amazing. I would never change you from what you are. You know that, don't you?

She could swear she heard Inuyasha laugh, but with the wind in her ears, she couldn't be sure.

It was a while before they stopped again, this time to eat lunch. Inuyasha looked just a little exerted, and Kagome knew then that he had been pushing himself to go faster and jump higher for her pleasure. She gave the hanyou a hug in return for his efforts, then left to piddle, leaving behind a surprised Inuyasha. When she returned he had already begun making ramen.

Began making, and already eaten, as it turned out. He offered her a sheepish grin when she saw that there were four open canisters and only two of them were cooking. She just shook her head and sighed. Maybe Miroku was wrong - it felt like she was already spoiling Inuyasha, if only with ramen. Plus she been lenient lately, letting him off the hook when in the past she would have sat him multiple times.

She sat down and took the offered bowl when the ramen was done cooking, raising a brow at Inuyasha when she saw him digging into his third bowl already.

The expression on his face was priceless. He honestly looked like a little kid of maybe five years, a handful of ramen sticking halfway out of his mouth and one hand in the bowl already. He blinked at her when he noticed her gaze, then glanced at the bowl, then at the empty cartons. He then looked degected and slurped up his ramen, letting the bowl set down on his lap and looking away.

She had only seen that look twice before and knew what it meant this time. It was either something a child would do when his parent discovered he had done something bad, or submission in dog demon rules when one realized one had overstepped his boundaries. This was likely both.

Kagome laughed. She earned herself a shocked look from Inuyasha, who was obviously expecting some form of punishment, before she returned to her bowl - and held up the chopsticks. Inuyasha immediately pulled his hand from the bowl and picked up his set and began using them. Usually Kagome let him eat with his hands, as she was sure he had been doing for most of his life, but every once and a while he needed to be reminded that while he was definitely wild, he was no animal.

Well. . .not fully, anyway.

She stopped him when he reached for another cup with a swat on his hand. "That's more than enough," she told him. "I only brought so much. Keep eating this way and there won't be any left for the return trip."

"Feh! Yeah right! Why do you think I've been going so fast? Cause you've been kicking me? The faster we get there and get back, the more ramen will be saved!"

"And what about all the priests that are going to be traveling back with us? What are you going to do then, hitch yourself to a wagon and pull us all?" She knew he wouldn't. That wasn't why she asked. She knew that if she offered the alternative, an alternative he wouldn't do, he'd see things more clearly on her side.

He shut his mouth. After a long pause he crossed his arms. "Of course I'm not going to do that! I'll just ration out the ramen until we get there. The end."

Kagome smiled as she put the things away. She had only just zipped her backpack when it was lifted and slung over Inuyasha's shoulder. He turned his back towards her and waited.

She stretched. A soft, quiet moan escaped her lips as she did so, leaning back and lifting her arms, hearing pops from two very particular vertibrea that had begun causing her trouble a month ago. Then she climbed on.

He was pushing himself again.

---

It was nightfall when they stopped again, and Kagome had nearly fallen asleep on her protector's back. Inuyasha had to call her name four times before she opened her eyes and realized that they had landed. She yawned and shifted before getting up, stretching when she had stood up fully. She scratched the side of her neck.

Inuyasha stretched as well, and she heard several loud pops from his back as he did so. The same sounds were heard when he rolled his shoulders back. He set down her pack and then sat, shuffling through it. She didn't have to ask to know what he was looking for.

"You only get two," she told him, sitting down.

He glared. "Just two? How many are you planning to eat, seven?!"

"Inuyasha," she warned. "I am having one. You are having two. That's it."

"That's not fair!" he snapped.

"Sit!" Once he was facedown on the earth she took out three cups and then closed her backpack. It was getting easier to ignore his muffled curses now; she hardly heard him this time.

He got up a moment later and crossed his arms, waiting for the water to boil. Neither talked as they waited, or while the ramen was cooking, or while she rolled out her sleeping bag and put away her things. She knew it'd be a while before he got over his grudge, but that was okay; she still wasn't quite over their snuggle and his lick from two days ago. Actually. . .the snuggle was fine. They'd done that before. But she definitely wasn't over the lick. Or his nuzzles. Or how embarrassed she was about the whole thing.

. . .Okay, so the only part she was over was the actual nap.

Kagome pulled out a schoolbook and flipped it open to a random page. Second simester had started and now she had to get used to a whole new class schedule. It took only a few seconds to notice that another body was close to hers.

She glanced over her shoulder, but Inuyasha was sitting several feet away, against a tree and looking bored. She blinked at him and wondered at the feeling she just had before returning to her book. Only a moment later she felt that someone was near her again. She looked sharply over her shoulder this time, but again, Inuyasha was against that tree. It didn't look like he had moved an inch.

This was getting unnerving. She turned back to her book and flipped to the first page. She pretended to read and focused on the area around her, noticing that pressence was back a third time. She didn't look over her shoulder this time, but kept pretending to read, flipping the page when her eyes had run over each line.

The second page followed the same suit. Her eyes ran over each word before she flipped the page, and that pressence never moved, never shifted, never made a sound. By the fifth page she knew what it was.

"Gotcha!" she snapped, looking quickly over her shoulder. She caught Inuyasha just jerking back, trying to scurry back into his place at the tree. He looked like a kid caught with his hand in the cookie jar. "You know," she began, setting the book down, "if you wanted to read it, I would let you borrow it."

He muttered something and looked away, crossing his arms.

"What was that?"

He glared at her from the corner of his eye. "I can't read."

"Then what were you doing?"

"Looking at the pictures."

She didn't believe a word he just said. This particular book didn't have any pictures except what was on the designated pages. She hadn't reached one of those yet. "You can too read."

"No I can't." He looked fully at her. "I'm a stupid half-breed, remember?"

"You're a lot smarter than you look," she countered. "Clever enough to keep up the same routine."

"What are you talking about?" he snapped. "And where would I have learned how to read?"

"From your mother," Kagome said, and moved over to him. She took the book with her. "She was a noblewoman, right? Well, all noblewoman can read and write. I can't see any mother refusing to teach her child to read and write, whatever everyone else says."

He looked surprised. "Alright, so let's say I can read, how do you know I could write?"

"Because you can't know one without knowing the other," she explained. Then smiled. "Plus, you're smart enough to get it, even if all you knew was how to read first. It's not too hard to figure out which symbols mean what when all you're doing is copying what you see."

"Would you?"

"Would I what?"

"If you had a hanyou child, would you teach him to read and write?"

Kagome's smile brightened. "In a heartbeat."

Inuyasha was smiling. He took the book from her and opened it to the last page they were on. "September first, nineteen thirty-nine, the day World War two began. Germany invaded Poland. Germany's dictator, Adolf Hitler, had built Germany into a powerful war machine. . ."

He read on, and Kagome never once took her eyes off him. She wasn't really listening to what he was saying, but that didn't matter, did it? She was right all along. Inuyasha was very smart, could read and write, and played the dummy near constantly. She wondered how long it took him to realize that things were easier for hanyous that way, or if it was something he knew all along. She could guess that if all hanyous were as smart as him, and as good of actors, then there were far more of them than people thought. She could almost imagine a female Inuyasha walking around, playing the simpering maiden for everyone else and never getting a second glance.

Perhaps a sad lifetime, but less difficult. And a lifetime. Isn't that what mattered?

It must be, because Inuyasha was still here. He made it through childhood, made it on his own, survived through Kikyo's spell, through countless battles from demons and humans alike, proved everyone wrong about their conclusions of half-demons. He read her book with obvious ease, not even faking to not understand certain words. She had fallen in love with a truly incredible, beautiful creature. She would love to have a child like Inuyasha some day.

---

Time passed entirely too quickly for Kagome. The days were spent riding Inuuyasha's back as he sprinted towards their destination, pausing to piddle, eat or kill an attacking demon. The nights were spent reading with Inuyasha and sleeping easily, just knowing he was nearby. It was hard to be scared of the world when a half-demon was alert at all times and would do anything to protect you.

They arrived at the next village, which turned out to be more of a series of shrines with a few huts around it. Everyone there kept tossing Inuyasha wary glances and often moving away, sometimes making harsh comments or tossing rocks. Inuyasha, she noticed admirably, simply brushed the rocks out of the way and never retorted to their comments. The villagers settled down when it became obvious that he was there to protect her, and they got even better responses when they learned that she was the Priestess Kagome.

A few men made offhand comments about her clothing and how pure you had to be to be a priestess, but Inuyasha got then to shut up with a few simple well-timed growls. Soon Kagome was explaining her request to the head priest, and within an hour she had five priests and six priestesses agreeing to help pray for the Jewel. Two of the priests and a priestess agreed to come back with her.

They didn't even stay the night. Kagome could tell that Inuyasha didn't like the small village, and so she offered to leave as soon as they had everything settled. He agreed even as the high priest protested, saying it would be an honor if she could stay one night, but Kagome declined. She claimed that the Sacred Jewel would only attract unwanted demons to their village and that they should be getting back as soon as possible anyway.

So they left.

Along the road a fairly powerful demon had attacked, aiming straight for Kagome. Of all things - it was a chicken no larger than a cow. Naturally the three holy members got scared and tried to run, but Kagome didn't even bother to move. Inuyasha had likely known about it and was watching it before it ever attacked.

He himself didn't bother with drawing Tetsusaiga. The bird was shredded quickly, leaving not a mark on the hanyou. Once it was dead Inuyasha began walking again, and Kagome had to calm the nerves of her three temporary companions. It took a while, so long that Inuyasha had to stop to stay within her sight, but she got them moving again.

These guys probably never once stepped outside of their village, she thought as she caught up with Inuyasha. Her movement, as it turned out, did not go unnoticed. When they stopped for the night one of the priests took her aside and spoke quietly.

"Why do you let that demon walk beside you?" he asked.

She opened her mouth to retort that Inuyasha shouldn't be talked about like that, but then shut it. These guys feared and revered her, and now that she thought about it, it was a power she could use often and not overstep it. "I do not see why I should answer such personal questions," she said.

The priest shook his head. "Of course not, priestess, but I am confused about this," he tried. "You let that demon walk beside you as though he is your equal, worthy of being beside you in your pressence."

That one she was going to slap right back. "You made entirely too many mistakes in that sentence. Consider everything you just said incorrect."

He looked frightened now. "O-of course," he stuttered. "I am out of my place simply asking. But I must try again; perhaps. . .Do. . .Do you often allow him to stand beside you?"

"He always stands beside me," Kagome told him bitterly, narrowing her eyes. "I would think nothing less of him. You make assessments of him as though his blood is his only feature. Perhaps if you took a moment to ask a question of him, you would realize that he has a mind just as I do and deserves nothing less than a chance." She stepped back. "Now this conversation is over. Don't bring it up again." That said, she left, purposely shocking the group when she sat beside Inuyasha and made no move to prove that it wasn't of her own choosing.

When she glanced at him she saw his ears flick and smiled. He was letting her know he was impressed. He'd waited for her to look to flick his ears. It was then that she realized that the two of them had a language all their own, one entirely body language. She could tell him anything she wanted with a few movements and no one watching would be the wiser. With a certain look she was sure she could tell him that she wanted to adandon these priests where they were and return alone.

It was a tempting thought, made all the harder to resist by the priestess continually looking at Kagome as though she was sinning of the worst type by sitting next to Inuyasha. Kagome stared right back at her and quite obviously leaned against Inuyasha, offering the woman a smile when her mouth fell open in shock.

She was showing off now and she knew it. Hell, she was loving it. She touched the Sacred Jewel and the pink shade flicked lighter a moment, making the three preists stare. She wasn't just showing off, she was showing them up, shocking them and acting in defiance of all their rules. The scary part was, she was loving it.

At least they should learn a thing or two from this, she thought, sitting up to put the ramen in the pot now that the water was boiling. The priests had brought their own food, which the priestess was cooking by herself, so Kagome and Inuyasha had her ramen to themselves. She handed Inuyasha a filled cup a minute later - yet another gesture that seemed to shock the priests more so than the height Kagome's skirt. Inuyasha picked up chopsticks and ate, throwing her a sideways glance.

"What idiots," his eyes said.

Kagome blinked back, smirked, and rolled her eyes. "Yes, that they are." She filled her cup and ate smiling.

---

The next day a snake attacked, one that was no demon but attracted to the Sacred Jewel nonetheless. Inuyasha tossed her an exasperated glance that quite clearly said, "This isn't worth my time."

Kagome laughed at him and took up her bow. The priests had scurried back already and stared openly as Kagome shot the arrow and the snake dissolved from the pink energy around it. She turned to Inuyasha. "Is anything else coming after us?"

He shrugged. "A boar, and maybe two insects. Nothing to worry about."

"A-are they - demons?" the priestess asked, being forced to come closer while shileding the priests.

Inuyasha snorted. "The hog isn't. Those insects smell like they're about to mate though."

"You can smell that?!" the quiet priest asked harshly.

Kagome glared at him while Inuyasha shrugged again. "It ain't too hard to mistake."

All three looked over at Kagome as though begging for her help in the situation. Kagome regarded them all with an exasperated look. "You guys really underestimate Inuyasha. Be glad you're not on the recieving end of his anger." She then pointedly ignored them and came up beside Inuyasha again. She sighed and tossed him a pained look. "They're more trouble than they're worth."

Inuyasha made a sound that was half a snort, half a laugh. "Duh, they're humans."

Kagome laughed. "So am I." "Gee, thanks."

He rolled his eyes and turned a thunderous expression to the priests. "Are you comin' or what?!"

The priests jumped and hurried to catch up. Oh, how much fun Kagome could have humbling these people and allowing Inuyasha to scare them every now and again. Well, maybe a little more often than 'once and a while'. At least once a day. And once a night. Yep, fun.

---

Kaede's Village hadn't changed an inch when Kagome returned with Inuyasha, two priests and a priestess in tow. In two more days Sango and Miroku returned with five priestesses and one priest. Her answer to her earlier question of why Miroku had chosen his partner and destination was more than fully answered by the incredibly red handprint across his face. In fact, there looked to be several overlapping prints - all in Sango's hand's shape.

"Idiot," Inuyasha muttered when Miroku got within earshot.

Kagome knew she should sit him for that one, but found she couldn't. He was being honest in place of brutally honest and that was a step up. "Miroku," she sighed.

Sango's face was red with both anger and blush. However, she calmed down instantly when she saw Kohaku with them. "Kohaku," she greeted, hugging her brother. "How are you? Did anything happen while we were gone?"

He shook his head. "Nothing happened, and I am. . .getting better," he offered with a shaky smile.

Sango's smile was nothing short of motherly. "I'm glad to hear that."

Kagome stood and made introductions with Miroku, letting the priests and priestesses get to know one another. They were then introduced to Kaede, who informed them of what they would be doing and when the purifying was to take place. It was in three days.

So, in essence, Inuyasha had three more days to infuriate Kagome, frighten the priests, belittle Shippo, and defend the village. He was likely going to do them in that order.

She sighed. Well, at least she figured out what made him tick by now, and his routine. That was a plus, wasn't it? On top of that, she learned to read between the lines of what he was saying, and thus could translate what he really meant when he got out of hand.

She had the sudden feeling that she was going to have a full meltdown by the time they left.

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End chapter two. To be continued.