InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ The More Things Stay The Same ❯ It can only get Worse ( Chapter 4 )

Author notes: New chapter!! Finally! For some reason this bit has been really challenging to get out, I did it and re-did it a couple times until I was happy with it, and insisted on having a couple of people read it before I posted to re-assure me that it was fine. The only other thing I need to add is that fanfiction.net has for some reason been messing with my formatting making the earlier chapters harder to follow. Starting now I'm changing some of my methods and I hope they stick as they are… Please Review! Tell me what you like and what you want to see more of!

 

 

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After the morning's Kouga incident, the group un-made camp and continued on. They had heard rumors of suspicious youkai behavior near the coast and agreed to check it out. They were all on foot, and Kirara was riding on Sango's shoulder for once. The company walked in almost a parade-like procession. Sango and Kirara in front with Miroku at her side, walking in silent contemplation. Shippo was behind them, playing with a rubix cube Kagome had gotten for him, followed by Kagome, and at the rear, Inuyasha. Kagome had changed into her high school uniform, presumably because the weather was more temperate. The colors had changed from green, to black. The sailor blouse had become a long sleeved white shirt and a black pullover sweater vest with some sort of red emblem

embroidered on the left breast, and to Inuyasha, the red-trimmed black skirt just seemed shorter than the green one. She now wore sensible black shoes, and tall stockings that came up just below her hem-line. Inuyasha found himself wondering what color her panties were now, if they were still white, or if they had been replaced by black, or even red. He had always been partial to red. After a few more thoughts like these, he began to wonder, quite optimistically, what would happen if he found himself alone with her in a dark place. What her skin felt like, if her lips tasted the same as they did when he kissed her that night, what was under that skirt. His hand began to move forward on its own accord… Not unlike the cursed hand of another member of the party. Inuyasha stuffed his hands in his sleeves and forced himself to move his eyes from her backside to the back of her head, willing her to turn and look at him. Imagine his surprise when she did, and he almost walked into her.

“Um, Inuyasha?”

“Yes?” he said hopefully, wondering if she'd suggest some activity that would force them to leave the rest of the group behind.

“Why are you practically stepping on my heels?”

“I'm…. uh…. keeping an eye on you.” Good save.

“Any particular reason you are following so closely?”

“After what happened earlier with Kouga, and yesterday, you think I'm letting you get out of my line of sight again?”

“Well it seems I can't even take a bath out of your `line of sight' lately.”

“And it's a good thing I was nearby, wasn't it? The bottom line is a pretty girl can't go anywhere unprotected these days. And especially you! You're a goddam magnet for trouble!!”

“I'm not some naive village girl you know! I can take care of myself!”

“And I'm saying I should know better than anyone that nobody can take care of themselves.”

Inuyasha stomped to the front of the group, stuck his nose in the air and put his hands in his sleeves again. Miroku and Sango exchanged a “here we go again” look.

Kagome was a little flustered and asked herself: “Did he just call me pretty???”

After a few minutes Inuyasha's brain came to a screeching halt. “Waitafuckingminute… did I just say out loud that I thought she was pretty???”

 

 

 

 

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Does he really think of me as pretty? I mean he never said anything like that... not even when we were going out. Easy Kagome. You're probably just over-thinking things again. You just need to stop obsessing and let things go, or you'll never move on. But it's so hard since I'm always with him. I can't help that I still like him. He's honorable, and kind, and handsome, and dashing, and strong… and rude, selfish, spoiled, stupid and he picked Kikyo instead. So why can't I stop having those dreams? They're so embarrassing… why couldn't I have dreams like that about a movie star or something like other girls? Was Kouga right about Inuyasha peeping on me? Shouldn't I be angry if he was? EEP! He just looked back at me and looked away when I caught him! What on earth does that mean??

 

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Miroku's memory was sharp enough to recall that he had passed through this area before at one time or another, and thought of a perfect opportunity to throw the young Miko and Hanyou at one another. He relayed his plan to Sango, who then found a moment to fill in the Kitsuni child on what she told him was a splendid practical joke. Miroku and Sango went to work, involving Inuyasha and Kagome in meaningless conversation so that neither of them would notice that Shippo had slipped off.

The company walked along for some time, when the Monk suddenly stopped dead in his tracks and with great aplomb, fell to his knees.

“Hoshi!” Sango rushed to his side. “Are you all right?”

“I… don't know… I was suddenly overcome by something” Miroku deadpanned.

“Naraku??????” Inuyasha drew his sword.

“I don't sense any presence of the jewel.”

“No… couldn't be Naraku…. demo … Perhaps I am ill, or fatigued. I need to regain my composure. Might we stop for awhile? I know of a cave near here.”

“Of course Miroku-sama! You should have said something!”

“Arigato … mina-san, it is this way.”

The monk led the group through a copse of trees while leaning on Sango. The two shared a conspiratorial wink.

 

The cave was carved by the sea, long ago when the tides were at that level. Unlike limestone caves further inland, it was mostly dry rather than damp. It was apparently a frequent spot for travelers, and had several large stones and stumps in formation for seating near the entrance.

Sango saw to it that Miroku was seated comfortably, and began to attend to his “injury.”

“Miroku-sama, daijobu?”

“I think I will be alright now Kagome-sama…. Its seems I've overdone it a bit today.”

“Maa, Maa, try to relax Houshi-sama… your muscles are very tight, I hope you haven't re-injured yourself since our last encounter.” Sango was trying very hard to be convincing in her ministrations. She had taken out a container of liniment and prepared to rub down his shoulders (an undertaking the monk was much looking forward to.)

Inuyasha had shrugged off the situation and was sitting down at the mouth of the cave.

“Ne, Inuyasha, would you mind patrolling further in?” the Taijiya inquired.

“Yes, I myself have never ventured beyond this point, and if we are to be vulnerable here…”

“Yeah, yeah, I get ya” Inuyasha made a resigned sigh and began.

“Choto… Kagome-chan? Would you go with him? The cave might split off, or turn out to be long indeed.”

“If you would like me to Sango, of course I will.”

“Arigato gozaimas Kagome-chan. Houshi, take off your upper robes please.”

“With pleasure my little snow plumb.”

“Precisely how much pain would you like to be in Hentai?”

“No touch from you could ever be painful Koibito.”

-SLAP-

As Inuyasha and Kagome disappeared from sight, a familiar red hand shaped mark began to appear on Miroku's left cheek. Next to a very satisfied smile.

 

 

 

It had happened. Somehow, the god or goddess of good luck smiled on Inuyasha and he was at last in the solitary company of Kagome. It was indeed very dark in the passageway, Kagome was walking in front with her flashing light, and he was mere centimeters behind her. Her hair smelled like green apple perfume from her recent bath, and her skin still smelled of her soap. His eyes were directed at the back of her skirt. The way her hem didn't quite hit the top of her stockings had the effect of drawing his gaze, and he found he couldn't tear it away again. The black material flounced with each step she took and he found himself again wondering what color her panties were. For a moment he thought he saw a flash of black, but he couldn't trust the light inside the catacomb. Again his own “cursed” hand made its way to forbidden areas, and again he tucked it inside the sleeve of his haori. About the time he had permitted himself to recollect the damp nightgown, or her bath in the hot spring, Inuyasha realized his thoughts were getting the better of him, and were beginning to manifest themselves in more….. tangible ways.

“EEIAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!”

An enormous spider appeared around a corner and Kagome fell back into Inuyasha, knocking him down. He reached out to cushion her fall, but he lost his footing on the cave floor, and he landed squarely on his backside, the girl's momentum dropping her into his lap.

“EEEEEEEEEEEE! KUMO, KUMO, KUMO!!!! Kagome was squirming madly trying to shield herself.

Inuyasha buried his red face in her hair, both savoring the moment, and praying to anyone listening that she would stop moving before she noticed anything “suspicious.”

In the middle of the screaming, the “kumo” began to giggle. Then it rolled onto its back and roared with laughter. Laughter sounding very much like…

“Temee…. SHIPPO!! I'm gonna kill you this time! I fucking mean it!

“Shippo-chan…..”

“HEH HEH HAH HEH HAH! HOO HOO HOO HAH! I'm sorry Kagome… it was just too easy…. HOOOOOOOO HAH HAH HAH!!” The kitsune returned to his ordinary fox form, holding his sides with laughter at the cleverness of his joke.

“You brat….you know how afraid Kagome is of spiders!” Inuyasha's arms still wrapped around her protectively.

“A good trick huh? Since she's not the only one, ne?”

“I ain't afraid of a damn bug!” Inuyasha growled.

Kagome shifted, and started to blush at her proximity to the hot blooded Hanyou. “Ano….. Inuyasha? Could you let me go? Tessaiga's hilt is poking me.”

 

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Inuyasha mulled over the events in the cave after the journey continued. While he should have been pleased that he was so close to his earlier fantasies, it was those very thoughts and ideas that forced his body to betray him. Instead making it one of, if not the single most embarrassing moment of his life. The blush on his face when she said something about “Tessaiga,” put any other blush of his lengthy existence to shame. He'd been unable to look at her since then, and instead opted to cast poisonous looks in Shippo's direction.

 

 

 

The feudal era tour of the party turned out to be a wasted one. No intelligence was gathered on Naraku, and no significant youkai crossed paths. Apart from the weasel demon Sango dispatched for the afflicted village, nothing had been accomplished during the week, and Kagome insisted she needed to return home. The company opted to take a longer route back that led through some country they hadn't patrolled in awhile, at a fairly leisurely pace. Unbeknownst to Kagome, or for that matter, Sango, Miroku managed to “borrow” something most entertaining from the schoolgirl's pack for the walk home. While nearly impossible, he had managed to save it long enough to assure that Inuyasha was to see some of the choice sections the monk had already perused.

 

 

“Ne, Inuyasha, have I ever told you how much your friendship means to me?”

“Ano…. Not that I can remember…” the Hanyou was suspicious.

“Which is why I will share something with you that may speed along the tedium of our travels.”

“You wha??”

“Indeed…. Won't you look at this with me?” Miroku produced a glossy book with pictures of girls from Kagome's time.

“Ittai na?”

“It appears to be pictures of items young ladies wear in Kagome's city…. Quite provocative some of them…” the monk began leafing through the catalog. “Eh?? Ooooooh!”

“What? What do you see?”

“Oh what I wouldn't give to see Sango in this…. Ahhhhh….sekushi…..”

“Let me see!” Miroku handed over the volume and chuckled to himself. He couldn't remember a time when stone faced Inuyasha indulged pervish behavior, much less took part himself.

“Ky-you-ten-do-chie” Inuyasha sighed. “Wow.” It was a catalog of school uniforms. All manner of sailor blouses… blazers, shirts; long sleeve and short in numerous colors, and many varieties of short pleated skirts. The page that had caught the hanyou's glance however, was one for tight and short gym shorts. He wondered if the fact that Kagome had circled some characters meant she might even own some of those things… His heart nearly stopped when he turned the page to the “panties of school spirit.”

Miroku took advantage of the moment when Inuyasha's grip on the catalog, as well as his jaw, went slack to retrieve it.

“Where did you get that?????”

“I borrowed it from Kagome-sama of course.”

“You raging hentai!!”

“Inuyasha… `There are no formalities between the closest of friends.'”

“Leave the proverbs out of this bozue!”

The monk sighed. “Inuyasha… my esteemed friend… do you think so low of me? That I would abscond something of this nature simply so that you and I could covet images of women we never have, nor will meet, in scandalous attire?”

“Didn't you?”

`Tondemonai!! Of course not! I did such a thing with Kagome-sama's interests at heart!”

“Eh? Nani???”

“Do you not think that men in Kagome-sama's era view these items as you and I do?” Miroku pinched the bridge of his nose, and before Inuyasha could object added; “what I am saying is, that with all of the goings on lately, that I don't think you should let her return to her home unprotected.”

Inuyasha went silent, put his hands in his sleeves and looked away from his friend to the young woman at the head of the group. She was chatting with Sango about something of little importance and laughing.

“It's none of my business what she does in her own time. She's told me as much before.”

“Baka na.” The monk wacked Inuyasha on top of the head with his staff. “It's plain to anyone that you care for her, at least a bit, or you wouldn't bother to protect her with the ferocity that you do. And it's not because Kagome-sama is a `shard detector.'”

Inuyasha shut away the protest that was on the tip of his tongue.

“All I am asking….” Miroku painted on a martyred expression. “Is that you extend that protection in her time and keep an eye on her for all of us? Could you do that? Or would it greatly inconvenience your stoic sulking?”

“Urusei! I'll go dammit! But you'd better give her that thing back!!”

“Or? You might want another look...”