Chapter 1: Art is Life
Disclaimers: I do not own InuYasha or any of the manga/anime characters. They belong to the wonderful genius Rumiko Takahashi. Any original characters do belong to me.
AN: This was written for Chou-zero, who caught my 10,000 Kiraban at deviantART.
Prompt from Chou-zero: Iâm into art and I have taken a few life art classes. People had a lot of different reactions when they found out I was taking them. I was wondering what Inuyasha would do if he found out that Kagome had taken one or was taking one by finding her sketches. I thought it would be a good way for his insecurities about his body to be addressed since heâs a hanyou and since he has no experience. Realizing that Kagome has seen other men might bother him if he hasnât seen women.
Art is Life
Kagome sighed as she sat under Goshinboku, in her own era. Much to her surprise, she had passed the entrance exams into high school. She had signed up for art class on a whim, not really expecting to be allowed to take it. She had loved the subject when she was younger, but had been bogged down in more serious subjects in junior high â not to mention she was gone half the time with an irritable hanyou to an era five hundred years past.
She had been asked to submit several sketches for placement, and had done so. Somehow, some way, she had ended up in the life art class. She blushed as she thought of their most recent subject, who happened to be very male.
It had started out all right. At first, they had sketched a female or a male in various stages of dress, giving them an opportunity to work on one part of the anatomy or another. Then, came the nude female models, which of course had garnered interesting reactions from the guys taking the course. She couldnât believe they had naked women in a class that half consisted of horny teenage boys. But still, she found it interesting, and did her best to sketch them in various positions: sitting, standing, reclining â whatever they happened to do that week. She found it fascinating, from how the breasts were rounded to show weight, to what the length of the calf was in relation to the thigh. She was also rather envious. She wished her body could be half as beautiful as those of the models.
But those sketches were not what had her blushing. No, that was this weekâs project. A gorgeous man with long, wavy, dark hair and a flawless, muscular body was what was making her redden. She didnât know how he remained so calm as the girls and even a couple of the boys drooled over him. He was there in all of his glory, standing up straight with his left foot resting on a step, and the other on the floor. His left hand was parked on his hip, while the right hung loosely by his side. His upper torso was slightly turned away from his partially raised leg, his genitals dangling there for everyone to ogle. Kagome giggled as she looked back at her sketch. She had paid particular attention to the area below the waist. So while his upper body had a finally chiseled chest, and you could tell he had a head with waist length black hair, he only had arms to just above his elbows, and his legs made it to his knees. However, what was in-between was filled in pretty well by her pencil. She had to admit she was very curious about that part of the male anatomy. The couple of times sheâd had the opportunity to look at InuYasha, she had been too embarrassed to do so. And though she was shy about it at first, it wasnât as bad looking at a total stranger in class. Deciding that that part of her sketch was coming along nicely, she decided to go ahead and at least add calves and feet to his legs.
Kagome was so engrossed in what she was doing that she didnât sense the familiar presence that had arrived and was now standing beside her, looking over her shoulder. Hearing a slight intake of breath, startled, she whipped her head around.
âInuYasha, you scared me,â she said as she hurriedly closed her sketchbook. âWhen did you get back?â
However, the hanyou didnât answer. Instead, his eyes were opened wide, and his face was flushed. His mouth opened, but nothing came out. Instead, he ran.
âInuYasha!â Kagome shouted, following after him. Tucking her pad under her arm, she jumped into the well.
âInuYasha!â she called again from the bottom of the ancient structure. However, with no response, she started to climb out. It wasnât easy, trying to climb and not loose her precious class work in the process, but she couldnât imagine what he was thinking after what he had seen her working on. Hoping heâd gone to Goshinboku, she headed for the great tree.
âInuYasha, come down from there or Iâll say it! I want to talk to you,â the miko said, looking at the red spot up in the tree. âItâs not what you think.â
âDoesnât matter, it ainât like youâre mine,â she barely heard.
âInuYasha? Please, come down and talk to me,â Kagome implored, and then whispered, âIâm yours more than you think.â
InuYasha could not believe what she had in her book when he glanced over her shoulder. Some handsome man from her time, and he was wearing nothing. Not only that, she drew him. What was she thinking? She obviously was being very careful, like it was something, or he was someone, very precious to her. The hanyou felt the air leave his body and his heart sink at the sight of the nude man in her book, the one she was running her hand over like she was caressing him. Heâd always hoped to feel her hands on his flesh. InuYasha didnât know how many times heâd made Kagome cry, but it was obviously at least one time too many, and she had moved on. Unable to bear the pain, heâd fled.
Now, he was looking down at her as she pleaded for him to get out of the tree. The hanyou thought that if he stayed away she wouldnât be able to tell him â she couldnât say that she was leaving him and going back to her time for good. It had been bad enough that she had started staying home more once high school had begun. They were searching for the shards of the Shikon no Tama all over again, thanks to Naraku shattering the jewel into a thousand pieces in a last ditch effort to save himself. However, without any powerful evil looking for it with the intensity that the dark hanyou had, they were following up leads as they heard about them, and traveling the most when Kagome had breaks. In trying to help make her happy, it looked like InuYasha had lost her instead. He wrapped his arms tightly around his body, wondering if he even came close to the magnificence of the man that had apparently stolen Kagomeâs heart.
His ear swiveled forward as he caught her last words â the words she apparently did not really intend for him to hear. His heart pounding in his chest, swelling with the thought that maybe there was a small amount of hope, he jumped down without saying a word.
âInuYasha, we need to talk. This isnât what you think,â Kagome said as she sat down on the ground, and crossed her legs in front of her. Patting the ground right next to her, she said, âPlease, let me show you.â
Reluctantly, InuYasha sat next to the miko, and was surprised when she reached over and squeezed his thigh. âWhy did you run like that?â
Blushing, InuYasha turned his head away, refusing to answer. What was he going to say? That he was in love with her and couldnât bear the thought of her leaving him for another man?
âInuYasha?â Kagome rubbed his leg at his knee. âIt was just for my art class. I donât even know him.â
âKeh?â The hanyou finally looked at her, and she could see how flushed his face was. He looked genuinely upset.
Kagome opened her sketch book to the earlier pages, rather than the one she was just working on. âI have an art class in high school. Itâs called âLife Artâ and it is mostly about drawing the human figure. See, we started out with these.â Kagome flipped through the sketches in her book, and was amazed herself at how she was progressing. Before she knew it, InuYasha had the edge of the book, and was pulling it over in his lap. Turning it loose, she let him.
âYouâre pretty good,â he said softly, as he turned each page carefully and studied its contents. However, when he reached the first nude woman, he slammed it shut and threw it back in her lap.
âInuYasha, whatâs wrong?â Kagome opened the book to the page he had stopped on. âItâs just a naked lady. Itâs not anyone you know.â
The hanyou was bright red, and looking away. Once again, Kagome gently rubbed his leg at the knee. âInuYasha?â
âShe doesnât have any clothes on. Iâm not supposed to look.â
âInuYasha, I donât understand. Entire families here bathe together and donât think anything of it. Whatâs wrong? Didnât you ever do that?â
He shook his head, still looking away.
âDidnât your mother ever give you a bath?â Kagome sounded both concerned and puzzled.
This time he nodded.
âSo you saw your mother, didnât you?â the miko prodded.
âNo one since then,â he finally said. âAnd I was just a pup.â
âWhat is it, InuYasha? The human body is a beautiful thing. Thereâs nothing wrong with looking,â Kagome said gently.
The hanyou tensed up. âThatâs just it, ainât it? I ainât a fucking human. I ainât allowed to look.â
âInuYasha, please, tell me, why are you so upset? What happened?â she asked quietly.
They sat in silence, neither speaking. Kagome gently continued to rub his thigh just above his knee until he finally said, âThey tried to drown me.â
âWhat!â Kagome exclaimed. âWhen? Who?â
âWhen I was little. I didnât know any better. All of the kids used to bathe together, boys and girls. My mother told me I needed to take a bath, but she was ill and couldnât go with me. I wanted to go with the others. They always looked like they were having so much fun. They didnât even seem to mind until their parents finally saw me. They started screaming at me to get away and that I was a half-breed abomination. One of the men grabbed me, and forced my head under the water and held me there. Finally, when I thought my lungs would explode, I managed to bite him and he turned me loose. I got out of there before they caught me again. That was when my mother told me that I couldnât go near the others, and that I should never look at a human female naked. I guess it stuck because I never did.â InuYasha was looking at the ground in front of him. âI was always afraid to; I never wanted to go through anything like that again.â
âInuYasha,â Kagome whispered as she continued to gently rub his knee. âIâm so sorry, and you didnât even do anything wrong. Itâs okay to look, itâs even okay to want. Whatâs not okay is to try and take someone who doesnât want to be with you. Youâve never done anything like that. Now, I want you to go through this with me. I promise, if they didnât mind sitting there naked for a whole art class to draw, they certainly arenât going to mind you looking at their picture.â
âKeh?â The hanyou was still trying to work out everything she said.
Kagome turned to the picture of the first naked woman. âIsnât she beautiful? I wish I were as pretty as she is,â Kagome said as she ran her hand over the picture.
InuYasha still wouldnât even turn his head, so she slid the book halfway into his lap. âInuYasha, itâs just a drawing. Itâs okay to look.â
Curious, the hanyou finally stared down at the picture that had been pushed into his lap. He turned bright red again as his eyes locked on the modelâs breasts. Still, his only thought was that she wasnât as beautiful as Kagome.
Now that he was at least looking, Kagome turned the page. âSee, we did female nudes at first.â She stared down at her own work as she turned to another sketch. âHey, it does appear that Iâm getting better.â
InuYasha finally smiled, just a little. âYeah, you are.â He looked at her seriously. âYouâre not turning into some kind of pervert like the monk, are you?â
Kagome grinned as she flipped back to the page of the male model. âNo, if I were going to do that, Iâd be drawing more pictures like this.â
InuYashaâs face fell again as his eyes landed on the naked man. He didnât look anything like that. He didnât even realize the men in Kagomeâs time looked like that.
âWhatâs wrong now, InuYasha?â the miko asked. âI already told you that I donât even know him. Heâs a paid model for the class.â
The hanyou was gazing off somewhere else again, and shook his head. âI donât look anything like that, do I? I mean, heâs all⌠all⌠I didnât know men in your era were like that. Theyâre such weak looking boys.â
Kagome got a little bolder and slid her hand up the hanyouâs thigh. âInuYasha, heâs a paid model. He lifts weights, is probably on steroids, and who knows what else to appear like that. I think youâre much more attractive than he is. Your muscles are from hard work, fighting, and a lot of running. Iâd rather look at you any day of the week.â Whoops, that was more than she meant to say.
âKeh?â he was staring at her again, this time with curiosity. âYou mean⌠you donât want someone like this?â
The miko didnât answer, but instead turned back to what she thought was the prettiest of the models. âWould you prefer someone like her?â
InuYasha shook his head. âI donât even know her.â
âExactly,â Kagome said. âJust like I donât know him, other than to sketch him while he poses in front of the class.â
The hanyou blushed again. âThen why⌠why⌠whyâŚâ but he couldnât finish what he was trying to say, and pointed instead, to the manâs genitalia.
This time it was the mikoâs turn to blush, and she whispered, âBecause Iâd never really seen them before, and I was curious.â
âSo you donât want toâŚâ His voiced trailed away. He wasnât sure how to say it without fucking up.
Kagome answered, somehow understanding what he meant, âWith him? No.â She paused before she added, âSo you never, not even withâŚâ though she couldnât finish her question.
âIâve never really looked at a human female since I bathed with my mother, so how could I?â the hanyou answered defensively.
âIâm sorry, InuYasha, I didnât mean⌠I donât want to fight,â she said, tears in her eyes.
âKeh,â he answered in a gentler tone, making it apparent that, for once, he didnât want to fight, either.
Kagome slid the book over into his lap, encouraging him to look through it. There was something liberating about him going slowly through the pages, one by one, looking at what heâd always been forbidden to. When he finally reached her last drawing again, he asked, âDid you mean what you said?â
âIâm sure I did, but when?â the miko responded, obviously puzzled.
âWhen you said you were mine, more than I thought.â His eyes were full of hope when they met hers.
Kagome slowly nodded. âIâve been yours for a long time. You just never saw, nor wanted me.â
âThatâs not true,â he said simply. âItâs just that Iâm not good enough for you. And youâd be miserable, with a hanyou like me.â
âIâd only be miserable without you,â she whispered.
Taking a deep breath, InuYasha leaned over and shyly, softly, kissed her. Kagome responded by wrapping her hand his mane and holding him to her. When they pulled apart, they rested their foreheads together as they panted to catch their breath. Neither wanted to lose contact with the other.
The hanyou was gently stroking her cheek with his thumb, wondering how heâd gone from broken hearted to this, when he heard, âWill you let me sketch you sometime?â
âYou⌠you⌠you mean⌠like him?â InuYasha asked, surprised that she would want to.
âYouâre beautiful, InuYasha. Iâd much rather draw you than him.â Kagome had pulled back and raised her head just enough to look into his eyes.
He leaned forward to kiss her again. âIf you want.â
âThank you, Iâd like that,â she answered.
âKagome?â
âYeah?â
âIf I canât wear anything, what about you?â he asked, his voice full of hope.
âOkay, thatâs fair,â she answered. âWeâll just have to make certain to go someplace where we wonât be interrupted. It should take awhile, you know.â
âThe drawing?â
âYeah, that too.â
*finis*
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