CHAPTER FIVE

"And who is THIS lovely young lady?" the older man said.

Yukiyo could feel herself blushing again -- but this time with mild embarrassment. Inuyasha had led her to where the rest of his group was staying. He hadn't talked much, but he had told her that they were a demon-slayer, a monk, a kitsune fox, and a demon cat. Yukiyo wasn't sure why a monk and a demon-slayer would travel with someone like Inuyasha. It must be a sign of how special he obviously was.

The monk turned out to be a little older than Inuyasha, with an unshaved dark head and very compelling eyes. The girl next to him was nearly as pretty as Kagome, though she wore body armor and carried a giant boomerang.

"Yukiyo, Sango and Miroku," Inuyasha said, flicking his hand from Yukiyo to the others. "Miroku and Sango, Yukiyo. She's a priestess-in-training from the village near here."

"A pleasure to meet you," Miroku said warmly.

"Back off, monk. She's only thirteen," Inuyasha growled.

Sango's eyes narrowed, and she glared at the side of Miroku's head. The monk pretended not to notice, but he looked uncomfortable. "Really, how nice," he said. "You look much older than you are."

"Well, enough of that," Inuyasha said, waving Miroku aside. "There's a jewel shard in the neighboring village, so we're gonna be staying there for at least a day while Kagome and I track it down. Pack up your things and follow me."

A few minutes later, Miroku, Sango and the tiny fox with them were ready to go. Sango was wearing a skirt now, and rode on the back of a giant demon cat, while Miroku and Inuyasha walked with Yukiyo. She wasn't sure, but she thought that Inuyasha was keeping a close eye on Miroku.

Miroku was handsome, but he was too... too ORDINARY. He was just a human man. Besides, he was a monk. All the monks Yukiyo had met were rather boring, and usually claimed devotion to good behavior and good karma, and she supposed that Miroku was like that too. Inuyasha, with his brash behavior and strangely alien good looks, was much more interesting.

Yukiyo smiled a little. I'm just glad Kagome wasn't his wife, she thought.

"Huh?" Inuyasha suddenly looked at her. "You say something?"

"Uh, no!" Yukiyo said, feeling herself flush again.

Inuyasha shrugged, and they continued their way back to the village.

"Thank you, my dear," Aiko said, smiling. Her round, wrinkled face and kindly manner reminded Kagome of Kaede, although Aiko was much older. She limped over to the window and looked out at the road. "I think I see your young man returning with Yukiyo."

Kagome paused, with an armful of logs held near the hearth. "She seems awfully young to be getting ready to be a priestess," she said.

"She is young," Aiko said ruefully. "Especially in the mind, I fear. I had an apprentice with me before Yukiyo, and she was nearly ready to take my place. But alas, she went to help an old man stricken with a terrible fever. After he died, she caught the fever as well, and died also. So I had to begin training Yukiyo instead."

"I'm so sorry," Kagome said, a little stunned. But I shouldn't be surprised, she thought. After all, not every priestess dies as dramatically as Kikyo did.

She continued stacking firewood and stirring the pot, until a familiar voice called out, "Kagome!" A silver head appeared in the doorway, pushing the screen out of the way. "C'mon, we ain't got all day! We gotta find that jewel shard and quick!"

"Just give me a minute to finish the stew," Kagome said.

"I'll do it," a small voice said. Yukiyo slipped around Inuyasha and moved over to the bubbling pot. "There are a few special spices I always put into it."

"Thank you, Yukiyo," Kagome said, a little surprised that the girl had spoken so many words to her. The young priestess-in-training seemed unusually shy, so much so that Kagome hadn't heard her speak to anyone except Aiko and Inuyasha.

As Kagome slipped out to meet Inuyasha, Aiko glanced at her young pupil. Yukiyo's hands were stirring the pot, but her face was turned to the window. Through it, she could see Inuyasha, with his arms crossed and his silver hair shining in the sunlight. He was talking animatedly to Kagome. Yukiyo quickly looked down again; her reddened face, Aiko suspected, had nothing to do with the fire's heat.

Oh dear, Aiko thought, sighing.

TO BE CONTINUED