It was the darkest part of the night, and Inuyasha sat a short distance away from his sleeping companions. He could never sleep on nights when he was human, so he had volunteered to keep watch. They were all resting comfortably, or as near as he could tell.
He wasn't able to pick up on anything while in this form—it seemed that he could barely see, hear, or (especially) smell a thing. Inuyasha sometimes wondered how the others could sleep so easily. Then he answered his own question—they didn't know any better. They didn't know what it was like for him, to be like this—how restless it made him, how exposed it made him feel.
But this night was unusually quiet. Not that that wasn't good; it meant that they wouldn't have to fight for their lives this time. Every other night that he had been human, there had been something after them. So he was somewhat expecting the peace to be broken any minute now.
Inuyasha brushed the hair out of his eyes, and stuck a piece of it behind his ear, something that felt odd, since he usually couldn't do it. As he moved his hand back down, it brushed against the rosary around his neck.
A sudden realization struck him. Kagome had never used the beads on him when he was human. They had either been too busy fighting demons to get into an argument themselves, or he had been too withdrawn to want to talk about anything, much less anything that would get him sat. He wondered if the beads would even work when he was human.
Another realization struck him. Inuyasha tentatively grabbed the beads and slowly lifted them, expecting them to magically stop just before they would go over his head. They didn't. He pulled them off and held them in his hands, his mouth falling open in shock.
The rosary was off.
Quickly he looked around to make sure that no one had seen him, and then put the beads back over his head. It wouldn't do for anyone to wake up and notice that they were gone. He would wait until just before the sun came up, and then take them off.
The beads were annoying, but he had gotten used to them. Kagome got mad at him, and that was the quickest way she could retaliate. It was just one of those things. He didn't hate her for it, but it would be nice to have the things off. The look on her face when she said "Sit!" and nothing happened would be priceless. He'd be able to do whatever he wanted. Not that he was planning anything horrible, but he wouldn't have to worry about getting sat ever again.
The rest of the night passed quietly, oddly enough. No insane demon wandered across their path, no henchman of Naraku's appeared, and no one wanting his blood arrived. On the whole, it was one of the more pleasant times that he had become human.
The sky began to lighten, and Inuyasha waited. Anxiously, nervously waited, afraid that one of the others would wake up. But they didn't. Just a few moments before the sunrise, he pulled the beads over his head, and flung them as far away as possible. He resisted the urge to laugh out loud.
Then the sun peeked over the horizon, and he felt his strength return and his senses sharpen. It was done. Now he just had to make sure they got moving as soon as everyone woke up. Hopefully by the time anyone noticed that the rosary was missing, they would be too far away to ever find it again. Then there would be nothing that they could do about it.
A sudden movement in the grass caught his attention. Inuyasha crouched and got ready for whatever was coming out of it, not about to let it spoil his good mood.
His eyes widened in stunned horror as he saw what rose up out of the grass. He stared open-mouthed, considering just bolting, but it was too late. There was no way that he could escape what was coming. Glowing beads flung themselves at the once again half-demon, arranging in a circle around his neck. Inuyasha tugged frantically at the beads, but they held fast, not moving an inch over his head.
"KUUSOOO!" the cry echoed through the still morning air.
Which immediately woke up all of the more alert sleepers. Kirara was standing, looking around for a possible enemy. Sango was drowsily reaching for her weapon, and Miroku sat upright. Shippou stirred only a bit, and Kagome remained asleep.
"What's the matter, Inuyasha?" Miroku asked worriedly, looking around.
"Nothing. Go back to sleep."
Inuyasha sighed. So close, and yet so far.
