The White Dog
by Becky Tailweaver
Chapter 15: Let's Go Home
Since Shippo was completely zonked out on the backpack when Inuyasha and Kagome came back, Kagome passed up dinner in favor of changing and getting out her sleeping bag. The riverbank was as nice a place as any to set up camp, so she spread her bag beneath a large tree a safe distance from the water--plus it was a place she knew Inuyasha would favor because it allowed him to sleep directly above her and keep watch.
Once she was sitting comfortably in her sleeping bag, beginning to warm her toes, she looked up to find Inuyasha crouched a few feet away, watching her. "What?" she asked softly
The hanyou looked down. "Nothing."
Kagome frowned; he was being oddly quiet, and his face was free of its usual grumbly look. "Did...you need something?"
"No."
"Um...okay then," she said hesitantly, lying down and turning over. "See you in the morning."
"Hn."
For a few minutes, there was silence; Kagome couldn't hear him moving and it seemed like he was still sitting there looking at her. She rolled over and looked at him. "Aren't you going to sleep?" she asked.
Inuyasha blinked. "Not tired yet."
"Oh..." Swallowing, Kagome looked down for a few moments, still feeling his eyes on her--but strangely, there was none of his usual anger or any sort of glare. He was just...watching her. It was a bit unnerving, but...by far better than the angry stares they'd exchanged earlier.
At length, she spoke again--even more softly, as if the sleeping kitsune might hear her. "Inuyasha...?"
He blinked again, his eyes reflecting glimmers of silver starlight. "Hn?"
"I really meant what I said...back in the woods," she confessed softly--and her words caused his heart to race.
"What?" he almost croaked, his throat suddenly dry.
"That I'm really sorry for what happened today," she answered, looking back up at him at last. "And...I hope it never happens again. I'm really...really glad we're friends."
She smiled again--a little smile still, but real, and free of the grayness and pain of before. For a moment more his breath caught.
"Uh...yeah," he finally said, rather hoarsely. "Me too." With a gulp and a cough, he shook himself and sat up straight, offering a faint smile of his own. "Never mind, Kagome--it's settled now. I'm sorry, you're sorry--now let's forget it."
She let out a breath of relief. "Okay. Goodnight, Inuyasha."
"Hm. G'night." Almost hesitantly, he moved past her, laid his claws into the trunk, and pulled himself up the tree. But instead of parking himself twenty feet up, as he usually did, he settled on the first large, low branch just a couple yards off the ground.
Kagome lay there, trying to sleep but ending up watching him out of the corner of her eye, unnerved by his unblinking golden gaze. He was still staring at her, even from his perch in the tree, the strangest non-expression on his face.
Finally, she turned her head to face him. "Look, I...I'm sorry, but I can't get to sleep if you're going to stare at me all night."
"Sorry." At last, heturned his head away and closed his eyes.
With a sigh, Kagome lay back down and shut her own eyes--yet still contemplating his strange behavior. He was being so odd--what was the matter with him? He was almost treating her like she was a different person.
Had something gone wrong when he'd come to find her? Had her argument with him and her words earlier...truly gone too far?
She shivered, a little afraid. Usually, he was grumbling his way up into the high branches of the tree, reminding her of how early he wanted to get started in the morning, and that would be it. Now he was quiet, brooding, distant--not himself at all.
With a troubled heart and a worried mind, she fell asleep at last.
Kagome awoke to the dappled sun shining brightly into her face and a firm warmth pressed against her back. The sun she recognized, and blinked blearily to clear her eyes. Jeeze, how late is it? Inuyasha didn't wake me up!
The second thing that woke her was the unknown she was lying against. Yawning, she sat up--and found a red-clothed bundle snuggled against the middle of her sleeping bag. She nearly gasped aloud, recognizing Inuyasha next to her. How he managed to fold his mostly-humanoid body up like that was a mystery to her--but there he was, curled up against her sleeping bag like a lonely puppy.
He was also sound asleep.
The sheer oddity of it struck her speechless for a while. She almost never saw him sleep--and certainly not this close to her. His head rested against her sleeping bag, chin pillowed on one arm, while his back had been against hers. Seeing his slightly pensive face and faintly twitching ears, she had a sudden urge to stroke his head, as though he were a pet needing comfort.
She fought the urge, though, as it would probably anger him; instead, she settled for touching his shoulder in hopes of waking him. "Inuyasha?"
At the sound of her voice, his ears went up and his golden eyes slid open. For just a moment, there was nothing but sleepy contentment in them, and it made her heart beat fast and her soul leap to see it there.
Then his gaze switched to surprise, then embarrassment, as his cheeks flushed red and he sat up quickly.
Inuyasha was startled to realize that it was quite late in the morning--almost noon, and he'd never slept in like that before. He'd hoped to simply stay the night near Kagome and then wake at dawn like usual and get away before she saw--but she had awakened before him! His mouth worked, but he had no excuse to give.
"You didn't wake me up this morning," she accused, half-joking.
"I...uh, I wasn't...I mean I didn't..."
"Oh for crying out loud, you're pathetic!" said a very loud, childish voice.
Both teens turned their heads to see Shippo sitting atop Kagome's pack, shaking his head. "Whatever happened to good morning kisses?" he asked with a world-weary sigh.
"You--kitsune--!" the inu-hanyou spluttered. "Keep your snotty thoughts to yourself! Whatever gave you the idea--?"
"Inuyasha spent the whole night right beside you, Kagome," Shippo went on matter-of-factly, interrupting the hanyou's tirade. "Actually, he came down the minute you were asleep. He thought he was being sneaky."
"You were awake?" Inuyasha demanded, his face crimson.
"I was awake when you guys came back," the kitsune said. "I thought you'd either be fighting or making up, and I figured I should stay out of it. I could see you'd made up, so I thought you guys would be getting friendlier." The kitsune had a rather smirky look about him.
"Shippo-chan, please don't start thinking like Miroku-sama," Kagome said defensively. "One is bad enough."
While the attention was off of him, Inuyasha took the opportunity to back away from Kagome and stand up. For once, he decided to rise above Shippo's baiting in favor of keeping Kagome in a good mood. Once he felt sure of himself, he announced that he was going to get the ramen on the stove.
"Can you handle that?" Kagome asked curiously, worried that he'd lose his temper with the little camp stove and trash it.
"I've seen you do it enough," he replied simply, fetching out the required items.
Kagome watched in astonishment as he mimicked her actions with the stove--setting up the stand, turning on the gas, priming and lighting the burner, and setting a pot of canteen water on the top.
"That...that was very good, Inuyasha," she praised, still astonished. "I'm surprised you figured it all out."
Inuyasha shrugged and crouched back to wait for the water to boil. "I don't know exactly how it works, but I know how to make it hot."
There's just no end to the surprises, Kagome thought to herself. First Inuyasha isn't acting at all like himself, then he's sleeping right next to me--touching me, even--and making breakfast for us.
Okay...so he'd done that yesterday, too, but the last few days had seen a lot of weird changes in her hanyou companion.
Their brunch progressed rapidly, and Kagome was packed and ready by the time the ramen was finished. They all ate quickly, then washed the utensils in the river and put up the camp stove. Kagome was ready to hoist her pack, but Inuyasha plucked it from her fingers.
"No you don't," he said gruffly. "I can carry it. We've got a long way to go."
"Where?"
The hanyou shrugged. "North."
Kagome frowned, prepared to express something that had been on her mind for a while now. "Inuyasha...we're not really going after a shard, are we?"
He froze, looked as though he were about to try a fib, then deflated. "No," he admitted.
"You really don't know where one is?"
"I know there's some rumors...but they lead to the south."
"So this is all a wild goose chase?" Kagome asked in disbelief. "Why aren't we going after some real shards?"
"I...I didn't want you to get hurt again. Especially so soon after...after Kikyo," the hanyou said haltingly--and the way he said it was not like him, either. Instead of angry and yelling, he was growly, but hesitant.
"Inuyasha..." Kagome stared at him, and her voice had the same quiet, annoyed tone she usually used when she was about to sit him.
He cringed at the mention of his own name, scuffing his feet in the grass. "I didn't want to go fight youkai when you're not feeling well," he said, his voice half-unconcerned--but it gave the impression he was speaking roughly to hide his real feelings. "And I didn't want to say so and end up with you mad at me again."
The schoolgirl-turned-amateur-miko was now certain that someone had either cast a spell on him, or switched hanyous on her. This was Inuyasha? The person speaking almost nicely to her, hesitating to go after more Shikon shards, and worrying about her well-being?
Impossible! Where was his temper? Where was his touchy pride, his surly snarls, his arrogant attitude and rough speech? What on Earth had happened to him?
"What's the matter with you?" she demanded suddenly.
He stared at her, his golden eyes unusually large in his face. "Huh?"
"What happened?" she asked him, concerned. "Yesterday you were your usual self all through our fight. Then last night and this morning you're all weird!"
"W-weird?" he stuttered.
"You've...changed," she said carefully. "You're being...nice. And you're not yelling at me."
Inuyasha gulped. Sure, he was trying to behave as though everything were perfectly normal--but he couldn't muster the surly dislike nor the cruel inflection neccesary to snarl at her, nor be rude when he spoke. Not any more--he just couldn't bring himself to be that mean to her...not after he found out...
Not after he found out that she loved him--really loved him; not like Ginnezu's overblown infatuation, but the pure strong love of an innocent girl. He wanted to keep things the way they were--he didn't want the sacrifice of love to cut her down like it had Kikyo--but knowing that she cared about him that way made him want to be closer to her, to treat her with kindness, and to protect her all the more. He simply couldn't growl nastily at her.
"I didn't want to make you upset again like yesterday," he finally grumbled.
"Oh..." So that was it--he was simply trying to avert her wrath. "Okay. Thank you," she said with a sweet smile. "Then can we go home?"
"Huh?"
"Well, I've got three more days after today to stay here," she said cheerfully. "And if we're not hunting shards I'd rather not be traipsing around the countryside. I don't have good shoes for traveling."
"Oh..." Inuyasha looked down, chewing his lip.
"Sheesh, something really did happen to him," Shippo voiced loudly. "He's acting like a geek."
"What did you say?" Inuyasha snarled, pouncing towards the kitsune. "Who are you calling a geek, fox?"
Kagome laughed while Shippo cowered. "I guess he's still the same Inuyasha," she giggled. "You had me worried for a while, there. I thought Kikyo had sucked out your brain or something."
"What?" The hanyou looked at her askance. "Why would she do that?"
"Never mind--old movie thing," Kagome chuckled, starting off toward the south. "Just don't get all weird on me, okay? Are we going?"
Inuyasha swung on her pack. Coming alongside her, he touched her shoulder to stop her. "Kagome, wait--if you come with me, I think we can get home by sundown."
Kagome stared at him for a minute, struck once again by how amiable his voice was. It still held that canine roughness he could never shed save in his human phase--but it was a soft roughness now, not his usual hot, barking tones.
"Okay." She smiled, and waited for him to crouch before climbing up and clinging to him over the backpack. "Are you sure you can carry all this?" she asked softly.
"Keh!" he snorted, sounding a bit more like his usual self. "I'm not a weakling--I'll be fine." He flicked a glance towards the kitsune. "Better keep up, Shippo!"
Kagome held on tight through the initial tense and spring of his muscles as he leaped into his customary ground-eating lope. A glance behind her revealed Shippo scurrying along, keeping up well enough; it was one of the rare times she actually saw the little kitsune in his true form--that of a young red fox with cute black paws and blue eyes instead of amber.
Riding Inuyasha was not like the rocking-chair feeling of a galloping horse. Rather, it was more like a boat over small waves; smooth, yet with a rise-and-fall sensation as his forelimbs hit the ground and his hindlimbs reached just behind them to push off again. It was quite pleasant, not jolting at all. He wasn't sprinting full-out, in which case his hindlimbs would reach ahead of his forelimbs to spring off and his body would flex and bow to push a longer stride. He was simply cantering, covering a lot of ground rapidly with the easy lope and famous endurance of the canine race.
Shippo kept pace well for quite some time. A couple of hours passed as they made their way back over ground they'd traveled at a walk before, and only then did Shippo transform back to his humanlike appearance to hitch a ride and take a breather.
Some time after that, Inuyasha began to pant, his tongue lolling and his breaths puffing in time to his strides. He certainly wasn't as dead worn as he was the day he'd run himself into the ground, but he was beginning to feel fatigued, carrying the extra weight of Kagome's large backpack, besides Kagome and Shippo themselves.
In the late afternoon, Kagome began to insist he stop for a rest. When he could finally be persuaded to halt, he dropped the pack and flopped in the shade to doze for a few minutes--before gulping some water and taking off again.
Kagome didn't understand why he was driving himself so hard--especially when it was for her sake alone, not a mission or a shard. Shippo continued to alternate between running and riding, trying to avoid being a constant deadweight.
The sun had set and the last rays of light were peeking over the hills by the time the familiar village in Musashi's Domain came into sight. Kagome breathed a sigh of relief--mostly that she could get off of Inuyasha and let the poor hanyou have a break. She still had a hard time believing that two days' walk for her was just an afternoon run for him, and he'd never carried her so far or so long before. He even continued to hold on to her pack as the trio walked across the fields into the village proper.
The villagers spotted them coming from a distance--and almost immediately, a very relieved Miroku, Kaede, Sango, and Shirokiba appeared to greet them. Sango and Kaede hugged Kagome, Miroku gave a respectful hello, and Shirokiba growled and cuffed Inuyasha affectionately in greeting. All four were glad to see them returned--quite frazzled after having to babysit Ginnezu for so long.
And soon enough, the Silver inu-youkai appeared out of nowhere, launching herself at Inuyasha and knocking him over backwards, pack and all. Hugging him tight, she wailed piteously for all the world to hear.
"Oh, Inuyasha-sama, I was so lonely! I'm so glad to see you--it's been terribly dull here! Why did you leave me behind?"
"Ginnezu!" Blushing, Inuyasha shoved her away--mostly to keep her nose and lips away from his sensitive throat, where she kept nuzzling him. He didn't know why his face was so red, but what she did unnerved him. "Knock it off! Get off me!"
"But Inuyasha-sama--!"
"Get off!" With a quick shove and a backwards jump, he managed to extricate himself from the clingy inu-youkai female. Free of her grasp, he unstrapped Kagome's pack and handed it off to Sango, who swung it over her shoulder and followed the other women.
Kagome herself was looking very sleepy, so he brushed past Ginnezu to go to her. "Hey, don't fall over," he cautioned. His tone was scolding, but he put a loose arm around her shoulders and guided her toward Kaede's hut.
Kagome was too surprised to resist.
The others' eyes bulged at his kind gesture toward the girl. They were all left standing in awe--and thus they didn't see Ginnezu's shocked stare, which quickly changed to a Glare of Death toward the retreating couple.
Despite her great efforts to make them hate each other, they'd come back closer than ever--or so it seemed. If her trick didn't work, she'd have to come up with something even more devious. With a rumbling growl, she turned and darted off toward the forest.
Shirokiba was the only one who saw her, but decided not to follow.
Inside Kaede's hut, Inuyasha sat Kagome near the fireplace and retrieved her pack from Sango, who was headed for her own sleeping quarters.
Kagome watched the hanyou in some amazement, rather puzzled as to why he was being so kind to her. It was entirely new--not unwelcome, but very unfamiliar. She noticed him walking somewhat gingerly when he brought her pack to her, so she gave a short intake of breath and caught his hand before he could leave. "Inuyasha, are you hurt?"
"No!" He pulled back, his tones sharp at first, then softening a bit. "No, I'm not. Why?" He was gruff again, his short voice trying to keep her from prying further.
"You're limping," she stated, concerned. Struck by a sudden thought, she turned over the hand she held and was surprised to see blood. "Inuyasha...!"
He jerked his hand away. "It's nothing," he growled.
"I told you not to run so much!" she scolded, taking his wrist again and pulling him down beside her. "Now you stay here and don't leave."
Inuyasha snorted, grumbling, but complied, folding his limbs to sit and staring into the fire.
Kagome headed over to one of Kaede's chests and fished through it, bringing out a few clean cloths and a jar of something sealed with wax. "This will make you feel better," she said softly, breaking the seal and opening the container. The smell of herb ointment wafted through the room while she dampened the cloths in Kaede's water pot.
"I don't need medicine," Inuyasha grumped. "I'll be healed by tomorrow."
"So you deserve to suffer tonight?" Kagome asked him, a touch sharply. "Let me see."
With a low growl, he held out his hands. Choosing one, Kagome began to gently swab away the grit, splinters, and blood.
Even as she worked, she gave in to a guilty bit of interest--looking closely at his hands, she realized that he really did have padlike callouses from the way he ran. When his hands were suitably cleaned, she made him put out his feet so she could do the same there, and was able to satisfy her previous curiosity about them. He had thick, rough, calloused skin on his feet as well, as though his body were trying to imitate the pads of a dog's paws.
He twitched when she washed between his toes; she hid a smile at the thought of him being ticklish.
As she dabbed on the ointment, she noted the patterns of the cuts, blisters, and wear on his limbs. The injuries stopped at the balls of his feet, not extending through the arch and heel. On his hands, only his fingers and the front of his palms were blistered, not the heel or thumbs. She realized that when traveling on all fours, he really did move like a canine, walking up on the "toes" of each limb.
As much as he denied the dog in the inu-youkai part of himself, it was an amazing and intricate part of his design.
Inuyasha could admit to himself that the ointment was cool and soothing; it made the heat go away and dulled the sting of torn skin. Kagome's soft hands smoothing it into his injuries was pleasant, too--more soothing in its own way, and he found himself lulled by the gentle touch of her fingers.
He shook himself a bit to clear his head. Kagome almost seemed a bit captivated in inspecting his hands and feet as she worked, so as soon as she was finished with the salve he withdrew them from her perusal with a touch of embarrassment that he quickly hid. He knew she was just curious, but it still made him self-conscious when people stared and poked at him, no matter their intentions.
"You should get some sleep," he said gruffly, breaking the quiet. When he made as if to rise, she caught his arm.
"Wait!" she said quickly. "If you go walking around, you'll wear off the ointment and get dirt stuck all over your feet."
"Kagome...!" he growled. "Why didn't you say something about it before?"
"I forgot." She blushed and fiddled with one of the cloths, wiping ointment off of her fingers. "Sorry..."
Inuyasha rolled his eyes and rumbled softly. "Never mind. I'll stay. But you better not scream at me for being here tomorrow, because this is all your fault."
"Okay, I promise I won't," Kagome laughed, brightening.
Inuyasha scowled over in the corner, adamantly not looking, while she changed into her pajamas and got into bed. When she was finished, he glanced over at her, golden eyes meeting crystal blue. "Good night," he offered, not quite so harsh.
"G'night..." she yawned, already drooping.
Inuyasha crouched in the corner, barely lit by the embers of the dying fire, waiting for her breaths to slow down. When her rhythms indicated she was sleeping, he hesitantly crept over to her, curling up at her side with a deep, tired sigh.
He fell asleep very quickly with the gentle sound of her heartbeat in his ears.
When morning came, Ginnezu was once again perched on Kaede's roof, completely unconcerned. Sango and Kirara were strolling around the village, enjoying the warm morning, while Shirokiba and Miroku were parked on Kaede's porch.
Shirokiba was teaching Miroku an old youkai gambling game, "Stones and Bones," in which painted stones and carved animal teeth are used as complicated dice. The human was only just getting the hang of it, even after a couple of hours of play; it was an intricate game, a strange combination of poker, Yahtzee, and jacks.
They didn't have to wait long before Kagome emerged from the hut, looking bright and chipper as she greeted them all cheerfully. Shippo was just about to ask her if she'd seen Inuyasha when the hanyou himself walked out behind Kagome with a toothy yawn and enormous stretch.
The group gaped at them, and Ginnezu nearly fell off the roof. Miroku dropped his stones in surprise. "Kagome-sama! You and Inuyasha weren't--?"
Inuyasha reddened and sputtered, while Kagome suddenly blushed at all the staring faces aroud her. "What? No way! You guys, get your minds out of the gutter!"
Kaede emerged from her home at her usual stately pace, sighing at the confusion outside. "You foolish children," she said, exhasperated. "Kagome merely treated his blisters."
"Yeah, that's all!" Inuyasha was quick to confirm.
"Nothing happened!" Kagome said firmly, then followed Kaede to get breakfast. Inuyasha glared at the curious audience, growled, and trotted off after her.
Ever the nosy ones, Shippo and Miroku put their heads together.
"Do you think they're really...?" Miroku asked.
"Definitely. He was all snuggly with her yesterday morning," Shippo replied.
"So there's romance in the air," the monk said with a sly smile. "This should be entertaining."
"I have absolutely no comment," Shirokiba sighed.
"Stop it, you two," Sango ordered, indignant. "Discussing Kagome-chan and Inuyasha's love life like it's common gossip--that's so rude!"
"They don't have a love life," Miroku said. "At least not yet."
"But how do we know that?" Shippo asked. "I wasn't with them the whole time."
"So it's true?" Miroku asked.
"Shippo, just what are you suggesting?" Sango demanded, aghast.
The little kitsune shrugged. "I'm just saying I didn't see everything, so how do we know they aren't--?"
Ginnezu, who was listening above, was growing more and more irate with every word they spoke. Finally, with Shippo's comment, her temper snapped, and she leaped down from the roof.
"You stupid humans!" she snarled. "You're pathetic if you think Inuyasha-sama will fall for a weak little ningen wench!"
While everyone stared at her--and Shirokiba rubbed the bridge of his nose in half-embarrassed annoyance--she growled, then dashed off toward the woods again.
"Is she jealous?" Miroku asked of Shirokiba.
"You have no idea," the youkai muttered in reply.
Life proceeded normally--or as close to normal as it got--for a while. Ginnezu had vanished. Shirokiba took her place dozing on Kaede's roof. Sango and Kirara went out to make some money exorcising youkai. Miroku hung out with a few female groupies from the village who thought he was cute--not very pretty girls, but it was female attention, nonetheless.
Shippo annoyed Inuyasha, who was following Kagome around rather like a lost puppy. Kagome was generally enjoying some fresh air and pleasant conversation with Kaede, all the while puzzling over the inu-hanyou following her about with a somewhat forlorn expression on his face.
Later in the afternoon, when the day reached its hottest, Kagome announced that she was off to take a dip in the river that ran near the village. Miroku tried not to act interested, while Shippo bounced up and down at the prospect of trying out his new swim trunks again. Kagome went to change in Kaede's hut and left the menfolk to their own decisions.
Inuyasha decided to tag along with Kagome, waiting for her to emerge from the hut. Shippo and Miroku opted to head straight for the water.
On the way to the river, Shippo spotted Ginnezu in the tree above Kaede's hut, obviously listening to what was going on. He jumped on Miroku's shoulder and yanked the monk's ponytail for attention. "Hey, look," he whispered.
Miroku also noticed the Silver inu-youkai. "What do you suppose she's up to?" he wondered softly.
"I betcha she's spying on Inuyasha 'cause she's jealous, like Shirokiba said," Shippo replied. "Do you think she's gonna bother Kagome?"
Before they could wonder further, Ginnezu slunk off, heading for the woods in the direction of the river.
"There she goes!" Miroku hissed. "We'd better follow her and keep her out of trouble."
They moved out. It wasn't long before Ginnezu realized she was being followed, and they noticed she altered her course away from the river. "She's not going to let us know where she's going," Shippo commented as they crept along. "I bet she'll lead us around in circles and try to lose us. I was right--she wants to get to Inuyasha alone, and since he's where Kagome is..."
"She'll try something, like Shirokiba told us. Well, just as long as she's leading us and not bothering Kagome-sama, we'll keep this up," Miroku sighed, then continued to hike after the crafty inu-youkai. "Ah, the beautiful sights I give up in the interests of helping my companions..."
"I hope we don't lose her," Shippo murmured. As long as they followed her, she wouldn't be able to enact whatever plan she had.
So they stuck to her like...well, like fleas on a dog.