Chapter Four
Kagome felt tears forming in the corners of her eyes as she held onto
Inuyasha. She clung to him as if her life depended on it. Afraid that if
she let him go he would disappear and she would realize that it had all
been a hopeful dream. The miko was unsure if everything was really
happening because she was relatively sure that Inuyasha would never return
her embrace so openly. But to hell with that. She didn't care. All she
wanted was for this moment to last forever.
Distantly she was aware of Inuyasha's hand stroking her hair in a
soothing fashion. His other arm curled around her waist, pulling her closer
to him. She could feel something wet on her face. It was then that she
noticed that she was crying softly into Inuyasha's haori. Tears of relief
and pent up fear freely cascaded down her cheeks, staining the inu's
firerat with their moisture.
Kagome could hear a voice whispering something to her. She couldn't
understand the words or really make out the voice, but she knew that it was
Inuyasha. He was pleading with her gently to calm down and cease crying.
She felt herself smile a little inside.
He always hated it when she cried. It was one of the little ways that
he let slip, alerting her to the fact that on some level he really did
care for. At least as a friend.
Sniffling she planted her hands on his strong chest and reluctantly
pushed away. Forcing a smile to her face, Kagome stepped back and met her
savior's eyes. His golden orbs flashed with some hidden emotion and for a
moment it appeared that was as disappointed with the lack of contact as she
was. It quickly passed though before she could place her finger on it. In
its stead was his usual scowl, though she noted that it was only half-
hearted.
"Oi, wench. What did you think you were doing running away like that?
Because of you we've missed out on valuable shard collecting time."
Inuyasha snapped at her. His voice was not really harsh though.
Kagome's lips trembled slightly as she looked down for a moment to
brush away her tears. Raising her head her sapphire eyes, glistening
unnaturally in the evening light, stared into his amber orbs. She could
tell that he had been worried about her. And she also knew enough about him
to know that feeling that way made him think he was weak and vulnerable.
She had learned that that was his motive for always acting so cruel to her.
It was the closest he could come to saying he cared.
The smile stayed on her lips as she closed the distance between them
once again. Snaking her arms around his torso, she laid her cheek against
his shoulder. She could feel hear his heart racing. Vaguely she wondered if
she caused the speeding in his pulse or if it was due to running. She hoped
it was the former but let it drop at that. She would not disillusion
herself.
"Thank you Inuyasha." She whispered quietly, but knowing that he
could here her. "For finding me."
"Feh."
The smile became genuine at his familiar noncommital response. "I'll
take that as a 'You're welcome'" she said with a giggle, pulling away once
again before Inuyasha's grouchier side could completely return. Once again
the inu glanced sadly down at her, mourning the loss of her warmth but
knowing that this was the way that things had to be. He did not allow the
sorrow to show on his face though and instead kept his deep-set scowl.
Kagome's smile weakened when she saw the dark look on Inuyasha's
face. Worried that something she had said or done might have offended him,
she desperately tried to change the subject and get his mind off of it.
"Where are Miroku and Sango?" She asked as she looked around, for the
first time noticing that they weren't there. Her plan seemed to work as
Inuyasha immediately smirked and puffed out his chest in an arrognant
gesture.
"Feh. They were too slow to keep up with me!" He announced proudly.
Kagome stifled a giggle at his display, but allowed some of her
concern for her friends to remain. "But they will be able to find us
right?" She asked a little nervously.
Inuyasha inwardly smiled at her concern. Kagome was always thinking
of others before herself. Including him. He couldn't help himself as he
pulled her in for another embrace. He knew it was out of his character, but
he was so glad to have found Kagome. He had never known that he could worry
about one person so much....And now that he had found her, he only wanted
to hold her.
At least until the others came. He couldn't let them see him acting
soft like this. It would ruin his reputation.
Kagome gasped lightly in surprise when Inuyasha wrapped his arms
around her again, but she found herself unable to protest when it felt so
right to have him hold her like this. She sighed and relaxed again, leaning
her head upon his shoulder, only to tense up and pull away.
The miko had that feeling again. Like she was being watched.
Out of the corner of her eye, Kagome peeked at her surroundings.
Secretly she scanned the forest, unable to see into the trees due to the
night's darkness. Was someone out there watching her?
No.
There couldn't be right? If there was Inuyasha would have noticed-
wouldn't he?
It was probably just her imagination.
But somehow she didn't think that it was.
Almost against her will, Kagome found her thoughts returning to the
silver haired kitsune. She didn't even notice Inuyasha gently shaking her
shoulders, trying to ask her what was wrong.
'Youko Kurama' she whispered in her head. A small frown played at the
corners of her mouth. She wondered why her thoughts kept returning to him.
'He's such a mysterious figure,' she mused. Oddly enough she found that to
be quite alluring. But there was just something she couldn't put her foot
on. Why had he just given her his shard of the Shikon Jewel? Not that she
minded or anything.
She just found it...odd.
Could he be out there watching her?
"Oi! Wench, are you listening to me?"
Kagome started a little at the sound of Inuyasha's voice so close to
her ear. She jerked her head up and found herself inches away from his
questioning molten stare. "Huh?" she managed with a weak grin.
Inuyasha rolled his eyes and took a deep breath, relieved that she
seemed to be fine. 'She must have just zoned out,' he reasoned as he
prepared to repeat his question, still wondering what she had been thinking
about. "What I was saying was-"
Kagome began to feel uneasy as the hanyou's eyes grew wide. His nose
moved closer to her and twitched as he delicately began to sniff her. His
eyes darted up to meet hers before he continued to sniff her. The miko
stood still in confusion, watching as he circled her, occassionally drawing
closer in order to smell her better.
"Kagome..." His nose twitched a couple more times as he finally
stopped in front of her. His amber stare captured her own, concern and
confusion swirling in the molten depths. His mouth opened as if to say
something, but then it closed again.
Inuyasha leaned forward, his nose all but brushing against Kagome's
skin. She could feel his hot breath caressing her face. Involuntarily she
shuddered at the sensations it caused.
His nostrils flared slightly as he took another whiff of the foreign
scent slinging to Kagome's body. He saw her shiver and sensing that his
proximity was making her uncomfortable, drew away again. He watched her for
a moment, for the first time really taking in her appearence. He had
noticed earlier that mud and dirt caked her clothes and hair. He had also
seen the few holes and tears that now speckled her uniform. But he had not
truly realized just how much of a bedraggled state she was in.
How could have not noticed that scent earlier?
He felt his blood begin to boil at the thought of someone attacking
Kagome.
And he hadn't been there to protect her.
"Kagome?" he tried again. Bewildered she looked at him. But she did
not say anything. She only stood there. Patiently waiting for him to finish
whatever he was trying to say.
"Why do you smell like kitsune?"
*********************************************
Youko knew that his stalking was getting out of control.
He was becoming obsessed with the girl. A ningen! It was beyond all
reasoning. At this moment in fact, he was struggling futilely to keep from
running to where she stood and breaking up the physical contact that was
being shared between her and the inu. His possessive and protective
insticts were screaming at him to slay the one that would dare touch his
woman.
'MY woman?!' Youko's eyes imperceptibly widened at the thought and he
became frozen as if pertrified. WHERE had that thought come from. That
young woman was nothing to him. NOTHING! She was merely a passing
fasination. Once he figured out what it was that intrigued him about her,
he would lose interest and leave.
That was the pattern, and he stuck to it like it was life itself.
He had an uneasy feeling in his bones though. His normally steadfast
confidence in himself was wavering. This ningen was affecting him like no
other before had ever been able to. What if things were different this
time.
"Kagome?"
The inu's voice broke the thief out of his stupor, drawing his
immediate attention back to the pair that stood before him, unaware of his
lurking presence. Even from that distance that he watched he make out the
concern in the youkai's features. Could it be...?
"Why do you smell like kitsune?"
Youko heard the words while something akin to horror played upon him.
He knew that dog demons had a much stronger sense of smell than kistune,
but it was second nature for him to mask his scent. How was it that
this..Inuyasha, she had called him...this Inuyasha could catch his scent.
It should not have even been present at all. He had never let his guard
down, and even if he had, it was practically instinct to hide that one
thing that was more unique than a fingerprint.
If a youkai could catch his scent, than they would automatically be
able to identify him anywhere...Provided that they lived to remember it.
The kitsune's entire nody tensed in preparation to attack. The inu
would have to die. 'Just the inu?' that annoying voice came back to ask. A
mental growl goaded it back into hiding. The inu would have to die. The
girl...there were still somethings that he needed to know about her.
Youko crouched low to the ground, his eyes never leaving the pair in
front of him. He only needed the perfect moment to present itself. He had
no idea how the dog had been able to smell him, but it was no longer of any
matter. He would kill him and that would be the end of that.
He could not help but watch in genuine interest though as Kagome
stood silent, still recovering from being caught off guard by Inuyasha's
question. With unfeigned curiostity he found himself wondering what she
would tell her companion. Would she reveal his identity? Would she keep
their meeting a secret? Would she reply at all?
"Kitsune?" Kagome finally said, her eyes still a little wider than
normal. Inuyasha only nodded in confirmation. The girl smiled weakly up at
him. Youko could tell right away that she was going to try to play it off.
And he knew just as quickly that the dog demon would not believe her. It
was only painfully obvious that she was not a good liar at all.
Kurama contined to watch as she shifted her weght nervously from foot
to foot. His claws were out and ready to dig into the other youkai's flesh,
but he remained hidden, anxiously awaiting her reply.
His eyes shifted targets though as the youkai moved. Inuyasha brought
his hands to rest on each of Kagome's shoulders and squeezed encouragingly,
trying to assure her that it was alright.
"Kagome, were you attacked?" He asked. The worry in his scent was so
thick that it was practically suffocating. It was almost pathetic that he
should care so much for the young girl. But Youko was somehow finding it
hard to scoff at the inu's concern. It dawned on him with sudden
discomfort, that he too would be interested in the girl's safety.
"Well, I wasn't actually attacked..." He could hear her reply. Her
voice was soft and slightly hesitant. She was definately the worst liar
that he had ever come upon. It was kind of amusing.
Youko found his window of opportunity. The inu's guard was completely
down now that he was entirely absorbed in the girl's welfare. Her answer
had nudged him towards dropping that last of his awareness until all of his
attention was focused solely on her. If Youko Kurama had been more of a
sentimental type, and not so dead set on eliminating the one youkai that
could now identify him, he might had found it almost touching. As it was,
he thought it foolish, but was grateful that the young woman was able to
unwillingly provide a distraction.