Wednesday, November 17, 2004

   inuyasha 27
"Hurray! You smell like yourself again!" Shippo took a flying leap at Kagome the moment she walked into the hut, his delighted cry rousing Sango and Miroku from where they slept on opposite sides of the main room.

Shippo's momentum against her stomach had her letting out a soft "oomph" of surprise and taking a step back only to come up against the unyielding wall of Inuyasha's chest. Inuyasha was instantly growling down at the kit as he steadied Kagome, sliding his arm around her waist, "Oi, brat, what the hell did I say about jumping at her?"

Shippo glared up at him from the cradle of Kagome's arms, "She's better now, you jerk, why can't I?"

"It's okay, I don't mind it," Kagome cut in when she felt Inuyasha tense behind her, smiling down at the kitsune and rubbing his head. "Did you stay up all night just waiting for us to come back, Shippo-chan?"

"Hai!" he rubbed his head against her chest and grinned in delight at the steady pulse of her heart. Pressing his little hand to her side where the wound used to be, he gave her a hopeful look, "And it really is true? You're all better?"

She laughed softly at how huge the kit's eyes were as he stared up at her, "Really. I've actually never felt better that I remember."

"Then... you'll make me breakfast, right?" he made sure to make his eyes as huge and liquid as he could, working up his best "I'm cute, you love me" look. "I'm hungry."

"Oi, Kagome, don't fall for that shit," Inuyasha grumbled sourly in her ear, glaring down at Shippo.

Kagome brought her elbow back lightly into the hanyou's stomach, unable to resist Shippo after he'd been so worried over her, "Of course I will."

"Keh," Inuyasha tightened his arm around her waist briefly, leaning down to brush a kiss over her temple before releasing her.

Shippo's smile turned sly again, but he waited until Kagome had moved away from the hanyou before he climbed up to her shoulder. He snuck a peek at Inuyasha, making sure he was distracted by something the sleepy-eyed Miroku was saying and whispered in her ear, "I'm still gonna tell him."

Kagome abruptly dropped the ramen packets she'd fished out of her pack, her stomach flipping like crazy, "Shippo-chan!"

Inuyasha's head turned at her horrified whisper, straightening away from the monk and focusing on her when her scent agitated, "Kagome? What's wrong?"

Kagome's cheeks were bright red as she ducked her head, bending to collect the ramen, "Nothing! It's...it's just that Shippo only now made me think of how much work I'll have to make up at school."

He kept looking at her suspiciously for a moment before he turned his attention back to Miroku but the look he gave her before he did warned her he intended to ask more later. Shippo was desperately trying to smother his laughter, both hands clapped over his mouth while Kagome hissed at him quietly enough to escape Inuyasha's hearing, "Damn, Shippo, just what do you think you'll tell him?"

Shippo leaned back to look at her red cheeks, his tail wagging proudly at his observation, "Your smell changed when you tried to cut the bandage and even more when Inuyasha helped. It was easy cause you had 'his' blood instead of yours. The smell was just like my mom's before she and papa would tell me to go play so they could be by themselves. Papa said that's what mates do sometimes."

Kagome's blush darkened at that and she clapped her hand over the kit's mouth before sneaking a quick glance at Inuyasha to make sure he wasn't listening, "You'd better not repeat that if you plan to live to adulthood."

Shippo's eyes gleamed brightly with glee that he'd guessed right, and he tugged her hand down, "And what'll you give me if I don't?"

She blinked at him several times, before she got out, "You're...you're blackmailing me?!"

"No," he shook his head, his brows lowering briefly in confusion an the unknown word. "I just want stuff or else I'm going to tell on you."

"That IS blackmail," she pointed out dryly.

"Oh," Shippo's eyes widened for a moment before he grinned at her. "I guess I am then," he giggled at the prospect. He knew she would give in, he could already tell from her voice. For some reason, Kagome didn't want Inuyasha to know she was doing mate things around him, but so long as it worked out for him, what did it matter? "Sooo, how about you bring me a whole lot of chocolate?"

Kagome let out a weary sigh, "How much is a whole lot?"

"This much," he held out his arms as wide as they would go.

"We'll see," she made a face.

"Oh, Inuyashaaaa!" Shippo called out in a sing-song voice.

Kagome snatched him up again, covering his mouth while Inuyasha turned to them curiously, "Ignore him!" But to the kitsune she hissed, "All right, you win! Chocolate."

"Hurray!" he hopped out of her arms and picked up the ramen for her, humming to himself proudly as he carted the makings of breakfast over the fire pit to help cook.

Inuyasha was still staring at Kagome, his brow arching in question, "Kagome?"

"Forget it," she grumbled, scowling after the kit with her eyebrow twitching in suppressed annoyance. "We need to go home today, Inuyasha."

"What for?" his ears flicked towards the kitsune when he heard a murmur that sounded suspiciously like "candy."

"I haven't been home in weeks!" Kagome blinked at him in surprise before it changed to the same irritation she'd shown Shippo.

"I took you back to get medicine," he pointed out matter-of-factly.

"And we came back before anyone saw us," she returned with a frown.

"YOU wanted to," Inuyasha folded his arms over his chest. He absolutely refused to blame for that when she was the one who'd urged him to hurry before her family got home, "You said you didn't want your mother to see you."

"I didn't, but now I do," Kagome's attention momentarily shifted when she noticed Miroku giving them both a knowing smile. "What, Miroku-sama?" she sighed wearily, rubbing her forehead in annoyance.

"It is good to see you feel well enough to argue with Inuyasha again, Kagome-sama," Miroku dipped his head at her in a teasing bow before giving her a warm smile. "We were very concerned."

Kagome had opened her mouth to respond when Sango wrapped her arms around her shoulders and pulled her into a hard embrace, "We're so happy you're okay! Even if you did have to borrow Inuyasha to do it."

"Oi! What's that supposed to mean?" Inuyasha glared at the exterminator's back, but subsided when Kagome shook her head at him, her arms lifting to hug her back. He shot Miroku a glare and turned his back on all of them in frustration, "Keh, stupid girl thing."

**

Inuyasha lifted a hand to prevent Kagome from existing the well house, "One more time."

Kagome rolled her eyes, "This is getting ridiculous."

"We can always go back," he shrugged and reached for her waist.

"No!" she hopped to one side, smacking his hands away. "Fine. I can't go out of your range of spirit, you have to smell it before I drink it, and I tell you the minute I feel anything strange."

Inuyasha nodded in satisfaction and gave her nudge to get her moving, "I'm not taking any chances, Kagome."

"Do you have to be so domineering about it?" she gave him a glare over her shoulder but obediently started for her house. "I feel like I'm five and getting scolded by my dad," she huffed her hair out of her face and grumbled.

"Only until we figure all this out," he took a slight hop forward to loop his arm around her waist and nuzzle against her neck, taking delight in the way her breath caught in her throat. "You almost died on me, Kagome, and I'll do anything to make sure it doesn't happen again," he growled in her ear quietly.

Kagome didn't want her family to know just what was going on and while she'd expected an argument from Inuyasha, he'd surprised her by agreeing. When she'd looked surprised, he just snorted and lifted his nose arrogantly, "I'm not about to tell your mother you were almost killed. She'd likely cut off my ears and we'd end up having to sneak you here."

She'd laughed and returned, "She probably wouldn't let me go anymore. She'd try to seal the well or something."

Inuyasha had caught her chin at that, looking deep into her eyes before he whispered, "If she said no, what would you do?"

Kagome remembered her eyes sliding away from his, down to the tense line of his mouth, "As if you'd let that stop you from coming for me."

"But what would 'you' do, Kagome?" he'd pressed. "If it was closed, would you still try to return?"

She'd lifted her hand to his face and given him a soft smile, "Always, Inuyasha."

It wasn't exactly confessing how she felt about him, but it had earned her one helluva kiss from the relieved and excited hanyou. Her fingers lifted to her lips absently as just the thought of it had them tingling with remembered sensation. She heard Inuyasha chuckle before lightly nipping her neck just to watch her jump in surprise.

"Will you stop that?" she hissed, turning around and feeling her face heat to a fierce blush when she saw Souta grinning at her from where he hung out the kitchen window.

Souta started to giggle softly, propping his chin up on his hands as he took in Inuyasha's smug expression and his sister's pink cheeks, "Soooo... what have you been doing in the past, Nee-chan?"

"Excuse me, Inuyasha, I have to go murder my brother," she said stiffly before she literally jumped through the window to chase after the laughing boy.

Inuyasha blinked after her in surprise, shaking his head as he shrugged and entered the house the same way, "Damn, maybe some of my blood stayed behind."

"Mom! Help meeee!" Souta was shrieking from somewhere deeper in the house, followed by a nasty sounding crash.

"Gotcha!" Kagome's triumphant shout had the hanyou dumping the depleted pack on the ground and making his way to the living room.

He couldn't help but smile at the sight of the upturned couch with Souta and Kagome in a tangled heap, just as she'd said when she'd wrestled with him the night before. Souta was laughing, pleading, and shrieking while the older girl mercilessly attacked his ribs, muttering the whole while about being too nosy.

"Inu...yasha nii-chan! Help!" Souta got out between giggles, pushing ineffectively at his sister and giving the hanyou his best worshipping expression to convince him.

Inuyasha sighed and walked over to pluck Kagome off the boy, tucking her into his side to keep her from going after the boy again. Smiling at her disgruntled expression, he brushed her hair out of her face and gave the couch a pointed look, "Now I know you're feeling better."

**

Kagome was smiling as she gathered up her books when the bell rang to signal the end of school. Inuyasha was somewhere close, waiting for her impatiently no doubt, but however she'd managed, he'd agreed to let her go so long as he was close. She'd seen him once or twice, lounging against trees in the school yard and yet again dressed in the modern clothes he hated so much. She was certain the only reason he hadn't been run off the property was the fact that he still had the Tetsusaiga close at hand.

"Wow, Kagome-chan, you look a lot better than the last time we saw you," her friends swooped in on her the moment she was out the door, trailing along with her with curious expressions.

"Yeah, did you get a transfusion or something?" the second piped up.

Kagome stopped, half surprised at the suggestion and the other half even more shocked to think of what really had happened in that light, "A transfusion?"

With the other girls giving her looks like she'd lost her mind, she blushed and shrugged, "What? You're so sick all the time, I thought you would have had one or two!"

"That's so stupid," the first girl shook her head and tsked while Kagome started walking again.

"Actually, I did," Kagome murmured absently.

"Oh."

Kagome could only giggle at the look of amazement on her friends faces, waving it aside casually, "You're right though, I just hadn't thought it was the... transfusion that did it."

Recovering, they fell in step around her again, but this time with a different topic in mind, "So, when are you going to tell us about that hot guy who picked you up last time?"

"Oh yeah!" the others were immediately giggling, blocking Kagome's way to get her to stop and answer them. "Who is he? Is he available?"

Kagome expression immediately darkened and she felt the tattoo begin to throb at the unexpected question. Her response was instant, fierce and completely unexpected even to herself, "He's MINE!"

The hallway went instantly silent, the students all turning at the loud outburst while Kagome clapped her hands over her mouth, her face flaming with mortification at not just her automatic reaction, but the sudden attention. Her friends were gaping at her, just as stunned as the rest of the students, if not more so. Clearing her throat in an effort to regain a measure of dignity, she stalked down the hall to the main doors.

It certainly did absolutely nothing for her temper that the first thing she saw upon exiting was Inuyasha laughing his head off on the front lawn beside the steps.

"Goddamn youkai hearing," Kagome snarled under her breath, gritting her teeth as she resolutely walked down the steps and kept right on going down the walkway.

Inuyasha stumbled to his feet, shoulders shaking as he looked back at the school to see the same three girls who'd been walking with Kagome the last time he'd come here. They were looking from him to Kagome, blinking in amazement before they seemed to shake off whatever had them hanging back and raced past him to catch the fuming girl.

Now why the hell couldn't she seem to do anything normal lately? Kagome wondered as she lifted her hand to rub her aching forehead. It was so odd, but the moment her friends had suggested an interest in Inuyasha she'd had the nearly irresistible urge to answer them as though it was a full on challenge. This had to have something to do with the spell, it just wasn't HER to react like that!

She let out a heavy, disgusted sigh, trying to ignore the sound of her friends calling her and Inuyasha's laughing demand that she stop. Not a chance, not until she found a large rock to curl up under for the rest of her life.

She'd just done a brilliant job at ruining her day and her already less than perfect image at school, and she seriously doubted there was anything else that could happen to make it any worse.

"Higurashi-san!"


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