An alternative fanfic created by Phlie.
Disclaimers: I don’t own Inu Yasha or anyone else in this story. No villagers were actually sick during the making of this story.
Chapter 10 – The Switch
Kagome finished off her lunch and went outside to greet her friends. They were so glad to see her and that made her wonder why they hadn’t come inside the hut to check on her. She hadn’t seen anyone but Inu Yasha since she had awoken. As Shippo ran to her, she bent down to grab up the kitsune. She absently petted his head as she looked around for her care giver. Inu Yasha was no where to be found. ‘That’s just like him to leave me here, wanting’, she thought. ‘There are still questions that need to be answered.’
Shippo’s squeals of delight captured the girl’s attention and she looked down at him. She had been scratching him behind his ears as she would have done to Inu Yasha, had he only stuck around. “Shippo, I am glad to see that you are back to normal now.”
The child frowned and jumped out of her arms. “I just got the rest of the group to stop teasing me, and now you drag it all up again”, he said, feigning hurt and rejection.
“Oh, Shippo. I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to upset you.” She truly was sorry, too. She knew it couldn’t have been easy to have Miroku and Inu Yasha teasing him. She just hoped that Miroku hadn’t tried to grope the poor child.
“Got ya”, cried Shippo as he dashed away from her.
“Oh! And to think I was feeling sorry for you”, she shot back at him. The kitsune turned long enough to stick his tongue out at her.
“What’s with Shippo? I’m used to him teasing Inu Yasha, but he’s never really acted this way towards me before”, she asked to no one in particular.
Miroku stood and turned to help Sango up. He had really changed since he and Sango had finally given into their true feelings for one another. She was so happy for the couple. She was also a bit envious. ‘To think Sango used to be envious of me’, she thought.
“I think it’s because we were all really tense, worrying about you”, replied Sango. She walked the short distance over to her friend and gave her a big hug. “For the first 2 days it was really touch and go with you. We are all so relieved. Guess he just needs to blow off some steam.”
“Yah, I can see how relieved Inu Yasha is. He didn’t bother to stick around long.”
“Speaking of Inu Yasha”, began Miroku, “I might as well go collect some supplies since we’ll be here in the village for a few days. I know he won’t be back for awhile.”
Sango hissed slightly to grab the thick headed monk’s attention and then shot him a glance that urged him to keep quiet. ‘All Inu Yasha needs right now is for Kagome to find about his human form’, she thought to herself.
“What do you mean, Miroku”, Kagome asked.
“Why don’t we go down to the spring and get you washed up. Surely you would like to relax and get clean, and I’ll explain it to you on the way”, Sango broke in before Miroku could make things worse.
“Oh, yes. I feel like I haven’t washed in a week.” ‘Oh, jeez, I haven’t washed in a week’, she thought to herself. ‘I must really smell, no wonder Inu Yasha left. I’m sure with his great sense of smell I really reeked.’
The girls walked down to the spring, Sango talking the whole way, trying to get Kagome to understand about the reaction Inu Yasha had to Kagome right before ‘her time of the month’. The two stripped and got into the spring. The water felt so good to Kagome. It was as if it was the first bath she had ever had. She swam about for a bit and then slowly made her way over closer to where her friend was.
“So he really freaks out when I’m ‘in heat’, huh?”
“Oh, yah. And I’m sure that it didn’t help that the smell had probably kept building up on you, since you weren’t awake to do anything about it.”
“That’s true. But then why did he stick around long enough to see that I woke up? He just doesn’t make sense to me sometimes.”
“Don’t worry, we get just as confused.” Sango thought for awhile. “I told you, Kagome. You two used to be as close as any two people can be - and not be lovers”, she amended. “I noticed that you didn’t throw yourself on him this time after a kill. Congratulations.”
Kagome didn’t say anything. She just smiled weakly at her friend and swam off again. She was deep in thought and didn’t realize that her friend had gotten out to dry off and redress. Kagome was thinking about the events that had occurred around this time last month and realized that Inu Yasha had indeed abandoned the group then as well. ‘I was left to my own defenses then too’, she thought.
“Kagome! Kagome! Hello, earth to Kagome!”
Kagome suddenly heard her friend calling to her and turned to face the bank of the spring. “Yes?”
“Are you okay, I’ve been calling to you for awhile now?”
“Yes, I’m fine. Just thinking about our favorite dog demon.”
Sango grinned. Maybe Kagome would finally realize that she could have a good thing going with Inu Yasha. “I’m going back to Kaede’s hut. Will you be okay by yourself? There’s no moon tonight, you know.”
“Yes, I’ll be fine. I’ll be back before dark.”
Sango turned to leave and Kagome went back to her swim. Her muscles needed the stretch that the long swim was giving her. She stopped for a moment, remembering what Sango had said to her. “No moon tonight”, she whispered. She suddenly remembered what happened the last time there had been no moon. She had all but forgotten her ‘mystery man’.
“Ugh!” She dipped her head back into the water long enough for her face to dip into the cool liquid and then brought it upright once again. She had been so excited about him at first, but now she was having other thoughts. She hated to admit it, but she had really enjoyed her time with Inu Yasha. Now she was back at square one, not really knowing who or what she wanted.
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When Kagome got back to Kaede’s hut, she found it empty. Everyone had left her. She went over to her pack to grab some aspirin and found the note that Sango had written to her.
Went to help Kaede with some sick villagers. We may not be back tonight. Kaede said to stay here and rest, she doesn’t want you getting ill again. Love you, sis.
‘Well, I guess I’ll have to fend for myself tonight’, she thought to herself. She lit the candles that she could find, preparing for the upcoming sunset. With no moon out tonight it would get dark without the lights. She sat down and grabbed her diary out of the pack and opened to a clean page. She was deep in thought, pouring her sole onto the page, and didn’t really notice that the light from outside had completely gone.
She finally got up and went over to the fire. Kaede or Sango, she didn’t know which, had left her some stew. Of course, she also had her ramen. She went back over to her bag to dig out the cup of instant noodles. She was about to go back over to the fire to put on some water when she happened to look towards the doorway and was startled to see a figure standing there.
“Don’t look so surprised, you gave me permission to come visit you”, the figure said, stepping into the light.
Kagome panicked and dropped the package. It wasn’t that she didn’t want to see him, but she wasn’t sure of what she wanted to do, how she should react towards him. “How did you find me”, she finally asked.
He was glad to see that she didn’t recognize him. Sango had borrowed some clothes for him. He hadn’t wanted to wear someone else’s clothes at first, but she reminded him that Kagome would certainly realize it was him if she had enough light to see his kimono this time.
“I began at the other side of the village and asked about you until I found someone that knew you. Seems that you are popular, it didn’t take me too long”, he chuckled.
“Oh.” She didn’t say anything else. She didn’t know what to say.
Inu Yasha frowned at her. He now understood that he was going to have to do drastic things tonight to get her out of her shell, and to pick who she wanted. He was still trying to formulate a plan in his head. He wanted her to pick his hanyou form, but he was uncertain as to how to do that without making her hate his human form. He was also still at a lose as to how to finally tell her his secret.
“Aren’t you glad to see me? You seem as though you would have me leave”, he stated.
Kagome snapped out of her silence. “No, no. I’m actually really glad to see you.” She reached down for the ramen and then put it to the side. She started to bowl up some stew instead. “Would you care to eat with me? Then you can tell me about your adventure.”
“Yes, that would be nice.” He had to think about what he would tell her. Maybe an adventure he had been on with her, before she had lost her memory. Yes, that would do nicely. He could tell her about a lost memory and not be lying to her.
They sat down together and ate, all the while Kagome questioned him and Inu Yasha answered. She was having a good time with the boy, but her thoughts kept trailing back to the hanyou. She even called the boy Inu Yasha by mistake at one point, and then she realized that she didn’t even know his name.
“Is it really important for you to know something as trivial as that”, he asked her.
‘Not unless I want a relationship with you’, she thought. She was silent for a moment and then replied, “No. It can wait.”
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After they were thru eating, Kagome took his bowl and went over to the small tub that Kaede put her used dishes in to soak. She was about to turn around when she felt two hands on her arms. She stiffened at his touch and then slowly turned around. “You don’t find it necessary to tell me your name, but you think you can be so familiar with me as to come up behind me like that”, she questioned him.
“You said it wasn’t important. Besides, the only time it’s necessary to know my name is when you are ready to scream it out in ecstasy.”
Kagome’s head shot up as she looked at him. She didn’t have to look long to find the thing she feared most. It wasn’t the same situation as her dream. It was worse. In her dream it had been Inu Yasha with that look of lust in his eyes, not a total stranger. And of course, it was worse because this was real. She couldn’t just wake herself up.
She backed up, but he held her arms tightly, not allowing her to go far. ‘Where’s Inu Yasha when I need him’, she thought. She panicked and then did the first thing that came to her mind, something she had seen Sango do to Miroku once when she needed to get away from his lecherous advances. She smiled sweetly at the boy and brought her hands up to rub the upper part of his arms.
Inu Yasha had seen the panicked look in her eyes and was reluctant to carry on this charade, but he needed to know how she felt. One way or another, he needed to know. He certainly wasn’t expecting her to warm to him. That was worrisome. Did she really want him as his human form, or worse, did she just want anyone but the hanyou? He relaxed his grip, ready to turn and walk away.
She felt his grip on her arms relax and she snuggled closer to him, drawing him closer. “You are not what you appeared to be”, she whispered. She lifted her hands to his head and turned it until his left ear was right next to her soft lips. A chill ran down his spine as his body enjoyed her warm breath, but his mind was troubled. “I would rather be with the hanyou than you”, she screamed into his ear. She brought her knee up to make contact with his mid section.
Inu Yasha doubled over on the floor and Kagome took the opportunity to run from the hut, into the dark night. She ran, not looking back, until she had found her friends. One look at the frightened girl told Sango what she needed to know. ‘He better stop this game before everything falls apart’, she thought to herself.
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I know that Inu Yasha was an evil bastard in this chapter, but trust me, it’ll be okay. Let me know what you think. As always I welcome whatever you want to say to me.
Chapter11