Well, look at that. No, I'm not dead, and yes, this is an update. Sorry I took so long, but between graduation and computer problems (don't we all know everything about them?), updating has become tricky. I'll try to update once a month from now on though.
Well, I don't have anything to add, so without further ado, here's the chapter. Hope you enjoy and remember to review once you're done XD Reviews are like fuel :3
A thousand thanks to Amber for putting up with my stupid typos and grammar mistakes and pointing them out :3 Love you, Amber!
Breakers:
XxX: change of scene
~ξ~: time-skip
実: Beginning/End of Flashback
[T] and [/T]: beginning/End of soundtrack
Reminder: 'Inuyasha' written normally refers to Inuyasha, while written in cursive (cursive and bold in thoughts) refers to Kagome, the "Gentle Dog Demon". 'Hanyō' written normally means "half-demon", while written in cursive (cursive and bold in thoughts) it means "half-breed".
Chapter 6 – Half demon, half human
A loud rustling could be heard in the forest as something, or someone, forced their way through the thick foliage. At least that's what anyone hearing it would have thought if it wasn't for the fact that the sound stayed pretty much in the same spot, never moving forwards or backwards, until a particularly large leaf was sliced in two and revealed the person causing all the damage. It was a young boy with long black hair and deep violet eyes, but his clothes showed clearly he was not from anywhere nearby, as he wore a black T-shirt and jeans that, in this age, seem nothing short of weird.
Inuyasha exhaled calmly as he sheathed his sword, then looked over his shoulder and up into the tree branches above where a red-clad, white haired girl sat.
"Are you done now?" the half-demon girl asked calmly before Inuyasha could even open his mouth to say anything. When the only answer she got was a fierce scowl, she decided to take it as a yes. "Let's get going then."
Kagome didn't waste even a second more as she swiftly stood up on her branch and took off, leaping from one branch to the next with ease, leaving Inuyasha to quickly grab his stuff and follow her as fast as he could. Needless to say he had to sprint.
"Hey, wait up!" he yelled after the white haired girl, but of course, she didn't listen. She never did. For the last five days, they traveled that way: her leaping from branch to branch, him following close behind running as fast as he could. At first he saw it as her trying to prove something to him, so he ran after her just to humor her. But soon enough, he had to follow her out of necessity, since he hardly knew where he was, let alone how to get back to Kaede's village and the well. Inuyasha snorted under his breath as he continued running.
'So much for teaching me swordplay,' he thought as he sent another glare in the direction of the girl who was supposed to teach him how to fight. During the five days of their travel, they hardly got to anything serious. Sure, Kagome sparred with him every morning and evening, but it hardly ever lasted longer than ten minutes before she called it quits, mostly to tell him what he was apparently doing wrong. And she wasn't exactly sugarcoating her critique either.
This morning, Inuyasha had had enough and exploded, asking her to show him if she was so smart. Kagome however answered only with a dry look, stating that she would if she had a sword to use. And when he offered his own, she shot him down, stating she couldn't possibly use a priest's sword since she was a hanyō, though he had yet to figure out what exactly a hanyō was.
At any rate, Kagome had yet to prove to be able to wield a sword herself, and Inuyasha was slowly starting to seriously doubt that she was capable of it. But if she wasn't, who was she to give him advice? Besides which, if he only used his sword twice a day for less than half an hour in total, how the heck was he supposed to learn? As far as the black haired boy was concerned, Kagome was definitely not suited to teach him anything, but continued to pretend as if she was. And he hated that about her.
"Stupid hanyō-wench," the young priest-in-apparent-training muttered under his breath. Kagome's keen ears picked the mild insult up however, and next thing Inuyasha knew, a tree branch had fallen right in front of him. It was only because he jumped back in the last moment that the branch actually hit the ground instead of him. Inuyasha stopped and glared furiously up at the trees.
"Hey, watch it!" Inuyasha yelled at the half-demon, before releasing an aggravated sigh and continuing his run, for Kagome had meanwhile continued on as if nothing had happened. When he caught up, Inuyasha sent the white haired girl one of his fiercest glares. "What was that for anyway?" he asked her sourly. It wasn't like it was the first time he called her 'hanyō-wench'. It was actually the only thing he called her, except when he thought of other names. But sometimes when he used that particular one, she flipped out, while other times she brushed it off. Inuyasha truly didn't get it.
Kagome ignored his question however, too lost in her own thoughts to even truly register it. Inuyasha could think whatever he wanted, but the half-demon girl knew what she was doing, and she also knew that before she could get to actual swordplay, she had to polish Inuyasha's other abilities first. 'A true swordsman needs to have five basic abilities developed well before he can learn to wield a sword,' the Inuyasha thought. 'Speed, reflex, perceptiveness, strength and endurance. Without that, Inuyasha can never truly master a sword.'
Endurance training was the simple fact of running instead of walking while they traveled and Inuyasha was showing quick progress. On the first day, he could hardly keep up with her for longer than an hour at one of her slowest speeds. Now, on the sixth day, he could keep up for more than half a day. True, Kagome had not tried to speed up yet, but everything had its right time. The half-demon also had a feeling that the human was pushing himself so hard, because he wanted to prove to her that he wasn't weaker than her. He had yet to succeed though, but that didn't matter to Kagome as long as it helped him improve. And help it did.
As for reflex and perceptiveness, as well as partially speed, she covered that with the falling-branch-training. At random times, Kagome would either leap on a branch that couldn't quite hold her weight and fell down as a result or simply cut one off and let it fall to the ground. It was up to Inuyasha to notice the branch and react on time. Now that he could keep running at top speed for most of the day, that was what Kagome focused on most and so far, her technique of choice also proved successful. 'That last dodge wasn't half bad. But he still needs to react even quicker,' the half-demon noted to herself.
What was left was strength. It had taken Kagome a little while to figure out how to exactly help Inuyasha with that without him noticing, as training without knowing one was being trained usually worked best (at least in Kagome's experience) but she finally came out with the optimal strategy. All she needed to do was let him carry his load of water for the day instead of carrying it for him as she could have easily done, or (which was just as easy) to lead them to a stream every now and then to refill. As a result, Inuyasha's backpack was at least a kilogram heavier than when he arrived. It could be problematic however to make it even heavier as the boy got stronger, but Kagome figured that she would cross that bridge when she got there. For now, the load he carried was enough to improve not only his strength, but also his speed.
Kagome was brought out of her musings when a change in Inuyasha's condition alerted her. Golden eyes turned to look at the sky to see for how long they've traveled and Kagome's eyes widened a little when she noticed they had traveled for at least three quarters of the day, which was longer than they had the day before. Without turning her head, the half-demon girl glanced over at Inuyasha to see how he was fairing.
He was obviously out of breath and his heart was beating frantically, her ears told her. Beads of sweat were rolling down his face and his rapid breathing told volumes about how tired he must be. Still, as always, he refused to admit that he needed rest, and once again Kagome found herself wondering if she should admire or hate that about him. On one hand, it was a good thing he was ready to push himself over his limits to better himself. On the other, Kagome had a feeling he had the tendency to overdo it, which in preparation-training for swordsmanship lessons was something to avoid at all costs. The white haired girl sighed.
"There are some hot springs nearby. We'll soon come to a good place to rest for a while," Kagome said. Inuyasha looked up at her and scowled when he noticed that the Inuyasha wasn't even a little winded from the long run. This time, he wanted her to tire out just as much as him. So he decided to refuse.
"I'm fine," he managed to get out between deep breaths of air, since he figured she was most likely planning to stop because of him. "We can keep going."
It was Kagome's turn to scowl as she glared at him.
"No, we can't. I can see you're tired," she replied curtly.
"I'm not!"
"I can hear your hard breathing and erratic heartbeat from here you know." Inuyasha didn't respond to that, but he mentally cursed his body for betraying his tiredness. He vowed to himself however, that soon enough, they would stop because Kagome was tired, not him. He'd make sure of that.
Ten minutes later they stopped at a small clearing and Inuyasha was quick to go to the hot springs Kagome had mentioned earlier to refresh himself. After drinking most of the water he had carried during their run and taking off his heavy back pack the black haired boy already felt better, but a quick bath in the hot springs truly did wonders to his sore body.
Of course, he would never complain. If he did, it would only prove to Kagome he was weak, which was the exact opposite of what he wanted to prove to her. But he couldn't deny that the daily runs were tiring him out. True, he could run now for longer than he ever thought he'd be able to, but he still didn't think it went any further than that. Inuyasha sighed.
"Why can't we just walk like normal people anyway?" Inuyasha asked no one in particular as his muscles relaxed thanks to the warm water he was soaking in. He didn't understand it. It wasn't like they were in a hurry after all. Sure, he wanted to find someone who would take the blasted Jewel instead of him as soon as possible, but that didn't mean they had to run from village to village.
That thought made Inuyasha narrow his eyes. Now that he thought about it, they had yet to actually come to a village. In the six days they were traveling they hardly even left the forest, which in his opinion was utterly ridiculous. After all, the woods couldn't possibly be this large, could they?
"That stupid hanyō-wench better not be leading us in circles," Inuyasha growled to himself as he sank deeper into the warm water, as he had no desire to leave the hot spring just yet.
Kagome meanwhile had gathered firewood, which she threw in a pile in the clearing where they decided to rest. She didn't start the fire though. She didn't need it and Inuyasha wasn't back yet, so she might as well wait for him.
As she sat down by the roots of one of the trees, her eyes fell on the sword Inuyasha had (quite carelessly in her opinion) left behind and her mind wandered to the last six days. The young half-demon narrowed her eyes in deep thought.
'Six days if we count today,' she thought to herself. 'He progressed a surprising lot for such a short amount of time.' It was true. In just six days, Inuyasha had built enough stamina to run for most of the day. Sure, Kagome was still going only at the speed of the slowest jog she could manage, but rarely did a human ever keep up even with that low (by her standards) speed for more than thirty minutes. For Inuyasha to be able to keep up for the most part of the day was impressive indeed, and that while carrying his not all too light load and dodging branches she randomly dropped on him. And he was getting better at it rather fast, too. 'He's progressing at an amazing rate. Let's hope he can keep it up,' the white haired girl thought and leaned against the tree trunk, her eyes rising towards the crown of the tree before she glanced back towards the priest sword and then her own claws. 'I guess it's time to start the real training,' she thought with a small smile.
Kagome was well aware of what Inuyasha thought of her training method. Obviously, while running, Inuyasha hardly noticed when he spoke out loud. So she knew he was itching to finally start to learn swordplay. The golden eyed girl couldn't help but smile at that. She sure as Hell wouldn't disappoint him.
'But today, he needs rest. We'll start tomorrow before we set off,' the young hanyō decided.
~ξ~
The next morning came all too soon for Inuyasha. He was never an early riser and up until now, Kagome had respected that and let him sleep as much as he wanted. So the black haired boy was quite surprised when someone shook him roughly at what he considered an ungodly early hour.
"Come on, wake up, sleepy head. Wake up!" Kagome's voice reached his ears through the haze of sleep. Inuyasha cracked an eye open and groaned when he saw that it was barely sunrise.
"Too early," he mumbled so low, Kagome understood him only thanks to her enhanced hearing. Then he rolled over in his sleeping bag, intent on going back to sleep. Unfortunately for him, Kagome was having none of that. Golden eyes narrowed as she crouched down next to the sleeping boy and gently took hold of the bag he was sleeping in.
"I said," she said as she picked him up effortlessly and held him over her head. She proceeded by turning the sleeping bag in her hands so that she was holding only one end, unceremoniously dumping Inuyasha on the ground as he fell out. "Wake up!" the half-demon girl said a little louder than necessary just as the black haired boy landed on his back on the hard ground. The change in temperature between the inside of the sleeping bag and the cool morning air, as well as the unexpected contact with the hard forest floor had his violet eyes snapping open and in an instant he was on his feet, anger written plain as day on his face.
"What the Hell did you do that for?" he almost yelled at the girl, but the only response he got was his sword landing in his hands and a slight hiss coming from his hanyō companion. Looking up from the sword, to which his eyes wandered when it was thrown so unexpectedly into his hands, Inuyasha saw Kagome shaking her hand rapidly as if she had burned it. She stopped almost as soon as she started though, and Inuyasha saw small burn marks on the inside of her palm. Kagome scowled.
"Forgot the sheath was enchanted too," she muttered under her breath and Inuyasha's eyes widened slightly.
"You burned yourself with the sword's sheath?" he asked surprised. How was that even possible? It wasn't like the sheath was on fire or anything. But Kagome only sent him a dry look before answering.
"Obviously. Should have known. This is a priest sword after all and I am a hanyō," the white haired girl said as she shook her head. Then she looked back at Inuyasha, and to his surprise took a battle stance, which she had not done before. Her eyes were narrowed and her hands were at her sides, with her claws bared and ready to strike, while her legs were bent at her knees, ready to leap right at him. Inuyasha froze and Kagome clicked her tongue impatiently.
"Draw your sword," she said coldly, claws flexing and ready to tear into something. The black haired boy couldn't help but gulp. He had seen more than once what those claws could do. To face them in combat, a serious combat it would seem, was not something Inuyasha was quite looking forward to. Kagome didn't look like she was going to take no for an answer though, and he soon understood why. "It's time you learned to use that sword of yours. Preparations are done. Real training starts now."
Nodding, Inuyasha unsheathed the blue blade and took a stance of his own, facing his teacher, though he would never call her that to her face, without a single spark of fear in his eyes. Kagome smirked at his determined look… and then she leaped at him.
~ξ~
Inuyasha ran silently besides the white haired girl above him, a scowl firmly set on his face since the end of their little sparring session. To say it hadn't gone quite as well as Inuyasha would have liked it would be the understatement of the century in this case. He hadn't managed to come even near hitting Kagome even once, and had gotten himself 'killed' more times than he cared to count. It wasn't only that which made him angry though. Kagome's words were.
"You're leaving yourself wide open! How do you expect to win if you leave your opponent an opening like that? He's bound to strike you down, since you're so openly inviting him to do it!" she had said more than once. She was right of course, he had to admit that since the words followed almost every 'kill' he allowed to happen. But it wasn't like she was fighting any different, so who was she to talk? She left herself open more times than him, of that he was sure, so maybe she should think about closing her own openings before telling him to do the same?
Then again, Kagome may have left herself open a few times, but each time he tried to use it, she didn't have any trouble to dodge or block him at all. And a 'killing' counter attack followed more often than not.
That was just it, though. It was all Kagome did, as Inuyasha was quick to notice. And that was what aggravated him the most. She never attacked. That first leap had been just a bluff; she had jumped well above him. He'd have to be an idiot to think she was even trying to leap at him. And other than that, all she did was wait for him to attack, then either dodge or block and wait again or counter. Only a completely brainless person wouldn't notice that she was taking this training anything but seriously. He hated that. He hated when people went easy on him because they thought him weak. He hated it especially when they were right, which he made sure was not very often. But no matter what he did, he couldn't make Kagome take him seriously.
Then again, he wasn't really taking her advice seriously, either. After all, she fought bare handed. She didn't use a sword or any other weapon for that matter. As far as he knew, her bow had yet to be used and for the moment he was the one carrying it for her, since she couldn't carry it for an extended period of time without getting burned.
Inuyasha had even been curious enough to ask her, that if the bow was burning her like his sword was, then how was she able to bring it with her through the well that one time she came to his time and why would Kikyo even give it to her. Kagome had only shrugged in response and said the spell on the bow was supposed to activate a demon barrier when a demon came close, but that it took longer to react to her because of her blood. As for why Kikyo would give it to her, the white haired girl only said there was a special day when the barrier wouldn't hurt her, but she never elaborated more than that, much to Inuyasha's dismay. What exactly she meant by both statements, Inuyasha had yet to understand.
Shaking his head, Inuyasha refocused his thoughts on what he thought previously and his anger mounted when a peculiar thought suddenly struck him. He never actually saw Kagome fight any other way than bare handed. Yet she acted like she knew everything about swordsmanship. Still, her own fighting style contradicted the advice she gave Inuyasha greatly. So in the end, who was she to teach him swordplay if she obviously knew even less about it than him? After all, he had at least some experience, as he attended the Kendo club back home.
Then again, as he was quick to notice, Kendo and the swordsmanship demanded here were much more different than one might think.
Inuyasha was suddenly brought out of his thoughts when his hanyō companion suddenly left the trees and landed right in front of him, extending her hand to the side to stop him, which he did, lest he run straight into her back.
"What now?" he asked, not bothering to hide his annoyance. If it fazed Kagome at all however, she didn't show it.
"Someone's coming," she said simply as she lowered her hand and sniffed the air tentatively, while her ears twitched on her head. "He's heading this way. A human," she added and turned her head towards the bushes. Frowning, Inuyasha turned his head towards the plants as well and soon enough a soft rustling could be heard a little ways ahead. Narrowing her eyes, Kagome started walking forward. Inuyasha blinked a few times before following her without a word. Suddenly, Kagome leaped to the side and into the foliage. She emerged half a second later with a young boy suspended in her extended hand, whom she was holding by the back of his jacket.
"Let me correct," Kagome said to Inuyasha as she walked back to the road, where she set the boy down. "Someone was following us," she said with a scowl. "What I want to know is why you did, kid," she said to the boy.
He couldn't be older than nine or ten as far as Inuyasha could tell. His hair was short and black and he was wearing the clothes any farmer's child would wear in this time. Wide brown eyes were directed at Kagome and if Inuyasha read the kid right, he was scared out of his mind, or at least that was what the shaking of his whole body suggested. Quite frankly, the boy looked like he was about to piss his pants from fright and he gulped audibly as he stared at Kagome from his vantage point on the ground where the half-demon had set him down.
"I… I wasn't following you! I… I s-swear. P-p-please don't kill me!" he cried in response, his voice clearly laced with panic as he curled up in a tight ball, his hands covering his head in a weak attempt to protect himself. Inuyasha raised his eyebrows in surprise as he glanced between the boy and Kagome. Sure, she had been scowling a moment ago, but even then she didn't look like she was planning to slice the boy to pieces; if anything, she looked slightly annoyed, but that was all.
Looking at the half-demon now made Inuyasha's eyes widen however, for the boy's reaction to her question clearly affected her. Her shoulders had slumped, her ears drooped and the black haired kannushi could swear there was a sad glint in her eyes. A glint he had not seen before.
Sighing, Kagome hid her claws from view by putting them inside her sleeves before turning in the direction they were headed before.
"Let's go," she said simply and walked off. Baffled and not understanding in the least what had just transpired, Inuyasha made a move to follow her, but was stopped when the boy who was 'following' them spoke up again, causing Kagome to stop in her tracks.
"You… aren't going to… do anything?" he sounded almost like he couldn't believe his luck, but the moment Kagome stopped, Inuyasha knew the boy regretted having spoken as he curled right back into a tight ball. Kagome looked over her shoulder at the pathetic sight, and if Inuyasha had any doubts before, they were easily dispersed now, for the sadness in Kagome's eyes was unmistakable. What caused it though Inuyasha didn't know, nor could he figure it out.
"Why should I? It's not like I have a reason to, kid," her voice was tired all of a sudden, but not the kind of tired like she was physically exhausted. It sounded more like she was mentally or emotionally drained, maybe even both.
Her answer made the boy look up and even stand up. It looked like his fear was slowly vanishing and he was regarding Kagome curiously to which she raised a brow in silent question. Inuyasha just watched on, desperately trying to figure out what was actually going on, but so far his confusion was only mounting.
Kagome turned her head again and sniffed the air tentatively before looking back at the boy, who by then had stood up and was glancing at her curiously. She allowed herself a small smile and spoke.
"I smell a village nearby," her words obviously unsettled the boy, for his eyes widened and the stench of fear was emitting from him in waves once again, so Kagome was quick to continue. "I'm guessing that's where you live. It's not far, you need to go that way, then always straight," she said, pointing to the left. "And better hurry up. The forest ain't safe for a young human like you. Most demons wouldn't mind a snack like you, so you'd better get out of here." Then, she turned to Inuyasha, her expression controlled once again and nothing of the previous sadness remaining in her eyes. She was back to normal. "Let's get going."
"Hey, wait a minute!" Inuyasha said as he quickly walked in front of Kagome and stopped her. She sent him a curious look and he narrowed his eyes at her. "If there's a village nearby, then we should check it out. There might be someone like the person we're looking for," he said, to which Kagome only sighed.
"There isn't," she answered simply.
"And how do you know?" Inuyasha asked angrily. But this time, Kagome didn't bite back like she usually did. Her ears drooped again and she was looking off to the side, obviously trying to avoid eye contact with him.
"Trust me, when we get near a village with a miko or kannushi strong enough to take your burden off your shoulders, you'll know it," she said quietly, one clawed hand pointing at the Jewel hanging around his neck, hidden by his clothes.
"And how am I supposed to know?"
"Believe me, you just will," she was sounding tired again and for some reason, Inuyasha didn't like it. This kind of mood just didn't suit her.
"I can't," a quiet voice interrupted their little argument and both parties turned back to the little boy both have forgotten was even there. Seeing their questioning looks, the boy elaborated. "I can't go back to the village."
"Why not? If it's your home then nothing should be stopping you," Inuyasha said with a frown, but the boy only shook his head.
"There's a lake nearby, from which a stream flows down to our village," he muttered. "The lake is our villages water source. But lately, a demon had made his territory over there and the stream has been poisoned ever since it showed up. If someone doesn't take care of the yōkai, then our village is doomed," the child explained with tears in his eyes and Inuyasha raised a brow.
"And they sent you to take it out?" he asked doubtfully and the boy hung his head.
"You don't understand! There isn't anyone at my village who has the slightest idea how to fight demons! I'm the only one who ever had any training in a shrine, no matter how short. I'm the only one who can do anything!"
"So you snuck out without telling anyone with the intention of slaying the demon, right?" Kagome asked. When the boy didn't answer, which was enough confirmation for both Inuyasha and her, the young hanyō sighed. "Could you lead us to that lake?" she asked calmly, earning surprised stares from not only the young boy, but from Inuyasha as well.
"Huh?" the boy asked dumbly, as if he didn't understand what Kagome just asked, and the white haired girl had to suppress a giggle at his adorable expression. He somehow reminded her of Kaede when the girl was just a small kid.
"If we take care of the demon, then the problem will be solved, right? Your village will have no more problems and you can go back with a clean conscious," the half-demon girl said with a smile. The boy's brown eyes widened in disbelief as he stared at her.
"You would do that?"
"Sure, why not?" Kagome asked right back. Inuyasha sent her an aggravated glare.
"We have our own problems, baka (1)," he cut in, to which Kagome responded with a fierce glare of her own.
"And this village needs help, Inuyasha. Help we can provide. We can't just ignore those people. Besides, it could be good training for you anyway," she responded easily, then nodded to the boy to lead the way before following him. Inuyasha sighed. He should have known. He might not have known Kagome very long, but there was one thing about her that was obvious to anyone who knew her for longer than one hour: she was the type of person to help anyone who needed help. He himself hadn't been an exception there, either. After all, she had helped him out more than once even before they started to get to know each other… if Inuyasha could truly call it that. After all, they were merely traveling together, but as for getting to know each other… well, let's just say they needed to work a little more on that. If Inuyasha was ever interested to know anything about Kagome that is, which he seriously doubted. He only needed her to help him find someone to take the Jewel from him. Once that was taken care of, he would go home and never come back, thus never seeing Kagome again, so there wasn't any reason to get to know her if they were going to part ways soon anyway.
At least that was what the black haired boy thought. He had yet to find out that it would still be a long while before he left the Feudal Era for good.
XxX
"There it is," the young boy, whose name as they found out while walking to the lake was Heitaro, said in a whisper as he pointed at something in front of them through the foliage. Kagome narrowed her eyes before a scowl appeared on her face.
"It's a crab demon," she stated as she flexed her claws. "Could get annoying. Stay here, kid," she added before standing up and jumping out of their cover.
"Hey," Inuyasha whispered furiously after her. There was no way he was staying hidden, too. Nodding to himself, Inuyasha made a move to follow the half-demon girl, but a hand on his wrist stopped him short. Glancing over his shoulder, he shot the little boy a questioning look, to which the kid only shook his head.
"Let her handle this. Humans shouldn't get involved in fights such as these," the boy said, only adding to Inuyasha's confusion. But before he could ask anything, a growl was heard up front.
Kagome was standing in a battle stance with her claws bared and her face turned up in a frightening snarl. The crab however didn't seem affected in the least and only narrowed its little eyes in response. The white haired half-demon flexed her claws again and bent her knees in what Inuyasha recognized as a preparation for a pounce.
She didn't get that far however as the crab suddenly ran at her with speed Inuyasha would never have suspected it had, and Kagome was forced to jump to the side to avoid its head on tackle. She landed lightly on the ground and sprang back at her opponent, but the crab moved away before she could get to it. As the little game of chase continued for a longer while, Inuyasha lost his patience and threw his backpack to the ground while reaching for his sword. 'It ain't like she told me to stay out of the fight,' he told himself as he prepared to unsheathe the blade.
He was about to jump at the unsuspecting overgrown crab, but Heitaro held his wrist yet again, shaking his head vigorously. Inuyasha narrowed his eyes.
"Look kid, you stay here like she told you, 'cause there ain't much you can do. But there's no way I'm staying here hiding like a coward," the black haired boy said sternly.
"There's no need. She can handle it. She might be different than most hanyō, but it doesn't change what she is. You shouldn't get involved in a fight between demons," Heitaro said, almost a pleading look in his eyes. Inuyasha raised a brow at the small revelation. 'So Kagome is a demon after all. But then, why do all demons call her 'hanyō' if she's the same as them?' the teen from the future wondered briefly before he shook his head and ripped his wrist from Heitaros tight grip.
"I'm not a weakling and I'm no coward either. So I'm not going to hide," he replied, his tone leaving no room for argument. Inuyasha stood up and grabbed the hilt of his sword, observing the chase before him and waiting for the right moment, then suddenly jumped out of the foliage and drew his sword before bringing it down at the unsuspecting insect.
What the black haired boy was not expecting however was for the blade to bounce right off the crab's shell, which in turn made him stumble backwards and almost lose his balance. Obviously a little startled by the attack from behind, the crab suddenly lost interest in the female half-demon he'd been fighting and turned to Inuyasha.
Seeing the demon up close made Inuyasha realize that it wasn't actually as identical to a normal crab as he at first thought. Its shell for one had a silver metallic color on the back, while the rest was a sickening green. It had small red eyes and if you looked closely, you could see its pincers had what looked like small, extremely sharp blades imbedded within them.
Inuyasha however didn't allow himself to be fazed by the outward appearance of the demon and was ready when the monster charged at him. Jumping swiftly to the side, Inuyasha tried once again to cut through the crabs shell. The demon however simply walked a few steps to the side before sending one of his pincers at the black haired boy. Inuyasha rolled away avoiding the demons deadly weapon and got back to his feet, ready to attack again, when a shadow flew at the crab from behind.
"Don't forget about me, little scumbag!" Kagome yelled as she brought her claws against the hard shell. She cursed under her breath as she made contact and swiftly jumped away, landing next to Inuyasha. "That shell's harder than I thought. I barely scratched it," she muttered, just loud enough for Inuyasha to hear.
"Well, it's bound to crack if we keep hitting it, right?" Inuyasha replied cockily as he readied himself again. Kagome sighed in response.
"Just hitting it with your sword won't do," she replied. "If you could use your priest powers, it would be another story. But as things stand, only one thing can break through it." The young hanyō flexed her claws as she said this. She was about to tell Inuyasha her plan, but was rather rudely interrupted as the crab ran at them again, its entire body glowing bright green. Narrowing her eyes, Kagome swiftly jumped upwards as Inuyasha evaded to the side again. Losing sight of the half-demon, the crab turned towards Inuyasha again. The boy smirked.
"You seemed quicker when I watched from behind the bushes. What made you slow down? You tired already?" he taunted, noticing the red eyes narrow even more. Inuyasha wondered absentmindedly how the creature was even able to see with its little eyes narrowed into such small slits.
Up in the air, slowing down her descent with the help of her youki, Kagome froze. Surprised golden eyes moved from the target below her to the black haired human in wonder, not because he was actually taunting the creature to attack, but because of what he said. Didn't he realize what was happening?
'It's not the demon who slowed down, Inuyasha. It's you who's quicker than you used to be,' the half-demon thought as she landed on one of the branches, her eyes never leaving Inuyasha's form as he easily dodged the tackles the enraged crab was trying to hit him with. Kagome narrowed her eyes as she concentrated on Inuyasha's movements, as she hadn't seen him in a real fight since the nymph. 'I thought he was progressing rather well,' She thought as she watched Inuyasha move about and strike from time to time, though his blows had little effect on his opponent; they still lacked strength behind them, and the fact that his priest powers seemed to have fallen asleep since the incident in his time wasn't helping. Still, other than that, he was much better and if it wasn't for the fact that the yōkai needed to be defeated, Kagome doubted she'd have to intervene. Unfortunately, while Inuyasha could hold his ground, he was still not strong enough to kill the demon. 'I was wrong though,' the white haired girl thought as she readied her claws, her keen eyes watching for the perfect opportunity to strike. 'He's progressing at an amazingly fast rate. Much quicker than I thought any human, even a so called prodigy, capable of. If only he took my advice about wielding the sword to heart…' that last thought was accompanied by a sigh.
Inuyasha smirked as he avoided another one of the demons attacks with ease and counterattacked, only to frown when his sword didn't leave a scratch… again. This was slowly getting him frustrated. To make things more interesting, Kagome had disappeared somewhere in the trees leaving him on his own. Not that he really minded of course. At least he had an opportunity to show her he wasn't as weak as she thought him to be. 'Let's see her face when I get rid of that demon by myself,' the black haired boy thought cockily as his opponent charged at him one more time. This time however, Inuyasha wasn't planning to dodge. Instead, he raised his sword high above his head and waited.
"Come and get it," he muttered under his breath as he swung his blade down with all his might as soon as the yōkai was within his range. What he didn't expect was for the demon to stop and block his attack as if it were nothing. Next thing he knew, his sword was stuck in one of the crab's pincers, the other ready to strike at him without the black haired boy able to do anything about it.
'Idiot!' Kagome yelled in her mind as she leapt from her branch at the pair, claws raised. This was the moment she'd been waiting for, but if Inuyasha hadn't shortened her possible time of reaction by bringing himself in a deadly predicament, the half-demon would have been grateful.
"Sankon Tessō!" she yelled at the top of her lungs, her claws striking against the shell of the unsuspecting crab before it had the chance to deliver the final blow to the fear struck human. The shell fell apart without any problem, Kagome's claws tearing through it like through butter as the attack cut into the demons flesh.
Scratching in anger, the yōkai released Inuyasha's sword forcefully, throwing the boy a little ways back where he landed on his back. He didn't lie around for long though, getting up to his feet quickly. 'That… was too close for comfort,' Inuyasha thought as his eyes caught Kagome's. She eyed him for a moment, before her eyes moved from him, to her opponent, then back to the teen. She nodded at him, relaying a secret message and Inuyasha nodded back, readying himself again. He didn't know how, but somehow, he knew what she wanted from him. 'Wait for the right moment, then strike… sure, I can do that.'
"Still standing, huh? You're tougher than I thought. And pretty strong… for a scumbag," Kagome taunted, earning herself angry click clacks as the crab turned to her. She narrowed her eyes dangerously. "I hope you're ready to die. I never plan on letting those who say that live, so better say your prayers, little filth."
And that was what it took to make the demon charge at her. But Kagome was ready. Raising both of her hands, she caught the pincers that were flying at her and used her inhuman strength to force the demon to a stop before she pushed his only weapons to the ground, immobilizing him.
"Inuyasha, NOW!" the black haired priest didn't need to be told twice as he ran at the yōkai and swung his blade at its exposed back. With the shell gone thanks to Kagome's Iron Claw, the blue blade penetrated the demons flesh easily and cut deep. The demon screeched once again in its weird tongue as the blade cut him deep and Kagome's eyes widened as she suddenly released her grip on the demon and sprang back.
"What the…?" Inuyasha started to ask, but was interrupted by a bright blue light in front of him. When it vanished, the demon was gone like it never even existed. "What just happened?" the violet eyed teen asked as he sheathed his sword.
"You purified it," Kagome replied calmly as she neared him again. "You weren't half bad by the way. Except for that one moment when you left yourself wide open," she added. Inuyasha didn't answer as he just looked pointedly away. The half-demon raised an eyebrow, but decided not to push the subject. Instead, she took a tentative smell of the air before turning towards the bushes where Inuyasha suspected Heitaro was still hiding.
"Guess your village has no problem now," Kagome said and Inuyasha couldn't help but notice that her voice had gotten several degrees colder when she talked to the little boy. Something told him she had heard every word the kid had said to him and apparently, she wasn't happy about it. The child didn't seem to notice though.
"Thank you so much. I don't know how I can ever repay you," the boy said with a happy grin, though his eyes were still very much guarded when he glanced at the half-demon. Kagome just shrugged.
"Don't mention it," she replied, her voice still as hard as before. Then she turned to Inuyasha. "Come on, let's go."
"Why don't you spend the night at my village? It's the least I can do to thank you," the boy spoke up again, but Inuyasha couldn't help the feeling the question was not directed at the both of them, but at him only. Kagome held back a snort.
"Thanks but no thanks," she replied easily without stopping to walk. Inuyasha however had other plans, since sleeping under a real roof and on something more comfortable than forest floor sounded much more appealing than he cared to admit.
"Why can't we? It's almost night anyway," he pointed out, unable to keep the annoyance out of his voice. He didn't care what Kagome was up to, but he was definitely going to take the boy up on his offer. Her answer however was not what he expected. The half-demon stopped and glanced over her shoulder at him, that tired look he saw in her eyes earlier returning full force and making Inuyasha feel guilty for some reason.
"Never said you couldn't go," she replied quietly. "I'll wait for you at the edge of the forest," and with that, Kagome leapt into the trees and out of sight, leaving a bewildered teenager and a little kid sighing in relief behind.
"Well, let's go," the child said enthusiastically, pulling Inuyasha after him. The black haired teen followed obediently after retrieving his backpack from the bushes, but he couldn't help but glance towards the trees from time to time, Kagome's tired and sad look haunting his mind. It wasn't a look he knew well, he had never seen anyone else look quite like that before, so he didn't quite know what it meant or what to think of it, but it still bothered him.
Inuyasha was brought back to reality when Heitaro spoke up again. The village was already in sight and the boy decided to give his guest one last advice before they entered the village, just to be sure.
"I'm sure my family won't mind, especially after I tell them what you did," the boy chatted before looking at Inuyasha over his shoulder. "You better not mention that you travel with a hanyō, though." Inuyasha did a double take and gazed in surprise at the boy.
"Why not?" he asked, earning himself a surprised stare, as if the boy was asking him if he really didn't know.
"Hanyō aren't really… popular, if you know what I mean," the boy responded. As if sensing Inuyasha's deepening confusion, he continued. "They aren't exactly natural. They're… different."
"What's so different about them?"
"Everything!" that caught Inuyasha off guard. Sure, he noticed that Kagome was stronger, quicker and had overall more endurance than any other girl he knew. Not to mention a few aspects of her physical appearance, which were obviously demonic. But that was supposed to be normal if she was a yōkai, right? Besides which, those few details aside, Inuyasha had yet to notice anything that would set Kagome apart from everyone else.
"Like what?" he asked, somewhat irritated. This boy in front of him, he knew nothing about Kagome, yet he talked like he knew everything. That pissed Inuyasha off for some reason, and he suspected it was because it reminded him of how people always thought they knew everything about him back home. Which of course was never true.
"Just everything," was the boy's simple answer. "Trust me on this one and don't mention your companion in the village. Better even, quit traveling with her. She's a hanyō! Hanyō are bad news. They shouldn't even exist," where that came from all of a sudden, Inuyasha didn't know, but he hardly cared at that point. Sure, Kagome got majorly on his nerves in more ways than one, but to say she shouldn't exist was definitely an overreaction. Before Inuyasha could voice his opinion however, they entered the village and the topic of Kagome hadn't come up again.
~ξ~
Inuyasha walked briskly towards the forest as soon as the sun started to rise. He had a good night's sleep and while he had to admit it was nice to spend the night beneath a solid roof once in a while, Heitaro's comments concerning Kagome still made him angry.
As he figured out though, his anger wasn't directed at the boy merely because he insulted Kagome. He could care less about that (even if the idea of insulting someone without knowing shit about them did set him on edge). What truly angered him was that the boy refused to explain even a little bit where he was coming from. He could think what he wanted as far as Inuyasha was concerned, but his opinions confused Inuyasha greatly and made him realize there was an important detail about Kagome that he was missing. And he hated being in the dark. Problem was, he had no idea how to confront the hanyō about it. He had a feeling it had something to do with the simple fact of what a hanyō was, but he didn't have the slightest idea how to bring up the subject.
Still, no matter what hanyō were, Inuyasha doubted greatly they 'shouldn't exist' as Heitaro had put it. The black haired boy sighed as he reached the edge of the forest, his eyes immediately scanning the trees, looking for his female companion. Yet she was nowhere to be seen. Violet eyes narrowed as he scanned his surroundings again, before slowly going further into the forest. She said she was going to wait at its edge. Surely she didn't just leave him behind and go on without him, did she?
Then again, if she did, what did he care? It wasn't like he needed her. He would find his way back to the well and find someone to take the Jewel from him even without her, no problem.
"There's someone trying to dig up my father's grave? Oh, you don't say," a sarcastic, female voice suddenly reached him, bringing him back to the here and now. Glancing around, Inuyasha finally noticed a red figure up in the branches of a nearby tree. Raising an eyebrow in wonder as to who she was talking to, Inuyasha slowly neared the tree she was sitting in. However, when she came into his vision, it seemed she was alone. Was she talking to herself? "I bet I could even tell you who it is," she continued, directing a glare at her hand.
"Oi, hanyō-wench!" Inuyasha called, alerting the demon girl to his presence. She didn't seem surprised that he was already there if her annoyed stare and lack of any other reaction was anything to go by.
"Took you long enough," she said as she closed the hand she was holding in front of her face into a tight fist. Inuyasha's brows rose again, as he could swear he heard a small 'ow' come from between her claws. Kagome jumped down from the branch and landed gracefully beside him, only to crouch down and release whatever it was she was holding, letting it fall to the ground. The black haired boy crouched down next to her and he did a double take at what he saw.
"A flea?" he asked in disbelief as understanding dawned on him. "You were conversing with a flea?"
"Why does that surprise you?" Kagome answered with a question of her own before she turned back to said parasite. "So, what was that about someone wanting to dig up dad's grave?" she asked as the flea in question dusted himself on.
Looking closer at him, Inuyasha noticed the parasite must definitely be a flea yōkai, for he looked almost like a miniature human, if you overlooked the fact he had three pairs of arms. He was wearing a brown-green shirt and deep blue hakama. His head was almost bald and if Inuyasha guessed correctly, he was somewhere in his late sixties. At least that's what the miniature old man looked like. What Inuyasha didn't know yet was that the lifespan of yōkai was much longer than that of humans, which of course made the small flea demon much older than he looked in human years. If counted in demon years though, Inuyasha wasn't far off with his guess.
The flea cleared its throat as Kagome repeated her question before responding in a grave tone.
"This Myouga, as the keeper of the grave, really couldn't overlook this so…"
"You abandoned it and ran away looking for me, huh?" Kagome interrupted with a knowing look before she sighed. "You'll never change. Still the same coward as always," she muttered under her breath, to which Myouga bristled but didn't comment. Instead, he cleared his throat once more before speaking as if Kagome had added nothing after her question.
"Nothing like that, Kagome-sama. That place has only the gravestone. The real grave is somewhere else," he said, his voice taking a mysterious hue. But the hanyō was not impressed. She was surprised to hear that piece of information though.
"Huh?" was her intelligent answer as her eyes widened a little as she digested what the flea had just said. "Then where is it?" she asked, now becoming somewhat intrigued by the whole affair. "And why would a particular someone want to dig it up anyway?"
"I'm starting to think you know who this someone is," Inuyasha butted in. Kagome shot him a glare, but it was nowhere as cold or menacing as he knew she was capable of. Almost as if she weren't glaring at him but at someone else who wasn't there and wasn't putting her heart into it.
"That's because I do," she replied shortly and turned back to Myouga before Inuyasha could ask any more questions. "Well, where is the real grave if the one you were guarding has nothing but the tombstone?" she asked again. The flea only shook his head though and Kagome's expression turned bored as she expected what answer she would get.
"Well, actually I don't know that myself," the miniscule yōkai replied. The hanyō bit back a sigh.
"What a great grave keeper," Kagome's voice turned once again sarcastic as she regarded the little demon through half-lidded eyes, looking for all the world like she was going to fall asleep. It seemed to Inuyasha that this kind of conversation, or at least such an end to one, was nothing knew when it came to Myouga. "You still didn't answer my other question though. Why would Sesshōmaru want to dig up dad's grave?"
That seemed to bring the flea out of his calm state as he sprang to his feet and his eyes grew wide. Jumping wildly around in what Inuyasha guessed to be extreme agitation, the yōkai started to scream their heads off, though with his small size, the loudest he could get wasn't even enough to sound like a full-fledged yell. It was enough to make Kagome flatten her ears though, which made Inuyasha wonder if there was more to her ears than just a different shape. Could her hearing be more sensitive than his simply because she was a demon herself?
"What do you mean, why does Sesshōmaru want to dig up your father's grave? Do you mean to tell me that Sesshōmaru is the one who would disgrace his own father in such a manner?" the flea yelled at what Inuyasha supposed to be the top of his lungs. Kagome narrowed her eyes and finally smacked her hand over him to stop his jumping and to quiet him down.
"Shut up, would you? I ain't deaf," she growled as her ears positioned themselves in a more upright position again. 'So her hearing is more sensitive than a humans. Makes sense if you think about it,' Inuyasha thought to himself, but was brought back to reality when Kagome continued talking. "Besides, as far as Sesshōmaru is concerned, dad has disgraced himself long ago already. Or at least that's what he seems to be thinking."
"Tell me, Kagome-sama, how can you be sure it is indeed Sesshōmaru-sama who's after you father's grave? It seems highly unlikely coming from him…" Myouga started once he brought himself to his normal appearance after Kagome flattened him against the ground. The half-demon interrupted him however before he could finish his question.
"I know because he was already here," she replied sourly. "Kept asking about some key I'm supposed to have, which I'm guessing is some kind of key to dad's grave."
That caught the attention of not only Myouga, but Inuyasha as well. As he observed her more closely though, Inuyasha noticed what he overlooked before: Kagome didn't quite look the same as always. Her hair was a bigger mess than usual, like she had been running and jumping around quite a lot. There were a few darker spots on her sleeves as if she had come into contact with fire for long enough to leave a mark, but not long enough to burn her clothes, but other than that, she herself seemed unharmed except for the three scratches on her cheek, which looked like claw marks. They mere mostly healed though, which would explain why Inuyasha had not noticed them right away. And to Inuyasha's astonishment, if he looked long and carefully enough, the burn marks were slowly fading as well, as if the jacket was repairing itself.
"He must not take that key from you, Kagome-sama! You must make sure Sesshōmaru-sama doesn't get that key!" Myouga suddenly cried out as his eyes widened in realization. He had remembered an important piece of information concerning the grave which he had not thought about before and if his hunch was correct, then the flea was certain Sesshōmaru would stop at nothing to get that key.
"It's not like I even knew I had it. And if I do, I still know nothing about it, so how am I supposed to make sure he doesn't get it if I don't even know where it is?" Kagome grumbled back as she caught the flea into her fist again to stop his annoying hopping around. "And I ask for the last time: why does Sesshōmaru want to dig up dad's grave?"
"It's because of your father's legacy," Myouga coughed out from within Kagome's fist and the half-demon released him to the ground again, allowing him to breathe more easily.
"Dad's legacy?" she repeated, ignoring Inuyasha's growing look of confusion. "What are you talking about?"
"As you probably know, your father was the powerful inu-yōkai who established his base in Kyushu area," Myouga started in what Inuyasha could only call a lecturing tone. 'Inu-yōkai? So, she really is a demon. A Dog-demon. No wonder they call her the Inuyasha…' the black haired boy thought as Kagome interrupted the lecture.
"I don't have many memories of him and you know that. Besides, what does that have to do with anything?" she asked, some of her annoyance slowly seeping into her tone. If someone besides Inuyasha knew which strings to pull to test her patience and bring forth her temper, it was definitely Myouga. Said flea continued as if he hadn't been interrupted at all.
"He was such a powerful and magnificent daiyōkai," the small demon said in a dreamy voice and Inuyasha suddenly did a double take. 'Was?' he wondered, but couldn't voice his question as the flea continued speaking. "He had such a delicious blood. Kagome-sama also has the same blood flowing within her…"
"That doesn't explain anything," Kagome replied, her irritation now plain on her face. "Are you going to answer my question, Myouga-jii-chan, or are you going to babble about things that don't matter?" Myouga cleared his throat once again before shooting the half-demon a cool stare. Surprised, Kagome calmed and regarded him with interest, for this was the first time the flea had looked at her with such a serious expression on his face.
"Your father was not only powerful in the body, but he had a great treasure that made him even stronger than he naturally was," the flea stated in a grave tone. "That treasure, he had taken with him to his grave, entrusting you with the key, for he wanted you, not Sesshōmaru-sama to inherit it. As it was a great source of extra-power to your father, and one of his greatest treasures, it is only natural Sesshōmaru would want it for himself."
Sudden understanding shone in Kagomes golden eyes as she fell back and sat on the ground, leaning her back against the tree she was sitting in when Inuyasha found her. A sad smile was present on her face as she glanced towards the sky.
"Not only that. If dad really wanted me to have that power-giving treasure, Sesshōmaru would want it if only to spite him. He always thought himself better and more deserving of anything that ever involved dad, even if he did think dad disgraced himself by falling in love with mom," she said as she shook her head. "But how come I only find out now that I have the key to dad's grave? How can I have it and not know of it?"
"Your father left a clue as to where the key is hidden exactly. A clue I believe only you can truly understand, Kagome-sama," the flea answered as he shrugged his shoulders. Kagome raised her eyebrows.
"A clue? You mean the riddle Sesshōmaru was repeating over and over while he 'graced me with his presence'? Seeing, yet cannot be seen, protected yet unknown to its protector, was it? What's that supposed to mean?"
"And who's this Sesshōmaru-guy anyway?" Inuyasha finally butted in, tired of being left out of the conversation. "Your brother?" he tried to guess as Kagome directed her eyes at him. It would make sense if they shared a father.
"Half-brother," Kagome corrected with a sigh. "He's a full demon," 'unlike me' was what Inuyasha figured she left out and the next question slipped out of his mouth before he could stop himself.
"And you're not?"
"Of course not. I'm a hanyō, remember?" she asked, giving him a somewhat confused stare. Inuyasha glared back at her, tired of guessing and not knowing.
"But what is a hanyō, damn it?" he almost yelled. He got himself two curious looks in response, to which he huffed and crossed his arms over his chest. "What?" he asked gruffly and Kagome sighed.
"You really don't know?" the hanyō girl asked with disbelief evident in her voice. Inuyasha didn't answer, but the glare he sent her was enough answer for the golden eyed girl. She sighed again. "There are two main species of creatures in this time," she began explaining and her ears twitched slightly when she heard Inuyasha turn slightly towards her. Knowing the black haired teen was listening, she continued her explanation, finally letting Inuyasha know what she truly was, though up until now she had been almost certain he had figured it out. It couldn't be that hard after all, could it?
"These species are Humans," she started, gazing at Inuyasha as an example, "and yōkai," this time, her eyes wandered over to Myouga. "Normally, these species don't mix. It's considered unnatural. Besides, humans and yōkai aren't exactly on friendly terms."
"I noticed," Inuyasha mumbled under his breath. Kagome ignored him.
"Sometimes, there are exceptions. But they are extremely rare," she continued. Violet eyes widened as Inuyasha turned his head to stare at her. Suddenly, he had an idea where her explanation was going and he started to wonder how he didn't come up with the idea himself. "When that is the case and the yōkai and human have a child together it's called a hanyō, or half-demon – half yōkai and half human, neither fully one nor the other. Hanyō could be considered two different halves of two different wholes that came together to make a new whole, a mix of the previous two wholes. Humans fear them because of their demon blood, yōkai despise them for their human blood."
Inuyasha stared at the girl before her disbelief in his eyes. It wasn't so much that he didn't believe what she said. More like he didn't believe the way she said it. Her tone throughout the explanation had been so nonchalant as if she were talking about the weather and not about what she was along with its consequences. Given that said consequences weren't minor, Inuyasha could only guess what Kagome's past had been like. Yet she seemed completely unaffected by it, if one forgot about the few moments from the day before.
And he had thought he had it rough back home for being 'different'.
"And so your half-brother thinks your old man has disgraced himself…"
"… Because he fell in love with my human mother and had me. Yeah, that's pretty much it. Sesshōmaru is one of those who think the mix between the two species is a crime and the outcome-child is nothing but filth," Kagome finished for him, still in the same nonchalant tone, making Inuyasha raise his eyebrows.
"But if 'hanyō' means just 'half-demon', why do you get so pissed when I call you that? It's just calling you by what you are, ain't it?" his curiosity had been stronger than both the disbelief he felt a second ago and his common sense. Frankly, Inuyasha wanted to take back that stupid question as soon as it exited his big mouth. He wouldn't have liked to be called 'boy' or simply 'human' either now would he?
But Kagome only shook her head with a half-smile on her lips as she responded.
"I don't mind it when you call me a 'hanyō'. It's what I am and I'm not ashamed of it, no matter what others think of me," she said before her gaze hardened. "But I do mind when you call me a hanyō. I know I'm a half-demon, but let me tell you, you are the only person who has ever lived to see the next day after calling me a 'half-breed'. The next time you do however, I don't guarantee that you will, am I clear?"
It was the first time Inuyasha actually heard the difference between the two words. And now that he knew what each of them meant, he could hardly think it weird she got mad. As for her threat, it almost made him gulp, for he saw that she was serious. If there was one thing he quickly learned from the half-demon girl though, it was to show his fear as little as possible.
"Clear as day," he replied sarcastically, pretending to be unaffected by her words. If Kagome noticed his bluff, she didn't say anything about it. Instead, she just got up and dusted herself off. Inuyasha couldn't help but notice that in the short hour they had talked, both the burn marks on her jacket and the scratches on her cheek had vanished, as if they were never there to begin with.
"Let's get going. I don't know if my half-brother is going to come visit again to try and get me to give him the blasted key, but I'd rather not stick around to find out," she said as she jumped back into the branches. Inuyasha got up as well, and looked up at her from the ground, the flea long forgotten by the both of them hiding in his backpack so as not be left behind.
"Afraid he might hurt you, hanyō-wench?" Inuyasha asked mockingly, to which Kagome replied with a death glare.
"You wish," she replied as she sped off, leaving Inuyasha to catch up to her. 'More like afraid you'll get dragged into a fight that doesn't concern you,' she thought as she ran, but didn't dare say it aloud. Like Hell she would let Inuyasha know that his safety was more important to her than she sometimes let on. It didn't matter that the reasons were more in the sense of her nature than of her friendly feelings towards him. He just wouldn't know. Not if she could help it.
(1) baka – 'idiot' in Japanese
Well, that's it for chapter six. Told you Inuyasha wouldn't be a nuisance forever. But it'll still be a while before he truly learns to wield a sword, so bear with Kagome saving his ass a few more times or at least doing most of the work while he's learning.
And for those who could hardly wait before: Sesshōmaru will (finally?) make his entrance in the next chapter, so look forward to that XD
Oh, and one more thing: I tried to be clear about it, but since there are people who see love and the like anywhere they want, I prefer to make absolutely certain everyone got it: this chapter shows in no way, shape or form that Kagome and Inuyasha are falling for each other (or at least it isn't supposed to). At this moment in time, keep in mind that Inuyasha has yet to use Kagome's name when speaking to her for one, which shows they aren't really at the stage of 'acquaintances' yet, much less best friends or people falling for each other. Which is understandable seeing as they still barely know each other, despite having traveled together for a little longer than a week now. But never fear, that will come along too.
Alright already, I'm done boring you to death with my explanations. Hope you liked the chapter though. Please leave a review with your thoughts in it why don't you?