InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ The Boyfriend ❯ Guts ( Chapter 18 )

Disclaimer: InuYasha, Kagome and anyone else you saw in the manga or anime does not belong to me. Yukio does. If I saw so much as a shiny penny for this story, you think I'd be writing fanfiction still? Okay, I would… Damn other authors and their more interesting universes…

 

Genre: Angst, Romance

Rating: M
Codes: Inu/Kag
Feedback: Keeps my muse talking and the stories coming! Do tell. But if you have a flame, use it for something more productive, like setting your clothes on fire.

 

 

The Boyfriend
Chapter 18

 

Kagome stepped out of the forest, putting away the roll of toilet paper she always brought with her and started walking towards camp, enjoying the soft breeze blowing through the trees around her. She only made it a few steps before Sango appeared in front of her. Kagome jumped, startled at her friend's sudden appearance.

 

“Tama isn't InuYasha's,” Sango queried. Kagome shook her head. “But he's okay with her?”

 

“He named her,” Kagome confirmed, feeling her heart warm as she remembered. “He says that she's his.”

 

“Wow,” Sango said, falling into step beside Kagome. “Miroku…” Sango stopped and Kagome turned to her. The taijiya took a deep breath before continuing. “He… he asked me to marry him,” Sango finally managed to say. Kagome squealed and clapped her hands together.

 

“You said yes, right?” Kagome asked, excited. Sango smiled back, happy to see Kagome acting like her old self again.

 

“Yes,” Sango said, blushing. She smiled broadly when Kagome laughed, so happy to hear that sound again. She had been afraid it was gone forever.

 

“I'm so happy for you, Sango-chan!” Kagome said. Sango indicated that they should go back to the group, but didn't stop smiling. Kagome was glad to see Sango smiling. It seemed like she had rarely seen it in the time she had known the demon slayer girl. Kagome wanted to run over to Miroku and thank him for putting a smile on her friend's face, unaware that she had brought the wide smile herself.

 

“Kagome!” InuYasha's panicked voice carried past the trees and she sighed.

 

“Good grief, I just had to go to—aaaaah!” she shrieked as a huge worm came barreling at her. She jumped to one side while Sango jumped to the other, reaching for Hiraikotsu. Before she could draw it, InuYasha swung the Tetsusaiga and cut the worm youkai into pieces. Kagome was still shrieking at it when she was covered head to toe in gore. She stood there, shaking in horror as a trail of slime slid down her forehead.

 

A second later, her shrieks of disgust filled the forest and InuYasha flinched away from the smell rising up from the remains. Kagome batted at the larger chunks, knocking them off her skin, but she just succeeded in smearing the viscous junk in her hair all over her hands and face. Finally, she stopped spinning in circles and jumping around and just stood there, looking miserable. InuYasha and Sango stared at her, covering their noses and trying to look sympathetic while fighting the urge to gag.

 

“Why… why can't they all disappear when they die?” Kagome wailed. “Why do some of them have to leave parts behind?”

 

“What's going on? Is Kagome-sama… ugh,” Miroku groaned as he skidded to a halt in front of Kagome, bringing his hand up to cover his nose. Shippo, who was sitting on his shoulder, jumped over to Sango in a hurry.

 

“One day back in the feudal era and I'm already… I need a bath, now!” Kagome howled. InuYasha jumped up and ran off into the forest, presumably looking for a body of water. In the meantime, Kagome stood very still, her arms away from her body, trying not to touch the hardening debris all over her. Sango and Miroku had retreated a safe distance from the stench and tried to offer comforting words, but they could only imagine how bad it must be to be covered in the foul-smelling mess.

 

A few minutes later, InuYasha came back and pointed Kagome in the direction of a small lake at the bottom of a waterfall and escorted her to it—staying a safe distance upwind the entire time. He waited in the bushes as she stripped and threw her clothes in the lake—not caring if she ever saw them again or not. She dove in and swam over to the waterfall and sat under it for a good half hour before she felt her hair was close to clean. She just relaxed and let her mind clear under the heavy curtain falling around her body, shivering a little from the cold. She watched the sunlight sparkling off the blue-green water and danced her toes in the mist rising from the rocks she was perched on.

 

Sitting in the waterfall calmed her and the water pounding down on her body made her actually feel lighter, rather than heavier, as she climbed out of the water when she finally felt clean. She fished out the clothes, which were mostly clean and beat them against a rock before making a rack out of loose sticks to dry them on. She carefully took some dry clothes out of her bag, wiping it clean and spraying her perfume on it in an attempt to destroy the remains of the odor before she changed. When she turned around, InuYasha was staring at her, his eyes lingering on where some of the worst scars had been on her body.

 

She looked down, not even having the energy to yell at him for peeking, afraid this was where he would reject her. The scars the youkai had left on her body were thick and ropey and she thought they were terribly ugly. InuYasha suffered serious wounds and never scarred, so she figured he wouldn't want a girl that was covered in them. She started shaking, waiting for him to tell her that he didn't want her anymore and chewed on her bottom lip, unable to start a conversation.

 

“I'm sorry it took me so long to find you. I'm sorry I failed to protect you,” InuYasha finally whispered and Kagome looked up to find him staring at the ground, clenching his fist so that his claws dug into the palm of his hand. That wasn't what she was expecting at all! She took a tentative step towards him, holding out her hand and he looked over to it, but didn't take it. She let it fall to her side, looking away.

 

“It wasn't your fault,” Kagome told him, again, wishing she could convince him. “But… you don't need to feel obligated to stay with me. If you don't want me anymore—” Kagome didn't get another word out before InuYasha grabbed her and pulled her close. She balled the fire rat kimono in her fists and buried her head against his shoulder. His arms tightened around her and she cried against his shoulder. He didn't tell her to stop this time and she realized that he was shaking in her embrace as well. She looked up and his eyes were shining, but no tears had fallen.

 

“Why would you say that?” he asked, his voice thick. “I told you that I wanted you to stay with me.”

 

“You… you hadn't seen the scars,” she whispered back, avoiding his eyes. “You hadn't seen how ugly I am now.” There was a moment of silence before he lifted her chin so that she was looking him in the eyes.

 

“You… are… not… ugly,” he growled. “I'm sorry I ever said you weren't pretty. I was lying. I've never once believed that.” Kagome almost made a snotty remark, but then she realized what he had just said and she blushed and pushed away, suddenly shy. There was too much intensity in his eyes and she wasn't ready for that. Her heart was racing and for the first time in months, it wasn't in fear. She smiled up at him, so that he knew she wasn't upset, then turned and went to retrieve her bag.

 

To be continued…