InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Love Ain't Forgotten Easily ❯ Oh, crap, that's a long way down... ( Chapter 6 )

Sorry to those of you who don't like Naraku described as a girl or that he's COMPLETELY out of character…but I think he looks like a girl and he'll be back in character soon.

Chapter 6

Kagome couldn't help but feel a little weird as she danced with the effeminate man. It's like I've danced with him before, and he's a little…strange. I mean, what guy in his right mind wears blue eye shadow and then grows his hair out like this?

Engrossed in her thoughts, she didn't notice when one song ended and another began. She continued dancing, oblivious.

Only when a voice asked, “May I cut in?” did she look up.

There was now another man there, and she was suddenly struck with how much he looked like Inu-Yasha. This one looked older, there were no emotions on his face, and he wore an curious assortment of clothing along with a fluffy thing over one shoulder, but he had the same hair and eyes. He was looking expectantly at her partner.

The girlish man moved away, and the almost-Inu-Yasha-like guy took his place.

“Who are you?” she asked as they moved away from her ex-partner.

“Why do you care?” he returned. “I just saved you from dancing with that man all night.” At her blank expression, he continued. “You looked like you weren't enjoying yourself, but something tells me you're too polite to leave.”

“Oh. Thanks, I guess. But I would still like to know your name. I know someone who looks a bit like you.”

He stared at her for a moment before answering. “Sesshoumaru Noshiro.”

She nodded, remaining silent. Noshiro! That's the same as Inu-Yasha's last name! But dog-boy never said anything about having living relatives; of course, I never asked. Also, it's impossible! How can this man be alive if Inu-Yasha was born over five hundred years ago…unless… She stared up at her `rescuer.' pondering. Inu-Yasha said he was a hanyou, so maybe this guy is too! But I can't just come out and ask, “Are you part youkai?”

“Pardon me.” Sesshoumaru's voice cut into her thoughts. “The dance ended.”

“What? Oh. Thanks again, for both the dance and getting me away from…” I never got that weird guy's name… “Just thanks.”

“Not a problem.” He disappeared into the crowd before she could blink.

Kagome made her way back to Inu-Yasha and Shippo, only to see the kitsune had been joined by a girl Kagome's age.

“Where are your parents?” the girl asked, and flinched as Shippo answered, “Dead.”

“Oh! Poor sweetie!” Shippo was suddenly swept up into a hug, and Kagome had to hold back a laugh at the look on his face.

“Excuse me, but that's my friend you're squeezing to death there.” Kagome laid a hand on the girl's shoulder, causing her to start.

“Oh! Sorry!” The girl placed Shippo into Kagome's arms, only to have the kitsune jump down. Kagome dusted herself off again, then noticed the girl had some hairs on the black velvet of her dress. She pointed them out.

“Oh!” Kagome noticed this seemed to be the girl's favorite exclamation.

“I'm Kagome Higurashi. Who are you?” Kagome asked.

“Huh?” The girl looked up, the ponytail on the side of her head waving back and forth. “Oh! I'm Rin Obata. Nice to meet you!”

“I see you already met Shippo.” Kagome indicated the kitsune on the floor.

“Uh-huh.” Rin smiled down at him, and Shippo returned it. She wasn't so bad when he had oxygen in his lungs. “But who's your other friend?”

To their complete shock, she pointed directly at Inu-Yasha!

“Wait a minute! She can see me too?”

“Apparently so,” Kagome answered dryly. “Rin, that's Inu-Yasha. He's a ghost. No one can see him besides Shippo, you, and me.”

“So I can't tell anyone?”

“No one, all right?”

There was a pause. “Okay. Can I play with Shippo?”

Are we sure this girl's my age? Kagome looked to the kitsune, who shrugged. “I guess, if he wants to. It's fine with me.”

Smiling, Rin turned to Shippo. The child, bored out of his mind for the most part, jumped up into her arms and they both walked out to the veranda.

Suddenly Inu-Yasha appeared in front of Kagome, his face quite serious. “Did you get the name of that man who brought Shippo back?”

She stared at him for a moment. “No, I didn't. Why?”

He turned away. “No reason.”

“There has to be a reason, Inu-Yasha. Otherwise you wouldn't ask.”

“It's none of your business, wench!”

“Well, I want to know!” Kagome's shout caught the attention within a hundred-yard radius. Blushing, she ran out of the room.

She shot past the people on the veranda and down into the garden. She'd only been in here once during the past week, but hadn't got very far. Now she tore through the overgrown plants, eventually getting herself deeper and deeper in.

When she looked up, she realized her error; she was lost.

Really, really lost. All around her were plants and trees, twisted and unkempt. She couldn't even find the path she'd blazed seconds ago.

Uh-oh. She looked around, hoping to find a big neon arrow saying EXIT, but no such luck. So, taking a deep breath, she plunged in.

Slowly, she made her way through. The sound of the sea was somewhere nearby, but she couldn't tell in which direction—

For about the ten seconds it took her to break through a plant and trip off the edge of a cliff. She screamed, and her hands managed to grab hold of a tiny ledge.

Pulling herself up onto it, Kagome hugged the rock wall. She didn't dare look down.

Finding a secure place to lock her hands in, she looked up. The edge of the cliff was about fifty feet above her, and the rock from the edge to thirty feet down was nearly flat.

Terrified, Kagome once more made sure her hands were secure before closing her eyes and screaming for help.

She did that for ten minutes before stopping. Someone must've heard that, she thought, pressed up against the rock. She found that she was shaking from both fear and the cold wind that blew mercilessly.

Please…someone…come help me.

“How'd you get yourself into this one, wench?”

Kagome opened her eyes to find Inu-Yasha floating in the air next to her. He looked concerned, but there was a hint of amusement in his eyes. She didn't find it funny.

“Before you start laughing,” she snapped, “would you mind floating me up?!”

His face instantly became grave. “I can't.”

“Why not?!”

“I don't have that much power.”

“But you made me float earlier!”

“That was an inch off the ground, this is fifty feet.”

“Hey!”

“I'm not saying you're fat, wench!”

“Then what are we going to do?”

He floated there, thinking. Then, “I don't know.”

She nearly fell from the cliff. “So, what, do I just hang here until I fall asleep and then plunge to my watery death?”

She thought she saw a flicker of hurt in Inu-Yasha's eyes, but it disappeared as fast as it came. “We'll figure out something, Kagome. Shippo might have heard your screaming and went to get help. Either that, or he's trying to get to you.”

“Why don't you go see?”

“Wench, if you start to fall I may be able to slow you long enough for you to get back up. If I leave, what then?”

Kagome sighed. “Fine. But I'm screaming again.”

Inu-Yasha flattened his hands over his ears as she started crying for help for a second time. She did it for about five minutes before her voice gave out. She started coughing, and he had to steady her so she wouldn't plummet to the icy ocean below.

***

It had been half an hour, and there was still no sign of rescue for poor Kagome. Her arms and legs were getting tired, and she was beginning to shiver from the cold. The sun was probably twenty minutes from setting, too, so that wasn't helping.

“You got me into this,” Kagome muttered to her ghostly companion. “If I hadn't been yelling at you so loud, I wouldn't have run out here and into that damn garden. I wouldn't have gotten lost, and I wouldn't have fallen off of this bloody cliff!”

Surprised at hearing her swear, Inu-Yasha tore his gaze from the setting sun. Had to be tonight, didn't it… “Sure, blame the damn ghost.”

“Yeah, I do blame the damn ghost.” She glared at him. “Because `the damn ghost' isn't strong enough to lift me off this ledge!”

“I would if I could but I can't. So deal, wen—”

Something cracked, and tumbled down the cliff.

Inu-Yasha very slowly looked down at Kagome's feet. She was as stiff as a board, and for good reason.

The tiny little ledge was finally starting to give out beneath Kagome, and the part next to one of her heels was what had fallen.

“This isn't good,” he supplied ever so helpfully.

“I noticed.” Kagome was trembling now; she could feel the rock gradually breaking under her feet. “Why me?”

“Because you're an idiot, that's why.” Inu-Yasha looked at the cliff. “Kagome, ditch the shoes.” She went to open her mouth, but he wouldn't let her. “No arguments! If you want to die, fine, keep the shoes. If you would rather live to see seventeen, I suggest you lose the shoes and start climbing the damn wall now.”

“But I don't know how to rock-climb!” she cried desperately, kicking off her shoes.

“I'll help hold you up; just find handholds and footholds, and don't panic.”

She snorted, placing one of her hands farther up and beginning to pull herself up. However, her feet couldn't sit properly; her dress was in the way. She was cursing it when the front of it was unexpectedly ripped away.

“Now hurry up, wench,” Inu-Yasha ordered. “That damn ledge isn't going to hold up much longer.”

Nodding, Kagome found a place for her foot. She pushed off with the other one, placing it in a different spot.

Just then, she heard rocks crumble and clatter down. She had made it off the outcropping barely seconds before it went.

“Now what?” She would have looked over at Inu-Yasha, but the rest of her concentration was being used keeping her hands and feet from slipping. It didn't help that the rocks were cutting into her bare feet. “In case you didn't notice, about twenty feet up this wall turns smooth. I can't climb that!”

“How long can you hold on?”

“Not very.”

He swore. “I really hope that damn runt heard you and went to get some help!”

Kagome did, too.

***

She had been like that for another ten minutes when she felt her limbs begin to shake. “Inu-Yasha,” she gasped. “I can't hold on much longer!”

The ghost had been searching the cliff for another, safer ledge, but he'd had no luck whatsoever. He was now floating in midair, focus torn between helping Kagome stay and figuring out a way to get her up the rock face.

Without warning, one of Kagome's hands slipped. She shrieked as Inu-Yasha darted forward and forced the hand back up onto its hold. The girl was now trembling.

“Damn it!” he shouted to the four winds.

They answered, but not in a good way.

A sudden gust slammed into the cliff, making Kagome hit her head. Dazed, her grip loosened, and Inu-Yasha watched in horror as she began to fall…

***

“Kagome!” Determined not to lose another woman to this gods-forsaken wall of rock and the water below it, Inu-Yasha zipped forward. He summoned up all the ghost power that he possessed and put it into stopping Kagome.

The girl's descent began to slow, stopped, and reversed direction. Inu-Yasha followed, his face twisted in agony as he concentrated on getting the girl up.

I…won't…lose…her… he chanted in his mind, pushing Kagome towards the top of the cliff. She had recovered some of her wits and was rather startled to find herself floating. Realizing what Inu-Yasha was trying to do, she held perfectly still. If she made a move for the cliff, she might break his concentration and die anyway.

Noticing the edge was only ten feet away, she inwardly prayed for Inu-Yasha to be all right after this. He was panting heavily; floating her was obviously taking a lot out of him. She waited until the edge was close enough and grabbed it, allowing for Inu-Yasha to release her as she pulled herself up. She collapsed.

Inu-Yasha appeared seconds later and did the same thing, panting heavily. However, he still managed to turn his head to look at her. “Are you…all right…Kagome?”

“Yes, yes, I'm fine.” She crawled over to him. “What about you?”

“I feel…more tired…than I have been…in five hundred years. I must…be out of…practice. Need…to work out…more.” His eyes closed.

Kagome, forgetting that he was a ghost, reached forward to touch his shoulder.

Her hand connected with solid fabric.

***

A/n: Take THAT! What happened to poor Inu? KEEP READING!

Shippo: …AND REVIEWING!

Me: *nudges him* I said every FOUR chapters…

Shippo: As far as everyone's concerned, I'm so cute I don't have to know how to count. *gives big adorable grin*