CHAPTER SEVEN

x.

"Inuyasha," Kaede said soberly, "have ye thought this over carefully?"

Inuyasha stopped his pacing and stared at her in disbelief. "Whaddaya mean?" he exploded. "You WANT me to get married?"

"No, I do not," the old priestess said, taking a small sip of her tea. Inuyasha had spent most of the morning flinging himself around her small house, ranting about Myoga, Rukusin, and his arranged marriage. It was all a little too garbled for Kaede to really understand, but the gist of it seemed to be that he was enraged by it all, and there was nothing they could do to make him go along with it.

"Then what?" The young demon crouched down in front of her, with his fists resting on the floor.

"Have some tea," Kaede said, offering him a cup.

"Don't want tea. What is it?"

"I know that ye are determined not to agree to this marriage. But ye must be careful."

"Careful of what? They can't make me do nothin' I don't wanna do."

"I understand that," Kaede said, staring at her tea. "However, there are other ways besides force that they may use to coerce ye into marriage."

"What?" Inuyasha looked genuinely disturbed for the first time. "Like what?"

Kaede's lined face grew grim. "Merely be careful, Inuyasha. And keep a close eye on Kagome and the others."

x.

The night sky was brushed by a gentle breeze. The sight of the stars sent a pleasant shiver down Kagome's spine without fog or pollution, the sky was so clear and transparent that the stars seemed to be slowly sinking down toward her. Whenever she went forward in time, she always found herself shocked by how distant the stars were.

Suddenly a bowl appeared in front of her face. "Here," Inuyasha said gruffly, setting it down beside her.

"Uh, thank you," Kagome said quickly.

Inuyasha sat down beside her and rested his own bowl on his knees. "It's hot, though. Don't eat it yet or you'll burn your tongue," he said, a little less gruffly.

"Thanks." Kagome picked up a leaf and began fanning her stew.

An awkward silence fell, broken only by the sound of Miroku and Sango talking with Kaede inside the house. Inuyasha's ears pricked slightly, but they were talking about something other than him. He sighed and rested his head on the wall behind him.

"I was really worried, you know," Kagome said suddenly.

"Huh?" Inuyasha started. "What? What were you worried about?"

"I thought..." Kagome hesitated. "I was... kind of afraid that you were going to go with Rukusin."

Inuyasha stared at her. "You... WHAT?"

Kagome looked down. "It's just that... I know your life has been really hard. So even though I knew it wouldn't be the sort of thing you would do, I was afraid... that you might be willing to go marry Rakura anyway."

"Where the HELL did you get that stupid idea from?" Inuyasha exploded, jumping to his feet.

"I just said I-"

"You think I'd just drop everybody, and the hunt for Naraku, just because of some princess I ain't seen since I was a baby? You think I'd sell everyone out just for the good life?"

"Of course not," Kagome said, flushing.

"Good." Inuyasha sat down heavily. "Then don't think anything that STUPID again. There ain't no way I'd just leave you behind because of some princess, no matter how pretty or rich she is. And I'm not gonna. That's the end of it!"

He began gulping down his stew almost defiantly. Kagome smiled a little. No matter how rough he was about it, she knew that he meant it nicely. And it was a relief for Kagome to hear him say out loud that he wasn't even tempted by marriage to Rakura. She began eating her stew as well, enjoying the sight of the stars, and the sound of Inuyasha wolfing down his food.

Suddenly they both stiffened. A familiar voice was calling, and Kagome saw a flash of red and black over the treetops, coming toward them.

"Damn." Inuyasha tossed away the bowl. "It's Rukusin."

TO BE CONTINUED