~Changes~
A night of silence greeted the abnormally small group that neared the Village, only two pairs of legs to be heard approaching yet none came to greet the two. Orbs of startling gold roamed their surroundings with practiced caution, furry lobes twitching atop the mane of silver to pick up any abnormalties to warn them from the Village.
Only the sound of a twig snapping and feet stumbling had his gaze return to the girl at his side, focusing to the slackened features and drooped lids over the unfocused dark orbs. Lips thinned into a masked frown, eyes returning forward.
'She's exhausted.' he thought to himself, brows furrowing. 'She hasn't complained once, though. Keh, stubborn girl.'
The only reason he had allowed their direction to change was he had been able to pick up the scents of Ningen's in the distance where he knew they'd have rooms to rest. For Kagome to rest in. It had been unfortunate that the Houshi and Taijiya woman had taken different paths to cover further ground in search of the Shikon shards, the talent of Miroku's persuasion usually having them easily permitted entry into the Village.
"InuYasha?"
The girls voice broke through his present thoughts, not sparing a glance to her as he replied.
"Nani?"
"Ano...It's getting late, shouldn't we make camp?"
In her own way, this was her hint that she was becoming tired. She would have to be, he figured, for her to speak up. Since just a few days previously she had been quiet of her complaints, seemingly determined to move on without hesitation.
"InuYasha..?" At his silence she had looked up at him in question.
He scoffed, "There's a village up ahead. We'll rest there."
"Hontoni?!"
"Aa."
He should have expected the sudden spout of energy as the girl lunged herself at his arm and hugged it tight against her, face beaming up at his.
"Domo Arigatou, InuYasha!"
~~~~~
"...And so you see, that is why you should let us in." InuYasha finished his explanation of to why they should permit them to enter their Village and stay without fee...and free food. The latter was essential.
After a moment, the man before them raised his hand as though to enstill the silence further, head bowed down in thought.
"So, you mean to tell us that you sensed a...Ramen Youkai..?"
InuYasha lifted his claw to his chin where he scratched with his eyes rolled upward into his bangs, nodding shortly as though even he had trouble believing in it. Kagome, on the other hand, had her forehead slapped against her palm and was shaking her head.
She knew the one word that would grasp their attention.
"Jaki." she stated simply, lifting her chin to level a stare with the three before them.
"J-jaki..?!" they startled, attention on her.
She nodded, hand lifted matter-of-factly. "Hai. Very strong jaki hovers over your Village. And I, as a Miko, feel it is my duty to extinguish it."
All three set of eyes roamed over her, brows raised at her attire. "Please, give us a moment." they finally replied, huddling a few feet away in private conversation.
Or so they thought private, the ears atop the Hanyou's head twitching as he eaves-dropped.
"Do you believe her story?"
"She claims to be a Miko."
"Just look at her clothes, she must be..!"
"I've never seen a Miko dressed like that before."
"Maybe she's a more powerful one."
They all paused and looked over their shoulders to the girl in question. After a moment, they returned to their conversation.
"She is beautiful."
"Aa, it's been so long since we've seen such beauty..."
"What if she's a Youkai?"
"Are Youkai that beautiful..?"
There was, yet again, another pause as they looked back to her. Her companion, seemingly, was forgotten and tossed from their thoughts.
The whole time the Hanyou was off to the side, fingers twitching in anticipation of what his thoughts were coming up with to punish the Ecchi men. 'B-baka's!' His gaze shifted to Kagome as though to scale her reaction, but reminded that with her mortal senses she could not hear the present conversation taken hand before her.
"We have made our decision." they finally replied, the three standing in line before them.
"And..?" Kagome looked on with desperation, hands clasped before her.
"You are allowed to stay in the Village without fee as long as you disperse of this Jaki."
The girl could barely hide her pleasure at the news, eyes almost glowing with the prospect of a warm bed and decent food. InuYasha just scoffed.
"But..."
Kagome blinked, "But..?"
"He's not allowed." they pointed to the Hanyou.
"Nani." they both replied in unison. InuYasha was first to react, grabbing up Kagome's wrist and beginning to drag her away from the village, unaware her heels were digging into the ground in attempts to slow his pace.
"InuYasha!" she finally managed out, tugging her wrist from his grip and stopping. He turned on her, "Nani?!"
She startled at first before calming. It wouldn't do either of them any good for her to get upset as well at him. She would have to be the calm one.
"InuYasha, listen to me a moment."
He scoffed and crossed his arms stubbornly over his chest, but remained silent for her. She took advantage of that luxury.
"I should go ahead and accept their offer. No!" she stopped him from interrupting with a raised hand. "Let me finish. They will all be going to their beds soon, and I'm sure they shall not disturb me from cleansing the Jaki." She rolled her eyes at this. "I'll ask for double portions of food, telling them that cleansing is very tiring. Once they leave, I'm sure you'll be able to just sneak in the window without being spotted."
There was silence. She could tell the Hanyou was contemplating this in his head, but made no show physically to arouse such an idea.
"Keh." he finally replied. She knew she had won. "Just watch out for those Ecchi men." was his last warning before he shot up into the tree's and disappeared, leaving behind a blankly staring girl.
"...Eh?"
~
{{ Author's Note: Sorry for the shortness and the lack of things happening right now. I swear, I'll slowly begin to show the plot...once I get a firm handle on it, lol. I'm sort of going off a dream I had, so I need to put together the bits and pieces of what is missing. If you would like to see something happen in this, please give me your ideas. I can't guarantee I'll use them, but I will keep them in mind if they appeal to me. Sorry, also, for this isn't my best work. One of my more lazier works. =) Below are some translations. }}
Ningen = Human
Youkai = Demon
Hanyou = Half Demon/Half Human
Houshi = Monk
Taijiya = Exterminator
Ano = Uhm/Well..
Hontoni = Really
Aa = Yes (Male version)
Domo Arigatou = Thank you very much
Jaki = Evil Spirits/Energy
Hai = Yes
Miko = Priestess
Ecchi = Indecent; Lewd
Baka = Fool; Idiot
Nani = What
A night of silence greeted the abnormally small group that neared the Village, only two pairs of legs to be heard approaching yet none came to greet the two. Orbs of startling gold roamed their surroundings with practiced caution, furry lobes twitching atop the mane of silver to pick up any abnormalties to warn them from the Village.
Only the sound of a twig snapping and feet stumbling had his gaze return to the girl at his side, focusing to the slackened features and drooped lids over the unfocused dark orbs. Lips thinned into a masked frown, eyes returning forward.
'She's exhausted.' he thought to himself, brows furrowing. 'She hasn't complained once, though. Keh, stubborn girl.'
The only reason he had allowed their direction to change was he had been able to pick up the scents of Ningen's in the distance where he knew they'd have rooms to rest. For Kagome to rest in. It had been unfortunate that the Houshi and Taijiya woman had taken different paths to cover further ground in search of the Shikon shards, the talent of Miroku's persuasion usually having them easily permitted entry into the Village.
"InuYasha?"
The girls voice broke through his present thoughts, not sparing a glance to her as he replied.
"Nani?"
"Ano...It's getting late, shouldn't we make camp?"
In her own way, this was her hint that she was becoming tired. She would have to be, he figured, for her to speak up. Since just a few days previously she had been quiet of her complaints, seemingly determined to move on without hesitation.
"InuYasha..?" At his silence she had looked up at him in question.
He scoffed, "There's a village up ahead. We'll rest there."
"Hontoni?!"
"Aa."
He should have expected the sudden spout of energy as the girl lunged herself at his arm and hugged it tight against her, face beaming up at his.
"Domo Arigatou, InuYasha!"
~~~~~
"...And so you see, that is why you should let us in." InuYasha finished his explanation of to why they should permit them to enter their Village and stay without fee...and free food. The latter was essential.
After a moment, the man before them raised his hand as though to enstill the silence further, head bowed down in thought.
"So, you mean to tell us that you sensed a...Ramen Youkai..?"
InuYasha lifted his claw to his chin where he scratched with his eyes rolled upward into his bangs, nodding shortly as though even he had trouble believing in it. Kagome, on the other hand, had her forehead slapped against her palm and was shaking her head.
She knew the one word that would grasp their attention.
"Jaki." she stated simply, lifting her chin to level a stare with the three before them.
"J-jaki..?!" they startled, attention on her.
She nodded, hand lifted matter-of-factly. "Hai. Very strong jaki hovers over your Village. And I, as a Miko, feel it is my duty to extinguish it."
All three set of eyes roamed over her, brows raised at her attire. "Please, give us a moment." they finally replied, huddling a few feet away in private conversation.
Or so they thought private, the ears atop the Hanyou's head twitching as he eaves-dropped.
"Do you believe her story?"
"She claims to be a Miko."
"Just look at her clothes, she must be..!"
"I've never seen a Miko dressed like that before."
"Maybe she's a more powerful one."
They all paused and looked over their shoulders to the girl in question. After a moment, they returned to their conversation.
"She is beautiful."
"Aa, it's been so long since we've seen such beauty..."
"What if she's a Youkai?"
"Are Youkai that beautiful..?"
There was, yet again, another pause as they looked back to her. Her companion, seemingly, was forgotten and tossed from their thoughts.
The whole time the Hanyou was off to the side, fingers twitching in anticipation of what his thoughts were coming up with to punish the Ecchi men. 'B-baka's!' His gaze shifted to Kagome as though to scale her reaction, but reminded that with her mortal senses she could not hear the present conversation taken hand before her.
"We have made our decision." they finally replied, the three standing in line before them.
"And..?" Kagome looked on with desperation, hands clasped before her.
"You are allowed to stay in the Village without fee as long as you disperse of this Jaki."
The girl could barely hide her pleasure at the news, eyes almost glowing with the prospect of a warm bed and decent food. InuYasha just scoffed.
"But..."
Kagome blinked, "But..?"
"He's not allowed." they pointed to the Hanyou.
"Nani." they both replied in unison. InuYasha was first to react, grabbing up Kagome's wrist and beginning to drag her away from the village, unaware her heels were digging into the ground in attempts to slow his pace.
"InuYasha!" she finally managed out, tugging her wrist from his grip and stopping. He turned on her, "Nani?!"
She startled at first before calming. It wouldn't do either of them any good for her to get upset as well at him. She would have to be the calm one.
"InuYasha, listen to me a moment."
He scoffed and crossed his arms stubbornly over his chest, but remained silent for her. She took advantage of that luxury.
"I should go ahead and accept their offer. No!" she stopped him from interrupting with a raised hand. "Let me finish. They will all be going to their beds soon, and I'm sure they shall not disturb me from cleansing the Jaki." She rolled her eyes at this. "I'll ask for double portions of food, telling them that cleansing is very tiring. Once they leave, I'm sure you'll be able to just sneak in the window without being spotted."
There was silence. She could tell the Hanyou was contemplating this in his head, but made no show physically to arouse such an idea.
"Keh." he finally replied. She knew she had won. "Just watch out for those Ecchi men." was his last warning before he shot up into the tree's and disappeared, leaving behind a blankly staring girl.
"...Eh?"
~
{{ Author's Note: Sorry for the shortness and the lack of things happening right now. I swear, I'll slowly begin to show the plot...once I get a firm handle on it, lol. I'm sort of going off a dream I had, so I need to put together the bits and pieces of what is missing. If you would like to see something happen in this, please give me your ideas. I can't guarantee I'll use them, but I will keep them in mind if they appeal to me. Sorry, also, for this isn't my best work. One of my more lazier works. =) Below are some translations. }}
Ningen = Human
Youkai = Demon
Hanyou = Half Demon/Half Human
Houshi = Monk
Taijiya = Exterminator
Ano = Uhm/Well..
Hontoni = Really
Aa = Yes (Male version)
Domo Arigatou = Thank you very much
Jaki = Evil Spirits/Energy
Hai = Yes
Miko = Priestess
Ecchi = Indecent; Lewd
Baka = Fool; Idiot
Nani = What