InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ To Nowhere ❯ The Problem ( Chapter 7 )

Disclaimer: Inu-Yasha does not belong to me, but I own a Miroku. Really, I do.

A/N: Got a few more reviews for this last chapter than I usually do, which makes me really happy. I hope this chapter is good too.

Notzathros: Cool, thanks! I'm glad you like it! ^_^

Essie: Thanks for another review! I'm glad you are still enjoying it. I hope you like this chapter too. I'm trying my best to get these out as quickly as possible.

Kissi21: Thanks! I'm really happy more people are reading!

Turoosh: Thanks for the review! I hope you like this chapter!

See how much quicker the chapters come out when I get lots of reviews? Hint, Hint.

**

Kagome closed her eyes as she latched onto Inu Yasha for dear life. He was not being as careful as usual, while he carried her. Every time he hit the ground, she thought she was going to fly off. Her arms were starting to ache from holding on to him for so long. Any other time he had carried her for a long distance, he had held her legs securely enough that she could have fallen asleep on his back, and she had a few times. Those moments were usually accompanied by warm and comforting dreams as she was lulled into the most peaceful slumber she could have. She really wished that she could have slept on this particular trip since she was still quite exhausted. Her muscles threatened to give out at any moment.

To make her trip even more stressful, the string of curse words that had left his mouth since they left Kaede's hut had continued almost non-stop as they made their way back to the sick village. The cold wind bit at her face, making a stream of tears slip out of the corners of her eyes. They had been traveling for a few hours and night was already falling over the horizon. Kagome groaned in annoyance as she barely caught sight of her bicycle lying on the ground below. She might be getting her clothes back, but she was pretty sure Inu Yasha wasn't going to stop for her bike.

Soon after, they reached the edge of the woods. Inu Yasha stopped abruptly as they landed on the edge of a hill overlooking the village.

"Okay, wench. We're here." Inu Yasha spat out as he simply dropped Kagome on the ground.

"Ouch!" she yelled, rubbing her sore bottom. She looked up at Inu Yasha with one eye opened while she scowled at his negligence.

"Stay here! If I catch you walking any closer to the village, you'll be sorry. Got it?" he said, letting his tone prove his anger was not faltering.

"Geeze…" Kagome murmured, "should I bow down and ask for forgiveness?"

Inu Yasha shot her a dirty look. "I mean it."

With that, he bounded off into the distance. Kagome sat back and hoped he would return soon, because she really would follow him back in, if he didn't. A cold wind brushed through her long tresses, and she doubled her anxiety for his return. With the sun long gone, Kagome was left in the cold with nothing to defend herself but a bow and arrows. While she was confident enough in her abilities that she would be able to fend off a simple enemy, she worried something bigger was waiting for her while Inu Yasha was not at her side. She wrapped her arms around herself and waited for his return.

Once he reached the village, Inu Yasha rushed to the room they had stayed in and tore through the door. The paper ripped easily enough and he barged in, not caring about the property. He growled when he found the room completely empty. Kagome's bedding and bag were missing and the room looked even cleaner than it had before they stayed in it. The wooden floor shone a deep brown, devoid of the light layer of dust that had occupied it before.

He turned around quickly, and went through the village to search for assistance. He hoped he would find that strange doctor who approached them the previous time. That doctor had been acting so strange before, and it seemed suspicious to Inu Yasha that he had been the only villager moving around. He ran through the corridor, making a racket as he stomped over the wooden planks. The village had, obviously, at some point been fairly well-off. There was nothing overtly fancy or expensive, but the large design of the living quarters were fit of an aristocratic family. It did nothing but fuel Inu Yasha's suspicions about the doctor.

He followed the sounds of movement to a door at the end of the corridor and barged in.

Inside, he saw the named doctor laying on a futon while an older woman hovered over his body, administering some thick herbal medicine. She turned and gave Inu Yasha a frightened stare but did not back away, though her bony hands shook slightly and a blob of the medicine splattered on the wooden floor in front of where she kneeled. Inu Yasha frowned since the doctor had obviously fallen ill, and the scent of death was growing stronger on him, signaling to Inu Yasha that he was already practically gone. Inu Yasha seethed at the woman.

"Where are the things that were left in there?!" Inu Yasha yelled as he pointed in the direction of their room.

"I'm sorry, I do not understand." The woman said, looking up to expose tired eyes that partly concealed her obvious fear. She appeared as though she had not slept in weeks.

"I stayed here with someone. He gave us a room." Inu Yasha said, motioning to the lifeless man on the floor, "We left some things in the room. I need them. Where are they?" Inu Yasha grit out, becoming angrier as his patience dissipated. His prime suspect was now dead. He was getting frustrated.

"Oh, if you mean those leftover clothes… they were burned." The woman said in an uneasy voice, slowly standing. She looked emancipated as the shadows fell of her tiny body, causing her too look something like a starved child. The net of wrinkles on her face seemed to fade away as though her youth had been unfairly stolen from her.

"What the hell do you mean, they were burned? I need that bag!" Inu Yasha yelled, breaking himself from the woman's odd demeaner.

"I'm very sorry. We can't risk any infected items staying as they are." The woman said, backing off slightly.

Inu Yasha stepped forward and grabbed the woman by her collar. "I don't give a fuck about the clothes. Where is the jewel?"

"What jewel?" the woman asked, gasping for air.

"You KNOW what I'm talking about. If you moved the things, you should have found the jewel."

"I'm very sorry…" she coughed out. "I did not see any jewel."

Inu Yasha growled and dropped her. He smelt too much fear on the woman to believe that she would be hiding the jewel. If it had been inside Kagome's bag, it might not have been seen before the items were burned. That meant the jewel would still be at the place of the fire.

"Where were they burned?" Inu Yasha demanded.

The woman shakily walked out the doorway and pointed toward a clearing. Inu Yasha sped off without a reply. Once he reached the site, he dug through the charred pile, searching for anything that smelled like Kagome. He finally found a mess of cloth that he figured had been her bag. He ripped through the singed material, sparing no mercy for the frayed fabric.

Unfortunately, the jewel was not nearby. Inu Yasha growled in frustration. The fire had been small so he should have been able to see the almost whole Shikon no Tama if it was, indeed there to be found. He kicked through the dirt to no avail. Someone had to have it. Inu Yasha slammed his fist into the ground before running off to find Kagome. That girl was in trouble.

Kagome rested with her knees bunched up under chin, while she idly picked at some loose grass with her right hand. Inu Yasha was taking much too long. If he didn't return in five minutes, she decided, she was going to find him whether he liked it or not. She closed her eyes and sighed heavily, wishing he had not gotten so angry. After what she had been through, it really wasn't fair.

Her thoughts were cut short when she heard something hit the ground in front of her.

She opened her eyes to see a mass of scorched material sitting a couple feet in front of her. She scrunched up her nose as she figured out what it was.

"Ah! Inu Yasha!" She screamed as she stared at her incinerated bag.

"Stupid wench! Was the fucking jewel in there?" Inu Yasha yelled from her side.

"My… shoes… my… underwear… my… FAVORITE SWEATER!" Kagome shrieked.

Inu Yasha gawked at her. She was ignoring him. Did she not understand the severity of the situation? As he became angrier, he decided he would have to show her. Growling loudly, he walked over and pulled her up by her wrist. He moved his face in front of hers and called her every dirty name he could think of. It was slightly cruel, but he was angry. She cringed slightly, but got a defiant look in her eyes.

"Inu Yasha! Let go!" she yelled, trying to break free of his grip.

"Oh no! We spend all this time finding the jewel - that YOU broke - I might add, and then you go and lose it again." Inu Yasha complained as he dragged her away from the village and into the woods. "Someone has it. Someone who might very possibly, know how to use it. This is bad, Kagome. You had better be glad I like you, because I'd really like to kill something right now…"

"Let go!" Kagome yelled as he dragged her. Death threats aside, she was becoming irritated with Inu Yasha. It wasn't completely her fault. It just happened. "Inu Yasha! That hurts! Let go!"

Inu Yasha loosened his grip. He wasn't going to really hurt her, but he didn't see the harm in scaring her a little. She had succeeded in making him furious, and he wasn't going to let her walk away without at least feeling guilty.

Reaching a small area that Inu Yasha decided would be good to set up camp, he pulled Kagome forward and she fell down in front of him into a pile of damp leaves. She was still complaining, though Inu Yasha had stopped listening long before. She turned to look at him over her shoulder, but she didn't look angry or determined as Inu Yasha thought. She looked… dejected.

"What the hell's wrong now?" Inu Yasha spat down to her.

"No- nothing." She answered quickly.

Inu Yasha blinked and straightened up. Despite how hard she was trying not to be, he could smell her fear. Somehow it didn't feel as good as he thought it would. She looked pitiful on the ground, her skin and clothes stained in mud. Her hair was a mess and she still looked pale and weak. Inu Yasha couldn't stop his guilt from bubbling over.

"You don't actually think I would hurt you, do you?" he asked, having calmed down tremendously.

Kagome shifted from her spot on the ground. "No!" she yelled. "I just felt bad!"

Inu Yasha raised an eyebrow at her. "You didn't feel bad until we stopped."

"How would you know?" she said, smoothing out her pajamas.

"Because you never stopped bitching."

Kagome turned her head from him. She had been wondering why he was so moody until she remembered the previous night. He had lost Kikyou for good, and he knew it. It must have been tearing him apart. She hadn't been considering it as much as she should have been. She was only making his bad mood worse by fighting with him.

"I'm sorry, Inu Yasha." Kagome said, as she continued to dust herself off. "Just take me to the well, and I'll get some more clothes. We'll start tomorrow - "

"Keh! You're not going home. We're camping out here."

"Here?!" Kagome screeched.

"Yes, here." Inu Yasha answered, flattening his ears against his head.

"But I don't have my sleeping bag! Where am I going to sleep?"

"The ground. Wench."

"But!" Kagome whined.

"We're not going."

"I'll say it!" Kagome threatened.

"Keh, say it all you want. You'll just make me mad again. Either way, you're not going home."

Kagome stared at him, exasperated. He couldn't possibly be serious. He had to know that she'd freeze to death. Kagome moved her jaw, but she couldn't figure out what to say. He shot her a look and shrugged.

"Well, I'm gonna call it a night. See you in the morning."

"What?!" Kagome yelled. "You're going to leave me here by myself?!"

"I'm going to sleep up there." Inu Yasha stated simply, pointing up at a tree.

"No! You can't leave me down here all alone! What if someone comes?"

"You know I'll protect you. I have to be up there to see anything coming. It's better." Inu Yasha said.

"Inu Yasha!"

"Goodnight." He said, waving her off.

"Don't you dare leave me here to freeze!"

"Keh. You'll be fine."

"If you dare jump up there-"

"I'll do what I want!" Inu Yasha yelled, growing angry again.

"No you won't! I can't sleep down here!"

"You'll be fine!"

"No I won't!"

"Yes you will!"

"SIT DOWN!"

Kagome put her hand over her mouth. "Oh Gods! I'm sorry! I really just wanted you to sit."

"Aghh!"

Kagome squeezed her eyes shut and buried her face as he `sat' once again.

"Uhh… I really didn't mean to do that!"

"What the fuck ARE you doing then?" Inu Yasha yelled angrily.

Kagome looked at him nervously. "heh heh… well… umm…"

Inu Yasha blew a leaf from his face and sat up, crossing his arms as he did so. Kagome ran to his side and started brushing dirt and leaves from his hair. She covered her mouth, but he didn't miss her giggles.

"You think this is funny?" he asked abruptly.

"Not really." Kagome answered, and she began smoothing out his bangs.

"What are you doing?" he asked while he glared at her from the side.

"You have stuff all in your hair."

"You're petting me!"

"I am not." Kagome said as she continued to mess with his hair.

Inu Yasha grumbled to himself and Kagome continued to pull twigs from his mess of silver hair. She allowed her fingers to run through his soft hair and smiled contently. Her mind wandered astray as she enjoyed being able to touch Inu Yasha so casually. She hated that the fought so often, but she felt good, knowing that their fights could end peacefully. She giggled as she found a small stick caught by one of his ears. She pulled it off and his ear twitched in response. She bit her lip, trying her best to resist the urge to squeeze them like she had the day she found him.

"Why don't you ever let me touch your ears?" she asked absentmindedly.

"Why does it…" Inu Yasha started, his temper flaring again.

Kagome didn't wait for him to finish. She slowly rubbed the ridge of his ear, making sure not to press to hard and hurt him. She smiled when he seemed to forget what he was saying. Her index finger slid delicately along the edge, and she enjoyed the feel of the soft fur on her fingertip. She wondered if he knew just how much of a beautiful creature he really was. Kagome had been completely enamored with him since she saw him. How could anyone have hated what he was? She thought everything about him was perfect.

"Don't do that." He said, trying to twist his head out of her reach.

"Why?" Kagome asked, stopping briefly. "You like it."

"I do not!"

"Do too. Your eyes were glazing over." She stated simply, and proceeded with her ministrations.

He knocked her hand out of the way with his forearm.

"Stop it, already."

"You're such a spoilsport." Kagome replied with a pout.

"I'm a what?" Inu Yasha asked, turning his head to face her.

"Forget it." She muttered.

"What is your deal, anyway? Why do you want to touch my ears? It's rude." He stated.

She agreed that it was a little rude, but she was in a playful mood, tired from all the depressing things happening. "Ooh… because they're so soft!" Kagome cooed. Inu Yasha gave her a death glare. "Besides, I know you like it." She added while waving off his look of disgust. She once again started to trace the rim of his left ear.

"I don't like it!" he ground out, though he did nothing to stop her.

Kagome smiled. He seemed to be enjoying it just fine. Becoming a little braver with her actions, she rubbed more firmly at the base of his ears, eliciting a small growl. She stopped momentarily to make sure he wasn't really angry and continued when she saw the look of contentment on his face.

"Told you, you liked it." She said giddily.

Despite his better judgement, Inu Yasha leaned into her hand. Kagome twisted her body, so that she was leaning against his side. It was, to any onlookers, slightly strange, but for them it was probably the most intimate moment they had ever shared. It was easy to forget the vexing realities that faced them.

"Kagome…" he started, in a low voice. "You really might want to stop."

Kagome stopped and leaned forward to look at his face. He sounded really sincere that time.

"What?" he asked in a short tone.

Kagome didn't say anything, she just looked at him with a confused expression. Inu Yasha growled in annoyance and leaned forward, pulling his arms in front of himself and placing his hands on the ground. Part of him hoped that she would see the problem because he wasn't about to explain it to her. On the other hand, however, he was much too embarrassed to face her if she knew. Leave it to Kagome to turn him on, just by touching his ears.

"Weird bitch." He muttered as he turned his face away from her.

"Hey!" Kagome complained, getting agitated.

Inu Yasha cowered slightly, he had hoped that she wouldn't hear him. Beside him, Kagome scowled at his turned head. She looked at the way he was sitting, and the scowl left. She realized, with some amusement, that he appeared to be hiding something. She allowed her gaze to follow his arms where they covered his lap. She muttered a soft "oh" as she suddenly understood.

Inu Yasha flinched. So she was entirely stupid after all. He kept his face turned from her, but this time to hide his increasing blush.

"No wonder you don't like it when people touch your ears." Kagome said, tapping a finger to her mouth in thought.

Inu Yasha frowned. It never happened with anyone else.

"Well, that's not so bad." Kagome suddenly exclaimed while patting him lightly on the back. "Is it?"

Inu Yasha turned back to face her. Maybe she didn't get it. He watched her gaze randomly slip down to his arms, and he knew she did. He supposed that it was better for her to make jokes about it, then be disgusted by it, though.

"I'm sorry." He said suddenly, not completely sure why he was apologizing.

"What are you sorry for?" Kagome asked. "I won't do it again."

Inu Yasha muttered a gruff "thanks" to hide his slight disappointment.

"Unless you ask me to… `kay?" Kagome added quickly, blushing slightly at her own implication.

"Keh."

Kagome sighed and leaned against his shoulder. She smiled at her success in keeping him on the ground with her. She was thankful to have so much time alone with him. She missed Miroku, Sango, and Shippou, but she knew they were fine. They were warm in their beds, while Kagome was in the middle of the cold woods. She didn't mind, though.

"You have to keep me warm, okay?" she said while fighting off a yawn.

Inu Yasha blushed profusely, but let her slip in under his arm. He started to remove his haori to give her a blanket, but she held his arms down.

"Then you'll be cold." She reasoned, and tucked her feet under one of his sleeves after she removed her wooden sandals.

Inu Yasha sat tensely for a long time as he waited for her to fall asleep. He had his eyes closed, but he kept his senses alert for any signs of approaching danger. As the moments passed, he realized that Kagome didn't seem to be falling asleep. She kept twisting about and stirring against him. He wondered if he was wrong to try and make her sleep outside. He was fine, but he didn't always consider how it must feel for a normal human.

"Do I really have to wear my pajamas from now on?" Kagome asked sleepily.

"Keh. Still on that?"

"It's so embarrassing."

"What do you mean? You run around half naked all the time."

"Inu Yasha!" Kagome exclaimed, opening her eyes to slap him lightly across his chest. "I will have to wash them soon, though. I'll have to have some other clothes to wear when I do."

"You can borrow some from Kaede."

"Inu Yasha, if we're going back there, then I'll just go back through the well and get some of my clothes." Kagome said quietly, dozing off again.

"But we don't have the jewel anymore. What if you can't-"

"We've done it before. You'll just have to come with me." Kagome interrupted.

"Just go to sleep." Inu Yasha said, wishing that she could forget about going home for once. He was so afraid she wouldn't be able to come back if she did. What if she didn't even want to come back?

Inu Yasha sighed. He didn't know if he was willing to take the chance. He would have to keep her away from the well. If Kagome left… who would he have then? Maybe if he had an unfortunate accident involving Tessaiga that caused the well to undergo some major reconstruction. If he was sure to make it look like an accident, it just might work. His hopes perked up slightly at the prospect, but he knew she would never buy it.

He was still worried about Kagome's condition. He had smelt the same demon scent drafting off that woman he dealt with earlier. Only, she didn't appear to be in the same kind of pain as Kagome had been. Inu Yasha shook his head and tried to let his mind slip into more peaceful thoughts. He was not completely successful, but he did manage to relax enough to rest. He had a feeling things were going to get more difficult for them before they got better.

For that night though, Kagome was safe in his arms. If only it could stay that way.

**

A/N: Sorry, I couldn't resist the `ears' thing, I know it's a cliché.

Not much going on here, besides Inu/Kag fluff and I know I haven't explained very much as far as what happened to Kagome, or how it fits in with the shard… but worry not. That will all be explained very soon.

Review, please?