InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Return Again ❯ Jitters ( Chapter 3 )

Disclaimer: Not mine.

Warning: Mature content. "Dangerous territory, my friend."

III. Jitters

Kagome chewed on her nail absently as she worried about what she had gotten herself into. It was a bad habit she rarely indulged, although Inuyasha had grabbed her hand away from her mouth more than once when she fretted over exams. She sat him nearly to oblivion the first time he did it, irritated no end over the double standard from He-who-picked-his-teeth (when he thought no one was looking). She had felt badly, for a fleeting moment, when Inuyasha explained that his claws were far tougher than her nails but that her bite was surely as bad or worse than his own. Of course, his mumbled complaint that she would undoubtedly hurt herself with her own stupidity had earned him one more sit for good measure.

It was the most ridiculous thing for her to worry over, really. There was no one she trusted more than Inuyasha. She loved Inuyasha. She was even growing confident in her belief that, in his own way, he loved her too. Yet the niggling doubt wormed its way back into her mind. Despite all of her self-assurances, she couldn't seem to beat it down.

Sango-chan had unfortunately been unable to offer much insight into the matter. The taijiya had remained poised over the teapot, hoping the rising steam would hide her flushed face. She explained the little she knew of youkai mating habits - which, truth be told, didn't sound too different. No, Sango-chan didn't expect Inuyasha would be much different from other men. She squirmed a bit when Kagome asked whether he would be more inclined to favour doggie-style, and she had nearly choked on her tea when Kagome wondered about using her mouth. In fact, Sango-chan seemed very flustered by the end of their conversation. But she assured Kagome that Inuyasha would never do anything to cause her harm.

"Trust his instincts," she advised. "They've served him well enough so far. He'll manage at least as well as any other man."

But that's just it. It wasn't that he was a hanyou. The village elders had welcomed the news when Kaede informed them of the couple's decision. Inuyasha, it seemed, had earned not only their trust but a measure of their respect as well. Kagome, of course, had never had a problem with his youkai heritage. But insofar as he was as male as any other man, he might as well have been from Mars.

Intellectually, Kagome understood enough about sex. She had attended health classes, had seen glimpses of porn (it was everywhere in Tokyo), had wondered with her girlfriends and had heard stories from those who had experienced it firsthand. She knew it might hurt a little the first time, that it was frequently disappointing between inexperienced partners, that it could be one of the most wonderful things in the world with the right man. But if the boys of the modern era were perplexing, she didn't have the first clue about where to begin with a hanyou boy from the Sengoku Jidai.

Their wedding was set to coincide with the harvest festivities and harvest was fast approaching. One way or another, Kagome would find out soon enough. She tried to ignore the knot that settled in her stomach.

Inuyasha growled irritably as he rotated his shoulder and stretched his neck, trying to ease the kink that had pained him for the last hour. It happened every damn time she slammed him into the ground with the despised rosary. It had been weeks since she had last done it, and he had nearly forgotten the jarring agony that jolted up his spine every time his jaw met the unforgiving earth.

"Sit"? More like fucking torture.

The worst thing about the whole humiliating farce was that he didn't have the foggiest notion what the hell he'd done to bring it on this time. He had appeared on the knoll, right on cue, but she seemed startled when he spoke her name. He'd hit the ground and she was gone before he knew what had happened.

Come to think of it, she had been acting stranger than usual recently. It started after he'd asked the question. She seemed to be avoiding him now, with increasing frequency, and he had detected a growing tinge in her scent. It wasn't fear, precisely, but it was damn close. It had been bugging the hell out of him.

Inuyasha's brow furrowed as a disturbing new thought occurred to him. What if she had decided that she didn't want to marry him after all?

"Inuyasha, come down."

The monk's syrupy voice intruded on his sullen thoughts. He didn't really feel like company right now.

"Go away, bouzu."

"Now, now, Inuyasha. I heard what happened and I came to find you. We need to have a little chat about bridal jitters."

Inuyasha was in no mood to discuss bridal anything at that particular moment, but the sing-song tone in the monk's voice told him that Miroku knew something more than he was letting on. There was no way that the pain-in-the-ass would leave him in peace until he had discharged this little errand so Inuyasha reluctantly gave in. He dropped from his branch, landing in a crouch at the monk's feet. Miroku seated himself in his usual hollow at the base of the all-too-familiar tree.

Glancing at the hanyou, Miroku winced inwardly at the fading bruise on his chin. Inuyasha healed fast, but the yellow trace proved that this had indeed been a fine one. No wonder he was in such a fierce sulk. Though the monk voiced his opinion only when necessary, he tended to side with Kagome-sama in the lovers' quarrels. But in this instance, he felt deep sympathy for Inuyasha. Even Shippou would be glad that he missed this sitting.

Miroku rearranged his robes as he reflected upon the matter at hand. One particularly interesting conversation, overheard days ago, had given him much to ponder. Doggie-style?

"You had something to say, bouzu?"

Miroku shook his head to clear his thoughts, returing his focus to Inuyasha. He cleared his throat, choosing his words carefully. The monk knew that he was encroaching on dangerous territory in this discussion with the hot-tempered hanyou.

"Inuyasha, perhaps you have noticed that Kagome-sama hasn't been acting like herself."

"I'm not blind, idiot."

"She seems to be troubled about something, don't you think?"

Inuyasha glared. "Point being?"

"Have you given any thought as to the source of her worries?"

For the first time Miroku could recall in all of their conversations, Inuyasha looked away.

"Maybe she's decided she doesn't want to be with me."

He shouldn't have been surprised, but somehow he hadn't anticipated this. Inuyasha was even stupider than he thought.

"Kagome-sama is suffering from bridal jitters, Inuyasha. It's perfectly natural."

He felt the hanyou's intense gaze once again.

"What are you talking about?"

"It's perfectly natural, Inuyasha, for a woman who is perhaps somewhat inexperienced in the ways of the world to be a little nervous about the first time she lays with a man."

Dark brows knit under silver hair.

"What the hell are you talking about?"

"It's not you, Inuyasha. It's not that she fears laying with you. It's just that, well, she's a little uncertain about the laying part. That's all. Nothing profound, my friend. Quite simple really."

One dark eyebrow flickered.

"What are you saying?"

Sometimes he could be unbelievably dense. Invoking the patience of Buddha, Miroku managed not to sigh.

"Listen, Inuyasha. You really should speak with Kagome-sama about this. Try to reassure her, calm her fears. The sooner, the better - it's only going to become more difficult if you leave it until your wedding night."

With that, the monk rose, straightened his robes and headed back towards the village and his wife. Happy thoughts filled his head. I wonder what she meant by using her mouth to…

As night fell, Inuyasha remained crouched by his usual tree. He didn't notice the stiffening of his joints, brought on by hours of immobility. He didn't notice the village children returning from their fishing. He didn't even notice the acorns pelting off of his head as Shippou and Kohaku passed by with them.

And if anyone noticed the hanyou's stunned silence that day, it was certainly never remarked upon.