Disclaimer: I do not own any of the plot or characters in InuYasha
I don't know when or how often I'll be updating. It's just a little story I'm doing in my free time. Please feel free to comment but constructive criticism only, please. If you don't like it then feel free to not read it.
1
A breeze swept gently through the trees as the odd group of both human and youkai traveled through the forest. The soothing sounds of the leaves moving and the occasional bird chirping cheerfully reflected the mood of those in the group as they spoke lightly among themselves. The demon slayer with a small fire neko in her arms walked between the monk and strangely clothed girl with the fox youkai kit on her shoulder. The silver-haired hanyou walked a little way ahead of the others, senses alert for any signs of danger while half listening to the conversation behind him. The ears on top of his head swiveled at the sound of tinkling laughter from the strangely clothed girl behind him. Her laughter brought smiles to her companions as they walked through the sunlit patches of the forest.
"Oi, wench, do you sense any jewel shards nearby?" The hanyou didn't bother to look behind him as his voice cut through the air. Smile dropping, the girl rolled her eyes at his choice of words and responded in an annoyed tone.
"My name is Kagome. Ka-go-me. You'd think after all this time you would have figured that out by now InuYasha." Jeez, why can't he stop calling me those names? He should know I would have said something if there were jewel shards nearby. It's the same conversation over and over again all the time. Her response made him scowl as he looked back over his shoulder at the rest of his group. "But no," she continued, "I would have said something if I sensed anything."
"Feh, whatever. Just hurry up, you guys are walking too slow. Naraku will have gathered all the shards left by the time we get back to Kaede's if you keep moving at this pace." His voice was gruff as he responded, unable to let her have the last word. The monk and slayer exchanged knowing glances and the fox kit shook his head, predicting what was to come next.
"Sit boy!" Kagome's voice rang out as she watched InuYasha's face became unexpectedly acquainted with the ground. A frown pulled at Kagome's lips as muffled curses were heard from the hanyou that struggled to stand against the power of the beads around his neck. "We don't have an agenda InuYasha, I can't do anything if there are no shards around so stop rushing us. We're making good time and there's no need for you to be so rude all the time."
Shaking her head, the slayer stepped around the hanyou on the ground and the five companions continued along the path, knowing InuYasha would catch up once the spell wore off. "You'd think he would learn. It's the same conversation what, every day?" Sango's musings echoed Kagome's previous thoughts. The others murmured their agreements as they went along the path. The short peace was interrupted by the sound of a hand meeting someone's cheek and an angry shout of "Hentai!" from the slayer. Looking over, both Kagome and Shippo shook their heads at the sight of a red handprint on Miroku's face and light blush on Sango's face. The slayer was gripping her Hiraikotsu in both hands and muttering darkly about perverted monks, as Kirara had jumped into Kagome's arms during the excitement.
Shippo sighed. "Speaking of men that will never learn…" Kagome hummed in agreement. A comfortable silence fell over the group, save for the grumbling of InuYasha who had finally stopped eating dirt and now trailed behind his companions. Her mind began to wander as they traveled, a small smile appearing on her face as she thought about seeing her family. No doubt InuYasha won't let me stay for longer than a day or so, Kagome thought exasperatedly. Maybe I'll just 'sit' him if he tries to bring me back early… Who am I kidding? I've never been able to follow through with that. A frown made its way back onto her face at the thought. Why can't he understand that I have responsibilities in my time as well? It's not like I can just ignore my life there like he apparently expects me to. The only time he lets me stay longer than a couple of days is if Kikyo is nearby. Lately, she had been getting more and more annoyed with said hanyou and questioning her feelings toward him. He rarely had anything nice to say to her and was always yelling and calling her derogatory names. And did he really think she didn't notice when he would run off during the night when the dead miko was nearby? It's not like she couldn't sense Kikyou herself. After all, she did carry the other half of her soul. A girl could only take so much before it began to chip away at the feelings that existed between them.
Shippo watched the emotions play across the face of his surrogate mother with a small frown, accurately guessing what was on her mind. He may look like a child, but mentally he was older than his appearance suggested. Due to their longer lifespans, youkai physically aged more slowly. It wasn't only him that noticed the constant degrading comments from the hanyou and how he treated Kagome, Miroku and Sango were also concerned for their friend, knowing her feelings for InuYasha. They couldn't understand how he could treat such a kind and loyal person so badly. Not only that, but they didn't understand how he could keep going back to the clay pot when Kagome was here and alive and so devoted and loyal. Kikyou was none of those things, and everyone was well aware of her intent to drag InuYasha to Hell with her once Naraku was defeated. However, it wasn't their place to intervene. Kagome was a big girl, and she could fight her own battles.
Sort of. That had been something on Kagome's mind for a while now, her lack of ability to defend herself. While it was nice to have someone like InuYasha protecting her, it wasn't fun being such a liability during every battle. Even Shippo had his fox magic to defend himself enough to at least flee if necessary. Sure, her archery had improved during their travels, but that wasn't always reliable especially when an opponent came too close. I can't even consistently use my miko abilities when I shoot, let alone for anything else. I know they're there, I just don't know how to access them. Hm… maybe I should ask Kaede about that when we get back to Edo. Nodding to herself, Kagome made up her mind. Tonight, when they bathed, she would ask Sango to teach her physical defense.
As the sun began to set, the group set up camp. Miroku and Shippo went off to collect firewood while the girls began to prepare for their usual dinner of ramen. InuYasha had once again been reacquainted with the dirt for running his mouth at the suggestion of stopping for the night and was sulking in a tree next to the camp. Kagome's patience with the hanyou was paper thin as of late. "I'm not going to give you any ramen if you don't stop acting like a child, InuYasha. Enough is enough. We're not youkai like you, we're human and we require food and rest. If you don't like it then you can leave." The hanyou shut his mouth at the threat against his precious ramen and glared down at Kagome, who was facing him with her hands on her hips. Satisfied that he was done complaining for the time being, Kagome turned back to the now crackling fire to start their dinner.
Once everyone had eaten, more than their fill in InuYasha's case, Kagome and Sango made the necessary threats to the lecherous monk and grabbed their bathing supplies, heading in the direction InuYasha had reluctantly pointed them in for a bath. Shippo walked beside them, still young enough to bathe with the two women despite his mental maturity. The group chatted about their lack of Naraku sightings as they undressed and slipped into the hot springs. It had been a while since he had sent any of his puppets or demons to steal their jewel shards and while it was a nice break, it was also somewhat concerning. Their topic of conversation was a good segway for Kagome, and she turned to Sango as she scrubbed shampoo into her hair.
"Hey, Sango?" When the older girl hummed to show she was listening, Kagome continued. "Do you think you could teach me how to fight?" Both Sango and Shippo looked at the girl in surprise. The normally peaceful girl had never expressed interest in learning to fight before.
"Sure, but may I ask why? I mean, you have InuYasha to protect you and all." Kagome scowled at her response, tilting her head back into the warm water. Not that Sango had done anything wrong, it was a reasonable thought. Her tone of voice showed her frustrations as well as her words.
"He shouldn't have to protect me all the time. All I can do when we face youkai is sit back and try not to hit you guys with arrows that don't always do anything against them. I can't rely on my spiritual arrows because I don't know how to access that power. And what happens when a demon gets too close? I have to trust that InuYasha or one of you will swoop in to rescue me because I'm only human and not fast enough to run away." Sango nodded, accepting her explanation.
"Why don't we start tomorrow morning before we leave? I'm sure the boys won't mind getting a little bit of a later start."
Kagome shook her head, "You know InuYasha will never agree to waste time on this when we could be searching for shards. After all," She smiled sarcastically, "he'll always be there to protect me, right?"
Sango frowned but agreed. Shippo then chimed in. "How about at night before we bathe then? That's the only time we aren't with Miroku and Inuyasha." Once they had come up with a reasonable plan, the three finished their bath and headed back to camp to turn in for the night. Kirara kept Sango warm while Shippo curled up with Kagome, and Inuyasha kept an eye on Miroku from his tree.