Chapter Three
Your Stockings are Attracting Flies
"STOP!!!"
The shout had the guards pulling up short, looking up in surprise as Kagome shivered, pulling her arms away from behind her to hold herself. This was taking life off of her years, it was… wait… wasn't it years off her life? Yeah, that was probably-
Her train of thoughts was forced to suddenly run into a cow and be interrupted as a hand grabbed her face, forcing her to look into angry amber eyes. Kagome flinched lightly, her own blue eyes narrowing angrily at him.
"Finally realize I haven't done anything?" she spat angrily, tugging her chin away. The man growled ('Did he just actuallygrowl? What… the hell') and tilted her head to the side. Suddenly his hand tugged at her chihaya (miko's haori), pulling it down below her shoulder.
Kagome screamed and stumbled back, eyeing him with large, frightened eyes. He looked… stunned. "You're not… her… even if you somehow changed your eyes, hair, became tanned and somehow changed your scent… you were never able to hide your scars…"
Her breathing was harsh as Kagome flinched back from his hand, curling a little in on herself. She didn't voice her curiosity about what the hell he was talking about, or why he had done that. All she knew were the stories she had seen her mother watching late at night about girls getting rapped in crowds, just because they were new. Stupid human-interest dateline-type shows…
A hand pulled Kagome to her feet and she sagged unwillingly against them, her knees having given out a moment before. Shivering, she pulled away, turning around as Shippo called her name.
As the little ball of russet crashed into her, Kagome heard the boy splutter indignantly. "Oi, you!" Kagome's eyes narrowed as she kept her back to him. "Hey, oi. Oi! OI! I'm talking to you here! I-"
Whatever he was about to say was cut off as Kagome whirled around and slapped him across the cheek. Hard.
The boy stumbled back, his hand shooting to his cheek in surprise. Tears filled Kagome's eyes as she glared angrily at him. "What the hell is your problem!?" she spat angrily, giving him one of those disgusted looks that made him feel worse than dirt. "Only until I was seconds away from death did you tell them to stop, you kept Shippo away from me and you… you…" She couldn't find anything else really big to accuse him of so she settled with a muttered, "Jerk."
Blinking, the boy stumbled back towards her as Kagome whirled away from him, her shoulders shaking in quiet sobs. "Hey… hey, listen, don't cry!" he said softly.
Kagome's cries became slightly louder…
His ears pressed against his head. "I'm an ass all the time; don't feel so bad that I was one to you!"
Her cries just notched up a bit…
"Ah, ah, ah…" Nothing he was saying was woooorkiiiing!!!
And here come the full-blown sobs…
"JUST STOP CRYING DAMNIT!!!!!!"
At his wits end, the boy had done the only thing he could think of: yell at her.
Kagome gave an impressive growl and scowled at him. "Don't tell me what to do!" she shouted, but quieted down, holding poor Shippo tighter until he was almost blue in the face.
The boy gently pried her fingers off of the kitsune and grabbed her wrist. "Come on. I'll take you to the castle. We've got a couple of things to talk about."
Blinking, Kagome stumbled after him, Shippo perched precariously on her shoulder. "Where-where are we going, again?"
"To the castle."
Sighing, Kagome jogged lightly so she wouldn't fall behind. The crowds parted willingly for them they made their way along, but it wasn't long until they were finally out of the woods, so to speak.
As the market place grew smaller and smaller behind her, Kagome swallowed nervously, her gaze sliding to the suddenly imposing looking Japanese style castle before her.
"Um… why am I being taken here again?" she asked meekly, disrupting the silence as little as possible.
"You're resemblance to Kikyo is just too… uncanny for it to be natural…" the boy muttered, suddenly glowering off into the distance.
"But… I don't even know who this Kikyo person is!!!" Kagome protested, quickening her speed to catch up to the boy. "And for that matter, I don't know who you are either!"
"I'm InuYasha," he grunted, tugging her after him.
"InuYasha…" Kagome tested his name softly, finding suddenly that it suited him rather nicely. Dog. Demon. He had the dog ears so… "Are you a… yokai?"
"Half," InuYasha grunted again, never once looking at her.
"Ah, so-"
"Come on."
"Huh?" Kagome shot him a quizzical glace as InuYasha stopped, sending her a suddenly mischievous grin. She didn't like that look on his face one bit…
Bending down in front of her, InuYasha's grin widened slightly. "Get on. I can run faster with you on my back."
Swallowing, Kagome fisted a hand to her chest, uncertainty etched in every line of her body. "And you won't drop me or grope me or do anything like that, right?"
InuYasha rolled his eyes. "A, if I didn't want you here, I wouldn't have dragged you from the market, now would I? And B, you have nothing I'd like to grope! But yes, I promise."
Scowling, Kagome climbed onto his back, stiffening as he grabbed her legs to keep her on. "And-and you'll remember that promise, right?"
He nodded, standing up, his grin suddenly back in place. "Yeah, I promise! Now hold on tight!"
"Wha-" Kagome screamed as he took off, easily faster than any car she'd ever been in. Flinching against the wind, Kagome burrowed her head against InuYasha's shoulder. He, for his part, just sped up.
Jerk.
When Kagome finally got used to the speed and the wind and all of that good stuff, she looked down as grass shot out from underneath them, the castle, though so much bigger, no longer quite so imposing… It made her laugh.
An ear flicked in her direction as Kagome giggle, her hands tightening on InuYasha's shoulders as she grinned from ear to ear at the castle. "What are you so happy about?" he said behind him.
Kagome just shook her head; not even InuYasha could dampen her suddenly hysterical/happy mood now. "Mmm… Nothing really."
Snorting, InuYasha jumped up the castle wall, holding Kagome a little bit tighter as he landed.
She slid off, not gracefully in any way, shape, or form, and stumbled against him. InuYasha steadied her, and shook his head. "Well then, we'll have to wait for my stick-up-the-ass of a brother to appear so-"
"Ah, InuYasha-sama! You've returned!" called a voice. InuYasha scowled and crossed his arms, eyeing the newcomer wearily.
A monk walked up to InuYasha, his purple and black robes modest enough for any person. And yet this man had a certain… almost regal air to him. Not snotty and in your face regal like that Sesshomaru person, but neither wild and free regal, like InuYasha. More like calmed, collected, and when angered a force to be reckoned with regal; the type you'd expect from a strategist general or lord of legends.
With his shoulder-length black hair tied into a rat's tail ponytail at the base of his neck, his bangs falling just above his deep violet eyes, and his staff held firmly in one hand as he talked calmly with InuYasha, he was the perfect look of a monk. The only strange thing about him was his gloved and beaded hand which held the staff.
Finally, he noticed Kagome, who jumped slightly when he turned his eyes on her. "Ah, InuYasha. I see you have brought home a young maiden. And I have to say, you have done well…"
He eyed her suspiciously though, despite his flattering, if not slightly womanizing, words.
"I know what you're thinking, Bouzo," InuYasha growled. "But its not Kikyo… not even her scents the same, though I never really knew what Kikyo's scent really was with all that incense."
The monk's face broke out into a jovial smile as he turned fully towards Kagome, ignoring InuYasha's surprisingly dangerous growl. "Ah, M'lady! A thousand pardons upon you for the mistake! You are obviously so much more beautiful and kind than the woman I mistook your for." Gathering Kagome's hands in his (again ignoring InuYasha's dangerous growl, which had rose a pitch), he leaned forward, brushing his lips against Kagome's fingertips. "Would somebody as beautiful and kind do the honor of bearing me a child?"
Kagome's mouth dropped open as she stared, wide-eyed at him. Tugging her hands, attempting to free them, she scowled. "Did you just ask me to sleep with you?"
"My lady, you make it sound so… low. However, if you did do me the honor…" He trailed off as something that felt suspiciously like a hand unceremoniously grabbed a rather personal part of her body.
And InuYasha then proceeded to unceremoniously beat the crap out of the monk, beating Kagome to the catch.
"And you're positive he was a monk?" Kagome gasped at him, glaring angrily at said monk's (she now knew his name to be Miroku) unmoving body (the occasional twitch excluded).
InuYasha snorted. "Miroku's family has always been like that; the bunch of lechers, all of 'em."
"They won't all be hitting on me… will they?" Kagome asked, suddenly worried for her virginity.
InuYasha's face darkened lightly. "There isn't any way they can do that… unless you can somehow hit on the dead."
Kagome blinked, then paled, realizing what InuYasha was saying. Opening her mouth to apologize, she looked sadly at Miroku's body. "I'm-"
"Whatever," InuYasha muttered, grabbing Kagome's wrist and tugging her after him. "Sesshomaru should be back by now. My dad, at least, will want to talk to you."
"Um… should we leave him just… lying there?" Kagome asked uncertainly, glancing behind her.
"Yeah, it's fine," InuYasha grunted. "'snot like the servants aren't used to cleaning up his blood."
Kagome fell silent, stumbling after InuYasha, suddenly worried if they'd have to clean up her blood. Something about what was about to happen didn't… bode well.
FMQ's special learning corner!!!! YAY!!!: Ok, for all of you English dubbed fans (how do you people STAND the awful non-Kappei-Yamaguchi voice of InuYasha!? GYA!!!!) and manga-reading-nerds (don't worry, I'm one as well… -sigh-), you guys probably don't know how to pronounce the names with this letter/symbol: ô Well, never fear, for FMQ is here!
Ok, so, when you see that little symbol, remember; Japanese is ANOTHER LANGUAGE! Do NOT think that they speak like we do! That symbol is meant to mean that you keep the O a second longer. Some people write it like: Tôi, toui, or tooi. They are all correct, but, if you can, do NOT write it like toi. Tôi means distant or far. Toi means questions, or rain gutter, the only difference being in the kanji before the 'I' sound. So, now names like Tôtôsai, Sesshômaru, and Shippô almost have new meanings! (Oh, and the reason I type Sesshômaru like Sesshomaru and Shippô like Shippo ((ect. ect.)) is because doing that little symbol is hell on a stick! Onegai, shimasen (sp?). –bows, head touching the ground-)
Oh, and speaking of meanings (even if we weren't), how many of you guys knew that Shippô means 'tail'? Yeppers and crackers it does! Hm… -looks back at the learning corners- Probably shouldn't have had all those cookies… ne? –sigh- -.-;
A/N: Hello my wonderful wonderful fans! Yet another installment of this story! I hope you guys liked it and my little Learning Corner! --. Anywho, was it good, was it bad, what did you think either way? Just tell me by pressing that little button on the corner of the screen that says 'Review'. You know you want to.
Next Chapter: What's this? A little bit of InuYasha/Kagome fluff? Maybe they won't rip out each other's throats after all… maybe… a little… ok, a fleeting chance… -sigh- And you get to see Miroku! But what's next? Why does Kagome feel that something bad is about to happen? Something can't happen, right? Oh dear…
Look forward to: Decay is Nibbling at the Boards on Which You Rest