InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Love Drives You to Unthinkable Places ❯ Chapter 2 ( Chapter 2 )

Birds: chirp chirp

"Lady Kagome! Where have you been all night?" asked the Buddhist monk, Miroku as he rushed to greet her and Inu-Yasha returning. It was morning and the sun had already been up for a couple of hours before Inu-Yasha and Kagome decided to return.

"Oh...no where in particular. Why?" she replied nonchalantly.

"Come on, Kagome! Tell us where you were! We've been looking for you all night!" goaded Shippou, an infant kitsune. He jumped up and down, unable to contain himself.

"That's right, where were you? We were concerned for your safety," said Sango as she arrived with the others.

"All right, that's enough! Why don't you all shut up because you're really starting to tick me off!" shouted Inu-Yasha.

"And what about you, Inu-Yasha? Weren't you supposed to be looking for Kagome? What happened to you? The least you could've done was wait for the rest to catch up to you!" Sango angrily retorted.

"None of your business! Why do you care anyway?" said Inu-Yasha with a mean look, bordering on embarrassment.

Nobody seemed to notice the slight blush on his face but Kagome saw it.

"Well, we should be getting to Lady Kaede as soon as possible..." started Miroku, but was interrupted.

"Why's that Miroku?" asked Sango and Shippou at the same time.

"Yeah, what's that old lady got to do with this anyway?" Inu-Yasha asked.

"Have you forgotten already what Naraku has done?" asked Miroku, a little surprised and raised an eyebrow.

"Of course I didn't forget!" Inu-Yasha nearly shouted and began to blush furiously. "So? You still didn't answer my question!"

"*Sigh* Inu-Yasha, are you that thick-minded?" Miroku commented and then cringed away as Inu-Yasha threatened to pound his with his fist. "Well, Kagome might be carrying Naraku's child..." Miroku started but was yet once again interrupted.

"What?!" shouted both Inu-Yasha and Kagome who was, up until this point, pretty quiet.

"I can't be pregnant! I still have to go to school and I also have to worry about getting into a good college and..."

"Don't worry so much, Kagome. We still don't know yet for sure and even if you really are with child, the priestess Kaede can probably mix up a potion for to drink in order to shed the unborn child. I agree with Miroku, we should go as soon as possible," Sango said calmly.

"Then what are we waiting for? Let's go already!" said Shippou and bounded off towards the village.

"Inu-Yasha?" Should I ask him if he still feels the same about me? Maybe he was only thinking about Kikyo when he said it last night...

"What is it Kagome?" asked Inu-Yasha a little bit too quickly.

"Nevermind." I think I'll ask him later when we're alone.

* * * * * * * * * * * *

"So, you mean I'm not pregnant?"

"Yes, ye be lucky. Had ye come to bear Naraku's child, the shedding would have been very painful at worst and ye would have been bedridden for some time. The other minor injuries that ye have been inflicted with should heal soon, though," replied Kaede as she walked off to prepare a cup of herbal tea.

"Oh, thank you, Kaede! You don't know how relieved I am to hear those words!" said Kagome. Her pounding heart relaxed considerably.

"Hear what words?" asked Inu-Yasha who had just walked in on the scene.

"AAAIIIIEEEEE!!!! Inu-Yasha, sit!" shouted Kagome.

She rushed to cover herself with a blanket as Inu-Yasha plummeted towards the ground face first. For, when Kaede was tending to her, she had to take her clothes off.

"I'm sorry, Priestess Kaede! We weren't able to hold him down even with your sutras! Please forgive us!" said a breathless villager that was chasing after Inu-Yasha.

"It's alright. Even for us, he be quite a bundle of trouble," said Kaede and waved off his apologies.

"So, how's Kagome? I...is she...?" Inu-Yasha stammered as he tried to ask after Kagome's well-being. After last night, he'd found that being close to her calmed him because their feelings for each were finally confirmed. If Kagome was hurt he would feel her pain as well, perhaps not physically, but in his heart.

"Nay. Kagome be fine. She's only gotten a few minor injur..." Kaede started to say.

"What?! Kagome, are you ok? Does it hurt a lot? Is anything broken? Are..." Inu-Yasha blurted out.

"It's ok Inu-Yasha, really. I'm fine, just a few cuts and bruises. And I'm not pregnant. Don't worry your head off or anything," replied Kagome.

"Who said anything about worrying? All I'm saying is that you need to be fully recovered so that we can collect the rest of the jewel shards!" said Inu-Yasha and then instantly regretted saying it. He was so used to replying rudely that he didn't even have time to think about it before it came out.

"*Gasp!* Is that all I am to you? A jewel detector? Even after...after..." Kagome tried but couldn't finish.

"After what Kagome?" asked Sango who had returned from collecting herbs. "Here are those herbs you wanted Priestess Kaede."

Miroku had returned with her. Sango's question was answered with Kagome's bright red blush.

"Lady Kaede, is Kagome alright then?" inquired Miroku.

"Yes, yes, she be fine. But she does need to rest so leave her be for a while," Kaede said.

"Awww, do we have to go? I wanna stay with Kagome!" protested Shippou.

"Yes, ye all must leave so that Kagome may recover her strength. I imagine it must have been quite an ordeal to live through," said Kaede.

"Oh, alright," conceded Shippou and pouted as he walked back through the doorway, kicking stones that were in the way.

"Kaede, if it's alright...Can Inu-Yasha stay?" Kagome requested.

"Well, I would suppose that if ye truly wanted him to stay by your side then he could."

"Thank you, Kaede."

As Kaede left and shut the door behind her, Inu-Yasha began to speak, but was interrupted by Kagome.

"Inu-Yasha, do you really feel that way about me? I need the truth," said Kagome.

"What do you mean?" asked Inu-Yasha.

"You know full well what I mean, Inu-Yasha! I'm talking about last night when you said you..." Kagome trailed off and left the sentence unfinished. She stared at the ground in the uncomfortable silence that followed. She didn't have to wait that long, though, before Inu-Yasha answered.

"Kagome, of course I still feel that way about you. Why would you think I don't?" Inu-Yasha quietly replied.

"Well...after what you said earlier, I thought you didn't care anymore," said Kagome, turning her head away from him.

"Kagome... I only said that because that's what I'm used to saying. I didn't mean anything by it, but I didn't want the others to find out yet about us," said Inu-Yasha.

"But you could be a little nicer about it... and how was I supposed to know that's what you wanted to do??? You never told me! You pig-headed, thick-skulled, jerk! *Gasp!* I'm so sorry! I guess I just got carried away..." apologized Kagome.

"Kagome, I understand how you feel, please forgive me." He wrapped his arms around her in a warm embrace, showing her that he cared for her.

Inu-Yasha actually understands? How much has he changed since we met each other? Kagome began reminiscing about the past until her thoughts were interrupted by shouts that were heard coming from outside.

"Hiraitkotsu! Damn it! He dodged it!"

"I can't hold him off! He's headed toward the place where Lady Kagome and Inu-Yasha are staying! Quick, after him!"

Suddenly, Inu-Yasha pushed Kagome onto the ground, shielding her with his body. She was about to protest when a huge hole was blasted through the wall, where a couple of seconds ago she and Inu-Yasha were. Damn! What the hell was that?! Kagome could have been killed!

A demon with evil-looking red eyes and a sort of forced movement appeared where the chunk of wall was. Even though Sango and Miroku were trying to hold it back with everything they had, he still managed to evade them and even though he had several gashes on his body, he moved as though he wasn't hurt at all. He seemed just too strong for the kind of demon that he was.

"INU-YASHA! ... I'VE BEEN LOOKING FAR AND WIDE FOR YOU...NOW, DIE!!!!!!!!" The demon lunged at Inu-Yasha, preparing to slash at his enemy's body.

"Hah! You'll have to try harder than that that to kill me!" Inu-Yasha called to him as he jumped over the charging demon.

"Inu-Yasha, watch out! He's got a shard of the shikon jewel embedded in his forehead!" Kagome shouted as she pointed at the demon. At that moment, he was wheeling around, ready to attempt another charge at Inu-Yasha, determined to execute him.

"I MUST KILL YOU! YOU WILL NOT ESCAPE FROM THIS BATTLE ALIVE!"

"A weakling like you doesn't deserve to live to carry out that threat!"

"THEN I MUST HAVE MORE SHARDS OF THE SHIKON JEWEL TO BECOME STRONGER! AND I HAVE SMELLED THE JEWEL SHARDS ON YOU BEFORE. I SHALL TAKE THEM FROM YOU AND BECOME STRONGER SO I CAN DESTROY YOU!" The demon moved with unnatural speed and agility toward his target.

"Heh! Over my dead body, ugly!" Inu-Yasha shouted as he drew Tetsusaiga from its sheath.

"CALL ME UGLY WILL YOU? WELL YOU'LL JUST HAVE TO PAY FOR THAT WITH YOUR LIFE HALF-DEMON!" In that moment of time, when the demon leaped up into the air, prepared to make short work of his enemy, Inu-Yasha readied his attack.

I feel where the demon powers crash together. I see the wind scar!

"KAZE NO KIZU!" Inu-Yasha yelled as he swung his sword at the demon, striking him in the air.

With that, the demon evaporated in the face of the awesome power of the Tetsusaiga. The faint *chink* of the jewel shard could be heard as it fell and hit the floor.

"That gives us another shard of the jewel. How many more do we need Kagome?"

"Not many. The jewel is almost complete since we got all the shards that Naraku was hoarding," she said as she bent to pick up the shard, and in process, purified it from the taint of evil that it acquired from the demon.

"Finally, my quest to become all-demon is within my grasp. You aren't hurt are you Kagome?"

"I'm all right...Sango! You're bleeding!" Kagome noticed a gash on Sango's arm as she turned to check on her friends.

"It's not deep a wound. I'm sure it'll heal soon enough," replied Sango.

"Come here so that I may stitch ye up. Have ye retained any wounds from the battle with the demon Miroku?" asked Kaede.

"Only a small cut but I believe poison was injected into it when the demon attacked me with its fangs." Kaede walked up next to him and felt his forehead for any signs of a fever. She sighed as she discovered the beginnings of one.

"I'll give ye some antidote to recover from that then. Why don't ye and Sango go and lie down?" Kaede said.

"Oh, I'll leave so that there'll be more room inside," volunteered Kagome.

"There be no need for that Kagome. We have plenty of room," Kaede assured her.

"It's ok, I was planning on getting up anyway." Kagome stood and made for the door.

"Ye really should be resting child. However, if ye truly wish to get up then I suppose I cannot restrain ye. Ye seem to be healing quite quickly though, so it should not be that much of a matter."

"Thank you Kaede," Kagome said and added a slight bow of her head.

Having said that, Kagome left with Inu-Yasha tailing behind shortly.

Back inside, Kaede rummaged around until she found an antidote for Miroku.

"I should administer this as soon as possible so that the poison does not spread in your body. Ye need to be sitting up so that ye can swallow it."

"Of course Lady Kaede. I was thinking the same thing. However, I think I have grown too weak to sit up and swallow the antidote. Perhaps you can have Sango give it to me mouth-to-mouth..."

"I'll have her do no such thing! Ye shall just have to either muster up some strength to take the antidote or heal on your own."

Sango pulled out her boomerang bone and clonked Miroku on the head.

"It was just a suggestion!" Miroku cried as he tried to defend himself.

Kaede rolled her eyes at Miroku's perversion and then picked up the herbs that Sango had previously brought in. She ground them with a mortar and pestle until it became a thick paste which she then applied to Sango's arm to help stop the bleeding.

While all this was happening inside, as soon as Inu-Yasha was reasonably sure no one would follow, he picked Kagome up and carried her off...again.

"Inu-Yasha! Where are you taking me?"

"Someplace quiet and alone. I can't take it anymore Kagome."

They landed in a clearing not unlike the place they were the day before as Kagome noted. Then, he embraced her and held on tightly.

"Inu-Yasha..."

"Kagome, no matter what it might look or sound like, don't you ever think that I don't love you. You mean the world to me...you know that. I don't know what I would do without you."

"I believe you Inu-Yasha. I feel the same way about you."

They stared into each other's eyes for a moment and then kissed, to prove the truth of their words.