InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Divine ❯ Chapter Four ( Chapter 4 )

A/N: Ok, the fic is nearing it's end so the lemon should be here next chapter - you may proceed in holding your breath.

Divine

Chapter Four

"Love is never lost. If not reciprocated, it will flow back and soften and purify the heart."

Washington Irving

Kagome was avoiding him.

It was too obvious.

Inuyasha may have been the slowest of the slow when it came to most matters, but even his haplessly blind nature couldn't ignore the glaring signals.

He glanced at the schoolgirl from the future, shrewdly trying to figure out if his suspicions were correct. He was surprised to find she had been watching him as well, but the moment their gazes connected, she looked away hastily and struck up an instant conversation with Kirara, whose back she happened to be riding upon.

Conversations with Kirara were easy. She never talked back.

But ever since their little interval at the hot spring, Kagome had been quite happy to look at anyone and anything… as long as anyone and anything wasn't Inuyasha.

Inuyasha sighed to himself, irritable and impatient but mostly pissed off at Kagome's allusiveness.

'Oh come on, Kagome,' he thought beguilingly, 'don't be like this…'

So perhaps he had moved a bit too fast for her, but she had been kissing him back and giving him all the encouragement he'd needed. How else was he supposed to take it? It was all Kagome's fault (naturally) - she was the one blowing hot and cold before Inuyasha could even dream about catching up to her mood swings.

"-and that's how they make ice cream, Kirara. Now aren't you glad that I told you that-"

Inuyasha rolled his eyes and looked elsewhere for a change. By now, Miroku had noticed how closely he was watching Kagome, and if Inuyasha didn't start staring at the clouds with as much interest, the houshi would soon catch on.

Wow… that cloud looked just like a side view of Kagome's chest…

There was a subtle shift in wind direction, and slowly the clouds began slowing down… Inuyasha sniffed and pulled a face. That was a very cold wind blowing all of a sudden. Perhaps this boded for the end of the good weather?

"Blizzard's on the way." Inuyasha said airily to the others. "It'll be here by tonight." They looked back at him in surprise - save for Kagome. She just blinked at the ground instead.

"Are you sure?" Sango asked.

Inuyasha shrugged. He knew a cold spell when he felt one.

"Best get moving on to the next village," Miroku said firmly, "Before we get trapped in the snow, then we will get separated and then two of us may have to take shelter in a handy little cabin with only one blanket. Damn these oh-so-common blizzards that keep popping up…"

The others just hummed their agreement… except for Kagome.

"But it's the middle of summer!" the schoolgirl cried. "Why in kami's name would there by a blizzard in the middle of summer?!"

Scenario #4 : The Blanket Scenario

It hit Kagome like a slap in the face from a wet trout.

Fate was dealing her another hand.

"Oh… um… guys? I really think I should be going back to my time…"

"What?! Why?!" Inuyasha barked.

Kagome answered, but she seemed to be speaking to the ground. "I have tests - I totally forgot. I have to go and pick up my revision notes today. I won't be able to do it tomorrow because it will be Sunday, and school is always closed on Sundays… so I hope you guys don't mind if I just go back and pick them up?"

"Best take Kirara." Sango told her. "What with your ankle and everything - she'll be much faster as well."

"Kirara can wait in Kaede's village for your return and you two can find us when you're ready." Miroku added.

"I'll wait with Kirara!" Shippo exclaimed, already happily seated in Kagome's lap.

Kagome beamed. "Thank you! Come on, Kirara!"

Scenario #4 : Never mind…

And off she flew, right back they way they had come and ten times as fast. Inuyasha narrowed his eyes as his mouth opened stupidly. Hang on a minute… "Where the hell does she think she's going?!"

"Home?" Both Sango and Miroku answered as the toddled off along the road again.

"But why?!"

"She has 'tests' she needs to 'revise' for." They answered again.

"Why couldn't I take her back?!"

Miroku turned sharply. "Because you've obviously done something to render yourself untrustworthy in Kagome-sama's eyes."

With that, the monk turned back around, just as quickly as he had the first time, and continued on after the demon exterminator.

Inuyasha frowned at his words.

Did Kagome really find him… untrustworthy?

Well why not? Not only had he taken advantage of her in her sleeping state, but he'd also pushed her a little too far in the hot spring…

Inuyasha sagged slightly as he followed on after the monk and the exterminator. Great. Now he felt guilty. No - worse than guilty - he felt like scum. Again. He also had this strange, nagging suspicion that Kagome had actually been awake the first time he'd groped her… and perhaps that was why she was being so standoffish… and was that also why Kagome looked so damn relieved to get out of there?

She probably hates me more than I do right now…

Rather than wallow in self-pity, Inuyasha had the vague sense that he was supposed to do something important now. Like… apologize, maybe? He thought long and hard about it… and decided that perhaps he had gone over the line one too many times recently. Completely accidentally, of course. And it was mostly Kagome's faulty anyway for drawing the line so damn close to first base.

But Kagome liked it when he apologized.

If that was enough to get her to stop avoiding him… then he was genuinely sorry about what he'd done.

I'll apologize, Inuyasha decided firmly, but not without reluctant venom. But I still don't see why this is my fault! She was the one leading me on - how was I supposed to know that she was only forcing herself to kiss me like that?! Why didn't she stop me before if she was so damn prudish?!

"Hey, where are you going?"

Miroku's question removed him from his internal ranting, and he suddenly realised that he had actually turned around and was marching back the way they had come. Marching right back to Kagome.

That was odd… almost as if someone else was guiding his feet…

"I'm going to go find Sesshomaru and beat the fluff out of him." He lied plainly, his stride never breaking.

"Ok then!" Miroku called back, exchanging knowing winks with Sango. "Give that little toad man a battering for me, while you're at it!"

With Kirara and Shippo safely stowed away in Kaede's cozy hut, sheltered from the oncoming blizzard, Kagome was free to jump back into her own time and continue to enjoy the heat wave in Tokyo.

Of course, with her family still away doing only god knew what, Kagome was once more faced with the prospect of an empty house… and a possible visit from Inuyasha. Rather than land herself back in square one, Kagome decided there was probably more safety in numbers and so went around to Yuka's house. But before she went, she made sure to change from her uniform into a pair of shorts and an equally short top, since Yuka's house didn't have any air conditioning.

Kagome really shouldn't have been surprised when she earned herself two wolf whistles, one car horn, and a couple of cat calls as she made her way through the streets to her friend's house. It was enough to give any girl a big head. Except, Kagome was constantly snatching nervous glances over her shoulder to make sure she wasn't being followed by any suspicious looking hanyous.

Trust Inuyasha to put a damper on her sunny days.

Fortunately, Yuka's house wasn't all that far away and Kagome was there in no time. She knocked on the door and checked her watch (which was always tuned to the modern-day clock), knowing that Yuka should be home. After all, school had finished two hours ago.

But it was Ayumi who answered the door.

"Oh - Kagome!" she acquired that look of horror that she seemed to get a lot around Kagome these days.

"Hi, Ayumi." Kagome forced a smile. "How's it hanging?"

"I'm good…" Ayumi seemed to be watching her with incredible pity. "And what about you?"

"Good, good!" Kagome chirped.

Ayumi continued to stare. "And so far…?"

"Um…" Was she asked about the fortune? "So far so good. I told you, if it was ever going to happen to me, I'd know about it." Except, Kagome certainly did know about it. Fate had only been throwing Inuyasha her way at least twenty times a day since she'd had her palm read.

It was a miracle she was still a virgin.

But let's not worry Ayumi about that…

"Are you here to see Yuka?" Ayumi asked, clearing her throat as she changed the subject.

"Yeah, just to hang out and stuff."

"Aren't you supposed to be ill?"

"… I got better…"

"Oh, ok." Ayumi was never one to be quick to read between the lines. She simply smiled and welcomed Kagome inside.

Yuka was in the living room, painting her toenails with Eri beside her, watching television. They were both pleased to see Kagome and urged her to join them in the toenail painting session.

"So what did you have this time?" Eri asked as she painted Kagome's nails with a metallic, pewter polish.

"Uh… flu…" Kagome explained.

"How… mundane." Yuka blinked at her.

Well, Kagome didn't quite have her grandfather's flare for inventing such colorful diseases…

Kagome wasn't at home when Inuyasha arrived… but that wasn't too much of a problem. He could pick her tantalizing scent out of a hundred others - so following her was easy. He toddled through the tight network of streets and roads that made up this bizarre world of the future, ignoring all the odd looks he received off the natives, and found himself outside a two story hut.

The entrance was on the second floor, up a flight of peculiar steps, and since the entrance was unlocked when he turned the handle, Inuyasha let himself in.

Girlish chatter and giggling resounded from somewhere below and Inuyasha instantly recognised Kagome's lilting voice amongst the others. He followed the sound like it was a siren's song and ended up going down a flight of indoor steps to stop in the doorway of a room.

Kagome was inside with the three girls that Inuyasha had once found in her bedroom. They seemed to be too busy painting on a foul-smelling color onto their nails to notice his arrival.

"I thought you were supposed to be preparing for those 'tests'." Inuyasha exclaimed.

All four girls gasped in unison and turned to gape at him.

Yuka was the first to find her voice. "Who let you in?!"

"No one. I let myself in." Inuyasha shrugged.

"Oh - you're Inuyasha aren't you?" Eri was pointing at him, evidently remembering him. So this was her cue to give Kagome a saucy wink and a nudge. "Oh look, Kagome. Your boyfriend's here."

"You know, you're supposed to knock before entering people's houses…" Yuka grumbled.

"I like your head band." Ayumi said cheerfully, gesturing towards his ears. "That's so cute!"

Kagome looked like she was grinding her teeth with a disgruntlement to match Yuka. "What are you doing here?!" she asked through her clenched jaw.

Yet even though Inuyasha had been practicing his apology since he'd left the feudal era, he couldn't bring himself to go through with it. "I came to make sure you were doing what you said you were doing - which you're not!" And there you had it! He'd now made this situation out to be her fault! Kagome even looked a little guilty. "So since you lied to me and the others, shouldn't we be getting back to work?"

"Work?" Eri echoed. "I didn't know you had a job, Kagome-chan."

"Uh… I do." Kagome said lamely. "I work with Inuyasha…"

"What do you guys do, then?" Yuka asked, forgetting her annoyance in an instant.

Inuyasha answered. "We collect-"

"Garbage!" Kagome quickly cut him off. "Yeah - we collect litter off the streets and the beach and recycle and… stuff… and we're overworked and underpaid. I guess it's more like charity work-"

"That's not…" But Inuyasha had to shut his mouth as he caught a full on glare from Kagome.

"That's so cool!" Eri cried. "How come you never tell us these things, Kagome-chan?"

"Well…"

Inuyasha sighed irritably. "Aren't we going yet? You can't just skip off whenever you feel like it."

Kagome scowled at him. It seemed as if he had completely forgotten about what had happened in the hot spring. As if he had completely forgotten the tension that had been mounting between them ever since. How dare he barge into her friend's house, acting like normal, and throw her for a loop like this?!

Folding her arms carefully to avoid smudging her nail polish, she fixed him with a look. "Then give me a good reason why I should go back?" she challenged. "And not just because of the 'work'."

Show me you really just want me back, you big oaf…

Inuyasha scowled back. "Why are you wasting time around here when you could be doing something productive over in the-"

"Wrong." Kagome interrupted. "That's work related."

Inuyasha floundered. "Shippo misses you."

"Don't care." Kagome said bluntly, knowing Inuyasha didn't give a toss about how the kid felt.

"Well… we're running out of food."

"Oh come on, it wasn't like you were starving before I came along." Kagome waited for the next excuse.

"Sango needs help fending off Miroku?"

Kagome snorted in contempt.

It was then that Inuyasha realised that he was getting no where. Kagome was being difficult, and when Kagome was being difficult, she had the tendency to be twice as stubborn as him on his worst days.

Just suck it up and say it… Inuyasha frowned deeply. She was obviously still pissed about him going too far with her before. She wanted an apology, didn't she? "Look…" he said slowly, bracing himself to surrender his dignity and pride. "What I did before… it was stupid - I wasn't thinking! So… I'm sorry… I hope you can forgive and forget it… and let's just go back to normal?"

Eri leaned forward. "You didn't two-time her again, did you?"

Inuyasha glared at her.

Kagome, however, had been swayed. Well… at least he'd acknowledged what he'd done. He also seemed to want things to go back to normal - something Kagome wanted ever so badly.

And as long as she could make it all the way to Kaede's hut with him, without having to hump like bunnies, then she was willing to spend a night in a blizzard. So long as she got to sleep with Kaede, rather than Inuyasha.

Kagome had two powerful words in her vocabulary. One was "sit". The other was "stop". Inuyasha would listen to her if she told him to stop - he'd already shown her that.

Problem was… Kagome had already discovered how hard it was to ask him to "stop". If they ever fell into another risqué scenario, Kagome wasn't sure she had the strength of will to deny him.

Perhaps it would be safer to stay with her friends till the week was up? But then… Inuyasha would only come nagging her again to come back with him. And she couldn't let the stupid fortune ruin her relationship with Inuyasha… for all she knew, the past few days had been a lot of unlucky coincidences, and really, her anxiety about Inuyasha was unwarranted.

"Fine…" Kagome said at last. "I'll come back."

Just remember not to get carried away this time…

"Oh - before you go-" Yuka leaped up, grabbing Kagome's arm as she did so. "We have something to give to you. It's a gift from Hojo, but since you weren't at school today, he gave it to us so we could pass it on."

"What is it?" Kagome asked dumbly.

"Come on, I'll show you." She dragged Kagome out of the room, calling over her shoulder, "Back in a minute!"

This just left Eri, Ayumi and Inuyasha in the living room. The two girls smiled pleasantly at him, but Inuyasha didn't return the favor. He was still too grumpy for having to apologize.

"So…" Ayumi said uneasily. "How's it hanging?"

Inuyasha stared at her. "Low, I guess."

"I… see…"

Inuyasha listened to the sound of footsteps on the ceiling above his head. "Who's Hojo?" he asked the girls.

"Kagome's admirer." Eri grinned. "But don't worry - Kagome doesn't seem to be interested at all."

"Shame really…" Ayumi said loftily. "Their heart lines were so harmonious. Very similar dispositions. They would have been a good match."

Again: Who the fuck was Hojo?! Inuyasha scowled to himself, irritated that this girl thought someone else was a good match for Kagome. Ha! Like Kagome would ever go behind his back and…

"Hey - but I guess that since you're Kagome's boyfriend, you two must be even more harmonious." Ayumi seemed excited all of a sudden. "Why don't you let me take a look at your heart and life lines?"

"My what?"

"You know… let me read your palm?" Ayumi cajoled.

"Hell no - someone else already did that, and it wasn't pleasant." Inuyasha folded his arms tightly, determined to hide his hands.

"Yes, but Ayumi is a professional." Eri told him proudly. "Her grandmother was a professional fortune teller - took a whole university degree and everything. Ayumi knows all her tricks."

Better than an old miko, perhaps?

"How precise is this stuff?" Inuyasha wondered.

"Quite precise, actually." Ayumi told him. "I'm well versed."

"I see…" Inuyasha was still reluctant.

"Oh come on - what's the worse that could happen?" Eri encouraged him.

Once again, that strange superior force seemed to guide Inuyasha towards the girl. Before he knew it, she had his hand in hers and was peering over it like she was reading a book.

"Where did you get this manicure - it's fantastic!"

"Aren't you supposed to be reading?!" Inuyasha snapped.

"Oh right - sorry!" the girl chirped and got back to business.

Ayumi's head tipped one way, then another, as Inuyasha watched her nervously. She stilled suddenly, her eyes flicking over a specific line that only she seemed to be able to understand.

Why had she gone so pale all of a sudden?

Eri leaned towards her friend. "What's the matter?"

"Oh…" Ayumi forced a laugh, which sounded very odd and stale. "Th-this line here! Very interesting… yes… very, very interesting…"

"What?" Inuyasha pressed.

"Oh uh… it's nothing." Ayumi dropped his hand like she'd just discovered he handled rat poison. "Just… the powers want to caution you. If you, uh…" here she glanced uncertainly at Eri, before looking back at Inuyasha. "If you go through with something… within the next day or so… there will be severe repercussions and you will live to regret it."

Inuyasha deadpanned.

That was awfully precise a reading for a bunch of craggy lines on his hand. Now if only he knew what that 'thing' was, the thing that he was supposed to go through with in the next day or so… "Are you sure?"

Ayumi swallowed hard, nodding shakily.

Feet came thundering back down the stairs and in the next moment, both Yuka and Kagome had entered the living room - Kagome, with a large basket of various herbal soaps, bath salts and shower gel.

Inuyasha quickly straightened. "Ready to go?"

Kagome nodded easily, hefting the basket under her arm.

"Let's go then." he said bluntly and marched out of the room, making his way back towards the door he had entered through.

Kagome was about to follow him, when Ayumi reached up and snatched her hand. Kagome staggered and looked down at the girl who was anxiously scrutinizing her palm. "What are you doing?" she asked, panicking slightly.

"I knew it… an exact match…" Ayumi worried her lip between her teeth as she looked up at her friend. "Kagome-chan… promise me you will be careful of Inuyasha?"

Kagome felt wigged out.

"Promise me!"

"Alright!" Kagome barked. "I promise! Nothing will happen - you'll see!"

She snatched her hand back and bid farewell to Ayumi and her two other, rather confused friends, before running to catch up with her 'boyfriend'.

"There's still a blizzard going on, you know." He reminded her as he padded along the sidewalk beside her.

"Is there…?" Kagome tried to sound nonchalant… but she wasn't sure that she succeeded.

"We won't be able to go beyond Kaede's village." Inuyasha said blandly.

At this, Kagome whirled on him. "Then what was all that 'hoo hah' about needing me back in the Sengoku Jidai so suddenly if there's nothing to do there?!"

Inuyasha gazed innocently at her. "I didn't come just to bring you back."

"Oh?" She cocked an eyebrow.

"I wanted to make sure you didn't hate me." He frowned slightly. "Because of what I did… I know you didn't like it."

Kagome's mouth dropped open a little as she stared at him. "Oh… you mean…" she quickly shook her head. "I didn't didn't like it - I mean… well…"

"So you did like it…?" Inuyasha sounded ever so slightly hopeful.

"That's not what I said!" She amended quickly, not wanting to give him ideas. "I just meant that I don't hate you! Why would you think that?"

"I dunno…" Inuyasha shrugged, as if he didn't care. Even though he obviously did.

So Kagome looped her free arm through his. "I'm sorry… I didn't mean to be so… tense. It's just that, I wasn't really ready for that… it was too sudden… you can understand that, right?"

Sure, Inuyasha could understand. Kagome wasn't ready. Inuyasha, on the other hand, was ready all the time. At least this meant that she wasn't all that mad at him… he just had to give her time.

"Who would have thought… that it would be us stuck in a hut in the middle of a blizzard?"

Miroku's teeth chattered throughout the entire proclamation. Sango ignored him, concentrating on trying to build a fire out of two damp pieces of wood.

It was slow going.

"That's never going to work." The monk told her.

"It might." She said, contrarily.

"It won't."

He was right, of course. Sango sighed as she dropped the wood she'd been rubbing together and looked around the cabin.

With the wind howling around outside and a continuous onslaught of sleet and snow, the night was going to be a rough one. Made all the rougher by the fact that she was going to have to share that blanket with the Houshi.

Or not… it was rather flea bitten after all.

"You know a good way to get warm fast?" Miroku asked.

Sango slanted am icy glare at him. "Yeah, what?"

"If we share body heat!"

"Go suck on a katana." She told him.

"But it's a rather sensible solution, Sango." He continued. "I don't mean anything suggestive - just sit close to me and our heat will warm each other. That's all."

Sango frowned. It was hard to tell when the Houshi was being perverted… he didn't leer like most perverts would. He was the perfect gentlemen… until you felt his hand getting acquainted with your behind. But perhaps he was right, this time? Her village had always taught her that sharing body heat was simply common sense.

"Oh, all right." She grouched, shuffling towards the wall he was leaning against.

It really was a lot better, she found, as she huddled up beside him. Miroku's teeth may have been chattering, but he certainly felt a lot warmer than she did.

But she remained on guard, just in case those hands went wandering… but after a few minutes with no activity, Sango began to relax.

Which must have been what Miroku was waiting for.

At once, Sango stiffened at the sensation of a hand crawling up her thigh. "If you do not remove that cursed hand from my thigh, then I will see to it personally that I put a black hole on another certain appendage of yours, Houshi-sama."

Miroku's hand crawled back into his lap with a heaved sigh.

"I hope Miroku and Sango will be ok…" Kagome sighed to herself as she stomped down the steps towards the well. Inuyasha had fallen into step behind her.

"They'll be fine." He told her with a shrug. "We'll just catch up to them when the snow clears."

"I suppose…"

They reached the edge of the well and peered down into the murky depths. Inuyasha hopped up onto the rim as Kagome pulled her bag more securely around her shoulders. She was surprised when Inuyasha held his hand out to her. "Come on."

He may have looked indifferent, but the thoughtful gesture of offering his hand made it clear to Kagome that he was still trying to make up for earlier. With a small smile, she took his hand and climbed up to dangle her legs over the edge. "On the count of three." She said. "One-"

"Yeah, whatever." Inuyasha tugged her off the edge with him and they both began falling.

This was the part where the gloriously magical light would engulf them and transport them to another world, and with Inuyasha holding her hand, it felt surprisingly romantic.

Except the light never came.

Both teenagers hit the bottom of the well with a grunt and the unexpected impact knocked them off their feet and into each other. Kagome's senses were rattled, probably due to her head colliding with Inuyasha's unnaturally thick skull. "Ow…" she hissed, alternately rubbing her bruised brow and her sore elbow. Inuyasha was sprawled across her lap, arms entangled with her legs and head resting against her stomach. He just looked confused.

"Kagome…" he said slowly. "I don't think it worked."

He was looking upwards, so she followed his gaze… blinking in surprise when she saw the roof of the well house rather than the blue sky of the Sengoku Jidai.

Kagome's stomach dropped away. "Oh no…" she breathed, feeling herself begin to hyperventilate. "Why?! Why are we still here?!"

"I think we got snowed in…"

Snowed in… they were snowed in…

"Maybe there's too much snow or sleet in the other well?" Inuyasha began to pick himself up - a difficult task when it was hard to tell which of the legs were Kagome's and which of the arms were his own. "I think it'll be ok. We just have to wait till the snow clears… uh… Kagome… what are you doing?"

Kagome had managed to extract herself from Inuyasha and was in the process of curling up where she knelt on the ground, banging her head against the dry earth. "Stupid… stupid… stupid…" she chanted.

This was just wonderful! Wasn't fate so clever - managing to corner Inuyasha and herself off in a quiet place where no one would find them! Her family probably wouldn't be back for a while - and she still had two whole nights and one more day before she could rest assured that her chastity was in no danger. But that wasn't likely, was it?

There was absolutely no way that she could be trapped in an empty house for a whole night with Inuyasha and not have sex!

"We're doomed!" she crowed.

"It's not so bad." Inuyasha patted her back gingerly. "We still have a whole supply of ramen to get us through the night."

Correction: there was absolutely no way she could be trapped with Inuyasha for a whole night and not have strangled him by morning.

Maybe there was some hope after all?

Perhaps not… if the way Inuyasha's hand was rubbing her back a little too tenderly for comfort was any indication. What was worse, Kagome actually found herself liking the contact.

Yes. She was doomed. Very doomed.

>TBC<