InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ The Phoenix Blade: Time Lapse ❯ Storm Warning ( Chapter 7 )

Disclaimer: The InuCru and the basic storyline are all the property of Rumiko Takahashi…but I'm happy to twist them!

 

A/N: Delays in updating due to international situation…Rule Britannia!

If you are a particular fan of the “unmother” sequence in episodes 5 & 6 of the anime, you'll be disappointed in this chapter! Also, if you have a pink bike fetish, it's not happening, either. Lemony fluff and an OOC warning, too...

 

The Phoenix Blade: Time Lapse

Chapter Seven: Storm Warning

 

Present day

 

That hanyou is driving me crazy!

He is being particularly difficult today, isn't he?

I'm of half a mind to `sit' some sense into him…

Don't think dropping him on his head is gonna help that!

No doubt…that's most likely what started the whole thing...

 

Kagome peered up at the Goshinboku, trying to pick out the huddled form of Inuyasha perched in one of the higher branches. She huffed a bit, and tapped her foot, as she tried to think of a better way than simple force to bring him down to talk to her. And things had been going so well, too…

 

Three days ago, when she returned from the Academy, he'd ushered her into the house, his arm protectively around her shoulders. That had certainly felt very nice, and chased all thoughts of Sensei Yashita out of her mind. After a raucous lunch with her family, during which he'd been somewhat subdued, he'd pulled her aside in the hall.

 

“What is it Inuyasha?” He turned several shades of red, shuffling his feet and looking at the floor. She puzzled, then also blushed, as she remembered her successful escape tactic. “Oh, you want me to make good on my promise from this morning? Is that it?” He nodded rapidly, swallowing hard, without meeting her eyes. She reached for his chin, tilting his face so he would look at her. Smiling, she told him, “Meet me outside under the Goshinboku in a couple of minutes…”

 

She tripped across the courtyard toward him, swaying her hips to make the full skirt swish against her bare legs. She'd skipped upstairs to change into this flirty floral number, just for the sheer hell of it, wondering what his reaction would be. She'd cut a wide swathe in it the couple of times she'd worn it on a girls' night out. Judging by the look on the hanyou's face, it was having another success. It was the effect the halter-style top had on her cleavage that she knew was the most eye-catching, and half-demons were apparently not immune to a judicious dose of sex appeal. His eyes were mostly riveted on her chest, but her legs received a gratifying amount of attention, too.

 

Kagome smiled innocently up at him, and then bent over, giving him a view of her mostly-bare back as she spread the blanket at the base of the fence surrounding the tree's trunk. She then seated herself, arranging the skirt over her folded legs, and then held one hand up to him while patting the blanket beside her. “Come si-, oops, I mean, please be seated…, oh heck, you know what I mean, Inuyasha…plant it right here.” He blushed the same shade as his haori, but complied by plopping down beside her.

 

He was obviously completely taken by surprise by what she did next, because she managed to accomplish it without a struggle. She curled a hand around his shoulder, at the same time gently tugging on a lock of silver hair, indicating he should lay his head in her lap. Once ensconced, he looked up at her, amber eyes wide, and his whole body frozen rigid. She ignored the look on his face while she scooped the mass of his hair across her lap, and arranged it over her thigh, letting it flow down over her legs and puddle on the blanket beside her.

 

“Relax, Inuyasha…this won't hurt a bit, I promise…” She smiled softly at him as she brought her fingertips up to brush his hair off his forehead, and began massaging his scalp.

 

He relaxed incrementally, fluttering his eyes closed, as she worked tiny circles from front to back across his head, paying particular attention to his temples and the nape of his neck. She could feel a rumble starting deep in his chest, too low for her to hear, but the vibration made her thighs tingle. By the time she'd reached the bases of his ears, he was purring loudly, his eyes half closed in pleasure. Very, very gently, she rubbed both ears simultaneously. He let out a long, deep moaning sigh…and fell sound asleep.

 

Darn. I was hoping he'd start jerking his leg like a dog.

Oh, well. There's always next time…

 

They'd spent a comfortable hour or so in the same position, Kagome stroking his hair with one hand, while resting the other on his chest, feeling his heart beat. He'd startled her at one point, by rolling over suddenly and burrowing his face into her belly, mumbling, while one arm curled around her hips to hold her firmly. She'd continued caressing his hair and his ears, as she enjoyed the play of light and shadow around them from the sunlight filtering through the leaves of the Goshinboku. She sighed happily, closing her own eyes, thoroughly enjoying the moment.

 

Inuyasha woke up with a start, his eyes snapping open and his claws tightening against her hip. She held her breath, until he turned his face slightly to look up at her. Kagome noted that his eyes were guarded, until he realized whose lap he was nuzzling…and then he flushed bright pink. She smiled again, and touched his cheek tenderly. “Did you have a good nap, Inuyasha? You finally relaxed…You purr very nicely.”

 

He peeked up at her, arching an eyebrow quizzically. “I was purring?” She nodded. He seemed surprised by that, but then shrugged, and cuddled up to her again. She could feel his hot breath right through the fabric of her dress, right above her sex, and that started making other parts of her warm up. His claw began tracing delicate circles on her hip, and then trailed up over to her bare back to make some more patterns at the base of her spine. She wasn't exactly sure how to react, as several possibilities were looking fairly attractive, but then the sound of a large truck coming up the access road solved her dilemma.

 

“Quick! Disappear!” she hissed. He shot straight up the Goshinboku. She stood up, smoothing her skirt, being very glad it was long enough to cover her quivering knees. The truck pulled up to the house, the golden chrysanthemum insignia plainly visible on the side. The supplies from the Armoury had arrived, early, dammit.

 

The driver and his assistant were fast and efficient, unloading the crates and stacking them neatly against the house wall. She supervised, and then signed the waybill, waving as they pulled away. Neither of them had made any comment about the odd shipment they were making to a civilian household, even though their contents were plainly marked on the outsides. She wondered if they would have said something if it was a rocket launcher.

 

Once they were gone, she'd walked slowly back to the tree and looked up for him, her hair twining around her face. So fast and hard that it had left her breathless, he'd dropped down, wrapped her in a fierce full-body hug, his breath hot against her neck, and then, without a word, had left.

 

Just like that, thank you very much.

 

…Which brought them to this morning, and this conversation she was having with herself under the Goshinboku. He had taken the cases of supplies through the well already, but then had skipped up the tree as soon as he realized she wasn't completely ready. Exasperated, she threw up her hands, and stalked back to the house. Might as well get packed up, since she wanted to check on Kaede's wound, before dog-boy dragged her off who-knows-where.

 

She really is a lovely little piece…

Don't go there…

Then why were you just banging your head against the tree?

Fuck…!

Isn't that exactly what you had in mind, when you saw her in that dress?

I don't screw it before I kill it. I have some principles…

::sighs:: We're back to that, are we? Have you developed some latent shard-detecting abilities, then?

Keh…

 

 

Kagome quickly buckled on her new armour, wondering idly if Inuyasha was acting so distant because he had made himself completely vulnerable to her, and was trying to re-set the boundaries. Or that he had embarrassed himself with his wandering hands. Or that he had decided she wasn't worth pursuing after all…no, that bone-crunching hug gave the lie to that thought. Dammit, why was he being so difficult about it? As if a little physical touch meant anything… Grumbling, she shouldered her kit bag and thumped noisily down the stairs.

 

She hugged her mom and Sota, before picking up the waiting bag of rice, an apple, and container of fresh sushi.

 

“Bye, dear. Make sure you bring Inuyasha back with you for dinner next week…I'll make beef sukiyaki for him. My goodness, he certainly loves my cooking!”

 

“Mom, we all love your cooking. Mine suffers by comparison, which is why I take field rations and ramen. I can always get Inuyasha to agree to come back if I promise him one of your meals!” At least, I always could…

 

Waving good bye to Ojii-chan across the courtyard, Kagome headed towards the well enclosure, knowing the hanyou would follow. She hiked the short skirt, and itched the waistband of her spandex shorts. Her new combat armour was certainly the next best thing to steamed rice, and it still allowed her to blend in nicely in the Sengoku Jidai. She could also wear a bra under it, so no more free strip shows…unless he begs nicely, of course.

 

At first glance, it looked identical to her Imperial parade armour, but it was sturdier and less ornamental, with quick-release buckles taking the place of leather thongs and silk tassels. The red-and-gold obi snugged her sword against her hip; she wasn't giving that up for any space-age strap. The box containing the armour had also held a soft, dark green fur-lined cloak, cut just the right way, and just the right length, to cover her up but not impede her weapons. Somebody at the Academy definitely knew what was up.

 

She was sticking with her anachronistic buckled combat boots. It made her look like some sort of bondage tart, but they were darned comfortable and more practical than the traditional greaves-and-boot combo. Her lacquered parade armour, while it had saved her neck on those first days in the Sengoku Jidai, was ultimately too fragile to be worn on a daily basis. Her mom was taking it in to be repaired this afternoon, mainly because she didn't know the answers to any of the questions that weren't supposed to be asked in the first place. Kagome giggled. Mom would probably end up pinching Sensei Shimano's cheeks, and inviting him home for dinner…

 

Inuyasha dropped out of the tree, and swaggered over to her. He looked everywhere but directly at her, scowling.

 

“Let's go, bitch. Haven't got all fuckin' day…hey, did your mom make those rice-roll-thingies?”

 

“Wow, where'd you get your shiny new attitude? Hope you kept your receipt… paws off, dog-boy, they're to share with Kaede. You can carry the rice…did you take the field rations and medical supplies to her?”

 

“Keh! Whaddya think I am? Your personal pack animal?” Seeing her expression, he backed down slightly. “Of course I took them. You can count everything to your heart's content at the hut…if we get there. Are we just going to stand around jawing, or can we leave, already?”

 

She rolled her eyes and sighed heavily. “Let's get on with it, then…”

 

Ж Ж Ж Ж Ж Ж Ж Ж Ж Ж Ж Ж Ж Ж Ж Ж Ж Ж Ж Ж

 

Sengoku Jidai

 

Kaede had a surprise for her.

 

Kagome was very surprised; struck speechless, actually.

 

It was a horse. A sleek, dapple-grey mare, to be precise.

 

Kaede beamed, her one eye twinkling. “Ye will be covering much ground to recover the shards, Kagome-sama, and walking will take too long. I trust ye know how to ride?”

 

Oh, yeah. Kagome suddenly giggled, imagining the look on Lord Tekko's face if she'd requisitioned one of the highly-trained, highly-bred Academy horses. Would it have fit down the well?

 

“Yes, Kaede-sama. Fighting from horseback and horsemanship skills were two of the things I've been trained in that are actually going to be more useful than I ever imagined!”

 

Kaede indicated the silent hanyou, perched on the ridgepole of her hut, his arms folded. “Inuyasha has been accustoming the beast to his presence; it now only tries to bite him once a day.” Kagome grinned, and turned to making friends with the critter.

 

It was fairly easy, especially once she slipped the mare a piece of her apple, and rubbed under her forelock and around her ears. The horse was well-mannered, and someone had trained her with kindness, not cruelty. Kagome put her through her paces, and quickly had her responding to knee and rein pressure. Then she rode her up the hill to the well meadow, the hanyou grumbling through the branches overhead.

 

She enlisted Inuyasha's reluctant help to scatter some targets around the clearing, although he huffily declined her mischievous suggestion that he carry one himself.

 

“C'mon, dog-boy, be a sport…I need some practice with moving targets…”

 

She tied the reins around her waist, and spent the rest of the afternoon practicing her shooting. By the end, she had upped her accuracy to over ninety percent. She was very pleased, and not just with herself. The mare had responded like a born war-horse, not flinching no matter how close the arrows whizzed past her ears. Kagome bent over the horse's sweaty neck, patting her and scratching along the crest of her mane. “Such a bishoujo…does my good girl want to go for a swim?”

 

“Keh!”

 

She looked up, catching an interesting expression on Inuyasha's face, as he stepped up to her with a handful of recovered arrows. He looked…jealous? Yeah, right. Kagome took the arrows and stuffed them into her quiver. “Thanks. Hey, does the horse come with a name?”

 

He hesitated. “Ashige, I think.”

 

“How incredibly imaginative… “grey horse”…kind of like your name, huh? I think I can do better than that… would my pretty koishii like something a little more poetic? Or maybe something war-like? Let's go down to the river and think about it…” She turned the mare, and they cantered away from the seething hanyou, heading towards the river.

 

Kagome stopped the horse on the bank, and dropped her quiver onto the ground. She unbuckled her boots, and tossed them as well. Taking a firm grip on the reins, and using her knees, she urged the mare into the water. This was a real test; would the horse trust her enough to go into the unknown? The mare didn't even hesitate, plunging right in and swimming strongly to the other side. Kagome stood up on her back halfway across, and whooping, dove in, washing off the sweat of the afternoon. She was thrilled with the mare, and actually looking forward to starting on their search for the shards.

 

Or she was, until she found herself face to face with a very pissed-off Inuyasha.

 

He stood, glowering darkly, holding her quiver and boots. He was actually shaking. Puzzled, she took a step back, and closed her hand over her sword, suddenly feeling very unsure. “Inuyasha…? What's the matter?”

 

Dropping her things, he took a step towards her, his eyes sparking. “Don't let me hear you calling that…that animal your koishii, your bishoujo, or anything else like that, ever…” He was interrupted when the animal in question knocked him sideways, then swerved over to block his advance on Kagome. He sprang to his feet, snarling, flexing his claws and made as if to attack the snorting, pawing mare.

 

“Inuyasha! Sit! Sit!!” Kagome grabbed her boots and quiver, then used a handful of Ashige's mane to swing herself aboard the mare. She glared down at the very subdued hanyou. “She's only trying to protect me from an obviously rabid inu-youkai… And I'll call her whatever I damn well want, and I don't give a shit what you think! What the hell's the matter with you? You're avoiding me like the plague…but if I so much as scratch another animal's ears, you take a double dose of asshole pills! You didn't seem to mind having your ears rubbed the other day…” She stopped, swallowing hard.

 

Oops.

Well, the ball is well and truly in his court.

Why do I get the feeling he's not only gonna drop it, but kick it, too…

 

He froze, his face going blank. She cursed in frustration, smacking her thigh with her fist.

 

“Thanks for fetching my boots and quiver, dog-boy. I'll see you at Kaede-sama's…come on, girl, let's go…” With a great deal of effort, she kept her voice even.

 

The grey mare tossed her head and whickered. Her wet coat gleamed mottled pewter, like the rippling sea under scudding clouds. Kagome glanced over her shoulder. Inuyasha was sitting up, his face unreadable. She shrugged to herself, and guided the mare up the bank, one hand scratching vigorously under the horse's mane. “I'll call you Arashi. Do you like that, girl? Seems somehow appropriate…”