InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Once Upon a Snowstorm ❯ Chapter Six ( Chapter 6 )

Quickening: *Playing with her completely awesome, ridiculously expensive, full-color-screen cell phone that can download stuffon it* Ooooo! Legolas wallpaper! Yeah, baby! It's all mine! Mwahahaha! *presses keys frantically*

Cellphone: Beepbeep beepbeepbeep beeeeep *Gasp…pant* beepbeepbeep…

Desiree: -_-; Ummm…shouldn't you be writing right about now? Story. Remember?

Quickening: Yeah, I know, I know. But…but listen to this! *Presses a key and holds up phone proudly*

Cellphone: *Begins chiming Chariots of Fire*

Quickening: *Sighs* I feel so…so inspired!

Desiree: Great! Does this mean we can write now?

Quickening: No wait, wait. This one's even better!

Cellphone: *Bursts into the Chipmunks theme song*

Quickening: BWAhahahahahahahahahaha! *falls over and dies*

Desiree: -_-; You are too easily amused…

Chapter Six

Somehow, Miroku had managed to convince Inuyasha not to go through the well again and drag Kagome back to look for more shards. He barely even remembered the excuses he gave-something along the lines of Kagome falling ill after being forced to spend the entire night in a hovel of a cave-as he was too busy trying to look innocent and faultless beneath the highly suspicious gazes that both the hanyou and the little kitsune Shippou were piercing him with. But in the end he'd somehow succeeded in keeping the hanyou away.

He'd ended up coming down with a bit of a cold himself by the end of the day, having sat naked in the middle of the river for a good ten minutes after dropping Kagome off at the well. Maybe that had been overdoing it a bit, but he wasn't about to take any chances with Inuyasha's sensitive nose picking up on any residual smells. True, he'd been so numb afterwards that he could barely move to get out of the water, and he wondered if he'd ever be able to get the full sensation back in his toes again, but at least he wouldn't die a slow and torturous death while Inuyasha flayed him alive with his claws.

His robes he would have cheerfully discarded altogether had they not been the only ones he had. As it was, they'd also gotten a thorough cleaning and were later thawed out and mended by the rebuilt fire in the cave, while Miroku sat as close to that fire as he could and tried not to remember every detail of the time spent there with Kagome. Like the little erotic sounds she'd made in her throat when he found a particularly sensitive spot to suckle. Or the way she'd writhed beneath him and clung to him as he brought her to slow climax, over and over again. Or the way she'd touched him, her fingers slowly trailing in shy exploration down his chest and stomach to softly caress his…

After another long dip in the river, he'd finally headed back to Kaede's hut to face the music and to keep Inuyasha as far away from Kagome as possible, until she had a chance to compose herself a little, or at least clean herself up. It was the least he could do for her, after all, after the trouble he had caused her. The fact that he was saving his own ass in the process had absolutely nothing to do with it. Really.

At least so long as Inuyasha didn't develop a sudden case of brains and figure out that Kagome's coming down with a sudden case of "Intercoursiotosis" didn't have anything to do with a highly contagious disease of which only plenty of…bed rest could cure.

*Cough*

But not having her there was driving him crazy. She been gone for barely a full day, but already he felt as though he hadn't seen her in months. Inuyasha and Shippou, sensing his unrest, kept shooting him curious glances, and if Kaede noticed anything, she was keeping her mouth shut. He longed to go outside and meditate but he doubted he'd be able to concentrate anyway. At least, not on anything other than the way Kagome's lips had felt beneath his own, or the way they'd tasted…

After giving himself a hard mental smack, he then idly wondered how long "a few days" would be until she returned, and decided that she'd probably meant "whenever I damned well feel like it." Meaning, he might not see her until next year if she so desired. And by then he could be a father.

A father…

His thoughts froze on those two words. He could be a father. He could have a son-or a daughter-to carry on his fight whenever the Kazana decided to take him down. He'd no longer need to worry about losing the battle before it had even begun. And if, by luck, they found and defeated Naraku before the worst happened…then he would be able to live to watch that child grow up and become an adult. And then he could watch his grandchild grow up. He could be there while his line continued on, and actually see it continue. The thought was enough to steal his breath, and he realized suddenly that he was…scared.

What did he know about being a parent, anyway? He'd been raised by Mushin, who wasn't exactly "father" material. If the best-case scenario actually happened, he'd be responsible for a young life, to raise and protect and love and…so would Kagome. He frowned, his eyes gazing sightlessly at the floor her face floated before his mind. Kagome…what must she be feeling? If he was nervous about the possibility of becoming a father, she must be outright terrified. After all, it seemed that-while she was of the age to wed and bear children in this era-in her time she was still regarded as a child, and situations like this were generally frowned upon. What if her mother was furious (assuming she found out, of course)? What if she threw Kagome out of the house? Where would she go? What would she do?

Miroku frowned. She would come back to them, he assured himself determinedly, and if…when…she did, he would be there to take care of her. He'd promised her, had he not? And maybe she didn't believe in his promises, but he'd prove to her that he was a man of his word. Well…at least where the important things counted. And Kagome was very important. There was no way he'd leave her to raise a child by herself. He would stay beside her and help her no matter what-no matter how…nervous he might be-even if she didn't want him there. He would prove to her that…that he was someone that she could depend on, as much as-if not more than-she'd ever depended on Inuyasha.

Releasing a deep and heartfelt sigh, Miroku lay back on his pallet and closed his eyes, preparing to sleep for the night-as if he'd actually be able to do so-only to yelp in pain as a very heavy weight abruptly landed on his chest, knocking the wind clean out of him. Gasping for breath, his eyes snapped open to stare in shock into the burning golden gaze of one extremely pissed-off Inuyasha.

"What did you do to Kagome, bouzu?!" the hanyou snarled, baring his fangs as clawed hands fisted into the front of his robes, effectively tearing several new holes in the worn fabric.

Eyes widening in slight panic, Miroku tried to voice a response, but it was rather difficult with a hundred-some pound hanyou crouched on his chest. "Wh-what are you…talking…about…?" he finally managed to wheeze out…but Inuyasha apparently didn't like that answer, because his response was to grip the monk's robe tighter and shake him, hard, effectively slamming Miroku's back and head to the floor.

"Your breath, asshole! I can smell her on your breath! What did you do to her?! You've been jumpy all day and now I get why!"

Miroku's eyes widened. Oh, hell. He'd never even thought about…it hadn't even occurred to him that Inuyasha would be able to…but…but hadn't he eaten something by then? Only…he hadn't because Kagome's furious departure had left him too tense and distracted to even think of eating and…and now he…

Oh, yes. He was dead. Very.

And then…just as he was ready to bid farewell to all hope…a miracle came on the voice of an angel.

"Osuwari!"

Unfortunately, the angel failed to take into account that, considering Inuyasha's current position, the one she was attempting to save wasn't really saved, so much as flattened beneath the force of the hanyou being flung on his face over his victim's helpless body with all the weight of a dropped boulder.

Ow…

Miroku actually pitied the poor hanyou, if that was what he had to go through every time Kagome took it into her head to sit him. Nevertheless, he offered his savior a faint smile, only to have it fade when all he received was an icy glare in return. On the other hand…considering that Kagome still seemed a little…disgruntled about certain things, his current situation might not have been so accidental, after all…

"Kaaagooomeeee!" Inuyasha leapt up with fire in his eyes, prepared to chew her out, only to stop mid-rant and blink at her suspiciously. "What're you doin' back here so soon?" he questioned instead. "What happened to that…that…In-ter-coursi-typho-tis or whatever it's called…?"

"My what?!" Kagome yelped, her face turning a dozen interesting shades of red as she shot Miroku a glare of scandalized horror. Something in his eyes-perhaps the silent, desperate plea for his life-must've gotten through to her, because she managed to calm herself enough to mutter, "Miroku…sama must've overreacted. It was just a cold. A few hours of rest and enough meds to knock out a moose and I'm perfectly healthy!" She demonstrated said health by pumping her arms up and down in the air. "See?" Under her breath, she added, "And I thought my grandfather was nuts…"

If her smile was a little too forced, Inuyasha didn't notice, and the sudden arrival of one very cold, wet, and hyper Shippou-who promptly flung himself onto Kagome's back and began chattering about the massive snowball fight he'd gotten into with the village children-was enough to distract his attention for the time being.

At least, until he suddenly remembered just why he'd been about to murder Miroku in the first place.

Before Miroku could make a break for it, he found himself being hoisted by his robes and subjected yet again to Inuyasha's narrowed gaze. He briefly considered pretending to be asleep, but highly doubted that'd be enough to stop the hanyou from flaying him, anyway. And besides, Kagome was watching. According to the Male Code of Honor, he had to look macho and unafraid in front of her, even if he did feel like pissing his…oh wait. He didn't have pants anymore, did he?

"Inuyasha, what are you doing?" Kagome sighed in a tired sort of voice. "Do I need to sit you again?"

"What did he do to you, Kagome?" Inuyasha growled, still glaring at the monk. "His breath reeks of your scent!" He completely missed the way Kagome's face turned red, then completely white, and the way she swayed slightly as though about to fall. Miroku would have gladly caught her had he not been…hung up at the moment.

Luckily, though not without a great deal of effort, she managed to gain control of herself. "He kissed me," she replied calmly, ignoring Inuyasha's outraged gasp or Miroku's audible gulp. "Just once, and I nailed him for it…" Here, Miroku nearly choked at how many…accurate ways that statement could be taken. "…and he didn't do it again."

Um…he wouldn't tell if she didn't…

"It must've been some kiss, if you're still on his breath," Inuyasha growled, eyeing her sulkily.

She squirmed. "Well…he…caught me by surprise. He was…trying to prove a point."

"What point?"

She winced. "I don't remember. Could you…put him down now? Please?"

He blinked at her-that "please" had obviously caught him by surprise-and dropped Miroku into a heap at his feet, before padding over to Kagome and laying both hands on her shoulders. "If he…or anyone else…ever tries to take advantage of you like that again, tell me, and I'll deal with them," he growled.

To Miroku's utter disgust, Kagome's eyes took on a limpid gleam as she gazed up at the hanyou, nodding in silent agreement as a positively dreamy smile crossed her features. Inuyasha blinked at her, and then-apparently realizing that his I'm-too-big-an-ass-to-care attitude was in serious danger of being crushed beneath the weight of that frighteningly sugar-coated gaze-abruptly released her and turned to stalk out of the hut, muttering something about the need for some fresh air.

Miroku watched him go, thinking up the many, many ways that Inuyasha could possibly die out there in the wilderness, and Kagome-after managing to calm down a still-grumbling kitsune (whom basically everybody had forgotten about)-settled down on her pallet for some well-deserved rest of her own. Obviously, she wasn't about to give Miroku any of the answers he craved tonight.

And in her own little corner of her hut, wondering just when and how she'd managed to become so completely invisible to the naked eye (and yet, somehow, not really caring, as she was far too entertained to end this little drama just yet), Kaede sat and wondered when-if ever-the author was going to give her a part in this insane little story.

And, at least for the moment, all was at peace in the universe.

Well…aside from the two planets that were busily colliding far, far away, effectively blowing the thousands of helpless alien residents into space dust…

But that's another story for another time.

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And no. The story ain't over. Stop panicking.

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Desiree: And just what was thatall about?

Quickening: *Blinks innocently* What was what?

Desiree: That! *points to the end of the chapter*

Quickening: Oooohhhh. Right. That was the result of waaaay too much caffine at work last night. And lots of rubber gasket fumes. Funny, ne? *grins insanely*

Desiree: -_-;; Let's see…I know the help wanted ads are around here somewhere…