Disclaimer: As sad as this is to admit, I don't own Inuyasha. Ohhhh the things I would do if I did (claps hands together and laughs manically).
A/N: You'll notice that I tend to take elements from many different areas (for example, the spellings of the character names are from the English dubbed version of the anime, while "Keh" and some of the derogatory names Inuyasha uses, as well as some of the terms like "youkai", "hanyou" and "kitsune"do not). Also, having only watched the English dubbed anime, the four movies in English, and having read less than 400 chapters of the English manga, there are bound to be some minor mistakes or plot repeats unbeknownst to me, and for this I do apologize. Having said that, enjoy!
A/N Squared: It might seem to some (or all) of you that Inuyasha is slightly OOC when he asks...well, just read it and you'll see what I mean, but I had to alter his character JUST SLIGHTLY to get this chapter to work for me. Please try not to come at me with pitchforks. Thanks! :)
Chapter 1 - Dissension in the Ranks
"You lecherous pig! I can't believe you!" Sango cried at the top of her lungs. She and Miroku had gone to collect some fresh water for their group in the containers that Kagome had given them, while the other two stayed behind with Shippo to pack up their things from the wooded area they had camped in last night. Today they had planned to move on in their search of the remaining Shikon Jewel shards, and Naraku.
As Miroku and Sango slowly but steadily filled the bottles and Kirara sat watching them intently, Miroku accidentally let it slip to Sango that last night he had met a girl in the village they had visited with Kagome, Inuyasha, Shippo and Kirara yesterday. They had heard a rumour that a demon had been spotted just outside the village for the past few weeks and had gone to investigate. It turned out that the "demon" was nothing more than a stray cat in heat, but that wasn't the point.
Nor was it what Sango was angry about now.
Miroku had told her that last night, after the group of friends had left the village and continued travelling, he had returned alone to "see about getting some food" from the headman. It turned out, however, that the headman had quite a beautiful daughter. Miroku did not say anything to Sango about feeding the woman his usual line - "Would you consider bearing my children?" - but Sango wasn't an idiot. She could put two and two together. As Miroku recounted his tale, Sango felt a burning desire to hit him, and this was exactly what she did. Grabbing one of the already-filled water bottles, she clunked the monk over the head with all the force she could muster. Miroku yelped as a large bump began to form around the crown of his head, and rubbed it gently.
"Sango! What was that for?" he asked the girl innocently. Her eyes were fierce and she looked ready for murder.
"You know exactly what that was for, Miroku!" Sango screeched, getting to her feet and gathering all the water bottles she had filled. There were still two left to go, but she had no intention of sticking around. "For ages now I've put up with your lechery - I haven't exactly enjoyed it, but I've dealt with it - but I'm getting sick of it!" Before Miroku could say another word, Sango had turned on her heel and was marching briskly away with Kirara toward the makeshift camp where Inuyasha, Kagome and Shippo were waiting.
"You're joking. You're honestly joking, right?" Kagome demanded, hands on her hips. Her backpack lay at her feet, halfway packed. She had dropped it in disgust when Inuyasha had suggested to her that she should go back home for a while, for her own safety.
"No, I'm honestly not, wench," Inuyasha spat, golden eyes narrowed to slits as he stared Kagome down, "the demonic aura up ahead is way stronger than anything I've felt in ages, and it's getting stronger the closer we get to it. I just get the feeling that you should go back to your own time for a few days so you'll be safe until we can clear this mess up, you got that?"
Kagome certainly hadn't got that, and she had no intention of going anywhere without Inuyasha and the rest of her friends, least of all back to the modern era. She wasn't going to do it!
"Inuyasha, you're being completely stupid. Of course I'm not leaving! What if that demonic aura is coming from Naraku or a bunch of strong demons? I can't leave now, there's no way!"
"Keh," Inuyasha said by way of a response, and crossed his arms, plopping down to the ground. He rested his back against a tree and looked up at Kagome, her dark eyes smoldering, "should have known you'd take it like this. Why can't you just co-operate for once? It's not like I want to send you back, you know. I need you..." (he hesitated slightly here) "...to tell me if you sense any of the last few jewel shards, but you'll be way safer in your own time, and besides, I'll come back and get you as soon as we destroy whatever's causing the aura up ahead."
Kagome was incredulous. How could this self-righteous hanyou even begin to think she'd abandon him and their friends now, when they were so close to something so ominous? She let out a cry of anguish, picked up her backpack, and kept packing away her things in silence. Shippo, who had been running around all over the place, gathering pointless objects from the ground to take with him on the next leg of the journey, made his way over to where Inuyasha and Kagome were and dropped the treasures he'd collected.
"I think Inuyasha's right, Kagome," the tiny kitsune piped up, "it's definitely a lot safer in your time than it is here. You don't have to worry about going back, I can handle things here!" he finished, puffing out his chest with pride. Inuyasha reached out and poked his belly, causing the puffy chest to deflate. "Hey! What was that for?" Shippo cried, launching himself at Inuyasha and grabbing onto the hanyou's silver dog ears with his tiny paws. Inuyasha hardly noticed this and swatted Shippo away from him with a quick wave of his clawed hand. Shippo went sailing five feet into the air and landed with a thump a good distance away from Kagome and Inuyasha, muttering under his breath.
"You can handle things, can you, Shippo?" Kagome said with a chuckle, walking over to pick up the kit as he struggled to get back on his feet for round two. She gathered him into her arms and he immediately calmed down, relaxing his tiny body as she carried him back to their temporary campsite. "It doesn't matter, though, because I'm not going back." she told Shippo, placing him down on the ground while he looked daggers at Inuyasha, who didn't react. He was too busy looking up at Kagome.
"Yes, you are!" he said softly but firmly, "If you stay here, you could be facing real danger and I don't want that."
Kagome was furious. She wanted to yell and scream, she wanted to hit him across the head or tell him to sit for being so hard-headed, but she didn't do any of that. Not looking at Inuyasha, she slowly began to walk away from him in the direction that Sango and Miroku had gone to get some fresh water for the group a little while before. It wasn't too long, though, before the monk and the demon slayer were coming up the embankment toward her. Sango was a few feet ahead of Miroku, pounding the hard earth as she walked and sending up clouds of dust with every step, Kirara trying to keep up with her frantic pace. Miroku was running behind, sweat pouring from him, calling out to Sango and trying to get her attention. This didn't appear to be working too well.
"Sango, please! It didn't mean anything!" Miroku cried desperately. Sango completely ignored him and quickened her pace, eventually stopping when she had reached Kagome, who was quite confused. What had happened?
"That monk," Sango began, dropping the bottles she'd been carrying and pointing her left index finger back toward Miroku, who had stopped as well, "is the most disgusting lecher who ever walked the earth." At these words, Miroku looked absolutely devastated and clutched at his chest, as though what the demon slayer had said had caused him physical pain. "I need some time away from him, Kagome. I'm sorry, but I'm going back to my village for a while."
"That's an awfully long way off, Sango," Kagome told her friend, "are you sure?"
Sango snorted, dropping her hand. "Oh yes I'm sure!" she spat acidly, walking away from Miroku and Kagome so fast she was practically running. Kirara had to change into her full youkai form to keep up with her. She didn't bother to collect her things from the campsite, or even to look back, as she sped off in the direction of her village, which was the complete opposite direction than the one that they were all headed in. What she expected to find or do there, she had no idea. All Sango knew was that she needed to put as much distance between herself and Miroku as possible.
"Miroku, what happened back there?" Kagome asked the monk once they'd seated themselves near the tree Inuyasha was still sitting against. It seemed as though the hanyou had drifted off to sleep, and looking at his sleeping face and the shock of silver hair that blew gently around it as he dreamed, Kagome knew she couldn't stay mad at him any longer (at least until he did or said something else completely stupid), as insane as he was for suggesting that she go back to her own era. Miroku shifted his position, looking slightly uncomfortable.
"Well," he began, "I might have accidentally let is slip to Sango that when I went back to the village last night to get some more food for us - which I did!" he added defensively at the sight of Kagome's questioning face and arched eyebrow "- I met the headman's daughter. She was beautiful, a sight to behold! A rare picture of radiant..."
By this time, Inuyasha had woken up. Up until now he'd stayed quite silent, listening to the monk's tale, but at these words his eyes snapped open and he sat up straight.
"Keh," he began, rolling his eyes, "you're never gonna give it up, are you, monk? Hitting on everything with two legs and a heartbeat. It's sick!" the hanyou spat, his golden eyes shining. Miroku looked taken aback at these words.
"But Inuyasha, I assure you, I'm totally innocent! That's what I was trying to tell Sango! I barely even spoke to the girl!" he said. Inuyasha, however, obviously wasn't buying this. He keh'd and closed his eyes again. "You don't believe me?" Miroku asked, clearly stung.
"Of course I don't believe you!" Inuyasha exclaimed, "You've never given us any reason to believe you!"
Oh no, thought Kagome, this is gonna be really bad. She grabbed hold of Shippo's hand and the two of them walked quickly down to the riverbank as Miroku stood up in a threatening manner, his hands forming fists. There was no need, she was sure, for the little kitsune to hear or see whatever was going to happen next. She knew it wasn't going to be pretty.
"How dare you, Inuyasha?" Miroku cried. Inuyasha's quiet, subtle laughter was enough to send Miroku over the edge. He held fast in his resolve not to hurt another living being unnecessarily, but he turned on his heel and walked away from the campsite, toward the village where he had gone last night, without another word to anyone.
As soon as Miroku had stalked far enough away that he was out of earshot, Kagome and Shippo dashed back to Inuyasha and demanded an explanation.
"What the heck did you do, Inuyasha?" Kagome screeched, incredulous. Whatever the hanyou had done, it had to have been bad if Miroku, the docile, easy-going monk, had decided to leave. Inuyasha finally stood up and stared Kagome down, standing not six inches from her face.
"I didn't do anything, wench!" he exclaimed threateningly, "You heard everything I said! The idiot just decided to leave!"
Kagome scoffed. "I have a really hard time believing that one. Miroku wouldn't randomly just up and decide to leave. What did you say to him?"
Inuyasha keh'd and looked away. "I haven't got to explain myself to you," he told Kagome in a lowered voice, crossing his arms. Kagome saw red.
"SIT!" she screeched without a second thought. Inuyasha tumbled to the ground with an almighty smack, creating a small crater around where he'd fallen. During the few seconds he was unable to move, a stream of obscenities burst forth from his mouth. As he tried to pick himself up off the ground, Kagome hollered "Sit!" once again, sending him right back down to the dirt. "You wanted me to go back to my own time, Inuyasha, well, now you've got it. I'm going." she declared, snatching up her backpack, slinging it onto her shoulder, and marching in the direction of the Bone Eater's Well.
Shippo's cries of "Kagome! Kagome, come back!" fell on deaf ears as she put more distance between the campsite, the hanyou, the kitsune, and herself. She was going home.
And she was probably going to stay there this time.
Yet another A/N: So what do you guys think? Should I keep writing? My goal is just one or two reviews for this first chapter. If I get even that many, I'll be satisfied and keep writing the next few chapters. Please, please, please R&R this for me. I could really use the feedback. Thanks guys! :)