Monster

by akitokihojo

A murderous demon taints the world with unforgivable crimes, taking out his weakness in secret. Unfortunately for him, it isn't that easy. He thinks he's unstoppable, but his arrogance blinds him to the war blooming before him. Kagome and Inuyasha, both powerful in their own way, and even more so together, step forward to try to put an end to things.

4. Chapter 4

"Who?"

"Sango." Kagome answered as steadily as possible.

"Who are they?" Inuyasha was intentionally bouncing questions off of her quickly to see how she'd answer, to see how her body language would respond. Would she flinch? Twitch? Shift her eyes to the left, or waver in any way, shape, or form?

"M-my friend."

There. Sure, the stammer could be written off as her anxiety, but she didn't elaborate when it was clear that this was the opportunity to do so.

"Why are you looking for them?" He reached anyway.

Kagome cursed herself. She was a quick-thinker, but her mind felt so muddled. She was still uneasy, uncomfortable, and frightened, and it impeded any ability she had to cover her own ass. She was usually a good liar, but she was in the most unfair disposition of all right now.

She gnawed her bottom lip, playing it off as she thought up something. "She went out a few days ago and hasn't returned yet."

"And, they sent you to look for her?"

"I left on my own."

Inuyasha sighed out through his nose, the breath clenched in his throat and sounding almost like the breaking waters of the sea in his own ears. He shut his eyes, tilting his head and resting his cheek on the arm he used to hold the girl's hands above her head. He gave himself a moment before continuing on, glancing back down at her with patient eyes.

"Tell me the truth. What are you really doing out here?" He demanded, and he watched her face flush instantaneously.

He'd seen right through her the whole time. What else could she have said? The truth was out of the question, so she didn't know what else to give him in response. Decidedly, Kagome kept her mouth shut.

Her fearful expression was pressing, brown eyes unintentionally guilting him. Why wouldn't she just tell him? "Are you in danger?"

Still, she didn't speak.

"Come on, kid, you gotta give me something to work with. Are you on the run?"

"No." Kagome shook her head.

"Are you in danger?" He asked again.

"No." She said.

Both truths.

"Do you live nearby?"

She hesitated that time, but chose to answer in the end. "No. Not really."

"So, what are you doing out here?"

Kagome bit her bottom lip out of habit, trying to steady herself. "I really am looking for someone."

Inuyasha gave a dry chuckle. "But, you're not gonna tell me who."

She didn't respond, eyes falling to his chest.

"Gonna stick with the Sango story?"

Kagome could only nod.

"Alright." Inuyasha accepted. He occupied his freehand, removing his sword in its sheath from the loop in his belt and dropping them to the leaf-covered earth. He moved to unlatch the buckle in the center, pushing the free end of the worn leather through the metal bracket.

"What are you doing?" Kagome asked, her nerves suddenly spiking again. She pushed herself further against the tree to shy away from him as much as she could.

"Hey, calm down. It's not what you think." He immediately stated, trying to fend off her discomfort. "I didn't bring rope along with me, so this is gonna have to do until we can get back to my things."

"Rope for what?"

"What do you think?"

"I told you there's no bounty." Kagome argued. "What do want with me?"

"Listen, I don't know what's going on, but bounty or not, you're still acting suspicious. It's usually a good idea to keep people like you close in case anything arises."

"Like what?"

"Answers, first of all. Look, until I find out if money will eventually be offered for you, someone is looking for you, or if something's wrong and you're involved, you're sticking with me." He said with a sense of finality, pulling his undone belt from the loops in his pants.

"But, none of those things are the case." Kagome said, more defeated than she'd ever sounded before. She granted him an indignant stare. "You're wasting your time."

Inuyasha lowered her hands in front of her, pleased that she wasn't struggling. Her wrists were small, so it was very easy to keep them secure with just one of his palms, and he began wrapping the leather around them, fastening it tightly so she wouldn't be able to pull her hands right out.

"I've got a gut feeling that I'm really not." He shrugged his brows, giving a little tug on the belt to make sure it wasn't too loose. "Can you still feel your fingers?"

"For now." She replied impassively. Kagome sighed out, her shoulders dropping. As of right now, she had zero energy remaining in her to fight. She'd expended everything she had the day before, with Hiten, and then now while she attempted to escape this guy. The few hours of sleep she'd stolen were barely doing a thing for her at this point, and as her adrenaline levels trickled away, she could feel just how fatigued she truly was. This was just too much commotion in the span of twenty-four hours. So, she reluctantly gave in to her savior-turned-captor.

Honestly, with his tone having relaxed and the way he now handled her, she didn't feel the danger she did just moments ago. And, that was more dangerous than anything. She should feel scared in this sort of situation, she should be nervous, she should be trying to get away and fight him off. Now would have been a good time to use her spiritual powers, and yet she felt it was the wrong thing to do. He was taking her captive, and she felt wrong for thinking to use her powers on him. Her exhaustion had to be getting to her more than she'd thought. He said he wasn't going to hurt her a moment ago, and she legitimately believed him.

What sort of mess was she in for?

Inuyasha leaned down and grabbed his sword from the ground, his other hand busy holding the belt between her forearms. He gave a small pull and they were on their way, which thanks to her, was going to take much longer. Not only was he going to have to actually walk, because he wasn't about to carry the girl all the way back to his destination and he didn't think she could manage running several miles right now - or even a fast-paced walk at that, but they were also significantly off course. It wasn't entirely her fault, given he'd had to pursue Hiten for quite a ways before she'd shown up, but once she took off like a bat out of hell, the trek back became even worse. His bet: they'd be in the area just before the sun set.

The girl hadn't said a word. She kept up fairly well, didn't give him any reason to yank her wrists so she'd go a little faster, didn't struggle, didn't do much of anything, really. A couple times when he'd stolen a glance back at her, she was observing the scenery, eyes half-lidded. There were a few occurrences where she'd lost her footing and slid down hills and he'd had to catch her. He didn't criticize her. It would have been natural for him to criticize her, but something inside told him she wouldn't be able to bite back right now. Though, when she'd apologized for her stumbling, even her whispers were barely coherent. From that point on, down any slope or hill they traveled over, he moved slowly, stabilized her properly, and supported her the whole way down.

Finally, he could see the area he'd accidentally dropped his shit in. Hiten was quick, and his bag wasn't worth grabbing in the heat of the moment. Luckily, no one had wandered through the woods and snagged it. Even more luckily, they weren't all that far from the family who'd initially offered him the lump sum. They were close to stopping for the night.

Inuyasha dropped his sword to the ground before turning and undoing the leather from around her wrists, allowing her a minute to shake her hands and rub out the indentations they'd left behind. Then, he gestured for her to get on her knees beside him, moving with her so she didn't get uncomfortable with him still standing. He could understand how that could be misperceived, and he wasn't about that whatsoever.

"I want your hand on me. Anywhere." He said while he kneeled. The girl went ahead and rested on her butt for the moment, legs crossed in front of her. At her suspicious side-eye, he went ahead and elaborated, swallowing his chuckle at her silent judgement. "I don't want you running off while I'm distracted. Come on, just hold my clothes or something."

Kagome sighed, reaching over and slipping her fingers into his closest, available pocket just as he turned to rummage through his bag of belongings. If he'd been paying attention by now, he'd have been well aware that she didn't have it in her to challenge him to a race again. Therefore, the physical contact was completely unnecessary. Kagome wasn't going anywhere, but alternatively she didn't have the energy to argue either.

Inuyasha couldn't fight the humored grin that grew on his lips, and as he pulled the rope out of the pouch of his bag, he shifted around to look at the girl. "I like how you went for my back pocket."

Realizing where her fingers were, Kagome hastily pulled her hand free, opting to grab onto the top hem of his pants, instead. There was no hiding her embarrassment but she tried anyway, turning her head off to the side to stare at the warm glow cast through the treetops, accenting the forest beautifully with golds, oranges, and pinks that were only granted for an hour or so throughout the day. His laughter made her cheeks burn hotter. She could literally feel the maddening blush on the bridge of her nose and just beneath her eyes, and she wished he'd just let it go without teasing her. She hadn't been paying attention when she'd reached over. She hadn't noticed she was touching his butt, and it was most definitely innocent and not meant inappropriately.

"It's fine," He rasped between chuckles, reaching for her wrist at the back of his hip. He shifted around to face her, enjoying her humility far too much. "Little pervert."

"Stop it." She whispered, scrunching her nose. He liked it.

"What? All you had to do was ask." Inuyasha pestered, gesturing for her other hand.

"You're a jerk." Kagome huffed.

"I know, I know." He smirked, shrugging his brows carelessly as he began constructing a knot around her wrists. As per usual, he tied it tight, making sure there was no room for error. Women, in general, had small hands and wrists and could weasel their way out of snares, so he was naturally inclined to avoid those mistakes. Her wince had him inadvertently pausing, glancing up to make sure she was alright and then loosening the reins a tad. For some reason, for some odd and interesting reason, he didn't want to treat her like she was as disposable as the other people he sought out. There was no reason to. Her description wasn't on any lists that he'd seen, and he knew, he just knew, she was mixed up in something else. Something bigger that she wasn't yet willing to talk about. Yes, she was in his captivity. Yes, he would hand her over if someone was looking. But, the bruise around her throat had him feeling she didn't deserve any sort of abrasive treatment at the moment. No matter how much attitude she'd presented to him a while ago.

"Too tight?" Inuyasha asked as he finished off the knot, leaving a long tail so that he could keep her close without having to hold her wrists anymore.

"What do you care?" She quietly sassed.

"Would you rather I didn't?" He countered.

"It's fine." Kagome finally answered, giving her fingers a faint wiggle to make sure blood was still flowing to them.

Inuyasha nodded in a that's-what-I-thought fashion, sticking the tail of rope beneath his boot to keep her next to him. He threaded the belt back through the loops in his trousers, then pulled a canteen of water from his bag. Removing the cap, and without a second thought, he handed it to the girl, making sure she had a proper grip on it between her closely-tied hands before releasing it completely. There was more than enough slack in the rope for her to be able to lift the bottle to her lips, and she took a quick sip, aiming to hand it back immediately after.

"Drink it."

"What about you?"

"Don't need it. Not as much as you. Don't want you keeling over on me." He said, waiting for her to raise it back to her mouth. When there was hesitation, he continued. "I'm serious, kid. Drink it. I know you're thirsty."

Kagome started drinking full gulps, the tepid water still soothing to her dry, irritated throat. She slowed down so she wouldn't upset her stomach, ignoring the fact that the demon was eyeing her. She'd noticed it several times their entire trip there, and not once could she grasp why he studied her. Again, she just didn't have the energy to ask. She also didn't want to give him attention if that was what he was seeking, so she actively pretended she never noticed it.

"Better?" He asked, holding his hand out for the empty bottle. The girl nodded, giving it back and rubbing her lips together to spread the moisture from the water over them. He capped the canteen, tossing it back in his bag and shutting it. "What's your name?"

Her brown eyes held steady on his for a moment, searching for something, maybe even thinking of a reason as to why she should answer him.

"What's yours?" She asked in return.

"Inuyasha."

"That's right," She nodded slowly. "I remember Hiten saying that now."

There was another beat of silence, and Inuyasha had to give himself a mental clap on the back. Patience had never been his virtue, and though he wanted to grind his teeth every time he had to wait for an answer, he was still holding composure well.

"My name's Kagome."

"Alright, Kagome," He spoke, throwing the straps of his bag over his shoulders. He stood, putting Tessaiga back in its rightful place on his hip and then stepped off of the rope, reaching down to grab her by the arms and help her stand faster than he was sure she would have on her own. "Let's get going."

"Where, exactly, are we going?"

"I've got some people I need to talk to. They're less than a mile or so from here. Then, we'll be finding a good place to set up for the night."

She didn't say anything thereafter, simply accepting his answer and following him along. He held onto the rope, and she continued to keep up well enough so there was slack. The last thing she wanted was to be yanked forward if she'd drifted behind a bit, and she really wouldn't put it passed him to do so. Kagome could only imagine it would make her feel like a dog on a leash.

The thought had her attention shooting toward the top of his head. His pointed ears matched the shade of his hair, triangular in shape, sometimes swiveling to catch sounds in the woodlands. She was intrigued by them, watching them for several paces. She'd met a couple of humanoid demons before, aside from Naraku's goons, but none of them quite held the physical characteristics Inuyasha did.

"Cat or dog?" The question had slipped off her tongue before she'd caught it, and even though she'd never much intended to ask, feeling like she was intruding on personal information, it also felt harmless. And, if he declined to answer, it wasn't going to hurt her feelings.

Inuyasha glanced at Kagome from over his shoulder, brows furrowed in curiosity. The question came out of left field, and he couldn't help but be surprised that she was feeling a little talkative now. Truthfully, he was enjoying the silence, but so long as she didn't yap his ears off, then he was fine.

Ears. It was his ears. She was asking because of his ears.

"What's your guess?" He queried, his tone low and casual.

Kagome made a small sound as she pondered, not immediately answering. "Cat?"

Inuyasha's ears twitched in offense, and his lips curled in repulsion. "What?"

"Am I wrong?" She inquired innocently. "I only thought it made sense since you're kind of feisty like a cat, too."

Abruptly, he stopped walking. The statement stung his pride, and he couldn't blame anybody but himself for that one. He should have just answered. Always tell them, never let them guess. Rookie mistake. Inuyasha scrunched his nose, looking back at the girl and shaking his head.

"Oh. So, dog?" Her tone still held soft.

He merely nodded in reply, his lips pressed into a thin line.

"Sorry." Kagome whispered.

"I'm half." Inuyasha said, after a long moment of silence, clearing his throat. They'd continued walking, and he could smell the scents of the small, homely town ahead. Dinners were being made, people were beginning to head indoors, and he didn't sense an ounce of chaos. Meaning, Naraku's men had chosen a good day to fuck off.

"Half?"

"You're wondering why I've got dog ears, right?" He guessed. "It's because I'm a half demon, or hanyou, so some of my features are mixed."

It made sense now why his demonic aura wasn't as pronounced as Hiten's when she'd first seen him. He only had half the power. Frankly, it didn't completely add up to her. She didn't sense an even division. His demonic blood was there, and it demanded acknowledgment, it just wasn't as prominent as any other demon's she'd encountered. If he'd said he wasn't completely demon, she'd have believed him just as well, but she was honestly surprised, with the energy she felt radiating from him, that he was only half. Whomever his bloodline originated with must have been incredibly formidable.

What had the majority of Kagome's interest was how he so openly admitted to who or what he was. Conjurers weren't the only ones being wiped out of existence. So were hanyou. Half demon's had actually been ostracized since before Naraku showed face, Naraku just upped the ante. Some humans reproachably saw them as tainted, vile creatures. They looked at demons as a breed one should never mate with, and if a baby was born between the two species, it was hated from the moment of conception. The same was said about demons. To mate with a human was taboo and nearly unheard of. Demons spoke of hanyou as if they were disgusting, unworthy, and offensive to their kind. Demons refused to claim half-breeds as one of their own, and humans did the same. The only people half demons could rely on were their families.

Kagome had met one when she was around fifteen. She, Miroku, and Sango were out being reckless, their typical M.O., and Miroku had scraped his leg up pretty bad near the outskirts of a nearby village. Jinenji was the sweetest person she'd ever met. He didn't laugh, didn't criticize, hardly said a word, and blushed if either of the girls made eye contact with him. His mother, on the other hand, was slightly frightening, but Kagome supposed that's where their family dynamic found balance. Her son was large, apparently malformed, and to a closed-minded person, terrifying. So, the rest of the village judged him harshly and outcasted him, never treated him fairly, and were even cruel and violent at times. Jinenji was timid and gentle. He was educated in herbal remedies, making medicines, and could even dish out basic horticulture. He was helpful, good, strong, and kind. He was a living, breathing being. Jinenji had a beating heart, a brain, and blood running through his veins just like everyone else. He deserved the same respect humans and demons expected.

It was there that Kagome had first learned of a half demon's mistreatment. Jinenji's mother explained how difficult it was for him growing up, how some half demons come out "pretty," while others not so much. She explained the unjustified wrath their mere existence created, and the three teenagers felt sick to their stomachs hearing such a thing. Never could Kagome understand anyone's logic for condemning someone or something just for living.

So, she couldn't imagine Inuyasha's past or the amount of trials he's experienced. That's why she wondered how he seemed so okay telling her he was of mixed blood. Maybe he didn't care because he was strong and could fend for himself, so he wasn't worried about others knowing who he was. Maybe it was because his traits were visible, and even obvious to other demons since they could easily tell a half-breed from a full blood, and he'd potentially be outed either way if they ran into one. Had he had it hard? Had he ever run into Naraku's men? If so, had they ever succeeded in doing something horrible to him? Attempted to kill him? Kagome blinked the thoughts away, shying her gaze to the earth as they walked. She didn't want to feel sympathy for her captor.

"I'm only gonna be a minute." Inuyasha started as he unsuspectingly stopped directly in front of a slim tree. "If you need anything, just call for me. I'll hear you."

"Wait, what?" Kagome questioned. He'd started wrapping the slack of her rope around the tree trunk, fastening her to stand close to it and knotting the rope in a fashion that she wouldn't be able to reach. She looked around, only seeing woodland, and she wondered just where the hell Inuyasha was about to head off to.

"Trust me." He dismissed.

"You honestly expect me to trust you? After all this?" She grimaced.

"Or not." He chuckled, shrugging dismissively. "Just don't scream. It'll be more annoying than anything."

Kagome groaned, her head dropping back. "Where are you going?"

"I told you, I need to talk to someone. I'll be back."

"It'll be dark soon."

"I'll be right back." He repeated more firmly. When she only stared at him through furrowed brows, he took his leave, confident that he would be near enough to hear her in case she needed help. She could be grumpy all she wanted, it didn't matter to him.

He approached the yard carefully, smelling each occupant of the home from outside, their freshly baked bread, cooking meat, and recently-burned incense. This was usually his favorite part of a job, but at this point, it was just a courtesy. He didn't know if this would be comforting for anyone, really.

"Inuyasha." He'd heard the voice from his right and spotted a young girl that was no more than fourteen donned in a blue dress. The remaining daughter of the household. He'd made light of her older sister's death earlier in the day, sure, but that was never something he'd do to the family's face. He understood that this was difficult and painful for them all, and he wouldn't disrespect someone who felt so distraught that they were willing to pay for the revenge of their daughter's murder. The girl perked up a little taller when he looked at her, running over his way with more brightness than he'd expected, her long, brown hair bouncing over her shoulders. "Inuyasha's back!"

From inside, he could hear her family stumbling to race out, her father appearing first, then the mother who looked so incredibly exhausted that he was surprised her legs cooperated with her to jog over.

"Did you - did you find him? Or are you still looking?" The father asked, and his eyes weren't subtle as they looked around for evidence of Hiten's demise.

Kagome had rested her head against the tree, her eyes closed, the bark sort of smooth, pleasant, and cool to the touch. It made sense that he had to leave her. Couldn't very well walk around with a hostage like it was a casual occurrence. Did it make it acceptable? Absolutely not. She was substantially more vulnerable than any reasonable person would prefer to be. Tied up, drained of all energy, and alone; she was doomed if anyone stumbled upon her.

Not too far off, Kagome could hear a girl shout happily, and she swore she'd heard Inuyasha's name, bringing her ears to hone in and focus. Inuyasha was really that close? For some reason, despite what he'd said, she'd expected him to be further off, carelessly leaving her to fend for herself. When he said to trust him, he was giving her legitimate reason to trust. What was with this guy? He was so hot and cold, Kagome wasn't sure how to read him.

A man spoke next, bringing Kagome back to the present, his tone excited but deep with worry. Did he find him? Who?

"Look, before I say anything, I want you to know that I don't need nor expect anything in return. I'm just here to let you know that the job is done. Hiten's gone, but take the money off the table."

"Wh-what happened?" The mother breathed.

"What do you mean?" Her husband followed.

"Just what it sounds like." Inuyasha replied.

"He's gone, or he's dead?"

"Both, but ultimately, he's dead."

"Then, where is he?"

"Unfortunately, things got a little out of hand. I had no choice but to use a powerful attack, which in turn, destroyed his body. There's nothing left of him." Inuyasha said.

Right. There was a bounty over Hiten's head; Kagome remembered the whole reason their little argument had sparked, which was what got her here in the first place. It was a family who'd hired him, though? She couldn't help but wonder what Hiten had done to make them send Inuyasha after him to begin with.

"Are you sure?" A woman asked, her voice wavering with obvious sadness.

"I swear."

"How are we supposed to believe you without a body, Inuyasha?" A man spoke harshly. The same man as before. "What if you failed, you're just backing out because he's stronger than you, and the moment our guard is down is the moment Hiten will come back for my other daughter?"

"He won't." Inuyasha responded, his tone direct and deep.

So, Hiten had killed one of his daughters. That malicious, heartless, stone cold creep. Kagome almost hoped Inuyasha would tell them he had a witness. If he came back and grabbed her, she'd testify for him. He did kill Hiten. He carried out his mission, and the only reason he didn't have proof to calm this family's upset was because of her. She'd tell them that, too. He didn't deserve this heat.

"I guarantee you Hiten is dead and won't be coming back for anyone else."

"How are we supposed to believe you?" The man asked again, this time more emphatically.

"You don't have to. I understand your position, but like I said, I don't expect the money. I failed to bring back his body, but I made sure to take care of the problem no matter what. You'll see in due time that Hiten can't take anything more from your family."

"And, if he does come back, it'll be too late to -"

"Honey, stop." The woman spoke gently. Kagome felt horrible. Awful. Inuyasha had made it seem like he was entirely in it for the money; he'd never told her there were people actually depending on him on the other end of it all.

"Papa, he's gotta be telling the truth." A younger girl spoke. The first voice Kagome had heard. "He doesn't want the payment you'd offered. Think about it, if he was backing out because he wasn't strong enough - like you said, why would he even bother coming to see us when he could just be on his way?"

"There's no way I'm weaker than that scrawny bastard." Inuyasha murmured under his breath, rolling his eyes.

Finally, there was someone sensible, and Kagome breathed a small sigh of relief.

"Look," Came Inuyasha's voice, and even Kagome could tell he was leaning on the fed up side. "Hiten's dead, the job's taken care of, you got your revenge, your daughter can rest in peace or whatever you guys say nowadays, and I'm leaving."

"Wait," The mother spoke, and the hanyou halted mid-turn, his head dropping to his shoulder impatiently. "I believe you. W-we believe you. Please forgive my husband, this is just hard for us all. Take the money."

"I don't want your money."

"We insist." Her husband spoke, and even though there was clear reluctance in his body language, there was authenticity in his statement. "If you vouch that he's gone for good, there's no reason not to believe you. You deserve the payment."

"Keep it." Inuyasha said. It was better for them, anyway. Maybe they didn't know the exact way their daughter died considering he found out through Hiten, himself, and if that was the case, they were better off. Nonetheless, he was aware. It was a sick way to go. Even if he brought back the thunder demon's body for them as promised, there was a good chance he would have declined payment anyway.

"Okay, then please stay the night. It's getting late. The least we can provide is a roof over your head and a nice meal as thanks." The woman offered.

"I appreciate it, but I can't stay. I've got someone waiting for me."

"A girl?" The young one said almost too elatedly. She must have been the type to always have her nose in romance novels.

"Something like that." Inuyasha deliberated, bobbing his head to the side.

Kagome huffed, grimacing. That punk.

"Oh, how sweet!"

"If she only knew." Kagome sighed.

"Well, then I insist you take some food with you! For dinner!" The woman pressed, and it seemed like her spirits had lifted minutely.

"That, I will take." Inuyasha accepted, giving an appreciative nod.

It was another few minutes before Kagome heard Inuyasha's footsteps approaching, and she watched the direction he was coming in. The sunset was no longer visible throughout the woodlands, a haze of blues beginning to trickle through as dusk invited itself forward. The air was beginning to get nippier, and she was worried, depending on how much further he wanted to go until he called it a night, that it would be pitch black before they stopped.

Inuyasha's amber eyes met hers for a moment until he got close, his clawed fingers going straight for the knot he'd fastened.

"You okay?" He asked.

"Mhm." Kagome hummed, giving a small nod.

"I didn't hear anything, so I'm guessing no surprises popped out at you."

She hummed a decline that time, the shake of her head minor. The knot came free, and he allowed the tail of the rope to drop from the trunk of the tree, not immediately snagging it until she took a few steps back, and even then, he was relaxed with his grip. It was like he was testing her. That's the only explanation that could make sense. Either that, or he was really bad at taking victims alive. The killing part, he seemed to have down. Was he waiting to see if she'd jerk away and make a run for it? Maybe giving chase would be fun for him; he was a dog. Maybe he was seeing if she'd take a mile if he gave an inch. She didn't much see the point of it. Additionally, he didn't bother putting anything in or over her mouth before. She could have screamed. He and the family were so close, all she needed to do was scream and his cover would have been blown. Hero facade in the mud. But, she didn't.

She didn't.

She didn't?

Why the hell hadn't she screamed? Sure, it would have been hoarse as all hell, maybe even muted when her voice gave out, but other people would have been alerted to her situation. She would have had a chance to get away. Why didn't she scream? He'd even told her not to - literally brought up the idea to her - and still, she didn't think about doing so afterward. Kagome couldn't help but worry about her survival instincts that had apparently washed down the drain sometime between this afternoon and now.

Or, maybe it was her survival instincts at play that had prevented her from making a noise. He'd warned her not to. He could have gotten violent if she'd disobeyed him. Maybe even killed the family for finding out his secret.

No. She knew next to nothing about this guy, but she could tell he wasn't evil. It was in her blood to sense evil, and he wasn't that. There was something warm about him. Something she'd noticed immediately. Something she'd picked up before he'd even appeared to help her. Something she didn't like to admit he harbored. He had rough people skills, that's for sure, but there wasn't a wretched trait about his aura.

"We'll just go a little further. I don't like being close to towns at night."

"Why not?" She inquired, swallowing her mistakes and trying to forget them.

"Naraku's bitches." Inuyasha answered. "It's one thing if you're staying in an inn, but if they smell you right outside the village, they like to try and sneak up on you."

"I take it, you have experience with this?"

"Yeah. Consider yourself lucky you don't."

They walked for about thirty minutes, and Inuyasha had to carefully guide the girl, keeping her close as they crept through trees, nowhere near a trail. The way he preferred it. He didn't smell anything that didn't seem to belong in the air, no demons were around, and it was quiet as the night settled in. He had decided on a cozy, little spot, not too far off from a rushing water source.

"Here. Sit." He said, tying her slack to a slim, dying tree beside her. "Give me five minutes to grab some wood for a fire."

Kagome didn't respond before he walked off, unable to see him after a certain point but still listening for his footsteps to drift away. Even after she could no longer hear anything but the chirping crickets, she waited, gently chewing on the plush of her bottom lip while she gave ample timing as cushion. As soon as Kagome felt it was sufficient enough, she quickly dove her fingers into the side of her boot, maneuvering around awkwardly as she finagled the small, hidden dagger out. Inuyasha had left just enough slack in the rope between her wrists and the tree that if she lifted her calf a bit, twisting at her hips, she could reach what she was looking for.

Survival instincts back in action!

The positioning of her knife was weird as she aimed to cut the tail of her rope away, but just as the sharp blade touched the underside of it to start slicing upward, Kagome stopped. Why did she stop? There was a cold sensation budding in her abdomen as she pictured herself running away. Was she afraid? It wasn't like he could use his weapon on her. Last she saw, it wasn't much of a weapon anymore. That isn't to say there wasn't some sort of otherworldly malfunction and it's back to supersized mode - he hadn't said a thing about it since, so there was no way of knowing.

The thing was, as she sat there frozen, prepped to start breaking her ties, there were no intrusive thoughts like before when she went to leave home. They were all her own; confused, jumbled, messy, and scattered. She didn't know which way was up in her head. Why wasn't she freeing herself yet?

Kagome twisted her face in frustration, mentally fighting with herself. She didn't have time for this. If she was going to run for it, she needed to do it now. Now. Do it now! Why wasn't she doing it!? That cold feeling had spread throughout her entire torso, encroaching on her heart. She was afraid, but it was of herself. What the hell was wrong with her? She had an objective, and she wasn't going to get anything done tied up and dragged around by this dog demon.

As long as she was bound by rope, she was in danger. So, why didn't she feel like she was in danger? The battle with herself ran so deep, Kagome felt so conflicted, aggravated, that she squeezed the handle of her dagger with excessive force until a sharp pain pierced the injury on her left palm, almost bringing her to drop her knife out of reaction. Her gasp was shuddered, and she crinkled her nose as she hissed in an attempt to will the sudden pain away. It was just another thing she didn't have time for.

Why would she willingly stay a victim when she had an opening to save herself? Why would Kagome accept captivity? More ambiguously, what in her right mind made her want to trust Inuyasha? He was out for money. For all she knew, he would sell her off to the first person who offered him a coin. Just because he'd saved her life before, didn't mean he was permanently on her side - the restraints were proof of that. Just because he said he wouldn't hurt her, didn't mean he meant it forever. It could have been an in-the-moment sort of thing, and she should know better than this. He pulled out his sword against her. The message behind it was loud and clear. His intentions meant harm. Like she said before, the guy was hot and cold. He went from arrogant teasing one moment to threatening her well-being the next, all over an insult. She should be heeding his unstable temperament, and she should feel evil in his aura.

But, she didn't. And, that was what kept her ass on the ground. How stupid. How utterly and unforgivably stupid of her. Despite everything, she really did believe he wasn't going to hurt her. Oh god, Kagome couldn't take this anymore. Never in her life had she been this mad at herself, the intensity only growing bolder as she gave up and slid the knife back into her boot.

Kagome crumbled, almost wanting to cry from the frustration she felt, overwhelming and subduing the cold that had attempted to control her core, and she dropped her face into her hands. From this point on, if she got hurt, it was her own damn fault. If he sold her, that was her fault too. It turns out, as troubling and trivial as it was, she really just wanted to see where things led. No one said she was the smartest risk taker, even she was aware of the hazards of her own curiosity. If things got worse, perilous, she had the knife. She could make a run for it at any moment, and she forced herself to believe that it was a comfort.

"I'm gonna be fine," Kagome breathed to herself, pleading her mind to rest. "I'm gonna be fine. Everything's gonna be okay."

"Hey," The gruff voice was directly and unsuspectingly above her, and it startled Kagome. Inadvertently, still high strung from upsetting her own nerves, she shot to sit up straight. She hadn't realized Inuyasha was standing so close, hadn't realized he was leaned over her, and the back of her head harshly collided with the front of his, bringing the hanyou to his knees as she instantly jolted to clutch her sore spot. The ties made it impossible to reach, but the pain had brought her to curl back up anyway, folding beneath her forearms, her breath caught in her throat.

"What the fuck," Inuyasha groaned, holding his palm to his forehead. "Why would you do that!?"

"I'm sorry! You scared me!" Kagome whined, her head throbbing. "God, is your skull made out of rock or something!?"

"I could say the same fucking thing to you!"

"When did you even get back?" She asked, finally beginning to unfurl from her ball. "Make a noise or something.

"I did! You were just too busy having a breakdown to notice!" He argued.

"I was not having a breakdown." Kagome proclaimed, shooting him a glare.

Inuyasha's mouth was opened to respond something snarky, but he froze. Again, his nose was offended by the smell of salt. The moonlight shining through the trees hit her skin perfectly, accentuating her fair color with cool hues. The skin beneath her eyes was wet, and tears were gliding down her cheeks.

"You're… crying." He mentioned, appearing more confused than anything. He was literally gone for no more than five minutes - seven minutes at the most since he filled up his canteen at the river. So, what the hell had happened? She was fine when he'd left her. If there was one thing he didn't know how to handle more than women, it was their emotions, and he was about ready to pretend he didn't see a damn thing.

"Yeah, I just got hurt! Of course, I'm crying!" Kagome stated matter-of-factly, playing it off well. In her own defense, she was on the brink of tears before he showed up. His skull just pushed her over the edge.

Inuyasha grunted, rolling his eyes and giving one final rub to his tender forehead before pushing himself back to a standing. "Big baby."

"Takes one to know one." Kagome grumbled, her upper lip curling with attitude.

The half demon rolled his eyes, intentionally ignoring her remark as he went about structuring the wood and kindling he'd collected for the fire. He got some embers sparking pretty quickly, the flames developing and growing, and Inuyasha stabilized it's rise by adding more wood. He'd shrugged off his bag when he'd gotten back, so he sauntered over to it and pulled out the bottle of water, taking a quick swig before walking over to the girl. This time, he felt he'd done the right thing by pretending not to notice her hastily wiping her tears away with her captured wrists knotted together.

"Thirsty?"

Kagome shook her head, keeping her eyes low.

"Come on." He groaned.

"No, thank you." She whispered.

"Fine." He rasped, shutting the canteen and tossing it on top of his bag as he gave her space. The hanyou took the opportunity to finally, finally, silence the burning question at the back of his mind. It had been pressing him since the moment it had occurred, and took every bit of self control he had - which wasn't much to begin with - not to figure out the mystery sooner. With chasing the mouthy girl, swallowing his anger and calming her down so she wouldn't hyperventilate, and then crossing several miles to get back to the family who'd hired him at a decent enough time, he had no fucking choice but to let the question remain unanswered. The sword on his hip quivered now and again throughout the journey, giving him reminders he didn't need that it had failed him for the first time in forever. They were lucky he wasn't solely dependent on it as a weapon and was perfectly capable of fending off anyone and anything with his bare hands.

He gave himself plenty of room between he and the pouting girl, facing the trees, the fingers of his right hand doing a slow dance over the hilt of Tessaiga. Interestingly enough, he could still feel the demonic energy soaring off of it, reacting positively to his own touch. Nothing had changed there. Then, he took a firm grasp of the handle, pulling Tessaiga out of its sheath where the demonic power strengthened. What once sat battered and weak, dull, and nonthreatening, was now strong, thick, sharp, and mighty. His abdomen tensed beneath its weight as he supported his body properly, a muddled sensation filling him as he could only wonder what the fuck had happened before. Inuyasha stuck the top portion of his sword into the earth, allowing it to stand on its own while he turned to face Kagome. She was already looking over, wide, brown eyes glued to Tessaiga before shifting over to him.

"What the hell did you do?" The hanyou asked gruffly.

"What?" Was the only response Kagome could muster. She knew exactly what he was referring to, but how in the world was this falling back on her?

"My sword didn't transform when I pulled it out on you. What did you do?" He asked again.

"Nothing." She said defensively, brows pinching together. The half demon merely cocked a brow at her, crossing his arms over his chest, and she knew he was waiting for a real answer, but this was as real as it could get. "I didn't do anything, Inuyasha. I honestly thought your sword was naturally gigantic. I didn't even know swords could transform. I mean, it's not everyday you see a letter opener turn into an ogre killer in one swoop."

"So then, what did you do?"

"Are you not listening?"

"Hard to understand anything you're saying really."

"Oh my god, is this the extent of your maturity level? You get a little aggravated and then turn to insults because that's your first layer of defense mechanisms? The joke's dead, buddy. My voice is messed up, I look like crap, I'm short, we get it. Now just talk to me like I'm a person, because I'm doing the same with you. I did not do anything to your precious sword."

She watched him flex his jaw, heard the heated exhale from his nose, but his vibrant, golden eyes stayed attached to her. His arms tensed behind their black sleeves, still crossed but communicating a more obvious upset.

"What could I have possibly done?" Kagome tried again. She honestly had no idea what more she could say to make him believe her. She'd felt it's powerful energy when first seeing it, but she truly had no understanding that it was a transformative blade. There was no time to figure out those details. It was honestly one scenario to the next, and Kagome was none the wiser to anything but her own end of circumstances.

Inuyasha didn't say anything, angry, perplexed, and ready to throw another jab her way. He needed answers more than he needed an infuriating argument, though. He had an idea. It was farfetched, but worth a shot. In his mind, Inuyasha pictured a life or death predicament. Quickly, he painted the scene. Men were surrounding them from all sides, and he needed to defend himself and Kagome. When he was a child, his father had told him that this sword, the Tessaiga, was created to protect. It could only be wielded and mastered if you harbored respect for humans, and was specifically granted to Inuyasha upon his father's death. His dad died when Inuyasha was still young, and he wasn't old or strong enough to control it - given the damn thing was ironically known as the sword of destruction. Then, when he was capable, the stupid weapon refused to work for him due to his temporary phase of wanting to find a way to become full demon. No one would have been able to say a fucking thing to him if he were one. No one would have been able to lay a finger on him or his mother had he found a way to transform himself. It wasn't that simple or doable, though, and when he finally came to his senses, realizing he was just as proficient at fighting just as he was, the Tessaiga started revealing what it could do. It took years, but he could confidently say he'd about mastered the blade. And, he knew well that the quickest way to bring life to Tessaiga was the mindset to protect.

So, he imagined the danger vividly, the helpless, damsel in distress that Kagome was hiding behind his back while bandits encroached. With that in his mind, Inuyasha reached for the hilt of his sword, plucking the head of it from the ground as he faced the trees, threatening energy radiating and encircling the blade as it powered up for a wind scar. He waited, allowing the energy to stabilize at a specific level, and when it was there, the heat of the sword's need to demolish its target slithering up his flexed forearms, Inuyasha branded Kagome as the enemy.

In his mind, she had her bow raised to him. Innocents were dead, lifeless on the floor all around, and she was gleefully covered in their blood, smiling as she pulled the arrow back. His temper was now directed at her, the need for justice was strong as he made it his mission to prevent her from killing anyone ever again. He wasn't only doing this to protect himself. No, fuck it. He was doing it to protect anyone he could from her.

Inuyasha raised Tessaiga above his head, the lick of his blade's passion burning at his palms, the skin of his arms beneath his shirt, and he closed his eyes to make sure his vision didn't falter when he saw her innocently observing him. Adjusting his footing, the hanyou was able to swivel on his heel to face Kagome's direction, bringing the sword down to about waist level to aim at her, but then he noticed the hot sensations along his flesh were simmering. Quickly. The fire of his sword's determination was extinguished, the demonic energy evaporating, and the weight of his weapon diminished within a matter of seconds.

Blinking his eyes open, Inuyasha looked at his sword's original, battered condition. It wasn't lifeless, though. The entire thing, blade and hilt, were pulsating forcefully. Tessaiga was communicating with him. It was saying, No. It was saying, You can't use this on her.

"Why the fuck not?" He breathed, almost inaudibly, before glancing up at the girl.

Kagome had been holding her breath, eyes wide and mouth hanging agape from the moment he'd faced her. She couldn't even begin to think of what to do to save herself, and froze like a deer who'd been spotted eating the vegetables in your garden. Even as the thing wilted away to its sad, powerless form, she couldn't quite yet grasp herself. Her entire body was tense where she sat, and when her brain started functioning again, the only thing she could bring herself to say, tremblingly as it may have been, was, "I-I didn't do anything."

"Relax." He drawled, sighing deeply before he sheathed Tessaiga. "It was just a test."

"Please - please - get a new test dummy." Kagome shuddered, willing her muscles to unclench. There was no comfort in finding out there was no real threat to her life when her life had already flashed before her eyes.

"Turns out, it's not you." He grumbled. "It's the sword."

"Is it broken?"

"Did it look broken?" He retorted roughly.

Kagome chose not to answer that, pursing her lips and staring down at her hands. Her sassiness had gotten her into too much trouble already, and she felt like now was not the time to take the bait.

"It's not broken." Inuyasha quickly snipped, noticing her coy expression. "There's just something about - no, you know what?" He was done waiting. He wanted answers, and he was going to get them. Why the fuck would Tessaiga specifically say he couldn't use its power on her? It had never done that before, not to anyone. Not so long as the proper intentions were enforced. He'd pulled it on the wrong people before, and still, it stayed transformed. So, what was so special about this chick?

Inuyasha marched closer, pulling his weapon out by the sheath as he sat down beside the fire and set it at his side, staring at Kagome with fierce eyes. "Who the hell are you?"

"What?" Kagome asked after a moment's hesitation.

"Who are you?"

"Kagome." She answered unsurely. His lips had sealed, the orange and red tints from the flames dancing over the skin of his face, neck, and the opening of his chest in his shirt. The light created a hypnotic glow in his irises, accenting his color beautifully, but also aiding his steadfast gaze. "I'm Kagome. I'm eighteen. And, to you, I'm nobody."

He didn't like that answer. Nobody didn't sit right with him. Not after his sword threw its own version of a hissy fit. Still, he felt it was sort of fair that that was all she gave. He wasn't asking for her life story, and he hadn't clarified what he was looking for. His eyes swept over her, studying for a moment before he spoke again, this time more mellow, less demanding.

"Alright, talk. What happened?"

He was referencing her marks, and Kagome couldn't help but feel slightly self conscious like before, brown eyes shifting to the side briefly. "Naraku's men." She admitted.

It was like the heat from the fire pushed through the barrier of his skin to twist like a whirlwind within his gut. The expansion of warmth rode though the veins of his torso, up his neck, down his arms. Anytime he heard a damn thing about Naraku, or even the henchmen carrying out his orders, it instantly sent his blood into a boil. He refrained from saying anything, but she'd noticed his expressive shift and he was appreciative that she took that cue to elaborate.

"Their last inspection got a little out of hand. I stepped out of line."

That's what she was trying to say earlier. He was too vexed to hear her out, though.

"They're still looking for those conjurers, huh?" He asked, rolling his eyes and shaking his head.

"Y-yeah." Kagome nodded, her sight drifting downward. She stared at the ground, watching the glowing shadows bounce and dance along the dirt and sparse grass. Her stomach suddenly wrenched with guilt, with pain. She somehow hadn't thought of this all day, and now that she was back in the moment, it hurt. It made her feel sick to think about it. It was something that couldn't be neglected, though. These emotions, feelings, they needed to be felt, because if she pushed them aside until she was numb to them, they would only come back with a vengeance in the most self destructive manner. Kagome swallowed thickly, willing herself to appear composed. She needed to acknowledge these emotions, but she didn't need to outwardly express them. They were hers to feel, and hers alone. "They - um - they found one. She was a little girl. Nine, I think."

Inuyasha's heart dropped, a lump quickly developing in the center of his throat. It had been a while since he'd heard of them actually finding one, let alone a prepubescent. Conjurers were a rarity. Those who held the powers were few and far between, and those who actually practiced their art were even rarer. But, a little girl? He knows it isn't beyond them to do something so brutal, but that didn't make it sit any easier. It tested his gag reflex just imagining the horrible crime, his stomach churning. Kagome had to watch it, though. She saw it all first hand. She was beaten for running out of line, and he was willing to put money down that he knew what for.

The girl wasn't making eye contact, and he understood that this must have been traumatizing for her to witness, making the ordeal difficult to talk about. He wasn't aggravated by waiting her out this time, nor was it pressing any limits. This was recent, and hard, and he could see her face paling even though the firelight wasn't hitting her as well.

He focused on his olfaction, expecting to catch the scent of tears when instead he caught the hint of copper. Immediately, his eyes scanned her, looking for open wounds. Had their heads collided that hard to make her bleed? Her face was fine, her neck, her exposed chest all fine, the green of her sleeves weren't stained, but then he stopped his trail at her bandaged hand. It was coming from there, and at the very edge, just beneath her pinky, he could see a red stain peeking through.

"Your hand." Inuyasha mentioned instinctually. Kagome glanced at him curiously before redirecting her attention toward her restrained wrists. She opened up her palms to find the blood seeping through her bandages, and seemed just as surprised as he was, a small sound escaping her mouth. "Where'd that come from?"

"The inspection," She explained. "It hasn't healed yet." Honestly, she was willing to bet she'd accidentally reopened the wound when she'd squeezed her dagger. That's where the sharp pain had come from. How stupid. "There's a little kit in my bag full of medical supplies. Would you mind fishing it out for me?"

"For what?"

"I need to change my bandages."

Unenthusiastically, Inuyasha pushed himself from the ground, sauntering over toward the girl's backside where he kneeled. He yanked the drawstring of the bag on her back loose, opening it up and reaching in for the kit, only having to shove a few things out of the way to get to it. At the side, he noticed her bottle for water and pulled that out, too. It was maybe less than half full, so he figured while he let her play around with her wrappings, he'd go fill it up for her. She didn't need to be drinking his if she had her own.

Shutting her bag and pushing the kit a little closer for her to reach, he ignored her words of gratitude and mumbled a quick, "Be right back," before wandering off into the woods and toward the river.

He kneeled on the rock, opening the canteen and dumping the old contents out before leaning over to fill it up with fresh water. He had a habit of closing his own bottle and shaking the water about to rinse the container, and as he fell into a deep train of thought, he allowed his habits to run their course. Honestly, he'd only seen a couple of inspections happen, and he had a reputation for not seeing them all the way through, instead breaking it up and challenging the mother fuckers to fight. The groups he'd seen were no match for him at all, and if they didn't end up running away with their tails between their legs, they were dead on sight. He had zero tolerance for that horse shit, but because of that, in the end, he had limited insight on the ramifications of an uninterrupted inspection. Was walking away looking the way Kagome did normal? No. She'd said it had gotten out of hand, and she'd stepped out of line. Presumably, she'd stepped out of line to try and save the little girl who was being attacked. So, she was punished for that, but what about the cut on her hand? Did she try to stop a knife and grab the blade? Did they slice her? Was she concealing any other open injuries that needed treating?

Fuck, everything he'd initially thought was washed down the river. If she was running from Naraku's henchmen, even if a bounty did appear over her head, there was no fucking way in hell Inuyasha was about to help them. There was no amount of money that would ever get him to cooperate with those fucking creeps.

She wasn't running, she'd said. She was looking for somebody. There was a good chance she was looking for someone to help her town; maybe even find a solution to the infestation of nasty, unwashed demons trekking through like they owned the damn place. Who was he to stand in her way? Kagome was probably afraid to tell him the truth because she didn't know whose side he was on in the first place, but after hearing him mention his preference to be further away from villages while camping due to those bastards, she most likely realized where he stood.

In truth, it was because of his notoriety that he was obligated to stay further away. He wasn't just a half demon, but he was a well-known enemy of Naraku's stupid ass men. They wanted him dead, and vise versa. More importantly, he wanted Naraku dead and he wasn't shy about letting it be known. Naraku had taken so much from people, leaving nothing but needless death and destruction in his wake. Naraku was psychotic, power hungry, and insatiable. There was no one genius enough to reason with him, there was no one compassionate enough to calm him down, but there were few strong enough to kill him. Inuyasha was one of them. Naraku wanted to make life harder for a hanyou, but he couldn't wait for the day it backfired on him. Because, a hanyou was going to be the one to bring him down.

Inuyasha stepped back into their little camp, focusing on the agitated huffs coming from the girl. She was leaned over some, her dark hair waving over the sides of her face to block his view of what was going on, but when she quickly looked over at him as he snapped a twig beneath his foot, he realized she must have been struggling to get the bandages off of her hand the entire time, opting to try and pull it loose with her teeth. He should have figured he was leaving her helpless, but he hadn't even thought of her potential complications. Shockingly, Kagome wasn't looking at him with any amount of blame or malice in her eyes. She was simply caught off guard, and when she realized it was only him, she went straight back to work.

The half demon stifled his laughter, crossing over to her and pushing her head back after placing the canteen at her side. "Knock it off." He muttered. She flinched slightly as he reached over her legs, pulling out the knife in her boot and smirking.

"You knew I had that?" Kagome asked, stunned.

"Of course, I knew." He chuckled, cutting the rope from her wrists. "I literally left everything on you without bothering to pat you down. It's not odd for someone to have another weapon to rely on in case they lose their primary. And, I saw the butt of it sticking out when I got back from collecting fire wood."

Inuyasha watched a slight expression of defeat cross her face where she sighed, closed her eyes, and dropped her head a little. It was easy to know what she was thinking. If she were in a more dangerous situation, that would have gotten her into a lot of trouble.

"Let me see it." He said with a low tone, gesturing to her palm with a nod of his head. He carefully slipped the knife back into her boot and waited for her to get over her apprehension so he could take a look at the damn wound.

Kagome studied him for a moment. What game was he playing? Was he going to help her or hurt her? Now that she was untied, she could do this part herself for sure. There was no need for him to help, so why was he offering? Or, maybe he just literally wanted to see. No matter which end it was, there was no harm in allowing it. Kagome went ahead and removed her bag, bow, and arrows from her shoulders, relaxing slightly now that the weight was off of her before she gave him her hurt hand.

"Come here, closer to the light." Inuyasha grunted, picking himself up and inching the both of them closer to the fire.

He went ahead and undid her wrappings, tossing it into the flames and taking a look at the decent knick in her skin. It was definitely still fresh, but wasn't bleeding all that bad. Inuyasha twisted her wrist to face the fire better, spreading the cut open a little further so he could see if there was any dirt that didn't belong, ignoring her small hiss of objection.

"When was this?" He asked, grabbing her water canteen and opening it up.

"Yesterday." Kagome replied promptly, her nose crinkling as he poured the cold water over her palm. He paused for a moment to squeeze his hands down her fingers, sort of massaging, and she realized he was cleaning the entire area. She was surprised by his gentleness and efficiency, his calloused fingers rough but mindful, and his claws never once threatening.

"Jesus, no wonder you look like shit." He commented. There it was. Less than twelve hours into knowing the man, and she'd already grown unfazed to any satirical retorts. It was just how he communicated, wasn't it? He poured more water, this time opening the wounded area again and running the liquid directly through, once more ignoring her little wince. "You got anything in that kit to clean a cut?"

"Mhm." She nodded, reaching for it and opening it up. She went ahead and pulled out the small containers, reading her cousin's sloppy handwriting. After rustling through a few, she pulled out the disinfectant, healing ointment, and held a couple cotton balls in her free hand for him. She'd thought about offering to do it herself, but this man's kindness came and went, and she felt she should appreciate what he had to give at the moment.

Inuyasha took the first container she'd set out along with one of the cotton balls, dousing it in the disinfectant. "Keep going. You never finished telling me what happened."

Kagome had been braced for the sting of the disinfectant, and it took a moment for her to realign, now bracing for the impact of reliving yesterday.

Kagome felt her face scrunch uncontrollably as he cleaned out her wound. "The - um -" She was trying not to stammer, trying to concentrate on giving him the story he wanted as straight as possible, but she felt nervous, a lump beginning to develop in her throat. She had to be careful not to let anything slip. She should be more than accustomed to this routine by now, but there was something undeniable about Inuyasha that made her want to trust him. That was the hazardous part of all of this, and she had to remind herself not to get carried away.

"The demons - Naraku's demons - had been coming more often than usual lately. They were positive that a conjurer was in our village, but I don't know what made them so sure. They tried something new this time, though. I don't know if you're familiar with an inspection, but they typically go for wrecking things and intimidation. Sometimes, it gets physical, and the elderly are more at risk when that happens."

"Yeah, I know that much." He quietly mentioned, hiding his anger, grabbing the ointment and softly applying a generous amount.

"This time, they narrowed the demographic. Called out girls between the ages of five and twenty and had us all line up. They cut our hands with a knife and then held on to see if we'd have a conjurer's reaction to their demonic energy." She explained.

"A conjurer's reaction?" He inquired, brows furrowing as he reached into her kit for the roll of bandages.

"I don't know too much about it." Kagome shook her head, shrugging slightly. "But, they got one." She said sadly.

There was a small pause in his wrapping as Inuyasha was struck again by that information. He would have ripped their fucking heads off if he were there. A part of him wishes he had been. He didn't seek these things out; he strictly only stepped in if it crossed his path. But, if he had been in that area, wherever it was, the little girl may have survived and the woman before him wouldn't be so harmed.

"Did you know her?" Inuyasha asked, promptly returning to what he was doing.

Kagome gave another shake of her head. "I know my neighbors, and the shop keepers, but otherwise, the people in my town tend to keep to themselves. Always sort of have, I guess. The less anyone knows nowadays, the better, anyway. Or, worse. Maybe more people would have stepped in if things were more personal. They stabbed her. Everyone just watched." She could hear the mother's scream ringing in her ears, and Kagome's face twisted painfully. "I ran out of line to try and help the little girl, but there was nothing I could do. The bleeding wouldn't stop."

Inuyasha could see the anguish vividly on her brow. She was unconsciously staring down, looking at his thigh but not actually looking at it. She was engulfed by the events of the day before, and he could guess that if she stayed on this track, she'd get trapped and spiral. He did the first thing that came to mind to prevent that, yanking on the bandages he was still working on wrapping. He'd just passed her wound, so the bandages pressed firmly into it, applying a physical pain that had her irises shooting up to him as she gasped slightly.

"Ow." Came her barely audible whimper.

"So, you got your ass handed to you for running to help?" He asked, averting her mind from the dead girl.

"Mhm, pretty much." Kagome nodded. "You think I look bad, you should see my cousin."

"What happened to them?"

"He got double teamed for trying to help me. His ribs might be broken, but I'm not sure."

"It's pretty easy to tell. How are you not sure?" Inuyasha inquired skeptically, cutting off the end of the bandages and tying it securely. Her hand was wrapped just as it was before; from wrist to the base of her fingers, properly protecting the wound from dirt or infection slipping through any openings.

"The doctor was away, and I left before his return. I left that night." Kagome said, appreciating his skilled work on her hand as she looked it over. It was definitely less sloppy than what she would have done on her own. "Thank you."

"Why'd you leave?" He pressed, feeling like they'd come full circle.

"I'm looking for someone." She repeated.

"Someone to help?"

"Yes and no." Really, she should have just said yes, but it wasn't that simple. She didn't want to make it seem like she wanted to target the superficial issue when the only way to truly take care of it was to annihilate it at the root. Because, if he were to say he knew a person, she wouldn't be able to accept the help, turn around, and go home.

"Kagome -"

"I can't tell you." And, she hoped he'd let it go. She hoped giving him every other detail he wanted to know was enough for him to respect that there was one thing he wanted that she couldn't give him. "Please, Inuyasha. I can't tell you."

Though she seemed stable, he could tell there was desperation that he wouldn't keep pestering her about the issue. She wasn't going to crack. No, her eyes were telling him she couldn't crack. It was detrimental that she held her ground, and truthfully, that only made him want to know more. What the hell was this girl up to? What was going on? Inuyasha had to remind himself that he wasn't involved, and if this was as much as she was willing to share, then so be it. As much as he wanted to pry, he'd already gotten enough to know that keeping her around wouldn't be beneficial to him. He should have just listened to her in the first place. As mouthy as she was, as irritating as she was, she was right. He'd only wasted his time. And, rope.

Begrudgingly, the hanyou tried to push the issue to the back of his mind - though, currently, the furthest he could force it was midway. He sighed heatedly, leaning back onto his hands. "Any other battle wounds you're hiding, or is this it?"

A small weight lifted from her shoulders at his subject change. Kagome breathed a little lighter, inwardly thanking him for dropping it, and shook her head. "No, it was just my hand."

"Alright. Look, stay here tonight and then in the morning you can carry on with your grand quest."

"You're - you're letting me go?" She asked, slightly cocking her head to the side. "Just like that?"

No, it couldn't be that easy. Could it? He literally held her prisoner just to release her at the end of the day? It was no more than twenty minutes ago that she was borderline freaking out because she wasn't willing to make a break for it, and here she was untied and set free by a guy who thoughtfully helped clean her wound first. She couldn't help but be glad he hadn't heard the clashing argument she'd had with herself in her head back there. Even so, she was still mildly embarrassed, while also incredibly confused. Instead of trying to make sense of it all though, Kagome deliberately let it go. At this point, it was just too much energy that she didn't have to solve the ever bewildering riddle that was her situation.

"What, did you want me to tie you up again?" Inuyasha questioned, arching a brow.

"No, of course not."

"Keeping you would only slow me down. You're not a paycheck, you've been through your own hell in the last twenty-four hours, so yes. I'm letting you go. Jesus, you're probably the only idiot I've met who would question that and not just be grateful."

"In my defense, you're hard to read." Kagome defended.

"Right back at ya."

"But, just so we're clear, I'm good to go?"

"Yes." Inuyasha rolled his eyes.

"Thank god!" Kagome hopped to her feet, dusting off her butt real quick as she went to jog away.

"Hey! What the f- what did I just say!? Get your ass back here!" The half demon jolted slightly, caught off guard by her quick motions. "You're gonna get killed out there, and I'm not chasing after you again!"

"I have to pee!" Kagome frantically stated, bouncing from one foot to the other. "I'm leaving all my stuff with you! I'm not going anywhere, I swear! Please, just - I've gotta go!"

Inuyasha barely hid his amused smirk as his exasperation quickly faded. The absolute urgency in her tone was enough to bring anyone to laugh, and she was lucky that all he released was a small snort. Now that he thought about it, he recalled her leg bobbing every now and again while she sat in front of him. He'd figured it was because she was anxious. No wonder she wouldn't drink any more water. He waved her off to go relieve herself, and the woman was hasty to about face and run into the woods.

"Don't go far!" He reflexively called after her. His sensitive ears caught her small, raspy grunt of agreement before she disappeared through the darkness of the trees.

He took the moment to inspect the area surrounding them, tuning into his senses. He didn't feel any presences around, didn't smell any demons, and the only human was Kagome. There were nocturnal animals about, but none that would harm her in her vulnerable state. She was safe.

Inuyasha took the opportunity to get up and cross over to his bag, pulling out the wrapped meat that was gifted to him. Thankfully, it was fully cooked so he wouldn't have to wait for it to be heated through over the fire. It was too late for that shit, it would take too long, and he was hungry.

Footsteps steadily approaching from behind told him Kagome had returned. Inuyasha peeked over his shoulder at her, noticing her small smile as she took a seat in front of the fire on the far side, her knees cradled to her chest as she rested her chin against them. He got up, striding over with a portion for her to eat, picking up her canteen along the way. "Here."

"What's this?" She asked, her tone small as she took the contents he offered.

"Food. Eat. You haven't had anything all day, have you?" He guessed, walking back over to the opposite side of the fire. Inuyasha sat in front of a tree, leaning back to rest against it as he ate his own portion. "And, drink your fucking water."

"When did you even fill this up?" She asked, noticing for the first time that it was her own bottle she was holding.

"Geez, you're oblivious. I grabbed it when I pulled out your medical box, kid."

"Oh, that's what you went back into the forest for." Kagome clued in. "Thank you."

Inuyasha didn't respond, eating his food and no longer minding her. She set the bottle to the side of her thigh, allowing her legs to fall into a crossed position so she could sit more comfortably as she ate. With her first bite came the first, huge grumble her stomach spoke that day, shouting it's demand for sustenance. She froze, feeling the hanyou's amber eyes land on her. Things had been so crazy, so stressful, that she hadn't even thought about food, her body more focused on everything else than her hunger.

"What the fuck was that?" Inuyasha snickered.

"Shut up." She murmured, embarrassed, chewing through and taking another bite.

"Good lord, woman."

"Shut up."

"You sounded like a boar in heat."

Kagome nearly choked on her food, coughing slightly as she shot Inuyasha an incredulous glare. He carelessly laughed, taking another bite of his food and winking at her. As much as she wanted to toss him a sarcastic remark, none came to mind, more focused on filling her stomach than having another argument with the jerk. It was his fault she hadn't eaten in the first place. If she hadn't been taken into custody by the prideful punk, she was positive she would have consumed food much sooner.

Moments passed after she'd finished, her belly happy and full, and she once more cradled her thighs to her chest, always finding comfort and warmth in this position. The half demon sat silently, eyes scouring the trees, and she wondered what he could see. Thanks to her supernatural abilities, Kagome was capable of sensing evil, demonic presences, and things that didn't necessarily belong. But, Inuyasha, harboring demonic blood, had much more going for him. With the way the ears atop his head twitched, she assumed he could hear things very well from a distance. His eyesight had to be impeccable, and much more well-attuned to the night than her human eyes could ever be. He may not be able to sense malicious intent, but he could probably pick up demonic presences much better than she could, as well. This was his nature. He not only had the gifts of sensitive receptors, but was probably trained well since he seemed so acclimated to camping out.

"So, you're a bounty hunter?" She asked, breaking the silence.

"Not necessarily." He replied, glancing her way. "I go where the money is. Sometimes, it's just to catch stupid asses and bring them back. Sometimes, it's something specific like finding a lost child that needs help. I hate those jobs more than anything. It's usually a sob fest and I'm caught in the middle until I'm paid. More often than not, though, I'm hired to kill evil beings."

"Oh, like a demon slayer." Kagome perked.

"Again, not necessarily. Humans can be evil, too."

"Oh, right." She felt a little presumptuous. "Sorry."

"How do you even know what a demon slayer is? Isn't that profession dead?" He inquired. At one point in time, years ago, demon slayers were a threat to be reckoned with. They held power, kept the peace, and had the numbers to kill off mass swarms of belligerent demons. As far as he was aware, it seemed they'd fallen off the face of the planet. They had been overpowered, their villages practically wiped out from targeted attack after targeted attack. At this point, with the odds against them, it was more than unlikely that they'd come back from that.

"We actually have a small group in our town." Kagome mentioned. "My friend is the daughter of their leader."

"You know demon slayers? Actual demon slayers?"

"Mhm." She nodded.

"They must keep a low profile." He assumed. That had to be the case. He'd been all over and hadn't seen or heard of any demon slayers around.

"Kind of. They don't travel off too far; they just take care of troublesome demons within a specific radius. And, they only take on cases they know they can handle with their numbers. They're very picky on how old people need to be to join, and their training is rigorous and not for the weak."

"I'm a little confused. You have these given protectors in your own village, but you walked out looking like that?"

"They can't stop inspections, they can only make sure they don't get out of control. And, they'd actually left on a job, so we were on our own. No one knew there was a conjurer in the village to protect. If Sango's dad was aware of her, I'm sure he would have taken steps to help her." Kagome was speaking from experience. He was there when she found out she was a conjurer, herself. After her father died, he always checked in to make sure things were okay. He constantly reassured her that if anything happened or she needed help, he was there. After Naraku came to rise and demons began looking for people of her kind, killing them off, he was very clear that she needed to know how to properly subdue her powers. He wasn't aware that she was way ahead of him. Sango's father was protective, a guardian, and Kagome was forever grateful. She was certain he would have offered the same blanket of protection to that little girl.

"Oh, so that's who Sango is." Inuyasha smirked.

Kagome giggled, nodding. She'd almost forgotten she'd used her friend's name before. "Yeah. I'm no good at coming up with fake names on the spot, so I had to take one from someone I knew."

"Does she know you're out here?"

"By now, I'm sure she does."

"Wait, you didn't tell her?"

"No."

"Did anyone know you were leaving? You got a family, kid? You said you have a cousin, right? He know?"

"Like I said, by now, I'm sure everyone is aware that I'm missing. The only one who knew I was leaving was my younger brother, and he kept it a secret because my cousin would have tried to stop me. Mom, too."

"As they should. You said your friend is the daughter of the head demon slayer, right? I'm assuming she's skilled. You'd have been smart to at least bring her. Alone, you're nothing but an easy target."

"Well, I didn't really have a choice, Inuyasha." She stated, tucking herself a little closer into her thighs. "Everything happened so fast yesterday, it was hard to get a grip. I made my decision and left. Miroku would have only hurt himself more by trying to stop me, and Sango had to take care of her own brother since their dad was out on a job. I did what I had to do."

"What is so goddamn important?"

"Ah, we're heading into dangerous territory again." Kagome lightly warned, raising her brows as she grinned.

Inuyasha groaned, rolling his golden eyes. "You're so stubborn."

"I am. I really am." She proudly agreed.

"Not a flex."

"You're stubborn, too. You've asked me the same question like eight hundred times." Kagome rebutted.

"See, now you're just dramatic." Inuyasha shrugged.

"Sorry, seven hundred and ninety-nine."

"Shut up and go to sleep." He said, abruptly ending all conversation.

Kagome eyed him, a little unsettled. She looked around the area, worried her bottom lip, then glanced back at him. With everything that had happened, he couldn't really expect her to feel comfortable sleeping right now, right? Sure, she was utterly exhausted, and if she rested her head against anything, she would have fallen asleep instantly, but that involved letting her guard down. He'd proven, so far, not to be as harmful as she'd half expected. That didn't mean she trusted him well enough to be completely vulnerable in an unconscious state with him, though. She wanted to trust him, but this was like a leap of faith. With his expression falling into slight frustration, the man rolled his eyes for the nth time.

"Oh, relax. I'm not gonna do a damn thing to you. If I were you, I'd take the offer. Tomorrow, you're on your own and you won't be able to get a full night's sleep again."

He was right. She didn't like admitting it, but he was right. She would only be able to afford a couple of hours at a time, and even that would be risky. She hadn't fully recovered from yesterday's stress, and given what she went through today, if she didn't take the opportunity, she'd be a hopeless, wandering, mess tomorrow.

Kagome regarded him with a nod, then sighed as she got up and grabbed her bag. There was nothing too hard in it at the moment so she could happily use it as a pillow. She pulled it a little closer to the fire so she wouldn't get too cold in the night, curling up and resting her head down.

"Can you do me a favor?" Kagome asked, her voice small.

"What?"

"Don't leave without waking me up, please."

"Shut up." Inuyasha wouldn't leave her completely defenseless. He'd told her to go to sleep because he was there to watch over her. He'd be able to sense danger from a mile away, unlike a helpless human. She was wise to take his advice. She looked like hell and she'd been sluggish for the majority of the day, even making him feel bad for her for a while. Letting her go off on her own tomorrow the way she was now felt cruel.

Apparently, she was learning to read his tone. She was even surprised she could understand the underlying message in his comment. Kagome took a moment to inwardly thank him, sighing out as much tension as she could as she closed her eyes, quickly falling asleep.

—

The sky was dark, the deep blue of night tinted with a poisonous shade of violet. Smoke and fire surrounded her, but Kagome's lungs inhaled and exhaled just fine, unaffected by the tainted air. She circled around, scanning the area slowly. Was this a dream? Was it real? She felt neither hot nor cold, but she did feel conscious and scared. What had happened? Where was she?

"Inuyasha?" Kagome called, stepping backward in her panic. Where did he go? Was he okay? Did he leave her?

"You're a fool, Kagome."

She spun around quickly to face Kikyo, her fair skin sprinkled with sweat and hair sticking to her dampened neck. She wore a condemning look, brown eyes boring through her, her hand gripping her own bow tightly while she stood just feet away.

"You." Kagome breathed.

"Your first day, and this is what happens to you? You're taken into captivity by a half demon?" Kikyo scolded.

"What?" Kagome was confused, now more than ever. "How did you even know that?"

"That is irrelevant."

"No, it isn't. How did you know that, Kikyo?"

"I have insight on you, Kagome. Shouldn't you know that by now?"

"How?"

"Because, I am the conjurer you're supposed to be!" Kikyo shouted, her voice deep and angry. "You have so much potential, you are strong, you learn quicker than even myself, and yet you're living up to nothing! Less than twenty-four hours after leaving, you get yourself into needless trouble. I am disappointed in you."

"Gee thanks, mom." Kagome slighted, her temper swelling. "Glad you called me here to put me down. You seem to forget that you have no right, though. None of what you just said explains anything. You've given me no path to follow, no direction to go in -"

"You aren't meant to follow mine, you're meant to follow your own, Kagome! Use your powers! Your intuition is stronger than anyone's; you can figure it out!"

"Aren't I supposed to find you?"

"We will find each other soon enough."

"How do you have insight?" Just as Kagome asked, a thin, white, serpent-like creature floated down. It had six legs in the front of its long body resembling that of insects, perching on Kikyo's shoulder as its long tail curled around her frame. "What is that?"

"Shinidamachu; a soul collector. To aid in my power, I will sometimes take the souls of deceased women."

"How - what!?" Kagome's face twisted bewilderingly. "You steal the souls from dead women!?"

Kikyo released an exacerbated exhale from her nose, the sound deep and clenched. Kagome could tell they were heading down a road the conjurer had never counted on going down, but Kagome didn't care. You can't just throw that information at her and expect her to brush it off like this is a normal occurrence.

"The souls help aid in longevity and health. If I am wounded or exhausted, putting up a barrier and collecting a soul or two will increase the rate of my recovery. My soul collector has also helped me understand you better."

"Do you use it to spy on me?"

"I use it to make sure you aren't misusing your abilities or getting yourself killed. You are still young and inexperienced. There is much you have yet to learn before you can take on Naraku."

"Have you ever considered, instead of doing that, maybe just teaching me yourself? I feel like things would move along a lot faster that way." There was a bit of snarky attitude in Kagome's tone, her jaw tensing as she listened to Kikyo talk down to her.

"I cannot teach you." Kikyo stated plainly.

"Why not?"

"I am not meant to."

"Why?"

"Because, I am the distraction while you are the weapon. I know you think other conjurers may be coming, but they aren't. You are the only one who is meant to do this. I cannot teach you, because we desperately need to stay separated. You and I together are nothing but sitting ducks. If Naraku catches wind that I am helping another conjurer, which he would, he would bring down nothing but hell. I cannot help you."

Kagome stood there, mouth hanging agape, her eyes focusing on the sweat drop that glided down Kikyo's temple. That was a lot to unpack, and these were things she would have definitely benefitted from learning earlier. Why was Kikyo only telling her this now? Why was this the most in-depth conversation they'd ever managed to have? She was finally receiving clear answers, but it felt like her mind was unraveling. While she'd had a small hunch that she may have been the only conjurer Kikyo was reaching out to, it was still a shock to have it definitively confirmed.

"Why - why didn't you tell me any of this sooner?" Kagome inquired unsteadily.

"I couldn't. You wouldn't have been able to handle it. I wanted to slowly ease you into things as you matured. I still don't think now was the right time to tell you the entire truth, but I seem to have had no choice. You're stubborn; you would have only kept asking questions."

"So I've heard." Kagome shrugged her brows, eyes falling to the charred grass beneath her boots.

"I collect the souls to keep up my strength. To keep me going until you're ready. That is my purpose. Yours is to save everyone."

"No pressure." She sarcastically and quietly remarked.

"You need to make wiser decisions starting immediately, Kagome. Do you hear me? Trust your intuition."

"I do!" Kagome quickly defended.

"Then you should know better than to put any amount of trust in a demon right now." She hastily countered. "We're at war with demons, what in the world would make you trust them?"

"Inuyasha's already released me, what are you talking about?"

"Then get up and leave!"

"He hasn't hurt me, Kikyo! If anything, even while I was in his captivity, he kept me safe! I mean, hell, he saved my life to begin with! He made a mistake, but he's not a bad person!"

"He has demon blood, does he not!?"

"That is neither here nor there!" Kagome yelled, infuriated. "You sound pretty prejudiced for a conjurer. A little ironic, don't you think?"

"You do not know what you are talking about, and if you keep this up, I'm afraid you are going to have to learn things the hard way. I've had kinder demons betray me, Kagome. Never let him find out the truth about you."

"He isn't bad."

"You are naive."

"No, you are."

"I know what I'm -"

"You're ignorant, too." She interrupted, her face feeling hot, but it was of her own anger and not due to the dying flames around them. "If your only argument for me not to trust him is the blood running through his veins, then it's falling on deaf ears."

"You defend him as if you know him."

"I defend him as if he deserves a chance to prove himself! Just like us! My friend has a twin-tailed cat demon in her family, you got something to say about her, too?"

"Kagome, enough. You're a fool."

"Yeah, you said that already." Kagome stated bluntly.

"Heed my warning." Kikyo all but ordered. "Stay away from him."

Kagome could only shake her head in disbelief. "You can't be serious. You would actually judge him -"

"Please, do not mistake me. I just want you to be cautious. Overtly cautious. You're alone, you can't afford many mistakes like this. It's not that I believe all demons are evil; I'm saying you will never know off the bat which ones will turn on you. Make your friends after the war. For now, you cannot give your trust to any demon; half breed or what have you." Kikyo took a deep breath in the time where things seemingly sunk into Kagome's head. Her plush lips were parted, and her brown eyes fell to the ground, almost in disappointment. The girl was still immature, and though Kikyo was fully aware of the hardships that came with being a conjurer, she could still see so much hope radiating from Kagome. So much hope and heart. The thing was, the heart was the most important part of their kind. It was what made up their strength; their passion drove their power. But, so easily could it break them as well. Being a conjurer was like holding a double-edged sword. If you had that fire within you, you could thwart evil, but if your heart is crushed, you could lose it all in an instant. Kagome seemed to wear her heart on her sleeve, wanted to trust easily, believed everyone deserved a chance, but she - being who she was - could not afford that way of living.

"What did you mean?" Kagome finally spoke, picking her eyes from the ground and slowly drifting them upwards to meet Kikyo's. "You said I'm a weapon. What did you mean by that?"

"Isn't it obvious? You are the one capable of bringing Naraku to his knees."

She shook her head, half in denial and half in disbelief. "You said this was our responsibility. The responsibility is ours, remember? You gave me that spiel over and over again for, like, the past year."

"And, it is."

"'Our' is a very broad term, Kikyo."

"You and I."

"That's it? We have this maniacal tyrant, and the world apparently only has the two of us to depend on?"

"Don't push your lack of confidence on me, Kagome. I know it's a lot of responsibility when you think about it, but destiny has this written in stone?"

"Oh yeah?" Kagome questioned exasperatedly. "I'd like to see the terms and conditions. Where's the plaque?"

"Kagome -"

"You say all of this too lightly, Kikyo! This may be common sense to you, but this is breaking news to me!"

"All you need to focus on for now is yourself! You have the room to practice more! You don't have to hold back for the sake of your home, and I know you have been! I can see what you're capable of, and it's monumental! You will surpass me if you just dedicate yourself, so do it! Stop holding yourself back, and stop being so goddamned scared! Pick yourself up, protect yourself, trust no one, adapt, and I'll meet you at the finish line. Together, we will be unstoppable."

The conjurer seemed so sure, so stable. She truly believed in what she said, and Kagome couldn't help but swallow any uneasiness she was currently feeling. Kikyo's confidence was contagious, but there was one thing wrong with what she was preaching. She treated her intuition as the end-all, but Kagome had a gut of her own. It was telling her something different. Kagome's intuition was telling her Kikyo was jaded, and it would be smart of her to trust any alliance she could form. She was alone for now, and she didn't particularly know what her next move was, but something told Kagome she wasn't going to be able to beat this battle on her own. Even getting to the so-called finish line, as Kikyo put it, was going to require some help, and there was nothing wrong with that. She could understand why Kikyo was insisting Kagome put her guard up. The mistake she'd made with Inuyasha could have been detrimental. If it were anyone else, she didn't know what would have happened to her, and for that, despite it all, she was thankful her circumstances were what they were. In a twisted sense, she'd gotten lucky.

Honestly, Kagome didn't know where Kikyo was getting her information from. If she was prophetic, she'd give her kudos, because as far as she was aware, that wasn't in the job description of being a conjurer. Maybe she was having secret dream rendezvous with actual clairvoyants. Either way, Kagome was dying to hear this all herself, because no matter how much Kikyo's statements repeated in her head, not all of it was adding up. She could tell that arguing was a waste of time, though. She felt like she'd get nowhere with Kikyo. Kikyo was set in her ways and convinced of future events playing out in specific patterns, but Kagome truly, truly, felt like things were immediately about to shift.

She'd take Kikyo's advice. She'd be careful, and she'd use her powers with less restraint. She'd be cautious about her surroundings, she'd screen anyone she came across, and she'd increase her power. What she wouldn't do was isolate herself or stay away from those who have no control over the blood beneath their flesh. Kagome couldn't bring herself to look at things that way. Maybe it was naive, but it didn't matter. The open-mindedness sat right with her.

"Kagome, do you trust me?"

"I want to." Kagome admitted. "You've been a mystery up until now."

"I've been told I'm not as direct as I could be." Kikyo laughed quietly. "I want to trust you, too."

"Does Naraku know about me?"

"I have a feeling he will soon enough. It's inevitable. That's why it's imperative for us to stay apart until we can't anymore."

"Got it." Kagome acknowledged. There was a beat of silence where it seemed they were both processing their encounter. She wondered how long Kikyo had been on her own, fighting this battle. She said she was the distraction. Kagome felt sympathetic for her situation. It must have been terrifying at times, hard, and exhausting. She must have tried to form alliances only to be stomped on multiple times to explain the mentality she was harboring. Kagome wondered if her gaze lacked vibrancy because of how drained she was. She wondered if she had no choice but to rely on collecting souls so she could stay on her feet until the day was done. Was there no rest for this conjurer, playing the distraction until Kagome was ready?

This fueled her, a heightened sense of determination shooting through her veins. If she needed to expand her strength, then she'd do it as quickly as possible. She'd get stronger, more powerful, and become the fierce conjurer Kikyo was so that she wasn't alone in this fight anymore. She expected Kikyo not to always agree with the way she went about things, but what mattered was the endgame. With this, Kagome was one step closer.

"Remember what I said. Follow your intuition."

"I will." Kagome agreed. "Mind if I ask you something?"

"Go ahead."

"Where are we?"

"Nowhere."

Kagome grimaced, looking around at the fire that she couldn't feel the heat from but Kikyo obviously could as sweat continued to dot her face. It definitely didn't look like nowhere to her.

"Technically, this is the spot of a recent demon attack. But, we are in an in between space. No one can see us; we're talking in my mind."

"Your mind?"

"Correct. I am here, and you are not."

"How are you doing this?"

"We have a connection, Kagome." Kikyo grinned, though it seemed lackluster and Kagome noted the dark circles beneath her eyes. "We are two connected by fate."

"So, can I do this? I mean, can I connect with your subconscience and talk to you?"

"No. My mind is too guarded. You wouldn't be able to reach me, even if you knew how. Even so, I only partially brought you here. I am too far from you for a more physical aspect. Though, I'm sure you don't mind." Kikyo said, sort of laughing at herself.

Kagome wasn't sure if that was something Kikyo should be proud of. It sounded slightly depressing to be so guarded. Though, alternatively speaking, it could be seen as a weakness on Kagome's behalf that Kikyo was able to jump on through to her whenever she so pleased. That still didn't much answer how she was doing this, but Kagome was willing to let it go. This wasn't necessarily anything Kagome desired to do, anyway. Telepathy always sort of creeped her out.

"Are you gonna be okay?" Kagome couldn't help but ask, taking Kikyo's current state into consideration.

"You have nothing to worry about. Please, focus on yourself. You must get stronger."

"I will. I swear."

"Be careful, Kagome."

She blinked her eyes open, brows furrowing as the brightness of the campfire momentarily blinded her. The night was quiet and peaceful, and as Kagome came to, slowly turning away from the light, she realized she was covered by something thick and warm. It was crimson, and as she moved her legs to readjust herself so her hip would stop digging into the earth, she noticed it only covered her up until her mid-thigh. It smelled so good, the scent inexplicably comforting her as she pulled it further over her shoulder and closer to her nose. She'd always appreciated the aroma of the woodlands, that of campfires, but there was an additional spice that sent a warmth fluttering through her abdomen. Did it belong to Inuyasha?

Inuyasha.

Sluggishly, she picked herself up on her elbow, looking over to the tree where she'd last seen him. The hanyou wasn't there, and while an unsettling thud came from her chest, she could still feel his presence nearby. Kagome turned her head, observing their little area of the forest before her eyes came right back to the very same tree. Glancing upward, she spotted him sitting on a high branch, his back against the trunk and a leg hanging over the side, staring off into the night.

From where he sat, the moonlight was hitting him perfectly. His silver hair shined with dimmed hues of blue and white, and his skin glowed as if he were a descendent of Luna, herself. He was handsome. It was moments before Kagome could bring herself to look away, only finding her eyes drifting right back to her guardian above. His jawline was sharp, the shadows of the night where the moon couldn't reach him complimenting his features just as well. A sudden, thin feeling of jealousy prickled at Kagome's chest. She envied the moon, and the night, itself. They got to touch him.

She felt safe. Nothing inside of Kagome told her to run, or leave, or to tread carefully. Instead, she was heavy and solid where she lay. For the first time in two days, everything felt okay. In the morning, she would head her own way. Kikyo had no reason to be concerned. Inuyasha and Kagome would say goodbye and never see each other again. In the morning.

Kagome rested her head back against her makeshift pillow, tucking herself further into Inuyasha's crimson garment. The scent of him washed over her once more, and she held onto it, memorizing it. She allowed herself to be comfortable, to feel serene. She allowed herself to rest under his safety.