I do not own InuYasha or the characters created by Rumiko Takahashi.
The Mysterious Thief - Part Thirteen
The group followed the same corridor that Kagura escaped through to exit the underground cavern. A thick fog had settled in the forest overnight and the sun's rays filtered through the dense trees, as they emerged above ground. For safety reasons, they decided to put some distance between them and that place before taking a break. No one spoke as they walked through the woods and they traveled until mid morning, or rather, until Shippou collapsed from exhaustion.
"Inuyasha, we made it out of the dense part of the forest. I think we can take a break now," Miroku declared. He leaned on his staff with a rather annoyed look on his face.
Shippou crawled on his hands and knees and stretched out underneath a bush while mumbling in agreement.
"Keh! Do what you want," the half demon replied curtly and then leapt up into a tree. He was content enough about stopping since he had already led them away from the main path.
Kagome leaned her bike up against a tree and dropped her backpack on the ground. She kneeled down and unzipped her pack. She glanced at her textbooks, knowing that she wasn't going to have time to study and took out her pillow and sleeping bag instead. "I could sleep until tomorrow," Kagome yawned, stretching her arms wide.
"You better think twice, woman!" The half demon shouted from the treetops. "This is just a break, we need to make up for lost time!" He huffed.
Kagome rolled her eyes, grateful that he wasn't looking at her, but didn't object. Inuyasha had outright refused to carry Airi, despite Kagome's persistence. And his mood only worsened when everyone else agreed to not leave her behind. Kagome knew that if she talked back now, that it would only end in a nasty argument.
The young girl looked over at Kirara, who carried the unconscious female half demon. Kagome could barely see Airi's chest rise and fall and she still remained in her crystallized form. Her pale blue skin sparkled when it caught the light and Kagome thought that she looked more like an enchanted fairy rather than a half demon. And for a short moment, Kagome fantasized about how her mother might have looked like in a world full of fairies instead of demons.
Sango walked over to Kirara, who kneeled down so the demon slayer could easily lower Airi to the ground. She gently slipped her hands under the female half demon's arms and slid her off of the cat demon.
"Thank you Kirara," whispered Sango gratefully. Kirara transformed back and then mewed at her.
Kagome walked over then and placed her pillow under Airi's head.
"She's so cold," Sango remarked, rubbing her hands on the side of her arms as she shivered slightly.
Kagome nodded in agreement. "Do you think she'll wake up again?" She asked.
With everything that Airi had put them through, Kagome still felt bad for her. In her mind, Airi was just another victim of Naraku.
"Yea, I think so. She just needs time. I think she used up most of her strength to protect herself so hopefully by tomorrow, she'll be awake," the demon slayer reassured her.
"I guess if she is half demon like Inuyasha," Kagome admitted, recalling all the countless times when Inuyasha was badly injured, but healed by the next day.
They tucked a blanket around her before seeking out a soft, grassy spot to sleep on. The two women slept next to each other while Kirara purred lightly alongside Sango.
Miroku had sat down against a tree trunk deep in thought. He was unusually quiet. He couldn't figure out why Naraku went after Airi in the first place, but he too dozed off.
Inuyasha, on the other hand, kept watch from up above. His mind kept visualizing what it would be like if Airi traveled with them. And they all undoubtedly ended up in unpleasant bickering with Kagome. He shook his head to try to clear his mind. The last thing he needed was to imagine an endless supply of sit commands from Kagome.
He thought back to when Sango joined them and knew there was a good chance that Airi would indeed accompany them. He had nothing against her, besides the obvious, but she was a good fighter with rather impressive abilities. But in his opinion, she lacked incentive to follow their path. They had a score to settle with Naraku and although she was wronged by him, it was nothing compared to the rest of them.
He mulled it over once more before finally accepting it. But he had one condition: he needed to be sure that she wasn't going to turn on them again. She put all their lives in danger and he wasn't going to put up with that shit.
He silently huffed and fidgeted as he sat and waited up in the tree, but every now and then he paused to listen out for any movement down below. Unlike the others, he knew just how fast Airi would recover and she would most likely awaken while everyone was asleep. Not only did he want to keep her in his sight, but he was going to give her a piece of his mind...without any interference from Kagome.
Two hours passed without incident and it was now high noon, but despite that, he felt a sudden change in the wind and chilly breeze pass over him. Her youkai was rising again. He jumped down to the ground, landing soundlessly and waited in the shadows. His eyes were locked on Airi, she would awake any moment now; he could feel it.