InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Something to Protect - Echoes ❯ The Art of Hooky ( Chapter 10 )
[ X - Adult: No readers under 18. Contains Graphic Adult Themes/Extreme violence. ]
By: Angelswrath 
The Continuation of Something to Protect.
Anime/Manga: InuYasha Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Romance / Hentai / Adventure / Action | Type: Continuation | Uploaded On: 01.13.2008 | Pages: 6 | Words: 6.6K | Visits: 866 | Status: Completed
The Continuation of Something to Protect.
Anime/Manga: InuYasha Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Romance / Hentai / Adventure / Action | Type: Continuation | Uploaded On: 01.13.2008 | Pages: 6 | Words: 6.6K | Visits: 866 | Status: Completed
Chapter 10
*~*~The Art of Hooky~*~*
*~*~The Art of Hooky~*~*
“Well that can’t be good,” Miroku announced glumly, allowing the suffocating aura of countless youkai to engulf them before making his declaration. He glanced at the small group around him, taking in their annoyed expressions. Maybe this wasn’t the best time for humor?
That hunch was proven true as his easily irritated comrade pinned him with his most sarcastic look. “What was your first clue?” Inuyasha snapped, “My subtle blood statement or the choking youki?”
Shippou’s little nose twitched as he too fought the stench. “No need for sarcasm,” Miroku countered easily, but shifted slowly away from the hanyou who seemed to be getting more agitated by the second. This was obviously not going to end well, and Miroku decided that he might want to be far away when it did.
Inuyasha winced inwardly at his own comment. He hadn’t meant to jump down Miroku’s throat, but the situation was deteriorating rapidly. This is just fucking great. Fingers gripping the pack at his back, Inuyasha weighed his obvious options.
He could return to Kagome’s era as he originally planned, or he could stay and embrace the early morning diversion Kami had seen fit to provide him with.
Normally this would be a no-brainer. Any excuse to unsheathe Tetsusaiga usually worked for him, but Kagome was making him hesitate. Or rather the memory of her hurt look when she’d discovered he’d gone Naraku-hunting the last time she’d been injured made him pause.
Wench isn’t even here and she’s slowing me down.
His choices tore at him. He could almost feel the group’s eyes on him as though waiting for instructions on what to do next. Their looks only amplified his irritation. When the hell had they started listening to me anyways? Inuyasha quickly reviewed possible excuses.
Claiming that there had been a Shikon shard was out.
The only ones yet to be collected were with Kouga and Kohaku respectively. And that brought to mind another good point. How the hell would he be able to claim they were near without Kagome around to sense them? There were far too many ways that little lie could catch up to him.
Sensing Naraku was also out.
That hadn’t worked even when he’d actually smelled the bastard. Inuyasha took a long whiff to make sure. No sense wasting a good excuse if he didn’t have to. Damn. Lots of gathering youki, but nothing that smelled anything like the manipulative hanyou.
Figures. The one time he actually wanted Naraku to be there. . .
The hanyou released a half-hearted sigh as he allowed his head to hang in silent defeat. “Damn,” he whispered, quietly giving voice to his thoughts, which were growing more depressing by the moment.
“Pardon me?” Miroku asked attempting to translate disgruntled hanyou grunts and curses into an answer to their current crisis.
Sango wasn’t much help. She merely shrugged and waited for the boy to say something semi-coherent.
Silver tresses fell over Inuyasha’s shoulders, obscuring his unusually pensive amber gaze from his companions. He could practically hear the wench now.
The “Inuyasha no bakas” loud and resounding, caused his ears to wilt as though he could actually hear the damning words.
But wasn’t it always the girl’s idea that he “help” people? Only Kami knew why she’d think he’d want to do that.
Inyusha didn’t think this particular instance had been exactly what Kagome meant. Deep down he knew that the others were perfectly capable of handling themselves. Decision reluctantly made Inuyasha spun on the ball of his foot away from the danger. Away from the growing temptation, and back towards the infamous well and a future that didn’t involve an enraged miko.
“Inu-Inuyasha?,” a certain pesky monk questioned, obviously befuddled by this turn of events. The houshi couldn’t help but glance at the distant village, then back at Inuyasha. Then back to the village, as though the entire situation just didn’t compute.
“Take care of it,” the young man decreed, shifting the massive bag into a more comfortable position. Now even Shippou was confused, as he watched the hanyou seemingly walk in the opposite direction of the youkai..
The little kit stumbled a bit as he scrambled to catch up with him, eventually planting himself defiantly in the young man’s path, as if Inuyasha’s words must underlie some horrible joke. Inuyasha raised a charcoal colored eyebrow at all of the commotion.
“You want us to go fight the youkai without you?”
The constant staring was getting a bit unnerving. What the hell was wrong with all of them? Shippou seemed to be the only one capable of speech at the moment. The others looked as if he’d suggested something impossible. He’d only said he was walking away from the battle, not that the moon was made of Shikon shards.
What the hell was their problem? I mean I do more than fight don’t I? His annoying inner voice was mysteriously silent.
Thanks.
Well at least I’m consistent . . .usually anyway.
If he had known that this was all it took to shake them up a bit he would have tried something like this a long time ago. Missing a battle or two was definitely worth their stupefied silence. He could have shut them up weeks ago.
It’s not like he had to fight all of the time.
Well he hadn’t had a choice with the last demon . And there were a few battles he’d never take back. Like Ryuukotsei. Or the battle with the ancient bat demon.
But those were different because they had to do with Tetsusaiga.
None of the Naraku battles were expendable either. That filth had it coming for all the pain he‘d caused.
And all of his battles with Sesshoumaru were priceless.
Somebody had to shut that pompous arrogant ass up from time to time. One day he would cut off the bastard’s other arm and wipe that unfazable look off his face.
Always looking down his nose at his half-breed brother.
Maybe he’d cut that off too. . .
Inuyasha smiled at the direction his thoughts had taken. Ok, maybe he did understand the clueless looks his companions were giving. Just a little.
“I’m going back,” he clarified simply, in a voice that made them question if he said it for their benefit or his own.
“Going back? You mean to Kagome’s time?”
“If you make me repeat myself one more time bouzu. . .” His glare dare anyone to speak. They were duly intimidated.
For about five seconds.
“But why?” Shippou asked, the first to give into temptation.
Why? Wow and Kagome thought I was insensitive.
Because he needed to catch the idiot who was brave enough to break into a shrine of all places. Not once but multiple times.
Because for some odd reason the sadness in Mrs. Higurashi’s face irritated the hell out of him.
Because he didn’t trust anybody in that family to handle the situation on their own and not get themselves killed in the process.
All of these were valid reasons. None of which he would ever let escape his mouth. “Because I told Kagome I would.”
It was obviously not the response they had been expecting.
What followed was the most absurd guessing game he’d ever witnessed. It consisted of them demanding answers, Inuyasha giving them, then the three of them ignoring him in search of a more logical one.
“I’m serious damnit!”
They talked over him as though they hadn’t heard a word he’d said.
“Do you think Kagome-chan threatened him?” Sango suggested, eyeing Inuyasha warily.
“Could be. More likely she sat his face into the ground until he complied,” Miroku mused.
“She didn’t do a damn thing. I told the wench I’d be back!” Inuyasha fairly shouted, not reassured in the slightest by their sympathetic looks.
“Maybe he just wants to go so he can get a chance to kill the thief,” Shippou commented, ignoring the hanyou rolling his eyes a few feet behind him. Inuyasha started to defend himself, but Sango was already speaking on his behalf.
“That’s not it. Kagome wouldn’t let him kill a human. There’s got to be something else. A bribe maybe?”
“Probably involving ramen,” Shippou decided.
Miroku was nodding in agreement before Inuyasha decided that this little conversation was getting him nowhere.
With a disgusted shake of his head he continued down the path to the Bone Eaters well, grunting in annoyance while his friends considered permanent brain damage from constant osuwaris as a cause.
That hunch was proven true as his easily irritated comrade pinned him with his most sarcastic look. “What was your first clue?” Inuyasha snapped, “My subtle blood statement or the choking youki?”
Shippou’s little nose twitched as he too fought the stench. “No need for sarcasm,” Miroku countered easily, but shifted slowly away from the hanyou who seemed to be getting more agitated by the second. This was obviously not going to end well, and Miroku decided that he might want to be far away when it did.
Inuyasha winced inwardly at his own comment. He hadn’t meant to jump down Miroku’s throat, but the situation was deteriorating rapidly. This is just fucking great. Fingers gripping the pack at his back, Inuyasha weighed his obvious options.
He could return to Kagome’s era as he originally planned, or he could stay and embrace the early morning diversion Kami had seen fit to provide him with.
Normally this would be a no-brainer. Any excuse to unsheathe Tetsusaiga usually worked for him, but Kagome was making him hesitate. Or rather the memory of her hurt look when she’d discovered he’d gone Naraku-hunting the last time she’d been injured made him pause.
Wench isn’t even here and she’s slowing me down.
His choices tore at him. He could almost feel the group’s eyes on him as though waiting for instructions on what to do next. Their looks only amplified his irritation. When the hell had they started listening to me anyways? Inuyasha quickly reviewed possible excuses.
Claiming that there had been a Shikon shard was out.
The only ones yet to be collected were with Kouga and Kohaku respectively. And that brought to mind another good point. How the hell would he be able to claim they were near without Kagome around to sense them? There were far too many ways that little lie could catch up to him.
Sensing Naraku was also out.
That hadn’t worked even when he’d actually smelled the bastard. Inuyasha took a long whiff to make sure. No sense wasting a good excuse if he didn’t have to. Damn. Lots of gathering youki, but nothing that smelled anything like the manipulative hanyou.
Figures. The one time he actually wanted Naraku to be there. . .
The hanyou released a half-hearted sigh as he allowed his head to hang in silent defeat. “Damn,” he whispered, quietly giving voice to his thoughts, which were growing more depressing by the moment.
“Pardon me?” Miroku asked attempting to translate disgruntled hanyou grunts and curses into an answer to their current crisis.
Sango wasn’t much help. She merely shrugged and waited for the boy to say something semi-coherent.
Silver tresses fell over Inuyasha’s shoulders, obscuring his unusually pensive amber gaze from his companions. He could practically hear the wench now.
The “Inuyasha no bakas” loud and resounding, caused his ears to wilt as though he could actually hear the damning words.
But wasn’t it always the girl’s idea that he “help” people? Only Kami knew why she’d think he’d want to do that.
Inyusha didn’t think this particular instance had been exactly what Kagome meant. Deep down he knew that the others were perfectly capable of handling themselves. Decision reluctantly made Inuyasha spun on the ball of his foot away from the danger. Away from the growing temptation, and back towards the infamous well and a future that didn’t involve an enraged miko.
“Inu-Inuyasha?,” a certain pesky monk questioned, obviously befuddled by this turn of events. The houshi couldn’t help but glance at the distant village, then back at Inuyasha. Then back to the village, as though the entire situation just didn’t compute.
“Take care of it,” the young man decreed, shifting the massive bag into a more comfortable position. Now even Shippou was confused, as he watched the hanyou seemingly walk in the opposite direction of the youkai..
The little kit stumbled a bit as he scrambled to catch up with him, eventually planting himself defiantly in the young man’s path, as if Inuyasha’s words must underlie some horrible joke. Inuyasha raised a charcoal colored eyebrow at all of the commotion.
“You want us to go fight the youkai without you?”
The constant staring was getting a bit unnerving. What the hell was wrong with all of them? Shippou seemed to be the only one capable of speech at the moment. The others looked as if he’d suggested something impossible. He’d only said he was walking away from the battle, not that the moon was made of Shikon shards.
What the hell was their problem? I mean I do more than fight don’t I? His annoying inner voice was mysteriously silent.
Thanks.
Well at least I’m consistent . . .usually anyway.
If he had known that this was all it took to shake them up a bit he would have tried something like this a long time ago. Missing a battle or two was definitely worth their stupefied silence. He could have shut them up weeks ago.
It’s not like he had to fight all of the time.
Well he hadn’t had a choice with the last demon . And there were a few battles he’d never take back. Like Ryuukotsei. Or the battle with the ancient bat demon.
But those were different because they had to do with Tetsusaiga.
None of the Naraku battles were expendable either. That filth had it coming for all the pain he‘d caused.
And all of his battles with Sesshoumaru were priceless.
Somebody had to shut that pompous arrogant ass up from time to time. One day he would cut off the bastard’s other arm and wipe that unfazable look off his face.
Always looking down his nose at his half-breed brother.
Maybe he’d cut that off too. . .
Inuyasha smiled at the direction his thoughts had taken. Ok, maybe he did understand the clueless looks his companions were giving. Just a little.
“I’m going back,” he clarified simply, in a voice that made them question if he said it for their benefit or his own.
“Going back? You mean to Kagome’s time?”
“If you make me repeat myself one more time bouzu. . .” His glare dare anyone to speak. They were duly intimidated.
For about five seconds.
“But why?” Shippou asked, the first to give into temptation.
Why? Wow and Kagome thought I was insensitive.
Because he needed to catch the idiot who was brave enough to break into a shrine of all places. Not once but multiple times.
Because for some odd reason the sadness in Mrs. Higurashi’s face irritated the hell out of him.
Because he didn’t trust anybody in that family to handle the situation on their own and not get themselves killed in the process.
All of these were valid reasons. None of which he would ever let escape his mouth. “Because I told Kagome I would.”
It was obviously not the response they had been expecting.
What followed was the most absurd guessing game he’d ever witnessed. It consisted of them demanding answers, Inuyasha giving them, then the three of them ignoring him in search of a more logical one.
“I’m serious damnit!”
They talked over him as though they hadn’t heard a word he’d said.
“Do you think Kagome-chan threatened him?” Sango suggested, eyeing Inuyasha warily.
“Could be. More likely she sat his face into the ground until he complied,” Miroku mused.
“She didn’t do a damn thing. I told the wench I’d be back!” Inuyasha fairly shouted, not reassured in the slightest by their sympathetic looks.
“Maybe he just wants to go so he can get a chance to kill the thief,” Shippou commented, ignoring the hanyou rolling his eyes a few feet behind him. Inuyasha started to defend himself, but Sango was already speaking on his behalf.
“That’s not it. Kagome wouldn’t let him kill a human. There’s got to be something else. A bribe maybe?”
“Probably involving ramen,” Shippou decided.
Miroku was nodding in agreement before Inuyasha decided that this little conversation was getting him nowhere.
With a disgusted shake of his head he continued down the path to the Bone Eaters well, grunting in annoyance while his friends considered permanent brain damage from constant osuwaris as a cause.
**~**~**~**~**~**~**~**~**~**~**~**~**~**~**~**~**
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“Chicken or shrimp?” Kagome mused aloud, staring at the colorful packages of instant noodles in her hands as if deciding the fate of the world.
Her shopping cart was already halfway full with supplies. Most of which they probably didn’t even need. But she’d given in to avoid the convincing pouts of a certain hanyou and kit.
Kagome weighed her choices quickly. She wanted to get any decisions involving food out of the way before Inuyasha returned.
His solution usually involved the use of more than one shopping cart.
She could hardly blame him. The boy burned so many calories a day merely training that he never needed to pay attention to what he ate. If it tasted good then it was okay with Inuyasha.
A small blush crept over her cheeks at the memory of his shirtless form. Junkfood had definitely done nothing to harm the hanyou as far as she could tell. And believe me she’d looked.
Anything nutritious rarely found its way into her legendary knapsack. She on the other hand needed something a little more than foods high in fat, sugar, salt content, or sometimes amazingly all of the above.
If she kept up this diet she could kiss those piggyback rides goodbye.
“Chicken or shrimp?!”
Kagome jumped in surprise as the packages were snatched from her fingers by a clawed hand. Kami, did an alarm sound in his head when somebody mentions ramen?
“Keh! All this time wench and you don’t even know me at all! Both!” Inuyasha decided simply, clutching the rustling items as though afraid Kagome would fight him for them.
The miko rolled her eyes at his antics. Don’t know him? Hah!
“These were mine, dog-boy.” She nodded towards the basket, where she had already stacked three large bulk packs of the noodles in three mouthwatering flavors. “Those are yours.”
Inuyasha was too shocked to form a witty reply. Leaning into the basket for a closer look, he sent his benefactor a wistful glance. “I stand corrected.”
“Big surprise there.” Kagome shoved the basket farther down the aisle as he began pawing through the rest of her potential purchases.
“I didn’t even know you could get this many at once. . .”
"So did you tell the others what was going on?" Kagome asked, wiggling the basket a bit in an effort to dislodge its extra passenger.
"Yeah yeah wench," he muttered, the massive knapsack sliding dangerously as he lifted a mysterious bag to his nose and sniffed. "and I caught the lecher trying to play pin the tail on the demon slayer."
Kagome snorted with laughter, and rolled her eyes. Last time I attempt to explain anything from my time. Somehow either Inuyasha or Miroku always found a way to pervert it. Still she couldn't help but feel for the misguided monk.
"Did she have Hiraikotsu?"
"I dunno, but she didn't seem to be in that big of a hurry to use it if she did." The hanyou gave her a knowing look that had her glancing away quickly. "Well you can't blame him. The hentai hasn't been with a woman since before he proposed to Sango. . ."
"He-He what?!" Kagome asked, her shock causing her to skid to halt, and practically tossed Inuyasha into the basket.
"Whoa! Watch it!"
"Are we talking about the same monk? Handsome? Hole in the hand? Likes to grope unwilling women?"
Inuyasha shot her a smirk that had her heart skipping a beat. "One and the same."
"Well it couldn't be for the lack of trying."
"I don't think the pervert's heart is in it anymore," the hanyou guessed. A confused look crossed his handsome features. "Never thought I'd say that."
"But how do you even know he's telling the truth?" Kagome asked warily.
"I never said he told me wench," Inuyasha replied, attention returning to where it was need most. To the ramen beneath him.
Kagome mulled over the boy's strange reply before a large box of pocky caught her eye and she snagged it as they rounded the corner. Shippou’s inevitable whine at the meager offering compared to what she was getting for Inuyasha made her reconsider and she pulled two more off of the shelf.
“No drooling on the food dog-boy,” Kagome ordered when his head threatened to disappear into the depths of the food pile.
“Kit’s going to explode from all those damn sugar sticks,” Inuyasha predicted grouchily, but finally released his hold on his precious snack. She could tell he was irritated when she thoroughly ignored him and swung the heavy cart down another aisle.
This one was full of school supplies and that thought alone was enough to make her groan aloud. She was afraid to even think of what kind of marks she was receiving in her classes since their newfound determination to catch Naraku. The miko snuck a small colorful box of crayons into the cart for Shippou, hoping that Inuyasha wouldn't notice and accuse her of spoiling the child again. "Did you tell everybody when we would be back?"
Inuyasha shrugged. "I didn't know when we would be back. Besides their keeping busy with the demon attack. They better enjoy the rest, because when we do finally get back over-"
"THE WHAT?!"
White fuzzy ears retreated into silvery hair beneath his cap at her bellow. What the hell was she shrieking about? Inuyasha went through his quick mental checklist of potential causes. It usually saved time, and if he was really fast he could make amends before the girl decided to plant his face into the ground.
He hadn't done anything wrong. He hadn't called her out of her name for the past few minutes. He hadn't killed anything today. Had she seen that po-ta-to chip he had snuck while she'd been pretending not to buy more toys for the runt? That couldn't be it. He'd even done his good deed for the century and come back when all he'd wanted to do was kill a few mangy youkai. . .
Youkai.
Damn.
"The demon attack?" he responded hesitantly. "I told you. . . "
"You sure as hell didn't!!" Kagome started towards him at the beginning of his telltale snorts. "Damnit Inuyasha don't you dare laugh!"
Inuyasha shook his head in mock disapproval. "Where the hell did you get that mouth wench?"
"One can only wonder," Kagome snapped through gritted teeth. "Now tell me about the demons."
"Low level and no Naraku to speak of," he explained dismissively. "Nothing to worry about."
Kagome attempted to process what he was saying. A voice in the back of her mind was whispering that she was missing something. Something huge. Youkai attacked and yet Inuyasha was. . . here. Her eyes widened at the revelation. "You came back."
“Keh! I said I would didn't I?" he stated brushing off the comment as it sounded mysteriously familiar to the conversation he had had with the others earlier.
Except the way she said it made his body heat.
Aren’t we done yet?” Inuyasha asked, attention span waning now that all of ramen shopping had been completed.
Kagome actually flushed sheepishly at the question. “Um no, I need to buy some tuna.”
“Tuna?”
“Yeah I kind of promised Kirara that I would bring her some.”
Grateful that Inuyasha for once didn’t question her reasoning, she hurried down the store to the correct aisle and snatched the largest can she could find from the top shelf. “Do you think this will be enough, Inuyasha?”
Silence followed.
“Inuyasha?”
She spun around just in time to see a flash of red disappear around the corner. Crap.
Forsaking her basket in her haste Kagome hurried to catch up. What the heck had gotten into him?
Her groan echoed around the store as she caught sight of his baseball cap covered head inches away from the tile covered floor, sniffing loudly hot on the trail of . . . something. Shoppers dodged the strange looking young man, sending her puzzled looks as she traveled humiliated in his wake.
Sitting him was her first inclination. But that would just raise a whole different set of questions by those surrounding them.
She grit her teeth and hurried on as he turned up yet another aisle. She spun around the corner intent on blistering his ears. No matter how cute they may be. But she paused in confusion as she realized where she was. He had stopped in the most unlikely section. Shelves filled with perfumed bathing products surrounded them on all sides.
"Do you remember when I said you need to attempt to fit in when you go out in public?" Kagome asked as she stalked down the aisle towards the wandering hanyou who was glancing around with a critical eye.
"What the hell does that have to do with anything?” he asked, his tone implying that he didn't really care what her answer was.
"Are you kidding me?"
Inuyasha's nose twitched as he drew closer to one bottle in particular. It was obviously not what he was searching for as his face scrunched up in distaste and he batted the thing away.
Guess I'm paying for that one, Kagome thought with an indulgent sigh.
Finally he stopped in front of one shelf in particular and snatched up the apparent winner. "Inuyasha?" The young man was inspecting the bottle in his hand as though it held the key to defeating Naraku.
He ignored her. Walking slowly towards him, lest he dart off again, her confusion only grew as he popped the cap with a clawed finger and took a long sniff.
"Um what are you doing?"
Kagome finally read the familiar label in his hand. "Hey that's my body wash. Eek!" She squeaked as Inuyasha suddenly buried his face in the sensitive crevice between her neck and shoulder.
The hanyou's hot breath on her skin had her backpedaling quickly until she was pressed against the shelves. He followed effortlessly.
The miko couldn't remember a time that Inuyasha had ever been this close to her and it wasn't out of sheer neccessity. Heart beating wildly, simple speech eluded her.
"I thought I smelled you," Inuyasha finally explained though he didn't alter his position. "but it was that."
He was no longer inhaling curiously, but slowly. Deeply. Heat flooded her face, before it moved steadily lower.
His body was solid and strong against her own sending all types of thoughts through her mind that would have rivaled the naughty mouth the hanyou claimed she was getting.
As though answering her silent prayer, Inuyasha moved a breath closer. No more than a millimeter, but just enough to close the space between them. Flush against him she could almost feel the pounding of his heart against her heaving form.
"Vanilla," he said softly, in a tone that sounded all too much like a tantalizing growl. The rumble it caused in his defined chest, vibrated through her own.
The unfamiliar sensation sent a delicious shiver racing over her and caused her breath to hitch. When she finally remembered that she was indeed human, and did need to breathe she could only manage frantic pants that sounded a little desperate, even to her own ears.
"V-Vanilla?" She was obviously not ready for logical thought, let alone speech, and would be the first one to admit that she had absolutely no clue what he was talking about.
"Vanilla but no cherry blossoms," Inuyasha explained in the same way that made her happy he couldn't see her eyes close in bliss.
She had just given up hope of ever figuring out what he was referring to, when he took another long deep sniff, and froze. Kagome's eyes shot wide as she felt his probing stare. Shocked amber eyes stared into her dazed blue ones.
He lifted his hands that had remained firmly at his sides to grab her forearms and bring her so close that her chin rested on his shoulder. Is he hugging me? The misguided girl didn't understand until Inuyasha took another analyzing sniff, and she went rigid in his arms.
The boy's cocky comment about Miroku’s sex life from earlier finally hit home. "I never said he told me wench."
He can smell . . . that?!
Oh my God.
Mortified, she almost wished he would never let her go so she wouldn't have to look him in the face again. He knows that I . . . She couldn't even voice it in her own mind.
Kami! He'd never let her live it down. That was if he wasn't completely disgusted by the idea of actually having to admit it aloud. What the heck was she supposed to do now?
A brief wet flicker against her sensitized skin made her gasp. A reflex unknown to Kagome caused her to buck sensuously against him before jerking still. D-Did he just lick me?!
"Um hi, Kagome."
And that was how they found them.
Locked together against the shelves, gasping for air against each others awakening bodies.
Both went rigid at the dainty voice. Kagome groaned as another was not far behind. "K-Kagome?" I should have known that where Yuka was Eri was probably not far behind.
Kagome spun out of the hanyou's embrace to face her startled friends. All three of them. Of course they all had to be here to make my humiliation complete. At least Hojo hadn't popped out of somewhere offering her some homebrewed remedy to soothe her flushed skin.
Yuka and Eri were staring at her as though she had grown another head, and Ayumi was stealing glances at Inuyasha as if considering the ramifications of getting a bad-boy of her own.
"Um hi!" Kagome echoed, her shrill tone grating on Inuyasha's ears, and not sounding remotely comfortable.
"Hi Inuyasha," Ayumi greeted shyly and blushed rather prettily when the boy sent her a nod in return.
"We missed you at school today," Yuka started, giving Inuyasha an accusatory glare knowing that somehow he was responsible.
The half demon sent her one right back, but his had been honed with a couple of centuries worth of practice, and the schoolgirl retreated a few steps at the look.
Kagome elbowed him in the ribs in warning, before answering. "Yeah I know, we just got back today."
"We?" Eri chirped sweetly, not missing that part of the comment.
Kagome fumbled for words at her clumsy mistake. Great, just great. "Uh huh, Inuyasha gave me a ride back." In a manner of speaking.
"So you're feeling better then?" Ayumi asked hopefully, bringing the first real smile to Kagome's face.
"Much," she informed them.
"That's great," Yuka congratulated, still keeping a worried eye on Kagome's testy companion. "We were worried that you would miss graduation. It's only a few weeks away."
"Never!" Kagome assured them. And she meant it. She didn't care how many times she'd have to explain it Inuyasha or osuwari him. She was going to graduation and that was that.
Inuyasha lifted his heavy mane of silvery hair out of the way to scratch the area where the irritating cap fit snugly onto his head, and unknowingly held the three schoolgirls transfixed in the process.
Kagome smiled at her friends’ reactions. She'd been like that at first too. Mesmerized by almost every little thing the hanyou did. His mannerisms were strange, but his appearance alone had caused her to lose her train of thought a million times.
"Inuyasha, where did you say you were from?" Eri asked hesitantly, attempting to place the honey colored eyes and pale hair on her mental map.
Whoa! Better stop that line of questioning. "Inuyasha didn't you need to-" Inuyasha cut her off mid-sentence.
"I'm going to get some more po-ta-to chips, wench," he stated simply turning away from the group, who were left gasping from his reference.
Not exactly subtle, but it works.
The small group watched him stride purposefully away from them, before his words finally registered. Wait a minute. "Inuyasha, I already got chips earlier."
Rounding the corner quickly, he chose that time to confess. "Yeah, well they didn't make it."
She rolled her eyes at his comment and returned her attention to her friends. Even Ayumi looked taken aback. "Um Kagome, did your boyfriend just call you a wench?" Eri questioned skeptically.
Kagome hastily tried to think of a way to explain the comment without embarrassing herself or making Inuyasha out to be an even worse candidate in their eyes. "It's a cultural thing you know," she commented vaguely, hoping her answer didn't bring them right back to the question she couldn't answer. Where exactly Inuyasha was from.
They didn't question her answer and the girl instinctively dodge the jumbo bag of chips Inuyasha pitched into the basket he'd retrieved upon his return. He pulled out a tiny bag of the same snack and added it to the pile.
"So your kit won't try and steal any of mine," Inuyasha explained at her questioning glance. Firmly placing his foot into his mouth yet again.
"Her what?" Yuka asked in confusion.
Great! Kagome snatched the first thing she saw off of the shelf, a magazine, and handed it to Inuyasha to occupy himself. In hopes that he would stay silent until this little encounter was over.
"Just a little nickname I call my friend Shippou."
"Shippou?" Ayumi tested the name slowly. "You're friends sure have some exotic names."
"Is he half too?" Eri asked curiously.
"Um no."
"So who is he?" Yuka prodded.
"Kagome's kit," Inuyasha repeated as though sure the girls were either deaf or dumb.
Thanks Inuyasha. "Read the magazine, Inuyasha," Kagome ordered sweetly, before attempting to field that one.
"I kind of take care of him."
"You mean like a mother?" Ayumi asked with a small smile, but the other two girls’ eyes had widened to the size of saucers. They waited patiently for their friend to answer.
"Kagome . . ." Inuyasha started hesitantly.
She ignored him in hopes he would get the hint to stay quiet. "Um yeah, a little like a mother I guess." They were staring at her as though finally seeing the Kagome she had been trying to hide for the past two years. A young woman living a life that they knew almost absolutely nothing about.
"K-Kagome?" Inuyasha repeated again more urgently.
No such luck.
"Yes, Inuyasha?" Could this get any worse?
"Where the fuck are all these womens’ clothes?!"
The frazzled girl glanced at the book the flushed young man was holding in his clawed hands. He flipped another page and obviously shocked himself into dropping the book into the cart. Swimsuit edition, great.
And on that note Kagome latched onto her hanyou and the basket and beat a hasty retreat to the nearest exit.
Her shopping cart was already halfway full with supplies. Most of which they probably didn’t even need. But she’d given in to avoid the convincing pouts of a certain hanyou and kit.
Kagome weighed her choices quickly. She wanted to get any decisions involving food out of the way before Inuyasha returned.
His solution usually involved the use of more than one shopping cart.
She could hardly blame him. The boy burned so many calories a day merely training that he never needed to pay attention to what he ate. If it tasted good then it was okay with Inuyasha.
A small blush crept over her cheeks at the memory of his shirtless form. Junkfood had definitely done nothing to harm the hanyou as far as she could tell. And believe me she’d looked.
Anything nutritious rarely found its way into her legendary knapsack. She on the other hand needed something a little more than foods high in fat, sugar, salt content, or sometimes amazingly all of the above.
If she kept up this diet she could kiss those piggyback rides goodbye.
“Chicken or shrimp?!”
Kagome jumped in surprise as the packages were snatched from her fingers by a clawed hand. Kami, did an alarm sound in his head when somebody mentions ramen?
“Keh! All this time wench and you don’t even know me at all! Both!” Inuyasha decided simply, clutching the rustling items as though afraid Kagome would fight him for them.
The miko rolled her eyes at his antics. Don’t know him? Hah!
“These were mine, dog-boy.” She nodded towards the basket, where she had already stacked three large bulk packs of the noodles in three mouthwatering flavors. “Those are yours.”
Inuyasha was too shocked to form a witty reply. Leaning into the basket for a closer look, he sent his benefactor a wistful glance. “I stand corrected.”
“Big surprise there.” Kagome shoved the basket farther down the aisle as he began pawing through the rest of her potential purchases.
“I didn’t even know you could get this many at once. . .”
"So did you tell the others what was going on?" Kagome asked, wiggling the basket a bit in an effort to dislodge its extra passenger.
"Yeah yeah wench," he muttered, the massive knapsack sliding dangerously as he lifted a mysterious bag to his nose and sniffed. "and I caught the lecher trying to play pin the tail on the demon slayer."
Kagome snorted with laughter, and rolled her eyes. Last time I attempt to explain anything from my time. Somehow either Inuyasha or Miroku always found a way to pervert it. Still she couldn't help but feel for the misguided monk.
"Did she have Hiraikotsu?"
"I dunno, but she didn't seem to be in that big of a hurry to use it if she did." The hanyou gave her a knowing look that had her glancing away quickly. "Well you can't blame him. The hentai hasn't been with a woman since before he proposed to Sango. . ."
"He-He what?!" Kagome asked, her shock causing her to skid to halt, and practically tossed Inuyasha into the basket.
"Whoa! Watch it!"
"Are we talking about the same monk? Handsome? Hole in the hand? Likes to grope unwilling women?"
Inuyasha shot her a smirk that had her heart skipping a beat. "One and the same."
"Well it couldn't be for the lack of trying."
"I don't think the pervert's heart is in it anymore," the hanyou guessed. A confused look crossed his handsome features. "Never thought I'd say that."
"But how do you even know he's telling the truth?" Kagome asked warily.
"I never said he told me wench," Inuyasha replied, attention returning to where it was need most. To the ramen beneath him.
Kagome mulled over the boy's strange reply before a large box of pocky caught her eye and she snagged it as they rounded the corner. Shippou’s inevitable whine at the meager offering compared to what she was getting for Inuyasha made her reconsider and she pulled two more off of the shelf.
“No drooling on the food dog-boy,” Kagome ordered when his head threatened to disappear into the depths of the food pile.
“Kit’s going to explode from all those damn sugar sticks,” Inuyasha predicted grouchily, but finally released his hold on his precious snack. She could tell he was irritated when she thoroughly ignored him and swung the heavy cart down another aisle.
This one was full of school supplies and that thought alone was enough to make her groan aloud. She was afraid to even think of what kind of marks she was receiving in her classes since their newfound determination to catch Naraku. The miko snuck a small colorful box of crayons into the cart for Shippou, hoping that Inuyasha wouldn't notice and accuse her of spoiling the child again. "Did you tell everybody when we would be back?"
Inuyasha shrugged. "I didn't know when we would be back. Besides their keeping busy with the demon attack. They better enjoy the rest, because when we do finally get back over-"
"THE WHAT?!"
White fuzzy ears retreated into silvery hair beneath his cap at her bellow. What the hell was she shrieking about? Inuyasha went through his quick mental checklist of potential causes. It usually saved time, and if he was really fast he could make amends before the girl decided to plant his face into the ground.
He hadn't done anything wrong. He hadn't called her out of her name for the past few minutes. He hadn't killed anything today. Had she seen that po-ta-to chip he had snuck while she'd been pretending not to buy more toys for the runt? That couldn't be it. He'd even done his good deed for the century and come back when all he'd wanted to do was kill a few mangy youkai. . .
Youkai.
Damn.
"The demon attack?" he responded hesitantly. "I told you. . . "
"You sure as hell didn't!!" Kagome started towards him at the beginning of his telltale snorts. "Damnit Inuyasha don't you dare laugh!"
Inuyasha shook his head in mock disapproval. "Where the hell did you get that mouth wench?"
"One can only wonder," Kagome snapped through gritted teeth. "Now tell me about the demons."
"Low level and no Naraku to speak of," he explained dismissively. "Nothing to worry about."
Kagome attempted to process what he was saying. A voice in the back of her mind was whispering that she was missing something. Something huge. Youkai attacked and yet Inuyasha was. . . here. Her eyes widened at the revelation. "You came back."
“Keh! I said I would didn't I?" he stated brushing off the comment as it sounded mysteriously familiar to the conversation he had had with the others earlier.
Except the way she said it made his body heat.
Aren’t we done yet?” Inuyasha asked, attention span waning now that all of ramen shopping had been completed.
Kagome actually flushed sheepishly at the question. “Um no, I need to buy some tuna.”
“Tuna?”
“Yeah I kind of promised Kirara that I would bring her some.”
Grateful that Inuyasha for once didn’t question her reasoning, she hurried down the store to the correct aisle and snatched the largest can she could find from the top shelf. “Do you think this will be enough, Inuyasha?”
Silence followed.
“Inuyasha?”
She spun around just in time to see a flash of red disappear around the corner. Crap.
Forsaking her basket in her haste Kagome hurried to catch up. What the heck had gotten into him?
Her groan echoed around the store as she caught sight of his baseball cap covered head inches away from the tile covered floor, sniffing loudly hot on the trail of . . . something. Shoppers dodged the strange looking young man, sending her puzzled looks as she traveled humiliated in his wake.
Sitting him was her first inclination. But that would just raise a whole different set of questions by those surrounding them.
She grit her teeth and hurried on as he turned up yet another aisle. She spun around the corner intent on blistering his ears. No matter how cute they may be. But she paused in confusion as she realized where she was. He had stopped in the most unlikely section. Shelves filled with perfumed bathing products surrounded them on all sides.
"Do you remember when I said you need to attempt to fit in when you go out in public?" Kagome asked as she stalked down the aisle towards the wandering hanyou who was glancing around with a critical eye.
"What the hell does that have to do with anything?” he asked, his tone implying that he didn't really care what her answer was.
"Are you kidding me?"
Inuyasha's nose twitched as he drew closer to one bottle in particular. It was obviously not what he was searching for as his face scrunched up in distaste and he batted the thing away.
Guess I'm paying for that one, Kagome thought with an indulgent sigh.
Finally he stopped in front of one shelf in particular and snatched up the apparent winner. "Inuyasha?" The young man was inspecting the bottle in his hand as though it held the key to defeating Naraku.
He ignored her. Walking slowly towards him, lest he dart off again, her confusion only grew as he popped the cap with a clawed finger and took a long sniff.
"Um what are you doing?"
Kagome finally read the familiar label in his hand. "Hey that's my body wash. Eek!" She squeaked as Inuyasha suddenly buried his face in the sensitive crevice between her neck and shoulder.
The hanyou's hot breath on her skin had her backpedaling quickly until she was pressed against the shelves. He followed effortlessly.
The miko couldn't remember a time that Inuyasha had ever been this close to her and it wasn't out of sheer neccessity. Heart beating wildly, simple speech eluded her.
"I thought I smelled you," Inuyasha finally explained though he didn't alter his position. "but it was that."
He was no longer inhaling curiously, but slowly. Deeply. Heat flooded her face, before it moved steadily lower.
His body was solid and strong against her own sending all types of thoughts through her mind that would have rivaled the naughty mouth the hanyou claimed she was getting.
As though answering her silent prayer, Inuyasha moved a breath closer. No more than a millimeter, but just enough to close the space between them. Flush against him she could almost feel the pounding of his heart against her heaving form.
"Vanilla," he said softly, in a tone that sounded all too much like a tantalizing growl. The rumble it caused in his defined chest, vibrated through her own.
The unfamiliar sensation sent a delicious shiver racing over her and caused her breath to hitch. When she finally remembered that she was indeed human, and did need to breathe she could only manage frantic pants that sounded a little desperate, even to her own ears.
"V-Vanilla?" She was obviously not ready for logical thought, let alone speech, and would be the first one to admit that she had absolutely no clue what he was talking about.
"Vanilla but no cherry blossoms," Inuyasha explained in the same way that made her happy he couldn't see her eyes close in bliss.
She had just given up hope of ever figuring out what he was referring to, when he took another long deep sniff, and froze. Kagome's eyes shot wide as she felt his probing stare. Shocked amber eyes stared into her dazed blue ones.
He lifted his hands that had remained firmly at his sides to grab her forearms and bring her so close that her chin rested on his shoulder. Is he hugging me? The misguided girl didn't understand until Inuyasha took another analyzing sniff, and she went rigid in his arms.
The boy's cocky comment about Miroku’s sex life from earlier finally hit home. "I never said he told me wench."
He can smell . . . that?!
Oh my God.
Mortified, she almost wished he would never let her go so she wouldn't have to look him in the face again. He knows that I . . . She couldn't even voice it in her own mind.
Kami! He'd never let her live it down. That was if he wasn't completely disgusted by the idea of actually having to admit it aloud. What the heck was she supposed to do now?
A brief wet flicker against her sensitized skin made her gasp. A reflex unknown to Kagome caused her to buck sensuously against him before jerking still. D-Did he just lick me?!
"Um hi, Kagome."
And that was how they found them.
Locked together against the shelves, gasping for air against each others awakening bodies.
Both went rigid at the dainty voice. Kagome groaned as another was not far behind. "K-Kagome?" I should have known that where Yuka was Eri was probably not far behind.
Kagome spun out of the hanyou's embrace to face her startled friends. All three of them. Of course they all had to be here to make my humiliation complete. At least Hojo hadn't popped out of somewhere offering her some homebrewed remedy to soothe her flushed skin.
Yuka and Eri were staring at her as though she had grown another head, and Ayumi was stealing glances at Inuyasha as if considering the ramifications of getting a bad-boy of her own.
"Um hi!" Kagome echoed, her shrill tone grating on Inuyasha's ears, and not sounding remotely comfortable.
"Hi Inuyasha," Ayumi greeted shyly and blushed rather prettily when the boy sent her a nod in return.
"We missed you at school today," Yuka started, giving Inuyasha an accusatory glare knowing that somehow he was responsible.
The half demon sent her one right back, but his had been honed with a couple of centuries worth of practice, and the schoolgirl retreated a few steps at the look.
Kagome elbowed him in the ribs in warning, before answering. "Yeah I know, we just got back today."
"We?" Eri chirped sweetly, not missing that part of the comment.
Kagome fumbled for words at her clumsy mistake. Great, just great. "Uh huh, Inuyasha gave me a ride back." In a manner of speaking.
"So you're feeling better then?" Ayumi asked hopefully, bringing the first real smile to Kagome's face.
"Much," she informed them.
"That's great," Yuka congratulated, still keeping a worried eye on Kagome's testy companion. "We were worried that you would miss graduation. It's only a few weeks away."
"Never!" Kagome assured them. And she meant it. She didn't care how many times she'd have to explain it Inuyasha or osuwari him. She was going to graduation and that was that.
Inuyasha lifted his heavy mane of silvery hair out of the way to scratch the area where the irritating cap fit snugly onto his head, and unknowingly held the three schoolgirls transfixed in the process.
Kagome smiled at her friends’ reactions. She'd been like that at first too. Mesmerized by almost every little thing the hanyou did. His mannerisms were strange, but his appearance alone had caused her to lose her train of thought a million times.
"Inuyasha, where did you say you were from?" Eri asked hesitantly, attempting to place the honey colored eyes and pale hair on her mental map.
Whoa! Better stop that line of questioning. "Inuyasha didn't you need to-" Inuyasha cut her off mid-sentence.
"I'm going to get some more po-ta-to chips, wench," he stated simply turning away from the group, who were left gasping from his reference.
Not exactly subtle, but it works.
The small group watched him stride purposefully away from them, before his words finally registered. Wait a minute. "Inuyasha, I already got chips earlier."
Rounding the corner quickly, he chose that time to confess. "Yeah, well they didn't make it."
She rolled her eyes at his comment and returned her attention to her friends. Even Ayumi looked taken aback. "Um Kagome, did your boyfriend just call you a wench?" Eri questioned skeptically.
Kagome hastily tried to think of a way to explain the comment without embarrassing herself or making Inuyasha out to be an even worse candidate in their eyes. "It's a cultural thing you know," she commented vaguely, hoping her answer didn't bring them right back to the question she couldn't answer. Where exactly Inuyasha was from.
They didn't question her answer and the girl instinctively dodge the jumbo bag of chips Inuyasha pitched into the basket he'd retrieved upon his return. He pulled out a tiny bag of the same snack and added it to the pile.
"So your kit won't try and steal any of mine," Inuyasha explained at her questioning glance. Firmly placing his foot into his mouth yet again.
"Her what?" Yuka asked in confusion.
Great! Kagome snatched the first thing she saw off of the shelf, a magazine, and handed it to Inuyasha to occupy himself. In hopes that he would stay silent until this little encounter was over.
"Just a little nickname I call my friend Shippou."
"Shippou?" Ayumi tested the name slowly. "You're friends sure have some exotic names."
"Is he half too?" Eri asked curiously.
"Um no."
"So who is he?" Yuka prodded.
"Kagome's kit," Inuyasha repeated as though sure the girls were either deaf or dumb.
Thanks Inuyasha. "Read the magazine, Inuyasha," Kagome ordered sweetly, before attempting to field that one.
"I kind of take care of him."
"You mean like a mother?" Ayumi asked with a small smile, but the other two girls’ eyes had widened to the size of saucers. They waited patiently for their friend to answer.
"Kagome . . ." Inuyasha started hesitantly.
She ignored him in hopes he would get the hint to stay quiet. "Um yeah, a little like a mother I guess." They were staring at her as though finally seeing the Kagome she had been trying to hide for the past two years. A young woman living a life that they knew almost absolutely nothing about.
"K-Kagome?" Inuyasha repeated again more urgently.
No such luck.
"Yes, Inuyasha?" Could this get any worse?
"Where the fuck are all these womens’ clothes?!"
The frazzled girl glanced at the book the flushed young man was holding in his clawed hands. He flipped another page and obviously shocked himself into dropping the book into the cart. Swimsuit edition, great.
And on that note Kagome latched onto her hanyou and the basket and beat a hasty retreat to the nearest exit.
**~**~**~**~**~**~**~**~**~**~**~**~**~**~**~**~**~**~**
"Miroku-sama incoming! Hiraikotsu!" Sango uttered the words before letting loose her ferocious attack. The bone boomerang flew over the ducking houshi's head to decapitate a descending bird demon. The youkai uttered a final screech before plummeting the short distance to the ground below.
"Watch out for the poison claws!" She warned Shippou, before leaping back into the fray. The kit was shooting off blasts of foxfire from behind the safety of Kirara's transformed body protecting the surviving villagers. They huddled behind the small youkai, hoping for an end to their nightmare.
Their prayer was answered a moment later. The agile taijiya cleaved another youkai in half, narrowly missing the deadly appendages. "Aim for the claws," Miroku advised.
Trusting the houshi instinctively she aimed her weapon at two of the remaining five bird youkai and heaved it into the sky. Both youkai screeched in anger as their poisonous claws were separated from them permanently. Sango smirked as she caught the familiar weight of the weapon and sent Hiraikotsu after the remaining three.
Focused on her target she disregarded the first two and only remebered their existence when she heard Shippou's panicked warning. "Sango!"
The demon slayer heard the hurried clinking of Miroku's staff before her feet were knocked from beneath her. "Umff!" They went rolling along the rough earth, Sango trapped within Miroku's embrace. The bird's strike so close that their hair flew wildly and the feather-soft tips of the wings brushed their faces.
Sango smiled a bit at her breathless savior. "Time for a little clean up?" she suggested sheepishly.
The monk rolled regretfully off of her soft body and unwrapped the rosary from around his palm. "At your service," he replied with a small bow, before turning to the remaining horde. The toxic parts eliminated, he was free to finish them off. "Kazaana!"
The bottomless void opened and the villagers watched in stupefied awe as the youkai struggled against the unforgiving current, then submitted, before being sucked away into silence.
Miroku wrapped the holy beads back into place before helping Sango from her resting place in the dirt. "Hah!" Shippou yelled, amusing the pair with his impromptu victory dance executed astride Kirara's back. "Who needs Inuyasha anyways? Ahh!"
The kitsune tumbled unexpectedly to the earth as Kirara reverted to her smaller, more human-friendly state. The younger women of the village looked entranced as the adorable neko-youkai scampered up Sango's shoulder to nuzzle against her cheek.
A haggard looking older man stepped forward hesitantly and approached the small group. "Thank you so much, strangers. You've surely saved our village from certain destruction."
Sango and Miroku bowed before the village leader, accepting his hearty words of appreciation. A younger version of the man stepped forward as well with a girl who could be no more than eight traveling in his wake. He placed a comforting hand on his father's shoulder before thanking them also. "Kami must have sent you to us, as we do not possess the skills to defend ourselves from youkai."
The little girl peeked from around her father's legs. She seemed more fascinated with the fuzzy yellow cat youkai than the villige's apparent saviors.
"It was no trouble, we assure you," Miroku conceded, "most people do not know the ways of youkai."
The man jumped visibly as Kirara hopped from her perch on Sango's shoulder to land effortless on the head of the small child. He appeared slightly uncomfortably, but returned to the conversation as his daughter giggled in delight.
"Then we are most fortunate to have met you when we did. I am Kanaye and this is my father Hiroshi, and the little one is known as Suki" he introduced. "My father is the leader of this village."
"At least what's left of it," the older man whispered dismally. "Much needs to be done after this atrocity."
"We've never had to worry about youkai before, you understand," Kanaye explained quietly. "We live at the base of the mountain where a mighty taijiya tribe inhabited. But a few years ago they were massacred as well. I suppose no one is safe."
Miroku glanced at Sango at the man's words. She hadn't reacted visibly to the comment but he could tell she was effected. The houshi struggled to find a way to banish her dark thoughts.
"Inuyasha and Kagome won't be back for a few days," he started. "What do you think about staying around here for a while and helping these people get their village resituated? Maybe teach them a few ways that they can defend against a youkai attack?"
Sango seemed to be thinking the idea over intently. For once taking a break in the search for Naraku didn't seem like such a horrible idea. In fact it might be just what she needed if she was serious about her earlier vow to herself. "Sounds good, houshi-sama, but only until Inuyasha and Kagome return."
"Of course," Miroku assured her before turning towards the shocked villagers. "That's only if this arrangement would be alright with you."
From the looks of their faces, it was more than ok with Kanaye, but it was his father who responded. "You would stay and help us?"
"If you wished it."
"Then welcome!" the man said enthusiastically, smiling hesitantly for the first time in their meeting. Kanaye was already beaming, drawing the pair forward before they changed their minds. The villagers cheered around them, offering what little they had as comfort to the formidable newcomers.
Shippou scrambled up Miroku's shoulder to sit next to the monk's ear, rolling his eyes as he stole a glance at some of the fawning young women. He'd probably be slapped more than once, before the night ended. Shippou already had his sights set on the lovely Suki, and with a little help from the fire-cat he thought he might just have a shot.
Sango ignored the irritating males next to her as she knew their obvious ulterior motives. Miroku hadn't propositioned anyone yet, but she wouldn't put it past the hentai. And if Shippou kept leaning any further to catch glances of village leader‘s granddaughter, then he'd tumble right off of the monk's shoulder.
She let their behavior go as she had ulterior motives of her own. Though none quite so lecherous. Sango needed to find out for herself exactly how hard it was to rebuild a place that had been devastated by youkai.
She tensed and fought off a blush as Miroku threw a familiar arm around her shoulders. As long as the cursed hand didn't travel she would refrain from retaliating. Maybe.
Sango attempted a warning glare, but was surprised by his pensive stare. "W-What?"
"Just wondering about what you said earlier," he explained. When she shot him her most clueless look he sighed. "About the way I make you feel," he elaborated.
Her face grew hot as she remembered the words she'd mistakenly uttered moments before Inuyasha had returned. "So how do I make you feel?" Miroku asked, his behaving hands belying his seriousness.
The kit on his shoulder interrupted with fake gagging noises that resulted in Sango swiping him from his seat on Miroku's shoulder in embarrassment. He ignored Shippou's plight and waited for answer.
Sango gave up any pretense of being able to save her pride and sighed. "You make me feel. . . .safe."
Miroku hadn't the slightest clue to if he'd been insulted or complimented. She'd said the word slowly as though not entirely familiar with it or the effects of her statement.
The girl dislodged his arm and moved gracefully into the crowd leaving the confused houshi behind, giving him an ample view of what he stood to gain if the answer was the latter.
"Watch out for the poison claws!" She warned Shippou, before leaping back into the fray. The kit was shooting off blasts of foxfire from behind the safety of Kirara's transformed body protecting the surviving villagers. They huddled behind the small youkai, hoping for an end to their nightmare.
Their prayer was answered a moment later. The agile taijiya cleaved another youkai in half, narrowly missing the deadly appendages. "Aim for the claws," Miroku advised.
Trusting the houshi instinctively she aimed her weapon at two of the remaining five bird youkai and heaved it into the sky. Both youkai screeched in anger as their poisonous claws were separated from them permanently. Sango smirked as she caught the familiar weight of the weapon and sent Hiraikotsu after the remaining three.
Focused on her target she disregarded the first two and only remebered their existence when she heard Shippou's panicked warning. "Sango!"
The demon slayer heard the hurried clinking of Miroku's staff before her feet were knocked from beneath her. "Umff!" They went rolling along the rough earth, Sango trapped within Miroku's embrace. The bird's strike so close that their hair flew wildly and the feather-soft tips of the wings brushed their faces.
Sango smiled a bit at her breathless savior. "Time for a little clean up?" she suggested sheepishly.
The monk rolled regretfully off of her soft body and unwrapped the rosary from around his palm. "At your service," he replied with a small bow, before turning to the remaining horde. The toxic parts eliminated, he was free to finish them off. "Kazaana!"
The bottomless void opened and the villagers watched in stupefied awe as the youkai struggled against the unforgiving current, then submitted, before being sucked away into silence.
Miroku wrapped the holy beads back into place before helping Sango from her resting place in the dirt. "Hah!" Shippou yelled, amusing the pair with his impromptu victory dance executed astride Kirara's back. "Who needs Inuyasha anyways? Ahh!"
The kitsune tumbled unexpectedly to the earth as Kirara reverted to her smaller, more human-friendly state. The younger women of the village looked entranced as the adorable neko-youkai scampered up Sango's shoulder to nuzzle against her cheek.
A haggard looking older man stepped forward hesitantly and approached the small group. "Thank you so much, strangers. You've surely saved our village from certain destruction."
Sango and Miroku bowed before the village leader, accepting his hearty words of appreciation. A younger version of the man stepped forward as well with a girl who could be no more than eight traveling in his wake. He placed a comforting hand on his father's shoulder before thanking them also. "Kami must have sent you to us, as we do not possess the skills to defend ourselves from youkai."
The little girl peeked from around her father's legs. She seemed more fascinated with the fuzzy yellow cat youkai than the villige's apparent saviors.
"It was no trouble, we assure you," Miroku conceded, "most people do not know the ways of youkai."
The man jumped visibly as Kirara hopped from her perch on Sango's shoulder to land effortless on the head of the small child. He appeared slightly uncomfortably, but returned to the conversation as his daughter giggled in delight.
"Then we are most fortunate to have met you when we did. I am Kanaye and this is my father Hiroshi, and the little one is known as Suki" he introduced. "My father is the leader of this village."
"At least what's left of it," the older man whispered dismally. "Much needs to be done after this atrocity."
"We've never had to worry about youkai before, you understand," Kanaye explained quietly. "We live at the base of the mountain where a mighty taijiya tribe inhabited. But a few years ago they were massacred as well. I suppose no one is safe."
Miroku glanced at Sango at the man's words. She hadn't reacted visibly to the comment but he could tell she was effected. The houshi struggled to find a way to banish her dark thoughts.
"Inuyasha and Kagome won't be back for a few days," he started. "What do you think about staying around here for a while and helping these people get their village resituated? Maybe teach them a few ways that they can defend against a youkai attack?"
Sango seemed to be thinking the idea over intently. For once taking a break in the search for Naraku didn't seem like such a horrible idea. In fact it might be just what she needed if she was serious about her earlier vow to herself. "Sounds good, houshi-sama, but only until Inuyasha and Kagome return."
"Of course," Miroku assured her before turning towards the shocked villagers. "That's only if this arrangement would be alright with you."
From the looks of their faces, it was more than ok with Kanaye, but it was his father who responded. "You would stay and help us?"
"If you wished it."
"Then welcome!" the man said enthusiastically, smiling hesitantly for the first time in their meeting. Kanaye was already beaming, drawing the pair forward before they changed their minds. The villagers cheered around them, offering what little they had as comfort to the formidable newcomers.
Shippou scrambled up Miroku's shoulder to sit next to the monk's ear, rolling his eyes as he stole a glance at some of the fawning young women. He'd probably be slapped more than once, before the night ended. Shippou already had his sights set on the lovely Suki, and with a little help from the fire-cat he thought he might just have a shot.
Sango ignored the irritating males next to her as she knew their obvious ulterior motives. Miroku hadn't propositioned anyone yet, but she wouldn't put it past the hentai. And if Shippou kept leaning any further to catch glances of village leader‘s granddaughter, then he'd tumble right off of the monk's shoulder.
She let their behavior go as she had ulterior motives of her own. Though none quite so lecherous. Sango needed to find out for herself exactly how hard it was to rebuild a place that had been devastated by youkai.
She tensed and fought off a blush as Miroku threw a familiar arm around her shoulders. As long as the cursed hand didn't travel she would refrain from retaliating. Maybe.
Sango attempted a warning glare, but was surprised by his pensive stare. "W-What?"
"Just wondering about what you said earlier," he explained. When she shot him her most clueless look he sighed. "About the way I make you feel," he elaborated.
Her face grew hot as she remembered the words she'd mistakenly uttered moments before Inuyasha had returned. "So how do I make you feel?" Miroku asked, his behaving hands belying his seriousness.
The kit on his shoulder interrupted with fake gagging noises that resulted in Sango swiping him from his seat on Miroku's shoulder in embarrassment. He ignored Shippou's plight and waited for answer.
Sango gave up any pretense of being able to save her pride and sighed. "You make me feel. . . .safe."
Miroku hadn't the slightest clue to if he'd been insulted or complimented. She'd said the word slowly as though not entirely familiar with it or the effects of her statement.
The girl dislodged his arm and moved gracefully into the crowd leaving the confused houshi behind, giving him an ample view of what he stood to gain if the answer was the latter.
Author's Notes
I want to thank all the readers for their patience! I love this story and you will be seing a lot more of it in the future. It's so tired of being neglected. Lemme know what you guys think. I tried to make a longer chapter to make up for the horribly long delay. Please check out my other work in the meantime. It's your comments and emails that keep me going.
* * Blanket Disclaimer: Inuyasha's mine? Keh! I wish! I'm just borrowing `em.**
I want to thank all the readers for their patience! I love this story and you will be seing a lot more of it in the future. It's so tired of being neglected. Lemme know what you guys think. I tried to make a longer chapter to make up for the horribly long delay. Please check out my other work in the meantime. It's your comments and emails that keep me going.
* * Blanket Disclaimer: Inuyasha's mine? Keh! I wish! I'm just borrowing `em.**