InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Gen-Ex ❯ And When You Do, Dive In Head First ( Chapter 2 )

Disclaimer: I don't own InuYasha or any characters there in.

Chapter 2: And When You Do, Dive In Head First

Kagome bobbed into consciousness. It was dark, and her arm was cold. She moaned and there was some movement near her, the blanket that covered most of her was pulled up to cover her shoulder, granting her warmth and she bobbed right back down to unconsciousness.

*

Voices. Kagome kept her eyes closed, but she could hear the voice of Kaio in the distance.

"I see that! Why didn't you bring her straight to me?" His voice was sharp and clear. There was a low, almost growling noise and Kaio continued. "Any number of things. What if she woke up? No, don't, just get her and follow me. We'll deal with your stupidity later."

There was movement, something coming towards her. Then strong arms lifting her, holding her close to a warm body. Her head hurt at the sudden movement and she groaned.

"Does she have a concussion? Did you even check?" Kaio again.

Then the rough voice vibrated through her, "No, and yes. I'm not stupid, old man. I wouldn't let her die." He growled.

"Camp is this way, don't drop her boy." Kaio barked.

"Feh."

Kagome's head hurt, her eyes wouldn't open, she was confused and it was now very bright around her. But she was being held firmly by strong arms, they weren't confused, they knew what to do, they wouldn't let her die. She turned her face towards the body in an attempt to hide from the light, and returned gratefully to sleep.

*

"Kagome,"

`Sango?'

"Kagome, wake up. I don't want to have to go home because you bumped your head." Sango's tone was much softer then her words.

"Go away, I'm dead." Kagome replied.

"You wimp," Sango laughed, "You fell and hit your head on the side of that old well."

Kagome slowly opened her eyes, and sat up, feeling a little dizzy. "I fell into the well." She said. She was in a tent, with Sango.

"No," Sango shook her head, "Kaio found you beside the well. You must have dreamt it."

"But… I was trying to get my crystal back." Kagome's hand glided up to her neck, "I fell…. I remember this guy picked me up."

"Kaio brought you here and gave you to me." Sango explained, "He found you by the well and brought you here. He said that if you didn't wake up soon we would all have to go back. What about you? Do you want to go back."

Suddenly Kagome grabbed Sango's shirt and pulled her close. "There's something on this mountain, Sango. Kaio's hiding something."

Sango looked at her wild-eyed friend, "Maybe I should get Kaio, maybe you should go home." She tried to loosen Kagome's grip on her but Kagome just held on tighter.

"No!" She hissed, then in a calmer voice, "I'm alright, I just had a weird dream, that's all…. So what did I miss?" She released Sangos' shirt.

"A cliff with a face in it." Sango sat back, "It was freaky. And Kouga getting chewed out for leaving you behind, alone. That was kinda cool."

"Did they send Kouga after me?" Kagome asked.

"No, Kaio sent everyone ahead and told us to make camp as soon as we got to the big fire pit. He went to get you alone." Sango looked thoughtful for a minute. "It is kinda strange how quickly he covered ground it took us nearly all day to travel, considering he was carrying you and all…. I bet InuYasha saved you!"

Kagome groaned and fell back on her sleeping bag. "Not this again!"

*

After a quick trip to the fire pit to grab some dinner and reassure everyone that she was fine Kagome returned to her and Sango's tent. The tents were set up as a small village of semi circles leading to the fire and the path beyond. Hers was way on the out side ring actually surrounded by trees on three sides and feet from any other tent. High ground too, Sango knew her stuff. All Kagome wanted to do was escape the noise and light of the fire circle and ease her head back into shape, but before she could crawl inside Kaio called out to her.

"Kagome!" He gave her a strained smile, "How are you doing? Your head still hurt?"

"A little." Kagome smiled back, "I'm sure I'll be fine by the morning. Thank you."

"So… what happened back there?" he asked carefully.

"Well…" Kagome answered just as carefully, "Sango said-"

"I'm not interested in what Sango said I want to know what you think happened." He snapped.

Kagome was a little taken aback, "Uh, I fell, and hit my head. Trying to retrieve my necklace. It means a lot to me. Then I woke up… here, with Sango."

Kaio seemed to relax a little, "That was very stupid you know, risking your life for a necklace."

"I'm sorry." Kagome said crossly, "Next time I won't be so stupid."

"See that you aren't." Kaio turned his back on her and walked back to the group of kids.

Kagome looked around again at the thick forest; the sun was just setting casting that eerie glow through out the trees.

"I really loved that necklace…" She lamented to the evening forest, "I've had it a very long time… Ohh! That's silly." She shook her head, "It was just a dumb crystal."

"Talking to yourself Kagome?" Sango smiled at her friend.

"No actually," Kagome turned to face her. "I was having an in depth discussion on the environmental impacts of campers with this tree. I figured I should go straight to the experts."

"Makes perfect since to me." Sango shrugged, "Ah, Kagome, me and Miroku wanted to go `hunting' tonight. Will you be Ok?"

"I should be asking you that question!" Kagome gasped, "You're going out into the woods alone, at night, with Miroku?"

"I'll be fine, he happens to be a serious scientist… most of the time." Sango coughed discreetly then smiled, "And if he isn't I have my pepper spray!"

"Glad to hear it." Kagome yawned, being unconscious all day really takes a lot out of you. "Don't worry about me, and don't worry about waking me up either. I've had more than enough sleep."

"You say that now but I have no death wish." Sango laughed.

*

As he crept into the dark tent his eyes picked up the small amount of light that seeped through the thin tent wall. He paused to sniff at the bags that lay to one side of the sleeping girl. It was easy for him to determine which bag he was looking for.

Slowly, carefully, he leaned over the girl and reached out for the main pocket of the bag.

Kagome sat up suddenly and smacked him with her flashlight, right in the temple.

Little comets of light streaked across his vision and he collapsed, dizzy and nauseous, across her legs.

Then Kagome woke up. She realized at once that she had just pulled her old sleeping trick. But she knew Sango would be returning, why had she reacted like that?

Looking down she realized that the body laying across her sleeping bag was not that of Sango, however, before the implications of what that might mean could alarm her she realized that it wasn't moving.

"Oh god!" She whispered as she pulled herself out from under the strange dark mass. "Are you Ok?"

The boy groaned and rolled on his back.

"Are you Ok?" Kagome asked again and knelt beside him, "I'm so sorry… Are you hurt?"

"My head…" The strange gravely voice replied.

"I'm sorry…" Kagome leaned over him and did the first thing that came into her mind, she ran her fingers from his eye brows through his hair to the top of his head, "… I just don't startle well when I'm asleep."

The boy closed his eyes again and had begun to breath deep, slow breaths.

Kagome stilled her hands, "What are you doing here anyway?"

His eyes popped open and reflected gold in the dim light of the fire that made it through the tent wall. "Don't stop." He gasped, "I'll tell you, just… keep doing that."

Kagome blinked and resumed "petting" him, "well?"

He closed his eyes and sighed. "I, I was just returning something."

"What? And who are you? Have you been following us?" Kagome paused, thinking back on the stories, the eyes from last night, from just a moment ago, "Are you … are you InuYasha?"

The boy was quiet for a while, before he answered. "Your necklace, you dropped it."

"Who are you?" Kagome asked again pausing in her ministrations with her hands in his hair.

"Nobody," the boy sulked. "No don't!" he cried as Kagome noticed that the tips of her fingers were touching something that shouldn't be there. Her hands had crept back until her fingers wrapped around what felt like dog ears that came out of his head.

Kagome looked the frightened stranger in the eyes and breathed, "You really are InuYasha, aren't you? You really exist."

"No! I don't!" InuYasha quietly shouted, so that Kaio wouldn't hear them, and pulled himself up. "Now let go of me bitch-OW!"

Kagome had pinched his ear. "No, I'm not letting you disappear. You saved me from the well, didn't you? You carried me back here and you brought me my crystal! Admit it!"

Kagome pinched his ear again for good measure.

"OW! Yes, I am InuYasha. I pulled your clumsy ass out of the well and carried you back to Kaio! Now let me go!"

Obediently Kagome withdrew her hands and smiled, "Thank you," she said softly, "So you snuck in here to give me back my necklace then?"

"Yeah." InuYasha tossed the crystal in Kagome's' lap and tried to turn and leave.

"Wait!" Kagome grabbed his arm and swung him around again.

"What?" InuYasha snapped.

"I… I just wanted to talk to you." Kagome said sheepishly. "I said that I wasn't going to let you just disappear on me. My name is Higurashi Kagome."

"I know." InuYasha settled into a half-reclined posture and eyed her suspiciously.

"Oh, …are you always this friendly?" Kagome demanded.

InuYasha blinked, then smirked, "You always this stupid?"

Kagome scowled dangerously. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Do you always let strange males crawl around your bedding or am I an exception?"

Kagome opened her mouth to yell when she realized the truth behind his statement. But then she closed her mouth to think, for an instant InuYasha had let down his guard, while he was insulting her, she had seen … something in his eyes.

Slowly Kagome crawled over so that her face was inches from his and looked into his wide golden eyes with her steady brown ones. "You're never going to get rid of me like that InuYasha. I'm going to figure you out."