The White Dog
by Becky Tailweaver
Chapter 11: The Talk
Kagome could not, for the life of her, figure out what was wrong with Inuyasha.
For one thing, he was being almost polite to her--offering to carry her pack, and to give her a ride; he hadn't even rushed her along or insisted they hurry to retrieve the shard.
And for another, he hadn't even mentioned any Shikon shards since they'd left the village in Musashi's Domain. She was beginning to wonder if Kikyo had indeed worked some spell on him, rather than Ginnezu--but contemplating Ginnezu and Kikyo in the same thought made her insides boil and freeze simultaneously, so she gave up on that fairly quick.
Inuyasha had adamantly refused to let her bring her bike. She had sat him three times, but he still stood firm, and after the third irate "Osuwari!" he'd simply picked himself up, grabbed her bike, and tossed it down the well--where it landed with a dull clang but did not disappear.
He wouldn't go down and get it, she couldn't lift it out, and Shirokiba-san was not around to help her--so she'd yelled, stomped, pouted and sat him again for good measure.
But when the spell had worn off again, he had explained to her in a remarkably patient--if stiff and growling--voice that if she had need of transportation he could provide it just fine, thank you, and this was not going to be a rush trip, so he didn't want her wearing herself out pedaling that "rickety contraption" all over the mountains.
After that, he'd simply shouldered her pack and started walking to the north, turning only once to look back at her. "You coming?" was all he'd said.
So she'd shaken herself out of her startled state, slipped on her jacket, and followed him.
Kagome was still surprised. He was carrying her pack--as he had been all afternoon--and they were walking, instead of tearing across the countryside full speed, which he usually did whenever he got the opportunity.
The morning had been cloudy, but the afternoon sun was breaking the clouds into puffs and sending them on their way. By then, Inuyasha and Kagome were miles from the village in the foothills of the northern mountains, climbing the first ridge. Kagome limped along behind her protector, wishing she had brought better shoes for an extended hike.
Inuyasha was barefoot as usual, but showed no signs of failing even when they passed over rocks and gravel. She wondered--never before posessing the daring curiosity to actually ask--if he had pads on his feet, like a real dog's, that protected him from sharp stones and debris.
"We're almost there."
Kagome looked up at him, a bit startled. His rough voice broke a stiff but companionable silence that had existed almost since they'd left the village hours ago. "Almost where?" she asked, curious.
"A place to rest," he answered simply, continuing to thread through trees toward the top of the ridge. "Just for a little while, though."
It was impossible to miss the moment they'd arrived.
"Ah--!" Kagome gasped softly, drifting to a stop at the crest of the ridge, taking in gulps of air from her effort at the long climb. "Kirei...!"
Down the ridge and through the trees, a green, snow-dotted alpine meadow filled the low valley that stretched before her, set against the backdrop of rocky, snow-covered peaks. The clearing they stood in was a mini-beadow far above the larger one below, nestled against the side of the ridge, a perfect viewpoint facing the mountains. It was carpeted in lush, soft grass and little yellow flowers that nodded to her in the breeze, bidding her welcome to their secret hiding place. Her face lit up as she knelt to breathe in their sweet, warm fragrance.
Inuyasha set down her pack and paced a few steps away from it, crossing his arms. "Thought you'd like it," he said with a half-shrug, almost embarrassed.
Kagome looked up from the flowers, eyebrows raising. "Inuyasha...you...didn't bring me all the way up here just to show me this...did you?"
He grumbled--but she could see the faint flush on his cheeks, so she knew.
"Thank you," she said gently, smiling at him. "It's very nice."
Her smile was so thankful and sweet that his insides melted to mush and danced with butterflies, making him feel nervous and giddy at the same time. She likes it! he thought, relieved. He'd been so worried that she'd be impatient or disappointed; after all, it was simply a pretty spot he remembered traveling through some time ago. There was no point to this little detour other than her own happiness; he wanted her to relax and recover, not worry about shards.
He'd come so very close to losing her yet again last night--losing her to the wrath and bitterness of someone else who was very important to him. It had been a horrible choice--with deathly cost either way.
He sat down with his back to the view and watched Kagome instead, where she knelt picking the pretty yellow flowers. Her face was bright and peaceful, even happy, and he found his mind wandering to the few times he'd seen Kikyo sitting in a meadow alone, among flowers not too different from these.
Kikyo rarely picked flowers--just useful, healing herbs. And even if the older miko had sometimes smiled in the meadow, her smile was never truly happy. She was always shaded by her troubles.
Despite what Kaede-babaa had said and what so many people believed, Kagome was very different from Kikyo. They felt different, even smelled different, and it became more clear the more time he spent with both. Kagome did not stand in Kikyo's shadow--not anymore, in his mind. In many ways, she outshone the miko--she was not somber and weighted with responsibilities thrust upon her by need and station. Instead, she was hopeful and compassionate, willingly taking on the troubles and burdens of the Shikon no Tama and a lonely, gruff hanyou who really didn't deserve her care and concern.
Kagome was quite the opposite of the young woman Inuyasha had fancied himself in love with; the older miko was quiet, devoted, driven, always putting aside her emotions and needs to do the task at hand. But Kagome was bright and cheerful, and just as devoted as Kikyo--though her emotions were what gave her strength and life. Comparing the two was Earth and Fire--impossible, and unfair to both. One was not meant to do what the other did, nor could they, and it was unreasonable to expect them to be mirrors of each other. No matter whose soul was posessed by whom.
He frowned when he saw a shadow cross Kagome's face as she glanced at him. His heart twinged; what about him made her look that way so often?
She came close to him, cradling her flowers, and walked around behind him. His ears flicked to follow her but he made no other move--until she sat down against his back, facing the beautiful vista, and he nearly leaped away. But he steeled himself and did not move, nervous, even as she leaned against him with a sigh. Was it one of contentment?
"Thank you for bringing me here," she said, after several moments of silence--comfortable on her part, anxious on his. "It's so peaceful. It's just what I needed to help me get...things out of my mind."
"Uh...what things?" Inuyasha hazarded.
She took a few moments to answer. "Kikyo. Ginnezu. Youkai. Shards. A lot of things."
"Don't worry about Ginnezu," Inuyasha assured her. "She's not your problem, and she's annoying me."
"But you want to go with her, don't you?" As she spoke, the soft tremble in her voice made him startle.
"Kagome? What's wrong?" he asked, alarmed--and would have leaped about to face her had she not been resting against his back.
"You should go with her, you know," she continued, sounding as though she were forcing her voice to remain steady. "You can go home now, back to your family and your people. They want you even without the Shikon no Tama. You can be one of them, and be with your own kind. Isn't that what you've always wanted?"
Inuyasha couldn't answer her at first. She was right--his original reason behind finding the Shikon no Tama had been to make himself a true youkai, so that he could claim his rightful place among his peers--to go to a place he'd never really even been, to a people he did not know at all. He'd wanted to have his vengeance on Sesshomaru and live among the inu-youkai of the West, bringing honor to his father's mighty name. He wanted to go home--though he'd never had a place to call that, save his mother's little hut in some nameless, tiny village which he wasn't sure even still existed. The fire had been terrible...
"I guess...I used to want that," he began, his rough voice lowered to a quiet tone. "I was alone...and I was lonely. Me, as I am...I'm nothing. I wanted to...to be able to belong. To belong to something...someone...anyone. I wanted to go home--to have a home. I have no place, no people, no family. I want...to be someone. Not a hanyou--an accident, a freak. I want to be someone. And the Shikon no Tama was the only way I thought I could do that..."
The yearning in his voice made Kagome's breath catch--it was so rare that he spoke of his feelings, his fears and weaknesses and longings. She hoped it meant she had his trust, at least. "I understand," she replied, proud that her voice hadn't cracked yet. "In that case, you really should go with her. You'll be able to have everything you want--you'll be part of a family, a people. You need to go."
"No I don't," he answered quickly, gruffly. "I don't need them and I don't need her."
"But you just said--"
"It's all a sham, Kagome. Shirokiba told me what he knows about Ginnezu's father. The Silver Dogs don't want me--they want a puppet, a pretty face to put up to please the crowds so they can have their precious White heir. I'm still not a person to them--I'm just a hanyou. A thing--a tool."
"What about Ginnezu?" Kagome asked softly.
"I don't know what she wants," Inuyasha replied, just as quietly, but rough and uncertain. "I think...I think she's in love with me...as much as a youkai can be. Or at least infatuated."
"What are you going to do about her?" she inquired, quite seriously
"I...don't know."
After a deep breath, she spoke again. "Aren't you going with the inu-youkai?"
Inuyasha hesitated for a minute, then sighed. "No." He felt Kagome twitch in surprise and tensed a little, uncertain of her response.
"Why not?"
"I told you," he grumped. "I don't want to."
"You...don't...want...?" Now she sounded full of confusion. "I...thought you..."
Inuyasha blushed, glad that she could not see his face. "I'd really rather stay here and hunt shards with you," he managed to stutter out quickly, his voice a bare whisper.
He didn't know she was crying until he felt her shoulders shake against his back, and yet again he was alarmed. "I'm glad!" she all but sobbed, rambling in relief. "I can't tell you how glad! I thought you were going to go away and then I'd have to collect the Jewel all by myself and I'm scared to do it without you!"
Inuyasha closed his eyes, his heart pounding in both uncertainty and wonder, imagining for a moment that what Kikyo had said might be true. Would Kagome waste away to nothing without him? At the very least, she would be easy prey for the youkai whose shards she sought. Though they would try hard to protect her, neither Sango nor Miroku--and definitely not Shippo--had the strength to go head-to-head with some of the hardcases they'd fought.
To face the powerful youkai they did, one had to be a youkai. He was perfect for the job, Inuyasha realized to himself--a being with all the superior strength and speed of a youkai, yet "tamed" with a ningen heart.
"I will stay with you," he stated softly, hoarsely. "I promise. I'll stay with you through all the hunts--"
"And when the Jewel's complete you'll leave?" she asked suddenly.
Inuyasha really had no clue what was going to happen then--it seemed so far down the road. He wasn't even sure they'd all survive until then, and even if they did, it was most likely that she would go away once Naraku was defeated and the Shikon no Tama was restored. She'd return to her time and seal the well and put all this behind her like bad dreams, and the thought made his stomach knot with dread.
"Let's just see what happens when we get there," he muttered, half to himself. "I can't see the future--good or bad, or we might have another disaster like what happened to Kikyo..."
"Kikyo..." Kagome repeated dully.
"I don't really know what's wrong with her," Inuyasha admitted, his eyes downcast. "Shit...she wasn't like this before, Kagome--honest. She changes more and more each time I see her, growing darker and darker...like a sickness. She's not the woman I remember anymore..."
"She was so cold..." Kagome trembled against him. "One thing I don't understand is...how did you save me? I was so sure I was dead..."
"I--I got loose, and...I hit her." He flinched at his own words.
"You hit Kikyo?"
The hanyou winced again. "Yes, dammit. I hit her. Hard. With my claws. Damn near tore out her spine. She never saw it coming--never thought I'd actually attack her..." His voice cracked, and he stopped speaking before it broke and embarrassed him.
"You...hit Kikyo...!" Kagome's voice was full of fearful wonder. "I...I'm sorry but...I just can't believe it..."
"Look, I--" Inuyasha took a deep breath, trying to steady his voice, which had suddenly gone all wavy on him. "K'so. I had to make a choice, okay? So I chose. You. Not Kikyo." His face burned at the admission, but there was no other excuse he could make. "She was killing you."
Kagome almost couldn't believe what her ears were hearing. Inuyasha had struck Kikyo--badly injuring her, by the sound of it--for her sake. "You did that...for me?"
He couldn't really formulate an answer.
"But...it wasn't very risky, was it?" Kagome asked, her voice suddenly sad, shocking him. "Either of us...if we die...you don't lose, do you? If we're really the same..."
"Kagome...!"
"I'm afraid of her," she whispered, barely audible to even his keen ears. "She...she said she would take my soul!" Her body trembled against him. "I don't want to die!"
"You won't!" Inuyasha snapped, his voice a sudden, sharp bark.
"My soul is mine," Kagome went on, no longer able to hide the shaking in her voice even as she tried to reassure herself. "I don't care what she says. My soul is mine. I am not her."
"I know." Inuyasha felt her shock through the muscles of her back.
"But I thought--"
"You thought I saw you as a substitute?" he snorted. "Not for a very long time, baka. In the beginning I was mad and stupid, and Kaede-babaa kept going on about reincarnation and all that shit. But I don't believe her--you two are way too different to be the same person in different bodies."
"But when we met you thought I was--"
"I did," he growled. "Like I said, I was mad and stupid and I just woke up from being pinned to that fecking tree for fifty years. The last thing I remembered was seeing Kikyo and getting shot--and then you were there. And you two do smell alike--kinda like sisters, almost. I dunno why--maybe it's your powers."
"Oh..." Confused and relieved at the same time, Kagome looked down, staring at the long-forgotten flowers in her lap.
Sensing her discomfort, Inuyasha got up from his place and crawled around to face her. "Kagome...you are not Kikyo. You're so different from her I... Well, you're not like her at all. Her eyes are gray; yours are blue. Her voice is quiet, yours is bright. Her hair is shiny and straight, yours is soft and wavy. Her face is always the same--and your face changes with what's inside you. You two're very different. Hell, I'm pretty damn sure your soul was never hers."
Kagome stared at him, her eyes searching glinting depths of his golden orbs. His face was focused, pensive, earnest, with a hint of his usual scowl as if trying to hide the play of emotions. "You...really mean that?"
He nodded, though his cheeks were bright red from self-consciousness at his long and rather eloquent speech. His ears perked at her, every sense tuned to catch each nuance of her reaction.
She couldn't help herself--she threw her arms around his neck, crying once again. "Thank you!" she sobbed, burying her face in his shirt. "Thank you...thank you...!"
"Um..." Surprised by her sudden display, he clumsily patted her shoulders with hesitant fingers, unsure of what else to do. "You're welcome...uh..."
"I just needed to hear someone say that," she whispered. "I wanted to hear you say it, but I never hoped...!"
Involuntarily, his uncertain hands tightened their grip on her. "Kagome...I..."
With perfect timing and typical volume, a new voice intruded upon their quiet moment. "Hey, guys, what's up? I heard from the others you took off without us. So what gives? We--whoa! Oh, jeeze, I'm sorry--!"
The embracing pair froze--or at least Inuyasha did. Startled, he jumped straight backwards, causing Kagome to plop onto her stomach on the grass. Blushing and growling, the hanyou glared at the wide-eyed little kitsune that stood at the top of the hill, staring down at them. "Shippo!" he snarled, furious at the tiny youkai.
"Shippo-chan!" Kagome squeaked as well, embarrassed. She hurriedly pushed herself upright, face red as she pulled her skirt back into place--it had ruffled up when she fell. "Inuyasha, what was that for?"
Instead of answering her, he continued to growl at Shippo.
"Oh, is that what you guys were doing up here?" the young fox-youkai asked. "If you wanted some alone time you could've just told us, instead of leaving everyone to worry. Did I interrupt? I'm sorry--I'll just head on back the way I came and let the others know, and you guys can go back to...whatever it is you were doing. Toodles!" The kitsune was trying to hide a smirk as he turned and trotted back toward the trees.
"Hold on, you little fox!" Inuyasha was on top of him in three bounds, jerking him up by the tail and snarling at him. "We weren't doing anything! The wench was just all weepy because Ginnezu pissed her off! Don't let your stupid imagination run away with you, you miserable little whelp!"
"Inuyasha..."
"Ulp." Slowly, Inuyasha turned to face her; she had that tone to her voice. He swallowed again when he saw the fists clenched at her sides, the furious redness of her cheeks, the dangerous sparkle to her eyes. Damn, she's pretty when she's mad, he thought insanely, wondering if that was one of the reasons his male ego saw fit to piss her off so often. He thought perhaps a verbal compliment might stem her rage--it seemed to work sometimes for Miroku--but the idea never reached his mouth.
"The wench? All weepy? Because I'm pissed?" she demanded. "Did none of this mean anything to you?"
"Uh..." Somehow, his tongue would not function. Apparently his earlier eloquence had exhausted his power of higher speech. K'so.
"Well, you did it again," Shippo said resignedly, with a shake of his upside-down head. "Would you mind letting me get out of range before you go down in flames?"
The hand that held the kitsune's tail reflexively loosened, and Shippo fell on his head. But instead of complaining, he just scuttled out of harm's way.
"You...you...you...!" Kagome's teeth gritted as she struggled to contain her anger. "You stubborn, selfish, low-down, thoughtless, half-witted dog!"
That stung. It hurt, far more than anything she'd ever said. "Agh...Kagome--!"
"Osuwari!"
Inuyasha slammed to the ground. No matter how he tried to brace himself, he was never prepared for the hard weight of force that pressed him down. This time it was a sit he knew, deep down, that he deserved. He welcomed it, in a way, for it allowed him to tear his eyes off of the horrible hurt and anger on her face.
Without giving him another glance, thought, or word, she turned on her heel and stomped over to her pack, upon which sat Shippo.
"Shippo-chan," she said firmly.
The kitsune gulped. "Ah--hai, Kagome?"
"Next time you come upon someone having a private talk, please don't walk up on them or make snide comments in their presence--okay?"
"Hai!" Shippo nodded vigorously, eager to avoid her wrath.
"Very good. Now, tell me what you're doing way out here," Kagome ordered gently, sitting beside the backpack.
"Well, Miroku and Sango got back just an hour or so after you left, and I arrived almost the same time they did. They met up with a youkai named Shirokiba--Kaede said he's a friend of Inuyasha's," Shippo related.
"That's right. Go on," Kagome pressed.
"Well, this crazy lady youkai--she tried to pick a fight with them, and Shirokiba told her to stop 'cause they're your friends. He's pretty cool, ya know."
"Yes, he is."
"Anyway, Kaede had to blow the whistle on our side, 'cause they were ready to splatter both those youkai all over the woods. Shirokiba and Kaede helped everyone get settled, and Miroku and Sango sent me after you guys, since they didn't want to leave the village alone with that Ginnezu lady. They're helping Shirokiba keep an eye on her."
"I'll have to thank them when we get back," Kagome said wryly.
"Oi, uh, Kagome?" Shippo said softly. "I think Dog-Boy's flown the coop."
Kagome whirled--but Inuyasha had vanished. Not hide nor hair of him could be seen anywhere. "Did you see where he went?" she asked of her kitsune companion.
"No--I didn't even hear him," Shippo confessed. "He can outfox me when he wants to."
Kagome stood up and huffed. "Well, fine!" she said loudly into the surrounding woods. "We can set up camp by ourselves! It's getting late, anyway. Come along, Shippo-chan."
"Hai!"
Kagome lugged her pack onto her shoulders and started walking back over the ridgetop towards a flat, sheltered place on the saddle of the ridge that she'd seen on the way up. Shippo trotted along behind her, quite subdued.
Sango started violently when Shirokiba seemed to appear out of nowhere right in front of her, nearly unloading her Hiraikotsu on him--but his desperate expression stalled her initial instinct.
"What's up?" she asked suspiciously. She still didn't quite trust this wolf-dog youkai character, even though Kaede-sama had vouched for him. She wanted to hear it from Kagome-chan or Inuyasha themselves.
"Have you seen Ginnezu anywhere?" he asked quickly.
"Not since she went back to Kaede-sama's with the houshi-sama," she replied tersely, leaning against the edge of the town well.
"She was sitting on the roof of Kaede's house when I showed up to check on her," Shirokiba said. "I asked Miroku how things were going, and when I turned around she was gone."
"Damn," Sango hissed. "Where do you think she'll go first?"
"From her pattern lately...I'd surmise she'll head straight for Kagome and Inuyasha."
"And that silly kitsune will lead her right to them," the taijiya growled.
"She's extremely infatuated with Inuyasha. I'm not sure what she might do." Shirokiba scowled, mentally kicking himself for letting the inu-youkai slip away from him.
"What now?" Sango asked, unsure of how to proceed when dealing with a powerful--and unpredictable--female youkai.
"You stay here and watch over the village," Shirokiba ordered. "Miroku and I will go after her and try to head her off. There might be a fight, but I'm not sure what mood she's in right now. She's been...very unstable lately."
"Good luck," Sango wished him, feeling more and more like she could trust this rough stranger.
"Arigato--I'll need it." With a nod to her, the youkai turned on his heel and dashed off in a blur.
Kagome shared a simple dinner of instant ramen with Shippo. Despite his weakness for the delicious noodles, Inuyasha did not appear. Kagome wondered where he might have gone...but at the same time she didn't want him to come back yet. She felt strange, confused--yearning for his presence, yet not wanting to face him.
She prepared for bed and got out her sleeping bag, Shippo yawning and curling up on the foot of it. It was quite dark; the only light for their little camp came from the dim glow of the embers of the fire. She tucked herself into her bag, but remained sitting up to stare into the fire for a time.
She had no warning when the feeling hit her. It was a tingle--like when a youkai approached, only it didn't leave her feeling cold and afraid. This feeling was warm and safe, like the previous night--just like that presence that had stayed beside her and soothed her nightmares away. It was a comforting feeling, one she'd noticed before but not really paid attention to until...
Something made her look up--and a pair of glowing eyes met hers at the edge of the fire's light. "I-Inuyasha?" she asked hesitantly.
The inu-hanyou came a little closer to the fire, close enough to let her see his features in the orangey glow. He crouched, unmoving, for a long time, staring into the embers, and Shippo did not even stir at his presence.
The warm tingle she felt...was Inuyasha? And when had the sense of his presence--usually a cold thrill like any other youkai--changed in her perceptions? Was it...caused by everything that had happened over the past few days?
She was drawn back to awareness when he came around the fire and stood over her, his expression unreadable in the dimness. She looked up at him--just a little afraid, but mostly curious.
"I'm sorry," he said softly. Without another word, he was gone; in a few pulls he was up in the branches of the tree above her, curled up on a thick limb near the trunk to watch over her.
For a while, Kagome sat staring into the fire, struck dumb by the surprise of having him apologize so abruptly and so sincerely to her. He was actually sorry for brushing her off and being rude to her--and actually saying it.
For a moment she wondered if somebody had switched Inuyashas on her.
But...he probably felt a little more sensitive toward her since their last confrontation with Kikyo. That choice...it had to have been torturous for him. He'd attacked his beloved miko just to save the life of a clumsy little schoolgirl that, by all accounts, he didn't even like very much. The inconsistency of it confused her--yet something deep inside her was intensely grateful...and even a bit glad.
With a tiny sigh, Kagome lay down and snuggled into her sleeping bag, trying not to disturb the sleeping kitsune at her feet, feeling so much safer with Inuyasha there with her. Deep in her heart of hearts, she'd known he hadn't really left her alone, but his tangible presence reassured her. She felt completely safe from harm with him watching over her, gruff yet protective, her golden-eyed guardian in the night.
Ginnezu had her Amplifier Amulet at full power and the Stealth Jewel enacted to its highest magnification. No one short of an oracle could have detected her youki, and not even a bloodhound would be able to track her scent. Even the sounds she made were somewhat muffled as she moved through the woods and meadows like a silver ghost.
She was able to find her prey easily enough; the pair had left a definite scent trail behind them, and the kitsune had only reinforced it by following them. It was very late at night, the crescent moon high in the sky and casting a milky glow on the landscape. Even in the darkness of the woods on the ridge, her night-seeing youkai eyes easily picked out the sleeping forms in the campsite. Two on the ground by the long-cold firepit, and one in the tree above them.
Perfect! They're sleeping like babies!
Moving with slow, smooth steps, she made her way into the campsite. Minutes passed as she carefully set one foot on the ground, then another, sometimes taking long seconds between movements. Though her youki and scent were hidden, the sounds she made were not completely masked--and even a slight rustle of pine needles beneath her feet could rouse the keen-eared watchdog above her.
Much as she wished to, she could not attack the little ningen sleeping at her feet. The slightest rise in her youki from its baseline state would surpass the protections of her Amulet--and even the faintest trace of that raised aggressive energy would bring the hanyou awake in a snarling instant.
She scanned the campsite, her slightly glowing eyes coming to rest on the human girl's backpack. Focused, she did not even allow herself a small smile as she slowly, cautiously made her way over to the pack. Ever so carefully, each movement gradual and silent, she began to pull items out, so slowly they barely made a sound. To the casual listener, one would think Kagome or Shippo were shifting on the sleeping bag.
Inuyasha's ears twitched once, freezing Ginnezu in place--but after long, breath-holding moments the hanyou did not stir, so she renewed her mission with increased care.
With cold, focused youkai patience, she continued to go through the items in the schoolgirl's pack. She had no idea what half of the things in it were, or what their function might be, so she set them aside; clothes, toiletries, food, books, writing utensils--a common girl's belongings, even if some of them were not very identifiable.
She found nothing of interest--not even wherever it was the girl kept the Shikon shards. Those were probably on her person, and Ginnezu did not want to chance being caught searching Kagome herself. The pack was bad enough--though she could make the excuse of cute curiosity if confronted.
One of the last items she pulled out, something hidden at the very bottom of the pack, was a small, thick book with a picture of a stupidly smiling canine on the front. "Your Dog," read the cover, and a snarling grin graced Ginnezu's features.
This is perfect! her mind squealed. If that hanyou knew the little wench had this, he'd be furious! What a silly book! His little pet is making fun of him...I really should help him out!
Unable to keep the smile from her face, she carefully replaced each and every item in Kagome's backpack in the exact order in which she'd removed it--all save the book. The fat little volume she left at the top of the tipped backpack--just a bit of it sticking out, just enough to catch attention.
That done, she very carefully retraced her steps, eventually exiting the little camp and heading silently for the woods. It had taken her a couple of hours just to complete her stealthy, methodical invasion, and now that she was through it just wouldn't do to slip up and ruin it all.
It was barely an hour until dawn and the hanyou would certainly wake--and guess what he'd find! She managed to hold in her laughter just long enough.
That night, if one were to have listened carefully with very good ears, one might have heard the sound of the wind snickering.