InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ To live for you. ❯ Night ( Chapter 9 )

Disclaimer: I don't even own a set of brains that is enough for me to pass maths, so no, I don't own InuYasha. He and the gang belong to R. Takahashi.

 

- Chapter 9 -

 

+ Night +

 

After a short walk the group found a suitable place to make camp. They decided not to force themselves any more and just spend the night there, since it would be getting dark in a matter of hours. They found a small clearing not very close to the road but not too far into the forest either; that way there would be no bandits to disturb their rest, nor would it take them a long time to get back to the road in the morning. The tiny glade was surrounded by tall trees like a fortress. They aimed skywards, tall and proud, effectively shielding the camp from any undesirable attention.

 

As they settled, InuYasha ran further away in seek of some game for dinner, while the rest of the group went to get wood. Among the four of them they managed to pick up enough to last a night in a fairly short time, so they were able to return to their resting place, before the hanyou.

 

Miroku kept himself busy trying to ignite some warmth-giving sparks of the wet wood. It hadn't rained that day but the clouds had been hanging so low that the humidity was enough to ruin any hopes of an easy fire. Sango glanced warily at the monk, who was crouching on the ground near the small pile of wood; his tongue was a bit stuck out and his brows were furrowed in concentration, as he vainly grinded the flint against a small knife that they used just for that purpose. The `lighter' Kagome had brought from her time, had run out of `gas' - whatever that meant - so they were now forced to make fire the usual way. A soft string of un-monk-like curses could be heard every time that the faint spark failed to catch on a small piece of bark that Miroku was aiming at.

 

Seeing her companion occupied - enough not to disturb the conversation she was about to start - Sango approached Kagome and touched, the girl's shoulder to get her attention. The young miko glanced up and cocked her head questioningly to the side. Sango kneeled beside her.

 

“Kagome,” she began tentatively, “what happened the other day with you and InuYasha? Why did you leave your bag here?” And before the girl could answer, she quickly added, “I really don't mean to pry or anything, it's just that we're worried…”

 

Kagome sighed; she knew this was coming. Sango hadn't asked her anything when she and InuYasha had come through the well; her friend merely threw her a glance that held a clear guarantee of a serious conversation first chance they got.

 

The demon slayer was worried sick when they had failed to locate Kagome in the morning. And since her bag pack along with the sleeping bag and a small traveling pillow were still lying where the young miko used to sleep, the option that she might had gone home never crossed their minds. They went out looking for her; to their dismay and further confusion, InuYasha was nowhere to be seen either. That, of course, made Miroku's very impious mind get a bit suspicious, meaning that the next twenty minutes that they spent looking for their friends were animated by occasional sly comments and following resonating slaps. When they saw InuYasha they assaulted him with questions that the hanyou wasn't very inclined to answer, but at least he managed to calm them down, though the presence of Kagome's things in the past while she was in the future had remained unexplained.

 

At some point InuYasha just grabbed Kagome's stuff and leaped for the well throwing a quick-return promise over his shoulder. So when it was obvious that the hanyou wouldn't return at least until the next morning they had to stuff their questions and worries until later.

 

Now, Sango was looking expectantly at her friend. She may have tried to sound shy, but Kagome knew she wouldn't be left off the hook easily. Actually, she was glad that Sango was wise enough to ask her instead of InuYasha; somehow she knew how that conversation would go, or rather, how it wouldn't go. The miko looked at her companion and smiled sheepishly.

 

“I… Well, nothing happened… nothing bad, at least…” she dragged, “I just king of… fell… fellasleepwithInuYashaontheroof.”

 

Sango blinked a couple of times but then the meaning of the rushed phrase finally hit her, “You did what!?” She yelled loud enough that Miroku lifted his head of his ungodly task and tossed a perplexed look at the girls. They didn't notice him.

 

“Shh!” Kagome whimpered, “It was no big deal,” she assured. `Not even you believe that!'

 

“What do you mean no big deal?” Sango argued. “How did that happen, anyway? I remember you falling asleep in Kaede's hut.”

 

Kagome's face reddened a bit as she explained, “I… I wanted to talk to him, you know, alone. I was worried about his strange behavior,” she saw her friend nod in understanding. “So, after everyone was asleep, I went to him. We talked, and then he just told me to sleep. See, I said that it was no big deal…” Kagome smiled for good measure. “And when we woke up, he just took me to the well and told me that he'd come for me in the evening. I didn't get a chance to protest before he pushed me in…” `No need for her to know the whole truth…'

 

“That sounds like InuYasha, alright,” Sango muttered.

 

The girls kept talking, never noticing an extra pair of ears that was probably a bit too near for their liking. Miroku was smirking wildly to himself. This was too good to be true; InuYasha was in for a hell of a conversation later on. Granted, it would most likely not be very good for the monk's state of health, but it was too beautiful of an opportunity to pass by.

 

InuYasha returned soon after, carrying two rabbits slung carelessly over his shoulder. Shippou squealed in delight and ran for the food. He rapidly climbed up InuYasha's form and sniffed at the to-be-dinner. The hanyou caught him by the tail and threw him away without so much as a glance.

 

“InuYasha!” Kagome protested.

 

“Hey, he wanted to paw your food,” the half-demon raised an accusing finger at the kitsune, who was spitting leaves.

 

“InuYasha, that wasn't nice, and you know it. Besides, it's not like he is going to do anything to it!”

 

“Keh!”

 

Suddenly Miroku let out a small cry and everyone turned to him to see what was wrong. The monk was still crouching but now there was a very small flame beside him. “Do not breathe!” he hissed, and then added with a serious voice, “You might scare it away…”

 

InuYasha snorted and threw the rabbits to the ground, while Miroku stood up… or tried to. His muscles felt stiff after being forced to an uncomfortable position for so long, so when he tried to unfold himself he fell on his back instead.

 

“Some help would be most welcome here,” he mumbled to the smirking hanyou. InuYasha extended his hand and pulled him up. The monk dusted off his robe and smiled warmly at everyone, “So, shall we eat?”

 

+ - + - + - + - + - + - + - + - + - + - + - + - + - + - + - + - + - + - + - + - +

 

Once the last bone had been thrown into the now flaring fire, everyone leaned back and relaxed in the after-meal daze. Sango was carefully sharpening her Hiraikotsu with swift, practiced moves, while InuYasha sat in front of a broad tree with Kagome slightly leaning on his side and reading one of her `math' books. As usual his hands were crossed on his chest, but this time the whole pose seemed more loosened up. Once in a while he would throw a warm glance at the girl and inhale deeply - a fact that didn't go unnoticed by the rest of the group. Miroku sat a few feet away with Shippou peacefully snoring on his lap. The kit's first intent was to go to Kagome, but receiving the hanyou's hostile glare he decided to snuggle himself in the monk's dark robes. Miroku wisely kept his observations to himself, that is, until the opportune moment.

 

The night was cool but unexpectedly peaceful and clear. The stars glimmered lazily on the dark sky and their faint light was easily swallowed by the big fire in the middle of the camp. Only the edges of the illuminated circle were colored a beautiful mix of warm orange and cold blue, resulting in a very quaint hue.

 

InuYasha drunk in the scents and sounds that enveloped his senses: the monotonous sound of grinding stone against the thick bone of the boomerang, the cracking and whistling of the burning wood, the birds' chit-chat hushed but the late hours, the rustling of leaves that were pulled from their branches by the stubborn autumn wind, the softness of Kagome's breath by his side… Everything was so calm, so sleepy and still that he really only wanted to hug the young miko closer to him and stay like that forever. But there were still things to be discussed and, as sad as it was, there was no way around it.

 

“Oi, Miroku,” he began, “wasn't there something you wanted to tell us?”

 

“Oh, right,” the monk remembered. “Let's see what we figured so far, shall we?” He gazed his companions, “First we stumble upon our enemy, clearly by his thoughtlessness - something that has never happened before. Whenever we met Naraku or his incarnations, it was because they let us do it. Now, Kagome felt the Shikon no Tama and that could mean either that Naraku had entrusted Byakuya with the Jewel or…” Miroku threw a dark look at Sango, “Or that he got hold of Kohaku's shard...” seeing the girl's sad look, he rapidly added, “which I don't think was the case, because Kagome said that the shard was too big, didn't you, Kagome?”

 

“Yes. Sango, don't worry I'm positive it wasn't Kohaku's shard that Byakuya was carrying.”

 

“Thank you, Kagome…”

 

“Oi, Sango!” InuYasha cut in, “Don't worry; we were going to pay a visit my bastard brother anyway to find out about the fight, then you can make sure that Kohaku's alright.”

 

Kagome looked at the hanyou and smiled, “InuYasha…”

 

“So, Miroku, you still haven't explained the lack of the hellish bugs!” He impatiently asked.

 

“Well, that is actually the most important point… and the most bothersome too. You see, Naraku would never make the mistake of putting the Jewel in danger of being taken from him; that means that he couldn't have left Byakuya without the protection of the Saimioshu, which makes me think that….Byakuya was acting without Naraku's consent.”

 

Kagome frowned, “You mean, like Kagura?”

 

“Yes, more or less…”

 

“I'm not sure about that, Miroku. I don't think that Naraku would let anyone, not even an incarnation, take the Jewel from him,” Sango said.

 

“This maybe right, but I have no other ideas...”

 

“Keh! This is useless! Even if he wanted to deceive Naraku's ass, we still couldn't trust him.”

 

“That is right, InuYasha,” the monk agreed, “More so, if Byakuya is collecting shards to himself, we have one more problem to take care of…”

 

“They could kill each other and save us the trouble.” InuYasha offered with an unhappy smile. Things weren't looking up, whatever the real situation was. Both theories had enormous holes in them which meant that either Miroku had missed something, or that both of them were just plain wrong.

 

“I wouldn't count on it…” Miroku replied disillusioned.

 

“Well, there's not much we can do now.” Sango reasoned. Putting the polishing cloth aside she lifted one side of the gigantic boomerang and closed one eye to examine her work, “I…I think we should get some sleep.” Apparently she was glad with the result of her efforts, because she put Hiraikotsu aside and started preparing to sleep. Miroku followed her example and got up to move closer to the fire, completely forgetting the sleeping kit on his lap. Shippou rolled to the ground with a loud grunt but, amazingly, didn't wake up.

 

InuYasha snorted, “Keh, his furry ass would sleep through an earthquake!” The monk merely lifted an eyebrow and reached to scoop the little kitsune by the tail.

 

“He's just a kid, InuYasha, he needs lots of sleep,” Kagome tried to reason, watching as Miroku placed Shippou near Kirara, who was sleeping peacefully on Sango's pack.

 

“He's not just a kid; he's a youkai kit, wench! He doesn't need as much sleep as you'd think.”

 

“Of course, I forgot that you youkai are high and mighty and we're just useless humans,” the girl said in mock annoyance.

 

The half-demon couldn't help the arrogant smile that was snaking its way to his lips, “Damn right, wench! He's just a lazy-ass. You should stop spoiling him so much.”

 

Kagome put her book aside for a moment and smiled, “Is that right, InuYasha?” she sang, “How am I spoiling him?”

 

“You bring him lots of those sweets. That ain't good,” he proclaimed, oblivious to the catch he was so blindly falling in.

 

“Oh,” she moved closer to him, “so you say that…” closer, “that I should stop bringing him treats from my time, hm?” Her face was inches from his. InuYasha swallowed a lump in his throat.

 

“Y-Yes…?” He mumbled.

 

“Ok, then. I won't do it anymore.” Kagome cheerfully said and leaned away form him.

 

“Eh?” He was confused and a bit dizzy from her previous closeness. Did she just agree with him? Was that a new shampoo she was using?

 

The girl frowned, “Though, if I stop bringing treats for Shippou, I'd have to stop bringing treats for everyone else,” Kagome drawled, putting on her best thinking expression. “And that would include ramen, too…”

 

InuYasha paled - the conversation was not going as he had expected. More so, it had taken a rather unpleasant and dangerous turn that could affect his future well being. No! Screw the kit, the hanyou wasn't about to renounce his daily ramen share. `I should have known that there'd be a catch! There's always a catch!'

 

“How do you figure that?” he yelled aloud.

 

“Well that's easy. You all should all help him to quit.” The girl giggled out, but InuYasha was definitely not amused. “It'll be like a health club!” It didn't matter to Kagome that her friend was probably unaware of the `support groups' of her time, but she just couldn't let the opportunity to tease him pass by.

 

She didn't do it often, since the monk and Shippou were more than enough already, but she thoroughly enjoyed it, most of all, because he would never expect it from her and genuinely believed whatever she would say. Fortunately for InuYasha, she wasn't the sarcastic type, so usually he was spared.

 

“The hell! What has my ramen to do with that?!” He fumed.

 

“InuYasha, can you please shut up!” Miroku interfered, “It is you that is always complaining that we humans cannot keep up with you. Well, if you don't let us sleep, we will not be moving at all tomorrow!” Tirade finished, the monk flopped his head back to where he had arranged a small pillow from his belongings and closed his eyes.

 

The hanyou rumbled something under his breath but calmed down. He looked at the girl who was gently pressing her back to his arm and shoulder, thus managing a comfortable reading position. She tried to look concentrated and fixed on her studies, but InuYasha new better. The mischievous glint of her cheerful eyes completely gave her up.

 

InuYasha was right; Kagome was staring blindly at the weird equations in her book, but not really seeing them. She was so warm and felt so nice with InuYasha that it seemed to be a waste to devote this rare mood to anything but making the most of it. Still, she had to catch up with school so she forced her eyes to send the right signals to her brain, not just blurry pictures of her surroundings and textbook.

 

Everything was calm and quiet. Their friends were already asleep on the other side of the fire. InuYasha relished in the coziness of the night. Kagome's fragrance and warmth enveloped him in a sleep-evoking blanket. But in spite of the soothing surroundings, his heart was racing madly inside his chest; she was close to him - that was reason enough.

 

Kagome had managed to finish some studying for the next several minutes, until she felt the hanyou's head turn a bit towards her hair. She heard him inhale deeply.

 

Once her overwhelming scent reached him full force, InuYasha lost himself in it and in everything that was her. All around him was spinning, but her, he could see with perfect clarity. He needed her nearer; the small contact was already not enough... He was eager, anxious, scared… all three were crowding his soul and dominating one another. He felt his hands shake; soon followed by the rest of his body.

 

Never had she affected him this much. Though her scent had always had a strange effect on him, and some times all he could do was restrain the urge to pounce on her, in the back of his mind there was always something that stopped him, something that sobered his drugged mind from her intoxicating aroma. In these two years that they had traveled together this or that would complicate things between them, would keep them apart. For once the way was clear and nothing was there to snap him out of his nirvana. No choices, no doubts, no secrets…

 

Kagome noticed the arm her back was pillowed on started moving slowly. Soon she felt a set of clawed fingers on her tummy; they flexed a bit and started pulling her backwards. Before she knew it she found herself securely settled on InuYasha's lap. Her side was plastered against his chest while he held her tightly to him.

 

Time seemed to stop. She could clearly distinguish every sound around her: Shippou's soft snore, Kirara's rumble, the rustling of the leaves, his breath… His breath came in labored pants, short gasps that she soon matched. Kagome tried to look up at him, but from her current position, she could only see the side of his neck and some shoulder. The book forgotten on the forest ground, she lifted one of her hands to lightly graze the soft skin of his upper neck and chin as her other hand grabbed the collar of his inner haori.

 

Kagome sensed him stiffen his back as her blunt human nails dragged a slow path down his throat only touching skin once in a while, as if she was curious… Curious to figure out whether he was real or not. Emotions stormed inside her, her belly was full of impatient butterflies. Her gaze was fixing on her fingers and his exposed skin alternatively, like it was the first time she was seeing either.

 

InuYasha only drew her closer to his form, trying to melt her into him. His whole being was trembling; sweat slipped from his temple to draw a wet path along his cheek-bone. He lowered his head to smell her hair once more, but grazed his nose on her cheek instead. He heard her gasp from the contact and stilled himself. They were so close and it felt so nice, so right he couldn't believe that such level of comfort existed, he couldn't understand how he had lived his life without it overtaking his very existence, he couldn't even fathom how he was going to keep on not feeling it anymore…

 

`That's easy - don't. Stay with her…'

 

`Always!'

 

He nuzzled his nose in the soft skin of her face once more, more boldly this time. `I'm not letting you go, Kagome. This is where you belong - with me.' He was sure of it. There wasn't any other way for him to experience all those emotions, if she actually didn't belong to him, to his embrace.

 

Feeling his soft touches Kagome, inhaled sharply and lifted her head just a slightest bit; just an inch. She then opened her eyes and to her surprise her gaze was instantly locked with a soft golden one. She could not, for the life of her, look away; it was as if some sort of spell held her fast. Seconds swam unhurriedly around them marked by the accelerated beatings of their hearts. His eyes seemed almost liquid, their warm glow floating in the dark and bringing her even closer to his soul and body. She could only see the yellow hue that enveloped her. Everything was lost to her senses, except here and now, except his gaze that could see the farthest corners of her essence.

 

His head jerked down and she almost lost the remains of her ragged breath, but he only buried his face in the crook of her neck. The thumping of the blood in her veins resonated loudly in her ears. For the longest time - or so it seemed to her - he stayed like that. Just breathing her in and letting her feel his own unique scent - an uncanny mix of forest, rain, sweat and something that she just could not place, something that was only him and him alone. She could feel them both shaking. Why? Was it excitement? Was it fear? Or was it perhaps an absolutely different feeling? Love?

 

All sounds were unregistered by her and she didn't hear herself moan when he slowly dragged his lips along her jaw, cheek until they eventually ever so slightly grazed her own. Breath hitched in both of their throats. The heat of their bodies, the slight tickle of sweat beads covering them in a sheer net, the all-consuming warm feeling in their within - everything combined in a dangerous mix, that was ready to burst.

 

It was as though it had been unexpected; with a small gasp he leaned back an inch but felt her shyly and almost imperceptibly trace her own mouth along his. All doubt he might had had vanished that very second and everything he had been keeping inside - all the love, lust, care, adoration - found it's way to the surface after almost two years of being locked inside. Stars exploded around them as he pressed himself to her; closer, so much closer. Kagome's back arched and the hand on his haori clenched desperately to the rough fabric. She moaned again and received a low gentle growl in response. Her closed lids were trembling faintly while she fought a single tear that threatened to escape. The girl wasn't sure why she was crying; it didn't make sense! But the sweetness of the moment overwhelmed her.

 

It was over all too soon. She thought she lost a bit of her once his mouth was on hers no more. Even seconds after she was still lying on his lap with her eyes closed and her lips slightly parted. His hold hadn't weakened either, only now it lacked the desperation and the urge of before. When she finally opened her eyes and could fix her gaze, she saw his beautiful profile bathed in the cold light of the moon. His features so tense, but so peaceful at the same time. He looked at her, and she lost herself in his golden orbs. He lifted her slightly, so that her face would be comforted in the nook of his neck and pressed his cheek to her forehead.

 

She drifted off…