c h ap t er on e

The sunlight burned his eyelids, and all he saw was bright red. He twitched his fingers slightly, making sure he could still move. Although his hearing wasn't as good as it was before, he could still hear voices all around him. 'What... what the hell.. ?' He tried squeezing his eyes open, but the harsh light hurt him, and he closed them again. 'Where's Kagome ? Where in the world am I ... ?' The sound of the forest and birds and hushed sounds of people surrounded him, and it felt like a dream, a memory.

"Who is he? Never seen him around here before .."

"His clothes. They're so strange."

"You think maybe he's a demon?"

"No, no. He looks very well human."

This sort of conversation sounded all too familiar. Of course, it was never directed to him before. He grunted, recollecting his strength and raised himself up, propping up on his elbows. His eyes opened, blinking rapidly to try and clear the blurred vision. The voices hushed when they saw him, and he stared straight at the faces connected to them. They were villagers. Simple, ordinary villagers. He didn't take a closer look at them, didn't care, his mind was racing. 'What the hell?! Am I looking at this right? People don't dress like this anymore ..' He blinked, "who are you? Where am I? Is this some kind of festival?"

The faces appeared confused by his words, "you are near our village, you appeared to be unconscious when we found you," a man answered. A young girl came up to him, her innocence radiating from her smiling face, "what's your name, mister?"

"I'm Inuyasha ..." he answered, his mind racing. 'What in the world is going on?'

"Well Inuyasha, you appear lost. We can talk to our village chief and see if you can stay with us until you find your way back," the same man said, trying to sooth the confusion. Inuyasha merely nodded and a couple of people held our their hands to help him up. He ignored the kindness, and stood up on his own, slowly following the villagers ahead of him.

"His name, its so strange. What kind of mother would name a human that?" he overheard a woman say. He didn't even flinch with anger.

After all, he had to agree.

- - -

His eyes widened when they laid upon the village, and when he recognized the smell, and when familiar feelings rushed back into him. It was like he was living in a memory, his wonderful memories. The people didn't seem to notice his shock, and a small, rough handed woman offered to show him to the chief. She was simple and plain, with strands of hair peeking out from the bundle on her head. Her clothes weren't extravagant nor attractive at all, but it was not like it mattered much. Following closely behind her, his head never stopped moving from side to side, taking it all in. The stands selling fish, or make up, or even clothes. Even the children playing and trying to catch a chicken with their bare hands.

Inuyasha's eyes narrowed, something was missing. Could she still be here? He shook his head mentally, of course not. This was probably just a dream, or maybe he was crazy. She was dead. 'But that doesn't explain my situation logically at all. How in the world did I end up here?'

He found himself in a hut when he broke from his thoughts. "Chief. We found a lost traveller this afternoon. Yamazaki-sama is wondering if we could keep him here for the time being." The woman spoke, bowing respectfully. A sturdy looking man sat in the center of the room, with a well-groomed beard and a healthy tan. The wrinkles on his face seemed to tell everyone a story - his wisdom. Inuyasha immediately felt irritated, rather than in awe.

"Of course. Will he be staying with Yamazaki-san as well?" His voice even sounded wise.

"I believe so."

Inuyasha remained silent unless spoken to, and soon left the hut, muttering a 'thanks' to the chief. The woman gave him a small smile, and escorted him to Mr. Yamazaki. The ground was solid from being flattened by thousands of feet each day, and made a strange sound against his sneakers. He fought the urge to take them off and feel the ground beneath his feet as he once had, but he had learned to control himself over the years.

"Ah, Inuyasha. Welcome. Your room is prepared and dinner is in an hour. You may call me Hiro, if you wish." the man greeted. He was tall and lean, and had a couple scars on his face. Probably from hard labour. His wife however, was plump and had red painted lips. Her rosy cheeks were brighter than her eyes. They spoke for a bit before Inuyasha uncomfortabley sat in the room he was given. Yamazaki had a very spacious house. Turning to his right, a simple yukata was laid across his futon and shoes were carefully placed near, and he sighed.

- - -

"Inuyasha-sama, it's dinner time. Would you like to eat?" A young girl tapped the wood of his rice paper door.

He slid the door open, peering down at her curiously. She blinked, wondering how he managed to get his yukata on properly. She had heard he was a foreigner. Glancing up at his face, she felt her cheeks go red.

He stared down at her, raising an eyebrow. She was very pretty, and her hair looked like silk. The way she dressed accentuated her beauty further, but otherwise, he could only compare. Once you've tasted perfection, second-best was all you saw. Not to mention that Kagome beautiful as well. The silence dragged on, and was a tad bit awkward. "Yeh, yeh. Let's go." He muttered impatiently. He had used up his manners on the people who had power to kick him out anytime. She followed behind him, quiet.

Sliding the door open, she let him enter first, and he sat down in seat pointed out to him. His hair was loosely tied back, half its length than from when he had been a half-demon. He tried to sit politely, but found himself sitting cross-legged. Bad habit.

"So, Inuyasha," Hiro started once everyone began eating, "do you have any idea how you wound up here?" The room silenced a little, round, info-greedy eyes met his, waiting for an answer.

"I'm not really sure, to be honest. Things were pretty normal where I came from, then this dark shadow overcame the skies and nobody noticed it but me, and the next thing I remember is ending up here," he explained, trying to make sense.

"I see. Strange indeed," Hiro murmured, almost to himself. He remained silent throughout the rest of the dinner, his eyebrows furrowing in concentration. The girl from earlier began to speak to Inuyasha, quiet at first, but began to talk really fast about everything that was on her mind. Inuyasha only nodded, trying not to appear irritated. He had no interest in knowing about the village gossip.

"Are you married, Inuyasha-sama?" The question came so abrupt that Inuyasha was speechless at first. His thoughts flashed to Kagome. Kagome angry, Kagome sad, Kagome happy.

"No, not yet. But I have someone," he murmured, trying to ignore the girls disappointment. He finished his dinner in silence, and left the room. He always surprised himself when he never barked out his rude thoughts, and when he was polite. Kagome had taught it to him, so her parents would let him stay in the house, and so important guests wouldn't have a bad impression. He felt bad for his tongue, from having to bite it instead of speaking sometimes.

He stepped into his room and slid the door shut behind him, staring at the futon on the floor. He was used to sleeping sitting against something, but when he tried that as a human, his back became sore. It sucked. He stripped down to his undergarments, and climbed into the bed. The sheets were clean and cool against his skin, and it felt so fresh that sleep came to him quickly.

'I have to get back soon.'