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Chapter Text

What had started out as a cheerful enough day had really taken a nose dive after lunch.

Kagome  sullenly glanced down at the leg she had hastily wrapped only minutes before. Unfortunately,  blood was already faintly showing through the torn blue cloth that had once been part of her kimono. But there was nothing more she could do about it. There was no time.

"Which way did she go?!" shouted a rough male voice from overhead.

The girl pushed herself more firmly against the niche she was hidden in, closing her eyes tight and praying with everything she had that the bandits wouldn't look over the side of the cliff that they stood on. Otherwise, it would all be over.

"Don't know, but she couldn'ta gotten far, c'mon!" boomed another bandit.

"Spread out! Comb the area!"

She heard heavy footfalls all over the place from above and realized that even if they were stupid enough to not check for her here she would still never be able to get back up on her own. She was effectively trapped.

 Kagome looked for some way down Instead. The cliff loomed over a giant forest. There would be nobody for miles around to ask for help... But under her current circumstances she couldn't afford to be too trusting anyway.

Then she saw it in the light of the sunset, a tiny path along the rock descending down the cliff.

Despite her run-in with the bandits, it seemed luck was favoring her again. If only for the moment. But if she stayed put, that moment would pass. There was a ridge right beneath her that connected to it, But it was a drop off to get there.

She didn't know what she should be more afraid of, trusting her bad leg to not buckle beneath her in the wrong way and send her off the cliff, or the drop making too much noise and alerting the bandits. Still, she couldn't wait here for them to leave and climb back up, and she wouldn't wait for them to find her. That little ridge was her only way out.

A crash of thunder in the distance made her look up in horror. 'So much for luck?! It was already going to be dark soon and now it's going to rain too?'

Quickly tightening the little bundle on her back, Kagome grit her teeth and steeled herself. She had to get a move on fast. Her opportunity to escape was passing far sooner than she'd expected.

The girl sat down with her legs over the side of her ridge she'd been hiding on and turned herself around as she slowly edged off until she was just holding on with her hands dangling from the cliff reaching her toes to try to find the rock beneath her.

But she knew it would be no use. She'd have to drop.

"Ohhhh," she moaned more quietly than a whisper. "If I was just a little taller..."

She hesitated. If she lost her balance from the drop and fell backward from this height it meant certain death. She gulped, her heart pounding in her chest with fear, and clung to the rock a little tighter, looking up above where the bandits remained searching for her.

But at least... if she fell to her death she would still escape the fate that waited for her up there.

Letting go of the breath she'd been holding, her hands released the ledge and her feet rapidly hit the ground beneath her, stumbling forward into the wall of the cliff. She quickly stifled her cry of pain with her hands and crumbled to her knees on the more generous rock surface. It took her a few moments to regain herself. Still wincing and reaching down to clutch her right leg to numb the pain. She listened above for a sign that they'd heard her. But if anything it sounded like the bandits were drawing away from the cliffside.

'Please, Just a little more,' she urged herself, looking back at the forest.

She took the opportunity to rest for a moment before making the descent and examined her wound again. The bloodstain was darker now.

Maybe she could find some herbs to treat it in the forest below if she got down quickly enough? The sun was still up after all.

But with a storm fast approaching and in unfamiliar territory that hope felt foolish.

She shakily got to her bare feet and started to creep down the ledge as quickly and carefully as she could with her trembling hands on the wall of the cliff guiding her. The wounded leg made the trip down slower than she would have liked but the ridge was wide enough for a girl her size to walk along easily enough otherwise.

She had nearly reached the bottom of the cliff when she heard a voice up above call out, "Look, she's down there!"

She glanced up horror-stricken and saw a bandit glaring down at her from the top of the cliff.

"Quick she's getting away!" he shouted back toward his comrades.

Without a second thought, Kagome scrambled the rest of the way down and jumped the five-foot distance to the ground below. The fall made her stagger and fall to her hands and knees roughly in the tall grass. But in half a second, she took off into the trees as quickly as she could, the sounds of men shouting growing louder behind her.

(-)

Inuyasha had already settled into his secluded cave for the night when the rain started to pour and the lightning started to crash outside. He sat by the entrance of his hiding place patiently awaiting the new moon when he heard the sound of something clumsily running through the rain and falling right beneath his position. He glanced out warily through the brush of the tree that hid the cave entrance. And there in the darkness of the storm and the heavy rain, he saw a girl. She had collapsed to her hands and knees in the mud outside, nearly choking for air as if she had run for miles.

He looked at the human intruder cautiously. 'Did she mean to find me here or was this a coincidence?' He wondered watching her struggle to breathe. 'Is she in some kind of trouble?'

He inhaled deeply.

The smell of blood and sweat reached him faintly through the rain. He inhaled again and this time, her sweet natural scent came to him along with the scent of tears.

He watched as she struggled to get to her feet shivering with the painful effort, or the cold of the rain, or both.

Stubbornly she got up and limped slowly with great effort towards the nearest tree and sat down under it properly huddling herself against the trunk and resting. She was absolutely drenched. Her hair and clothes were plastered to her body. She looked miserable.

Shakily she reached down to tend to a badly wrapped leg wound that was soaked with blood.

She loosened the wraps to glance at the wound with an expression he couldnt make out. Shakily, she pulled the bandage off and held it under the rain to wash the blood and dirt away. His senses must have indeed dulled to have only now noticed the smell of so much blood when it had been coming closer.

Now he was sure she was in trouble. But still, he hesitated. He could feel his senses fade even as he watched her.

Should he save a perfect stranger and risk revealing his night of weakness? Or let her die feet away from a dry cave when he could have helped her?

Struggling with where his morals should stand in this odd situation, he watched her with rapt attention. 

She washed the strip of cloth the best she could in the rain and with trembling fingers brought it back under the somewhat drier shade of the tree.

Risk himself? Or let a seemingly helpless girl die right in front of him?

She wrung out the dirty cloth and clumsily re-wrapped her wound. Just as she had finished, he heard the sound of others coming closer. Heavy footsteps and men's voices.

Apparently, she heard them too. Her head jerked up and she looked around fearfully.

Inuyasha stared transfixed as she quickly fought to her feet only to stagger backward against the tree uttering out a soft cry of pain. She tried to stand again and once more she collapsed. This time to her hands and knees on the roots of the tree. She didn't get up a third time. There was a long pause as it finally seemed to soak in that she couldn't run any further and then she lowered her head and sobbed softly.

Inuyasha couldn't bring himself to just watch anymore. Dispite all his suspicion and logic, his conscience stabbed at his heart too sharply. He could only damn his human heart for being too soft if this ended up badly. But just this once...

Leaping down from his cave to a tree branch and then the ground, the icy cold of the rain did little to distract him from his current undertaking. He took a step toward the prone girl and then another.

'I can't just let her get dragged off or die.'

At his third step, the girl froze and slowly started to lift her head up.

Clear blue eyes met his gray with an open mixture of pleading, heartfelt sorrow, dread and a slew of other emotions he couldn't have possibly described. But she also stayed still.

He knelt down bracing his knee against one of the tree roots beside her. "I'm not going to hurt you," he murmured. The voices of the other men were coming closer. He had to do this quickly and quietly.

Her expression shifted to surprised then to hopeful.

"Y-You're not one... of them?"

"No, And we don't have long. They're coming this way."

"I-I can't keep going," she told him miserably.

"You don't need to. If you trust me I can save you," he responded hurriedly.

She paused and really looked at him.

He heard a branch crack closer than before. She heard it too. Terror broke out over her face as she looked into the distance at her approaching hunter.

"Just trust me," he pled.

She looked back at him with determination. "Okay," she whispered.

He smiled at her encouragingly and reached forward, gently scooping an arm under her knees and around her back, tugging her against his chest. She curled herself towards his warmth, shivering. Inuyasha felt a tiny jolt of protectiveness hit him as he lifted her up and quietly ran back to the tree. He had to climb to get back into the cave, And it would be a challenge getting her up there in his human form but he was confident in his ability. He shifted the frozen and weak girl to his back and ordered her to hold on tight for as long as she could. She obliged meekly, locking her arms around his neck and burying her face in his hair in her retreat from the rain.

He had a little trouble getting up the tree with her clinging to him. But once he got high enough he easily slipped them both into the cave and dropped her off away from the entrance. He watched the clearing for activity from the safety of their hiding place.

The figures of two men indeed entered the clearing. Also doubtlessly soaked and tired. But they merely glanced around the clearing and moved on. The dark and the rain made it impossible for them to track her to the cave.

The lightning crashed not far away and the bandits jumped at the sound grumbling as they left. "Damned boss and his damn orders."

Inuyasha watched them go carefully. He would have to double check for them in the morning. But for the moment... He glanced back inside the cave at the soaked girl. She was huddled against a wall of the cave shivering. Well... For better or worse He was stuck with her now.

He approached slowly, as if afraid to startle her.

"T-Thank you," she stammered out between lightly chattering teeth as he got close.

"...You're welcome," he responded hesitantly. Would she have trusted him this far if she'd known he was a half-demon? Would she still thank him in the morning when she saw what he really was?

"W-What's your name?" she asked softly.

"...Inu... yasha," he replied even as he mentally grimaced.

She either didn't notice that his name meant dog demon or she just didn't care. Because she didn't comment on it either way.

"I-I'm K-Kagome," she stuttered back from her huddled position in the dark.

"Look... Kagome... I know you're cold but I can't start a fire..." He hesitated probably for a whole minute before he finished what he needed to say.

"But... I'll turn away and you can take off the wet clothes. I'll loan you some of mine."

"O-Okay," she responded weakly. He nodded and quickly walked back to his former spot by the entrance of the cave sporting a bright blush.

"Okay, you can strip," he told her, fighting down his embarrassment at the situation.

With an agonizingly slow pace, she peeled off her clothes and laid them out on a rock as he waited.

Inuyasha concentrated on the sounds of the storm and the humans yelling at each other and stumbling around the woods as they grew further and further away.

'Why are they chasing this girl through a thunderstorm at night?' he wondered with some confusion. 'Did she steal something?'

"Done," she murmured wearily.

Without looking back He silently took off his outer kisode then the inner one and threw the dry inner kisode back to her. "Sorry, it's not much."

Thankfully putting on the kisode took almost no time at all.

"Done," she repeated as she slid back to the ground. He glanced back at her in the dark of the cave. But with only his pitiful human vision he didn't really see much.

He could see her outline and the white of his kisode but mostly he just noticed How hard she was breathing. Even as a human, he could hear her heavy uneven breaths. He quietly watched the girl's form as she shakily gathered up her hair and started wringing it out.

Her wound she had tried to treat earlier came into focus somewhat. The dirty makeshift bandage was still in place. If it wasn't treated soon it would get infected. But he didn't have anything to treat it with here.

As she finished wringing out her hair she laid back against the rock wall exhausted.

"Alright, why were those men chasing you?" he asked gruffly.

"They were bandits I think," she explained weakly. "They caught me on the road."

"And they kept chasing you through here? In the middle of this?" he asked suspiciously.

"Down a cliff too," she added to his astonishment. "I've been trying to get away from them since midday."

"Did you steal something from them?"

"I stole nothing but myself," she snorted wearily.

With a sigh, he knelt down across from her and offered his outer haori as well. It was still a little damp but it was drying fast. "Here."

She reached out and took the cloth draping it over her shoulders like a blanket. "Thanks..." she murmured again.

"No problem," he responded before rising to his feet. "I've got a spot in the back where you can sleep. It's not much but it's warm."

She nodded and tried to get up to her feet but she trembled and looked like she would fall any moment.

"Here," he murmured, offering his arm.

She took it gratefully and leaned against his side as he led her to his pile of furs in the back.

"...So how did you hurt your leg?"

"The bandits did it right after they caught me so I wouldn't be able to run. But wounded or not I wasn't about to let them rape me. I ran anyway while they weren't looking."

"You've got a lot of guts."

She uttered a soft "Yeah I guess." And nodded in the dark. When they reached the back of the cave he led her gently to a haphazardly stacked pile of furs he mostly just kept for winter.

"Here, Go to sleep. I won't bother you or anything," he murmured.

"Okay... "she answered, then abruptly she turned to face him and gave a tired smile.

"Thank you again for saving me, Inuyasha. I won't forget it."

He looked away as quickly as he could manage, fighting against a blush that was working hard to be seen even in the dark.

"Really, Don't worry about it," he managed.

She seemed to nod and then she released his arm and eased herself into the pile of furs. There, she made herself comfortable and quickly passed out.

He looked back at the entrance of the cave and sighed to himself, rubbing his upper arms to fight back the chill. Human nights were always rough, and he hadn't expected to sleep tonight anyway. But it was still wet, cold and miserable to have to wait through. At least he wouldn't have to worry about getting sick later.

Silently, Inuyasha pulled a spare pelt from the pileup and pulled it around his shoulders awkwardly.

He glanced at the girl sleeping not a foot away.

With his weak human vision, he couldn't even make out her shape while she laid under the furs. But earlier he had caught her scent and seen her to a degree.

He didn't know what to make of her. 'What does she mean she won't forget? Does she intend to repay me somehow?'

He snorted and turned back to the rain. Maybe she did intend to repay him now, but that tune was going to change once she realized what he really was.

He sighed wearily. She was probably going to scream or throw something at him or flinch away from him... And if she did, he'd leave her the hell alone. He'd gone into this knowing there would be no reward and no genuine thanks once day broke. But if she didn't freak out... Well, she would probably need help a little longer, and he had already helped her this much. Might as well finish the job.

Again, he couldn't help but glance at the girl. This time a little longer than before. He might not have been able to see her but he could still feel her presence beside him like a torch in the night.

It was strange having a girl sleeping so close to him... And beyond strange was that she was sleeping next to him wearing only his clothes, on his bed of fur. The same fur he'd hunted for and dried. It brought a range of emotions he couldn't hope to indulge in.

Maybe if she didn't start screaming the moment she saw him the next day... Then maybe he would explore those emotions. But for now, he settled in for a long moonless night.

Chapter Text

Kagome came awake slowly, At first only aware that her whole body felt sore and her stomach was gnawing at her.

She opened her eyes and saw red cloth and a variety of fur wrapped around her. She blinked at the unfamiliar sight and stared at the cloth in a daze. She brushed her fingers against it lightly. It felt a little like linen but softer.

'I don't have any blankets like this,' she thought, slowly shaking off her dreams.

"You finally awake?" asked a gruff man's voice suddenly.

Her eyes flew wide and she suddenly remembered where she was and how she had gotten here from yesterday's chase.

"Yes!" she replied as she rapidly sat up. Still, she clung to the strange man's haori against the chilly morning air.

"Good. I was starting to wonder if you were just gonna sleep all day," he replied grumpily.

She looked towards the voice by the entrance of the cave and felt herself freeze up in shock.

"D-Didn't you have black hair yesterday?" she asked meekly.

His shoulders tensed. "Yes, I did," he replied shortly.

He didn't seem... Alarmed by the change. So was this normal?

"But now it's white?" she asked uncertainly.

"Obviously."

"I'm sorry, I-It's just... You surprised me... That's all."

He flicked an ear back at her guilty tone and muttered "Keh," as if to say whatever. But the second his ear moved, her eyes became transfixed to the top of his head.

In a moment, she briefly struggled to her feet and limped over close to him.

He didn't turn to face her but his ears followed her movement intently. If she had been paying more attention she would have seen him tense up again.

He was just about to jerk around and snap at her when he felt her grab his ears and gently but firmly tug on them.

"Are your ears real?" she asked with a tone of amazement before he could get his bearings on the situation.

He pushed her hands away and jumped out of the cave into the tree to glare at her.

"Of course, they're fucking real!" he snapped angrily. "What the hell did you think?!"

At this, she just smiled at him. "Oooh! I get it, you're a demon right?"

"Half-demon you idiot!" he snapped back irritably.

"Half-demon?" she parroted quizzically. "What's the other half then?"

"Human! Anybody with half a brain would'a figured that much out just lookin at me."

"Well excuse me! You're the first real half demon I've ever met."

"Well, we ain't exactly walking around human villages for fun," he growled back.

"Exactly!" she snapped righteously. "So how am I supposed to know?"

He narrowed his eyes at her and growled from his branch but said nothing.

She let out a frustrated snort in return and turned from him, limping to the back of the cave. "Kami even knows what I did to deserve the last twenty-four hours," she grumbled angrily.

He said nothing as she picked up her clothes and inspected them.

The girl let out another frustrated sound and shook the cloth. Inuyasha heard water splatter lightly across the wall of the cave and waited to see what she would do.

She considered the cloth for awhile with her expression shifting from anger to acceptance, and then something else. Confusion.

She turned to face him with a puzzled expression.

"What?!" he snapped.

"Why did you save me last night?"

His eyes widened for a fraction of a second. Just long enough for her to wonder if she'd imagined it. She was about twelve feet away from him, it was hard to be sure.

"I'm obviously making you uncomfortable," she continued. "So why bother saving me?"

"Maybe because I'm not a monster?!" he shot back sourly.

"I wasn't saying that you are. But... I have a feeling I saw something last night you don't want others to know about."

He narrowed his eyes twofold but said nothing.

She searched his face calmly. "Would it make you feel better if I swear to never tell anyone?" she asked. "You did save me, it would be pretty heartless to repay you by running off and telling everyone your secrets."

His expression softened back to neutral, But his silence didn't answer her questions.

"Or Am I completely off the mark here?" she asked, giving her clothes another good shake.

She glanced back as he watched her probingly.

Finally, he uttered in a darkly conspiratorial voice, "If you tell ANYONE what you saw last night I'll just have to kill you."

She shrugged and rolled her eyes. "Fair enough, how much should I keep a secret?" she asked almost playfully sarcastic. "Just last night? Or my meeting you entirely?"

"You never met me at all," he told her coldly.

"Fine," she replied shortly. "Now turn around, I need to change."

"Into that?!" He asked incredulously, looking back at her soaked robes.

"Well, I hardly have a choice if I never met you," she replied wryly. "I'm sure you'd like your clothes back."

He growled again. "If you wear that soaking mess you'll get sick and die," he prophesied grimly.

"I won't die," she dryly responded.

"You might!" he snapped back.

"Well then what do you propose?" she asked irritably. This guy was wearing on her nerves fast. What did he expect her to do? Leave with his clothes?! She was trying to be considerate. He HAD saved her life after all, She owed him at least enough to not yell at him even if he was being difficult. But she could feel her patience shrivel some with every cold offensive thing he said.

He seemed to take a moment and sighed. When he opened his eyes again he looked a little calmer.

"Just hang it up to dry and I'll find us something to eat," he grumbled in resignation.

She blinked at that. "Really? Because you don't seem like you want me around."

"Look, I'm trying to be nice! Either accept it or don't, I don't care!" he snapped.

At this, she gave him a sly half grin and then shrugged. "Okay, you win," she conceded.

He snorted in return. Then watched as she gathered up her things and limped towards the entrance where he sat nearby. As she approached, her scent betrayed her attitude. Her wound was serious for a human. He looked away from her, out at the forest. If he left her to fend for herself she would likely die. She needed a healer...

"Do you think you could help me hang them?" she asked, suddenly snapping him out of his thoughts.

She had her wet clothes in her hand extended towards him. "Please?" she finished softly.

"Feh," he answered, snatching her clothes away and jumping to a suitable branch.

"Thank you!" she said smiling.

His only reply was to give her a dirty look. As if her thanking him was meant to be sarcastic. 'How can she act so damn happy at a time like this?' he wondered irritably.

"So how do you get down?" she suddenly asked, looking down from her perch at the edge of the cave curiously.

"YOU don't," he replied. "You are going to wait up here where bandits and wolves can't reach you while I grab the food."

"Oh."

"Just take a nap or something. You said you ran for most of the day yesterday right? That's pretty impressive for a weak little human. So rest while you have the chance because I'm not going easy on you later."

"Later?" she asked looking dumbstruck.

"Well, I can't leave you out HERE," he snorted, shaking out her inner kisode one more time before hanging it roughly over the branch. "I figure I'll take you back to the road."

The girl shifted nervously. "Er... That's kind of you. But you don't have to. You've already done more than enough for me. I don't want to bother you any more than I have to."

He sighed inaudibly just before jumping down to a branch not far from where Kagome sat on the edge.

"Look. I can get you to the road easy. A lot easier than if you were by yourself," he told her seriously. "I drop you off, you go home, and I get off without the guilt of having left you to your death. Deal?"

Suddenly she smiled at him. "Would you really feel that guilty if you left me here?" she asked with a soft chuckle.

"Only A little," he scoffed. "And only if you got eaten."

To his surprise, her smile weakened. "Well... like I said. That's kind of you, but to be honest I don't think I can use the road anymore."

He quirked an eyebrow at her sudden hesitation. "So then how about I drop you off at your village?" he offered instead.

"Sorry but I have no intention of going home."

"Why not?"

"You have your secrets I have mine," she replied simply.

"Fair enough Wench, Then where ARE You going?"

She shrugged. "I don't really know. Maybe I'll do what you're doing and find a cave somewhere to hide out in."

"Don't be stupid!" he snapped. "You're a human. You wouldn't survive a life like that on your own!" Then he snorted and gave her a haughty look.

"Besides, just because some bandits are roaming around doesn't mean you should just give up using the roads."

She shook her head. "This has nothing to do with the bandits. Hiding out somewhere was what I was already planning on doing. I don't really have anywhere else to go."

"So you're choosing to live in the wild?" he asked her incredulously.

She cocked her head at him. "Do you have any idea what happens to women that try to join a village they have no connection too?" she asked evenly.

"No. What?"

"They get thrown out, forced to marry someone from the village or taken to a whore house. None of those options are ideal and I can't go home. But even if I do end up dying in the wilds it's better than just rolling over. Right?"

Inuyasha went quiet.

"You know you may be a bit rough around the edges but it was really brave of you to save me while you were vulnerable, And it was kind of you to offer to help me get home," she bowed low, her hair falling aside to expose the back of her neck to him. "I'm in your debt. Without you, I'd be dead or worse. If there's anything that I can do to repay you just tell me."

"I'll... think about it."

With that, he dropped from the tree and strolled into the forest leaving Kagome alone in the cave.

As he left he found himself reeling. What in the hell had he gotten himself into?

Chapter Text

When Inuyasha returned to the clearing with a pair of rabbits, he'd half expected to find the girl gone. Meeting a demon usually came as a shock to young women. It certainly wouldn't have been the first time a girl had acted nicely to his face and run away the moment he turned his back.

But when he returned, he was pleasantly surprised to find that she had stuck it out. However, any positive notions on the subject were quickly exterminated with the stark reminder that her leg wouldn't have gotten her far and she most likely wanted to leave with her own clothes on.

But he didn't have the time to further reflect on the negatives before she noticed him. She smiled down from the cave entrance, a relieved expression crossing her features.

"That was really fast," she commented sounding happier than when he'd left.

"We happened to be upwind," he shrugged, walking more fully into camp.

Breakfast was a bit awkward for both of them. Inuyasha got her down from the cave, silently made a fire pit, then cleaned and cooked the rabbits. All the while, Kagome sat patiently and watched him with rapt fascination.

"You look like you really know what you're doing," she commented, watching him carefully turn the rabbits on the fire.

He snorted. "What, you never cook before?" he asked sarcastically.

"I... well... only occasionally, and in a kitchen." she answered looking embarrassed.

He flashed her an odd expression. "And you wanna try and live out in the wild?" he asked with a look of disbelief.

She nodded solemnly and sighed, glancing down at her hands. "I don't have much choice. I know I can't hunt, and I don't know how to cook without kitchen supplies... But I know a lot about plants that are safe to eat and herb lore. That's something at least."

"That won't get you through winter," Inuyasha scoffed.

The girl didn't look up from her hands. "Still better than a whore house," she shot back simply.

He snorted at her stubbornness but couldn't really argue. If she'd rather die out in the wild than live in a whore house who was he to say she was wrong? If he'd been a woman in her position he'd have probably done the same.

Once they'd eaten, Inuyasha returned her robes and stood behind the tree that hid their cave to give the girl her privacy.

This time, he heard every slip of cloth against her skin with no pouring rain or chasing bandits to distract him, and he found himself burning with curiosity. When else was he going to get a chance this good again? It wasn't like he really had the option of taking a mate at some point, and even if he did... He was already two hundred years old. Plenty old enough to have taken one by now. Who knew how much longer he would have to wait?

He leaned around the tree and carefully glanced back over his shoulder only allowing the smallest glance from his peripheral.

Pale skin met his eye. A smooth taunt belly... An exposed neck... The curve of her breast...

He gulped and looked back at the piled boulders that made up the cave, fighting down a blush that threatened to make even his ears red. That had been a mistake. that had been A HUGE mistake...

The rustle of clothing stopped. "Hmm. There's a tear in your shirt," she mumbled.

To Inuyasha's mortification, he felt his blush deepen even more out of sheer embarrassment."So?! Kept you warm last night didn't it?!" he asked sharply. It was more than a little humiliating to have a woman he found attractive commenting on the state of his under clothes...

"Just give me a moment with it," she said, walking up toward him. His ear flickered forward as if denying that he had been listening at all. And for a moment a part of his brain panicked, wondering if she had finished dressing or not. But to his great disappointment and lack of surprise she was fully dressed. She stopped beside him for a moment to distractedly hand him his haori before she limped to her carry sack resting against the rock wall and fished out some white thread with a needle tucked into it. Then she settled down and started to thread the needle and stitched up the long tear in the side of his kisode along the seam.

Inuyasha said nothing. Quite frankly he was relieved that she hadn't bothered to look at his face before starting her little project.

Her movements were quick and well practiced, And he watched quietly as the tear in his haori quickly disappeared under her fingers. A strange feeling welled up inside of him at the sight. It was similar to how he'd felt seeing her in his clothes and watching her sleep in his bed. There was something comfortable and intimate in those small necessary actions.

But he wasn't sure he wanted to open that particular Pandora's box even if she hadn't run screaming when she'd found out he was a demon. Even if She didn't seem to care. But... The image of her body flashed through his mind. A deep greedy emotion churned in his chest. Why shouldn't he be interested in her? She didn't seem scared of him, she had nowhere else to go... Why couldn't he be interested?

"Done!" she proclaimed, holding up the finished shirt. He took it with a soft "Keh," and donned them quickly, trying hard to ignore the scent of woman on his clothes that threatened to bring his blush back from the grave.

"Do you know where there's water? Or better yet a hot spring?" She asked once he was dressed.

He narrowed his eyes at her a little, wondering if this was her way of saying goodbye and begrudgingly pointed down the path he had gone earlier. "There's a spring down that way about a half mile," he told her stiffly.

"Thank you," she said rather politely, gathering her things into her carry sack and pulling herself up to her feet with some difficulty.

"Are you... Leaving already?" he asked a little hesitantly.

She gave him an odd look and shook her head. "No. I'm not leaving the area yet."

He looked back at her uncertainly and in return, she flashed him a small friendly smile. "You can come with me if you want to. I know I'd like the company. And I'm not planning on taking a bath. I don't have anything I could change into anyway. But I do need to take care of my leg before it gets any worse."

She didn't wait for a response to her invitation. Instead, she simply turned and began to limp down the small footpath he had pointed out.

He hesitated only for a moment, and then followed behind her.

The walk was very slow, and not just because she was injured. The girl carefully looked at all the plants they passed. Sometimes stopping to pluck one or two up, sometimes going off the path to go get something. Sometimes getting to her knees with some effort and digging for a root. Once she even asked if he could slice an offshoot from a plant with his claws for her. Inuyasha obliged with mild confusion and then they continued on their way again. She carefully laid out her findings in her skirt holding up a section of it to make a sort of basket. By the time they reached the hot springs she had a good collection going.

"This is it?" she asked, looking around the heavy brush that tried to hide the springs from view.

"Yep," he answered simply.

"Okay, good," she replied distractedly, still peering all around the clearing.

"What are you looking for?"

"A big flat rock and a fairly small round rock to grind up some of the herbs with," she replied with a sigh. "This would be easier if I had the pestle and mortar from home." She picked up a smooth round stone weighing it in her hand. "But I guess a rock is just a rock."

In the end, there were plenty of rocks around for her to choose from. And soon she was grinding away at the shoot her had cut for her and several other plants, grinding them into a fine mush. Inuyasha sat down on a small boulder nearby and watched curiously. At least until she had turned the plants into a thick paste. At that point, The smell was pretty overpowering and Inuyasha quickly found himself wilting away from her with his nose crinkled in disgust.

Kagome settled herself by the water with her concoction then unwound her leg and dipped it into the water with a hiss of pain. Sitting still there adjusting for a moment or two before she started to wash her makeshift bandage thoroughly. When she'd gotten it as clean as it was going to get she laid it out to dry on the branch of a shrub and began to slowly and gently clean her wound. The scent of fresh blood mingled with the smell of herbs. Doubtlessly the wound had been reopened during the cleaning. Probably a good thing considering how dirty it probably was.

When she was done washing her injury she dried it and carefully added water to her mixture then started to smear the herb paste on along the deep cut, wincing as she went. She finished the chore by re-wrapping her leg with the mostly dried cloth and washing her hands.

When she was finally done, the girl rested against a tree at her right and sighed. Inuyasha took the moment to investigate the remaining plants she had picked up but hadn't used. Several Fat round roots met his gaze and a small mixed bundle of shoots and leaves...

"The rest is food." She said, watching him wearily from her resting spot. "I'll share with you if you're interested."

He shot her a look of mild surprise and turned back to the bundle sniffing the contents to check if he was indeed interested.

"The roots are sweet potatoes and there are a couple of plants there that make good seasonings on meat and the leaves there make a good tea..."

"And you say you can't cook in the wild?" he asked in a tone that clearly intoned he thought she was a liar.

She sighed. "I haven't had much luck with it yet. I usually just get a mess."

Inuyasha found himself feeling a bit sympathetic. "Eh, That's all about practice. The hard part is finding the food. Even I don't know a ton about plants."

She smiled radiantly at him despite her obvious exhaustion "Really? You think so?"

He managed a small smile back. "Yeah, you'll be there in no time."

She sighed and leaned back against her tree again closing her eyes. "Thank the Kami."

They both sat in silence for awhile.

"Er... Kagome?" he asked hesitantly.

"Yes?" She answered lazily.

"...I've been thinking about your problem, and what I want... to ask you for."

"Oh yeah?"

He took a deep breath. "First... What do you think of me?"

She looked at him cocking her head curiously. "You seem nice enough to me even if you are a little rude. But I guess even that's understandable if you've lived all by yourself for a long time. Still... I really don't know you that well so I can't really make any assumptions past that."

"And I'm not scary to you at all?" he asked with a shadow of suspicion.

"No," she answered, giving him a confused look. "You haven't given me any reason to be afraid of you. Yesterday you saved my life."

"Okay..." he said almost cautiously. She tilted her head at him. his tone implied that he expected her to explode any second.

"So, How would you feel about living with me?" he asked.

Now it was her turn to look suspicious. "Living with you as what exactly?" she asked, narrowing her eyes at him even as she raised an eyebrow.

"D-Don't go gettin ideas wench!" he snapped halfheartedly, fighting down his embarrassment. "I mean like what we did today."

She relaxed a little. "But I thought you wanted me to leave and pretend I never even met you," she replied dryly.

He shrugged glancing away from her. "I wanted you to leave when I thought you had somewhere to go. At least if you stay here you won't go spouting off about last night to any humans."

"I wasn't going to anyway!" she protested indignantly.

"Anyone with half a brain would say the same thing no matter what they were planning to do," he pointed out.

Kagome hesitated. "...I guess that's true," she conceded with a small frown.

He folded his arms, staring the girl down. "You didn't answer my question. How do you feel about living with me?" he persisted. "This forest is deep. I can keep you hidden here from whoever's looking for you and I can protect you. I can get you through the winter too. Anything you need."

"...How did you know someone was looking for me?" she asked quietly. Her expression was almost pained.

He snorted. "Why the hell else would you want to find a cave to hide out in?"

Her eyes fixed on him wearily. He stared back as though unfazed and uncaring. But neither looked away.

Finally, she sighed. "Well... I guess that would solve my problem. But what about your payment? You doing all this for me just means I owe you all the more."

His eyes widened slightly. He hadn't even considered the possibility that she would see his offer as only a kindness and not payment... If it meant he could ask for more...

"I'll keep thinking about it," he scoffed, turning his nose up at her proudly. "In the meantime just make yourself useful and don't do anything stupid."

She turned toward him a bit better from her position by the spring and bowed the best she could. "I understand. I'll try not to be a burden."

Despite himself, his ears twitched forward hopefully. "Does that mean you agree to live with me?" he asked, trying and probably failing to hide his enthusiasm.

She smiled. "I suppose it does. ...Thank you," she said in a clearly grateful voice.

He hesitated. "...You're welcome."

Chapter Text

Inuyasha liked the silence of the forest.

The alternatives were listening to humans whisper frightened accusations at his mere approach or listening to idiotic demons spout off about how inferior he was.

So when it came to a choice on which alternative was less annoying he'd conceded a long time ago that at least with demons he could kill them and not feel bad about it later. Thus perhaps the most influential reason for why he lived alone in the forest.

Once demons learned to stay the hell away from you, The quiet here was nice. It stretched on for miles and miles. But just beneath the surface, life scurried, flew and rustled all around. Inuyasha could live that way for months never speaking to anyone, rarely even hearing the sound of his own voice. He HAD gone that way many times before.

But since this morning he was beginning to wonder if it was more accurate to say he had gotten used to silence.

This girl he'd rescued the night before... Kagome. She treated him like a normal person, And it felt... bizarre. But in a good way. Like he was in an unrealistic dream where it was completely normal for pretty girls to talk like this to him.

So even if it wasn't going to be what he was used to and even if parts of this arrangement had him feeling a bit anxious, The biggest part of him was eager to leave behind the silence he'd grown so used to.

"This isn't the same path," the girl remarked with some confusion as she looked back down the deer path toward the spring.

"Yeah. I don't know what you thought, but I don't live in that little cave. That would be pretty goddamn depressing," Inuyasha replied, shifting her weight a little. It wasn't like she weighed much, But carrying someone on his back was new and a little awkward. "It's just a hiding spot I use sometimes."

She didn't seem to mind. Her chin returned to rest on his left shoulder beside one of her hands.

"Oh, For when you're human?" she asked casually.

Never mind. Maybe he still preferred silence.

"God dammit, Don't talk about that!" Inuyasha growled, looking over his shoulder to deliver a scolding glare.

She blinked back at him innocently and looked around at the trees in confusion. "But we're alone."

Inuyasha bit down another growl at the girl's idiocy and turned back to the walkway. "Look, this part of the woods is safe enough but once we get deeper you can NEVER assume there isn't someone or something listening in. There are a lot of demons living around here that want me dead and if you DO slip up and one of them hears you then that's it for BOTH of us."

"Oh. I-I'm sorry."

The honest remorse in her voice had him reigning in his anger a bit. No use scaring the girl off before he even got her home...

"It's fine," he grunted begrudgingly. "Just... don't mention it again, alright?"

"Okay, I won't," she promised quietly as she slowly relaxed against him again.

He sighed and turned his attention more fully to their surroundings, trying his damnedest to ignore the stupid thoughts that were churning through his painfully male brain. It was impossible to stay mad at her while they were like this.

The feel of her body against his in the first place kept making him think of what he'd seen by the cave when he'd foolishly thought to peek on her, And the subtly added feel of her relaxing against him with her chin on his shoulder was only encouraging his sudden stupidity.

'Damnit Why in the hell did I want to live with this wench?! She's just going to be a noisy distracting bother. I'm going to have to work that much harder to feed her and keep her warm in the winter and protect her from demons and Kami even knows what else,' he thought bitterly.

"...I bet it gets lonely living by yourself in the woods," she commented, rolling her head so that instead of her chin on his shoulder it was her cheek. He felt her breath on his neck and suddenly forgot everything he'd just been thinking to himself. A shiver subtly ran through him but he tried not to let her feel it.

He looked at her from his peripheral. Her expression was tired and thoughtful. She looked far away, like she wasn't really talking to anyone.

"Demons don't get lonely," he answered gruffly.

"Well I do," she admitted freely. Her eyes flickered up to meet his. The action surprised him slightly. Very few humans had ever purposely looked him in the eyes before and never from so close. "I've only been by myself for two months and I was so lonely that I was almost ready to just give up." She smiled softly. "I was really lucky I met you Inuyasha."

Surprise etched his features but the expression quickly passed and he looked back out at the forest ahead of him.

"Even if you are a little grumpy," she chirped teasingly.

"Keh," he snorted in return softly. Thankfully after that, she went quiet and he was given free reign to think.

When he'd saved Kagome last night he had fully expected for her to run away from him the second she saw what he really was. He'd accepted it as something unavoidable. But... she still didn't smell or sound afraid, and she didn't seem disgusted either. Hell, she didn't even seem to be treating him with caution. She still acted for all the world like he was a normal person. That casual kindness was what had pulled him in up until this point and kept dragging him in that much more. He lowered his head a little.

But just because she hadn't reacted yet, didn't mean she wasn't going to. He knew that. Sometimes that was just how it went. They'd be fine with him one minute and the next he would see something like a sudden realization flicker in their eyes just before they finally lost it.

But... If he did manage to get Kagome to his home she wouldn't be able to change her mind on a whim and run away.

The forest was too deep. She wouldn't make it half a mile before she ended up completely lost, and there were too many dangers for a young girl to survive on her own. Demons and rockslides and wild animals. She'd have to stick it out with him or ask him to help her leave.

And if she did ask, god damn it he'd suck it up and take her out of the forest. But she'd sure as hell have to give him a good explanation for backing out on their agreement and being scared of him wasn't an acceptable answer. If she did get scared he'd have all the time in the world to change her mind.

He felt her breath on his neck again as she sighed wearily. He couldn't stop the second shiver from running down his spine.

This girl was going to drive him crazy!

Suddenly he didn't want to go this slow pace. His body itched to start running. The sooner he got her home the less time she had to back out before it was too late.

He smirked darkly to himself and leaped into a tree making the girl behind him gasp and wrap her arms around his neck in surprise. Her face buried itself against him in fright, He felt her heart race against his back.

"Hang on," he warned.

"Y-You could have said that before you jumped baka!" she snapped.

"I just did," he replied calmly. And with that, he took off at full speed.

(-)

Kagome felt the world fly away beneath her as she held on tight to her new companion. At first, it was terrifying. She'd never gone so fast or so high in her life! And he seemed to do it so effortlessly.

She could feel the muscles in his back, shoulders, and thighs lightly and gracefully move beneath her, smoother in his motion than any horse alive could ever hope to be. She doubted even a demonic horse could manage it. This was the way a predator moved pure and simple. But somehow she wasn't scared. At least not of him. She was honestly far more preoccupied with her fear of slipping off his back and falling to her death.

But slowly Kagome's curiosity overcame her and she peeked from over Inuyasha's shoulder just as he was kicking off again. Her grip on him tightened a little but the sight that met her gaze was breathtaking.

They were in a sea of trees and rocky mountainous terrain that stretched on for miles and miles. Birds passed by not far overhead and even the tallest trees in this old place didn't surpass them in height. It was like they were flying.

Everything below seemed to sink into a steep jagged canyon. However, there were still lots of trees all the way to the bottom and here and there she spotted large creatures lumbering along beneath the shade.

It was more beautiful than any painting. Even the shadows of the demons couldn't take away any of the beauty of this place from up high. They just completed the picture. They made the forest seem more alive, more real.

For a moment she was so caught up in looking she forgot to breathe. It was a second of amazement, and then they started hurtling toward the trees and she found herself curling back against Inuyasha's body in terror again. Her instincts reminding her firmly that a fall from this height would definitely kill her.

The man chuckled.

"Relax, I won't drop you or nothin."

Kagome didn't respond. She just held on tightly. Although she had to admit it was comforting to hear him sound so at ease.

(-)

"We're here," Inuyasha chuckled as he touched the ground.

Instantly the poor girl released his neck and shoved herself away from him. Falling to her hands and knees before laying herself flat on the ground with a groan. His little shortcut down the cliffside evidently hadn't agreed with her in the slightest.

"Ohhh, sweet solid ground I'm never leaving you again!" she moaned dramatically.

The hanyou snorted at the display and turned back to look at his current dwelling, wincing slightly at what he saw.

They were close to the bottom of the canyon with nothing but an ancient forest all around and his "home" was a cave that had formed in the side of a cliff. It was larger and more accessible than the cave on the edge of the forest they had used last night and would hopefully be much better suited for a human to live in.

Although... not without some work. Clearly visible even from outside, it was littered with piles of treasure and junk he'd never once bothered to clean or organize.

There had never been any point. He'd never had any guests before except for the flea. But somehow Inuyasha never really counted him. It wasn't like he'd ever invited the little parasite inside.

Besides, he mostly slept in trees so realistically this place was just where he stored things he found in the forest, ducked from the rain, or healed his wounds after a fight. And well... He'd been living here alone for more than fifty years... Things piled up.

The area around the firepit outside of the cave was littered with rabbit and boar bones. A broken rabbit trap and a tangle of string and a variety of other useless things added to the general picture of untidiness that was his home.

"Inuyasha when you offered to carry me here I didn't think you meant you were going to try and scare the soul out of me while doing it," the girl behind him scolded in a weak voice.

He looked back at her rather pitiful form and sighed. "Not my fault you didn't know what you were getting into wench."

She fixed him with an irritated glare and opened her mouth, supposedly to snap back a sharp retort. But the words didn't come. She paused. And he noticed her line of sight had shifted, She'd looked past him toward the entrance of the cave and to the trash around the clearing. Her new home. He fought to hold back another wince.

She looked at the mess as if contemplating it carefully.

Then finally she looked back at him with a raised eyebrow. "You know... I heard single men tend to have messy homes. But I'll be honest, you really didn't strike me as the type."

He snorted and crossed his arms over his chest. "Shut it. I wasn't exactly expecting to bring a woman back when I last left this place."

There was a long moment of silence as she considered her answer. "Would you have cleaned if you had known?" she asked with a small smile.

"No," he replied instantly, if only out of spite. After a second he smirked evilly. "That's what women are for right?"

Her sudden glare could have cut a diamond. The half demon found himself subtly backing away from her while trying to look casual. Good thing she was only a human... Supposedly.

"Anyway, you can do whatever you want with it," he said in a bad attempt at distraction. "You're the one who needs the cave more than I do. If there's something here that you want you can fuckin have it. I don't need much."

"Then why do you have so much junk?" she asked rising to her feet unsteadily.

He shrugged. "See that?" he asked nodding towards a pile of inconspicuous rocks that had spilled from the cave entrance in a heap.

"Rocks?" she asked wryly.

He chuckled. "Pretty much," he replied, his tone teasing. "But their also called sapphires, rubies, diamonds..."

Kagome blinked and limped towards them. He watched silently as she slowly picked one up off the top. Her fingers left a streak across the smooth surface cleaning away a thick layer of dust and mud revealing a deep blood red jewel.

She looked back at him in stunned surprise, then returned her gaze to the jewel. Carefully, almost as if frightened that it would bite her, she put it back on the pile exactly where she'd found it.

Her reaction was strange to him. Most humans went crazy for jewels right? Especially women. He'd half expected for her to beg him for them on the spot.

"Inuyasha you have enough to pay for a king's ransom! How on Earth did you get these?" she asked, giving him a confused look.

"Feh. I've been living in demon infested areas for a long time and There are always a few idiot humans that think they can just cut through the woods to get where they wanna go faster. They usually end up getting lost or eaten and when they kick off they leave behind all the stuff they were carrying. Most demons around here will just leave it on the ground. That's mostly where I get this stuff. Sometimes they'll drop something useful to me like a spare undershirt or rabbit traps or food and sometimes they drop stuff like jewels or cloth."

He shrugged. "That sorta thing might not be useful to me at that very second, but it's still got value so it gets dragged down here till I want something from the humans."

"I get it," she replied, looking back at the jewels. She stepped away almost cautiously. "But it's still kind of creepy."

He shrugged again. "Just don't think about it too deep and be glad you ran into me last night and not something else."

With that, he walked forward, watching carefully for what her next reaction would be, then stopped about a foot away with a serious expression.

"That's why I'm going to warn you now. Don't leave this clearing without me. The demons in this area know better than to show up here. This is the heart of my territory, but if you do leave without me you're free game to them. Understand?"

She anxiously glanced at the jewels and then back at him.

'Good,' he thought smugly. 'Then she gets the picture.'

"I-I understand," she replied meekly.

Her response made him feel like he had just closed the door to a bird cage. He felt a little bad for it, but on the other hand, she'd already admitted to having nowhere else to go and needing protection. If she stayed here she was going to NEED his protection and she needed to take the dangers here seriously. So what was the harm in ensuring she wouldn't run?

"Promise?" he asked her seriously.

"I promise."

He nodded and turned away dismissively.

"Then go ahead and ruin my bachelor's pad to your heart's content," he said, waving her toward the entrance of the cave.

Kagome gave The half-demon a weak glare and sighed, then turned back to the mess at hand with a feeling of resignation. Somehow she had a feeling it was only going to be worse inside.

"I can't believe you're just shoving this all on me," she complained weakly. "How on earth am I supposed to organize your treasure trove on a bad leg?"

"So go sleep and deal with it later then. That's what I do," the hanyou advised with a fanged smirk.

"That much is obvious," she grumbled.

"Keh."

She spared the mess another long look and sighed, pulling her sleeves up.

(-)

She got very little done that day with her leg still healing and half the day already gone. Mostly she was only able to clean up the area around the bed and start on the first pile of six she'd discovered inside.

While she whittled away at the mess Inuyasha lounged at the entrance of the cave watching curiously. But at one point he wordlessly shuffled through one of the piles, finding and lighting a candle to lend more light to her work in the dim space. She'd smiled gratefully, thanked him, and set the candle beside her on top of a trunk she had already unearthed.

After his small act of helpfulness, Inuyasha did his best to stay well away from the project. Sensing that if he was caught mulling around with nothing to do she might put him to further use. Instead, he decided to preoccupy himself with a short hunting trip.

(-)

When he got back with a pair of rabbits he dropped them off near the entrance of the cave and poked his head in to check on her.

Kagome kept on with her task, sitting beside her chosen stack and patiently pulling objects out and sorting them into smaller piles. She hadn't further complained about the work so he supposed she wasn't overly upset to be dealing with it. He took this as another good sign and grabbed a bucket intent on bringing back water for his house guest.

Kagome noticed Inuyasha's comings and goings but didn't feel the need to comment on it. She figured he had things to do the same as anyone else and honestly once she'd started sorting she'd found herself too interested in her finds to care much for what her new roommate was up to.

She found more jewels scattered throughout the pile but mixed in were old torn blankets, broken jars, wrapped herbs, an odd bowl...

Probably the most useful things so far came from travelers backpacks and carry baskets. He'd obviously only shuffled through these once and left them otherwise untouched in the cave.

She'd already found a flint and steel, a sewing kit, a couple of knives, a woman's kimono and some money inside such bags. But it looked like the woman who'd previously owned the kimono was a little smaller than she was. Kagome honestly wasn't sure if she would be able to resize it or if it was even really worth that much work. It was already well worn... She sniffed at the cloth and frowned tossing it to the pile she'd started for laundry. Once it was clean she would worry about it.

Most of the things he had in the cave would have been valuable or useful at one point or another and it was interesting to see such a variety of objects. It felt like she was on a treasure hunt.

"Hey! You hungry yet?"

She turned her head up to look out at the cave entrance. Inuyasha's silhouette stood out against the dimming forest. She nodded.

"Okay well, I got the meat almost done if you wanna try and cook your potatoes."

"Okay," she agreed, shifting unsteadily to her bare feet.

He watched her carefully as she picked her way toward him holding her candle out in front of her. His eyes shifted to the wound on her leg.

"I brought you back plenty of water and I found you more of those plants you ground up earlier too, So you should be able to treat your leg again before you go to sleep," he told her once she'd reached him.

She flashed him a surprised look. "I forgot all about that."

"I figured," he told her, nodding toward the bucket and a surprisingly large pile of plants beside it.

Kagome blinked at the pile then bit her lip to hold back a laugh. Apparently, he'd deemed it more efficient to yank each plant up by the roots. Not exactly a good idea if you wanted to keep harvesting them but in the circumstance amusing. Her smile widened despite herself.

"Thank you, Inuyasha. You did a good job." She praised him genuinely.

"Keh."

Chapter Text

Kagome's dreams were all of flying that night. The good kind of flying. The kind where you looked up at the sky and knew you could go anywhere you wanted. So once she started to slowly wake up she was hesitant to leave her dreams behind. She stayed in a lazy doze content to lay perfectly still and cling to the dreams the best she could.
But her dreams weren't the only reason she didn't want to move. She was warm, comfortable and safe. All things she'd missed since she had started traveling. So what if it was in a cave and the bed was just a pile of furs? They were soft comfortable furs at the very least and that was far better than the last kind of bed she'd had in a pile of itchy straw outside of someone's cow shed. Now she relished the ease she felt in her new home, at least until a cold breeze hit her as someone tore off her fur blankets.

"Oi wench! Time to wake up!" said a rough man's voice.

The girl groaned and curled up into a little ball covering her face. "Don't wanna..."

She heard the man grunt in annoyance. "Fine, then I'll just eat your share of the berries," he replied haughtily.

"I want the food. Don't wanna get up," she grumbled in a sleepy voice.

"Well too bad. You only get food if you DO get up," intoned the man's voice impatiently.

She grunted in return and curled herself a little tighter. "You sound like my mother," she grumbled.

"No, I sound like a hungry demon that wants your berries. Now get the hell up."

One last groan was heard before she uttered a defeated, "Fiiine."

Kagome grudgingly pushed herself upright and gathered a fur around her shoulders to keep off the chilly morning air. Unsteadily she rose to her feet and trudged unhappily past her demonic wake-up call towards the cave's wide entrance and the promise of food.

"Your hair looks like a rat's nest," he commented with a chuckle as she walked by.

"Good morning to you too," the girl grumbled in her march up to the banked fire pit. There she found exactly half a basket of berries, A bucket of water and yet another mound of herbs waiting for her.

Most of her bad mood evaporated at the sight. It was really sweet how seriously Inuyasha was taking her injury, but she really wasn't sure what to do with so many herbs. She still had plenty of the plants she needed from last night. There was no way she would be able to use them all on just her leg.

She sat down, ate, drank and cleaned herself the best she could, washing her face, checking her injury and attempting to tame her hair with her fingers.

"Maybe if I'm lucky I'll find a hair brush today," she grumbled, tugging at a particularly annoying knot.

"With hair like that, it might be a lost cause," Inuyasha replied snarkily from a nearby tree branch.

"And the charm just keeps coming," she replied, shooting him a look of tired annoyance.

Inuyasha flashed her a fanged grin and gave a soft chuckle.

'Well at least one of us is having fun,' Kagome thought wryly as she glared at the bemused dog demon.

(-)

Once the cleaning started, Kagome quickly discovered that either by design or nature Inuyasha was hardly any help at all when it came to this kind of work. He didn't seem to understand half of her instructions or if he did he was lazy to see them through. When she'd asked him to wash an old trunk for her he'd taken the damn thing, dunked it in a pool of water somewhere and brought her back a soggy mess. When she'd asked him to help her sort through one of six sizable piles of junk and he'd just shoved the whole pile towards her trash pile.

Eventually, she shooed him out of the cave entirely and started picking through the last fifty years of dead men's treasure by herself.

Inuyasha once again lounged at the entrance and watched. They passed light conversation back and forth over the things Kagome found and talked about what to do for lunch. But mostly Kagome was focused on sorting as quickly and as thoroughly as she could and Inuyasha was happy to let her work.

Once three of the six stacks had been sorted, Kagome found herself trying to put away the things that had already been cleaned and organized. A pair of large chests served the purpose of storing the gold, silver, and jewels she'd found quite nicely and she had Inuyasha carry them to the back of the cave and store them one on top of the other well out of the way. A new empty chest stood waiting nearby for any more of such treasure. The hunting supplies she'd found like rabbit traps and fishing line and nets were arranged by the front of the cave near the entrance. While Inuyasha admitted he didn't really need them to hunt effectively, he pointed out that such tricks had come in handy during especially hard winters.

Kagome found several more pelts that she had him put on a line to air out and had started to build on her piles of dishes and laundry. So far, she hadn't run across very much soap. Only a bar or two in travelers backpacks. Not nearly enough for all the laundry and herself.

Candles were fleeting as well. She'd found about six in total with varying lengths and they were now carefully stored in a somewhat small box lined with velvet that had previously held coins.

It was only when she got to the sewing and cloth pile that she ran into a real predicament. Most of it was silk with gorgeous patterns in huge rolls. Thankfully the majority of it had been stored in the driest part of the cave, well away from the rest of the mess. But now that she was looking, she wasn't sure what to do with them. Should she use them? Or store them with the treasure?

This was the sort of cloth a lord might give to his new wife. It was certainly too rich for her to use out here in the woods, but there wasn't very much in linen. Only two smaller rolls probably only grabbed in the first place because they would be easier to carry.

"Merchant caravan," Inuyasha's voice explained from right behind her ear. The poor girl jumped badly and whipped around to look at him clutching a hand to her chest.

"Don't DO that!" she snapped automatically.

He raised an eyebrow and snorted. "What? I thought you'd be curious."

She took a deep breath calming herself. "Okay... So there was a merchant caravan. Then what?"

"They tried to use the abandoned road down south to cut through the forest and had a run in with a big snake demon. Left behind a hell of a lotta cloth." he shrugged, looking it over. "That kind of find is rare so I grabbed what I could. It was a pain in the ass to carry back, though."

"I can imagine," she replied glancing back at the huge rolls of silk. "Just one of these has to weigh a lot."

"Not really to me. But it was a bit awkward to carry more'n a few at a time, I had to make trips," he recalled.

She nodded and sat down to look at him.

"So I've been wondering, what do you trade with the humans for?" she asked curiously.

He shrugged again and folded his arms. "A new under kisode every once in awhile, Vegetables, rice. That sort of thing," he told her casually.

"That doesn't seem like enough reason to keep so much treasure around. Those things are cheap," she replied looking around.

He grunted in annoyance. "You'd be surprised how many traders will turn their nose up at a perfectly good deer in the middle of winter if I'M the one offerin it." He shook his head and shot a look of disgust at the trunk of jewels.

"No. If I want something from the humans the only things they'll take is stuff like this. Stuff they can't refuse that easy when it would mean their families eat for the next five years all for one fuckin kisode. And I'd prefer to not have to get violent even if they are being goddamn idiots. That shit only brings in priests and demon slayers."

"...I get it," she replied quietly after a moment's thought. She frowned sadly looking at the jewels. "It's horrible, but I guess that's just how the world works. Not enough people bother to look past appearances."

"But you did."

She looked up and blinked at him in surprise. He just looked back at her, his expression an odd mixture of serious and searching. "That's enough for me."

He tilted his head to look at the silk. "So use it. It Doesn't make much difference to me if I have it or not. They'll always accept the jewels and if not they can just accept having their carts smashed. Priests or no priests," he finished with a light growl.

She ignored the unsavory comment and looked over at the fabric too, her expression unreadable except for Its warmth.

Inuyasha really might be rough around the edges, but Kagome couldn't help but realize that just beneath the surface he was actually a very kind person.

"Are you sure? It would make a lovely gift to someone special later on you know."

The dog demon frowned then snorted. "Just take it. How else will you have clothes? Or blankets, or towels, or anything else you need?"

Kagome didn't bother to remind him that silk wouldn't make good towels or blankets anyway. It was a sweet gesture. She saw no need to ruin it. "I'll just take what I need, okay?" she offered with a soft smile.

"Good," he replied.

The hanyou returned to his watchful position at the edge of the cave and lounged quietly seemingly satisfied with the conversation.

Making a decision, Kagome pulled the two smaller bolts of linen and a plain blue silk bolt to the side. That really was all she would need until winter, but she wouldn't worry about that yet. The rest of it was going to get stored with the treasure at the back of the cave. That was really the sort of thing Inuyasha should have on hand to give to his future bride, whoever she might be.

Kagome wondered if he had anyone he was currently courting or maybe had courted in the past. Perhaps a demoness? But she supposed that if he was courting someone then he wouldn't have taken her in so easily or that would just be asking for a lover to take offense.

Still, he was a very handsome man. It was hard to imagine him being alone all this time. Her hand brushed over the silk absently. The thought was a little depressing somehow.

(-)

They stopped to have lunch around midday. Kagome ate her rabbit quickly and sprung back to work, determined to finish the last two stacks before nightfall and maybe start on some of the other chores.

As she pushed through her latest pile mostly discovering that it was pretty much already for trash before she'd even gotten here, her hand met something like a heavy stick with cloth wrapped around it. Her brow wrinkled in confusion and she tugged at it firmly. It stayed stuck.

"What's this?" Kagome murmured, tugging on the strange stick harder. After a little wiggling, it slipped out dislodging a portion of the pile that slid down the back.

She held the item in her hands examining it carefully. It was a katana.

"You have a sword?" she asked aloud, looking back at the entrance. The hanyou's ears perked toward her then he looked down at her hands.

"Oh, that? Just a family heirloom my old man left me," he replied with a shrug.

"Why don't you carry it?" she asked curiously.

He laughed at that. "See for yourself."

The girl frowned and started to pull the blade from the sheath. It didn't take long for her to see what he meant. The metal was so rusted and chipped and worn down that she wouldn't have trusted it to cut a loaf of bread.

"Some inheritance," Inuyasha scoffed. "Toss it out for all I care, It's not doing me any good."

Kagome gave the sword a long look, her fingers timidly brushing over the blade. Something about it felt... Lonely. Or lost.

"Somehow... I think you might be wrong about this sword Inuyasha," she pondered quietly.

He raised a dark eyebrow at her. "It's a piece of junk Kagome. The only reason I haven't thrown it away myself is because my ass of a brother wanted it."

He leaned back against the rock wall and sighed wearily. "I bet the bastard wouldn't want it so damn bad if he knew what shape it was in."

"You have a brother?" Kagome asked with a look of interest.

"Half brother actually," he grumbled.

"What's he like?"

"He's a huge pain in the ass that wishes I'd never been born and if you're lucky you'll never have to meet him."

"Oh," came Kagome's disappointed reply. She turned her gaze back to the sword. Somehow it felt like he'd said something wrong.

"So... Have YOU got any family?" he asked, hoping to change her mood. But even as he asked he winced. She had run away from home, hadn't she? What the fuck was he asking about her family for?

"Yeah. My mother and a twelve-year-old brother."

She said it softly but without hesitation.

He paused. "...Where are they now?" he nudged, wondering how far she was willing to take her explanation.

The girl's face fell a little. "I don't know," she replied still softer.

He paused again. He had honestly thought she would have stopped him at that question. But the way she phrased it made him feel like he was walking on thin ice. He wasn't sure where to go from there.

"...Are they missing?" He asked carefully.

"No. They're probably living normal lives somewhere far away," she sighed wistfully.

"So why aren't you with them?" he asked before he could stop himself.

She gave him a weary glance. "Look. I can understand if you're curious, And I agreed to live with you so you have more right to know about me than if I were just passing through. But it's not something I want to talk about okay?"

"I'm not tryin to harass you about it," he growled back. "I just want to make sure your not running away from home for a really stupid reason."

She raised an eyebrow at him. "And what exactly constitutes a stupid reason to run away from home?" she asked calmly.

"I dunno like... If you just had a dumb argument with your mother or somethin. I'd say, What the hell are you doin out here while you worry your family?"

Her expression softened.

"Well... I wish it was something like that."

"And I wish you'd quit being so damn cryptic," he snapped. "Just tell me already, WHY did you run away?"

She gave him a long hard look and he glared back clearly fed up with being kept in the dark.

"...Because I'm being hunted by a demon," she sighed.

He subtly checked her scent. She was telling the truth.

"What kinda demon?"

She shook her head. "I don't know what kind he is. I know he used to be human once and I know he can change his form at will. He can look like anyone, anything."

"Do you think he could track you here?" Inuyasha asked seriously. He'd promised to protect Kagome when he had offered to let her live with him, but he had promised her that when he'd thought she was only being pursued by a human. A demon was a problem. He wasn't about to take back his offer of protection over it or anything but he needed to be prepared too.

"I don't know, but he seems to have more trouble tracking me through wild terrain than through villages or towns. He isn't the kind of demon that can follow scent trails, or at least he doesn't seem like he is. I think he relies on what he hears through humans."

"Sounds like a weakling."

She nodded. "He relies on deception when he fights."

Inuyasha relaxed. 'That kind of demon should be no trouble at all.'

"So why is he after you?"

"Well... Basically, he wants to kill me."

Inuyasha frowned in disbelief. "He'd want to kill you so bad he's willing to chase you across the entire countryside?"

"I said that was basically what he wants," she replied softly, her head bowing some. "I'm sure there would be months and months in between an actual capture and my death. Even if that death only comes at my own hands the very first chance I get."

The dog demon grimaced slightly. 'No damn wonder she didn't want to talk about it.'

"...Happy?" she asked softly.

"Fine," he replied stiffly. "I get it."

She sighed and looked back at the old sword thoughtfully. After a moment of thick silence between the two, she sheathed the rusty old blade and stood. He watched with surprise and curiosity as she carried it past the trash pile and towards him. She stopped at about four feet away and carefully stored it with the traps and fishing gear she'd put aside for his use.

He gave her a questioning look but she shook her head.

"I don't know why, but... I have a feeling you should keep it. I know it's old and worn but there's something almost alive about it. It wouldn't feel right, throwing it away."

"Whatever you want Kagome," he agreed with a light shrug. Honestly he just really didn't want to make her any more upset. If keeping the damn thing made her happy then fine. Besides, he hadn't thrown it out yet either had he?

She nodded thankfully and returned to her spot in between her sorting piles.

As soon as she was once again preoccupied Inuyasha's eye was drawn back to his father's old sword. He gave it a long piercing look and scoffed turning away from the cave altogether to stare out at the trees.

"Alive my ass," Inuyasha grumbled lightly.

(-)

It took Kagome the rest of the day's worth of steady work to get the cave mostly clean. But by the end, they were both pleased with the effort. Inuyasha mostly because he'd had relatively little to do with that effort.

Not that there wasn't still a lot of work to be done at the end of the day. Some of the things she'd organized were still in piles waiting to be considered, and there was a pile of laundry to be patched up and washed as well as dishes, and baskets to repair and clothes to start making and Kagome only knew what else. But at least the cave looked livable, And all the things she had deemed trash had been tossed over a cliff for someone else to deal with courtesy of Inuyasha. That in itself was a huge improvement.

At close to sunset she'd had enough for the day and was more interested in his suggestion of a fish dinner. So he took her down to the bottom of the canyon where a river flowed and left her nearby to clean herself up and treat her wound while he caught the fish and refilled the water bucket.

"This has been kind of fun," she told him cheerfully once she'd just settled in to watch him fish.

"Fun? Didn't you clean all day on a bad leg?" he asked her with a tone of skepticism as he stared down carefully at the water.

"Well yeah, but I haven't gotten to do anything so normal in ages. It was refreshing."

"If you say so," he replied, jerking his head a little just in time to catch the image of a fish tail disappearing. He frowned. "If you'd call cleaning out a demon's den 'normal' where you come from."

"It felt pretty normal to be storing candles and piling up laundry," she pointed out.

He shrugged then fast as a bolt of lightning grabbed into the water and yanked up a large fish, flinging it well onto the banks far enough for it to not be able to make it back.

The fish floundered and Kagome watched in amazement as Inuyasha caught three more in a similar fashion before sloughing back to land and shaking himself like a dog.

Kagome threw up her arms to protect herself from the water with a shrill laugh.

"Inuyasha! Stop it's cold!"

He finished and shot her a smug grin. "I don't know what your talkin about wench. I'm not cold," He told her haughtily as he collected his fish and the bucket.

"You jerk," she accused, wiping her arms on her kimono in a hopeless attempt to dry herself.

"Feh," he answered unfazed. "C'mon. let's go already I'm starved from watching you work all day."

(-)

Inuyasha watched the girl quietly as she slept. Her breathing was even and untroubled, her face completely relaxed. This was the third time he'd seen her sleep like this. but somehow he felt like it was still the first. Maybe this was just something he would never get used to seeing. He looked around the cave. She had placed the chests strategically around the walls all neatly arranged with the things that were similar in nature. Sewing, hunting, cooking...

There was a pile of laundry in a big basket waiting to get washed, several stacks of mismatched dishes and a few pots and pans. They had some pelts being aired on a line...

Before Kagome, this had just been a place to store things. Now it was starting to look like an actual home. Even for a cave, it felt more his than anywhere else on earth.

So far things were going better than he ever could have hoped.

She hadn't changed her mind about being scared of him. She hadn't run away or screamed at him. Overall he'd had a good day with her. They'd cleaned and talked and laughed together.

Inuyasha stood and walked from the cave leaping into his favorite tree nearby, settling himself in It's branches.

Maybe tomorrow would be just as good.

Chapter Text

"Oh no."

A single canine ear twitched in the direction of the distressed voice and Inuyasha opened his eyes to peer curiously down the eight-foot drop to the base of his favorite tree. Kagome was nestled there amongst the thick moss with her sewing supplies and a light blue silk cloth laying over her knees. She smoothed her hands over the silk and then gently set it aside to run her hands over the moss as well.

He frowned in confusion.

'What is that wench doing now?'

He leaned over a little more to get a better look. Her head kept turning this way and that as if she were frantically searching for something. Distress practically radiated from the girl below him.

His frown deepened.

"You okay down there?" he asked suspiciously.

"Yes! I'm perfectly fine. I'm okay." Then she started to mumble. "...I just need to move very carefully..."

After a moment or two longer of watching her run her fingers thoroughly over the moss, He realized what he was seeing and chuckled in dark amusement at the girl's plight.

She'd put down her needle and lost it.

Inuyasha looked for it himself and almost automatically spotted a tiny light glinting from the rock beside her.

His bemused smirk widened and he resettled himself in his tree branch wondering how long it was going to take her to find it.

It had been almost two weeks since Kagome had come to live with him. Since then she had declared the cave clean, (Though still in need of improvement) And her leg was already completely better.

Actually, she had stopped limping about the fourth day in, and now the wound was just a faint scar. It seemed like an unusually quick recovery to Inuyasha especially considering that it had been a sword wound.

Her recovery made him wonder if Maybe humans healed faster than he'd thought, or maybe he had just been mistaken about the severity of the cut. Either way, he was just glad he hadn't had to take her to a healer. That would have been a disaster.

Currently, she was preoccupied with making herself a new kimono to replace her old torn one. She had found a woman's kimono in a travel bag her first or second day here and had expressed hope that it could be resized. However, it (like many articles of clothing she had tried to salvage) hadn't done very well against scrubbing.

But the unexpected sound of Kagome's cursing had been hilarious.

Other than a few articles of cloth that didn't take well to being cleaned or otherwise were irreparable, four of his old kisodes had survived the process along with five blankets and his cloak for when he went to a village. What couldn't be repaired had been made into carry cloths and rags for cleaning. Recently she had cut and seamed a few towels and made herself a kisode with the white linen fabric. Today it was the blue silk kimono.

He had to hand it to her, she was pretty good with a needle and thread. But watching her work around the cave really made him wonder what sort of life she had lived up till now.

She could sew, she knew her way around plants and healing, she had a mother and younger brother but hadn't mentioned a father, she knew how to cook (if she had a pot and pan and maybe a few other kitchen supplies) but she'd never had to skin an animal before. In fact, she winced whenever she saw any animals before or during the cleaning process. It was so noticeable that he'd started doing this part of the chore out of her line of sight.

So far most of the things he had learned about Kagome were circumstantial. She herself told him very little about her past, even when he asked her straight out about it.

'Where did you used to live?' 'How did your family make a living?' And, 'What sort of things did you used to sew?' Were questions that surprisingly had gotten him no further than a sad look and a solid refusal to answer.

"What's the point in remembering things like that?" She had answered. "I can't go home. I've accepted that. I left so that my family would be safe and so I could at least try and survive and forget."

He was fine with that in the end. All that it meant was that she had all the more reason to stay here with him, and he found that the longer she stayed the more the idea of letting her leave someday bothered him.

He liked Kagome. He liked teasing her and the friendly back and forth conversations they had and seeing her face light up when he did something nice for her. To be honest he'd had more fun with her around in the last two weeks than he'd had the last two hundred years by himself. She filled up an empty space in his life that he hadn't even known was there.

If she wanted to forget something so badly then he should let her forget. Then she would never ask to go back to the humans.

The girl made a small sound of relief below him.

It sounded like she'd found her needle without incident.

"Remember the sooner you finish that thing the sooner you can take a bath," he said, crossing one knee over the other and swinging his foot lazily.

"You don't have to remind me," She replied, glancing up at him. "I've been going as fast as I can. I just need to finish this last sleeve on the kimono and it should at least make a decent substitute for what I have now."

"That's not saying much," He remarked, looking down and raising an eyebrow at her current wardrobe speculatively. The kimono she had come to him in was basically a rag at this point. After she had been forced to tear off the bottom section to make an impromptu bandage the thing had only started fraying. Not to mention the once blue and gray fabric was stained a dirty brown around the edges that no amount of soap or scrubbing on earth was going to fix.

So far she had been keeping herself semi-clean with a cloth and the buckets of water in camp and swimming sessions in the river below.

She probably could have taken a hot spring bath and tried to clean her clothes properly while she was there and just worn his haori while she waited for it to dry. But they both suspected that if she had attempted to clean the kimono with more than a light scrubbing it could end up like the one from the cave and leave her with nothing to wear at all. It was already falling apart. No use making it worse.

Not that Inuyasha minded seeing Kagome's kimono get shorter and shorter by the day. It certainly gave him material to tease her with. But any shorter and she wouldn't be able to bend down without mortally embarrassing the both of them.

"Shut up," she replied sharply as she subconsciously tugged the frayed edge of the kimono back down her legs again. "I'd like to see how good you look after being chased by bandits down a cliff and through a thunderstorm while bleeding everywhere."

He smirked.

"I'd look the same as I do right now," he replied in a smug voice. "My clothes are self-cleaning. Plus they Deflect human weapons so I wouldn't have bled at all."

She shot him a weak glare that looked like more of a pout. "Well, we can't all be so lucky Inuyasha. Some of us peasants have to deal with normal clothes that stain and tear."

She did cast the hanging sleeve of his haori an envious look, though. "...But I will admit that is pretty amazing," she murmured with a sigh.

"Keh, Just finish your clothes already!" He told her even as he turned back to his view of the forest.

The girl grumbled something to herself about rude men and started sewing again. For a little while, he just heard the sound of her rustling the cloth, and her pulling the needle through in a steady repetitive motion. Then she started humming quietly to herself. He yawned and closed his eyes listening to the sound letting himself go back to a doze.

It wasn't nearly as grating to have another person around as he had first expected it would be. At first, he had expected for every little noise she made to be like someone snapping twigs right next to his ear. At least while he was napping. But it was surprisingly peaceful listening to Kagome quietly sew nearby. Her little bouts of humming singing and talking to herself over her latest project were interesting and even calming. He rested his chin on his chest and sighed. Very calming...

(-)

"Hey, Inuyasha! Wake up!"

The half demon cracked open an eye and peered down at the girl who had disturbed him yet again.

"I'm finished!" She told him happily swinging the cloth in his direction. "Now I'll be able to take that bath!"

He closed the eye again and yawned before giving a great stretch, cracking his neck in the process. "Took you long enough. Now maybe you'll stop stinkin up the place."

Her expression fell to disapproving. "There's no need to be rude Inuyasha. It's not like I wanted to go without a bath for this long."

"So you wanna go now?" he asked.

Her response surprised him. "Actually, I was thinking that I still have a really dirty job to do that I might as well get out of the way first."

He raised his eyebrow at her.

"A dirty job?

She nodded. "I wanted to gather reeds to make a mat for the door and the floors and maybe to repair some of the baskets. And it makes sense to get a dirty job out of the way before a bath right?"

He gave a thoughtful look.

"Well... There's a swampy area not too far away from the hot springs."

"Does it have reeds there?"

"Dunno. Never really cared to look."

"Well... I'd at least like to check. "

He shrugged easily. "Fine by me. Go get your stuff, we'll drop it off on the way there."

Kagome nodded happily and ran back to the cave to grab her basket of bathing supplies. She'd been looking forward to the promise of a hot spring bath for nearly the entire two weeks so her basket had been sitting expectantly beside the front of cave ready to go for the very moment her preparations were complete.

It was already filled with two towels, her comb, a nearly nonexistent bar of soap, her leftover herbs, leftover bandages, her new kisode and now doubtlessly her new kimono.

(-)

It was a twenty-minute walk to the nearest hot spring and Kagome was ruthlessly cheerful about it the whole way there.

"So is this the spring you usually use?" she gushed in excitement. He nodded without looking at her.

"It's hotter than the other one, so be careful. I don't wanna have to run in there and save you if you pass out or somethin."

"Don't worry I won't pass out." she replied chipperly.

He snorted and briefly considered being mean and telling her that she would have to wait her turn to have the bath. That would wipe the smile right off her face. He could practically already hear her protests of 'That's not fair!' in his ears. He looked pointedly away from her and gave a small smirk. Maybe he would spring it on her at the last second while she was already covered in mud. That would make it even more amusing.

"So how many other hot springs are there around here?" She asked completely oblivious to the conspiracy against her.

"In the forest? Including the one from last time, I've found eight. But there's probably more." He replied casually.

Kagome frowned slightly then sighed. "And here I thought hot springs were rare." She shook her head. "All those Inns that charge so much extra because they have a hot spring... It seems like such a big rip off now."

Inuyasha shrugged. "I've only found eight in the whole forest after fifty years of exploring. The one from last time is about twenty miles away from here and it's probably the closest excluding this one."

Her eyes went wide. "But the run here was so fast!" She exclaimed "You couldn't have been running for more than half an hour! There's no way we went twenty miles! "

He smirked at her.

"Weren't really paying attention to how far we'd gone were you?" He asked.

She blushed and glanced away as if embarrassed. "Well... For the most part, I was too scared to look up."

The smirk was erased.

But then her eyes lit up as she looked past him. "Ah, we're here!" She exclaimed happily rushing by him in her excitement.

Inuyasha turned and stood by watching her jog forward to examine the water and the plants.

It was a rocky area with a big spring sheltered by a few boulders and a tight tree line. Nearby a tall willow tree grew nested in the rocks with its branches dipping into the water.

"Oh, it's so pretty!" she sighed happily taking everything in with admiring eyes.

Inuyasha looked away.

"I won't run with you like that again if you don't want me to." he told her suddenly.

She seemed surprised by the sudden outburst and turned around to look at him with confused eyes.

He didn't move or say anything else but even so, a look of understanding came to her after a moment and to his surprise she rose a hand to her lips and giggled. "You worry over the funniest things Inuyasha." she laughed lightly, But before he could get flustered she continued.

"It was only scary the first time because it was so new. I didn't come out of it terrified of heights or anything. In fact, some parts of it were really fun."

His look of surprise grew more pronounced. "You had... Fun?" he asked with a tone of disbelief.

She smiled and shrugged good-naturedly. "I think it would have been more fun if you had gone a little more slowly with me at first and taken it easy on skipping down the cliffs. But yeah, There were moments in the middle that were really amazing." Her smile widened. "You should take me running again sometime, just be a bit more gentle with me okay?"

He blinked at her with an expression of bafflement but nodded uncertainly and watched as Kagome placed her basket down beside the spring before returning faithfully to his side.

Any lingering thought of making her wait for her bath died.

(-)

The path to the swamp was down a steep hill with lots of gnarled tree roots all the way down making the ground like a set of stairs. Kagome absorbed it all eagerly. It wasn't often that Inuyasha let her walk through the forest like this. He usually carried her and so far just to the river at the cavern's base. The little off beaten paths here were still a mystery to her.

The trees along the path were all close knit and seemed to be competing for the same root space. The result was that down the middle of the path nobody got to grow, Or maybe someone or something had designed it that way. She glanced up at her companion's back. His broad shoulders made it hard to see past him with the trees pressed in so close.

'Probably not Inuyasha.' She thought with a smile.

He didn't seem like the type to care about making a path, and really why should he? He could just run and jump wherever he wanted to go. Even cliffs and rivers posed no problem for him. Inuyasha made his own path. Walking down this way was just a courtesy.

Kagome looked around still more curiously as they reached the bottom of the pathway and entered the clearing. Most of the areas above were rocky like the hot springs. Down here she could see were all the dirt and mud had gone. The left side of the swamp nearest the hill was just thick gray mud that seemed to be making a slow attempt to take over the water entirely. There was some murky gray-green water near where they were but there was a distinct lack of reeds there.

Almost as expected she could see some poking up from the mud a little further in. Obviously, if they were too close to the shore then things would be too easy. She heard Inuyasha sniff the air and turned to look at him waiting for some cue that she could proceed.

After a moment he nodded to her and she smiled heading straight for the swamp.

He took a sentry position in a nearby dead tree and watched as she waded into the muddy water and made her way into the sludge gathering the plants as she went. After a little while of her working in the mud, she turned and showed him her big armload.

"There, that wasn't so hard."

"I guess." He replied looking at her bundle in speculation. "Sure you got enough?" he asked as she started back to the bank with the muddy plants.

She shrugged. "I'm not exactly practiced with baskets or reed mats but I have a general idea how it's done. I think this is enough for at least one mat and the baskets but it's a good start. We can always just come back later when I need more."

He opened his mouth to say something further but stopped and suddenly looked away from her in distraction. His ears twitched this way and that searchingly. She too paused and murmured,"Is something wrong?"

He didn't respond right away, so she stayed perfectly quiet and still.

His ears stopped moving and seemed to focus intently on the deep part of the water. He stood on top of his branch looking down into the depths behind her.

"Kagome," he said calmly and without looking at her." I want you to quietly start walking to the shore."

She flashed him a look of fear but clutched her bundle and obeyed his command. As she carefully walked forward she listened hard and almost instantly wished she hadn't. There was a subtle slosh of water from behind her too large and too deep down to be coming from her own footsteps. A chill swept through her, her heart thudded in terror.

"That's it." Inuyasha murmured calmly, his sharp eyes fixed on the water. "You're doing fine, just a little further..."

She walked on only kept calm by the assured tone in Inuyasha's voice. If he had sounded alarmed there was no way on earth she would have been able to keep herself from running to the bank with that bone chilling sound right behind her.

She only made it three more steps before whatever was under the water decided to move in.

In a heartbeat, Inuyasha pounced into the muddy water right behind her tearing at something with a snarl. There was a loud responding sound of animalistic rage and pain followed by splashing and more snarls. Kagome felt mud sling across her back and instantly her nerve broke. She launched herself forward running from the water as fast as she could.

She didn't stop until she reached the shore even with the sounds of the tussle growing more ferocious behind her. Once there she dropped the reeds without a further thought and twirled around to see what was happening.

A now muddy Inuyasha stood in between her and what appeared to be an eighty-foot long snake. The huge dark green serpent loomed over both of them with blood dripping down its snout from the half demon's first attack. It stared fixated on her protector with a pair of great red eyes.

Kagome shivered and remembered the merchant caravan Inuyasha had told her about. Hadn't he told her that a giant snake was the one who'd killed those people?

Inuyasha was growling loudly with his stance half bowed and his feet apart as if prepared to leap. His ears were laid back against his head and his claws were raised. In response to the half demon's threatening stance, the snake opened a huge slimy pink mouth lined with hundreds of small sharp teeth and four massive fangs to give a loud and furious hiss.

The sound and the sight were terrifying. Before Kagome even realized what she was doing she'd taken two steps back away from the two of them with her hands clutching her chest.

The movement seemed to draw the creature's attention. Its red eyes sought hers and gleamed with a terrible light.

For a terrifying moment, she felt like a mouse and wondered if this was what the people in that caravan had felt in their last moments.

But those people hadn't had a dog demon for a protector.

Inuyasha lept at the snake while it's focus had shifted. It started to dodge the moment it noticed his movement but Inuyasha's abruptness had once again caught it off guard. His claws caught it in a glancing blow along its side leaving behind a huge gash and a great deal of blood. In an instant, the serpent had twisted and had opened It's mouth intent on swallowing him whole, but it was struggling to recover itself and the agile half-demon managed to propel himself to the safety of a nearby tree if only by a slim margin.

He looked down and smirked dangerously at the infuriated snake demon.

"I'll give you one thing scaley you're fast, but you're also stupid if you think you can take your eyes off of ME in a fight." Inuyasha declared with a fanged smile. "You want the girl so bad, your gonna have to get through me first."

The snake hissed at the challenge and lunged at Inuyasha's branch. Once again he dodged it landing on the snake's back and tearing another great gash in the demons scaled flesh.

The creature whipped around biting and snapping. Inuyasha ducked low to the snake's twisting body slicing upwards at the underbelly as it missed its mark. Then he narrowly slipped away as it tried to quickly coil itself around him.

Kagome watched in amazement.

She had never seen Inuyasha fight before. There had been a few close calls at the river over the last two weeks. But nothing like this. It had just been a few small demons. And once Inuyasha made a rapid appearance beside her They had left quickly and quietly without a fight.

Before now she had taken the demon's hesitance to fight to mean that small demons were timid. But now she knew for a fact those demons simply wouldn't have stood a chance in hell against Inuyasha. And they must have known that too.

She was used to seeing him act lazy, lounging in trees or sitting somewhere nearby quietly watching her. But seeing Inuyasha fight was like watching a dance. His fighting style was all himself, graceful and wild and powerful. She couldn't help but admire that about him.

Still, he was right, this snake demon was fast, and it seemed like all he could do to just get past its scales and deliver flesh wounds. It refused to stay still long enough for anything deeper. And now that it was focusing on the fight and getting more and more angry Inuyasha's close calls only seemed to be getting closer and closer.

(-)

Almost since the beginning of the fight, Inuyasha had felt something faintly tugging at his senses nagging him toward home and specifically the cave. At first, he hadn't really noticed the pull, but now that he was being more reliant on his instincts the feeling was starting to distract him.

Despite the mild distraction Inuyasha had gotten gutsy with his attacks, jumping from one section of the demon's body to another striking where he could before the snake could coil around him, bite him, or throw him into the mud.

Still, the feeling persisted. It wasn't an instinct to run from the fight he was sure of that. But why would he want to leave? He had to stay here and protect Kagome.

Even as he had that thought the pull grew stronger. It was like it was saying 'Exactly.'

The snake once again attempted to coil around him. Instead, Inuyasha took the opportunity to do some damage to those coils before leaping out and dodging the waiting jaws.

"Ya missed!" The dog demon called out mockingly.

"Watch out!" Kagome suddenly screamed from the bank but it was a moment too late.

Inuyasha felt something hard slam into his back with crushing force knocking him into a tree. There was a crash as it was torn from the ground with the force of the blow and Inuyasha laid against the splintered trunk dazed.

Almost immediately the hairs on the back of his neck stood up. Inuyasha shoved himself to his right side trying to roll off the log as his opponent went in for the killing blow. But it was too late.

He felt something sharp pierce his side and scrape across his arm as he rolled away. As he rolled he felt the something that had pierced him break off inside painfully. He jumped away into a tall tree before any more damage could be done and stood up in the branches high above the snake's reach panting taking a moment to assess the situation.

He was already starting to feel a burn rapidly spread from the wounds... Inuyasha looked down at himself solemnly. His entire left-hand side was soaked with blood. A fang buried deep in his side. On his shoulder, a drop of clear almost syrupy liquid sat like a bead of dew. And it was eating away at his fire rat robe like a caterpillar through a leaf. He pulled the abandoned fang from his side and flung it away as if unfazed.

The snake knew better. It looked up at him almost smugly, no longer even bothering to take a defensive position. It already believed itself the victor.

He knew it's thoughts. He shared them to a degree. Snake demon venom was deadly even to a fully-fledged demon. Inuyasha was only a half-demon. What chance did a half-breed stand?

Inuyasha stood tall, his eyes drifting to Kagome's worried face as she watched him from the shore.

Maybe if he was lucky he would have enough time to get her out of the forest before the venom could kill him. Even as he thought it, Inuyasha remembered Kagome's request to run with him again. Something in his chest ached.

Golden eyes found the snake again with a look of cold hate. Inuyasha dropped from the tree at the demon, this time, dragging his claws along the wound on his arm and flinging the blood directly at his enemy's eyes with a cry of "Blades of Blood!"

The direct hit was met with surprise. The serpent hissed furiously writhing in agony and coiling itself around it's head. He landed on one of the thrashing coils and tore through the tough scales and soft flesh of the demon below him with determination. The snake forgot the pain in it's eyes and snapped at him blindly but Inuyasha was ready. His claws already coated with more blood, his and the demon's.

He dodged the snapping jaws and used his blades of blood one more time to focus everything he had left on its neck near the head. He sliced through with two clean blows one after the other. And to his relief, the demon's head fell from its body. But like any snake that wasn't quite it. The body writhed wildly beneath his feet, the head still snapping dangerously below even as it sank into the mud. He held on with his claws until he could make a jump for it but he was already wearing down and as he took his chance and tried to leap to a tree in the opposite direction his foothold shifted at just the wrong time in just the wrong way and it sent his jump off course.

He dropped into the muck below. And fortunately or unfortunately there was a thick log there to break his fall. He hit it with a soft almost canine cry of pain. But wasn't sucked down. He laid there stunned staring out at the forest unable to move an inch. His stomach and arm burned in agonizing pain.

"Inuyasha!" cried Kagome's frightened voice from the shore.

At the sound, he gritted his teeth and forced himself to roll over and lift his head. He saw Kagome enter the mud in the brief second before his head dropped back to the log again. It was no good, his strength was gone.

He wasn't going to be able to get her out.

Remorse cut through him ruthlessly. He should have never brought her here in the first place. He should have dropped her off far far away somewhere safe and said goodbye when he'd had the chance. He'd promised to protect her. And now she was going to die here. He'd brought this upon her. His greedy desire for companionship had cost them everything.

There was no telling how long he laid there losing more and more energy as time ticked on before He vaguely felt himself being dragged from the log into the muddy water below. But before he could drag up the presence of mind to be alarmed he was hoisted under his arms and pulled against something warm then held there in a tight hug.

"I've got you. I've got you." Kagome's voice murmured to him.

He wearily opened his eyes to see her neck and her chin very close to his face but saw little else.

She walked backward pulling him through the muck towards the murky water and the shore. She made a long groan of effort as she struggled with the task. He had to be heavy to her even without all the mud sucking at her with every step. Even so, he was having trouble feeling his limbs and the world was flickering all around him. He couldn't help her. Not even to try and save his own life.

"Leave me." he breathed wearily. "K'gome get outta here."

"Inuyasha, do me a huge favor and shut up!" she snapped sharply.

After a moment of surprise, he obeyed resting his head against her shoulder in resignation. What was the point in telling her to leave anyway? It was pointless for her to even try and escape this place on her own. He had ensured that.

She pulled him up further against her chest, her arms locking around his torso in a better hold. He could hear her breathing hard from the effort. He could smell her sweat over the blood and the swamp. Her tears...

'Tears?'

He looked up the best he could and sure enough he saw them freely trailing down her cheeks and dripping from her chin. His eyes widened.

The only other person who had ever cried for him was his mother. He'd never thought there would be anyone else who would...

But... Was she crying Because she knew she would die without him? Or was she crying because she would miss him when he was gone?

Kagome kept on with her task determinedly dragging him through the swamp as carefully as she could onto the shore. Once they made it to dry land He gave a soft groan as Kagome rolled him over then started to push aside his haori and his blood-soaked kisode. He stared up at her face through a haze of pain, but it was covered by her muddy tangled hair.

Once she reached the wound she paused and he heard her make a soft sound of upset. He felt bad for her having to see that. She was already the type to flinch at the sight of a dead rabbit, and if it looked half as bad as it felt it was probably a pretty grotesque injury.

She leaned away somewhat and pushed back the mess of hair from her face only making herself muddier. Once again he saw the telling wet streaks trailing from her eyes down her cheeks.

"J-Just, hold on Inuyasha, Y-You're going to be okay." She said without daring to look him in the eye.

Her voice was trembling but still he heard a bit of her stubbornness leak through. Damn, he was going to miss that about her.

She took a deep steadying breath placed one hand lightly on his stomach and the other on his injured arm and closed her eyes. His world flickered like he was losing consciousness or like there was a bright light. His train of thought was left derailed.

He felt a sudden comfort and warmth spread through him that eased some of the pain. Her hands were warm and soft on his skin. He closed his eyes and focused on the feeling, happy for the distraction.

Everything went dark.

(-)

Kagome felt exhausted. And not only because she had dragged Inuyasha from the swamp. She had never used so much of her power before all in one go. She hadn't even known she COULD use so much energy on a healing spell. Her hands shook as she pulled them away from Inuyasha's body. She breathed hard.

When she had tried this same magic on her leg it had given her very weak results. At first, she hadn't even been able to tell if it had worked at all. She had taken that to mean that her power wasn't suited to heal. But when she had made the attempt with Inuyasha that theory had been blown out of the water.

At least... If she trusted what her senses told her. It was hard to really tell from just looking at the wound. There was too much mud and gore covering his body all the way down to the skin. But she couldn't see the venom eating away at the flesh in sight anymore so she took that as a good sign.

Kagome looked up at his face. His head was tilted to the side and his eyes were closed. He seemed unconscious. She leaned in close to listen for his breathing. It was faint but she didn't hear anything unusual in the sound. Next, she brought her hands up to rest on his chest.

His heartbeat pulsed gently against her trembling fingers soothing her frayed nerves. He wasn't in immediate danger from the venom anymore as far as she could tell. But if Inuyasha had been human he would have still been dying. It was mostly up to his demon blood to save him now. All Kagome could do was help his recovery along.

Her gaze left his defenseless face and trailed to the steep pathway leading to the hot spring. Her eyes calculating. If she could get him there she could clean him and treat his injuries properly. That would give him the best possible chance. Plus they couldn't stay out here in the open. At least the spring was a closed off area, a little closer to the cave than this place was. Still, she was tired. So so tired. She looked down at her fallen protector again.

The sight of his sleeping face stirred something in her heart somehow. He looked younger, less burdened.

She had seen him doze in trees many times over the last two weeks but he had never completely dropped his guard with her around before. At night he had never gone to sleep before her or forgotten to get up early the following morning, And part of her realized that it probably meant he couldn't completely trust her. She had accepted that. He'd had a hard life and he lived in a forest full of demons. Chances were he was uncomfortable sleeping in front of anyone.

She wearily started to tug him up into a sitting position so she could hoist him onto her back. She got him there with difficulty wrapping his arms around her neck and hefting his weight onto her shaky legs. He did not stir or offer any protest. His body stayed limp, but She felt his heartbeat against her back and his breath beside her ear and somehow that gave her the strength to go forward.

She half carried half dragged him across the clearing toward the trees and the path. But it was hard going from that point on. She took the steep ascent one step at a time careful to only put her full weight down with each step when she felt sure of her foothold. Even so, she had moments where she slipped and let herself fall forward to stop from sliding back the way they had come or topple backward and risk further injuring Inuyasha.

"You... Aren't... Getting... Thirds... Ever... Again..." She panted to the oblivious dog demon after one such stumble that had resulted in bruised knees.

To be fair, she knew that he wasn't fat in the slightest and she doubted any amount of extra food would ever change that, but it felt good to vent a little. His weight was turning a fifteen-minute walk into a half an hour nightmare. Once more she struggled to her feet using her elbows to push herself up not daring to use one of her hands and risk losing her firm hold on his arms.

She kept at it stubbornly and after a long struggle not to let go of Inuyasha, collapse, or fall down the path she made it to the top and drug herself half over the edge with a groan collapsing with Inuyasha's weight on top of her.

For a while, she just laid there with him half on half off the 'stairs' just gathering herself for the last push and then whatever came after.

Realistically it felt impossible for her to even expect to have the strength for whatever came next. She had already pulled him from the swamp and used a massive amount of her energy to purify the venom from his body, then she had carted him up that steep path... How much more could she really do for him before it all caught up and she collapsed herself?

She just breathed. Obviously, it would be stupid to give up now. Even if she did collapse soon, she wouldn't do it before she had done everything she possibly could. If she wasn't capable of even that much then what was the point of being born a miko at all?

If the old priestess Keade was really right about her and she did have some tremendous power, why did she always seem to end up failing the people around her? What was the point of having power if she couldn't even fight to save a single person?

Determination filled her up again and she pulled and pushed them both over the edge then struggled triumphantly to her feet.

Her burden released a soft groan as she started walking.

"I-I've got you Inuyasha." she breathed trudging forward on unsteady legs.

They were almost there. The spring was just around the corner... She picked up her pace holding onto Inuyasha's wrists at her neck a little tighter focusing on the sound of his breathing her eyes fixed on the turn-off.

As soon as Kagome turned the corner and entered the clearing she collapsed to her sore knees not far from the water and finally laid Inuyasha down on his side. She sat down beside him for a moment, once more catching her breath.

She wearily considered the situation. He still needed to be cleaned and treated. There were some supplies she could use in her basket nearby but they were mostly just for killing infection and pain. It was just going to have to be enough.

She rose unsteadily and went to collect her basket. With it in hand, she turned her eyes on the water and Inuyasha's limp mud coated body.

Her spirits dropped. Something told her that she was in for the most awkward bath of her life.

(-)

Kagome specifically picked a spot in the water where she was close to shore so she could access her supplies and where they could sit together with Inuyasha leaned up while she worked. But once the spot was chosen, it took no small amount of effort to get Inuyasha into the water.

She scooped him up under his arms facing his back and entered the spring first fully clothed. Then she dragged Inuyasha in carefully after her.

He made a groan of protest but didn't otherwise fight her on it or stir, and while she had him half floating in the water she washed the mud from his hair and his ears unfortunately too tired to really appreciate the beauty of his inhuman features up close while she could. Then she peeled off his haori and kisode, tossing them on the rocks beside her basket to deal with later. The wounds were next. She pulled him upright against a boulder and sat beside him to wipe off his chest, stomach and arms taking special care with his injuries. But once she'd started on the wound at his belly she noticed him tense suddenly beneath her fingers.

Then she heard a sharp growl. Kagome stopped and slowly looked up to see red eyes inset with gold. For a moment she sat frozen in her position shoulder deep in the water at his side unsure of how to proceed. He looked wildly around the clearing and started to push himself up as if to rise from the water. He didn't appear to notice her or understand what was happening. He seemed angry and confused.

In an almost instinctual reaction, Kagome pushed herself up and reached out to him. One hand brushing through his bangs and over his head the other cupping his cheek and gently almost tenderly pulling his face in her direction. He stopped moving, his body tensing up as if in surprise. Then he looked down at her.

She leaned in closer and his hazy red and gold eyes met with her clear blues. He blinked and stared back mesmerized.

She gave him a timid smile. Her thumb brushed over his cheek again in a soothing motion.

"It's only me. You're safe." She assured him softly.

He relaxed a little uncertainly, his body lowering back to the water and his head slowly leaning back against the rock. His sharp eyes stayed locked with hers in an expression that nearly broke her heart.

Even though he looked more demonic than ever, he also looked confused and lost and hopeful.

Doubtlessly the physical trauma would have left anyone in such a state. But it was so strange to see him show it openly. Inuyasha always had such a strong devil may care attitude. like nothing could ever scare or hurt him. It seemed she was seeing a lot more of him in these moments of trouble and fear than she ever had just sitting around the cave or by the river with him. It felt like she was getting to see pieces of the real Inuyasha. And quite possibly the real Inuyasha felt the way anyone would in his position. scared, hurt, and alone.

Her left hand swept through his hair again finding an ear in its travels and very carefully and gently stroking the fur before sweeping down over the back of his neck.

And slowly the demonic red gleam in his eyes, The look of confusion and fear... it all fell away leaving only a tired gold gaze.

"That's it Inuyasha. I'm right here with you. Just focus on me." She murmured hoping to distract him from the pain.

Meanwhile, the bewitched hanyou was having an internal crisis.

He was having serious trouble determining what was real and what was false. He remembered this girl... Kagome... He'd found her in the woods and brought her live with him. Or was that all a dream? A snake demon vaguely came to his mind. He remembered falling... He remembered her crying as she pulled him from the mud clinging to him dragging him then... He'd been dying... right? And now for some reason, he was in the water of the hot spring with her practically in his lap stroking his hair and touching his face like a lover. The only things that had held back the belief that he really had died, was that his body felt like it had been torn to shreds and badly pieced back together and the girl in his lap was still dressed.

Her hands kept gently stroking his hair and his face subtly holding him still. Her eyes were steady and bright. They held his own as if entrancing him. Kami he wanted to drown in those eyes...

His boost of adrenalin was dying fast with every second. His eyes grew heavy. He fought the sensation.

Her eyelids drooped a little too as if in response. Her expression warm and gentle. "If you're tired just rest," She murmured gently.

"I'll be right here with you the whole time. I promise you, I won't go anywhere."

He nodded faintly and she smiled sweetly in response. "Alright, Just lay back and let me finish, okay?"

The second that her face left his shortened field of vision and her hands withdrew to return to her task Inuyasha's world became a blur. He vaguely felt her hands on his body quickly and gently cleaning away the blood and muck. She was still more gentle around the area of his aching and burning stomach.

He watched her shape move beside him in the water. She started to talk to him gently as she worked. He couldn't catch most of the words anymore but it was comfort enough just to hear her voice in such a disconcerting situation.

He felt vulnerable like this. If she'd wanted to she could have left him to die there in the mud. She could have killed him by now and she probably still could. Instead, she was cleaning him up and treating his injuries.

He closed his eyes wearily unable to keep them open a moment longer. Her voice lulling him back into a lazy relaxed state. He drifted back into sleep. His head filled with sweet dreams of Kagome.

Kagome sitting on his lap and stroking his face in the hot springs, touching his chest, kissing him sweetly...

Chapter Text

That evening, Inuyasha's head throbbed and his side burned faintly as he finally started to wake up. The morning coming back only in bits and pieces at first. The snake and Kagome's rescue, The tears running down her face, The way she had comforted him in the bath... Even his dream about kissing her came back to him, if grudgingly. He mentally grimaced even as he opened his eyes. What in the hell was he thinking?!

He found himself laying on his back with his head resting on something warm and soft. Not far away he saw his fire rat robe and his blood stained and torn kisode draped over a rock by the water.

He blinked and then frantically pushed himself up shoving aside the cloth draped over his body like a blanket in his haste to check the rest of his wardrobe. His chest was bare except for a clean white bandage that was wrapped tight around his stomach and another around his right arm. But Thankfully his fundoshi and Hakama were still in place, and still more thankfully they were damp indicating he'd been at least half dressed for his impromptu bath. He sighed in relief and started to push himself up higher looking around for the girl who had taken care of him in his embarrassing moment of weakness.

He felt and heard something fall from his hair to land behind him and whipped around to see Kagome sleeping there. She was leaning back against a tree with her head tilted to the left side, her messy damp hair was plastered half across her face. He had been laying in her lap... He looked to where the object had fallen from his hair. Her hand rested there limply at her side.

"Kagome?"

She didn't respond. She didn't so much as twitch.

"Kagome?!" he called a little louder.

Still nothing.

Something in his heart dropped. He pulled himself completely upright and twisted around ignoring his body's protests at the action. He reached forward putting his hands on her shoulders and shaking her gently but firmly.

"KAGOME!" he called even louder now. It was almost a shout.

She made a quiet sound of confusion and surprise moving her head as if being startled from a deep sleep.

A ragged sigh of relief rushed from his lips. For some reason, he'd worried that... Somehow...

She opened her tired eyes and slowly turned to face him. He stared back at her in relief.

As she looked at him a smile slowly spread over her exhausted face. "You're okay..." she whispered hoarsely.

An irrational anger filled him and he shot her a glare."Think of yourself baka!" he snapped. "What the HELL did you think you were doing charging into the swamp like that?! There could have been more demons! And you ignored me when I told you to leave! How did you get me up the damn path?!"

"Anything else?" she asked looking quietly bemused.

Her remark riled him.

"YES." he practically snarled. "How in the HELL am I still alive?! That was a DEMON snake's poison, not a goddamn garden snake's!"

"Oh, that," she replied conversationally despite her obvious exhaustion. "I purified the venom from your body."

He paused. "...Purified?" he asked in a voice of dumbfounded confusion.

She gave an awkward smile that managed to make her exhausted expression into one of embarrassment. "Yeah... I'm... sort of a miko."

She bowed her head a little in apology "I'm sorry, I didn't tell you sooner Inuyasha. It's just... How do you bring up something like that?"

He narrowed his eyes at her and pulled away somewhat, still maintaining his grip on her shoulders.

"I don't know," he replied glaring in irritation. "Maybe, 'Hey! I'm Kagome and I'm a stupid runaway girl with miko powers!?" he growled.

She lifted her head back to lean it against the tree again and laughed wearily. "Yeah maybe."

His frown deepened. For some reason, the fact that she was a miko and hadn't taken the time to tell him in the entire two weeks they had been living together didn't bother him. What bothered him was that just by looking at her he knew for a fact that she was too weak to stand let alone walk. She had the look of someone on their last legs ready to pass out at any second.

"How much power did you use?" He asked sharply.

The girl grimaced slightly like she knew she had been caught doing something bad. "...A lot," came a sheepish admission. "More than I've ever used on a healing spell before."

Inuyasha's golden eyes narrowed. "And then you carried me up that hill?" he asked incredulously.

Kagome nodded and suddenly smiled a little mischievously. "Yep, and By the way, you're not getting thirds anymore. I promised you that on the way up."

That forced a small smile out of him. "Like you could stop me. " he sneered softly.

She laughed quietly, her eyes sparkling despite her weary state.

He gave up with a sigh. What was the point in getting mad at her for saving his life? Even if she was weak, she didn't smell like she was dying. So what was there to get mad about?

"What I really don't understand is, if you had that kind of power why didn't you use it on your leg?" He asked crossly.

"Well, I tried and it seemed to speed things along, but I don't think it's meant to be used on my own body,"

She smiled again. "I'm so glad it worked for you though, I'm so glad you're okay." Her expression flickered to worry. "You ARE okay, right? It doesn't still hurt, does it?"

Kagome's trembling hand reached out as if to touch his bandages but he grabbed her hand and pushed it back toward her gently. She blinked at their intertwined fingers and looked up at him inquiringly.

"I'm fine." He assured her. "You're the one who's not doing so good."

Her smile returned and her hand clasped his gently. "No, I'm okay really," she told him softly. "I'm just tired."

"If you're tired then let me take you back to the cave."

Kagome gave him a look of worry and automatically shook her head. "Don't, you shouldn't be moving around right now."

"I really wish you'd stop worrying about me for a second and start worrying about yourself." the half demon growled, his hands still holding hers between the two of them. Inuyasha glanced down at their joined hands. He could feel a fine tremble running through the limb. Her fingers were so small and fragile compared to his...

"I'm okay." she repeated stubbornly.

He looked back up at her face, narrowing his eyes again and let go of her hand to reach forward and tug her into his arms. She resisted very weakly. "Wait! Stop it baka you'll hurt yourself!" she protested putting her hands on his shoulders and pushing away with what little strength she had left.

He gave her a grunt and wrapped his arms around her back pulling her against him with more force. Even in his injured state, she simply couldn't push him away.

Once he had collected her, he stood up. With the motion, she seemed to realize that fighting it at this point would just make things worse than letting him carrying her would. She gave in and sighed before resting her head against his chest as he held her bridal style.

"Dummy." he chided the girl lightly before looking at the clearing intent on gathering her basket and his haori before leaving. Something white and blue caught his eye at his feet. Kagome's new kisode and kimono. He blinked. Why would they be in the dirt? Come to think of it why hadn't she thrown away her old kimono yet? At this point, it was shorter and filthier than ever. And they'd just had a bath (technically). That would have been the perfect chance for her to finally wear her new clothes she had worked so hard on.

"Kagome? why's your new kimono on the ground?" he asked giving the girl a look of confusion. But she wasn't looking at him. Her eyes were closed and her breathing was already evening out.

"Hm... I wanted... You to be warm." she murmured drowsily.

He watched wordlessly as the girl lost consciousness.

How was it that everything Kagome did, Everything she said, managed to pull at his heartstrings with so much strength?

Kagome did a lot of things around him or for him that ordinary people would have never even considered doing for a lowly half-breed. And yet it all seemed to come so naturally to her. It made NO sense... Shouldn't her position as a miko have made her even more biased against him?

He frowned in perplexion.

And if she was a miko it meant that maybe even if he HAD died she could have still gotten out by herself. It would have been harder without him but with her miko powers, Kagome had a very good chance of making it out on her own. Most of the small fries would have run from her simply from her flaring her reiki. He suspected that when she had healed him she had done just that, sending every demon in range skittering in the opposite direction.

So then...

Earlier, when Inuyasha had seen Kagome cry as she'd pulled him from the swamp, he had wondered if she was crying out of fear for herself.

But now looking down at her new kimono laying in the dirt while she was in rags... He doubted it.

(-)

The girl remained in a deep sleep as he carried her back to the cave. He took his time on the path minding the burning ache in his side, but thankfully the short trip was without incident. As soon as he entered the cave he dropped off their things carelessly at the entrance and took Kagome straight to the bed. There, he gently laid her down on the furs before tucking her in. The motion stirred her and she looked up at him wearily.

"Didn't mean to wake you up." he murmured almost apologetically.

She yawned and started to push herself up slowly and unsteadily. "Don't worry. I'm thirsty anyway. I'll just..."

"Like hell, you will," he growled shooting her a scolding look. "Just wait here." He rose to his feet and went to the left-hand wall of the cave where they kept their cooking supplies and the water buckets. He picked up the one with the ladle inside and came forward to sit with her again.

"Here." he offered holding the ladle of water out toward her sternly.

She blushed but obediently leaned forward and drank. Once she had finished, he offered her another helping but she politely declined and laid back down so he drank his fill as well then tossed the ladle back into the bucket and laid back against the wall.

As they finally relaxed in the safety of the cave a long silence sat between them.

The whole way here a question had burned inside him. Inuyasha wanted to know why she had cried. He needed to know or he might get carried away with himself. He needed to know where he stood...

"Hey..." The half demon said at last.

"Yeah?" She replied looking up at him at her side.

"...Why were you crying before?"

She gave him a slightly confused look. "I-In the swamp?"

He nodded and looked at her probingly.

"Because... I thought I was going to lose you." She answered looking pained. "I thought you were going to die."

There was a half a heartbeat of quiet as he soaked her answer in.

"You shed tears for me." he said after a moment of thought looking away. "Cried for me..."

He sounded confused awed by that.

There was another moment of silence where neither of them seemed to know what to say. Kagome was the one to break it.

She rose somewhat and moved her body back towards the wall as far as she could on the furs.

"Here." she said softly. "I know you're just as tired as I am. Not even a fully fledged demon would have come out completely unscathed after only a few hours. And you'll sleep better on the bed."

He didn't bother reminding her that he typically slept fine in trees. Maybe before today he would have, But not now.

"...Wouldn't you be worried that I'd take advantage of you?" he asked instead flashing her a small fanged smirk.

"You would never do something like that." she replied. Her expression was wholehearted and utterly trusting. The smirk vanished. His heart pounded.

"You're not embarrassed?" he asked warily.

"We can be embarrassed about it tomorrow if you're so dead set on it." she answered with a small smile. "It's your bed, not mine. I should be the one to clear out of it if you're tired."

"But you're human. You get sick easier."

She fixed him with a weak glare. "Look, Either we both sleep on this bed or I'll sleep on the ground too." she replied firmly. "I have some solidarity you know."

"Stubborn girl," Inuyasha replied wryly.

He gave the empty spot in the bed a long look then slowly eased his aching body down to the furs beside her.

He laid there stiff as a board staring at her face as if expecting her to suddenly realize how crazy she was being. She stared back intently for a moment and smiled softly.

"Don't look so worried." she whispered with a hint of a laugh behind it.

He almost shot back a sharp I'm not worried! But thought better of it. He settled for a soft "Keh." at her comment and looked away from her face up at the ceiling of the cave. He still felt overwhelmed. His memory of her reassuring words while she stroked his hair and his cheek at the hot spring came back to him. The memory of her utterly lost face as she cried for him. His delusional dream of kissing her.

He wanted to say something to her. Anything that might force her to reveal her true feelings to him. The last thing he wanted was for his time with Kagome to all be a deception. But he didn't think she was tricking him. She sounded and smelled incredibly sincere with everything she said.

She nuzzled her cheek against the furs as she let herself start to fall asleep beside him. But he wasn't ready for her to leave him alone to his thoughts just yet.

"Kagome."

She opened her eyes and looked at him again letting him know she was listening. With those clear blue eyes fixed on him, he felt a little less certain.

"If it's not too much trouble... I was wondering if it would be alright if I hold you tonight." As soon as the words had stumbled out of his mouth he wished he could kick himself. He grimaced at his thoughtless request but in the dim light of the cave, she didn't seem to notice.

She blinked at him then slowly smiled a little. "Okay." she consented quietly.

It took him several seconds to process her answer. He blinked at her in surprise and blushed Despite himself.

Kagome watched him expectantly. So carefully, Inuyasha reached to her waist and gently tugged the girl toward him. Somehow even that small action made it feel like he was pulling down a star from the sky. Like what he was doing was impossible. In all honesty, it should have been.

She obliged and moved as bade to the center of the bed where he wrapped his arms around her still careful in his movements. He kept his claws very carefully away from her skin, worried that if she felt them she would remember he wasn't human. The last thing he wanted to do was end up scaring her or chasing her away.

Instead, her head nestled itself against his shoulder like it was the most natural thing in the world and her hands rested against his bare chest. She sighed and he felt her warm breath against his skin. His heart leapt at the sensation.

"Is... Is this Okay?" he asked watching her reactions carefully.

She nodded against him.

"Mhm. This is nice." she murmured contentedly.

Slowly He felt her breathing become lighter and her body start to relax against him.

"...I've never been held like this before." she suddenly confided in a sleepy voice.

A shiver ran up his spine and he held her a little tighter burying his nose in her hair if only to hide his face. He felt like he was making a fool out of himself. But... She didn't seem to mind. She nuzzled him back drowsily and continued to fall asleep perfectly happy in his arms.

Kami... He wanted to protect her. He wanted to cage her up here in his forest and never ever let her leave. The memory of kissing her in his dream ruthlessly came back to him for what must have been the one-hundredth time in the last hour. What wouldn't he have given for that to have been real?

More than anything He wanted her to want him back. Physically and emotionally. His entire being ached for that.

But for the moment, he pretended like he had already accomplished those feats and settled for holding her tight.

(-)

The rest of the evening and night Kagome slept undisturbed. Sometimes whispering incomprehensible gibberish in a sleepy voice and sometimes turning a bit in her dreams.

He held her through all of it. Sometimes sleeping with his chin resting against the crown of her head and sometimes waking up at one of her small movements and just watching her.

He wondered if his feelings for her were simply lust or something more complicated. He wondered what she felt for him.

That night he cautiously opened the dreaded Pandora's box, and sitting patiently at the bottom was a truth he had felt creeping up on him all along.

He loved Kagome.

And now that he had let the thought enter his head, there was no way on earth to escape it.

Chapter Text

It had been about five months since Inuyasha had last come to a human village. And so far, this trip was the same as any other. Aggravating.

Usually he only really needed to go into a village if he had clothes in need of replacing or wanted rice or vegetables when the forest's variety of food was scarce in the winter.

But this was a special circumstance.

He walked through the crowd, ignoring the people who accidentally bumped and jostled him. So long as he didn't feel a pickpocket at work he was happy to keep his head down and the hood of his cloak low. No need to draw attention to himself, at least not right away.

But even with his disguise, he heard a few people on the edges of the crowd start whispering about him and warning others off. The merchants no doubt. Most of them knew damn well who and what he was, cloak or no cloak. They'd either unhappily dealt with him in the past or heard of him from other vendors. And most were perfectly happy to blow his cover to anyone in earshot. Talk of a white haired demon with yellow eyes wearing a black cloak made for juicy gossip, or so he assumed.

Inuyasha didn't bother to look up and identify the speakers for certain. Looking up at any one of them while they talked about him only ever made things worse. Instead, he kept an eye on where he was walking and left the voices faceless.

"...I remember, He glared at Kurama's girl last year and she nearly died of fright!"

"Who wouldn't? That one has eyes like a beast."

"Why has nobody killed that thing yet?"

"At least it isn't tearing up the village."

"Not anymore anyway... Remember when it would destroy your booth if you tried to turn it away?"

"There are never any monks around when you need them..."

Inuyasha stopped at the first stand and watched the woman there stiffen in terror. He ignored her obvious fear and unslung the bag from his shoulder before reaching in and bringing out a random jewel the size of an apple.

As he placed down the jewel, (Which turned out to be a diamond) he heard the woman gasp quietly in surprise and awe.

"I need two bolts of white linen cloth, one thick, one normal. And a scrubbing board if you have one." he informed the woman before leaning back and folding his arms.

There was a moment where the young woman simply stared at the diamond seemingly trying to process the situation and then in a flash she was scrambling to the back of the store.

For some reason her reaction made him think of Kagome. How when he had first shown her his wealth she'd placed the ruby she had picked up back on the pile as though worried it would bite her. He bowed his head a little and smiled slightly in the privacy of his hood.

In seconds the cloth was laid out before him along with a scuffed and slightly dented washing board. It had probably been the store's.

"Anything else Demon-sama?" she asked anxiously.

"No. That's it." he replied ignoring the irksome title as he thrust the board into his bag and slung the cloth over his shoulder.

The woman nodded and bowed low as he started toward the next stand. The murmurs started in again.

"What does that thing want with so much cloth?"

"It's acting stranger than usual."

"Someone should chase out that monster this time. It's up to something."

He snorted and trudged on. Kagome's sleeping face came back to him reminding him why he was here. He thought of the way she had made a soft noise of distress as he'd pulled himself away from her embrace that morning.

Damn. That sound had made him want to just forget all about his idea of going to the village. But if he was going to go then it had to be while all the demons in the area were staying well away from his den.

Last night Kagome had likely thrown the entire forest into a state of chaos. Two stronger demons energies had seemingly disappeared yesterday while a reiki user's aura had flared. And although his energy had only been diminished in his wounded state and Kagome had been using her reiki to heal him, to a demon's senses it would have felt like a priestess strong enough to make it to the heart of the forest had killed or critically wounded him and the other demon.

He knew too well that it wouldn't be long until they regained their curiosity and came back to the borders of his territory to test it's limits. But right now, all the demons in the area were likely still in a panic. Better to get this errand out of the way while they dared not approach her.

If he was fast then he would be home in an hour and a half, And Maybe if he was lucky she would still be asleep. She had been really worn out after everything that had happened the day before. If she was still asleep then maybe he could curl back up with her again and she wouldn't know the difference. This trip was turning out to be more tiresome than he had expected for it to be.

He went through his mental list collecting all the things Kagome had mentioned a desire for. A proper hair brush, vinegar, a pestle and mortar, soap, chopsticks, candles, paper and ink, paintbrushes, more white and blue thread.

And something else, A bow and plenty of arrows.

He got her the bow because when he had nearly died to that damn snake the thing he'd regretted the most was that he hadn't left a way out for her.

He was going to rectify that. First was the bow, Next he would show her the safest easiest path out of the forest for a human. And If that way out meant she could leave without his assistance then so be it. Laying there in the mud thinking that he had failed her had been so much worse than the idea of her leaving on her own.

The crowd had mostly dispersed by the time he got to the end of his list and people were staying well away from him. But the voices were only growing louder and more agitated. It seemed the longer he was in the village the more unsettled the humans became.

"Do demons use hair brushes?"

"What about all that cloth over its shoulder? Doesn't it usually just buy premade clothes?"

"That bag is full of gems... If we kill the beast now we-"

"Fool!"

"Don't let it hear you say that!"

"I bet the reason that creature is buying all that stuff is because it caught a woman."

"I don't doubt it. That monster has always been a Nuisance."

Inuyasha grit his teeth in his aggravation.

'It, Beast, Demon, Creature, Monster...'

'Kagome doesn't think I'm a monster.' The thought surged through him and had him straightening his shoulders and raising his head defiantly. It was almost over... Just a little longer and he would be out of here...

He walked straight through the streets now focusing on Kagome's scent that clung to his very skin. And found that despite the hateful voices around him growing louder than ever. Somehow, he felt shielded.

Kagome had done so much for him, from the moment he had met her. He wanted to repay that.

That was the thought that made him pause as he passed a stand he normally would have never looked twice at. A silver hairpin with pearls and sapphires in the shape of a strange flower glinted from the corner of his eye on a jeweler's stand and he stopped to look. Without even thinking about why he pictured the white of the pearls on their delicate chains against the pure black of her hair, Compared the sapphires to her eyes, And made a decision.

He approached the stand.

(-)

Running through the forest again was a welcome relief, but once he found himself well on his way home he couldn't help but delve into his thoughts from the night before again.

Did he really love Kagome? Was that what he really felt?

She was living with him because she had nowhere else to go. If he didn't have a chance with her then who the hell did? She most likely couldn't even live close to any humans because word of her presence might make it back to the demon chasing her. It was out in the wild alone, or out in the wild with him.

To build on that, Kagome had said she wanted to start over and forget her past. And he knew she cared about him, yesterday proved it. She'd even let him hold her. After all that, He wanted to think he did have a chance of being with her. Even if it was just wishful thinking.

Why couldn't she be his? why couldn't he just ask her if... if maybe...

'Because you're a half demon.' Whispered something at the back of his head. His thoughtful expression hardened slightly even as he ran.

He remembered his mother crying in his youth. She'd known even then the life he was going to have. Everyone knew. Half-demons didn't get to have friends or families of their own. They lived as outcasts if they lived long at all.

Then the feel of Kagome's wet hands on his face came back to him. The unwavering look in her clear blue eyes. Her fingers pushing back his hair and stroking his ear oh so gently as she leaned in toward him. That was it. That was all it had taken to have his heart stolen by a weak human girl, and she probably didn't even know.

His heart pounded in his chest just thinking about it.

He wasn't stupid. He knew she had only touched him that way to comfort him in his moment of pain and confusion. But... Strangely it hadn't felt forced. She'd taken her time and had been so gentle...

Even if she couldn't love him, being with her was still better than the boring empty existence he had led so far. For now, that was enough, and If that was all he ever got from Kagome It was still more than he expected.

But he'd be lying if he said he didn't want more.

(-)

When Inuyasha got home he found the girl still in her old kimono sitting in her sewing spot under his tree working diligently on a kisode. The bittersweet feelings of relief and disappointment washed over him at the sight.

It would have been better if she had been still asleep... Then he could have abused the agreement from last night and slept beside her for just a little longer.

Inuyasha sighed and reached into his haori where he had hidden the hairpin. He inspected the strange sapphire flower with silver leaves running his clawed fingers over the jewels a little anxiously. He already knew Kagome wasn't greedy. There was a lot of jewelry in his den that she had shut away with all the other riches without a second glance.

The one piece of jewelry she had kept for herself had basically been salvaged from the trash pile. It was just a scuffed brass comb only good to be used as a hairbrush. The nicer combs hadn't even been considered. She only took what she needed.

Still, he hoped that she would accept the hairpin at least as a gift. He wasn't sure how he would feel if she just stored it with the rest of the treasure and forgot about it...

He took a deep calming breath. Even if she didn't like it, he had still gotten her a bag full of things she would like.

Inuyasha stored the hairpin back out of sight and dropped down not far away from the miko. She jumped a little at his abrupt entrance. But in an instant, she'd realized it was only him and a smile of relief broke out over her face. In the next second, she was putting aside her work and unsteadily pulling herself to her feet to go to him.

"Inuyasha you're finally back! Where on earth were you?!" she asked with her hand finding his sleeve and tugging at him like an anxious child.

He grinned back at her warmer than he usually would have, suddenly he was almost giddy with the excitement of his gifts. And he had to admit, after listening to the villagers all morning Kagome's voice was a balm.

"Sorry to leave for so long. I tried to be quick."

She gave him a slightly surprised look at his apology then seemed to notice the cloth and the stuffed bag slung over his shoulder and blinked at it curiously.

Inuyasha's smile widened. "I guess you wanna see what I got you?" He asked a little teasingly.

"For me?" She asked looking back at his face in perplexion. "You don't have to give me anything."

He snorted haughtily. "Yeah well, I'm not going back to the village and demanding any refunds so you better use what I got you."

"You went all the way to the village?!" She asked with a sudden look of worry. "What about your injuries!? "

"All healed." He replied dropping the bag gently on the ground beside them and giving her a calm look in return.

Her eyes narrowed suspiciously "I don't believe you!"

The half-demon snorted dropping the pile of cloth beside the bag. Then shrugged off the left side of his haori and kisode letting the fabric slide down his arm showing her his entire side. He was careful to keep the hairpin out of the way and hidden as he let her look him over.

He still had a rather grotesque looking scar on his belly that stretched from the top of his hip to just beneath his heart but it was already starting to fade at the edges.

"It's just... A scar..." she murmured looking him over in awe.

"Yep. After everything you did yesterday, my body had no problem healing right back up again. There won't even be that much tomorrow."

She stared at it for a moment or two longer in amazement and then smiled up at him with a look of open relief. "I'm really glad. You had me so worried yesterday."

He shrugged and covered himself "There was nothin to be worried about. Without the snake's poison, it wasn't that serious an injury for me. "

"I guess I see that now," she answered meekly.

"Anyway, I got you some things from town." he reminded her, casually nudging the pile toward her with his foot. "Wanna see?"

Kagome smiled at him warmly and looked down considering the pile of cloth first.

"Oh good, more linen!" she praised kneeling down and pulling it into her lap for inspection.

He nodded hunching down on all fours in front of her.

"Got you the thicker stuff too. For winter."

She smiled still broader. "That was really thoughtful Inuyasha. With all this, I'll have plenty to work on for awhile."

He watched with satisfaction as she carefully laid the cloth to the side with her sewing. Next, she opened the rather stretched bag and immediately found the bow. As she pulled it out. He took out his cloak dropping it out of the way of her inspection.

"A bow?" She asked looking at him in question.

He nodded. "You're a miko, right? in that case, I'm pretty sure a bow is the best bet for you."

"I've never held a bow before," she told him, turning it over in her hands reverently.

He frowned. "Never?"

She shook her head. "No. My Father would have never let me touch any sort of weapon let alone wield one. I guess your sword was the first real weapon I've ever held."

'So she does have a father then?' He shrugged off the thought and opened his mouth to say 'I wouldn't really count that thing.' but she interrupted him.

"Thank you for trusting me so much Inuyasha. "

He gave her a look of confusion then realized with a start that he WAS putting trust in her. Here he was a half-demon giving a weapon to a miko. The irony wasn't as lost on her as it had been on him. But now that he was thinking of it, he'd never heard of anything so crazy in his life...

"I promise not to hurt myself with it or to shoot it carelessly," she told him seriously.

A smile turned up the corners of his mouth slightly. Strike that, the irony WAS lost on her.

'Silly girl.'

"Good." He answered haughtily. "Now keep going."

She smiled at him in a warm innocent way and laid her new bow and arrows beside the cloth then continued to dig through the bag cheerfully.

Her expression only became warmer and warmer As she unearthed his gifts and thanked him for each one. With every look in his direction, All the ugly words from before melted away in the glow of her happiness. It really had been well worth the unpleasant experience to bring her back even one thing that could make her smile so warmly.

As he watched her go through the bag his hand subtly rested over the hairpin hidden in his haori. But somehow he knew He wasn't ready to give it to her just yet. The moment didn't feel right.

She looked up smiling at him as she found the soap. And laughed that at least now she could take a proper bath.

His hand gently squeezed his hidden treasure even as he smiled back. Maybe not right now. But he would give it to her soon.

(-)

After putting away her gifts and sitting back down with some of their leftover berries and her sewing, Inuyasha surprised Kagome by sitting down just to her left, close enough that their clothes touched. So far he had always sat above her in a tree while she worked on things like this. The sudden change in seating arrangements left her feeling a little shy.

Maybe he was sitting so close to her because he was finally starting to really trust her? Kagome smiled to herself at the thought.

She had to admit, it was a nice change. Before she had been forced to flee her home Kagome had always lived surrounded by people. Being alone did not come naturally to her at all. Kagome had been so lonely and miserable in those two months by herself that she had been close to giving up. Inuyasha's presence had finally made things bearable. Like finding an oasis in the desert. Her smile grew tender. Or more accurately, A shelter from the storm.

She was starting to suspect that maybe Inuyasha felt the same way. That maybe he'd been lonely too, even if he wasn't the type to admit it.

The way he had been for that bath kept coming back to her at the oddest moments. He'd had such a pleading look in his eyes. Just seeing it then had nearly broken her heart.

And then there was his request. It may have been a little bold. But even in the dim light, she had still caught the blush on his cheeks and the awed look on his face as he had gently pulled her close. Then the way he had held her...

Kagome blushed at the thought. He'd been so tender with her. She'd never felt so safe before...

She'd been contemplating inviting him to join her again. But in the end, there was no way she was brave enough to make such a suggestion. It had been one thing for him to request it last night after everything they had been through. But doing it again just because it had felt nice would be misleading.

When it came down to it Kagome wasn't sure how she felt about being so intimate with Inuyasha. Really she hardly even knew the man. She certainly liked him, he was handsome and strong and he had his moments of kindness. But he was also a hard headed jerk who insulted her on a regular basis.

And maybe she was a little worried that they would get carried away with themselves if she invited him back.

'Like you probably should have worried about a little more last night.'

The girl bit her lip slightly in her embarrassment and felt her blush deepen. Good thing he couldn't hear her thoughts or she would have died of mortification. As it was, he was just watching her hands move intently. An ear twitching in another direction from time to time but otherwise relaxed.

There was no way she would invite him back tonight, that would be way too much too quickly. But maybe... If she just leaned against his side he wouldn't mind?

She decided to go for it, slowly leaning in his direction until her shoulder and his connected.

When Inuyasha noticed the mild pressure on his side his eyes widened and he glanced at her with a flicker of surprise. She smiled back at his expression trying hard not to laugh. He could be pretty cute when she managed to catch him off guard.

"Don't look so worried," she teased him, repeating her words from last night without a second thought.

The words made his face go red. Which made her want to tease him even more. She valiantly refrained, watching as he rapidly shut his mouth and looked back at her hands again still wide-eyed. She bit her lip to keep from giggling at his embarrassment and turned back to her work.

After a second or two, something inside of her fluttered as she felt a gentle returning pressure on her side as he leaned against her too.

It was such a tiny gesture really. But somehow... It felt huge.

Chapter Text

Inuyasha felt half bemused and half worried the third time he caught Kagome falling asleep at his side still holding her sewing.

They'd just had lunch. It was far too early for her to be falling asleep now. But even so, her head slowly kept finding its way to his shoulder for a few seconds and then jerking back to attention again.

On one hand, he couldn't help but find it cute the way she kept nodding off with her guard so blatantly lowered around him. But on the other, he worried that maybe she was still being affected by the drain on her energy from yesterday. She had been unsteady on her feet all day

While they had gotten their lunch of grilled fish prepared He'd noticed that Kagome was moving rather sluggishly, and there were moments when she had swayed a little that made him worry she would fall over.

The miko told him over their meal that she'd been working on a second kisode for herself While waiting for him this morning and that now she planned on finishing the project in one day. But he suspected that the real reason she had set herself to the chore so adamantly was only because she was too tired to manage much more than that. Even making the tea for their meal seemed to have taxed her somewhat.

But once they had been fed, The girl had scarcely sat down with him again to finish her project as promised before she started yawning and falling asleep.

Her head sank to his shoulder a fourth time and he sighed reaching behind her with his right arm to shake her shoulder gently.

He leaning forward to get a better look at her face. "Kagome."

Her head jerked up again.

"Hn? W-what is it?" she asked in a voice that was clearly only half awake.

"C'mon, you need to rest." he said, hinting her toward the cave.

"I'm fine," she argued weakly, picking up on the seam she had been stitching prior.

But Inuyasha wasn't having it. He narrowed his eyes at the side of her head and plucked the cloth and the needle from her hands to lay them haphazardly with her other sewing things.

"H-Hey! Inu-YASHA!"

"No." he growled, tucking his hands under her arms and rising. The action forced the girl to her feet beside him.

"I can walk fine on my own!" she protested in a sort of sleepy whine .

"Then don't make me do it for you." he scolded her simply before pulling his hands away and stepping back. She stumbled forward a little but then found her balance and stopped to glare at him with a look of irritation.

He looked back unfazed and after a short standoff, she sighed.

"Maybe... I am a little tired," she admitted wearily, turning back to the cave with a look of defeat.

He relaxed.

"Then just go sleep. It's not like you really need to get this done today. "

She nodded and walked forward with Inuyasha trailing behind. He stopped just inside the cave and watched as if to make sure she didn't intend to get out of going to bed the moment his back was turned.

Kagome flopped down on the furs with a sigh, not bothering to cover herself with the blanket. It was still the warm time of day anyway.

"Goodnight Inuyasha," she sighed.

He gave an amused snort and just replied with "It's daytime baka,"

But she was already fast asleep.

(-)

The world was dark.

At first, that was all Kagome knew. Then slowly she became aware that she was laying on a hardwood floor. She could feel the grain of the wood beneath her fingers.

And what was more, she knew this place. The stale smell gave it away, The feel, the complete and utter silence. This was the same dark room she had escaped from two months ago.

A chill ran down her spine and she attempted to get up and either try to find a way out or something to defend herself with, But no matter how hard she tried to move she couldn't. She couldn't scream for help, or try and break down the door, or find a weapon... She just laid there helplessly. Tears welled in her eyes and her heart raced as she stared at the faint outline of a door that seemed to come more and more into focus.

It was all over. He would never drop his guard with her again. Kagome's one chance at freedom had slipped away forever. 'What happened?' She wondered frantically. 'How did I get here?!'

Suddenly the faint sound of heavy footsteps coming closer echoed down the long hallway outside the door. Kagome stopped breathing. The only sounds she could hear were her terrified heartbeat and the footsteps growing louder and louder.

Then they stopped in front of the room, and slowly the door to her prison creaked open to reveal the silhouette of a tall man with very long black hair that fell in waves. She stared at him with tears dripping down her cheeks in earnest now, her panic ever increasing. His sneering red eyes glinted as he took in her prone form on the ground and a dark smile touched his mouth.

"Welcome home, Kagome." Came the self-satisfied voice of the one creature she feared and hated the most.

'Naraku.'

(-)

The girl jolted forward in terror, fully prepared to fight for her freedom now that she had regained the ability to move.

Her eyes were wide and she was breathing as if she had just run for days. But as she looked around, she realized she wasn't back in her prison at all. She was in Inuyasha's den safe and sound. She stared at all the familiar objects she could barely make out in the dark scattered around her new home.

The furs of the bed, The clean dishes stacked neatly, The clothes chest, Her pile of sewing projects waiting to be worked on...

Kagome took a deeper more calming breath and pressed a hand to her sweaty forehead. Then she noticed her cheeks felt damp.

'I must have cried in my sleep,' she thought tiredly.

Hesitantly, she brought her other hand up to wipe away the tears and took another deep breath willing her pounding heart to settle. After a moment or two, she realized she wasn't going to get any more sleep and resigned herself to getting around.

She slowly pushed herself up the rest of the way and a blanket she didn't remember pulling over herself fell to her lap. She looked at it confused for a moment.

'Inuyasha must have done that,' she realized with a small amount of surprise.

The girl blushed a little. For some reason, the image of him draping a blanket over her while she slept had her heart fluttering. She looked around the cave for the half demon but found him nowhere.

'He must be sleeping in his usual tree tonight...'

Kagome sighed again and got to her feet ignoring the chilly air. It was a relief to be breathing fresh air, cold or not. It helped chase the stagnant air of her prison far away from her mind. She went to leave the cave until her eye caught sight of her clean white kisode amongst her bathing supplies. She paused and looked herself over.

The seam of her current kimono was splitting along the sides and the whole thing was damp with her sweat. The girl frowned and reached down to pick up the kisode. It was somewhat dusty from when Inuyasha had dropped it but it wasn't seriously dirty.

She took the kisode with her back a little deeper into the cave, brushing off the dust as she went. Once she was a little more sure of her privacy, she shrugged off her old clothes and wrapped the new kisode around herself tieing it closed with her old faded blue obi.

"That's a start." she murmured in some satisfaction. And with that, she tossed her old clothes aside the laundry pile to make rags out of later and set out into the clearing.

Kagome was met with a pleasant breeze as soon as she set foot on the moss outside and closed her eyes taking in a deep breath. It was impossible to do anything else in that moment but savor her freedom. She opened her eyes once the breeze had passed and looked out at the dark quiet world around herself.

She felt calmed by the tranquility of the forest and the beauty of the night sky peeking through the branches above her. The moon must have been up even though she couldn't readily see it because the forest seemed to have a blue glow about it.

Kagome walked on into the clearing, almost subconsciously moving toward Inuyasha's favorite tree although she hadn't caught sight of him in his usual spot.

Now that she thought of it... This was the first time she had been outside at night since she had met Inuyasha. Lately, he'd kept her so busy during the day that by evening she was always exhausted. Usually, she slept from just after sunset until a little past sunrise.

Looking at the sky, she felt it safe to assume that she had missed dinner again. Not that it really mattered. She didn't feel hungry, actually, right now she still felt so anxious that she feared she would throw up if she ate anything. Her stomach was tied in knots.

"It's weird for you to be up earlier than I am," came a calm male voice from up in the trees. The poor girl started in surprise and turned her gaze directly upward toward the voice. There she spotted Inuyasha looking down at her from a languid position in his pine tree from far higher up than she was used to seeing him.

"But then you did go to sleep really early too." He commented tilting his head a little for a better look.

His eyes reflected the moonlight back at her and gleamed gold in the darkness like a wild animal's. Still, she couldn't help but smile at him a little. Honestly, she found that she admired his wilder features. But in the moment, she couldn't help but compare his curious golden eyes to the chilling crimson that had frightened her only moments before.

'Inuyasha's eyes are much better.' She found herself thinking decidedly.

She smiled a little further. "I'm sorry if I woke you up, I was just getting some fresh air."

"It's fine." He answered easily pushing himself upright and stretching. "I don't need as much sleep as you humans do." In the next minute, he had dropped from the tree and was very casually approaching her. In three steps he paused with a look of surprise on his face.

"You've been crying,"he said with a look of worry and confusion.

She looked at him startled for a second then turned away embarrassed.

"You can tell?" she asked apologetically.

"Keh, If I can smell a rabbit from three days ago, Why should it surprise you that I can smell tears that are right in front of me?" he asked, drawing a little nearer to stand before her.

"I guess... I just didn't think about it."

"What's wrong?"

She shook her head wearily. "Just a bad dream," the girl murmured looking toward the ground.

Inuyasha gave a thoughtful pause.

"You... Wanna talk about it?" he asked cautiously.

The girl turned her gaze up to him, determined to give a more reassuring look this time. "No, I'm okay. It was really stupid," she laughed half-heartedly.

"Doesn't sound that stupid if it made you cry," he pointed out in a gruff voice that didn't seem to reach his eyes. His eyes were worried.

Kagome stared back feeling surprised. But she couldn't keep her eyes on his when she felt her tears threaten to return despite her attempt at trying to seem unbothered. She looked down at her own bare feet.

"There was a dark silent room I was kept in for a while... Before I escaped," she confided quietly. "I dreamed I had been dragged back there again." She almost seemed to draw into herself a little, like she was flinching at the memory. "I know it was just a dream but... I was really scared," she whispered.

The clearing was quiet for a moment, and then she felt Inuyasha's warm hand catch hers and tug, drawing her a step forward. She was stirred from her thoughts of the dark room and the doorway to look up at his face.

"You're right it WAS stupid for you to cry over a dream like that," he told her with a snort. She blinked up at him stunned. He took a step forward, His eyes were fierce. "I already promised to protect you from that bastard didn't I?"

Slowly, a smile tugged at the corner of her lips. "Thank you, Inuyasha. You're right."

The half demon's look of ferocity softened to embarrassment and he snorted again glancing away with a hint of red in his cheeks. Kagome still held his hand tight, grateful for the comfort.

After a moment, his eyes flickered back to her face almost questioningly. "Hey, Ya wanna see something good?" he asked suddenly.

She smiled faintly and nodded. "Sure,"

For a moment, she was certain she saw a look of mischief flicker in his expression. Then he reached forward scooping her up bridal style. She made a sound of embarrassed surprise at the abrupt movement and looked up at him wide-eyed.

His smile broadened a little. "Don't look so worried," he teased the poor girl playfully. She blushed and he chuckled turning and walking back toward the tree. "You know I won't drop you."

"I trust you," she answered softly clutching his haori tight. In the next second, he gave a powerful jump and Kagome immediately buried her face against his chest. Pine needles swept by them and he landed briefly on a branch that gave a quiet creak beneath their combined weight. Then he jumped again and she felt even more needles brush against them as they ascended.

This time when they came to a stop, Kagome felt him walk carefully along the length of a branch and she took the opportunity to peek from his chest and check that their perch was sound.

He adjusted her in his arms a little and sat them both against the trunk of the tree with her in his lap, leaning his right side and her back against a somewhat smaller branch just above and to the side of the one they were on.

He made himself comfortable and she hesitantly followed his example, blushing as she did so. Her legs were settled over his left thigh and hung off the branch bringing her to feel a little anxious about the height.

She timidly looked up at him embarrassed by the closeness. A reassuring smile met her gaze.

"There. That wasn't so bad," he mumbled as if to himself as well as her. His left arm stayed firmly around her waist and she was grateful for the sense of security.

"So, what did you want to show me?" she asked, still holding tight to his haori.

He gestured with his head out toward the forest and she turned to look. There she was met with an endless sea of trees swaying quietly in the dark and just overhead an even greater expanse filled with thousands of stars twinkling brightly with the shining half moon well on its descent.

Kagome felt her breath catch for a second time that night. But in a good way.

Her hand found the arm he had locked around her waist and gripped onto his sleeve as she stared out at the quiet world around them awestruck.

"It's beautiful up here," she whispered.

"I knew you'd like it," he replied, clearly pleased with her answer. "I come up here sometimes to watch the sunrise and the sunset."

"How long do you think until the sun does rise?" she asked instantly.

"Give it an hour or two and it'll come up from over that hill," he told her pointing with his right hand.

"Can I stay up here with you until then Inuyasha?" she pled without a second thought.

The half demon seemed to fluster a little at her request which made her realize that maybe keeping her on his lap at such a height would have been a little uncomfortable. But he collected himself quickly. "Sure," he answered calm as ever, though softer. "As long as you want."

"I'm not too heavy or anything am I?" she asked feeling guilty for not thinking about his comfort before making her request.

"You're fine, I'm a demon remember?"

"But won't your legs fall asleep if I'm on your lap too long?"

"No," he chuckled flashing her a fanged grin. "I've only gotta worry about that sorta thing when I'm human,"

She smiled at him satisfied, then looked back out at the forest.

Gradually, Kagome relaxed further in his arms growing more and more accustomed to the height. The back of her head found the crook of his shoulder and she made herself comfortable there, she was almost tempted to press her forehead against his neck and fall asleep.

For some reason, she felt like if she did fall asleep in Inuyasha's arms there was no way her dreams would be anything but peaceful.

"Are you feeling better than you were yesterday?" he asked after a long silence between them.

"I think so. I'm not as tired anymore. Although I guess my sleeping schedule is a mess now."

"Do you think you used too much energy healing me?" he asked with a hint of guilt in his voice. "Or maybe, you overworked yourself?"

"I think maybe it was a mixture," she answered truthfully. "Sorry if I've been worrying you."

"Keh, I wasn't that worried."

"If you say so."

He raised a dark eyebrow at her and gave an inaudible snort turning back to the forest.

The girl smiled back at her companion warmly and let her head rest on his shoulder again, this time with her face tilted towards his chest.

"Hey, Inuyasha?"

"Yeah?" he answered a little stiffly

"Thank you, for cheering me up."

There was a pause while Inuyasha seemed to process her thanks. "...I hope you're not being sarcastic," he sighed at last.

"I'm not," she reassured him quietly. "I'm being serious. Thank you for talking to me and bringing me up here, I needed the distraction."

His grip on her waist tightened a little and he hesitantly rested his chin on the top of her head to stare out at the night sky.

"Well... I'm glad it helped," he replied softly.

After that, the two of them fell into a comfortable silence. Kagome watched the horizon as the moon sank. The sky turned blue to red, then red to gold as the sun began its climb. All around them, the forest started to brighten and stir. It really was a beautiful view from Inuyasha's tall pine tree, but Inuyasha himself leaned back to fix his attention on the still prettier view in his lap. Kagome's admiring eyes and the way the sunrise lit up her face made something inside him grow warm.

For a moment or two during their silence, he considered giving her the hairpin he still had in his haori. It was the perfect opportunity, while she was so happy and so comfortable with him. But... what on earth would he say if he did give her the pin now?

Poor Inuyasha blushed a little in mortification at the thought of having to stumble over himself with some explanation for such a romantic gift while in the position they were in.

In the end, he gave way to cowardice and kept his gift where it was.

Chapter Text

Kagome sighed contentedly into her arms as she soaked at the edge of the hot spring. She and Inuyasha had eaten breakfast, And now at long last Kagome was getting a proper bath.

The rocky area was quiet and calm. The pleasant breeze from that morning a constant companion in the quickly warming day. It swept through the trees rustling their branches and stirring the water all around her. The sun was high and fluffy white clouds rolled quietly overhead.

However, the moment Kagome had left Inuyasha's side to take her bath a tiny sliver of uneasiness crept back to her from that night. The feeling of the wind against her skin combined with the silence of the area had the unwanted effect of forcing Kagome to remember a time not so long ago when she had longed for a cool breeze or the scent of fresh air. She frowned despite herself.

'Stop thinking about it!' She thought firmly, determined to enjoy her bath as much as possible. 'That's over. Inuyasha promised to keep me hidden and protected. He would never let that monster take me back.'

Kagome turned around in the water to look over her shoulder at the small boulder she had used to prop Inuyasha up the first time she had been here. There was still some of his blood on the rocks nearby and in other places around the clearing.

'Inuyasha's already proven just how far he'd go to keep that promise. When he saved me as a human and then when he fought that snake demon. That time he almost died protecting me.' The young miko tensed remembering the terrible wounds he had received for his troubles. The image of the snake's venom eating away at his flesh made her stomach twist in sympathy and guilt.

'He must have been in so much pain...' she thought miserably.

Her eyes left the blood stain and focused on the boulder. The memory that came to her next was of his dripping white hair and his strange red and gold eyes after he had woken up. She'd felt so small in that moment when he had stood up in the water. But she hadn't been scared, She'd been worried that he would run off and hurt himself even worse.

Kagome remembered the sound of his sharp breaths and the feel of his warm skin beneath her hands. The way He'd frozen in place and looked down at her surprised. The red in his eyes melting away and his expression turning to something like tired hope. Ever since then, he had started flashing her a new look at the strangest moments. When she was watching something or when she was brushing her hair or making tea...

It was a warm expression. Although, Kagome couldn't have said for sure what it was for. She had had little experience with men, least of all men like Inuyasha. The girl felt her cheeks grow a little warmer and turned from the rock back to the big fir tree her companion had ducked behind to wait patiently for his turn.

Her heart's reminders of a darker time dwindled. Instead, she focused on the sunrise she had seen with Inuyasha in her new home. A smile turned up her lips and a warm feeling of fondness swept through her.

"Hey, Inuyasha?" she called cheerfully.

"What is it?" he called back suspiciously from behind his hiding place.

"Do you know somewhere safe where I can forage after this? We ran out of the herbs for rabbit meat you seem to like."

She heard a soft rustle of leaves from the bush next to the tree and could almost picture him shrugging. "I've gone without stuff like that a long time. You don't have to go running around the woods looking for herbs if you're still tired."

"I'm not tired," She told him. "But even if I was, I still need to stay awake so I won't sleep the day away again."

"Don't see why it matters," he answered with a huff. "It ain't like I care if you sleep in or go to bed early."

"Well, I'd rather sew by daylight than use up all our candles," she replied playfully, finding a lock of her hair to twist around her finger as she talked. Kagome didn't bother to bring it up that before all this he'd always made sure to wake her up early for breakfast and had called her lazy before for taking too long. It wouldn't do to start fighting with him today even if their bickering was generally harmless. Besides, she was fairly certain he was only letting her slack off so much because he'd been worried about her.

"Anyway, I also know a lot about roots, mushrooms, fruits, and berries. You said you don't know much about plants. So I'm guessing it would be a nice change of pace for you," she coaxed.

"Can't argue there I guess," he sighed.

He seemed to give a thoughtful silence."I might know a place that's safe enough to go rooting around later. But it's a bit of a run."

"That's fine," she answered contentedly. "Just remember no more dropping us off cliffs. Okay?"

She thought she heard him quietly chuckle from behind the cover of his tree but it was hard to be sure. "Don't worry, no cliffs," he promised with a bemused voice. Her eyes narrowed suspiciously at the tree. Now she was certain he'd just been laughing. Hopefully, it wasn't because he was plotting against her as they spoke.

"...Good," she sighed before turning away from the trees intent on finishing her bath. The girl briefly dunked her head under the water and came up again with a gasp for air pushing her mess of wet hair from her eyes and reaching blindly over the edge of the spring in her basket on the edge of the rocks for her soap.

(-)

Inuyasha sat just beyond the tree line listening intently to The miko as she moved in the water. But what he was waiting for wasn't a bath.

Every time he heard Kagome dig around in her basket for something he tensed expectantly tilting his head to the side and focusing his ears on her spot in the water analyzing every sigh and every breath for some sign of surprise.

But so far, every time she reached into the basket He'd been disappointed when she had found what she'd been looking for and nothing else.

This time was no different. After the sound of items being moved aside and the tiny crackles of the basket itself being stretched was a sound of satisfaction, a little splashing and the smell of soap.

He exhaled leaning back against the tree, feeling both relieved and disappointed.

It felt a little cowardly to leave the hairpin in a basket for her to find. But all through lunch he'd agonized over what he would say when he gave it to her and well... What the hell were you supposed to say in that situation?

His ears wilted a little and he sighed shifting anxiously.. 'Damn it I should have thought of that before I bought the damn thing.' He thought sourly,

'I didn't want to hang onto it for too long or it would be all the more awkward to give to her later... I just wanted it to stand out from the other stuff. I guess I could have put it off until after dinner...'

But in the end, he couldn't trust himself to follow through once he was face to face with the girl. He if didn't know what to say to her about the gift NOW then he doubted he would know what to say to her by this evening. At least this way he wouldn't be able to chicken out at the last second again.

'How will she react when she does find it?' he wondered for the twentieth time in the last half hour. But every time he tried to picture it he got something different.

This time, Inuyasha imagined her coming out of her bath in her fresh new kimono wearing the pin in her hair beaming at him ecstatically.

'Oh thank you Inuyasha! I love it!'

He doubted and tried the scenario again. This time, he saw Kagome in his mind's eye coming out of the bath holding the pin towards him apologetically.

'I'm sorry Inuyasha... I really can't accept this. It isn't proper...'

He tensed and fidgeted with the desire to steal the hairpin back from her basket without her noticing. Most likely an impossible feat even for him, as he strongly suspected that Kagome could sense his aura more clearly than she let on. After a moment or two of listening to her move in the water, he released a sigh and let himself relax.

It was too late to take it back now. All he could do now was wait and hope for the best.

(-)

Still half-submerged in the water, Kagome dried her hair with her towel the best she could and carefully brushed it out. Then she braided it loosely to the side tying off the end with a scrap of blue silk. Kagome almost never wore her hair in a braid, but She'd always loved the way her hair would go wavy and curl a little at the ends when she let it dry that way And some part of her wondered what Inuyasha would think of the change.

Finished with her hair, she then reached for her towel and stood to climb out of the bath drying herself as she went.

Kagome finished and traded her towel for the kisode she had worn earlier. Picking it up from its spot by her other possessions and putting it back on. Then she leaned down and started to pull her new kimono from the basket, But to her surprise, something fell out and clinked to the ground in front of her.

Kagome paused and looked down to see what she had dropped. What she found was a hairpin. It had a rose made of sapphires with silver leaves framing it. Tiny Pearls sat on the leaves and hung from tiny delicate chains from the edge of one leaf like drops of dew.

The girl blinked and after a moment of surprise she slowly leaned over and picked up the little trinket, turning it over in her hands carefully. It was a surprisingly intricate piece of jewelry. Someone had obviously put a lot of effort into the design of the leaves to make them look realistic, and each petal held a high quality bright blue sapphire. It was really very beautiful, but she didn't recognize it from any of the jewelry Back at the cave.

'So... what was it doing in the basket?' She wondered looking up toward the trees uncertainly. 'Did Inuyasha..?'

Kagome frowned thoughtfully and gently placed the hairpin back in her basket to finish dressing. She didn't take her eyes off it as she pulled the kimono into place and tied it closed. As nice as it felt to be properly dressed again, it was hard to focus on anything but the mystery before her.

She tied her new obi, gathered her things, picked back up the hairpin and turned toward the woods.

"I'm done!" Kagome called to the half demon in what she hoped was a composed and unassuming tone. No use overthinking the pin prematurely. For all Kagome knew, she had put it there herself ages ago and forgotten all about it. She doubted it, but...

There was a moment where he did not move. And then very slowly he rose to his feet and turned, stepping through the bushes to go toward her. At first, his eyes stayed fixed on the ground where he was going. But as he came to stand before her he finally looked up at her face and hair then a little more hesitantly over the rest of her body before his eyes settled on the hairpin in her hand and returned to look at her face with a carefully collected expression.

She wasn't sure what to make of his reaction. He seemed almost guarded.

"You... clean up pretty good." He commented neutrally nodding at her clothes.

The girl blushed at the unexpected compliment and smiled a little. "Thank you," She answered before remembering what she'd wanted to ask him. "Ah! but look," She said jogging up to him a little closer holding the pin up for him to see. "I found this in my basket."

His expression remained carefully neutral but he nodded. "Yeah. Do you like it?"

Her blush intensified. "So you... put it there?" She asked meekly.

A somewhat relieved look touched his face. "Yeah, as a surprise," he answered sounding a little less stiff.

He saw her hand tighten around the offering and then she brought the rose up to her chest and looked down at it. She suddenly looked shy. He took the gesture as a good omen.

"So, do you like it?" He repeated drawing a little closer and tilting his head as if to try and see under her bangs better.

"Yeah... I do." Kagome murmured running her fingers over the sapphires and silver leaves reverently before looking up to smile at him. "It's beautiful Inuyasha, Thank you."

His shoulders quickly relaxed and he smiled down at her in a way she'd never seen him smile before. His golden eyes seemed to glow. The half- demon's happy, peaceful expression caught her completely off guard.

Then He reached to the hand that held the rose pin plucking it from her fingers. She made a sound of protest and grabbed for it but in a fluid motion far too quick for her clumsy hands to manage, he brought it up and tucked it carefully into her braid by her right ear. She stopped and stared up at him with a soft look of wonder as he leaned back to examine his placement. "Looks good on you." He murmured smiling in satisfaction.

His claws trailed down the length of her braid as he pulled away from her.

But before he could finish his first step away, Kagome took a quick step forward grabbing onto his arm tight and balancing on the tips of her toes. Then to his utter amazement, She closed her eyes and pressed a soft kiss to his cheek just above the jaw. He froze in place, just barely registering the softness and warmth of her lips against his skin before she pulled away still holding onto his arm to take in his bewildered expression.

Her eyes sparkled up at him. "Thank you, Inuyasha. I'll take good care of it," She promised sincerely.

The poor half demon stumbled back a step as if catching his balance and just blinked at her in surprise. She smiled at him still wider amused to no end by his reaction. But Inuyasha realizing how surprised and embarrassed he must look at that moment whipped his face away toward the trees in a huff.

"I... It was just somethin I saw on the way outta town! No need to get all mushy on me." He defended gruffly.

"It was still very sweet of you." She answered releasing his sleeve and trying hard to hold back a giggle at his obvious embarrassment. He struggled to find something else to say but Kagome had mercy on him and distracted them both by digging through the basket and pulling out one of the towels she had hemmed recently.

"Here, it's your turn in the bath," She said cheerfully. "This is for you."

He awkwardly accepted the neatly folded bundle sniffing at the cloth curiously.

"And the soap and the brush." She said pulling the items from her basket as well and offering them to him. He accepted these a little more hesitantly but with a good amount of grace and no small amount of relief in the knowledge that he had successfully ridden himself of the hairpin without things backfiring horribly.

"Might as well just give me the whole basket." He teased taking the items and piling them on the towel in the crook of his arm.

"Only if you want to finish the sewing project I brought." She grinned back.

"Er, No thanks. I'd just make a mess of whatever you're working on."

The girl giggled.

"Just wait behind the trees okay?" He told her a little more seriously. "Don't go far. I checked out the area, but you never know."

"Don't worry I'll stay close."

He nodded and headed toward the bath while she found her way behind the trees. Just before the switch was complete both of them thought to look back one more time and their eyes met. There was a moment of surprise, blushes on both sides and then a little timidly they both looked away and walked on.

(-)

Inuyasha found the spot in the water where he had sat with Kagome while she'd tended him and laid back his head against the rock with a relieved sigh. It felt like a weight much heavier than a hairpin had finally been lifted from his shoulders.

And there was the bonus satisfaction of seeing Kagome look so altered by her bath and in her new clothes. It was surprising just how much altered she was from the bedraggled girl he had first taken home.

Inuyasha thought back to the first time he had met Kagome. The way she had slowly looked up at him in the rain from her hands and knees unable to go forward even one more step. The look of heartbroken pleading on her tired face. her clothes were in tatters her hair was a mess. The girl he had met that night had been hurt and weak and filthy. and now...

He pictured her just after her bath. Her pretty blue eyes sparkling up at him happily looking the very picture of health and beauty.

If he'd stood the dirty runaway girl he'd met that night alongside the clean delicate little thing he had just encountered he would have never in a million years thought they were the same person without his nose.

It felt satisfying to know he had made all the difference between the two. But seeing her wear the hairpin undeniably completed the picture.

It flattered something possessive in him, Something that saw Kagome wearing a gift from him so openly as a sign of belonging to him. As things were, the fantasy wasn't entirely misplaced. Inuyasha had no doubt in his head that any human from the market town who saw the pin on her and recognized it (and many probably would) would call her 'the half-breed's wife.'

The merchant who'd sold it to him had made damn sure of that.

(-)

A silver hairpin with pearls and sapphires in the shape of a strange flower glinted from the corner of his eye on a jewelers cart and Inuyasha stopped to look. Without even thinking about why he pictured the white of the pearls against the pure black of her hair, Compared the sapphires to her eyes, And made a decision.

As he approached the stand his eyes stayed fixed on the sapphire hairpin. The old gray-haired man at the cart watched his approach with uncertainty.

When Inuyasha stopped about a foot away from the countertop the man went stiff and shot him a contemptuous glare. Inuyasha caught the look and rose up his head a little to let the man get a good look at his eyes. Sometimes just that was enough to quell even a particularly stubborn human. This time, it wasn't.

"How much for that one?" Inuyasha asked calmly in a bored tone nodding toward the sapphire flower.

"Not for sale to your kind beast!" The old man snapped loudly.

When Inuyasha did not immediately react except to give the man a calculating look, he took a walking stick from behind the counter and waved it menacingly in the half demon's direction just short of hitting him."Begone demon!" the old human demanded with all the blind recklessness of one who has already lived many years and expects for his luck to hold him for many years more.

The people around all stopped what they were doing and seemed to go silent.

Inuyasha stood there unfazed thinking of his next move carefully.

He wasn't entirely shocked by the refusal really. In Inuyasha's experience, the first time bartering with a new merchant was a lot like picking up a big rock. Most of the time there was nothing there but a worm or a toad, but sometimes you found snakes.

Inuyasha sighed inaudibly. At least this was the last stop for the day.

How this old geezer expected a demon to react to such a pitiful challenge he wasn't sure, but it seemed like he expected him to run off ashamed of himself. The notion annoyed him.

"I'll leave when I'm done old man and not before," Inuyasha replied as calmly as he could. "So I suggest you cut the crap and answer me."

The old merchant bristled in indignation at the half demon's tone.

"I will not see my work on a demon's whore!" He seethed self-righteously. then he took another swing with his walking stick over the top of his counter aiming for the demon's head. This time, Inuyasha caught the stick and snapped it like a twig. There was a murmur from the crowd behind him and the man let go to stagger back a bit.

Inuyasha's eyes had sharpened at the insult, so much so that even the headstrong and foolish old man seemed to finally falter in his courage. He pulled back his arm entirely to his side with a twinge of fear in his face. Inuyasha tossed the walking stick aside.

The two of them stood in silence for a second. Then to the gasps of the humans who had gathered around, And without looking away from the old man, Inuyasha took hold of the jeweler's cart and lifted it quite effortlessly over his head with one arm, knocking all the jewelry and the money tin to the ground with a crash. Now the old fool was left with nothing between himself and an obviously irate demon.

At the show of strength and without the flimsy barrier of his countertop or his walking stick to protect him, the human lost all courage. But he didn't seem to know what to do anymore. His body was tensed to run, but His withered hands were half stretched toward the stand Inuyasha held well out of reach. His eyes were fixed on the half demon's face in dread.

The merchant's valuables scattered across the ground, coins rolling in every direction and jewelry bouncing against people's feet. But no one dared to try and steal the jeweler's wares and profits with a demon so close and so clearly angered.

They just watched. Their whispers too quiet for even Inuyasha's sharp ears to make out clearly. They seemed to fully expect for him to destroy the man's cart like he had done to so many others in the past. Some even expected him to kill the old fool.

"I'll give you two choices," Inuyasha offered coldly. "You can take back what you just said and do business with me. Or you can have your stand smashed to bits and your arms broken. Choose."

"I-I" The man stuttered quietly with an ever-increasing look of horror.

"You what?" Inuyasha snarled dangerously, giving the cart a small toss and easily catching it again. Dirt and bits of wood fell from the bottom and entire structure gave a groan under the stress.

The old man's eyes grew huge and he dropped to his knees. "I apologize for my disrespect to your wife! Please just take the pin! I-It's yours!"

Inuyasha snorted and begrudgingly lowered the stand back between the two of them with a loud thud. With that, he took a moment to scan the ground and quickly found and retrieved the pin from several feet away. As he picked it up and examined it for damage, he noticed that half the village was circled around watching them and decided it was time to go. He started to walk away, the crowd quickly parting to give him plenty of space. But as a final thought, he briefly paused to fish one of his gems from the bag and tossed it over his shoulder toward the jewelry merchant's stand without so much as a backward glance.

"Let it never be said that I'm a thief at least," he grumbled to himself in mild annoyance as he stalked back toward the forest.

(-)

Inuyasha watched the trees around him sway with the breeze as he sat in the water thinking.

Honestly, he couldn't have cared less about the jewelry merchant's reaction. The main attraction to buying the thing was that he'd wanted to give Kagome a gift that hadn't come from his treasure trove. And he could only do that if he bought the gift from humans. So even if he had to get yelled at by some old fool at the market and been forced to use threats, anything was better than only being able to give Kagome something he had found on a corpse.

Overall he was satisfied that he had accomplished that goal.

But now he knew full well that the pin would mark her as his 'wife' amongst the nearby villagers. He hadn't really thought of it that way until he had seen it on her just now, but it didn't matter much. If he had anything to do with it Kagome would stay safely tucked away in the woods far away from any human eyes and ears. It was just... a part of him couldn't help but take some small amount of pride in the idea that at least to the human's minds the hairpin marked her as his wife.

In some ways, she WAS his. If only his to protect. Gods knew she needed someone to take care of her. How much longer she could have really managed out there alone with wild animals, bandits, and demons roaming around? And even if she made it through summer without a shelter, clothes, or a stable source of food and water she would have died for sure in the cold winter months.

After a few minutes of soaking, his right hand lifted from the water. Slowly, almost hesitantly, he pressed his fingers against the spot where she had kissed him.

It had been an innocent kiss. Sweet and gentle and fleeting. Far too fleeting, Inuyasha found with some dissatisfaction. But at least for once in his life, things finally seemed to be going his way.

An ear flicked backward toward Kagome just as she started to hum to herself while she worked. He gave a grin at nothing in particular and leaned back against the warm rock to close his eyes and relax while he could. After all, once he got out they had herbs to hunt apparently.

Chapter Text

After the bath, it was back to the cave to drop off their bathing supplies and pick up an empty basket along with Kagome's bow and arrows. The walk back was filled with a companionable silence while Inuyasha kept an ear and a nose out for possible dangers and Kagome walked a little way ahead to poke around. He watched with bemusement as the girl stopped and smiled at every bird's nest and squirrel she saw along the way, exuding her happiness like a second skin.

Each time she moved her head he heard the gratifying sound of the pearls on her hairpin swinging on their chains and clinking quietly into each other. It was a small pretty sound that made him think of the bell on a cat's collar somehow.

Inuyasha seemed to catch the miko's eyes next and he watched as she turned around smiling at him. He couldn't help but smile back. She made it easy to smile when she was like this.

The girl seemed to take this as an invitation and slowed her pace. When he caught up to her, she fell into step beside him and wrapped her left arm in his right.

He allowed the familiar action with a soft "Keh" of permission, but didn't stop walking or let himself get distracted enough to drop his guard.

"So I've been wondering about something," Kagome said suddenly.

"And what's that?" He asked without looking down at her.

"How old are you?"

At that, he did look down if only to raise an eyebrow at the expression of innocent curiosity he found there.

"Wench, If you're gonna go and ask questions like THAT, be prepared for me to start askin you awkward questions too," he told her with an open tone of mischief.

Her look of curiosity turned to confusion. "Do you not like telling people your age?" she asked in a surprised tone.

He looked back to the path and shrugged, tugging her arm up somewhat with the action. "Humans usually freak out about it."

"So what? Are you secretly an old man then?" she teased with a playful smile.

He snorted at her conclusion. "Maybe to you humans," he told her wryly. "But I'm still pretty young for a demon."

She nodded her understanding, still smiling. "I've heard before that time goes by differently for demons. That they just live such a long time that a few years ends up feeling about the same as a few weeks. "

He shrugged again. "I guess that seems about right."

Inuyasha made no further comment, seemingly focused on listening for enemies.

"So then, how old are you?" Kagome repeated after a short pause. "Because you look like you'd only be around nineteen or twenty years old if you were a human."

"Does this mean I get to ask you awkward questions too then?" he shot back evenly.

She hesitated for a moment, but finally said,"So long as you don't ask me more about why I ran away, I guess I don't mind. "

"...I turned two hundred years old last winter," he told her almost begrudgingly.

For a second she was quiet and he turned his head a little to get a look at her from his peripheral.

She caught his eye and smiled encouragingly, looking completely unfazed. "Well I can see why humans would freak out over that," she admitted. "But it sounds like what I was expecting. You've said before that you've been living here for around fifty years."

The half demon turned his eyes back to the forest ahead of him and frowned in confusion."Did I?"

"Mhm. You should pay more attention or you really will be like an old man," she teased with a sly smile.

"When did I tell you how long I've been living here?" he asked feeling caught off guard.

"I think when you were first showing me the hot spring here."

He thought about it, tilting his ears a little like a confused dog. He only recalled the conversation vaguely. She had asked about the hot springs and he'd told her he'd found eight in this forest over the last fifty years he'd been here. Somehow that seemed ages ago.

"I did say that didn't I?" he asked with a little surprise.

"Yep. So if you were trying to keep your age a secret I didn't notice."

Inuyasha frowned and grumbled something softly to himself, then purposefully bumped into the girl, nearly knocking her over. She squeaked in surprise, grabbing onto his arm with her other hand for balance. But once she had a better footing she just laughed.

Inuyasha's irritation melted. She didn't seem to mind the age gap between them or the further proof of his inhumanity. So maybe it didn't matter as much as he'd worried it would.

(-)

After they had dropped off their bath things and gathered Kagome's empty basket at the cave, Inuyasha met her outside and crouched down to his knees to let the girl climb on his back. Kagome had to hike up her kimono to make the arrangement work, but once she was situated he seemingly had no problem leaping into the tree they had sat in that morning and gracefully taking off toward the east.

At first, his pace was pretty relaxed. Or at least he wasn't repeating his speed from the first time he had carried her this way.

Kagome kept her arms wrapped around his neck, watching the world grow small beneath them as he ran and leaped through the trees, landing gracefully with each descent. Kagome laughed aloud at a particularly interesting takeoff where he seemed to be testing her limits, breaking through the ceiling of leaves and clearing two or three trees easily.

Though she couldn't see it, the half demon smiled at the sound as he took another leap still higher. Another peal of laughter was his reward.

"Having fun now?" he asked taking another smooth leap.

"Yes!" she answered fighting off another fit of laughter.

"Wanna go higher?" the half demon asked, pleasantly surprised by how well his burden was handling the trip.

"Yes!"

His smile broadened. "Then hold on!" Inuyasha warned before putting an extra oomph in his next leap. This time he easily cleared a good fifty feet over the treetops. Kagome's response was an immediate sound of amazement and joy that rang pleasantly in Inuyasha's ears.

He suddenly remembered that moment during the fight with the snake when he'd thought he would never have the chance to run with her like this again. Now he found himself hoping they would get to do things like this together all the time.

But thinking of that moment also reminded him of his vow to show her the way out of the forest. That thought stole a little of the wind from his sails. But by now the path was far behind them. It would have to wait until the trip back.

(-)

It didn't take terribly long to reach where they were going with Inuyasha running there at nearly top speed. There were a couple of detours to avoid the drop offs, but Kagome seemed to be enjoying herself and the demons were staying away from them, so he wasn't bothered.

The place he had in mind for her foraging turned out to be an old abandoned temple.

Inuyasha landed in a clearing at the base of its crumbling stone staircase and let her off watching as her eyes went wide with surprise at the sight of the big torii gate that somehow miraculously still stood. The red paint had almost completely peeled away in the years this place had been abandoned and the wood looked mostly rotten, but it was still a big impressive structure.

Inuyasha led her up the steps and under the gate, showing her where it was safest to walk. The girl followed just behind him step by step, carefully soaking in their surroundings. "I had no idea there was a temple here," she murmured clutching the basket handle to her chest as she looked around.

"Not much of a temple anymore," he answered. "Story is a hundred years ago someone put a curse on the monks who lived here and they all died. But it's more likely a disease or somethin came through here and wiped em all out."

"So, what's it doing out here in the middle of the forest?" she queried.

The half demon shrugged. "My guess is that the trees just grew up around it. Wouldn't be hard after a hundred years. Anyway, this isn't really that far from the forest edge, maybe five miles."

"Then do people still come here?"

"No. At least none I've ever seen or smelled. I'm pretty sure humans think this place is haunted."

"...Is it?" she asked timidly.

Inuyasha turned back with a mischievous look on his face. "Maybe," he answered.

The poor girl paled a little. "Y-You better be joking!" she sputtered.

"I guess we'll see for ourselves soon won't we?" he chuckled lightly.

As soon as Inuyasha turned his back on her, Kagome frowned and stuck out her tongue at his teasing. Or... What she hoped was teasing.

They reached the dilapidated doorway in a stone wall surrounding the temple grounds and Kagome watched as Inuyasha courteously tore the rotten doors from their rusty hinges to clear the way for her.

While she watched him go through the trouble, she was struck by his willingness to let her walk up the hill at all. He could have just taken them straight into the compound. But he'd seemed to realize she liked being allowed to take her time and look around. Why else would he take the time to show her which steps were safe?

'He can be so...'

Kagome smiled at her companion's back as he tore the second door off its frame for good measure and tossed it inside with a crash to join the other. Then he made a huff of satisfaction and stood aside to let her pass.

She stepped forward and flashed him a heartfelt smile.

"Thank you Inuyasha."

He looked a bit baffled by the expression but just nodded and said, "Anytime."

Together they entered the grounds and found themselves in an overgrown zen garden. The trees and flowers had long overtaken their boundaries and were growing anywhere along the path that they could manage. Just off to the right quite close to the entrance, Kagome spotted the six roku jizo statues through her peripheral. She momentarily paused and turned to get a better look at them.

Each one was chipped and had varying coats of moss growing on them, but surprisingly none of them had broken in all the time they had been here. Seeing them made her feel a little nostalgic somehow. They were supposed to represent Jizo's willingness to save anyone on any plain of existence. In a temple, they were meant to send a message of welcome to all who entered. Kagome hoped the message was heartfelt. She hated the idea of rooting through a temple without consent even if it was abandoned.

Inuyasha stopped to look too, although he didn't comment. His ears twitched this way and that, keeping track of their surroundings. Then after a moment, she let him lead her on deeper into the grounds toward what remained of the temple.

The building itself was clearly falling apart. The walls were nearly engulfed by vines and moss and the roof had some holes, as well as some bare patches in the tiles where the rotten wood was left exposed to the elements. And one side of the structure had slumped forward as if one (or several) of the support beams had given in. But it was still standing, if only barely.

It was sad and strange seeing a building that must have once been very impressive look so run down and empty.

"So you think that this is a good place for me to forage?" she asked a little uncertainly as he led her down a path veering toward the back of the compound.

"Well yeah, the monks who used to live here had a garden once. It's a mess now, but you never know what might'a kept on growing. I think there should be beans here at least, so that's something."

She nodded and they walked around the right-hand side of the temple toward the back. Where she would have expected a vegetable garden, He stopped in front of a tangle of overgrown plants. They looked like any other bramble you might find in the woods. She gave it a critical look and walked up closer.

"Well, see anything useful?" he asked curiously.

"I see the flowers for the beans you were telling me about, But they aren't ready yet. I could tidy this up though and that might help later on..."

"Do whatever you want," the half-demon told her easily. "I'm gonna go take a look around and make sure there's nothin hiding out here I just haven't smelled yet."

"Okay, I'll be here," she agreed, settling herself on her knees beside the tangle to start weeding.

Inuyasha nodded and headed back toward the temple looking around carefully as he went. Before long he was out of sight and Kagome was hard at work.

She worked like that by herself for a while, humming cheerfully as she got into it. About half the plants she pulled were useless, but mixed in she found a few different kinds of herbs that seemed promising. Early mustard and rosemary were among them, and what looked like the beginnings of vegetables. She grinned and piled what she could in her basket using her little kitchen knife to cut away only what she needed from the useful plants.

If she could get a proper garden out of this mess that would help both of them tremendously with food. Even better if she could find a way to pickle some of the vegetables for winter.

But as she was busy thinking about the future, she felt something that made her pause. The tiny flicker of an unfamiliar demon's energy coming from off to her right somewhere near the wall.

Kagome slowly looked over, reaching for her bow and arrows, half expecting to see another snake demon there to avenge the one they had killed the other day.

She saw nothing but a round Durama statue half hidden in weeds at the edge of the garden. She looked at the statue in surprise. It seemed out of place somehow. But It shouldn't be out of place, right? This was a temple after all. Most temples had statues like that littered around the grounds.

But then she compared it to the roku jizo statues and realized with a chill that this statue looked new. There wasn't a single mark on it to suggest it had been out in the elements a single day let alone a hundred years. She instantly recalled Inuyasha's playful claim that the place was haunted and a chill swept down her spine.

The frightened girl grasped her bow more firmly and started to slowly back away afraid that if she called for Inuyasha that whatever was hiding would drop the act and attack her.

However, she didn't make it two steps away before her worst fears were realized. At the third step, the statue disappeared in a puff of smoke and something indeed leapt at her with a loud shout.

Kagome screamed, instinctively thrusting up her bow between herself and the attacker even as she closed her eyes and flinched away.

But whatever it was never touched her. Instead, she heard the sound of a heavy body landing in front of her, rapidly followed by a thump and a loud yelp.

"Oowww..." moaned a little voice pitifully.

"What the fuck did you think you were doin you little punk?!" demanded Inuyasha's voice loudly and from right in front of her.

Relief flooded Kagome's senses, and lowering the bow to the grass beside her, she looked up to see a wall of red and white in between her and her assailant.

Inuyasha turned to look at her, holding up what appeared to be a little boy with a tail and animal feet.

Her eyes widened in surprise.

The boy seemed preoccupied with rubbing a rather large knot on the top of his head, most likely the product of her half-demon protector.

"Owww. Inuyasha? You're alive?" he asked through a wince.

The half demon snorted and dropped the boy like a sack of rocks. He let out a second yelp as he hit the ground and then none the less stared up at Inuyasha in disbelief.

"Of course I'm alive stupid. Can't you smell?" the half demon chided.

"But we thought a miko killed you!" the boy replied in wide-eyed confusion.

"Hardly," Inuyasha sneered. "You really think I'd let a miko off me like that? You must be losin it kid."

"But-! But everyone said there was a priestess in your territory!" the young demon protested. "Uncle said he felt your Youkai vanish!"

"My youkai weakened cuz I got banged up in a fight." Inuyasha corrected folding his arms. "She didn't try and kill me, you idiot, she healed me."

"...Oh." the young demon answered in a tiny embarrassed voice.

"Don't tell me you were gonna try and avenge me?" Inuyasha asked raising an eyebrow. "You're damn lucky she didn't purify you to dust!"

"Uh well, I thought if I could just catch her off guard..." The boy mumbled looking deeply embarrassed.

"Is this a friend of yours Inuyasha?" Kagome asked curiously.

He snorted lightly and crossed one arm over the other. "Just a brat I know, he's pretty harmless."

"Is he a kitsune?" she asked staring intently at the fluffy golden tail.

"How did you know?" the boy asked with a look of surprise.

Kagome smiled. "Just a lucky guess."

Inuyasha turned his attention back to the young demon. "Well go on kid, introduce yourself and apologize," he ordered sternly, pushing the kit toward her with his foot.

The boy winced and looked up at Kagome with a mix of embarrassment and guilt.

"Er, I'm Shippo,"he told her a little reluctantly."Sorry I jumped at you like that. I didn't know you were a nice miko."

Her smile widened.

"Hello Shippo-chan, it's nice to meet you. I'm Kagome,"the girl introduced in return. "And of course I forgive you, I'd be angry with anyone who hurt Inuyasha too."

The little kitsune's tail lifted slightly and he looked over at the half-demon with an expression of surprise.

Inuyasha raised his eyebrow at the look but said nothing.

Kagome also looked up at him. "Why didn't you tell me you had a little friend?" she asked with a pleased expression.

Inuyasha raised a brow at the little demon speculatively. "Are we friends?" he asked in a dry tone.

"Of course not!" Shippo fumed indignantly, "I was just going to avenge you to make up for you saving me those times! That's it!"

He looked back over at Kagome with a shrug. "See? Nothin to tell."

She gave a mild look of disbelief but shrugged it off easily enough.

"Well then, how long have you two known each other?" she asked instead, motioning for Shippo to come sit beside her in the grass. He slowly did as bade, looking her up and down with curious green eyes.

Inuyasha gave the child a judging look and shrugged again. "About three years I guess. Somethin like that anyway. "

"And how did you meet?"

"Eh, the kid's always gettin in trouble. Pokin around villages and spider caves. Saved him from his own stupidity twice now."

Shippo shot the older demon a dirty look but didn't deny it.

Kagome giggled and reached forward, ruffling the kit's hair playfully.

"Sounds like how my little brother is."

Inuyasha's ears perked a little, just able to catch the faint hint of longing in her voice. It was time to change the subject.

"Anyway, I thought all you brats were too busy with your tests to come all the way out here to stir up trouble."

The little fox scoffed. "Shows what you know dummy, We only have tests once a month!"

"Kitsunes have tests?" Kagome asked with a look of amusement.

"Of course, that's how you go up ranks!" he informed the girl excitedly.

"Your uncle know you came out here?" Inuyasha asked sternly.

The kitsune shrugged. "He's not gonna yell at me over it."

"He oughta, you're a small fry out here in the middle of nowhere causin trouble for mikos. I'm surprised you haven't already gotten fried with habits like that."

"If something attacks me I can get away no problem," the boy boasted. "The demons here are pretty brainless." Then he shot a pointedly teasing look Inuyasha's way and climbed into Kagome's lap, much to her surprise and delight.

"Hey!" Inuyasha snapped irritably, raising a fist to thump the kit for his insult.

But Kagome giggled shooting Inuyasha a happy look that stopped him in his tracks. The half demon hesitated and begrudgingly backed off. Shippo however, seemed more than a little surprised by Inuyasha's apparent desire to remain in a miko's good graces.

Shippo turned to look at Inuyasha properly and the half demon returned the look warily.

"So why DO you have a miko with you Inuyasha?" he asked with an expression of suspicion. "I thought you hated humans.

"Kagome's the exception," the half-demon replied sternly.

Kagome blinked in surprise at hearing this. "But... If you hate humans, then why did you bother saving me?" she asked looking a little affronted.

"It's not that I hate humans," Inuyasha retorted, giving her a scolding look for the mistake. "I just don't like em."

"But you still saved me," she pressed.

"Feh, Like I'd ever just let bandits do what they want with some poor girl while I could do something to stop it," Inuyasha snorted.

The sudden glowing look Kagome gave the half demon made his eyes widen and his heart beat pick up.

"That doesn't explain why you'd let her stay with you," Shippo cut in.

Her warm expression saddened a little as she turned back to the kit. "Because I had nowhere else to go. Besides, I still owe Inuyasha a debt. It would be wrong for me to leave before rewarding him properly, right?"

The words made Inuyasha flinch very slightly. 'Does that mean she plans to leave once she feels like I've been repaid?'

"I guess," the fox allowed speculatively.

Without another word, Inuyasha turned from the conversation and leapt into a nearby tree up where he could just barely be seen.

"I'm takin a nap," he informed the two of them shortly.

Kagome and Shippo shared a look of mild confusion but didn't argue. Instead, Kagome simply set the boy down in the grass beside her. He looked up at her questioningly.

"You can stay and talk if you like Shippo-chan," she told him kindly, "But I really do need to get more work done before I leave okay?"

"Sure," he agreed, casting a glance back at Inuyasha's sulky form in the tree. "I'm just gonna go sit with Inuyasha."

She smiled and nodded. "Okay."

(-)

Inuyasha growled quietly at the small pest as he scampered up the tree and sat himself nearby, but he stayed stretched out along his chosen tree branch.

"So," Shippo said giving Inuyasha a meaningful look. "Why is she really living with you?"

Inuyasha's eyes narrowed. "She already damn well told you why!" he snarled back under his breath. "Cuz she was homeless! What the hell was I supposed to do? Go dump her in a field?"

Shippo frowned. "Well yeah. She's a human right? The you I know would have just left her alone."

Still, the little kitsune cast the girl a sympathetic look. "I mean... it was nice for you to help her out but I always thought dog demons were super territorial."

"We are," Inuyasha answered automatically.

"Then it doesn't make sense for you to share your territory with her."

Inuyasha didn't answer.

"Did you just get bored or something? Is that why you're keeping her around?" the little fox asked looking back curiously.

"Maybe," Inuyasha replied straight-faced.

"So she's like a pet?"

"Of course she's not a pet!" Inuyasha snapped quietly. Damn if this kid wasn't getting on his nerves today...

But at Inuyasha's denial, the kitsune only grinned knowingly.

"What?!" the dog demon snapped.

"So then when are you two gonna start having pups?" Shippo asked twitching his tail smugly.

Inuyasha's eyes widened and he choked on the air he was breathing in his surprise. But once he caught his breath again he shot the boy a look of incredulance.

"We AREN'T," he growled back quietly fighting down a blush.

Shippo raised an eyebrow at the dog demon. "That's not what it looks like to me," he replied with a sly look.

"Then your damn eyes are broken!" Inuyasha snapped looking away angrily now. Normally, he might have punted the kid out of the tree for saying something like that. But he wasn't sure he wanted to have to explain himself to Kagome if she did happen to see him kick the little brat. He didn't want to have a fight with her today, he wanted to keep things just the way they had been this morning...

"Well if you're not going to become mates, shouldn't she go back to the humans so she CAN find a mate and have pups?"

"Find a husband and have babies," Inuyasha corrected bitterly. He stared hard at the girl as she worked. His fists tightened at the thought.

Shippo shrugged. "You know what I mean."

"If she wants to leave she can come tell me herself and I'll drop her off wherever the hell she wants," the half-demon snapped under his breath. "She knows that, so drop it."

"But-"

The little fox suddenly found himself being grabbed and hoisted up by his tail, then he was lifted until he was face to face with a very hostile dog demon.

"So help me, if I hear ONE more word from you about this, you're goin over the damn wall!" Inuyasha hissed giving the kit a little shake.

The boy nodded rapidly and was dropped back to the branch safely. None the less, Shippo felt he had more than his fill of the half-demon's temper for the day and scurried to the safety of another branch.

Inuyasha resettled himself and turned to watch Kagome work again.

All this talk of her leaving made something very akin to anger well in Inuyasha's chest. Did she want to go find a husband? Maybe the only thing that kept her here was her debt to him. Surely if she went far enough away from her old home she would be safe to start over with humans again.

His eyes hardened. He knew she liked him, but well enough give up on being with another human? Enough to stay here forever?

After she was done here he'd planned to show her the pathway out. But if he did, would she use it to leave?

As if sensing his unblinking gaze, Kagome turned around to check on them with a curious expression. Inuyasha's eye caught the shine of sapphires in her braided hair and he relaxed a bit, enough to even let a small smile show. Kagome smiled back at him serenely and returned to her work.

His smile faded and he looked away from her tiredly. It didn't matter if she left him. He'd already promised himself that he would show her the way out. It was the best thing he could do for her. He had to, even if he hated it.

Chapter Text

By the time Kagome got the garden into some order, her basket was filled with herbs and mushrooms. Overhead, the wispy clouds from the morning had grown and darkened into an impending rainstorm.

The descending sun was barely visible behind the cloud cover and the smell of rain filled the air.

It was time to go back.

The girl sighed turning from the looming storm to look at Inuyasha's perch.

"Do you think maybe I can come visit Kagome over at your place sometime ?" she faintly heard Shippo ask the older demon hopefully. She grinned at the question, brushing herself off and standing to go join them.

Inuyasha seemed to consider the request for a moment, then shrugged begrudgingly. "Ask her, I don't give a damn either way."

Shippo turned to the approaching miko.

"Kagome, can I come visit you sometime?" he called down.

"Of course, Shippo-chan I'd love that!" she replied cheerfully.

But a thought occurred to her, and her expression faltered some."But... maybe you'd better be careful, The area around Inuyasha's territory is dangerous."

The dog demon's eyes sharpened at her warning.

"Our territory." He corrected almost harshly. "It's your home too right?"

Her smile returned and grew sweet. "Right," she agreed with a laugh. "I guess I just have to keep reminding myself."

The hanyou relaxed considerably. But Shippo cast the older demon a look of shocked incredulance.

"But Inuyasha-?"

"Don't," he murmured to the child in a low dangerous voice. His eye caught Shippo's with a sharp glare. "Don't you DARE."

The boy very hesitantly closed his mouth but still flashed the hanyou a knowing look.

Inuyasha snorted at the look and dropped from the tree to stand in front of Kagome.

"So you ready to go home?" he asked, drawing up close to the girl.

She nodded and slung her bow and arrows over her shoulder, reaching forward to show him her basket. "I found the herbs you like and a bunch of mushrooms too."

"Good," he replied easily. "Haven't had any decent mushrooms in ages."

Her smile broadened. "I think they'll go great with some rabbit soup, what do you think?"

The half-demon shrugged. "Dunno, I guess we'll see when we get back." Then he looked over his shoulder at Shippo.

"You better run on home kid, before it starts rainin," the hanyou advised wryly.

"Yeah, yeah I know," Shippo shot back wearily.

Kagome smiled at the two demons, unaware of their quiet argument, and gave a small bow to the young fox. "It was nice meeting you Shippo-chan! And be careful if you decide to come visit, okay?"

Shippo gave a small bow back. "It was nice to meet you too!" he replied before climbing down the tree and walking toward the wall. He stopped at a hole just big enough for him to squeeze through.

Then he looked back at the pair and waved. "I'll see you later Kagome!" And with that, he slipped through the hole and was gone.

Alone once more, Kagome and Inuyasha walked back through the grounds and down the crumbling staircase toward the forest.

"That was fun," Kagome said aloud as they navigated the stairs.

"Even though the runt attacked you?" Inuyasha quipped.

"Even then," she laughed.

Inuyasha snorted at her enthusiasm. "That brat's uncle better give him an earful when he finds out where he's been," he grumbled.

"His uncle must have his hands full with a boy that lively. Although, I think most boys that age get into more than their fair share of trouble before they grow out of it."

"Dunno. I was too busy at that age just trying to get by. I sure as hell wasn't pokin my nose in spider demon caves and trying to scare mikos."

"Well, I guess everyone's different," she shrugged. Then after a moment, Kagome suddenly smiled and giggled.

"What?" he asked a little suspiciously.

"Nothing," she replied almost teasingly. "I was just thinking that you were probably a really cute kid when you were younger."

He paused on the steps and raised an eyebrow at the girl. "And what exactly is cute about ME?" he asked skeptically.

Instantly her eyes turned upward to focus on his ears and her lip found its way between her teeth as if to keep from smiling too wide or laughing.

Inuyasha's expression deadpanned and he sighed in defeat, turning back to the stairs. "Never mind, I don't wanna hear it," he grumbled half-heartedly.

Kagome did laugh a little at that.

Once they reached the bottom of the steps, he took her basket from her hand and knelt down in silent permission for her to climb on again. She did as bade and he took off at a serious pace toward the one place he had dreaded since the first day he'd spent with Kagome.

They still had a few hours left by the look of things, and that didn't leave much time for preparing dinner, but Inuyasha still had a job to do before he went back and he meant to see it through.

(-)

When they arrived at their destination, Inuyasha stopped in a clearing about a 30-minute walk from the den. He stood them in front of a tight path surrounded by thick underbrush and a few tall cypress trees.

"Why did we stop?" Kagome asked, pulling herself forward breathlessly to look around.

The half-demon didn't answer immediately.

He looked down the passage with a grim expression. Out in the trees, Inuyasha heard a crow cawing. The noise seemed almost unnatural to him somehow.

Now that he was here... Now that he was looking at the path that might lead Kagome away from him someday... He found himself hesitating.

"Why did we stop?" she repeated a little quieter now.

But even with her growing worry Inuyasha stood there frozen, his heart heavy in his chest.

Of course, he wanted her to know the way out if he died before she did. Of course, he didn't want her to die here. But... chances were if she did leave, it wouldn't be because he'd died.

His grim expression intensified to something closer to anger or frustration.

If she left, it would be because she didn't want to stay out here forever when she could go find a new home with humans.

'But I still promised myself right? I swore that I'd show her the way out!' Inuyasha fumed silently. 'It's the god damn right thing to do, the BEST thing to do! Even if she does leave...'

"...Are you okay?" she asked innocently, leaning more over his shoulder to peer at his face. Her clear blue eyes seemed to cut through him with every honest intention he lacked.

Inuyasha grit his teeth and turned his intense gaze away from the path and away from Kagome's curious eyes.

"I'm fine. Just thought I smelled something, that's all." he lied quietly, turning completely from the path and heading back to the cave again.

"Oh," she replied uncertainly before resettling herself on his back. "Well, if there's nothing to worry about, we'd better hurry up and get home. We don't want it to rain on us."

"Right."

(-)

Just after they finished making dinner, the rain hit hard and they were forced to retreat into the cave to eat.

As such, Inuyasha found himself trapped with Kagome for the night while it stormed outside.

He'd mostly stayed silent since their return from the temple. But Kagome didn't seem content to leave him to his brooding thoughts. She wanted to know his opinion on the soup, she wanted to talk about plans for the garden, she wanted to know more about the damn fox... But the more she tried to draw him out, the worse Inuyasha felt and the quieter he got until she finally gave up and focused on eating.

Inuyasha barely touched his meal, instead, he silently blasted himself for breaking his vow.

Keeping her here like this with no way out was greedy. As greedy as any treasure crazed human he'd ever looked down on, if not far worse.

"I bet the reason that creature is buying all that stuff is because it caught a woman," rang a villager's voice in his head.

If this was how he intended to keep Kagome here then that human had been right on the mark. He was no better than the monster she had fled from, the only difference was the cage.

Still, she seemed so happy here.

Inuyasha glared at the fire.

"Kagome... Do you miss being with the humans?" he asked suddenly.

The miko stopped eating from her bowl and looked back at him surprised. "Where did that come from?" she asked in a small confused voice.

Inuyasha didn't look away from the flames of their fire.

"Just wondering," he murmured.

Kagome's expression shifted from Confusion to worry and then suspicion, but the half-demon saw none of it.

"It doesn't matter if I miss them or not. You know I can't go back. "

"I know. But what if you could?"

His question was met with a momentary silence. "...Is something bothering you Inuyasha?" she asked just as softly.

He turned to look in her direction but not quite at her, his golden eyes brooding. "No. I was just curious."

"That doesn't seem like the kind of question you would ask just out of curiosity," she replied in a small hurt voice.

Guilt flickered in those golden depths for a split second and then he turned back to the fire. "You don't have to answer if you don't want to," he told her stiffly.

'Maybe asking was a mistake.' he thought dourly.

But just as he was thinking that, she set aside her empty bowl, got up, and walked toward him. The soft padding of her bare feet across the rock floor echoed in his ears with each step. He focused his eyes forward determined to avoid her face. But his right ear followed her movement until she came and seated herself beside his tense form.

Inuyasha took on a gruff expression and blushed slightly but didn't comment. He had to admit he was curious about where she was going with this.

Once she was apparently comfortable, the girl also looked into the fire and answered, "...I don't miss being with humans."

Inuyasha dared to glance at her from his peripheral but did not reply, sensing that she had more to say. "I miss my family and my friends... But I'm not eager to go running back to humans just because they're human. Too many have turned their backs on me and betrayed me as it is. After I ran away... and even before it, plenty of humans have only tried to hurt me or help send me back to that hell."

Inuyasha's heart thudded in his chest as the girl sighed and leaned against him. "You didn't do that though," she said softly.

Inuyasha's eyes widened but he stayed silent.

"Instead, You gave me a home and made me feel safe and happy again. Meeting you was the one good thing that came out of all the pain and sorrow I had to go through." Then to his amazement, her hand found his resting on his thigh and she timidly wrapped her fingers up in his and squeezed. He squeezed back, barely believing the words he was hearing. His heart soaring even as it constricted.

She leaned her head back against the rock wall of their shelter. "I wouldn't throw away my friendship with you for anything," she told him. "Not even if it meant I could see my family again... They're better off without me anyway."

Then the smell of salt grated across Inuyasha's senses. He hesitantly leaned forward to look at her face and saw her staring up with tears in her eyes.

"So... If I said or did something wrong, just tell me," she murmured. "Please don't just send me back."

His eyes sparked in anger.

His grip on her hand tightened to iron and he reached over, grabbing her other arm to draw her into a possessive embrace.

"That won't ever happen," he assured the girl roughly, tucking her against his chest.

After a moment of surprise, Kagome curled herself against him and reached up with her free hand to grip the front of his haori. "Then you're not angry with me? Or annoyed?" she asked in a frail voice.

"NO! Of course I'm not! Where in the hell would you even get an idea like that?!"

But despite his brash attempt to reassure her, he could still smell an increase in tears. "After we left the shrine you started acting so different!" she told him miserably. "All afternoon you've been so hard to talk to, and then you ask me a question like that? Can you really blame me for thinking you were irritated with me?"

Inuyasha thought her words over and sighed, pulling her the rest of the way Into his lap to wrap his arms around her shoulders, the sleeves of his haori nearly encompassing her.

"I'm not irritated with you," he told her more gently. "You didn't do anything wrong, Okay?" He hesitantly brought one hand up to cup the back of her head and sighed when she sniffled and leaned into him.

"I'm the one overthinking things here. So don't cry," he pled quietly, his hand stroking her hair. "I-I don't know what to do... when you cry."

"I can't help it," she replied in a cracking voice. "I've lost everyone I ever loved. You're all I have. If you told me to leave..." she cut herself off and clutched at his chest tighter.

"What you're scared of will never happen," he promised her firmly.

"But-"

"No," he stated, cutting her off soundly. "I would never just abandon you like that Kagome. Your home is here now, for as long as you want it. I promise you that."

The girl went quiet in his arms, but by the way she opened her mouth and shut it again, he sensed that she wanted to say something but just wasn't sure what. Thankfully, after a few moments, Kagome wrapped her arms around his back in return. "Thank you," she murmured with a tired sigh.

Inuyasha didn't reply to her thanks in words. Instead, he just held her. His heart pounding in his chest with all she'd said. That she was here by choice, that she valued their relationship and the home he'd offered her above anything the humans could give.

And that he believed her.

After awhile, she surprised him by speaking again.

"Inuyasha," she murmured.

"...What?"

"Please Promise me that if I EVER attack you, you'll fight back with everything you have, okay?"

He pulled away to look at her in stunned shock. As if the idea of her attacking him were unthinkable.

"What?"

"I've told you before about the demon chasing me right?" she reminded him quietly. "He can change his form to look like anyone he wants. He can even change his voice. I don't know if he could trick your nose but he'd be clever enough to stand downwind of you if he couldn't."

Her grip on his clothes tightened. "He's used my face and my voice to fool people before. So if I ever say something deliberately cruel to that you KNOW I wouldn't say, don't believe it for a second. And if I attack you, don't you dare show me any mercy, okay?"

Inuyasha nodded solemnly at the warning. "Okay. I promise."

The girl relaxed against him completely.

"Thank you."

Inuyasha sighed and a little hesitantly rested his chin on the top of her head.

"...You've got a lot of confidence if you're that sure we won't ever fight each other," he commented quietly.

She gave a soft laugh. "Well, it's not that we don't have our little fights. But I would never bring a weapon into it or say something purposefully horrible to you just out of spite. You know?"

"Yeah, I get that."

"I'm just sorry I didn't make you promise me that a long time ago," she told him regretfully. "It would have been safer for you that way." Her voice went quiet."But I guess... I was worried you might send me away."

Inuyasha smiled.

"Looks like we were both overthinkin things," he murmured to himself.

Chapter Text

The sound of a gentle rainfall kept Kagome in a drowsy state even as she grew aware enough to register it. But with the rain came another sound that pushed the miko toward the waking world. The sound of breathing and a heavy heartbeat that wasn't, couldn't have been her own.

Kagome started a little at the realization that she wasn't alone in bed. But when her eyes flew open, red cloth filled her vision.
Slowly, she tilted her head upward to confirm her suspicion and there she saw Inuyasha's sleeping face very close to her own. They were laying on the bed of fur and blankets, separated by about half a foot. His head rested in the crook of his right arm and the other limb was tucked close to his chest, his fingers half-curled away from her. No part of him was touching her, he wasn't even under the blanket. He was just... sleeping.

"I-Inu-?" she squeaked quietly.

The half-demon's ear twitched at the soft sound but he gave no other reaction. He was either ignoring her or in an unusually deep sleep.

Kagome's stare rapidly turned to a blush as she realized that for him to be here she must have fallen asleep in his arms last night.

'Maybe he was worried after I cried all over him last night?' she wondered with a sense of awe, looking down toward his chin bashfully. 'He did seem pretty flustered.'

Kagome took a moment to compose herself and slowly peeked back up at the rest of his face. Her heart thumped in her chest as she looked. She couldn't deny that Inuyasha had always been handsome to her. But there was something so gentle about him when he dropped his guard like this. It was like that when he smiled and laughed too. Those rare fleeting moments of peace made him feel almost reachable.

Staring at his contented expression, Kagome found that she didn't have the heart to wake him up just yet. Not when he seemed so at ease. Besides the sun wasn't even up yet and it was still raining. There really was no reason to wake him up...

Kagome lowered her eyes back to the vee of his collar and laid there beside him like that for awhile, listening to the rain and Inuyasha's quiet breathing. Hyper aware of his presence at her side.

Then slowly she leaned forward, tucking her head beneath his chin.

Inuyasha stirred a little and grunted at the intrusion and Kagome held her breath, almost expecting him to wake up and move away or scold her. But he didn't say anything.

Instead, he wrapped his arms around her.

The arm that he had been using to rest his head on moved down to pillow hers instead. His other arm took the liberty of wrapping around her waist, lazily pulling her close and burying his nose into her hair almost exactly the way he had the first time he'd slept beside her.

The feel of his arms around her was enough to make the girl blush all over again. But she felt like maybe she'd invited it by invading his personal space...

Inuyasha's breathing stayed even and calm, his heartbeat a slow steady pace beside her ear. He smelled of pine trees and sweat and her soap. And he was warm, better than any blanket. Kagome's eyes grew heavy the longer she laid there until she was lulled back into a deep sleep by Inuyasha's warmth.

(-)

When Kagome awoke again the sun was just coming up and it was still raining, but Inuyasha was no longer beside her.

She laid there a moment, staring at the empty place on the bed and felt a small sense of loss. Maybe she hadn't expected him to stay with her like that until morning but... He'd left early last time too. Would it really hurt him to just say something before disappearing like that?

Kagome blushed. 'What am I thinking?' she wondered, pulling her blanket over her face in embarrassment.'It's not as if we're lovers or something! He's not going to wake me up like...'

In her mind's eye; Inuyasha leaned over her on the bed, his hair ruffled from sleep and that trademark cocky smirk in place. 'Hey, time to wake up.'

The girl shivered and felt her face heat up at the imagery. "I'm such an idiot!" she whispered to herself miserably.

"Huh?" questioned a nearby voice. "What'd you do now?"

Kagome flung the blankets from her view and rapidly sat up.

To her humiliation, Inuyasha was looking at her from across the firepit, his bare chest lit up with definition from the flickering orange light of a growing fire, and over the flames, he had three fish ready to be cooked.

She blushed at his state of undress as well as at his confused and expectant look, realizing that he had heard her calling herself stupid. The flustered girl desperately searched her mind for a believable explanation.

"I ah... I think I fell asleep with my pin on," she blurted out.

The half demon blinked at her excuse and then for some reason took his own turn to blush before looking back to the food.

"Oh, I ah... sorta noticed that last night. So I put it with your brush," he told her, motioning his head in the direction of their clothes chest. She glanced over and saw the trinket laying beside her hairbrush as promised. Then quietly released an easily misinterpreted breath of relief.

She was glad she wouldn't have to explain to Inuyasha that she'd been calling herself stupid because she'd wanted to wake up beside him. There was no telling what he might have thought of her if she had. ...But she WAS glad he'd thought to move the pin for her.

The girl rose from the bed of furs and went toward it. As she walked, the words "Thank you," quietly left her lips.

"Keh, no problem," he replied softly.

On the short walk over, she looked around and noticed Inuyasha's haori and kisode draped over the treasure chests at the back of the cave. They appeared to be soaked through. She glanced over at him. The remainder of his clothing and his hair seemed to be in a similar condition. Then her gaze turned back to the fish.

"You went fishing?" she asked, looking from the bedraggled hanyou to the doorway where the rain was still going strong.

He nodded with a soft "Keh," before following up with, "The rabbits had more sense'n me and stayed in where it's warm. I figured I was gonna get wet either way, so might as well get some fish out of it."

"You won't catch a cold or anything right?" she asked with a look of concern.

"Nah," he replied easily. "Takes more'n a little rain to make me sick."

"Well... I'm glad about that," she sighed, turning back to her hair brush and the pin. He watched as she bypassed them and reached for the cloth she used to wash her face. She carried it over to the doorway and extended her hand out into the rain, letting the water soak the small bundle of cloth thoroughly before pulling it back inside and using it to tentatively wash her face.

The miko either didn't notice Inuyasha's suddenly watchful gaze or she didn't mind it. His eyes followed the movement of the cloth over her skin, his ears perked forward in curiosity.

She then walked back to the clothes chest, laying out the cloth to dry and reaching to the back of her head to pull her braid apart. Once the strands were free, she shook her head a little and inky black hair fell into soft waves around her shoulders.

Inuyasha's heart fluttered at the simple action, his breath catching in his throat as he watched.

Once more she overlooked her hairbrush, this time reaching forward and picking up the pin.

She held it in her hands delicately, running her fingers over a silver leaf and down one of the longer chains as she seemed to contemplate it.

Inuyasha was certain he would have given anything to know what was going through her head at that moment. Did she regret accepting his gift? Did she still like it? Was she even thinking about the damn thing at all?

Her eyes seemed so far away from him. Like the way she looked when she was remembering something from her past.

But before Inuyasha could think of something to say, she'd snapped out of it with a small head shake and turned back to her task.

She quickly used the pin to twist a section of her hair into an intricate knot at the left side of her head, finishing the motion by tucking the rose pin into place and pulling her hands away.

She tilted her head from side to side to make sure it would stay in place, and once she was satisfied, she looked back and flashed him a warm confident smile. "Does it look good?" she asked cheerfully, spinning around to give him a good look.

The half-demon felt his face heat up a little and glanced away. "Sure," he replied noncommittally.

Kagome gave a slightly disappointed look, but sighed and shrugged it off. 'I guess Inuyasha never really struck me as much of a flatterer anyway...'

The half-demon in question stared into the fire, pointedly attempting to ignore the girl's movements around the cave. Things were awkward enough. At least for him.

He wondered how Kagome would have felt if he told her that he'd been awake enough to know what he'd been doing when he'd hugged her this morning. She would probably get embarrassed or angry. Quite frankly, he'd been surprised that she would let him just get away with it even if she'd thought he was asleep.

Since then, Inuyasha hadn't gotten a wink of sleep. The thought that maybe she saw him the way he saw her had been driving him crazy all morning. She'd said last night that she wanted to stay here with him, that she valued their relationship... The question was just, how much? Enough to really stay forever?

The girl disrupted his thoughts by plopping down a few feet away from him with her sewing supplies and a roll of blue silk.

"What's that for?" he asked thoughtlessly.

The girl blinked and looked up at him. "My sewing?"

"The silk," he corrected with a questioning look.

"Oh, well I'm almost done with this kisode so I thought afterward I would get started on another kimono."

"You already have a blue one, though," he pointed out bluntly. "You should use some of the other colors to make yourself something nice."

She gave him an odd look. "But I told you that I would only use what I needed, remember?" she answered simply.

He looked her in the eye. "Just use it. There's no damn harm in having different colors."

She blushed prettily for him and looked away. "Look... I don't know if you realize this but that's really the sort of thing you should give as a gift to your future bride. I would feel terrible taking something like that from you if you met someone later on..."

"Kagome just use it," he insisted stubbornly. "If I need more, later on, I can get more."

She looked back at him thoughtfully. "...How about you pick one for me?"

The half demon blinked in confusion. "What?"

"Well, you're the one giving me the cloth, and you'll be the only one to see me in it. So maybe you should get to pick out a color you like," the girl suggested with a deep blush.

Inuyasha was intrigued by the task. He'd never been offered the ability to choose someone else's clothing before and to have it be Kagome...

"Okay," he agreed after only a moment's thought. He checked the fish one more time and rose to his feet, walking past Kagome and heading toward the neatly stacked cloth beside the treasure chests.

Kagome took over turning the fish for him and watched with a look of amusement as he pulled out and set aside each roll of cloth. He took his time and looked at all of them critically, occasionally glancing back at her with a serious and thoughtful expression.

The girl tried desperately to hide her embarrassment. She'd never have thought he would put so much effort into something like this. She'd thought he'd just grab one and drag it over...

By a slow process of elimination, each bolt was rejected until only two remained. The red silk had caught Inuyasha's eye early on and held it. Thinking of it on her, he couldn't help but remember the night she had slept in nothing but his clothes, and he liked the idea of seeing her in that color again. But he wasn't sure... Maybe she'd like blue more? That was the first color she'd chosen on her own... and there were more than just the one kind of blue, some with designs like mountains and trees and oceans. But time and again he'd been tempted back to the plain red. And another, a white bolt with red and golden birds on it. He couldn't quite put his finger on why but he really wanted to see it on her...

(-)

Just as Kagome was pulling the fish off the fire, he carried the two chosen silks over and laid them out beside her. The girl glanced up from their breakfast to the cloth and her eyes grew wide in surprise.

"This one for the inner kimono and obi," Inuyasha explained, nudging the plain red toward her expectantly. "And this one for the outer kimono."

"You... you want me to make a multi-layered kimono?" she asked with a sound of surprise.

He frowned a little, seeing that she wasn't entirely as taken with his selection as he had hoped she would be. "Well I figure you could just wear the red one for everyday stuff and you can wear the white one over it when you feel like lookin nicer than normal." He momentarily took on a thoughtful look. "Or when it's cold out I guess."

"But I mean... it's not like I'll ever get to stroll through a village again or anything. Why would I need to dress nicer?

He shrugged and hunched down beside her. "My mother told me once that sometimes women just wanna look nice even if they aren't goin anywhere."

Kagome gaped at him in surprise. "But..."

His look turned stern. "You told me I could choose and I did," he pointed out shortly. "If you don't wanna use it then don't."

Kagome felt blindsided by Inuyasha's decision and his logic.

She looked down at the cloth thoughtfully. Then carefully answered.

"You have really good taste Inuyasha," she praised delicately. Indeed, fewer men could have chosen a more beautiful combination. It was a mix worthy of a hime's wedding gown. "And I like your idea of the white on the outside but it's just not practical."

His look of disappointment was brief as she continued. "How about for now I'll make the red kimono and use some of the white as the obi? later on, when I have more practical clothes I'll make the outer kimono."

His disappointment melted into a pleased sort of look that almost came across as smug and then he stood and went straight for his fish. "Fine with me," he answered proudly.

(-)

They both made short work of their fish and settled down to wait out the rain in the comfort of the cave. Kagome picked up her sewing and Inuyasha stretched himself out on his side beside her, propping his head up on his hand as he soaked in the warmth of their fire.

Once more they entered a loaded silence. But while Inuyasha was happy to let his thoughts go unheard it seemed that Kagome wasn't.

"Inuyasha?" she said after awhile.

"What?" he asked lazily.

"Did you ever come up with a way for me to repay you?"

"No," he replied unapologetically.

The girl frowned and flashed him a somewhat stubborn look. "Why not?"

He shrugged. "You cleaned this place up, you helped me out when I was hurt, you forage, you cook. What more would I want from you?"

Her stubborn expression switched to a look of disappointment and she looked back to her lap, her hands resting on the freshly finished kisode. After a moment, she turned her gaze to the white silk he'd brought her.

"There's... really nothing else you'd want from me?" she asked quietly.

He seemed to catch her melancholy tone and snorted. "There's plenty of time for me to think about it right? So don't worry so much."

"I know but it's already been close to three weeks."

"So? Don't tell me it's really been buggin you that bad?"

"I wasn't raised to ignore a debt."

"So don't. As far as I'm concerned you've done more'n enough."

"I'd like to do more."

Inuyasha gave her a searching look. In response, Kagome stared back pleadingly and offered more explanation.

"I-It always feels like when I'm just about to do something worthy of repaying you, you end up doing something nice for me. Saving me, giving me a home, protecting me from demons, buying me gifts, comforting me, the cloth... And then I end up feeling like I'm back at square one." Her pleading expression drilled into him, weakening his resolve. "You could ask me for anything Inuyasha. I just want to give you as much as you've given me."

There was a pregnant pause before Inuyasha spoke and when he did it was careful. "There is... something I think I want from you," he said quietly.

Instantly Kagome's face lit up with eagerness. "Really?!"

He nodded, his eyes trained on her as he thoughtfully weighed his words. "Yeah, but I'm not sure if it's what I'd wanna use up my request on."

Her expression lost some of its joy. "Oh..." she murmured despondently.

Despite his seriousness up to this point, the half-demon actually chuckled at her forlorn voice.

"Damn, then... how about this?" he bargained with a small amused grin. "Just give me two months to figure things out. If I don't come up with anything before that we'll call it even."

"But we wouldn't BE even!" she grumbled back.

"Don't worry, wench, I'll think of something you'd hate enough to call us even," he smirked in return. "Maybe I could order you to skin our rabbits for a month?" His smirk widened. "Or maybe I could order you to tell me all your deepest darkest secrets?"

The girl picked up a spool of thread from her basket and tossed it at his head. He dodged it with a look of surprise then shot her a glare. "Watch it!"

"You're such a jerk!" she practically growled at him.

"Hey YOU'RE the one rushin me here!" he huffed back.

"And YOU'RE the one hanging it over my head! If you have something you want then I don't understand why you can't just say it!"

"Cuz it's complicated, okay?" he sighed before turning back to the fire. His voice softened a little. "I've never had someone offer to repay me like this. I wanna take my time and think about what I really want."

"...You wouldn't really make me skin rabbits would you?" she asked with a slightly worried voice.

He gave a short snort of laughter and shook his head. "Nah. It's hard enough seeing you wince when I do it."

"And you wouldn't really make me tell you all my secrets, right?"

He shrugged. "If I feel like there's somethin important you're not sayin to me then I might. But you've been gettin better about coming to me when it's important so I don't really feel the need to force anything out of ya."

"...Two months right?" she reaffirmed softly.

"Right."

"Okay... I'll be waiting."

Chapter Text

Since Inuyasha's promise, nearly two weeks passed in relative calm. As soon as the rain stopped, basket repairs and floor mats took first priority. Thus, the main sounds that filled the air around the clearing for some time were the crackling of dry reeds and grass being woven into place. Well … that and the soft grumblings of feminine frustration.

Apparently, basket and mat weaving were not her most practiced skill.

Inuyasha was amused. Not particularly because she was having a hard time, but just because of HOW she acted while she was frustrated and angry. It was one thing to see any other human on earth get angry, (and he'd seen plenty.) But it was quite another thing to watch Kagome be that way. Especially over a pile of twigs.

(The highlight of his week after the rain was seeing Kagome accidentally ruin her first attempted basket repair, march to the nearest cliff and dramatically fling the mess of reeds clear across the gap with a snarl of contempt.)

Still, she was determined. Probably not surprising considering that being cooped up in the cave for two days was likely what motivated it.

For two days her only comfortable sitting place had been the bed and it seemed to annoy her that the only other options were boulders or the rough rock floor. So, of course, she was dead set on upgrading now that she had the chance.

Inuyasha proved himself particularly useful with that project, fetching reeds from the swamp and long grass from the forest for her to weave into tatami mats and baskets.

It still took a few days and more than one botched attempt on Kagome's end but eventually most of the damaged baskets had been repaired and they finally had a pair of rough tatami mats sitting by the fire pit inside. She even made a third mat in case they "ever had guests," which Inuyasha had initially scoffed at.

Kagome then finished her new red Kimono and its white obi with the bird design. And Inuyasha, seemingly feeling encouraged to make creative suggestions, talked her into making a new obi for her blue kimono out of a navy cloth covered in a mountain design. He seemed extremely proud when she'd agreed to it.

He also started insisting that she begin practicing with her bow at least half an hour a day just to start building up her strength. So the two of them set up a few targets out of her first few tatami attempts and she'd started practicing archer after breakfast every day.

All in all, they'd stayed busy. And today was no different. Today Inuyasha found himself following a red-clad Kagome through the forest as she explored the territory. Gathering plants into her basket as she went. It was already heavy with dandelions, wild onions, garlic, and mustard. Although Inuyasha had a slightly different view of her collection.

"Looks like you've just been picking flowers all day," he commented wryly.

She looked up at him then back to her bundle of assorted white and yellow blossoms. "I guess I did," the girl laughed as she returned to sifting through the grass. "But don't worry they're all useful."

He stood behind her watching for a little while longer. "Hey… I was wondering," he suddenly spoke again, his voice quieter now. Kagome looked back up from the plant she was currently inspecting to give him her full attention but his eyes stayed aloof, just staring out into the wilderness.

"You said before that you'd never held a weapon before my old man's sword, right?"

"That's right," she answered matter of factly.

"But you know about plants and healing."

"Well I wouldn't say I'm an expert or anything," she pointed out with a slight wince. "And most of the times I've used my reiki were on accident."

The man frowned slightly but still did not turn toward her. "It's just... You said you're a Miko. But I heard somewhere before that reiki users ALL get battle training from a young age. So..?"

Once it dawned on her what he was really asking, she looked away from him with a thoughtful expression of her own. The way he phrased his question made her feel like he was giving her the choice to take the conversation further or stop it in its tracks. All it would take was a simple refusal and she knew he wouldn't bring it back up...

"...As young as 6 years old sometimes," she acknowledged. "At least if the big temples find you. ...And the more powerful you are the sooner they come looking." She took a deep breath as if preparing to take a plunge.

"But the priestess Kaede was there at my birth, and she knew as soon as she saw me that I had strong reiki." Her expression turned distant and melancholy. "There was apparently a light... And when she told my father the temples were going to come for me, well... he wasn't happy. I doubt any new father would have been."

She turned back to look at her companion and this time he met her gaze. "I mean... can you imagine?"

Inuyasha tried to, but he honestly had very little experience with children or fathers. The closest he came to picturing it was imagining a featureless woman in miko robes holding a bundle of cloth and telling him that someday that bundle would be taken away. He felt a little throb of pain at the thought, but nothing more. It was hard picturing a future for himself that included a family. In the last hundred years… no, longer… Kagome was all he had that even came close.

And then there it was in his mind, Kagome heavy with his child, smiling at him, excited. Just like any other young mother.

A timid feeling of joy pricked at the back of his mind at the picture and swelled, fighting to take hold of his imagination. The image, something so wonderful and so impossible… something he'd never before dared imagine. Not for himself.

But with Kagome… maybe…

And then suddenly the faceless priestess was back with chilling clarity, holding a bundle that had a tuft of Kagome's black hair and his ears poking from the top. The infant helplessly squirming in the stranger's arms. Kagome in the background, crying.

Inuyasha stiffened, his eyes hardening. His jaw and his fists clenched tight. Every cell in his body inflamed in fury at the thought. But just as quickly he released the impossible fantasy. Wiping all emotion from his mind. And as he made himself relax, Inuyasha wondered if that was even a fraction of what Kagome's father actually felt experiencing the real thing.

"My father begged the priestess to help keep me hidden from the temples," Kagome went on obliviously, turning back to the trees. "And she agreed. In fact, she sealed my powers."

"Sealed?" he managed after a moment.

She nodded. Funny how a few weeks ago she would have been automatically hitting the breaks on this conversation. But now... She found herself wanting to confide in him. Maybe not everything yet. If only to spare herself some painful memories. But like this. little by little.

"I think the condition of the spell was that my powers would be sealed until I desperately needed them." she sighed quietly to herself and paused, reaching out to a little sapling and half-heartedly touching the leaves.

"I guess in their minds I would be able to have a normal life that way and still have my powers if I really needed them. But when the moment came and I DID need them…"

Her fingers fell away from the plant and she looked at it despairingly.

"You didn't know how to use them," he finished for her with a look of realization.

She nodded again and there was a short silence. "But... Even with my powers sealed I've always been able to see and do strange things," she conceded.

His ears tilted in curious bafflement. "Like what?"

"See ghosts and invisible demons, always win at certain guessing games, purify things just by touching them, lots of things. So Kaede convinced father to have me train under her as an assistant. She's the one who taught me herblore and healing. Some other small spells too."

"But no battle training?"

"No. Never. Father hated the idea of me learning to fight. He wanted to give me a normal, peaceful life. And I guess he did, for a while at least," the girl sighed.

"...What's he like? Your father?" Inuyasha reluctantly questioned. "I never hear you talk about him. Did you not get along?"

Even as he said the words he regretted them. Instantly her eyes hardened in a telling pain even as she stared down at the little tree.

"I loved my father to pieces," she replied in a soft voice. But in the softness, he heard a tone of mourning that struck a painful chord. "He used to dote on me a lot. Protect me. Look out for me. I always thought... Nothing bad could ever happen with my father there…" She lowered her head and the faint scent of tears spiked the air. "Stupid, right?"

He stood there a moment, not really knowing what to say or do. But when the scent of tears increased he found himself haunching down beside her and carefully wrapping an arm around her shoulder. "Sorry I brought it up," he intoned softly. "Forget I said anything, okay?"

Kagome leaned into his side and sighed.

(-)

As they traveled back home arm in arm, a somewhat awkward silence filled the air between them. Kagome seemed more recovered now. Or at least she didn't seem to be in danger of crying again. And he didn't dare pick back up the conversation. Even if it was all he could think of at the moment.

By the sound of things, Kagome's father was most likely dead. Possibly killed by the demon now hunting her…

Inuyasha glanced down at the top of Kagome's head. 'Explains why she wasn't talking about him before. Explains a lot actually. It's probably one of the reasons she says she wants to just forget everything,' he thought ruefully. Or at least until a sudden sharp pain at his neck startled him out of his thoughts.

He stopped abruptly on the path and whipped his free hand to the spot with a -Thwap!-

Kagome jumped at the sound and practically twirled to look back at him. But he was more focused on the small creature now crushed between his neck and his hand.

As he pulled his hand away bringing the tiny creature with it, Inuyasha made a sound of annoyance and simply said: "Oh, it's you Myoga."

The miko beside him blinked and pulled her arm from his to look curiously at who or what he was talking to and found, to her amazement, a flattened insect-like creature resting in the palm of his hand.

"What the hell did I tell you about drinking my blood without permission?!" Inuyasha snapped impatiently.

"Forgive me, my lord, this old flea could not help himself," rasped the small squashed creature. Then there was a -pop!- and Kagome watched in amazement as the self-proclaimed flea demon regained what she assumed was his normal shape. "I was so overjoyed to see you still alive and well that I could not help but sample your blood in celebration!"

"What am I, a talking drink to you?" Inuyasha growled back irritably.

But by now Kagome was smiling again. "Aren't you going to introduce us Inuyasha?" she asked. The flea demon briefly looked from the girl's face to his lord's and said: "Yes my lord I'm quite curious about the lovely young lady you have with you."

Inuyasha grunted even as Kagome's smile widened. "Myoga, this is Kagome. She's the miko everyone seems to think offed me a few weeks back," he begrudgingly introduced. "Kagome, Myoga. He was my father's retainer."

Kagome nodded in understanding and gave a polite bow of the head. "I'm pleased to meet you Myoga-Ojiisan."

The small demon's eyes widened in surprise for a moment and then he too bowed, though much lower. "I'm pleased to meet you too Lady Kagome!" he replied tearfully. "To be so polite to a mere retainer! Lord Inuyasha I must say I highly approve!"

"She's just livin with me old man," Inuyasha answered dryly. "Nothin for you TO approve."

"Really? But you two seemed so intimate earlier my lord!"

Instantly the dog demon's face flushed with embarrassment and he quickly re-squashed the small demon in his hand and tossed him aside.

Kagome made a sound of protest but he just looped his arm back in hers and tried to hurry her away. "Nosy little dog biter!" Inuyasha growled irritably.

"That wasn't very nice Inuyasha!" she scolded, yanking her arm away and shooting him a glare.

"It's what he gets for eavesdropping!" Inuyasha snapped impatiently. Regardless, the girl's eyes narrowed at him a moment longer before she turned and leaned down to scoop the tiny creature up.

"You hurt him!" she accused, looking up in disapproval.

"As if! Takes more'n that to hurt a demon Kagome, you should know that by now."

"He's right my lady I shall recover," wheezed a small voice from her hands. "Don't concern yourself on an old flea's account." She looked back down just in time to see the little demon once more pop back into shape and perform a few small stretches before looking back to his master.

"My lord you're so cold to treat a poor servant thus! And I came all this way to check on you!"

"Not like I need you to check on me!" Inuyasha sneered. "Now quit stickin your nose in my business and beat it already!"

"Inuyasha! That's no way to treat someone who was worried about you!"

The half-demon crossed his arms and gave the girl a surly look. "If that little leech was worried it's cuz he thought he might not get any more of my blood," he pointed out ruthlessly.

The flea demon straightened to attention and jumped to Inuyasha's shoulder.

"Surely you don't think that master!?" he demanded, hopping up and down passionately. "Have I not been loyal to you for nearly two centuries?"

"Can hardly call you loyal when you disappear on me at the slightest whiff of danger." was Inuyasha's wry answer.

"Now, now," Kagome soothed, drawing a snort from the hanyou. "Myoga-Ojiisan Why don't you join us for lunch?"

The flea's eyes grew hopefully large for a moment. Even as Inuyasha's narrowed before shooting their visitor a look of warning. "That ain't an invitation old man. Kagome's blood's OFF LIMITS."

"I wouldn't dream of it, my lord!"

Still, the hanyou looked suspicious. "Can you eat anything other than blood?" he questioned dryly.

"Well, of course, I'm partial to blood," Myoga admitted briefly looking to Inuyasha's neck longingly. The Hanyou glared at him and with a sigh, the old demon crossed his arms (all four of them) in resignation. "But I enjoy a nice cup of tea on occasion too."

"That sounds nice right about now," Kagome agreed, setting off toward the cave with new vigor.

Myoga hopped over to join her in conversation for the walk while Inuyasha was more or less left behind to grumble and sigh to himself in frustration.

"So You were Inuyasha's father's retainer," she confirmed, all the while smiling wider. "What was he like?"

"Oh! my former master, Lord Inuyasha's father was a monstrous dog demon that prowled the west," Myoga informed his newfound audience delightedly.

Kagome glanced at Inuyasha inquiringly but he just grumbled and shrugged. "Not like I'd know. I never even met 'im."

"He was a powerful Daiyoukai," carried on the little demon proudly. "And his blood was delicious! Something I'm happy to say he passed on to his son."

"A strange kind of compliment," Kagome remarked smilingly. "So what about his mother?"

"She's dead," Inuyasha grumbled bitterly before brushing past.

The miko hesitated at the harsh tone. She was definitely curious about Inuyasha's family now that she was thinking in that direction, but she got the feeling his mother was not a subject open for discussion. At least not at this very moment.

"So... any particular reason for visiting Myoga-Ojiisan?" she questioned in an attempt to draw the conversation in a different direction.

"I heard a few conflicting rumors going around about my lord so I came to investigate."

"Conflicting rumors?" Inuyasha asked warily. "Lemme guess, there're still idiots goin' around saying I died right?"

"That IS one of the earlier reports that caught my ear."

"And the others?"

"Some were claiming that you'd taken a wife."

Instantly Kagome blushed and Inuyasha stopped on the road. His eyebrow twitched, his back stiffened. "And let me fuckin guess, That one came from the fox clan."

"Correct my lord!" chirped Myoga obliviously.

Kagome was almost certain she heard a sound like snapping.

"I'll strangle that little brat!" Inuyasha thundered, raising his claws up aggressively in the direction of a thick tree as though to threaten it.

Myoga jumped in surprise and looked up at his master with no small amount of surprise. "Who?"

"SHIPPO! Who the hell else?! That nosy little RAT!"

Sure Kagome was a little embarrassed, but she'd seen people jump to that sort of conclusion on less. "Er… Is it really THAT big a deal?" she asked soothingly.

"Of course it's a-" Inuyasha stopped, his ears perking up high and twitching alertly. His body growing tense but in a different way. His feet subtly widened their stance as though readying himself to jump away at any second. He looked around very slowly and cautiously.

And just like that, Kagome sensed a change in the air. Like a gentle steady wind that had suddenly died.

The clearing was quiet. Very quiet. Even the birds had gone quiet.

Inuyasha glanced back to Kagome's shoulder where Myoga had been perched just seconds ago. He was gone.

Chapter Text

Inuyasha stood perfectly still, desperately searching for any sound or smell that might tip him off to what was happening. A possible demon hoard on the move or an ambush set for him and Kagome specifically...

Kagome looked around too. But she just seemed to be looking for Myoga and he didn't have the time to set her on guard. 

Thankfully, he didn't have to. There was a spike of Reiki in the surrounding air and Kagome went rigid beside him.  

“Inuyasha…” she whispered.

“I felt it.” 

“No I-” Her eyes flew wide and her hands jumped to his chest, pushing him back. “Move!”  

Inuyasha stumbled backward just in time to avoid an arrow neatly wrapped with a paper talisman.

Inuyasha watched, A terrible feeling dropped into his heart like a stone, as the arrow narrowly missed Kagome’s neck and sank deep into a tree behind them. 

“W-What are you doing?!” demanded a startled male voice from off to the right. 

Inuyasha, mad enough to kill, whirled around to face the enemy with his claws out and his feet already moving forward. 

But far from being frightened by the near miss, Kagome moved fast and grabbed Inuyasha’s arm, pulling him back and moving to stand in front herself. The move was deeply frustrating for Inuyasha. He could take an arrow and keep on going, Kagome couldn't . Didn't she realize that by now?

He almost ripped his arm from her hands on an angry impulse but he didn't want to risk hurting her. He moved to carefully extract himself and move her behind him.

“Don't you DARE Hojo!" she shouted, evidently fearless. "Lower the bow!!"

“Kagome back up ! He just fucking-” Inuyasha stopped, looking back at her with a jolt of realization. “Wait, Hojo ? You… you know this guy?!”

Kagome didn't reply. She was too busy glaring daggers into the confused man before them.  Inuyasha, equally confused and uncertain, looked over the would-be assassin again. 

He appeared to be roughly around Kagome's age. And he had a very common sort of face. Handsome enough, but not striking. He was dressed In a set of very clean and well tended hunting clothes. Too nice to belong to anyone but the upper class. 

Reluctantly, 'Hojo' lowered his weapon and Inuyasha, likewise, lowered his claws.

“Miroku! Come out!” she called. “I know you’re here too!”

There was a flabbergasted sigh from the bushes behind Hojo. “As you command Kagome-sama.” 

A monk stepped forward from the underbrush to come stand between them and the bowman. 

Kagome’s expression stayed hard. “What was the last thing I said to you, Miroku?”

“Keep them safe,” he replied evenly.

Kagome’s expression softened a little and she nodded. “He’s confirmed?” she checked without looking away. 

Miroku blinked. “Why not check directly, my Lady?”

“I’ll take your word for it,” she replied stiffly.  "Besides, if Naraku wanted to use a familiar face to get close he wouldn't bother using Him ."

Inuyasha and the monk both blinked in different degrees of confusion and glanced back at the third man. Hojo shrank, his expression crushed and embarrassed. 

“So, how did you find me?”

Miroku recovered beautifully, turning back to face them with a smile. “Ah, we’ve been tracking you ever since you escaped the estate. You managed to shake us off the trail about a month ago. But we heard a rumor that a dog demon in the area had kidnapped a woman. And then, Hachi came to me with a somewhat similar report. That a dog demon living here had taken a human bride. One that matched up to a description of your loveliness.” 

Inuyasha bristled slightly at the monk's flirtatious tone but Kagome was unaffected.  Her expression became troubled. “I see,” she replied softly.

“Ah, not to worry Kagome Sama! There’s a carefully placed rumor already well in circulation that you are safely resettled in China,” he rushed to assure, still all smiles. 

It didn't seem to convince her though. Her frown stayed firmly in place and her eyes were lined with worry.

“Kagome,” Inuyasha put in, half to turn her attention away from a subject that seemed to upset her and half out of pressing curiosity. “You gonna tell me what the hell’s going on?”

She nodded and gestured to the monk. “Right, this is Miroku. He’s my village’s resident monk and a childhood friend of mine. Miroku, this is Inuyasha. He’s a new friend who’s been letting me stay with him for a while now.” 

“I see…” Miroku replied, looking Inuyasha over. The half-demon stood his ground, unmoved by the scrutiny. But Kagome's eyes narrowed slightly.

“He has also been feeding, clothing and protecting me. So I think a very sincere apology is in order for the unprompted murder attempt,” she went on firmly.

To the hanyou's surprise, the monk nodded obediently, turning his attention to Inuyasha’s face properly. And, without hesitation, bowed deeply on the spot. “My deepest apologies Inuyasha-san,” he offered sincerely, much to Inuyasha's shock. “It seems we had entirely the wrong idea about you. We were told the lady was being held against her will. And without bothering to confirm the truth with Kagome sama herself, we attacked you.  I hope you can forgive us.” 

Inuyasha glanced over at Kagome to gauge her reaction. She nodded at him encouragingly and he decided to go along with it. 

“Fine. But only because she vouches for you.”  

“I-!” 

Miroku and Inuyasha both looked up as the man with the bow clambered from the underbrush to prostrate himself before Kagome. “I’m very sorry as well! I-”

But she was having none of it. She turned her nose up at the apology and moved away. Her arms, (one of them with the handle of her basket still in the crook of her arm), tightened around Inuyasha’s trapped limb and tugged him back toward the trail. Miroku raised an eyebrow but didn't attempt to follow them. Instead, his gaze turned skeptically toward his own companion.

 Inuyasha was surprised, but he let her pull him along, glancing back and forth between Kagome and the devastated man scrambling to get up and pursue them, bow and arrows forgotten on the ground.

“N-No please! Kagome, I’m so sorry! Please wait !”

“Did you hear something Inuyasha?” she asked, deceptively calm, looking straight ahead and picking up the pace. “You seem very distracted. You keep looking back at nothing .” 

The man’s face fell as though she’d condemned him to hell with a single word. 

Inuyasha might have felt the same in his place. But he was confident Kagome wasn't the type to snub someone like that for no reason. There was no telling what this guy had done to get on her bad side, but it couldn’t have been small.  As such, Inuyasha’s sympathy was very limited. Especially since the idiot had almost hit them with an arrow not three minutes prior. 

As the man on her arm, a petty part of him couldn't help but feel a bit triumphant at the other man's disheveled and desperate appearance.

He looked forward as well, feeling very smug indeed as he replied, “Nope, didn't hear a thing.” 

There was a stuttered protest but he stopped following and Kagome didn't slow down or look back until they were well out of earshot. At least by human standards. 

---

“...Are they following us still?’ she eventually murmured.

“Nope. They're back there talking.”

It was hard to tell the full context of the conversation from this far away, but he could hear Miroku speaking very sternly. If Hojo replied at all then it was too soft for Inuyasha to catch. But he wasn’t about to turn around and leave Kagome alone to go spy on them. 

The girl relaxed against his side as though exhausted. He allowed the slight transfer of weight  without protest. 

“I wonder how they managed to get all the way out here,” he said after they were far enough to be completely out of earshot.

“Hatchi is Miroku’s Tanuki friend. He could have gotten them out here easily enough, especially if he knows the area.”

“Ah.” 

A monk who’s friends with a tanuki. He’d never heard of such a thing. But he couldn't say he was surprised either. The village that produced Kagome must have been fairly open minded. It sounded like an interesting place.

 “...I’m guessing having spiritual powers on hand helped some too,” he reasoned aloud.

“Probably.” The strain in Kagome’s voice was palpable. 

Sensing his companion’s desire to change subjects, but left without ideas, Inuyasha went quiet. He knew that if she felt like talking then she’d talk. And he had a feeling she would. The encounter seemed to have shaken her up.

They walked close in silence. Myoga didn't return and the men behind didn't chase them. For the moment all was quiet. 

The silence seemed to bear down on her. 

“...That wasn't very nice of me, was it?” she murmured eventually.

Inuyasha snorted. “Who cares if it was nice ? If that guy pisses you off then you shouldn’t have to deal with him.”

Kagome smiled slightly and leaned her head onto his shoulder. The unexpectant intimacy of it made his back muscles twitch, but he was starting to get used to Kagome's brand of casual affection. 

 “He doesn’t.”

He glanced down and raised an eyebrow at her.  

“Okay well, he does ,” she amended sheepishly. “But I know It’s not entirely his fault.”

“It was his fault he shot an arrow at us,” Inuyasha pointed out bluntly. “So at the very least, you can still be pissed off about THAT.”

“True,” Kagome smiled. 

She turned back to the path and walked without any of her usual distractions. No bird nests or herbs caught her eye and pulled her away. She stared at the beaten dirt path without really seeing. 

“...You haven't pushed me to talk about him.” she noted softly.

“No need. If he comes back I’ll just toss him off a cliff,” Inuyasha replied smoothly. “Done! Goodbye problems.”

“You will not!” she scolded, biting back a smile even as she pulled away to smack his arm. 

 Inuyasha, unreserved in his dislike of Hojo, and still riding high on a petty sense of victory, gave a fanged grin. “Why not? He’s a pain right ? One good toss and he’s out of our hair for good!”

She whacked him a bit harder that time. “You’re terrible!” 

“You could at least let me drop him in the swamp…” he jokingly pled.

“No way!” she laughed.

Inuyasha sighed in mock defeat. And Kagome’s laughter trailed off into giggles as she hung onto his arm.

After that, they walked on in a companionable silence for a bit. And then Kagome surprised him by reaching down to timidly hold his hand instead. "Thanks Inuyasha,” she murmured, looking up to offer him a soft smile. “I feel better now." 

Inuyasha’s expression softened a bit and the clawed hand in her grip gave a gentle squeeze. But the hanyou didn't reply. He just shrugged it off, as if to say ‘no big deal'. 

Chapter Text

Once they'd returned to the cave, Kagome threw herself into making dinner with a vengeance. He could tell she was trying to use work to drown out whatever she was thinking over, but it didn't seem to help. She didn't speak much and twice Inuyasha had to stop her from ruining the food when she'd stopped stirring for a worrying amount of time. 

“...I haven't been able to sense Miroku's reiki for a bit now," The miko admitted, taking back the ladle from Inuyasha sheepishly. He went back to his seat on a log by the fire. "It's strange... But I doubt they’d have left yet,” 

He had to agree. If those two went through all the trouble to find Kagome it was probably so they could take her back to live with humans. The thought was painful, but… she didn't want to go back. She'd told him that to his face. That she’d choose him. He was all the more convinced of her sincerity after seeing her cold reaction to ‘Hojo’ earlier. 

But… Maybe the situation had changed. Maybe it was safe now, maybe her family was looking for her… and if that was the case, could he really keep her here?

"We haven’t,” chirped a familiar voice behind him. Inuyasha and Kagome both jumped and looked around to see the two from earlier standing at the clearing entrance. 

“Ah, sorry about that!” Miroku laughed, seeing their astonished faces. He put away a piece of paper as he came forward. “Concealment sutra. Very useful for getting through a forest full of demons, but useless if you lose concentration or get too close.” 

Hojo quietly followed. He'd evidently taken the time to recollect his bow and arrows and dusted himself off but the effort didn't seem to have much effect on his dignity. He slunk into the clearing like a dog with its tail between its legs, only reluctantly turning toward Kagome who visibly became tense and went back to cooking with a sudden vigor. 

 Inuyasha openly frowned at the intruders. “And lemme guess,” he drawled. “You expect us to feed you two or somethin?”

“Some of Kagome-sama’s home cooking would indeed be wonderful,” the monk replied with a smile full of charm. “We’ve been traveling for quite awhile now you know.” 

Inuyasha snorted. “And yet, I don't recall inviting a couple leeches to have dinner with us.” 

To his mild ire, Kagome gave a reluctant sigh and rubbed her eyes. “Inuyasha... it’s fine.”

“There, see ?” Miroku grinned, walking forward and seating himself on the log across the fire from Inuyasha. “Now what’s for dinner?”

The hanyou’s eye twitched as Hojo hesitantly followed to sit down next to the monk murmuring, “Thank you for the trouble.”

“Rabbit,” Kagome replied curtly, still avoiding looking over at Hojo with all her might. 

“Ah, Inuyasha is a capable hunter I take it?” Miroku pushed.

“He's very reliable that way," she replied tersely. Inuyasha wasn't sure why, but Hojo wilted again ever so slightly. 

"I'd very much like to hear the story of how you two met," Miroku went on without much concern for his companion. "I'm sure it's a fascinating story."

Kagome seemed to relax a little with the change of topic. Or at least, she managed a smile.  "Less fascinating, and more dramatic. Some bandits caught me on the road north and tried to cripple me so I wouldn't run." She raised the hem of her kimono to reveal the faint scar. 

The pair looked it over. The smile falling from the monk's face and both their expressions going pale. The knowledge that she'd been forced to endure such hardships was visibly painful to them. 

Somehow, It was uncomfortable for Inuyasha to discover there were other men in the world that cared about Kagome enough to heartache for her. 

"I think they expected me to be in too much pain to give them any more trouble. Because not long after, they left me alone. And I managed to wrap my leg, use a bit of my reiki to take the edge off and escaped." 

"You... Always were surprisingly bold under pressure," Miroku remarked, forcing a smile in her direction.

Kagome smiled and, using a thick rag, pulled the stew off the fire and placed it off to the side to cool. 

"That was just the start really. They caught on quicker than I would have liked and chased me down a cliff and through the forest." 

Like Inuyasha had been, Miroku was equally struck by the strange behavior. "They persisted that much?"

She nodded. "They didn't say anything about it, but I suspected then that there was some sort of bounty on me." 

"If there is a bounty, it isn't widespread yet." Hojo cut in quietly, staring intently at his folded hands. "I set up an information network with my people. They're to inform me on things like this."

Kagome ignored the man and quickly returned to her own narrative.  

"It got dark and a storm rolled in but they just wouldn't quit. But when I finally collapsed, Inuyasha here very courageously saved me."

"Dramatic indeed."

Kagome nodded. "Afterwards he convinced me to come live here in his territory and he's been looking out for me ever since." She looked over to flash Inuyasha a fond smile. "I owe him my life several times over by now."

Embarrassed, but not willing to show it, Inuyasha quickly glanced off to the side and fought back a blush.  

“Wait… You live here ?” Hojo asked suddenly, drawing back his attention. The young man's expression was shocked. “In a cave?”

Inuyasha barely had the time to register the prickle of shame quickly followed by indignation before he and Miroku both went stiff in their seats as Kagome's aura flared in rage. She shot a look of pure venom at the foolish young lord. 

 The monk quickly looked away as if denying all association and scooted as far away from the idiot beside him as possible. Hojo shrank in his seat. 

Kagome's tone was suddenly very tense. “...Inuyasha, If your offer  from earlier is still on the table then I am accepting it.” 

“What, really?” the hanyou asked, stupefied. 

She didn't turn her eyes from Hojo’s face in the least. “ Really .”

Inuyasha was surprised by the change of heart but found he was far from unwilling to go along with it. “Got it,” he consented, rising from his seat. He flashed a big toothy grin at the rapidly paling young man and cracking his knuckles with anticipation. 

“Wh-What are you-?” 

Inuyasha strode forward, yanking his prey up by the front of his clothes and hefted him over a shoulder. “AH! No wait! I’m sorry! I didn't mean it!”

“No killing him,” she called indifferently as he distanced himself from the fire and eyed a good branch to jump to. 

“You worry too much.” 

 With that, he took off into the trees, his burden shouting in fear the whole way

With Hojo out of view, Kagome finally relaxed with a deep sigh of relief. “Honestly, Miroku,” she said in exasperation. “Did you have to bring him along?”

Miroku's reply was equally exasperated. “Apologies for that... He insisted on helping me with the search, but it seems he had more of an ulterior motive than I realized.” 

“I’m surprised he got up the courage to walk five feet out of his guards reach.”

“Now that’s a little harsh,” he soothed awkwardly.

“...Is it?” she asked faintly.

“Handled!” Inuyasha declared, dropping back into the clearing with a refreshed expression. 

Miroku sighed and reached up to massage his brow, defeated. “May I know how exactly you ‘handled’ Hojo-sama?” 

“I Just dropped him off at the swamp,” he informed the monk with the casual wave of a clawed hand.

“I hope you at least checked for more snake demons?” Kagome asked.

Miroku looked at them horrified.

“Eh, he’ll be fine ,” the hanyou waved off somewhat ruthlessly.

The monk let out a low groan and wearily rose to his feet. “I thank you for the dinner but seeing as how I cannot abandon the heir to the Hojo clan alone in a swamp…”

Inuyasha was only mildly surprised by the title. He'd already expected to find Hojo was from a wealthy family just by his clothes. But he had to admit, it was more than a little bizarre to hear that the heir of a rich clan had been out in demon infested woods looking for a runaway miko.  A miko that he'd clearly offended before.

“It’s not a long walk.” Inuyasha lazily pointed off toward the spring. "So long as you can keep the moron away from Kagome, I don't see a problem with you two using the firepit when you get back. He's going to need it." 

Miroku nodded his acceptance and trudged away in the direction Inuyasha had indicated.