InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Journey of the soul: The panther devas' plot ❯ The heat is on ( Chapter 5 )

Disclaimer: Most of the characters in this story are the actual work of Rumiko Takahashi. I do not own them in any way.

 

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Chapter 4: The heat is on

 

Morning came with a wave of heat and humidity the likes Kikyo and Inuyasha had rarely seen. The air was so thick with humidity that even breathing proved to be an effort. To make things worst, not a cloud could be seen in the sky which gave the distinct impression of being inside a boiling tea kettle.

 

"This is going to be quite the day," observed Kikyo while chewing on her rice ball pensively.

 

"Keh! Only humans would be hindered by something so trivial as the weather," countered Inuyasha, proudly displaying how unaffected he was by the whole thing.

 

"Well, it's a good thing that I happen to have some youkai blood flowing in my veins now, otherwise I might actually feel insulted by that last retort," replied the miko with a rueful smile.

 

"Oh knock it off, you wouldn't have felt insulted even without youkai blood," countered the hanyou in an annoyed tone.

 

"Why thank you for the unexpected compliment Inuyasha," shot back the woman and watched with amusement her companion's cheeks turn a very nice shade of red.

 

But then the hanyou blinked as something seemed to register in his mind and his embarrassment disappeared, replaced by puzzlement instead. "Say... does this mean you're not affected by the heat either?" he asked curiously.

 

Now it was Kikyo's turn to pause. Frowning in obvious confusion, she lowered her gaze and looked down at herself, as if that alone would give her the answers she sought. Finally, after a few seconds of fruitless scrutiny, she returned her eyes the hanyou.

 

"It would appear so. For some reason, I feel the unbearable heat but it seems to just... slide over my skin without really touching me," she said with a bit of wonder in her voice.

 

"Is there any other way to feel that?" questioned the hanyou as if what the miko had just revealed was the most natural thing in the world which, to him, might be when one thought about it.

 

"It's different for us humans. Heat doesn't just slide off our skin... it passes right through and heats our inner body. That's why we are so vulnerable to the elements... and you youkai are practically impervious to them. A rather interesting discovery," answered the woman.

 

"Keh! I'm glad I'm not human then otherwise I'd be sweating like a pig by now," replied the hanyou rather smugly.

 

"Yes, and probably panting like an old man too," shot back Kikyo in a voice suddenly as cold as ice.

 

Noticing the drastic change of mood in his companion, Inuyasha turned a confused look at her. "The hell's wrong with you?" he questioned.

 

"Nothing," she said back sharply.

 

"And you expect me to believe that?" replied the hanyou angrily.

 

"As I said... it's nothing Inuyasha," countered the miko, her voice taking on a definite edge.

 

"Nothing my ass!" exclaimed the red-clad hanyou hotly. "You're angry at me and I demand to know why!"

 

"Well, if you must know, I'm angry because I've just realized your true intent!" snapped Kikyo, her voice rising in volume.

 

"True intent? What damn true intent?" questioned Inuyasha hotly.

 

"You never really wanted to become human! You've just admitted so yourself!" spat the woman, her eyes burning with betrayal.

 

At this, the hanyou recoiled violently as if he had been physically struck. He blinked several times as if trying to process the full meaning behind what his companion had just said before his own features closed completely into a boiling rage. Taking very slow and deliberate steps, he walked toward Kikyo and stopped only when he was inches away from her.

 

"Now look here woman," he whispered in a low and rumbling voice.

 

Easily noticing that this time, she was the one who had made a mistake, the miko tried to take a step back, but Inuyasha's hand shot out and held her in place.

 

"I can put up with you wanting to find your own damn food. I can put up with you trying to make me sound like an idiot. I can even put up with you wanting a damn bath every day if it came to that. But one thing I'll never accept... is to be called a liar!" he growled, grabbing the collar of her shirt and bringing her face until it practically touched hers. "When I said I wanted to become human I meant it with every damn fiber of my being! Up to now, I still considered that giving up my dream to be with you was worth it... but now that you called me a liar, I'm not so sure anymore."

 

For a year now, she had known Inuyasha and never had she seen him in such a dangerous mood. His eyes were two pools of liquid amber that boiled with fury and outrage. Two very beautiful golden orbs that she simply could not look away from. The hanyou was so damn angry that he might actually be willing to harm her this time. Fear grip her stomach as she felt his angry breath pour over her skin. But then, if she could feel his breath like that, his lips must be millimeters away from hers... his soft and sweet lips that could make her melt at the slightest contact. God, what was wrong with her? How could she possibly be thinking of kissing Inuyasha when he was practically ready to kill her? In a desperate effort to regain control of herself, she tried to make use of her voice, though to no great success.

 

"B... but you said y... you were glad y... you weren't human," she squeaked in a small voice that was most definitively unlike her.

 

Abruptly, she found herself staggering backward as the hanyou roughly pushed her away from him.

 

"You fucking idiotic wench!" he spat in disgust. "I said that because I was glad I didn't feel the heat! Do you have to always find a hidden meaning behind everything I say!?"

 

At this, Kikyo couldn't answer. She was too busy trying to steady her own racing heart. God, Inuyasha could be scary when he really wanted to. But was she really scared? The pounding in her chest, her wobbling legs, were they really caused by fear... or something else entirely? Before she had much time to sort through her tangled feelings, the hanyou spoke again.

 

"Don't you ever accuse me of lying again Kikyo... or I'm leaving you behind. Is that clear?" he asked in a cold voice.

 

"Y... Yeah," she stammered weakly.

 

"Good... then let's get going. We've wasted enough time as it is," ordered Inuyasha again before whirling away to tend to his own supply.

 

Taking a deep breath, she gathered what was left of her wits and started packing her things up. Even if she didn't particularly fancy obeying anyone, she knew better than to worsen an already explosive situation she herself had created. Still, as her emotions gradually settled down, she started to realize one very troubling thing: The odd feeling of disappointment usually accompanying her arguments with Inuyasha wasn't there. Instead, what radiated through her at this very moment was... satisfaction. It was as if she had gotten exactly what she wanted. But Inuyasha had been ready to rip her throat apart... who in her right mind would actually want that?

 

"But then again, I'm hardly... in my right mind anymore," she mused sadly.

 

"Hoy, you ready?" called the hanyou suddenly, thus jarring her out of her dark musing.

 

"Just about," she answered while putting the last of her stuff in her bag and tying it securely shut.

 

Slinging the pack on her back and grabbing her bow, she righted herself and nodded at Inuyasha, signaling that she was now all set. She was also glad that her composure had returned. Being reduced to whimpering like a ten-years-old was quite the embarrassing experience. Lucky for her no one had been there to witness the whole scene.

 

"No one... that remains to be seen," she reflected, casting one last suspicious look at her surroundings before falling into steps beside Inuyasha.

 

As it turned out, Kikyo's hunch had been correct because no sooner had the pair disappeared from view that an enormous bee with red eyes emerged from the thick foliage of a nearby tree and started following them at a safe distance.

 

******

 

It was around midday that the miko finally mustered up enough courage to speak again. The morning had been tense and silent and she knew things could not go on like this forever. The way Inuyasha was going out of his way to ignore her told her he still held a grudge for what she had said and unless she apologized, the atmosphere between them would quickly grow unbearable.

 

"Inuyasha..." she said, hesitantly.

 

The hanyou didn't answer, but she saw his ears turn toward her and his eyes flicked in her direction for a brief second. Well, at least she had his attention, that was better than nothing.

 

"I... apologize for this morning," she muttered and immediately she felt the thing within her stir, as if it didn't approve of her course of action. She ignored it though. She had hurt Inuyasha's feelings and she would face the consequences with grace and offer whatever reparation she could. It was the least she could do.

 

"It was totally uncalled for and in direct contradiction with what I had claimed earlier. I should have known better. I wish I could take my words back, but I can't. I just pray that..."

 

"Oh for crying out loud would you knock it off with the endless apology!?" interrupted the hanyou sharply. "So you're sorry. I get the picture all right? No sense in making a big speech out of it!"

 

"I'm sorry, I..." but the miko trailed off as she realized she was about to apologize again.

 

"Look you said yourself that we should trust each other if we were to prevail against Onigumo... but then you went and called me a liar. That hurts... Especially coming from you," replied Inuyasha levelly.

 

"Inuyasha, it's not that I don't trust you. But when you said you were glad not to be human..." she trailed off, searching for the right words to explain what she had felt.

 

"It reminded you of how you felt when you faced Onigumo," finished the hanyou simply.

 

Kikyo could not help but miss a step when she heard those words. Jerking her head to the side, she fixed her companion with a completely dumbfounded stare that caused an amused grin to appear on his features.

 

"How..." she stammered in complete confusion.

 

"When someone has gone through as much pain as I have, it's only natural that he learns to understand it somewhere along the line," he explained, his smile fading.

 

"Oh," said the miko somewhat sheepishly. "I'm..."

 

"If you say you're sorry even one more time, I'm gonna rip your damn tongue right out of your mouth!" growled the hanyou in annoyance.

 

Clamping her mouth shut reflexively, she opened it a second later but shut it immediately when she realized that she had been about to apologize yet again.

 

"I suppose I am starting to sound like a child," amended the woman with a small chuckle of amusement.

 

"Make that the child who broke her mother's favorite mirror," added Inuyasha wryly, causing them both to burst out laughing.

 

It was strange. For years now she had not found any reason to laugh like this. Sure, she had giggled a few times when playing with children or on various other occasions... but she never allowed herself to enjoy an all-out fit like this. Now that she experienced how good it actually felt however, she could not help but wonder why she had deprived herself of such a simple pleasure.

 

It lifted both her heart and spirit, it allowed her to momentarily forget about all the problems riddling her life and what's more, it dispelled the remaining tension between herself and Inuyasha. Yes, laughter was a wonderful remedy... and also one she promised herself to use more often in the near future.

 

"I didn't know you had a sense of humor," taunted Kikyo lightly once they had calmed down.

 

"Well that makes us even I suppose," shot back the hanyou cryptically.

 

"And why is that?" questioned the woman curiously.

 

"Because I didn't know you could actually laugh," answered Inuyasha very seriously.

 

"I guess... I never really had a reason to laugh... until now," said the woman with slightly downcast eyes.

 

"Well, you should learn to be less picky about your reason, 'cause you're much better when you laugh," replied the hanyou gruffly.

 

"I suppose I am," replied Kikyo absently.

 

Silence once again fell on the two, broken only by the sounds of their footsteps. But then, the woman blinked as the full meaning of her companion's words hit her. Whipping her head to the side in surprise, she was just in time to see him turn his head to the side to avoid her gaze.

 

"Did he just..." she thought in surprise.

 

But when she saw his cheeks begin to turn pink, she knew she had been correct. For the first time since they had known each other, Inuyasha had actually complimented her. Sure, it had been a bit crude, said in a tone more suited for reprimand than anything... but a compliment remained a compliment. And compliments should always be acknowledged, whether the person actually means it or not.

 

Yes, that's what she had been taught while training as a miko. Some men tended to shower beautiful girls with compliments. These people, you gave the least bit of acknowledgment because they seldom meant what they said. However, when a proud man who always hid his heart made you a compliment, then you took it in full, no matter the form it took, because it held more value than a lifetime of flattery.

 

Yes, all that, she had been taught. Lessons repeated until it almost made her puke. How to act, how to answer, what to say, everything had been drilled into her until it practically overrode her original personality. Hours upon hours of training... and one single sentence from the hanyou successfully managed to throw all of it out the window.

 

Words fled her as she felt her heart speed up in her chest. Heat flooded her cheeks as she fumbled for an answer, any answer to give to Inuyasha, but words slipped out of her grasp as soon as she seized them. Finally, after a few seconds of frantic searching, she was able to grasp on a few words and hold on to them. It wasn't as grand or as refined as the replies she knew she had learned... but at the moment, it was really all she could come up with.

 

"Thank you... Inuyasha," she whispered quietly.

 

Simple. Just a plain and simple answer. No embroidery, no refinement, just a plain and simple acknowledgment. And she suddenly found that these few words held more meaning than all those she had given in the past. Yes, for the first time in her life, Kikyo had actually accepted a compliment.

 

******

 

"Are you certain about this, Inuyasha? If I interceded..." said Kikyo with a bit of a pained expression.

 

"Just drop it, I've never been comfortable sleeping in a bed anyway," snapped the irritated hanyou.

 

"No one's forcing you to sleep in a bed! But at the very least, you could sleep in a room!" exclaimed the miko in exasperation.

 

"I don't want any of your damn fucking rooms is that clear?!" barked Inuyasha angrily.

 

Letting out a long sigh of annoyance, Kikyo shook her head in discouragement. They had been at this for at least half an hour now. Inuyasha refusing to sleep anywhere but outside and herself trying to convince him otherwise. She was beginning to find her companion's rebuttal rather childish. Sure he might have every reason in the world to be uncomfortable among humans... but this was getting ridiculous! Who in his right mind would pass up the opportunity to sleep in a warm bed anyway!?

 

"I don't want any of your damn fucking rooms"

 

Kikyo blinked in surprise. "My rooms? Now why would he say something like that?" she asked herself in puzzlement.

 

And suddenly, she understood. Inuyasha wanted more than anything in the world to be accepted for who he was. He wanted people to stop cowering in fear when they saw him. He wanted to be allowed to exist. However, acceptance was not something that could be forced on people, it only made things worst. And here she was proposing him to do just that by forcing an innkeeper to give him a room. God, how stupid could she be?

 

"I'm sorry Inuyasha... you can sleep outside if you want, I will not try to stop you anymore," she amended sadly.

 

"I don't think I'm going to have much of a choice in the matter anyway," he retorted, his gaze suddenly intent on something on the road up ahead.

 

Squinting slightly to try and see what her companion had already been able to see, all she was really able to discern was the indistinct shape of a person that made his way toward them. Due to the distance, it was close to impossible to see much of the person, but the way he moved led to believe that something was definitively wrong with him. Not hesitating for a second, Kikyo immediately bolted off toward the man, not bothering to check if Inuyasha was following her or not.

 

As she got closer to the man though, she began to pick out a scent drifting on the breeze. A foul stench that made her hackle rise despite herself. As if that wasn't enough, she felt the thing inside of her stir out of its dormancy. She felt it ooze through her and spread to every corner of her body, from the tip of her fingers all the way to the end of her hair. While the feeling wasn't exactly pleasurable, she found she could live with it for the moment. Right now, the main order of business was to reach this nameless person before it was too late.

 

She had covered about half the distance separating them both when she saw the stranger collapse. Biting back a curse, she was about to increase her pace when she was abruptly swept off her feet by Inuyasha.

 

"I run faster than you do," said the hanyou before she could get so much as a word in edgewise.

 

As much as she did not like to be carried bridal-style like this, she could not help but admit that Inuyasha was right. Even with the youkai blood now coursing through her, she would never be able to compete with his speed. So she said nothing and waited as the hanyou bounded on the road toward their destination.

 

Thanks to Inuyasha's swiftness, it took no less than a minute for them to reach the stranger. As soon as she was out of his arms, she hurried to the man's side and started shaking him gently.

 

"Are you okay?" she questioned worriedly. "Pull yourself together!"

 

For a moment, nothing happened, but then a sickening cough wracked the stranger's body and he laboriously raised his head to look at the two travelers. They couldn't suppress the gasps of horror and surprise at what they saw. The man's flesh was in the process of melting before their very eyes. Despite her training, Kikyo felt her stomach churn when she saw the sickening fumes rising from the skin in small black volutes. But what was even more disgusting was the voice that emanated from the man when he spoke. It was raspy, wheezy and as dry as it could get.

 

"Leave... while you... still can," breathed the man before he let out a strangled gurgling sound and collapsed on the ground, dead.

 

"So this is the stench I've been smelling until now!" growled the hanyou while looking left and right suspiciously.

 

"Rotting flesh?" questioned Kikyo.

 

"Shouki," corrected Inuyasha grimly. "It's permeating the air around us! Unless you get out of here right now, you'll rot just like this guy here!"

 

"I would not be so sure about this," countered Kikyo while pulling up the sleeve of her uniform to reveal the creamy skin of her arm that showed absolutely no signs of decay.

 

"You're not affected!? But how!?" exclaimed the hanyou in surprise.

 

"I'm a trained miko, withstanding such a small amount of shouki is child's play for me," she shot back levelly.

 

In truth, what allowed her to resist the shouki in the air was not her training at all, it was her youkai blood. But now wasn't the time to worry about such small details. She saw Inuyasha open his mouth, probably to voice some form of protestation, but she silenced him with an icy glare. Standing up, she stared at the road ahead, feeling cold determination spread through her.

 

"You were right Inuyasha, there is definitively a nasty stench in the air," she whispered darkly. "The disgusting stench of a spider... the stench of Onigumo."