DarkDust27: Maybe, old dogs can learn new tricks?
arapyanime: Alright, I'll give in to the dark side..seshkag is calling me.
xenocanaan: Thank you :)
sucuri: Thank you for being so sweet, I honestly love reviews like this :) as for the pairing, I like adding moments here and there with different charaters (not in a harem way of course) and we still have to meet Koga..
Guest: thank you guest, will do.
Special thanks to all my lovely readers, even the ones that don't review I know you're there, just say hi and I'll be happy. I apologize for the long wait, this past months weren't my best, I'm currently feeling better with myself that I decided to write this. Hope you guys like it, have a lovely day.
Disclaimer: I own nothing.
Word count: 3,097
Her brows furrowed in concentrations as she repeated the words aloud.
"Bōgyo Kekkai!" She shouted, and when nothing happened, she could only curse her own inability to cast a simple protection spell as she forced herself to try again.
The unforgiving sun rays burned her exposed shoulders mercilessly, though it didn't compare to the hot pain that covered her palms. She gave a longing glance to the koi pond next to her, resisting the urge to dip her hands in it. The poor fish didn't deserve the disturbance because of her stupidity. The early approach of summer was evident in the air. The smell of smoke constricted her lungs temporally, painfully reminding her that she wasn't alone, despite the silence that accompanied her. Behind her was Chicako-san who quietly judged her poor performance. Her dark eyes were covered in disappointment, and yet, she never voiced it aloud. This behavior contrasted heavily with her former one. Chikako used to praise younger Kagome for her abilities, but as she grew older those praise transformed in critics, and finally those transformed into silence. Honestly, she didn't know if she preferred to be judged with every breath she took or having to guess her thoughts just by looking in the old woman eyes.
Again, her palms ached by the overused of her energy making her flinch at the sensation of numbness and feeling a thousand needles pierce her fingers.
A pale pink barrier appeared in front of her. It looked more solid than her previous one's- A sound, similar to a rock hitting glass reached her ears. Stunned she turned to meet her mentor gaze, who had a subtle smile in her wrinkled lips. Chikako stood straight, despite her age and the heavy robes she was still the same woman she knew.
"It's not your fault child" Chikako-san comforted her as she breathed out a smoke curtain that temporally covered her wrinkled face. "That's enough for today" she said in a soft reprimanding tone as she struggled to stand up from her spot in the porch.
"Have a cup of tea with me"
Confused, she dropped her hands to her sides, and with one more look to the pond, she followed her mentor inside.
She was ready to argue but the heaviness in her body was too much to handle at the moment. So instead, she opted to help the old lady to the kitchen.
With the confidence that only a frequent visitor could acquire she walked into the kitchen to prepare a fresh pot of tea for the evening. Humming a song whose name she couldn't remember she added the black tea bags in the boiling water purposely ignoring the piercing brown eyes that were trying to solve the puzzle that she had become since she crossed to the other side of the well.
She finally turned around, both tea cups secure tightly in her grasp, so she took the seat next to her mentor who gladly accepted the steaming cup as she extinguished her cigar in the ashtray Grandpa had gifted her in her 76th birthday.
The orange rays of the dying sun light cast a shadow in Chikako-san face, intensifying the mysterious aura she already had around her, however her kind smile was the only thing she could make up in the lack of light. She smiled, almost teasingly at Kagome, before blowing her cup and taking a slow sip.
Kagome imitated her, pursing her lips a little at the bitter taste, of course she forgot to add sugar.
"You've grown weak each passing day" Chikako stated bluntly eyeing her warily. "The great power you once held is no longer with you"
Kagome choked with her tea, burning her throat in the process. Her eyes watered in response, and Chikako was sure it wasn't because of the tea.
The young miko cleared her throat, her mind was busy processing her mentor words so mechanically she wiped the corners of her mouth. "I know" she finally said.
Chikako raised her brows in suspicion "And, I'm guessing you wouldn't tell me why"
She shook her head. "I can't" she admitted painfully. She trusted her with her life, yet she couldn't find the strength to tell her the true.
"I see" she muttered tentatively "Then, you need to relearn everything I taught you." She smirked mockingly "You need to learn how to control your new spiritual power"
Feudal era.
Darkness engulfed her vision as she battled to find her new precious possession. The cold metal of the dog whistle caressed her hand as she pulled it out immediately. Losing no time she placed it in her lips and blow it. Her ears registered no sound, but the angry scream that followed her action confirmed her that her target had been hit. Inuyasha's angry face poked from the top of the well, along with Shippo, though she couldn't see him, she knew he was there because he was complaining loudly to Inuyasha.
She smiled at him innocently pointing to her bag. "I need help, and before you refuse a brought a lot of ninja food"
His eyes lighted up at her words, and without complaints he jumped to help her.
It was good to be back.
(...)
The brush glided gently in the paper, mixing different hues of green and yellow together in a poor attempt of mimicking nature's beauty. Grabbing a clean brush, she dipped it in red paint to try to match the tone in Inuyasha robes. The hardest part was the hair, no silver shade was perfect enough to match the shade of the hanyou wild mane.
A lightning echoed in the distance, reminding her of the current weather state. The smells of pork buns was intoxicating to her grumbling stomach and there was only much a cup of tea could do for it. Patience was a virtue she wasn't blessed with in any of her lives.
One last stroke and her master piece was finished, silently she handed it to Inuyasha's who regarded her with a curios look before taking the painting carefully. His golden eyes glinted in surprise when he noticed she had been painting him (and Shippo) for the past 20 minutes, no wonder she was staring that much.
"I… like it" he admitted almost shyly finally looking up to her.
Her cheeks heated in embarrassment, but she smiled at his words. "Thank you, it's yours"
Obediently, he secured the small picture in the inside of his haori and patted for good measure giving her a surprisingly gently look. Shippo's loud footsteps interrupted the moment as he approached them carrying a tray of pork buns.
"Food is here!" he said happily taking a seat between the two.
"Itadakimasu" she said before taking a bite. It was moments like this that made her doubt if she truly regretted shattering the pearl.
Each passing day Inuyasha found a different way to surprise her, he was still rough in the edges, but he wasn't as loud or rude as she expected him to be, even Shippo had commented it was an unusual behavior from a youkai. She really had no idea what to make out of it. Maybe her presence was affecting him in a good way (or, so she hoped)
Another lightning broke the comfortable silence and little sigh was heard from behind them. Tired brown eyes stared back at her as the owner of the place knelt down to place another tray of buns a fresh brew of green tea. "It hasn't rained like this in a very long time, will you be staying here tonight?"
She nodded eagerly since she hadn't completely swallowed her food. "We're planning to"
"It's for the better, the rain lady is finally blessing us of with her divine water"
She wanted to ask who this rain lady was, but the owner had already excused herself and her gut feeling told her that it wasn't a good idea to mess around with the unknown (more than she had anyways). That's how filler episodes started, and the weather was perfect to sleep in for the rest of the day.
"Inuyasha that's mine give back!"
"It doesn't have your name on it" He said greedily as he ate the last bun.
Shippo whined some more, so she cut her last one by half and handed to him. His little eyes grew like plates as he took it.
"Thank you Kagome" he said quietly still staring at the bun, like it was the most precious thing he had lays his eyes upon.
"Why you did that?" Inuyasha asked begrudgingly.
"I'm full, and he still a growing kid-youkai" she corrected herself quickly "He needs it more than me"
"That's not true, you're human" he said in a matter of fact tone. "He'll be fine if he doesn't eat it, you- you wouldn't" he finished in quieter tone.
If she was the original Kagome, this would be the appropriate moment to start arguing, so instead she opted to just smile at his well masked concern. "I still have the other half, and if I get hungry I have more food in my backpack"
"Tsk, whatever do what you want" he said as he rose from his seat and jumped to forest getting lost in the greenery and the fog that surrounded them.
At least they weren't screaming at each other. "C'mon Shippo, let's go to our room"
Shippo snoring was the only thing keeping her awake, that and the fact that Inuyasha had yet to return. Her dog book didn't have a chapter about what to do when your dog ran away, wasn't that more of a cat thing? She rolled in her mattress for the hundred time trying to find a comfortable position, wasn't she super tired like an hour ago?
"Maybe I should look for him-"
The door slide open, and she quickly closed her eyes and slowed down her breathing.
"I know you're awake, your heartbeat is very loud"
She opened her eyes and found Inuyasha sitting next to her with his eyes closed and his clothes drenched in rain.
"You need to change, if you don't want to get-
"Sick?" He said in a mocking tone "Youkais aren't as fragile as human"
"You sound like your brother" she said rousing from her spot. "And last time I checked you're half human" she draped her warm blanket on him ignoring his protesting growls.
"Sleep tight, we have a long day ahead!" she said cheerfully before tucking herself with the little one of the group.
"Annoying woman" was the last thing she heard before drifting to sleep.
The sound of rain woke her up from her slumber. The rain drops felt heavily against the bamboo roof sounding more like rock than water drops. The air also felt colder in comparison to yesterday warm climate. Confused, she got up slowly trying not wake Shippo, though it seemed impossible since he was basically all over her. She hadn't even notice he was hugging her.
She somehow managed to set herself free and came face Inuyasha's back. He was already awake, and just like yesterday he was staring deeply into the forest with the blanket now wrapped around him.
"Morning" she called softly "Have you eaten yet?"
He barely looked at her from his shoulder "Yes, I made some ninja food a while ago"
She frowned, he sounded so distant. "Alright then, let me know if you get hungry" She said, though she knew he probably wouldn't say anything. His body language seemed odd, usually by this time he would be trying to wake up Shippo or asking her if she felt the presence of a shard. Something must have happened last night when he left.
"Inuyasha-"
"I told you I'm not hungry"
She shook her even though he couldn't see her. "Is not that, did something happened last night?"
"No"
"You can trust me, you know-"
"Nothing happened 'kay!" he said raising his tone.
She backed away involuntarily, a reflex from her body to protect herself. This didn't go unnoticed by the male, which only limited himself to resume his tree watching.
She wanted to keep insisting, but her gut feeling told her she had pushed her luck enough for today.
"I'll make breakfast now, so we can leave before noon"
He hummed in response and Shippo stirred awake rubbing his eyes with the heels of his hand a tired yawn escaped his mouth before he fully opened his eyes. He looked around confused before his gaze finally settled in her.
"Kagome, what time-" his own yawn interrupted him.
"Must be 9 am, though I can't really tell, it's so dark outside."
A familiar silhouette appeared from the other side of the shoji door and Kagome was quick to give her permission to come in.
The owner of the place, whose name Kagome couldn't remember since the woman voice was so low she could barely hear the price of the room they were renting.
"Good morning" she came in holding a tray of miso soup accompanied by roasted fish and a decent serving of pork buns. Kagome was glad she hadn't started breakfast because it would be a shame to let it go to waste.
"Thank you" she bowed slightly accepting the food.
"You're welcome, I hope your stay here was pleasant" she said keeping her gaze focused in Kagome purposely avoiding staring at Inuyasha for too long.
She nodded and the woman stood up, bowed and left. Still, Inuyasha had his back facing them, not even the delicious smell of homemade food was enough to break him from his trance. Knowing he was bound to get hungry later in the day she saved some buns for him, much to Shippo disappointment.
"I'd do the same for you" and with that he dropped the subject.
Later in the day, when they had finally left that weird village they were in their way to- well, they really had no destination set, in reality they just walked until a shard appeared or until they found a village. So far, none of that had happened. This had to be the most relaxed day she had since she arrived here the first time. The thing was, she didn't know if that was a good or a bad thing.
Whatever deity was listening to her thought must hate her, because the presence of a shard had appeared nearby.
"I can do this" She mentally cheered herself. Her feet move her closer to the door, but she quickly cowered away when someone coughed behind her.
Her heart was racing loudly in her chest, and she was sure she was about to faint. The idea of confronting the creepy lady from the other day was so scary that her legs refused to move even if her mind keep reciting comforting words.
She eyed the books in her hands. Kagome had asked her if she could do her a favor and return her book, and of course she had quickly agreed believing her dear friends wasn't feeling well again, she had seemed so healthy the past day, but she knew Kagome health was very delicate and just like she had her good moments, she had her bad ones.
"You're doing this for her"
She inhaled a calming breath that she released gradually as her legs started to move.
The bell rang announcing her entrance, and she waited frozen in the door for the creepy lady to jump from the shadows, instead she was greeted by Ushida-san kind smile.
She let out a relieved sigh as she fully entered and approached the desk with a smile.
"Good morning Ushida-san! I'm here to return this book"
"Very well dear, let me see when you borrowed this to make sure everything is okay" He opened the lid and his eyes widened. "This must be a mistake"
Frowning, she stepped closer trying to see what he was seeing "What it is?"
"That day, I wasn't here, the library was closed because I was sick…" he said mostly to himself.
She shuddered visibly, and she swore she heard a pile of books falling behind her.
"I-I need to leave" she slammed some cash in the desk, he eyed her confused by her sudden change, but accepted the money anyway. "Have a good day"
She exited as fast as her legs could carry her, not bothering to turn around to wave goodbye to the old man like she always did. Her heart was beating faster than before and her body has started to shiver. A few pedestrians gave her worried looks but her destinations was set in her mind.
Her legs burned from the inside as she dragged her poor body through the shrine stairs. After a rampage of curses and complaints she finally reached the top. She truly had no idea how, something that usually took her 20 minutes had taken her only 6 minutes to do. Her fist knocked desperately in the door as she anxiously waited for Kagome's mom to open the door.
"Good aft- Eri-chan! What happened to you?" she asked worriedly as she hurried the teen inside.
"I-"her eyes rolled to the back of her head as she fainted in the older woman arms.
thank you for reading, a review is all it takes to make me happy :P