Yu Yu Hakusho Fan Fiction / InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Clenching Water ❯ The Drunken Butterfly ( Chapter 5 )
[ Y - Young Adult: Not suitable for readers under 16 ]
By: Pretty in Pink 
Youko knows best.
Anime/Manga: Yu Yu Hakusho Fan Fiction / InuYasha Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Drama / Romance | Type: Crossover | Uploaded On: 09.21.2008 | Pages: 3 | Words: 3.8K | Visits: 1.0K | Status: Work In Progress
Youko knows best.
Anime/Manga: Yu Yu Hakusho Fan Fiction / InuYasha Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Drama / Romance | Type: Crossover | Uploaded On: 09.21.2008 | Pages: 3 | Words: 3.8K | Visits: 1.0K | Status: Work In Progress
So, sorry about the wait. The week's been hectic and stressful enough to drive me to tears. I've decided I don't want to be an adult anymore. Nope, adluthood isn't for me. Take these bills and give me back my pacifier, damnit!
Written to: "Hana no Yuki" by Mika Nakashima
.
Clenching Water
The Drunken Butterfly
.
They were beginning to think Kagome wouldn’t be coming back that night, so the two curious youkai had struck a deal. If she didn’t show by one, Kurama would go home (he was visiting with his family for Christmas) and Hiei would stay and alert him if anything changed.
In the hours that stretched as they awaited her return, Kurama shared his history with the odd girl and Hiei shared what he had seen from his brief glimpse of her memories.
Since the hybrid had immediately zeroed in on her experiences with youkai when he searched her mind, all the memories he had gathered were of any demonic contact she’d had in her life. And there had been a lot.
First and foremost was the image of a silver-haired inuhanyou who Hiei immediately recognized as Inuyasha, a prominent figure in the Makai. He was known for his immense power, despite being half human, and his brash disposition. He was classified as an S-class demon on the Reikai scales.
Surprisingly, there were many memories, both of a threatening and amiable nature, of one of the most feared demons in the Makai, Lord Sesshoumaru. He was a super S-class, but more reclusive than his half-brother. The most recent memories were of training sessions held in quiet camaraderie. It was clear now where the girl had acquired the use of her weaker version of the youkai’s energy whip.
There were hundreds of others, both friends and enemies. A young red kitsune who adored her like an older sister. A wolf leader who just adored her. Battles with swarms of low-level youkai, intent on the strange jewel at her throat (Where had it come from and why did she have it?). Traps of an evil, murderous hanyou. Even how she’d snuck away on dates with Shuichi to destroy some weak demon that had made it through the barrier between worlds and returned moments later to resume as if nothing had happened.
It was baffling to Kurama how she’d kept such a large secret from him while they’d been dating. Now he knew why he’d never encountered any demons when around her. She’d taken care of them before he could get to them!
How had he been so blind to the real situation? Perhaps he had been too intent on what was going on inside himself, he hadn’t taken notice of the facts. He’d been so sure he had only a short time with her, he’d fooled himself into ignoring the evidence to the contrary.
‘But, we can have her now!’ Youko insisted adamantly. He had been participating in the conversation animatedly. Kurama noticed his change in disposition from the last year of their shared existence. He was excited, golden eyes glowing with mischief and tails swishing happily. He was ready to pounce on Kagome the very moment she came through those doors.
Kurama sighed, running a hand through his hair in a rare show on uncertainty. How can we be sure she’ll want us, Youko?
The fox merely snorted in disbelief. ‘How could she not?’
We were very short with her when we left.
‘She’ll forgive you.’
We broke her heart.
‘You did. And we’ll explain to her the misunderstanding. As I said before, she’ll forgive you.’
And she doesn’t know what we are.
‘You’ve seen the way she treats that hanyou and the kit. It won’t matter.’
Youko, she’s a miko.
The fox’s annoyance at his counterpart’s stubbornness was beginning to show. ‘It won’t matter. She cares for that kit as her own. She obviously doesn’t make distinctions, for whatever reason.’
In a completely platonic relationship, no she doesn’t make distinctions, Kurama tried to reason with him. But do you honestly think a miko is going to want a romantic relationship with a ruthless fox thief sharing a body with a not completely human spirit detective?
There was moment of silence in his mind. ‘… Are we talking about the same Kagome?’
Kurama nearly growled in frustration. What if she’s moved on? What if she’s found someone else?
Youko appeared to mull this possibility over for a moment, then shrugged nonchalantly. ‘Then we’ll kill him.’
Yes, that will win her over, Kurama drawled sardonically.
The silver fox merely shrugged as if it didn’t matter. And to him, it didn’t. There was something beautiful he wanted and had previously thought out of his reach. But she’d been dropped back into his lap again, and this time he wasn’t letting go. Kurama’s insecurities be damned.
‘Look, Red, you’re making assumptions before we know all the facts. But no matter what you say, I know that Kagome will want us just as she did before. Before you decided it was too dangerous to keep her. But now we know she can defend herself. Quite well, I might add,’ he reminded him.
Kurama had nothing to say to this. In truth, he wanted Kagome just as much as Youko did. But he was sure she wouldn’t take them back. They’d broken her heart. They’d left suddenly and without explanation. And he saw in her eyes how devastated she was when he’d told her it was over.
And then there was the fact that he was actually two separate people.
Although, Kagome had known both of them, even if she’d only formally met one of them. Youko had been there, too. Holding her and kissing her and sharing in and contributing to their conversations. He’d worried over her injuries (which all made so much sense now) and held her when she cried over something or another. He’d loved her just as Kurama had, even if the old fox wouldn’t commit to the word.
He would, though. And he vowed to himself to tell her. Just as soon as she came back.
‘Something about those images doesn’t fit, fox,’ the previously absent voice of the hybrid on the roof above him drifted through his thoughts.
He thought back to the memories Hiei had shown him. A lot of things were odd, out of place. Inuyasha looked… younger. And many of her memories of battle took place in what looked to be the wilderness of the Ningenkai. Untouched forests, natural springs, pristine mountains, the only sign of civilization being worn dirt roads winding through the valleys. It just wasn’t something you found these days.
And there were the images of the human villages. Old, archaic huts and shrines inhabited by families all dressed in cotton kimonos. No denim jeans on the boys, no western sundresses on the young girls, no electricity or cars or running water. Nothing to suggest they’d been touched by the outside world in hundreds of years.
It was almost as if it was not only another world, but another time.
The realization was enlightening and puzzling in the same instance.
I know what you mean. Do you suppose… Kurama thought about what he was about to suggest. It seemed impossible, but what other explanation was there? Mentally shaking his head, he pressed on. Do you suppose she’s a time traveler?
‘Hn,’ Hiei gave a noncommittal reply. His guess was as good as any.
‘It would make sense, wouldn’t it?’ Youko seemed to be talking more to himself than either of them. He was beginning to become restless as they waited for Kagome. What if she was lying somewhere on the other side of that well, alone and bleeding to death?
Kurama checked his watch. 12:50. He sighed in disappointment. It didn’t look like they’d be seeing Kagome tonight. He rose from his position on the bench, shaking the snow from his hair and stretching out the kinks in his back. His breath billowed out in a cloud as he yawned.
The snow had still not stopped and it was slowly getting colder as the night progressed. And he was exhausted.
“I believe I will retire for the night,” he called up to the roof softly, not wanting to disturb the sleeping occupants of the house across the courtyard. The hybrid merely dipped his head in assent. “Goodnight, Hiei.”
Just then, there was a swell of strange energy from the well house. Hiei quickly flipped over to crouch low on the roof, using the Jagan to completely mask his presence.
Kurama’s heart soared when he felt the familiar aura of Kagome replace the mystical energy of the well. But there was another with her, a demonic aura swirling red with anger. He stiffened as a dark figure came through the doorway.
When he stepped into the moonlight, Kurama could see it was Inuyasha, the younger version they’d seen in Kagome’s memories. His features were set in a veiled sort of annoyance. He was dressed in his customary red fire rat robes, though he was missing his haori. The fox spotted it immediately wrapped about the oversized bundle he cradled protectively in his arms. Long waves of dark hair spilled over one of the hanyou’s arms and two long, shapely legs clad in thick gray sweatpants hung over the other. The feet were covered by cheerful pink slippers that seemed entirely out of place in the picture they made.
This proved it for Kurama. Kagome was indeed a time traveler. And the well was the portal.
The hanyou spotted him immediately and lifted his nose to the air to sniff delicately. Upon scenting fox on the seemingly human male before him, Inuyasha hugged Kagome closer to him and growled a threat low in his throat, ears lowered. “Who the fuck are you?”
Kurama ignored his rudeness and gestured toward the red bundle. “Is Kagome okay?” he asked, a hint of worry in his otherwise smooth voice. Inwardly, he was struggling to keep Youko restrained as the old fox bristled at the hanyou’s threatening stance and his hold on Kagome.
Inuyasha’s tense form relaxed slightly at the question. Did the fox/human (whatever the hell he was) know Kagome? Suspiciously, he scented the boy again and was struck with how familiar the smell was. He was sure he’d never met him (he’d remember somebody who looked like that), but the smell still registered something…
“You!” the hanyou shouted in realization. The girl in his arms began to squirm restlessly. Inuyasha held his breath, hoping he hadn’t woken her, and both the males eyed the bundle worriedly. When she settled back down, Inuyasha continued in a quieter voice. “I haven’t smelled you on Kagome in over a year.”
Kurama smiled somewhat sheepishly. “I’m an old friend of Kagome. We went to school together.”
“Feh,” the hanyou huffed, still eyeing him distrustfully. “Isn’t it a little late for you to be skulking around a shrine?”
The red-haired boy merely gave him a placating smile. “Indeed it is. But I was worried for Kagome’s injuries and was waiting for her return to assure myself of her recovery.”
“Yeah, well, she’s fine so you can just run your scrawny ass back to wherever you came from,” Inuyasha told him in no friendly tone.
On the roof, Hiei was in the process of removing the bandana from his forehead. He stopped suddenly when Kagome let out a whimper. Her eyes snapped open and she began to wriggle valiantly. Inuyasha was having a difficult time keeping hold of her so he righted her squirming figure and set her feet gently to the frozen ground, staying his hands at her waist to support her.
She swatted his hands away with a grunt, blue eyes wandering and only half-alert as she stumbled forward. The bewildered miko took three zigzagging steps before she toppled forward. Kurama started toward her to catch her falling form, but Inuyasha beat him to it.
The hanyou leapt forward and quickly caught her around her slender waist before she could hit the snow. He lifted her easily and held her close, letting the girl lean back into his chest for support.
“Stupid sleeping herbs,” she muttered irately, seemingly only half-aware of her surroundings.
Inuyasha snorted. “Well, if you would just sit and take the stitches like a man instead of squealing like a little girl, the old bat wouldn’t have to-”
His lecture was cut short when Kurama cleared his throat. They both looked toward the source of the sound, the turn setting of Kagome’s balance and causing her to stumble a step backward before Inuyasha’s hand steadied her.
“Are you well, Kagome?” he asked kindly, fighting the urge to pounce her. By the gods, he wanted to touch her.
She blinked dazedly up at him, her fogged mind struggling to comprehend his presence. “Shuichi-kun? What are you doing in the Sengoku Jidai?” her words were slow and slurred with drowsiness.
He vaguely registered her more familiar use of his human name and a fleeting warmth struck his heart. But what caught his attention was her allusion to the Warring States Era. Was that where she had been?
“We’re at your shrine, Kagome-chan. See your house behind me?” he explained her slowly, as if speaking to a child.
Her dark brows knit and she turned mystified eyes to the looming house behind him. She looked around her in confusion, trying to piece together her surroundings. “How did we get here?”
Inuyasha rolled his golden eyes. “I brought you home like you told me to, you stupid girl! You nagged my ear off about getting home for Christmas!” he reminded her with exasperation.
“Christmas?” she asked in a daze. Suddenly a brilliant smile split her face as she clapped her hands excitedly, if a bit sluggishly. “Oh, that reminds me,” she spoke in her slow, deliberate manner, over-enunciating each syllable. “I have presents for you under the tree, Inuyasha. And for Shippo-chan and the others, too.”
At this, the hanyou’s demeanor seemed to lighten considerably as his ears perked forward and he adopted a sort of half-smile Kurama often saw on Yusuke. “Presents? There’d better be ramen in there!”
The girl giggled delightedly and nodded. “There is!” she assured him.
Kurama was beginning to think there was more between the couple than could be seen on the surface. They were just so… familiar with each other. Even now, neither seemed to notice that Inuyasha had one of his hands resting at her waist and Kagome’s was occupied on his arm to steady herself. And she was wearing that red jacket of his. He wasn’t sure if it might be rude to intrude on their conversation, but decided that he was tired of being ignored. “It’s very late and you seem a bit incapacitated, Kagome-chan. Would you like me to take you up to your room?”
Inuyasha turned a cold gaze on him, narrowing his eyes in suspicion. Just who did this guy think he was? Kagome was his to take care of and if anyone would be helping her into bed it would be him!
The young miko’s eyes darkened with something closely resembling longing as she gazed into his bright emerald eyes that had become rimmed with gold. Unexpectedly, she stumbled toward him.
The oversized haori slipped over one of her shoulders and fell open as she stepped forward. Clean, white bandages appeared from under her pink camisole.
All those “surgeries”…
There was a moment, one brief moment, one beautiful fleeting moment when he thought she would kiss him. She stood, looking up at him with too-wide eyes. But they became glossy with unshed tears. Her hand moved, too fast for him to follow.
And then his cheek stung.
She’d slapped him!
The fox, caught off guard by the seemingly unprovoked attack, let his mouth fall agape as he lifted a hand to his reddening cheek. He was too shocked to say anything as she continued to stare up at him with angry tears brimming in her eyes.
For a long while the only sounds in the courtyard were the howling of the winter wind through the skeletal branches of the Goshinboku and the muffled snickering of the hanyou behind them.
And then she stepped, fell, tumbled forward into his chest, throwing her warm arms around his chest and hiding her tears in his jacket. Her movements were sluggish and her hands flighty as she moved them towards his face. She laid one against his cool cheek, the one she’d slapped, and stared at the red handprint under her fingers. He stood, bewildered, and afraid to move lest he frighten her away.
The first tear slipped down her cheek, its silent dissent belying the cacophony of emotions clamoring for dominance in her heart. The little miko’s voice, quiet and muffled under the falling snow, broke when she whispered, “I missed you. So, so much.” Then, she sniffled with an air of indignity. “You jerk!”
And she slapped him again, quicker than the last.
‘Well, I’ll be damned…’
Kurama echoed the fox’s sentiments.
Before he could think to try to explain, or calm her, or just pounce her and never let go, she stepped back out of his reach. A combination of Kaede’s sleeping herbs and the big, pink slippers on her feet threw her natural grace and she stumbled back into the arms of the hanyou.
Inuyasha just rolled his eyes at the display, happy for once he wasn’t on the receiving end of that smack. Maybe he’d get lucky and she’d put some prayer beads on this poor bastard, whoever he was.
The girl in question was swaying dangerously, so he swept her up into his arms in a motion made smooth and flawless with practice. A sharp stab of envy swept Kurama’s heart.
The altercation seemed to have sapped the last bit of strength from the little miko as she laid her head against the half-demon’s shoulder and surrendered to a tongue-curling yawn. “I’m kinda sleepy,” she mumbled, eyes already drifting closed. The hanyou shook his silver head, eyes glimmering fondly down at her in the moonlight, as he started towards her house to put her to bed.
The red-haired boy, loathe to be forgotten, quickly reasserted himself into the situation. “You will watch over her tonight?”
‘The hell he will!’ the fox in his head growled.
Hush, Youko, she’s in no condition to talk at present.
‘Talking’s not what I had in mind.’
“Feh! I always watch over her,” the hanyou snorted arrogantly. “And seeing as you got slapped, I gotta figure you done something awful stupid. So I ain’t leaving her in your care.”
Kurama’s eyes lightened to gold as Youko pushed himself to the surface. “If I return tomorrow to find her in poor condition, your life will be forfeit, half-breed.”
His lip curled over gleaming fangs in a snarl and Inuyasha’s ears flattened to his head. His growl rumbled through his chest, but stopped abruptly when the slumbering girl in his arms whimpered pitifully and snuggled deeper into his chest, ironically seeking shelter from the invisible threat.
The boy’s eyes returned to the clear green when Youko submerged back into him. His face melted into his custom serene façade and he turned, tiring of the hanyou and his too-familiar gestures towards his soon-to-be girlfriend. He’d get her back. Er- take her back, as it were. Just as soon as she was lucid enough to listen to him try to explain himself.
“I will return in the morning to ascertain her condition,” he threw over his shoulder. He didn’t wait to see the hanyou jump into the branches of the tree at Kagome’s window and slip quietly into the room with her in tow.
When he reached the street, Hiei fazed into existence beside him. They were quiet as they made their way back to the Minamino house. He would have to sneak in through the back again to avoid waking the household. But, all in all, it was a good day.
He’d seen the object of his desire for the first time in over a year after a self-induced fasting. And he’d learned that she was a crime-fighting miko on the side. He nearly chuckled at the image.
And now, he really had a chance. He was going to have Kagome, one way or another. And no feelings of insecurity or cantankerous hanyous were going to get in the way this time.
“Well,” Kurama began amiably to his silent companion. “That was interesting.
“Hn.”
< br>
Written to: "Hana no Yuki" by Mika Nakashima
.
Clenching Water
The Drunken Butterfly
.
They were beginning to think Kagome wouldn’t be coming back that night, so the two curious youkai had struck a deal. If she didn’t show by one, Kurama would go home (he was visiting with his family for Christmas) and Hiei would stay and alert him if anything changed.
In the hours that stretched as they awaited her return, Kurama shared his history with the odd girl and Hiei shared what he had seen from his brief glimpse of her memories.
Since the hybrid had immediately zeroed in on her experiences with youkai when he searched her mind, all the memories he had gathered were of any demonic contact she’d had in her life. And there had been a lot.
First and foremost was the image of a silver-haired inuhanyou who Hiei immediately recognized as Inuyasha, a prominent figure in the Makai. He was known for his immense power, despite being half human, and his brash disposition. He was classified as an S-class demon on the Reikai scales.
Surprisingly, there were many memories, both of a threatening and amiable nature, of one of the most feared demons in the Makai, Lord Sesshoumaru. He was a super S-class, but more reclusive than his half-brother. The most recent memories were of training sessions held in quiet camaraderie. It was clear now where the girl had acquired the use of her weaker version of the youkai’s energy whip.
There were hundreds of others, both friends and enemies. A young red kitsune who adored her like an older sister. A wolf leader who just adored her. Battles with swarms of low-level youkai, intent on the strange jewel at her throat (Where had it come from and why did she have it?). Traps of an evil, murderous hanyou. Even how she’d snuck away on dates with Shuichi to destroy some weak demon that had made it through the barrier between worlds and returned moments later to resume as if nothing had happened.
It was baffling to Kurama how she’d kept such a large secret from him while they’d been dating. Now he knew why he’d never encountered any demons when around her. She’d taken care of them before he could get to them!
How had he been so blind to the real situation? Perhaps he had been too intent on what was going on inside himself, he hadn’t taken notice of the facts. He’d been so sure he had only a short time with her, he’d fooled himself into ignoring the evidence to the contrary.
‘But, we can have her now!’ Youko insisted adamantly. He had been participating in the conversation animatedly. Kurama noticed his change in disposition from the last year of their shared existence. He was excited, golden eyes glowing with mischief and tails swishing happily. He was ready to pounce on Kagome the very moment she came through those doors.
Kurama sighed, running a hand through his hair in a rare show on uncertainty. How can we be sure she’ll want us, Youko?
The fox merely snorted in disbelief. ‘How could she not?’
We were very short with her when we left.
‘She’ll forgive you.’
We broke her heart.
‘You did. And we’ll explain to her the misunderstanding. As I said before, she’ll forgive you.’
And she doesn’t know what we are.
‘You’ve seen the way she treats that hanyou and the kit. It won’t matter.’
Youko, she’s a miko.
The fox’s annoyance at his counterpart’s stubbornness was beginning to show. ‘It won’t matter. She cares for that kit as her own. She obviously doesn’t make distinctions, for whatever reason.’
In a completely platonic relationship, no she doesn’t make distinctions, Kurama tried to reason with him. But do you honestly think a miko is going to want a romantic relationship with a ruthless fox thief sharing a body with a not completely human spirit detective?
There was moment of silence in his mind. ‘… Are we talking about the same Kagome?’
Kurama nearly growled in frustration. What if she’s moved on? What if she’s found someone else?
Youko appeared to mull this possibility over for a moment, then shrugged nonchalantly. ‘Then we’ll kill him.’
Yes, that will win her over, Kurama drawled sardonically.
The silver fox merely shrugged as if it didn’t matter. And to him, it didn’t. There was something beautiful he wanted and had previously thought out of his reach. But she’d been dropped back into his lap again, and this time he wasn’t letting go. Kurama’s insecurities be damned.
‘Look, Red, you’re making assumptions before we know all the facts. But no matter what you say, I know that Kagome will want us just as she did before. Before you decided it was too dangerous to keep her. But now we know she can defend herself. Quite well, I might add,’ he reminded him.
Kurama had nothing to say to this. In truth, he wanted Kagome just as much as Youko did. But he was sure she wouldn’t take them back. They’d broken her heart. They’d left suddenly and without explanation. And he saw in her eyes how devastated she was when he’d told her it was over.
And then there was the fact that he was actually two separate people.
Although, Kagome had known both of them, even if she’d only formally met one of them. Youko had been there, too. Holding her and kissing her and sharing in and contributing to their conversations. He’d worried over her injuries (which all made so much sense now) and held her when she cried over something or another. He’d loved her just as Kurama had, even if the old fox wouldn’t commit to the word.
He would, though. And he vowed to himself to tell her. Just as soon as she came back.
‘Something about those images doesn’t fit, fox,’ the previously absent voice of the hybrid on the roof above him drifted through his thoughts.
He thought back to the memories Hiei had shown him. A lot of things were odd, out of place. Inuyasha looked… younger. And many of her memories of battle took place in what looked to be the wilderness of the Ningenkai. Untouched forests, natural springs, pristine mountains, the only sign of civilization being worn dirt roads winding through the valleys. It just wasn’t something you found these days.
And there were the images of the human villages. Old, archaic huts and shrines inhabited by families all dressed in cotton kimonos. No denim jeans on the boys, no western sundresses on the young girls, no electricity or cars or running water. Nothing to suggest they’d been touched by the outside world in hundreds of years.
It was almost as if it was not only another world, but another time.
The realization was enlightening and puzzling in the same instance.
I know what you mean. Do you suppose… Kurama thought about what he was about to suggest. It seemed impossible, but what other explanation was there? Mentally shaking his head, he pressed on. Do you suppose she’s a time traveler?
‘Hn,’ Hiei gave a noncommittal reply. His guess was as good as any.
‘It would make sense, wouldn’t it?’ Youko seemed to be talking more to himself than either of them. He was beginning to become restless as they waited for Kagome. What if she was lying somewhere on the other side of that well, alone and bleeding to death?
Kurama checked his watch. 12:50. He sighed in disappointment. It didn’t look like they’d be seeing Kagome tonight. He rose from his position on the bench, shaking the snow from his hair and stretching out the kinks in his back. His breath billowed out in a cloud as he yawned.
The snow had still not stopped and it was slowly getting colder as the night progressed. And he was exhausted.
“I believe I will retire for the night,” he called up to the roof softly, not wanting to disturb the sleeping occupants of the house across the courtyard. The hybrid merely dipped his head in assent. “Goodnight, Hiei.”
Just then, there was a swell of strange energy from the well house. Hiei quickly flipped over to crouch low on the roof, using the Jagan to completely mask his presence.
Kurama’s heart soared when he felt the familiar aura of Kagome replace the mystical energy of the well. But there was another with her, a demonic aura swirling red with anger. He stiffened as a dark figure came through the doorway.
When he stepped into the moonlight, Kurama could see it was Inuyasha, the younger version they’d seen in Kagome’s memories. His features were set in a veiled sort of annoyance. He was dressed in his customary red fire rat robes, though he was missing his haori. The fox spotted it immediately wrapped about the oversized bundle he cradled protectively in his arms. Long waves of dark hair spilled over one of the hanyou’s arms and two long, shapely legs clad in thick gray sweatpants hung over the other. The feet were covered by cheerful pink slippers that seemed entirely out of place in the picture they made.
This proved it for Kurama. Kagome was indeed a time traveler. And the well was the portal.
The hanyou spotted him immediately and lifted his nose to the air to sniff delicately. Upon scenting fox on the seemingly human male before him, Inuyasha hugged Kagome closer to him and growled a threat low in his throat, ears lowered. “Who the fuck are you?”
Kurama ignored his rudeness and gestured toward the red bundle. “Is Kagome okay?” he asked, a hint of worry in his otherwise smooth voice. Inwardly, he was struggling to keep Youko restrained as the old fox bristled at the hanyou’s threatening stance and his hold on Kagome.
Inuyasha’s tense form relaxed slightly at the question. Did the fox/human (whatever the hell he was) know Kagome? Suspiciously, he scented the boy again and was struck with how familiar the smell was. He was sure he’d never met him (he’d remember somebody who looked like that), but the smell still registered something…
“You!” the hanyou shouted in realization. The girl in his arms began to squirm restlessly. Inuyasha held his breath, hoping he hadn’t woken her, and both the males eyed the bundle worriedly. When she settled back down, Inuyasha continued in a quieter voice. “I haven’t smelled you on Kagome in over a year.”
Kurama smiled somewhat sheepishly. “I’m an old friend of Kagome. We went to school together.”
“Feh,” the hanyou huffed, still eyeing him distrustfully. “Isn’t it a little late for you to be skulking around a shrine?”
The red-haired boy merely gave him a placating smile. “Indeed it is. But I was worried for Kagome’s injuries and was waiting for her return to assure myself of her recovery.”
“Yeah, well, she’s fine so you can just run your scrawny ass back to wherever you came from,” Inuyasha told him in no friendly tone.
On the roof, Hiei was in the process of removing the bandana from his forehead. He stopped suddenly when Kagome let out a whimper. Her eyes snapped open and she began to wriggle valiantly. Inuyasha was having a difficult time keeping hold of her so he righted her squirming figure and set her feet gently to the frozen ground, staying his hands at her waist to support her.
She swatted his hands away with a grunt, blue eyes wandering and only half-alert as she stumbled forward. The bewildered miko took three zigzagging steps before she toppled forward. Kurama started toward her to catch her falling form, but Inuyasha beat him to it.
The hanyou leapt forward and quickly caught her around her slender waist before she could hit the snow. He lifted her easily and held her close, letting the girl lean back into his chest for support.
“Stupid sleeping herbs,” she muttered irately, seemingly only half-aware of her surroundings.
Inuyasha snorted. “Well, if you would just sit and take the stitches like a man instead of squealing like a little girl, the old bat wouldn’t have to-”
His lecture was cut short when Kurama cleared his throat. They both looked toward the source of the sound, the turn setting of Kagome’s balance and causing her to stumble a step backward before Inuyasha’s hand steadied her.
“Are you well, Kagome?” he asked kindly, fighting the urge to pounce her. By the gods, he wanted to touch her.
She blinked dazedly up at him, her fogged mind struggling to comprehend his presence. “Shuichi-kun? What are you doing in the Sengoku Jidai?” her words were slow and slurred with drowsiness.
He vaguely registered her more familiar use of his human name and a fleeting warmth struck his heart. But what caught his attention was her allusion to the Warring States Era. Was that where she had been?
“We’re at your shrine, Kagome-chan. See your house behind me?” he explained her slowly, as if speaking to a child.
Her dark brows knit and she turned mystified eyes to the looming house behind him. She looked around her in confusion, trying to piece together her surroundings. “How did we get here?”
Inuyasha rolled his golden eyes. “I brought you home like you told me to, you stupid girl! You nagged my ear off about getting home for Christmas!” he reminded her with exasperation.
“Christmas?” she asked in a daze. Suddenly a brilliant smile split her face as she clapped her hands excitedly, if a bit sluggishly. “Oh, that reminds me,” she spoke in her slow, deliberate manner, over-enunciating each syllable. “I have presents for you under the tree, Inuyasha. And for Shippo-chan and the others, too.”
At this, the hanyou’s demeanor seemed to lighten considerably as his ears perked forward and he adopted a sort of half-smile Kurama often saw on Yusuke. “Presents? There’d better be ramen in there!”
The girl giggled delightedly and nodded. “There is!” she assured him.
Kurama was beginning to think there was more between the couple than could be seen on the surface. They were just so… familiar with each other. Even now, neither seemed to notice that Inuyasha had one of his hands resting at her waist and Kagome’s was occupied on his arm to steady herself. And she was wearing that red jacket of his. He wasn’t sure if it might be rude to intrude on their conversation, but decided that he was tired of being ignored. “It’s very late and you seem a bit incapacitated, Kagome-chan. Would you like me to take you up to your room?”
Inuyasha turned a cold gaze on him, narrowing his eyes in suspicion. Just who did this guy think he was? Kagome was his to take care of and if anyone would be helping her into bed it would be him!
The young miko’s eyes darkened with something closely resembling longing as she gazed into his bright emerald eyes that had become rimmed with gold. Unexpectedly, she stumbled toward him.
The oversized haori slipped over one of her shoulders and fell open as she stepped forward. Clean, white bandages appeared from under her pink camisole.
All those “surgeries”…
There was a moment, one brief moment, one beautiful fleeting moment when he thought she would kiss him. She stood, looking up at him with too-wide eyes. But they became glossy with unshed tears. Her hand moved, too fast for him to follow.
And then his cheek stung.
She’d slapped him!
The fox, caught off guard by the seemingly unprovoked attack, let his mouth fall agape as he lifted a hand to his reddening cheek. He was too shocked to say anything as she continued to stare up at him with angry tears brimming in her eyes.
For a long while the only sounds in the courtyard were the howling of the winter wind through the skeletal branches of the Goshinboku and the muffled snickering of the hanyou behind them.
And then she stepped, fell, tumbled forward into his chest, throwing her warm arms around his chest and hiding her tears in his jacket. Her movements were sluggish and her hands flighty as she moved them towards his face. She laid one against his cool cheek, the one she’d slapped, and stared at the red handprint under her fingers. He stood, bewildered, and afraid to move lest he frighten her away.
The first tear slipped down her cheek, its silent dissent belying the cacophony of emotions clamoring for dominance in her heart. The little miko’s voice, quiet and muffled under the falling snow, broke when she whispered, “I missed you. So, so much.” Then, she sniffled with an air of indignity. “You jerk!”
And she slapped him again, quicker than the last.
‘Well, I’ll be damned…’
Kurama echoed the fox’s sentiments.
Before he could think to try to explain, or calm her, or just pounce her and never let go, she stepped back out of his reach. A combination of Kaede’s sleeping herbs and the big, pink slippers on her feet threw her natural grace and she stumbled back into the arms of the hanyou.
Inuyasha just rolled his eyes at the display, happy for once he wasn’t on the receiving end of that smack. Maybe he’d get lucky and she’d put some prayer beads on this poor bastard, whoever he was.
The girl in question was swaying dangerously, so he swept her up into his arms in a motion made smooth and flawless with practice. A sharp stab of envy swept Kurama’s heart.
The altercation seemed to have sapped the last bit of strength from the little miko as she laid her head against the half-demon’s shoulder and surrendered to a tongue-curling yawn. “I’m kinda sleepy,” she mumbled, eyes already drifting closed. The hanyou shook his silver head, eyes glimmering fondly down at her in the moonlight, as he started towards her house to put her to bed.
The red-haired boy, loathe to be forgotten, quickly reasserted himself into the situation. “You will watch over her tonight?”
‘The hell he will!’ the fox in his head growled.
Hush, Youko, she’s in no condition to talk at present.
‘Talking’s not what I had in mind.’
“Feh! I always watch over her,” the hanyou snorted arrogantly. “And seeing as you got slapped, I gotta figure you done something awful stupid. So I ain’t leaving her in your care.”
Kurama’s eyes lightened to gold as Youko pushed himself to the surface. “If I return tomorrow to find her in poor condition, your life will be forfeit, half-breed.”
His lip curled over gleaming fangs in a snarl and Inuyasha’s ears flattened to his head. His growl rumbled through his chest, but stopped abruptly when the slumbering girl in his arms whimpered pitifully and snuggled deeper into his chest, ironically seeking shelter from the invisible threat.
The boy’s eyes returned to the clear green when Youko submerged back into him. His face melted into his custom serene façade and he turned, tiring of the hanyou and his too-familiar gestures towards his soon-to-be girlfriend. He’d get her back. Er- take her back, as it were. Just as soon as she was lucid enough to listen to him try to explain himself.
“I will return in the morning to ascertain her condition,” he threw over his shoulder. He didn’t wait to see the hanyou jump into the branches of the tree at Kagome’s window and slip quietly into the room with her in tow.
When he reached the street, Hiei fazed into existence beside him. They were quiet as they made their way back to the Minamino house. He would have to sneak in through the back again to avoid waking the household. But, all in all, it was a good day.
He’d seen the object of his desire for the first time in over a year after a self-induced fasting. And he’d learned that she was a crime-fighting miko on the side. He nearly chuckled at the image.
And now, he really had a chance. He was going to have Kagome, one way or another. And no feelings of insecurity or cantankerous hanyous were going to get in the way this time.
“Well,” Kurama began amiably to his silent companion. “That was interesting.
“Hn.”
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