InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Dangerous Adventures ❯ So Close ( Chapter 7 )

[ X - Adult: No readers under 18. Contains Graphic Adult Themes/Extreme violence. ]
Revised - 9/05/2007

Disclaimer: All hail Rumiko Takahashi, for creating these characters that we love.





Dangerous Adventures
Chapter 7
So close





“Morning,” Inuyasha said, smirking at the struggling miko. “Sleep well?”

“Let me go,” Kagome hissed as she continued to struggle in the hanyou’s firm grip a light blush staining her cheeks.

“Knock it off; I’m not going to hurt you.” Kagome ceased struggling, angrily glaring up at him. “Better,” Inuyasha said with a smirk. “Now, what’s your name wench?”

“Don’t call -”

“Your name,” The hanyou said giving her a light shake.

“Why should I tell you anything? How are you any different then the other youkai Naraku sent after me,” Kagome said angrily.

“Keh, I’m not some stupid youkai that mindlessly follows orders,” Inuyasha replied with a glare. “What is your name?”

“Kagome. Now let me go.” Inuyasha cocked an eyebrow at her, her anger lighting a fire in her eyes as she returned his glare. “Let…me… go.”

“No”

Kagome struggled against his grip again, before giving up; she dropped their glaring contest and relaxed back against her makeshift futon. “What do you want,” she asked with a tired sigh, giving up on getting away from him for the moment.

“The truth.”

“And which version is that? Mine or Naraku’s?”

“Keh. I’ve heard Naraku’s, I want to hear yours,” The hanyou said releasing her and sitting back on his haunches beside her.

Kagome sat up; she spared a quick glance at the still sleeping kitsune, mentally shaking her head, and a tiny smile working its way to her lips. ‘Looks like Shippou really can sleep through anything,’ she thought before turning her attention to the fuzzy eared hanyou. “You want the whole story or the shortened one?”

“Whatever, just the truth.”

“Alright then. It started about two weeks ago, I was -” Kagome stopped herself and turned to glance across the clearing, Inuyasha’s gaze following. “Do you feel that?”

“No, but I can smell it. Youkai, several of them, coming fast.”

“Great,” Kagome said, turning to glance at him. “I still can’t shoot well with my sprained wrist. Can you fight, or do you just hunt down defenseless women?”

“Funny wench, I would hardly call you defenseless,” Inuyasha said with a mock glare standing up. He walked across the clearing continuing over his shoulder. “Just stay over there with the brat. No running off, I’m not in the mood to track your ass down again.” Kagome glared at his retreating back, as she threw off her blankets and climbed to her feet. She quickly searched through their pile of supplies for her weapons.

Snatching up her bow and quiver, she then crept out around the tree, away from Shippou. Kagome dropped to her knees, and laid her quiver of arrows beside her, taking out an arrow she notched it, readying herself if she needed to shoot.

The silence of the forest was disturbed by the sounds of breaking tree limbs and a loud crinkling as the youkai drew closer. Soon three-centipede youkai emerged into the clearing and drew closer to Inuyasha. He quickly pulled his sword, Tetsusaiga from its sheath, the blade transforming as he pointed it at the youkai.

The giant centipedes dived as one for the hanyou, as Inuyasha quickly jumped to the side. They skidded across the ground before turning toward Inuyasha again. One of the youkai headed straight for the hanyou as the other two circled around, trying to get behind him, as they all lunged for him again. Inuyasha jumped to the back of one of the centipedes, while the other two followed his movements diving at him.

The smaller centipede went after Inuyasha again as he swung Tetsusaiga at the youkai. He sliced the creature down its side, mortally wounding it and causing the youkai fell to the ground around him. Inuyasha quickly dropped to the ground, when he saw a bright pink streak headed toward him. The arrow sailed past his head and imbedded in the youkai that had come up behind him, that centipede dissolving is a flash of pink light.

Inuyasha turned to glare at Kagome, but his eyes widened when he saw her holding her injured wrist and the last youkai headed for her. He quickly sheathed tetsusaiga and sprinted toward the miko. When he reached her, he scooped her up and pushed off the ground just before the last youkai reached them. “What the hell do you think you’re doing wench?”

“I don’t know, saving your butt,” Kagome replied angrily.

“Keh, I don’t need your help.”

“Look out,” Kagome yelled as the centipede youkai came at them from behind. Inuyasha swore under his breath as he twisted to the side, and then darted across the clearing to set Kagome on her feet. “What about Shippou?”

“The brat is fine. Stay here, out of the way wench,” Inuyasha muttered before he ran back across the clearing, and unsheathed Tetsusaiga. The youkai dived for him again, as he slashed down with tetsusaiga cleaving the youkai in half. Inuyasha sheathed his sword, and turned when he heard Kagome headed his way, he raised an eyebrow as she drew closer, only for her to breeze past him and around the side of the tree.

“Keh.” Inuyasha followed the retreating girl, and when he cleared the tree he could see her leaning over the still sleeping kitsune. “Is that all the brat does?” Kagome shot him a glare and began searching through their pile of supplies, setting the bag of rice and a large bowl to the side.

“Why don’t you go hunt some meat down for breakfast,” Kagome suggested adding kindling to the glowing embers of what use to be their fire.

“Keh. I’m not giving you the chance to run, though you wouldn’t get very far anyway.”

“Then why don’t you go catch some fish? I’m not going to use up all of my supplies feeding you.” Kagome hid a tiny smile as the grumpy hanyou, growled before stomping down to the small stream. The miko added several more pieces of kindling to the fire, before picking up the bowl and heading to the stream herself.

Kagome’s lips twitched, drawing in to another small smile when she noticed that Inuyasha’s ears turned in her direction, as he noticed her movement. She kneeled down on the bank and filled the bowl before heading back up to the fire. She placed the bowl next to coals and sat back to wait for the water to boil.





Inuyasha sauntered back up the bank carrying several already cleaned fish, the sleeves of his haori dripping water. He smirked as he dropped the fish into Kagome’s lap before plopping down out of her reach. She glanced down at her lap before shooting the smug hanyou a dark glare. The miko picked up a sharpened stick, she tapped it against her palm, and making sure, she had his attention before she skewered the fish, getting her message across.

Kagome planted the skewer into the ground over the fire before sitting back and searching through her supplies. She pulled out her light blue yukata, then stood up and stomped away from camp. “Oi! Where do you think you’re going?”

“Do you really think I would run off with nothing but an extra yukata,” Kagome replied over her shoulder, heading behind a tree.

“Keh.”

“Besides, you think I’m going to continue to wear one that will soon smell like dead fish,” Kagome said from behind a tree as she quickly changed. She walked back to the fire and packed the fishy yukata before sitting down. Inuyasha stuck his nose in the air, just before jumping into one of the lower branches of the tree they were under to wait out breakfast.





The aroma of cooked fish and rice finally brought the hanyou out of the tree, as a small nose poked out of the makeshift futon. The kitsune sniffed the air again before hopping out of the blanket and running over to Kagome. Shippou jumped on to her lap before he noticed Inuyasha, and with a squeak, he dived behind her. “Good morning Shippou-chan.”

“What’s he doing here,” The small kitsune asked, peaking out from behind the miko.

“Keh, took you long enough to wake up runt.”

“Inuyasha was here when I woke up,” Kagome replied with a sigh. “Now come on out so that you can eat, he’s not going to hurt you.” Shippou slowly inched out, and then sat down beside Kagome as she divided the food between them. They ate in silence, Kagome occasionally sneaking glances at the hanyou across from her. ‘How are we going to be able to get away from him this time?’





Kagome sighed to herself as she rode Kage closer to the village that could be seen in the distance, Shippou sitting on her shoulder was unusually quiet. ‘It probably won’t be long before an irate Inuyasha catches up to us again. I guess I should just give in and tell him the truth, he might help me; maybe Naraku slipped up and sent me an ally by mistake.’

Kagome sighed again, the lengthening shadows of early evening, had her urging the horse into a faster trot toward the village. ‘No, that seems to be too much in my favor, there has to be another reason why he sent Inuyasha.’ Kagome, deciding to skirt the village to avoid any trouble, she turned Kage off the road and across the meadow surrounding the village, and into the shadowed forest.

The young woman rode the black stallion deeper into the dense forest, the last light of the day fading quickly into evening. She continued riding, trying to find a place to camp in the growing darkness. “Kagome?”

“Hai, what is it Shippou-chan?”

“I smell water, that way,” He said pointing to the left.

“Good, hopefully there will be a place to camp. We all need some rest.” Kagome turned the horse in the direction Shippou indicated and urged him into a faster trot. They didn’t get very far before the trees began to thin out, opening into a clearing surrounding a hot spring.

Kagome nearly shouted in delight at the thought of getting a real bath for once when she saw the spring. Shippou jumped from her shoulder as she quickly dismounted the horse and tethered him to a bush. She removed their supplies, lugging them a safe distance away from Kage before dropping them to the ground near the trees. “Shippou do you think you could find some wood for a fire with it as dark as it is?”

“Hai, I can still see good,” he replied before bounding off into the trees. While he was gone, Kagome busied herself with digging a fire pit, rolling out their futon and settling Kage down for the night.





Shippou dropped his third armload of wood into the growing pile before joining Kagome by the fire, watching her cook their meal of rice and vegetables they had picked earlier in the day. Kagome patiently waited for the rice to cook before dividing the simple meal between them. They ate in silence, Shippou tiredly leaned against Kagome after he finished, yawning widely. “Shippou-chan if you’re that tired why don’t you go ahead and lay down.”

The small youkai nodded his head before curling up on the futon; Kagome moved closer to him and lightly began stroking her fingers through his hair, soothing the kit to sleep.



Kagome sat by the peacefully sleeping kitsune, staring into the flames of the fire lost in thought, the bright almost full moon shinned into the clearing, finally haven risen enough to be visible. Kagome pulled herself from her thoughts and leaned over Shippou checking to make sure that he was still sleeping and would not wake. She then quickly gathered her bathing supplies, her dirty yukata and her last clean one before quietly making her way to the hot springs.

Kagome carefully picked her way around the slippery rocks that surrounded the springs, working her way to the small pool that had formed. She dropped her bag near the edge of the water and glanced around the shadowed clearing, before stripping out of her yukata. Kagome quickly stuffed the herbal pouches in to the clean yukata before kneeling on the bank and cleaning both soiled yukatas. She then stretched them out across the rocks to begin drip-drying.

The young woman carefully waded across the slippery rocky bottom of the spring up to her thighs before sinking down and resting her back against one of the smooth rocks, her thoughts wondering again as guilt began to plague her.


They had just finished their breakfast, Inuyasha sat getting impatient as Kagome cleaned their bowls and then repacked them. She walked over to Kage carrying their supplies, Shippou trailing close behind and glancing back at the hanyou. The miko quickly tied the supplies to the horse’s saddle before climbing on herself, Shippou scrambling onto her shoulder. Inuyasha cautiously approached the miko waiting for her to pull something as he took the horse’s reins from her.

Inuyasha began leading the horse, his ears flicking back to catch the sounds of Kagome restlessly shifting in the saddle. “Knock it off wench,” the hanyou said turning around. “I’m not -” Inuyasha did not get to finish, as Kagome threw one of the herbal pouches at him. Inuyasha caught it just before it hit his face, but the impact with his hand sent the powder into the air, disrupting his sensitive nose.


Kagome sighed to herself, remembering the look on his face as he began coughing and tossed the pouch away from him. She quickly dunked under the water, before easing out of the spring and began washing. She quickly washed her body before following with her hair, trying to clear her mind.

Kagome slipped back into the water rinsing the soap off her body and out of her hair. She pushed away from the rocks and glided out into the middle of the pool with sure strokes before treading water. Kagome slipped under the surface and swam in the crystal clear waters of the hot spring; the moon shining brightly above reflected off the water lighting the clearing in an ethereal glow.





Inuyasha walked silently into the edge of the clearing, slowly approaching the small camp. Seeing the miko nowhere in sight, he lightly nudged the small kitsune with a claw, receiving a mumbled sound of protest before he rolled over and continued to sleep.

Following Kagome’s scent, Inuyasha silently left the camp and padded over to the spring; carefully stepping across the rocks, he came to a stop beside the discarded yukata. He glanced across the spring, seeing a dark head slowly break the surface of the water. An evil smirk crossed his lips, his eyes glowing with mischief as he called out to the miko, his voice a deep rumble, “You still owe me your side of the story, wench.”


To be continued….





A/N: Again thanks for reading, and please let me know what you think.