A/N: Sorry it took ages for me to update.
Beta: Cstorm86 - totally go check out her stories, they're amazing
The Miko Looks For The Tracks
The huge field that held the hotel was rather empty, only a few people were playing a ball game in the part of the field fenced off for this purpose.
Kagome wasn't the most athletic girl, so she spared them only one glance as she scanned the area. A bunch of cars stood in the parking lot, that could house much more vehicles - a clear sign the season was just beginning. Everything looked neat and calm, no sign of an ominous aura or a wicked youkai.
Their path led to a section of the parking area for the bikes, a few of them standing there for use. Kagome snickered when she noticed Sango's round eyes observing a car driving away from the front of the hotel. The taijiya was still so new to all of this, it was easy to see by her hands holding Kirara close to herself that she was anxious.
"Don't worry, Sango," the miko offered. She was doing her best to introduce her world to Sango in easy to swallow bits, but it was the first time she ventured outside of the shrine grounds. "It's okay."
"I will do my best not to embarrass you," Sango promised as they walked. "And not to give away that I'm from the hidden realm."
"Sure," Kagome grinned. "Just relax and follow my lead. I will always be around to give you pointers."
"I appreciate that," Sango sighed. "And when you visit my... place, I will be your aid and guide."
"Deal," Kagome grinned happily. It was just fair and it seemed that both the knowledge that she had Kagome at her side and that she would repay her in kind put Sango at ease. Kagome was sure Inuyasha would make sure she was protected in the youkai world, but having a friend who actually lived there and was a girl wouldn't hurt.
They walked the path towards the main building of the hotel, the baths probably located behind it. It was a big, two-story building that looked old, but not overly so. It was clearly trying to look as traditional as possible, with cherry trees surrounding it and offering some shadow to anyone who would want to walk the engawa that - presumably - ran around the whole building. Even the board with the hotel name and information looked like it was hand written with a brush.
When they went inside and stepped onto the raised wooden floor they were directed by an old man in a green uniform of hotel service to go further inside, through an open door. It led them to a lovely lobby with a reception table to their right and a small waiting area with tables and chairs for people to use. Kagome noticed a stack of newspapers on one of the tables, along with what looked like a bunch of brochures on the hotel and the mountain tourist spots.
'Note to self, make sure to check how our flyers for the festival are coming along,' Kagome thought as they walked to the right.
'Saw them. Atrocious,' Inuyasha found it necessary to voice his opinion, obviously she didn't think 'to self' this time. 'Had you to add sakura blossoms?'
'Feh! They're pretty!' Kagome arguesd. 'Everyone liked the project.'
'Overrated is what they are, but whatever,' he mentally shrugged.
There was a small, old-fashioned bell on the reception table and Kagome rang it when they got to the table. Sango eyed the bell and then glanced at Kagome, who smiled and shrugged. A woman came out of a small door behind the table. She was dressed in a green yukata and glasses in a thick frame. She was short, her black hair graying and some wrinkles were on her face. A small smile appeared on her lips when she saw Kagome's miko robe.
"I'm Higurashi Kagome." Kagome introduced herself, trying to sound calm, professional and capable. "And this is Sango, a taijiya friend."
Sango bowed properly. just like Kagome did, The woman bowed back.
"Miss Higurashi. Please, follow me to the back room, so we can talk uninterrupted."
She unlatched a small door built in the reception table that allowed people to go through. Kagome nodded to Sango and they walked after Mrs. Honda. The back room looked like any other break room, with a comfy place to sit around, some cabinets and an electric kettle to make some tea. Mrs. Honda gestured them to a couch next to a table, on which stood a bowl with cookies, while she sat in a chair.
"Thank you for coming so quickly," she said.
"I've been living here only for a short while, but I am aware of the importance of Honda Hotel to the community," Kagome was inwardly very pleased with herself. It seemed that the woman relaxed a bit at her words. "The Higurashi shrine would never make anyone in the town wait for longer than is necessary."
Sango remained quiet, but a different voice scoffed. 'Yeah, you sound just like the old fart,' Inuyasha voiced his opinion, but was promptly ignored, wherever he was.
'That's the point. I need to build a relationship with the community and make them trust me,' Kagome thought back and smiled at the hotel owner, who smiled in return. Still, Kagome could see her eyes moving between herself and Sango, a glint of uncertainty in her gaze. She didn't know them, she hoped they could help, but wasn't sure yet. The miko tried not to let her nervousness show - she was still new to her work and just as she told Inuyasha, she had to earn the trust by giving them results and proof of her skills.
"Alright," Kagome said and put her hands neatly in her lap. "Can you tell me when the issue started and what might be the cause? Was there a youkai you could've offended or attracted to your establishment?"
"We don't know of any youkai that might live nearby, but there are always stories of youkai dwelling in the forest," Mrs Honda sighed. "Well, it started around a week ago. First the towels and toiletries started to go missing from bath houses and rooms - sometimes patrons take some as souvenirs of sorts, but this time whole stacks of them were going missing. And the rooms were closed, prepared for new patrons. More than once we had to clean rooms that should be already cleaned because the youkai wreaked havoc in them. Then, yesterday, a few of the patrons notified the staff that some of their personal items were gone. It's so embarrassing, I can't allow that to continue, it will tarnish our good name."
Kagome nodded, totally agreeing with the woman. Well, at least there was no hostility, there was also no ominous aura hovering over the hotel.
"Has anyone seen the youkai?" Sango asked. "Or heard it?"
"Some patrons reported hearing crashes from behind the wall, but we never caught a glimpse of the youkai," Mrs Honda shook her head. "We checked the security camera feed too, but found nothing. That's why we're positive that it's not some prank of misbehaving teens, but a real youkai."
Sango frowned and Kagome thought that it was probably in part because she didn't understand the bit about cameras.
"I see. Well, from what I saw from the outside," Kagome spoke to draw the woman's attention back to herself. "There's no evil aura around the hotel, so no one is in an immediate danger," she declared. The hotel owner sighed in relief. "But, I'd like to see one of the... plundered rooms, just to see if I can find any traces of youki and a trail to follow."
That was her plan. To get to a place recently visited by the youkai and get Inuyasha to sniff around. He was a dog hanyou after all, it'd be most efficient to use his nose.
"Oh, of course," Mrs Honda stood up with new energy. "I can show you to one of them. We left it untouched, since we figured out you'd like to have a look at it. Your grandfather always did that when he was hunting a youkai."
"I see," Kagome smirked. She was pretty sure her grandpa relied on Inuyasha to do the sniffing out, too. They followed the woman outside and across the reception room, a few people sitting at the tables and reading newspapers gave them curious looks.
Kagome hastened her step after the hotel owner, just a bit, feeling a bit anxious with strangers staring at her. Sango looked rather normal, but she was in full miko garb and with a bow and a quiver, outside of the shrine grounds. She knew that everyone knew she was here on behalf of the shrine.
They climbed up a set of stairs to the second floor, where the rooms for the patrons were. On both sides were sliding doors to the rooms, small lamps hanging from the ceiling gave enough light to see by and create a cozy atmosphere. Mrs Honda looked back at the girls following her and offered them a small smile.
"You two seem so young," she said softly. Kagome bit her bottom lip. Of course they were young, but she was sure they could handle things, maybe even without Inuyasha's help. There were no bad vibes in the air, it felt pretty nice and she'd never have thought there was a youkai on the loose around here.
"I can assure you, miko Kagome and I are experienced and battle hardened enough to take on the youkai that troubles you," Sango said, her voice quiet and firm as they walked past a number of doors. Mrs. Honda nodded and stopped in front of one of the doors. She took out a key and opened the lock, pushing the door aside as she walked in first. Kagome and Sango quickly followed.
"Here, have a look," Mrs Honda said and gestured around with a wave of a hand. The room was middle-sized and Kagome assumed it'd be a nice place to stay. But now the tatami mats were upturned, so was the table on short legs in the corner. Shells of what had been probably an ornamental vase were scattered near it. All cabinets were open, revealing nothing inside - no towels, no bathing yukatas and other things a hotel usually provided for the patrons. The bed was devoid of sheets and pillows, the mattress bearing long tears, the stuffing sticking out
Kagome took a deep breath. The air didn't smell or feel any different. Sango walked through a set of small doors that, Kagome assumed, led to a private bathroom.
"Can I ask you to step out, Mrs Honda? I'd like to meditate and see if I can find anything," Kagome said to the older woman, who shrugged.
"Sure. Call me if you need anything" with that she left, closing the door behind herself.
"There's nothing in the bathroom," Sango murmured as she walked out of the restroom. "Not even a shower curtain. There are scratch marks on the wall next to the mirror, the youkai probably tried to remove it, but couldn't. But Kirara seems to be perfectly calm."
"Yeah, I don't pick up any malice around here either," Kagome sighed and went towards the window to open it.
Just to almost get stomped by Inuyasha, who slid it open and jumped in at the same time she reached for the frame. Only a quick grab of his hand on her shoulder saved Kagome from falling on her butt when she stumbled backwards. Inuyasha grinned and slid the window screen shut behind himself with his other hand.
"Hey, clumsy," he teased and took a look around, pretending not to notice Kagome glaring at him. He also seemed not to notice that he still held his hand on her shoulder. Kagome had to pat his wrist to have him release her.
"Well, it sure stinks of a pest in here," the shrine guardian said. "And it looks like it had some fun here too."
"Can you track it?" Kagome asked.
"Do you know what kind of youkai we're dealing with?" Sango stepped over what was left of a small rug that should lay beside the bed, but now was tattered in pieces across the whole floor.
Inuyasha chuckled and flashed them both one of his fanged grins. "Sure."
"Well, what is it?" Sango pressed.
"It's a secret," the hanyou said. "You'll have to see for yourself."
Sango glared at him, but he pretended not to see it.
"Okay, you go tell the old hag that we're done here and you're leaving," he told Kagome.
"What? We barely started!"
"You're not going to hunt it alone, Inuyasha," Sango grumbled. "I won't back down and let you have the battle to yourself."
"Keh, I'm sure it will be a glorious battle," the shrine guardian grinned. "I won't deprive you of the chance to do battle with this vicious foe, slayer. In fact, I can leave the whole battle field to you."
Sango narrowed her eyes. Kirara made a tiny kitty snort at his words.
"Well, as long as you can track it down, it's fine," Kagome declared. "We will deal with the youkai when we find it. But... How does it come in without anyone noticing? And then leave with its haul?"
"Through here," the hanyou pointed to the window. Kagome blinked at it -the glass part of it was luckily intact, slid to the side. The paper screen that covered the hole in the wall, was pretty standard, with a crate of wooden sticks that supported the paper. The paper that had a cat-sized hole torn in it near one of the corners.
"Well, at least it appears to be small," Sango mused, inspecting the hole. "Or it can change its size."
Inuyasha chuckled, obviously enjoying his little secret. Kagome glared at him, just in time to see his ears twitch and point towards the doorway. In a blink of an eye, the hanyou disappeared, replaced by a tiny Akita puppy, a miniature version of his true form, complete with purple stripes on his cheeks.
When Kagome opened her mouth to ask why he assumed such an adorable form, the door slid open and Mrs Honda poked her head in.
"I'm sorry for interrupting, but I thought you might want some tea?" she said hesitantly, looking at the two girls standing in the middle of the room. She frowned a little. Kagome guessed she was disappointed to not find them doing something. The puppy glared at the intruder.
"Um..." Kagome looked at the hotel owner, who opened the door fully and stepped inside. "There's no need for it, Mrs. Honda. We found a trail and were about to follow it."
"A trail?" the woman instinctively looked to the floor, as if expecting to see some muddy tracks. What she saw was Inuyasha making his way towards the door, his tiny paws stepping purposefully across the floor as if he fully expected her to step out of the way. "Oh, goodness, such a cute puppy!"
Kagome saw the woman's hands move and swooped in before the poor hotel owner tried to grab the dog. She picked Inuyasha up and held him close to herself, as if she was a happy, proud owner showing off her pet to a stranger. The puppy wiggled a bit, so she pressed him harder against herself.
"He is pretty cute," Sango agreed with Mrs. Honda, the pup growled at her from Kagome's grasp. Mrs Honda stepped closer, admiring the little creature.
"I've heard there was an Akita Inu at the shrine," she muttered. "Is it a her puppy?"
The pup growled again, this time at the older woman. Sango smirked while Kagome shook her head, trying to find a way to keep the dog from struggling. She really didn't want him to go and nibble at the woman's ankle or anything.
"Oh, no, Komainu is a he," she shook her head and smiled when the pup gave her a look that clearly read 'really? Komainu? You had to come up with that name?' "Koinu here is helping us to track the youkai."
The pup continued to stare at her. She could almost hear him scoffing in her mind for coming up with such generic names.
"Ah, I see. Such a helpful little fellow," Mrs Honda praised and lifted a hand. "May I pet him?"
"Um..." Kagome pressed the pup closer to herself, just as he started to struggle to get free again.
"I'm afraid he prefers to be pet only by his mistress," Sango chimed in from the side, grinning.
"Sango!" Kagome gasped. Mrs Honda smiled, not realizing the double meaning behind Sango's words.
"It's fine. Well, when you're done with the youkai, come back to me, alright?"
"Sure," Kagome smiled and the woman left again. As soon as she walked out of the door, this time leaving it open, the pup resumed his struggling.
"Inuyasha, can you stop wiggling?" Kagome snapped. Her miko robe was of rather thick material, but his tiny dog claws were still unpleasant as he pushed against her with all his paws. His response came in a tone of mind-voice she heard for the first time.
'Stop pressing my face in your boobs!'
"Oh!" Kagome dropped the puppy, who promptly ran out of the room. Sango blinked at her friend.
"What happened?" she asked.
"N-nothing!" Kagome ran out of the room, hoping Sango didn't notice the blush on her cheeks. "Let's track that youkai down!"
A/NL Just for clarity. Kagome refers to the 'mortal dog Inuyasha' as Komainu when she has to call him around humans. The puppy is Koinu. And Inuyasha is the handsome, exotic looking shrine guard the village believes joined the team soon after Kagome came to be the shrine keeper. At least that's what the townspeople know