InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Everlong ❯ Friend is a Four Letter Word ( Chapter 4 )

Just a few quick notes then on with the story ^_^ First off, thanks to everyone who has been reading this, and big hugs to those of you who have commented. I really appreciate it! And Cataluna, I'm sure you've heard this a lot, but my face totally lights up when I see you've read my story. I look up to you so much! Also, major thanks to Lilith for being my wonderfully talented copy editor.

Now, to answer someone's question, Inuyasha does not have his dog ears right now. He has amber eyes, silver hair, and heightened senses, but other than that he looks like a human ^_^ sorry for the confusion.

I'd also like to give credit to some people. The whole "grave robber/tree hugger" thing was actually inspired by my favorite piece of fanfiction ever; "The Spy and the Hitokiri" by Anna-neko. If you're a Kenshin fan, go here: http://rkdreams.com/spy_prologue.asp and read it right now! It's perfection, just perfection. Also, there's a little description of Inuyasha's scent in here that was inspired by a part in "Enough" by Aki-chan here; http://kenshin.gloriousforest.net/fic_enough.html again, if you're an RK fan read read read! It's beautiful.

Chapter 4- Friend is a Four Letter Word

-The Grave Robber-

I watched, annoyed if only to conceal my obvious concern, as Kagome ran ahead of me, tripping on a huge obvious tree root and falling flat on her face.

Sometimes, it was near impossible to distinguish Kagome from Kikyou. They had the same long sable hair, the same bright eyes, the same tendency to get hurt…

I jogged to catch up, crouching down beside her as she sputtered, rising to her forearms. "Damn, Kagome, how could you not have seen that root?" I swear, that girl was a magnet for injury. I had had to patch her up at least five times since the slate dropping incident a week earlier.

She turned her head to glare at me, eyebrows narrowed in a lame attempt to appear menacing. "I told you, I felt something funny up there." She jerked her head towards the direction she had been heading, pursing her lips. "I wasn't paying attention to where I was walking."

I rolled my eyes, resting my elbows on my knees as I studied her. For the past two days Kagome and I had left camp at dawn on scouting expeditions. We were trying to decide where to set up shop next, as our current location did not seem to be producing any results. We would walk all day and return late at night, tired, sore, and aggravated. Well actually, it was more like I walked, and she tripped or fell or walked into things or got hit by falling pinecones or something ridiculous like that. I had even taken to carrying a first aid kit along on our little excursions, which I felt was stupid, considering we followed beaten paths for the most part. Kagome could find a way to get hurt no matter where she was. Damn, give the girl a safety pin and she'll find a way to accidentally stab herself with it and bleed to death.

Bleed to death. Kagome and Kikyou both. Keh, sometimes the similarities between them were so distracting that I would slip up and call Kagome Kikyou, which I knew was a horrible thing to do. I usually caught myself though, or corrected myself before Kagome seemed significantly bothered by my careless mistake.

I sighed, running a hand through my hair and turning my gaze to the direction she had indicated. "Felt something funny?" To top things off, Kagome had a few 'funny feelings' during her day trips… ha ha, no pun intended. She said it felt like some source of power was pulling her in specific directions. Once or twice, when I had no better plans, I would concede and we would follow her 'feelings.' Well, no this time, dearie. Not when all we've found on your hunches have been a few big rocks and a very ancient looking tree with an old rope tied around it.

"Yes!" she insisted, rolling over and sitting up. "I keep telling you, something is puling me in that direction."

"Kagome," I chided, rolling back on my heels. "I'm not going on another one of your wild goose chases."

"What do you think this entire project is?" she gaped at me, clearly exasperated. "We're looking for tiny miniscule shards! They could be anywhere!"

"Not inside of a tree."

"Why not??"

"Because I said so."

She huffed, brushing the dirt from her knees and straightening her shirt. "Look, we have no other leads. No other leads. We're just wandering aimlessly anyway, so why can't we follow my hunches? And you know, I think we should have excavated the places I found before. I really had a weird feeling about them. I really think we were onto something."

I growled slightly, standing up and crossing my arms over my chest. "I've been on this project for months, I know what I'm doing. You just got here and there's no way a few of your crazy hallucinations are going to turn the tables."

She wasn't listening to me. She had tried to rise to her feet but had collapsed , and now she was moaning and clutching her ankle.

I was down at her side again in an instant, one of my hands soft on her shoulder and the other one moving her hands away so I could see for myself. "Your ankle? Did you twist it when you tripped?"

She nodded, wincing when my fingers pressed gently to locate the injury. "I think so."

I frowned at the odd angle her foot now faced from her leg, knowing this was not something I should treat by myself. A few scrapes and bruises I could handle, but possibly broken ankles should be left to the professionals. I took her hands, helping her slowly to stand on her good foot as I rose myself. I waited a second to steady her before turning around and glancing at her over my shoulder. "Well?"

She scoffed, wobbling a bit. "I can't walk on this foot, you jerk. Do you want me to hop?"

I smirked. "Of course not." I looked towards the sky, noting the twilight quickly moving in. "We should get back to camp and have that looked at. We can investigate that hunch of yours tomorrow." She was still staring at me blankly, so I tapped the small of my back pointedly. "Come on, I'll carry you."

She laughed, her warm brown eyes twinkling as she placed her hands on her hips.

I blew my bangs out of my eyes absently. "Here, I'll make it easier for you." I pulled my hair over one shoulder, kneeling in the dirt and bowing my head.

I heard her giggle once more before her hands settled on my shoulders, her slender fingers spreading over the muscles there slowly and tentatively.

She paused, her voice uncertain. "Are you sure about this?"

I raised an eyebrow, although she could not see my face with my back still to her. "Would you rather limp back to camp?"

In a moment her chest was pressed up against my back and her arms slid loosely around my neck, and as I stood carefully I hoisted her up higher behind me, my hands cupping the underside of her thighs just behind her knees.

I began to walk at an easy pace in the direction we had come from, smiling softly when she relaxed against me, resting her chin on one of my shoulders and her smooth cheek tilted against my neck. "Thank you, Inuyasha," she murmured, her delicate hands toying with the wooden beads of my necklace.

"It's ok, you're very light…" And it feels nice to have you so close to me. "Just try not to trip so much." She scoffed, her sweet breath puffing warmly through the thin threads of my shirt. I inhaled, attempting to be discrete about it. Kagome always smelled good, even now with the thin film of sweat covering her skin from our day's walk. "You're welcome, Kagome."

***

-The Tree Hugger-

~~~

"Did they love each other, Mama?"

For my third birthday, my mother gave me a butterfly net and told me the story of the Shikon no Tama. After I blew out the three pink candles on my birthday cake and dressed my dolls in the new clothes my grandfather had given me, she and I had set out for the wilderness that was my back yard.

We were seated side by side in the dew kissed grass, gazing out over our tiny flower garden as I waved my new butterfly net steadily back and forth, like a pendulum. She had just begun the story, opening with "There once was a beautiful miko and a brave hanyou boy" and already I was asking urgent questions.

She smiled lovingly down at my toothy grin of curiosity. "Who, Kagome-chan?"

I gave her a 'duh' look. "The girl and the boy." It seemed like common sense to me. I had heard a story every day of my life, and I considered myself quite an expert. They all began the same way; a man and a woman were in love, or they would be eventually. Maybe he would kill a dragon for her, maybe she would heal him with her tears, maybe they would have to travel distances to find each other, but when all was said and done, the two of them would live happily ever after and in love.

She hesitated, her comforting hands carefully parting my hair so she could braid it while she told me the story, as she always did. "Kagome-chan… you're three years old, a big girl now."

I nodded proudly, wiggling my toes in my pink sparkly sandals.

She continued. "This story is my favorite story, and you will like it, but it's different from all the rest that I have told you." She paused thoughtfully, her fingers gently tugging snarls from my dark tresses. "You will learn that people don't love each other 'just cause.' Life does not follow the plans of a fairytale, Kagome. People love each other because they are brave or kind of beautiful or smart, and because the two people have seen a lot of scary things together and need each other to feel safe and warm and happy."

I was a little confused, this was a lot for me to absorb. I just stared at her, wide-eyed.

"Kagome, love is not just something you do, or something you have that gets you a castle and a horse and a pair of glass slippers. It's something you feel, right here. "She patted my chest affectionately. By now I had set down my net, deciding to suck on an already prune-ish thumb instead. "And it's really love when you can look past a person's bad points and care for them so much anyway. Kagome-chan, the people in this story are not perfect. They are dashing, gentle, and kind, but they are also greedy and mean and selfish and jealous. Do you still want to hear it?"

~~~

As night began to fall, Inuyasha's pace quickened to a jog, and then a run. "What's the rush?" I gasped, holding on tight as we sped between the trees. My hair had come loose from its tie at some point, and now it mixed with his own silky strands, framing our faces.

"I don't want to travel in the dark," Inuyasha explained, and I was amazed at how even his breath was after all that running. "I don't want you to get hurt if I trip."

I restrained an 'aww' at that, snuggling closer to him and turning my face against the warm skin of his neck. Inuyasha's customary gruffness only made his tender moments all the more endearing.

I blushed, hiding my flustered face behind the curtain of our hair. Things had changed a lot between us in a week. After that first stargazing night he had treated me with a new respect I was far from used to. True, he still shot me with his fair share of crass arrogant comments, but that was just the way he was. I knew he still defended the walls he had carefully constructed around himself, but he had stopped shooting me from the battlements, and that was certainly a start. I couldn't speak for him, but I considered Inuyasha a good friend.

He swallowed heavily, I felt it against my forehead. "Kagome…" he murmured, as if with great difficulty. "If I'm especially harsh with you on these little trips, it's just because I'm worried."

I perked up in surprise, scooching up a little higher on his back. I had just been thinking the opposite, how much kinder he had been to me. What caught my attention was the last part. "Worried?"

He sighed, his brow creasing in thought. "If I don't find something by the end of the month, the university will stop funding me." He shook his head, his shoulders drooping a little. "I just… I've worked too hard to watch this die before it's even started. I can't even begin to explain how important this is to me. I…" he smirked, giving my legs a gentle squeeze. "Well, I'm sure you understand, this is your project, too."

I blinked. That was definitely the first time he had ever even hinted at joint possession of the project. I opened my mouth to speak, but he continued.

"I know the Shikon no Tama is out there," he stated firmly. "I can feel it, I always have. It's like it's right in front of me, and I can't see it because I'm not looking from the right angle."

I chewed thoughtfully on my lower lip, trying to think of something encouraging to say. "Well, maybe if we try a different technique."

He sighed, kicking a pebble along with his toe and popping me up a little higher on his back. "Like what?"

"Well," I began slowly, thinking as I spoke. "We need to buy ourselves some time, right? If we can convince the board of trustees to renew our funding, then we'll have the chance to refine our search. So basically, we just need something to show them."

Inuyasha nodded, picking a new stone when he finally kicked the last one out of his reach. "Anything."

"But we have nothing."

He smirked. "Wow Kagome, you're more observant than you let on."

I smacked him lightly on the arm and his smile lit up the side of his face that I could see from my position, his golden eyes creasing at the corners. He was adorable when he just relaxed. Without thinking, I ran my fingers down his bare forearm, my lips turning up slightly at the corners. "You should smile like that more often… it looks good on you."

He raised his eyebrows, turning his face to the side so he could look at me before nodding slightly and turning back. "You should wear your hair down more often, it looks good on you."

I blushed, fumbling for a response. "Well, considering my line of work, that wouldn't be very practical."

He shrugged, his fingers flexing under my legs. "Well, considering my line of work, smiling so often wouldn't be very practical, either."

"Why do you say that?"

"Look at me, Kagome," he hissed, his gaze focused on the ground in front of him. "Do I look normal to you? Silver hair, yellow eyes?"

I was silent. His voice was harsh and short, but beneath the volume of his anger was hurt. I smiled gently, taking a long strand of his soft hair in my hand and twining it around my index finger. "I like it." I released his hair, watching it unwind and fall back against his chest. "Unique silver hair, brilliant yellow eyes. Be nicer to yourself, you make yourself sounds scary."

"Being scary is better than being a joke," he spat, his pace quickening once again. "I don't want people to look at me as unique, and I only want them to see me as brilliant mentally. Because I'm young and I look different, I can't get away with being buddy buddy with my staff. Don't you get it? I can't just laugh and smile all the time and expect them to respect me."

I squeezed his shoulders affectionately. "So giving piggy-back rides and laughing about hairstyles does not count as being buddy buddy?"

He growled, dropping me abruptly. I fell on my butt in the dirt, a sharp pain shooting through my ankle causing me to cry out. He whirled around, his eyes stony with fury. "You really want to walk, don't you?! I was carrying you because you are hurt. If you want to crawl back to camp, I have no problem with that!"

Tears of pain sprang into my eyes as I pressed my palms into the ground, trying to lift myself up but to no avail. My ankle throbbed horribly and I ground my teeth together, barely suppressing a whimper.

Inuyasha visibly paled and his eyes grew frightened and wide. "Aw, hell, don't cry, Kagome!"

Owww! I couldn't contain it any more. I burst into tears, clutching my ankle and rocking back and forth like the little girl I once was.

He rushed to my side, hand hesitantly steadying me, anxious eyes flickering over my shaking form frantically. "Ah! Kagome! Are you alright?"

"No, I'm not!" I spat, gasping for breath and shooting him a dirty look. "You dropped me!"

"You mocked me!"

"My ankllllllllle!"

He took me awkwardly in his arms, dragging me carefully into his lap. "Shh," he soothed, running one hand slowly down my spine and moving my hands from my ankle with the other. "Ok, ok, we'll take care of this."

The safety of his embrace calmed me somewhat, and my sobs were reduced to pitiful sniffles. I looked up at him bitterly, but my anger was instantly melted by the blatant concern etched into his handsome features.

Sango had told me once that Inuyasha hadn't looked at anyone the way he looked at me. Not for years, anyway.

I contemplated this as the pain in my ankle faded to the back of my mind. I smiled slightly, reaching up hesitantly to brush a few of his wild bangs out of his face. The twilight emphasized the curve of his jaw and the sparkle of his eyes and the smoothness of his lips. My gaze settled on his lips as I wondered if he kissed the way he acted; confidently, dominantly, swiftly, spontaneously, passionately, enticingly…

I closed my eyes briefly, willing my thoughts back to safer ground. Kissing him right now would just piss him off. He'd just been telling me about his struggle to remain professional with his coworkers, the last thing he needed was me launching myself at him. It seemed we were thinking along the same lines though, because when I opened my eyes slowly they were caught by his own heated amber pair, our lips mere inches apart. I gazed up at him through half-lowered lashes, the tip of my tongue darting out to wet my lips quickly, my breath turning shallow and short.

He smelled like starlight, like fresh snow, like hope and courage and protection. He smelled like the cool summer nights when my mother and I would sit out on the back porch and catch fireflies in large glass jars. Maybe you think these things don't have a smell, but they do. They smell like Inuyasha.

I tilted my chin back a little when he leaned in closer, and our lips were so near that our breath mingled between us and I could taste traces of him between my eagerly parted lips.

But this was wrong. Inuyasha wanted to be professional. He wanted me to be his employee, and maybe, at the moment, who he was really thinking of was not me, but the girl who often mistook me for. The name he always called me and thought I didn't notice, thought I didn't care.

Kikyou.

I turned my face to the side, catching out of the corner of my vision the way he jerked up suddenly, eyes wide and surprised. Frightened, even. "I did not mean to mock you, Inuyasha," I murmured. "Only to say that I consider you a… friend… but I still obey you. Our… friendliness… does not make me respect you any less."

He barely nodded, swallowing heavily. "Friends…" he whispered, turning around so I could crawl onto his back once more. The air seemed colder when he hoisted me up this time, the sky a deep purple and the first stars beginning to appear. His pace was slower, still swift, but lacking the flawless self assurance of before. "Friends."

***

-The Grave Robber-

I stood near the opening to her tent, gently setting her on the ground and guiding her to the entrance. My thoughts were already on other things - calling the physician to come look at her ankle, what was for breakfast the next day, what to tell the funding committee - anything but the beautiful girl beside me who was my… friend.

For days I had been struggling with the fact that Kagome was not just my business partner anymore, and now I could not stand the idea that she was not more than a friend. It had been a year since Kikyou left me, and since then everything had been a blur, a day by day routine, living for the sake of living. All I knew was that when I was with Kagome, the Earth seemed to stand still and things made sense. Maybe our job was to chase after a fantasy, but Kagome was real, she was so real. She was bright, she was clear, she was warmer than Kikyou ever was.

She paused in her doorway, hand fisted in the canvas beside her to keep her balance. We stared at each other for a minute, unblinking and expressionless. I wondered if she felt empty like I did. I wondered if she wished we had kissed. I wondered if she pictured the 'there-afters' like I did; rushing home, tangled sheets, two satiated archaeologists. I decided she probably didn't share my thoughts on that last one.

Finally, she spoke. "I don't know who Kikyou is, Inuyasha, but I am Kagome. Ka. Go. Me."

She was hurt, her eyes sad and full of regret and uncertainty. I hadn't even realized she'd noticed my slip-ups, let alone been so torn by them. Guilt and shock washed over me as I held up my hands helplessly.

She continued. "When you work with me, you are working with Kagome. When you carry me, you are carrying Kagome. When you yell at me, you are yelling at Kagome." She paused, sighing. "And Inuyasha… if you kiss me, you will be kissing Kagome. Not Kikyou, Kagome."

I rushed to her, my arms sliding around her slender waist and my neck bending, moving in to kiss Kagome. I needed her. I needed her close to me, I needed her lips against mine and her skin on my skin and her hand in mine and our limbs tangled together. She set my world straight, and I needed her.

My eyes flew open when she held up a hand against my lips, smiling woefully. "But you will not kiss me."

"I won't?" I asked incredulously against her fingertips, stifling the urge to bestow upon them the affection her lips had refused me.

"No, you won't," she stated with a firm shake of her head. "Because we're just friends, right boss?"

I smiled slightly, slowly releasing her until I held merely her soft hands in mine. "Ah, my friend, Kagome, do you suppose, Kagome, that when we go back to civilization for the meeting with the board, you might want to… you being Kagome, have a friendly dinner with me?"

She glared at me skeptically, withdrawing her hands and crossing her arms over her chest. "How friendly?"

"Very friendly."

She smiled slyly. "Are you asking me on a date, Inuyasha?"

"Yes."

"Wouldn't that, considering our status as friends, be wildly inappropriate?"

"Yes."

"And that doesn't bother you?"

"No."

She stepped back into her tent. "Well, it bothers me. I am afraid our meals together will have to remain purely platonic."

I grinned. The smile on her face was now playful and eager and coy. She was baiting me, and I would bite. I 'd let her go for now, but it was only a matter of time before I had my dinner and my dessert.

Platonic. The idea.

I pressed my hands to my chest, staggering backwards a few steps in mock heartbreak. "Oh, then I am like Orion… shot down."

She laughed, closing the door and just peeking her head through the flap. "And who am I supposed to be?"

"You can be Canis," I joked. "My hunting dog. Loyal, faithful, and man's best friend."

"Now I'm the dog?"

I shrugged, stuffing my hands in my cargo pockets and walking backwards away from her. "Well, who else can be the dog? Certainly not me…" I trailed off. "Never mind. Goodnight Kagome."