InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Corrupted Thought ❯ Slick Sweat ( Chapter 2 )

Hey, all! I have updated, finally… *shock* I am finding that of all of my current fanfictions, this one is my favorite so far. I can really get into this story line… as you will see at the end of this particular installment (which I enjoyed writing, by the way). BTW, the plot comes in during the course of this chapter…

I don't know why, but none of my italics are coming up on mm.org OR ff.net, so… I put the "flashback" in ***.

Disclaimer: For all of you who don't know, my name is not Rumiko Takahashi. So, by the standard laws of humanity, there is no possible way on Earth that I could own (or have the ability to write and/or draw) Inuyasha.

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Corrupted Thought

Chapter 2: Slick Sweat

By: Kaji-chan

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Kagome let out an exasperated sigh as she watched the water slowly begin to simmer, a slightly bored expression lingering on her features. Tiny little bubbles started to form at the bottom of the pot, jiggling happily there before wriggling their way to the top, disappearing into the heated atmosphere of Kaede's hut. Kagome sighed again, wishing that she had something to drown out the persistent yelling behind her.

"You do, too!"

"I do not!"

"Yes you do!"

"No, I swear to you-"

"You're lying to me! Don't lie to me!"

"I would never lie to you-"

"You're lying right now!"

"No, I'm not…"

"See! It's that tone of voice!"

"What tone of voice?"

"The one you use when you lie to me to cover up something you know I'll be mad at for when I eventually find out!"

"But, Sango, I swear-!"

"Houshi-sama, I can see it sticking out!"

There was an uncertain pause as the monk shifted uncomfortably, moving the embarrassing evidence out of her sight. It only made the taijiya all the more angry. "Look!" she said, pointing at it with a finger, her expression showing that she was clearly offended, Miroku scooting back uncomfortably. "You WERE lying to me-you had an Ace this whole time!"

Miroku laughed nervously as she glared at him accusingly, his lying indignity caught red-handed. He shifted back to his previous sitting position, facing her, and reluctantly handed over the Ace of spades, silently making a note to hide his cards better from her sight. Sango reached over to take it from him, but he didn't seem to want to let it go. They both tugged at it, neither wanting to give up the card. "Oh my gosh! Inuyasha is making out with Kagome!" Sango cried, pointing outside of Kaede's hut, her eyes wide in surprise.

Miroku whirled around to see the scandal, letting go of the card in the process. "I don't see…" he began, before turning back to level a mild glare to the triumphantly smiling taijiya, busy adding her newly acquired card to her growing pile of matches. "Okay, then…" she said, doing a terrible job of hiding her exultant smirk. "Your turn."

The monk sighed, bowing his head in a motion of self-pity. After an impatient grunt from Sango, he raised his head and glanced down the row of cards, his brow furrowing in concentration. "Hm… do you have a King, my queen?"

Said `queen' sported an annoyed look, pointing to a large deck of cards in between him in punishment. "Go fish."

He sighed once more, reaching down and drawing a card, frowning self-dejectedly at the number before adding it to his overflowing hand. "Do you have a-"

"No," she said immediately.

He slanted a look at her. "But I haven't even asked yet!" he cried indignantly.

Sango shrugged. "It doesn't matter what you ask me, because I know you're going to ask me for a seven, and I don't have a seven. You always ask if I have a seven after you ask me for a King."

Miroku attempted a puzzled look, creating an impression of shock. How did she know that? He moved his seven over; deciding on the card nestled next to it. "Actually, I was going to ask for a six."

"Go fish."

The monk sighed, reaching out and grabbing yet another card, while Sango furrowed her brow, deciding which card to ask him for. Miroku watched her with a piqued interest. She looked very attractive with her eyebrows pinched in a small pout; his eyes trailing down to her cute, pursed lips. Too bad his eyes kept moving downwards, his appreciation centered a little below the neckline, noting the innocent accentuation of her womanly features by her yukata, which was twisted at an interesting angle by her relaxed sitting position. Sango must have felt his stare, because her eyes shot up, catching him in an awkward and embarrassing situation. He, in turn, warily lifted his eyes and caught her angry glare, realizing his gaze had lingered a bit to long on her upper torso; his uh-oh smile nervously graced the monk's lips. "Ah… Sango…"

Kagome winced, squeezing her eyes shut in a small attempt to drown out the yelps of pains and cursing which followed, concentrating on the boiling water rather than the confrontation taking place behind her. She sat up, leaning over the pot a bit to check up on the progress of the water, deciding it was ready and pulling out a few packages of ramen. She unwrapped the packages, setting aside the flavor packets and adding the uncooked noodles to the bubbling pot.

Sighing, she sat back again to wait for the noodles to get tender, leaning back on her hands in a show of boredom. "I wonder where Inuyasha is…" she whispered quietly to herself. Kagome's eyes trailed from the fire to the window nearby, gazing outside at the tress and lush grass that resided outside of Kaede's hut. The sky had begun to darken, the warm rays of sun repressing and dying from above as it crawled over the mountains to rest for the night. With the absence of the sun's warmth, the animals had begun to disappear into the thickets, and the soft hum of crickets filled the calm nature of the outside.

Kagome stood, briefly leaving the instant ramen to simmer quietly on its own, moving towards the window and leaning on the sill. She drew in a deep breath, pulling in the thick, cool atmosphere of the woods as it fell slowly into the blanket of darkness. Closing her eyes, she let out a long, relieving rush of breath, allowing herself to bask in the tranquility and peaceful air that surrounded this world. She couldn't do this kind of thing back home; the air was too shallow and thin from pollution and lack of plant life. But here… when you drew in the smallest of breaths, it was as if you were pulling in the very epitome of your surroundings. Here, you could almost taste the sweet essence of the forest on the tip of your tongue as it tingled your lips, lingered on your clothes and filled your soul with a fullness only achieved by the contiguous encompass of thriving life.

There was something about the cool air, the subtle breeze, and the essence of the trees that made her feel so alive. She bowed her head in thought, her eyes sliding open to gaze at the grass outside the window through half-lidded eyes. Inuyasha smelled like the forest. He smelled of the sweet oak trees barely touched by the morning's soft dew. He smelled of the gentle mosses and grass that covered the ground in a lush blanket of green plush. He smelled of the trickling streams that flowed silently through the thickets; clean, fresh, and sweet, flowing freely by any path it so chose to run. But buried beneath the soft, gentle scents of the forest, was a light, barely noticeable spice-an interesting, tingling musk that only he held.

Kagome smiled mysteriously to herself, leaning her head back to gaze up at the hinting signs of stars in the young night sky. Her eyes slid closed, and she drew in another deep breath, filling her lungs with that sweet, succulent atmosphere, her mind flooding with images of Inuyasha as he ran though the forest with her tightly clasped to his back. His long, silky golden hair as it brushed innocently against her cheek, to those deep amber eyes, seeming to accentuate a molten passion beneath their calm surface. Her thoughts trailed to the feel of his velvety haori; seemingly rough if touched the wrong way, but smooth when she brushed her hands over his shoulders, around his neck. His muscles; as she clung to his back, she could feel his muscles rippling beneath her, the strength in his shoulders bunching as he tightened his hold on her every so often. His hands always seemed to trail accidentally up her thigh, his claws brushing impishly against her leg, but she was sure she was the only one who noticed his simple mistake.

His hands. She let out a small, almost unnoticeable breath of air, her eyes glazing slightly and fluttering shut. So smooth. So chary. So teasing. Every time his claws grazed over her skin, it sent a jolt of electricity through her, and a new but strangely enjoyable feeling would pool at the pit of her stomach. If only he were to ever touch her in such a way, in such an intimate way, but only purposefully. If his touch was underlined with a hushed infatuation; one he kept hidden from the world, saved only for her. She felt that interesting feeling pool in the pit of her stomach, and a hand reached up to slowly rest a bit below her waistline, as if to try and feel the pulsing warmth beneath her fingertips. If his lips…

Her hand shot away from her stomach to grip the windowsill, her eyes flashing open accompanied by a hushed, surprised gasp. She raised her hand to cover her parted lips, ducking her head from the blush spreading across her cheeks. She was being childish. She was no longer an innocent schoolgirl; she shouldn't be allowing her fantasies or emotions get the better of her. They had made a promise to each other. A promise to not get involved until everything was over. Until Kikyou was put to rest.

Kagome sighed, looking off into the forest, trying to ignore the stinging that wanted to emerge behind her eyes. There was no guarantee that anything would ever develop between Inuyasha and herself when everything was through, when the jewel was completed. He might decide to use the jewel to bring Kikyou back to life, to become human. Or he may destroy it and go with Kikyou to Hell as he promised.

Either way, she was not part of the picture.

She had always allowed her friends to poke fun at her, set her up on dates with Hojo, and cheat her out of notes… only to later ask to copy her notes, leaving her unprepared for their next test. But she always let them, because they were her friends. Her little brother, now a proud 10-year-old, came up to her one day a while back and asked about her relationship with Inuyasha. She was flustered, and a bit taken aback, but she found herself suddenly unable to speak… she was unable to answer his innocent question, as she herself did not know the answer.

She could have told him there was nothing going on between herself and the hanyou whom her brother had grown to idolize (which she regarded with a nervous laugh and immediately thought of what her little brother didn't see, a blessing from the gods), or she could have told him that maybe there was something there her little sibling had yet to see or only suspected. But to tell him that there was nothing or that there was… everything… would both be complete lies.

She bit her lip, closing her eyes. What if she never got a chance to be with Inuyasha? What if, in the end, she handed the jewel to him and went home through the well, never to see him again? Never to run her fingers through the soft, silver tresses, never to feel the velvety softness of his ears, never to embrace him? Never to feel his strong arms around her waist, pulling her close as to never let go?

What was the cruel fate that dragged her here? Why was she here when she would end up back in her time?

A smile crept to her lips. It didn't matter.

Kagome opened her eyes, her fingers trailing up and grasping the bottle of Shikon shards, gazing at the small collection from within the depths of the sparkling container. If she had never come to this time, she would have never freed Inuyasha, and he would have never had a chance to live. He might have still been pinned to the Goshinboku, never to open his eyes again. And he would have never re-united with Kikyou and realized that they were not betrayed.

She would have never had the chance to love him.

Her smiled dropped into a sadder one as she gazed at the lightly glowing purple. Though, to be able to touch him… to be able to feel his touch in return… to be able to love him without fear of another…

She released the small glass container, and turned back to face the inside of Kaede's hut, banishing her thoughts. Kagome made her way back over to the boiling pot of ramen, letting out a surprised squeak when she realized she had left it on its own for a bit too long. The bubbles had overflowed and cascaded over the sides, sizzling as they hit the fire, the noodles beginning to bloat from being overcooked. Kagome ran over to the pot, grabbing it off of the fire and holding out over a cloth, letting the water drip onto the material.

Sighing she set the pot down on the floor and pulled out a few bowls from her backpack, then turning to evenly distribute the ramen. She set the empty pot to the side and pulled out an array of spices, pre-chopped vegetables and the flavor packets she had set aside earlier, adding them orderly to each respective bowl of noodles. She stood, nodding in approval of her quick handy-work and turned to face the residents of the hut. "Dinner is ready!"

Sango looked up, her Hiraikotsu in mid-swing and smiled brightly, Miroku peeking out from behind his refuge behind his arms, blinking. The monk and taijiya made their way over to the miko, sitting down by the inside fire and selecting one of the finely garnished bowls, kneeling down and picking up a pair of chopsticks. Shippou bounded out of the next room, the small ball of fur streaking past Kagome to find the biggest bowl for himself, Kaede following slowly behind him. Kagome walked over to help the older woman, guiding her towards the fire and helping her kneel down, handing her a warm bowl of noodles and a pair of chopsticks.

"Kagome-sama!" Miroku exclaimed, holding out his bowl and chopsticks in awe. "Your dinner is delicious!"

Sango cautiously blew on the hot soup before delicately grasping the noodles with her chopsticks and tasting them experimentally. She blinked, her eyebrows raised. "Sugoi, Kagome-chan!"

Kaede slowly slurped the broth, and then glanced back up at the teenager with a wise old smile. "It is most wonderful, child."

Shippou nodded ecstatically, too much ramen shoved into his mouth to add his own compliment. Kagome nodded in reply, smiling and looking down at the two remaining bowls. Where was Inuyasha? He usually didn't miss a meal… She knew for a fact that he could smell it a mile away.

Kagome bowed a bit, glancing apologetically at her friends. "Sorry, but I've got to go find Inuyasha before his food gets cold. There was a slight murmur of "umhum's" and "mm's" in reply, her companions far too indulged with partaking in Kagome's concoction to answer her properly. She took it as an initiative to leave, and nodded quickly, exiting the hut through the thatched curtain, out into the cool air of the night.

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Inuyasha's ears twitched, picking up the subtle sound of a small insect traveling stealthily towards his forearm, followed by a small inch on his arm. He glared down at the insect, raising his hand and smacking the annoying thing with his palm, his eyebrow ticked. It was what Kagome liked to call a "mosquito".

Kagome… he thought to himself for what must have been the twentieth time that day. He thoughts always seemed to trail back to her somehow. Her gorgeous smiles, heart warming and welcoming; her stormy grey-blue eyes, framed softly by her long, charcoal locks, her slender, alluring figure… She had begun to grow her hair out, and it was longer than when she had first appeared through that well two years ago; now it had grown almost past her waist.

Kagome was probably making dinner right about now, her delicate hands working precariously with a small cutting knife and a various array of vegetables for a nice stew… Perhaps she would make a mixed ramen, instead? He was getting used to her cooking for him every night. She had offered many times to teach him how to cook, but he of course, refused, saying it was women's work. He got a nice sit for that comment.

He rubbed his neck, strangely unburdened by the light weight of the necklace. He found himself constantly rubbing there, as if reminiscing of its absence. Which was, of course, absurd… it wasn't like he missed it or anything. It was just a bit strange, not having that rosary there, as if he had lost a small connection with Kagome by loosing the beaded necklace.

It had been a bit of an accident, loosing the rosary, and it was mostly his fault. He and Kagome were having another argument, and it just kind of… happened…

***

"Go back?"

Kagome clasped her hands in a pleading gesture, gazing up at him with beseeching eyes. "Please? I'll be back right before the sun sets, you won't even know I'm gone!"

Inuyasha raised an eyebrow, crossing his arms in contemplation. "Right before the sun sets?"

She nodded vigorously, an appreciative smile on her face. "Yes. Right before it sets. I promise."

Inuyasha frowned, not wanting to say `yes' to her request, but… he knew he could hold her to her word. If she decided to be late, he could always go through the well and drag her back. However… why did her smile look so forced? He unfolded his arms, not liking the glint in her eyes, his tone skeptical. "Why do you need to go back?"

Kagome's smile wavered, and she laughed nervously. "Oh… its nothing… just going to have fun with my… uh… friend…" she said, her tone VERY unconvincing.

Inuyasha's eyes narrowed. What was she hiding? "What kind of `fun'?" His glare intensified, demanding her to tell him the truth.

"Imnifgiverdate…" she mumbled.

He blinked. Not even his ears could decipher what she had said. "What?"

"I have to go on a date!" she blurted at him in a loud and irritable tone, crossing her arms and turning her head to the side to hide her expression.

Inuyasha's angry demeanor faded a bit, and he cocked his head to the side, not understanding what she had said. "Huh? `Date'? What's a `date'?" he questioned, moving he mouth to form the funny shape of the new word from the future, testing its strange sounds on his tongue.

She ducked her head, hiding her face from his view as she answered in a quiet, muffled voice, "It's when you… ah… you go somewhere with someone, but it's just the two of you… doing stuff…"

Inuyasha crossed his arms, still not understanding. "So you're going on a `date' with one of your friends?" Oh. Good. As long as it's someone he knew. "Which one of your friends are you going with? The one with the curly hair?" he asked, twisting his finger around to emphasize `curly'.

She shook her head no, raising her hands to bury her distressed expression within their confines.

He blinked, his gaze lifting up in thought. "Oh." He looked back at Kagome, motioning with his hands the hairstyle of one of her other friends. "You mean the one with the really short hair?"

"No…" she mumbled quietly.

"The one with the-"

"None of them!" she cried, ducking more under her bangs.

Inuyasha crossed his arms. "It's someone I don't know?" he asked, his tone skeptical once more. If he didn't know this person, then it might not be such a great idea to go. They might be a demon or something; you never knew with Kagome's abnormal time… "What's her name, then?" he asked.

Kagome was quiet for a long while, turning back to peek at him between slightly parted fingers, her expression looking almost apologetic as she drew her hands away from her face. He raised his eyebrow, confused, opening his mouth to repeat the question when her voice drifted softly up to his ears. "It's not a `she'…"

He stared at her for a moment, not really sure how to respond, pausing as her words ran in circles through his head.

Not…

A…

She…

"WHAT?!"

Kagome shrunk back, holding up her hands in front of her as if to shield herself from his barrage of infuriated yelling. "There is NO WAY you are going somewhere with a GUY that I DON'T KNOW!" he shouted, his angry air back within seconds. "I can't believe you would think of going with some WEIRDO that I haven't met! He could be a youkai or something! What if he decides to kidnap you because he find out you have Shikon shards? I won't be able to help you if I'm 500 years in the past, unknowing of what you're doing or where you are! How would you know if I haven't gotten a chance to-"

"Shut up!!!" she cried, throwing her hands over her ears, her eyes squeezed shut.

His mouth snapped shut as if on command, surprised by her sudden outburst. Her hands dropped to her sides, fisting angrily as she glared up at him. He returned the glare, clenching his teeth and flashing his fangs angrily. They continued to glare at each other, before Kagome decided to throw in a little lecture of her own.

"How dare you…" she hissed, her eyes shining with fury. "You have no right to say whom I can and can't go out with! It's MY life, and I can do with it as I want! You are in no position to order me around, much less say whom I chose to go out on a `date' with!"

"Bullshit!" Inuyasha retorted also fisting his hands so that his claws bit uncomfortably into his palm. "You can't just go out with anyone that you damn well fell like if I don't-"

"Who cares?!" she shouted back, her hand shooting out and grabbing his rosary, pulling him down so that he was eyelevel with her, glaring straight into his eyes with her own, viciously stormy ones. "You have NO right to say anything!"

He just glared right back at her, his eyes on fire. "Yes I do, bitch!"

Her eyes became, if at all possible, angrier than before; they seemed to ignite into a flaming pulse of fury, highlighted by a stony crimson and darkened aura, which had Inuyasha shrink back a bit. "You have no right to me," she said through clenched teeth, "You gave me up a long time ago, Inuyasha!"

His reservoir of comebacks somehow died in his throat, and his irate air almost completely disappeared. He was so taken aback he couldn't speak. Her expression immediately sunk to a guilty one, and she bowed her head in embarrassment, looking away from his eyes. "I-I'm sorry… I don't know what made me…"

"You're right," he said quietly. She blinked, looking up at him with a confused and shocked expression, but he knew she was right. He had given Kagome up long ago, when he chose Kikyou. "You're right," he repeated, "It's not my place."

She sighed lightly, continuing to stare quietly at the grass. A long and mildly uncanny silence stretched out between them, only disturbed by the innocent rustling of the leaves from surrounding trees. Kagome sighed again, before turning back to face him, surprising him with a small and weak smile. "So I won't go, then."

He blinked, a bit taken aback by her response, still shaken by her earlier statement. "You… you won't?"

She smiled a small, defeated smiled and nodded. "I won't go." Her smiled brightened a bit, and she looked willingly up at him. "I don't want you being jealous or anything."

His soft expression fell completely, and he began to stutter irritably, "I-I'm not jealous… I don't know what you're getting this kind of shit from…"

Kagome's raised an eyebrow, leaning up a bit. "You're not? Isn't that why you got so angry?" she asked, poking his chest, "You didn't mind until I said it wasn't a girl…"

He sputtered, his mouth opening and closing as his eyes squared on her innocent expression, a small bit of anger bubbling up once more to cover his blatant discomfort. "J-Jealous?! Why would I be jealous?!" he shouted, his tone rising, "I'm not jealous of YOU!"

Kagome gasped, her eyes widening in shock. Inuyasha knew that was the wrong thing to say, his mouth snapping shut as soon as her lips parted. Her eyebrows drew together, and she looked down, her hand reaching up to curl tightly on the rosary around his neck. Inuyasha gulped. He was about to apologize, but her tone of voice gave him the insinuation that she was more heated than hurt by his comment. "I'm sorry you feel that way…" she said, making to walk off.

Inuyasha swallowed thickly, going to walk after her when he realized that she was still holding onto his rosary. "Um… Kagome…"

"Don't follow me!" she shouted, tugging him along by means of the rosary.

Inuyasha was grabbed her hand. "Then let go of me!" he shouted at her, jerking her wrist, causing her to stumble backwards.

Kagome regained her balance and glared at him, whirling and placing her other hand around her captured wrist. "You let go of ME!" she cried back, tugging for her hands release.

"No!" he yelled back at her, squeezing her hand tighter, not releasing his hold on her wrist in a relentless struggle against her rebelliance.

"YES!" she screamed back at him, her eyes flashing angrily, her previous fury refueled in a defiant act against the overbearing hanyou holding possession of her hand. "Release me!"

Just as Inuyasha released her wrist, she yanked her hand back with a grunt of effort. She gasped, Inuyasha's eyes widening as they heard a sound snap, the string giving way to their demands and snapping in two. Kagome fell backwards, taking half of the string with her, her eyes widened in an expression of pure shock as they both watched the beads fly in different directions, the glossy clay spheres twinkling as they caught stray rays of sunlight on their sides before landing quietly on the grass each in random succession. Kagome held the empty string loosely in one hand, her eyes wide.

Inuyasha couldn't seem to form words, merely staring at the sting held in Kagome's shaking fist, before falling to look over the scattered, black beads littered in the contrasting, green grass. Kagome looked up, shakily catching his gaze, her bottom lip trembling in utter shock. Inuyasha's mouth quirked ever so slightly, and Kagome's shocked eyes narrowed in irritation.

He burst into laughter.

***

Inuyasha shook he head in remembrance. She couldn't sit him for his atrocious reaction, but she had quickly made amends to that fact by using a Sango-like response and smacking him soundly across the face. He raised a hand to touch his jaw, moving it up and down as if to test its functionality, surprised that even after about a month it was still sore from her slap. Kagome was surprisingly strong when she wanted to be…

It was getting dark, and these annoying bugs had begun to collect in number. He was squishing one right after the other, now. Inuyasha sighed, taking one last look at the horizon and last glimmer of the sun from his precarious "thought" tree, before hopping down from the branch to the ground a few feet below him. He landed deftly on the forest floor, his bare feet silent against the leaf muffled dirt path, his kimono settling lightly around his crouched form. He tilted his head up and sniffed the night air much in a dog-like fashion, before smiling mysteriously and shooting off in the direction of the well.

"Humph…" he mumbled to himself, a small smirk on his features, "She thinks that she can just run off after I told her `no', huh? Well, we'll see about-"

Hanyou…

Inuyasha stopped in mid run, his muscles seizing as he thrust his nimble feet into the dirt ground of the forest path, skidding to a sudden halt, his ears perked. What was that voice?

Hanyou no Inuyasha…

His hands curled into fists, his ears twitching as he frantically searched for the source of the voice. "What the hell do you want?!" he yelled, his hand reaching to his side and clasping firmly on the tattered handle of the Tetsusaiga, his eyes narrowing as they darted from side to side in search of this bodiless intonation.

Omoi wa mingen tamashii.

"Mingen?"

~*~

Kagome let out a high-pitched squeak when she heard what sounded like a twig snapping behind her, whipping around to observe her surroundings behind her. Not even after two years would she ever get used to walking alone in the forest at night. With a small sigh and nervous laugh, she realized that not even after two years, would she ever remember to bring her bow and arrows when doing so…

She took a deep breath, hurrying her step towards the opening of the clearing, smoothing down her skirt in nervousness as she did so. Finally, breathing a sigh of relief, she spotted thee clearing, quickening up her pace to a small jog as the well came into sight. She swiveled her head back, checking for any signs of a hanyou pursuer, breathing in relief when she saw no one behind her.

Finally, she thought to herself with a small smile, I can go home, see my family, and finally get a chance to catch up on my school work while catching that nice new flick- She crashed into someone's chest, stumbling backwards rebound. Kagome's hand immediately shot out to steady herself, placing her palm against the "wall" in which she had just collided into as she regained her balance.

A hand shot out and caught her upper arm; she knew immediately who it was as her senses were swamped by a warm scent only she knew so well. "Inuyasha…" she whispered, bowing her head in preparation for his lecture and holding back a self-reprimanding sigh as she imagined his Spanish Inquisition. Why didn't you ask me? Who gave you permission to go running off in the middle of the night? Idiot, you don't even have your bow and arrows…

Well, he must have been a lot angrier than usual, as his grip on her arm tightened considerably, causing her to release a small wince in succession. "Ite…" she cried softly, her hand reaching up to pry off his hand from its constraint on her arm. "You're hurting me…" she whispered, her hands curling on the bare, sweaty surface of his flesh.

Wait a minute…

She paused, allowing her fingers to splay against the smooth texture of his chest, her brow furrowing in confusion. Kagome lifted her other hand, placing her palm on his exposed flesh, running her hands across his naked flesh with a strangely satisfied taint in her grey eyes, still lowered to the ground and shielded by the cover of her bangs. Kagome drew in a deep breath, filling her lungs with his forest scent, suppressing a small gasp as a jolt of concealed desire pooled below her waist; his scent was strangely spiked, as if it had been run through by electricity, triggering a spiced reaction from her body.

He showed no sign of protest, merely standing there and allowing her attentions. Kagome swallowed thickly, mentally admonishing herself for her childish affections, trying to pull her fingers away from his inviting body. However, she was unable to draw away from him, and his grip on her arm tightened ever so slightly, a growl rumbling through his chest and rippling through her fingers to spread satisfyingly through her own body, pulsing strongly in her stomach. Kagome bit her lip to hold back a strangled gasp, running her hands once more over the slick texture beneath her palms.

His hands trailed up her forearm to rest on her shoulders, one trailing down to rest at the small of her back, curling his claws into the soft fabric of her shirt, pressing sensuously against her lower spine. Her eyes slid closed, leaning more towards him, indulging within his overpowering, aromatic scent as he bowed his head, burying it within her hair. As her hands trailed down, she found that her fingertips had abruptly lost the sensation of his smooth muscles, muddled by the feeling of a thick substance and irregular consistency, seeming to stick to her fingers and glide down her hand, as if someone was dribbling un-churned cream down her palm, dripping off the ends of her wrists. It was familiar. Too familiar.

A drowning, coppery smell assaulted her nose and her eyes shot open, locking on the area of his lower abdominal area, where his stomach was covered in a sickeningly large amount of blood, flowing silently from three elongated gashes across his stomach. She drew her hands back as if she had stuck them in an electrical socket, making to jump back as well, but his hands had suddenly tightened on her. She gasped, hesitantly covering his wound in terror; it was pouring out crimson, as if every heartbeat was pumping out a stream of the coppery substance, which had dribbled down and stained his red kimono a dark, deathly burgundy. "Inuyasha!" she cried out, snapping her eyes shut; the amount of blood was making her sick to her stomach, and she could feel its soft dribble trail down her arm to drip off her elbow, trailing sluggishly down and churning her insides. "You're bleeding…"

Inuyasha's hands suddenly squeezed on her arm, and she felt the sharp lengths of his claws pierce roughly through the soft cloth of her school uniform straight into the soft flesh over her skin, followed by a jab of pain. Kagome cried out, feeling a stinging behind her eyes as she forced her eyelids to lift for the purpose of looking towards her arm, her eyes widening at the small specks of warm blood that had begun to stain her white sleeve. She whimpered, finally raising a shaky gaze up to look him in the face, but his face was buried into her hair, blowing short ragged breaths and upsetting small tufts of her locks. He had never hurt her like this; what was wrong with him?

She wanted to help him. He breathed into the smooth curve of her curls, his grip tightening even more, receiving a gasp of pain from her lips. Kagome registered the soft caress of his lips against her hair, and realized that she was not only concerned for his pain. She also wanted to find if their small, interrupted interlude was not unrequited. Kagome raised her head to gaze into the smooth molten amber that she had grown so accustomed to; to find his hurt, to find his reason, to find the hanyou she loved…

But if this was her beloved hanyou, she though with a sudden, sickening throb of panic, then why were his gorgeous amber eyes suddenly staring down at her with a sharp, poisonous scarlet?

~***~

Yay! Done! ^^ The plot has finally come into play, sorry to keep you waiting. If you didn't get the Japanese, its okay, its implied in the context clues, so it should be obvious what the voice was saying. (You can always look in a dictionary) Hopefully you enjoyed the small bit of angsty-lime at the end. ^_~ Until next time! Ja (hopefully matte) ne!