Parting Ways In the Morning Light

-I-

Summer

"Inu…yasha."

Kagome said his name slowly, feeling the sounds new in her mouth. She saw that he was still looking at her, and she wondered if he was waiting for her to give her name.

She sat up straighter and pointed to her chest silently, a question in her eyes. She seemed to say, "Me, too?"

Inuyasha's eyes only lit up more at her little act. Did he think she was funny? He nodded in response to her mute question, to which she replied,

"Higurashi Kagome."

He didn't repeat her name out loud as she had done with his, but he closed his eyes and inhaled deeply, as if he were trying to recall a past memory. But he didn't say anything, just sat with his eyes closed, breathing deeply. She began to worry that he had fallen asleep he stayed so still, so she got up and went around the fire to shake him.

Before her hand made contact with his shoulder, his eyes flew open.

"Ah!" she cried, pulling her hand back. "Sorry Inuyasha. I thought you were asleep."

He smirked. "If I had been, why was I still sitting up?" His amber eyes were taunting her, teasing her. Could this be the same gruff man she had seen just moments ago?

Kagome frowned. "You seemed so still, and your breathing was so heavy, what was I supposed to think?" When she got no response, just the same teasing smirk that made her blood boil, she asked in a different tone,

"What were you doing then, if not sleeping?"

At this, his smirk slipped away, and his eyes grew distant as he stared at her, past her it seemed.

"I was remembering your scent."

He said it so simply, as if it made perfect sense, but Kagome was still confused. What did he mean? How could he smell her? He must have seen her confusion, because he huffed and folded his arms, explaining,

"I have the senses of a dog demon. I can smell anything within a forest, a village, even a country if the scent is strong enough. I can find anyone, as long as I remember their scent. So, I was remembering your scent." As he spoke, his voice seemed to get smaller, and his brows knitted together, as if he too was confused by his own words.

Kagome, sitting so close to him, was seeing his inner turmoil, and she was starting to feel the same way. Why were they talking so much? When did she suddenly care what he thought? It was silly! She just got lost in the woods and happened upon his camp. She would just find her way back to the palace in the morning, with much reprimanding from her mother and elders, and she would never think of Inuyasha again.

"Kagome," his voice saying her name was like nothing she'd ever heard before, but she tried to remain resolute in her thoughts. She may find him interesting, but he was just a traveler from the looks of things. He would be gone if she came to look for him anyway.

"Yes?" she replied with eyes wide and searching, wondering what it was he wanted to say.

He looked up at the moon, seeming to avoid her eyes, and said, "It's late. If you need to rest before you return to the palace, you can sleep here."

Kagome smiled. He was trying to be so nonchalant about it, but he was really quite kind.

"Thank you, Inuyasha. I will."

She stood up and went around the fire to where she had been sitting before. Using her sack as a pillow, she propped it underneath her head and curled her knees into her chest, facing the warm flames.

"Good night," she called out softly, getting a shrug in response.

She was so tired, she didn't even worry that Inuyasha was still awake, watching her. Somehow, his presence had lost its domineering aura, and as she lay there, watching him through gradually shutting lids, she saw him not as a demon or a man, but as a protector, watching over her through the night.

Stupid, she thought sleepily, he doesn't even know you. With this final thought, she slipped off into her dreams, a heavy sleep.

Inuyasha stayed where he was, cross-legged across the flames. He watched the sleeping girl through the orange and red fire, seeing her small frame rise and fall with her breathing.

He looked away slowly, bending his head to rest. He had no doubt who she was. She may have been wearing commoner's clothing, but he would know the name Higurashi anywhere. Her mother, Ise, had been what the lands called the most gracious and loving ruler of her age. She had broken the war between the demons and humans, uniting them forever under a treaty of equality. However, this rule did not extend to the feuds between demon and demon. He knew this first hand…

And this girl, Kagome, was Ise's only daughter and heir to the Northern Lands. Rumors of her beauty were everywhere, and even though he never ventured into the village, he still listened to them from the trees, hearing their gossip and their chatter. It was as if he knew this princess, he'd heard so much about her over the years. When she was thirteen, she had mastered the art of the sword and had moved on to archery. When she turned fifteen, she was invited to go to the grand festival of the four lands. It was said she'd performed a dance that made the Eastern Lands ruler, a boar demon of the grumpiest kind, weep with gratitude.

But he didn't know how brave she was, or how mischievous. She was a princess, and she was out sneaking around as a servant, dressed as a peasant, and going out into the woods late at night. He glanced over at her, wondering to himself what kind of girl this princess really was.

"Stupid," he murmured to himself. When did he care about humans? They'd only caused him problems. But, he thought, she did seem different. He couldn't help but be intrigued by her. A princess out in the woods, lost, talking to a half-demon…

Inuyasha shook his head roughly, mentally telling himself to stop. He would watch her from the trees until the morning, when she would leave and find her way back to the palace. He would never see her again, and that would be the end.

And with that thought, he jumped up and with one motion landed on a large tree limb that hung over the camp site. He sat with his arms and legs crossed, his eyes never leaving her sleeping form. Why he was keep watch, he couldn't say. He didn't want to think about her, didn't want to get close to her. He kept repeating it in his mind like a mantra, driving away thoughts of her sad eyes, her smiling face.

Tomorrow, she would be gone. Tomorrow, he would be alone again.

He was angry at how sad that thought actually made him.

-I-

Kagome stretched her arms, beginning to wake up. She blinked in the low morning light, expecting to see her familiar walls and open door overlooking the garden. Instead, she saw an ashy pit with sticks poking through it, and beyond that, a large tree.

She sat up in shock, trying to catch her bearings. Her eyes darted around, and all at once her memories of the previous night came rushing back.

"Inuyasha?" she called out instinctively, wondering where the mysterious young man had gone.

She could still imagine his face, his glowing eyes. Where could he have gone? Did he really leave her in the night?

She got up stiffly, feeling the aches in her back and shoulders from sleeping on the ground. She moved around, trying to stretch out her arms and neck. Reaching down, she picked up her pack and saw the crimson color peaking out of it.

"Oh no!" she cried. "I have to get home. Mama will be so upset with me…" She continued to rant as she pulled the beautiful robes out of their confines and began to take off the green pants and brown shirt. She would not have been so open with her undressing had she known that a certain dog demon was watching from the trees above.

However, she was quick with her movements, and the bindings she wore underneath her clothing concealed a great deal. Once her royal robes were secured, with much work on her part as she was used to a servant helping her, she put the disguise in the pack and carried it in her large sleeves.

Looking around at the empty space, she sighed heavily. "Where are you?" she spoke softly, but not enough that certain doggy ears didn't pick up the sound.

Kagome didn't know what possessed her to do what she did, but she couldn't leave the spot without saying her final good-bye.

"Inuyasha, even though you hate nobles, I hope you will remember me and think better of us. I was touched by your kindness, and I hope—"she broke off, looking down swiftly, "I hope you will find peace in your life. Thank you again, and farewell."

And with that, she was gone, running into the woods, her raven hair flying free behind her, her crimson robes flapping and swaying in her wake.

Inuyasha watched her go, replaying her words over and over in his head. Why had she said those things? It only made him want to know her more. But, no, it would not be. She was a princess, and he was an outcast, a half-demon without a home or a name. He would listen to the villager's gossip, and that would be the most he would know of her.

"Farewell, Kagome," he whispered.

Dumb and frustrated by his own feelings, Inuyasha growled low and bounded off into the forest, the opposite direction Kagome had ran, his thoughts lost in the trees and the wind, washing away the pain he felt at being alone once more.

AN: Aw…poor Inuyasha. What is it he hates so much about the nobles? And will he ever see Kagome again? Ha ha…what do you think? Find out in the next installment! Read and review, minna! Arigato!

&Niiroke&