Scene Three- The Walk

She’s magnetic.

Yusuke is on the receiving end of a playful slap when he calls Kagome a demon magnet, but Kurama finds it true nonetheless. Only, as he watches her talk and laugh with Botan and Keiko, he does not believe it applies only to demons. Although her antics could sometimes be rather childish, her charm appeals to all, whether they understood it or not. Even Hiei, who has taken a dislike to her cheerful attitude, sometimes finds himself unable to leave her presence, even when she grates on his nerves--which happens to be most of the time. She has captivated them from the start without even her realizing it, charmed her way into their close knit group with her smiles and strong will, so much so that it seems unnatural to think of a time when she was not a part of them.

It makes Kurama wonder why he does not feel the pull quite as much. The girls had their own connection as girls often do, and that he could easily understand. But there is definitely a fondness present between Kagome and the two boys, Yusuke and Kuwabara. A brother/sister type dynamic. They fight and play like young siblings would, and yet Kurama himself feels no sort of closeness of that kind with her. Not more so than anyone else, in any case.

No, her pull does not affect him in the same way as everyone else. He has no problem staying off to the side even now, hidden by the cover of the trees, as the others enjoy a short afternoon picnic. Besides, he prefers the solitude, the peace. He doubts that they are even aware of his nearby presence, save for perhaps Hiei.

They leave one by one until there is just her left, and she flops down unceremoniously onto the blanket, stretching out in the sun on Genkai’s property. He approaches then, though stops just before his shadow touches her form. It hovers dangerously close to her arm, but does not quite fall upon her.

She is completely unaware, eyes closed as they are. Her arms stretch way above her head and brush against the grass beyond her blanket, her shirt pulling up a bit to reveal a thin strip of skin on her stomach. Her face looks utterly peaceful, but she is not asleep. Not yet.

“Cat nap?”

Kagome startles at the sound of his voice. Her eyes open and she sits up swiftly, pulling at her clothes to fix their state of disarray. “Kurama! I didn’t see you.”

“That does tend to happen when one has their eyes closed,” he teases gently.

“Well, I wasn’t expecting you. The others all left already. And you should’ve been here hours ago.”

She does not sound accusing or upset, just stating simple facts. He can tell she wants an explanation or an excuse, but he gives none. Anything he could say was liable to be a lie, and he does not feel like being dishonest in this moment, and so he says nothing on the subject.

He takes a step forward and offers her a hand, and in doing so, his shadow spills completely over her. She looks up at him curiously, and he finds himself wondering if the sunlight would have caused her eyes to shine if he was not shielding her from its touch.

“Walk with me?” It sounds much like a request—his voice is soft and inviting—but it is not one.

Kagome hesitates a moment before placing her hand in his. She must sense something amiss, or perhaps their last conversation is still fresh in her mind, for there is none of her usual enthusiasm.

“Okay.”

He lets go once he has pulled her to her feet and begins his walk back toward the woods that hid him only minutes before. She follows unsurely, her every step tentative. He does not walk too fast, and yet she always stays a step or two behind him instead of walking by his side.

While he might typically reassure her, he speaks no words of comfort on this day and merely continues on. There is no beaten path and the only time he pauses is to steady Kagome as they travel over the uneven landscape. The assistance might not have been entirely needed but he knows Kagome has no objections to the lent hand. He does not fail to notice the slight pink hue in her cheeks as he takes hold of her elbow and guides her over the rotting trunk of a fallen tree.

In all honesty, he has no notion of where he is headed. Kurama has no destination in mind, even as he has trouble remembering the last time he has done something so unplanned. He merely wants her along with him, for there is something still that she does not understand. She needs to discover it for herself without there being any doubt. He has denied her and she accepts this, but there is still something that stands between them. Hope.

It makes all the difference.

“Kurama.”

His pace does not change and he acts as though he has not heard her call.

“Kurama, hold up a sec!”

She catches his arm, causing him to turn slightly her way. He stops and she moves so that she is directly in front of him, facing him. His gaze slips to his arm where she still has a hold of him. She follows his eyes, but does not release him, though her grip loosens.

Kagome is no longer speaking and he simply waits, expectantly. Her eyes travel back up to his face and their eyes meet. Her gaze is searching, but he knows she will find no answers there.

He lightly grasps the elbow of the arm that is holding him. He means to use it to have her let go, but she has other thoughts in mind. With one step, she closes the distance between them. Her arm slips out of his hold as her hand goes to his shoulder, using it to steady her as she goes onto the tips of her toes.

And then, she is kissing him. Caution must have been thrown to the wind; she is not at all timid in her approach. He feels her passion as if it is tangible as she draws him closer to her. Her lips are insistent and just a tad clumsy at first, but she quickly settles into a rhythm. Her hands around his neck tense as she presses her body fully against his and his hands rest very lightly on her waist.

It is not like he is unresponsive, but he is nowhere near as vigorous as she is. His lips brushing against hers is merely a polite gesture. Soft, but unemotional. Her kiss loses its fierceness as her lips move in time with his, slow and even. And then it slows even further as her hands fall away from him and a small space is created between their bodies, until her lips are not moving at all, just simply pressed against him. Even that does not last long and Kagome takes a step back.

She raises a hand to her lips as her gaze flits upward to meet his. And in her eyes…

Utter disappointment.

She takes a step back and then another, creating more distance between them. Her arms fall limply to her side and she searches for something, anything, to look at that is not him. Her gaze falls upon the tree limb beside her and her hand goes up to wrap itself around branch. A muscle in her arm twitches as her grip tightens.

“I…” she starts. She never does finish that sentence. Shaking her head, she turns around. Away from him. “I’m going back.”

He lets her go.

Her hope has been crushed just as he has intended, although it has happened not in the way he wants. Kurama cannot help but feel the faintest bit of regret as he watches her walk away. But then he merely brushes the feeling aside.

How could he complain when this turns out to be just as effective?

AN: This is pretty depressing so far, isn’t it? (laughs) Don’t worry, it gets better/happier.

I rewrote this scene three or four times. I still don’t like it, but I’d rather just be done with it so I can move past it to more fun scenes. Yay, fun scenes!

Oh, hello lovelies, by the way. If anyone's still out there, heh. I'm going to try to come back and stay back this time. Let's see how much my college life actually agrees with this statement. (Probably not at all, but I will make it like it, damn it!)