InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Chained ❯ Comfortable ( Chapter 61 )

A/N: Another WAFF chapter for Inu and Kag. Hope everyone likes it! ^_^

(HA! Bet you all thought that I’d forgotten to answer the reviews, huh? ^_^ Lol, nope, I just put them on this chapter cause it’s longer, and they’ll blend in better that way. ^_^)

-Tryst/Punishment of the Inu - Lol, my fics are making me learn it too. I think it’s slowly starting to integrate itself into my speech without my consent, and every once in a while I let a word slip in everyday conversation and nobody has any idea what I’m talking about. Lol, but then again, maybe that has nothing to do with Japanese. ^_^ -- I actually don’t know what’s going on here. It’s just going. I’m hoping though that it’s gonna turn out alright. ^_^ -- Lol, and don’t worry, I didn’t forget about the well. I’ve actually been thinking about what I’m gonna do with it for a while, and I finally came to at least part of a deciscion. ^_^ -- Lol, mustard? Yeah, I suppose it makes sense, it has the right taste to be a medicine anyway. Lol, I hear it also works as a face mask sometimes. Still, from what you say, it is apparently has more uses than just decorating my hotdogs-- a lot of good uses. ^_^ And if it can save a dogs life, then it’s got my vote. ^_^ -- Lol, actually I have to point out that, apparently, what we do is not “ranting.” Ranting seems to be a form of angrily expressing one’s self. So, unless you are angry, and I just completely misinterpreted what you’ve said, then I suppose what we’re doing is just some basic rambling. ^_^

-McSlave44 - Lol, well I’m glad you enjoyed it, cause believe me, my imagination is a very scary place, and I think I’ll reserve all future visits there just for emergencies. ^_^ -- Lol, well, whatever kind of insane it is, I’ve got it, and if it’s helping me write the stories, than I don’t really give a crap what kind it is. ^_^ I have fun with it and that’s all that matters. ^_^

-elenacala - Yep, just another short little chapter. But if it’s kept you interested, then I’m happy. Hopefully this one is a bit longer and will tide you over until I dare to let out another one. ^_^

-BlackDiamon - Well, actually, I don’t think I ever did get a direct meaning for the name, although someone did offer up some information about where it might have originated from. Apparently Miroku was the Second Living Buddha, who is supposed to come and save those who have failed to achieve Enlightenment and Nirvana in 1 Million years. That’s pretty much all I know so far-- although I think one person said that it meant something like attractive or charming. I could be wrong though. And I have actually never found any sort of meaning behind Kagome. Albeit, I’ve never actually looked very hard for one, but I’ve never found a meaning behind it. Maybe I should ask people about that, neh? ^_^

-Lady Orange - Oh, lol! Sounds like you and your sister get along just as well as any other siblings. ^_^ Lol, yeah, I can understand how Sess/Inu would throw some people off, but it is only fiction, and it is only an anime that-- and, in the end, it has no real impact on real life, so I’m not too phased about writing it. If you’re uncomfortable reading it, though, that’s fine too. Even people who read yaoi can be a little put off by this sort of fic. But it’s fun for me to write, and I think it’s probably one of my best stories ever, so... ^_^ Lol, yeah, I imagine she was. Siblings really do like torturing one another, don’t they? But that’s pretty much the only thing they’re good for, and if you’re gonna be forced to have them around, you might as well torture them, neh? ^_^

-silverwolf halfbeast - Lol, arigato! I’m glad you’re enjoying the fic! ^_^ I wish I could answer your question, but, even if I had the answer, I probably wouldn’t tell you. Can’t go and spoil the story like that, now can I? ^_^ -- Lol, I think that you’re rating of 5/10 is probably the lowest I’ve ever gotten. But it’s good to know you’re being honest! I know that I’ve got lots of spelling mistakes scattered around in this thing, so I’m always fairly surprised when someone rates my spelling 9 or 10 out of 10. ^_^

Well that’s just about it. Hope everyone enjoys this chapter! I’ve gotta go cause I only got about four hours of sleep last night, and I am soooooooooooooooooooooo wired! ^_^   ~*~   Comfortable

Kagome sighed as she snuggled back more fully into Inuyasha, causing the half-demon to shift slightly to accommodate her.

The new position wasn’t quite as comfortable as the other, but it allowed her to be closer than ever to him, and that was far more important to her than her comfort.

‘It’s hard to believe, isn’t it?’ She mused out loud, feeling his eyes coming to rest on her. ‘We’ve been free for a week now... and everything seems so much like a bad dream now... so far away.’

Inuyasha’s brow furrowed, and he looked off at some distant place Kagome couldn’t see. ‘Not for me.’ He whispered softly.

Kagome glanced back at him, and she could see the anxiety in his face. She mentally sighed as pain shot through her, knowing she could do nothing to ease his own.

Inuyasha had refused to tell her anything about what had happened with Naraku (though most of it was guessable). She didn’t know if this was to protect himself from more pain, or them. Sesshomaru also had said little, not that she saw him much. She was still uncertain how to behave around Inuyasha’s former-rival, but that hardly seemed to matter, since they normally only saw him at meals, or when he was conversing with other lords from faraway lands.

They didn’t bother him in either situation.

The Inuyoukai had simply said that Inuyasha had endured a great deal while in Naraku and Kikyo’s possession, and that, when the time was right, Inuyasha would have to be the one to tell them. Until that time, he had forbidden them from question Inuyasha too much about it.

Normally there might have been some indignance that he ordered them around, but everyone knew he was right-- that they and Inuyasha owed him a lot more than just thanks for the hospitality-- and they did not move to break the rule.

She also hadn’t seen too much of Sango and Miroku.

It was some sort of unspoken agreement after they had all gone off on their own when she and Sango had first arrived: She would spend her time with Inuyasha, and Sango would spend her time with Miroku, and then, when they were all ready, they would come together again.

Shippo was too young to understand why this sort of thing was happening, but that was alright, since his own understanding seemed to be set in place, and he spent most of his time with Rin anyway.

Kagome was a little guilty about leaving them all alone like that for so long, but it couldn’t be helped.

None of them were ready to come together again.

And besides, she liked spending this time alone with Inuyasha.

She snuggled into him once again, wiggling about in his lap for a moment, and Inuyasha shifted again to accomodate her, his arm coming to wrap around her after a moment before he let out a small huff of annoyance.

‘Would you stop wriggling around like that? You’re going to make us fall!’ He said, his voice only holding half the venom it used to when he would say things like that. Kagome frowned up at him.

‘I’m just trying to get comfortable.’ She said slowly, and Inuyasha stared at her, still frowning.

‘If you wanted comfortable, we should have gone to a bed, and not been up in a tree.’ He said.

Kagome’s eyes widened slightly as pink flared up in her cheeks as she stared at the half-demon.

Inuyasha looked back at her in confusion for a moment, before relisation dawned at just what that statement had been imply, and his own face heated as well, his ears flattening and his eyes narrowing as he glared at her.

‘That’s not what I meant, and you know it!’ He said heatedly, and Kagome smiled at him, rolling her eyes and then leaning back against him.

At once his arm moved to steady her, making certain she wouldn’t slip off the treebranch they were perched so precariously in. She pressed her cheek against his collar, and felt more than heard the deep intake of breath.

Kagome frowned slightly and looked up at him. ‘Inuyasha... were you smelling my hair?’ She asked softly.

‘Yeah? What of it?’ He asked, staring at some unknown spot near the horizon.

Kagome was slightly surprised by this. Most boys in her time would be embarrassed if they were caught smelling a girl’s hair. But then again, they weren’t in her time, and Inuyasha most certainly wasn’t “most boys,” maybe this was natural for him...

‘Why?’ She asked slowly.

Inuyasha just shrugged.

‘Just trying to remember. That’s all.’

Kagome stared at him a moment.

Remember what exactly?

Kagome didn’t have long to contemplate this as she suddenly remembered something else.

She hadn’t been home, to her own time, in... months.

Her family would be incredibly worried about her... She needed to get back... to see them...

‘Inuyasha,’ she said softly, still not managing to draw the half-demon’s gaze to her.

‘Yeah?’ He returned, just as softly. She paused a moment, biting her lip, remembering how bad it had been all the other times she had asked to go home. Now they weren’t looking for the shards, but they were in more danger than ever... she didn’t want him to freak out on her... but she needed to get home still... just to let her family know she was alright... maybe get some more medical supplies or a change of clothes, because, as nice as these old-fashioned kimono’s were, they weren’t all that comfortable to her.

Her silence drew his gaze, and he frowned at her, watching as she continued to abuse her lip, feeling the nervousness pouring off of her.

‘What is it?’ He asked, genuinely concerned. And now it was Kagome who wasn’t look at him, staring down at the rough bark that made up the bough of the tree they were sitting in.

Kagome frowned slightly as she stared at the rough patterns of the bark and mentally chided herself.

This was ridiculous! They had been locked away for so long, each of them had come out a changed person-- there’s no saying that Inuyasha would even freak out on her!

He might understand her desire to go home-- to see her family-- having just so recently regained his own.

Besides, understand or not, it didn’t change the fact that it needed to happen. She needed to see her family, if only for a short time.

Building up her determination, she looked up at Inuyasha’s worried golden eyes and just let it out. ‘Inuyasha, I need to go home.’

The stunned silence that followed was more than enough to make some of her resolve crumble.

Inuyasha sat there, his golden eyes slightly wide, just staring for the longest time. So long that Kagome began to fidget and was forced to drop her gaze from his own haunted one.

‘Kagome...’ He said softly, but that was all he could get out, before the girl suddenly cut him off.

‘Look, Inuyasha, I know you don’t like it when I leave, but this is an emergency! I’ve been gone for months without so much as a visit, and my family has no way of contacting me, and they can’t very well look for me or find out anything since only you and I can get through the well, and I need to let them know that I am alright, and then I can get some more supplies and things for us, not to mention restock my first-aide kit, and maybe even bring some things to help with the battle.’ Kagome stopped and took a breath, while Inuyasha blinked at her, his eyes still wide. Kagome felt some more of her resolve crumble away. Dammit, why couldn’t he just shout at her? That she could deal with.

‘Kagome...’ Inuyasha tried again, but again was cut off, as the miko moved to defend her situation from the half-demon.

‘It’ll only be for a couple of days, Inuyasha! Not that long! I just need to let them know what’s happening and... I need to make sure they’re alright...’ She trailed off, but Inuyasha could still feel her tenseness, just waiting to jump up and defend herself again.

‘Kagome.’ Inuyasha said firmly, not wanting the girl to interrupt him. His tone surprised Kagome, and she looked back up at him. He stared hard at her for a moment, before speaking again, his tone softening back to the same not as before as he said ‘It’s alright. You can go.’

Kagome very nearly fell out of the tree from that, as she stared at the half-demon in utter shock.

‘What did you say?’ She asked slowly, certain she had heard wrong.

Inuyasha frowned and cocked an eyebrow. ‘You got a hearing problem or something?’ He demanded. ‘I said it’s alright for you to go home.’

Kagome opened her mouth to respond, but found she couldn’t think of anything to say. For a moment there was silence as Kagome mulled over these things, before Inuyasha unexpectedly spoke again.

‘But’ he said softly, making certain he had her attention before he continued. ‘I’m coming with you.’

Kagome stared at him a moment in surprise, faint protests and “what ifs” trying to bubble to life within her, while another part of her secretly thrilled at the idea.

She didn’t want to have to go alone.

She didn’t want to leave him behind again.

‘Alright.’ She said softly. ‘We’ll go together then.’

Inuyasha’s own eyes widened slightly in surprise that she had actually agreed to his statement without even a little bit of a fuss, and then he nodded. ‘Guess we will.’ He said slowly.

Kagome smiled at him openly for long moments, making a slight flush return to his face, and after a moment he gave a small huff and looked away again.

Kagome smiled and then leaned up to give him a small kiss, watching the heat rise in his face even more.

She nearly laughed at that, loving that he could still be so shy after everything that had happened.

Inuyasha scowled at her, and then reached up, carefully turning her around and pulling her against him so that her back was against his chest.

Kagome smiled and burrowed back, deeper into his embrace as he wrapped his arms around her.

‘You know’ she said after a moments silence in which she very nearly had fallen asleep. ‘You’re way more comfortable than any bed.’

Inuyasha “keh’d” indignantly, making Kagome smile, before, feeling completely safe and at ease for the first time in a long time, she allowed herself to slip slowly into sleep, somehow knowing that, no matter what came, Inuyasha was going to be there when she woke up. He was going to protect her.

He wasn’t going to leave her again.

END ~*~  

Glossary

Inuyoukai - Dog-Demon

Miko - Priestess