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After almost an hour of avoiding the thought, Kagome reluctantly allowed herself to acknowledge what Sango had muttered earlier. Since she’d been steadfastly ignoring everything Sango had to say all day, she couldn’t remember the exact words, but they’d been something along the lines of how Kagome shouldn’t subjugate Inuyasha so much.
She couldn’t remember how their little sniping contest had begun. Maybe they’d both just woken up in bad moods, or something equally silly. But all day, they’d both been making snarky comments that weren’t really that fair, and even more that were all too fair.
Namely, Kagome had pointed out that if Sango wanted Miroku to actually be true to her, she was going to have to make the first move – no matter how ‘inappropriate’ it was, in these days. And Sango… Sango had pointed out that Kikyou never drove Inuyasha three feet underground just because he was honest with her.
The boys had been worrying over it, in their separate ways. Every so often, Miroku would attempt to get between them and calm the atmosphere, until one or both of them forced him away. Shippou was quietly wailing to himself about how this would surely break up their group and panicking that it might somehow be his fault. Inuyasha had been lagging in the back, watching everyone with dark eyes but never saying anything.
Which, eventually, was what had made her think of what Sango had said. Because it was true: Inuyasha had never been forced to spend time with Kikyou – there was no great mission for him. When there had been, when he was trying to get the Shikon jewel, he barely ever saw her. It wasn’t until Kikyou called him out and he gave up on it that they got to know each other.
Kikyou had never told him to ‘sit’. Kikyou had never shoved him face-first into the dirt just because she was annoyed. No wonder he loved her. She was so much better than Kagome. Even now, when she so often threatened to kill him… He still loved her.
Maybe… maybe if Kagome treated him a little better… if they all treated him better… he would have as much faith and devotion for them.
She glanced back, but then stopped and blinked. Miroku and Shippou stumbled back, both crying out as if they expected her to subjugate them, and even Sango paused, though she didn’t turn around.
“K-Kagome-s-sama?” Miroku prompted bravely. “Is something wrong?”
She just raised a finger to point. “Gone.”
“What’s gone?”
“Inuyasha,” she clarified, and Miroku and Sango turned to see the empty path behind them. “He’s gone.”
“Huh?” Shippou scrambled up onto Miroku’s head and raised a hand to shade his eyes. “Where’d he go? He was right behind us.”
“I don’t know,” Sango murmured, and she slowly moved back to stand by Miroku, staring around the path. Kirara jumped off her shoulder and began sniffing the ground, and Sango knelt down to watch her. “Kirara? Can you smell him?”
The little cat just continued sniffing for a few moments, then slowly turned around to blink at her quietly.
“That Inuyasha…” Miroku sighed, folding his arms around his staff. “Is it so hard to tell us where he’s going?”
“I know, right? So irresponsible!” cried Shippou.
Kagome frowned at them, and clutched at her scarf as she turned to look back down the path. “Inuyasha…”
When he was very young, his mother had taught him how to kneel. Fine young men sat like fine young men, she said, not crouched with their hands in the dirt.
But he liked crouching. It was comfortable. And it was easy to get up from. And his hands had seen much worse than dirt.
He sat like that now, hidden in the roots of a huge tree and watching the pool he’d just crawled out of slowly drain away. He wasn’t sure where it had come from—he sure hadn’t seen it coming when he’d been walking—and he didn’t know where it was draining away to, but it was weird enough to warrant his attention a little longer.
When it was gone, he glanced around, then pushed himself up to walk over and peer into the now empty pool. Completely gone, with the ground covered in grass and bushes, like there had never been a pool there at all.
Weird.
That acknowledged, he huffed and spun on his heel, intending to head off again. But a human shout caught his ear and he froze, immediately listening hard.
“Honestly… Inuyasha!”
He blinked, but then whacked himself on the arm to snap out of it and dove back into the roots of the tree.
“Where are you? Inuyasha!”
“Come now, Kagome-sama. You shouldn’t be so concerned. Knowing Inuyasha, by now there should have been a great deal of destruction going on.”
“That’s right. Since there isn’t, he’s probably just taken a shortcut to the next town.”
“But why would he do that?”
He pushed himself a little further under the hollowed roots as a group of humans stepped into sight, two of them holding small demons captive in their arms. They paused on the edge of what had been the pool, and he held his breath as one of the captive demons turned to look directly at him.
“Maybe he noticed your bad mood and decided discretion would be the safer option,” one of the women noted, and the other stamped her foot.
“I’m not the one who slays demons just because she didn’t get the response she wanted.”
“No, you just take it out on Inuyasha.”
“Now, now, you two,” the monk said with a weak laugh, before turning away to mutter, though sharp ears picked it up. “That jerk, Inuyasha… leaving me to deal with these two alone…!”
But what was worse was the small cat-demon jumped out of the first lady’s arms and began moving toward him. He gasped and pushed further under the roots, but it did nothing as the cat came directly up to his hole and stared down at him.
“Hsst! Go away!” he whispered, waving at it, but the cat just turned its head and crept a little closer.
“Kirara? What are you doing?”
He stiffened, but even though the cat was now blocking his view, he could hear and smell them coming closer. He hesitated one last second, then surged upward, shoving the cat out of the way and leaping up into the tree branches.
“Wha…?”
This time he got a proper view of the three humans, who all gaped up at him, and the little fox demon lifted one paw to point.
“You… are you…”
“Oh wow,” the first human breathed.
“Inuyasha…” the second whispered, and he pulled himself up into what he really hoped was a threatening pose.
“Listen well, you three!” he announced, then blinked and remembered he was supposed to be sounding rough and dangerous. He pointed a little more savagely and tried to roughen his words. “I’m not like those weak demons! I’m the great Inuyasha and no one will capture me!”
He waited a beat, but when they just kept gaping at him, he faltered, wondering if he’d maybe gone too far. Oh well. Better they quake in fear than chop him up. He glanced around to make sure there was nothing else, then leapt out of the tree and began sprinting as fast as his little legs could carry him.
An hour later, after chasing him on Kirara and losing him completely, the group sat around an unlit campfire and stared at each other.
“It couldn’t have been,” Sango said finally, just to begin the argument. “That was a child.”
“We have seen stranger things,” Miroku pointed out. “And we have yet to find a more adult Inuyasha.”
“But he was so small!” cried Shippou. “And he didn’t recognise us!”
“He looked like him,” Kagome murmured, touching her cheek. “I’ve seen an image of him as a child, and it looked like him…”
“Alright. Supposing it was him,” said Miroku. “The first question is not how, but why. Why would someone—and let’s be frank here, it’s likely to be Naraku—want to make Inuyasha a child?”
“He can’t use Tetssaiga,” Sango said immediately. “He was carrying it, but even in its smaller form, it was almost bigger than he was. He would never be able to use the real thing.”
“And his claws were too small,” added Shippou, and he lifted his own hand to show off his own. “No way he could fight with them.”
“True. So we lose our most powerful warrior,” Miroku said thoughtfully. “It makes sense. Inuyasha’s greatest weakness is his concern for us – his companions.”
“Mm,” she agreed, “but Inuyasha becomes more dangerous when any of us are in trouble.”
“Attacking us would therefore be foolish,” continued Miroku. “So instead, much like my wind tunnel and the demon bugs, he simply cuts Inuyasha off from battle, as well as any recognition of us.”
“But then why leave it there?” asked Sango. “As a child, he’s defenceless. Why hasn’t anyone appeared to kill him yet?”
They all sighed and nodded, agreeing there was a definite flaw in the concept there. They sat in silence for a few minutes, considering, but just as Kagome was opening her mouth to continue, a blast of power from the forest up ahead made them all flinch and look around.
They couldn’t see much from here, but the rising dust and their luck made them all scramble to their feet and begin running.
“Inuyasha!”
Of all the stupid things, it turned out to be one of those rare monks that really did travel in order to rid the world of evil.
Starting, it seemed, with their fun-sized hanyou.
“Sutras!” the monk shouted, and Inuyasha cried out as the slips came flying toward him, forcing him to do one of those complicated, gravity-defying flips he was so good at. But he landed badly, twisting his ankle, and crumpled into the dirt. The monk swung his staff in a wide arc just as the group emerged from the trees, aiming directly between Inuyasha’s wide eyes. “Be purified, dem-”
“Hold on!” Miroku shouted, sliding in to catch the staff on his own. He caught it, but then realised he wouldn’t have needed to, as Inuyasha had already dived out of the way, tumbling hard against a tree.
“Wha- why stop me, brother?” the monk cried as Miroku shoved him back.
“You don’t understand,” he said, while the others rushed to check on Inuyasha.
“Inuyasha!”
“Inuyasha, are you alright?” Kagome had just managed to crouch down beside him when Inuyasha jerked upright to stare at her, then immediately flip away.
“Wait, we’re not here to hurt you!” Sango cried, but at the same time, the monk had pulled out another batch of sutras.
“An opening! Sutras!”
“No, stop!” yelled Inuyasha, and even though he managed to jump out of the way again, he landed on the very edge of a small but sharp incline, and his twisted ankle fell out from beneath him. He yelped, but there was no stopping himself from tumbling backward, and this time his head cracked against the ground with a sickening thump.
“Inuyasha!”
“No!” Kagome reached out, but Shippou was faster, springing down to crouch on Inuyasha’s shoulder and push back his hair.
After a moment, Inuyasha opened his eyes a crack to look up at Shippou in dazed confusion, who sighed in relief.
“He’s alive! But he needs help.”
“I’m coming,” Kagome said, jumping down to join him. Inuyasha pulled away, but in his state, Kagome was quicker, and held him down. “It’s alright. Just stay still for now, okay?”
Higher up, Sango grit her teeth, and snatched off her hiraikostu with a snarl as Kirara leapt down from the sky and roared. “You…! He’s only a child, what’s the matter with you?!”
“Do not be fooled, m’lady!” the monk cried. “He is a demon! A child he may be now, but in time…!”
“How dare you –!”
“Sango!” Miroku warned, holding out his staff to stop her, and he gave the monk a direct look. “Worry not, friend. None of these demons are dangerous… to humans, anyway,” he added with a small smile.
“What? Are you not a monk? Is it not your sacred duty to –”
“Ah, now, I said that these demons are of no harm to humans,” he said, and took a step forward, his smile turning particularly frosty. “But I never said the same of Sango or myself. I suggest you leave now. Friend.”
Sango added her own threatening huff, still holding her hiraikotsu at the ready, and the monk took a half-step back, frowning at them all. Another moment, and he straightened, only to swing his staff around in point.
“I say this in the hope your souls can hear me beneath the witchery – you have been possessed! I know I cannot defeat you all and that demon, now. I only pray these demons do not corrupt your souls further!” he said, and Sango scowled.
“You little…!”
“I will return!” he shouted, and then turned to run off into the trees. Miroku and Sango glared after him for a minute, then turned to look down at the others, concerned.
“Kagome-sama?” prompted Miroku. “How’s Inuyasha?”
“Mm,” she murmured, and pushed some of her hair out of the way as she turned back to their miniaturised friend. “Inuyasha…? Are you alright?”
He just stared back at her, all wide eyes and clenched teeth, before glancing over at Miroku, Sango, and finally Kirara. He pulled a little further into the dirt, obviously trying to pull away, but Kagome held tight to his arm.
“What’s wrong?” she asked. “Are you hurt somewhere?”
Suddenly, Shippou flinched, and then blinked, staring down at Inuyasha in disbelief. “Impossible! This smell!”
“Hm? What is it, Shippou?” asked Miroku, and Sango hefted her hiraikotsu with a gasp.
“Is it the monk again? A demon?”
“Fear!” he cried, and pointed at Inuyasha. “He’s afraid!”
That seemed to be the last straw. With a startled cry, Inuyasha shoved Kagome off and scrambled to his feet, only to have his injured ankle crumple beneath his weight. He fell sideways, stumbled over Tetssaiga, and crashed into the dirt again.
“Inuyasha! Wait!” Kagome cried, and the others leapt down to join her, rushing to form a loose circle around Inuyasha.
He managed to get to his knees, and pulled his hands up in what might have been a threatening pose a few hours ago. Now, though, he was all huge eyes and fluffy hair, and shaking a little to boot. Sango and Miroku exchanged helpless glances and stared at him.
“W-what do you all want?” Inuyasha stammered. They blinked at the polite phrasing, and he raised his tiny claws higher. “Y-you won’t get a b-big reward for me! Not enough for th-three of you! A-and I’ll warn you! I – I’m a p-poisonous demon! You eat me and you’ll just d-die later!”
“Eat…?” Kagome whispered, covering her mouth.
“Now, now, Inuyasha, we know you aren’t poisonous,” Miroku said mildly, offering a small smile. “Sesshoumaru’s the one with poison claws.”
Inuyasha only flinched. “Y-you know Brother…”
“Brother?” they all repeated, but much like the rest of Inuyasha’s scared but oddly polite phrasing, decided it was probably something they should worry about later.
“Hey, now, Inuyasha,” Sango said softly, kneeling down in front of him. “Don’t you remember us?”
“From earlier,” he said softly, but didn’t lower his fists. “How do you know my name…?”
“No, from before that,” Kagome said, shifting so he could see her face. “You remember me?”
“Or me?” added Shippou, but Inuyasha only shied away when the little fox jumped close.
“Fox-demon!” He yanked his sleeves further over his hands and raised them to his face, as if expecting Foxfire at any second.
Miroku sighed and knelt down, gently reaching out to pull Inuyasha’s hands down. When he tried to scramble away again, Miroku clamped down hard enough to make Inuyasha shout.
“Mirok-sama!” Kagome cried.
“We’re not getting anywhere,” he said in explanation. “This is what Inuyasha would do if he were truly here with us.”
“That’s right!” Shippou said with a grin. “If it were Inuyasha, he’d just hit the kid until he calmed down! I’ll do it!”
“Shippou-chan!” Kagome snapped, and Sango snatched Inuyasha’s arm away from Miroku.
“This is hardly the same situation,” she said, and pulled Inuyasha around to face her. He stared up at her, shrinking back a little, and she offered a small smile. “Don’t worry about them. We’re not here to hurt you, or anything like that.”
“That’s right. You’re not hurt anywhere, are you?” Kagome asked again, crawling over to kneel by Sango’s side.
Inuyasha just stared at them both, and Kagome looked down at his ankle.
“What about there? Would you like me to bandage it for you?”
“It doesn’t hurt,” he said sullenly, and she smiled.
“That’s more like Inuyasha. Here, I’ll take care of it.” She pulled off her backpack and began pawing through for her first aid kit. “My name’s Kagome, and this is Sango-chan, Mirok-sama, Shippou-chan, and Kirara.”
He didn’t answer as she gently pulled his leg straight and set about bandaging it, his eyes on the weapons around him.
“Say, Inuyasha,” Miroku began, settling down behind Sango with his legs folded. “If you don’t remember us, do you remember how you got here? To these woods?”
He just looked at him in silence, lowering his head to peer out from under his hair.
“What about that sword?” prompted Kagome. “Do you remember how you got it? Or those beads?”
Inuyasha’s eyes flicked down to them before going back to the group. He stayed silent.
“So rude! Not answering when people ask you questions!” scoffed Shippou. “All that polite talk before – he hasn’t changed at all! He’s just the same rude, stupid hanyou!”
They all braced themselves for the barking response, but it didn’t come. Once again, they all blinked and looked at Inuyasha, who was still gazing at Shippou as if he didn’t understand. Shippou, in turn, stared back expectantly, until he realised nothing was coming, at which point he hunched his shoulders, taking a few quick steps back to hide behind Sango’s hip.
“Somehow… I feel like I said something wrong,” he said quietly.
They watched him inch further away, but their gazes snapped back as Inuyasha opened his mouth. He balked, then seemed to gather up his courage and tried again. “How… how do you all know me? My name… and… and the rest?”
“You mean about being a hanyou?” Sango guessed, and he nodded.
“And Brother. Only really big demons seem to know Brother… normally.”
“Well, you know, Inuyasha, we’ve all met before,” said Kagome. “That’s why we were wondering how you got here. How old are you?”
He frowned, tilting his head. “Why?”
“The Inuyasha we know is almost grown,” Miroku said with a smile, and the others exchanged glances again. They didn’t think about it much, but when he was human, Inuyasha almost looked younger than Kagome. Who knew how old he really was, but he almost certainly wasn’t finished growing yet.
After a long few moments, Inuyasha looked down at the ground, blushing a little. “I don’t know.”
“Ah, I know,” Kagome said, as she finished tying off the bandage. She leaned over Inuyasha’s leg with her softest smile. “Inuyasha… do you know where your home is?”
“What do you mean?” he asked warily, and she raised her eyebrows.
“Your mother,” she clarified, and glanced at the others before lowering her voice to add, “Your castle.”
The large eyes got even wider, before he immediately jerked away, turning to face the entirely other direction. He didn’t otherwise answer, and Sango looked at Kagome in surprise.
“Castle? I thought he never knew his father.”
“Mm-mm. His mother’s castle. She was a princess,” she said quietly, watching Inuyasha’s ears go flat. “Inuyasha… how long ago did your mother –”
“Thank you for helping me,” he said suddenly, and stood up even faster. “Please excuse me.”
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