An alternative fanfic created by Phlie.
Disclaimers: I don’t own Inu Yasha or anyone else in this story.
Chapter 11 – Not Again
“Are you okay, Kagome”, asked Sango. “You look very upset.”
The rest of her friends had looked up to see what was wrong with Kagome. They were almost thru with tending the villagers that were sick. The mysterious illness was only shared by two families and seemed to leave as quickly as it came. Of course, no one but Sango knew that it was the flea Myouga that had caused the sudden “bleeding sickness”. He had sucked on a few people, not drinking, just letting the blood flow out. This had caused concern amongst the villagers, thinking that there was a serious illness that was plaguing them. Then he hopped out of the village to wait on his master. Sango had reluctantly allowed this to happen, only because she knew that no real harm would be done to the people. The things they did for Inu Yasha…
“Sango, I really need to talk to you about some things”, replied the girl.
Sango looked to Kaede. The old woman simply nodded her head and went back to tending the villagers. The two girls started back to the hut. Miroku and Shippo wanted to join them, but Kaede caught both the boys by their clothing and returned them to their stations. As they neared Kaede’s home, Sango could feel her friend stiffen, but not slowing. But at the door to the hut, Kagome turned and asked her friend to make sure there was no one inside.
Sango walked up the few steps and pulled back the fabric hanging in the doorway. She peeked her head inside, making sure to block a view of the inside with her body. She saw a very human Inu Yasha creeping out the window at the back of the hut. ‘Damn it, I thought he would have already left by now’, she thought. As his feet hit the ground, he straightened and Sango decided it was best to get the girl inside before her idiot hanyou friend made the mistake of coming around to the front of the hut.
“No one’s in here, let’s go inside and talk”, she said as she nearly pushed her friend into the old woman’s dwelling. Kagome turned around to look at her friend as if Sango was possessed. The later realized that she was about to get a lot of questions if she didn’t make up for the rush.
“Sorry, I’m just concerned about you. I thought you said you were gonna be back before dark, but it’s been dark for hours.” Sango looked at her friend. Kagome looked tired, dazed, and confused.
“I was fooled, Sango. I let him mix my feelings all up and in the end he revealed his true self.”
‘Oh shit, he did it, he finally told her’, Sango thought. But the next sentence told her that wasn’t the case.
“It was worse than being confused about my feelings for Inu Yasha.”
Sango perked up. ‘So she does have feelings for him. Totally on her own, without anyone having to explain past situations to her. That’s interesting. Good, though’, she thought, he mind racing here and there. Still having to keep up the façade, she questioned her friend. “Who are you talking about and what happened!”
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Inu Yasha had heard the girls coming and had crawled to the window and out to the safety of the night air just as they came in. He moved over to the side of the hut, close enough to hear them talking but not close enough for Kagome to be able to attack him again. It was really strange; she had acted like she wanted him there, but had hurt him. All thoughts of the pain were pushed aside as he recalled what she had said right before attacking him. “I would rather be with the hanyou than you!”
That one sentence was the key to his happiness. He could make this work. One more month and she would be his and then nothing else would matter. He heard the girls talking and edged closer to the window. If he had been in his hanyou form he wouldn’t need to work at hearing their conversation.
“It was worse than being confused about my feelings for Inu Yasha.”
Well, maybe he would have to work harder, but he could still do it in a month’s time. He had to. There was no other option. Not having her was about to destroy him. He slowly crept away and headed towards the God Tree, needing to get some rest before he began his new quest.
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Kagome finished telling her friend all the details about what had happened earlier that night. Sango couldn’t believe what she was hearing. Inu Yasha hadn’t told her exactly what he had planned, but she had never dreamed it would be anything so drastic. She sat there letting it all sink in as her friend stood up and started pacing around the room. Sango looked towards her friend and sighed openly. Kagome looked at her, still pacing.
“The worst thing about it is that I was almost ready to give in to him. I know that sounds scary, but he’s…he’s so damn sexy! If he had treated me like he did last time we met, I would be off with him in some secluded part of the world instead of here with you.” Kagome gave her friend a guilty look. “No offense, of course.”
“Wow, sounds like you really liked the guy. It’s a shame…”
“I more than liked him, Sango. I don’t take fooling around lightly, though I know my previous behavior belies that fact. If he hadn’t been so lustful…if he had only acted like I was a person. A person that he cared for and wanted to be one with…mind, body, and soul…I would have followed him anywhere.”
“That’s how I felt about Miroku. For the longest time he was all hands and that turned me off. The funny thing is that we completed the task of becoming a couple in the exact opposite way you are describing. We were friends, but we didn’t become more than that until after we had made love. Funny, huh?”
“If you were anyone else I would say yes, but you risked your heart. He risked nothing, but gained it all.” Kagome sat down across from her friend and grabbed her hands. “I worry about you, but I am glad that you and Miroku have finally found each other. You were right, we are like sisters. I have discovered, though, that my best friend is Inu Yasha. He makes me feel like no matter what, everything will be alright. At the same time, he infuriates me!”
The two girls just laughed. It felt good to laugh. “Are you physically attracted to Inu Yasha”, Sango asked.
“Yes. I wasn’t at first. Of course, I didn’t like his personality at first, either. But he has slowly grown on me, looks and all. He would be perfect if only he thought of me as more than his friend.”
Sango sighed again, looking away. She wished she could just scream out the truth to her friend, but she knew that it would ruin everything. Forget about the fact that she was trying to stay loyal to both friends; she didn’t want Kagome to find out now and be mad at them all. It was better for Inu Yasha to tell her everything. She wondered if he was still close enough to hear their conversation and hoped that he was.
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A shadowy figure was indeed outside the hut, listening to the girls. A figure that both would have ran from, anyone would have ran from. If Inu Yasha hadn’t been in human form he would have smelled the enemy right away. As it turned out, it was Kagome that sensed the presence.
Bolting upright, Kagome whispered to Sango, “There are shards near!” She started shaking; the buzzing in her head becoming so intense it physically moved the girl. As soon as the vibration in her head started, it all but stopped. It only gave off a slight warning now, almost like a humming in her ear. The enemy had sensed the girl’s alertness and had left abruptly. He needed time to act on the new information he had gleaned, and that meant not being caught now.
Sango rushed outside to try to get a glance at the enemy that was most certainly near. She had forgotten it was dark outside without the moon. “Shit, you should have brought one of the candles”, she muttered to herself. She was about to turn and retrieve some light when she was grabbed from behind and dragged away from the doorway.
Kagome heard a yelp coming from outside the hut that sounded like it had come from her friend. Grabbing a candle, she carefully made her way into the dark night. The first thing she saw was Miroku and Shippo running towards her, the second was a dazed and confused wolf prince. Kagome brought the candle up higher and saw Sango standing above him, several large rocks ready to smash into the youkai’s head if he dared to move.
Miroku and Shippo came into the light the candle cast and the monk picked up the prince and started shaking him violently. “Haven’t you learned your lesson? This isn’t Kagome! Besides, even if it was, you have no business coming here and trying to take her away with you. She belongs to another.”
Everyone turned to look at Miroku, but he ignored them. He was sick and tired of every male in the country trying to either steal his girlfriend, or his best friend’s girl. He wasn’t gonna put up with it anymore. He started beating the youkai with his staff. He wouldn’t stop and the girls had to pry him away. He sat down in the dirt and glared at Kouga.
“I don’t know what all that was about, but I knew it wasn’t Kagome all along.” He didn’t realize he was signing his own death warrant, so he babbled on. “I knew it wasn’t her the other time as well. I can tell the difference between Sango and Kagome. I was tired of rejection from Kagome and decided to try for Sango’s affections…” He trailed off as he saw the looks on the monk’s face, finally realizing he wasn’t making the situation better for himself. He was waiting for Miroku to say something, but it was Sango that set him straight.
“I also am with someone. Kagome and I are both taken. I assure you that even if we weren’t, at this point, we wouldn’t have anything to do with you.” Sango stood there triumphant. She was feeling empowered at the moment. She sneered down at the sullen Kouga and spat out, “I believe if you want someone to drag around and call your woman, you should go find Sesso-maru!” With that she turned and went back into the hut. Kagome followed her, with Miroku and Shippo not far behind. Kouga just sat there, confused.
“Wow”, exclaimed Sango, looking at her friend, “Now I know why you’ve been acting this way lately. It’s light electricity running thru me. It feels wonderful!” She grabbed hold of Miroku’s arm and dragged him out the door. “We have some business to attend to”, she whispered to as she led him to the spring. “Don’t wait up”, she yelled over her shoulder to the girl she knew was watching them go.
Turning back to the inside of the hut, Kagome sat down to ponder everything that had happened. Shippo came to sit in her lap and she absently started to pet him.
“Kagome?”
“Hmmm?”
“Do you think that Kouga will go find Sesso-maru?”
“I don’t know, Shippo. If he doesn’t, he may never have a woman”, she managed to say right before the laughter hit her.
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I know that this chapter made a lot of you feel better. It doesn’t get easier for another 2 chapters, though, for all you IY/K fans. Told you to just bear with me. Thanks to all of you that have. Oh, but who was the enemy outside the hut? You can’t guess? lol
Chapter12