InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ To Nowhere ❯ The Storm ( Chapter 3 )

Disclaimer: Bought Inu-Yasha at a thrift store… so hands off, little girls - he's MINE

A/N: a BIG thanks to those who have reviewed!

For those of you who haven't reviewed yet... shame on you.

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As the sun slowly peeled its way over the distant horizon, a certain Taiji-Ya twisted herself deep within her covers. She buried her eyes deep under the white sheets to escape the light that filtered into the dim room. Turning over, she heard someone moving around nearby but was much too tired to inspect the intruder's identity.

The sweet smell of fresh food slowly coaxed her from her warm bed. Looking around, her eyes gradually focused on a figure looming above her. Surprised by her silent observer, she quickly jerked up and defensively covered herself from the hentai houshi. Her mind scrambled with all the possible scenarios that would send Miroku near her bed at such an early hour. Her very quick analysis was enough to tell her that not a single scenario was for her benefit. Miroku gave her a hurt look at the aggressive death glare she sent his way. He sighed mournfully and distanced himself from her while pushing a bowl of food toward her. She squinted her eyes accusingly at the peace offering.

"Would you rather I left you to eat alone?" Miroku asked quietly.

Sango paused to look at the ground for a moment before answering, "No, I would like for you to eat with me."

Sango carefully situated herself a good distance from Miroku, who studied her movements with an intense gaze, and she began to eat the breakfast he had been kind enough to prepare. Throughout their meal, she opened her mouth to speak, but the words never came out. Miroku sat across from her and tried his best to decipher the complex emotions playing across her delicate features. Her eyes were red and puffy from hours of crying, but her skin shone with a little more color than it had the night before. In the corner of her eyes, he could see the sparkle that had been barely visible through the shadow that had draped her eyes for as long as he had known her. In time, he hoped, that sparkle would be clear. There had been countless times he had dreamt that the brilliance in her eyes would be the sun that he awoke to and the stars he would sleep under. That light had always seemed so close, but just beyond his grasp. He wanted nothing more than to see her smile, but was afraid that his words might shatter her wrecked heart if not chosen carefully enough.

Sango averted her eyes, trying to escape the steady stare from Miroku. Part of her wanted to scream at him for his rudeness, but another part of her enjoyed the attention. It was no secret that she had feelings for the Houshi, but she feared that a relationship with a self-proclaimed pervert would only end in pain. Her heart had ached to be more than his traveling companion for so long, but fear was quick to purge her old fantasies. She was afraid, more than anything, he would leave her. If Miroku left her now… where would she go?

Miroku observed her slight tremor and set his food to the side. Strategically, he maneuvered himself toward her and carefully placed his hand in hers. He knew she still didn't trust him and he couldn't really blame her for it either. He tried to seek out her eyes, but she shyly kept her face turned out of his wandering gaze. The touch of his hand sent heat racing through her blood and she struggled to hide the blush that formed radiantly on her fair skin. Her body froze as he caught her chin between his thumb and forefinger. He pulled her face toward him so he could study her eyes.

Sango blinked, and stared dumbfounded. She considered slapping him for whatever game it was he had decided to play, but her free hand did not react as it usually did. Of all the times he had placed his touch on more personal areas, she had never felt so vulnerable. She squirmed under his stare and her mind raced with a consuming dizziness that didn't fade. The air in the room became stiff and she felt lost in the tiny sounds of creaking wood and distant wind. Her mind struggled to find some complaint or insult but her heart was singing with joy at the electric feelings coursing through her body.

"Please let me help you, Sango." Miroku said, finally breaking the silence.

Sango lapped at the sultry undertones dripping from his smooth voice. She felt herself falling off the side of the earth, and her arms could not pull her body from its endless spiral. She parted her lips to speak, but her words were lost beneath the suffocating layer of desire sleeping on her tongue. The longing in her heart felt like silk as it draped itself delicately down her throat. Reality was lost as she felt the pressure in her chest begin to filter out through her mouth. She had not even noticed when the warmth of his lips met hers and pulled the pain from her heart. Her eyes clenched shut and she let the moist heat of his movements guide her actions. Inexperienced, though she was, some primordial instinct drove her forward and she welcomed it with the greatest of appreciation.

"Do you mind?"

Sango froze at the sound that had cut her beautiful reverie short. She slowly turned her head to see the culprit standing in the doorway with his arms crossed.

"Oh, Inu Yasha… we're so happy you could join us today." Miroku replied with the biggest fake smile he could muster.

The voices mingled into nonsense in the back of Sango's mind as she struggled to figure out what exactly had just happened. Her thoughts were once again cut short as a loud crash shook the floor of the small hut. She looked up to see the previous space Inu Yasha had occupied empty with an angry looking Kagome standing in the doorway, hands on her hips while staring down at the currently `sitting' dog demon.

"Kagome-chan!" Sango cried happily as she ran toward the doorway, running straight over the horizontal inu hanyou. "I'm glad you were able to visit today. Miroku said you had gone back to your country last night."

Kagome couldn't contain the smile that spread across her features at Sango's use of Miroku's name. "Oh… I did go back… but Inu-"

"BITCH!"

Kagome slit her eyes and looked down at Inu Yasha struggling from his place on the ground. She slowly muttered "osuwari" in a low monotonous tone. Satisfied, Kagome smiled and turned her head away from the hanyou as he cracked through the wooden floor. Sango frowned at the work she would have to do to repair the damage, but was whisked away by an ecstatic schoolgirl hungry for gossip, before she could gather up the courage to be angry.

Once outside, Kagome pulled Sango out of Miroku's ear range and proceeded to begin her interrogation.

"What happened between you and Miroku-sama?" Kagome asked eagerly.

Sango blinked at Kagome's bluntness, but answered nonetheless, "I… I don't know. He kissed me… or I kissed him… I'm not really sure."

"Wow! That's so exciting!" Kagome exclaimed. "Has anything else happened?"

"Well, actually…" Sango trailed off, Kagome's intense interest in her and Miroku's affairs had always been allusive to Sango and she was unsure of what to say. "Umm… Kagome?"

"Yeah?"

"I feel like it's inappropriate."

"Huh?" Kagome asked, more curious than ever.

"Everything that has happened… I just feel like I should be mourning. It's not right to talk about this sort of things right now." Sango said, glancing up at Kagome to reveal the uneasiness in her eyes.

"Oh… I'm sorry, Sango-chan" Kagome replied apologetically. "We can talk about something else, then."

"Sure."

"Umm… Inu Yasha wants to leave before sunset tonight. I tried to tell him we need more time… but you know how he is. Maybe if we all talked-"

"Kagome-chan… I'm not going." Sango interrupted quietly.

Kagome sat silent for a moment. She had expected that this might happen. After all, Sango and Miroku had no need for the jewel.

"Miroku-sama will be staying her with you then?"

"Yes. We talked about it last night. You're not too mad, are you, Kagome-chan?"

"Not at all. I don't blame you. I bet you're ready to start a new life, huh?" Kagome replied with a weak smile.

"I'm glad you understand, Kagome. If you and Inu Yasha need some help you can always come get us. We'll be glad to help." Sango continued, "If you want… you can take Kirara along with you. She's become very fond of Inu Yasha, so I don't think she'll mind, if you think you need some extra help."

"No, that's okay. I don't think it should be much of a problem for Inu Yasha and me. We used to travel alone before Naraku entered the picture."

Sango smiled and glanced around, wondering, "Where is Shippou?"

"Oh, he went to visit that girl… Mizuki, I think. We're supposed to go pick him up in a couple weeks." Kagome replied, with a smile.

"Well that makes sense. I was surprised that he wasn't with you…" Sango said trailing off.

Kagome looked up and gave a faint "huh?" at the slight blush on Sango's cheeks.

"Well, you know… he kind of sees you and Inu Yasha as his mom and dad."

Kagome paused at the implications of the statement. She was well aware that Shippou regarded her as a surrogate mother, but Inu Yasha as his father? Kagome had always saw Shippou and Inu Yasha as quarrelsome siblings, if anything. She was surprised, to say the least, that Sango would pair her in Inu Yasha together in such a way.

"If that's true… he has really dysfunctional parents…" Kagome replied more to herself than to Sango. Noticing her mistake, Sango quickly did her best to change the subject.

The two girls continued to talk until lunch had come and gone and the sun had reached across to the western sky. Inu Yasha spent most of the day ignoring Kagome and kept to himself while Miroku followed the girls around, trying to overhear some good information. As the day drew to a close, Kagome lifted her backpack over one shoulder and wobbled out the doorway, trying to balance the bag that acted as her portable bedroom, on her small frame. Turning around, she gave one last wave to Sango and Miroku as they stayed behind to rebuild Sango's village. The journey would continue without them, since they felt their means had been accomplished. Kagome knew both of them longed to live a normal life and were eager to begin so she did little to argue against their request. She respected the decision, but the thought of leaving behind the two people who had been such good friends through the most arduous moments of Kagome's life, was extremely saddening.

She did, however, secretly look forward to traveling alone with Inu Yasha again. She smiled at the thought of all the time they would have together without having to worry about peering eyes or rude interruptions. Her mind ran rampant with crazy ideas and secret thoughts that she never dared to let anyone know about. Her fantasies were cut short when the named hanyou himself, turned around and raised an eyebrow at the ferociously blushing schoolgirl. Kagome averted her eyes to the ground and let her mind wander back to the dreams she held for Miroku and Sango.

"That was really rude, what you did earlier." Kagome commented as she pulled her bike up beside Inu Yasha.

"I didn't do anything, wench." Inu Yasha shot back.

"You shouldn't have walked in on them like that. Do you have any idea how hard I've worked to get them together? It was finally going to happen!"

"What was going to happen?" Inu Yasha asked wryly, coming to a complete halt to look Kagome in the eye.

"They were finally going to get together! Then you had to walk in and interrupt them."

"Well, unlike some people, I didn't want to sit and watch them make out."

"Hey! It's not like that. It just wouldn't have hurt for you to leave them alone for a while." Kagome complained, growing increasingly agitated.

"Oh… sure… why do you have such an obsession with getting them together anyway?

Kagome sighed and started walking off. She was quickly growing tired of Inu Yasha's constant bickering.

"You're just hoping they get together because you know you'll never get any!" Inu Yasha yelled from behind.

Kagome stopped dead in her tracks. "I can't believe you just said that."

"Why? Who'd want a selfish little brat like you anyway?"

"Selfish?"

Inu Yasha opened his mouth, but felt something knot in his stomach that insisted opening his mouth again would be a very bad idea.

"Selfish, Inu Yasha?" Kagome said quietly, capturing his eyes in hers.

"Um, that's not what I meant!" Inu Yasha said, scrambling for the right words.

"Am I selfish? So selfish that I gave up a normal life just to come here? So selfish that I saved kikyou's `life' just to keep you happy? So selfish that I torture myself by watching you love someone else just in the hope that you might live a little longer?" She continued to rant as the tears formed in her eyes.

Inu Yasha stood in his place, dumbfounded.

"You know what? All my friends are about to start High School. I'm not. Do you know why? Because I'm here… I'm here, helping you find your damn shard so you can become a full demon!"

"Hey! You're the one who broke the stupid thing in the first place!"

Kagome glared at him. "I'm done having this argument." She turned her back to him and continued on her way. "Do you even know where we're going?" she added as she walked on.

"You're the one who can see the fucking shards, bitch."

"I've told you! I haven't felt any shards in months! I was following you!" she yelled as she spun around to face Inu Yasha again.

"Keh." He replied as he walked past her.

"Oh, that's helpful." Kagome stated darkly. Her temper was boiling more violently then it had in her recent memory and all of her current stress was threatening to send her over the edge. Kagome had never been one to purposely stir up trouble but a deepening anger was quickly consuming her normally kind demeanor. A sudden desire from deep within her, cried out for her to lash out and attack with even more force. She wanted to hit Inu Yasha where she knew it would hurt most. She had tiptoed around it with her mention of Kikyou and something in her wanted to completely rip through the protective covering she never dared to touch.

Her frustration beckoned to finally pull her over the edge, but as her mouth opened to spew out the most wretchedly cruel words she could possibly muster, something in Inu Yasha's movements brought her back to herself. His ears were dropped lower than usual and something about the way he was moving seemed almost painful. Seeing his current pain, Kagome mentally cursed herself for even thinking of breaking him worse. After all, she had spent all this time urging him to open up to her… what would it say if she just used it against him? A solemn thought suddenly hit her.

"What are you running from?" she asked quietly, and hoped that by the grace of the gods he would give her a real answer.

"What do you mean?"

"You don't want to stay in one place for very long… what are you afraid of?"

"Nothing. Mind your own business." Inu Yasha snorted, and continued ahead of her without glancing back to her.

Kagome frowned as she followed him and absently kicked at the rocks on the ground. As she allowed herself to further calm down, she realized he wasn't completely to blame. Despite her earlier words, she knew he was no longer completely set on becoming a full demon. What she had said about Kikyou was not true either. Although she was mature enough to admit to herself that a part of her did wish that Kikyou was not around, she would never do anything to hurt Kikyou, whether or not it was for Inu Yasha's happiness. Even though she didn't exactly like Kikyou, she would never willingly let anything bad happen to another human being just because of her jealousy. Helping her was not a chore on Kagome's part, she chose to do so. She knew she shouldn't have tried to use that against Inu Yasha.

Kagome also knew in many ways, she was selfish. She stayed with Inu Yasha because she wanted to see him. She wanted him to live so that she could be with him. She wanted him to be happy because it made her happy. She looked up at him as he walked ahead of her. His back was rigid and his heavy steps told her he was still angry with her. She continued to study his movements and absorbed the pain she saw in every step. Everyone told her she had great purification powers and her experiences with demons seem to show that it was true. Some even claimed that she was more powerful than Kikyou. And still, she had yet to completely destroy the last of the darkness in Inu Yasha's soul. She could see the remnants of pain left over from years of resentment and abuse in his eyes every moment she looked at him. Even when he was happy, that darkness was still there and it still threatened to overcome his entire being.

Her thoughts were interrupted as Inu Yasha suddenly drew to a stop and placed his hands on Tessaiga. She tensed and placed her hand on the bow strapped to her back. Looking around she caught sight of the threat that Inu Yasha had already noticed. Ahead of them, a pillar of smoke rose up above the trees and fused with the gray clouds moving in with the approaching evening.

"What do you think it is?" Kagome asked quietly as she walked up to his side.

"I smell dead bodies… lots of dead humans." Inu Yasha stated darkly.

"Do you think they were attacked by a demon?" Kagome questioned meekly.

"Hard to say. I don't smell any demon… but there's only one way to find out." Inu Yasha said, bending down for Kagome to climb on his back.

Kagome dropped her bike and climbed on, wrapping her arms around his neck tightly as he sprang quickly in the direction of the burning village. When they arrived, they realized the fire was actually almost a mile north of the village. Inu Yasha promptly informed Kagome that the fire was the burning bodies, and he turned back to the village to escape the smell.

The village itself was quiet, and the villagers all appeared to be shut up in their homes. Kagome and Inu Yasha walked through the village while twilight loomed over them. The homes were bathed in an almost ethereal glow that only succeeded in increasing the dark and disturbing energies drafting from the surrounding area.

"Something's not right here…" Kagome said under her breath.

"You think?" Inu Yasha replied shortly.

"It's really creeping me out." Kagome said. She came to an abrupt stop as Inu Yasha's arm suddenly fell in front of her. Looking up at him, she questioned "what?". She answered her own question when she followed his gaze to see a man approaching them.

Kagome noticed quickly that the man wore a cloth around his face and his hands appeared to be covered with cloth as well. He stopped quite a few paces in front of them and began to speak while holding up his hands in a silent request for them to stand their ground.

"What are you doing? You should leave here immediately." The man said.

"What's going on? Where are all the people?" Kagome asked as she glanced around the empty village.

"This village is sick. Everyone must stay in their homes to hide from the curse."

"Curse?" Kagome asked.

"All the people here are dying. Those who enter, fall with those who have been here all along. I beg you to leave before it's too late."

"No." Kagome stated firmly, while ignoring the glare from Inu Yasha, "We can't just leave you to die here. We'll help you…"

"There is nothing you can do. I am the doctor, and I do everything I can to make sure that the dying are in as little pain as possible. Please, leave before we must witness more death."

"Kagome…" Inu Yasha insisted, "you heard him… let's go… there's nothing we can do."

"I refuse to just walk away when people are in need!" Kagome said, turning to Inu Yasha.

"Well, just what is it you expect to do for them?" Inu Yasha asked wryly.

"I don't know. Maybe some of the medicines from my time will help them. We won't know unless we try." Kagome said, trying to hold down her temper.

"I see you are both unwilling to take my advice." The old man said, bringing their attention away from their argument. "I will not force you away since you both do not look like normal travelers, but understand you may very well meet your end here."

Inu Yasha glared at Kagome as she nodded her head in understanding. He stared at her, condemning her for her continuously careless behavior. She did not understand death, and that was why she faced it so fearlessly. If she understood the severity of any situation, she would not be nearly as willing to fight as she did. Inu Yasha did not believe for a second that she could even begin to comprehend the effects of her decisions. He had protected her for so long, and saved her from her own reckless behavior, but he felt that his luck was running dry. All the times she had been so lucky were bound to come to an end and he would be helpless to save her. Yet, he knew nothing he told her could convince her to change her mind. Even if he forcefully dragged her from the village, he would not be able to live with the anger she would show towards him.

With a huge sigh, Inu Yasha let the doctor show them to a room where they could stay. They were led down a long corridor, to an empty room at the end of the hall. Upon entering, Kagome threw down her backpack and sprawled herself out on the bare floor.

"What the hell are you doing, bitch?" Inu Yasha questioned.

"I'm relaxing. We've been walking for hours." Kagome turned her head slightly to look at him and gave him small smile.

"Keh… remember you're the one who wanted to stay the night in a diseased village. When you wake up dead, don't come crying to me."

Kagome frowned, and sat up. She would have pointed out the mistake in his statement, but given some of the current circumstances, it wasn't entirely impossible. Unlikely, but not impossible. "Doesn't it seem weird to you?"

"What?"

"That so many people are just… dying?" Kagome asked while she looked out the doorway. "I mean, don't you think something else might be going on here?"

"I think you're getting involved in things you would be better to stay out of." Inu Yasha said as he walked toward the doorway.

"No! Don't go." Kagome called, with her hand outstretched before her.

Inu Yasha turned to glance back at her from the doorway. "You scared or something?"

"No… I just don't want you to sleep out there. It's cold…" Kagome stammered. She was surprised herself by the unintentional desperation that had escaped her mouth and seeped through her words.

Inu Yasha raised an eyebrow at her, "Hoping for something?"

"Hey! It's not like that!" Kagome yelled as her temper started to flare for the umpteenth time that day, "I just think it's pointless for you to sleep out in the cold, when you could be here! I don't understand why you won't, anyway. You always stayed inside when Sango and Miroku were with us… unless there's somewhere else you're wanting to go…" She finished quietly.

"FINE. I'll stay here." Inu Yasha grunted. He walked past Kagome and angrily sat down by the wall.

Kagome made a show of situating her sleeping bag on the opposite side of the room, using jerky movements in her anger and frustration. Inu Yasha watched her through half-opened eyes as she laid out her bedding and dug through her bag. She paused for a moment and glared up at Inu Yasha.

"Do you mind? I have to change clothes."

"Like I'd wanna see you." Inu Yasha replied turning his head to the side.

Kagome waited for a moment, and persisted to take off her clothes. Inu Yasha opened one eye and silently observed the show he'd never admit to enjoying. He couldn't see much with her back facing him, but he was somehow pleasantly surprised that she hadn't asked him to leave the room completely. He cursed himself mentally for the irony that he held in watching in her when she obviously allowed him to stay in the room because she trusted him not to look. Unless of course, she was wanting him to look all along…

However, all his `Miroku-esque', lecherous thoughts were brought to a sudden halt when a sudden tremor in Kagome's body shook him back to reality. "Kagome? What's wrong?"

Kagome finished buttoning her pajamas and quickly turned to Inu Yasha; too alarmed to even consider how he knew something was bothering her.

"I- I can sense a shard…"

**

A/N: Well, there's the 3rd chapter… I had originally intended for some more action, but obviously failed miserably. I've had a really bad bout of writers block these past couple weeks. Oh well. I hope it wasn't too boring.

I know I've asked before… but REVIEW!!!!!!!!!!!!!