Work Text:
Inuyasha woke up facing the brightening sky.
Frowning at the soft lights of the morning, he wondered just when he’d fallen asleep on his back. He most definitely remembered going to sleep in his usual perch against the trunk of a tall tree, allowing him to keep watch over his companions.
Especially...especially her.
Sitting up, Inuyasha looked around to see his friends still sleeping in their respective spots, and the rustle of his motions stirred up the scent that was surrounding him.
Kagome’s scent.
Blushing like mad, Inuyasha looked at both of his sides. Did I move from the tree and sleep by her side last night or something? That would certainly be an embarrassment, and perhaps an admission of some feelings he wasn’t quite ready to admit out loud.
But Kagome wasn’t by his side. In fact, she wasn’t anywhere around the dying fire.
Jumping up, Inuyasha set off to find her, only to freeze when he felt a very strange breeze around his legs.
Looking down, his eyes bugged out of his head when he saw bare legs beneath him, the skin tone a bit lighter than his, and the feet much smaller than usual and covered in fabric that looked eerily familiar to what Kagome wore every day.
Looking up his body a bit more, he saw the green skirt, white shirt, and…
...breasts.
A very feminine shriek escaped him as he yanked his gaze from those parts of the body, and he clamped his mouth shut, slapping his palm over his lips.
There was no way it was possible.
And yet, as he pulled a lock of hair from his shoulder and saw black instead of silver, he knew it was true.
He was in Kagome’s body.
His loud noise had woken his friends, and they all sat up to see what had happened.
“What’s wrong, Kagome?” Sango asked. “Did you have a nightmare?”
Inuyasha’s eyes widened. “I’m not...I didn’t…” Whoa, Kagome’s voice was coming out of him.
Realizing that if he was in Kagome’s body, she was probably in his, he ran toward the tree he’d fallen asleep in, looking for her.
“Kagome!” he shouted. “Kagome!”
“Inuyasha?” His hunch was correct. Somehow, it was his voice responding but the tone was distinctly Kagome.
“Why am I in a tree?” she shouted. “What’s—ahh!”
He knew she was falling before he even saw her.
Running toward her in a speed much slower than he was used to, Inuyasha made it to the trunk before she hit the ground and automatically held his arms out for her.
“I got you, Kagome!” he shouted.
With another shriek from Inuyasha’s body, the sound higher than Inuyasha had known he was capable of reaching, Kagome tumbled from the tree and into his waiting arms.
But Inuyasha was in Kagome’s human body, and she was in his hanyo body, which meant Kagome’s puny human self took the brunt of the fall.
Cursing, the sound odd coming from Kagome’s voice, Inuyasha gently scrambled from underneath his body and began to assess Kagome for injuries.
Which was stupid, considering the fact that he was the one in the body more prone to injuries.
When he locked eyes with Kagome, with his own golden eyes, Kagome froze.
Her eyes widened and she screamed.
“What’s going on?” she shouted. “Why are—what’s—ah!” She looked down at herself and saw her different body, and her hands ran up and down her chest as she tried to take in the sight.
“Quit feelin’ me up, pervert!” Inuyasha protested. Kagome looked back up at him, her eyes still wide.
“Inuyasha?” she asked. It was strange to hear his name coming from his own voice, but that was the least of their issues.
“Yeah, uh, I think we switched bodies,” he said. Kagome was dumbfounded for a moment before she took in the slight rumple that they were still in from her tumble from the tree.
She gasped. “I fell on you! Are you okay?” She set her hands on Inuyasha’s shoulders, looking at him intently, and the open concern and emotion that was notably deeper made Inuyahsa wonder if that was how his face looked when he worried for Kagome’s sake.
Blushing fiercely, he batted Kagome’s hands away.
“Keh, course I am,” he insisted.
“Uh, what’s going on?” Sango asked.
Unbeknownst to Inuyasha and Kagome, their friends had reached them and were watching the scene unfold in front of them, confusion plain as day on their faces.
“Isn’t it obvious?” Inuyasha shot back, annoyed. “We’ve switched bodies.”
“Inuyasha!” Kagome scolded, frowning at him. “Don’t yell at her. This is confusing. I’m confused!”
Glaring at the ground, Inuyasha didn’t argue. Instead, he tried to figure out just how this could have happened to them.
“Do you know what caused this?” Miroku asked. “I’ve never heard of anything like this happening.”
Inuyasha huffed. “Hell if I know.”
“Let’s go back to the village,” Kagome suggested. “Maybe Kaede will know.”
It was rather silent as they started to pack up their camp, and as he watched Kagome pack up her sleeping sack and backpack, he tried to figure out how this could have happened.
I can’t think of a single thing that could have caused this, he mused. We haven’t had any battles in a few days. What could have happened?
He still hadn’t come up with an answer by the time they were packed up, so he just stewed silently as they all went to the river to freshen up.
His little fusayoji was tucked away in his shirt, so he’d have to ask Kagome to get it for him so he could use it to clean his teeth.
Before he could, Kagome spoke.
“Alright, Inuyasha,” Kagome said when they reached the river. “I’ll use your toothbrush--er, fusayoji--to clean your teeth.” Nodding gratefully, Inuyasha was pleased.
“Great, it’s in my shirt.”
Kagome reached into his kosode and found it tucked away. “Thanks. Now you’re gonna have to use my toothbrush and toothpaste to clean my teeth. It’s in my backpack.”
Inuyasha immediately bristled. Her toothpaste made her breath smell nice after she used it, but the scent of just the paste she used by itself was horrifically overwhelming and sharp.
He couldn’t even imagine the taste.
“No way!” he protested. “I’m not using your nasty future paste!”
“You have to!” Kagome insisted. “I’ll get cavities if you don’t!”
Inuyasha started to run off, but the human speed of Kagome’s body was nothing compared to his hanyo power.
Kagome caught him in her arms and tossed him over her shoulder, carrying him back to the river where their friends were watching the sight. Miroku seemed amused, Sango seemed weary, and Shippo was looking at them with a pleased expression on his face.
Plopping Inuyasha down, Kagome shoved the toothbrush in his hands and glared at him.
“Do it,” she ordered. “It’s not that hard.” Inuyasha grimaced.
“It smells weird,” he argued, his voice taking on the whine Kagome always did when she didn’t want to do something. “Which means it’s gonna taste weird!”
Kagome sighed. “Please, Inuyasha?” Huffing, Inuyasha caved and snatched the toothbrush from her.
Eyeing it wearily, he put it in his mouth and began to brush his teeth in the way he always did in the mornings, except now he was using Kagome’s fancier-looking future toothbrush and her disgusting toothpaste.
Gagging, Inuyasha nearly spit it out, but Kagome gave him a stern look before she started using the fusayoji to clean her teeth.
It was a long two minutes, but when Kagome finally told him he could spit and rinse, Inuyasha practically shoved his entire face in the river and gulped up water, which only made the taste more intense for a moment.
When he was finished, he glowered at Kagome, who was smiling brightly at him.
“Thank you, Inuyasha!” she chirped. Grimacing at the taste of toothpaste as well as the fact that she’d just chirped something in his voice, Inuyasha rolled his eyes and gave the toothbrush back to her.
“This certainly is strange,” Miroku commented. “Well, of course, the whole morning has been strange, but I don’t think I’ve ever seen Inuyasha smile like that before.”
Glaring at Miroku, Inuyasha frowned. “When the hell have I smiled today?”
Shaking his head, Miroku nodded at Kagome. “I supposed I should have said Inuyasha’s body. We all know Kagome is generous with her smiles, and it seems that trait has remained despite the situation with you two.”
Kagome gasped and clapped her hands together. “Aw, really? I wish I could see! I don’t have my camera or anything...bummer.” She deflated for a split second before brightening again. “Let me do it again and you guys can tell me what it looks like.” She smiled widely, a shit-eating grin that Inuyasha had literally never done in his life.
“Quit it!” he scolded. “You’re making me look stupid!”
Miroku and Sango laughed.
“Inuyasha, you have a lovely smile,” Miroku said. “You should do it more often.”
“It makes you look soft!” Shippo cut in. Kirara mewed in agreement.
Inuyasha grit his teeth. “I am not soft!”
Kagome laughed, and Miroku and Sango had the same reaction as they had to the smile.
“I’ve never heard Inuyasha laugh like that before,” Sango commented. “It sounds so different than his usual little chuckle, and even then I barely hear that!”
Inuyasha scoffed and went to walk away, not liking how they were viewing Kagome’s actions in his body like some sort of freak show. So what if he didn’t smile much or laugh that often?
“Inuyasha, don’t go,” Kagome said. “I’ll stop smiling. I promise.”
When Inuyasha turned around, he saw Kagome frowning, her eyebrows narrowed in annoyance.
“What pissed you off?” he asked. “I’m the one who’s supposed to be mad!”
Kagome put a hand over her mouth to hide what he knew was a smile. “I’m imitating you!” Her voice was muffled by his palm. “But your reaction is making me laugh again, so I’ll hide it.”
Sitting on the ground and flopping onto his back, Inuyasha groaned.
“We’ve gotta figure this out,” he complained. “I can’t take much more of this.”
Kagome giggled, the sound foreign as it came in the form of Inuyasha’s voice, and it only served to annoy him more.
Finally, he recovered from the incident and they set off after a latrine break Inuyasha really, really didn’t ever want to think about again.
“Let’s hurry this up,” Inuyasha announced as he crouched down on the ground. “Get on, Kagome.”
“Right!” Kagome replied. As always, she hurried to hop on Inuyasha’s back, wrapping her legs around his waist and her arms around his neck.
“Oof!” Inuyasha choked.
Kagome shrieked as they crashed forward, Kagome’s body unable to sustain Inuyasha’s weight.
“Will you quit crushing me?” Inuyasha yelled. Kagome jumped off and helped him up.
“Sorry!” she replied. “I’m just...I’m so used to you carrying me. It just...it feels natural, you know?”
Inuyasha froze and looked at her, realizing that she was right. It had felt natural to just crouch down in front of her, regardless of whose body she was in.
Everything with Kagome felt natural, he was realizing, regardless of whose bodies they were in.
The warmth of that realization was still prominent inside him as he walked by Kagome’s side.
As they continued the trekk to Kaede’s village, he moved to walk ahead, keeping an eye on the path in front of them.
He heard the sound of Kagome releasing a loud whoosh of air, which was weird but he ignored it.
It was only when he heard the sound again, accompanied by a whine, that he finally turned around to see what the hell she was doing.
Kagome was glaring at the unruly bangs hanging in her eyes and using her breath to blow them up and out of her face.
“What the hell are you doing?” Inuyasha demanded. Kagome frowned at him.
“Your hair is in my eyes!” she replied. “It’s making it hard to see. I should cut it.” Rolling his eyes, Inuyasha huffed.
“No way,” he said. “Just deal with it. It’s what I do.”
Whining, Kagome fruitlessly tried to do it again, to no avail. She swept the hair to the side with her fingers, moving it to the side of his head and groaning when it moved right back.
“There are no ears to tuck the hair behind!” she shouted.
Inuyasha sighed. Normally, the mention of his obviously youkai trait of no human ears would bother him, but coming from Kagome, especially in her distressed state, it didn’t bother him in the slightest. If anything, he was annoyed that she was complaining so much, but...she was still Kagome.
“Here,” Inuyasha said, walking over to stand in front of her. He expertly moved the bangs to the side just a bit, sweeping them from Kagome’s eyes enough that she would be able to see without hair in the way.
When he was done, he caught her eye and his fingers froze in her hair, er, his hair.
Even though Kagome was in his body, she was still so obviously her, and the look in her eyes, although the irises were golden, still radiated so much of Kagome that it had him pausing and getting himself lost in her.
Finally, Kagome gave him a small smile. “Thank you, Inuyasha.”
Dropping his hand, Inuyasha blushed and shrugged awkwardly. “No big deal. Don’t thank me.”
He turned around to see the others watching, and his blush increased.
“What are you lot looking at?” he hollered. “Let’s keep going.”
The journey to Kaede’s village took the whole day, and Inuyasha had insisted they not stop for breaks. They ate as they walked, and he had to admit that Kagome’s human feet were killing him.
Humans were so weak, it was unreal.
Kagome came to walk next to him and nudged his shoulder. “Do your feet hurt?”
Surprised, Inuyasha glanced at her and didn’t bother hiding it. He was too tired.
“Yeah,” he replied. “Now I see why you want me to carry you so much.” Kagome smiled.
“I’ll carry you if you want,” she offered. Inuyasha almost denied her, but his feet really were hurting, so he agreed.
It was strange climbing onto his physical body, but once he was settled, he breathed a sigh of relief.
“It’s like my body weighs nothing!” Kagome exclaimed. “You really are strong!” Inuyasha rolled his eyes, too tired to bark a comeback.
He rested his chin on Kagome’s shoulder and sighed sleepily. “I guess. No big deal.”
Kagome laughed, and the sound only served to soothe Inuyasha more.
“You can go to sleep,” Kagome said. “I’m the one with the claws today. I’ll protect you.”
Inuyasha couldn’t help his smile as he drifted off to sleep.
o.O.o
He woke up after they’d reached Kaede’s village. Yawning, he got off of Kagome’s back and followed everyone into Kaede’s home.
As they explained the situation, she seemed shocked and rather amused.
“Well, this is quite a spell,” she said when they were finished. “It is indeed some strong magic.”
Inuyasha frowned. “A spell? Magic? What kind?”
Kaede chuckled and looked at Shippo. “Shippo? Do ye have something ye would like to tell Inuyasha and Kagome?”
Inuyasha growled and looked at the kitsune, who had a very guilty expression on his face.
“I’ll kill you!” he shouted.
“Inuyasha, stop!” Kagome ordered with a hand on his arm. “Just wait for him to explain.” She smiled kindly at Shippo, but Inuyasha could see annoyance laced in it.
“Um, did you really do this, Shippo?” she asked. Guiltily, Shippo nodded.
“It’s a new trick I learned while we were at the kitsune exam,” he explained. “I thought it would be funny to try on Inuyasha. I figured Kagome would be the least angry out of everyone if I made you two switch bodies.”
Growling again, Inuyasha clenched Kagome’s human hands into fists. “Change us back! Now!”
Shippo pouted. “But it’s been so funny today! Haven’t you guys had fun?”
“No!” Inuyasha and Kagome both shouted at the same time.
“Now, now,” Miroku cut in. “You two are annoyed, but look at how much has been revealed to us today. Despite some bumps in the road, it’s almost like nothing has been different with you two.”
Inuyasha’s eyes widened as he exchanged a glance with Kagome.
In all honesty, Miroku was kind of right. Everything was so natural with Kagome on any given day, and that had rang true even when they were in different bodies.
Inuyasha had known for a while now that having Kagome by his side, having Kagome as his home, had become natural. Today only proved it.
He loved her. And maybe...maybe today proved that it was time to tell her that.
Wanting to get back in his body to whisk Kagome away to tell her, Inuyasha urgently turned to Shippo. “Change us back.”
Keeping his stupid little pout on his face, Shippo grabbed an acorn from his shirt and performed the trick, and when the puff of magic dissipated, Inuyasha was looking into Kagome’s eyes again.
It worked.
Now it was time to talk.
Without another word, Inuyasha took Kagome’s hand and pulled her from Kaede’s home.
“We’ll be back later!” she called behind them, as if knowing Inuyasha had been planning to try and speak with her alone.
When they reached the forest, Inuyasha stopped them in front of Goshinboku. He felt it was only fitting to tell her how he felt in front of where they’d first met, where she’d saved his life for the first of many times.
“Kagome,” he began, “today was...a lot, but...I realized some stuff and…” He trailed off, his nervousness taking over.
Looking away for a moment, he tried to gather his thoughts, but Kagome’s hand on his cheek made his mind go blank. All that mattered was her.
She turned his face toward her and smiled. “I realized some stuff, too. Well, I kinda already knew, but this just...reaffirmed it, I guess.” Her thumb stroked his cheek, and the look in her eyes told Inuyasha she felt the same.
He took a shaky breath. “This probably isn’t the right time. We haven’t completed the jewel and Naraku is still out there, but...after today, after seeing how natural everything is with us in a situation like that...I can’t not tell you…” He trailed off again, hoping she could finish.
And like always, she did.
“Everything really is natural between us,” she agreed. “Today I saw how right we are for each other even in different bodies. And like you said, after that, I can’t not tell you either, that I…”
She smiled shyly. “I love you, Inuyasha.”
His breath caught in his throat at the words. He’d known they were coming; hell, they were the three words he’d been about to say, but they still set his heart ablaze.
“I love you, too, Kagome,” he replied, hoping his voice sounded as firm and certain as his heart felt.
Inuyasha figured it did, for Kagome smiled brightly and wrapped her arms around his neck, brushing her nose against his.
Inuyasha leaned down to close the distance, kissing her gently and wrapping his arms around her back, holding her close.
It was peaceful and natural, soft and sweet. Kagome was perfect for him in so many ways. Regardless, he felt undeserving of her, but he knew if he ever voiced it, she would adamantly remind him of all the ways he did deserve not only her, but the other good things he’d found since she’d released him from the seal.
As she kissed him tenderly, he allowed himself to start to believe it. He trusted Kagome with his heart, his life, and his peace. His peace came from her, so how could he not? When the kiss ended, Kagome was blushing and smiling up at him, and Inuyasha couldn’t help but smile back, bringing a hand up to gently caress her cheek.
They returned to the village hand-in-hand a while later, after sharing several more kisses and voicing their love for each other again.
“What a day, huh?” she teased lightly when they reached Kaede’s home. Inuyasha laughed, unable to hide his amused smile.
At Kagome’s surprised expression, he froze before he could move the wooden curtain to enter the house.
“What's wrong?” he asked.
Kagome shook her head and smiled. “Nothing, nothing, it’s just...I finally got to see the smile the others were talking about today. And...hear your laugh. It’s really lovely, Inuyasha.”
Blushing, Inuyasha scoffed quietly and pulled her into his arms, hugging her close again.
“I can’t help it with you, Kagome,” he replied. “It just feels natural.”
FIN.