InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Solstice ❯ Chapter 3 - Searching... ( Chapter 3 )

Solstice

Notes: 13 pages | 9,150 words – There's an extra-long chapter this time around because I KNEW how I wanted to end this chapter and didn't want to rush it at the same time. I'm REALLY loving writing this story even though it hasn't gotten much attention, the plot is about the SERIOUSLY pick up the pace after this chapter, though. I know it was moving a bit slow in the first few chapters, but I was building up to this one^^ Please leave a review and let me know what you think? I really could use some feedback because I honestly have only gotten a very tiny bit so I suppose I'm feeling a bit self-conscious about this one. Anyway, on to the story!

Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha or any of the characters thereof. Even though that is the case, please don't steal my plot, concept, or story out of respect for my creative endeavor as I would not do this to anyone out there.

- l - l - l - Change of scene, time, etc.
'Thoughts/dreams' will be in single quotes (IE: ' ')

Chapter 3 – Searching...

Kagome awoke with a yawn and stretched her arms above her head, trying to get the kinks out of her shoulders and back. She wasn't used to sleeping on a futon to begin with, but to sleep on one that was laid out on freezing stone ground was doing a number on her body. Especially after her week of sleeping on a hard, concrete floor in the kitchen pantry at the resort. She was beginning to miss her soft mattress and comfy comforter, but beggars can't be choosers at this point.

As far as Kagome could tell, it had been nearly five days since her new friend had brought her to the hidden cavern in the woods. At first she had been concerned with what she was going to eat, but it turned out to not be a problem. Inu-chan had been leaving for brief periods of time and bringing back wild game he had caught. She hadn't been much of a camper when she was younger, that had always been Sango, but she had INSISTED that her best friend teach her how to build a no-match fire. After three long years of failed attempts, Kagome had finally managed to perfect the art. She had been lucky enough to find some flint and steel in one of the decaying baskets that seemed to be stashed in hidden nooks and crannies in the cavern. Further proof of the time period when the place had last been inhabited by humans since they'd apparently had to use fire to cook on rather than just turning on the stove or stopping by a fast food joint.

Inu-chan was curled around her protectively, as he always was when she slept. He lifted his lazy golden eyes up as she stood, watching her as she moved across the small sleeping chamber. He yawned with a low squeak and laid his head back on his paws, but his eyes remained fixated on her as she pulled her sweater back on.

For some reason, she felt strange being unclothed, or even partially unclothed, around him. She couldn't quite place the feeling, but it felt to her like she had a peeping tom in her midst or something. She tried to do her bathing when Inu-chan had left to go catch their next meal because of the uneasiness. It was strange because she didn't feel odd getting dressed in front of her fat, male cat named Buyo. Maybe it was the strange situation she'd found herself in, or maybe it was his obvious intelligence. She really wasn't sure what it was, she just wanted to make sure she was dressed around him at all times.

There was a problem with her actual clothing, though. Between the initial night when everything had gone down, now close to two weeks ago, and Inu-chan's rescue mission, her clothes were torn, stained, and tattered. There were big holes in her sweater from when Inu-chan had bit her and other various rips and tears from their trip through the forest. Her jeans were in no better of a state and were suddenly feeling quite loose as she lost weight from the large change in diet. No more sugars and fatty foods... also no more fruits and vegetables, which she was sorely missing. She wasn't a vegetarian or a vegan or anything, but she was definitely a fan of salad and a bowl of strawberries was her favorite snack.

"I really needs some clothes." She said out loud with a defeated sigh as she put two fingers through the hole in her sweater from Inu-chan's teeth.

None of the clothes she had found stashed around the cavern had held up well enough for her to wear. Well... there was that old fashioned red haori she had found shortly after arriving, but it was really too large for her, it was definitely for a man. The fabric was so incredibly soft that Kagome was sincerely tempted to don it, mans clothing or no. Something inside of her had halted her on that urge, though she wasn't quite sure 'why'.

Inu-chan rose to his feet and stretched before walking up to Kagome and giving her a dry look. If Kagome didn't know better, she'd think that he had just rolled his eyes at her. Kagome watched, intrigued, as Inu-chan let out a soft sigh and nodded his head in understanding at her request. Her eyes widened in surprise at the action, though she had seen him show comprehensive body language beyond what any normal dog should do.

"You're going to go get me some clothes?" Kagome asked tentatively, tipping her head to the side in thought. Inu-chan growled quietly and gnashed his teeth in a gesture that was clearly annoyance, as if Kagome was being purposely dense. A smile lit up Kagome's face and she threw her arms around him, hugging his furry body against herself. "Thank you, Inu-chan!" She cried in happiness as she positively beamed with happiness.

Inu-chan seemed to enjoy the attention and began licking Kagome's ears, bringing a giggle from the girl as she turned her head so he got more neck and less ear. Kagome had never had a dog of her own, but she was quickly seeing why people called them man's best friend even if Inu-chan would act a bit annoyed with her at times.

"That tickles!" She cried as she laid back against the wall behind her, fending him off gently as he continued to attack her ear with his tongue. Kagome imagined that Inu-chan was laughing as well as he switched to her other exposed ear when she pressed her head against the stone wall. Another round of giggles escaped as he continued his assault, licking any part of her face or neck he could reach.

"I can't breathe!" Kagome cried as tears of mirth streamed down her cheeks. "You're gonna make me pee!" Kagome heard a sound issue from Inu-chan that made her blush, if she had to give the sound a name, she'd say it was a doggy snicker.

Inu-chan pulled back after a few more giggles bubbled out of Kagome and she leaned back against the wall, panting and trying to get her breathing to slow. Her sides ached from laughing and she wiped the trails of tears from her eyes. Inu-chan laid his head in her lap, his tongue lolling out lazily as he panted slowly with a satisfied look glinting in his eyes as if he were proud of himself for bringing a smile to her face and making her nearly wet herself.

The noise that echoed through the air moments later from above made the smile drop from her lips and her blood to run cold. A long, drawn-out howl was clearly audible through the stone ceiling of their shelter and Kagome's muscles tensed in fear at the noise. She could hear a low growl from Inu-chan and found herself gripping him tightly by two handfuls of fur. It wasn't her grabbing him that had him gnashing his teeth, though. He was looking up at the ceiling with his piercing golden eyes and growling, he didn't even act as if he noticed she even grabbed him.

"Not more wolves..." Kagome whispered as fearful tears slipped slowly down her cheeks.

- l - l - l -

Sango frowned as she wrung the muddy water out of her socks. It had been close to a week since Kagome had been taken and the plan was still in the process of forming so they were, of course, still trapped between a pantry closet and an attic. There hadn't been any more breaches in their barriers but the possessed animals, since no one was sure what was wrong with them, she had just started thinking of them as if they were possessed by evil spirits. She had even tried to convince Miroku to exorcise them like he'd been taught at the Buddhist temple he'd spent most of his life in. He had insisted that he didn't think they were possessed, but he had said he could feel some sort of powerful aura coming from them, though he didn't say this part to anyone aside from Sango.

Sango hung her damp socks on a shelf in front of her with her undergarments and her shirt. Lucky for her, the pervert was busy at the moment doing a bit of scouting with Tetsuyo of the building and parking lots to see if they could get their salvation running. She wore a baggy T-shirt that he had loaned her while he just wore his wife beater tank that was normally underneath it.

On a recon mission, Sango and Miroku, she had convinced him to let her come, they had found a large delivery truck that had been abandoned along the treeline. After making sure nothing was in the vicinity, courtesy of Miroku's spiritual abilities, they had deemed it safe enough to go check the condition of the vehicle. To their annoyance, the vehicle was missing the keys and neither of them knew how to hot-wire the thing. They had tried looking around in the administration office for a set of keys but had come up empty handed.

When they'd told the rest of them about the truck, a surprising thing happened. Sachiko, the friend of the childrens' mother actually knew how to hot-wire a car! She was really quiet about where she learned it and why, but she still knew how to do it. She, Miroku, and Tetsuyo were currently on their way to see if they could get it started and pull it to the back door of the kitchen. Getting everyone to it there would be more efficient than trying to protect the young ones while they made the long trek to the other side of the building.

Since they had found the truck, everyone had been extremely busy preparing to carry as much of their supplies with them as possible. They had no clue what it was like outside of these walls. For all they knew, it could be complete anarchy with looting and killing, or it could be under control by the government and military and just hadn't reached the extremely rural district they currently resided in.

It had been close to two weeks as far as Sango was able to estimate and with the snow becoming steadily worse and all of the craziness they had seen in their area, it could easily be months before and military officials found them. That is, of course, if the government was still somewhat in order and not in a complete upheaval with no leadership and troops scattered and under their own direction. Military officers could easily become ruffians that used their superior weapons and training to take advantage of civilians if their chain of command was broken.

You saw it in movies all the time, which sent a shudder down Sango's spine. She was hardly accepting the fact that they were hiding in an attic from possessed creatures like people in zombie movies did. The things in those movies are just make believe! They don't really happen! But, to her horror and disbelief, every morning she woke to find herself in Miroku's arms lying on some thin blankets in an attic proved that she wasn't dreaming and the memories that would return were real and irrefutable.

She could hear quiet footsteps above her in the attic as her fellow occupants found creative ways to package up all of the food that they could. They would bring all the bags down right before they had the truck ready to go. They didn't want to clutter up the pantry closet in case they needed to make a quick getaway in the event of an emergency. Though they did have an emergency stash ready to the side in the pantry. Enough for each person to carry that would sustain them for a week or so, but not so heavy that they would be slowed down by the weight.

Sango sighed and stood up, annoyed with that lack of amenities like a washing machine and dryer. That meant she would have to wait however long it took for her clothes to dry. She pulled on a white robe she had scrounged on one of their recon trips. They had managed to find a few articles of clothing that weren't completely fouled by the rampaging beasts, but they really hadn't come across much. They hadn't wandered as far as the rooms that would be rented out, though. Those were bound to still have clothing, but they were near the hots springs and had only really come across a few robes and a few fluffy, white towels. Most of the towels had either been made into bandages for wounds or were behind tied around supplies as make-shift bags so they could transport everything.

Sango went to the ladder and climbed up quickly and quietly. It had been ingrained in everyone, the poor children included, that they couldn't make a lot of noise. The crazed animals were no longer waiting at their two exits, though the pantry cabinet was rarely used as an exit since they didn't want to draw any attention to it. They had planned to set off a diversion at the attic ladder to draw any of them toward it while they snuck out the pantry since there would, undoubtedly, be some drawn by the sound of the truck starting up. They wanted to make sure their actual escape route was as much of a secret as possible even if it increased the risk when they used the same one for recon.

Sango smiled softly at the forms of the sleeping children when she climbed through the opening into the attic. It was so sad for the poor kids, they had been forced to grow up and face a harsh reality of this new world. They weren't allowed to run and play anymore and most of the time, they just sat around with haunted looks in their eyes. Neither of them spoke often and they didn't wander far from each other or from their mother. The poor dears had been severely traumatized and even when Sango had managed to find a few toys for them to play with, they hadn't really shown an interest in them. They would stare off into space and occasionally snuggle into their mother's arms and softly cry. It broke Sango's heart to watch.

She sat down near the window and picked up a knife and a broomstick that had been set carefully on the windowsill. She brought the blade to the end of the pole and resumed her previous action as she drew it slowly down the wood, shaving a thin piece of wood off. She had a nice spike already on the end, but she wanted to make it a little sharper before she covered it in the sheet metal they had found slid underneath one of the cupboards in the kitchen.

They had managed to find a few gas lanterns and a propane grill hidden away in the kitchen. Sango planned on heating the sheet metal as high as she could once she wrapped her makeshift spear so she could harden the metal and make it a more effective weapon. Though she would really prefer something large and blunt. She envisioned herself throwing a massive boomerang that sliced through everything in it's path and couldn't help a quiet laugh at the ridiculousness of such a weapon.

Sango was thankful for the kendo lessons she had taken with her brother, Kohaku when they were younger because it would likely come in handy at some point. She hadn't been too excited about the prospect since she was already such a tomboy and didn't really fit in with the females in her school and begged her father to let her take dance or something instead. He had insisted that she and Kohaku had needed some sibling bonding time and that this was a nice way to learn discipline and to take out her frustrations at the same time. As always, her father was right and she was silently thanking him for his insistence as she blew some dust off the edge of her spear.

Sango had managed to find a small toolbox buried under one of the sinks and pulled a piece of, rather worn, sand paper out so she could smooth off any rough edges of her new weapon. It was still long and had a spear point on either end so it could work as a staff as well as a spear from either end. Now all that was left was to cover the end with the sheet metal and hope she could heat it up enough that it would seal nicely and temper it a bit so it was hardened to make it deadly. She didn't want the metal to slide off the first time she tried to use it, that would be a complete waste of time and would leave her at a disadvantage since she would be relying on this weapon.

She tensed instinctively when she heard a quiet scratching sound on the trapdoor up into the attic and gripped her spear tightly. She relaxed when a moment later she heard the familiar tapping pattern they had chosen for today to signify they were ready to come in. They changed it every time someone went out because of the amazing display of intelligence from the animals. They were trying to be as careful and thoughtful as possible in case one of those crows that had broken in heard them using the rhythm to trick the humans into allowing them entrance. Tetsuyo had argued against changing it, saying there was no way the animals were that smart. He was easily overruled by the rest of the occupants who weren't taking any chances, even if they were wrong, it wouldn't hurt to err on the side of caution.

Sango hurried to the trapdoor and undid their secured latching system before allowing the ladder to slide down. Miroku, Sachiko, and Tetsuyo climbed up quickly and silently and they redid all of their security measures just as silently. No one spoke until the last restraint was in place, only then did the unnatural tension in the air relinquish a bit and everyone let out a breath they had been holding.

"So? Were you able to get it going?" Sango asked quietly, not wanting to wake the children. Their mother, Umi, was listening raptly as well while Ryo, the teenage boy, was sound asleep for the first time in days. The poor kid was pale and haggard, and was deathly thin and quiet most of the time. He seemed on the verge of breaking down and turned inward on himself.

Sango knew he blamed himself for Kagome being taken by the white wolf and she tried to tell him otherwise. The poor kid had already lost his father, his uncle seemed to be trying to drown his sorrows in sake whenever he could sneak a sip without Miroku catching him, and now he blamed himself for Kagome being taken because he had been in charge of protecting the women and children. Sango couldn't bring it within herself to tell him that Kagome had been protecting him at Sango's request! She was the one to blame for Kagome being dragged away, no one else.

"Yes, it has enough fuel to get to the nearest town and maybe a bit beyond." Miroku explained as he eyed Sango's robe-clad form appreciatively. She gave him a dry look, knowing what the look he was giving her meant. He had curbed the groping and butt-grabbing somewhat since they had been entrapped, he just did it when the children weren't within earshot or sight. She was somewhat glad to see that, though he could definitely be serious and take charge, he was still himself under all of the responsibilities he'd taken on.

"It seems to run pretty well, if this phenomena has spread all the way to that town, we'll have to hope we can get some gas without trouble." Sachiko explained as she sat down on a blanket by the window. Everyone slowly maneuvered that way, except for Tetsuyo who seemed to be sulking. He didn't like the fact that everyone had deemed Miroku to be the leader of their rag-tag little group. With the exception of Kagome, no one had been lost on Miroku's watch so they had voted to set Miroku as their leader. After seeing him in action the last few weeks, Sango definitely agreed with this decision and did everything she could to support him.

"If we run into trouble and have to make a quick getaway, could we make it to the next town?" Sango questioned as she settled on the ground across from Sachiko.

"I think so... I'm not positive, though. It's a medium-sized truck so it may be a gas guzzler." Sachiko explained grimly, her expression not looking too sure. "If we run out of gas before we get there, we'll be sitting ducks, though."

"What about the cars in the driveway? Could we siphon some gas from them into the pots and pans as a backup?" Sango questioned, she had considered in her mind this possibility if there wasn't sufficient fuel in the truck.

"It's possible, we'd have to find some sort of hose. Getting over to the cars unseen may be tricky too." Sachiko explained with an unsure, but slightly hopeful look. "The general parking lot is so far away, we haven't gone even half that distance in any of our trips out."

"I have an idea..." Miroku said quietly, a look of contemplation on his face. "I want to do a few small experiments before I put it into action, though. I have an idea of something that may keep us invisible from them whenever we move. I'll need to test it, though..."

"Okay, so what's stopping you?" Sango asked as she gave him a questioning look. She really had no clue what he had in mind or just how he could make them invisible. That was impossible, right?

"Well... it will be a bit dangerous. I'll need to capture one of those creatures to run a few tests first." Miroku said slowly and glanced up to see the look of fear that filled Sachiko's features and the nervous look that filled Sango's.

- l - l - l -

Kagome was alert, on edge... She had heard the wolves howling off and on all day, echoing dully against through the rocks above her underground hide-away. Inu-chan hadn't left her side and was particularly tense as he followed her wherever she went. She knew he was protecting her, and she was grateful for the comfort he offered; and occasional lick on the wrist, a head lying in her lap, things of that nature. She had really grown to have an uncomfortable fear of wolves and the fact that she could hear them running across the ground above them made her skin prickle uncomfortably.

"Ne, Inu-chan..." Kagome said in a quiet whisper when she hadn't heard anything above them for a good two hours. "I'm kind of hungry, is there any fish in the water or anything?"

She was unsure of this since she hadn't really grown up in or near the wilderness. She knew there would be no fish in the hot springs because they couldn't withstand the heat, but maybe Inu-chan knew about a cold-water stream aside from the waterfall that ran through the cave. There were parts of the cave that were shrouded in darkness on the other side of the hot spring that she was afraid to explore. Aside from being pitch black, she wasn't sure what she would find or how far they went. For all she knew, the ceilings in those depths of the cave could be weakened and ready to give way.

Inu-chan picked his head up from her lap and made eye contact with her for several moments. Kagome couldn't read the look in his eyes, but she thought he might be contemplating her question. He slowly stood and scented the air, sniffing in the direction of the dark portions of the cavern. Kagome had come into the large, hot spring chamber because the heat was always better in there because of the geothermal energy that spilled up through the ground.

He walked toward the doorway and skirted around a small ledge that followed the edge of the pool back into the darkened region. Kagome was afraid to follow, but her instincts were telling her that she needed to go with him in case the wolves howling started up again. She really didn't want to be separated from him. When she was with him, she felt unusually safe and secure. He had already saved her life once from the other wolves and he had been taking care of her and protecting her ever since. She only wondered why he had fought so hard to drag her from the attic and take care of her afterward.

Inu-chan disappeared from her view around a corner into the darkness and Kagome heard a splash echo dully around the cavern. She felt her body tense as she kept her eyes focused on the place her savior had disappeared, nervousness eating at her for every moment she couldn't see him. She could hear more splashing from the darkness and she concluded that he had gone deeper than the first time. The hair on the back of her neck prickled when she heard a hushed yipping sound coming from his direction.

"Is something wrong?" She whispered as fear settled heavily on her chest as the tension stretched. She was tempted to go toward the sound to make sure he was all right, but couldn't gather up the courage to take that first step.

Before she could take more than a few steps, she saw the dim light emitting from the plants reflecting off of white fur. His golden eyes flashed fiercely in the dim light as he walked carefully along the narrow ledge, water dripping from his fur. Clutched in his mouth was a large fish that dangled down on either side of his jaw fighting feebly as it lost it's fight to the oxygen. Kagome couldn't help the smile that lit up her face and she felt a wave of relief. She really didn't want to be left alone in the underground cave by herself right now for fear of the wolves. What would happen to her if Inu-chan got caught by the wolves and didn't come back? She didn't want to think about where she'd be then...

Without her protector, and she'd like to think her friend, she would be stranded in the woods, lost, alone, and scared. She would have no food, unless she could find the stream he'd just been splashing in, and then there was always the possibility that the wolves would find her and make a meal out of her.

Kagome shook the grim thoughts from her mind and instead focused on the situation at hand. She gently took the fish from Inu-chan's mouth, scratching him behind the ear in appreciation before she headed to the main entrance in the cavern. She went to work immediately with the dull knife she had found stashed about the cave and began to scrape the scales from the fish. She really hated cleaning whatever he brought to her, but after two weeks of being forced to do it, she had finally gotten the hang of it to a certain extent. At least she didn't get nauseous at the sight of blood anymore or feel tears pricking her eyes as she was forced to skin an adorable rabbit. Fish were definitely easier since she'd done that before at home when she'd pick up fresh fish from the market.

Kagome had a small corner set up near the entrance that seemed to vent pretty well to pull the smoke out of the cave, which was definitely a plus because she wasn't a big fan of sushi and she felt a little sick at the thought of eating raw meat. Kagome put the scraps of the fish into a battered basket as she cleaned the fish. She would take her bucket and dump it into the quick-moving stream at the end of the hit spring once they'd eaten. To her great amusement, Inu-chan seemed to prefer his meat cooked as well and would completely ignore the scrap basket unlike a normal dog. She found it endearing that he let her do her thing with the cleaning and cooking as he would just lay down and watch her expectantly.

When she was satisfied with her work, Kagome went back into the hot spring chamber and preceded to rinse the meat off in a bucket of fresh water she'd gotten from the waterfall when she'd bathed earlier in the day. She'd only found two buckets that were in good enough shape to actually hold water so she used one as drinking water and the other as rinse water to clean whatever they had to eat. She sighed as she picked the bucket of rinse water up and walked over to dump it in the stream where the water ran off out of the cave. She made sure to dump it every time she used it to keep away germs and would sanitize the bucket using the hot water of the spring afterward. It was really a chore for her since she'd have to wade out to the waterfall again to refill the bucket and balance it on her head as she tiptoed back through the deeper water back to the bank on the other side. It's not like it was a hard chore, she just felt uncomfortable being nude in the cave and she would shiver until she was dry enough to dress. She hadn't found anything that would work as a towel to dry with when she got out of the spring so she would normally just wait to nature to work and for the water to evaporate away.

Kagome walked back into the entrance chamber with the prepared meat and set it on a flat stone lying beside her fire pit. She duck in the dirt with another rock to turn up the coals she'd buried in some sand she'd gathered from the bottom of the hot spring before she lay some dry twigs on top. She leaned down and blew gently on the coals and watched as they glowed red as they drew in the oxygen. After a few gentle gusts of air, the fuel caught fire and a small fire kindled to life. She fed the small fire some more fuel, careful to keep the flames low so there would be little smoke. The last thing they needed was for the small trickle of smoke that floated upward on the small current of air that swept it from the cave to come to the attention of the wolves. Kagome feared that the wolves knew they were nearby and were searching for her and Inu-chan.

Kagome cooked the fish mechanically, not really paying it too much attention as she lost herself in thought. She wondered how long she would have to stay underground and grimaced. She was already missing sunlight and feeling restless being confined to the cavern, even if it was rather spacious. It was damp and slightly musty, and lets not forget the scent of sulfur that permeated through the air. That was on thing that was beginning to bug her, the scent of rotten eggs gave her a headache and took her appetite a bit. She felt for Inu-chan, though. If the scent of sulfur bugged her, it must do a number on his more sensitive sense of smell, though he did get a break from it when he left the cave.

Before she knew it, the fish was cooked and its sweet smell was overpowering the scent of sulfur, which elicited a sigh of relief from Kagome. She separated it into two helpings and placed it on two flat rocks that she had found at the bottom of the hot spring and used as makeshift plates. She took the one with a larger portion and placed it in front of Inu-chan He licked her hand gratefully before he dug in to the meal, slurping up the food before it could get cold. Kagome couldn't help a soft smile as she began to eat at a more sedate pace. Her stomach had been growling, but she really wasn't feeling much like eating. She knew that she had to keep her strength up in case those wolves found them and she and Inu-chan were forced to flea so she forced herself to eat.

Her wrists had finally healed, leaving behind a vivid red line on either wrist that she hoped would fade with time. With scars like that, it would definitely give the wrong impression on her persona. She really didn't want to be thought of as a suicidal, depressed girl; but she may not have much of a choice. How many people would believe that some dark, oppressive spirit had drawn her in and slashed her wrists in some sort of freaking ritual. They hadn't gotten infected, thankfully, since she had been able to keep them clean due to the plentiful supply of water they had.

Kagome tensed up again as she could hear the howling start up above ground once again. She set her rock down and hugged her arms around her stomach, feeling a shiver run down her spine. She had just finally calmed down enough to think that maybe they were out of danger for a little while. Inu-chan growled in the back of his throat at the sound and rose to his feet, the fur on his back standing on end.

"I'm scared..." Kagome whispered as a single tear slid slowly down her cheek and dripped off her chin. She felt something soft and warm wrap around her body and found Inu-chan wrapped protectively around her, his leg draped around her and tail wrapped around her other side. She heard a strange growl vibrate in the back of his throat and couldn't help the blush that touched her cheeks. She wasn't sure why she was embarrassed by the intimate display of affection and protection, but she suddenly just felt a flood of bashfulness overtake her senses enough to make her even forget her fear.

- l - l - l -

Two more weeks passed by slowly for Kagome, dragging on and on as she became more and more restless in what she was now calling her prison. She felt like Rapunzel from the British folktale, locked away from everyone in a tower, except her tower was actually like a dungeon since it was damp and dank and underground. Inu-chan went out less and less frequently and typically only went out when there was a blizzard or whiteout above ground. She could tell this by the whistling of the wind through the rocks and trees above them. One thing about being underground in the mountains was that sound tended to carry rather well as it vibrated through the rocks and trees.

The two of them ate fish more and more often, much to Kagome's displeasure; but really, beggars can't be choosers. On his occasional trips up, Inu-chan would bring back what he could so they'd occasionally have rabbit or a wild turkey. The turkeys would keep for a little while longer too because of the size. She had followed the path he'd taken through the dark two weeks prior to the stream Inu-chan would fish in and that's where she would store the excess food since the freezing cold water kept it as cool as any refrigerator. She wouldn't go back there without Inu-chan, though. She couldn't touch the glowing vines that lit the place so she had no light and needed Inu-chan's help to know where to go.

He had also managed to scavenge up some clothes for her as well. It wasn't much, but he'd found a cotton kimono that was slightly too large and a bit faded with a matching obi. He had also found her a white robe that looked like it may have come from the resort they had been staying in, which she would pull on whenever she'd washed her clothes or had come out of the hot springs.

Kagome would occasionally have to patch up Inu-chan when he came back from his missions, but she was thankful that none of his injuries had been very serious. What had surprised her most about that was just how fast they would heal! If she tried to wash and bandage relatively minor injuries, he would brush past her and growl at her warningly. She was put off by this the first few times and would worry her bottom lip with her teeth as she tried to coax him into letting her treat him. To her surprise, though, by morning all of those minor injuries would be completely gone! Unless he was bleeding profusely or limping, he really wouldn't allow her to treat any injuries he might get.

She couldn't help but be fearful of what was up there, though. If he could come back in with so many injuries being as strong and fierce as he was, how bad was it up there still? She had been hoping that things would calm down after a while and eventually she would be able to venture out and try to find her friends. She would send a silent prayer every day for their safety and the safety of her family, but the longer she remained trapped with her protector, the more grim her outlook would come as her hope slipped a little more.

She was thankful, however, of Inu-chan. He had been a blessing in the hell that surrounded her. While she missed and worried for her family and friends, she was glad that he was around. She felt safe when she was with him and had come to trust him and count his as her friend. He wasn't a pet, he was much too independent and intelligent to ever be considered a pet, but he had become her friend.

Inu-chan had so many human-like traits that Kagome found her mouth dropping open all the time, even after she had spent a month with him. His face and eyes were very expressive that she found herself knowing what some of his looks meant without him having to make a sound. He had one look where one side of his mouth would turn up and he'd quirk an eyebrow that looked unmistakably like a smirk. There was also the one where his eyebrows would knit together and he would stare at her with those piercing golden eyes that was clearly a glare. Then there were all of the different sounds he would make that she had come to know. His yips, grunts, and numerous growls had come to be a familiar sound to her in their month of solitude. It was strange to her that she could almost seem to read what he was saying by his body language and vocal sounds. She had gotten used to the fact that he somehow actually knew what she was saying to him.

Kagome had never really gotten used to the sound of wolves howling and would hear them howling and scratching around above them every few days. If Inu-chan wasn't in the cave, he would rush back as soon as the wolves howling started up and wouldn't leave her side until well after it had stopped. He would stick right by her side and comfort her as the wolves did whatever it was they were doing above the ground, searching for them likely. Kagome couldn't help but think that the wolves kept coming around because they were looking for her and Inu-chan. They would only come around after Inu-chan had gone up for food so it was a pretty obvious assumption to make.

Kagome stood up from her sitting position on the edge of the hot spring, she set the sketchbook and pencil down on the stone beside her and stretched her hands above her head. The days went by so slowly down in the cave and they seemed much longer since she didn't have anything to do. She had been absolutely thrilled when Inu-chan had come back down into the cave with the small case that had a few art supplies inside of it. There was a small colored pencil set, several drawing pencils, a sketchbook that only had a few pages used, an exact-o with a blade, and a well-used eraser. She knew she wasn't much of an artist, but she enjoyed drawing nonetheless and she was happy to see that her skills were improving. Either way, whether she improved or not, she was just glad to have something to pass the time!

"It's time for a bath. No peeking, Inu-chan." Kagome said as she pulled her sweater up over her head and tossed it over Inu-chan's face. He growled in annoyance and pulled it from his head with his front paws before shooting her a glare. He yipped indignantly as if to tell her that he had no intentions on peeking and she couldn't help the laughter that bubbled out.

"Okay okay, I understand. You weren't going to." She walked up to him, still giggling and kissed him on the end of his wet nose before turning and shedding her clothing.

Kagome waded out to her waist in the hot water before ducking under the smooth surface. The water felt good, but she still couldn't help that odd feeling of self-consciousness as she bathed in front of Inu-chan.

"So Inu-chan, when can we get out of here?" She obviously wasn't expecting an answer from him, but it was too quiet in the cave so she would speak to him as if he could answer her with words instead of grunts, barks, growls, or yips.

"Keh! How the hell should I know? Those damn wolves won't stop sniffing around!" A gruff, male voice broke through the air and Kagome froze like a deer in the headlights with her back to the voice.

"W-who said that?" She squeaked as she spun around, not bothering to cover herself in her moment of panic. She hadn't heard another human voice in a month so she instinctively searched the bank for her protector, her Inu-chan, fear gripping her chest as adrenaline pumping through her veins. "Inu-chan!" She shrieked when she didn't see the white dog who had become her friend laying on the rocks at the side of the pool.

"Geez! Do you want those damn wolves to find us, onna?" A young man with long pale hair hanging over his bare chest snapped as her eyes fell on him for the first time. Kagome squeaked again and dropped down into the water up to her neck to cover her bare chest and stomach. "Keh, it's not like I haven't seen you naked before." He muttered as he looked away, even in the dim light Kagome could see his nose was dusted pink in embarrassment.

"What did you do to Inu-chan?" She demanded angrily as she slowly backed up in the water as she tried to put more space between them. When he looked back toward her, a strange look of surprise passed over his face and he looked down at his hands in apparent amazement.

"How?" Was all he asked as he flexed his fingers and began to move his arms and examine himself.

Kagome was afraid of the unknown man, but felt a pang of curiosity at his strange behavior. Her eyes searched the bank frantically for any sign of her precious Inu-chan as she continued to back away into the deeper water. She knew there was no way out of the cave save for the passageway behind the man sitting on the edge of the pool. She couldn't help the flush on her face as she took in his appearance from a distance. From where she was, she could see long pale hair that reflected the dim light from the plant life and actually looked silver from her vantage point. She couldn't see his face well since it was cast in deep shadows made by long bangs that hang in his eyes, but she could tell he had really long nails, and his state of undress made her face burn as an embarrassed blush took over her features. She couldn't help but appreciate the rippling muscles visible of his bare chest that she could see cast in relief by the pale light.

"Oi, mate." He called as he stood up from his cross-legged position on the ground. This brought a true scream from Kagome's throat as she realized just HOW undressed he was! Before she knew it, a wave of water washed over her and she felt her body crushed against a hard wall of muscle with a hand clamped over her mouth firmly cutting off her cry.

"Shut the fuck up! Do you want them to find us?" He demanded in a hushed whisper, his eyes reflecting anger, annoyance, and... was that concern? She wiggled against him, trying to break away from him as fearful tears slid silently down her cheeks. 'Wait... his eyes?' Kagome thought to herself as she stared into a pair of burnished gold eyes that reflected the light. Her eyes widened in shock as something clicked into place in her mind and she went slack in his arms before her cheeks flushed scarlet at the sudden realization.

He was tense as he held her, and let out a sigh of relief when Kagome stopped struggling. He loosened his hold on her and dropped the hand that was covering her mouth. Kagome studied his face, taking in the strong lines and especially the eyes, those familiar eyes. 'It's not possible, is it?' She thought to herself as she tentatively reached up to touch a strand of silver hair that framed a strong jaw and those eyes that seemed to hold her completely entranced. That's when her eyes fell on something that twitched on the top of his head.

"No way... Inu-chan...?" Kagome questioned as she reached a hand up to touch the most adorable pair of silver puppy ears she had ever seen that sat atop his head. His hand caught her wrist before she could touch them and he glared down at her and dared her with his eyes to try it again.

"Geez, stop calling me that, would ya? It's too damn girly." He griped as Kagome just gaped up at him. He was absolutely gorgeous with an amazing body that was pressed up to hers... and she was naked... and HE was naked...

"Hentai!" She shrieked as she pushed him away roughly and turned her back to him before she moved through the water as quickly as she could while keeping herself covered with her arms.

"Oi! What did I say about shouting, mate!" He hissed in a low voice as he chased after her and grabbed her wrist gently yet firmly. Kagome's eyes bulged at his speed, he had grabbed her in a moment, and she'd had a head start! He pulled her to him and crushed her into his chest again, his hand coming up to cover her mouth in the same motion. Kagome flushed at the feeling of smooth skin pressed up against her and felt a tightening in her stomach as she took in his taut muscles pressed against her. It took he several long moments but when she managed to gain her composure and look up at him, she saw a triumphant smirk on his face that revealed one pearl white fang poking out over his lip.

"Like what you see, mate?" He asked suggestively as he rubbed against her and leaned down to run his rough tongue along her collarbone. She shuddered involuntarily at the sensation and subconsciously leaned further into him rather than shoving him away like her brain was screaming at her to do. When she realized what she was doing, she shoved against him and gave him a furious glare. The shove only put her an arms length away from him, since his hands had left her mouth and lower back and dropped to her waist, keeping her firmly in place.

"Let me go!" Kagome hissed in a low voice as she tried to slow her rapidly beating heart. She flushed and crossed her arms across her chest when she saw him staring at her bared breasts appreciatively, though she noted that his face was slightly flushed. "And stop calling me that, I have a name you know!" She snarled as she twisted slightly, trying to get him to release her. It didn't work and only resulted in him spinning her around and him pressing himself up against her back with one hand on her hip and the other laying on her flat stomach and slowly moving upward.

"I don't think I'll let you go." He whispered huskily into her ear as his fangs grazed the shell, sending electric shooting through her body and an involuntary shudder to wrack through her body. "I've laid my claim, my mate will obey me."

"W-what?" She growled out as anger overpowered the sensations that he was sending through her body. "I'm my own person and I obey no one!" She snarled, remembering to keep her voice down.

"You're mine!" He said in a low growl and as if to prove a point, he sank his fangs down into the juncture of her neck and shoulder, eliciting a cry of pain from Kagome as tears pricked at the corners of her eyes.

She fought against him, trying to break his hold, but he was too strong so she squeezed her eyes shut and prayed for it to be over. His hand ran along her hip where the puncture scar with the strange crescent moon in the center was located, claws pricking the skin lightly but not breaking the skin and she felt herself calming down unwittingly. The gentle touch to her hip made her whole body relax and after a moment, she felt a rough tongue sliding over the wound he had inflicted on her neck.

"What... what did you do to me...?" Kagome asked in a whisper as she found herself reaching up to lay her hand on his arm that was wrapped gently around her shoulders, holding her in place.

"I had to mark you." He said in a whisper in her ear and she heard a hint of what might have been guilt or perhaps even regret. "That pack was going to eat you to steal your life force, but you were in more danger because of your spiritual powers."

"My what?" Kagome asked in true confusion. Sure, she had grown up on an old Shinto Shrine, but no one in her family had possessed actualpowers since the feudal era, though her grandfather did run around with ofuda trying to purify anything he deemed to have a demonic presence... which was everything!

"The only way to regain our true forms, is to steal the life force of people... By eating them..." He explained as he squeezed her hip reassuringly. "All humans possess a life force, but those with spiritual powers have significantly higher life energy than normal ones. You would be equivalent to eating at least 100 humans."

"W-what? No way!" Kagome cried as she forgot the need to keep quiet. She moved quickly and pulled away from him, spinning around to look him in the face. "But wait... if life energy is the only thing that can change you, how the HELL did you change?"

"You got me! Maybe you passed it subconsciously when you kissed me!" He hissed out, giving her a dark look to remind her she needed to keep her voice down.

"When I did what?" Kagome demanded as her eyes widened and her cheeks flushed in embarrassment. She tried to think back to what had happened before she had heard his gruff voice for the first time, but she was drawing a complete blank. "I did no such thing!" She argued as she poked him in the chest with one hand on her hip indignantly. His lip quirked up on one side into a smirk with one fang poking out.

"You did, right here." He stated simply and leaned forward to kiss her lightly on the end of her nose. A look of dawning realization filled her features as she realized that, yes indeed, she had kissed him! It had been so fleeting and innocent that she hadn't even remembered it until he showed her.

"Oh..." Was all Kagome could manage to say as she stood stock-still in front of him, suddenly feeling awkward and uncomfortable. The awkward silence stretched on, Kagome's face becoming more red by the moment and his smirk only growing bigger when she had nothing to say.

"By the way, the name is Inuyasha." He stated simple as he took a step closer to her and brushed her damp hair off of her neck before cupping her face. He tipped her face up to look at him and she flushed at the look of unadulterated lust that filled his features. His heavy lidded eyes were halfway closed and the smirk had softened into a look of longing. She felt herself leaning up to meet his as he leaned down toward her, the distance between their lips slowly shrinking. Her brain told her no, but there was something drawing her to him that she was finding impossible to sever.

When their lips were mere millimeters apart, a shrill sound rent the air and Kagome felt her stomach drop into her toes. The sound of wolves howling... and they were closer than they had ever been before...

"Oh kami no..." Kagome whispered as her eyes popped open and she clutched on to Inuyasha's arms with an iron grip.

"Fuck!" Inuyasha hissed as his ear twitched toward the doorway to the main cavern. "They found us..."

::FIN::

February 21, 2012

Notes: Yeah yeah, I know, I left a pretty nasty cliffhanger... I tend to do that often to try and keep the attention of my readers (you'll see this if you read some of my other works). Anyway, please leave a review so I at least know if I'm doing all right, even if it's just to say 'I love it' or 'I hate it'.