Fallen Star
by Jessa

Chapter 4: Strange reactions.

Sesshoumaru halted and turned to the youkai woman in mid-stride. Had she just asked what he thought she had? She must be either intensely courageous or immensely stupid. Maybe both, he thought.

Rin saw the expression on her caretaker's face and hid behind Hoshi, peeking out from behind the woman's kimono. To her credit, Hoshi did not cower in fear or even back away. In fact, she pulled herself up and stood even taller, as if daring Sesshoumaru to do something.

"Well...?" she asked when it was clear that no answer was forthcoming, her eyes glittering with amusement.

How do I answer this one? If I don't answer, she'll just keep asking until I do. I don't think she would stop if I threatened to kill her. I'm not even sure the wench would stop asking if I did kill her. The image of Hoshi's dead body still asking him if he was always 'stuffy' flashed through his mind, causing an expression of near-panic to cross his otherwise impassive features.

Hoshi could hardly manage to keep a straight face. Well, she thought, I think I have my answer. Now if he will say it. "Are you going to answer me or not, Sesshoumaru?" she asked, advancing on him, a very intent and curious expression on her face.

The woman is relentless. "No," he said finally.

"No, what? No, you're not going to answer me, or no, you're not always stuffy?" she asked, exasperated.

"Exactly," he responded enigmatically. He was glad that she hadn't been yelling. Otherwise, as close as she had gotten to him, his sensitive ears would be ringing.

Her mouth opened and closed a couple of times, then finally the audio kicked in. "Why, you..." She raised her right hand to slap him, but he caught her wrist before the blow could land. She tried again with her other hand, with the same results. "Let me go," she demanded.

"So you can slap me? I think not." His voice was low and husky, strangely seductive. Something about her suddenly aggressive behavior was having an adverse effect on him. Her proximity and scent weren't helping either.

Hoshi glanced up into the taiyoukai's face and immediately stopped trying to pull her hands from his grasp. Her nose picked up a change in his scent and her eyes widened. Maybe I shouldn't have pushed him about the question. I think he's gone off the deep end.

He suddenly released her and walked away. "Follow me," was all he said.

:o:o:o:o:o:

"He's going to his castle. I'm not going there unless I have to."

"Why?" Shippou asked. "What's the matter, Inuyasha? Scared?" The kitsune morphed into a large chicken and started clucking and laughing at the hanyou. Inuyasha kept his cool for all of a second, then began pummeling the kit, who squawked in pain and tried to run to safety.

"Inuyasha, leave him alone," Kagome ordered, looking up from the ramen she was making.

"Why? He deserves what he's getting," Inuyasha growled and continued hitting the smaller youkai.

"Inuyasha..." Kagome was getting irritated now, and her tone was turning dangerous.

"Fine." The hanyou released the kit and stalked off, muttering something about insensitive shard detectors and annoying kitsunes.

Kagome was getting worried when the sun went down and Inuyasha still had not returned.

"Relax, Kagome-sama. He's probably out sulking somewhere," Miroku tried to calm the young woman. "And besides, Inuyasha's a demon. He can take care of himself."

Kagome glanced up at the starlit but moonless sky. "That's what I'm afraid of, Miroku-sama. He's not demon tonight."

:o:o:o:o:o:

The sun was beginning to go down when Inuyasha started back for the camp. Tonight was shingetsu, the night of the new moon. His youkai blood had been waning all day, accounting for the difficulty he was having tracking Sesshoumaru and the female youkai.

Now, it was an hour to sundown, and he'd been wandering aimlessly for the entire afternoon. He figured he didn't have a snowball's chance in hell of finding his way back to camp before he went completely human, but he would try his damnedest. There was no way he wanted to get caught in this unfamiliar forest in his brother's lands alone and human. And virtually unarmed. Of course he had Tetsusaiga, but the blade wouldn't transform for him while he had no demon blood.

Trying to backtrack by scent alone turned out to be an exercise in futility as his normally extremely sensitive nose picked up fewer and fewer scents. He began swearing at himself for being so stupid by being out for so long.

He was still cursing himself an hour after nightfall, when he fell through the forest floor into what appeared to be a demon's nest.

:o:o:o:o:o:

Hoshi stopped suddenly when her ears picked up a noise that almost sounded like a scream. A moment later her nose caught the faint scent of a human's extreme surprise and a hint of fear.

"Someone's in trouble," she stated when she noticed Sesshoumaru had stopped as well and was now looking at her with a slightly annoyed expression.

Sesshoumaru looked at her curiously. "Your point is...?" he asked in his usual cold, unemotional tone.

The woman gave him a disgusted glance and very clearly said, "I'm going to help."

"It's probably just some stupid human who was wandering around in the forest after dark. They really should know better by now. This forest is full of youkai, all hungry for human flesh."

"I'm still going," she said stubbornly, then turned in the direction the scream had come from and was gone before Sesshoumaru could react.