InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Not My Fairy Tale ❯ Spider Head ( Chapter 5 )

Part five

Spider Head

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Hours later, the miko woke with a start. A quick puff of air on her cheek, a sudden loss of warmth by her side, and a flash of crimson was all she could hazily remember in the first moments upon awakening.

 

Unsure of what exactly had woken her, Kagome remained still, eyes and ears straining, her miko sense searching the dark night for a potential threat. The fire was dim and the camp quiet. The others had obviously gone to bed a long time ago. She held her breath, her hand slowly reaching to pull away her covers when she realized Shippo was gone. She could remember waking for a moment when he finally climbed into bed with her- perhaps it was only his leaving that had roused her?

 

“Stupid pup, why're you being so noisy when everyone's asleep?” She heard InuYasha growl from the night-darkened branches spreading above her. That's where Shippo was. She frowned at the hanyou's tone, pursing her lips angrily.

 

Shippo's small, hiccupping voice drifted down to her. “I don't- want Kagome- to- to leave!” He whined, sniffing pathetically. Her breath caught. Why would she leave? “Promise- she won't leave me?” Shippo must have had a nightmare. Had he dreamed that she left him?

 

The little fox should have woken her, then he wouldn't have to put up with InuYasha's uncaring, heartless insults. And InuYasha should really be more understanding, the young kitsune could no more help having bad dreams than he could stop breathing! It was only natural after all the poor kid had been through in his young life!

 

“Baka, she's not going anywhere. Just shut up and go back to sleep.” InuYasha muttered. The girl below them caught a pale movement in the tree, a flash of moon white, and guessed that InuYasha had settled himself back against the tree trunk to `sleep'.

 

“But, shouldn't you make sure Kagome's okay?” The cub asked, his voice the same wavering, fearful one of a child asking to make sure there were no monsters under the bed or in the closet. Was he so worried that she'd be gone?

 

“What kind of dream did you have?!” The hanyou demanded. Kagome froze, just in case he did decide to hop down and take a look. She really didn't want to get caught eavesdropping on the boys.

 

“Nothing.” The kit mumbled sullenly.

 

“You're a demon, you should be able to smell her, hear her breathing and heartbeat from here.” InuYasha scolded, more gently than he normally would, probably just to keep his voice down as it seemed he didn't want to wake anyone else.

 

Kagome paused, suddenly very conscious of the erratic rhythm of her breathing and soundless pounding of her heart. He could really hear all that? From up there? Could every demon?! She might as well carry around speakers announcing her every emotion to the world! It was as bad as being able to read her mind, hear her secrets! Was nothing sacred or private anymore?!

 

He had to know she was awake and listening. They both had to know. She sighed, relaxing from her frozen attention. If they wanted to include her they would, otherwise it seemed InuYasha was just ignoring her for now.

 

She heard Shippo mutter something and InuYasha reply, “Fine, see, now go to sleep, ya dumb pup.”

 

“InuYasha . . ?”

 

The hanyou growled, loud enough that Kagome could just barely hear it. “What.” He barked.

 

“I can't sleep.”

 

“Kagome already told you your story.”

 

“Please?”

 

“No.” Kagome could hear the glare in his voice, he had that `shut up and go away, ya bother me kid' tone he often had with Shippo and other children they might happen to deal with. “I don't know any.” He grumbled.

 

“You have to know some, you're old.” Kagome winced as she heard the muted thud of the fox kit's head getting thumped.

 

“Dammit.” She smiled, hearing the scowl in his voice. “Once there was mortal who battled a spider demon. He was a stupid human, and he fought the youkai to protect the two priestesses of the shrine the demon had taken over.” InuYasha began a rather familiar tale, one that Shippo might have recognized had he been fully awake.

 

“The mortal fought the crafty bastard for days before falling into one of his traps and getting seriously wounded. He was blinded by the demon's tricks and was so weak and near death that it looked like the youkai would win. Then one of the priestesses ran from where she had been hiding and used her powers to fight demon. She was very powerful but so was the demon and the stupid wench didn't want to hurt the human who had been protecting her. Idiot girl.” Kagome grimaced realizing, whether he knew she could hear him or not, that he was insulting her. He told the story quickly and in his own violent, careless style of storytelling but it seemed to do the trick. She couldn't hear any complaints from the fox child.

 

“The miko managed to rescue the mortal and her tears healed his wounds and he was able to fight again but the demon's form kept twisting and changing so that every blow he landed didn't even hurt the bastard. The priestess shot a purifying arrow at the demon, forcing him to remain in one shape. Together, the human and the miko attacked once more and defeated the demon.” InuYasha paused a moment, as if trying to remember something else. “Oh, and they lived happily ever after.”

 

`Her tears healed him?' Kagome silently repeated the interesting tidbit from his tale. Had those tears really meant so much to him, even now? Remembering them so impressively in a bedtime story? There were a lot of interesting lines from his story that she knew to be one of their own adventures. The fact that they fought together, that she was the `powerful' miko, and they lived `happily ever after' according to InuYasha. She wondered if he was just adding that ending or if he honestly thought they had- or would.

 

Kagome was drifting off once more, these thoughts chasing themselves in her mind, when InuYasha landed nimbly beside her. She sucked in a quick breath, not startled in mind but her body wasn't expecting him to drop in so suddenly. She cocked her head in his direction and blinked up at him, dark eyes glinting a warm auburn in the firelight.

 

He winced as he met her gaze, his own honey-gold eyes glowing like lamps in the dark. “What're you doin' up?” He whispered, crouching near her bed, holding something protectively close to his chest and buried in the long folds of his haori sleeves.

 

The girl shook her head, her voice low and soft as if she was speaking to a dream. “I've been awake, something woke me. What's wrong?” She shuffled a bit, propping her elbow underneath her. He shook his head a little too quickly, his mass of ivory hair flashing as it swung behind him.

 

“Nothing. The kid was being noisy-” He moved his arm to reveal a sleeping fox kitsune cradled between his stomach and his lap. Kagome immediately moved to get up and retrieve the cub from the probably very uncomfortable hanyou but he motioned for her to stay and he moved a little closer to her and gently transferred kit from his hold to hers.

 

“I didn't hear anything. What happened?” She asked as she tucked Shippo into her sleeping bag, close to herself so he wouldn't notice the lack of warmth or heartbeat.

 

“Idiot pup had a nightmare but I got him to shut up.”

 

Kagome frowned, her brows knit and lips pursed. InuYasha suddenly worried if was going to get Sat for what he just said, Kagome was overly protective of the runt and she didn't look happy-

 

“Oh.” Was all she said and the hanyou breathed a sigh of relief, settling into a sitting position beside her. “That's what it was.”

 

“What what was?” He asked, surly again now that he didn't have a pup sleeping in his arms and Kagome wasn't going to say the submitting spell. He could smell sleep still on her, she was tired, her heartbeat slowing; she wasn't likely to put forth much effort in an argument at this point.

 

“That's what woke me.” InuYasha flinched and looked away a little guiltily.

 

“I- I woke you?” He asked resignedly, regret lacing his sigh. Kagome grinned at his agitation, he worried too much.

 

“Oh I don't mind. I'd rather have you wake me by accident than Shippo do it because of a bad dream. That flash of red, Shippo disappearing. It was just you taking him up into the tree with you.” She smiled again at him, her neck aching from looking up at him from where she was. “Thanks for taking care of him for me. I don't mind being there in the middle of the night when he needs someone but I know he likes to know I'm not the only one.”

 

“Feh, you just needed some more sleep, he was gonna keep you from it. Annoying runt.” He growled low, one that Kagome recognized as a show growl, not a real threatening or angry rumble.

 

“Thank you anyway, it was really, really sweet of you.” She said, grinning to herself as a smoldering blush seeped into his cheeks. “You might not like to show it but you do care about us.” She closed her eyes, falling almost instantly into the waiting arms of sleep.

 

“Keh. Of course I do.”