Brother My Brother

Upon the first breath
of light, Kagome opened her eyes. The sun in all its glory, was just
beginning to peer over the line of the horizon. The wonderfully warm
and clear light fell on the land, illuminating what until now had been
hidden in darkness. The branches of the trees stretched above her, the
leaves sheltering the forest floor from the bright glow. The light
which managed to bypass these obstacles fell onto Kagome's face as she
sleepily rubbed her eyes and stretched her body out.

Beside her Shippo still slept, his tail curled
around him like a blanket. One hand was draped over the sleeping form
of Kirara, and Kagome could not help but smile at the pair. The place
on the other side of the nekomata-- where Sango had spent the night--
was empty. This came as no surprise to Kagome as Sango frequently arose
before dawn in order to train by herself, or to bathe while Miroku was
still asleep.

Although she could not see him through the thick
bush that separated him from them, Kagome could hear Miroku's soft,
even breathing, indicating that he was indeed still sleeping. In
contrast, when Kagome looked up into the branches of the trees, she saw
that Inuyasha himself was still awake, staring off into the distance
with a thoughtful look on his face.

He was sitting quite still, perched on a high tree
limb with one leg hanging down. His hands were brought together under
the shelter of his kimono sleeves, and the deadly Tetsuisga hung off
his hip. His golden eyes were unfocused, staring into space but not
indicating that he saw anything at all. His mouth was frozen in a
saddened frown, and Kagome knew that he was deep in thought over
something.

Or someone,
she thought to herself. She had seen him like this before. Many
mornings had been spent watching him up in the trees. Sometimes he
slept, but at others he sat much like this. It was these mornings when
he had dreamt of Kikyo in the middle of the night.

He never told Kagome, of course, as he knew it would
break her heart. Kagome had fallen in love with Inuyasha, and while the
half-demon did not return the same degree of fondness, he loved her
enough not to mention his dreams of Kikyo. Kagome knew him better than
he thought she did, however, and she had come to recognize that distant
look on his face. He looked this way whenever the subject of Kikyo was
brought up. Kagome's suspicions were confirmed by Miroku, who had told
her, against his better judgment, that Inuyasha had confided in him the
subject of his dreams.

He had not, however, told Miroku of another aspect of his dreams. As he
sat on the limb, he moved his dangling leg slightly, adjusting his
weight as he thought about the reoccurring dreams.

It was true that he dreamt of Kikyo. He dreamt of Kikyo quite often. In
his dreams, he always saw a perfect picture of her. She in her
priestess robes, her fair skin lightly contrasted by the white in the
material. Her raven colored hair pulled back behind her, dancing with a
brilliant sheen in the blowing wind. Her beautiful, perfect face, her
features tight but gentle and smooth, her skin looking soft to the
touch, and her eyes the deepest of browns. In his dreams he could see
her, and he could smell her. That same intoxicating scent that over
fifty years ago stirred unfamiliar emotions in him. Those same emotions
returned in his dreams, and he longed for her. He longed to touch her,
to kiss her, to love her and to never let her go. In his dreams he
would reach for her, to touch her and to hold her, but he could never
succeed. She was always too far away from him to reach, though he tried
and tried to touch her. Then sometimes in his dreams, Kikyo would turn
from him and walk away. He would call to her, begging her to return,
pleading that she not leave him. This was in vain as she soon
disappeared, leaving him alone in a strange darkness. Some of his
dreams ended here, but others continued, and in these, he would turn
around and find Kagome standing there. In these dreams he also saw her
as perfect, her ebony hair dancing a sweet dance in the wind that blew
around them. She was always smiling, her chocolate colored eyes
brilliantly shining with love. As she smiled, she would extend her hand
and he would take it. Then he was in darkness no longer. Kagome would
pull him with her out into the light, and she would be smiling all twhilwhile.

Inuyasha never told Miroku about these dreams. He never told anyone.
These dreams perplexed him to no end. He loved Kikyo, and he had sworn
to protect her from all things, Naraku and Onigumo’s heart especially.
It made no sense to him that he would be dreaming of Kagome in this
manner. He knew she loved him, but he belonged with Kikyo. That was how
things were supposed to be.

An early morning breeze blew, sending his hair flying gracefully to his
right. The glow of the sun reflected in the strands, making them appear
as if they were shimmering. Kagome watched as his hair fluttered,
stretching out next to him and causing him to appear beautiful in his
own right. She caught a glimpse of sunlight reflected in his eyes and
she realized that he was looking back at her.

“Awake already?” he inquired, watching as a slight shade of pink graced
her cheeks. Is she embarrassed for
looking at me? “It’s still pretty early. Go back to sleep.”

She smiled and he had to look away. That smile perplexed him now.

“I’m okI waI was thinking about finding Sango and seeing what she’s up
to.” She noticed how he looked away. It made her nervous.

“She’s over there training with Hiraikotsu,” he replied, nodding his
head forward in the general direction. “She’s getting into it so if you
go, don’t surprise her.”

She nodded, her smile having left her face. Then she quietly climbed
out of her sleeping bag so as not to wake the others. Kirara lifted her
head with a soft purr and Kagome smiled at her and pressed a finger to
her lips.

“Sshhh,” she whispered. “Don’t wake Shippo, kay?”

Kirara purred in response, and laid her head back down. From his perch,
Inuyasha watched as Kagome rolled up her sleeping bag and tied it,
getting up to lean it against a nearby tree. As she leaned over, the
back of her skirt rose up, exposing the soft flesh of her upper legs.
Something struck inside of Inuyasha and he found that he could not tear
his eyes away from her thighs. They looked smooth, pure, ripe. A wave
of heat overcame him and he cursed out loud when he realized that he
had leaned  forward himself, unconsciously attempting to get a
better look. Upon his outburst, Kagome stood up and looked back at him,
and he quickly turned and pretended he had gotten a splinter. He
watched her out of the corner of his eye until she turned back around
and leaned over again. His eyes had a mind of their own as they
automatically returned to Kagome’s backside and he found he could not
help this strange sensation and attraction to her body. The only thing
that brought him out of his trance was the realization that he was not
the only one watching her.

Upon hearing a thud and an outburst from Inuyasha, Kagome stood up and
turned to look at the bushes.

“Keep your eyes to yourself, you pervert!” Inuyasha’s golden eyes
turned to face her from the other side of the bushes where he had
landed. “Kagome,” he said. “Do you have to bend over like that? Miroku
was looking up your skirt!”

“Miroku!” Kagome sputtered, her face flushing red.

The monk in question stood up, holding the side of his head where
Kagome supposed Inuyasha had struck him. “Fear not,” said he. “I was
not looking up your skirt. I was merely investigating what you were
doing.”

“Yeah, I’ll bet,” Inuyasha growled, folding his hands inside his kimono
sleeves again.

“It’s not like you weren’t watching too, Inuyasha,” came Shippo’s
groggy voice. The young fox sat up, rubbing his eyes sleepily.

“Wh-What?” Inuyasha stuttered, his face turning just as red as
Kagome’s. When she looked over, he quickly looked away.

Shippo yawned before he continued. “I was watching you watch her,” he
said. “I woke up and you were up in the trees and your face was all red
and you looked awful uncomfortable. So I followed your gaze and you
were staring at Kagome’s bottom.”

“Knock it off!” Inuyasha snarled, his fist slamming down on Shippo’s
head. “I was not looking at
her butt!”

Kagome’s face had turned a bright tomato red. She thought frantically
for something intelligent to say. Nothing came right away and she
stuttered for a moment before she managed, “In-Inuyasha!”

“I wasn’t looking at your butt!” Inuyasha insisted, turning to face
her. “It’s not that great anyway, so don’t flatter yourself!”

“Oh, Inuyasha…” Miroku sighed, shaking his head.

“What?” the half-demon demanded. I
didn’t say something wrong, did I? He looked from Kagome to
Miroku and back again, but Kagome had turned and was walking away.
“Hey! Where do you think you’re going?”

“I’m going to find Sango!” Kagome called without looking back. “Like
you care anyway!”

“Why can’t you two get along for one minute?” Shippo inquired before he
and Kirara took off after Kagome. Inuyasha huffed and sat cross-legged
on the ground.

“I just don’t understand her,” he groaned, watching the three of them
disappear behind a cluster of trees.

“A woman is a fickle creature,” Miroku, agreed, sitting next to him.
“She is a very fragile package. Should one mistreat her, she may break.
Or snap.”

Inuyasha sighed. “Are all women like her and Kikyo?”

“It’s hard to base all women on a single young lady and her
reincarnation,” Miroku conceded. “But unfortunately, women are very
unpredictable. They can be a most affectionate lover one moment and
your worst enemy the next.”

The half-demon nodded silently, his thoughts entirely on Kikyo and
Kagome. What Miroku had was was entirely true for both of them, though
in more drastic measures with Kikyo. At least Kagome had never tried to
kill him of her own free will. He sighed again. style="font-style: italic;">Everything is just too damn complicated.

He stood up then. “I’m gonna go find some breakfast,” he announced, and
sped off before Miroku could acknowledge him or say anything at all.
The monk watched him disappear with a thoughtful and concerned look on
his face. Miroku, as everyone else, realized the struggle Inuyasha was
having with himself. They understood the importance both Kagome and
Kikyo had to him, and they understood that a choice between them would
tear his heart apart. Inuyasha’s pain was etched into his face, and
Miroku could not help but sympathize with him. Even more so he admired
Kagome for her patience and willingness to put up with him. style="font-style: italic;">She must love him deeply if she isdy
dy
to wait for his decision. Truly Inuyasha does not see this.

Miroku leaned back against a tree and closed his eyes. Compared to
Inuyasha’s troubles, his own seemed trite and insignificant. That is,
he only had one woman to think about. He and Sango had grown to be
close friends, and Miroku wished for the relationship to extend
further. He had no idea how to go about it, however. Sango was very
much different than the other women he had met. She was independent and
strong, and she was very intelligent. She struck a place deep within
his heart, but he could not for the life of him find the words to tell
her that. Sango was the one woman who the ability to steal his words
from his mouth and leave him speechless. She deserved much more than
his usual tactics of swooning women, and they would not work on her
anyway. She was able to see straight through them. He sighed. These
sort of complications he could go without.

He sat against the tree for several more minutes, until suddenly a
foreboding presence made itself known. He rose to his feet, but the
presence was so overwhelmingly evil that he had to lean against his
staff to prevent himself from falling to his knees. He searched
frantically for the source of the presence, but it seemed to be coming
from everywhere at once. He attempted to call out for Inuyasha, but his
voice caught in his throat as a cloud of miasma settled into the area.
He coughed, covering his nose and mouth with his sleeve as he looked
for someway out. He turned and began making his way to where he knew
Kagome, Sango, and Shippo to be, but a sudden uplift of wind blew him
backwards. More and more miasma was filtering in through the trees and
it began to suffocate him.