I do not own InuYasha, the manga or anime, and make no money off of it. Everything is owned by Rumiko Takahashi and VIZ.
Inuyasha shoved his arms into the sleeves of his yukata and inhaled deeply; the heavy scent of salt, with hints of pine sap and fish permeated his olfactory senses. He didn't care what Kagome's grandfather said about salt-air being healthy, that's what he had his hanyou body for. Grunting with a mix of disgust and pride for both the salt and his lineage, he cast a backwards look. Kagome was stumbling along the shoreline, the pink and orange in her yukata almost making her disappear into the sunset if he stared at her hard enough, which he could have if she hadn't noticed him and dropped her handful of twigs.
"Oh, now Jii-chan will be upset." She knelt down and began to pick them up again, completely ignorant of the waves lapping at her feet. "Come on Inuyasha; help me find some more twigs." The hanyou opened his mouth, about to say no before he realized it'd be best to say yes and avoid a "sit". They'd been here 3 days already and he'd avoided one so far.
"Okay" He reached down with a clawed hand and picked up a stick floating in the water. "Can we take this junk?" Kagome turned to look at her companion and shook her head.
"That's called driftwood Inuyasha and we can't take it because Jii-chan needs the wood to be dry to burn." Frowning, he clenched the piece of wood in his hand and threw it out into the horizon. "Wow, I don't think I even saw where that landed." She mumbled.
"'Course not woman, I've got strong arms." The girl tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and squinted into the sunset; Inuyasha seemed to be having more fun throwing away the wood and the sun was starting to set.
"Come on dog-boy, we'd better go see Jii-chan and Mama with this firewood." Inuyasha crossed his arms. "I ain't some stupid mutt, so don't call me dog and I'm not a boy! I'm older than your gramps!" he barked. There was silence as he stared into the blackness of her ponytail, fearing the violence of her anger before Kagome turned to him, her cheeks pink and giggling like mad.
"You're right; you are older than Jii-chan. You're so old that…that..." Damn, all of her "so old" jokes had deserted her. The hanyou rolled his eyes "Gods woman! Try this one, Sesshoumaru's so old it makes me look young." The giggles exploded into full fledged laughter as InuYasha's ears pricked forward and a small smile formed. He loved it when she laughed like that. She had caught it, that smile, even though it was fading already. He hadn't smiled a whole lot on this trip but he seemed to be having fun and that was what she cared about. Inuyasha needed to get away from everything for even a couple of days to forget about the jewel and Naraku.
"Keh, I'm gonna eat this seaweed if you don't hurry up!" Inuyasha's good natured complaint snapped her out of her thoughts, as Kagome nodded, clutching the wood tightly with her right hand. Enemies may be waiting for him back in the feudal era, but he was all hers for tonight. Resolute, she held out her hand to him, a soft smile on her lips. "I bet Mama made some pork dumplings and some ramen for you." He stared at her outstretched hand for a moment, the soft white skin marred by flecks of black sand, the way her fingertips ended in gently pointed nails painted in a soft blue. Before he knew it he was placing his hand in hers, and they were walking back towards the inn hand in hand, Kagome humming a silly little tune and Inuyasha's hunger all but forgotten.
