Forever Home - The Girl
~Kitty
"He had come to know quite thoroughly the world in which he lived. His outlook was bleak and materialistic. The world as he saw it was a fierce and brutal world, a world without warmth, a world in which caresses and affection and the bright sweetness of spirit did not exist."
― Jack London, White Fang
Chapter 7: A place that's no longer safe
When Kaede managed to dig out an old shirt and pants and return to the backyard porch, she was surprised to find a once again four-legged Inuyasha and two-legged Shippou struggling to pull Kagome onto the raised surface. A telltale rasp sounded loudly as Inuyasha's teeth created a long gash in Kagome's sweatshirt. Kaede almost burst out laughing at the wide-eyed guilty look frozen on his face. The girl groaned and shifted, causing the white shape to panic and skitter backwards while the kitsune hastily recast his magic to transform back into a dog. The elderly woman rushed forward to assist the two demons.
"Here we are," Kaede said as she gently laid Kagome's head on top of the old clothing originally intended for Inuyasha. Said canine stood off the the side, watching the unconscious girl with concern. There were many thoughts flying through his head, the most prominent of all was just one resounding word: FUCK. Accompanying the mental turmoil was the powerful urge to flee, knowing that the jig was up, there was no recovering from this mess. Before the anxious white dog could land on a decision, Kagome's face twitched and frowned, and slowly, she opened her eyes.
It was hard to focus at first. Where was she? What happened? It took her a few seconds to recognize the concerned faces hovering over her.
"Kaede?" Kagome mumbled. The old woman gave her a relieved smile.
"Welcome back, child," she said. Kagome groaned, finding the path back to reality difficult to tread. She glanced to the side, spotting her red, furry, little dog and froze. She'd always marveled at the particular shade of green Shippou's eyes happened to be. Now, from this new perspective and a collection of odd fuzzy memories from that evening's surprising turn of events, she felt like she was seeing the pigment for the first time all over again, and momentarily recalled a small face dangling from the double ended leash, tiny clawed hands frantically grabbing for the collar with wild, vibrant green eyes flashing.
She spoke slowly, as if in a dream. "Inuyasha and Shippou were human…" Shippou next to her flinched, as did the white shape lurking off to the side, just outside her periphery.
"Aye," Kaede said carefully, a little hesitant since she wasn't quite sure how much Kagome could handle in this state. "What happened today, child?" She asked.
Kagome pushed herself into sitting position, feeling Kaede's bony old hands assist her. She rubbed her forehead roughly, trying to squint past the blurry shimmers and shadows that once again appeared in her vision. What had she been doing today?
"I took Shippou and Inuyasha to the dog beach…," she said, trying to pull the memories out of whatever dark corner they were hiding in. "I had lunch on the beach…. Then we went for a hike..."
Kagome turned to the wrinkled face beside her, spotting Inuyasha sulking behind the old woman and for some reason, could not take her wide, bewildered eyes off of the silver apparition. Flashes of memory suddenly came into focus. The gang of boys advancing on her, the back of a tall, white-haired, dog-eared boy stepping in between, defending her. And then…
"Kaede…?" Kagome said, almost whimpered, "Am I going crazy?"
"What do you mean, child?" Kaede tried to rub soothing circles across Kagome's back.
"Inuyasha turned into a human… with… dog ears, grabbed me, and started flying…!" Kagome said, starting out with an even tone that grew hysterical as she heard herself saying impossible things. Kaede's response was equally frightening.
"Aye," the old woman said, trying to emanate calm to the beings around her, "although to be precise, he turned into a hanyou, a half human, half spirit."
Kagome nodded, her brain trying to process what she was hearing. Of course, because that made sense… No… No it didn't. Suddenly, she was shaking her head and grabbing Kaede's hand so tightly, Kaede was sure she heard her joints squeak.
"What did you say?" Kagome asked, her voice breaking, "What are you saying?"
Kaede took a deep breath and looked Kagome straight in the eye. "I'm saying, you're not crazy and the things you thought just happened actually happened."
The old woman tried to smile sympathetically at the girl despite the painful grip on her hand. "Now, why don't you come inside for some tea and we can speak more comfortably.
Kagome mutely allowed herself to be guided into the sitting room and stared at the steaming mug that was pressed into her hands. Shippou and Inuyasha both hovered at the doorway, afraid to come closer, but wanting - needing - to be present. Kaede poured herself a calming, hot cup of tea and inhaled deeply, as if the light, grassy scent could strengthen her somehow. It certainly wasn't going to be an easy conversation. Finally, she heard Kagome take a deep breath herself and let it out. The young woman raised calmer eyes to meet hers and she could tell Kagome was ready to hear the truth about herself and her dogs.
She cleared her throat. "Now, child, as you said, Shippou and Inuyasha both have a form different from what you've seen, until today."
"They're both not dogs."
Inuyasha and Shippou both flinched at the short, clipped voice. Kagome held the mug tightly in her tense hands. Her face seemed to hover between nausea and pain.
"No," Kaede said as gently as she could, "They are spirits."
Three pairs of eyes watched Kagome very carefully. She was breathing shallowly and obviously struggling to wrap her mind around it all. The tension was thick and heavy in the room and it was suffocating for everyone involved. The smaller of the two dogs in the doorway trembled, already experiencing all the anxiety his little heart could bear. Very, very tentatively, Shippou crept towards the woman he regarded as family, his only family.
When the little red creature appeared at the edge of her vision, Kagome jumped. The sadness in the little puppy face couldn't have been more obvious if it had been painted on and immediately, Kagome's mothering instincts began to resurface. Setting down her tea, she held out a shy hand to the small, canine figure.
"Shippou?" Kagome's voice was small and uncertain. The red dog immediately scampered up to the offered hand and rested his little face in her palm. Her hand flexed against his muzzle involuntarily and the little furry body shuddered in relief.
"Sh… Show me?" Bright green eyes looked up into hers. Despite the turbulence of her own emotions, her heart reached out towards the fear she could sense in the familiar red face and she tried to smile encouragingly. Her little red dog shimmered, as though a magical cloak was being slipped off the small body, and then the equally diminutive shape of a human child with pointed ears and animal hindquarters sat with his tiny hands resting in her palm.
The room was silent for several breathless moments before the little spirit asked her a heartbreaking question.
"You're not gonna throw us away now, are you?"
Her breath hitched in her throat and she opened her arms to the little figure. Shippou didn't hesitate to throw himself into the comforting embrace, little fists holding onto her sweater as though to never let go.
"Of course not, Shippou," Kagome finally answered when she found her voice, "Of course not."
Kaede smiled approvingly before glancing at the ghost that hovered alone just outside the room. Inuyasha remained rooted where he was, no amount of assurance was going to make him budge. The old miko sighed when he caught her stare and sent her a narrow eyed glare in response.
"So why were you pretending to be a dog?" Kagome was asking Shippou, "And what exactly is a spirit anyway?"
"I'm a fox spirit! My daddy was killed by other demons and I figured out that humans like to take care of dogs. I thought about being a cat, but I couldn't get the tail to look right, so I did a dog instead!" Shippou quickly got over the earlier anxieties and was exceedingly happy to be able to converse with Kagome. The young woman was still bewildered, and quite startled to hear of Shippou's tragic history. She hugged him closer and turned to Kaede when the old woman cleared her throat.
"I call them youkai in my practice, or mononoke," the old woman said, "and they are inhabitants of our world just like any other creature."
"But clearly have kept hidden from mainstream knowledge…," Kagome said wryly. She turned now, to the presence that still lingered outside in the hallway. The white dog stood there tensely, fighting a battle within himself. His true condition hadn't been discovered often in the time between getting cursed and now, and he couldn't claim to have had positive experiences when humans found out. But in the short time since meeting the slender young woman before him, he found himself inexplicably attached to the soft way she treated him, encouraged him, and clearly cared for him. How would she react now to fully understanding his darker, tainted side? Inuyasha's face grew drawn and his eyes hardened into twin chips of topaz crystal. He waited there, staring at her, and the new coldness startled the young woman.
"Inuyasha?"
Shippou piped up, chatty now that he no longer had to conceal himself. "He's stuck that way! He's different, he's cursed. He must have pissed off some witch or something. Maybe he tried to steal her clothes while she was bathing!"
Inuyasha's attention shifted to the little fox kit and a full throated growl finally shut up the incorrigible spirit. Shippou squeaked and ducked further into Kagome's arms while Kagome was torn between laughing at the little trouble maker she'd always known, and reacting to this new revelation about the large white dog she was just beginning to know.
"Cursed?" She asked with a startled voice. Kaede cut in swiftly.
"Inuyasha is different from Shippou," the old woman explained, "He is a half spirit, and as the child says, there is a curse on him binding him to this shape. He cannot choose his form."
Kagome looked over at Inuyasha again and held out her hand. He seemed to consider the gesture, then looked into her face again, searching. The quiet between them stretched out for many seconds. Somehow she felt like she was being tested, as if her entire relationship with this creature, this spirit, pivoted around how she reacted to him in this moment. He held his body stiffly, a tense pose that was ready for action, be it to fight or to flee. The fully plumed tail hung rigid from his back end, and his hackles trembled where they stood erect along his spine. His head though, his head stood proudly, somehow defiantly, with snowy white ears alert and trained on her, daring her to make her next move.
She took in the body language and though his hard stare frightened her, she found herself wanting more than anything to feel the comforting reassurance of his body pressed against hers. He was strong, he was sturdy, and his golden eyes drew her in like a moth to a flame. Stretching her hand out further she called to him, surprised by how small her voice sounded to her ears.
"Inuyasha? Come here… Please?"
Powerful muscles trembled with obvious hesitation when he heard her beckoning to him. The heart inside his chest thudded painfully, both desperate for her acceptance and fearful of her rejection. There was a magnetic force behind her grey eyes and the longer he stared into them, the more he felt them pulling him in. Finally, one step at a time, he brought himself to her, just out of her arms reach, and continued to stare. Kagome couldn't take the tension any longer and scooted towards him herself, dislodging Shippou from her lap as she closed the distance between her open palm and Inuyasha's white fluffy cheek. He jerked at the contact, his heart squeezing painfully as it continued to balance between relief and fear.
"Hi," she whispered to him, hurt to see him so reluctant to have physical contact with her. She searched his face, wishing she could know his thoughts and understand the why behind this sudden coldness. Little did she know just how much he was holding himself back.
His walls were still up, resisting the urge to completely surrender his heart to this girl, no matter how much it wanted to throw itself into her arms like Shippou had just a few moments earlier. But after a moment or two, he did close his eyes and lean into her touch, and Kagome smiled in relief, rekindling some of the connection she'd been forming with the great white creature. She supposed she would just have to be satisfied with that for now.
"'In your practice,' you said," Kagome began, turning her eyes back to Kaede, "What are you?"
Kaede had watched the interaction with fascination, sensing the way the curse and the girl interacted with each other. Reacting now to Kagome's question, her old eye crinkled. "Aye," she said, "Now we're getting somewhere. I am human, though I have a special gift to see the spiritual world. It's been a long time since I retired but for most of my youth, I was a miko, a shrine maiden."
The old woman's gaze narrowed and Kagome noted a shift in Kaede's demeanor. Instinctively, she leaned towards Inuyasha, bracing herself for whatever it was her landlady was about to surprise her with next.
"You have the same spiritual power, child, a great deal of it."
Kagome blinked, the hand stroking Inuyasha's face dropped to her lap. Both Inuyasha and Shippou turned their full attention to the old miko.
"Eh…," Kagome said, her voice regaining a mild hint of panic, "Come again?"
Kaede inhaled deeply through her nose. "I don't know why such strong seals have been placed on you," she answered, "But you have, perhaps, the greatest spiritual potential I've ever witnessed contained inside a person."
"Wow! Really?" Shippou exclaimed, turning to Kagome, "But you never sensed me or Inuyasha before now?"
Kagome stared at the kitsune in confusion. "What do you mean?"
"You couldn't," Kaede interrupted, "There's an extremely strong protective seal in you. You have a powerful artifact inside of you and the seals both suppress your powers as well as the artifact's presence."
"Wait, wait, wait," Kagome said quickly, "I have a what? What's inside me?"
Kaede's gaze dropped down from the young woman's face and rested on her abdomen. Her lips tightened as she stared, trying to peer further past the spells that concealed the jewel within the slender figure. "I cannot see completely," her aging voice said carefully, "but there is a powerful stone inside you. There are two spells placed on it, and another that prevents you from accessing your own dormant powers."
Silence pressed heavily on the sitting room occupants while Kagome absorbed this new information. Inuyasha watched her quietly, surprised by the sudden reveal of both her hidden powers as well as the sealed artifact embedded inside her. None of his senses were able to detect such an object, physical or otherwise. He was slightly doubtful of this old woman's claims but kept this to himself. After a minute or so, Kagome took a deep breath.
"What did you do to me yesterday?" Her voice was oddly calm, monotone even. Inuyasha frowned, wondering what Kagome meant while Kaede's face flinched guiltily before averting her gaze.
"I tried to loosed the spell holding back your powers," she said, "Not enough for you to fully realize them, but enough to begin to give you a hint of the world as it truly is."
Kagome frowned and another long silence stretched out between them. Deeper within the house, a clock chimed the hour and suddenly, exhaustion descended upon all the room's occupants. Kagome bit her lip, wanting to question the old woman more, but also feeling as though she'd heard just about all she could take right now. Kaede raised her head to meet Kagome's eyes, trying to silently express her apologies for tampering with the younger woman without permission. They shared a moment, exchanging looks, before Kagome finally sighed, deflating.
"I have a million more questions, but I think they should wait for tomorrow."
…
Kagome did not sleep that night. She lay awake for hours, staring at her ceiling and slowly digested Kaede's information piece by piece, grateful for Shippou's comforting presence tucked against her chest. Inuyasha remained aloof, not even coming inside to sleep when they all finally retired for the night. He ate his dinner silently then slipped out to the dark corners of the yard and Kagome missed his presence greatly. She found his change of attitude perplexing and spent much of the night pondering it. When the dark sky began to give way to the first traces of dawn, Kagome finally gave up on getting any rest and carefully extracted herself from the bed, tucking the blankets around the sleeping kit and softly slipped from the room to go outside.
Her breath condensed around her as she stepped out onto the little guest house porch. She sat down on the cold wood and hugged herself as she stared off into space. Little shimmers continued to dot her vision and she gave up trying to focus on them as they faded in and out. A rustle from the side of the house drew her attention and she found herself staring at a magnificent silver dog watching her carefully. Kagome let out a relieved breath, not realizing until now how lonely she felt without his presence nearby. She spoke to him without thinking.
"Hey there, silver beauty," she said. Inuyasha cast her an exasperated look, drawing out a smile despite the lingering stress and confusion from the night before. "You think you could carry me back to where I parked my car?" She asked, "I probably have a parking ticket by now…"
Inuyasha snorted. 'How would I do that, carry you in my mouth?' Despite the limitations of his canine facial muscles, the look of reproach on his face made Kagome laugh. She sighed and held out both her arms to him. He stared at her, unmoving. Kagome's brow puckered and she looked at him in dismay. "What's wrong?" She asked, "You're acting as if I'm going to bite you or something."
Inuyasha studied the expression on her face, taking in the hurt clearly written in her eyes. He approached her slowly, once again stopping just out of her reach. It was one thing to be stroked and coddled as a dog, it was quite another now, with Kagome's new awareness of what he was. Regardless of what she now thought of him, there was a clear change in their relationship. He just couldn't bring himself to the same level of physical closeness they had before. Couldn't she understand that?
Kagome lowered her arms in disappointment and they continued to sit together in the early morning light. The world was suddenly very different to her now, more mysterious, and frightening. The owl drawings and figurines around the property suddenly took on an ominous appearance and their wide, saucer eyes followed her, piercing her. The slim girl shivered, hugging herself tighter as she allowed her vision to flit from one shapeless shimmer to another. Her world was tipping off its center and if she wasn't careful, she felt it would slip into chaos. Shaking herself, she glanced back at the pale shape sitting just outside her reach. She thought about what transpired the day before, the discussion they'd had with Kaede, and then her thoughts drifted back to her first interaction with Inuyasha, the state he was in and the aggression he'd had towards everything.
"How did you end up at the pound?" Kagome asked suddenly. Inuyasha looked her, clearly annoyed with her asking a question he obviously wasn't able to answer. Again, her laughter cut through the silence. She thought about how quickly he seemed to adjust after she'd brought him to her mother's house, well, except for the shower… A deep red blush suddenly spread across her cheeks. Oh. My. God. She'd basically molested him! Wait, how old was he? Ah… and then the vet… Kagome bit her lip and turned to him. Inuyasha had been watching her quietly and was now very curious about what she was blushing and getting all flustered about. The look of embarrassed horror on her face surprised him.
"I'm so sorry!" She exclaimed. Inuyasha cocked his head to the side in confusion. "Th-the shower, and the vet… Oh my gosh! I need to cancel your neutering appointment!"
The mention of his extremely traumatic experiences in recent past made Inuyasha's eyes go wide while a blush of his own spread out underneath his fur. They sat in awkward silence, glancing at each other bashfully while flushing whenever they made accidental eye contact. Kagome's face blazed as she thought back further, her flippancy with her nakedness after showering or how liberal she'd been with her touches as their month together had progressed. What unnerved her still was the fact that her subconscious seemed to never get enough of the demon and even now, she wished she could hug him and pet him and share physical closeness with him. She fought within herself a growing urge reaching out to him especially now as her world transformed into one she didn't recognize. After a minute or so, Inuyasha stood to shake himself and then climb up onto the porch beside her, apparently deciding to let bygones be bygones. Kagome peeked at him through lowered lashes, shyly, suddenly hyper aware of his presence, noting the way he continued to avoid eye contact and remain just out of her reach. She took in his regal appearance, how supernatural he looked, and was briefly consumed with awe. It reminded her of the meaning behind his name and spoke her thoughts aloud.
"I guess Inuyasha was a very appropriate name after all…"
Her voice drifted off as her mind suddenly focused on one point in her memory. Her mother! Kagome jumped to her feet and ran inside, startling Inuyasha with her abrupt burst of movement. She burst into her bedroom and ran to where her phone had been charging. Shippou sat up groggily, looking around bleary eyed in confusion while Inuyasha cautiously stuck his nose into the room to see what all the fuss was about.
It took several tries before her mom finally answered the phone. "Kagome?" she said, voice full of concern, "What's the matter, dear?
"What have you not been telling me about Shippou and Inuyasha?" She demanded, her voice full of accusation, "What's this powerful artifact that's inside me?"
The silence that followed her questions was unbearable. "Tell me, please," she begged her mother, "What have you been hiding from me?"
"Have the seals been broken?" Kagome was startled by the terror in her mother's voice. "Are you alright? Are you safe?"
"I-I'm fine," Kagome said, taken aback, "The seals are still there, my landlady just told me about them yesterday."
Kagome heard her mother sigh in relief. "It's going to take some time to explain," she said, regaining her usual cadence, "Why don't you come home this weekend?"
"You're going to keep me in suspense for that long?" Kagome whined. She could hear the smile in her mother's voice she responded.
"You can ask your landlady," she told her daughter, "she must be well informed if she could sense the seals. Ask her about the Shikon no Tama."
…
Kaede's eyes went so wide, Kagome was certain they would fall out of their sockets. Inuyasha, too, sported a similar look of disbelief. Shippou looked around at each of their faces. "So, what is it?" He asked innocently, "What's this Shikon no Tama thing?"
Kaede made a noise of dismay, covering her face in her hands. "To think I tampered with such a thing!" She cried.
Inuyasha was giving her the strangest stare, almost hungrily, his eyes searching her body. She might have preferred his stony look from yesterday compared to this. A chill ran up her spine as his gaze suddenly seemed sinister and wanting. Kaede cuffed the large white dog sharply in the head, making him jump.
"Do not make me subjugate you, half demon," the old gravely voice said in warning. Ordinarily, Kagome would have sprung up in defense of a dog being struck, but in this one singular instance, she felt a mixed sense of relief. Inuyasha's eyes went wide before glancing at Kagome's frightened face, transforming into something sad as he looked away before rising and moving to a corner of the yard, white plumed tail hanging low and dejectedly behind him.
The old miko took a deep fortifying breath. "I must contact the head priestess," she said, "She will know what to do."
By now, Kagome was more confused than ever. Between Inuyasha's reaction and Kaede's cry, she began to feel her own panic rising. Tentatively, she reached out to the old woman.
"Kaede?" She asked, concern thick in her voice. Kaede placed an old wrinkled hand on Kagome's arm.
"It'll be alright, child," she said, despite the wavering confidence in her eye, "you will not face this alone."
Kaede disappeared into her house, leaving a bewildered Kagome on her back porch. The young woman blinked, the cast her eyes around to the two demons remaining in the open space. Shippou had fallen into silence, sensing, as all children do, the somber tension that sprang up between the adults around him. Now, he tentatively placed a hand on her knee and looked up into her face.
"Are you OK, Kagome?" the innocent child asked. The young woman looked into the small concerned face and took a deep, brave breath, shrugging.
"I guess so…." Kagome stood stiffly, eyeing the sulking dog in the far corner of the yard. The interaction between them just now was chilling. For the first time, she felt genuine fear of the large creature. She could hear Kaede speaking animatedly to someone on the phone and suddenly, she had the urge to get away from this heavy, intense atmosphere.
"I guess I'll go get my car then…"
When he felt her gaze lift from his hunched shoulders, amber eyes lifted up to watch the figure head into the smaller house. They turned downward after she disappeared from sight, guiltily glancing here and there. 'Hot damn,' he thought to himself in amazement, 'the fucking Shikon no Tama…' Tumultuous memories of his quest to possess the jewel, and then its keeper ran rampant through his heart and he cringed, resolutely stuffing them away into the box of other untouchables in his mind. He was finally regaining his composure when Kagome reemerged, clipping on a bicycle helmet and moving to the garage. She pulled out her bicycle and headed for the gate. Inuyasha hauled himself to his feet and trailed after her while Shippou bounced up to cling to her shoulders.
"Can I come, too?" He asked, little fists clinging to her shirt. Kagome smiled at him.
"Why don't you wait here and let Kaede know where I'm going, can you do that for me?" Shippou pouted.
"Pleeeease?" the child begged. Kagome couldn't help but give the little precocious kit a snuggle.
"I'm just going to pick up my car," she said, "I'll be back soon."
If there was one thing Shippou had learned from his time as a dog, it was how to take complete advantage of his large, innocent green eyes and he turned the full strength his pitiful puppy eyes on the young woman. She laughed at him, patting his orange head.
"Not this time, Shippou," she said as gently as she could. Shippou's perky little tail drooped, but the kit obediently went back inside. Kagome pushed opened the gate and was startled when Inuyasha walked through, determined to come along.
"Ah…" Kagome said, "Maybe you should stay here, too. I don't know if you'll fit in the car along with my bike." She also wasn't entirely certain about going out alone with the powerful beast after that look he'd given her.
'There is absolutely no fucking way I'm going to let you go wandering around alone with the freaking Shikon no Tama fucking around inside of you,' he thought, ignoring her concerns and proceeding down the sidewalk. A startled neighbor cried out, seeing the massive dog amble by, and Kagome rushed to keep up with him.
"Hey! You still need to wear a leash, you could get confiscated!" She berated him, clipping on the leash and mounting her bicycle. Inuyasha had seen the device before, but running along beside the clicking contraption took some getting used to. By the time they reached her car, Kagome had swallowed her uneasiness and was extremely grateful to have Inuyasha with her. The powerful dog was a great advantage on the many uphills she peddled over on her way to the trailhead. A quick check of the windshield yielded a big sigh of relief, she hadn't been ticketed. Opening her trunk, Kagome spent a couple minutes rummaging around in the back, digging up a beat up plastic bowl to offer Inuyasha some water. She then turned her attention to the bicycle, removing the front wheel and lowering the seat, and carefully loaded it into her car. It was a tight fit and she once again reminded herself to purchase a roof rack.
"Thanks for pulling me," she said, reaching out to pat Inuyasha on the head. He backed up quickly, still uncomfortable with the thought of any more physical contact than necessary. The girl sighed, letting it go for now. Glancing up at the trailhead, Kagome nibbled her lip, debating how much time she had before she ought to be heading back. She really didn't want to go back to face Kaede, just didn't have it in her for another heavy discussion that could shatter the world she'd come to know. Turning to Inuyasha, she asked, "Hey, Inuyasha, wanna take a quick hike before heading back?"
The white dog glanced at her and shrugged. Kagome took that for an affirmative, grabbed an extra bottle of water from her car, and started up the trail. There was a reason why she loved this hike so much. It climbed quickly, gaining lovely vistas almost immediately and Kagome paused at one such vantage point to admire the view. A soft blanket of clouds hovered sleepily over the city below them, gentle wisps curling bashfully up towards the sky. Kagome closed her eyes and took a long, deep breath through her nose, picking out the scent of moss and water, pine and the earthy smells of things slowly returning to the soil. When she released her sigh, she imagined the tightness in her shoulders relaxing, tension falling away from her like dust. Inuyasha brought himself close and cast his gaze out over the steel and concrete partially hidden by the playful clouds. They stood there for a little while, watching the sun crest in its arc above the city. The slender young woman stared pensively at the landscape before voicing her thoughts.
"Is the Shikon no Tama something very terrible?" Inuyasha turned to her, startled by the sudden question. The girl nibbled her lip, her brow furrowed, before glancing down at him. "You looked like you recognized the name."
Inuyasha studied her before nodding his head slowly. Kagome squatted down to bring herself to his height. She looked him in the eyes, wishing he could answer the questions she had.
"What is the Shikon no Tama, some kind of rock?" Inuyasha nodded.
"And… It's somewhere in my body?" To this question, Inuyasha rocked his head back and forth, shrugging. Kagome tried to read the expression on his face and thought it looked rather dubious.
"So… you don't think I have this… rock, thing… in me?" Again, Inuyasha made a noncommittal gesture, he really wasn't the one she should be asking, particularly since he wasn't able to respond in the first place. Kagome made a face, taking a deep breath and letting it out in a long sigh. She reached towards him slowly, bringing her hand out to his chin, just like she did when they were first getting to know each other. Inuyasha went stiff when he saw that she was trying to touch him again. Kagome sighed.
"Look, I'm sorry about the shower thing and the vet part was unavoidable." The white dog turned his eyes up to observe her face. There was something melancholy about her expression, her eyebrows folding towards each other as though something distressing weighed heavily on her mind.
"I don't care if you're a dog or a half spirit, you know," she said, "You're Inuyasha. You don't need to make so much distance between us, just because I know what you are now."
He was surprised that she wanted to be near him at all. He knew he'd frightened her earlier that morning and she was tense around him, even now. Yet somehow, she was choosing to trust him. Inuyasha considered this, but their moment was interrupted when a couple on their way down paused, seeing the lone girl and her dog.
"Hi there," the man said stepping forward. Kagome turned, trying to nudge Inuyasha away when he stepped in between them with a deep throated grumble.
"Hi," she responded, "Lovely day."
"Yeah, it is," the man said, "Hey, just wanted to let you know, yesterday, there was a report of a streaker in this area. If you're alone, I would be careful."
"Ah…," Kagome said, thinking back to the events of yesterday, fighting a blush when the image of a naked dog-eared boy came to mind, "Thanks… I'll… be on my guard…"
Satisfied, the man rejoined his companion and wished Kagome a good hike. Continuing upward, Kagome turned and winked at Inuyasha. He snorted at her, but was likewise amused. They were smiling internally at the shared joke for several more minutes, glad that the tension between them had broken. The ascent was steep and the white dog listened idly to the comforting sound of Kagome's even, heavy breathing, and the thudding of her sturdy boots as they struck the rocks and roots that littered the path. When they came upon the the ridgeline and Kagome took a moment to rub her eyes, the shimmers in her vision were getting stronger. She sighed, maybe she should have asked Kaede to re-apply the seal.
Kagome rested a hand on one of the vertical spindly rock formations evenly spaced along the ridgeline, trying to center herself after a particularly strong, distracting shimmer crossed her field of vision. As soon as she made contact with the rock though, she felt a great shudder ripple over the mountain. 'Earthquake?' She thought in alarm. Startled, she turned to Inuyasha, getting ready to evacuate. The cursed dog was staring hard down the trail, hackles raised and body crouched. He spun around to Kagome, using his body to herd her away from the ridgeline, breaking her contact with the rock. The mountain chain shuddered again, and beside her, the spindly rocky shapes crunched and shifted. Kagome placed a nervous hand on Inuyasha's back. "I think it's time to get out of here…"
The next moment, she was in the air, tossed up as the ground beneath her lurched and crumbled. Screams could be heard echoing around the mountain as other hikers found themselves airborne as well. Twisting, Kagome struggled to look around for Inuyasha.
The white dog was thrown to the side and found himself tangled in the rough, brittle branches of the nearby conifers. The sight of the slim figure sailing through the air made his stomach drop to the ground. By now, the feel of his change was familiar, and when it rippled through his body, he wasted no time, leaping high above the trees and debris.
"Where… where is it?" A grating, gravely voice sounded from beneath them. A chill crawled up Kagome's spine, as if tiny feet were running up her back. As Kagome's body began to plummet back down to earth, she spotted a flash of white as a naked boy with golden eyes fought to make his way towards her.
"KAGOME!" She heard a gruff voice cry.
"Inuyasha!" she cried out in response. Her relief leaked out as tears from her eyes as she tried to reach for him, swallowing her nausea from being thrown into the air. Inuyasha closed the distance quickly and was just about to snatch her from the air and towards safety when a pale flash slammed into the girl from below, pushing her even further into the air.
"I found it…!"
It happened too quickly for her to even register the fiery pain of her own flesh tearing. By the time she realized she'd been attacked, her own blood was spraying onto her face as a horrific shape threw her body upward from its jaws. The cry of pain that escaped from her lips echoed over the crumbling mountain and sent an icy jolt through Inuyasha's stomach. Kagome squinted her eyes open, feeling weightless as her body decelerated in the air. A small speck of starlight emerged from her torso where the monster had bitten her and the girl considered it thoughtfully, strangely disconnected from the events happening around her.
Inuyasha only considered the bright pink jewel for but a moment, before returning his attention to the demon that struck Kagome.
"Get away from her you fucking bitch!"
Things happened in slow motion. She sank back down towards the earth, the little pink bauble tumbling down with her. As she descended, a beautiful face came into her field of view, haloed by a silken fan of pure black hair. The mirage maintained itself for half a second before it smiled, cruelly, stretching its blood-stained lips farther than humanly possible and revealing long pointed teeth. Kagome screamed in terror, hardly able to believe that such a nightmarish monster was well and truly attacking her right now. A flash of silver and a great clash of bodies collided somewhere near her, a horrible, bone shattering shriek filled the air, and the next thing she knew, she was cradled by a strong pair of arms, held tightly against a firm chest.
"Inuyasha…?" She said weakly. It hurt to breath, each inhale sent shards of pain through her abdomen. Above her, a familiar growl reverberated from the chest she was cradled against. The arms that held her trembled, with fear, rage, fatigue, she didn't know. It was all she could do to simply hold her head up and prevent herself from getting whiplash as Inuyasha leapt to the side to avoid debris. The horrifying creature who'd grabbed her, ripped into her, reeled up before them, casting its glance this way and that as if searching for something amidst the rubble. Several arms had been torn away from a pale, woman's torso but as Kagome dropped her eyes downward, her stomach retched to see a strange marriage of insect and human. The thing screeched in triumph before diving for the earth, towards a little pink speck and both human girl and hanyou boy spotted it simultaneously.
"Inu-!"
"I know!"
They hurled down to the earth right behind the centipede demon, Inuyasha slicing downward with his claws, shouting a battle cry as his attack made contact. An explosion of light blinded her and she clung to the strong body that held her. Kagome clamped her eyes shut, only daring to crack them open again when a rough, warm hand pressed against her cheek.
"Kagome?" She found herself peering into a pair of bright, amber eyes set in a handsome face. Time unraveled for a moment and her mind went blank, struggling to remember what was happening.
"Is… Is it dead?" She whispered, her voice low out of pain and fear. The boy's face lifted and turned to glance at the slowly decomposing body surrounding them, grimacing at its stench.
"Yeah," he replied, "Good riddance."
Inuyasha brought up a foot to kick at one of the sections that had separated from the main carcass. Kagome's lips twisted, trying to smile but succeeding in a grimace. The concern on his face was undeniable, so was the tenderness with which he held her. Any doubts she felt from her earlier fright vanished and she knew she was safest in his arms. Kagome tried to bring her hand up to touch the vision before her, needing to touch him to know that he was real, and was reminded of her injuries when they protested her movement.
"Don't move." His voice was riveting. Dark and coarse, and somehow wild. She felt it vibrate in his chest more than she heard it with her ears. There were sirens sounding in the distance. The humans must finally be snapping to action. He shifted the girl in his arms carefully before reaching down to the ground, scooping up the little stone that had fallen out of her. He paused then, the jewel pulsing in his hand as if sensing the conflicting desires clashing inside of him. He swallowed with difficulty, the little stone triggering memories and long buried dreams, and forced himself to hand the bauble to the girl in his arms.
"Here," he said gruffly, unable to meet her curious gaze. And then, as gently as he could, he leapt up into the air.
Kagome shifted, seeing what he was doing and abruptly called for him to stop. "Hang on!" She said, fighting the burning pain in her side, "I'm not leaving without my car! If I leave it another day, I'll get ticketed for sure!"
Inuyasha touched down, looking down at Kagome in disbelief. "Are you fucking kidding me?" He berated her, "You're freaking bleeding out and just got attacked by a giant-ass centipede, and you're worried about your car?"
Kagome gripped the arms supporting her. "I'm not leaving my car," she said, "And besides, my first aid kit's in there."
"Can you even drive?" Inuyasha countered. Kagome paused, looking down at her bloodied shirt. The yelling left her breathless as she tried to work through the pain. Lips in a thin line, she looked up pleadingly into Inuyasha's eyes. "...Can you?"