InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ The World Through His Eyes ❯ When I Look To The Sky ( Chapter 10 )

Disclaimer: Has anyone thought about why we have to put up disclaimers? I mean do we really think that some big corporate guy/gal in Japan is going to stumble upon our stories and decide to sue us for copy-right infringement? Or do we just writing this because it's cool looking? Or because we have nothing better to do? Maybe a long time ago somebody thought it would make there story look more formal if they had a disclaimer and over time it's became the thing to do? Bah…I don't really care anyway…If you think I own any of the barrowed chara.s in this story then you're just gullible enough to believe that I have a time warping well in my back yard that I'm willing to sell cheap

 

 

Anyway, Happy (Late) Holidays!

 

No, I'm not finished yet…I think this story is going to start getting more and more…fluffy…as the chapters go on. I estimate that I've written a little over half of this story…so it's time to start getting our couple together…

 

Another thing I wanted to say…I told you all about the Inuyasha DVD's that I received for x-mas? Well I've been watching them latly and I can't help but notice these little things that happen between Inuyasha and Kagome that no one else seem to notice. Like in this one ep. He's lying down with his head propped up on her hip…or when he wraps his arms around her when he has to carry her to safty…They are so meant for each other…There are even lots of times were Inuyasha COULD have gone to Kikyou, but instead he stayed to take care of Kagome…

 

On the surface the series isn't that fluffy (Unless you're a Sessho fan girl…then it is very Fluffy (sama) indeed) you just have to look for it!

 

Now I'll let you get back to the story!

 

Holiday Smoochies!

 

 

::RECAP::

 

“Do you really mean that? You promise that you're never going to leave me even if you could? Even for…her?” she peered up into his eyes, hoping that those pools of burnt gold would reveal the truthfulness of his words.

“I promise to stay with you forever. Even if I have the chance to leave you.” He leaned in and lightly kissed her lips, “Now are you finally ready to wake up, koi?” Kagome blinked at him calling her dear but decided not to say anything. She felt his strong arms wrap around her and she laid her head against his shoulder.

“When we go back I probably won't be able to see will I?”

“Probably not.”

“Oh. Well I guess I'm ready to go then.” She felt him tighten his grip around her for a moment before she was overwhelmed by the sense that she was falling down a long tunnel.

::END RECAP::

 

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Chapter 10: When I Look To The Sky

And as I float along this ocean I can feel you like a notion that won't seem to let me go

---Train

 

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

The world contracted to the size of a pin prick. Everything, all the mysteries of the universe, the answers to every `Why am I here?' question, and the accumulated knowledge of the ancient wise, was concentrated into one tiny bit of truth. Then suddenly the world exploded into billions of fragmented thoughts and vague emotions. The answers to all life's questions were again out of the reach of humanity….

They woke up at roughly the same time, sitting straight up on the rock alter they'd been laid out on. Gulping in great breaths of air as if they'd been drowning, the couple reached for each other simultaneously. Out of worry or some other emotions, the reason was never explored, they each became the only thing anchoring the other to this plane of existence.

“Don't you fucking ever do anything that fucking stupid again, do you hear me bitch?” His voice was rough but underneath his gruffness she could hear his relief. His arms around her waist were so tight that Kagome was afraid for a moment that Inuyasha might break her in half. Then the pressure eased away. She forced her hands to loosen their tangled grip on his long silver hair as well, but she couldn't bring herself to let go of him completely. At that moment Inuyasha was the only real thing left in her world.

Kagome felt his hands roaming up and down her arms, then to her legs. As if by touch, Inuyasha could convince himself that she was whole and safe and that the dark randomness of the dream world was truly gone. Kagome felt a blush stain her cheeks and she drew back from him a little more. On instinct, her lids fluttered open for the first time since she'd awakened so that she could look into his eyes and reassure him that everything would be fine.

Sharp pain stabbed at her eyes and Kagome jerked back so suddenly that she fell out of his lap. Whirling, blurry, achingly bright, spheres of color danced madly before her eyes. She tried to clench her eyes shut, but the pain of sensory overload made such simple tasks impossible. She wondered absently if this is how a newborn felt when he was forcibly expelled from his warm home in the womb and out into cold, bright reality.

From a long way off, Kagome could hear Inuyasha's voice calling her. She fought hard to get to his voice, to get to him, because she knew that Inuyasha could make the pain go away. Finally gaining the power to shut her eyes, Kagome blinked rapidly as her vision began to clear. Slowly, like the fragmented colors of a kaleidoscope coming together to make a solid image, Inuyasha's face formed before her.

And just like that she could see.

She could see his perfect hair, rumpled and blowing in wispy strands from the wind. She could see into his golden eyes, so full of hidden emotions, and dark with worry for her. Kagome drank in the sight of Inuyasha's face, not desperate like one suffering from thirst in the desert, but more like one given a rich chocolate dessert and savoring every moment so that it could be recalled later and relived over and over again.

Inuyasha was still talking to her, franticly asking what hurt and where, while occasionally yelling for Kaede to come `fix' her. Kagome couldn't help but smile at his worry, as the pain in her head and eyes receded back from her in waves. She lifted her hand to press it against his mouth. Inuyasha looked quite shocked, but otherwise fell silent as he noticed for the first time that her eyes had lost the milky grey blue-grey color they'd been for weeks and now sparkled with new life.

“Inuyasha, I can see.” Her words were so simple, too simple for him to understand at first. Inuyasha's face, his eyes gone wide in shock when he finally realized what her words meant and his mouth hanging slightly open under her fingers, was the last thing Kagome noticed before she slipped back off to sleep.

 

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

“Inuyasha, is Kagome-chan alright? I thought I heard you yelling.” Inuyasha looked up to see the elder village miko hurrying toward them from out of the forest. For the first time Inuyasha noticed that he and Kagome were positioned atop the boulder that the later had been using as an alter. Around them on the ground Inuyasha noticed that someone had placed barrier spells and other wards, making him begin to wonder just how long they'd been out.

“We both woke up at the same time, but when Kagome opened her eyes she was in a lot of pain…I think it was her head, or maybe her eyes. Then while I was trying to find out what was wrong with her she tells me she can see and then passes out again! Damn it all! I wish that someone would for once tell me what's going on the first time I ask!” He glared done at the young woman in his arms, though his gaze softened when she curled her body into his and one of her hands reached up to rest on his chest.

“She regained her sight? Thank the Kami-samas for that. I wasn't sure if it would work.” Kaede hauled herself ungracefully onto a near by rock, mumbleing under her breath about disappearing youth, failing agility, and old bones.

“What do ya' mean you weren't sure if it would work? What happened while we were trapped in that messed up head of hers or wherever the fuck we were?” Inuyasha tucked his haori sleeves tightly around Kagome to ward off the slight chill in the air.

Kaede sighed, “When we found you four days ago, both you and Kagome-chan were unconscious as a result of her trying to unbind your souls by herself. Although I'm not quite sure how she knew that she could do such a thing.” Kaede paused to ponder this, but Inuyasha's warning growl reminded her that if she didn't continue her explanation on a timely basis she'd have one unhappy hanyou on her hands.

“You both were in an enchanted sleep just like the first time the binding spell was preformed. Miroku-sama and I worked long into that night to fix the damage Kagome-chan did when she dropped both your soul cords. However, because your soul is such a grabby thing --”

“My soul is not grabby, why does everyone always say that?” Inuyasha didn't like being blamed for something that was clearly not his fault.

“--every time I separated one part of Kagome from you, you found a way to latch on more securely to another part. I did finally manage to fix the link so that she got her sight back, but at what cost? We have no way of knowing just how much the spell has changed, or exactly how it will affect either of you.” Kaede folded her hands into her lap as she waited for his next question. She knew she wouldn't have to wait long because Inuyasha always had questions, and he never had the patients to wait for his answers.

“Keh. It's because her soul is so needy. Mine had nothing do with any of it.” He grumbled under his breath, then asked with more concern “….but she really has gotten her sight back for good?”

“I don't know that for sure, Inuyasha. Only time will tell exactly what changes have taken place because of this…But I do know that it's going to take time for her to physically recover from this. She almost reached the point where her miko powers burned away forever. It was a dangerous thing that child did. And as far as I can tell it was all for you.” Kaede turned her wise eyes on him and Inuyasha felt for a moment that they were going to burn a hole right through him.

“Keh, it's not like I asked her to do it.” He whispered faintly as he looked down at Kagome, who seemed to be sleeping peacefully in his arms. Kaede chose to act like she hadn't heard his quiet words and changed the subject.

“Do you remember anything from the dream world?” She was curious as to what exactly he remembered of this second enchanted sleep.

“Nothing much…just lots of blurry images…and things…I do remember making her a promise though…” Inuyasha said and without much thought began to run his fingers through Kagome's silken hair. He had almost lost her this time, and that scared him. What would he do without her? No, that wasn't something he wanted to think about.

“Is it a promise you are prepared to keep?”

“I hope so.” There was a long moment of silence before Inuyasha looked around once again. The sun was about to reach its midway point in the sky, but the day was overcast and cloudy. Hardly a trickle of sunlight escaped to warm the air in the clearing.

“Keh, baba, why are we out here?” It was his turn to change to topic of conversation as she came to stand beside the rock he was currently occupying.

“This is the spot Kagome-chan picked to undo the binding spell. I'm not sure how she found it, but the flow of spiritual energy in this spot in awesome. That's probably the only thing that kept you both alive. After we could do no more for you, Miroku-sama erected a holy barrier to keep youkai and humans alike from disturbing your sleep. You've been inside yourselves for three days, although I'm sure it didn't seem like that long for you.”

“Keh, well now that I'm awake I'm going to take Kagome to your hut so she's out of this cold. She doesn't need to get sick on top of everything else right now.” He hopped off the rock in one fluid motion, but instead of bounding away like she thought he would, Inuyasha set a much slower pace for himself that Kaede could keep up with.

“Thank you.” It was spoken so softly that Kaede almost missed it, and even when she heard it she acted like she didn't. Instead she only nodded her head in his direction.

“There's no need for you to wait on this old woman, child. I will make it back to the village on my own.”

“As if I'd waste my time waiting on you, baba!” With that Inuyasha took off, bounding in the direction of the village.

“You're welcome Inuyasha, very welcome indeed.”

 

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

 

The first thing Kagome became aware of as she struggled out of the warm darkness of sleep was the chirping of a single bird outside the hut. She groaned, wishing that someone would throw a rock at the thing and end her misery. She made to roll over in her sleeping bag and find a more comfortable spot, but the pain in her body made her think twice about moving.

`Oh, did anyone get the number of the bus that hit me. Wait, they don't have buses in feudal Japan…Maybe I should wonder if anyone counted the number of spots on the ox cart that ran me down. Okay…it's way too early to be thinking of crap like this.'

She heard a shuffling sound coming from the doorway of the sleeping chamber, so she rolled, carefully this time, toward the door to greet whoever it was. She found Shippou standing there, precautiously balancing a bowl of soul on a wooden tray. His little tongue was sticking out of the corner of his mouth as he concentrated hard at not spilling a single drop of the soup. Kagome thought he was simple adorable and she thanked what ever god up there that had allowed her back her sight.

“I brought you some soup Kagome-chan.” He sat the tray in her lap with exaggerated carefulness. Kagome smiled at him and patted a spot next to her for him to sit down. She took a sip of the soup before looking down at him. She was distressed to find his head down. Some part of her recognized that he'd learned this posture from Inuyasha when the hanyou was pouting, but she shoved those thoughts aside. Shippou was upset with her, and for good reason. She'd gone and done something stupid again, even though she'd told him she'd be careful for his sake.

“I'm sorry baby.” She put the soup aside and pulled him into her lap. When he didn't immediately snuggle close to her, Kagome began to suspect that the problem went deeper than just the resent events.

`Well, why wouldn't it go deeper? I mean, this child had both parents killed by demons when he was so young and then, if that's not enough trauma, his next family drags him all over Japan while they fight evil youkai and corrupted humans. He sees more dead bodies in real life than most kids see on TV everyday in my time. He'll probably need a lot of therapy as an adult…and to think I was worried about scarring him just the other day…Kami-sama, I'm such a bad mother.'

“I'm just tired of worrying that someone's going to go away and not come back.” Shippou's quiet words broke into Kagome's thoughts. She looked back down at the kit in her arms and sighed.

“I know baby, I feel the same way sometimes. And I'm sorry I keep scaring you like this. I know it must be hard.” And Kagome realized with a start that she did know. Maybe not exactly what he was feeling, but close enough. She felt that exact way every time Inuyasha rushed into battle with only Tetsusaiga and his own stupidity.

“I just don't want to be alone again! I know fighting the bad guys is dangerous `cause I'm not as little as everyone seems to think. But I just wish…I wish…” he didn't finish, but he really didn't have to. Kagome pulled him closer to her and was relived when she felt his small arms hug around her waist.

“I'll make you a deal, okay? I'm not going to promise to never scare you again because it looks like I'm not going to be able to keep that one. But I do promise that if there is even a little bit of breath left in my body, I'll move heaven and earth to come back to you.” She tapped him on the nose and he smiled his adorable grin up at her.

“And I swear that I'll always come back to you oka...Kagome-chan, no matter how big I get so that you won't be lonely when you get old!” His face was solemn, though Kagome could detect the slight mischievous twinkle in his eyes. She leaned down, as if to whisper a secret in his pointy ear. Shippou's eyes got big.

“You mean it! You really want me to call you okaa-chan from now on?” Kagome nodded her head and giggled when Shippou did a little happy dance at the end of her sleeping bag.

“I've got to go tell Inuyasha! Now he has to be nice to me because if he's not you won't love him anymore!”

“Shippou! What have I told you about goading Inuyasha, hmm?” Kagome's tone stopped the kitsune just as he made it to the door. He slowly turned around and looked up at her with his most innocent look.

“But I'm not--” If anything her look got sterner.

“I was just--” Kagome's foot patted out a muffled, impatient rhythm in her sleeping bag.

“Okay, I promise not to tease him. But can I go get something to read to you? I don't want you to get bored and I know Kaede-baachan isn't going to let you leave for awhile. She said something about you're miko powers being almost…almost…something…but it's supposed to make you really really tired until you can build back up your spiritual…ummm…stuff. That's why I brought you the soup because one of the village kids said that soup made him feel better when his okka-san made it. I had to trade my top for a turnip, the turnip for a fish, then the fish for a bowl of rice, and finally I took the bowl of rice and traded for the soup. I would have gotten Sango-chan to make it for me, but I didn't know if she could make the kind that makes people feel better so I thought it wad better if I just got some from that kid's okaa-san.” Kagome was touched that Shippou had gone through all that trouble for her. She was determined to eat every last drop of the stuff no matter how cold it was now.

“Thank you so much Shippou-chan! I'm sure this soup will be the best I've ever tasted and that it'll make me feel one hundred times better in minutes!” She smiled as he blushed from her high praise.

“I'm going to go get your books now!” He scurried out of the room on all fours and Kagome picked the stone bowl of cold soup back up and started to eat again.

 

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

 

“The M..Me..ji Meji re..revo..revolution brought about many ch..changes for the Japanese pe..pe..people.” Shippou struggled through the text to Kagome's Japanese history book and she couldn't help but frown as he stumbled over the words. She racked her brain trying to remember if he'd ever read anything to her besides the titles of the junk food she brought back for him. He paused again in his reading and she decided to broach the subject.

“Shippou, is my book a little hard for you to read?” She knew she had to approach this subject very carefully because she didn't want to wound his pride, but she needed to know if he was having trouble.

“It's so hard! My first okaa-chan taught me a little bit, but most of these characters look so much different!” He pushed the book aside in frustration and folded his arms across his chest in the perfect mimic of Inuyasha.

`If I don't watch it, he's going to want to start wearing red. Inuyasha, you're such a bad influence on my child. And of course the characters aren't the same anymore. There's a 500 year gap between Shippou and the time this book was written in. I should have thought of that. I wonder if I could teach him how to read. I know he's old enough to go to school in my time, and he's so smart that it won't be hard. Hmm…I'll just have to think about this.'

“I'm sorry Shippou; I guess the way we write things has changed over time. I tell you what, why don't you tell me a story instead of reading from that book, okay?” Kagome suggested as a means to take his mind away from the book he was glaring at. Shippou's face immediately brightened and he reached into the pocket of his vest and pulled out what looked like a carefully folded stack of papers. He gently unfolded them then held the papers up in triumph.

“I've been waiting for someone to ask me to tell them a story!! I worked really hard the whole time you and Inuyasha were asleep to come up with it. I even used the last of my crayons to color it!” He scooted over to her, excited to finally have someone to show his art to. He adopted a pose like the one the village story teller took when he was in the middle of a great epic battle scene, and began to tell Kagome his story:

Once upon a time, there was a Cat Princess who was very beautiful. She was kidnapped by and evil woman and taken to a dark castle in the clouds. The evil lady had her hordes of youkai guard the princess day and night for…lots of lots of nights...and did I mention that she was very very very very evil? Now this Kitty had two friends, a dog and a fox, who vowed to get her back. So they sat off on their long, long, long journey. But on the way the dog got hurt, `cause he was careless and rude. But the fox made it to the evil woman's castle and fought the demons. He fought them for a long time, but he finally won and rescued the cat princess. And the cat princess loved the Fox and patted his head and gave him lots of candy. The End.

Through out his whole story, Kagome had to hold back her laughter. Shippou really had a talent for turning the people in his life into crayon drawings, and the one with a doggy Inuyasha scratching his ear with his hind leg was priceless. But it occurred to her that maybe Shippou needed something to take care of like Inuyasha took care of her. Maybe Shippou wouldn't feel so scared if he wasn't the youngest or the weakest anymore. Maybe Shippou needed a pet.

`Every child wants a pet when he's Shippou's age, right? I mean, I remember begging my okaa-chan for a pet dragon, and then I decided to go with something a little more realistic, like a talking dog. Okaa-chan told me that was just as impossible as a dragon and that I'd have to settle for a cat. But I guess I got my wish anyway with Inuyasha, even though technically he's not really a dog at all…and sometimes it seems like the only words he knows are cursed and single syllable sounds that aren't really words at all.'

“Oi, brat! Why do you always make me the wimp in your stories?!?!” And speak…erg…think of the devil, Inuyasha was leaning against the doorway, glaring down at the kit sitting beside her. Although his look was fierce, Kagome recognized the playful twitch of his ears for what it was. He lightly bopped the kit on his head as he walked by and plopped down on the other side Kagome.

“That's because you are a wimp! And I can prove it now because Kagome loves me best! She says I can call her okaa-chan now!” Shippou stuck his tongue out at Inuyasha after he said this then tried to hide behind Kagome when Inuyasha reached for his tail. Kagome just moved, giving Inuyasha greater access to the kit.

“Okaa-chan! Save me!” Shippou cried as the older male grabbed his tail in one swift motion.

“I'm really sorry Shippou, but I told you that the next time you tried to make Inuyasha mad I'd let him have you. You've got to learn sometime.” She patted him on his small head and sent Inuyasha a speaking glance. When she was sure he wouldn't hurt the kitsune, Kagome tried lurch to her feet, thinking that with her boys being distracted she could get out of the room. However, two pairs of hands, one small and one large, pulled her back onto the futon.

Kagome looked up at Inuyasha and Shippou, only to find them glaring down at her with identical expressions of chastisement.

“Where do you think you're going? You need to rest!” The combined powers of their glares weren't enough to stop her though, because she was suddenly hit with the need to get out of this small room and to answer natures persistent call. Again she tried to struggle to her feet. This time Inuyasha let her get almost all the way up before he pulled her back down. He figured that if he let her work a little she'd be too tired to be stubborn about getting up. Of course he was wrong. His actions only helped to frustrate her more, and damnit she had to go to the little girls bush.

“Inuyasha, I need to go outside. Either you help me up and to the door, or I'll `s' word you and do it myself!” She declared. Shippou, sensing that he was finally going to get some quality entertainment after so many days of boredom, found a spot were he could easily watch the mayhem without getting caught in the cross-fire.

“Oi, bitch! You need to rest, and I don't know why you refuse to! Your frail human body is clearly in pain…can't you see you need to stay in bed, or are you too stup--”

“I suggest, Inuyasha, that you don't finish that sentence! I won't be the only one in pain if you do!”

“—pid to know when you're exhausted?” He finished the sentence anyway. Daring her to make good on her threat.

“That's it! I can't take you and your high handedness anymore! SIT! SITSITSITSITSISTSITSITSIT!!!!!” As Inuyasha's face became reacquainted with the wood floor of the hut, Kagome realized two things: One was that the subdue spell was still not working right, and two, no matter how softly Inuyasha thumped into the floor it still hurt her. Somehow, in all the drama of the last few days, she'd forgotten that she felt his pain. Maybe it wouldn't have been so bad, but when the pain of being repeatedly shoved into the floor was added to the pain she had already been feeling, Kagome couldn't help but double over with a soft groan.

`Dear Kami-sama, I should have remembered that his pain is my pain.'

“Damn straight you should have! Why didn't you just listen to me?” Kagome looked at him strangely for a moment. She was sure that she hadn't said anything aloud, but dismissed it when her forgotten need came back to call.

“I didn't listen to you because I have to go to the little girls bush!” She yelled at him, her struggles to gain her footing renewed.

“Huh?” Inuyasha's look was priceless, and Kagome would have stopped to laugh if her situation wasn't so desperate.

“I have to pee Inuyasha! And if you don't help me outside soon I swear you'll have to clean up the mess I make!”

“Well, why didn't you tell me that sooner wench?” Hurriedly he scooped her up and took her outside. Kagome didn't respond as he sat her down at the edge of the tree line. A few moments later she limped back into view wiping her hands on a moist cleaning cloth she'd found in her pocket.

`I feel better now. But I think a bath would make me feel one hundred times better. I know I have to smell by now…and my hair…erg…I don't even want to think about how oily it must look. I'm so glad I don't have to look at myself through Inuyasha's eyes right now….' Inuyasha let her shuffle back to him without any help, but he watched her movements like a hawk, and the moment she stumbled even the slightest bit he was at her side.

“I know a bath would make you feel better, but Sango went with Kaede-baba to the next village to buy some kind of herb that only grows there and since you can barley move on your own, you'll just have to wait until she gets back.” Instead of picking her up again, he just placed an arm around her waist for support and walked slowly beside her. Kagome was thankful that Inuyasha was at least letting her walk some of her soreness out.

“One of the village women could—“

“Keh, I don't trust any of those people. Stupid little fools would probably just let you drown…and besides, you don't look that bad…and you don't smell bad either.” He reassured her. It occurred to him that Kagome had again not voiced her thoughts aloud before he'd answered her. Inuyasha pondered this for a moment, remembering certain times before Kagome had tried to sever their tie when he'd been able to hear her thoughts. He reasoned that his ability to now hear everything that ran through her mind must be one of the side effects that Kaede had mentioned.

“Well thank you, I guess, but I still want to at least change clothes.” Kagome fingered the bottom of the pajama top someone had so thoughtfully changed her into who-knows-when. It hung limply on her body and was so rumpled and wrinkled that she couldn't tell if the print on it was of teddy bears wearing sunshades or hamsters with sunflower seeds.

“Keh.” By this time they'd made it back to the hut. Kagome didn't fight Inuyasha when he ushered her back inside, because really, she was feeling tired again. Although she wasn't about to tell him that.

“Here's your bag, find some new clothes and yell when you finish dressing.” He tossed the nearly empty yellow bag at her and turned to leave the room. Kagome sighed and dug through the thing in search of a clean shirt and shorts to sleep in.

`Not only are we almost out of snack foods and ramen, but I need to go home for some clean clothes too. I think this is my last pair of panties…I guess I could talk some one into washing some of my things for me, but I'd rather just go home. I don't want to answer any questions about my bra; I'm sure to the women here in this time it would look like a strange implement of torture. Okay, I'm dressed now. Should I call Inuyasha in or just leave him out there. Not that it matters, I bet he'll barge in here in ten minutes tops if I don't say anything.'

Kagome finished pulling her shirt over her head before she snuggled into her sleeping bag and futon. She wondered where Shippou had gotten himself off to and after a quick scan of the village with her miko powers she found his aura near the field where all the village children went to play. She smiled and let her powers fade away.

“Inuyasha you can come in now,” she called. It was a full minute before the woven rug that covered the sleeping chamber door parted to let Inuyasha in. Kagome noticed that he was blushing lightly and that his ears seemed to be extra active, almost like he was listening hard to a conversation that was too low for her to hear.

“Hey, are you okay?” She asked as he came to sit beside her.

“Don't worry about it.” His tone told her that he didn't want to talk about it, and for once she left it alone. Kagome simply didn't feel like dragging an explanation for his strange behavior out of him.

She lay there wrapped in her warm sleeping bag for several minutes, her body tired, but not being able to drift off to sleep. Back, side, stomach, and repeat. After about the fifth cycle of this, Kagome sat up a little and looked over at Inuyasha, who was doing a very good job at ignoring her while still managing to look irritated.

“Inuyasha?” She wanted to ask him something, but she wasn't sure how well her request would go over.

“What?” He looked down at her with half hooded eyes, making it impossible for Kagome to really read his emotions.

“I can't sleep.”

“Yeah, so what do you want me to do about it?” Inuyasha knew very well what she wanted him to do about it, but there was no way in hell he was going to volunteer. No, if that's what Kagome wanted she'd have to make the first move and ask.

Kagome sighed again, and then gathered up all her courage to make her request, although it shouldn't have been this hard considering how many times she'd been in that position while blind.

“Can…can I sleep in your lap? I mean, if you don't want me sitting on you I understand, but I just can't seem to get comfortable…” Inuyasha didn't wait for her to finish before gently pulling her into his lap. He made sure she was comfortably tucked in before leaning back against the wall of the hut.

“Inuyas—”

“Quiet. We only have a little time to sleep before the others get back and I'm tired.” He wasn't really all that tired, but he figured that saying so would shut Kagome up. Inuyasha knew that if she ever stopped talking she would fall asleep, and he was right. Five minutes of silence later and her soft, even breathing could be heard. He shifted around so that he could see her face, lightly dappled by what little sunlight managed to fight its way into the small room.

“I'm glad it's you.” He whispered before placing a light kiss on her forehead. Inuyasha really didn't know the reason he was glad it was Kagome he was in this situation with, but he knew what he'd said was true. There was no one living that he would choose over the girl in his arms to be bound with in this way.

“Don't worry. I promise we'll figure this all out soon.”

 

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

 

TBC

 

 

*uses best Big Shot voices (Big Shot is the Bounty Show that the Spike watches a lot on Cowboy Bebop)*

Next time on TWTHE!!

ENTER MYOGA! Inuyasha's flea youkai retainer shows up wanting to know why he wasn't invited to the party when Inuyasha made it official with Kagome!

WHAT? Made what official?!?

AH OH, looks like Myoga-gigi needs to teach our couple a thing or two about the formalities of inu-youkai mating!

And what's this? Why is Inuyasha in a PET STORE?

Shippou gets a pet SQUIRRLE?

It looks like the next chapter is going to be wild! I wouldn't miss it if I were you!