InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ The Breaking of Dawn ❯ The Motion of a Heart ( Chapter 7 )

Chapter Seven - The Motion of a Heart

-()-()-

Drawing a deep breath, Kagome took her eyes off the grass she played with and met Inuyasha's eyes. She managed to fight the small blush this time.

"I'm not sure how… how my… family will react to the… the changes." She stuttered and indicated the obvious changes in her body. Mainly her eyes, ears and claws.

Inuyasha averted his gaze from her and focused on a leaf falling from a tree in the distance.

"I thought you didn't mind your changes." He forced out, barely hiding the tone that came from the sinking feeling in his stomach.

Kagome absently ripped the grass into tiny pieces as she pondered his answer, not wanting to upset him by saying the wrong thing.

"I… I don't." She finally began.

"It's just that I don't want my family to hate me… I think I know how Sota and Jii-chan will react, but I have no clue as to how my mother will react. She's very important to me and I care about her opinion."

She stopped talking, noticing that she had his attention.

"If she really loves you then she wont care about how you look. She'd love you for who you are." Inuyasha ground out, wanting to reassure Kagome.

Kagome grimaced slightly. Seeing the irony in what he'd just said. `If he'd only realise that the same thing applies for Kikyo.'

"I'm aware of that Inuyasha, but I still care about her opinion." She shrugged and added another sentence without thinking.

"Just like I cared about your opinion. You're both very important to me." Kagome abruptly stopped, finally realising what she'd said.

Inuyasha froze and slowly turned his head to look at her. She was staring intently at the ground now, her bangs covering her face.

"Keh!" He scoffed, unsure about how to respond, but inside his hearty was soaring.

-()-

Suddenly shouting was heard through the forest, Sango's voice startling them out of the awkward silence.

"Inuyasha! The Ramen's done. Come and eat!"

Inuyasha glanced down at his claws before he turned his attention back to Kagome.

"We'd better get back to the others or Miroku will turn hentai on us."

Kagome nodded silently, dusting her hands off on her skirt as she rose from the ground.

"I guess so…" She said slowly, trying to keep her voice calm. Inuyasha still managed to pick up on the sadness and insecurity.

"Look."

He sighed and followed her as she made her way through the thick undergrowth.

"Will you feel better if I come with you when you talk to your mother?"

Kagome abruptly lifted her head and looked hopeful at him. Hope shining in her eyes.

"You'd do that for me?" She asked, not daring to believe him.

Inuyasha turned his head away again in embarrassment.

"Keh! I just said I would. Didn't I? Besides, the new moons coming up. I might as well spend it in your time." He scoffed and tried to explain away his actions.

Kagome nodded. A part of her feeling sorry because he had retreated back to his old defence-mechanism. Shrugging it off, she turned to him again with a bright smile.

"Thank you so much Inuyasha. I'm really grateful. I'd feel much better if I knew you were there with me."

Before she knew what she was doing, she had her arms around his neck in a crushing hug. It didn't occur to her immediately what she was doing, but when it did, she didn't want to let him go.

When she realised how awkward Inuyasha was with the situation, she was about to release him, but changed her mind when she felt him hesitantly returning the hug. Content with her position in his arms, she snuggled into his neck and took a deep breath, savouring the scent of him.

-()-

Inuyasha's heart was going into a meltdown. His breath was irregular and fast, but Kagome didn't seem to notice as she tightened her hold on him and snuggled closer to his neck. He was sure that she could feel his heart hammering its way through his chest, but still she didn't move. Not that he complained. She had just taken him by surprise.

Tightening his own grip on her, he brought his chin up to rest on the top of her head. Noticing how silky her hair was he tried to imprint the feel to his memory.

He didn't want to ever let her go. It felt so right when he held her the way he did now. It was like nothing was wrong in the entire world and if something was. She could fix it. He felt content, happy and for the first time in as long as he could remember, he felt truly safe.

`I belong with her. I belong here, in her arms.'

Pulling himself out of the mind-numbing daze he whispered softly into her ear.

"We should really get back now. The others might be worrying."

It didn't escape his attention that she shivered slightly when his breath went by her ear. It wasn't the cold, he was sure of it.

Her special scent had just intensified.

He felt like he'd lost something when she pulled herself out from the embrace and he couldn't understand it. Why did he feel that way when she was standing right in front of him?

Shrugging it off, he slowly took her hand and led her back to the camp, feeling a little better when he was touching her.

-()-

It didn't go unnoticed by Sango, Miroku and Shippo when Kagome and Inuyasha returned.

They both seemed unnatural edgy and calm at the same time and Miroku couldn't help but make a theory as to why they were acting that way. He was smart enough not to mention his theory out loud tough, but he couldn't help to grin a lecherous smirk…

Sango glanced unnerved at the monk close to her and edged away a bit just in case. That smirk was a sure signal for all attractive young women to stay away. Very far away.

Shippo couldn't help to notice the special scent shrouding both Inuyasha and Kagome when they came back, but he didn't understand what it meant and ignored it. It wasn't annoying and Kagome's scent had changed a lot lately. It didn't have to mean anything important.

A thought suddenly hit Miroku as he watched Inuyasha going towards the Ramen. Where was the prey? Every time Inuyasha went on hunt he brought back something to eat. No matter how small it was.

Glancing over at Kagome a she tucked herself into the sleeping bag, Miroku's smirk widened. To him, the fact that Inuyasha hadn't brought food back only proved one thing. His theory was right.

-()-

Inuyasha ate his Ramen with lightening speed as the others began to prepare to go to sleep.

Kagome had declined food, saying that she wasn't hungry.

Finishing off the last piece, Inuyasha looked over to Kagome, noticing that she was already deeply asleep. He sighed and put the empty Ramen cup into a plastic bag Kagome used for garbage. She had scolded him enough times when she'd caught him littering.

He had to agree with her after visiting her time. Her world was over-flown by litter and he was glad that Kagome didn't want it to happen in his time too. He pitied her too. Her world smelled so bad. How would it be for her to go back now? When her sense of smell had improved?

Jumping onto a branch high in the tree overlooking Kagome's sleeping bag, he contented himself to taking one last deep breath before he started his nightly vigil. His last thought before dozing off was about how calming her scent was.

-()-

Inuyasha woke with a start.

The sun was shining brightly, burning into his eyes with wild abandon. He yawned loudly and stretched his arms after an entire night spent in an uncomfortable position. Sore and stiff muscles practically screeched out at their treatment as he leapt out of the tree and stopped.

The sun was shining brightly?

Looking around with sudden alertness, he realised with a sinking feeling that something was wrong. He never slept through the night. Actually he rarely slept at all when he wasn't sure that it was safe. When he did sleep in unfamiliar areas, it was only for short periods of time, sleeping so lightly that the sound of a leaf hitting the ground would wake him.

Yet he had slept through the entire night, well into the day and he had slept deeply.

Something was very wrong…

Scanning the camp he took stock on what was there.

Sango, Kirara and Miroku. Yes. Although Miroku slept some feet away from them, that wasn't unnatural so Inuyasha moved on. Hiraikotsu was still here. He had Tetsusaiga. Shippo was lying on Kagome's sleeping bag and Kagome's yellow backpack was there.

A chill crept up his spine in a most unpleasant way and the hairs on his back stood on end. Something wasn't very wrong.

Something was terribly wrong!

He blinked to make sure that he wasn't envisioning stuff and he felt his heart sink to the pit of his stomach and die.

Kagome's sleeping bag was empty.

Kagome was gone!

-()-()-

A/n: Okay... um... not much to say about this chapter (I really liked it, but I don't know about you).