Disclaimers: Well, I lost that contest… I got depressed and stuff so I haven't updated since February. So that means that I don't own InuYasha and company. Snap and drat and all that.
A/N: Sorry for the big gap. Stuff happened. And I really don't feel like explaining.
Oi… I don't like calling Kaede's place a hut…
Oh! I saw the last two episodes of InuYasha! SQUEE! Next goal: find the episode where Miroku pops the question to Sango. Seeing as how that was left completely out of this fic since I haven't seen it…
One other thing: MAD LUFFS FOR KOUGA. (pounce)
Rumor Mill and Runaround
The morning sun spilled through the window of Kaede's residence, making a certain hanyou less than comfortable with the heat on his back and neck. Wrinkling his nose, he opened one eye against the bright glare. He began his survey by the door, where Sesshoumaru sat and slept. Kaede slept under her bedding in her usual spot, near the fire pit. Miroku lay on his side by the opposite wall, Sango not too far away, yet out of reaching distance. Next to her, Shippo and Kirara were snuggled together, borrowing each other's warmth. Behind the adjacent wall – which was also the back wall – InuYasha could smell Kouga, rejoined by his remaining pack members. Kagome was – where was Kagome!
He almost got up. He had his hand on Tetsusaiga, ready to use it to help stand. He jerked forward, then relaxed again, looking to his side. Kagome was leaning against his arm, her fingers discreetly laced with his beneath the sleeves of their kimonos. A rare smile made it halfway onto his face upon looking at her sleeping form, her hair a bit rustled, her kimono a bit wrinkled, and her expression oh-so serene. While everyone slept, he allowed himself an indulgence of her presence, letting his head rest on hers and closing his eyes again, brushing his thumb over her hand. He breathed in deeply, inhaling her sweet scent. He let his senses fill with her, the sounds of her breath, the feel of her skin and hair, the scent of her sweat and lingering traces of her hair soap.
Kouga barely had to grip the door mat in order to see InuYasha and Kagome, both looking so comfortable in each other's company. He dropped the mat again, allowing himself a chance to breathe. That scene… it was painful. If InuYasha marking Kagome before – and Kagome returning it almost too late – hadn't told him anything, he just got slapped in the face with it right then. Who was he ever kidding, thinking he could make Kagome his own? In the long run, it had only aggravated InuYasha, and allowed his pack to get attached to the girl.
No, he thought. She was still pack, blood or not. Mark or not.
He stepped away from the doorway, pressing his back against the wall, and let himself slide down until he sat on the ground. Was he defeated? There had never been any true competition. He realized that now. Kagome would have never willingly been his. She belonged to InuYasha even before he'd met her. Looking back, it infuriated him that InuYasha was so dense as to not realize that, and to turn around and dash off to Kikyou.
That wasn't for him to mull over, though. He knew next to nothing about what had happened between Kikyou and InuYasha over fifty years ago. He didn't really want to know, either. The thought of InuYasha even entertaining thoughts of being with a woman that wasn't Kagome made him feel sick. It was so unfair to Kagome. Letting his head rest against the wall as well, he put a conscious effort into letting that go. It wasn't his problem to deal with.
But if InuYasha hurt Kagome, there would be hell to pay.
Rustling noises of people waking up met Kouga's ears, informing him that he wouldn't be eaten alive by another painful sight should he decide to enter. With a steeling breath, he stood and went in.
.: xXx :.
They all waited outside for Kagome to finish cramming things into her backpack so they could start on their trek east, toward the miko who could merge the two halves of the Shikon no Tama and Kagome's soul. Sesshoumaru stood impatiently a few paces ahead, Jaken standing near him.
A few moments later, Kagome cheerfully emerged from the hut, backpack slung over her shoulders. No one moved until InuYasha took a few steps to start leading the way. Kagome fell in step next to him, Sango and Miroku following, and Kouga bringing up the rear until he was joined by Sesshoumaru. Shippo rode on Miroku's shoulder while Kirara rode on Sango's. Jaken muttered darkly in the very rear, something about leaving Ah-Un around the village and Rin with that crotchety old lady of a miko. He muttered up until they stopped to rest in a clearing the path went through.
When they stopped, Jaken ran into Kouga's leg and bounced off. The miserable creature stood up and was about to shout something at the wolf prince, but a dry glare from Sesshoumaru silenced him. Kouga caught this, and started wondering at something. How far could the little imp be tortured before he snapped and "spoke out of turn"? And when he did, would Sesshoumaru really kill him?
While they were resting, Sango and Kagome refilled water bottles in a nearby brook. Miroku sat on the large roots of a tree, and Shippo and Kirara curled up for a nap in the dappled sun. Sesshoumaru stood near the pathway, Jaken not too far from him. InuYasha stood on roots similar to the ones that Kouga and Miroku lounged on, watching the girls. More specifically, watching Kagome. A strange expression worked its way onto his face, as if he was thinking about something unpleasant. Kouga could only wonder what it was. Whatever it was, it had something to do with Kagome. He didn't like the fact that the thought made the hanyou scowl. Was he getting cold feet about finishing the mating ritual with Kagome? Oh, he'd have hell to pay if he broke her heart…
Kagome turned around, capping the last water bottle and chatting away merrily with Sango, as if nothing was wrong. InuYasha quickly wiped his expression clean of any evidence of a souring mood, so as not to alarm Kagome. He just couldn't help his thoughts returning to feeling like he was trapping her into the mating.
The girls walked together after they departed again, Kagome holding Shippo and Sango again carrying Kirara. Miroku walked behind them, and the other youkai brought up the rear again. Jaken was carefully silent.
They passed through a village not long after that, and confirmed the rumors of the miko in the next village over. It was less than an hour before they were in the village they were looking for.
It was a quiet place, much like Kaede's home, and on a riverside. They came upon the rice fields before they saw anyone that lived there. They had walked a good distance into the village before they saw anyone, in fact.
InuYasha's ears pricked forward at the sound of sutra-chanting. He hurried everyone along to find out what it was. They arrived just in time to see a weeping woman light a funeral pyre in an open area on the street. Kagome's blood ran cold. InuYasha's gut knotted. Sango shivered, and the others displayed various degrees of unease. Sango ventured up to one of the villagers, and inquired as to who the funeral was for and why it seemed like everyone was there.
"O-our beloved miko," the man stammered, trying to keep his composure for his family's sake, "she died. This is her – her f-funeral."
InuYasha wanted to break something. Now what were they supposed to do?
