InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Metamorphosis. ❯ Myouga ( Chapter 43 )

~~Chapter 43~~

~Myouga~

 

Kagome stretched, arching her back as she groaned. “InuYasha, I was thinking . . .”

 

InuYasha peeked down from his treetop perch. “About what?”

 

Kagome shrugged, dropping her arms to her sides as she wandered over to the tree trunk. “Oh, about a lot of things . . .”

 

Unsure if he wanted to hear where she was going with this, InuYasha remained silent as he waited for her to go on.

 

“I was just wondering . . . if we find this youkai, should you just kill her?”

 

“What? Of course I should. Why shouldn't I?”

 

She shrugged again. “If she's gone to the trouble of doing all this . . . infecting Kouga and all . . . do you think she has a plan?”

 

“Keh. Who the hell cares? If I kill her then she can't do anything else, either.”

 

“Maybe . . .”

 

He hopped down out of the tree and stood before her, arms crossed over his chest as he stared at her. “Spit it out. What's really on your mind?”

 

Kagome twisted her fingers together and forced a smile. “Nothing . . . I just . . . I keep thinking, what if there is something that we're missing? Something we should know but haven't seen . . .”

 

“Like what?”

 

Kagome's eyebrows drew together as she considered his question. “I don't know . . .”

 

InuYasha wrinkled his nose. “We've been over this, wench. There's nothing else.”

 

She shook her head. “But—”

 

He scooped her up and leapt back into the tree again. “You're worrying over nothing, you know. Once I take care of her, she won't be a problem, will she?”

 

Kagome didn't seem convinced. Heaving a sigh, she craned her neck back to stare up at him. “If you think so . . .” She shook her head slowly and stared at him, her eyes troubled, questioning. “InuYasha . . . do you really think it was Ichisaru . . . ? He's too young. He can't do something like that . . .”

 

InuYasha sighed. “I don't know . . . he didn't have the jewel long enough to do anything, did he?”

 

“No . . . just a few minutes, really, and I saw him the whole time. He just ran with it.”

 

“Well, someone had to have gotten it, if it wasn't him, right?”

 

Kagome shook her head again. “No one has, though.”

 

InuYasha nodded. “No one but us.”

 

“Yeah. Miroku and Sango never touched it, did they?”

 

InuYasha considered that. At the end of the battle, Kagome was the one who had retrieved the jewel. She was the only one who touched it while the others watched her purify it back to its pink glow. He had touched it but . . .

 

`Filthy hanyou, vile half-breed . . .'

 

Eyes widening, InuYasha stared over the trees. A thought filtered into his mind, a vicious whisper that he couldn't ignore. `Could I . . . did I . . . taint it?'

 

Kagome leaned away. He could feel her gaze on him. “What are you thinking?”

 

“Nothing.”

 

“That's not true.”

 

He shook his head stubbornly. “It ain't important.”

 

“You have that look on your face, the same one you got when we were trying to find Naraku. Why?”

 

He sighed, letting his gaze drop to the darkness below. “What if . . . I . . . I held it.”

 

She gasped as she turned, grabbing his hair and forcing him to look at her. “That's not even possible, InuYasha. You didn't do a thing to the jewel.”

 

He refused to look at her, his eyebrows drawing together as the stubborn set to his jaw argued with her.

 

“No, you had nothing to do with that. Don't even think that. Do you hear me?”

 

“It's impossible not to hear you, wench,” he grumbled.

 

“Good! Because you didn't do a thing to it!”

 

“How do you know that?”

 

She let go of his hair and cupped his face in her hands. “Because I know you, InuYasha. You gave up your wish to be full youkai when you learned what it meant for you. Since that day you attacked the bandits, you've never wanted it, have you? I know what's inside you, and it's good and pure. You can't have tainted the jewel. It wasn't you.”

 

He digested her words in silence. `She believes . . . even when I don't . . .' With a heavy sigh, InuYasha let the subject drop. “Keh! Think about something else, can't you?”

 

She grinned, obviously relieved that he seemed to have heard what she said, and she turned around and sat back, resting against InuYasha's chest once more. “Like what?”

 

“Gee . . . I dunno, Kagome . . . can't you think of something more interesting?”

 

“Hmm, no . . . nothing . . .” she teased

 

Resting his chin on her shoulder, InuYasha leaned forward far enough that she could see him twitch his ears. “Nothing?”

 

“Oh? You'll let me rub your ears?”

 

“Maybe.”

 

“Maybe?”

 

“Does it mean you'll shut up for a few minutes?”

 

She giggled louder. “Maybe,” she allowed as she twisted to latch onto his ears.

 

“Here, before I forget,” InuYasha said, dangling the vial over her shoulder as he leaned toward her more, granting her easier access to his ears.

 

Kagome held up the vial and stared at it thoughtfully. “What happens if one of us forgets?”

 

InuYasha snorted. “Keh. Don't shake it, and you'll find out.”

 

She peeked at him and caught his disgruntled expression. “I was just curious,” she remarked as she shook the vial ten times.

 

He shook it, too. “Your curiosity has gotten us into more trouble than I like to think about, wench.”

 

Kagome sighed but snuggled closer to him. “Are you going to let me fall asleep up here?”

 

InuYasha shook his head. “Not if you keep talking.”

 

She smiled as she closed her eyes, safe in his arms.

 

 

::0::0::000::0::0::

 

 

InuYasha stared up at the stars in the sky high above. The darkness of the night resonated in his heart, in his head. Kagome slept, nestled comfortably between his raised knees with the fire rat haori draped over her. Her cheek was pressed to his heart, and the satisfaction of having her so close was a heady yet wholly gratifying thing.

 

She sighed happily, and InuYasha stared down at her. Was it just his imagination or did she really seem more content when she slept so close to him? He smiled just a little. Maybe . . . maybe she really was.

 

He carefully pulled the haori up to cover her arms. Her hands, tucked under her cheek, were warm enough but her upper arms seemed a little cold. She sighed again and moved her left arm, as though she were trying to make herself a little more comfortable, which would have been fine, except . . .

 

He gasped as his eyes widened. She was definitely still asleep, but her hand was in a place that would absolutely prevent him from doing the same. Wincing as the heat from her hand permeated the fire rat hakama, InuYasha froze as every single fiber of his being screamed at him to wake her up. `And do what, baka? Have her embarrassed the rest of the night? she'd fall out of the fucking tree, trying to get away . . . no . . . that's no good . . .' Still . . . a low whine escaped as his body reacted to her touch. `Damn it! Move her hand, stupid!'

 

“Uh, yeah,” he muttered, cheeks reddening as he slowly, carefully, pulled her wrist and brought her hand to his stomach . . . a relatively safe zone, he figured.

 

As luck would have it, Kagome yawned but didn't wake, and dragged her hand right back to where it had started. He grimaced as his ears flatted and another whine escaped. There wasn't a change in her scent. He could tell she was definitely sleeping, and she wasn't having ecchi dreams. Of all the places for her to decide to put her hand, though . . . He whined again.

 

`Fuck! I'm damned! Someone cursed me! Probably that fucking Miroku . . . Keh! `Let me see the talisman' . . . If he did something, I swear, I'll shove Tetsusaiga so far up his ass he'll—Eh?'

 

Eyes widening even more, InuYasha nearly shot off the branch when Kagome's fingers started flexing over him. Her hand that was still pressed against his chest was doing the same, and he groaned. `Oh, kami, she can't . . . hell, she is! She's still sleeping! What the hell is she doing? Is she part cat youkai?' Gritting his teeth as he grabbed her left hand once more, InuYasha ignored the tiny voice in his head that wanted him to leave her hand right where it was. Moving her hand up once more, he winced. `If she moves it back again, I'm waking her up, damn it . . .'

 

It seemed that luck was on his side now, though, because she didn't move her hand again. Willing his body to settle down, though, was something entirely different, and InuYasha grimaced again as he tried to shift on the branch to alleviate some of the strain he was feeling.

 

Ten minutes of fidgeting did nothing to aid his plight, and InuYasha heaved a disgusted sigh as he tried in vain to think about something other than the woman in his arms who was much, much to close. As though his perception of every single thing about her was heightened in this state, he couldn't escape her scent—the pleasant smell of her soaps and shampoo . . . the warmth of her body against his. `Damn it, baka! Think of something else . . . Sesshoumaru . . . yeah . . . think about that bastard . . . nothing remotely Kagome about him . . .'

 

And it was working, sort of. As long as he concentrated on something other than Kagome and her proximity, his body was starting to relax. `Keh! Who ever thought that bastard would be good for anything?'

 

A sharp pain in his neck made him react before he considered. Slapping hard, InuYasha heard a grunt, a groan, and saw a flea fall away in his palm. “Myouga! Where the hell did you come from?”

 

“Just . . . in the neighborhood, InuYasha-sama . . .” the flea moaned.

 

“Keh. What do you want?”

 

Myouga sat up and hopped off InuYasha's hand to light on his knee instead. “Want? Nothing, nothing . . . tell me . . . do you and Kagome-sama often sleep in the trees . . . together?”

 

Fighting back the furious blush that rose to his cheeks, InuYasha snorted. “Shut up, Myouga, or I'll really flatten you.”

 

Myouga scooted back but crossed his arms and nodded. “Have you had any luck finding the butterfly youkai?”

 

“No,” InuYasha allowed grudgingly.

 

Myouga sighed. “I thought as much.” Deliberately taking his time as he cracked open his eyes and schooled his features to an innocence that InuYasha knew was absolutely faked. “So . . . have you seen Sesshoumaru-sama of late?”

 

“Keh! No . . . why?”

 

Myouga shrugged. “Nothing, really . . . just a rumor on the wind . . .”

 

InuYasha narrowed his gaze on the flea youkai. “What rumor?”

 

“I heard . . . could it be that Kagura was somehow resurrected?”

 

“Kagura? What?”

 

“I . . . heard . . . that the wind sorceress Kagura has been returned to her body . . .”

 

InuYasha shook his head. “She died . . . her body disintegrated . . . she can't be . . .”

 

Myouga rubbed his hands together as his gaze shifted to Kagome's cheek. “And now that I've shared the information I have, what say you to a little—”

 

“Do it and die, parasite,” InuYasha snarled, catching the look that the youkai was giving the girl.

 

Myouga heaved a sigh, shaking his head sadly. “Ah, the life of a flea . . .”

 

“Save it. You drank some of my blood, so that's good enough.”

 

Myouga nodded as a dreamy smile lit his features. “Yes, yes I . . .” he suddenly trailed off as he narrowed his gaze on the hanyou. “InuYasha-sama . . .”

 

“What?”

 

“Your blood . . . tastes . . . different.”

 

“Different, how?”

 

Myouga made a face. “Different like your father's did . . . just before he took your mother as his mate.”

 

Red hot flames shot to the surface of InuYasha's face as he turned his head away. “Dunno what you're talkin' about.”

 

Myouga winced. InuYasha saw it out of the corner of his eye and braced himself for whatever it was the flea was reluctant to say. Stubbornly refusing to ask, InuYasha waited impatiently for the youkai to spit it out.

 

“There are a few things you should know, InuYasha-sama . . . things your father asked me to tell you when you were old enough . . .”

 

Turning his face back just a little, InuYasha still refused to ask.

 

Obviously uncomfortable in telling InuYasha whatever it was that was on his mind, Myouga hedged a little before clearing his throat and scooting back just a little more. “Uh . . . um . . . when you get around to claiming . . . your mate . . . you need to know when not to do it.”

 

“I don't think I like where you're going with this,” InuYasha interrupted, positioning his fingers to flick the flea into the night.

 

Myouga waved his hands frantically to stave off the impending flickage. “Just hear me out! Your father wanted you to know this!”

 

InuYasha rolled his eyes and heaved a sigh but lowered his fingers—for the moment.

 

Satisfied that he wasn't about to set off on an unexpected trip, Myouga sat back down and took a moment to gather his thoughts. “There are two times each lunar cycle when you can produce a child,” he blurted. “On the night of the new moon, when you're human, you would produce a human child with Kagome-sama.”

 

“What?”

 

“And on the night of the full moon when your youkai blood rises, then you would produce a hanyou child, like yourself.”

 

InuYasha opened his mouth to say something—anything—but nothing would come out. He tried again. And again. And again. Still nothing. Face washed in crimson color, the hanyou kept opening his mouth only to close it again as speech failed him.

 

“So anyway, that's what I needed to tell you,” Myouga stated as he hopped to his feet. “Bye!”

 

“Wait!” InuYasha hissed, recovering his voice at last as he managed to catch the scurrying flea. Bringing Myouga up to eye level, InuYasha glared at the youkai, held between his thumb and index finger. “Why didn't you tell me all this when Kikyou—”

 

“Because Kikyou was never meant to be your mate! You know this . . . You're not going to squish me now, are you?”

 

InuYasha winced inwardly. `How could Myouga have known that? I thought she was . . . I wanted her to be, at the time . . .' Applying just enough pressure to the flea to make the youkai sweat, InuYasha wasn't done tormenting him, not by a long shot. “And you didn't think this might be a little more important to have told me before?” he snarled quietly.

 

“Well, uh . . . there never really seemed to be a good time, no, and—”

 

InuYasha's sharp gasp cut Myouga off. The flea looked duly befuddled as InuYasha's embarrassment increased. `Damn! No . . . fuck!' he thought wildly as Kagome's hand slipped back to the one place that he didn't want it to be at the moment. “Get the hell out of here, Myouga, and next time, you'd better not spring anything as stupid as this on me!” he growled, hurling the youkai into the night. A cautious glance down at the sleeping girl confirmed his initial thoughts. She was still sleeping, and he really must have been cursed . . .

 

Gritting his teeth as he tried to forget what Myouga had said as well as ignore the return of the inescapable results of Kagome's innocent touch, he sighed and pulled her hand back up once more, only this time, he held onto her fingers to keep them in place.

 

`Hell,' he thought with a very deep breath, `this night ain't never gonna end . . .'

 

Sometimes he hated being right.

 

 

::0::0::000::0::0::

 

 

InuYasha stomped through the forest with a dark glower on his face as Kagome chattered happily. “It's a beautiful day, InuYasha! Look! The sakura trees are blossoming!”

 

He snorted in reply and kept walking.

 

She stretched. “I slept so well last night! I can't remember getting a better night's rest!”

 

That earned her a sidelong glare as the oddly quiet InuYasha kept his opinion to himself.

 

“Did you sleep all right?”

 

InuYasha grumbled something that Kagome didn't catch.

 

Running around him to look into his face, Kagome narrowed her gaze. “What did you mumble?”

 

To her surprise, his face reddened. “Nothing.”

 

“That doesn't look like a `nothing' expression,” she argued. “You didn't sleep well?”

 

“No, I didn't,” he answered tersely. “Now drop it.”

 

“Okay,” she agreed slowly.

 

Come to think of it, he'd been in quite a mood all morning. She wasn't sure why. When she woke this morning, he had been quietly staring at the rising sun. She loved the way his eyes shone in the light, the way the gold seemed to churn and flow. He held her hand, and she squeezed it to let him know she was awake. He smiled wanly as he looked at her, then kissed her forehead before scooping her up and dropping out of the tree with her.

 

Stifling a sigh as she fell in step beside him, Kagome snuck a peek at him only to see that his scowl hadn't diminished at all. “Why are we going this way?” she finally asked. They had been heading north but he'd altered his direction this morning.

 

InuYasha shrugged. “I heard something last night . . . Myouga showed up.”

 

Kagome frowned. “Myouga? What did he have to say?”

 

To her amazement, InuYasha's face reddened a little more. “He said he'd heard something strange . . . that Kagura has been brought back to life.”

 

“Kagura?” Kagome gasped. “But how?”

 

“That's what I want to find out.”

 

They walked along in silence for awhile. InuYasha's mood seemed to be worsening by the moment. Kagome's frown deepened. She finally stopped, laying a hand on InuYasha's arm to stop him, too. “InuYasha? Did I do something wrong?”

 

He looked surprised by her question and shook his head slowly. “Keh. What could you have done?”

 

She shook her head. “I don't know . . .”

 

“I just have a lot on my mind. That's all.”

 

“All right,” she said though her tone was tinged with doubt. They started walking again. This time, when Kagome peeked at him, his expression was a little less foreboding even if he did look like something still bothered him. She sighed. `What are you thinking, InuYasha?' Trying to brush off his silence, Kagome stared at the trees above. “Did Myouga have anything else to say?”

 

InuYasha shrugged. “Nothing important,” he hedged just before he caught her hand to drag her onto his back. Breaking into a sprint, he pushed off the ground to sail above the trees.

 

Kagome giggled, savoring the feeling of freedom that came with his movements. Settling herself comfortably against him, she rested her cheek on his shoulder, content just to be near him. He glanced back at her and smiled. She didn't see the smile but she did feel the soft rumble vibrating through his chest as she snuggled closer.

 

 

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A/N:

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Final Thought from Myouga:

That was strange … InuYasha-sama seemed a bit anxious to be rid of me …

==========

Blanket disclaimer for this fanfic (will apply to this and all other chapters in Metamorphosis): I do not claim any rights to InuYasha or the characters associated with the anime/manga. Those rights belong to Rumiko Takahashi, et al. I do offer my thanks to her for creating such vivid characters for me to terrorize.

 

~Sue~