InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Hidden Ways ❯ Chapter 8 ( Chapter 8 )

Chapter Eight:

Just remember what you talked about with Kyoko earlier this morning. Sango is a smart woman. She will know what you are trying to say, Miroku thought in anxiety as he paced along the forest floor, searching for the tajiya. Where could she have gone?

But there also is the possibility that she will not feel the same about you. You will be slapped and tormented by her for the rest of your journey for shards of the Shikon Jewel if you tell her…

Miroku growled and found himself a coward. He grew frustrated and leisurely strolled back to the cave and saw Kyoko washing her face by the edge of the stream. He walked over to her and tapped her lightly on the shoulder. She spluttered slightly but dried her face, her attention focusing on him. She then grinned.

"So… Didja find Sango and tell `er like a man what `ya was feelin'?" The servant girl asked. Miroku made no reply and she growled. "Miroku, `ya damn coward! What the hell are `ya gonna do now? What if she starts fallin' fer someone else?" Kyoko hopped to her feet and grasped his robes, causing him to stagger back. "If I wuz you, I wouldn't let `er git away."

"Kyoko, it is not that simple for me. All she probably sees in me is a lecherous `monk' who shuns his duties for others and is a sneaky thief," The young houshi sighed and pulled away from Kyoko's hands. She let his robes go and sat beside him when he popped a squat on the grass.

"That ain't what I see," the runaway servant girl murmured, causing Miroku's head to whirl around and gape at her, his violet eyes wide. Kyoko immediately blushed with anger and bonked him on the head with her fist. "'Ya letch! That ain't how I mean it!" she yelled into his face.

"Oh, I beg your pardon," He chuckled, watching her still fume and mutter about letches and men in general. "What did you mean? I am now getting the hint that it was not sexual or romantic," he teased, evading her slender arm when is came around to hit him again.

"I meant that `ya ain't that bad of a guy. Shore `ya prolay had stole and pillaged but that's in the past. Start out new. `Ya may not be able to change who `ya are but `ya can change some of yer habits, huh?" She explained, sighing and giving him a soft smile. "Sango cares about `ya. A lot and she told me she hated it whenever `ya touched other women," she added.

Miroku fell silent as his face became serene and thoughtful. His eyes flashed with hope but he became distracted when Kyoko took his cursed hand and put it in front of his eyes. He watched her, wondering what her meaning was.

"'Ya best go git `er now afore this curse takes yer life, Miroku. She'd want that much more," Kyoko told him, standing up, stretching slightly. "Ah, damn! Mah back hurts!" she whined while holding it with both hands. "Oh yeah. I weren't supposed to tell `ya some uh that stuff so don't mention any of it, ok?"

Miroku got to his feet also, looking a bit more confident now. He would find her and confess. He was, after all, not as much of a coward as everyone believed. "Your words are safe with me, Kyoko," he told her, slowly walking out of her site. The runaway servant girl laughed and sighed, her fingers going to her mass of tangled, ebony hair.

Everyone's got someone, but not me. I ain't never gonna find anyone who wants to be with the likes of me, Kyoko thought to herself as she started to head back to the cave where she had left Rin to sleep.

**

As Kyoko walked slowly back to the cave, she was nearly pummeled over by a frustrated Inuyasha. She howled when he accidentally stepped on her foot and threw a wild punch, catching him in the shoulder, causing her to loose her balance and him, his footing. Inuyasha was about to fall because he was not paying attention, angry and confused.

"Oh fuuu- OOF!" He started to curse but was knocked out of breath when Kyoko's body smashed into his middle and they both toppled onto the forest floor. They rolled for a little bit until Inuyasha had regained himself and tossed Kyoko away. "What the hell was that?" He snapped at her, sitting up.

"I dunno! I wuz just gonna ask `ya the same thing, `ya damn beast!" The runaway slave barked in reply, rubbing her bottom where she had fallen and landed unceremoniously. She looked him over, seeing the frustration glinting in the demeanor of his body. "Wutchu been up too? I saw you wuz chasin' Kagome. How did that go, by the way?"

Inuyasha sent her a defeated expression and sighed deeply, growling a bit. He pounded his fist on the ground. "She doesn't understand," he finally managed to get out through his frustration. Kyoko crawled up beside him, catching his amber eyes.

"Whaddya mean she don't understand? What don't she understand, boy? Kami-sama! You n' Miroku er horrible with explainin' things," She half-asked, half-chastised him. "I'm getting fed up with y'all. `Ya want to impress yer women but don know how. Then `ya come to me cuz yer confused. Damn. I should start chargin' money fer my services," Kyoko finished, her voice now laced in sarcasm. Inuyasha just half-scoffed at her and muttered a `feh'.

"She doesn't understand… I nearly almost told her I wanted… her…" he whispered, his head dropping so the runaway slave could no longer make eye contact with him. "She expects me to just… come out and say how I'm feeling… But… I can't do that…"

"Why not?" Kyoko asked him softly, giving into her curiosity about the puppy ears. She reached up and started to massage one, watching as his leg almost started to twitch when he let out something of a horny growl. His hand shot up and caught hers firmly, bringing it back down. He then stuffed it in her lap.

"Don't touch my ears, please," He ordered to her, crossing his arms inside his haori sleeves. "Anyways…"

"Oh yeah. You wuz gonna tell me `bout why you cain't open up to Kagome all the way," Kyoko remembered, settling down.

"I've been living my whole life without anyone. I'm… not used to telling people what I think or what I feel… no one has really taken any time… to listen to what I have to say most of the time…" He finished, a pained expression crossing his face. He remembered his horrible childhood. He remembered how awfully youkai and humans alike had treated him.

"But, Kagome's different then them, ain't she, Inuyasha?" Kyoko pondered aloud, hoping to pry a response from them. Kagome certainly didn't seem like the kind of girl to judge someone before she got to know them.

"Yeah… I guess that's why it's so hard for me to talk to her sometimes…" He replied, his voice sounding uncharacteristically vulnerable. "Sometimes I think she'll just run away from me, afraid or disgusted… but she's never done it… I appreciate her for it…" He added, sighing and relaxing furthermore.

"That's deep and perfect, Inuyasha," Kyoko whispered to him, giving him a light hug. He didn't return it but he felt slightly comforted now that he had gotten that off of his chest.

"She's never gonna hear it though," He said in remorse, sighing deeply again. Kyoko made a clucking sound with her tongue and smiled to him softly and sweetly.

"I dunno about that," she whispered, her eyes going to an area behind where they were sitting. Inuyasha turned slowly, realizing that he had been so relaxed and off of his guard that he hadn't noticed Kagome approach. There she was, standing with tears in her eyes.

"K-Kagome…" He stuttered, feeling somewhat relieved and anxious. Why was she crying? He had said something good about her right? Kami-sama! He never did ANYTHING right!

"I'm gonna leave you two alone," Kyoko said, patting Inuyasha on the shoulder before she headed into the cave.

No! Don't go! Inuyasha thought in worry, thinking that he was also in trouble. His eyes were fixated on Kagome. She looked so very beautiful at the moment as she walked slowly and unsurely to his side and sat down. Her chocolate eyes were liquidly and her lips were trembling slightly as she wiped her face to get the tears to stop.

"Inuyasha," Kagome finally got out when she had put herself to certain rights. Smoldering amber eyes focused on her dark ones, both of their breathing stopped momentarily. "D-did… Did you mean what you said?" she asked, leaning slightly closer to him.

Inuyasha didn't speak. He couldn't. He found no words. What was he going to say? He didn't know. All he knew was that Kagome had been the one to accept him for who he was, she had always been there and taken him back when he had screwed up and gone with Kikyo many times and she had cried and tried to take his burden for him when he was overwhelmed. She was a beautiful person and it went deeper than just the physical. The hanyou badly wanted to put his thoughts into words but found that his mind had gone blank. Kagome… What you're doing to me… He thought as he watched her, gazing at him in confusion and wonder. His head nodded a fraction as his cheeks burned.

Kagome let out the pent up breath she had been holding and a small smile quirked on her lips, as her face became a deep crimson also. He didn't need to say anything more. Inuyasha never had been a man of many words but the look in his eyes answered all the questions she might have had in the last moment. "I feel the same way about you, Inuyasha, and I have for a while now… I thought…" she swallowed and looked down at the grass underneath her legs, "I thought that you'd sure go to hell with Kikyo and choose her over me…" A tear slid out of her eyes. "That was my biggest fear out of any that I have experienced in the Sengoku Jidai…"

Inuyasha slid a hand under Kagome's chin, unsurely, and rose it to meet his gaze. He brushed his lips across her forehead, her two cheeks and then her nose, leaning forward and resting his forehead on her own. His eyes closed as he breathed in her scent and listened to the quickening of her heartbeat. "Kagome…" he rumbled softly, leaning back, seeing the tears in her eyes again. "Don't cry any more… Don't be sad…"

"I'm not sad, Inuyasha… I'm… so happy," she sobbed as tears pooled and fell down her cheeks. She leaned forward, throwing her arms around his neck, nuzzling and getting as close as possible to him. He held her with ferocity, pulling her back to kiss her fully on the mouth, feeling her body, trembling with passion as the chaste kiss turned into something different entirely. They pulled away from each other with dark eyes but quickly regained themselves, realizing that they had just openly kissed where the others could have seen them.

"I really hope that Miroku or Sesshomaru didn't see that," The hanyou whispered in the high school girl's ear. "I'd never hear the end of it…" Kagome giggled softly and sighed, her eyes closing.

"Would you mind though? Is it a mistake to care about someone?" She asked him in a low voice. She pulled back and looked into his amber eyes.

"No, I don't think it is…"

**

"Something… suggestive is happening out there," Sesshomaru stated as his gaze went to the mouth of the cave. "I can smell arousal."

Kyoko blushed but eyed the Taiyoukai skeptically. "Inuyasha n' Kagome er comin' to grips with their feelin's. That ain't yer business," she finished, crossing her arms and glaring playfully at him.

"They've stopped. Thank Kami-sama," The Inuyoukai breathed again, rolling his eyes in agitation. It was disgusting, showing affection or touching another in a sexual or romantic way. He growled at Kyoko when she shook her fist at him, his gaze shifting over to that of his sleeping charge.

"Sesshomaru-sama…" he heard the small girl mutter. He went to her side, not really caring if Kyoko saw him lie next to her and prop himself up on his elbow like a father would his daughter.

"What is it, Rin?" He asked her softly, his deep voice soothing her and relaxing her.

"Can Sesshomaru-sama bring Kyoko-sama back with Rin so she can be Rin's mommy? She said she would. Rin really likes Kyoko-sama. More than Jaken-sama," she replied, moving into his hard warmth.

I believe anyone's company would be more fitting than Jaken's, he thought before he sat up. "I don't know, Rin," he answered her.

"Please, Sesshomaru-sama? It would make Rin so happy to have someone to be her mommy," Rin pleaded, her eyes now fully open. Her dark orbs were coaxing the Taiyoukai.

Sesshomaru wanted to say no. Who wanted a filthy, ugly, uneducated, annoying human in their castle to keep their charge company? His thoughts returned to what Kyoko and Rin had been talking about early. The place in Rin's heart that would never be filled. He did not want to choose a mate and he also did not want to shun his charge of a mother figure. He simply could not win anymore…

"It depends," Sesshomaru told the girl, his golden eyes meeting Kyoko's from across the room. She watched him in confusion, wondering what he was getting at. "Does she want to come along?"

(A/N: Dun dun dun… Sorry! It's been so long since an update, I know. I'm such a bad girl… Lol. The next chapter should be coming out in a couple of days!)