A/N: I really shouldn't complain since you guys have been wonderful and given me the most reviews I've ever gotten for just 3 chapters… but I'm worried about the dropping numbers of reviews for each subsequent chapter. If you don't like the story, please tell me why! It's the only way I know how to improve my writing. Anyway, whiney author stuff aside, please read and enjoy the story!
The Broken Miko
Chapter 4: Divided Interests
She stood in the midst of the massacre. Her tears mixed with the blood on her cheeks, creating red droplets that streaked down to her chin and fell on her once white shirt."Inuyasha!" she screamed.
A figure raised itself from the carnage and turned to face her. It was Inuyasha, as she had never seen him before. He was so battered that she couldn't see a spot of flesh without a splatter of blood. Tetsusaiga hung loosely in his hand, unnoticed and untransformed. But his eyes caught her attention the most. They shone with every pain he had ever endured and were now focused on her in sadness.
"Oh, Kami…" she whispered. She tried to move towards him, but her legs were paralyzed. "Inuyasha?"
His hand suddenly tightened around the hilt of Tetsusaiga and his golden eyes blazed in fury. "This is your fault." The Fang glowed and grew to its full size.
Black clouds swirled overhead and it began to rain. As she watched the male hanyou with a wary eye, she noticed that his hair was turning crimson. She realized with a jolt that it was raining blood. Somehow, she knew it was the blood of her fallen friends.
Her feet suddenly began to work and she scrambled backwards from her love. "Inuyasha! No! What're you saying?"
"Your fault!" he snarled as he ran towards her at breakneck speed with Tetsusaiga glowing red in his hands.
"No!" Kagome shot up on the branch and immediately lost her balance.
Below her, Sesshoumaru had been in deep meditation when her full weight crashed into his lap. His eyes snapped open and his hand reached out to crush the throat of the intruder.
The hanyou screamed again as she spotted the vicious golden gaze upon her, but it was cut short as his hand closed around her windpipe. She lifted a clawed hand and smacked her attacker, leaving four thin lacerations in his cheek.
He hissed and removed his hand from the spy's throat to feel the damage.
Kagome rolled off his lap and leapt to a crouching position a few feet away. "Sit!" she yelled.
Sesshoumaru blinked as the final haze of his meditative state lifted and the scent of mandarins hit his nose. "Wench," he growled, "I am not Inuyasha. You cannot control me thus."
She froze. Her hands flew up to her face and although it was wet with tears, there was no blood. Looking up, she saw traces of the coming dawn stretching across the sky. There were no ominous clouds and no crimson downpour. "Oh… oh…" she repeated over and over again in a faraway tone.
The Western Lord sneered at her dazed expression. "I am not Inuyasha," he repeated. Lifting his hand once more to his cheek, he wiped away the blood from his now healed wounds.
Kagome inhaled slowly, breathing in the full-demon scent of Sesshoumaru. Her eyes grew wide as she realized the sage and lavender mixed with the metallic smell of blood. "I hurt you," she whispered, leaning forward on her knees, still winded from her fall.
"It has healed already," he pointed out, faintly wondering if he was trying to reassure her or whether he was simply telling the truth.
"Either way, I'm sorry." She pushed herself to her feet and looked around once again. The unchanging scenery reassured her that she was not still dreaming.
His eyebrow arched. "I have no need of your apologies."
"I'm sure you don't, but I'm giving you one anyway," she snapped, as she tried to rub the remaining sleep from her eyes. The images of a suffering Inuyasha planted themselves in her mind and she knew that the nightmares would continue. Her fingers rubbed harder into her eyes, nearly gouging them and making her wince in pain.
A soft fluttering sound echoed through their small clearing and the two adults turned their heads to locate the source of the disturbance.
Washi stumbled out of the shadows, his wings and hair rather ruffled. "What's going on? I heard something."
"You must sleep like the dead," commented Kagome, regretting her self-punishment as her eyes burned. "Remind me not to ever put you on watch during the night."
The young demon didn't attempt a comeback, remembering his last thought before he had fallen asleep the night before. 'She will eventually get tired of trying to insult me,' he reassured himself. So he simply stretched his wings slightly and tucked them back tightly, making him appear diminutive and beaten-down. His actions caused an uncomfortable quiet to surround them.
Kagome shifted her weight and felt her miko garb cling to her back. It was heavy with sweat from her terrifying dream. "I need a bath," she murmured, breaking the silence.
Sesshoumaru gave her a pointed look that said she was simply stating what he had known for hours.
"You could have woken me up, you know," she hissed at him. "Stopped my nightmare before it offended your sensitive nose."
"You offended my sense of smell, not the nightmare," he countered smoothly.
She grumbled unintelligibly, strode over to her bag and plucked out her towel and the homemade soap she 'found' in the village market a few weeks ago. Kagome didn't have the skill of Miroku to con people out of their possessions, but she did have the stealth to steal things from the market. When she had become a hanyou, she had realized how oblivious humans were to the world around them.
"Like candy from a baby," she muttered, throwing the bar of soap up into the air and catching it deftly. Quickly, Kagome left the clearing and walked towards the hot springs, without a word or look towards the others.
Washi stared after the girl for a moment and waited until he was sure she couldn't hear them before turning to the Western Lord. "Will she ever be okay again?"
Sesshoumaru glanced at him. "She is too stubborn to let go of her pain."
"She thought you were that Inuyasha guy," the child said quietly.
'So the boy was awake this entire time after all,' he noted silently. Aloud, he said, "I am aware of that."
"Do you look like him or something?"
The taiyoukai's nose twitched ever so slightly. "He was my half brother. We shared certain physical traits, nothing more."
Washi's curious eyes swept over the powerful body of the demon lord, but his breath hitched as he saw the empty left sleeve. Sesshoumaru had tackled him so effortlessly the previous night that the boy had not even noticed the missing appendage.
The demon lord's eyes followed Washi's line of sight. "Stop that."
He blinked and muttered a soft apology for staring. After a few moments of blushing and fidgeting with one of his dropped feathers, he looked up at Sesshoumaru once again. "What happened to your arm?"
The inuyoukai sighed inwardly, but decided the boy should have the truth and not the version perpetuated by Jaken. "Inuyasha severed it in the midst of a fight over the Tetsusaiga."
It was the truth as Sesshoumaru saw it, short and simple. Not some glorifying tale that made Inuyasha a cheat and the taiyoukai a victim. He was anything but a victim. He would freely admit that he had miscalculated Inuyasha's movements, but that was all. It had cost him an arm, but he had gained a wealth of experience. The girl had been the hanyou's strength, with and without the Tetsusaiga. He would never underestimate her again. Until she went insane of course.
"You mean, that sword Kagome has?"
"Yes," he answered, keeping his growl inside his throat. After all, the child would not be a good companion for Rin if he was terrified of the demon that Rin idolized.
On the other hand, Washi seemed too stubborn to allow a growl or two scare him away. Yes, the taiyoukai certainly got stuck with the hardheaded types. He vaguely wondered why that was.
"Why do you want it?"
Sesshoumaru considered his question for a moment. Why did he want Tetsusaiga? Obviously, it radiated with the power of the taiyoukai that had been the previous Lord of the Western Lands. Or he could go with the more emotional explanation and say that he wanted his father's sword as a reminder of him, although it wasn't really true. He had other heirlooms for that, if he had been the nostalgic type.
Either way, ever since he had acquired Tokijin, his father's legacy had dimmed in importance. So perhaps it was more appropriate to ask why he wanted it in the past.
"I do not want Tetsusaiga for my own purposes anymore," he said finally. "But I will not allow it to fall into unsuitable hands."
"Is Kagome unsuitable?"
"Yes. But not as unsuitable as others in this world."
They were quiet for a moment as Washi moved closer and sat beside the inuyoukai. "No offense, Lord Sesshoumaru, but I hope you're wrong. I think she's a good person. She doesn't deserve to suffer like this."
"She does not like you," he pointed out.
The child shrugged. "I don't think it's me she dislikes. It's the idea that anyone can replace that kitsune she was talking about. I guess I kind of present her with some difficulties. She doesn't want to lose the kit's memory."
Sesshoumaru's eyes widened a fraction. The boy was quite astute for one so young. The inuyoukai had chosen well. Washi would be a positive influence on Rin, certainly better than Jaken. "How did you come up with this theory?"
His face twisted in thought. "I think it's because I feel the same way about my own parents." He looked up at the taiyoukai. "Promise not to laugh?"
"This Sesshoumaru never laughs."
"Hmm, okay," the boy muttered. "Well… I just got this feeling when I saw Kagome. Like I had a mother again and she was it. I thought she would take care of me and love me like my real mother did before she died. I felt like Kagome would stay with me, and she wouldn't leave me alone. I feel like I've known Kagome all my life."
"I fail to see how this relates to your theory about half-breed's emotions."
Washi smiled sadly. "As much as I want someone to love me like a mother again, I feel bad for dishonoring my real mom. Like by feeling this way about Kagome, I'm forgetting Mama."
Sesshoumaru glanced at the boy beside him. Truly, he had matured during his incarceration. Or perhaps he was always this intelligent from the time he was born. It wasn't uncommon among nobility's demon children. He himself had much of the same qualities as Washi, minus the ridiculous emotions and attachment to the female hanyou. "You never forget your real mother," he said finally.
"I guess so." He began to smooth out his wings with his talons, preening the feathers and putting them back in place. "Do you think we can help her?" he asked after a short silence.
"No. Nor do I have the wish to do so."
The ice in his tone almost made Washi shiver. "But you're going to help her on this mission, right, Lord Sesshoumaru?"
"I am not sure what her mission entails," the taiyoukai commented, "but I am bound to be her travelling companion, so I must accompany her." He recalled the girl's admitted lack of skill with the Tetsusaiga. "I must protect my father's sword from my captor, so this arrangement serves both our purposes."
Washi wanted to ask him more about his family, but his stomach chose that moment to make its presence known. He blushed as it growled. "Um, is there anything to eat?"
Sesshoumaru stood up and sniffed the air, suddenly aware of how long it had been since he'd had a proper hunt and a proper meal. "There is a demon a short distance away. Come. We will hunt it."
"I've never hunted before," admitted the boy, the blush spreading and darkening considerably.
The taiyoukai stared at him for a moment in disbelief. By the time he had been Washi's age, Sesshoumaru could perform many battle exercises flawlessly, and he certainly knew how to hunt. "I will teach you," he said finally. "A demon is nothing without the skill to care for himself." He nodded once to the child and they began to walk towards their unsuspecting prey.
Kagome crouched on the tree branch and studied the banks of the hot spring. The steam drifted lazily over the surface of the water and the small stones dotting the edges of the pool. Soft moss covered the boulders and a few surrounding trees. It seemed deceptively peaceful to the suspicious hanyou, but once she was confident that no demon or human lurked nearby, she leapt down and began to undress.
Placing Tetsusaiga on top of her dirty clothes and in easy reach, she smiled wistfully. "Always protecting me, huh? Even when I'm bathing," she murmured as she slipped into the warm water, taking her white shirt with her.
A breeze picked up throughout the clearing, giving Kagome goose bumps on her bare arms and making her duck further into the hot water.
She scrubbed the grimy cloth with her soap and rinsed it out, repeating the action with her red pants and undergarments. She concentrated on her movements, trying not to allow her mind to wander to Inuyasha and all the times she 'sat' him for seeing her naked, aware of the extreme irony of the past. After all, before he died, Inuyasha was her future mate and therefore very welcome to join her in the hot springs.
A blush crept across her face that wasn't caused by the heat of the water. Kagome remembered how he had reacted when she shyly invited him to the springs. At first, she was offended at his rejection, but then he explained that if he came with her, they would be officially mates much sooner than planned. He wanted to wait until Naraku was dead.
"Waiting. Whatever," she huffed, blowing some hair out of her eyes. "Would it really have been so bad?"
"I don't know. Would it have been?"
Kagome dove for Tetsusaiga, hissing in surprise when she saw that it wasn't there.
"Looking for this?"
She whipped around to see the wind sorceress, Kagura, standing next to the sheathed sword and relaxed only slightly. "You could have warned me you know," the miko accused, sinking back into the warm water. "And stop using your little parlor tricks to move stuff, especially Tetsusaiga."
Kagura smirked. "Just making sure you weren't going to start swinging the damn thing around before you knew it was actually me."
The hanyou shrugged. "Do you know how many times I've been attacked and spied upon while bathing? I think I'm allowed to be a little edgy."
The red-eyed demoness circled around Tetsusaiga carefully. She was able to move it with her wind powers, but to touch it would give her a nasty shock. The sword had only two masters, one of them being dead and the other being the young woman in front of her. "Anyway, I was in the area and smelled you. I thought I'd drop in."
Kagome tilted her head. "If Sesshoumaru catches you here, he'd rip you to shreds. He hasn't forgotten that your old master kidnapped Rin."
"His anger towards me is nothing compared to Koga's." She tucked her fan back into her sash and smiled, showing off pointed fangs. "Too bad he has such a good memory though. He's such an excellent candidate."
Brown eyes narrowed in suspicion. "I might not want to hear this, but a candidate for what?"
Kagura seated herself on a large boulder, carefully arranging her kimono before answering. "For being the father of my child, of course, Kagome."
"A child!" breathed the hanyou. "You want to have a child with Sesshoumaru? Um… Just to remind you, he's not the nicest guy ever."
Shaking her head, the wind sorceress let out a soft chuckle. "If you really want to be a true demon, you have to learn that love is pointless. Just pick the strongest male you can get and take what you need. And I need an heir. Naraku did leave me that palace after all, and I've been expanding my territory a bit over the past few months."
It was a half-truth. Naraku died and no one else had claimed the mansion, probably since he had slaughtered the entire family of the previous owner. Kagura simply stayed in her former prison and cleaned out the stench of the spider hanyou.
"I don't want to be a 'true demon', Kagura. I've seen what that does to a hanyou like me. Really, I took a risk wishing to become a half-demon. I just want to help people." She leaned her head back and wet her hair. "Besides, I happen to think love is very important."
"Well, excuse me if I disagree," she answered with another toothy smile, which quickly fell to an expression of cruel curiosity. "Do you want him?"
Kagome's eyes widened. "No! Of course not!" She blushed. "I mean… Sesshoumaru is a good looking guy and all, if you're into that vicious killer thing…"
"Which I am," commented the wind sorceress.
"Right. Well, I'm not."
The demoness leaned forward. "Never mind the personality. Like you can ignore that body."
"Kagura! I swear, you've gotten downright perverted since freeing yourself of Naraku."
Kagura just continued to smile at the girl. A comfortable silence fell over them as Kagome washed her tresses and mentally lamented the permanent loss of modern era hair products. Eventually, she emerged from the water and put on her demon exterminator outfit.
"I really hate those clothes."
"Said the woman who looks vaguely like a candy cane in that kimono," quipped the miko.
"What?" The sorceress's eyes narrowed, not sure what a 'candy cane' was, but certain that it wasn't a compliment. "I was just saying that it's not the most easy thing to be around. I had my fair share of run-ins with that demon slayer friend of yours. She was powerful."
Kagome glanced down and pushed Sango out of her mind before tears would form. "Yeah, I guess so, but it's not like I'm going to exterminate you any time soon."
"Good. I don't feel like a fight at the moment."
The hanyou sat down on a smaller boulder and pulled on her boots and outer armor. "So, what're you doing here, Kagura? Really?"
The demoness smirked a bit. "I can't just drop in to see you?"
"During the five minutes I'm away from a guy who wants to tear out your throat? What a lucky coincidence," she retorted, sarcasm lacing her voice.
"I'm crushed to think that you don't trust me," the wind sorceress answered with mock pain and a hand up to her chest. They both knew that she had been watching the miko from afar for an opportunity to talk alone.
"I've never trusted you, Kagura." All joy, hollow or not, disappeared from the hanyou's tone.
The wind sorceress raised a delicate eyebrow. "I owe you my freedom and my life. Why should I do anything against the woman who saved me? I am indebted to you."
"No, Inuyasha saved you. You're indebted to him."
"I was. You were to be his mate and helped him in the battle that destroyed Naraku. The debt transfers to you." Kagura looked at Kagome out of the corner of her eye. "Don't mistake yourself. You are not my master like Naraku was. No one is my master now."
"I know that. But you know, you've visited me about five times since the final battle, and I'm still not sure how you intend to repay this debt."
Kagura frowned in thought. "I suppose that instead of giving me orders, you ask me for favors, and I choose to carry them out or not. It will continue until I feel that I have settled my debt, or until you die."
"Hmm. I hope that we settle the debt before I croak."
Yet another silence enveloped them, as Kagura considered the miko's statement. Ever since Kanna had left the mortal world, the wind sorceress had been alone in her suffering under Naraku's harsh rule. Her quest for independence became even more intense in those months, but the evil hanyou's grasp simply tightened around her heart, literally.
The physical pain of those months after Kanna's death was something that even the insensitive wind sorceress could not bear to remember without flinching. When Naraku died by Inuyasha's hand, she freed herself from a cruel master in time to realize that she now owed a debt to her former enemy and his friends, including his future mate.
At first, the idea had been repulsive and the demoness shirked her duty, despite Kagura's intentions to clear her name of Naraku's filthy reputation.
But then, Kagome inherited Kagura's responsibility. And to her surprise, the hanyou didn't judge her on past meetings. She understood that Kagura's will had not been her own and she freely gave the wind sorceress an undeserved second chance.
In truth, Kagome had become the closest thing Kagura ever had to a friend.
"Is it my imagination, or does your hair have more red in it than last time I saw you?"
Giving her a look, Kagome rolled her eyes. "You know I haven't done anything to my hair. And don't change the subject, Kagura."
"Fine. So, do you have any favors to ask of me?"
The miko blinked. She had expected more debate over what Kagura would and would not do in order to repay the debt. "Actually, yes."
"It only took you six months," snickered the black-haired demoness.
"Well, I didn't really want to drag you into this. You might have to bow down to the wishes of more tyrannical loonies." She dragged a hand through her slightly damp ebony and crimson hair.
"Hmm, you're in luck. Dealing with loonies is my specialty," Kagura answered. "Mainly because I worked for one."
"Just worked for one? Don't you mean that you were one?" Kagome raised an eyebrow.
The wind sorceress narrowed her eyes. "Just tell me what you want."
The miko stood up and tucked Tetsusaiga into place. "Have you heard anything about the guy who captured Sesshoumaru?"
"Someone captured Sesshoumaru? So that's where he's been all this time."
"I guess that's a no," the miko said with a roll of her eyes.
Kagura waved her hand to dismiss the trivial matter. "Tell me more of what you've heard."
Sighing, the hanyou muttered, "Not much, which is why I'm kind of hesitant to tell anything to Sesshoumaru. He likes facts, not assumptions. And all I know is that some lord, probably of the demon kind, is encouraging rebellions in all four of the Lands."
She decided not to mention the other tidbit she had picked up in the last six months. Considering how many demons she had to smack around to get the information, it was probably safe to say that not many people knew about it. And she wanted to keep it that way. After all, it was something Kagome would take care of herself.
"I heard about the insurgence in the South," mentioned Kagura.
"Yeah, that's where Sesshoumaru got caught. And anything that can capture him is something to worry about."
"I agree. You know, I have been hearing more rumors that might interest you, Kagome."
The hanyou leaned forward a bit with her ears twitching in anticipation. "Good! What is it?"
"It might not have anything to do with this mysterious lord you're after, but I believe it is too convenient to just be a coincidence." Kagura bent over and trailed a hand through the steaming water. "Demons and humans alike are saying that the tengu are out in full force."
"The tengu?" echoed Kagome. Her eyebrows knit together. "Come on, Kagura. I've practically lived here for four years and I've seen some pretty weird things, but I've never seen a tengu. I think they're one of the few demons that only exist in legend. That, or demon exterminators killed them off long ago."
Kagura shook her head, almost causing her hair ornaments to fall out. "Tengu were killed off by other demons. They kidnapped children and, in response, humans created mobs and murdered any demon they came across, tengu or not."
"So youkai killed them to protect themselves."
"Yes. I thought they were extinct, but apparently, there's a rash of kidnappings across the country. Almost all of them have been the children of landholders."
"Interesting," said Kagome thoughtfully. "Kagura, I would like for you to find out more if you could."
"Spying is another of my specialties," she answered with a serious expression.
Kagome nodded, aware of how many times the demoness had spied upon her and her friends. "We think the guy has a certain symbol. An eight-sided star with one of the points piercing a circle. Look for that if you can." She mentally searched for the pendant, but remembered that she had tucked it into her bag back at the camp.
Kagura bowed her head, silently agreeing to her request.
"Good. If anyone starts to get suspicious about you asking questions, tell them that you want to join the mysterious lord. Don't put yourself in danger though."
The youkai shrugged. "I don't really care about danger. If I must play the part of a double agent, I will. Even if it means bowing down to a few more 'tyrannical loonies', as you say."
For the first time in days, Kagome allowed her gaze to soften. "You're a good friend, Kagura. Thanks."
The wind sorceress quickly wiped away the expression of surprise that briefly crossed her face. "You're welcome," she murmured, not used to saying it. She pulled a white feather from her locks and threw it down. It immediately grew to the size of a small boat and Kagura kneeled upon it. "I shall visit you again soon," she said calmly as the feather lifted and began to fly away. "Goodbye, Kagome."
The hanyou waved her farewell and began to gather her belongings. Slowly, she wandered back to camp, feeling the warmth of the early morning sun dry her hair and the fur on her ears.
After fifteen minutes of meandering, the scent of blood reached her nose. She quickened her pace and burst into the clearing, only to find Sesshoumaru and Washi licking blood off their claws.
"Oh Kami," she said, sighing and wrinkling her nose. "What did you kill?"
"Demon," mumbled the brown-haired youkai.
"Clearly," Kagome answered with a disgusted tone. Then she smirked at the taiyoukai. "Tell me, did you make sure it was a lesser youkai before slaughtering it?" She shaded her eyes from the rising sun's light to see his expression.
Washi's eyes grew wide, but Sesshoumaru was unfazed. "Yes," he said simply, immediately allaying the child's fears.
"Well, I hope you enjoyed your breakfast," she muttered as she put her miko garb and bathing supplies back in her yellow bag. Pulling out an apple, Kagome rubbed it on her clothes and bit into it.
The boy nodded vigorously. "Lord Sesshoumaru said I did well!"
Kagome blinked. "He complimented you?"
"The child did well," Sesshoumaru intoned, confirming Washi's words. "I had no need to hide the truth."
Washi beamed.
The miko rolled her eyes and sat down next to the dead fire. "So, when do we leave?"
"In a few moments. How far are we from the old miko's village?" He continued to clean his claws with his tongue, similar to a grooming feline.
Kagome shrugged. "About three days' walk. But we should go much faster when you use that little flying puffy thing, right?"
"Flying… puffy… thing…" he repeated slowly, seemingly annoyed that he was forced to say a word like 'puffy'. "Are you referring to my transportation cloud?"
"I like 'flying puffy thing' better, but yes."
"That would not be wise."
"Why not?"
He stood up and watched the sky for a moment. "Earlier this Sesshoumaru smelled the scent of Naraku. You say he is dead, and that may be true, but his minions still lurk about." Golden eyes locked onto her brown ones. "Would you know anything about that, wench?"
Kagome gave him a playful smirk. "I don't trust anyone who ever wanted me dead. Obviously, that includes any surviving underlings of Naraku."
Sesshoumaru's eyes narrowed into dangerous slits, but decided she was telling the truth. "I believe we should walk to the graves and then on to my home. We will not attract as much attention that way. It is hard to lose spies when you are in the sky for all to see."
After silently thanking Kami that Kagura had been downwind of her during their conversation, Kagome finished her apple and licked the juice off her fingers. There were definitely some advantages to living in the Feudal Era and pesticide-free fruit was one of them. She just wished that they had under-wire bras. Wrapping cloth around one's mid-section just wasn't the same.
"So then we'll be doing the pedestrian thing, huh?" She stood up and dusted her hands off on her pants, leaving smudges of tan dirt.
Sesshoumaru nodded as he watched her drape her cloak over her body, hiding the curves previously shown off by the snug taijiya outfit. Tetsusaiga's hilt glittered at him before disappearing from view.
She fastened the garment at her throat. "Ready to go?"
"Yes," he clipped, slightly irritated at the girl's leisurely attitude. No wonder it took her five months to find him in that disgusting dungeon.
He reminded himself that she at least was no longer in that foul mood she had been in when she landed on him earlier that morning.
Kagome shouldered her bag and spread out the fire's ashes, hiding the evidence that they had ever been there.
"By the way," she said, straightening up from her dusty task, "we have to stop in a human village today. If I remember correctly, we can reach one by midday."
Sesshoumaru stiffened and Washi cowered when he noticed the furious glare in the taiyoukai's eyes. "This Sesshoumaru will not go to a village of human filth."
She shrugged. "That's fine. You can stay at the edge of town while I go and acquire some more food. That apple was all I had besides the ramen, and I'm sure you wouldn't want me to be unhappy, would you?" she asked, with a sly grin, knowing the inuyoukai must be getting quickly frustrated.
"Very well," he conceded after a few moments' deliberation. "You may have a very short time to buy your supplies." He shot her a scathing look. "But you may not steal."
Kagome's mouth dropped open. "But I don't have much money! I have to steal!"
"I will not risk you drawing unnecessary attention to yourself by getting caught. You will buy the food."
"I won't get caught," she replied with annoyance etching her face. "I've become an artist at it. No one will even see me."
"There is no artistry in skulking about in the shadows, stealing from weak humans," he hissed, allowing true anger to filter into his voice. He could accept that she no longer cared for protecting life, since it fit quite well with his own philosophy. But he could not trust a thief. His tone must have indicated as such, because her harsh expression faded and her eyes dropped to the ground.
"Fine," she muttered. "We'll do it your way."
He resisted the urge to smirk at his victory, aware that it would cause a continuation in their argument and further delay. "Then we shall go."
Two minutes later, the clearing was empty.
A/N: It took me forever to get this chapter the way I wanted it, so I hope you enjoyed it! It might be about a week before the next chapter is out since I have a major research paper due this week and I haven't even started. PLEASE review and make my day better! Anyway, on to the review responses!
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