Poking an eye beyond the divider that separated dining from living room, Higurashi Souta swallowed nervously as he stared at the person immovably fixed to the sofa, her eyes blankly staring at the television and an English textbook carelessly dumped on her lap. Swallowing again, he tried to work up the courage to speak, but didn't quite manage to get past a whisper, "Ne-chan, dinner will be ready soon. You should get ready"
When she didn't respond, he sighed, and tried again, louder this time, "Ne-chan"
Angry brown eyes whipped around to glare at him, "I heard you the first time"
Instinctively taking a step back, Souta gulped, backing off into the relative security of the dining room.
Kagome sighed, grabbing the remote and turning the television off. Three days… and still no sign of that idiot. Getting up, she smoothed down her dress, textbook in hand, and headed for the staircase. Since Inuyasha's mysterious appearance and abduction of the shikon fragments, she'd gone to the well twice, trying to sense the shards, as she'd done once before. Fate, or luck, hadn't been on her side this time, however, and the shikon shards remained beyond her grasp.
Muttering under her breath about certain stubborn, mule-headed hanyous, she carefully placed her English textbook back in the pile of revision material before turning toward the bathroom to wash up before dinner.
And the window snapped open with a loud click, moments before a familiar, rather annoyed voice reached across the room.
"You're late. You asked for three days, and it's been four. Don't tell me you actually like me coming here to drag you back"
For a moment, she paused. Slowly turning her head just enough to catch sight of him on the periphery of her vision, she narrowed her eyes. Golden eyes frowned back at her, as the hanyou folded his arms, his expression a match for hers.
"What're you looking at"
She remained silent a moment longer.
"Osuwari"
Inuyasha stifled a small grunt as the power of the charm necklace kicked in, sending him crashing to the ground. With practiced ease, he picked himself up, instantaneously leaping up and glaring at her. A low, vaguely menacing growl escaped from his throat.
"You've got two seconds to explain what the hell that was for"
She stared daggers at him, "I should be the one asking -you- that"
The hanyou's eyed narrowed further as he crossed the distance between them, staring down at her, "What the hell do you mean! I just got here"
She glared back, "Don't pretend you've already forgotten! You came here out of the blue the night after I left you guys, grabbed the shikon shards and disappeared as quickly as you got here! And I thought you were finally acting pleasant"
He cut her off in mid-sentence, his face already contorted with anger, "You lost the shards again"
She clenched her fists, closing her eyes, "No, I didn't! You took them from me! Why are you making this MY fault"
He snorted, "What are you, stupid! I haven't been here in weeks! Whoever you gave the shards to, it wasn't me"
Growling again, he dropped to all fours, muttering under his breath, "I can't believe it! Now I have to go track some bastard thief down and"
He trailed off. Backing away to give him some space, she watched as he sniffed about the room, watched as his expression changed from anger to confusion.
Slowly, she ventured, asking the obvious.
"Well? You'll have to tell me sooner or later… who was it"
He looked up. Golden eyes met brown. Softly, he spoke.
"Me"
The wind had never felt so cold.
As the bright lights of the Tokyo skyline streaked past with unfamiliar speed, Higurashi Kagome found herself unconsciously tightening her grip on the shoulders of the one speedily making his way through the world she called her own, lost in thought as he leapt from rooftop to rooftop with ease and an almost effortless grace, silver-white locks flowing in the wind. It seemed different today. Many times had she rode on his back as they traversed the mountains, valleys and forests of feudal Japan, and never would she forget the one time not all that long ago when he had sweetly offered to rush her to school for an important test. Often had she taken refuge in the warm firmness of his form, secure in the knowledge that all would be well, as long as he was around.
None of that seemed to matter at that moment - not with the shikon shards they possessed missing, for the first time in ages and in her own world no less, and not with the knowledge that the one who held them had the ability to mimic, not just the look, but also the scent and just about everything else of the hanyou she had come to care for more deeply than she would like to admit, even to herself. He had grown so, changed so much since their first fateful encounter at the goshinboku - it was hard to imagine him now as the one who had coldly wanted to flay her open, or at least scare her enough to make her believe it so, in his bid to obtain the once-whole shikon no tama.
Her train of thought broke as she found herself startled by the fierce growl rumbling in the throat of the one carrying her. His voice, when he spoke, was low, angry, "I can still smell the bastard. It's faint, but it's definitely there." He paused, brilliant golden eyes scanning the horizon. "Keh! The asshole's been busy. My... his scent's all over the place… but if he thinks that's gonna throw me off track, he's frickin' mistaken"
His fists clenched, the trademark cracking sound resounding in the night, "I'll beat the crap outta him. I'll rip him apart. No. I'll beat the crap outta him, then I'll rip him apart"
Kagome remained silent. Loosening her grip slightly, she steeled herself for what she knew she had to do. Softly, she whispered, "I'm sorry, Inuyasha. I… I didn't mean to lose the shards again." His head tilted back, and large golden eyes pierced into her. For a moment, he was quiet, as though studying her, the silence more unnerving than if he had simply yelled as he used to do in such situations. Wordlessly, he turned back, eyes facing front.
The Japanese girl suppressed a flinch. He can't even bring himself to yell at me. Is he… that disappointed?
Her answer came almost instantly. "Oh, quit it with the apology routine already. It's not like it's gonna help or anything…" The hanyou paused again, turning around to look at her. His face looked sullen, with a slight hint of distaste, as it often did when he was about to say something particularly difficult, "…besides, I can't… blame you. His scent's a perfect match for mine… and if he can manage that, he can probably make himself look like me as well"
His expression changed, his glare taking on an air of superiority, "… as least well enough to fool your feeble human eyes"
All semblance of guilt fled the girl. Frowning slightly, she smacked him on the head, "Stop talking and watch where you're going. You nearly slammed headfirst into a satellite dish back there"
"Feh"