What Sango Wants – Part Eleven: Surface Value
Aamalie: Thank God for auto-recover... Stupid computer was
stupid. *blows nose into Sessi’s fluff*
Sessi: I, Sesshoumaru, am not a
Kleenex! *Tries not to look grossed out*
Taena: You’re gonna get the 'word'.
Maela: Seriously. Our great-grandma died earlier this week, so
yeah… Otherwise we would have updated sooner to celebrate the fact we’ve broken
200 reviews.
Aamalie: But we're fine now, so I don’t want to hear an "I'm
sorry" from any of you! God just decided I need some more female
supervision from upstairs now that I'm in high school! My old babysitter Diana
can't do it all, you know. With them, and my Great-Grandpa
Mac and my dad up there... I'd better behave!
Disclaimer: When will this ever
change? I own the English manga 1-4 and the Art of Inuyasha, and a couple of fanfics
and poems, nothing else. Sue me if you dare, but all you'll get is some lint, a
dime, a nickel, two pennies, and a whole bunch of geometry and biology
homework. Still wanna sue?
---
It had been
several hours since the hanyou and the miko had left Miroku and Sango to their own 'devices', and Kagome, after scolding Inuyasha for what seemed like eternity, had finally decided
to give him the silent treatment. However, Inuyasha
wasn't complaining. It wasn't like he enjoyed the verbal harassment, especially
not when Kagome's voice reached that particularly shrill tone it took on at
times. Thank Kami that only happened when she was
extremely annoyed and angry.
Wait... How
was that a good thing? To hell if he knew. If only women
weren't so damn complicated.
"I still
can’t believe you said that," she muttered next to his ear, breaking his
train of thought. He gave a small growl of annoyance, stopping abruptly as he
landing on a thick tree branch. Kagome blinked in confusion. "Inuyasha? Why are we stopping?" she inquired,
unsure of what to make of this sudden turn of events.
"We're
taking a break."
"Then why
don't you put me on the ground?" she suggested, poking him a bit harder
then necessary in the shoulder.
"Because
there's something I need to set straight with you. Off," he commanded,
moving a bit closer to the trunk so that she could use it for support. With an
irritated sigh, she complied. Finally, after several moments of maneuvering,
she was sitting, her side to the trunk as she rearranged her skirt, lest
someone walk below her and look up in this abandoned spot.
"So...
What exactly did you want to say Inuyasha?"
Kagome said, careful to keep her voice aloof and eyes averted. Inuyasha, for his part, stood, arms crossed as he looked
down on the girl from the future, his features curved into a frown. If anyone
who didn't know him saw him then, they would have probably turned around and
ran in the opposite direction, screaming bloody murder.
After quite a
long silence, Kagome turned her gaze back to the hanyou.
"Well?"
she prompted, scowling. Inuyasha plopped down onto
the branch with a 'Feh'.
"Why the
hell do you ningens always take things at surface
value?" he asked, clearly irritated himself.
Kagome's visage turned to that of surprise.
"Nani? What do you
mean?"
"I mean
exactly what I said. I'm tired of having people assume that whatever I do or
say means I'm intending to inflict some damage. I've had to live with that shit
my whole life. Sure, if interpreted in a certain way, I can see why you're
angry. But hell, I wasn't referring to the kazaana.
To be honest, the stupid hole didn't even cross my mind," he growled, his
glare shifting to the ground twenty feet below.
"Why not? I mean, why didn’t it cross your mind? As
horrible as it is, it's a part of him. As his friends, its part of our
responsibility to remember that," she insisted, bringing Inuyasha's gaze back up to meet hers once again.
"True
enough, but think on it Kagome. When does the houshi
ever act like he's cursed?" At Kagome's confused look, he continued. "When he's afraid, Kagome, afraid. When something
happens that makes him think of what could happen if the curse got out of
control when one of us were nearby. When Sango was
nearby." He looked out through the foliage.
"Hell,
that’s the only thing he's scared of. Hurting her. I
accidentally made her think of the effects the kazaana
could have on him, and she was scared for him. If you haven't noticed, up until
just recently, he's been trying to push her away, and I think it was more the
idea she does care for him, for all that he is, was
the thing that shocked him the most." Silence commenced, and Inuyasha realized Kagome was staring at him, open-mouthed. "What now?!"
"Inuyasha, are you feeling all right?" she managed. The
hanyou nearly fell off of the branch.
"What the
hell is that supposed to mean? Of course I'm feeling all right! Feh, demons don't get sick," he said, snorting,
preparing himself for a negative reaction. He stiffened slightly as he heard
the rustle of fabric, and suddenly, two arms wrapped themselves tightly around
him. "Kagome?! Nani...?"
"Gomen nasai
Inuyasha. I guess I shouldn't have just assumed you
meant what we heard. It's just... Well, you saw Sango’s
face, didn't you?" The hanyou nodded, hesitantly
hugging her back.
"Hai, I did," he confirmed.
"Well,
she looked so sad and shocked, I guess I just felt so
sorry for her. I mean, even though she doesn't know it, this is supposed to be
a day for them to be happy together and not have to worry. Seeing the two of
them upset sort of set me off. I apologize."
"Yeah
well... Umm... Feh," he
finally said. Kagome giggled a bit, and they remained as they were for a long
while, simply enjoying the quiet presence of the other. Smiling, Kagome pulled
back, loosening her embrace. Inuyasha raised an
eyebrow.
"So, do
tell me, who exactly wrote that speech for you? I mean, it's not like you could
have come up with all of that by yourself," she teased, eyes sparkling.
"Oh yeah? Why do you think that wench?" She stuck
her tongue out at him.
"Because
my Inuyasha is a rude, insensitive jerk who acts like
he's above emotion." Kagome said, crossing her arms and sticking her nose
in the air, imitating a certain hanyou.
"Oh really?"
"Really."
"Well
then... Would a rude, insensitive jerk that's above emotion do this?" he
asked. She tilted her head to the side.
"What are
you talking about?"
"Oh, nothing. Just this," Inuyasha
said, smirking as he leaned forward, brushing his lips against hers. Kagome
squeaked in surprise, blushing as she began to lose her balance. Inuyasha easily righted her.
"Wha- What was that?" she finally blurted after several
long minutes of gaping and trying calm her racing heart.
"What do
you think it was?" Inuyasha countered, trying
his best to sound bored.
"Well,
yeah... But what about K-"
"You say
the name, and I'll make you walk back to the well." She shut up, still
beet red. "That's what I thought. Now, what do you say we get on with this
detour you insisted on? There’s ramen to be had!" Kagome couldn't help but
laugh.
"Oh, all
right. But we’ll have to check up on Shippou first,
and make sure he’s ready to go. After all, it is your fault he couldn't come
with us in the first place."
"Feh. The little runt
deserved it. Let's go." Shaking her head in defeat, she clambered onto the
hanyou’s back.
"Ready
when you are." She had hardly finished her sentence, and they were off.
Kagome took a deep breath as the wind hit her face. That kiss had been... Quite unexpected, to put it into mild terms. But it had been
nice... She bit her lip, forcing down a giggle. Hell, she felt like dancing.
Maybe she would, next time she got some time alone. And he hadn’t even wanted
to hear Kikyou’s name! Finally, things were
going right for her. As far as she could guess, it was going well for Miroku and Sango too. It was nice
to know that things were finally going in a positive direction.
The next few
hours were uneventful, but neither complained. It was when they entered the
most familiar of all the landscapes they had seen that an idea popped into
Kagome’s head. She could pass it off as necessity...
When Inuyasha halted outside of the village, she got off
quickly, a devilish smile dancing across her face. The hanyou
noticed immediately.
"Kagome..."
he began, eyes narrowed suspiciously, "What are you thinking?"
"Trying
to be Miroku now, are we?"
"NANI?!?!?! I WOULD NEVER WANT TO BE THAT HENTAI NO BAKA!
HOW COULD YOU-"
"Inuyasha," she cooed, batting her eyes in his
direction. He stopped, confused. "Osuwari."
With that single vocalized word, he face-planted. When
he finally managed to yank his head from the ground, the first thing he saw was
a smiling miko.
"What was
that for?" he growled, shoving himself up to have his clothes brushed off
by gentle hands, much to his extended surprise.
"Sango. She would have been
furious had I not 'subdued' you."
"You
could have lied," the hanyou grumbled as she
picked a small clod of dirt from his hair. She shook her head.
"Nope. It wouldn't be the same." With that, Kagome kissed
him lightly on the cheek, taking his hand. "Let's go get Shippou!" she said, pulling him down the dirt road.
After a moment
of surprise, he smiled.
---
Aamalie: There ya go. Some short, sweet
Inu/Kag fluff! Kawaii, iie?
Taena: Dumb spell check... *hisses at all of the words
underlined in red* That's why we usually use text
documents.
Maela: Which is why we often have errors and why we weren’t
quite sure how to do bolds, underlines, and italics, etc.
Inu: *races across the screen, followed by a gang of Chibis, all of whom are replicas of the cast, yelling
obscenities as he disappears into the horizon*
Aamalie: Uh... Yeah... Need to catch
those things... Anyway, we've decided we’ll update this every Monday from now
on! ^_^' If we miss an update, we'll probably just update when we get the
chance. Sushi's good! Just had some... ^^' Still addicted to the Kohaku Rolls... Got some left over in the fridge... With
some ginger and soy sauce! Together, that makes a YUMMY snack.
Maela: Healthy too.
Taena: Which a certain someone needs... *points in Aamalie's direction*
Aamalie: HEY! I HEARD THAT!!! IF I NEED IT, YOU NEED IT TOO!
Taena: DO NOT!
Aamalie: WANNA BET?!?!?!? *showdown commences*
Maela: *sighs and presses the fast forward button*
--->--->--->
Aamalie: *snaps close her make up kit* Okay! Now that I'm looking
presentable again, let's move onto the Review Responses!
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Kyosnekozukigirl: Guess you'll have to wait until next chapter
to see, won't you? *insane laughter*
Ghoul King: Yeah, well, some of
us actually age... So NYAAAAAAAH! *sticks out her tongue and pulls down her
bottom right eyelid* Throwing things are FUN! Especially candy! *throws up a
load of candy and dances around* Lookie! Its raining! ^_^ *sushi high*
Shikon: Yeah... They ARE annoyingly short, aren't they? I don't
have the patience (or time...) to sit down and write something out all in one
chapter. I go event by event, post, and see what people think of what I'm
writing. And yes, Naraku needs to die, doesn't he? *starts 'Curly'-ing him into oblivion*
(HA! The power of prayer beads. Buy one for
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Zero27: I feel... Special! =D
You all love my fic, no matter how badly I do! Like
this chapter for example... Could have done SO much better if
I was someone else. Oh well. It feels good to do some lighthearted Inu/Kag romance for once, instead of all of the Mir/San. As
much as I love them... *hugs Miroku tightly*
S@n-Ch@n: You are NOT alone... Believe me. *stares at her math
book in disgust* CHICKEN BUTT! *throws it across the room*
Ah, much better.
Sweet Chaos: *looks back at the
last chapter* You know, I have to totally agree with
you. It was weak, but at the same time, it was necessary to get the plot going.
Thanks for your support! *huggles*
Hayzi: Yeah well, don’t be telling everyone how this is going
to end, okay? As to how they'll get back. Well, uh... *sweatdrops*
KUSO! Forgot to write in that part... Well, I'll find a way. *blinks* Oh! An
idea just hit me now. I might tell you later. Depends.
*shrugs*
SesshyLover: Okay, first of all, MY DIGITAL SLEDGEHAMMER
WILL KICK YOUR CHEESE BAZOOKA'S LIL HINEY! Kukukukukukuku...
Hai, this DOES have a plot, believe it or not... Oh! Lookie, it rhymes, it rhymes!!! (See, this is what you get
when you feed me sushi. Baaaaaaaaaaaaa- Erk, GOOD mother! ^^') Put a finger on my houshi or taiyoukai (Sessi, to be exact), and you shall DIIIIIIIIIIIIIE!!! BWA
HA HA HA! Anyway, arigatou for adding me to your list!
Momentum: Yeah. I'm using word
right now to see if it works... I usually use Text Documents, 'cause they're so
much better, and load faster. And I'm glad you think so!
Blackcat8610: O.O' *tumbleweed* I
have absolutely nothing to say. *tries desperately to find her ofudas*
Vampire-Elf: I'd have to say the part
about the butt-kicking was closest to the mark. *shrugs and whistles the theme
song of Trading Spaces*
LiLpsYchOwaRRioR: Your reviews wouldn't happen to come with a
translation attached, would they? Eh heh... Yeah,
squids do regenerate, but it takes time, and I'm implementing that into the fic in the next chapter or so. And I shall NEVER withhold
my love for my houshi! I haven't killed him yet, have
I? Though Sango might pretty soon... =P *shrugs and glomps Miroku*
icecream0626: Really though! Aren't
they so kawaii together? ^_^
TM Robeck: Miroku, HENTAI!
Miroku: *BAM*
Aamalie: Baka houshi...
*sighs* Anyway, here's the update! ^^' WHATS GONNA HAPPEN IN YOUR FIC?!?!?!
TELLLLLLLLLLL MEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE! Ja!
Corisu Li: *thinks* Hmmm. Desperate times come for
desperate measures! *snaps and she, Corisu, and the
cast are dressed in camouflage.* All right crew! It's time for Operation
58942357951231894, otherwise known as Operation End the Torture! We must design
a machine that will stop Kunoichi-chan in her tracks!
Scouts, GET DRAWING! *hands out paper and pencils and
starts drawing an anti-Kuno machine*
The-Real-Rose-Gamgee: O.O' *grabs Corisu Li's
tranquilizing dart gun and shoots with deadly accuracy before handing it back
to the owner*
Inu-shounen: You'll see... Just keep reading. And ff.net
is always screwy, so shoot me, 'cause I don't know. (Though if you WERE to
shoot me, you probably wouldn't get anymore updates, and everyone would hate
you. ^^)
Sakura: Jin
and Kurama Lover: Glad you found the fic!
Sour
Schuyler:
I hold to the belief that you are totally insane, yet totally fun to talk to!
^_^ Maela and Taena are my
alter-personalities. ^^' When we all come together, we make the ALL MIGHTY
MARGO! *insane cackle* Maela ish
the smart one and Taena... Erm,
let's just say she was an Inu-youkai in a past life.
^.^'
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Aamalie: And thanks to everyone else who reviewed! I got 22
reviews for this chapter! Yey! Oh yeah, extra
shout-out to Vampire-Elf, my brand new beta reader! ^.~