Andy feels like she's walking on eggshells when it comes to interacting with Inuyasha and Kagome. What does one say when trying to comfort someone who's just experienced a spiritual trauma? Would it even be spiritual trauma or is it more physical? Andy's never had half of her soul ripped out of her body so she's not entirely sure what to do with Kagome's blase attitude toward the whole situation. Like, clearly she's not ok but she's also not addressing the situation. Andy's convinced they all need to go to some sort of a therapist or a doctor or something because one, Kagome was literally attacked, and two, they all got to witness a dead- and apparently very angry - woman's resurrection. Are there specialists for this sort of thing? Can Andy just walk up to a monk or priestess and ask them to take a look at her two demons and her priestess without it being weird? Andy finds herself glancing between Inuyasha, who's standing off to the side looking off into the distance, and Kagome, who's currently crouched by a stream with Shippo. Their short break will likely be ending soon and Andy isn't entirely sure if now's a good time to address their situation or not. Thankfully, Shippo kindly paves the way.
"Kagome, there's something funny about Inuyasha." The young kit says and his remark goes unheard by the half-demon standing in front of him.
Andy doesn't hear Kagome's reply but she sure notices when Shippo leaps out of her arms to smack Inuyasha in the back of the head with a mighty, "Take that you!"
"What was that for?" Inuyasha demands as he snatches the kit up by his tail.
"Stop moping! Have you given up on gathering the Sacred Jewel fragments?" Shippo asks, angry but maybe even a little concerned.
None of them are used to seeing Inuyasha like this.
"Zip it will you? Even I sometimes have to think about things." Inuyasha says.
"That's really funny!" is Shippo's retort.
It earns him a low growl and a, "What's that?" from Inuyasha.
Things quickly devolve from there, leaving Andy and Kagome to watch as the two chase each other around in a large circle like children. Andy is quick to put a stop to it, suggesting that they keep moving so that they can cover as much distance as possible before the sun sets and they'r forced to make camp. It's not exactly a great solution because she thinks Inuyasha really needs to talk this out but at least it gets Shippo from antagonizing him any more than he already has. Over the time she's spent with him it's become apparent that Inuyasha's not used to talking to people about his feelings, probably due to not having any real emotional connections outside of his mother... but with her gone who would Inuyasha have gone to? Surely not Sesshomaru. Andy can just imagine what that conversation would have been like and she can't say she blames Inuyasha from not talking about his problems or concerns when Sesshomaru is the only person he can go to for advice or guidance. Seems like a great way to get killed, you know? Sesshomaru doesn't seem like the type to entertain idiocy and he'd probably see all of Inuyasha's concerns such. Sighing, Andy adjusts her pack and follows after Inuyasha. As they've been traveling at a more human friendly pace Andy has decided to take the opportunity to stretch her legs instead of letting Inuyasha carry her around like a human backpack.
Andy casts Inuyasha a discreet look before turning her attention back to the road. Her shoes scuff the dirt, leaving long trails as she purposefully attempts to keep her mind occupied by giving herself something new to obsess over. Being concerned about Inuyasha isn't going to make him any more willing to talk and Andy can't stress over what's going on in his head or offer him advice until he comes to her. Hopefully when they stop for the night Andy will get a private moment with her friend, just long enough for her to let him know that she won't push him for information but will be willing to help him with whatever he needs whenever he needs it. Time passes. The group travels. No one stops them. Andy's forced to keep her mind occupied on things that don't involve Inuyasha and Kikyo stealing some of Kagome's soul just to keep herself from having a complete mental breakdown. Eventually the sun begins to set and Inuyasha leads them off the main road into the trees where they find a small clearing to camp in for the night. It's a good clearing, a really good one, and when Inuyasha tells them that there's a hot spring not too far from where they're going to be camping Kagome is quick to dig some fresh clothes out of her pack with the demands that he take her immediately, which he does with very little grumbling. Considering it's a hot spring and probably one of the only times she's going to be able to swing a hot bath, it's unfortunate that she feels too unsettled to bathe. She opts to sit between the shore and Inuyasha so that the two of them can discuss her abilities - because that seems like a safe topic right? - and keep an eye on Kagome, who sighs and squeals and mutters angrily when Inuyasha tells her she doesn't have anything he wants to see. A total lie but probably the funniest thing Andy's heard all day.
"Shippo, what are you doing?" Inuyasha asks, pulling Andy's attention away from Kagome to the kit who's currently stripping out of his clothes.
"I'm going in too!" Shippo says, and he's too young to be interested in Kagome like that so Andy isn't all that worried about it.
Inuyasha, however, is a different story because he snatches Shippo up by his tail with a startled, "Wait a minute!"
"Inuyasha, Andy, you guys should come too!"
"What?" Inuyasha's eyes are wide and full of discomforted terror.
"I've always wondered... Why don't you, Kagome, and Andy ever bathe together? It's more fun bathing together!" Andy stifles her laughter behind her palm as Inuyasha struggles with the urge to be a rational adult so he can explain to the kid or flat out bark at Shippo, the kit doesn't wait for him to speak before continuing, "When my ma and pa were alive, we always bathed together."
"You're a kid so you probably don't understand." Inuyasha says, attempting to downplay the situation.
When Shippo whips around to stare up at the half-demon with wide, accusatory eyes Andy knows it's about to be a phenomenal night.
"Be honest," Shippo demands. "How far have you gone with Kagome? When I ask things like that, grown-ups get tongue-tied. I wonder why?"
Andy's laughter comes in a roar, pouring from between her teeth to fill the air around them with noise. As she laughs Inuyasha lunges as Shippo, squeezing his cheeks between clawed fingers as he growls about saying the wrong thing until Shippo promises not to ask again. When Inuyasha lets Shippo go, Andy's quick to scoop him up so she can do some adult explaining.
"Look, it's different with grown-ups who aren't family ok? Especially with humans. Small children can bathe with their mothers or fathers but when they get older it's different, yeah? We don't do pack bonding the same way certain groups of demons do. Besides, Inuyasha doesn't bathe with us because we need someone to make sure we're all safe while we're in vulnerable situations."
"Oh."
"Yeah."
Andy ruffles Shippo's hair and carefully helps him back into his clothes as she says, "The next time we bathe you can come with Kagome and I, ok? We just need to let Kagome know before then."
"But Inuyasha's not coming?"
"He is, but he's not bathing with us."
"Humans are weird."
"The weirdest." Andy agrees just seconds before Kagome's startled scream causes them to scramble toward the hot spring.
Inuyasha gets to her first, charging into the water and accidentally inciting the wrath of Kagome when it turns out she's... fine. Andy frowns as she glances around, finding nothing but a few monkeys and not much else.
"What happened?" Andy asks as she closes in on Kagome.
"Nothing, I was just startled ok?" Kagome, clearly embarassed, sinks deeper into the water to try and preserve her modesty while Inuyasha flounders around in the water.
Once Inuyasha has been forced back to camp and roped into looking after Shippo, Andy remains seated on a large rock near Kagome so that she can keep an eye on the sister-of-her-soul, because the sensation of being watched is too strong to be purely coincidental. No. Someone's watching them. Andy doesn't know who, or why, but they're hiding in the trees. By the time Kagome's ready to leave Andy's certain something's going to go down in the next couple of hours so she sticks close to Kagome and once they get closer to camp she stops the younger girl, holds a finger to her mouth, and carefully removes the necklace holding the jewel fragments from her friend's neck. When Kagome goes to protest Andy shoots her a dark look before kneeling down so she can roll Kagome's socks down her leg. It might not be a completely trust worthy place to put the jewel but Andy figures that if someone's been watching them then they know Kagome was carrying the shards around her neck. If nothing else, having the chain wrapped around her ankle and hidden by her sock will keep the damned thing a little safer. After adjusting the sock to better hide the jewel Andy rises and leans closer to Kagome.
"We were being watched," She whispers to the younger girl before pulling away so she can make back for camp.
She doesn't feel the eyes on her anymore so she assumes the person watching them didn't see her switch the jewel's placement. All the same, she quietly pulls Inuyasha to the side when they get to the camp and Kagome goes off to entertain Shippo. He takes it surprisingly well, agreeing that they'll have to be more careful in the next few days but not to act irrationally. Andy finds herself surprised when he pulls her closer to the fire and tells her to sit down, which she does is a bemused sort of smile. Inuyasha sits across from her, and his eyes gleam in the firelight. Off to the side Kagome is teaching Shippo how to remove the paper from his crayons so that it doesn't flake off and stick to the colorful wax while he watches with an amount of concentration untypical for boys his age. It's endearingly sweet.
"Did you know you glow when you're happy?"
Startled, Andy whips around to stare at Inuyasha and blinks, "What?"
"You glow. When you're happy. It's not very obvious but it's there... A lot of the time, especially when they're young, demons tend to have a harder time controlling their powers as they're tied to strong emotions."
"I didn't know that." Andy says to which Inuyasha shrugs, she doesn't miss the way his grip tightens on his sword.
"A lot of them tend to grow out of it as they get older." Inuyasha blinks at her before remarking, "I think yours are the same."
"Ok? And?"
"If you're going to learn anything we need to figure out what different emotions do for you."
"Uh, well, I guess anger gets me a lot of the way? Like when Yura attacked Kagome and Sesshomaru went after the two of you? I was really mad." Andy says, thinking back on the two incidents.
"What about with the spider heads?"
Right. That. Andy doesn't like to think about that for a number of obvious reasons, but she supposes there's a reason Inuyasha's asking. He'd almost died that night. His human body strong but clearly no match for the venom that had been pumped into his system. Seeing him like that had been terrifying because Andy doesn't have a large circle of friends, she tends to keep her circles pretty small and almost losing Inuyasha had been devastating because of that. But how do you tell someone that you'd been fully prepared to obliterate an entire group of people because they attacked one of your people? Pretty easily.
"I was scared. You were dying and I didn't know what I was doing but I knew I had to save you." Andy says, voice quiet.
"Is it easier to heal people than when you fight them?"
"Guess so. I've just used my anger in the past, healing people is different. Easier. I healed a lot of the people at the village while you were gone without too much problem."
Inuyasha nods slowly as he says, "What was it like when you were healing them?"
"Quiet? I guess that's a good way of saying it. I wasn't mad and there wasn't anything pushing me to fight. It was just me and them and it was peaceful."
Long seconds pass in which Inuyasha picks apart her statement. Andy doesn't think he had much formal training growing up, and if he did it wasn't much, she'd be willing to be that all of what Inuyasha knows are things he's picked up over the years and it's comforting in it's own way because Andy knows that no matter what Inuyasha will be there to offer her support as they figure out what works for her as opposed to pushing certain ideas and mindsets that an older, more formally trained demon might. That isn't to say formal training's bad. Andy would be thrilled to train under someone who would be able to tell her how to harness her powers without struggling as much as she is. Should she be struggling this much? From what her aunt... from what Phoebe implied her awakening should be a little less challenging. Obviously it wouldn't be something that happens overnight but Andy just feels off. Like she's missing something vital and can't quite grasp hold of it. Whatever it is Andy knows it's important, and probably the reason she's struggling with her power as much as she is. Across from her Inuyasha reaches out to place his hand on her shoulder.
"We'll figure this out. Next time we stop we'll work on some basic techniques that should help, for now, get some sleep." Inuyasha says to which Andy smiles.
Leaning over Andy presses a chaste kiss to Inuyasha's cheek before wishing him a good night. Her sleeping bag is tucked near some trees, far enough from the fire to stay cool but close enough to still be in the light should anything happen, and she climbs in after kicking off her shoes, curling up in a loose ball beneath the soft layers of cushioning the sleeping back provides. Inuyasha slips off into the trees after that, likely to keep an eye out for whoever had been watching them. Andy isn't sure who it was but she knows that with Inuyasha watching over them nothing bad is going to happen. Immediately, anyway. Andy can at least get a few hours of sleep before things inevitably hit the fan.
Only, sleep evades her.
Every time she feels like she's going to sleep branches rustling above her head or Shippo's adorable little kid snores wake her up. Unable to sleep - and unwilling to wake any of her other traveling companions - Andy quietly fishes out some of her schoolwork so she can at least get something productive done since it doesn't look like she's going to be going to sleep any time soon. She flies through her math and science work with ease and manages to get through a good portion of her social studies work before her brain decides enough is enough and everything becomes too difficult to focus on for long periods of time. When that happens Andy puts her things away so that she can wait for the others to wake up, considering how light the sky is turning Inuyasha will probably have them up and moving within the next few hours. With more time on her hands than Andy knows what to do with Andy slips out of her sleeping bag, grabs some clothes, and heads off in the direction of the hot spring with her little toiletry bag tucked under her arm. Leaving the camp may not be the smartest thing in the world but a good soak might help ease all her frazzled nerves. She washes quickly, forgoing the task of managing her hair for the less time consuming method of washing her body so that she doesn't smell like a walking trashcan, and once she's done Andy changes into a pair of jeans and a light green t-shirt. Her hair gets scraped up into a messy bun at the top of her head before Andy heads back to camp where she finds Inuyasha and the others gathering their things.
"You ready to go?" Kagome asks, bouncing up to Andy with a bright smile that's too hard to ignore.
"Sure am!"
She's not. Andy's exhausted, the last thing she wants to do today is go for an obnoxiously long hike, but everyone else is ready to go and maybe if she's lucky Andy can get a ride from Inuyasha. Taking a nap on his back might not be a totally cool thing to do but she doubts Inuyasha would be too mad at her for doing it considering they're great friends. Amazing friends, really, he should totally let her hitch a ride.
"Come on, I want to get out of the area before noon." Inuyasha says, eyes narrowing at her as if he's been privy to her thoughts all morning and doesn't quite like what he hears.
"What's got you're panties in a bunch?" Andy asks as they walk back toward the road, kind of in a teasing way but also kind of not.
It's Shippo that answers with a mischievous little remark of, "He's just embarrassed because he interrupted Kagome's bath."
Silvery ears flatten as Inuyasha growls lowly under his breath. He doesn't say anything about it though as he begins leading them down a rocky path. It's amusing in a way, seeing Inuyasha act like the teenager he appears to be is a thing Andy didn't realize she needed until now.
"I'm not embarrassed ok? Besides, Kagome's the one who hit me with the rock. If anyone should be embarrassed it should be her, you know, for hitting me... with the rock." Inuyasha clearly sees the holes in his argument because is tone is hesitant and full of false confidence.
"How long do you intend to stay mad?" Kagome asks as she pulls ahead of the group a few steps, "You saw me naked, so we're even."
"I didn't!" Inuyasha growls before looking away from Kagome.
If that weren't an obvious sign of his discomfort then the fiery blush that tinges his cheeks certainly is.
Andy's amused grin tapers off as they round a bend in the path, the feeling of being watched returning full force and causing her to pause as she searches for the person spying on her and her friends. It isn't until she glances up and finds a man in purple speaking with a demon that Andy thinks something is strange, it isn't until the demon turns into a large boulder and comes tearing down the side of the rocky slope that Andy realizes that the harmless staring might not be so harmless after all. Andy charges forward, feet carrying her across the path just in time to catch the brunt of Inuyasha fall as the demon shoves him off the path. Barely managing to plant her feet on the ground Andy manages to stop the boulder - demon? boulder-demon? - from pinner her or Inuyasha to the rocks below them, the strain it puts on her legs and back isn't pleasant by any means and even though Inuyasha's quick to pop up and come to her aid he's not quite fast enough to stop her from sliding down the slope a bit more. There's a loud thump and then a startled cry before the weight disappears and Andy's falling backward against a mass of quivery brownish-grey fur.
"H-He's going to kill me!" The demon beneath her wails.
Sure enough, Inuyasha's got the Tetsusaiga out and ready to go. Andy yelps as she scrambles to get away from the demon should Inuyasha actually decide to, you know, take a swing. She's about three feet and halfway to her feet when a tremendous force of energy rips her off her feet before throwing her through the air like a plastic doll. Pain races through her body when she hits the ground. Rock and dirt falling with her as gravity pulls her back to the ground. Dizzy, Andy barely notices when Kagome screams for them, the ringing in her ears seems to drown everything out for several long moments until she manages to pull herself together enough to stand.
Inuyasha's at her side in seconds.
"He took Kagome." Inuyasha says and Andy nods.
"Probably couldn't find the jewel fragments," Andy swallows as she sits back on her heels, "I hid it in her sock."
"Alright, come on."
Clawed fingers carefully wrap about her wrists and pull her to her feet, and when Andy's certain she's not going to pass out she allows Inuyasha to thrust Shippo into her arms before he gathers her up and slings her onto his back. Feeling as though she may be sick, Andy tucks her face between Inuyasha's shoulder blades and allows Shippo to cling to her as the half-demon takes on at a sprint. The man and Kagome couldn't have gotten far. Kagome wouldn't be one to go along with him without some sort of a fight and the man would have to stop at some point in order to search for the shard. Hopefully he's not so much of a pervert that he'd go searching her person without Kagome's consent. Andy's not going to put her faith in him being an upstanding citizen but he hadn't killed any of them so maybe he's decent? Decent is ok. At Least Kagome would be safe. Irritation bubbles up inside her, the resulting spread of warmth chasing away the dizziness that has been clouding her thoughts since the attack.
"Have you found them?" Andy asks, to which Inuyasha growls.
"I think he took her to the village."
"The village?" Andy scowls, "Why would he take her to the village?"
"Lots of people, lots of scents, good place to hide."
Great. Fucking fantastic. Andy presses her lips into a firm line but keeps her eyes forward as said village pops up in the near distance. Inuyasha is quick to deposit Andy in the street when they get closer to the center of the community so he can crouch down on all fours and go sniffing around like a dog. Had situations been different Andy might have been tempted to whip out her camera and take a few pictures but, well, this is neither the time nor the place for doing something like that... Besides, they're already getting weird looks. Two demons and a strange looking girl wandering aimlessly around certainly hasn't put the villagers at ease and they're all quick to begin muttering about demons, bad omens, and other such things. Andy makes sure to smile widely at every single person who makes eye contact with her while Inuyasha sniffs around for Kagome or the man who took her.
"Find anything?" Andy asks, eyes pinned on a woman with dark eyes staring shamelessly at her.
"It's all muddled together but... I got it!" Inuyasha's up and running before Andy can react, but she's quick to chase after him: sprinting down the road in pursuit of her friend only to stop short when a mass of ebony hair and green fabric slam into her side.
"He has the shards!" Kagome shouts as she points in the direction of the man who kidnapped her, he's staring at them with wide eyes and doesn't seem all that bothered by their presence, "I'm sorry!"
Inuyasha can handle the man. In fact, he seems more than eager to go charging at the man with demands that he give back the stolen jewel pieces. Andy watches for a moment before turning to Kagome to check her for possible injuries. Thankfully, there aren't any. Kagome has been returned in the exact condition she was taken in.
"What happened?" Andy demands, fingers settling on Kagome's shoulders.
"He drove us into town and then he started asking questions about the jewel and I'm not sure what happened but I think he noticed the bulge in my sock before the next thing I know he was taking it! That's when I saw Inuyasha." Kagome explains, rushed and not making all that much sense but Andy doesn't care because they'll handle the jewel situation in a second.
A loud crack and a plume of dirt tell Andy that Inuyasha's either having a great time or getting his ass handed to him. She's inclined to think that maybe it's the latter, because he's not all that great with his father's sword yet and the man has to have at least some sort of ability because, hello, Andy's pretty sure he's the reason she was batted around like a football. Sighing, Andy grabs Kagome and pulls her along as she races to find her half-demon friend.
Around them villagers are running this way and that in an attempt to get as far away from the fighting men as possible. Some of them comment on how easily the monk will slay the demon, some are a little less convinced, Andy just doesn't want to see her friend die so she picks up the pace and makes it to the edge of the village with Kagome at her heels just in time to see the dark haired man who kidnapped Kagome unwrap the beads covering his hand. The resulting wave of power that nearly rips Andy off of her feet causes wooden structures to topple and get sucked into the vortex, leaving the animals or supplies within at the mercy of whatever power the man possesses. Inuyasha's left at the mercy of it too, though, he fairs better than the animals and supplies due to the fact that the Tetsusaiga offers a sort of anchor when he drives the blade into the ground.
"It's like a black hole!" Kagome shouts over the roar of terrified men and wind.
"Yeah! So let's not get sucked in ok?"
"I have to stop him!"
Hair obscures her vision but Andy's pretty sure Kagome can see the look of pure what the hell are you thinking as she screams, "Are you crazy?"
"Trust me! He's trying not to suck in humans!"
And then Kagome is flying through the air, carried by the same wind that had just sucked up horses, houses, and a couple of other objects Andy's positive shouldn't have been sucked into the man's hand. There's a terrifying moment when Andy's sure Kagome's going to die, the resulting burn of rage coming too late to stop her friend from being sucked into the vortex but more than ready to avenge her with storm and fury. Then the wind dies. Andy watches as Kagome collides with the man and sends them both sprawling before she regains her senses, grabs Shippo from his spot where Kagome had just been, and takes off running.
"Kagome!" Andy screams as she nears the duo, Inuyasha right beside her, "Are you crazy? You could have died!"
"Why did you rush in?" Inuyasha demands, Andy's pleased to find he's equally as panicked as she is.
"Well," Kagome glances between the two of them, "this Miroku, he could have easily killed us all a long time ago using his right hand. I'm sure he'll be reasonable if we talk to him!" And then a bead covered hand reaches up to pat Kagome's rear and any peaceful feelings Andy might have had go right out the window. She's quick to pull Kagome away, making sure to step on the man's hand as she moves away as Kagome shrieks, "I take it back! Kill him!"
"You good for nothing monk!" Inuyasha snarls at the now awake monk.
He holds up both hands, the one now covered in purple fabric and shiny beads, and says, "Calm down. We'll talk."
"Oh you better start talking right now you pervert!" Andy growls at the man, "Before I decide that hand of yours is better off removed from your body!"
That raging, wild thing in her preens when the monk goes sickly pale. Good, he should be afraid. If he ever touches Kagome like that again he'll find himself without his precious wind vortex before he can even think to defend himself with it. Kagome's gentle reassurances help push back the rage, but Andy doesn't let Kagome anywhere near the monk as they follow him out of the village and to a nice open area where they all sit down to discuss why he kidnapped Kagome and why he was after the jewel pieces without running the risk of being interrupted by people.
"I'm gathering the fragments of the Sacred Jewel in order to find a certain demon and eliminate him. That demon's name is Naraku." The monk explains once they're all settled.
"Naraku?" Kagome asks in her attempt to get more out of the monk while Andy and Inuyasha simply stare.
"This wind tunnel in my right hand was created by a curse placed by Naraku."
"What sort of demon is Naraku?" Kagome asks.
"He is malicious and devours people, that's all I know." The monk says, tone biting and cold.
Andy and Kagome share a look as Kagome lets out a hesitant, "What do you mean?"
"Well, it was my grandfather who battled Naraku in his youth. That was about fifty years ago. Their battles lasted several years, whenever they met Naraky appeared as a different person."
"Like a shapeshifter?
"In their final battle he took the form of a beautiful woman. My grandfather had great spiritual power, but unfortunately..."
Kagome blanches. "Bet he was a lecher."
"That's a good guess." the monk says before going on to explain the last fight between this Naraku and his grandfather, "Naraku pierced my grandfather's right hand with the seals and escaped himself... The wind tunnel gets bigger by the year, and stronger, if I don't kill Naraku I'll probably be sucked in myself."
"Does that mean you'll die?" Kagome asks, all compassion and kindness.
"Yes. And that's alright, if that's my fate. But I can't let Naraku go unchecked." The monk clenches his fist. "The Sacred Jewel that disappeared fifty years ago has appeared today in fragments. Naraky is sure to gather the fragments in order to strengthen his powers. It is said that Naraku nearly got the jewel fifty years ago after killing the priestess that protected it."
Cold lances through Andy. The only priestess she knows of that protected the Jewel was Kikyo and she... oh. Naraku killing Kikyo, putting a divide between her and Inuyasha, it makes so much sense. What better way to get the jewel than to kill the two biggest threats? Kikyo because she would protect it and Inuyasha because he would use it.
"You say he killed the priestess?" Inuyasha asks, having risen from his seated position after realization sunk in.
"Yes."
Inuyasha looks devastated, even as he snatches the monk up Andy can't help but think he looks heartbroken.
"Miroku! You said he takes different forms? What does he look like now?" Inuyasha demands, the desperation in his tone not unnoticed by the group.
"If I knew that I would have found him long ago and slain him!" the monk, Miroku, says.
Rage replaces the devastation. Andy's quick to her feet and even quicker to pull Inuyasha away from Miroku. The boy in red trembles in her arms as she pulls him into a hug, promises of retribution and justice spilling from her without filter. Naraku killed Kikyo, Kikyo hurt Inuyasha, and the cycle of death and pain isn't going to stop until Naraku is. Killing him? Destroying him so that there's no piece of him left to even reincarnate itself into the next life is now top priority, right under getting the jewel shards gathered up and kept safe.
"If we keep gathering the fragments we're sure to run into Naraku, right?" Kagome asks.
Andy pulls away from Inuyasha to look back at the younger girl and nod, "if he's so desperate for them there's no way he won't try and take them from us."
"Ok." Kagome smiles, "Let's gather fragments together!"
"Huh?" Miroku voices, clearly not expecting that.
"Well, I'm sure Inuyasha's not about to give this up." Kagome says, to which Inuyasha responds with a fierce, "Of course not!"
Andy steps closer to Kagome and nods as she begins speaking, "if we travel in a group it might be easier to defeat Naraku. Surely he can't be powerful enough to overcome all four of us at once."
"I'm not very good at dealing with people." Miroku mutters.
"Yeah, neither is Inuyasha, welcome to the club." Andy replies, in part to jab at the monk because she's still mad at him for groping Kagome. "Besides, if we don't kill Naraku then you aren't going to survive, hell, a lot of innocent people who don't deserve half of the crap he's going to do when he gets the shards are going to die. It'll be better if we team up and go after him as a unified group."
Miroku stares at her, pretty brown eyes wide and soft as he says, "Are you concerned about me?"
"Uh?" Andy looks at Kagome, who shrugs, "Sure?"
Calloused hands curl around her own as the monk steps closer. He smells like dirt and sweat and a tiny bit of blood. Battle. He smells like battle. And Andy isn't sure why that stands out so much but she's glad he doesn't smell like body odor. She stiffens as he steps closer.
"Then I have a request, of lovely Lady. Will you do me the favor of bearing my bearing my child?"
Shock renders her speechless but thankfully Kagome steps up like a trooper to ask, "What's this all about?"
"If I should fail to destroy Naraku and die, I need a child to carry on my family's mission." Miroku says before pulling Andy closer to his body.
"Oi! Quit it you lecherous priest!" Inuyasha growls as he steps between Andy and Miroku.
"I'm a monk." the man in purple blandly points out.
"If you lay a hand on Kagome or Andy again it will be the last time you have hands to touch them with." Inuyasha growls, low enough for the three adults to hear but not Shippo, who's off eating in a tree a few feet away.
The display seems to sit well with Kagome because she gets all glazed over in the eyes and smiles a bit too dreamily for Andy's liking. Frankly, she's surprised Inuyasha put her on the no-touchy list with Kagome seeing as how the two of them are pretty much dancing around the fact that they like each other. Andy crosses her arms over her chest as Miroku glances between the three of them.
"Oh, forgive me, I thought you were traveling companions... Are you in love with Kagome, or Andy? Was it? Please forgive me." Miroku says, seemingly less willing to tango with a taken woman. It sure flusters Inuyasha, though.
"What? No! She's just a jewel detector!" Inuyasha shrieks.
"A jewel detector! How dare you! Well, I guess you do have someone you love!" Kagome says to which both men's eyes go wide, "What shall I do? Miroku is nicer..."
"Why, are you going to betray me?"
Kagome shoots Inuyasha a look and Miroku says, "You must be nicer to womenfolk."
Andy meanders over to the tree where Shippo is watching the fight with interest, not even bothering with his food anymore. Settling back against the tree's trunk, the auburn haired woman watches as the three arguing adults devolve into pointless screaming and the occasional odd remark. They might as well set up camp. No one's going to be traveling anywhere else tonight. With a sigh Andy gathers her things and begins setting them out, quietly asking Shippo to toss her down a few small branches so she can get a fire going for dinner. Her actions go unnoticed until Kagome comes stomping over, having finally had enough of the two men.
"How does ramen sound?" Andy asks in an attempt to redirect Kagome's attention.
"Sounds fine. We should probably stop by a village tomorrow and gather some supplies though." Kagome says as she settles down beside Andy.
Soon Miroku and Inuyasha wander over, lured by the promise of food and sleep. Andy makes sure to divide the food up evenly between then but still giving a bit more to Shippo because he's a growing boy and don't they need the extra food for that? As dinner passes the four adults get to know each other better: they talk about their lives, Kagome and Andy being from the future, Andy being not-human but not-demon either, and Kagome being a reincarnation of Kikyo. It's a lot to absorb but Miroku takes it all in stride and promises to be as helpful in their mission as he can be when faced with such powerful allies. Andy snorts but doesn't say anything. Somehow she thinks that of the lot Miroku's the most level headed, therefor, the most dangerous. She doesn't say anything about it though and when she slips off to bed she makes sure to sleep close enough to Kagome and Shippo that should something happen Andy can react more quickly than Inuyasha. But the night is quiet and the only thing that disturbs Andy's rest are muddled dreams and a voice promising soon.