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Chapter six

Kagome woke up to a burning sensation in her left arm and winced, her right hand coming up to clutch her arm as if that would relieve the pain. With a soft groan, eyes the color of chocolate fluttered open to stare groggily at the ceiling as events from last night came flooding back to her. The village, the dog, her arm, Inuyasha's strange affectionate behavior…

Their almost kiss.

Blushing at the mental image, Kagome forced herself up with her good arm, cradling her injured one against her chest and looked around, blinking the sleep from her eyes. Her half-demon companion was nowhere to be found; she was alone in the hut. A frown furrowed her eyebrows, but she didn't think much of it. Her friends probably left her to get some much needed sleep. Which the girl truly appreciated, however it felt strange waking up alone when she was so accustomed to waking up with her friends surrounding her, Inuyasha's comforting presence never too far from her, or Shippou's for that matter. Kagome smiled, thinking that the kit had taken to sleeping with her at night, cuddled against her stomach with his little paws fisting in her shirt.

Heaving a sigh, thinking she should probably get changed – she was still clothed in the borrowed yukata – Kagome stood up, still favoring her injured arm, and started for her yellow bag when the shoji door slid open and a familiar red clad figure stood in the doorway.

For some unknown reason to her, a flush stole across her cheeks and she averted her eyes, kneeling down to rummage around in her bag for a clean uniform. Unfortunately, that was a little hard to do with just one arm… She grumbled under her breath as things just kept falling back into place as she moved them out of the way.

She heard a sigh then footsteps padding her way and a clawed hand shooed her hands away before diving into the contents of her back and pulling out her uniform a second later. Kagome pouted but took the offered garments and started to retreat behind the changing screen when the same clawed hand gently grabbed her wrist, halting her steps.

Grimacing, knowing what he was going to ask next, Kagome turned around to face him, and blinking innocently up at him.

Amber eyes gazed into her own for a moment before tailing down to her arm and softening, releasing her wrist to gently run the pads of his fingers down her arm. "How's your arm?"

Kagome hesitated, then said, "It's fine."

He shot her a look that clearly stated he knew she was lying and lifted a dark brow, his expression deadpan.

Releasing a sigh, the raven-haired woman reluctantly admitted, "My whole arm is throbbing and it feels like there's a burning sensation, but really Inuyasha, it's fine, I'm sure it's just—"

"Shut up, Kagome."

Rolling her eyes, mentally asking herself why she even bothered to try, Kagome allowed him to lead her back over to the futon and gestured to sit down while he went back to her bag and retrieved her medical supplies. Kagome carefully rolled the sleeve of the yukata up as Inuyasha plopped down beside her, stretching his legs in front of and behind her so she sat between them. She gave him an odd look at the position but didn't say anything. He either didn't notice or ignored it as he went to work carefully slicing off the old bandaging with his claws, his eyebrows lowering deeper with every inch of her enflamed and raw flesh was revealed.

"Shit," he muttered, tossing the used bandage to the side. "It looks infected."

Kagome, who had been studiously looking the other way having no desire to see what her arm looked like, winced at his words and forced herself to peek down at her wound. She paled. He was right; the skin was swollen and bruised with various colors, the edges of the gash raw and enflamed. The medicinal herbs had helped slightly, but it wasn't strong enough to fight off the infection. To be honest, Kagome wasn't all that surprised. That dog was from this area, so of course it wouldn't have had any vaccinations of any sort, so who knew what sort of bacteria dwelled within it.

At least it's not deep enough that it requires stitches, Kagome tried to think optimistically, wrinkling her nose. It would scar, but at least it wouldn't a very noticeable one. Besides, what was one more added to her collection of battle scars?

A wayward giggle erupted out of her mouth at that thought and Inuyasha flicked his gaze up to hers from her arm, inquisitive, but Kagome just shook her head. The hanyou studied her for a few seconds more before shaking his head, releasing a soft "keh" before continuing to thoroughly clean the wound with a damp cloth that had mysteriously appeared in his hand. Kagome blinked, wondering where it had come from. Her gaze dropped down to the basin of water next to his knee, wondering where that had come from as well. She would have noticed if he'd left to retrieve them…

"I brought them with me," Inuyasha stated as if he read her mind, never looking up from his task. Deft clawed hands managed to douse a clean cloth with hydrogen peroxide without it dripping everywhere before pressing it to her wound, ears flattening atop his head at Kagome's pained hiss. "Sorry," he muttered, allowing Kagome to fist her hand in his hakama as the sting spread up her arm. He went as fast as he would, hating that he was causing her pain, but knowing it was necessary. They both breathed a sigh of relief when he was satisfied it was cleaned enough before wrapping a bandage around it.

Satisfied with his handiwork, Inuyasha smoothed his hand down her arm and lifted his gaze up to her face, noting the way it was pinched from the pain. He had to stifle the pitiful whine that threatened to leave his lips as a wave of guilt crashed through him. It was his fault Kagome was in so much pain. If he hadn't been such a fucking idiot and just stood there when that damn dog had exploded into the room, she wouldn't have that wound on her arm and her face wouldn't be so pale.

"Kagome…"

His rather mournful whisper drew Kagome's attention and she turned her head, wondering what would have caused her hanyou to sound so sorrowful and gasped softly at the guilt and regret that was so plainly writ on those dear features she loved so much. "Inuyasha," she began, lifting a hand slowly, resting her fingertips on his cheek. "What…"

"I'm sorry," he said hoarsely and Kagome could only watch as he closed his eyes and lowered his head, his ears hidden within his silver hair. "I…it's my fault you're hurt. My fault that you're in so much pain. I was just…I couldn't move, I was frozen and I… I don't know what happened." He shook his head, angry at the whole situation, at the stupid dog, the mostly angry at himself that he didn't prevent this from happening. His hands clenched into fists where they rested on his thighs, his claws digging into the flesh of his palms, but he ignored it. What was a little pain for him, when Kagome's pain was most likely ten times worse.

"Inuyasha…no." Her soft voice reached his ears and one of her hands rested on his own, gently prying his fingers away from his palm to entwine with her own. "Please don't blame yourself. You couldn't have helped—"

"Yes I fuckin' could have!" he suddenly exploded, wrenching his hand away from hers and shooting up from his seated position and glaring down at her. "Dammit—if I hadn't just stood there like a goddamned idiot, this whole fucking situation could have been avoided! Damn—" He cut himself off and thrust a hand through his hair, clenching his jaw and gloweringly heatedly at the wall. "I said I'd always protect you, Kagome, and I—I let you down, I let you get hurt when I was right fucking there, close enough to do something, anything, but instead I just…I dunno—I froze. I couldn't move, because deep down, I knew…" Inuyasha trailed off, letting the hand in his hair fall to the side as his face softened from its original scowl and his eyes grew heavy lidded. It was as if he were a puppet and the strings holding him up slackened, the tension leaving his body as his shoulders drooped, his hands unfurled from tight fists and his head fell forward as a heavy sigh escaped past his lips. A beat of silence followed, Kagome watching him with wide, worried eyes and his next words were so soft she barely heard them.

"…I knew I wouldn't get to you in time."

Unbidden tears sprung to Kagome's eyes at the heartbroken admission and she swallowed hard, speechless, her heart going out to the half-demon who truly believed her pain was his fault. "Inuyasha…" Kagome whispered, her feet carrying her to him before she even realized she was walking to him. Taking a deep breath she halted before him and slowly she reached out to take both of her hands in her own, twining her fingers with his, unmindful of the talons grazing her skin. She ducked her head to try and catch his eyes, but he refused, shifting his head so that his bangs shadowed his eyes. "Inuyasha…please look at me," she pleaded softly and reluctantly the half-demon lifted his head enough to lock gazes with her. What he saw in her eyes made his heart skip a beat and his own orbs to widen a fraction.

Kagome…how can you be so forgiving…?

Once she caught his eyes, Kagome granted him a soft smile, just a curl of her lips and instantly, for reasons unknown, Inuyasha's heart felt a little lighter. "Inuyasha," she continued, not exactly knowing what to say but wanting to say something, anything to ease the guilt that was eating away at him. "Please believe me when I say this wasn't – is not – your fault. You had no idea that dog—"

"But I smelled—" he tried to interrupt, but Kagome shushed him with a gentle finger to his lips.

"You had no way of knowing that that dog was suddenly going to crash into the wall and attack me. Sure, you may have smelled him, but how could you have known it was lethal and rabid with a jewel shard? Lots of villages have stray dogs wandering around smelling even worse, so we were none the wiser when the wall suddenly gave way and you were up against a crazed dog infused with the jewel's power. "

Still Inuyasha wasn't convinced. "But—"

The look she gave him had him snapping his jaw shut and regarding her with wide, almost hopeful eyes. Kagome smiled again and raised a hand to tenderly cup his cheek. Her smile widened when he unconsciously leaned into the contact. "Don't beat yourself up over this, Inuyasha. I don't blame you, Miroku, Shippou and Sango don't blame you, and you shouldn't blame yourself, either. So I have a cut on my arm – so what? It'll heal, just like every other cut I've ever received did. Besides…" Here she suddenly blushed and the half-demon wondered why. "I like to think of them as battle scars, reminders of the times that I have spent here with our friends…and you."

Her last two words had an answering blush developing upon Inuyasha's cheeks and his golden eyes rounded slightly in wonderment. With-with me…? he thought in awe, staring at this amazing, beautiful, caring, utterly forgiving woman before him. "Kagome," he murmured tenderly, finally allowing himself to believe that maybe Kagome was right; maybe it wasn't his fault. How could he, how could anyone have known that dog would suddenly burst into the hut and go after Kagome like that? Inuyasha's sense of smell was superior, but not even that could have alerted him to the animal's antics.

Finally giving in, Inuyasha grasped the hand that was resting in his cheek with his own and lowered it between them, giving her other hand a squeeze with his own. "Kagome," he sighed and tugged her closer to him. "C'mere, wench." His hand released hers and his arms wrapped around her tightly, smiling when her own arms came up to swathe around his torso. Inuyasha buried his nose in her sweet smelling hair, closing his eyes and inhaling her scent.

They stayed like that for God knows how long, holding each other, reveling in the closeness, secretly admiring the way the other person felt against their body. After what seemed like ages, the silver-haired half-demon finally pulled back enough to look down into the brown-eyed girl's face, his eyes lowering to half-mast as he lifted a clawed hand and cupped her cheek. Kagome's eyes widened slightly as his orbs darkened to a deep smoldering amber and a soft pink suffused her cheeks. His other hand, situated on her waist, traveled up her back agonizingly slowly, his claws snagging on the fabric of the yukata, and tenderly held the back of her head, twining his fingers in the soft strands of her dark hair. Kagome's lips parted and her breath hitched in her throat when his gaze dropped down to her mouth. "Inu…" she whispered, her eyes fluttered closed. She could feel his breath ghost across her lips, warm and smelling faintly of mint. Kagome's heart thudded against her chest, her hands clutching his shoulders, dying for the feel of Inuyasha's lips against her own.

"Kago…"

"Ahem."

"Sonofa—!"

In a blink of an eye, Inuyasha had detached himself from Kagome, darted across the room in a silver and red blur, grabbed a startled looking Miroku by the collar of his robes and in an instant they were both gone, leaving a bewildered looking Sango, a curious Shippou, and a madly blushing Kagome.

"Um…"

"Kagome…? What…just happened?"

Sighing in defeat, her face still the color of Inuyasha's haori, Kagome ushered them inside before grabbing her forgotten uniform on the floor and retreating behind the changing screen. Sango and Shippou exchanged curious glances before closing the shoji door behind them and sitting down to patiently wait for what was sure to be an interesting explanation.

-X-

That's twice now, goddamn it!

Deeming the courtyard a safe enough distance away from the room, Inuyasha finally released Miroku and stomped ahead of him, pissed off from the interruption and what could have been one fucking fantastic kiss. Damn the monk and his bad timing!

"Do you have a fucking death wish, Miroku?!" Inuyasha whirled around to face him, his lips pulled back in a snarl and hands clenched tightly into fists at his sides. He ignored the stares they were receiving and glared heatedly at the man before him, daring him to explain his way out of this one.

Pulling himself together, Miroku coolly straightened his robes into some semblance of order and tucked his hands into his opposite sleeves, calm in the face of Inuyasha's anger. He was used to the hanyou's temper after having been around him for so long. "I can assure you, Inuyasha, that I had absolutely no idea that you two were…ah…in such a compromising position—"

"Bullshit."

"—and had I known, I would have come at a later time." He continued as if he half-demon hadn't spoken at all, looking for all the world like he was innocent.

Inuyasha knew better. His scowl darkened and he stomped up to him, leaning in close to growl out, "Then why the hell didn't you just walk away?"

The small smirk that curled the monk's lips told Inuyasha that his "innocence" was a ruse.

"Now, Inuyasha, why would I do that when your reaction would be so much more enjoyable?"

Inuyasha stared at him, mouth agape, and hated the little mirthful chuckle that escaped Miroku's lips.

"You're an asshole, Miroku."

"You're a bigger one, my friend."

"Prove it."

"Well, there was that time where you—"

"Shut up, stupid bouzo."

Miroku's answering chuckle irritated the hanyou all over again.

-X-

"…and that's when you guys walked in," Kagome finished with a sigh, looking down and playing with the hem of her skirt. She had rehashed the last half hour's events to her friends, beginning with Inuyasha admitting that he believed it was his fault she was hurt, then ending with what they had seen when they arrived. Of course, she was sure to stress that nothing really happened between them, that their arrival had broken the moment and having a pissed off half-demon dragging an amused monk out of the room.

Sango nodded, Shippou having dozed off somewhere in the middle of her explanation and was currently curled up in Kagome's lap.

The two elapsed into silence for a few moments, Kagome reflecting on what could have happened and demon slayer wondering if Kagome had wanted something to happen between them.

"Kagome," she began softly, deciding to voice her thoughts. Said girl looked up from the snoozing fox child to fix her friend with an inquisitive look, tilting her head to the side. Sango hesitated, and then asked, "Did you…want something to happen? I mean, if we hadn't arrived when we did, do you think…?"

Kagome made a face and sighed, frowning slightly. Sango knew of her feelings for the half-demon, so she wasn't really surprised at the question. "Yes," she confessed quietly, answering both questions and running a hand through Shippou's tuft of hair. He murmured in his sleep and squirmed closer, eliciting a fond smile from the young woman. "If you three hadn't interrupted us when you did, I don't think we'd be having this conversation right now." Kagome looked up at her friend then, and a beat of silence elapsed between the two.

And then instantaneously they both erupted into girlish giggles.

That was how Inuyasha and Miroku found them, giggling behind their hands and laughing even harder when they glanced an irritated Inuyasha.

The two exchanged glances and shook their heads, saying one word simultaneously.

"Women."

-X-

After the girls had gotten control of their giggles, the group of travelers expressed their gratitude for the hospitality and continued on their journey, wandering aimlessly in the northward direction. The five had split into two groups, with Kagome, Sango, and Shippou up ahead as the men trailed along behind them, Inuyasha quite shamelessly admiring Kagome's ass and Miroku was looking longingly at Sango's. He missed the feeling of that round firmness in his hands and said appendages twitched with the suppressed urge. True, he had given in and grabbed that lovely derrière just yesterday; knowing that it would put Inuyasha in the lead with their little game, but he just hadn't been able to help himself. It was right there, round, soft yet firm, the perfect curvature and it fit perfectly within the palm of his hand…

"I know what yer thinkin', bouzo. And you'd better not, seeing as how I'm already in the lead."

The half-demon's smug voice brought the monk out of his daze and he blinked before his words registered in his perverted brain. Miroku frowned and shot a glare at his companion through the corners of his eyes, his mouth in a straight line. "I don't know what you're talking about, Inuyasha."

The half-demon snorted and a smirk graced his lips, casting a side-long glace at the man walking beside him. "Please. We both know that you can't go a day without groping Sango's ass, so why don't you give up now and save yourself the trouble." Inuyasha's gaze went back to staring at Kagome's perfect ass, watching the almost hypnotic sway of her hips, back and forth, back and forth, back and…

"Kagome does have a rather nice backside, does she not?"

The words had Inuyasha stiffening and a dark, threatening growl to develop in his chest. Slowly Inuyasha turned his head to level a narrow eyed look at the monk, his upper lip curling back to reveal sharp fangs. "What was that, monk?"

His voice was deadly soft and it sent a shiver of trepidation down Miroku's spine but he forged on, deciding to implement the plan he had developed yesterday. Clearing his throat, the priest shrugged and looked ahead of them, quite obviously trailing his eyes up and down Kagome's bare legs; the sinister growl that sounded beside him told him that the half-demon hadn't missed it. "Well, I was just saying that our dear Kagome has developed quite nicely over the years. Long, slender legs, shapely hips, a perfect figure, and of course we can't forget her 'wonderfully huge—'"

"Finish that sentence and die right here, right now, bouzo."

The threat had Miroku pausing and glancing askance at the furious hanyou, pretending he didn't notice the rather lethal look he was receiving. "What, you don't agree?" He couldn't stop the twitch of his lips that foretold a smile. This was rather fun. Miroku knew that the half-demon wouldn't really do anything with the girls just a scant distance away. They were already suspicious of their little plan, and they didn't need any extra attention.

Inuyasha's jaw tightened and his eyebrow twitched, but he didn't say anything, only narrowing his eyes further, another growl seeping out passed his tightly clenched teeth. Miroku simply raised his eyebrows at him, egging him on.

Finally the hanyou snorted and looked straight ahead, folding his arms across his chest and flicking an ear in irritation. When he spoke, there was an edge to his voice that had Miroku rethinking his plan for a brief second. After all, he did value his life to some degree…

"You'd better watch yourself, monk. I don't know where you're going with this, but if I catch you ogling Kagome like that again you can bet I won't be as tolerant. Eyes on your own woman, asshole." With that, Inuyasha quickened his pace until he was beside the object of discussion, snaking his arm around her waist and tugging her into his side, clearly making a statement that Miroku didn't miss. Kagome eyed him strangely but didn't comment on his strange behavior, going back to her previous conversation with Sango.

Miroku released a breath he hadn't realized he was holding and closed his eyes for a moment, glad he had escaped that confrontation unscathed. He didn't doubt the half-demon's words; next time Miroku planned on acting on his plan, he would have to be much more careful and not be as obvious. Perhaps a teasing comment here or a lingering touch there. Kagome would think nothing of it, of course; she was used to his appreciation of the female physique and would just brush off his behavior with a roll of her beautiful brown eyes.

And, Miroku thought with a slight smile, Sango would notice the attention he was giving Kagome and get that jealous little air about her that he absolutely adored.

Yes, the monk thought, feeling a little better about the whole thing. He would just have to be more careful in executing his plan, and then everything would fall into place.

He was sure of it.

With a spring in his step now, Miroku hurried to catch up to his friends, making sure the devilish smirk was gone from his features by the time he reached Sango's side, in its place his trademark charming grin. He was gratified to see the object of his affections give him a small smile in return, a soft tinting of pink covering her nose and cheeks.

His grin widened, and slyly he cast a glance at the half-demon of the group. He wasn't surprised to find him already staring at him, answering his unspoken statement in the monk's eyes with one of his own before looking ahead once more, dismissing him. Satisfied he got his silent message across, Miroku held in a chuckle and focused his attention ahead of him as well, however he couldn't seem to rid himself of the grin that spread across his features.

We'll see who the victor of this little game will be, Inuyasha.

Bring it on, monk.

-X-

Not sure I'm entirely satisfied with this chapter, but meh. And I know this wasn't the story that most of you wanted to get updated, but for some reason after re-reading chapters one through five, I really wanted to write something canon instead of AU. I gotta admit, it was refreshing and I liked how I portrayed Inuyasha in this chapter and I remembered how much I loved the idea of this story when I first started it. It's definitely a fun plot to write about, and I was giggling to myself while writing the last scene. There are just so many places I can go with this!

If any of you want to know what's been going on in my life and why I haven't updated and such, I've updated my devART journal explaining everything and the link can be found in my profile.

Hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it. =]

Until next time,
Keiz