InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ One Simple Question ❯ The Scent of a Bear ( Chapter 18 )

The group decided to make camp, there was nothing they could do without the hanyou. Everything, it seemed, hinged on InuYasha's newfound maturity and his ability to get over everything he had said. And everything that had ever been said to him. And anything done to him. ...Kagome's thoughts kept spiraling long into the night. Being a teen isn't easy!

 

 

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That damn bear was screwing him up! There was no other explanation. InuYasha was simply not that careless about talking about his own insecurities. He hadn't even bothered to sniff and make sure the girls were gone yet because he was afraid of getting another heady whiff of bear.

 

And he had forgotten to threaten the houshi to keep that info to himself, so the girls would probably hear it once they got back from their baths…

 

InuYasha decided to go check on the girls, make sure he had enough time to beat the shit out of Miroku without being caught in the act. He bounced from tree to tree, taking tiny breaths to locate the water, trying to minimize his intake of bear smell. But when he got to the water, he couldn't smell either girl anywhere. Either they hadn't gotten there yet, they got into trouble, or they never left camp. Two of the options sent a shiver down InuYasha's spine. He booked it back to camp in time to see both girls dry, chatting with the houshi.

 

They never left. They heard everything. SHE heard everything. Fuckfuckfuckfuckfuck. What'm I gonna do?! His mind whirred, running a mile a minute, trying desperately to grasp and hold onto the `new and mature' way to do things. And he came up blank. But there was always his good old standby, get mad at them before they can get mad at you.

 

He mussed up his hair, backed up a few trees, and went into the camp with enough momentum to suggest he'd been running.

 

“The girls aren't at the wa--” He stopped dead, eyes bulged. Kagome looked at him, and soft and tender look in her eyes. Fuck. “You're dry.” He couldn't handle soft and mushy. Soft and mushy in front of Miroku. He shuddered internally. Soft and mushy with a nose full of bear pheromones, bad combination. “You never went to bathe.” Kagome's mouth worked like a fish out of water. “Are you kidding me? You lied just to eavesdrop?!”

 

Kagome sat up at that. “We didn't lie, we just never got there, we didn't mean to hear anything.”

 

“But you never bothered to say anything and stop listening either.” The hanyou crossed his arms in his sleeves, glaring at the young miko.

 

Sango slowly approached Miroku and sat down next to him, sharing a sleeping bag. The two silently decided to stay out of the `conversation,' hoping against hope something meaningful would happen while InuYasha's defenses weren't at full operating capacity.

 

“InuYasha! Why are you being so mean?”

 

“Cause maybe I feel like I got tricked into admitting shit I never would normally!” He practically roared. His chest heaved, which pulled more of the faint, lingering bear scent down into his lungs, making him straighten and breathe normally almost immediately.

 

Kagome sat down hard on her sleeping bag, a slightly dazed look in her eyes.

 

InuYasha turned around, his back to his friends. He was so relieved to still be standing, but he was worried about the look in Kagome's eyes.

 

“Do you really think I would care about what anyone said to me?” She asked, hands in her lap, eyes beseeching him to turn around.

 

“I ca-Keh!” InuYasha took one mighty leap out of the tiny clearing and vanished among the trees.

 

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A/N: Very sorry about the short chapter. At this point I figured you all would prefer a good faith effort rather than waiting another week or 2 for me to hammer out something gigantic. And I'm truly sorry about being away for a year and a half. Life sucked. My computer died. Work became a circle of hell, which circle depended on the day you asked about. Last bf turned out to be Naraku in disguise… I have a new bf now. We like him. Remember the kitten I mentioned last a/n? He was killed at 9 months old. He was on track to be the best cat I ever had. *wipes eyes* Then I helped rescue a dog wandering along the highway. She was pregnant. I kept one of the puppies. He's laying next to me as I type. He's about 6 months old. I got a new comp… I won't bore you with the whole story. I AM back, but things have changed, I'm not sure yet when my updates will be. Thank you all for sticking with me though. I got a lot of emails, and they are why this chapter is here. -hugs-