Disclaimer: All standard disclaimers regarding college students being broke bums who have nothing better to do than write fanfiction apply here. Also, all standard disclaimers regarding broke bum college students not owning Inuyasha also apply here. Have mercy, have mercy!

Chapter Five: Pledges and Duties

Since Kagome had left, no one had been able to talk Inuyasha off of Kaede's roof. He would have far preferred waiting in one of the trees near the well, but he was supposed to be giving her space. That meant he would live on the roof until she came back. Even if he was bored. So bored he was imagining shapes in the clouds. So bored he was actually trying to compose speeches to Kagome in his mind. So bored he could swear he was imagining her scent...

Kagome stood patiently in the bottom of the well for a good solid five minutes. She checked her watch. She waited. She checked her watch again. "This is ridiculous!" she exclaimed, before hauling herself up and out of the well. Not especially hard, but Inuyasha was normally around to do it. This somehow confirmed her suspicion that he had met some horrible fate. So, she ran to the village to see if he was there, hoping he wasn't injured too badly...

He must really be bored. Now he could swear that her smell was becoming stronger. He wrinkled his nose and tried to ignore it. He had to come up with something decent to say to her when she got back.

He'd have his chance sooner than he thought. Kagome emerged from the woods around Kaede's village and marched purposefully to the elder Miko's hut. Inuyasha would be there if he'd been injured. And if not, well, he had a lot of explaining to do.

"Kagome, I shouldn't have done what I did," he murmured to himself, trying the words on his tongue. The roof of Kaede's hut blocked his view of the forest, to help keep him from wanting to tear off to the well, so he didn't see Kagome's approach. His nose twitched. Why was her smell getting stronger? Unless... Had she come back? Oh Kami. He wasn't ready yet!

Oblivious of the hanyou on the roof, Kagome entered Kaede's hut. The old woman sat by the fire, separating herb flowers and leaves from their stems.

"Konbanwa, Kaede-baa-chan. Have you seen Inuyasha in the past couple of days? He didn't come to get me and I'm worried something might have happened to him."

"Welcome back child," the old woman replied. "Did you not see him? Inuyasha is--" A yelp and a loud thump interrupted the old miko, and she sighed as she amended, "--was on the roof."

The hanyou in question was lying face-down on the ground. He had heard Kagome in the hut, and leaned over the edge of the roof near the door to better hear her. A treacherous shingle had slipped under his claws, dropping him to the ground so suddenly he didn't even have time to twist in the air.

Kagome spun and hurried outside to face the aforementioned hanyou. Had he heard what she'd just said? Suddenly, she found herself terribly annoyed at him, not only for failing to retrieve her from the modern era, but also for eavesdropping on her conversations! "Inuyasha, where have you been?!"

"On the roof. Ow..." He moaned against the ground. Maybe if he just stayed plastered to the dirt, she wouldn't sit him.

So, all of that emotional turmoil for THIS?! she thought, disbelieving. "Why didn't you come and get me?"

"I thought you were mad at me." His answer was muffled against the ground. Gah. My back.

"That's never stopped you before!"

"Well it did this time!"

"Why?!"

"Because." Again his reply was muffled. How could he admit that Miroku had convinced him to be more considerate? And why was she acting this way? He'd been trying to take her feelings into account, and she was yelling at him!

Kagome crossed her arms over her chest and breathed in deeply, then exhaled slowly. He'd probably gone to see Kikyou. Again. Why did she even bother caring about him when he'd rather associate with a walking bag of dirt than with her? Kagome stomped her foot on the wooden porch once and walked back inside the hut without another word.

When she stomped away, Inuyasha actually indulged in a whimper, one so quiet only he could hear it.

"Kagome!!!" Another much smaller voice exclaimed, tiny furry paws trampling Inuyasha as Shippou made a mad dash for the hut. "Kagome, I'm so glad you're back!"

Kagome smiled and gathered the kitsune into her arms. "I'm glad to be back too, Shippou."

"OW!" Inuyasha writhed comically as the kitsune landed on his sore body, and made a grasp at the little demon's tail, missing to his chagrin. "You little rat!" he shouted at the hut where Shippou had disappeared.

"I was worried that Inuyasha scared you away forever!" The worry was evident on the kit's face, but he paused to poke his head through the door and stick his tongue out at Inuyasha. "You're lucky this time, you big stupidhead! You'd be really sorry if she didn't come back!"

Popping sore joints, Inuyasha pushed himself of the ground and entered the hut. He glared at the fox and said, "We already had this argument! Why are we having it again?"

Shippou made a face at Inuyasha, but turned his attentions back to Kagome. "He was waiting for you to come back," he stated simply. "He sat up on the roof the whole time! He looked like a trained dog."

Kagome raised her eyebrows. "Is that so?"

What?! A trained dog?! Why that little ... "Shippou," Inuyasha growled warningly.

Shippou squeaked and hid out of Inuyasha's sight behind Kagome's shoulder. "You did, and you know it!" came the muffled reply.

Inuyasha just kept growling, until suddenly a staff descended on his head in a blur of gold and brown.

"Terribly sorry, Inuyasha!" Miroku cried, wearing the same expression he used on women he was about to ask to bear his children. "I thought you were a different demon. Kagome-sama, it's good to see you back!"

"Miroku-sama! I'm glad to be back. I might have been back sooner if someone had come to visit me." She gave Inuyasha a scathing glance but turned back to Miroku. "When will we be leaving to look for more shards?"

"Whenever you're ready, of course." The monk nudged Inuyasha not-so-subtlely with the end of his staff. "Isn't that right?"

"Keh!"

"That sounds great! Where's Sango?"

"With Kirara near the river," Miroku answered pleasantly.

Kagome nodded. "Well, I think that tomorrow would be good. We can all rest up and make sure that we have all the supplies we need."

"A wise decision." Kaede spoke up as she prepared an herbal compress for Inuyasha. She handed it to the hanyou, who stubbornly shoved it away. Kaede simply smiled, knowing he would probably use it once he was sure no one could see him. She had heard his back cracking as he sat up, and guessed it felt nearly as bad as the time Kagome had sat him until a boulder crushed him.

Kagome smiled and nodded again. She glanced at Miroku and asked in a soft, nonchalant tone, "Can I talk to you later, Miroku-sama?"

Her hanyou protector growled, but the monk ignored him and said, "Of course."

Later that evening, Kagome sat on a hill on the outskirts of the village. Kirara sat in her lap, brought along as protection in case someone decided to attack the women while they were alone.

Beside her, Sango sorted herbs gathered for various potions. It was a beautiful night, and the peace and quiet away from the men--or perhaps boys was a better word--suited the demon slayer.

Kagome sighed deeply as she scritched behind Kirara's ears. She was still trying to figure out the reasons that Inuyasha hadn't come for her in the future, and on top of that, her dream was still bothering her. She sighed again and leaned back on the hill, resting her head in her hands.

"You've been awfully quiet, Kagome-chan," her friend observed, carefully checking a particular herb to be certain the plant was healthy enough for her purposes. "What is bothering you?"

Kagome shrugged. "I just have lots of things on my mind, Sango-chan."

The taijiya smiled knowingly. "Would those things include a certain boy with dog ears?"

Kagome groaned and would have rolled on her side had Kirara not still been perched on her legs. "Oh Sango-chan, he's so impossibly frustrating! Just when I think we've reached an understanding, he does something just to throw me for a loop. I'll never understand him."

"The feeling is probably mutual."

"Probably. I just wish he'd talk to me the way we talk to each other. He has so many walls up, sometimes I feel like I don't even know him at all."

That was true. Sango understood the confusion such personal barriers caused. She had enough of her own, and Miroku as well, though he hid them behind his lecherous exterior. She thought for a moment before replying. "Inuyasha has been badly hurt by people he trusted. That he managed to survive to adulthood--alone--says a lot about him. His walls are his way of surviving in a world that doesn't want to make a place for him."

"I know." Kagome rubbed her forehead. "I probably shouldn't think that just because we've been through so much together that he could open up and trust me a little more. I wonder if... if he was... I wonder if he was open with Kikyou." She sat up abruptly and hung her head, using her hair as a privacy curtain around her face. "I think I'll always be second best to her in his eyes."

"Don't say that," Sango protested. "Inuyasha values you. He trusts you more than anyone."

"Well he sure doesn't act like it. I'm getting so tired of the way he treats me, Sango-chan. I know it sounds horrible, but Shippou was right. Sometimes I just want to go home and not come back." She sighed and blinked her eyes to ward away unwelcome tears. "But I know I can't. I have to fulfill my duty. And... you guys are my friends."

"Kagome-chan..." Sango was at a loss for words. Finally, she set her herbs aside and pulled Kagome into a loose, sisterly embrace. "I know it's difficult to see, but you can find it if you look. Inuyasha doesn't know any other way to be. You have to teach him. If you choose..." She took a deep breath. "If you choose to leave and not return, we will all respect your decision, but we will miss you, Inuyasha most of all."

Kagome returned the embrace with one arm, giving Kirara a reassuring pat with her free hand. "I won't do that, Sango-chan. I promise."

The wind picked up and blew Sango's ponytail over her shoulder, causing the ends to get in both girls' faces. The taijiya made an exasperated noise and yanked her hair out of the way before saying, "Good, but I will miss the chance to tie Inuyasha down and seal him in a hut."

Kagome grinned mischievously. "We could do that anyway, you know..."

"Miroku could be bribed to help us..."

"He might ask us to bear his children in return for the favor." Kagome wrinkled her nose, but then remembered that she had asked to speak with Miroku earlier. She should probably go find him.

Sango shrugged. "He always asks that. Besides, we could probably pacify him by not giving him a beating next time he sneaks a peak at the hot springs."

"That's true. He wouldn't be Miroku if he didn't ask that, I guess." She giggled and handed Kirara over to her mistress before standing up and stretching. "I'm heading back to the village, Sango-chan."

"I'll walk with you. I have everything I need." The taijiya gathered her herbs into a basket, and smiled as Kirara jumped in with them. "Do you suppose Inuyasha's pummeled Miroku for hitting him yet?"

Kagome shook her head and winked. "Maybe. If he's quit sulking."