InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Someone Else's Body ❯ A Bath ( Chapter 2 )

A/N: If the writing changes at all in this chapter, it's because I haven't thought about this story in a while. I wrote the second chapter quite some time ago but never posted it. When I finally did, I had already started writing an original story and that took up a lot of time. Not to mention I can't easily focus on any one thing. I'm also in China at the moment and access to the internet at my grandparent's house is exactly nill (how do you spell that?). My aunt, however, does have an internet connection but it's very slow and it keeps going to error pages. I did make it to your reviews (which by the way I thank you people for).

A little info on this fic (if you don't care you can just skip to the disclaimer and/or the story): I have a VERY general idea as to what's going to happen and what's happening. I am basically making up the story as I go. Actually, I don't have that much info. Oh yeah… the title of this story (I Want to Change the World) has absolutely nothing to do with the story. I simply couldn't think of a title so I wrote down the name of one of the opening songs. As you people read, I would be grateful if you could suggest some titles. This does mean you will have to remember my penname, not the title because it may change.

COMPLETELY RANDOM FACT: If you haven't noticed… I like putting "…'s" everywhere. I try to keep them out of my stories though. ON WITH THE STORY!

Disclaimer (The Emperor's New Groove Squeaky style): Sqeeeeu Squeaky Squeak Squeakums Inuyasha (I do not own Inuyasha). Squeakity… Squeaks… (yes… lame…)

Shafts of sunlight lazily floated through the dried wheat stalks covering the rectangular window. Kagome rubbed her eyes sleepily and sat up from the tatami mat she was lying on. Her blanket had been thrown off during her sleep but she was still hot. She lightly wondered why it could be so hot when it had just rained yesterday.

Their whole group was supposed to sleep in one room together because the house was very small. However, Inuyasha seldom slept inside and had already become comfortable with one of the few trees surrounding the house whereas Miroku had been thrown out after 15 minutes.

Kagome quietly picked her way around Sango, Shippo, Kirara, and their various traveling accessories. Her legs felt sticky against each other as she kneeled on the floor of the kitchen/dining room.

"Ah, you're awake. The weather is a little stifling these days isn't it?" the old lady, their host, slowly kneeled down next to Kagome. "If you would like, I could take you to a nearby river for a bath."

"That would be lovely!" Kagome sighed from content. "I feel dirty all over. We generally stop at a hot spring but there haven't been any along our route so I haven't had a chance to clean myself. I'll go get Sango - "

"You better not wake the girl. You've all had a rough journey. I am sure she would rather sleep for now. I can take her again when she has awakened." The lady smiled inwardly.

"You're right. Thank you, uh…" Kagome opened her eyes in surprise then dropped her head in shame.

"Don't worry about it. You had other things on your mind." The old lady said assuredly. "My name's… Kanako Takashi. Why don't you go get a new set of clothes while I wait for you outside?"

"Sounds like a plan." Kagome slipped into her room and silently took out a clean school uniform, shampoo, conditioner, and soap. A towel was wrapped around the items and Kagome closed the bag before walking out of the house. She noticed that Inuyasha wasn't in his tree anymore and assumed that both he and Miroku were awake. Kagome decided she would inform them of her plans so she circled the house. The two were nowhere to be seen.

I suppose it's better this way. They won't be bothering me anytime soon. Kagome brushed a hair out of her eye and ran towards Kanako, clutching her things. "Let's go!"

~*~*~*~

"Kagome-chan, where are you?" Sango took a deep breath and tried shouting her friend's name again. She was slightly worried about Kagome. She had been gone for an hour already and hadn't told anyone where she was. No one had seen her since last night either. Come to think of it, the old lady isn't here either. Perhaps they went on a walk or something.

Sango's musings were interrupted as some unidentified object tickled her thigh then made its way higher and…

THUMP

Miroku lay in the dirt, looking up goofily. He did not sport the usual hand-shaped mark on his cheek though one had to feel sorry for him. One of Sango's leg was extended to her left while the other one was bent and supporting most of her weight. Sango's head was a foot from the ground, her arms were bent and her hands helped balance herself.

Sango had just swept her left leg underneath Miroku to rid him of his perverted thoughts. Unfortunately, she did not succeed. He now was positioned shamelessly around Sango's now exposed leg. There was a >thwack< and Miroku crouched as he nursed a bump on his head, tears running from his eyes.

"Bad." Sango scolded. "Sorry master!" Miroku said defeatedly.

"And you were talking about Kagome being my medicine." Inuyasha was lazily leaning against the wall of the house, smirking. Sango's glare pierced through the white-haired figure. "Ok, ok." Inuyasha said, holding his arms up in defense. He decided to tease Miroku later when they were alone.

"Has anyone seen Kagome?" Shippo said as he came out of the house. He had been searching for her too and was a little bummed that she wasn't around.

"Yeah. I haven't seen her around." Miroku said thoughtfully. "Hey," he said, nodding his head at Inuyasha, "What have you done with her? Did you guys get a little too comfortable? Is she worried we'll find out she's pregnant? AH!" Miroku ducked as several stones flew his way. "Fine."

~*~*~*~

The `river' was more of a creek or brook but Kagome didn't mind. It was her saviour. It was about 10 meters wide and multiple kinds of vegetation lined its sides. She stepped into it and shivered from the sudden cold. It wasn't very shallow and at four meters away from the side, Kagome was tip-toeing to keep her head above the water. She submerged her whole body then came up with her hair in front of her face. With a flick of her head, she sent her hair flying back behind her, along with a large amount of water.

Kagome turned around to see that she had splashed Kanako who was resting in the shade of a tree. Kagome bowed her head in apology and Kanako waved her hand in dismissal. Kagome relaxed and proceeded to rid her body of the waste she had collected from their journey.

Kagome squeezed some shampoo into her right hand then poured half of it into her left hand. She proceeded to lather her hair, concentrating mainly on the area near her scalp. After taking several dips, she got the shampoo out of her hair and then conditioned her hair. Afterwards, she used the soap to wash the rest of her body and rested on the edge. She enjoyed the moment, choosing not to think about things as she usually did while bathing.

Finally gathering the strength and self-discipline to make herself get out of the water, Kagome toweled off, clothed herself, and walked over to the tree old lady Takashi was sitting under. Kagome relaxed as she sat under the tree. Its leaves rustled and the wheat stalks behind Kagome and Kanako all leaned to one side, away from the slight wind.

Kagome looked up at the blue sky and the fluffy white clouds which dotted the skies. Closing her eyes, she thought of Inuyasha. Things had become much better in that area. Inuyasha was himself again but they didn't fight as much. In fact, the last fight she could remember was the one right before the `eagle bat-demon' took him away. She began to analyze Inuyasha's behaviour since then but was interrupted by a kind voice.

"Miss Kagome, what was that white foamy substance you used for your hair in the river while bathing?" Kanako Takashi looked questioningly into Kagome's eyes.

"Oh. Umm… that's called shampoo and the other foamy one is called soap. Shampoo is, uh, my village's secret to our silky, wavy hair. Yeah, and soap is what we have developed for ridding ourselves of bacteria."

"Bacteria?"

"Um… They are these little, tiny… animals that can make us sick. Some of them help us too. An example of good bacteria would be those that live in our stomachs. They help us digest."

"Oh I see… Then, when my stomach makes a rumbling noise, are these tiny animals roaring?"

"…. No." Kagome said exasperatedly, tired from trying to explain what she had learned in biology. "I think I'll go take another dip." She undressed again and slipped into the soothing, cool water.

Now is my chance. Kanako took out a near invisible piece of string and slowly walked towards Kagome. She grinned evilly, adrenaline pumping through her veins as she anticipated the struggle of her prey.

A/N: I've always wanted to write a cliffie. I don't know if it's a good one though. You guys are lucky. After seeing reviews, I came back to my grandparents house, took out my brother's laptop, and typed furiously. I guess my prediction was way off. This chapter is a little over 3 pages without the author's notes. Gah! No matter what I do, I can't stop thinking about its length. Anyways, I'm going to go through and spell-check it again. No matter how many times I go through my work, mistakes always slip through. I noticed on my first chapter I wrote fast disappearing dark instead of light. Ah well. Reviews aren't necessary on this chapter. I don't feel evil anymore. However, they ARE recommended.