Dog Guardian 53
A/N: Oops, I forgot to update!
Beta; Cstorm86


The Miko and the Accident


Sango giggled as Kagome finished her story.

"I see. I suspected there was something like this going on," the youkai exterminator said.

The two young women sat in Kagome's room, enjoying a nice cold drink. Sango marvelled at ice cubes Kagome had produced from the fridge and had put in her orange juice. Outside, the heat wave was practically melting skin, so no one came to the shrine at this timet of the day. There were bound to be some patrons coming closer to the evening, but now it was empty. So, Kagome and Sango had a small break.

Sango had come this morning to stay a day and help Kagome in her training. The miko was pretty okay with her bow, but both Inuyasha and Sango demanded she had some other battle skills, even if it was to be just the ability to dodge. Hence, the slayer's visit. According to Sango, in the youkai world things were rather tense, but the mountain where Lady Kaede's little village was, was still a peaceful place. The girls had discussed the matter of the West being attacked by groups of bandits - the West being the land ruled by Inuyasha's half-brother. Sango had informed the miko that the South and East were busy with their own squabbles over the border and some islands in the ocean, while the North was going to aid the West in a battle of armies. The northern land didn't want to send their soldiers to run circles in a different kingdom, especially one the ruler of which was... Unpredictable. It was really worrying to hear Sango's report, so the girls decided to change the topic to something more pleasant.

Which in this case was: boys.

Or rather; a boy. A man, actually, but boyish and skittish, socially awkward and gruff.

Sango had no love interest or crush. She blamed that on the fact that she was the prime fighter in the village and the men there were bland and not really into strong, decisive girls anyway.

And since Kagome had made a mistake of alluding to her own little dog-eared crush... Sango had used their break to drag out of Kagome all the details. Especailly about the dance training session the day before yesterday.

To say that it had been embarrassing would be an understatement. It was a real blush-fest, but now Kagome felt a bit better, knowing that she had an ally and a friendly soul that understood her.

It was a bit of a surprise, actually, to see that Sango had no trouble accepting the fact that Kagome had feelings for a hanyou. The exterminator had shrugged at her surprised look and had explained that, albeit rare, interracial pairs were a thing in the youkai world. Most of the lands tolerated them now, but it was a new thing. Back in the day, according to Sango, interracial pairs were a rarity and their offspring was seen as abominations. There still were places and communities where it was like this, but officially governments of most kingdoms had no laws to forbid or punish marriages between youkai and humans, and killing their children, if proven, was a crime punished severely. This was why Sango declared she wholeheartedly supported Kagome and would help in any way she could.

"Uh, yeah, and now he's kinda trying to keep his distance," Kagome sighed. "He doesn't touch me if he doesn't have to. Not even when he has to correct my stance or something. He just tells me to do this or keep my hands like that."

"I bet he's confused and unsure what to do," Sango supplied after a long sip of her juice, reclining against a wall and looking thoughtfully out to the forest through the open shoji. "He doesn't strike me as a guy who has a lot of experience with girls and handling his own feelings."

"Tell me more," Kagome pulled her knees close to herself and rested her chin on them. "And he just learned to be at ease around me, too. He just started not to tense whenever I touched him suddenly."

Sango gave her troubled friend a smirk.

"Canine youkai are just like mortal canines," she supplied. "They react badly to a sudden change; it puts them off balance. They need a clear set of rules, a simple hierarchy to follow, so they feel stable. I bet he feels very off balance, with you being so unlike your predecessors and treating him differently... Establishing new rules... Maybe it'd be a good idea to give him some breathing space to adjust to everything?"

Kagome looked at her friend with interest.

"You might be on to it," she said after a minute of thinking it over. "I will try to keep your words in mind."

"Sure. So... What about this mystery feedback giver?" Sango asked. Kagome shrugged and stood up.

"Nothing. If I leave my notebook in the gift shop for any time longer than an hour, I get it back with all kinds of notes on what is in there," the miko went to where the sliding door hid the built-in the wall wardrobe. It was time to change for the training. "I haven't had a chance to catch them."

"Hm... And Inuyasha, doesn't he have any idea who it might be? Maybe you could ask him to keep an eye on it?" Sango suggested, The miko tilted her head.

"He said he hadn't seen anyone around the shop, but he wasn't really near it... It might be a good idea," she decided. "I mean, if it is a youkai, I'd like to know who exactly it is." Kagome resumed digging in a box that stood on one of the shelves and contained her sports bras.

"Youkai can visit shrines, but they shouldn't just dig in stuff that isn't theirs," Sango agreed. "And humans shouldn't do that either."

"Exactly," Kagome turned around with her change of clothing piled up in one hand. "Okay, give me a few minutes to change and we can go find Inuyasha for our battle training."

"Sure," the other woman smiled and lifted her cup. "I'm fine here, take your time."

Kagome went to the bathroom to change, thinking about Sango's words. Enlisting Inuyasha's help in catching the feedback giver would be a good idea. He had his special shrine guardian ways of doing things, so for him it'd be a breeze.

Also, it'd be a perfect excuse to spend a bit more time with him on the lookout, without them being engaged in training or work. That thought made Kagome smile. Spending time with the shrine guardian was always fun and exciting. She was sure that if they spent enough peaceful time together, he'd grow less tense around her again.

Deep in thought, Kagome entered the bathroom and then froze, staring.

A nicely sculpted, but not overly so, sixpack stared back.

Inuyasha was in the bathroom. He had his hair pulled in a low ponytail, his upper layers of clothing hanging from the shower door behind him, his hakama riding low on his hips... Had he maybe taken a shower to refresh himself after the midday heat lessened? Or maybe after some dirty work? His skin looked smooth and seemed to glow in the dulled light that came through the bathroom window shades. As he turned his body to face her, Kagome could see the muscles moving under that smooth skin, his body not overly muscular, but having no excess fat, his movements fluid as he took a step back from the sink...

Kagome felt her throat go dry at the vision in front of her, and she almost dropped whatever she held in her hands. She was able to just stare and admire, and...

"Oi!"

Kagome's gaze jumped up across the planes of exposed chest to where Inuyasha's face was located. A scowl was on his face, the hanyou's cheeks covered in light blush and specks pale blue toothpaste foam that threatened to drip down from his lips to the floor.

That sobered the miko, who suddenly realized she had been ogling him for kami knew how long, not moving or saying a word, like an idiot. Her own cheeks flamed at that realization.

"What's with that look? Whaddya want?" The most esteemed shrine guardian pointed his toothbrush at her as if it was his sword. "Oi?!"

Sango raised a brow when she saw her miko friend running into her room, still not changed, with tomato red cheeks and panic in her eyes.

"What happened?" the huntress asked, rising to her feet. Kagome went to her cup and downed the remaining juice inside. Then she looked at Sango.

"I have to teach Inuyasha a new trick," she whispered. "How to lock the bathroom door.."

Sango blinked a few times before she started to laugh.