Summer Heat

Summer Heat, Part One

By: Jazmin Turner

           

Disclaimer:  I do not own Inuyasha and Co.  Honestly… -_-*

      Summary:  It's summer.  What will Inuyasha and Kagome do to cool off?  Two words.  Skinny Dipping.  Two parts.  OOC.

Genres: Romance

~*~

"Kagome! Kagome! It's my turn!" Shippo cried, clutching Kagome's arm, trying to pry the spinning object out of her hands.  The teenager growled, pulling the appliance protectively against her chest.

"Shippo! It's my turn!"  The kitsune pouted.

"I wanna have a turn!" he said.  Kagome rolled her eyes, then closed them, letting a wave of cool air from the fan blow over her hot, sweaty face.

It was summer in Sengoku Jidai and it was hot.  It was well over 100 degrees and with no fans, air-conditioning, and cold showers, Kagome was burning up!  It's not like returning to her time would help matters.  Their air-conditioning had broke as she had been racing for the well, in a hurry to meet Inuyasha's deadline before they had another big fight. 

Shippo tugged the thing out of Kagome's grasp and fanned his face.  She sighed, waving her hand in the air in a futile attempt to cool herself.  Miroku and Sango had taken off before Kagome had arrived in pursuit of a rumor of a jewel shard.  Inuyasha had been almost bursting with excitement and energy when she arrived and wanted to get a move on, but in this heat Kagome had refused.  And a few arguments and sits later they were in a field near Kaede's village with Inuyasha sulking up in a tree.

"C'mon Inuyasha!" she called.  She walked under his tree and squinted her eyes.  It seemed as if the shade offered little comfort, as the hanyou's face was as red as his kimono.  "Do you want a turn with the fan?"  As expected, he refused.

"Feh! Like I'd actually want a piece of crap like that!"  Kagome sighed.  What would really help was a nice bath in a icy cold spring.  She was positive that her short skirt mixed and matched with a feathery light white t-shirt would help her, but she was wrong.  She was soooooooooooooo hot!  And Inuyasha's irritable temper did little to soothe her.

Shippo gave a cry of frustration, throwing the fan in the grass so hard it broke.  The fins, corks, screws, and bits of plastic went flying everywhere.

"Shippo!" Kagome shouted in exasperation.  "The fan!"  Shippo cringed from the harshness of her tone, but wanting to stick up for his actions.

"Kagome that doesn't work!" he said accusingly, shaking a measly fist at the fan's debris.  "I'm still so hot!"

"I know it wouldn't completely cool you off, but it was our only chance of wind! Now you broke it!"  The poor teenager was close to tears.  It had been her turn next and she was looking forward to the icy chill in her face.  Kagome stooped to pick up the scraps of her fan and dumped them into her yellow back.

"Sorry Kagome."  Little Shippo turned his gaze towards the ground.  "I'm going to Kaede's now maybe she can help."  Then he scampered off.

Kagome growled.

"Now you know why I always try to kill him," Inuyasha snapped from his tree.  The heat was making him crankier than usual.

"He may be annoying Inuyasha, but that gives you no reason to kill him," she sighed as she riffled through her back.  A roll of toilet paper, a pack of gum, an extra pair of shoes, a toothbrush and toothpaste came flying out in a confusing flurry behind her.

"What are you looking for?" Inuyasha asked.  He had hopped down from his perch and stuck his nose in the bag.  Kagome swatted him away and pulled out a piece of stiff paper.  She flapped it over her face and sighed in ecstasy.  Inuyasha rolled his eyes as she ran a sweaty hand over her forehead.

"Stupid human."  She shot him a glare but soon returned her attention to the makeshift fan.

"Say, Inuyasha do you know of any springs around here.  Like ice cold ones?"  The hanyou perked up and allowed a rare grin to cross his features.

"Yeah, why?"

"Could you take me to it, PLEASE?"  Kagome flipped her large, misty-eyed expression on him that made him falter.

"S-Sure. Climb on."  He crouched down, waiting for her to spring on his back.

"No thanks Inuyasha, if it's all the same to you, I'll walk.  You're probably awfully hot in that heavy kimono of yours."  He got up and brushed imaginary dust off his clothes, giving her an odd look.  "What? I'm trying to be generous! The least you could do was say thank you!"  He made a noise in the back of his throat that sounded like a cross between a growl and a snarl.

Kagome trotted obediently by his side.  She would often stop and hunch over, grasping her knees with her hands to catch her breath.

"Geez! Does it always get this hot?" she asked, fanning her face with her hand.  Her clothes were sticking to her back, which she found highly uncomfortable.  Inuyasha sighed.

"Yeah, every summer."

"How do you deal with it?"  Inuyasha's face – which was currently red – turned an even deeper shade and Kagome was sure it wasn't because of the heat.

"Inuyasha!" she cried suddenly. "You're blushing!"  This caused his face to flush even more.

"Shuddup! No I am not!"  He turn away from her abruptly, smacking her in the face with his hair soaked with sweat.

"EW!" she shrieked, peeling away the little white strands that had become pasted on her face.  "Jesus Inuyasha!"  He snorted but she could tell he has still blushing, because his hands – which were currently clenched into fists – were turning an interesting shade of pink.  "Why so embarrassed?"

"I'm not embarrassed!" he shouted, wheeling around to face her.  They paused in their sluggish walk to glare at each other.

"Why is your face red?"

"It's hot out here!"

"But it's almost purple!"

"No it's not! It's all in your head!"

"No! Your face is really, really red!"  Inuyasha huffed and began to walk again.  Kagome scent – which was usually pleasant – was now becoming saturating in her sweat.  He couldn't wait to make to the spring.  She fanned her face again, sucking in a deep breath of the stagnant air.  Why couldn't there be any wind?

Inuyasha stopped at the tree line. 

"It's in a clearing around here somewhere."  Kagome swatted away the low-lying branches and followed him.  How come he was so graceful? It wasn't fair! He was a guy!  She often tripped over gnarled roots or fallen logs and became tangled up in branches, vines, and bushes.  By now her legs were full of shallow red scratches.  Inuyasha paused again.

"Look."  Kagome shoved her way by him and her eyes literally turned as big a saucers.  It was a large spring with a roaring waterfall.  The miniature, crystal-clear lake was surrounded by lush, green vegetation and boulders.

"It's beautiful!"  She wrapped him into a sweaty hug.  "Inuyasha can you take me to the top?"

"Why?" he asked quizzically.

"So we can jump off!"

"No way! It's too dangerous. You might get hurt!"

"Why are you worried? Your shard detector will get injured?"  There was a long silence as she pulled off her shoes and damp socks and began to jump across the rocks that sprung out of the ice cool water.

"No! Because Kagome will get hurt!"  She stopped suddenly and turned to face him, eyes wide.

"Y-You really mean that?"  He nodded slowly.  Kagome blushed.  It was just too hot for that! Plus, her head was too fuzzy and pounding to really pick apart what he just said.  "T-Thanks."  Suddenly, she felt his arm wrap around her waist and he pulled her to the top of the waterfall.  It was much cooler up there, with a slight, warm breeze blowing up flecks of the cold water.  Kagome shivered deliciously and grinned.  She balanced precariously on the rock that Inuyasha had set her on.  She turned her gaze towards the hanyou who was watching her critically.  "What?"

"Nothing."  Inuyasha blushed.

"So who's gonna go down first?"

"It's was your idea!"

"So what! Now that I'm up here…"

"Coward."

"There are rocks at the bottom!"

"But they're like 50 feet away from where you'll land!"

"What you measured?"

          "…"

          "Fine! Rock, paper, scissors, kay?"  Inuyasha nodded and grinned.  He loved rock paper scissors!  Kagome had taught him that during their first winter together when they were stuck inside Kaede's freezing hut bored stiff.

          "Okay."

          "Rock, paper, scissors…shoot!"  They shouted in unison.  Inuyasha shot out paper but Kagome countered him with the ever powerful scissors.

          "HA! I WON!" she cried.  "You lose! You have to go first!"  He growled.

          "You cheated!"  Kagome stuck her tongue out at him playfully.

          "Not-uh! I won fair and square! Jump first!"  She shoved him lightly towards the edge of the waterfall.  The large, roaring sounds of it were making Inuyasha slightly deaf; his ears twitched in annoyance.

          "Feh! This…This is so stupid!" he rumbled.

          "You scared?" Kagome teased.  When had everything become so light-hearted?  Though the sun still burned at her skin she was having too much fun playing around with Inuyasha, something she rarely got to do.  Did she dare she say, enjoy his attention? Of course! She relished it.  Knowing that as soon as Kikyou shows up he'll be all over her, she thought sadly.

          "I am not scared!"  Inuyasha's loud voice broke her from her thoughts.  She pasted a fake smile on her lips.  Inuyasha snorted.

          "Fine! Then jump! I double-dog-dare ya!"

          "Hey!" he protested.

          "Oops," she giggled.  Of course he would find an underlying message in such a common phrase.  "Sorry Inuyasha."

          "Feh," he snorted again.  Inuyasha balanced expertly on a large boulder permanently embedded in the squishy soil.  He stuck his arms out awkwardly in front of him and bent his legs quickly.  He had seen people do this when they jumped into giant lakes on Kagome's tee-v.  It was Kagome's turn to snort.  He growled.

          "Shut up!"

          "Go already!"

          "Fine!"

          Inuyasha took in a deep breath, permeated by Kagome's scent, and jumped off the waterfall!  He felt his stomach rise in his throat as the air whooshed by his eyelids, burning himself.  But if felt good to have the stagnant air whip around his body.  But ow.  It was painful to hit the water.  He landed with a belly flop with a large smack on the surface of the water.  He winced as he began to sink quickly underwater.  Kagome chewed her fingernails, wondering why her friend was taking too long to resurface.

          Suddenly, a small, white head popped up from under the water.  He was positively soaked!  Even from all of the way up at the top of the waterfall, Kagome could see his shaggy hair glued to his face; his white ears now looked humongous and were droopy and water-logged.  Inuyasha waved to her, beckoning her to join him, with an evil grin.  Arrogance and the words, I told ya so, where practically oozing from that well-placed sneer.

          Kagome rolled her eyes and prepared to jump, positive that Inuyasha would catch her if she managed to go off course.  She backed up and jumped off.  A scream managed to roll from her lips as she felt the wind whip viciously at her eyelids, making her eyes water, as she felt her heart "rise" into her throat.  She landed with a loud splash, soaking Inuyasha to the bone.  Underwater, Kagome puffed out her cheeks and frog-swam.  The chilling water felt good against her previously hot skin and all of her troubles, complains, and concerns began to wash away with the current she had created.

          But, eventually, her lungs began to burn.  She returned to the surface, gasping for air, to see Inuyasha no where in sight.  Kagome looked up into the clouds.  She saw them turn a pewter gray and the rumble of thunder was close by.

          "Crud," she pouted, then suddenly, two large hands shoved her underwater.  Under the surface, Kagome's eyes widened and a few bubbles flew from her mouth as she saw Inuyasha grinning at her, effectively pinning her under him.  "Inuyasha!" she growled when they resurfaced.

          "You should've seen your face!"

          "GRRRRR! SIT BOY!"  There was a loud, effective splash as the hanyou found his face suddenly embedded in the mud at the bottom of the lake.  He saw Kagome begin to walk away from him, and even underwater, he could hear her giggling.  When the pressure on his back began to decrease, Inuyasha doggie-paddled up to the surface.  Kagome was gliding away from him, back turned towards him.  He grinned.

          Inuyasha began to sneak up on her and sprung, but she sensed his assault before he hit her, and Inuyasha managed to avoid her and fell underwater…again.  He was beginning to get real sick of this.  A few moments later he popped back up, took in a big gulp of the hot air, and winded up nose to nose with Kagome.

          The girl's cheeks burned as Inuyasha's eyes crossed to look at her.  The water – which previously felt cool – began to warm up as fast as Kagome's cheeks.  She couldn't help but think he looked extremely cute like that.  Her eyes looked down from his face to his body.  His red kimono was soaked and clung to his body, showing off his well defined muscles.  She blushed.  Pervert! Pervert! Kagome thought furiously.  Inuyasha smirked, enjoying her flustered expression.  Her pink tongue darted out to moisten her dry lips, making Inuyasha almost release a moan.

          Kagome's lips.  One of his favorite things to think about.  They were full and pink, and now moist, looking absolutely delicious.  Inuyasha began to advance her, licking his own lips while she snapped out of her day dreams.  She shoved him away, face red as a cherry, while one of her hands clutched her pounding heart through her damp clothes.  Inuyasha managed to keep himself above water and he shot a glare at Kagome.  But what was he expecting? Why would Kagome ever love him, a filthy, pitiful, disgusting, ugly hanyou?  He had learned to live with being a disgrace his entire childhood and for the first time he thought someone accepted him.  I guess I was wrong.

          Inuyasha spent the next ten minutes sulking while thunder rumbled again in the distance.  Kagome shivered deliciously, chancing a glance at the hanyou.  What was his problem?  First he was all mean, then he was arrogant, then he starting acting like a puppy, and now he was acting as if she had dumped him.  Was he going to kiss me? She thought wildly.  No, why would that ever happen? I mean, Inuyasha seems to love Kikyou's lips so much, why would he toy around with second rates?  The water suddenly became cold again.

          The smell of salt assaulted his nostrils.  Was Kagome crying?  Why would she? Did he scare her?  Either way, he hated the scent of her tears, so he waded over to her and crushed her against his chest.  He growled, feeling much more of the girl's body than he usually was able, and he found that he enjoyed it.  He mentally berated himself, and made a mental note to avoid Miroku at all costs.

          Kagome's sniffles stopped abruptly, as warmth cascading down from Inuyasha's form.  The boy himself had chosen to avoid her eyes, while he rocked her back and forth until her tears dried.

          "Thanks."  He released her abruptly then ducked underwater.  "Inuyasha?"  She turned around to find him a feel feet away from her, underwater as a few bubbles reaching the surface and popping as they were attacked by the hot air.  Just as she was about to roll her eyes, she saw something odd and bright red float to the surface. 

          Kagome squinted, then gasped in realization.

          "Inuyasha's clothes," she blubbered, as her body began to fill with dread.  "That means he is completely naked!"

          Remember to review!  Part Two coming soon!  I need at least at LEAST ten reviews to continue.