Author's Note: No, Rachynn is not dead, although was in a state akin to death. It is called 'Summer School' and she warns you to avoid it like a plague if at all possible. Anyways she has chained herself to the computer desk in hopes that she can do mass updating. However, that didn't necessarily work; the aroma of food and thoughts of sleep was to tempting for her to pass up, and thus, cobwebs settled upon her un-updated fan fiction.

Sorry guys I didn't think it would take this long. Eight hours in a hot non-air conditioned portable is NOT fun, and takes a severe toll on my creativity, with unforeseen long lasting effects. That plus this wonderful skill I've picked up over the years called procrastination. As a result this chapter was written in 3 stages, all weeks apart.

Yes, I'm sure that you're now tired of all my complaining so I will allow you to continue on to the latest chapter. (You can kill me later)

Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha. I do own Erika.

A Bread Crumb

Chapter 11: The Lingering Aftertaste of Onion

By: Rachynn

The shiny, expensive red car cruised at a rapid, yet steady pace down the highway. The trees and fields flew by the window, blurs of color to the driver's eye. The driver himself was almost alone, his only companions being the inanimate objects called 'radio' and 'coffee'. The windows were shut and the heater was on. It was snowing lightly, and there was a bit of a chill in the air.

He was driving home. For the past three months he had been halfway across the country, pursuing new leads and searching. Always searching. A frown crossed his face, his mood turning sour, as it did every time he thought about the search. Memories backed up his feelings of betrayal and hurt, still left open and bleeding from that moment. That moment when the person he loved most had been cruelly ripped away from him and his future changed drastically.

He turned up the radio louder, trying to drown the sadness and rage building up inside him. The angry beat of the metal music soothed him somewhat, but the feelings had not fully retreated. His therapist had told him continually that pent up emotions were not healthy, and need to be expressed in various ways.

Months of searching, exhausting every lead and long sleepless nights were his way of letting all the emotion out. Now it seemed all for nothing. His search had turned up nothing so far, and he had thrown himself entirely into it. The two people he sought seemed to have effectively vanished from the face of the planet. The old feelings of betrayal were returning, and he was lusting for revenge.

He pressed a little harder on the gas pedal, speeding up. "I'll make you face me. Running away won't save you." He whispered to himself. Those people, it was their fault that the love of his life was dead. He would find them, if it took his whole life. He would make them see what they had wrought in the aftermath of their actions.

He almost missed the exit off the highway; he was so lost in thought. His map had shown that a small town that lay a half hours drive past the highway. Driving all night had exhausted him, but since that time, he found that there was less traffic at night so he could go quicker and cover greater distance. Now it was morning, and time to sleep. If the town had no motel, he would find a parking spot and sleep in his car. Half an hour away was a bit of a stretch, but it was the only civilization for the next 100 miles.

His stomach growled. He would have to stop and get a bite to eat as well…

He slowed the speed of the car and turned off the highway onto an off ramp. The ramp let him off on an old road that didn't seem to get much use. A glance at the dashboard, and he saw the face of his girlfriend, giving him the energy he needed to continue. He took her picture with him everywhere; it wasn't something he could give up. Her smile, he would never forget it. Seeing her always made him, in turn, smile too. Even now, when she was gone…

"When I find you two, I will make you pay." He said over the music.

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The snow was falling, but it wasn't a hindrance. A thin white layer covered the ground, crunching under their feet as the trio walked down the street. Shippo and Kagome were in deep conversation, Inuyasha was slightly behind, arms crossed, lost in thought.

The town was small, consisting on a main street that had most of the shops and stores on it, though a few were located on streets that branched off Main Street; beyond that were houses, a church and a school. The town had been founded a century ago, in order to take advantage of the fertile fields that made up the valley. It was surrounded by farms and fields full of crops when it was growing season. As a result, the towns' people were close, all knowing each other in some way. News travelled fast here.

Though it was still early, there were many on the streets working their way to church. More than a few gave quick, disapproving glance their way. Kagome didn't pay them any mind, but Inuyasha couldn't help it. The way they looked at him, it made him shiver. What was their problem? He thought angrily. He quickened his pace to catch up with his companions. Perhaps their stares would stray if they saw he was in a group.

He itched his back absently. He had been mulling over some thoughts since they left. It was possible that Kagome was right, that he did need some new clothes. The ones he was currently wearing were frayed at the edges and faded from long hours spent in the sun and was he really starting to smell? "Feh." He spat, it wasn't worth worrying about.

"Kagome!" a voice called from the other side of the street. Abruptly the group stopped. A figure was waving viciously in their direction and crossing the street. Kagome waved back, smiling. Shippo and Inuyasha looked at each other, instinctively moving closer before turning back to watch the proceedings. A woman around Kagome's age was coming towards them at a high speed.

"Kagome! It's been a while!" the newcomer said when she reached their side of the street.

"A while? You mean a week…" Kagome laughed.

"Exactly! A week is too long to go without seeing my best friend. Jeez, where have you been?"

Inuyasha and Shippo glanced at each other. This woman was clearly an acquaintance of Kagome, and clearly someone with a high energy level. Her blonde hair was pulled into a loose and messy bun. She was shorter than Kagome, but not by much. A dark green sweater and a pair of jeans were all that protected her from the falling snow.

Seeing this Kagome gasped. "Erika, you must be so cold!" Kagome herself wore a thick jacket. Erika shrugged.

"I can't feel it. That's not answering my question though. Seriously Kagome, I was worried about you, all wrapped up in that store of yours. It's not healthy." The concern was evident in her eyes. Erika hadn't yet noticed that Inuyasha and Shippo were standing with Kagome.

Kagome rolled her eyes. "Well, something came up and I was a little busy." Her mouth fell open a little when she realized that she hadn't introduced her companions yet. She turned to Inuyasha and Shippo. "Erika, these are some new roommates of mine, Inuyasha and Shippo. Guys, this is Erika, one of my friends from school."

Erika's eyebrow shot up. "Roommates? Since when do you have roommates?" She eyed the two men curiously. It was extremely out of character for Kagome to invite some strange men into her home. As nice as her friend was, she had a ridiculous phobia of strangers.

"Ok…." She said after a moment of silence from all parties. "I sense this is a long story. Are you going somewhere terribly important or can we go somewhere and talk?" Now that her curiosity was peaked, Erika was eager to hear what had happened.

"We're going shopping." Inuyasha growled, stepping up. He would be damned if he was going to be stuck talking to another stranger about his life story. No, today was definitely not the best day to do that.

"I thought you didn't want to go shopping with a bossy woman and a snappy kid Inuyasha?" Kagome asked, her face showing nothing but innocence. He knew that deep beneath that visage was a mass of trouble and mischief though. "Wouldn't a break be nice?"

"A break? We haven't even started." Shippo butted in. "Since when am I a snappy kid?"

Inuyasha ignored the kid and glared at Kagome. "Well sorry if you want to change your mind all the time." His eyes rolled around in his head. Women!

"Umm… Hello?" Erika was saying. "I'm still here you know."

Inuyasha was still glaring in everyone's general direction. He remained tight lipped though, unwilling or unable to admit defeat. Shrugging, he stepped back. Kagome sighed. "So difficult…" she said quietly before turning back to Erika. "How about we go to The Coffee Shop?" she suggested.

Erika stared nervously at Inuyasha before nodding. She was clearly perturbed by the experience. "Is he always like this?" she asked, flicking a thumb in his direction. Kagome shook her head. "He's just agitated. You don't mind putting shopping off for a bit, do you Shippo?" she asked.

Shippo shook his head. "Unlike some people, I can be agreeable." He said. Erika laughed. Not changing direction, the trio plus one continued down Main Street. Shippo, Kagome and Erika entering into an involved conversation while Inuyasha, as usual, sulked behind them.

They arrived outside a picturesque coffee shop. The steamy aroma of ground coffee beans drifted through the door as they walked in. The interior was decent, warm colors, burning fire place and a busy, short-one-person staff scurrying around behind the counter. Being from the city, Inuyasha had seen countless other coffee shops just the same, and saw nothing special about this particular one. However, to Kagome and Erika, this was the coolest place in town when they were growing up. Memories were stored in every inch of the place.

They occupied a booth near the back. It was warm, Kagome shed her jacket. Erika ordered a coffee, but the rest were still full from breakfast and declined the offer.

"Ok. Kagome. How did you all meet?" Erika asked. She leaned forward, elbows on the table and chin resting in her palms. The coffee stir-stick hung loosely from between her lips. "This is all very interesting, but how could you leave me out?"

Kagome winced. "I'm sorry Erika, I guess that with the store and everything that's happened, I was a little consumed."

Erika smiled. "Of course. I'm just joking. Now enough with the chit chat, I want to know how you ended up living with these … roommates … of yours."

Inuyasha glared. He didn't like this one bit. The only thing that was stopping him from leaving was well…nothing really. He couldn't go back to Kagome's and there was no where else in the town that he felt the need to go to. Shippo was looking at him, with a gaze that said 'Relax or I'm going to bite you.'

At least, that was how Inuyasha interpreted it. Jeez, what was his problem? Since when was he this aversive to people? He didn't know anything about this Erika person; he had no right to be acting like a jerk.

There was a moment of awkward silence around the table. Then Kagome took a deep breath and began to relate the tale of their meeting. Inuyasha and Shippo contributed at times. Of course, certain issues were glazed over or completely left out, such as the conditions under which Inuyasha became homeless. Throughout the whole thing, Erika nodded her head occasionally, or contributed her thoughts and opinions when asked. However for the most part she remained silent.

"There is one thing I don't get…" Erika said slowly when the tale was told. "How come you didn't take Kikyo to the hospital if she was so sick?" She looked completely innocent when asking, sipping the final drops of coffee from her cup.

Kagome looked to Inuyasha. She herself had been wondering about that for some time.

"If we went to the hospital, they would have asked us questions. They would have separated us… Kikyo understood that." Inuyasha chuckled to himself. "She always did have an irrational fear of needles as well."

"That's a stupid reason." Erika blurted, doing nothing to stop herself. Inuyasha glared at her. "You wouldn't understand. You wouldn't understand what we went through together. We decided that if anything happened to one of us, then we would let each other go…" He fumbled around for words, mentally cursing himself. He had never been a great communicator.

Unnoticed by the foursome, a shiny red car was pulling up outside the coffee shop. Those outside of the streets couldn't help but stare, having never seen a car so shiny or so expensive. The owner parked and stepped out, either ignoring or not noticing the town's people. He wore a thick blue jacket and dark blue jeans. Polished black shoes left deep footprints in the snow as he walked around the car and onto the sidewalk. Eventually, he made his way into the coffee shop, metal coffee thermos in hand.

"Well don't get worked up over it." Erika was saying. "You're right; I can't understand what the two of you went through. However if it was me in that situation, then I would have wanted my lover to be saved, I wouldn't be able to sit there and watch them die. I guess though, that the past is the past and it can't be changed now, can it?"

"No it can't." Inuyasha said solomly.

There were more moments of long, awkward silence around the table. Finally Kagome stood up. "We should go guys. Erika, pop by the store sometime ok?" Normally, Kagome might have asked Erika to join them, but given the past conversation, that was probably not the best course of action to take. The other three stood up as well, and they all made their way to the door. Erika dropped her empty paper coffee cup into the garbage before stepping out onto the sidewalk.

She gaped openly at the car outside. "Wow." She stated to Kagome and the others, almost speechless. She had never seen anything so nice, much less so close. Inuyasha was staring at the car blankly, and Shippo was openly trying to refrain himself from touching it.

"Someone probably got lost." Inuyasha laughed. "Who would come to a hick town like this voluntarily?" It was all in jest, if memory served him right, that kind of car would probably be something that he or any of his friends would be driving right now, had the fire not happened.

Kagome and Erika quickly turned on him with angry glares. Their hometown may be small and 'unimportant' but it was home to them, a special place. "You came here didn't you?" Kagome pointed out. He shrugged. "You forget, I just happen to turn up here."

They continued to laugh and banter about it as they continued down Main Street towards a store that Erika had suggested. At the door, Erika left them and turned to go home.

Unbeknownst to them, they were being followed.

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Author's Note: Any comments? I regret not updating sooner, because it's harder to write this ficcy now… Please tell me what you think of this chapter… I know what I think. This chapter is to inconsistent and very lacking in cool-ness.