InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Random Plunnies ❯ Touchable ( Chapter 3 )

This story was first uploaded on iyblind, an Inuyasha fanfic challenge community on livejournal, on August29, 2008.

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Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha

 

TOUCHABLE

 

Inuyasha sulked high in the branches of a tree, pretending to ignore the group lounging around the campfire. Kagome laughed at something Miroku said and his gaze narrowed. If he could set things on fire with the heat of his stare, she would be extra well-done crispy by now.

 

He shifted position and grimaced, reaching up to rub his shoulder. Stupid girl! She nearly dislocated his shoulder slamming him into the ground so she could disappear to her own era for hours. And she had forbidden him from following. Anything could have happened! It's not like he wouldn't have eventually let her go. She wanted to go home. He forbade it. They argued for a while. And she went home anyway. It was tradition, dammit!

 

And now she sat around the campfire, giggling with Sango, and totally ignoring him. Honestly, he hadn't even known the taijiya could giggle. He let out a louder grumble than before and rubbed his bruised shoulder again. The only sign that Kagome heard him was a slight stiffening of her back, but she refused to look at him. Inuyasha slouched against the trunk of the tree, crossing his arms, and indulged in a massive pout. Yeah, they would all be crispy critters if he could shoot fire out of his eyes.

 

“And he just gave it to you?” Sango asked Kagome, her voice rising with the smoke above the crackle of the campfire. Inuyasha twitched his ears, his interest caught. There was something in the taijiya's voice- surprise and a touch of envy?

 

“Yeah. He's so sweet.” Inuyasha gritted his teeth at the admiring tone in Kagome's voice. “He said that it would help me with my… condition.”

 

“Does it work?” There was no mistaking Sango's interest.

 

Inuyasha looked over in time to see Kagome nodding. “It's wonderful. Just a small dab leaves your skin soft and your hair like silk. It's been wonderful for my split ends.” She suddenly giggled. He had to stop himself from growling. He never made Kagome giggle like that. “Hojo gave me a whole bottle to help with my eczema. That's what Ji-chan has told everybody to explain my rough skin from being outdoors all the time. And Hojo says that he uses it every day. His hair looked so soft that I just wanted to touch it.”

 

Sango sighed. She looked over at Miroku, who was pretending to meditate on the other side of the fire. “I wish somebody would surprise me with a thoughtful gift like that.”

 

“Why, Sango,” Miroku said without even opening his eyes,” I'm hurt that you would think so little of me. Didn't I get you that nice dagger in the last town we stopped at?”

 

“You stole that dagger! And that is not—“

 

 

Inuyasha stopped listening. Kagome used something that made her want to touch another boy's hair. She never wanted to touch his hair! Though, he had to admit that his hair was usually covered in demon slime and muck. Was that what she went back to her era for? He glanced at the slender girl who had now joined the taijiya in yelling at the monk. Her hair did have a certain gleam to it, the glow of the fire making it look extremely soft and touchable—like silk. And she smelled… almost like flowers. But no flower he had ever smelled before. It was sweet and a little bit musky. Almost enough to make a certain hanyou want to bury his nose in her hair and never leave.

 

Pulling himself up to a crouch on the branch, he jumped to another tree. There was no sound of alarm and he let out a little sigh of relief. He would go to Kagome's era and find this magic bottle. If it could turn Hojo's hair to silk, then it would do wonders for him. Then Kagome would like him best again. And maybe she wouldn't slam his head into the ground so often.

 

It didn't take long to reach the magic well when he wasn't burdened with companions. Things had been quiet recently, but he didn't want to leave them without protection for too long. Still, how long could it take to find one silly little bottle and get it to work its wonders on him? Maybe, if he had time, he would even track down this Hojo character and grind his head into the dust a few times. Hah! See if Kagome wanted to run her fingers through his hair then!

 

Inuyasha popped into Kagome's era in a flash of blue light. He took a deep breath, identifying the mingled scents of her family. Good. No one seemed to be around. Not that he minded all that much playing hero for Souta, but he was in a hurry today.

 

He crossed the yard in a few quick bounds. His sharp nose told him that Kagome's mother was puttering around in the downstairs portion of the house. Both Souta's and Ji-chan's scents were also thick around the house and grounds, but a couple hours old at least. All he would have to do was climb up to Kagome's room and search.

 

The window was open, as it always was these days, and he had just begun his search when he realized something. He had no idea what he was looking for. Inuyasha sat down on Kagome's bed with a thump. Where could it be? He had to find that magic bottle. It had become something of an obsession now.

 

Wait a minute! Kagome said that she used that stuff on her hair and skin. And the only place she put stuff on her hair and skin was in the bathroom!

 

Excited now, Inuyasha barged into the bathroom before stopping in dismay. He didn't remember there being quite so many bottles before when Souta had talked him into boiling himself. Rows of bottles and jars were arranged haphazardly on shelves, most of them with their own sweet or spicy scent that combined to make one huge olfactory headache for him.

 

After almost causing himself to pass out by carelessly opening one bottle right under his nose, he exercised a bit more caution. He held the bottle close enough to read the label, but left the top strictly alone. His eyes were starting to swim from all the fumes in the bathroom, but he refused to give up now.

 

 

Several minutes of fruitless searching had him ready to shred something when a familiar scent reached his nose through the overpowering musk. Inuyasha looked more closely at the bottle he was currently holding. The label read “Silky Touch,” and it smelled like Kagome's hair.

 

Just a dab, huh? Maybe for wimpy human hair. But he had long, tough demon hair. It took only a few seconds to turn on the water. Kagome had shown him how to work the faucets after that disastrous bath with Souta, and he was careful to test the temperature of the water with the tip of his finger before dousing his hair. He didn't really need to take a bath. Having silky smooth hair would be enough.

 

Inuyasha upended the bottle and squeezed. He was not prepared for the entire contents to come shooting out. The scent alone was enough to make his head spin, but he gritted his teeth and endured. This would show Kagome who had the prettiest, most touchable hair!

 

The bathroom was a mess when he finished, water puddling on the floor and bottles strewn everywhere. He hated leaving the mess for Kagome's mom to clean up (she was so nice and accepting) but it was starting to get late. He piled the jars and bottles back on the shelves as best he could, tossing the empty one on top.

 

He tore out of the house, passing Souta in the hall and ignoring his happy shout. His feet barely touched the ground as he bounded back to the well house and shot into the well. Blue light quickly enfolded him in its magical glow that let him know everything was working just fine.

 

The sounds of battle filled his ears as he burst back into his own time. Kagome's cry of fear made him forget everything but getting back to her side as quickly as possible.

 

“Get away from her!” Inuyasha shouted, careening into the ruined campsite. Tetsusaiga sang as he pulled it from its sheath, eager to protect. The giant demon hesitated, clawed hands poised to pluck Kagome off the ground. Sango was pulling herself to her knees on the far side of the clearing, looking dazed. Miroku crouched by her side, cradling the unconscious firecat in one arm.

 

“Do something, Inuyasha!” Shippou shrieked from the trunk of the tree where one of the demon's spines had pinned him by his clothes.

 

The demon roared and turned towards him, but then it seemed to choke. It coughed and shook its head, staggering backwards several paces. Blinking, it sniffed in Inuyasha's direction. It immediately sneezed, and couldn't seem to stop. Coughing, sneezing, and retching the demon turned tail and stumbled away from the little group as fast as it could.

 

Miroku stared after the retreating demon. “That was strange.”

 

“No kidding.” Shippou tore himself loose and plummeted to the forest floor. He picked himself up and brushed leaves out of his hair. “You would think that he smelled something bad.”

 

“Kagome, are you all right?” Inuyasha ignored everyone else in favor of checking on Kagome.

 

 

“Yeah,” Kagome said shakily. “Just a little banged up.”

 

“What is that stench?” Sango asked, joining them and wrinkling her nose. She looked fine, except for a new scratch on her cheek. “It smells like someone bathed in a vat of stinkweed.”

 

“What smell? I don't smell anything,” Inuyasha grumped. He had completely ruined his sense of smell pawing through the bottles in Kagome's bathroom. At the moment, he couldn't even smell himself.

 

Kagome wrinkled her cute little nose. “It smells like…” She paused and appeared to be thinking. Suddenly, her gaze snapped to Inuyasha and she narrowed her eyes. Inuyasha swallowed and took an uncertain step back.

 

She reached out and wrapped her hand in Inuyasha's hair before he could do more than yelp in surprise. Holding a hank of his hair to her nose, she inhaled deeply. He barely had time to realize that his plan was working and Kagome was touching his hair when her grasp tightened and she yanked.

 

“Your hair smells like that very expensive shampoo that Hojo gave me.”

 

“It does?” Inuyasha protested weakly.

 

“What did you do?” Kagome emphasized each word with a cruel tug on his hair.

 

“Nothing! It was an accident! You said that stupid boy's hair was more touchable than mine!”

 

There was stunned silence for a moment as that last statement sank in. Miroku was trying not to laugh, and Sango rolled her eyes. Kagome looked ready to boil over.

 

With what looked like an enormous effort, Kagome closed her eyes and took a deep breath. When she opened them again, Inuyasha was terrified anew by the calculating look in her eyes. Her fingers loosened their grip and she stroked his hair softly, like a kitten. He resisted the ridiculous urge to purr.

 

“It is very soft and silky,” she said in an even tone. “It must have taken the entire bottle to get this shine.”

 

“It did!” Inuyasha nodded eagerly, breathing a sigh of relief that the threatened Kagome storm seemed to be over. “I had to use the whole bottle to wash out the demon gunk because long white hair is harder to clean. But you like me best again, right?” His words trailed off into uncertainty. Kagome was still stroking his hair, but almost absently, like she wasn't really paying attention. He decided to back away slowly. Before he could move more than one step, Kagome wrapped his hair around her fist and pulled his face down to hers.

 

 

“Let's make a deal, Inuyasha,” Kagome began in that same pleasant tone. Then her voice hardened to steel. “Unless you want me to rip your silky, touchable hair out by the roots, you will do whatever I say for the next month! If I want to go home, you will get me there at the speed of yesterday! You will do all of my chores and anything anyone else wants you to do! There will be no backtalk or whining of any kind! Is that understood?”

 

“Isn't that a little harsh, Lady Kagome?” Miroku asked from his safe position cowering behind Sango.

 

“Not harsh enough,” Kagome muttered, an evil glint coming into her eyes. She ignored the terrified pleading in Inuyasha's eyes and uttered her last edict. “Then you will find Hojo and apologize for ruining his gift. You will offer to do chores for him in return for more bottles of shampoo. As many as he will give you”

 

“More shampoo?” Inuyasha squeaked. He could understand replacing the one he destroyed, but what did Kagome need with a lot? Her hair was always silky smooth.

 

Kagome abruptly released the hanyou. Surprised, Inuyasha lost his balance and hit the ground.

 

“We'll have to keep your hair silky smooth and touchably soft somehow,” she remarked. “Maybe Hojo has different scents. I don't think gardenia really suits you. And next time, don't forget the ears.”

 

She walked away, leaving the stunned hanyou in the dirt. He thought about what she said, and then he smirked.

 

“I knew having silky, touchable hair would make her like me best!”

 

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Brought to you by Food for Thought it's Wacky Warnings: A household iron warns users: “Never iron clothes while they are being worn.”