I do not own Inu Yasha. I've got a Sesshoumaru wall scroll (which I probably got ripped off for) and that's it. Kouga in the next chapter, I promise.
Kagome's Goosebumps were the only outward signs of her apprehension. She mentally patted herself on the back for suppressing her shivers. Until Inu Yasha paused to sniff the air, she thought she was doing quite well. The hanyou turned to look at her and she had to erase the brownie points she had just awarded herself with. She was so close to cashing them in.
To help preserve her sanity while in the Feudal Era, Kagome had worked out a system. When ever she did anything good; like hitting on target with an arrow, calling and successfully using her miko powers, not sitting Inu Yasha until his back broke, etc; she'd award herself a brownie point. It was on a mental scoreboard next to a chart that displayed prizes or luxuries she could cash the points in for. It was a game that allowed her to still have some of form of a normal life when she was home and something to look forward to when she was out risking her life everyday. More than once it had kept her from screaming until her vocal cords gave out. Kagome had been hoarding her points, passing up things that a normal high school student wouldn't think twice about and certainly wouldn't consider a privilege worth earning. She had been looking forward to an entertainment she had forgone since her fifteenth birthday. 'It didn't look like anything good was playing at the Cinema anyways. Maybe in a month or so there will be something worth going to see.'
Kagome shifted from foot to foot, pulling her thoughts into the present to bring her eyes up to the half demon in front of her. "Is something wrong Inu Yasha?"
"Keh. I could ask you the same thing wench." The silver haired young man looked her with more than a hint of exasperation. It nearly overshadowed the concern but coupled with the tone of voice it left little doubt that far from sympathetic to her mysterious plight, the main emotion was annoyance.
While Kagome had been having her mental review of her scorecard, Inu Yasha had been studying her. Her lack of sleep was definitely catching up with her. She looked harried, thin. The bags under her eyes had grown so large; he half thought they could be used to store the overflow from her yellow backpack. Shaking his head to clear the sudden comical image from his mind, Inu Yasha cocked a dark eyebrow at her. "Well?"
"I'm just tired Inu Yasha." Kagome studiously ignored the 'NO SHIT' look her hanyou friend was giving her.
"You have been sleeping rather ill of late Lady Kagome. Is there perhaps something you wish to share with us? Some concern you have?" Miroku kept his eyes on Kagome but saw the look Inu Yasha gave him. A barely perceptible nod told the hanyou the monk had seen the look of gratitude given to him for asking the question Inu Yasha couldn't.
Sango and Shippou opted to remain silent but they did look interested in Kagome's response to the monk's question. With everyone's attention focused on Kagome, Inu Yasha was free to look around. He took a deep breath and extend his hanyou senses for all they were worth, trying to find the cause of spice of fear that lightly seasoned Kagome's scent. The miko was not terrified, but something was causing her worry and a small amount of fear to flow on the wind with her scent. Sango noticed Inu Yasha looking around, took in the narrowing of his eyes. She found herself catching his eye.
Silent communication flowed between them and Sango lightly fingered her boomerang bone. She too started looking around for a threat. Miroku noticed this and trusted his companions to find the cause of Kagome's now obvious distress. He kept his eyes on the miko who flushed under his gaze and lowered her eyes to the ground.
It really was quite a fascinating piece of ground. One of the more interesting Kagome had stared at in some time. The path was worn with the years of much use. A few stubborn tuffs of grass tried to grow. Maybe tuffs was too strong a word, just a few small stalks here and there, no more than ten of so in a grouping. Surely a tuff was more than ten, right? The reddish brown dirt was solidly packed down, not a lot was blowing around in the slight breeze. A small stir here and there. Were they like cyclones to bugs?
Wanting to help his mother/friend, Shippou slowly moved to stand next to Kagome. Looking up at his adoptive mother, he turned his head to look at he ground. The kitsune scratched his head in confusion. He just didn't get what was so fascinating. He opened his mouth, about to ask, when Miroku caught his eye and shook his head.
"Lady Kagome?" the monk asked gently.
"I just, I'm tired. I've got tests coming up soon and I'm not prepared. I'm worried that I won't get a decent grade on them and I'll have to repeat the school year." Kagome smiled at her friends. "I'm sorry if I worried you guys, I'm just really worried about my academic career."
Having sensed no threat nearby, Sango pulled her hand away from her weapon. She knew as well as anyone that while Kagome's 'academic career' may very well be worrying her, it wasn't the cause of her present concern. Being born and raised in the Feudal Era; Sango was unfamiliar with bobble heads but she would've been astonished at Kagome's sudden resemblance of one. The enthusiastic nod, the stretched smile, and painted good humored eyes were as plastic on her friend's face as anything that ever graced a vehicles' dashboard.
Patience was not a virtue of Inu Yasha's and he was at his current limit. "Look, are we going into the village or what?"
That got Kagome's attention. "You WANT to go to the village? You HATE villages!"
"Yeah, and? You said you sensed a faint jewel shard aura in this direction. We can ask the villages about any demon attacks that have increased recently. You can take the time to do some studying. Miroku can see if there is a village miko who might have a potion or something to help you sleep at night. He's wanted to visit a market anyways. Sango could visit a blacksmith to tend to some of her weapons that need work. We could use a restock of some supplies too. "
Now the hanyou had everyone's attention. Four pairs of eyes looked incredulously at the half demon. "What?" he bit out defensively. "We won't stay long, a full day at most. You all always complain about needing a break! We do need to restock; I don't think we can last on food and stuff until we get back to the well. It's not fair Kagome always supplies that stuff anyways." Inu Yasha's ears twitched in annoyance. 'What are they staring at? Did I suddenly grow another head?'
Dumbfounded Sango repeated "You don't think…?"
"What, you think we can? Feh. Not unless you want to eat what I bring back from hunting and bandage your wounds with leaves!" The proverbial light bulb went off over his head. "Yes Sango! I CAN think! I have the mental capacity to realize that we need a break and restocking. I am capable of noticing your needs and wants even if I don't always show it. I can observe, reason, and decide things! Sometimes I even dress myself ALL BY MYSELF! I did real good today; my robes are on right side out and everything!"
Inu Yasha crossed his arms in front of his chest, noting with smug satisfaction that his pack looked properly sheepish. "Gods, you'd think you all saw me as some overbearing, slave driving, narrow sighted jerk. Not capable of noticing or caring about you and unable to have a thought if my life depended on it." He grumbled. The looks on the faces of his pack and friends stopped his thoughts and blood cold. 'Wha? They DO think that? I was being sarcastic!'
The four companions looked at each other incredulously. Sango recovered first. "Well, I guess we should go down to the village then." She started down the path. Sensing her mistress's distress, Kirara hopped onto Sango's shoulder and nuzzled her neck. Sango absently stroked the fire neko's fur. Deep in thought, she continued towards the village. After a moment or two, Miroku and Shippou followed. Kagome looked at Inu Yasha, opened her mouth as though to say something and thought better of it. She too made her way to the village.
After a few steps she turned to Inu Yasha. "Aren't you coming?"
"I don't know Kagome. Being the idiot I am, I forgot how to walk. Can you tell me how? Being a hanyou, I'm only half as smart as a demon or a human!" Inu Yasha spat the words out, his anger as thick as Naraku's miasma. 'This is what they really think of me? Fine! Just fine!'
Kagome walked back to Inu Yasha. When she was standing right in front of the hanyou she stopped and stared levelly at him. "Stop it. Just stop it Inu Yasha."
"Stop what Kagome? You have to spell it out for us halfwits." Inu Yasha pinned her with his heated glare.
"Give us a moment, okay? You said it yourself; you don't always act like you notice our wants and needs. You can't act like that then be surprised when we are too shocked to react right away. Give us a moment." Kagome held out her hand. "For now, let's just walk to the village together."
Inu Yasha ignored the hand and strode angrily down to the village. His movements were tight, barely controlled. He clenched his hands to stop them from shaking, such was his anger. At the last minute, when he would've stepped out of the forest and into the village, he stopped.
"Inu Yasha?" his ear twitched and swiveled at the sound of Kagome's voice. Without giving any indication that he heard, he swung sharply to the left and leapt upwards into a tree. Leaves rustled and fell, marking his way through the foliage as he disappeared into the tree line.
Kagome sighed and stared once more at the village. 'Come on, just because it LOOKS like the village from my dream doesn't mean it is. It doesn't mean that anything I dreamt will happen. Don't think about it. Just go through with Inu Yasha's plan.' Kagome let a small real smile grace her tired features. 'Inu Yasha's plan. I always knew he was a softie underneath, but who would've thought he was so practical and considerate! It's really mind-blowing! He was sooo mad though! I'll wait for him to calm down before I try to explain to him.'
Kagome joined the rest of her friends at the finest house in the village where, due to a timely ominous cloud, they were setting themselves up for the next day and a half. She nodded at the servant who showed her the room. Once the paper screen slid back in place behind her, she set down her backpack and plopped down next to Sango. Miroku and Shippou were already digging into the tea and tray that had been brought to them. Kagome accepted her cup from the monk.
"So, any thoughts on the sudden change in Inu Yasha?" Sango sipped her tea and looked at her friends in turn.
"I can't believe he said all that. He always acts like we'd drop from exhaustion before he'd let us stop for a break." Miroku set down his cup and sighed. "Not that I'm complaining about his change of heart mind you."
"It's simply unexpected." Sango agreed.
"He was almost nice." Shippou popped a piece of sushi in his mouth.
"Where is he now Kagome? Didn't he come in with you?" Sango looked at her friend and noticed her downcast expression. Not that it was terribly different than her now normal expression, but Sango felt this particular face was connected to Inu Yasha. She still longed to pull Kagome aside and talk to her about what was bothering her, but the behavior of Inu Yasha was currently more important. When Sango talked to Kagome, it was going to be without the possibility of Miroku or Shippou eavesdropping.
"He was really angry. He stormed off into the woods. I called to him but he just ran off." Kagome stated quietly.
Miroku nodded. "Well, that's fairly normal. He'll pout for awhile; when he comes back we can talk to him."
"What will we say? 'Oh, you're right Inu Yasha, we DO think you are overbearing and a bit of a jerk but we love you for it anyway?' I'm sure that'll go over real well." Kagome put down her cup, the tea sitting ill in her stomach.
"Nope. Miroku's rules." Shippou nodded sagely, completely missing the looks the others shot him.
"My rules?"
"Uh-huh. Rule 1: Let the woman calm down first. Rule 2: Just because it's true doesn't mean you should say it."
"You've been teaching Shippou about women?" Kagome's eye twitched and she glared daggers at the poor monk. Miroku smiled nervously back at her, silently cursing the kitsune.
"Shippou, disregard everything the pervert told you." Sango looked like she could happily throw Miroku out of the room and maybe out of Japan.
"YOU'VE been TEACHING SHIPPOU about WOMEN?" Kagome demanded, eye twitching furiously. In her current sleep deprived state, the fury sharpened her features and Miroku involuntarily shivered at her near ghoulish appearance.
"He's right. Inu Yasha needs to calm down. Then we can talk to him, but don't say anything that will upset him even if it's true." Shippou continued as if the monk next to him wasn't about to be murdered.
"YOU'VE BEEN TEACHING SHIPPOU ABOUT WOMEN?" Kagome shouted.
"It's okay Kagome. I know better than to listen to him. He does have a few pearls of wisdom but most of its garbage. I know that. If he truly knew anything about women, he and Sango would be together right now."
Sango by this time had a fist full of Miroku's robes and looked ready to let him have it when Shippou's comment reached her ears. She flushed bright red.
Inches away from death, Miroku decided 'the hell with it' and caught Sango's eyes. He let his eyes fill with the heat he felt for her and smirked. His eyes fell slowly to her lips. He slowly ran the tip of his tongue along the bottom of his lip. Miroku didn't need to see her eyes to know what was in them. He felt her hands tighten and saw her breath hitch. Raising his eyes to hers at last, he smirked wider.
Sango flushed even more. Her hand unfisted his robe and slid her hand upwards, brushing his cheek and curving around to the back of his head. Miroku's eyes widened fractionally. He raised his cursed hand and placed it on her hip.
Leaning forward slightly, he brought his lips towards Sango's ear. Fighting the urge to lick the pink shell, he whispered huskily "It seems I do indeed know a thing or two after all."
He pulled back and a glance at Sango's face and the evil smirk there was all the warning he had before the hand behind his head painfully grasped hair. With the reflexes honed from years of combat training, Sango threw her body away from the monk's as she slammed him face first into the floor. Leaning over him, she whispered in his ear "You know nothing."
Oblivious to what was going on around him, Shippou made his way over to Kagome. When he neared her, she scooped him up and cuddled him close. Noticing her death glare still pinning the monk, he put a hand under her chin. "It's really okay Kagome. I listen to him, but I know better than to believe him. I'm a young, not stupid."
Kagome finally stopped glaring at Miroku to look at Shippou. What she saw must have reassured her because she nodded. Tired of being the adult he wasn't, Shippou decided he needed a reward. "Can I have some pocky please?"
Kagome nodded again. Squeezing the kitsune once more, she gently set him down and went over to her backpack to get the well deserved snack. Handing it to him, she thought of the hanyou who would love some pocky after a nice big supper of ramen.
After the meal and the tea were gone, there was still no sign of the red clad hanyou. "You say he went into the woods Kagome?" Sango was spreading blankets onto the futons they were given. She stopped to look up at Kagome. "Maybe you should go after him."
Kagome had her pajamas tucked under one arm and was about to exit the room to change in another one. "You think he'd listen to me?" Kagome bit back a yawn.
Noticing how tired she truly was, Miroku offered his services. "I'll seek him out. You get some rest Lady Kagome. I'll talk to him."
"Really? You don't mind?" Kagome tried, unsuccessfully, to hold back a yawn again. Miroku nodded at her. She shot the monk a grateful look as he moved past her to exit. Shippou scampered after him, leaving Sango and Kagome alone.
Sensing this was the best opportunity she would get, Sango took a step towards Kagome. A rather loud, jaw creaking yawn stopped her from moving those final steps towards Kagome. Sighing, the demon slayer decided her friend needed sleep right now more than she needed questioning. Kagome changed and snuggled down onto a futon and was asleep nearly instantly. Sango looked towards the sun that still had a little while before setting. 'I hope Miroku knows what he's doing. We need Inu Yasha back with us and back to normal.'
"Madame Exterminator? A word if I may?" an advisor to the Lord of the Manor was hovering beyond the screen. Covering Kagome with a blanket, Sango checked to make sure all traces of Kagome's future belongings were out of plain sight.
"Yes, you may enter." The advisor came in and sat in front of the low table that still occupied the floor space by the window. Wisely choosing not to comment on the hole in the floor and the head sized dent in the table, he studied Sango a moment before speaking.
"You are a Demon Exterminator. Your traveling companions are a Monk, a Miko, and a demon child. Your monk has been most helpful in dispensing the ill omened cloud, my Lord wondered if you could aide the village in another matter."
"What kind of other matter?" Sango's interest was pique. She did wish that Miroku was here. The monk's glib tongue would be able to pry information on the Shikon aura Kagome sensed without being too blunt. Sango was a warrior, not a diplomat. She knew how to speak, but she was better at letting her actions speak for her and was weary about tipping her hand to this man.
As if sensing her thoughts, the advisor looked around. He saw Kagome already asleep but the other members of this strange group were gone. "Perhaps I should wait for your other companions to arrive before speaking on such a matter."
"The monk and the demon child have left to meet up with the fifth and final member of our group. They will lead him here." Sango mentally congratulated herself on that bit of truth and lie.
"Ah. I was unaware you were expecting another. I will have more food prepared and another futon brought in."
"We thank you for the hospitality of your Lord. It is indeed appreciated." Sango wanted to know why the man was here. She longed to shed pleasantries and ask him straight out.
"It pleases this house to be of service to you. Since you are a Demon Exterminator, I will tell you of the matter that brings me here. You can share the information with your companions when they arrive and return an answer to me." The man coughed into his hand.
"For some time this village has lived in relative peace. Lately that peace has been shattered by an evil Demon." The Advisor paused, the intensity of the gaze the young woman before him took him slightly aback.
"What kind of demon is it? Do you have a description for me?" Sango's eyes were bright and alert. The problems with Kagome's secrets, Inu Yasha's hurt feelings, none of that she could easily help with; but this, THIS she could do quite well.
"It does not have a form that indicates it is an animal recognizable to man. It is red, stands as tall as a tree. It has glowing orange eyes, sharp claws and fangs. It has a horn on one side of it's head. It appears to have had another horn on the other side which was (I can only assume) taken in prior combat." The advisor frowned in concentration.
"Does it come during the day or the night?"
"Both. It seems to have no schedule, showing up every few days."
"Does it every take anything or anyone? What powers has it displayed?"
The old man was very impressed. Most fools who set themselves up as heroes never had asked any of these questions and had usually wound up dead as any other villager. The fact that the girl was taking time to find out about the demon spoke very highly of her indeed. "It destroys fields, housing, kills human and farm animals, it will sometimes take killed animals and humans, but never live ones. It is my belief the demon eats the fresh kills." He paused to gather his thoughts. "It is exceptionally strong. It hasn't displayed any ability beyond that."
"No poison or fire breathing?" Sango demanded.
"Not that I can recall."
"No offense, but I need better than that. Surprises in battle are never good and surprises like I mentioned are surprises that can kill you." Sango narrowed her eyes in thought.
"If you would like, tomorrow I can arrange for you and your companions to speak to some of the people of the village. I'm afraid I have given you all of the information I have."
"That would be wonderful. I have every confidence my friends and I can take the demon based on what you have told me, however it never hurts to have more information than necessary."
"I see now that I have come to the right people for the job. I have faith in your abilities. I shall have that food and futon sent around, then leave you to rest. Good evening." The old man rose, then bowed to Sango. He left the room, carefully sliding to screen back, so as not to make enough noise to disturb the slumbering priestess.
Sango's mind whirled. It was quite possible this demon held a Shikon shard. Even if it didn't, the group could take it easily. She couldn't wait for Miroku and Shippou to return with Inu Yasha. Sango wanted to tell them of their job as soon as possible.
Miroku and Shippou slowly made their way through the forest. Shippou was riding on Miroku's shoulder, his kitsune nose twitching in hopes of catching Inu Yasha's scent. "Miroku?"
"Hmm?" the monk was concentrating on locating his friend's aura.
"What if…what if we can't find Inu Yasha? What if he left us?" the fox demon had been so brave, so adult in the room at the manor. Here, in the wilderness, his courage and faith shook slightly. Inu Yasha had been so angry…
"I doubt very much Inu Yasha would abandon us. Like you said, he needed time to cool off." Miroku absently ruffled the hair on Shippou's head to reassure him.
"Keh. At least one of you has some sense. Unlike some people, I know what loyalty is!" Miroku and Shippou automatically looked upwards and were rewarded with glimpses of red in the foliage above.
"Inu Yasha. We've been looking everywhere for you!" Shippou exclaimed.
"Well, you found me, or rather I let you find me. Now what do you want?"
Miroku settled himself as comfortable as he could on the ground. "Inu Yasha, will you not come down? It is hard to talk to you when I can not see you."
A slight rustling and a solid thump were heard as Inu Yasha dropped down next to the monk. He crossed his arms and glared into the night, refusing to look at either of them. Anger rode in palatable waves off of him.
"Inu Yasha…" Miroku began, only to be silenced when the heated glare of the half demon focused on him. Inu Yasha flattened his ears to his skull, barely suppressing the urge to growl. A flash of pink flowed across his vision. Through the pale pink that momentarily veiled his eyes; Inu Yasha saw Miroku's eyes widen and his grip tighten on his staff.
Inu Yasha sniffed almost delicately. A faint scent of fear emanated from the monk. 'Great; he's scared of me. It's not bad enough he doesn't trust me, now he fears me.'
Shippou had watched the scene play out before him. He knew from personal experience that Inu Yasha had a volatile temper at best. He also knew better than Miroku what the problem was. He struggled for a moment to recall exactly what his Pa had taught him about dogs. Foxes didn't live in packs; it was usually the male, vixen, and the kits. Shippou knew enough to recognize that Inu Yasha believed he was dominant and searched his memory vainly for something to appease him.
Tentatively, he turned to Miroku. "Miroku, follow my lead."
The monk turned too wide, too startled eyes towards the fox demon. "What do you mean to do?"
Inu Yasha did not like this one bit. More pink flowed through his eyes, darkening to red. Jagged stripes appeared on his cheeks. His pack distrusted him, insulted him, feared him, and now they ignored him. The hanyou growled low and angry in his throat; causing Miroku to jump and gasp in fright.
Shippou knew now was not the time to think anymore. He knelt on his hands and knees before Inu Yasha, tail curled as far down as it could go. He slowly advanced towards the silver haired dog demon, making his movements as unthreatening as he could. Inu Yasha gazed straight ahead, seemingly unseeing. Shippou cautiously climbed onto his knee and reached up to nuzzle Inu Yasha's chin. The hanyou lifted his face, encouraged by this sign of acceptance, Shippou started to lick the flesh of the chin.
Inu Yasha's growls began to subside and an approving rumble took their place. Shippou was careful to move to the side of Inu Yahsa's face, leveling his eyes at Miroku while keeping his tongue on Inu Yasha. Shippou's green eyes tried to convey a message to the monk who stared open mouthed at the scene before him. 'C'mon you stupid human, get with it already! I told you to follow my lead, now do it!'
Shippou rolled his eyes when it was apparent Miroku was incapable of telepathy. He started wagging his tail as he slowly pulled away from Inu Yasha, hoping the hanyou would understand that Shippou had to have use of his mouth to explain things to the unusually slow today Miroku.
"Miroku, drop your staff."
"What? Are you crazy? With Inu Yasha going into demon form?" Miroku stared at the kit.
"You'll be in more danger if you don't drop that staff and start nuzzling and licking him!" the fox frowned at the monk.
"NUZZLE? LICK? I am NOT NUZZLING OR LICKING INU YASHA!" Inu Yasha's growls picked up again and the red that had been receding came back in full force. The time for subtlety was over.
"For Kami's sake Miroku; Inu Yasha is an alpha male who needs us betas to act like the submissives we are! Drop. Your. Staff. And. Lick. Inu. Yasha!"
Deciding pacifying the hanyou was more important than talking to the rock that replaced Miroku's brain, Shippou once again resumed nuzzling and licking Inu Yasha. Miroku snapped his mouth shut and finally started to see that the kit's actions served to calm the savage beast, so to speak.
Miroku sighed heavily and, with obvious reluctance, set aside his staff and started to crawl towards Inu Yasha. On his hands and knees beside the half demon, he took a deep breath before steeling his courage and following Shippou's example. 'I just hope none of the girls come looking for us.'
Under the submissive attention of both males, Inu Yasha started to calm down. His growls slowed and finally stopped altogether. His eyes became golden once more as he came back to himself. The young hanyou suddenly became extremely aware of the fact he had two tongues laving on his face and neither belonged to a female. Shifting his eyes to the left, then the right, he stiffened.
From the reflexes born of his demon father's blood and his acute embarrassment, he smacked Miroku over the head and shoved Shippou off of his lap. "WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING!" he screamed. His heart thudded wildly and his sense of mortification was almost enough to overwhelm the sense of triumph he felt. Not knowing what he had to feel triumphant over, he ignored the feeling and concentrated on the fact that one moment he was talking to Miroku and the next…he shuddered.
"Inu Yasha! You went full demon on us!" That snapped his attention to the little fox demon. Shippou had righted himself and was looking at Inu Yasha, pleading to be believed with his eyes.
Miroku groaned and sat up slowly, rubbing his head where a knot Sango would be proud of was forming. "It's true; Shippou said to follow his lead, that you were a alpha male who needed us to act submissive."
Inu Yasha stared back and forth between the two. Moments before he would've taken off to wait for the mortification to pass, Shippou grabbed his hand.
"Inu Yasha, it's okay. You're instincts took over. You are an alpha male and we are the betas of your pack. You needed our submissive behavior so you could forgive us. It's okay."
Miroku's brain finally came back from it's vacation in the tropics to fit together some of the pieces of what just happened. "You acted like an alpha with a pack." Inu Yasha's golden eyes snapped to his and Miroku saw so many emotions flow over the hanyou's face. Fear, disbelief, uncertainty, shame, and denial all played dominant roles. So many things now made sense. The monk knew he had to speak quickly before Inu Yasha shut down again.
"I think I know what happened. Inu Yasha, you've started thinking of us as a pack, haven't you? Your pack." Inu Yasha hung his head, unable to look at either. Shippou still held his hand and it frightened him a little that he took comfort from it. The monk continued. "You see us as a pack now, to be protected by the alpha, by you. You've always protected us, now you start to look after the rest of our needs. And we threw it back in your face." Miroku's face fell as he recalled everyone's reaction to the way Inu Yasha had acted this afternoon.
Inu Yasha slowly lifted his head to look at Miroku. It made sense, what he was saying. Before it was everyone doing their own thing with him guarding them. Now, it was different, so very different.
Shippou took the opportunity to speak "It's not that we didn't appreciate what you said, we were just surprised. We're used to you not seeming to care what we did as long as we kept to the quest."
"Now you show interest in the other aspects of our lives, with our best interests in mind. Yes; you can think and probably have thought about this but you never showed it so when you did today it was a shock. We're used to you pushing us along to YOUR pace, keeping YOUR schedule. Now it's suddenly not 'every man for themselves' it's 'what's better for all of us'." Miroku smiled at Inu Yasha. "I personally like the change."
Shippou nodded enthusiastically. "Me too. I know Kagome and Sango liked it as well."
"It took us awhile to get used to it. You said it yourself; you don't always show you recognize our needs and wants. We don't think you are stupid at all. Dense sometimes maybe" Inu Yasha growled softly. "But not stupid" the monk continued.
"Just overbearing, slave-driving, narrow sighted, and jerky." snorted Inu Yasha.
"At times." Agreed Miroku. "But it looks like you are growing up." He smiled mischievously. "My baby hanyou's maturing!" he put his hand over his heart and adopted the look of any proud Poppa.
Miroku and Shippou chuckled as Inu Yasha blushed slightly. He couldn't help but be pleased with what Miroku said.
"Forgiven?" Shippou asked softly. Inu Yasha nodded. " I promise I'll be better at understanding and being patient if you keep growing up." The kit looked at the hanyou. "I really do like the way you acted today."
Sensing it was time to get stop being so 'girly mushy' as the hanyou would put it, Miroku stood up. "Well, I don't know about you two, but comfortable beds are to be had and I for one would like an early night." He started walking towards the village again, Shippou scampering after him. After a few steps they realized Inu Yasha wasn't following.
"What's the matter Inu Yasha? Aren't you coming?"
The hanyou kept staring into the forest. "What about…"
"What about what Inu Yasha? We explained our reaction to you and you said you forgave us. What's left?" Miroku leaned on his staff.
"…the licking thing…" Miroku blushed a little at Inu Yasha's words. Shippou rolled his eyes at them both.
"Your Inu Youkai wanted us to ask for forgiveness for our doubt in you. We did. It's okay."
"What if…I start acting like a dog in other ways? I don't know what to do." Inu Yasha sounded to frustrated and upset.
"We know what's happening now. We can deal with the rest as it comes. Maybe next time Myogua comes he can teach you." Miroku saw Inu Yasha nod. The hanyou finally got up and started walking with them. At the edge of the forest, Miroku put his hand on Inu Yasha's shoulder. "Um…about the whole submissive licking thing? Please don't tell Sango." The monk was blushing.
"Would I do that?" Inu Yasha tried for and failed to hold an innocent expression. Miroku wacked Inu Yasha with his staff.
"I mean it!" he scowled.
"Now now, is that any way to treat your Alpha? Maybe another display in submissive behavior is required, in front of the girls!" Inu Yasha ducked as the staff whistled by his head again. He scooped up Shippou and ran towards the village with Miroku cursing and waving his staff behind them. Shippou giggled in Inu Yasha's arm. He peeked up at Inu Yasha's face. Not a trace of his earlier anger remained. The kit giggled again as Inu Yasha baited Miroku again and they mock battled the rest of the way to the village.
Tomorrow they would go to market and restock and the talk in the woods wouldn't be mentioned again for a long time, if ever. Tonight happened though and he was glad. Inu Yasha was finally seeing them as the pack Shippou knew they were and he felt secure in knowing he now had a new family and a new place in life. Inu Yasha's actions showed that the kit no longer needed to worry because no matter what, he belonged to a pack, and no one could take that away.