InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Bottled Genius ❯ Back in the Swing of Things ( Chapter 22 )

Author's Notes: Sorry about the not updating thing, but sadly my Uncle died rather suddenly and since he's Jewish and there's this whole thing where you have to have the funeral within 24 hours of the death we all had to drop everything and leg it across the Atlantic to go attend the funeral over in Arizona. It was a horrible journey there and back, everyone's jet-lagged and tired and low on comfort and happiness. Not only that but my computer's not coping well with life either and has started crashing - strange, because I've only had it for a few months. And to put the cherry on the icing, I get my O level results in a few days which will determine whether or not I get into college. Here's hoping…

Bottled Genius

Chapter 22

Back in the Swing of Things…

"We're nearly there…"

Kagome stirred slightly, lifting her head from Inuyasha's shoulder to peer up the path. She suddenly occurred to her that they'd, at some point, found a road and were now plodding down that instead of traipsing through the forest over the slopes. It probably explained why the journey had been somewhat smoother over that last hour or so. Kagome had been too worn out to really open her eyes and take much notice of where they were going. Inuyasha had said he would carry her back to the house… that was all her weary mind could really comprehend right then.

"Good." she mumbled as her face sunk back against his shoulder. "'Cause my feet are killing me…"

"Of course they are." She was too tired to even notice the cynical tone in his voice.

She sleepily flexed her arms around his neck and shifted closer to the warmth of his back. "You know… you're really good to carry me home like this… all the way." She closed her eyes again with a sigh. "What would I do without you?"

Inuyasha's hands shifted slightly under her knees. He didn't say anything for the rest of the journey.

~*~

"There you two are!" Mrs Higurashi stood up from the porch steps and trotted down them to greet the pair's arrival. "Where have you been all day? We were worried sick! No note, no explanation - it was like you both just vanished into thin air."

"We're ok, Mom." Kagome slid down off Inuyasha's back and went to embrace her mother tightly. Inuyasha shifted his weight slightly to the other leg and remained quiet.

"Where were you two?" Mrs Higurashi pulled back from her daughters arms and glanced between the two teenagers. "Look at you both… you're all dusty and dirty… and is that blood?"

"Ketchup." Kagome said quickly. Inuyasha suppressed the urge to roll his eyes. She was always such an obvious liar in reality.

"We took a walk and got lost." He said casually, giving Kagome a pointed look as if to say 'that's how it's done'. "Looks like we found our way back after a couple of detours."

"Well at least you're back in one piece. These hills and forest are dangerous you know." Mrs Higurashi took Kagome by the shoulder and ushered her inside, she beckoned for Inuyasha to follow. "Well you two better take a bath and get a change of clothes, I'll reheat your dinner for you both. No doubt you'll be hungry after all that walking."

Somehow, Inuyasha didn't really feel his appetite bothering him too much. If anything his stomach was just too uneasy and unsettled to think about holding down food. Something had been nagging at his mind all the journey back while Kagome dozed obliviously on his back. It had nagged him even more when she'd made that well-meant but unwitting comment a while ago. What would she ever do without him?

It made him think…

Actually, that was a valid question. What would Kagome do once he was out of the picture. With ten wishes up… where would Kagome be left standing?

And more importantly; What would he do without her?

Sleep mindlessly seemed to be the obvious answer.

He was pulled out of his reverie when Kagome spoke to him. He realised that Mrs Higurashi had drifted off to get them a change of clothes and Kagome had stopped them at the foot of the stairs. "I'll go take a shower first, and then I'll run a bath for you." She told him. Her gratefulness towards his previous actions that day was still shining in her eyes as she smiled at him. "It's the least I can do."

"You shouldn't bother thanking me…" he mumbled, looking away in case she saw how self-conscious he'd just become. But he reckoned it was pretty obvious in his body language. "It was a wish that saved us. Not me."

"Still," Kagome gave an easy shrug. "If you hadn't been there then Naraku probably would have decapitated me."

That was very true. He saw her give one last brief smile before toddling up the old staircase and disappearing down the hall on the next floor up. Inuyasha sighed and rubbed a hand over his particularly sore ear… smashing it against the roof of that cave had hurt more than he'd expected.

Well since he had nothing better to do, he'd go sit down and wait for Kagome to finish in the bathroom and run his bath. And rather than sit inside he decided to head back outside, preferably to the good old oil tank. He did most of his best thinking there… and thinking was the one thing he needed to do right then. He needed to think things through… he needed to decide what he was supposed to do now.

"Forgive me for saying so, but you look a little down."

Inuyasha stopped short halfway across the back yard and looked towards the garage. A short distance away he saw a girl, roughly Kagome's age, but probably a little older. He frowned when he didn't recognise her… her scent wasn't familiar so she probably wasn't one of his enemies. "And… you are?"

"The car mechanic." She gestured to herself. Actually… now that he looked at her, it was kind of obvious. The fact that she was wearing a one piece, navy blue jump suit covered in dark oil stains was a bit of a give-away. That and the fact she was carrying a spark plug in one hand and a large spanner in the other. Yep. She was the car mechanic. But Inuyasha still had his doubts.

"Aren't you a little bit too-"

"What, young?" she fixed him with a challenging look.

"I was going to say female, but yeah, that too." He folded his arms, meeting her challenging stare with his own. "And what is a car mechanic doing here anyway?"

"Um… fixing the car?" she gestured towards the garage.

Oops. That had been a pretty obvious mistake on his part. He kept his expression neutral. "Yeah, whatever. Good luck fixing that crap trap."

"Thanks, but for the amount of work I'm going to have to do on this thing, you'd better tell Mr Higurashi that Sango wants paying double."

"And does Sango always talk in third person?"

"Only when Sango thinks she's talking to slightly duller than average people." She smiled blandly and headed back towards the garage, taking a cloth rag from her pocket and dabbing out the oil blotches covering her hands and face.

Inuyasha narrowed his eyes as he watched her until she was gone from sight. She probably wasn't a suspicious person… but he was going to keep his eye on that one. He could usually only handle one smart-mouthed girl at a time.

With his thoughts leading him back in the direction of Kagome and his feet leading him in the direction of the river… he wasn't particularly conscious of where he was going or what he was going to do when he got there.

His expression must have been pretty strange seeing as how Souta, who'd been paddling around the river with his net looking for fish and frogs piped up as Inuyasha crossed the bridge. "What's the matter with your face?"

"Nothing." Inuyasha said snippily stopping in the middle of the bridge, keeping his eyes firmly fixed on anything that moved beneath the surface of the water.

Souta watched him curiously before switching his gaze to the house where he'd heard his mother greeting Kagome and Inuyasha only a few moments ago. He looked back at Inuyasha, taking in the stiff slant of his shoulders and the tightening curl of his fists at his sides before looking back at the house, the water was rushing down the drains at the side of the building… an indication someone was in the shower. Souta took another look at Inuyasha who was practically pouting as he crouched to pick up a circular stone from the river bed and positioned himself, ready to skip it across the water.

"You've got it bad, ain't ya?"

Inuyasha's entire body flinched as he made the throw. The stone sunk on the first skip. With a huff he turned back to the small boy. "I ain't got anything bad!"

"Then why are you getting all sulky and moody?" Souta pointed out. "You go like this every time something bad happens between you and Kagome… or when Hojo turns up."

"Yeah, well…" Inuyasha didn't elaborate any further than that as he determinedly tried to focus his attention on whatever it was he was supposed to be doing. What was he supposed to be doing? He had no idea…

"Wouldn't be… puppy love would it?" Souta snickered and waddled off through the water before Inuyasha's splash kick could hit him.

"I don't know what you're talking about." Inuyasha balled his fists and flopped down on the edge of the wooden bridge, under the rail with his legs dangling over the edge. It was all a lie of course. He probably did have it bad. And it was… uncomfortable, or so to speak.

Inuyasha glanced towards the house and, if he strained, he could pick up a few little melodious notes coming from the bathroom. Kagome was undoubtedly singing again, despite her rough ordeal.

With a deep sigh he reclined back on his palms and gazed absently up at the sky while he swung his legs, skimming his feet and ankles in the river and disturbing the water's surface with ripples.

It reoccurred to Inuyasha… like it did at times like this, that he wasn't like Kagome. He wasn't like one of her friends… he wouldn't live on this earth for sixty or seventy years… or however long it was that mortal humans lived. He would live forever, and be asleep for more than half that time.

Of course, he'd never been like them. Like humans. And it hadn't actually been that great a loss to his social life when he'd turned Wishbringer. He'd had no social life to begin with. But there had been a time when he'd been free to do as he wished… no… to do as he wanted. He never bowed down to anybody and his most pressing concerns had been when or if a larger, stronger demon might cross paths with him and end his fairly pointless, small life. Back then he'd never stayed in one place long enough to find a home. Home had been wherever he happened to be at any one time.

He'd hated that life. He'd probably woken up every morning (or whatever time he woke up, he'd never bothered to keep a regular life style) and cursed all the deities that had had a hand in his creation. Why couldn't he have been born a true demon? Why couldn't he have had some aim in life other than just keep moving to avoid being picked off?

Five hundred years had passed since that life had ended… but to Inuyasha… he almost felt as though he could reach out and touch it. Five hundred years had passed by in a flicker while he slept, only awakening occasionally from the slumber to slave away for some new arrogant master who reckoned they had the world at their fingertips now that they had a tenth generation Wishbringer. The ordinary Hanyou he'd once been seemed a tangible life that still hadn't faded from the memory… in a way he was still getting used to being the way he was now.

It was a cold hard fact that he had, in a way, died that day when he'd found Miroku. He'd left his life behind and finally found a purpose to exist on a higher level. To destroy master after master with their wishes the same way he destroyed himself.

Yet time with a master like Kagome was almost enough to make him forget. When he was beside her he wasn't her underling… wasn't just some toy that granted her ten little pleasures. Beside her he felt like… like a boy. Not a Hanyou, not a Wishbringer… but someone like her. Someone real…

But it was all a little delusional. Another hard fact was that he was still a Wishbringer now. He would always be the way he was now… there was no way to undo what he'd inflicted upon himself all those years ago. He couldn't be Kagome's friend because it just wasn't physically possible…

Inuyasha's legs stopped swinging in the water and he ran two hands from the top of his head, over his ears and brought them to a rest, covering his face. He leant forward, propping his elbows on his knees as he stared through the gaps in his fingers at his reflection in the water below him.

He'd been forgetting… it was simply too easy to forget that he was different when he was around Kagome. She made him feel like he belonged. Defences he'd thought were strong and unbreakable had been slowly dissolving right under his nose and he'd never noticed. After all… what harm was a kind smile and a nonchalant touch now and then? Except, kind smiles were all too frequent and those nonchalant touches were not so nonchalant anymore. But friendly words and kind eyes were just as deadly.

Inuyasha suddenly felt angry at himself. He could feel the heat of his anger warm his face through his palms and scowled at his reflection now, drawing his hands down slowly to fist under his chin as he all out glared at himself. He'd warned himself consciously not to get attached and still he got that warm, pleasant feeling when he thought of Kagome, and got that uncomfortable icy feeling around his heart when he thought about what would happen after the tenth wish.

He wondered… what would she spend her last wish on? When would she use it? If Inuyasha had his way he would tape her mouth shut for the rest of her natural life so the words 'I wish' never passed those lips.

But that was not a good way to think…

He didn't know what to think anymore.

~*~

Kagome groped for the towel as she stepped out of the shower onto the linoleum floor of the bathroom. She growled slightly under her breath as her hand only grasped thin air… she was sure she'd hung the towel around here somewhere. But with all the water and soap in her eyes she didn't want to risk opening them to see for herself.

"Where is it…?" she muttered, gripped the shower curtain with one hand to avoid slipping.

Suddenly the towel was pushed into her hands milliseconds before it was accompanied by a male voice. "Here you go."

Kagome's reaction was instantaneous. With a startled cry she spun away from the voice blindly. But in the process she forgot to let go of the shower curtain, ripping its rings from the pole above her with a series of sharp pops. Her foot slipped on the wet ceramic floor of the bath and her knees buckled, making her entire body collapse in a maelstrom of shower curtain and plastic rings.

Almost as an afterthought, the pole that held up the curtain dropped down from the ceiling and landing with a clap on the floor.

It was a moment before Kagome's fingers loosened their claw-like grip on the towel still clenched in her fist and she drew back the shower curtain away from her face to peep up at her intruder. Thankfully she wasn't particularly exposed at that moment, thanks to her 'quick thinking' with the curtain. But still her cheeks darkened with a hot blush as her stare landed on the last person she'd expected to see. Inuyasha, maybe. Hojo, possibly.

But not Miroku.

"My god, you really are a pervert." She whispered. "I thought Inuyasha only said that out of spite!"

Miroku looked offended, but she knew it was contrived. "You needn't worry, I didn't peek." Then something strange happened.

He slapped himself.

Kagome stared at him long and hard, slowly her embarrassment at being caught in the buff was sinking into anger… and total confusion as to why Miroku would willingly slap himself. She shook her head, as if trying to shake off her strange thoughts. "Turn around."

"As you wish." He responded in an airily tone and turned his back on her. "I can hand you your clothes if you-"

"Don't touch my clothes!" her underwear was hidden in that pile, she didn't need him fiddling around with them. God… Inuyasha would have a mental breakdown if he found out about this. But first she needed to know why Miroku was here. He could be out to get Inuyasha again.

And before all that she needed to get dressed.

Carefully, she manoeuvred herself out of the bath tub, her arms clamped down on the opaque blue shower curtain that was currently wrapped around her body. Now if she could just get her clothes on and get both her and Miroku out of the bathroom without Inuyasha ever knowing, perhaps this could all be sorted out without the need to resort to violence.

Someone with a strong fist banged on the door. "What's going on in there?!" It was Inuyasha. "I heard you scream!"

"I'm ok! I only slipped!" she called back with a grimace as she scrambled into her underwear, eyes on Miroku in case he decided to turn around. Fortunately he was respecting her privacy for now… but even from behind she could tell he looked amused.

"Are you ok?" Inuyasha called again through the door.

"She's fine." Miroku called back. And only then did Kagome realise that he was standing in front of the mirror… and seeing everything that was going on behind him. "Real fine."

Kagome snatched the towel up to her body again, even though she was already half dressed and fairly decent. "You pervert!" she screamed, just as a blur of red and white darted through the closed door, literally, and caught Miroku in a hard tackle to the ground. For a moment it confused Kagome… how the hell had Inuyasha managed to get through a closed door?

"You bastard!" Inuyasha grunted as he planted a fist hard in Miroku's stomach.

The other Wishbringer wheezed slightly. "Why is it-" he broke off momentarily to push Inuyasha's hand away that had been getting dangerously close to his throat. "Why is it every time I come here with good intentions I end up on the floor with you on top of me?"

"Good intentions? You're here to kill me!" Inuyasha spat. Kagome inched her way towards the door, intending to slip out and wiggle into her jumper before either boy really took the time to notice her.

"This is childish." Miroku suddenly admonished and gave Inuyasha a short but firm shove in the chest that sent the younger Wishbringer sprawling backwards at Kagome's feet. "And I'm not here to kill you." Miroku stood, dusting himself off with an air of dignity. "I would, but I'm a little too late for that now."

"Meaning?" Inuyasha snapped, his gaze still lingering furiously on Miroku even as he stood up slowly and stretched out an arm to Kagome, half pulling her behind him. "You ok?" he muttered.

"I'm fine. He just surprised me." She said honestly, but in truth her nerves and sense of decency were still rattling. Of course she didn't need to tell Inuyasha for him to sense that. He snapped one decisive glance at her before pushing up his sleeves and taking a warning step towards Miroku. Kagome quickly grabbed his shoulder and pulled him back. "I think we should just sit down like three civilised people and talk this through."

"Kill now. Questions later." Inuyasha said primitively.

"On the contrary, what I have to say to both of you is fairly important." Miroku had gone back to folding his arms casual, a slightly more serious edge to his expression and tone now. "It isn't the kind of thing you'd wish to hear whilst standing in a steamy bathroom."

"On the contrary," Inuyasha responded, feigning Miroku's tone insultingly. "How about you tell us right now so you can leave that much faster?"

"Well that's just rude." Miroku scolded him with a light scowl.

"I…" Kagome eased Inuyasha back towards her gently with her grip on his arm. "I think we should be taking this into the bedroom. We won't get any interruptions there." She offered. She knew that it would only be a matter of time before someone else in the family came up to use the bathroom and then someone might stumble upon Miroku and then Kagome would be hard-pressed for explanations she wasn't very good at any way.

Inuyasha seemed disinclined to move.

"Inuyasha." She leaned up on tiptoes so she could hiss his name closer to his ear. "Inuyasha, let's go into the bedroom." The warning in her voice was clear. His ear twitched slightly as he caught it.

"Whatever." He muttered and shrugged her hand off his shoulder to walk out of the bathroom, dragging her with him by the wrist. Kagome rolled her eyes as she staggered after his brusque pace. He was too damn protective… but it was kinda nice.

Mental slap for Kagome.

It wasn't good to harbour those kinds of thoughts…

Miroku shut the door after him as he arrived in the small bedroom after the pair. Inuyasha turned on him with a huff and a big show of folding his arms. The two boys started a small glaring match. From where Kagome sat on the edge of her bed she glanced between them and inwardly sighed. She turned to Miroku. "That thing you came to talk to us about…?"

"Oh yes." Miroku broke eye contact with Inuyasha long enough to grace her with a look. "Would you mind stepping out for a moment, Miss Kagome? Only I'd like to speak to Inuyasha privately for a moment."

Kagome sat up a bit straighter and glanced between them again. She wasn't sure she could trust them to be alone together for more than five minutes without coming back to find them trying to tear each other's spine out. "Um… ok." she gave Miroku a serious look. "If you try killing him while I'm gone then I'll never forgive you."

With that she stood and marched to the door. "I'll go get us some tea and biscuits then, shall I?"

Inuyasha watched her leave, unsure whether or not she was being sarcastic and miffed that she'd been sent out or serious and polite. He glanced back at Miroku and at once his hackles rose when he noticed that Miroku had been watching Kagome leave as well. Or more specifically; watching her behind leave.

"Hey!" he barked.

"Sorry." Miroku said half-heartedly… and lightly slapped himself.

Inuyasha just stared in dumb shock for a moment. "Oh my god. I think you've finally lost it."

"What - oh you mean the slapping thing?" Miroku glanced down at his hands briefly and seemed to regard them like two dangerous animals. "Well that was the effect of one of my master's wishes gone wrong."

"Oh really?" Inuyasha smirked slightly.

"Yes. Her hands were getting sore from all the physical abuse she likes putting me through so she basically told me that every time I have a dirty thought, I have to slap myself." He flexed his fingers and sighed deeply as though trying to cleanse his thoughts. "And she won't remove the wish. She thinks it'll be as good as shock therapy."

"She's probably on the right track." Inuyasha rolled his eyes and began pacing the length of the bed before Miroku. "And as much as I love talking about domestic abuse where you're the victim, didn't you have something to come to talk to me about?"

"Yes." Miroku turned his attention to his sleeve and pretended to flick a piece of lint off. "The First is coming."

Inuyasha stopped pacing.

"It's coming for you." Miroku finished flatly. He looked up carefully, trying to gauge Inuyasha's reaction. To his surprise, the Hanyou didn't seem to be having much of any kind of reaction. "Well?"

Inuyasha sighed and slumped down onto the edge of the bed where Kagome had sat not too long ago. "I knew it…"

~*~

"Tell me to walk out like that will they?" Kagome grumbled as she padded up the stairs again with three drinks in hand and a packet of biscuits between her teeth. "Like it's some kind of top secret Wishbringer meeting…"

She slowed slightly.

Top secret?

Kagome had to wonder what on earth it was they were discussing in there. If they'd been killing each other (which was likely) she was sure she would have heard the sounds of their struggle this far down the hall. But all she heard was the low mutters coming from her bedroom door.

Her mother had always taught Kagome that eavesdropping was rude and intrusive. Frankly, Kagome didn't care right then.

So very quietly, Kagome set down her drinks next to the wall of the corridor, along with her bag of biscuits. Then she tiptoed as quietly as possible down the remaining stretch of corridor to her bedroom door, weaving her way around the floorboards she knew creaked to kneel down beside the door and press her ear close to the wood. She wanted to press harder to get better sound, but she didn't want to accidentally push it open.

"…coming."

She caught the tail end of what Miroku was saying. She strained harder to hear more, but there seemed to be a stretch of silence.

"It's coming for you." the sounded like Miroku again. "Well?"

What was coming? Kagome waited with baited breath for Inuyasha's answer.

There was an ominous squeaking sound of bed springs as though someone had just sat down. "I knew it…"

Knew what? Where was the noun in this discussion? Kagome narrowed her eyes as she dared to lean a little further into the door to see if that would help her hearing any better.

"Do you even care?" the sound of someone moving across the floorboards. "I'd be terrified if I were you."

"Well you're a spineless coward." Inuyasha retorted.

"True." Kagome heard Miroku sigh flippantly. "If you want my advice-"

"Which I don't-"

"-Then I suggest you start running for the hills hard and fast." There was a pause before he went on. "But you and I know that you won't be able to run forever. It'll catch you eventually."

"Then… I'll just be staying here, won't I?" Inuyasha replied. Kagome caught the hint of challenge in his voice.

"Sure. Die all the faster." Miroku sounded faintly annoyed now. "The sooner you die the sooner that thing comes after me and the sooner I'll die too. I have a feeling that my own sire would be next in line, but unfortunately she already had a run in with the First and is no longer among us."

Kagome pressed a hand to her mouth. She understood now… The First was coming. The First was coming to kill Inuyasha.

"The First should be here by the end of the week." Miroku went on.

"End of the week? Why not now?"

"The First isn't like us, Inuyasha." More footsteps crossing the floor. "The First is our ancestor, it has immense power, more than all the Wishbringers put together. But at the same time it is powerless. We are little fleas compared to that thing in terms of power. We suck on the First and we draw our power from him. We are the ones who can manipulate and control that power. The First doesn't have that ability, he needs us to draw out his trapped power and use it. And we need him to supply us with the power. It's a symbiotic relationship."

Kagome's eyes had glazed over at some point during that speech.

"Are you calling me a parasite?" Inuyasha suddenly blurted.

"No…" Miroku gave a loud impatient sigh. "I'm saying the First can't use his power like we do. We are the ones who use it. He can't translocate like us-"

"So that's what you call it…"

"Are you listening to me? I'm answering your question here!"

"Actually, I've forgotten what I asked. You've been gassing so long."

Another loud sigh, probably from Miroku. "Look. He's coming here soon to deal with you and all your rule breaking. You're stealing his power to do these things without legalising it with a wish. He's probably pissed at you. You woke him up from his three century long sleep with all your leeching."

Inuyasha mumbled something that Kagome didn't catch. She frowned slightly and unconsciously moved in further to hear better… she didn't expect the door to give way at that precise moment and send her sprawling into her own bedroom at Miroku's feet.

"Good afternoon, Miss Kagome."

"Dammit…"

AN: It might be worth mentioning as well that I don't have writer's block and I already have the ending of this fic sorted so suggestions really aren't needed. And there are still three or four more chapters to go, roughly, but don't quote me on that.