InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Legend of the Labyrinth ❯ The Meaning of Words ( Chapter 12 )

Chapter 12   *~*~*~*~*  The only warning Inuyasha got was a battle yell before something slammed into his side and sent him flying into the remains of the cliff side. Stunned for a moment, Inuyasha watched lethargically as Shippo began screaming and running away, Hiten, hot on the kit's tail…wait a minute!  Inuyasha pulled himself to his feet. The thunder god-beast was chasing the child, a mad rage in his eyes, and taking swings at the fox kit made purposely to scare but not kill, yet. He was sputtering some nonsense from his lips, about teaching the fox a lesson for picking on his younger brother. Inuyasha didn't catch much of it though as he leapt in front of the god-beast, sword drawn, to defend the kit from what may have been the fatal blow.  "Fucking bastard! Out of my way! I'll kill him! I'll kill all of you! Teach you to fucking pick on my little brother!!"  The mad rage fueling Hiten made his attacks fierce and wild. He was bristling, sputtering mad, and it wasn't too long before Inuyasha managed to find a perfect opening. Without missing a beat, Inuyasha brought his fist up, and punched him in the face. Hiten went flying back, smack into a large boulder and cracking it in half. Though still angry, the last thunder brother was slow getting back on his feet. Inuyasha snarled, pulling back into a fighting stance, awaiting his opponent's recovery, but not without a few choice words.  "You fucking shit-head! The brat has every right to do whatever he wants to either of you. You're the bastards that killed his parents!"  "Shut up! You know nothing! I'll teach you the pain of the man who lost his little brother!"  At that moment, Inuyasha fully expected Hiten to charge, and he would have, if something had not caught his eye. Inuyasha saw his gaze shift, a moment before he raised his weapon in that direction, aiming for a bush with a large fluffy tail sticking up from just behind it.  "DIE!!"  "Shippo! Shit, Look out!"  And so the fox did, looking up just in time to see a bright flash of light headed his way. Then there was red, and he was flying through the air. He felt the ground connect with his body as he tumbled, and felt pain, but surprisingly little of it. Curious as to why he wasn't dead, he opened his eyes to see, "I-Inuyasha?!"  "Fuck brat, get out of here!"  The half god-beast was struggling to stand, digging his sword into the ground for support. Shippo's mind barely connected with the fact that Inuyasha had shielded him, before Hiten attacked again. Flying down from above on his wheels, Inuyasha barely had time to raise Tetsusaiga to block the attack. Terrified, Shippo watched as his friend was pushed down to one knee. He wanted to help, but he couldn't beat Hiten. If only there was something else he could do, there had to be.  He was startled out of his thoughts by a snapping sound, not too far away. Curious, he looked up where Hiten's fiery wheels were struggling to stay lit while being pelted by the rain. Suddenly an idea struck the kit. He could help!  "Fox Fire!" The blue flame went up, engulfing the right wheel and swiftly reduced it to char. Feeling the imbalance, Hiten stumbled, landing on the ground where Shippo had stood not seconds before. However, his job done, Shippo had been wise enough to make a swift get away, and was already out of sight.  Meanwhile, Inuyasha had taken advantage of Hiten's imbalance to push the thunder brother off and away from him. Panting, he stood upright, while Hiten did away with his other wheel, and got his footing on the slippery terrain. They both looked like a mess, drenched hair and clothes sticking to their skin, lips and cuts bleeding, but finally the advantage on both sides would be even. Hiten smirked at the circumstances. This asshole may have been a half breed, but this battle had already cost Hiten more than any other full god beast had in the past, much more. The severity of the situation was not lost on the older thunder brother, nor was the irony. Perhaps the fates were against him in this.  Shaking the thought from his head, Hiten pulled into a battle stance, for the last time. *~*~*~*~*  The final battle had been short, mechanical. Eventually, it had been pure chance that had won Inuyasha the victory. Hiten slipped on a rock, not used to the terrain, and Inuyasha had swiftly sliced him in half. The victor simply stood there, somewhat stunned as he watched the older thunder brother's body dissipate on the wind.  Soon after, Inuyasha collapsed on his knees and the sword transformed into a rusted stick of metal once again. Not that the hanyou noticed or cared. Hiten's last word had been his brother's name, and something about seeing him soon. Lucky him. Inuyasha wouldn't be seeing Kagome that soon, and the former monster of the labyrinth wasn't quite sure that was a good thing. The question, "What do I do now?" seemed stuck in his mind, but the answer was completely elusive.  So he sat there, kneeling under the dripping circle of the horizon, feeling the water course through his clothes and over his skin. It cooled the burning ache of his wounds, and weighed him down. The sound of water slapping against the stones around him was calming, as it drowned out the sounds of the rest of the world.  He was alone now, like his room in the labyrinth. He didn't know anyone, and no one seemed to care that he existed. At one point, this wouldn't have mattered to him…so why did it make such a difference now. Fuck, if only he had been there, maybe he could have saved the one person he had meant anything to.  "Inuyasha? Are you okay?"  The hanyou blinked at the voice, but continued staring at the ground. He recognized it as Shippo's, but was still almost surprised to see the kit there when he looked up. Hadn't he run away?  "…go away Shippo."  Now the kid would leave. The brat hated him, just like the monk, and every other person alive…   He was startled out of his thoughts when he felt a soft weight gently press against his knee. Curious, he opened his eyes and shifted his gaze, to find Shippo attempting to wrap his arms around the limb, the only body part his tiny size would allow him to reach.  But no matter how small the gesture was, to Inuyasha, it had the effect of being kicked by a horse, in a good way. Something in him felt lifted, because even though it had been a long time since Inuyasha had been hugged, he still instinctively recognized it as an attempt to bring comfort. It meant someone did care, someone was worried, and that made a big difference, even if that person barely reached his knee.  "Inuyasha? Are you better now?"  Shippo didn't look up, and for that Inuyasha was glad, because he wasn't sure what his face had looked like until that moment. However, in response to Shippo's question, Inuyasha suddenly found the strength to straighten his back, lift his head up, and even regain a bit of his usual, though guy demeanor.  "Keh! I'm fine twerp. I'm not some weakling like those thunder guys."  Maybe, things would be okay after all…  Inuyasha was pulled from his thoughts however, as Shippo suddenly jumped up and bopped him on the head. "Then why are you sitting here? We have to save Kagome! And you're the only one who can move those rocks. Stupid!"  Inuyasha was left with his mouth hanging open. Didn't the kid understand? Dammit, why did he have to be the one to explain it? Why did Kagome even have to die in the first place? Oh yeah, because he hadn't been there to save her.  It was that thought that brought about the feeling of rage, and made Shippo's words seem almost taunting. "Why don't you go save her Inuyasha? Why not? Because she's dead, and it's your fault. You screwed up, half breed, and it killed her."  His next words were born of anger and guilt, "I can't save her stupid! Kagome's dead. She got crushed by all those rocks, and now she's nothing more than a mangled bloody pulp, got that! I can't fucking save her!"   Shippo looked back at him, hurt by his sudden outburst, and replied just as heatedly.  "Then why was I just talking to her a minute ago? Huh? If she's dead, how can she talk? Stupid!"  There was a pause as Shippo's words sunk in…  "What?!" *~*~*~*~*  The rain had stopped and a brisk wind was just beginning to break the clouds apart as a bruised, tired, water logged and muddy monk approached the plateau where the battle had taken place. He'd given up on trying to drag the horse back here, and instead left it tied up where it had insisted on staying. To be honest, he wondered if the beast hadn't more sense than he did at the moment. The sounds of battle had long since ceased to be heard from the top of the hill, signifying that a victor had been named and that the other party was dead. Miroku could only hope that the side that won wouldn't be inclined to send him on a one way ticket across the river Styx.  Suddenly the sound of voices could be heard ahead, and deciding to side with caution, Miroku slid in behind a nearby out cropping, waiting to see who was coming around the corner. He didn't have to wait long as a heated and angry, but somewhat annoyingly recognizable voice, began approaching his hiding spot.  "What the fuck were you thinking you sonofabitch! I told you to go fucking hide and you…" That was all Miroku heard, or needed to hear, and the rest of the conversation should not to be repeated anyway. Inuyasha was obviously yelling at someone as he approached, tossing out expletives at random that didn't always make sense, but then that was an Inuyasha thing.  "Inuyasha, stop pulling on Kagome, you're hurting her!"  The relief Miroku had been waiting for came when Shippo's voice joined in with Inuyasha's voice, letting the monk know that his good luck charm was okay, and that Kagome could save him from Inuyasha, if the half god-beast became angry at the poor, humble, priest.  "… Keh!"   Inuyasha finally shut up, and Miroku decided it was time to make his presence known. Slowly, he stepped out from behind the rock, only to face a blushing hanyou, who was storming away from a shocked and somewhat flushed Kagome. Confused, Miroku stood there as Inuyasha stormed passed him too and continued down the path. He, Kagome and Shippo were left alone.  "Miroku, you're all right!"  "Lady Kagome! I'm so glad that you are safe. When you were snatched away, I can't tell you how worried I was, I-"  He was just about to envelope his beauty in the strong, welcome embrace every maiden needs after going through a frightening ordeal, when he was interrupted by Inuyasha. "Oi! Hurry up you wimps, we don't have time to talk!"  Kagome's attention was instantly drawn to the hanyou, and she only paused long enough to give Miroku a heart melting smile before rushing to catch up, huffing under the weight of two large, orange colored furs that she had managed to acquire somewhere, and Shippo, who was riding on her shoulder. As she passed, the kit caught Miroku's confused gaze, and hopped over to his shoulder long enough to assure the monk that he would "explain it all later," and then he too was gone.  Sighing, the monk watched as Shippo ran forward and alighted on Inuyasha's shoulder, who was now walking just ahead of Kagome. The hanyou didn't even complain about the kit being on his shoulder, which struck the monk as odd. Miroku was also surprised to note how well the three seemed to go together, walking in a comfortable silence, almost like a family…  With a shake of his head, Miroku cleared his mind of unwanted thoughts, and began to hurry down the path after his three traveling companions. *~*~*~*~*  They traveled down the mountain and back to the river where Miroku had left his horse tied up, with all the supplies. When they arrived, Kagome did some scouting around the area and eventually found an ideal spot, under a beautiful old olive tree, surrounded by soft grass and flowers. There, they put the souls of Shippo's parents to rest and held a small ceremony, led by Miroku. They buried the furs and piled small stones up to make markers for their graves, and when that was finished, the three older travelers went quietly down by the river to bandage up their wounds and prepare a lunch, giving Shippo a few minutes alone by the graves, to pay his last respects to his parents.  Or, at least that was what Kagome had said to do, though Shippo really had no idea what she meant by that. Though he appreciated what everyone had done for him, Inuyasha for avenging his parents' death, Miroku for saying such nice things about his parents, though the priest had never really known them, and Kagome for being so nice to him. However, the fact was that his parents had died a long time ago in Shippo's mind, though how long exactly, the kit couldn't remember.  When the thunder brothers had attacked, his parents had told him to run, and so Shippo did. He ran back to their den and waited, and waited, and when the thunder stopped and the sounds of battle died away, and no one came for him, then he knew that his parents were dead.  And so he ran some more, away from the area the thunder brothers had overtaken. At that time, he had been too worried about surviving to really grieve. He had hitched a ride on a merchant's cart, and eventually reached the big city where everything had amazed him for the first time. There were so many people and so many buildings and shops that the kit couldn't get enough of them. He met Miroku one day when the priest had allowed the kit to hide under his robes after stealing some food. Then he'd come to live in the temple, and then he'd met Kagome and Inuyasha and everything else had happened.  And now he was here, at his parents' graves, trying to think of something he should say, that he hadn't said before. Miroku had once told him that the dead can hear what someone thinks about them, and that fact had given Shippo a great outlet to get some things off his chest. Usually, whenever he was locked in the cupboard while Miroku had moaning contests with girls, he spent his time just talking to his parents, telling them about his day, and how he was, and what everyone else was doing around him. He knew they were listening, and even though he couldn't see their reactions, he knew what they were. He knew they were happy for him when he had met Miroku and found a place to stay. He knew they didn't like it when he stole things with Miroku, but that they still loved him anyway. They would always love him. After all, they were his parents, and he'd see them again, one day.  "Oi! Shippo! Hurry up over there or your lunch is going to disappear.  "Inuyasha!"  Shippo smiled as Kagome instantly hushed Inuyasha and began chewing him out for not being sensitive to Shippo's feelings. Kagome was great, Miroku was really funny, and even Inuyasha wasn't so bad. He had saved Shippo's life back there after all. They were all his friends now, and they had places to go together. His parents wouldn't be leaving him, he could always talk to them, and he knew he'd see them one day.  "Papa, Mama," he began, "I know you can hear me. I have to go now, or Inuyasha's going to eat my lunch. He can be such a jerk sometimes. I promise, I'll always do my best to be good and make you proud, and I'll always remember everything you taught me. I'll see you one day, but now I have to look after my friends."  "Oi! Shippo!"  "Inuyasha! Sshhhhhh!!"  "Coming!" he called out, before turning back to the two mounds of dirt. "Papa, Mama, I'll talk to you later." was all he said. Then he added a quick, "Love you," before sprinting off to join his friends. *~*~*~*~*  Kagome sighed and wiped the sweat from her brow, gazing up to look at the perfectly blue sky. Why was it that one could never be happy with the weather one got? Just this morning she had been hoping that it would not end up raining all day. Now, all she wanted was a nice soft shower to cool her down and wash away the sweat. It was scorching out, with the large, rolling hills on either side of the path blocking out any sort of breeze. Without looking, Kagome knew she was sweating, down her back and under her armpits in a most unladylike way. Looking ahead of her, she cursed feminine modesty, for Inuyasha had taken off his shirt and was now walking along bare-chested accept for the few bandages Kagome had wrapped around his middle and his shoulder.  She huffed again as she remembered that Inuyasha was in a mood and not talking to her. At lunch, she had tried to be nice to him, and even thanked him for rescuing her from under that rock pile. However, that had only seemed to make things worse. Inuyasha had instantly stiffened and looked away from her, a low, rumbling growl in his chest. He had refused to meet her gaze since, and she couldn't for the life of her think of what she had done wrong.  So now all she could do was watch and wonder as he walked along ahead of her through the heat of the day. Actually, she pitied Miroku the most at the moment, as he walked along in the sun, wearing all those dark robes and holding the horses reins. The beast had refused to let the priest ride him, and so they had been forced to walk, Inuyasha in the lead, followed by Kagome, and then Miroku, and then the horse who was carrying all the supplies and little Shippo who had curled up on the saddle and fallen asleep. She envied him the most.  Sighing, she turned her gaze forward and almost tripped on a stone embedded in the ground. She caught herself, luckily, but winced as she managed to pull a bit at the scab on her knee. Her bruises didn't hurt all that much anymore, but she'd had to re-bandage her arm and clean out the cuts on her knees before they had left. It almost seemed a bit nostalgic really. Kagome could barely remember the last time she'd had scraped knees. She'd tripped while running up the garden path to greet her father after he'd come home from a hunting trip on the mainland. She'd started crying and her father had made a few sympathetic awe's before scooping her up in his arms and bringing her inside to get cleaned up. She had been five, maybe, that had been ten years ago now. Funny, it almost seemed almost that long since she had seen the rest of her family, before she had been taken away...  She shook her head and continued on, locking her eyes forwards to prevent her from tripping on anything else. Again, she was instantly met with a perfect view of Inuyasha's nearly naked back, and then automatically shifted her gaze to the ground as the air seemed to take on a new heat. Slowly, she got a hold of herself. This was no time to be falling victim to feminine desires, she had to find her family. Resolve set, she looked up again, and this time forced herself to feel nothing as she looked up and ahead.  At first, she tried looking around Inuyasha, and then beside Inuyasha, and then away all together, at her feet. But it hurt her neck to walk like that, so eventually, she gave in and settled for just… observing Inuyasha's back. Strange, she thought, he hadn't even owned a shirt when she'd first met him, but he had never affected her like this then. Curious, she looked, this time trying to notice the differences between his back the first time she'd seen him, and now.  His smooth skin was the first thing she noted. Alright, it had always been smooth, but back then it had been pale almost to the point of being transparent, and dull to look at. Now a thin sheen of sweat made it glisten with every movement, and the paleness had been overcome with a healthy pink, that was almost to the point of being tanned now under the sun.  He also looked bulkier, not in an oversized way, but in a lean, muscular way. Kagome tried to remember the way he'd looked when she'd first seen him, sitting on the beach blinded by the sun. The image her mind conjured up was that of a frail, stick like creature that looked even weaker than Kagome herself. Well, okay, maybe that was a bit of an exaggeration, but the difference between then and now was still quite significant. Looking at him now, he was still a bit on the thin side, but she could not deny the fact that with every step he took, some muscle or other would move, the glistening of sweat letting her know exactly how well defined that muscle was. Absently, she wondered what he would look like with all those muscles tensed at once. Her mind responded with a mental image of Inuyasha, locking swords with some faceless enemy, straining against his foe, all his muscles…  Kagome almost slapped herself to get the picture out of her head, and instead turned the motion into wiping more sweat from her brow. She spent the next five minutes on the trail staring religiously down at the dirt and trying to avoid thinking up any more mental pictures while her blush subsided. *~*~*~*~*  Late evening found the group lounging around a warm fire, somewhere on the edge of a forest. Over the passing of the day, the tall mountains had smoothed out into rolling hills, decreasing steadily in size until it seemed likely that they would disappear all together sometime tomorrow. Miroku seemed pleased with this, as he informed the group that it was a sign that they were nearing Thebes, the birthplace of his lord, Dionysus. He believed that there would be a temple they could stay in, and all of them would get a nice room and some very, very good wine…  Inuyasha almost choked on his own tongue when he heard that. He didn't know if he could survive another night at one of Miroku's temples. Fuck, now he wasn't even sure if they were making babies or having moaning contests, and the confusion only seemed to sour his mood.  Thinking back, he tried to remember when he had started to feel this pissed off. Well, okay, he had been pissed off the whole day. First, he had been woken up way too early, then they had been run out of town, attacked by the thunder brothers and he'd run across half the country looking for Kagome. They'd fought the thunder brothers, won, and then he'd had to dig Kagome out from under a pile of solid rock almost twice as tall as himself.  No doubt, the morning had stunk, but that had ended hours ago. Why was he so angry now? And at who?    *Why don't you save her?*  *I can't save her stupid! Kagome's dead.*  It was all that wenches fault. He'd heard Shippo telling the Monk all about Kagome's "brave" attempt to rescue the furs of his parents. That bloody, stupid, bitch! He ought to go wring her neck for taking chances like that with herself. Didn't she realize she had a quest to finish? How was he supposed to be her "protector" if she never listened to a word he said. Fuck, he'd told her to go hide! What was he supposed to go with himself if she went and died?  He remembered the moment Shippo had told him he'd heard Kagome's voice, and everything after that seemed to be a blur. Running to the rock pile, tossing boulders as if they were beach pebbles, smelling her blood, and then finally seeing her face, knowing she was okay…  He didn't know what had come over him at that moment. Anger had welled up in him so strong, he felt his whole body tremble, his teeth clench, and he had wanted to hit her so hard. How dare she! How dare she make him feel like this! Like his chest was too tight and his eyes were burning and his throat was constricted. How dare she smile at him and ask if he was alright. Of course he wasn't okay, he was angry, his whole body shaking in restraint, forcing himself not to pull her to him and scream in her face.  He had screamed though, screamed as he pulled her halfway down the hill. He hadn't realized it until Shippo had spoken up, but he had been squeezing her wrist hard enough to leave a red imprint of his own hand, claws and all. Somehow, it made him feel better, and she deserved it after all.  "Thank you for digging me out of there today Inuyasha." Her words at lunch. As if that made everything all better. It made it sound as if she hadn't even expected him to be there to save her in the first place. He should have been. What if she hadn't made it to her little hiding place? What if a small rock had landed on her head and killed her, or even knocked her out? Then Shippo would have never have found her, and she would have died in there, slowly, starving day by day…  He couldn't help the shutter that went through him with that thought. It was all the wenches fault, and that was why he was angry with her.  "Inuyasha? Is something wrong?"  He jumped out of his thoughts to look at her as if she had grown a second head.   "I mean, is there anything out there? You're growling."  "…Keh! There's nothing wench, go to sleep."  The others had done the same by now, dropping off quickly after a long, hard day of walking and fighting.  Kagome, however, wasn't satisfied with his answer.  "Well then, if nothing's wrong, why were you growling?"  Her answer was another, "…Keh!"  Kagome's face turned sour. "Inuyasha, I know you're mad at me about something. Tell me what it is."  "You didn't wait for me to come save you." Nope, that would never work. She'd probably get all emotional on him and give him a lecture, he didn't want to deal with it now. In fact, he didn't even want to talk about it with her. So what else could he be mad at her for? Stubbornly, he searched for anything else that she had done to piss him off today. Eventually, he came up with, "You lied to me." "Eh?" Kagome blinked.  Inuyasha continued, "You told me it was called 'making babies,' but this morning you told Shippo that it was a moaning contest. Which one is it wench?"  Kagome's mouth hung open for a moment as she digested this information. "… … You're still going on about that?!"  Inuyasha just shot a glare at her from the corner of his eye and repeated, "Which is it wench?"  Kagome gave a large sigh in frustration, but was really too tired to argue the relevance of the question against a stubborn half demon. So, after a long moment, of thinking, she began, "Well, it isn't really called either."  "Wh-what?" she lied to both of us?  "No, um, I mean, making babies IS what is does, but it isn't called that."  Oh, well at least he had one up on the brat there. "So, then what's it called wench?"  He watched as Kagome's face grew red. "U-um…well, that depends I guess…"  "On what."  Kagome took a deep breath. "Well, it depends on how you mean it."  Now Inuyasha was confused, "What the fuck does that mean?"  A sigh, "It means…that it has different names, depending on who is doing it, and how they um…feel for each other."  "Oh," he was lost. Luckily, Kagome picked up on this, but her face only got redder for it.  "Um, I mean….Okay, I guess…If two people do it who love each other…uh…then it's called um…making love."  "…making love…" Inuyasha repeated the words back to her, nodding in understanding, looking incredibly deep in thought. Kagome wondered how she managed to get herself into these situations.  "Yeah, making love. Uh, well, then there's just the technical name for it, and you use that when you're talking about it, but you don't really know um, who's doing it or how they feel or anything…then it called…sex."  "…Sex…" This was fun, just when Inuyasha thought Kagome's face couldn't get any redder, she'd tell him another name for it, and he'd be proven wrong. He held back his laughter as he asked her, with his most innocent face, "What else is it called?"  He heard Kagome swallow, loudly, before she continued. "Um…well…then….when two people…uh…" She hurried onward. "Do you remember what they were doing at Miroku's?"  "Keh!"  Kagome took that as a yes. "Well, when it's done like that, with someone you don't know, or really like, uh, just for fun…um…then it called….uh…. …"  There was a very long pause and Inuyasha became impatient. "Well, What?" the suspense was killing him, really.  "Um, well," and then in a very small voice, "Ahem…fucking…"  Inuyasha stopped just short of bursting out loud with laughter at Kagome's red face to say, "Huh?"  Kagome must have thought he couldn't have heard her,  " I said…Um….ah…"  "I heard what you said," Inuyasha was getting impatient, "but, " and now he was put in a bit of a corner. How could he admit he hadn't really know what that word had meant. "I mean…Keh, I just thought it meant something else."  Kagome slowly digested what he was saying. "You mean, you never knew what that word meant?"  "Keh!" damn, she figured it out, "How the Fu…" he stopped short, crossed his arms over his chest and said rather loudly, "How am I supposed to know the meaning of every word you people say."  Kagome blinked. "But then…where did you learn all that awful language!"  Inuyasha shrunk back and away from Kagome. Her tone had sounded so disgusted with him. "Keh, none of your business, bitch…" Wait, what had he just called her? Bitch was just another one of those words that he didn't know the meaning to. Just like shit, crap, wench, jackass, bastard…and a whole lot of other words he'd heard in the labyrinth. It wasn't his fault if his language was bad. Those people had used those words all the time. He just thought it was normal to say them…  Kagome had seen how he had turned away from her and taken up a sulky posture that carried into his tone of voice. Obviously she'd said something wrong and she sighed. For a tough guy, he was awfully sensitive. But then if he didn't know the meaning to any of those words, then obviously it couldn't have been his fault that he said them, could it?  "Inuyasha?"  "What." Was the sharp reply. Yup, he was way too sensitive.  "Why don't you tell me any words you don't know the meaning to, and I'll see if I can't tell you what they mean. Then, you can decide whether you want to use them or not?"  Still not breaking his sulking position, Inuyasha turned his head just enough to look over his shoulder at her, suspicion written all over his face and being acted out by his ears. Kagome had to bite back a small giggle. He was behaving like a little child. "Inuyasha, I'm not going to hurt you, I just think you should know what you're saying to people so that you don't accidentally say something you don't mean and get yourself into trouble."  Well, that seemed to make sense to Inuyasha. But even so, he still took his time in turning to face her, just to let her know that she wasn't completely off the hook yet. "Keh, fine wench." *~*~*~*~*  An hour later, a red faced Kagome sat across the fire from a very flabberghasted Inuyasha. So far, they had gone over bitch, fuck, fag, asshole, ass, jackass, shit, wench, and several others that managed to stump even Kagome. Right now, Inuyasha was trying to grasp the concept of the word whore. "You mean they get paid to fuck?"  "Yes."  "And they don't like it?"  "Uh…I don't know."  "But it's a bad thing."  Kagome shook her head and rubbed her temples. This was not turning out as planned. First, Inuyasha failed to see the insult in a lot of these words. Calling someone a faggot, or a dead stick of wood, didn't seem very insulting. And why was it so bad to be a female dog? He was half dog demon, if he had been female, wouldn't he have been a "bitch"? Why was it just the females? Why was saying "terd" or "crap" not as bad as saying "Shit," even though they all meant the same thing. And why was a jackass specifically a donkey and not a horse. They both looked very similar, and smelled equally as bad, but somehow calling someone a horse wasn't as bad. Calling them a cow or a pig was though, and yet people ate both animals constantly. Was it insulting to call someone food? It was all very confusing.  And so, Kagome had to go into detail, describing the way people interpreted things, rather than just what they were. Female dogs were bitches. It wasn't the fact that they were female that bothered anyone, it was the fact that they didn't seem to care who they mated with or whether they got pregnant or not. In the eyes of some people, they did nothing but go around and mate, or fuck, as Inuyasha had corrected her, and have litters of puppies. Calling a girl a bitch was to imply that she partook in similar practices, and was generally dirty and of shallow moral, just like a female dog.  Inuyasha had been insulted, and they had spent the next five minutes arguing the relevance of the insult, that it wasn't dogs that were dirty, but the human cities people built on the dogs' land. At that point, Kagome had just told him to move on to the next word. And so they had continued down the line.  "What's a bastard?" Kagome rubbed her forehead, "A bastard is a fatherless child."  Inuyasha took a moment to think. "What do you mean, like the father died or something?"  "Uh, no-"  "Then what? Does the kid have two mothers?"  "Would you let me explain?!" Once again Kagome's face was redder than red. Inuyasha would never tell, but he was secretly enjoying seeing just how red he could make her. Kagome let out a calming breath and began.  "No, a bastard child is a child who was born outside of marriage. It doesn't have a father because either the father didn't want the child, or because the mother had… sex, with so many guys that she doesn't know who the father is." "But, why wouldn't the father want the child?" That confused Inuyasha.  "Well, remember how I told you that some people just have sex for fun, and sometimes they don't mean to create a child, but they do anyways?"  Inuyasha thought for a minute "…So you mean, if the mother was a bitch and she fucked someone, then the child that she didn't mean to have would be a bastard?"  Kagome put her head in her hands and sighed. "Yes." But really she was thinking, "I've created a monster!"  "…What's wrong with that?"  Kagome's face was red again, but this time out of frustration. "It's just bad. People think that because the child's parents had no morals, that the child too will have no morals and will therefore be a bad person."  "But that's bullshit!"  For once Kagome agreed with his choice of words. "I know Inuyasha, I know." parent's fault!"  "Yeah." Despite the heated argument, Kagome was slowly falling asleep. The fire had died out and the warm blankets of their stolen sleeping pallet were just too inviting. Kagome had almost completely dozed off when Inuyasha's voice cut through her half formed dreams.  "Kagome?"  "Wha?"  "What's a monster?"  "mmnh, A big animal…with lots of hair…big teeth…claws…scares children."  Hesitantly, he held his hands before his face, taking special note of the pointed ends to his nails, claws. He felt around in his mouth taking note of his elongated fangs, and then the long mane of hair that ran down his back. "Oh." Was his intelligent response.  "…Kagome?"  Snore…  Monster. *~*~*~*~ *  Two eyes watched them in the dark.  Bastard. Kagome's definition had been correct, but not complete.  Bastard.  But now was not the time to ponder such things. Instead, his mind moved to other thought.  Why had Inuyasha not known about those words? About sex?  It was strange, but the young man seemed almost disconnected to everything human related.  There was something tickling at his brain. Who was Inuyasha? Where had he come from? Oh well, it didn't matter now. He's find out eventually. For the moment, sleep was fast approaching, embracing him in its comforting abyss.  *~*~*~*~*