Calm Before the Storm
“Hmm…” Miroku scratched his chin, “very fascinating, very fascinating indeed.”

“Is that all you can say about this, monk?” Inuyasha growled.

“Well, actually… yeah.” Miroku nodded, “I don’t know what else I could tell you. This is certainly a fascinating and complex ordeal.”

“Big words ain’t doing you anything, bouzo,” Inuyasha rolled his eyes, “either you know what’s going on or you don’t. Don’t try to get all scholarly on us.”

Miroku and the rest of their companions eyed Inuyasha with raised brows. Kagome shook her head with a sigh at hearing Inuyasha’s modern slang. She whispered to no one in particular, “I knew I shouldn’t have let him watch movies.”

“Do not blame the monk, for I can make neither heads nor tails of the matter either.” Kaede’s voice came out of the hut as the old miko stepped out with some light coughs. “Where are the children?”

“Kirara took Shippo and Rin to play in the fields, they should be safe.” Sango replied as she rose up and gave her seat to the elderly miko.

Kaede nodded. With another cough she began her own analysis. “The way I see it, since Kagome healed while holding on to the Tessaiga, but she didn’t come in contact with the shards, maybe Tessaiga acted as a conductor of power.”

“Why would the shards need Tessaiga to conduct its power to Kagome? Why can’t they just heal her themselves?” Sango asked with intrigued curiosity.

“It might be because of the shard’s intense power. Too much power can do great damage to one’s body, even changing its physical appearance.”

“But why Tessaiga?” Haruko just got out of the hut. Shippo and Rin were both tired out from jumping around all day and she managed to hear part of the conversation while she was inside getting the two children to sleep.

“Because Tessaiga represents Inuyasha. And the Shikon shards represent Kagome-sama.” Miroku was beginning to catch on to Kaede’s theory. “But the reaction must’ve been triggered by something. What were you two doing when this happened?”

Everyone looked onto Inuyasha and Kagome, expecting an answer but only found the two blushing like they just received some severe sunburn.

“Well, uh… Inuyasha was just apologizing for getting me injured.” Kagome half-lied. They’ve left out the almost kissing part when they told their companions the story. But she knew she had to tell Sango once they’re alone. Miroku, however, was another matter.

“Ah, I understand now.” Miroku nodded with a wise look, “The Tessaiga was probably reflecting Inuyasha’s feelings of guilt and regret and proposed to the Shikon shards to help heal Kagome-sama.”

“What guilt and regret!?!” Inuyasha howled and stood up violently. “I wasn’t…” However, he didn’t finish his sentence. He didn’t like to look weak in front of his companions, but he did feel guilty, and the guilt was still eating up his insides.

Kagome saw Inuyasha stop and sitting back down with the same mournful look he had back in the hospital. She looked at him with a gentle smile, and she felt a hundred times better even though Inuyasha didn’t see her smiling at him.

“Okay then, mystery solved!” Miroku stood up and rubbed his own back instead of Sango’s for once. “I’m tired and I think I’ll turn in. It’s best if we set out again tomorrow. Oyasumi, minasan!”

Everyone said “oyasumi” and watched the monk going into the small hut, a coughing Kaede following him wearily.

“Oi, I’m going to sleep to, you guys coming?” Inuyasha grabbed Kagome’s yellow bag and started to head in as well.

“No, Inuyasha, I want to talk to Sango-chan for a while.” Kagome and Sango smiled at the hanyou simultaneously, hoping that he would go away soon so they can start their girl talk.

“Keh,” Inuyasha started to walk back in before he stopped again to ask Haruko, “oi, are you staying out for those stupid girl chats too?”

Haruko looked back and forth between Kagome and Inuyasha, not sure how to answer. Something snapped in Kagome’s head and she answered for her. “Yea, Inuyasha, Haruko-chan is staying too.”

After a final “keh” and some mumbling about stupid girl talks, Inuyasha walked into the small hut without looking back.

“Why did you want me to stay, Kagome-sama?” Haruko looked at Kagome with curiosity.

Kagome rolled her eyes half-hearted. “Okay, first of all, drop the ‘sama’, just call me Kagome or Kagome-chan like Sango-chan does.” Haruko nodded hesitantly. Kagome seemed happy and continued. “Secondly, let’s get away from the hut so we can chat more privately. And well…” Kagome gave Haruko a very quirky looking smirk, “I think you’ve been holding back on us, Haruko-chan.”

And so, like three very beautiful thieves, the girls walked away (more like tiptoed away) to somewhere that a certain hanyou can’t hear them.

“Umm… I know a really discrete place.” Haruko said with a faint blush on her cheeks. She led Sango and Kagome to the boulder next to the stream where she has been meeting Sesshomaru constantly for the past few nights. There was never anybody there. “So why are we here?”

Kagome ignored Haruko’s question and poked Sango on the arm while all three of them sat comfortably on the large boulder. “Okay, Sango-chan, you start.”

“Start… what?” Sango looked nervous. She knew exactly what Kagome wanted her to say, but to stall it as long as possible is her goal at the moment.

Kagome pouted. “Don’t give us that. You know what I mean. So what happened between you and Miroku while I wasn’t here?”

Haruko’s interest was lifted instantly as both she and Kagome stared at Sango’s blushing cheeks and waited for an answer. And not to their dismay, Sango was able to give them one. But it took a long while with all the “umm” and “uhh”.

But when it came to the part about the kiss on the forehead, Sango’s voice lowered to a degree tat the girls couldn’t possibly hear her without youkai hearing. But Sango finally managed to squeal it out.

“O kami-sama, Miroku kissed you?!?” Kagome was restraining herself from hugging Sango. It wasn’t surprising to find that Miroku was such a romantic, since the monk has always had a way with words. But to actually not grope Sango for such a long period of time and then leave with a romantic gesture was far too much than what Kagome gave him credit for.

Kagome’s surprise was nothing compared to Haruko’s. Apparently, Kagome had forgotten the fact that a kiss, even a small one on the forehead, held much more meaning 500 years old than in the 21st century. And so, Haruko was shocked to a point in which she wasn’t able to speak.

Kagome got up and did a modern age victory dance before settling down again on the boulder. Her voice was calm again. “Well, I’m happy about two things. One is that I don’t have to tell you (she means Haruko) about our history. And secondly…” She turned to Sango, “when’s the wedding?”

Sango blushed red and pushed Kagome off the boulder. Haruko laughed happily out loud. The two girls went on teasing Sango for a while before Sango directed everyone’s attention at Kagome.

“Kagome-chan, you need to tell me what happened to you and Inuyasha in your time, remember?”

Kagome groaned. She saw this coming. But being the modern girl she is, she managed to get through the entire story without as much “hmm” and “uhh” as Sango. Kagome also had a problem of hiding her blushes when it came to the part of her and Inuyasha almost kissing. However, the look on Sango and Haruko’s faces after hearing her tale was simply priceless.

“Inuyasha, that baka, said all those things to you and almost kissed you?” Haruko’s face was distorted; there wasn’t any other word to describe it. The disbelief, the shock, and a slight jealousy all surfaced her expression in a matter of seconds. Kagome laughed at Haruko’s shock until her stomach began to ache.

Sango on the other hand, was only a little better. “The scale is even, Kagome-chan!” Sango said calmly after hearing Kagome’s tale.

Kagome blinked herself out of her previous laughing stupor. “What scale?”

Sango raised her two hands, palms up, but her right hand was slightly higher than the left. “This is Kikyo’s side,” Sango said indicating her right hand, “this is Kagome-chan’s side”, she said while looking at her left hand, “but now,” She raised her left hand so both were equally high up, “the scale is even.”

Kagome almost whacked Sango on the head. Where’s a pillow when you needed it?

“Well, now we just have to wait for this side,” Sango looked at her left hand again, “to be higher than this side.” Sango finished with a glance at her right hand.

Haruko stifled her laughter. The look on Kagome’s face can only be described as murderous. “Well, I don’t think we have to wait very long.” Haruko couldn’t hold it in anymore; she burst out laughing after that last comment. When she finally came to, she saw a very evil looking Kagome staring at her face with the most sinister smirk.

“Uh, nani, Kagome-chan?”

Kagome’s smirk got wider, if it was ever possible. “Jaa, Haruko-chan, both Sango-chan and I went, it’s your turn now.”

“Wha… what are you talking about,” Haruko gulped, “Kagome-chan?”

“Ahh, yes, I knew there was something bugging me in the back of my head.” Sango joined Kagome’s “smirking evilly” club as well.

Haruko kept on pretending nothing was going on. But compared to the two very experienced girls in front of her, she was a novice.

“I’m sure you know what we’re talking about, Haruko-chan,” Kagome kept on smirking, “it involves Inuyasha’s half-brother, (Haruko gulped) a full blooded inuyoukai, (another gulp) youkai Lord of the Western Land… (more gulping)”

“…Sesshomaru.” Sango finished it off for Kagome.

Haruko gulped until all the saliva in her mouth was drained. So instinctively, she pulled on Shippo’s well-used “innocent” look. “I really don’t know what you’re talking about.” When Kagome and Sango didn’t back off one bit, Haruko was forced to use the last trick in the book…

…run like hell is gaining on your tail.

“Um… it’s getting late, don’t we have more traveling to do tomorrow? Let’s go catch some sleep. Oyasuminasai!” And with that, Haruko jumped off the boulder and ran as fast as humanly possible. Kagome and Sango made no effort to go after the girl.

“Kagome-chan, I think there’s something going on.”

“You don’t say, Sherlock.” Kagome replied sarcastically. When Sango gave her a quizzical look at the word “Sherlock”, Kagome groaned and started pushing her friend back to Kaede’s hut without giving any explanation.

*****~~~~~*****

“Can we go yet?!” Inuyasha howled.

All three girls yelled from inside Kaede’s hut at once. “Not yet, Inuyasha!”

Miroku sniggered at Inuyasha’s side, Shippo was on his shoulder licking a lollipop. Inuyasha paced around, mumbling to himself about annoying women and their slowness.

After a good half an hour, three very giggly girls hopped out of the hut. Rin walked behind them, wearing the finished kimono Haruko made for her. The bunny shaped jade pendant swung on the obi as she skipped.

“So we’re going back to see your mother, ne, Haruko-chan?” Kagome asked after everyone said good-bye to a grumpy Kaede.

Haruko nodded sincerely. “I’m sure that if we’d just tell mother about your mission, she’ll be happy to give you the seven Shikon shards. Besides, my evaluation is complete,” she glanced at Miroku’s wandering hand, “I’d say most of you are very trustworthy.”

Miroku gave her a deadpan look while everyone else besides Inuyasha laughed happily.

“And why do we have to take this brat along?” Inuyasha pointed his finger at Rin, whom was holding Haruko’s hand and chatting happily with the tiny Kirara in Sango’s arms. (Yes, Kirara. The girl’s a nut.)

“Inuyasha, osowari.” Kagome said calmly. Inuyasha rammed head first into the ground with a loud yelp.

Shippo clapped at the sight. “Oh, I missed that!”

“Because, Inuyasha-baka,” Haruko rolled her eyes at the hanyou, “your brother would be very upset if we left Rin-chan with an injured Kaede-sama and no one else to protect her.”

Inuyasha caught up after the subdue spell wore off. Even though his companions were far ahead, he still managed to catch what Haruko said.

“Half-brother, half!!!” He growled loudly into Haruko’s ear.

Haruko yelled back. “I can see that! Sesshomaru had much more manners!!!”

Kagome and Sango nodded simultaneously.

“Sesshomaru’s cold and used to be kinda evil,” Kagome commented, “but you can’t deny that he’s a gentleman.”

Inuyasha growled and barked fiercely. “If he’s so much better, why don’t you mate him?!”

Kagome turned radish red. And so, she used her most effective weapon. “Inuyasha!” Kagome cried out. “OSUWARI! (thud) OSUWARI! (thud) OSUWARI! (thud) OSUWARI! (thud) OSUWARI! (thud) OSUWARI! (thud) OSUWARI! (thud) OSUWARI! (thud) OSUWARI! (thud) OSUWARI! (thud) OSUWARI! (thud) OSUWARI! (thud) OSUWARI! (thud) OSUWARI! (thud) OSUWARI! (thud)”

After the fifteen rather loud “osowari”s, Kagome took a deep breath and walked ahead. Everyone else stopped in their tracks and stared down at the giant hole Inuyasha made on the ground.

Miroku held the end of his staff and poked Inuyasha’s butt with the other end. No response. “Hmm, my dear Sango, I fear Inuyasha has fainted again.”

Sango said nothing. She shook her head with a loud sigh and went to catch up to Kagome. But since she held Kirara, Rin began to chase after her. And since Rin held to Haruko’s hand, it started a chain reaction. Soon the only people left with the Inuyasha-hole were Miroku and Shippo. And the second one can’t even count as a “people”.

Shippo laughed happily as he hopped on Inuyasha’s head repeatedly. Miroku sighed at the familiar scene. Inuyasha was still out cold for quite a while. Miroku finally gave up waiting and went ahead to “protect” the girls. Fearing Inuyasha’s wrath when the hanyou wakes, Shippo followed the monk after a last bounce.

*****Ten Minutes Later*****

“Kagome-chan, aren’t you worried about Inuyasha?” Sango looked back repeatedly; the Inuyasha-hole was already out of sight. Miroku was following far behind with Shippo on his shoulder. “He’s unconscious in the middle of nowhere. A lot of youkai want him dead.”

Kagome growled, not answering.

Sango nudged Haruko forward. Haruko looked back and forth between the two girls and finally coughed to clear her throat. “Ano... Kagome-chan, Sango-chan has a point. After all, Inuyasha doesn’t really get along with Sesshomaru. He was just upset that we kept on comparing him to Sesshomaru.”

(Meanwhile, somewhere very close to the gang, Sesshomaru was walking with Jaken, going to retrieve Rin. Sesshomaru began sneezing uncontrollably.)

Kagome halted and turned to Haruko with a startling stare. “Of course you’d take his side. You liked Inuyasha ever since you found out he was hanyou. Don’t think I didn’t notice!”

Sango gasped, Kirara mewed, Haruko stopped breathing, and Rin yawned. Just realized what she said, Kagome blushed and covered her mouth.

“Haruko-chan, I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean...” Kagome began to apologize for her rudeness, but Haruko raised a hand to stop her.

“It’s alright, Kagome-chan.” Haruko smiled knowingly, her expression made her seem much more mature than her age. “To tell you truth, you are right. I thought I could find someone like my father, someone who’s a hanyou. But Inuyasha’s not the hanyou I was looking for. So you needn’t worry about my feelings.”

O boy, I so wanna dig a hole for myself to hide in. Kagome blushed even more. Kami-sama, I sounded like a jealous crazy girlfriend. I’m turning into Kikyo! “Haruko-chan, I’m so sorry for...”

Haruko kept on smiling in that mature way. “But seriously, Kagome-chan, I don’t know what you see in Inuyasha. You can do so much better.”

Kagome froze, but only for a millisecond. It’s obvious that Haruko was trying to make a joke out of it so she wouldn’t feel uncomfortable any longer. Well, if it’s teasing you want… “Haruko-chan, I seriously don’t know what you see in Sesshomaru.”

It was Haruko’s turn to blush. “Kagome-chan, what are you talking about? Me? I don’t like Sesshomaru!”

Sango and Kagome grinned. But they seemed to have forgotten about the little girl holding Haruko’s hand.

Rin heard what Haruko just said. The insane little girl began screaming loud, so loud that it woke up the birds in the forest around them, so loud that Sesshomaru caught it without trouble. Rin screamed:

“HARUKO-NEECHAN LIKES SESSHOMARU-SAMA!!! HARUKO-NEECHAN LIKES SESSHOMARU-SAMA!!! HA...” Rin wasn’t able to finish the third time as Haruko’s hand clasped over her mouth.

The other two older girls broke out in a quake of laughter. Somewhere behind them, Miroku and Shippo heard Rin’s cries and froze on the spot.

They weren’t the only ones. Though Jaken couldn’t hear it, Sesshomaru had no trouble catching it. He sneezed once more, and was no longer able to move. It was no surprise to him; he already knew by the way that girl acted around him.

But it bothered him that Rin shouted it so loudly. It bothered him that the girl had enough guts to tell her companions that she has fallen for the evil and cold Lord of the Western Lands (He doesn’t know that she actually denied it.)

But most of all, it bothered him that his own heart was beating fast as well. It bothered him that somewhere in that ice cold heart of his, he was happy. It bothered him to realize that he had a smile, a genuine smile, pasted on that emotionless face.

*****Back to the girls*****

“I don’t, really!” Haruko groaned as Kagome and Sango took turns teasing her. If denial doesn’t work, she can always shift their attention. “Anyway, Kagome-chan, Inuyasha still isn’t back yet, aren’t you worried?”

Kagome stopped laughed almost instantly. Her face was caught up in a deep frown. Soon the anger swelled up inside of her again and Kagome began to chant. “That baka! I hate him, that baka! He deserves to be eaten by wild youkai, that baka!!! How can he propose such an idiotic idea, that baka!! How can...”

But Haruko didn’t allow her to finish. “How can Inuyasha say that when he knows that the only one you want to mate with is him?”

“Exactly!” Kagome shouted before she realized her mistake. She tried to cover up her mistake. But one little girl caught it too soon.

“KAGOME-NEECHAN WANTS TO MATE WITH INUYASHA-NIICHAN!!! KAGOME-NEECHAN WANTS TO MATE WITH INUYASHA-NIICHAN!!!”

Kagome tried to stop Rin. But she was too slow. Haruko had already picked up Rin and began to run. Sango was laughing herself to the ground.

“Keep going, Rin-chan.” Haruko said to Rin as Kagome chased them. “Louder!”

“KAGOME-NEECHAN WANTS TO MATE WITH INUYASHA-NIICHAN!!! KAGOME-NEECHAN WANTS TO MATE WITH INUYASHA-NIICHAN!!! KAGOME-NEECHAN WANTS TO MATE WITH INUYASHA-NIICHAN!!! KAGOME-NEECHAN WANTS TO MATE WITH INUYASHA-NIICHAN!!!”

“Haruko-chan, I’m gonna kill you!!!” Kagome yelled as she kept on chasing.

“My, my, that Rin sure is loud.” Miroku remarked as he approached the quivering Sango.

Sango was barely able to nod as she held onto her stomach as though laughing caused her pain. Shippo joined Rin and began to scream that same phrase. Now Kagome was running back and forth between Shippo and Rin.

Just when Sesshomaru was still dazed over Rin’s last scream, the new phrase caught his ears. And he didn’t like this one at all.

Who in the world is teaching Rin those words!!??!! Sesshomaru sped up his pace, ignoring Jaken’s frantic yells of “Sesshomaru-sama” behind him. This Sesshomaru is going to get Rin out of those human’s grasps.

Kagome was chasing Shippo now. But Rin was yelling those words as well. Sango and Miroku were coiled up in laughter at the expression on Kagome’s face. Kirara carried Haruko and Rin far out of Kagome’s wrath. The whole gang was having the time of their lives, with the exception of a red Kagome.

And one hanyou was watching them all high on a treetop. He rubbed his aching neck and back. He had expected to attack Kagome from the trees by surprise and teach her a lesson about “sitting” him fifteen times. But just as he was about to leap down, he caught Kagome’s slipup.

Inuyasha smiled to himself, eyes turning soft. He whispered gently with all the love in his heart:

“After everything is over, Kagome, I’ll claim you. And I’ll never let you go, my mate,” Inuyasha clutched the rosary beads around his neck, “never.”

But one red-eyed kitsune was watching from the bushes. Naraku’s poisonous bees circled around her.

The final battle was near.

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