Hello, peeps! Well, here's another new chapter! Anywho, I had a request from angel-tears-16 to have a new chapter out today because today is her birthday! So, this chapter is a birthday present from me, to angel-tears-16. Have a happy b-day, angel-tears-16! I hope you enjoy! And the rest of you, enjoy the chappie as well!
Review responses:
Dragon Man 180: Wow… Scary. Just be sure not to let that sniper rifle go off on accident, okay?
Kristen Sharpe: You know, that's an interesting idea… I might be able to use that later on… In fact, I think I will! Thanks, Kristen!
Atth99: Yes, there is a little tiny bit of fluff in this chapter. Hope you enjoy, and there will be mucho more fluff later on!
Fictionluverkdm: lol. Thanks! And, sorry for leaving you in suspense. I hope this chapter relieves it! There really isn't a whole lot of suspense in it.
Gilbertfan: Actually, to tell you the honest truth, I have NO IDEA how many chapters are left! As many chapters as it takes to finish the story, I guess… Anyway, I hope you enjoy the new chapter!
Dragon's kitty: lol. Are you two at it again:Shakes head:
Angel-tears-16: Lol. Withdrawal symptoms… Anywho, today is July 25! Here's the chapter! That's really cool, cuz my birthday is tomorrow, July 26! Anyway, happy b-day! Enjoy the chappie!
Yusuke Freak: I would love to send you some samples of my books! And sorry about your glasses. And also, sorry I couldn't do a movie with you. I would like to go see a movie with you or something sometime, though! Anyway, hope to talk to you later! If you're ever on MSN messenger, I'd be more than happy to send you samples of my books.
TsubakuHaruko-chan: Lol. Thanks! Enjoy the chapter!
Also, thanks to puffin, jai2133, Saphimire Karishnikova, Shamanic Destiny, and Sara for their great reviews!
Chapter 12
Everything was silent except for the crackling of the fire. Sango stared into the fire, her expression unreadable. Miroku was laying on his back, his eyes closed and his arms crossed behind his head. Kouga sat looking rather uncomfortable in the silence.
Kagome emerged from the forest and took a seat by the fire next to Sango. Sango removed her gaze from the flames and turned to Kagome.
"So?" she asked.
"I don't know. He wouldn't talk to me. I can't get him to tell me what's wrong."
"So you didn't learn anything about whatever Sessho-maru did to him?"
"No. I tried, but… he acted like he didn't even realize I was there! I don't even know if he's hurt or anything! He's just sitting there in the tree and won't come down."
Sango's eyebrows furrowed in frustration. "Perhaps we should just give him some time."
And so the group fell into silence once more.
Sessho-maru opened the door to Naraku's trailer, not even bothering to knock. He walked straight up to Naraku's desk and rolled the small pink jewel he held in his hand onto the wooden surface. It rolled softly off the opposite edge of the desk into Naraku's hand. Naraku held the jewel up to his face, staring at its transparent surface.
"I assume that you retrieved his soul?"
"Yes. But his friends arrived before I could capture him. And that fool Kouga was there as well."
"You did well in recapturing his soul. It should hold him back for a while. I have some men out there who will attend to the job of bringing him back."
Sessho-maru nodded, exiting the trailer once more.
Inuyasha sighed quietly as Kagome walked away after almost an hour of fruitless attempts at getting him to come down. He hated to have to send her away without a clue, but he couldn't face her right now. Especially since he wouldn't even be able to tell her what was wrong.
It frustrated him to no end. He had made so much progress. He had actually begun to believe that he could be as he once was. He just wanted to go up to Sessho-maru and rip out his-
Inuyasha shook his head violently, shocked at his own thoughts. His thoughts weren't even human anymore!
Inuyasha growled furiously. This was nearly driving him insane! Even the smell of a rabbit or a squirrel was making his nerves go berserk! And there was this incredible urge to have someone pet him. His mind was no better than that of an animal's! He wanted nothing more than to just be able to walk, talk, and think like a normal human being, or as close to normal as he could get.
He sighed again. How was Kagome going to handle this, now that they had to start from the beginning again? Was this going to happen every time he was starting to make progress? Why didn't Sessho-maru capture him to bring him back? Was it just to torment him? Or…
Inuyasha paused as a rather surprising thought occurred to him.
Was Sessho-maru not strong enough to handle them all at once? It was a long shot, but if that were true…
Inuyasha shifted into a more comfortable position in the tree. He would have to think about this…
Kagome stood quietly, careful not to wake anyone else up. Just as quietly, she slipped into the dark cover of the trees and retraced her earlier footsteps to where Inuyasha was still in the same tree, completely silent. She looked up, seeing the red cloth through the branches of the tree.
"Inuyasha?" she called softly. "Are you awake?"
There was no reply.
"Inuyasha!" she said, a little louder this time.
Still no response. She was fairly certain he wasn't asleep. And she knew that he knew she was there. He had probably heard her coming all the way from the campsite.
"Inuyasha, I know you can hear me! Please, come down!"
Kagome became frustrated with the silence that met her. She had tried to talk to him nicely earlier, trying just to be there for him, as a friend, and she had given him time to himself, and he just blew her off! She looked down at the ground, searching… There! She threw the rock up at the splotch of red and was rewarded with a soft 'thud.' There was some growling up in the tree and two amber eyes revealed themselves through the branches.
"Finally. Will you please come down now?"
Inuyasha grumbled to himself, quite agitated, before finally giving in and jumping down from the tree, staring up at Kagome impatiently.
Kagome sat down next to him, so that she was a little closer to eye level.
"Now, will you please tell me what happened?"
Inuyasha shifted nervously and lowered his eyes to the ground in a slightly embarrassed way.
"Please?" Kagome said. "I just want to help."
Inuyasha looked back at Kagome, staring straight into her eyes with surprising intensity. There seemed to be… regret? Longing?
"Inuyasha, what-"
Inuyasha growled in frustration and it was then that it hit Kagome like a ton of bricks.
"Inuyasha, you… you can't talk anymore?"
Inuyasha looked down at the ground.
"But… What did Sessho-maru do to you?"
There was silence while Kagome turned this new information over in her mind.
"Well," she said eventually, "I'm glad at least that Sessho-maru didn't take you back to Naraku. That's good. There's plenty of time to reverse whatever Sessho-maru did to you. We'll just do it all over again!" she said cheerfully.
Inuyasha looked at her, a sort of "how can you be so cheerful all the time" look on his face. Kagome just smiled back at him. She turned her eyes up to the sky, sighing.
"The stars are so beautiful out here…" she said quietly. "It's never like this in Tokyo. Too much light there."
Inuyasha stared at her, amazed at how she could just blow such a major setback off so easily. Kagome either didn't notice or didn't care that he was staring at her, so he eventually just gave up and looked up at the night sky as well. Kagome was right. The stars were beautiful. He realized he had never taken the time to really look at them before. He looked back over at Kagome and his eyes widened as he realized she had fallen asleep. He shook his head and returned to looking at the star-speckled sky.
Ok, well, I was kinda forging through writer's block the whole time I was writing this chapter. I'm not extremely happy with it. Ah, well. Anyway, this chapter was more character and relationship development than anything else. I hope it was okay with you folks. So, don't forget to review, and I will have a new chapter out as soon as I can!