InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Sword of Supreme Conquest ❯ Chapter 14 ( Chapter 14 )

The golden light filtering through the window was soft and warm. It cascaded across the bed in a gentle stream to rouse the sleeping girl sprawled out beneath the sheets. Kagome stirred and let out a pained groan while her forehead creased into a deep frown. Even with her eyes barely cracked open the sliver that they were, the light was enough to send blinding pain shooting through her skull. With a huff, the hung over priestess turned onto her stomach and buried her head beneath the nearest pillow.

 

 

The calming, blessed darkness enveloped her, offering a brief moment of reprieve from the incredible pounding in her head. A moment later it returned and along with it came the sickly churning of her stomach and the feeling that her mouth had been stuffed with a wad of cotton batten. Her tongue moved to lick at her chapped lips but it was parched as well.

 

 

Water…I need a glass of water, she thought drearily and dreaded the idea of having to move at all. Her limbs already felt like ten ton weights and her head…well that was another story entirely. If she could lift it off the pillow she'd be surprised. Her stomach heaved, apparently just as unhappy with her previous night of drinking as her head. She barely managed to shimmy across the bed in time to vomit into the bowl someone had thoughtfully left by her side.

 

 

Thank the gods for small miracles, she thought wryly as her stomach heaved once more. When there was nothing left she groaned and rolled onto her back, rubbing her hands across her face. Everything was a blur. She remembered dinner, Sesshomaru leaving (that bastard!), and ingesting red wine like it was oxygen, but apart from that...The unsteady movement of her hands in front of her eyes made her wonder for a moment if she was still drunk. She held them out in front of her face, studying the way they trembled before sinking her fingers into her hair.

 

 

If I never see another glass of red wine in my life it will be too soon, she bemoaned and her stomach lurched as she remembered the smell and taste of the fragrant alcohol on her lips.

 

 

Oddly enough, now that her belly was empty it growled in protest, demanding to be fed. Her eyes travelled longingly to the door but the thought of even sitting upright was enough to make her want to crawl back under the covers and die. The throbbing in her temples refused to relent so she massaged them tenderly, knowing that it likely wouldn't do any good. What I wouldn't give for some extra strength Aspirin right about now…

 

 

The pounding was so bad, in fact, that she hardly noticed that someone had been knocking at her door for some time. With a tiny gasp she blushed as she called weakly for them to come in. She did her best to appear half decent as the door slid open but relaxed when she recognized Rin's cheery face. The girl had grown up a lot in the past couple years; despite her odd upbringing she'd blossomed into a beautiful young woman.

 

 

“Good morning!” she called out cheerily as she pushed the door shut with her bare foot.

 

 

Kagome nodded and rolled her eyes, silently wondering if was possible that Rin's smile was brighter than the sun's. The girl had her hair pinned up in a makeshift bun and carried a tray of delicious food in front of her. Smelling the familiar scent of bacon hanging on the air Kagome perked up and forced her body to sit upright.

 

 

After setting the tray over her lap, Rin lifted up the dish covers one by one to reveal a delicious feast. Kagome's mouth watered and her stomach growled eagerly as she eyed the bacon, pancakes slathered in butter and extra honey and the small dish of fruit all finished off with a glass of fresh milk. It wasn't your traditional breakfast but it was the best hangover cure she'd ever seen.

 

 

“Rin…what did I ever do to deserve such a wonderful daughter?”

 

 

With a light laugh Rin crawled up onto the bed and sat down next to her. Kagome munched happily on her breakfast, hurriedly shoving the pancakes into her stomach before they got cold. She listened absently as Rin told her about what she'd been doing all day and about the guests who'd remained after the banquet.

 

 

“There was one man…very fat with a loooong grey beard….”

 

 

“Jiro,” Kagome offered, her mouth full of bacon. Rin's eyes grew wide and she nodded her head, giggling wildly.

 

 

“Yes! Yes! Jiro! You should have seen him! We went in to the Great Hall this morning to clean up and he was just laying there sprawled out across the table! Can you believe it? We all cried we were laughing so hard!”

 

 

Kagome chuckled as well, imagining the rotund and often crass ancient advisor succumbing to a bout of drinking and passing out, quite undignified like, on their dining table. Sesshomaru would want to know that story for sure. Jiro was always giving him trouble over one thing or another so it would be nice to have some leverage against him, even if it was only his pride that was hurt.

 

 

“Well thankfully Inuyasha came in when he did. He carried the old man off to bed and told me I should check on you since you hadn't been feeling well last night. I'm glad to see you're feeling better!”

 

 

Kagome rolled her eyes and silently pleaded with her head to stop its incessant pounding. As for feeling better…well that was entirely a matter of opinion. In this case she felt like death and was fairly sure she resembled something close to it so couldn't for the life of her figure out how the girl saw this as an improvement. She chuckled at the thought of Inuyasha heaving old Jiro over his shoulder and dragging him off to bed. She wished she could have been there to see it, if only to see the look of pure annoyance on the hanyou's face.

 

 

As images of Inuyasha's face flashed through her mind she felt a certain sense of unease creep over her. She couldn't explain it except to say that something didn't feel right. She had an inkling that there was something she was forgetting. It was akin to the feeling one gets when they wake up in the morning and try to remember a dream, only to have it slip further and further away the harder they search. Shrugging off the feeling of uneasiness that tickled at the back of her mind Kagome licked her chopsticks clean and rested them happily against her empty plate.

 

 

“Rin, that breakfast was absolutely delicious!” she announced happily and wrapped her arm around her in an affectionate hug. Thumping her head back against the wooden headboard she closed her eyes and pondered what to do with herself. “I think I should go take a bath,” she commented casually. “It might help me to feel a little better.”

 

 

Rin nodded in agreement as she cleaned the breakfast tray off the bed and piled the dirty dishes on top of one another. “I'll tell one of the servants to ready the bath house for you so you can go in whenever you're ready,” she offered and Kagome nodded her thanks. Looking down she realized that she was already dressed in her bathrobe.

 

 

Good god…I don't even remember undressing myself for bed. How bad is that?

Pushing the heavy covers off her body she shimmied to the edge of the bed and hopped off, stretching her arms high over her head to ease her aching muscles.

 

 

“Maybe you should ask someone to come change these sheets too. I don't think I can stand to be around anything that stinks of wine.” Kagome stuck out her tongue and grimaced as she stared askance at the bed. Rin smiled understandingly and bobbed her head before she whisked out the door.

 

 

Slipping her feet into the fur slippers Sesshomaru had given her for her birthday, Kagome shuffled over to window to get some fresh air. The sun was already high in the sky signalling that she'd slept through most of the afternoon. The green courtyard below her window was buzzing with activity as servants and soldiers ferried back and forth between the outer buildings and the main hall. The fresh air was apparently doing some good as she realized that her headache was slowly beginning to dull to a constant thrum rather than a hammer pounding against an anvil.

 

 

Absently playing with the tie at her waist, Kagome turned away from the window and snatched some unused chopsticks off the table next to her bed to hastily throw her hair up. Sesshomaru hated it when she used eating utensils in her hair but what he didn't know wouldn't hurt him. Besides, she was still angry with him for leaving. For the time being she would relish in the freedom of knowingly defying him, even if it was for something so insignificant. With a sigh, she quickly examined the dark circles under her eyes as she walked past the full length mirror in her wardrobe and decided that a bath and some well deserved rest in a freshly made bed were exactly what the doctor had ordered.

 

 

She'd made it most of the way to the bath house before she ran into Inuyasha. He stopped dead in his tracks the moment their eyes met, his face telling her that he was obviously surprised to see her up and about.

 

 

“Kagome…”

 

 

Kagome winced inwardly at the thought that he was going to hold this over her head for the rest of her life. She could just imagine all the arguments that would come up down the road and end with him saying “Oh yeah? Well I remember one time…” Bracing her hand against the smooth wood panelling on the wall she shot him a relieved smile.

 

 

“Inuyasha…Rin told me everything about last night. Thank you for taking care of me.”

 

 

He opened his mouth to speak but she held him off with a wave of her hand. “Look, I know okay? I've learned my lesson. I won't be getting drunk again any time soon, trust me!”

 

 

She laughed self consciously and instantly regretted it as a sharp pain shot through her skull. Wincing she lifted a hand to her head. “Even my head's still killing me! I'm just heading to the bath house...hopefully when I come out I'll feel somewhat human again.”

 

 

Inuyasha held her gaze, waiting for her to say something, anything about what had happened between them but she offered him nothing. She smiled at him innocently, obviously waiting for him to respond to her comments but instead he stood there dumbstruck, gawking at her like an idiot. Her brows drew together as her expression morphed from one of blissful pleasantries to worried curiosity.

 

 

“What's wrong with you?” she asked suddenly, her head tilting to the side as she studied the way his face suddenly paled.

 

 

“Me?” he choked out, his voice a little shaky. “Nothing's wrong with me,” he added, sounding defensive. “I feel fine. You're the one who was raving drunk last night!” Inuyasha crossed his arms in front of her chest and made a show of looking affronted. Kagome shrugged and rolled her eyes towards the ceiling.

 

 

“Yeah…sorry about that. I've learned that apparently, drowning your sorrows in Merlot is a bad idea.”

 

 

He nodded his head in response to her half-hearted apology while inwardly questioning if she even remembered their night together. If she did, she was certainly putting on a good act. The way she was talking to him now, without any awkwardness or tell-tale blushing, seemed to suggest…

 

 

What if she doesn't remember?

 

 

The realization hit him like a swift punch to the gut. Should I say something? A knot of anxious worry twisted his insides into a tight coil as he floundered like a fish out of water. Knowing he wasn't strong with words and not too keen on suffering a `sit', he decided stay quiet until he knew more.

 

 

Suddenly remembering why he'd been down this way in the first place, he reached into the inner pocket of his haori he pulled out a tiny cube covered in sugar and tossed it to her waiting hands. Kagome peered down at it curiously and then finally back up at him, her confusion written all over her face. “What is it?”

 

 

“It's ginger…for the headache?” he offered, pointing to his head.

 

 

He watched her nod slowly with realization before popping the tiny cube into her mouth. Chewing it thoughtfully, she resumed her slow trek toward the bath house, her hand grazing across his arm in a friendly gesture as she passed. He swallowed hard and glanced over his shoulder to catch her parting wave before she disappeared down the stairs that would lead her outside. Once she was out of sight the breath rushed into his lungs and he braced his hand against the wall, almost certain that his knees would give out.

 

 

Her touch had been like fire against him, but it'd been nothing to her. There was no apprehension in her movements, no awkward second guessing or hint of carnal familiarity. She'd touched him like a friend, smiled at him like a friend. There was no hint of deception in her scent. He swallowed hard and listened to the sound of his own shaky breaths in the empty corridor. Not knowing what else to do he remained frozen against the wall feeling completely torn.

 

 

She doesn't remember…

 

 

He wasn't sure whether to feel relieved or heart broken.

 

 

What the hell am I going to do?