RELATIONS AGAIN

Writer: Ark Angel HFB

CHAPTER 4: Scents (Edited: Redone 7/3/2022)

Inuyasha spat as he crossed his arms.

Haydin's mind raced. He was sure he had seen this girl before, but where? The blank was driving him nuts. She was someone important. The mere fact that she was traveling with Inuyasha and was protector of the Jewel gave her importance. His mind turned over and over until finally, he gave up and looked away.

The room was dead silent except for the fire's slow crackling.

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The rest of the night had been slow. The group had chatted about demons they had fought in the past. Haydin kept his mouth shut except for a few rather knowledgeable comments on some of the youkai they had mentioned. The mood of the group was tense and as it reached time for sleep, everyone seemed more than ready. One by one the group slipped into unconsciousness, leaving only a grumpy hanyou awake to watch over them from his corner of the room.

Inuyasha glanced over his friends before looking at Haydin, who was still tied up. His eyes narrowed as he listened to his heartbeat. 'He went to sleep. Thought he'd stay up and wait for an opportunity to escape...maybe he isn't really that bad. Or almost dying just hasn't left him with any energy.' The hanyou shifted as he rubbed his eyes with a free hand.

It wasn't long before his eyes slid closed, but he remained awake. Slowly, he thought over the situation before he deemed that it was indeed safe to sleep. "Fuck today was rough… I'm not telling anyone but being purified always fucking suck. I'll wake Miroku up in a bit and let him take next watch... " Inuyasha thought as he didn't even realize he drifted to sleep.

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Inuyasha's eyes flickered open as he woke in a panic. His gaze jumped from member to member, his ears listened to their heartbeats, his nose smelling for any sign of harm. He sighed as he mentally cursed himself for his own stupidity at the panicked rush of emotions. They slipped away, leaving only a small feeling of something being since Naraku's death, Inuyasha had been battling a nagging feeling that Naraku wasn't dead and it was all part of a horrible trick, or convoluted plan. He had just started to win that fight, but then rumors of a demon with a jewel shard had stirred all the old frustrations and fears. Now they rested just under the surface, churning and slowly gnawing at him.

He closed his eyes, trying to relax. He let the sound of the rain outside ease his mind. "The sooner we get the shard out of this moron's shoulder the sooner it is really all over." Inuyasha murmured to himself. The words had barely left his mouth before his eyes shot open, darting to the spot where the teen had been. Only ropes were there to meet his gaze.

"BASTARD!"

Kagome opened her eyes in time to see Inuyasha bolting from the room. "Inuyasha, what is going on?"

"Tell Sango to learn to tie a fucking knot!" Was all that was hollered back from outside the room. Inuyasha didn't bother breaking stride, his nose locked onto the scent of the teen.

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Inuyasha burst out into the rain, his nose working hard as he tried to sort through hundreds of scents and the overwhelming freshness of the water that fell all around him. He ran over the soaked road as he raced out of the village, his feet connecting less and less with the ground, as the distance covered by each step increased. The scent was already faint. He leaned forward as he reached the row of trees that marked the beginning of forest outside the village.

The scent of mud was becoming more dominant as he ran. Inuyasha skidded to a halt as he rushed into a small clearing that had been enveloped in a horrible odor. He brought his hand up, using the cloth of his sleeve to shield his face from the offensive scent. His head swam for a moment as the odor nearly overpowered him. He glanced around the clearing, spotting small red weeds that seemed to be giving off the smell. He slowly dropped to one knee trying to pick up his target's scent.

A moment passed before he could no longer stand the smell of the weeds around him and he leapt back into the dense forest. "How the hell am I supposed to track him through that crap? Sango would love that stuff... or Shippo..." Inuyasha mumbled as he shivered, thinking of the trouble either of his pack-mates could cause for him with such powerful herbs.

Before he went back to following the scent, Inuyasha took a moment to look up at the darkened sky, letting the rain fall on his face and clean the foul scent from his nose. He then knelt once again, inhaling his target's faint scent before he followed the scent to the edge of the clearing. The scent turned and followed the outside edge of the space, never entering into the field of weeds. Inuyasha glanced back before narrowing his eyes. "If he thought, or cared, that he was being tracked, he would have gone through there..." Inuyasha put aside his thoughts as he once again took up the chase.

The hanyou reached a small stream, leaping over it in an easy jump. However, as soon as his feet reached the ground he planted his feet firmly, skidding to a halt and sending mud and rocks splashing into the trees around him. "What?"

Inuyasha's head snapped from side to side, as he had lost the scent again. The odor of the red weeds seemed to linger on him, making his nose burn. He spun for a moment in total frustration. 'I over ran it... again.' Realizing his mistake, he leapt back across the stream. As he landed he knelt sniffing the ground and air. After a moment, he picked the scent back up and stood. "Up stream…" Inuyasha muttered to himself as he once again broke into a sprint.

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"Knots have nothing to do with it." Sango said as she picked up a section of rope. "It has been snapped." Sango held the thick rope up for the others to see.

Kagome got to her feet and put her shoes on. "Come on, Inuyasha went after him alone." She was almost to the doorway before she realized that Sango and Miroku hadn't moved. "Guys come on, we have to help." She said, her face painted with concern.

"I'm sorry, Kagome. I can't track as well as Inuyasha." Shippo spoke softly as he looked down. The thought of letting down the group weighed heavily on him. "And… it's raining."

Miroku stood, walking over to Kagome before placing a hand on her shoulder. "There isn't any way for us to know where he went." He paused, looking back at Sango. "Much less keep up with him when Kirara has to carry all of us. If we just wait I'm sure he will return soon." The small fire cat purred out agreement.

"But he isn't..." Kagome stopped, her voice faltering. "He could still be hurt from earlier."

"Kagome, I'm sure," Sango began, but words failed her as she glanced back at the ropes.

There was an awkward moment of silence as everyone's mind conjured dark possibilities.

Miroku smiled as he tightened his grip on Kagome's shoulder, pulling her attention back to him and trying to comfort her. "I am most sure Inuyasha is fine, we must simply await his return."

Kagome nodded in agreement. "You're right. I'll make some tea for us while we wait." She walked to the center of the room before picking up a small wooden rod to poke the fire pit back to life. She placed a pot of water atop the hot coals. "I bought an herb I wanted to try making some tea out of anyway." Kagome smiled as she glanced back at Sango. "It is supposed to help calm a person's nerves." The priestess stirred continuously as she placed the small green strips of plant into the water to soak.

Sango nodded as she examined the torn rope in her hand. "I think we could all use that."

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Inuyasha closed in on his target. He took one short step before lunging through the air, his eyes never leaving his mark, just like hunting an animal for dinner.

Haydin was kneeling by a large tree that had a hollowed area near its base. He had left a sack of his belongings there and was in the middle of extracting the large bag. By the time he heard the rustling of air and splash of rain drops being struck mid-fall, it was too late. A force slammed into him from the side, sending him airborne and causing the sack he was holding to fly out of his hand. As Haydin connected with the muddy ground, something clamped around his neck driving his head down into the ground. His eyes looked up through the rain, mud, and darkness to lock onto the face of a rather furious looking hanyou.

Inuyasha's free hand was raised, claws ready to strike, his eyes glaring down as if daring resistance. He kept his knee resting atop his prey's chest to insure no escape.

There was a long pause, and the two stayed motionless. The rain had already soaked both of them and continued to fall in heavy drops. "Get off me, moron. You stink..." Haydin spat the insult with what air was left in his chest.

"Sure." Inuyasha brought his hand down, clenching it into a fist before it connected with Haydin's face.

A/N: Yeah long wait sorry... writing the next chapter now... ^_^

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