InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ To Nowhere ❯ Moments ( Chapter 15 )

Disclaimer: I don't own inuyasha

A/N: New chapter. Happy!

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Sango stared through the mess of trees in front of her. Almost no light made it to the forest floor where she and Miroku stood, waiting for the rain to die down. She had tried to explain what she had seen in the village multiple times but Miroku just looked at her with a genuinely perplexed look on his face. Since then, they had both grown solemn and rather depressed. If Sango was unable to hurt `it' with her weapon then Miroku had little chance of doing anything either. For the first time he wished he still had his kazaana. It would be simple to defeat the seemingly invincible creature.

However, they stood in the rain with nothing to say to one another. They had come to yet another dead end and this time the situation was even worse. They felt no closer to finding a cure for Kagome but more dangers were arising. They only had a few days before they had to give Inu Yasha an answer and neither of them were prepared to tell him they had uncovered nothing but more trouble. Kirara paced nervously at Sango's feet, sensing the girl's discomfort. Miroku rapidly glanced back and forth between Sango and the rain from where he stood a few yards to her left. The distant look in her eyes told him she was feeling the same emptiness he was.

She leaned against a large tree with her arms locked around her waist while she kept her eyes unfocused in front of her. The large branches above her kept the water from soaking her but her skin shone with fresh droplets that had blown on her face. She glared into the forest as though she were determined to make the rain stop by merely staring at it long enough. The rigid stance of her body betrayed the exhaustion she felt after all the adrenaline had faded from her veins. She eventually sighed and sat on the dirt at the base of the tree. She finally broke her standoff with the pines and turned her eyes to Miroku.

He gave her an odd look from his spot on the outskirts of the large tree. The cold rain stung him through his robes but he dared not approach Sango. As dark as the mood was, he was unwilling to flare her temper. Yet, from where she sat she just looked on at him expectantly. After a moment passed she narrowed her eyes and her jaw tensed. She patted the ground beside her and a small cloud of dust flew up by her hand. Miroku was cautious, certain that her behavior was a strenuously planned out trap. He tilted his head, trying to figure out any past incidents she might have held against him. She, however, glared at him as he stood unmoving in front of her.

He finally stepped forward slowly, afraid that his defiance would only lure him into more trouble. The bottom of his sandals loudly crushed the leaves under him and he was satisfied to hear something other than the deafening pounding of the rain against the ground. He stepped forward carefully as though expecting to stumble on a hidden land mine at some point. His eyes darted between Sango's death glare and her giant, heavy, and downright frightening boomerang. He had the odd suspicion it would soon find its way against his sensitive cranium. When he finally reached her side, he was sure to put himself between her and hiraikotsu so she would have to crawl over him to reach it. Even if he did tempt her anger, he would be damned if it wouldn't be worth it.

After another excruciating moment of silence, Sango leaned against Miroku's shoulder. He strangely stiffened under the contact although he was by no means new to a woman's affection. Sango, however, was always a different matter entirely and had profoundly strange affects on him. He considered telling her to sit up since his robes were wet and cold but changed his mind on account of the other suggestions dying to leave his tongue immediately thereafter. He was, after all, aiming to keep his body fully intact. Though the more he thought about it, the better the ideas sounded. Perhaps she wouldn't mind.

No. The timing was completely wrong. Were it not for the fact that he actually cared what Sango thought of him he was perfectly willing to annunciate every detail he could decipher on sharing body heat. And as wonderful as it would be, good taste intertwined in his imagination. He was perfectly content to let her simply lean on his arm. It was fine to feel just a small degree of her warmth against him through their clothes. Perfectly fine. He had nothing else on his mind. Nothing at all…

"Miroku-"

Of all that is good and pure in the world, how on earth did his hand end up on her waist? He pondered for a moment but knew it was only natural for his grip to start sliding downward when her skin tight, slightly damp clothing only made the process all the more tempting.

"Miroku.."

Another warning? It had been a while since he'd been slapped after all. It would definitely be worth it. Just this once and then he would stop.

"Miroku…" she said again, lifting her head up to look at him. "Your hand is really cold."

He stopped. That wasn't exactly what he had been expecting. He was thrown off completely. "I'm… sorry."

She looked up at him. He tensed, waiting for her hand to crash against his face at any given moment. She knew what he was doing, didn't she? Well, if not, he decided it might work for his advantage. "But then, my Sango, you should help keep me warm. Should you not?"

He expected a sarcastic remark. Instead, she grabbed his hand from her waist and held it between her palms. "Better?" she asked with a genuine hope gleaming in her eyes.

He was about to protest but thought better. "Yes. Very much so."

"Good." She replied with a smile. She looked back out into the forest before them. "What are we going to do now?"

Miroku thought carefully before answering her question. "Well, this demon living inside that village must have some connection to what happened to the villagers who lived there. Therefore, it also has some connection to Kagome's condition. Since we do not fully understand what we are dealing with, we have no choice other than to go into the village and investigate more thoroughly."

Sango nodded and thought over his words. "I'm not sure what we can find, though. The village is completely deserted and I somehow really doubt that demon is going to be of any help to us. We just don't have the upper hand this time."

"That's true." Miroku said, trying to make a plan. "But what else can we do? We made a promise to a friend and I know that I am willing to take any risks to keep that promise."

"So am I." Sango replied quickly, bringing her eyes back to Miroku. "Only… if something happens to us… what do we do then?"

"Simple. We make sure nothing goes wrong." He said. "Maybe we should go back to your village so I can get a mask too. That way we would both be protected against whatever infected Kagome."

"It's a good idea but I don't know if we have time." Sango reasoned.

"It's not too far. We'll wait for the weather to clear up and we'll go there and come straight back here. We just have to make sure we find something quickly once we return. Remember that going back empty handed is not an option for us"

Sango nodded her agreement and released his hand. She snuggled against him, not thinking about her insecurities for once. She realized, more than anything she needed him there with her. If they were going to do anything they were going to do it together. If they worked together than surely they could help Kagome and Inu Yasha.

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The rain continued to pelt down ruthlessly. Kagome sat curled up against the heavy stone, trying to keep herself unexposed to the frigid wind. She was completely soaked from head to toe and her body was shaking. She was still alone and Inu Yasha was still gone. Her heart ached with worry and hurt. She refused to believe he would just leave her alone like he had. No matter how angry he was with her, he would never let any harm come to her. That just wasn't who he was. The fact that he had not come to her rescue made her sure he had somehow been hurt. Although she could honestly think of nothing that could defeat him after Naraku, her mind told her it was the only explanation. After all, just as things seemed to calm down they only got worse.

She sighed and put her head against her knees. The cold made her sleepy and she knew if no one came to find her soon, she may not make it. She didn't want to think that after all they had endured, their lives would end in something so trivial and simple. But there she was, sitting at the base of a large stone wall while water gathered at her feet and sloshed between her skin and the wooden sole of her sandals. Her ankle was swollen and purple from the fall she had taken and her only consolation was the cold water rushing against the sore spot.

She stayed where she was, crouched in a rather uncomfortable position, feeling angry, sad, forgotten, and foolish. Not finding anything else to do, she took to crying again and didn't hear the loud curse above her. She was surprised when Inu Yasha suddenly landed in front of her. Within seconds he was crouched in front of her muttering a stream of bad language while he looked her over for any injuries. She instinctively recoiled when his hands started grabbing at her arms.

"Where have you been?!" she yelled once she escaped his grasp. She pointed her finger at him, poking him hard in the middle of his chest. "Well?!" she asked impatiently, giving him an extra shove for emphasis.

"What the fuck are you doing down here?" he ground out, frustrated that she had been left so vulnerable.

"I fell!" she yelled back. "Tell me where you went!"

Inu Yasha ignored her question and cursed when he saw her swollen ankle. He reached and grabbed her foot from under her, making her land flat on her butt into the large puddle that had formed around her. She squealed in pain and gave Inu Yasha a hard look. "That hurt!"

He still ignored her. "What did you do?! How did you do this?!"

"I told you!" she said, pointing her finger into his chest again. "I fell!"

He made a face and picked her up abruptly. She squeaked and latched her arms around his neck, afraid he would drop her as he jumped back to the cave. He continued to mutter insults under his breath but Kagome tried her best to ignore his active temper. Once they got inside, he put her down gently and turned his back toward her. "Take off your clothes."

"Excuse me?!"

"You're going to freeze to death."

"Oh." She said, and watched him carefully to make sure he wasn't peeking. Although he had seen her naked before and she had even allowed him to do it with her own awareness, she still wasn't ready to undress right in front of him. Once she was satisfied that his mind was focused elsewhere she peeled off the soaked hakui and hakama. She quickly jumped to the blanket and wrapped it around her cold body in one swift movement that betrayed the fact she was in extreme pain from her ankle.

She sat down against the wall, appraising herself quickly to makes sure she revealed nothing through the blanket. "Okay." She said in a forcibly chipper voice, but he didn't turn back around. He simply walked away from her and sat by the front of the cave looking out into the rain with his arms crossed in front of him. She frowned at his back, wondering why he was acting so cold with her. Had what she said to him really affected his feeling so much?

"Inu Yasha…" she said quietly, trying to get his attention.

"Yeah?" he said from where he sat but he didn't turn to look at her. She could tell that his voice was laced with bitter pain.

"Are… are you okay?" she questioned apprehensively.

"Fine. Why?"

"Are you mad?"

"No. Why?"

"Are you upset?"

"What's with the questions?" he said, finally turning around while he let his irritation show through his voice.

"You're just acting so weird. I just wanted to make sure you were okay. I mean, you've been gone all day and I was-"

"Don't worry about me." He said, interrupting her. "You need to start worrying about yourself."

Kagome stared at him with hurt deep in her eyes.

He flinched slightly, reading the expression on her face. "You're gonna get killed if you keep acting stupid like that. I can't let you do anything by yourself." He said while glaring at her crossly. "I have to keep my eye on you constantly and I'm getting tired of it."

"I can take care of myself!" Kagome yelled, trying to hide the deep hurt she felt from his words.

"Obviously not!" he yelled back at her. "I was gone for the morning and I get back and you've already gotten yourself in trouble!"

"I was looking for you!" she said defiantly. "Why did you leave me alone anyway?!"

Inu Yasha opened his mouth but didn't say anything. A look of pain crossed his features before he replied back. "I was going to get you fish to eat since you were tired of rice! It was a surprise! I didn't come back because I was waiting for the rain to die down then I got worried about you because the wind was throwing off my senses. Then I finally do get here and you're hurt! And I wasn't here for you! You could have died and I'm sorry!"

Kagome stared at him, perplexed. She was pretty sure she heard an apology but he was still yelling as though he was furious with her. "Why… why are you so angry with me?"

"I'm not!" he yelled. "You said we couldn't be together!"

Kagome tilted her head. He sounded like a small child whining about being grounded. "That is not what I said. What I said was I can't be with you until you sort your feelings out."

"Well they're not sorted! Okay?!" he yelled back.

"I know that! That's why I said all that in the first place!" Kagome yelled, becoming frustrated at being reminded of what started the tension between them.

"Well then why are you complaining?!"

"I'm not complaining!" Kagome screeched, tearing herself from his glare. "I just wanted to know if you were okay. You didn't have to bite my head off! I don't understand why you're ignoring me."

Inu Yasha's face softened but his voice remained firm and angry. "Well it's what you wanted!"

Kagome jerked her head up. "It's not what I wanted! It's what I thought I needed! Don't you have anything to say in all this?!"

Inu Yasha turned away stubbornly. "No."

"Fine." She said, coldly. "Just sit there, pout, and resolve nothing! See where that gets us." She turned away and pulled the blanket tighter around her body, making a point to keep her back facing him.

Behind her Inu Yasha stared at her turned back. He studied her rigid form and small traces of tears lingered in his eyes but his pride would not allow him to reason with her. He watched her until he heard her breathing even out and her body was limp signifying she was asleep. He walked over to her and stretched out her wet clothes so they would dry faster and pulled Kagome down so she was not leaning uncomfortably against the wall of the cave. She stirred in her sleep but did not wake.

He grabbed an unused piece of the hakui that he had cut for her and dampened it in the cold rain. He brought it back to Kagome and lifted the blanket just enough that he could inspect her ankle. He wrapped the cool fabric around her ankle and she moaned and moved around in her sleep. He stepped back, afraid that she would wake up and `sit' him for touching her in her sleep despite the fact that his intentions were wholly innocent. Though she did not wake, her movements had knocked the blanket off her shoulder and her hair was spread out around her face on the cave floor. Her peaceful expression and pale neckline shone in the soft light entering the cave. Inu Yasha admired her soft skin and admonished himself for believing that he was good enough for her. He moved around and sat next to her head with his back against the wall. He crossed his arms and watched her expression as she slept.

Her features were relaxed and her mouth was slightly open where she breathed deeply. Her arm twitched every once in a while and she made odd noises in her sleep but Inu Yasha simply smiled. He laughed to himself, thinking that even with a trail of drool running down her mouth, she was beautiful. Before he went to sleep, he leaned down and gently kissed her forehead. He withdrew quickly and leaned back against the wall, closing his eyes. He didn't see the small smile that played across Kagome's lips.

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A/N: mm… not much happened in that chapter… sorry… but things should pick up in the next one. Will be posted very soon. Please review!