InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Serendipity ❯ Missing ( Chapter 11 )

[ Y - Young Adult: Not suitable for readers under 16 ]

AN: Oh gosh, please don't kill me. *Dodges the tomatoes and other various items that reviewers are throwing at me*

Geez, it's been over a month since my last update. I'm so sorry! School is a son of a you-know-what. :|

Eeh, the last year of highschool should be fun, but eh, you know how that goes. Or most of you.

Spanish III Honors is so hard. :|

Golly, it's slowly breaking me.

But enough of m rambling, pleas enjoy this update, as I"m not sure when my next one will be!

Once again, sorry for my tardiness!


Enjoy!

:D



---




She was late. The bell had rung at least four minutes ago, and he found himself trailing his clawed fingers along the wooden desk impatiently. The students were chatting quietly among themselves, while Ms. Kaede called role, her eyes scanning around the room before sliding a finger up to her nose, gently shoving the loose framed glasses back into place. His ears twisted, turned, spiraled, swiveled, hoping to pick up the faint pitter-patter of church shoes in the hallway, making their way toward his class.

He didn't.

He groaned irritatingly, his bisque eyes squeezing shut. Where the heck was that girl? He wasn't done giving her a piece of his mind for going out with Hojo on Saturday. He grimaced, replaying the kiss they had shared. It made his blood boil. He found himself growling quietly, his jaw suddenly feeling clenched. He didn't quite understand why he was so drawn to Kagome. She was incredibly irritating, she talked entirely too much, and she had a temper as bad as his! Even with this being so, that didn't help calm his nerves at the fact that she wasn't there. She was probably just running late, like usual, and forgot to set her alarm clock the night before.

He chuckled at the thought. That girl was a lunatic, deranged in millions of ways. His mind wandered to that child-like peace sign she threw up every time she accomplished something, like a Psychology problem. She'd whirl around, her obsidian locks tumbling behind her, and grin like a five year old missing their front teeth. That made him think of how clumsy the girl was, always tripping over imaginary items. She'd look back, blaming the invisible object for making her stumble, when in fact, it was just the tip of her shoes causing her the trouble. He shook his head, thinking about how easily she got annoyed. He had once walked in on her singing to herself in the mirror, her purple hairbrush in hand, pivoting around her room like some amateur back up dancer. He chuckled at the sight of her, causing her to jerk her head around, her jaw dropping, realizing she had had an audience. She had been so furious, tossing various objects in his direction. He barely dodged them, even with his inhuman speed. It was then that he realized that she was a typhoon when angry, and he had been striving to stay on her good side ever since. Ms. Kaede had begun her lecture, it being about twenty minutes into the class now. He scowled, becoming rather impatient.

'Where the hell is that nitwit?! She's never this late!'

***

"Walk with me," Rin said softly, her lips curving upward into a smile, as she moved forward, her eyes reaching into his. He had looked up only to see her there, her face centimeters from his. He took advantage of the moment to finally gaze into her eyes, seeing the depth of them. They were a million shades of brown, ranging from hazel, auburn and chocolate. He took notice to the almost concealed freckles across the bridge of her nose as well, and how the corners of her lips were a slightly darker pink than the middle. The sky was becoming a vicious gray, the fall red leaves gliding on the wind's invisible trail. It was in the middle of the day, noon-ish, as he sat on the front porch, work in hand. His golden eyes widened slightly at the sight of her, for she had managed to sneak up on him, bombarding him with her scent, which happened to be more of green apples today, and only a hint of wildflowers. It took all of him to keep up his nonchalant facade, as he simply gazed at her, and then down at his work again, ignoring her. Her brows furrowed slightly, but she was persistent.

"C'mon, you're always here working, you deserve a break, Mister!" He continued to scan his eyes over the words on his paper, his mind not even having the strength to process what he was reading. She would go away soon, right?

She huffed, but then smirked, and snatched the papers away from his grasp, making his eyes jet upward at an amazing speed. Her eyes twinkled with mischief as she held the papers in the air, out of arm's reach with him sitting down, and then quickly bolted, her feet sounding against the sidewalks down the street. So she wanted to play a game of chase, eh? He smirked evilly as he was in front of her in a flash with his demonic speed, his arms folded over his chest in triumph at her shocked expression. The wind began blowing more fiercely, making the couple's hair entwine in the wind. She nearly bumped into him, barely halting herself using the balls of her feet.

"How did you-?" Before she could finish, he quickly grasped the papers back from her hand, gripping her wrist after he did. He held it in the air, letting her know who the more powerful one was in this situation. "Do not be so foolish as to distract me from my studies, or next time, the consequence may be deadly." Even with the harsh words hanging in the air, and the grim line Sesshomaru's mouth held, Rin didn't fear him in the least. At the contact the two had made, she took note of how his deep, auburn eyes had grew a shade darker, showing a deeper emotion than what he was letting on. She simply smiled, and sneakily stretched out her fingers in his grasp, making him raise a brow warily. With her free hand, she clasped his wrist and moved his hand up, so that it was matching hers', and stretched out his fingers to match hers', eying their hands in comparison. "It seems your hands are bigger," she commented, chuckling slightly. Her copper eyes softened slightly. "Yet they're so cold." He could feel the electricity emitting from her touch, instantly warming ever fiber of his body. His mouth became unusually dry, realizing this was the first time she had touched him. Without warning, he dropped his hand and silently headed back to the porch, cursing himself for letting a simple touch from her affect him so. She was human for Christ's sake. "Y'know, I'm getting tired of calling you Mister! What's your name?" She shouted at his retreating figure. He stopped walking for a moment, and turned his head to the side.

"Telling you my name will do nothing for my sake, thus I deem it pointless."

His answer left Rin with confusion coating her features, her brows drawing together.

She frowned.

***

The wind continued to tumble with the leaves, knocking cherry blossom petals in various directions. A pair of honeyed eyes traveled over the entire backyard of the school, itching to fall on a certain human girl. He groaned in frustration when they didn't. Where the hell was that girl? It was lunch for pete's sake! Mumbling things nothing short of intelligible, InuYasha collapsed in the comfy spot in front of the same cherry blossom tree he and Kagome had sat at a few times before. He let his head lean against the trunk, his eyes shutting momentarily.
Why did he always feel so at peace around her? She was so irritating, yet he realized that she was so much like himself, but also opposite in many ways. She didn't know what it was like to feel real pain, to struggle.
She just lost her father. She has felt real pain, his mind argued. He sighed, realizing his mind was right.

'She just wears a mask so well. Always so cheerful, so optimistic. I guess I kind of envy her. My pain shows in my actions, in my words. But how could it not? She can read me better than anyone, so she must relate to the way I feel somehow, or how else would she have that capability?'

He huffed, wishing he could talk to her right now. He craved a simple conversation with her. No arguing, or anything of that sort, but just to talk, to gain more of an understanding of one another. After all, she had tried to get him to open up, right?

'And all I did was lash out at her for it. No wonder she went running to that Hobo guy for support.'

He absentmindedly grimaced, and muttered a curse.

'I guess I shouldn't have yelled at her like that..'

All of this thinking only made him ponder over her whereabouts even more.

What if something happened to her?

His eyes popped open at the thought, suddenly beginning to worry.

'Kagome..what if she's in danger? Or, or what if-'

He quickly shook his head.

'You're being paranoid. She's probably just running late. I bet she'll be here by the end of the day.'

---

His ears were twitching nervously a top of his head. His right knee was bouncing absentmindedly, anxiously. He was clenching, unclenching his fists repetitively. It was 7th period, and she still hadn't shown. To say he was disturbed was putting it lightly. Not knowing where she was was making him anxious, extremely annoyingly anxious. She hadn't shown up throughout the entire day. Wheels were visibly spinning in his head, at such a speed that they were beginning to travel off course. His thoughts were just plain foolish now-he'd thought of every scenario possible.

What if the mafia had arranged a kidnapping for Kagome, and they planned to keep her captive until her family came up with a decent amount of cash?

What if she was on her way to school this morning, but someone pulled out a knife and threatened her?

What if she had a terrible skiing accident, and was in the hospital?

What if a massive tornado attacked her shrine and swept her up and tossed her on the other side of the country?

Once again, he subconsciously shook his head from side to side, making his sheet white hair tumble over his shoulders.

'What am I thinking? I need to get a grip. I'll just go see her after school. She's fine.'

If she's so fine, why isn't she here?

He growled. Why did he have to be so sensible and realistic sometimes?

Obviously, something was wrong, for the priestess would be sitting right in his view if that weren't the case. He'd sneak glances at her, and wait for Mr. Hotchi to walk past her desk whilst handing out the assignment, and watch as his tiny tail sway back and forth, sending her scent in his direction. He'd inhale greatly, the aroma if many lavish smells rushing to him.


"It seems that Kagome is absent today. Would anyone mind taking her the work that she missed?" questioned Mr. Hotchi, a stack of papers in hand as he stood in front of his class. InuYasha noticed how Hojo began to stand, as if offering to do the job. He growled menacingly, and quickly stood, and rushed for the papers, nearly snatching them from the teacher's hands.

"I'll do it. She and I have tutoring today anyway." He attempted to sound a nonchalant as possible, and glided back toward his seat, his facade neatly kept up.

"That's extremely kind of you, InuYasha."

The hanyou simply nodded, too lost in his thoughts to give a coherent response. The bell sounded, and he quickly scurried outside of the building, his destination quite clear.

---

His fists collided with the door at least five times now, and still no answer. He was becoming even more anxious.

'Where is she?'

He felt beads of sweat form on the back of his neck in worry.

Was she alright?

Suddenly, his ears stood high on his head--he heard footsteps from inside. Someone was coming!

And suddenly, as if an answer to his prayers, the door slowly slid open, revealing a very disheveled Kagome. His eyes widened at the sight of her.

Her eyes were quite foggy, glossy, and red. Her nose was puffy, with spots of pink coating the edges of it. Her hair was in a high ponytail, many stray strands falling carelessly on her neck, while fringes were poking out in many different places. Her face was unusually pale. She wore a pair of sky blue pajames, with miniature clouds painted on them, a pair of fuzzy bunny slippers. She held a piece of tissue in her right hand, and proceeded to blow in it before her eyes widened at the sight of who stood at her door.

"I-InuYasha?"

"Shit."

Of course, why hadn't he thought of that?

She was sick.

He certainly was an idiot.

"You're sick?" he questioned hesitantly, making sure he had a reason to let his worry-wall drop. She nodded, and proceeded to sneeze into the tissue.

"Yeah, sorry, but you might not want to tutor together today. Don't want to give you my terrible cold." He simply gazed at her in awe.

She was okay.

Ignoring her, he strode into the house, shutting the door behind him. He removed his shoes at the door, and handed her her work.

"Here's what you missed in Psychology. Don't worry about the tutoring, just go lay down!" he ordered, ushering her back upstairs.

Her lips parted slightly in confusion.

"But Inu-"

"Shush, woman! You're sick! Where's everyone? Don't you have someone taking care of you?"

She solemnly shook her head.

"My mom's working, Souta's at school, and Gramps has been out grocery shopping for hours!"

He sighed and rolled up his sleeves, his eyes scanning over the kitchen.

"Do you have any soup?"

She slowly nodded, pointing toward the cabinets above the refridgerator. "Ya, but-"

"Off with you! I'm making you some soup, now go back to bed!" He gently shoved her toward the stairs. She giggled slightly. The sound of her laugh reminded him of genuine church bells ringing in the distance. It warmed him. "Fine, fine, I'm going." As she trudged upstairs, the hanyou rubbed his hands together, and went to work.


About twently minutes later, he smirked in satisfaction. He had single-handedly made her a giant bowl of homeade chicken noodle soup, with a few ingredients he had added to give it more of a zesty appeal. He also poured her a glass of fresh squeezed orange juice, and put the two items on a tray. He slowly walked up the stairs and into her room, only to see her perched up, her back resting on a few of her satin pillows, working on a piece of art. At his appearance, she quickly shoved it away.

"This stuff should get you back on your feet!" he announced with a big grin, gently setting it in her lap. She attempted to take a big whiff of it, only to find her nasal passages were completely clogged. She sighed in defeat.

"It sure looks good, and I'm sure it smells good too." He chuckled, before lifting up the spoon to her lips.

"Blow, it's hot," he ordered. She raised a brow. "Hey, I can feed myself, y'know!"

He rolled his eyes, but made no attempt to acknowledge her request. She sighed, but slolwy parted her lips, blowing a gentle breeze over her food, before he shoved it into her mouth. After slurping it down, her eyes widened at the taste.

"Gosh, InuYasha! This is delicious. It's honestly the best soup I've ever had!"

His cheeks turned a light shade of red before turning away.

"My mother used to make it for me when I was sick."

Her eyes softened at his comment about his mother, and realized that he was slowly, but surely opening up to her. She smiled.

"Well I'm sure yours is just as good as hers'."

He met her gaze, and also smiled, before feeding her more. They sat in silence for a few moments as he continued to feed her, enjoying the other's company. "So what were you drawing?" he asked slowly, remembering he had interrupted one of her art sessions. A devious smile graced her lips.

"It's not done yet." He raised a brow.

"But what was it?"

She shook her head, her ebony locks beginning to tumble down from the loose ponytail that held them captive. "You'll just have to wait and see!" He smirked, a fang resting on the outside of his lip. "Fine, fine. But I guess this means we can't draw together." He crossed his arms and pretended to pout. Her mouth fell agape, and she grasped his arm. "Please, InuYasha? Can we? Can we? Can we?" He chuckled before shaking her off. "Alright, alright, alright. Just calm down, woman, sheesh." "Yeeeee!" She exclaimed, practically dancing with joy. He simply watched her, noted how her rosy lips curved upward into that smile he had grown to love. E

Wait, love?

Nah.

Even in the state that she was in, he couldn't help but think she still looked beautiful. Sickly, but beautiful nonetheless.

"Kagome?"

She ceased her dancing, noticing the serious tone laced in his voice. He was looking down, bangs hiding his eyes.

"What is it, InuYasha?"

"Does your offer still stand?"

Her brows furrowed together questionably.

"What offer?"

"The offer to be your..friend."

Her eyes widened, and her lips parted slightly, but no words came out.


Something undeniably had changed about InuYasha since she had become sick. It was as if not having her around for a day changed his perspective on many things...


Upon her hesitation, InuYasha's head shot up, meeting her eyes. He slowly felt his heart break.

"I mean, it's fine if you don't! I understand, Kagome, so-"

He was cut off by her arms suddenly wrapping around his torso, making his breath hitch in his throat.
"Of course it stands, InuYasha. Thank you for giving me a chance." Her scent overwhelmed him, and he shut his eyes, taking deep, cautious breaths to stay in control.

Feeling empowered, he slowly hugged her back, a small smile resting on his lips.