Yu Yu Hakusho Fan Fiction / InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Time Traveler Meets Spirit Detective ❯ Chapter 11 ( Chapter 11 )

Author's Note: Sorry for forgetting you guys again. I've been busy with my ff.net stories. Especially Trust.

Disclaimer: I don't own Yu Yu Hakusho or Inuyasha.

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Chapter 11 - Hot Springs

The journey had been eerily silent as the detectives and shard hunters traveled back in the direction of Kaede's village. The information from Kouga was sketchy at the most, and of dubious reliability. But, Kagome didn't sense anymore jewel shards nearby, so they were traveling in the direction Kouga had indicated Naraku was. Which was in the opposite direction they had been traveling.

So now, the group journeyed in silence and the one who normally got them talking was walking ahead of the group, setting a pace that Sango and Miroku had told Botan was startling for her. Obviously she had been angry, but was there something else to it?

Botan sighed as they finally set up camp the second day after the fight, and then turned quickly as she saw someone approaching out of the corner of her eye. It was Sango, who was eying Kagome setting up across the clearing they had found to sleep in. "We need to talk to her. I'm not sure what's wrong; she never acts like this. She's never said anything like that to Inuyasha either. Or to anyone. Usually she talks during a bath, but I haven't managed to get her to bathe at the same time as me the past couple of days. I think she's avoiding the subject."

Botan grinned, finally, someone to help her get that girl talking. Kagome had been avoiding everyone the past two days. "Well, she can't avoid both of us! I may not have known her as long as you, but even I can tell there's something wrong. Besides, I want to talk to her about something else too," Botan said, ending in a giggle.

The two girls headed over to Kagome, whose head jerked up and for a second flashed with guilt before straightening, hiding her bathing items behind her back. Botan grinned, grabbed one arm, and began pulling Kagome away from camp.

"Inuyasha! You said there were hot springs nearby. Where are they?" Sango looked up at Inuyasha, who looked confused for an instant before pointing in one direction.

"That way. There's a path, of sorts." He settled back in his tree, watching as that Botan girl led Kagome off in the direction Sango was going in. 'Oh. They're having one of those talks. Well...good! Maybe Kagome will get back to normal now. And apologize for saying I was getting in the way! Wench.'

Shippo jumped in the way of Miroku as the monk started to follow them. "Sorry Miroku, but Kagome doesn't talk to me for hours if I don't keep you here when they're bathing. And if they get Kagome talking, I want to be able to talk to her. So stay!"

Shippo pointed back to a log near the fire, looking as if he was commanding a dog to sit, and surprisingly, Miroku obeyed. "Of course. I to want Kagome to be talking to us again. I simply wanted to collect fire wood."

"But...you said you said you were collecting firewood a few days ago and Sango came back screaming with that boomerang in her hand," Kuwabara pointed out. Kurama put one hand to his mouth, covering up his smile and snicker with a cough.

"Ah... There was very good firewood near the hot springs." Miroku tried to put on an innocent and serious expression. He did manage to look serious, but he definitely didn't look innocent.

Shippo just glared, and then firmly placed himself near the path, keeping an eye on the monk. Miroku sighed and gave the kit a mournful look. "Hey, talking of firewood, where's your little leader-boy?"

Inuyasha smirked at the narrowed eyes he got from the two older demons. Kuwabara stood up, apparently about to say something rash when a piece of wood came flying towards Inuyasha. He caught it reflexively, scowling at the smirking boy who had finally come back with the firewood.

"Leader-boy? Can't you come up with something better than that, puppy?" Yusuke dropped the firewood carelessly, never dropping his eyes from Inuyasha's. The hanyou dropped to the ground a few feet from Yusuke.

"Puppy? This coming from you, whelp? At least I've got more than a light show for weapons. Think you can just come in here and help us to get in Kagome's good graces? We don't need your help. We were doing fine without you." Inuyasha growled at the boy in front of him, flexing his claws menacingly.

The other boys were exchanging worried glances, except for Hiei who seemed interested in the fight that was about to happen. Kurama frowned, as did Miroku, both of them shifting, while Kuwabara looked like he was about to interfere.

"Is Naraku dead? It doesn't seem like it. In fact, it seems like he's still frolicking around getting all the shards. Yeah, you don't need help at all, you're doing great." Yusuke smirked at the silver haired boy as Inuyasha started snarling at him.

"We shouldn't let them do this! They're on the same side! It's wrong to fight people on the same team as you!" Kuwabara stood up, as did Miroku, but Kurama waved them both off with an amused glance towards Kuwabara.

"Don't you and Hiei always fight? Stay put, I'll take care of this." Kurama moved smoothly as both boys got into fighting stances. As they took the first step forward they were forced to stop by the long green thorn covered whip that lashed out at the space in front of them. They both turned to glare at Kurama.

"I suggest you two calm down. Just because the miko's away doesn't mean you two should misbehave." Kurama smirked at them, and behind him, still guarding the path; Shippo began to giggle.

Yusuke eyed his friend suspiciously. "Are you trying to be funny?"

Kurama smiled at Yusuke innocently. "Would I do that?"

-~-

"Isn't this nice Kagome? No stress, no boys around, just us girls in the hot springs." Botan settled into the water after washing out her hair, watching as Sango did the same on the other side. Kagome's face was a mix of guilt and apprehension.

"Yes, but just because it's nice isn't why you dragged me down here," Kagome said, backing up to look at both Sango and Botan. Sango looked slightly guilty about pulling her friend there, but smiled soothingly.

"We're just worried about you Kagome. You haven't been talking, and you've been setting a hard pace. Is this because of what the boys did? Or Naraku?" Sango looked at her friend pleadingly, and Botan leaned back, she'd interrogate the girl later, about other things. It was nice hanging around other girls. Oh, she'd hung around some of the other girls involved with the Spirit Detectives, but she'd never gotten to play matchmaker.

Kagome sighed, looking between them. "Both I suppose. I was angry with the boys. They had no right to try and control me. If I wanted to talk to Kouga, then I would talk to Kouga!" She crossed her arms angrily, then realized how foolish that was as Botan giggled. The boys weren't here to yell at. Thank God.

"And then...Kouga usually has good information, he can sniff out the truth and separate the truth from the rumors. So if it really is Naraku... I want this over with as soon as possible. I have a feeling Kouga was right about where Naraku is. I want to give you and the guys a chance to go home if you don't want to be involved with the battle." The last statement was directed to Botan, who looked a bit surprised at how concerned Kagome was about everyone else, while everyone had been concerned about her!

"But that shouldn't keep you from talking. It may slow everyone down a bit, but it keeps our moral up Kagome." Sango spoke softly, looking a bit embarrassed.

"All right, if we've got that sorted out... Let's talk about boys. Two in particular, who seem to be fighting each other for your attention." Botan grinned, looking almost exactly like a cat that'd just gotten into the cream.

"H-Huh? I don't know what you're talking about." Kagome stuttered slightly, turning her head away as she began to blush, her hands fidgeting slightly.

"Oh, you know. Yusuke and Inuyasha. They like you. The two boys you may have overreacted on a bit? Not that Yusuke's never had a girl overreact on him before. Not when Keiko was around." Botan grinned as Kagome looked up at the girl’s name. Obviously Yusuke had left as much out of his story as she had in hers.

"Keiko? Was that a friend of his?" Kagome asked.

"Oh, they were old childhood friends. Later they became a bit more than friends, but she broke it off. She wanted to go back to being just friends again, but he was avoiding her. He's a bit stubborn sometimes." Botan watched Kagome's face with interest as she spoke. Was that jealousy? Maybe this would work out after all.

"Do you like either of them Kagome? I knew you did like Inuyasha, but with the recent Kikyou events, I wasn't sure if your feeling had settled to friendship or not," Sango said.

Kagome sighed. Did she like either of them? Her and Inuyasha were friends most of the time, and sometimes she was just a shard detector. But, she thought she had probably given him up on being a love interest. 'But have I really? And what about Yusuke? I've only known him for about two weeks and he's annoying, but he is nicer than Inuyasha, and he gets along with Shippo. Plus he's cute, especially when his hair isn't all greased up and-' Kagome broke off her thoughts, blushing furiously. He was her friend! Nothing more! She did not have a crush on someone she had just met a couple of weeks ago!

"They're just my friends! Both of them! And Yusuke is not cute!" Kagome realized she was talking to thin air. Her friends had gotten out and gotten dressed while she thought, and she could see them heading down the path back to camp. Sango had pulled Botan away, recognizing the far away expression on Kagome's face and knowing the other girl would follow them when she was done thinking.

"Well fine! Leave me here." Kagome scowled as she got out, getting dressed in her underclothes before she continued speaking as she searched for her jeans and T-shirt.

"If I get kidnapped it'll be their fault," she said grumpily.

"Really? I'll be sure to tell them that after I deliver you to Naraku. I wonder what Inuyasha will think when I tell him Naraku has both of his precious shard detecting mikos."

Kagome froze. That was one voice she never wanted to here when she was alone and without her bow. She turned slowly, warily, looking up at the menacing red eyes of the wind sorceress.

"Hello Kagura."

"Well? I'm surprised you haven't tried to scream. Not that I'd let you."

Damn it, why was she always the one getting kidnapped? Could someone come rescue her please? And why couldn't Kagura have waited until she was fully dressed?

_~_~_

Yusuke scowled, kicking at a rock at his feet. They wouldn't have hurt each other too badly. Just enough to show that hanyou who's boss. And-

Yusuke interrupted his own thoughts as he felt an aura flare in fear and desperation. He knew who that was. Heck, she'd almost hurt him the way her aura had been flashing the first time they'd had an argument. Despite the anger there was a hell of a lot of fear mixed in there.

"Damn it, can't you be alone for one second without getting in trouble?" He asked the empty air before sprinting off in Kagome's directions. He skidded to a stop as his gaze was brought upward by the woman taunting Kagome.

'Great. Fighting wind demons is so much fun,' he thought to himself bitterly.

"Hey, wind bitch, maybe you should pay less attention to the miko, and more attention to this." He gathered his energy, automatically falling into his classic shooting position.

"Spirit Gun!' Kagura gaped at the bright blue light coming for her. At the last second she moved her fan, sweeping the wind in front of her to deflect the blast. With a growl she began her retreat. After all, she had only been ordered to deliver a message to Inuyasha. Kidnapping the other miko just would have been a bonus.

"Remember girl, you were lucky this time. Oh, and do remember to tell the hanyou about his precious undead lover." Kagura smirked as she saw the flash of hurt on the miko's face before Kagura drifted away on her feather.

Kagome put one hand against a tree, shaking slightly. She'd really thought she was going to be kidnapped. To be taken to Naraku. That would be worse than any of her other kidnappers. Her knees buckled slightly and she closed her eyes, feeling two arms catch her as she cleared her head.

"Hey, you ok?" Yusuke looked down at Kagome in concern, not even realizing an important fact as the miko stood again, nodding.

"Yeah, I'm fine, I just lost all the adrenaline I got from being in front of a murdering wind sorceress who wanted to kidnap me so that Inuyasha would fly into a rage when he attacked. And...Thank you." Kagome sighed, before frowning. One hand was on her shoulder still, incase she lost balance. Kagome's eyes widened and she began to blush.

"For what? Oh, getting the wind demon out of here. Well, I couldn't just leave you here ya know. Are you sure you're ok? You're getting really red you know and - " Yusuke broke off, as his eyes had begun automatically looking for injuries.

"Um...Kagome...clothes..." Kagome gave an Inuyasha like growl as Yusuke's eyes couldn't seem to come back up to her face. She finally located her T-shirt and jeans and grabbed them, going behind a nearby boulder to put them on. She certainly wasn't going to put them on in front of him when he was being so-so...so like a boy!

She was still flushing horribly when she came back, and Yusuke's face had a slight red tinge too. He seemed to be looking anywhere but at her but she caught the side-glances he sent at her and she sighed. "Come on, I can't really be mad at you can I? Besides, I have to go tell Inuyasha what happened."

Yusuke scowled at the mention of the dog-eared boy, but fell into step beside her as she walked back to camp. "Who was that anyway? She seemed to be familiar with you."

Kagome sighed, then shuddered, remembering what Kagura had been saying. "That was Kagura. And apparently, Naraku has Kikyou, if what she says is true. I don't think we should trust her, but Naraku and his 'children' would rather tell the truth to cause pain than make up a lie."

"Oh. What'd she want with you?" He winced, remembering the history between Kikyou, Inuyasha, and Kagome, but she didn't seem to notice.

"Oh, she wanted to kidnap me to so that Inuyasha would go berserk at having both of his precious shard detectors kidnapped." Her tone turned bitter but she brightened herself up a second later.

"But that didn't happen because you drove her away. I really need to remember to take my bow with me everywhere. How'd you know I was in trouble anyway?" Kagome asked curiously.

"Oh, your aura spikes when your emotions get out of control. It hasn't been doing it in awhile, but it did. And I was taking a walk because... Well, I was taking a walk and apparently was near enough to sense you were in danger." Yusuke shrugged uncomfortably, and as camp came up, desperately hoped Kurama wouldn't mention to Kagome that he'd almost fought dog-boy.

Kagome looked around as she came back to camp; seeing that it was mostly quiet. She grimaced to herself. She didn't want to interrupt the peaceful calm that they'd fallen into, but Inuyasha, and everyone else, needed to be told.

Kagome looked for Inuyasha in the camp, and Botan caught her eyes. She frowned as the girl raised an eyebrow, her eyes darting between Kagome and Yusuke. Kagome was puzzled for an instant, then sudden realization dawned and she blushed, scolding herself for doing so. 'That girl! We just walked back together after I was almost kidnapped! Nothing happened. Even I was in only my underclothes for a bit...'

Kagome glared at Botan even as her face got a deeper red. Yusuke looked between the two girls and shrugged. Apparently they could communicate without talking. Someone cleared his throat and he scowled at Miroku as he raised a brow suggestively.

"What?" Yusuke was snapping, and he knew it, but this was embarrassing. He was trying to get the image of the girl half naked out of his head, not back in!

"Oh nothing. You just walked back with her when she was in the hot springs. I just have to wonder why you were there in the first place." Miroku smirked as the boy's face turned red, but then winced at the growling that came from a nearby tree.

"What? Kagome? Why the hell is he walking back with you? What have you been doing?" Inuyasha dropped down from his tree, glaring at the pair of teenagers at the end of the path. Yusuke opened his mouth to defend her when Kagome beat him to it.

"Inuyasha! Sit! How dare you! For your information Kagura just tried to kidnap me and Yusuke saved me. Stop accusing me of things! You always do that! And we have no time to argue here anyway." She was red from anger instead of embarrassment by the end of her frustrated reply. Inuyasha pulled himself up from the ground he had been slammed into and continued glaring at them.

"Maybe if you remembered your damn weapons, you wouldn't have needed rescuing! And we have plenty of time to argue! I'll argue all the hell I want!" Inuyasha was stopped from ranting anymore by Yusuke finally speaking.

"Dog-boy! Shut up! That Naraku of yours has your dead girl, Kikyou! Do you want to figure out how to rescue her, or would you rather yell all day?" Yusuke asked sarcastically.

For a second the whole camp was stunned into silence. Inuyasha's eyes widened, a growl beginning in his throat. "Let's start planning how to kill the bastard."

Yusuke grinned at the answer and Kagome rolled her eyes. Plan, what plan? They were just going to go rushing off and get themselves killed. Kagome shared a glance with Botan and Sango. Too bad they couldn't get leashes for the boys.

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