InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Secret Guardian ❯ Chapter 3
[ P - Pre-Teen ]
By: SnowySilence 
Anime/Manga: InuYasha Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Romance / Comedy | Type: Other | Uploaded On: 10.28.2003 | Pages: 2 | Words: 2.1K | Visits: 736 | Status: Work In Progress
Anime/Manga: InuYasha Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Romance / Comedy | Type: Other | Uploaded On: 10.28.2003 | Pages: 2 | Words: 2.1K | Visits: 736 | Status: Work In Progress
Part 3
~*~*~
Kagome shivered as she climbed up the side of the cliff. The ground was slippery and she needed to grasp Hojo's hand in order to keep from falling and sliding down the rocky side.
"We're almost there, Kagome. Just a little farther." Hojo held tight to her hand. He found foot holds and guided her up. They were almost at the top, which was good, because both of them were tired.
They had left the cave two days ago. They hadn't been lucky enough to find another cave to sleep in, so they had to try and sleep under shrubs to keep as dry as they could. Hojo would hunt for food, so they didn't starve, but it had been difficult to find a semi dry spot to start a fire in order to cook. And they didn't have any money, so when they had come across the village earlier that day, they couldn't stay at the inn there. But Hojo had traded the small rabbit pelts for some bread and cheese to hold them in case they couldn't find a decent place to cook again.
Hojo was grateful to Kagome that she didn't complain about the way they were surviving these last few days. It had worried him that she might demand that they go back to the village to stay with Inuyasha and the others. But she didn't once complain about their circumstances.
Hojo climbed on top of the ledge at the top of the steep hill and reached down to help Kagome stand. They both sighed in relief that the climb was over. When they turned around to continue on, they both stopped and stared in awe.
Before them was the most beautiful ravine either had ever seen. It dipped low, almost as low as the ground from where they had climbed up. Trees grew and covered the area across from them like a ceiling, so that the flat rock beneath was dry. And it was deep enough that the wind blew over the top, but didn't go down into the small paradise. A waterfall fell down into the spring at the bottom. It was a perfect safe haven.
Kagome glanced over at Hojo, silently praying that he would let them rest here. He glanced back at her, and gave her a small smile. That was enough of an answer for Kagome. She beamed up at him.
He took her hand again and led the way down the side. It wasn't difficult, but it was still slippery. When they finally reached the flat rock across from where they had been standing, they both sighed in relief. Kagome sat down on the flat rock.
"Wow, this rock is really warm." Kagome said, sighing in content.
Hojo smiled and sat down next to her. "I'm sorry that it turned out like this. I didn't want to make this trip unpleasant for you."
"Well, I can't say I enjoy feeling like a drowned rat, but it hasn't been too bad. I just wish I could wash my clothes." Kagome looked longingly at the steaming water in front of them. "How long are we going to stay here?"
"What would you think about camping here for the night?"
Kagome swung her head towards him. "You mean that?"
"Yeah. I'm not happy about being soggy either. And this is a nice, warm place we can set up camp, so why not?" Hojo shrugged. "I don't think Inuyasha will be able to guess where we are. The rain probably washed all our scent away by now."
Kagome grinned at him. "Maybe we can get dry now, huh?"
Hojo returned the smile. He dug in his pocket for a moment and pulled out a piece of muslin. "Here." He said, handing her the cloth.
Kagome looked at him curiously for a moment before she took it. Something was wrapped up in it. Carefully, Kagome unwrapped the object. It was no bigger that her fist and when she finished unwrapping it, Kagome's eyes lit up with surprise then happiness. It was a chunk of soap.
"I bought it when we were in that village today." Hojo said in a way of an explanation. "Now you can wash your clothes."
Kagome grinned. "Thank you. But I hope that isn't a subtle way of telling me to take a bath."
Hojo's eyes widened with surprise. Then he turned red with embarrassment. "I didn't mean to say... It's just that... But I was just..."
Kagome laughed. "I'm sorry, Hojo. I shouldn't have teased you like that. It was very nice of you to get this soap for me. I really appreciate it." Kagome looked down at the soap as if it were a precious treasure. She stood up and walked over to the water's edge, then she glanced back at Hojo. "Umm, I don't know how we should do this."
Hojo flushed. Of course. He'd forgotten that he didn't have the familiarity with Kagome that would allow her to bathe with him there. "I'll go take a walk." He said, standing up.
"No, no! I didn't mean to leave! You can stay." Kagome turned red this time. "I'd feel safer if you were here. Inuyasha just turns his back, so you can do that."
Hojo immediately turned his back. After a moment he heard her getting into the water. Just the thought of her bathing behind him made him turn red again. What had he been thinking?
Kagome was delighted to be able to take a bath. It felt wonderful. She had begun to feel itchy from all the water, sweat and dirt from the last few days, so getting clean was a real treat. She quickly washed her clothes and threw them up onto the rock. Then she scrubbed herself clean.
She glanced over at Hojo. His back was to her, and he was leaning down, spreading her clothes out over the heated rock so they would dry better. She turned pink when she saw him spread out her bra and underwear. But it was still thoughtful of him to spread them out for her. She had figured she'd be putting them on wet.
"Hojo."
"Yeah?" He kept his back to her.
"I think you should bathe, too." At her words Hojo whipped around and stared at her. When he realized that, he whipped back around, turning crimson. "I didn't mean to embarrass you, Hojo. I just know that you have to be feeling dirty too. Besides, this spring is big enough for the both of us."
"But, Kagome..." Hojo didn't know how to respond to that. It wasn't proper for him to bathe with her, but she was right. Her clothes would take a while to dry, even with the extra heat from the rock, and he did feel like getting clean. But his main concern was the fact that if Inuyasha found out, Hojo would be lucky if he got a quick death.
"Oh, for heaven's sake, Hojo! Just come and take a bath! I won't bite you." Kagome glowered up at him. Was he afraid of her or something?
Hojo stood there for a moment, letting his thoughts battle it out. Then he sighed. "Okay." He did feel dirty, and he wasn't planning on Inuyasha ever finding out about this, even though he wasn't doing anything wrong.
Slowly, Hojo turned around, giving Kagome time to cover up anything she didn't want him seeing. Her back was to him so he could climb into the water in privacy. He took off his shoes and that's all. Hojo lowered himself in the water fully clothed.
Kagome had set the piece of soap up on the rock. He picked it up and began to wash his clothing, taking one article off at a time, then throwing them up on the rock in a heap. After they were all washed, he glanced over at Kagome to be sure her back was still to him, then climbed out to spread his clothes out. When he was done he jumped back in.
"Hey Hojo, you never did tell me what you threw at Naraku." She said this over her shoulder. She just wanted to talk to get her mind off the fact that they were bathing together. Even if it was a necessity, She still felt a little bit embarrassed about it.
"It was a kind of spell. I had it on a small rock, which he would catch just to see what it was, and then the spell would work on him."
"What kind of spell?"
"It's just a charm to paralyze. But with as strong as he is, I figured the longest it would last is a few minutes."
"Why did you save me?" Kagome hadn't meant to ask that question, but it just seemed to pop out. "Forget I asked."
Hojo turned around in surprise, forgetting that they were both naked. "Why would you ask that?"
Kagome also forgot that fact, because she turned around too. "Because, every guy that's had any interest in me, seems to have ulterior motives." Kagome's self esteem was suffering because of this fact, and now she voiced her doubts. "Inuyasha didn't even like me before. When we started to look for the jewel shards is when he started to treat me differently, and whenever he showed concern for me, he assured me it was because he might lose his jewel detector. Kouga says he loves me, and that I have qualities that would be good in a mate, but again, one of those qualities is being able to find jewel shards. You kept asking me on dates, and I assumed it was because you liked me, and then I find out that you know all about what I've been doing. Was it because you were watching out for me that you asked me on those dates? To keep me from facing demons like Naraku in our time?" She searched his eyes, hoping she wouldn't see that that was his reason.
"Kagome, I asked you out on those dates because I liked you. I won't lie and tell you that that's the only reason. I did want to keep an eye on you so you'd be safe in our time, but that was only a little part of it. I've liked you for a long time, Kagome, and I just wanted to spend some time with you." He watched the doubt cross he face. Of course she would think he had ulterior motives. But Hojo wanted to get his point across.
He approached her slowly, giving her enough time to back away if she felt threatened. She didn't. So when he reached her, he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close. Hojo looked down into her eyes, seeing if their was any hesitancy, then he leaned down and kissed her gently on the lips. It wasn't an impassioned kiss of two new lovers, or just a kiss between friends. It was an intimate kiss that shared tender feelings between two people that cared about each other, a kiss that showed there was no secrets or lies, just honesty and trust.
A throat clearing interrupted their kiss. Hojo looked towards the rock, and groaned inwardly. Of course, they had to show up now. He heard Kagome's gasp and felt her move farther behind him so she couldn't be seen.
"Have we interrupted something?" Kouga said coldly. His eyes shot daggers at Hojo. Sesshoumaru just raised an eyebrow.
~*~*~
Hee..... *scratches the back of head* Hmmmm........... I'm actually at a loss. I don't know whether or not to start a romance between Hojo and Kagome. What's your guy's opinion?
Please be Kind! R/R ~_~
~*~*~
Kagome shivered as she climbed up the side of the cliff. The ground was slippery and she needed to grasp Hojo's hand in order to keep from falling and sliding down the rocky side.
"We're almost there, Kagome. Just a little farther." Hojo held tight to her hand. He found foot holds and guided her up. They were almost at the top, which was good, because both of them were tired.
They had left the cave two days ago. They hadn't been lucky enough to find another cave to sleep in, so they had to try and sleep under shrubs to keep as dry as they could. Hojo would hunt for food, so they didn't starve, but it had been difficult to find a semi dry spot to start a fire in order to cook. And they didn't have any money, so when they had come across the village earlier that day, they couldn't stay at the inn there. But Hojo had traded the small rabbit pelts for some bread and cheese to hold them in case they couldn't find a decent place to cook again.
Hojo was grateful to Kagome that she didn't complain about the way they were surviving these last few days. It had worried him that she might demand that they go back to the village to stay with Inuyasha and the others. But she didn't once complain about their circumstances.
Hojo climbed on top of the ledge at the top of the steep hill and reached down to help Kagome stand. They both sighed in relief that the climb was over. When they turned around to continue on, they both stopped and stared in awe.
Before them was the most beautiful ravine either had ever seen. It dipped low, almost as low as the ground from where they had climbed up. Trees grew and covered the area across from them like a ceiling, so that the flat rock beneath was dry. And it was deep enough that the wind blew over the top, but didn't go down into the small paradise. A waterfall fell down into the spring at the bottom. It was a perfect safe haven.
Kagome glanced over at Hojo, silently praying that he would let them rest here. He glanced back at her, and gave her a small smile. That was enough of an answer for Kagome. She beamed up at him.
He took her hand again and led the way down the side. It wasn't difficult, but it was still slippery. When they finally reached the flat rock across from where they had been standing, they both sighed in relief. Kagome sat down on the flat rock.
"Wow, this rock is really warm." Kagome said, sighing in content.
Hojo smiled and sat down next to her. "I'm sorry that it turned out like this. I didn't want to make this trip unpleasant for you."
"Well, I can't say I enjoy feeling like a drowned rat, but it hasn't been too bad. I just wish I could wash my clothes." Kagome looked longingly at the steaming water in front of them. "How long are we going to stay here?"
"What would you think about camping here for the night?"
Kagome swung her head towards him. "You mean that?"
"Yeah. I'm not happy about being soggy either. And this is a nice, warm place we can set up camp, so why not?" Hojo shrugged. "I don't think Inuyasha will be able to guess where we are. The rain probably washed all our scent away by now."
Kagome grinned at him. "Maybe we can get dry now, huh?"
Hojo returned the smile. He dug in his pocket for a moment and pulled out a piece of muslin. "Here." He said, handing her the cloth.
Kagome looked at him curiously for a moment before she took it. Something was wrapped up in it. Carefully, Kagome unwrapped the object. It was no bigger that her fist and when she finished unwrapping it, Kagome's eyes lit up with surprise then happiness. It was a chunk of soap.
"I bought it when we were in that village today." Hojo said in a way of an explanation. "Now you can wash your clothes."
Kagome grinned. "Thank you. But I hope that isn't a subtle way of telling me to take a bath."
Hojo's eyes widened with surprise. Then he turned red with embarrassment. "I didn't mean to say... It's just that... But I was just..."
Kagome laughed. "I'm sorry, Hojo. I shouldn't have teased you like that. It was very nice of you to get this soap for me. I really appreciate it." Kagome looked down at the soap as if it were a precious treasure. She stood up and walked over to the water's edge, then she glanced back at Hojo. "Umm, I don't know how we should do this."
Hojo flushed. Of course. He'd forgotten that he didn't have the familiarity with Kagome that would allow her to bathe with him there. "I'll go take a walk." He said, standing up.
"No, no! I didn't mean to leave! You can stay." Kagome turned red this time. "I'd feel safer if you were here. Inuyasha just turns his back, so you can do that."
Hojo immediately turned his back. After a moment he heard her getting into the water. Just the thought of her bathing behind him made him turn red again. What had he been thinking?
Kagome was delighted to be able to take a bath. It felt wonderful. She had begun to feel itchy from all the water, sweat and dirt from the last few days, so getting clean was a real treat. She quickly washed her clothes and threw them up onto the rock. Then she scrubbed herself clean.
She glanced over at Hojo. His back was to her, and he was leaning down, spreading her clothes out over the heated rock so they would dry better. She turned pink when she saw him spread out her bra and underwear. But it was still thoughtful of him to spread them out for her. She had figured she'd be putting them on wet.
"Hojo."
"Yeah?" He kept his back to her.
"I think you should bathe, too." At her words Hojo whipped around and stared at her. When he realized that, he whipped back around, turning crimson. "I didn't mean to embarrass you, Hojo. I just know that you have to be feeling dirty too. Besides, this spring is big enough for the both of us."
"But, Kagome..." Hojo didn't know how to respond to that. It wasn't proper for him to bathe with her, but she was right. Her clothes would take a while to dry, even with the extra heat from the rock, and he did feel like getting clean. But his main concern was the fact that if Inuyasha found out, Hojo would be lucky if he got a quick death.
"Oh, for heaven's sake, Hojo! Just come and take a bath! I won't bite you." Kagome glowered up at him. Was he afraid of her or something?
Hojo stood there for a moment, letting his thoughts battle it out. Then he sighed. "Okay." He did feel dirty, and he wasn't planning on Inuyasha ever finding out about this, even though he wasn't doing anything wrong.
Slowly, Hojo turned around, giving Kagome time to cover up anything she didn't want him seeing. Her back was to him so he could climb into the water in privacy. He took off his shoes and that's all. Hojo lowered himself in the water fully clothed.
Kagome had set the piece of soap up on the rock. He picked it up and began to wash his clothing, taking one article off at a time, then throwing them up on the rock in a heap. After they were all washed, he glanced over at Kagome to be sure her back was still to him, then climbed out to spread his clothes out. When he was done he jumped back in.
"Hey Hojo, you never did tell me what you threw at Naraku." She said this over her shoulder. She just wanted to talk to get her mind off the fact that they were bathing together. Even if it was a necessity, She still felt a little bit embarrassed about it.
"It was a kind of spell. I had it on a small rock, which he would catch just to see what it was, and then the spell would work on him."
"What kind of spell?"
"It's just a charm to paralyze. But with as strong as he is, I figured the longest it would last is a few minutes."
"Why did you save me?" Kagome hadn't meant to ask that question, but it just seemed to pop out. "Forget I asked."
Hojo turned around in surprise, forgetting that they were both naked. "Why would you ask that?"
Kagome also forgot that fact, because she turned around too. "Because, every guy that's had any interest in me, seems to have ulterior motives." Kagome's self esteem was suffering because of this fact, and now she voiced her doubts. "Inuyasha didn't even like me before. When we started to look for the jewel shards is when he started to treat me differently, and whenever he showed concern for me, he assured me it was because he might lose his jewel detector. Kouga says he loves me, and that I have qualities that would be good in a mate, but again, one of those qualities is being able to find jewel shards. You kept asking me on dates, and I assumed it was because you liked me, and then I find out that you know all about what I've been doing. Was it because you were watching out for me that you asked me on those dates? To keep me from facing demons like Naraku in our time?" She searched his eyes, hoping she wouldn't see that that was his reason.
"Kagome, I asked you out on those dates because I liked you. I won't lie and tell you that that's the only reason. I did want to keep an eye on you so you'd be safe in our time, but that was only a little part of it. I've liked you for a long time, Kagome, and I just wanted to spend some time with you." He watched the doubt cross he face. Of course she would think he had ulterior motives. But Hojo wanted to get his point across.
He approached her slowly, giving her enough time to back away if she felt threatened. She didn't. So when he reached her, he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close. Hojo looked down into her eyes, seeing if their was any hesitancy, then he leaned down and kissed her gently on the lips. It wasn't an impassioned kiss of two new lovers, or just a kiss between friends. It was an intimate kiss that shared tender feelings between two people that cared about each other, a kiss that showed there was no secrets or lies, just honesty and trust.
A throat clearing interrupted their kiss. Hojo looked towards the rock, and groaned inwardly. Of course, they had to show up now. He heard Kagome's gasp and felt her move farther behind him so she couldn't be seen.
"Have we interrupted something?" Kouga said coldly. His eyes shot daggers at Hojo. Sesshoumaru just raised an eyebrow.
~*~*~
Hee..... *scratches the back of head* Hmmmm........... I'm actually at a loss. I don't know whether or not to start a romance between Hojo and Kagome. What's your guy's opinion?
Please be Kind! R/R ~_~