InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Okaeri Nasai, Welcome Home ❯ First Kiss ( Chapter 9 )

(Light comes on over stage. Your authoress steps into light)

Kat: Hello, everyone. I hope you have so far enjoyed all eight instalments of Okaeri Nasai, despite the cliffhangers and long waits between chapters. Now, my dear readers, I have good news, and bad news. The good news is-here is instalment number nine! (I am working very hard on little sleep to get it done before school starts) The bad news is . . . this chapter will almost surely be a cliffhanger, and because school starts soon, it may be a while before I update again (not to mention after this chapter I want to get back to some of my other fics). So, with that mention in mind, please enjoy. If, when you finish this chapter you have an unexplainable urge to kill me, don't worry; I will completely understand. However-

(Takes off heavy cloak she is wearing to reveal track suit with her laptop in a bag over her shoulder)

Kat: -YOU'LL NEVER TAKE ME ALIVE!!!! (Runs off)

Akkiko and Meg= -.-;;

The Inu-yasha gang= o.o;;

Reviewers= O.o;;;

Okaeri Nasai

Chapter 9-First Kiss

Kagome reached up and grabbed onto the wooden lip of the well, pulling herself up. She looked around the clearing at the various smoking craters and shook her head. As she settled on the ground of the Feudal Era, she stopped. There were three-no, four jewel shards nearby. And they were coming from-

"Kagome!" The girl turned as Shippo leapt into her arms, hugging her. "Kagome, you wouldn't believe what happened while you were at that school-place of yours! Four evil fire demons came and attacked us and they made a big mess and-"

"And they had jewel shards in them," Kagome said, walking over to one crater and pushing her hand through the warm earth. She held up a tiny shard of the Shikon no Tama.

"You're kidding me!" Kagome turned to see Inu-yasha, Sango and Miroku as well as Kat, Meg and Akkiko all making their way over to her. "You're telling me that these three defeated demons complete with jewel-shards in them on their first try?!" Inu-yasha demanded.

"Wow," Meg remarked, tossing her hair. "I guess we just have natural-born talent for slaying demons."

"I still say they weren't so tough," Akkiko muttered. "And I got a shard-thing from that freaky hair demon anyway." She reached into her pocket and held it out to Kagome.

"Kagome? What's wrong?" Kat asked as the Japanese schoolgirl glared in Meg's direction, flushing.

Kagome stood and stalked over to Meg, grabbing her shoulders. "Meg, what did you tell Houjo!?"

Meg sweatdropped. "Ah-what?"

"What did you tell Houjo to do?!"

"Oh . . . that." Meg blinked and thought back.

::flashback::

"I mean, it's not like she'll ditch you," Meg said, a little more calmly. There was an uncomfortable silence.

"Oh. . ." Kat scrutinized Houjo carefully. "You mean, she has ditched you?"

A nod.

". . . More than a dozen times?"

Another nod.

"Well!" Meg clapped her hands together. "In that case, you're screwed, unless I give you some advice!" And with that she forced Houjo's butt into a chair.

::end::

"`Oh, that'?! Is that all you can say?!" Kagome began strangling the kitsune.

"Okay, that's it," Akkiko said, grabbing Kat. "What `advice' did Meg give Houjo?"

"Well. . ."

::flashback::

"You need to be more aggressive," Meg said. "Have more confidence when you're speaking to her. This is your true love! You must fight for her!!"

"Is she always this dramatic?" Houjo whispered to Kat.

"Oh, sometimes it's worse. You should see her when me or Akkiko has a crush." Kat sighed, banging her head on her desk.

"You! Pay attention!" Meg said, pointing a finger a Houjo. "Now, then, the next time you're talking with Kagome, you have to ask her out. But make it like she doesn't have a choice in the matter-and when she says `yes', you kiss her."

"WHAT?!" Several heads turned to their table as Houjo went pink.

"Meg, don't you think that's a little over-the-top for him?" Kat asked mildly.

"K-kiss Kagome-san?" Houjo sputtered. "W-without even asking her?"

"Don't tell me a cutie like you has never kissed a girl before!" Meg said, shocked. "It's simple; you just do this-" And she leaned forward. And she kissed him.

Kat developed little blue lines under her eyes. "Oh, boy. . ." she muttered. "Something tells me this isn't going to go over well."

Meg broke the kiss, leaving Houjo puckered up, looking like a fish.

(Interruption:

"In all honesty," Meg said, sighing, "it was rather like kissing a sponge. I feel sorry for Kagome."

End interruption)

Meg tapped the side of her cheek. "Of course, a kiss on the lips may be a little much; you may totally scare her off," she said, desperately groping for a way to help her friend avoid kissing a sponge. "It may be safer to just give her a kiss on the cheek at first." And she kissed Houjo on the cheek, which made him come out of his trance-like state.

That's when the nose-bleed started.

"Damn I'm good!" Meg called, running for some tissues.

"I knew that no good would come of this," Kat sighed, holding out a handkerchief to the bleeding teen.

::end flashback::

Meg coughed. "So, yeah. . . in my defence, I really did tell him just to kiss you on the cheek."

Kagome let go of Meg's throat for a nanosecond. "Well, if that's what happened, how come he came up to me, told me we were going to the movies on Friday, and-without even waiting for me to answer-kissed me on the-on the-on the-"

"Oh my GOD!!' Kat shrieked. "Did he seriously kiss you on the lips!?"

Kagome nodded, blushing up a storm. Kat sighed.

"I guess poor Houjo-kun got a little ahead of himself."

Akkiko stifled a giggle. Kagome glared at her, and then Meg again. Meg gulped.

"Ah-erm-hey! How about I pop back to the modern era and grab some stuff for dinner?"

Sango blinked at her. "But I was going to make supper toni-" She was cut off as Meg sped past her towards the well.

"Oh, don't worry about it, Sango-chan! I'll whip something up myself! Be back in a second!" And with that she was gone.

Kat sighed as Kagome simmered down. "Well, hopefully that will put an end to her matchmaking."

"Don't count on it," Akkiko said, still holding a jewel shard.

"Did you really get that from Yura?" Kagome asked her, pointing at the shard.

"Yeah," Akkiko answered, placing it in Kagome's hand.

"I couldn't sense it at all."

"Well, you couldn't sense the jewel shards in our rings either," Kat said, "At least, not until you touched us."

"Hmm, I wonder why I can't sense the shards on you guys," Kagome said, going to collect the shards that had been in the other three Fire Sisters.

"And why was a shard in Yura in the first place?" Miroku asked.

"Well, you said she was dead, right? Maybe that shard was what brought her back to life," Akkiko put in.

"If that's the case, Naraku must be getting very, very powerful," Sango said worriedly.

"We'll worry about that later," Inu-yasha said, crouching on the well. "I'm hungry again. That wench had better be bringing back ramen."

"I say it again; don't count on it," Akkiko said.

:::later:::

It turned out to be, not ramen, but meatballs that Meg was planning on making for supper. She rushed back through the well, burdened by bags of food and such, and kicked everyone out of Kaede's little hut, including Kaede herself.

"My, that child is pushy, isn't she," the old woman muttered, cleaning some herbs.

"Meg's always been a take-charge kinda girl," Kat said, laughing. Suddenly a face loomed over her own. "What's up, Inu-yasha?"

"Who's this `Houjo' kid and why did he kiss Kagome?" the hanyou said in a scary voice.

Kat sweatdropped. "Houjo is a guy that goes to our high school; he likes Kagome and kissed her because of advice Meg gave him." She sighed. "His brain probably blocked out the little tidbit of kissing her on the cheek and only registered the kissing on the lips."

"SUPPER'S READY!!" Meg called from inside the hut.

In a matter of minutes everyone was seated in the hut around a bubbling pot of meatballs. Meg dished out these as well as some rice and vegetables.

"This smells excellent," Miroku said. "You must practice a lot for when you're married, Meg."

Meg blushed a little. "Actually, I had to learn how to cook because my parents both work."

"Your mother works? Oh, I suppose she works in the fields and doesn't get home until late," Sango said. "Or does she help you father with his work?"

"Uh. . ." Meg sweatdropped. "Well. . ."

"Hey Kagome," Inu-yasha said, changing the subject. ". . .Was kissing that guy really like kissing a sponge?"

Kagome nearly choked on a meatball. Kat patted her back and sensed a world war coming.

"You-you-" Kagome glared at the hanyou, who was innocently eating his dinner.

"That must've been weird; Kikyo never kissed like a sponge."

That was enough for Kagome. She grabbed the first thing that came to hand: a meatball in her dish.

She threw the meatball, and. . .-splat!-

Inu-yasha's bowl dropped with a clatter as he felt sauce drip down his ear. "You bitch!" he yelled, and grabbed a meatball from his dish.

Kagome squealed and ducked; Kat had already moved out of the way, so it hit. . .Akkiko! Wrong person to hit.

She blinked slowly as the meatball slid off her cheek.

"Oh . . . shit." Kat and Meg ran out the door.

There were a few seconds of calm . . . and then all hell broke loose.

"FOOD FIGHT!!!"

:::after the Armageddon subsides:::

Kaede kicked them all out of the hut, and everyone in the group knew that they were out of there . . . indefinitely.

"Meg, why did you have to make the sticky meatball variety?" Kat yelled at her, trying to get a blob of meat out of Sango's hair.

"Sorry!" Meg said, scrubbing Shippo's cheek.

"Stupid wench," Inu-yasha muttered. His hair, not to mention his ears, was completely brown thanks to the sauce. He looked at Kagome. "You started it."

Kagome glared. "It was your fault I threw the first meatball!"

Meg and Kat looked at each other. They were the only clean people of the group. "Now, now, people. It could have stopped at just Kagome and Inu-yasha, but once you throw Akkiko into the mix. . ." Everyone looked at what had once been Akkiko, now covered head-to-toe with meatball and meatball residue and looking like something from the swamp.

"That's it!" Meg threw her hands in the air. "I give up. Everyone, to the baths!"

"To the hot springs, actually," Kagome said, rubbing some sauce off her cheek. "This way."

"Hey, Meg!" Miroku called as the girls started to file down one path and the boys another.

"What is it?"

"I just wanted to tell you that it was a great meal, before. . ."

"Before it was turned into World War III," Meg laughed. Catching Miroku's confused look, she coughed. "Never mind. Um . . . Oh! You have some sauce on your cheek." Meg scrubbed at Miroku's cheek with a napkin.

"Itai!" he said. "That hurts!"

"Sorry, but it's-sticky!" Meg frowned at him. "Oh, there's some beside your mouth, too." Scrub, scrub, scrub.

"ITAI!! Are you trying to rub my skin off?"

"I'm sorry, you big baby. But if it hurts that much, I'll kiss it all better." Leaning in, Meg pecked Miroku's cheek.

Miroku flushed. It appeared he had never been kissed willingly by a female before. "Uh, I feel something sticky on my lips." Meg raised the napkin threateningly, thinking what he was thinking. Miroku smiled sheepishly. "Can we skip the napkin thing, please?"

Meg smiled. "'Kay." I think you can guess what went on next.

:::later, in the hot springs:::

Kat clapped her hands. "Go Meg!" she said to her blushing friend. "You finally made your move."

"Yeah, well . . ." Meg laughed.

"God, and now you're sticky, too," Akkiko said. "What were you doing?"

"Oh, nothing . . . much." Meg grabbed a towel and started drying off. "So, Akkiko, when are you going to make your move?"

Akkiko coughed. "My move on whom?"

"Don't play dumb, Akkiko," Kat said, splashing some water in her direction. "We know you like Inu-"

"WATER FIGHT!!"

Sango, Kagome and Meg all watched as Kat shrieked and tried to get away as Akkiko grabbed her head and dunked her.

:::half an hour later:::

When everyone was reasonably clean and reasonably dry (although Kat was still a little waterlogged-that's what happens when Akkiko dunks you) everyone gathered at Kaede's house and (after begging her to let them help) cleaned up the remains of the chaotic dinner.

After that, everyone sat in a clearing just outside of the village in front of a huge fire. Well, almost everyone. Miroku was chatting with Meg; Shippo was playing with Kirara; Akkiko was filling in Kagome about the battle that had occurred that day; Sango was cleaning her weapons; and Kat was reading a thick fantasy novel. Inu-yasha was no where in sight.

"Well, I'm off!" Miroku said cheerfully. Everyone looked at him from where they were sitting.

"You've been going off by yourself an awful lot lately, Houshi-sama," Sango said absently, polishing Hiraikotsu. "What are you planning?"

Miroku flashed her a smile. "It's a surprise."

Meg snorted as she rose and stretched. "Surprise my ass," she muttered.

"Certainly," the hentai houshi said, and reached out to do just that.

-SMACK!-

-THUD!-

-BAM!-

-SIZZLE!-

-BOOM!-

-CRASH!-

Respectively, those were the sounds of Meg's hand meeting Miroku's face, Hiraikotsu meeting the monk's head, Kat's hardcover following the boomerang to the same destination, Shippo's foxfire creating roast pervert, and Akkiko's Hammerspace!Mallet sending him -CRASH- into a tree.

"Maybe . . ." he groaned. "Maybe . . . I'll just stay here tonight."

"Pervert!" all the women yelled.

Miroku limped back to his seat and sat back down. Meg sighed and kissed his cheek, making the monk grin despite his bruises. Kat smiled at her friend, and then noticed some rustling in the nearby bushes. She pushed aside some leaves and saw someone slightly unfamiliar.

"AAAUUUUUGH!! Peeping tom! Peeping tom!!" Everyone turned to see Kat summon her spear as a black-haired person leapt out of the way.

"Stop, dammit, it's me! Don't impale me, wench!!"

Kat stopped. That voice . . . sounds familiar, she thought. "Inu-yasha?!"

Meg stepped up to the raven-haired boy. "It smells like Inu-yasha, and it kinda looks like Inu-yasha, except-"

"WHAT HAPPENED TO THE EARS?!" Akkiko cried, little tears droplets coming from her eyes as she popped up behind the hanyou-turned-human and griped the now-normal human ears.

Kagome, Miroku, Sango and Shippo all looked up. "Oh," was all they said.

"`Oh'?" Akkiko demanded. "What does `oh' mean?! Why does Inu-yasha look like-like-"

"Shit, he looks like a high-school student," Meg said.

"His hairstyle kinda reminds me of Kurama from YuYu Hakasho," Kat said thoughtfully.

"Something tells me I should kill you for saying that," Inu-yasha growled, and stomped over to sit by the fire.

"It's a new moon," Miroku said. "Since Inu-yasha is a hanyou, one night a month he becomes fully human."

"So it's his `time of the month'?" Meg said thoughtfully. The girls burst into giggles.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Inu-yasha snapped. "What's so funny? Miroku, do you get this?"

Miroku coughed in order to hide a laugh. "Well, actually . . ."

Shippo patted the frustrated boy on the shoulder.

"I'll explain it to you later," he said with a grin, happy to know something the hanyou didn't.

As the giggles subsided, Meg's ears twitched. She looked sharply over her shoulder.

"Meg?" Miroku laid a hand on her shoulder. "What's wrong."

"The forest," Meg muttered. "It's too quiet."

By this point, everyone was listening to her, and Kagome reached for her bow and arrow; Sango hefted Hiraikotsu onto her shoulder.

"Kagome, if Naraku is giving all his minions a jewel shard, we should be able to tell if one of his demons is coming," Miroku said. "Can you sense anything?"

"No," Kagome said.

"But I can smell demon," Meg said. Shippo nodded in confirmation.

"Then it must be a wild demon," Sango said. "I'll handle it. Kirara!" Flames erupted around the little neko and a moment later a large, sabre-toothed cat stood in its place.

"Whoa!" Akkiko grinned. "I want one of those for my birthday!"

"Right; be right back," Sango said, climbing on Kirara's back and flying off. Something screamed to the dark sky a ways off.

"Something's still coming," Akkiko said, her swords springing into her hands.

"Yeah; there's more than one of them." Meg stepped beside Kagome with her own bow and arrows.

"But where-" Kat was cut off by sudden rustling in the bushes behind her. Suddenly a huge snake youkai burst through the foliage. Kat screamed.

Akkiko sprung forward with impossible speed and beheaded the youkai before it got to Kat.

"Th-thanks," Kat said, drawing her spear.

"Keep alert," Akkiko said.

"Inu-yasha, keep close," Kagome called over her shoulder.

"Why don't you mind your own business-" Inu-yasha started to call back when another snake burst from the bushes behind him. Kagome quickly knocked and fired a Sacred Arrow, slicing the snake in half.

Kat went over to the corpse and prodded it with the butt of her spear. "Jesus, these things are big," she said. The youkai's body stretched five feet into the clearing and the rest of it disappeared into the surrounding foliage. It was coloured green and brown, perfect for blending into the environment. At least a foot thick, its fangs held poison that dripped from its open mouth.

"Their size isn't the scary part," Inu-yasha said bluntly. "Dammit, why did I have to be a wimpy human tonight?"

"What's the scary part?" Kat asked, looking from the snake to Inu-yasha. He looked at her with a morbid smirk on his face.

"Those are just the babies."

Kat, Meg and Kagome went pale. Miroku's brow furrowed and he placed his hand on his cursed arm, ready to suck in anything else that attacked. Akkiko merely watched the bushes, senses peaked.

Silence.

-CRASH- Without warning, another snake burst from the ground. It looked like the smaller ones, but this was big enough to swallow a car (if they existed in that world) and its fangs were as long as a man's leg. It flew several feet into the air before crashing back down to the earth with a boom, causing Kagome, Miroku and Inu-yasha to fall over.

"And there's Mama," Akkiko whispered. The snake snarled and darted forward with impossible speed for something so big. Its target was Inu-yasha.

The hanyou was struggling to get up, still shocked from the earth-shattering power of the snake's body hitting the earth. In other words, he was completely helpless.

Akkiko darted forward. She knew that even if he was on his feet, Inu-yasha lacked both the youkai-speed and the ability to use the Tetsusaiga; without them, there was no way he could dodge the snake's attack. So that left her.

Meg attempted to slow the demon down, but her arrows bounced off its thick hide. Kat jumped on its back and thrust her spear into the spine. This caused the snake to writhe momentarily, but then it continued, sending her flying. Unfortunately, she landed on Meg.

Akkiko ran in front of Inu-yasha, swords ready.

"What-are you-" Inu-yasha coughed and shook his head. "What the hell are you thinking!? Get out of the way."

"No way," Akkiko said. The snake was seconds away. "Like it or not, I protect the people I care about. That includes you."

Time paused.

And Akkiko heard a voice in her head. As did Kat. As did Meg.

Though I placed your weapons in various items on your bodies, they are truly fuelled by the force that drives your will to live. That is, they and their power are controlled by your heart; your soul. They have been given so that you can protect those you love.

I am proud that you have been able to use them to that advantage.

The snake's nose touched the sharp edge of Akkiko's sword as time resumed.

And then, all that could be seen was white light.

::later::

Sango landed in the clearing and jumped off Kirara, not knowing who to run to first. Taking up most of the clearing was an outline made of ash and burned scales in the shape of a great snake. Kagome sat up, coughing. Ash fell off her clothes.

"Kagome-chan, what happened?" the taiji-ya exclaimed, running over to her.

Kagome looked around blearily. "A huge snake burst from the ground; it hit the earth with so much force that Miroku and I were knocked down."

Kat and Meg struggled to their feet. "It was going to attack Inu-yasha, but then Akkiko . . . oh my God-Akkiko!" The two girls ran to the other side of the clearing, where Inu-yasha was just coming too, and Akkiko was a few feet in front of him in a crumpled heap.

"Akkiko?! Are you okay?!" Meg helped her friend sit up. Akkiko groaned.

"I think my swords exploded," she mumbled.

"That's right!" Kat said. "The snake rammed into you, and it was like a bomb detonated."

"Did . . . did you guys hear Kameko Haru? Just before the . . . detonation . . ."

"I know I did," Meg said gravely. "She said . . . something along the lines of our weapons being controlled by our hearts."

"And that they should be used to protect the people we care about," Kat finished. Meg and Kat looked at Inu-yasha, who glared back, clueless.

"Ah-Meg, maybe you should go check on Miroku," Kat said. "I'll help. You're okay, right, Akkiko?"

"Yeah . . ." Akkiko stretched, but remained seated. "Just give me a minute."

Meg and Kat went off, leaving Akkiko to yawn. She felt so drained . . . and yet, it had been worth it.

They have been given so that you can protect those you love.

Akkiko looked at her gloves, the resting place for her swords. Those we love? she thought. If that was the case, there was no more denying it now.

"Hey, wench, you okay?" said a gruff voice above hers. Akkiko looked up. Inu-yasha crouched next to her.

"Yeah, I'm fine," she answered, forcing a smile. But it faded, as she recalled how scared she had been when the snake had gone for him.

"Next time, try not to do something stupid," Inu-yasha continued. "You could have gotten yourself killed if your swords hadn't done that weird shit, and-what's wrong now?"

Akkiko blinked. "What?"

"You just looked so-sad."

Akkiko blinked again, and looked away, her cheeks feeling hot. "It's nothing. I was just thinking . . ."

"Just thinking what?" the hanyou glared at her.

Damn it, he just can't leave me alone, can he? Akkiko thought. Oh well, here goes-

"I was just thinking how I would feel if you weren't here," she said, louder than she had meant to. Completely red now, she stared at the ground. "I mean, what if I had frozen and that snakey-thing had swallowed you whole? What if I hadn't tried to do anything? What if I hadn't been here? You would be . . . gone."

Inu-yasha stared at the red-faced Akkiko, and snorted. "It's not like I'm going to drop dead at any given moment," he said hotly. "Don't worry so much," he pulled her into a hug, "I'm not going anywhere."

Akkiko coughed as the others in the clearing looked their way and then preoccupied themselves with other things. "Yeah, well . . . don't think that means I'm not going to keep protecting you. That's the second time I've saved your ass in the past twenty-four hours."

Inu-yasha nodded, pulling back. "Yeah, well . . . One of these days, you're going to need someone to protect you."

"And let me guess . . . that person is you?"

He shrugged and looked away. "I protect everyone else in this group; why not you too?"

Akkiko sighed. "Well, I suppose that works, too." And, in another scary random character change, leaned closer to kiss him on the cheek.

Of course, Inu-yasha had to turn his head back at that precise moment.

Meaning they kissed on the mouth.

And while they were . . . occupied with this, the sun came up.

-A/N: ARGH!! The clichéd-ness!!!!-

Akkiko pulled away, blinking. Inu-yasha now had white hair again, and-

"THE EARS!!!" Akkiko squealed, gently grabbing them and rubbing. "THEY SQUEAK!! THAT IS SO COOL!!"

"Well," said a cold voice from the other end of the clearing. "Isn't this cozy?"

Everyone turned to see a tall man standing in half shadow. He was wearing a pelt of baboon fur.

# # #

I warned you, didn't I? -Sigh- These people just don't listen to me.

Erm . . . (glances at scary looks from reviewers) Yes, I know I am evil. Hey, on the bright side, I have the next chapter almost completely written (that's because I got the ideas a long, long, long time ago) so hopefully it won't take too too long for me to get it posted.

First off, I want to apologize to Meg for the whole `matchmaking' scene-the part with her kissing Houjo was all her idea, and I just made up the rest! I also want to thank her for the "Surprise my Ass" scene.

Secondly, to all you die-hard fans of Sango/Miroku and Inu-yasha/Kagome (or even Inu-yasha/Kikyo), please forgive me; the thing is, I couldn't let my two best friends go through this entire fic without the chance to snog their bishies!

Meg: Darn tootin'!

Besides, it's important to the plot!

Akkiko: What plot?

...Shut up.

I would like to note that I am totally in favour of the above pairings (except Inu-yasha/Kikyo). (See below for Meg's comments on this)

And now, I want to convey my random happiness (despite the fact that school starts tomorrow, at least for me)-I have Tsubasa Volume 2 and Crescent Moon Volume 1!!!

Meg: I hate you.

I know!!! So now I am going to cuddle up with chocolate ice cream and my manga and be happy =^.^=

Ja ne!!

Disclaimer: You know the drill, people. I own OC characters and myself, as well as the plotline. Non-OC characters belong to other people.

Akkiko: Way to be vague.

Kat: Bite me.

BETA Special: Hey! This is the wonderful BETA Meg here, calling attention to something Kat said earlier. Personally, my favourite pairing is Miroku/Sango (go look at my stories if you want proof) but, like she said, it's fun and there is a big plot chunk that is rather important to the pairings. So, just to let you know, we may be rabid fangirls, but we're rabid fangirls with a plan. And that's even worse.

Ja ne!