Would you look at that. After almost precisely a year, give or take a day or two, I am finally back with a brand new chapter! I apologize for disappearing like that, several things just piled up one after another and I couldn't sit down and write for the life of me. That's over now, though, although I can't promise I'll be updating monthly just yet. I'm afraid I might have to reread some of my own chapters to get back into the swing of things.
As for this one, there was one scene that basolutley refused to be written, and it was in the middle of the chapter, too. Talk about frustrating. In fact, after rereading it, I'm still not sure if this chapter flows as well as the ones before it,, but I'm going to let you guys decide that and tell me, because it'S possible I'm just plain biased by my desire for perfection LOL Anyway, hope the chapter was worth waiting a year for :3 Happy reading everyone... if anyone's still waiting for an update, that is. And also, a big thank you to everyone who sent me PMs asking about this story. It's good to now at least a few of you were hoping I didn't drop it. Which I didn't. Never will. I promised to finish it and it will be finished :)
ANONYMOUS REVIEWERS:
Anon: I suppose you meant the chapter name for THIS chapter, right? I mean, 'True Friends' isn't scary, is it? LOL That being said, I'm glad to hear you enjoyed it so far and I hope the long wait didn't make you change your mind about following :)
Neo-Crystal. It might have been a year, or almost, but no, I'm not abandoning this story, as you can see. I just had to work out some problems. But I DID work on my plot planning in the meantime, so don't worry, IRWR is still going strong :D
Tracks for this chapter:
V6: Way of Life
Standard disclaimer and readers key apply.
What happened last time: After successfully saving Miroku from death via Naraku's exploit of the wound in the kazaana, the group isn't allowed even a peaceful night's rest as they are attacked by a group of bat demons. Kagome engages them alone, but ultimately has to send Kirara to wake the others so they can help her, since the sun is rising, signifying the beginning of yet another human day for the half-demon. The group manages to ward the attackers off, but not without Kirara getting bitten and poisoned in the process. Realizing that the poison is more potent than one might think at first, the group decides to send Inuyasha, the only person truthfully in the physical or mental state to go anywhere, to a nearby village where a herbalist is supposed to live with the simple mission of getting anitode-herbs for Kirara...
Chapter 52 – The Herbalist Who Ate Human Bowels
The ride to the village where the herbalist was supposed to live had been a quiet one so far. Inuyasha drove the bike in silence, still a bit miffed at Kagome's refusal to let him go alone (one would think that after all that training he had done, and after the results visible in the last battle, she'd trust him to take care of finding a herbalist, damn it), while the hanyō-turned-human sat behind him on the bike's boot, one leg bent and her foot resting on the metal while the other leg hung at the side of the wheel. If she had been sitting like that while hanyō, Inuyasha wouldn't have been surprised, but how she managed to keep her balance and not cause the bike to topple over while human, he'd never know. He'd never seen anyone in his time riding as a backie like that and he hadn't even thought it was possible. Well, apparently, it was.
Kagome, for her part, had also been silent. At one point during the ride, she had even leaned against Inuyasha's back, which caused him to stiffen briefly before he relaxed. He didn't look back at her, though. If he had, he would have probably been surprised, however, since the currently human girl had her eyes closed and looked for all the world like she was sleeping – which wasn't very far from the truth, actually.
Usually, on her human days, adrenaline was pumping through her body as she was made acutely aware that she wasn't as strong as usual, and as such, she needed to be careful. That stress, even though she never let it show, since she was used to situations where her life was in peril and knew to remain relatively calm, was more than enough to keep her awake and aware despite the fact that the lack of rest that never bothered her as a hanyō caught up with her temporarily human body. She was always more tired when human because humans needed so much more rest than demons or half-demons and she never thought to get that rest before her human day – or, as was lately the case, she simply didn't have the possibility to do it. So right now, with her tiredness of the last several weeks catching up to her and with the boring and uneventful ride that only helped her to relax she was getting kind of drowsy.
"I really could have gone by myself, you know," Inuyasha finally broke the silence after another five minutes, his voice grouchy. Kagome slowly opened her eyes but didn't move from her comfortable position and remained leaning against Inuyasha's back. She sighed slightly at his complaining.
"If I had been hanyō and insisted on going alone, would you have let me?" she finally asked, though she could already guess the answer. Ever since Inuyasha had decided to stay in her era at least until they've found someone he could entrust with the Jewel's care in his stead, they've only ever been separated against their will and not once because they actually wanted to be apart – the time when she sent him through the well to figure out a way to seal the Jewel not withstanding – and she doubted he'd want that to change. And of course, her prediction had been correct.
"Like hell I would. I'd follow you even if you told me not to, stupid hanyō-wench," he said, his grip on the handlebar tightening at the mere thought of letting her go anywhere alone. It wasn't really that he didn't trust her not to be able to take care of herself, especially not when she was her usual self. Rather, he simply didn't want to be separated from her. He frowned at the thought. They were friends, sure, close friends even, but when did he start to want her by his side so badly? When had it become so… natural to have her near that it felt unnatural and wrong when she wasn't?
"Then why do you complain about me doing it if you'd do the exact same thing?" the girl behind him deadpanned and he scoffed, unable to find an answer. She was right in a way, he would have done the same thing, but he was still annoyed at her insistence to accompany him. He blamed it on the fact that he'd want to go with her simply to have her by his side (not that he'd tell her that), while she could have only one reason to accompany him: namely unnecessary worries and a lack of trust in his abilities.
"Because I'm sick of you thinking I can't take care of myself. I'm not the same, weak, arrogant idiot who thought he could fight when he didn't know the first thing about it, Kagome, and I'd like you to finally realize that," he grumbled back as he started to pedal slightly faster in order to vent his growing frustration. Behind him, Kagome blinked, her expression softening. He had been in her world for what, three, three and a half moon cycles? Something like that, yes. And it had changed him, that short time he spent here, it had changed him a lot and in a good way. He was no longer an overconfident boy who thought he could take on the entire world with ease. He was no longer a proud teen-child who wouldn't admit he needed help and protection even when staring death in the face with fear written plainly on his face. Now, he was a priest and a proud swordsman with power he could control to back up his confidence and Kagome knew that. And she was just as proud of how far he'd come. She was especially proud to call him her student in the art of the sword. Not that it meant she would stop training him, of course, since he still had much to learn. In fact, she should probably get him to spar with her when they got back.
"It has nothing to do with that," she replied softly, her eyes focused on the bypassing scenery. She had to admit, this 'bike' of his wasn't all that bad. It wasn't as fast as her when she was hanyō, of course, but it wasn't slow, either. A galloping horse might be a bit faster, but as Inuyasha was riding, she guessed the speed was about as fast as a canter. "After what happened a day ago, I'd have to be stupid to be thinking that. Especially now that I know exactly how powerful you are – far more than I ever expected or even thought possible, to be honest."
Inuyasha didn't have to think long to understand what she meant – she was talking about the night they saved Miroku and about his lucky strike when he managed to unleash Seiryuu's true ability. He had tried to figure out what he had done differently that time that it actually worked the way it should have, too, but so far, he came up blank and was still unable to do it again. It was probably one of the reasons why Kagome's praise didn't cause him to puff himself up like some self-important bird or other, the other reason being simply the tone she had said it with.
"Why do I get the feeling you're not too happy about that?" he asked in a low tone, his expression darkening. She made it sound like it was a bad thing he was strong or something and he couldn't honestly say he was happy about that. Kagome sighed and raised one of her hands to comb through her currently black hair, her expression unreadable if Inuyasha had turned his head to glance at her.
"I'm just worried," she admitted softly. And truly, she had every reason to be. She had only known of one extremely powerful miko, namely Kikyo, and her life and the ending of it had been anything but pretty. Sure, it had been partially due to the Jewel she was protecting, but still. Not to mention that the other powerful miko she had heard of, the legendary miko Midoriko, had not only met a similar, gruesome end, but was also connected to the Jewel. Just as Inuyasha. And while Kagome had vowed not to let him die and that she wouldn't let history repeat itself, she couldn't help worrying. What she said as her explanation, however, was another thing entirely – something far from being in the forefront of her mind lately, because truthfully, she didn't like thinking about it, but something that was true none the less. And something Inuyasha thought much more important than anything else, at least as far as Kagome was aware. "I mean, the stronger you are, the harder it will be to find someone who rivals your strength to take over the protection of the Jewel, right?"
Whatever Inuyasha had expected Kagome to say, it definitely hadn't been that. The surprise caused by Kagome's words was enough for him to jump slightly, his hands jerking the handlebar abruptly to the side, which effectively caused the bike to almost topple over. It was a miracle that Inuyasha managed to slam hard on the hand breaks and stop before that happened, though the sudden movement still forced Kagome to grab onto his shirt with one hand and the boot of the bike with the other to not fall off before bracing herself against the ground with one foot when the bike tilted slightly once Inuyasha stopped entirely. The hanyō-turned-human glared at the kannushi's back, not appreciating the almost-fall, and the abruptness of it, in the least.
"What the hell was that, Inuyasha?" she asked, the annoyance in her tone undeniable and only growing when the priest didn't even turn to her, let alone answer her inquiry. Instead, he was staring at his hands, which were still gripping the handlebar tightly, his eyes wide. He couldn't believe what she'd said. He didn't want to believe it. Or rather, he didn't want to believe what it implied.
"Do you really… want me gone that much?" he asked quietly, hoping with everything he had that she'd deny it. She couldn't, could she? She didn't really think of him as anything other than a nuisance, did she? No, she couldn't, he knew she didn't, her behavior just yesterday proved that. She had told him he was her friend, she had told him she trusted him and asked him to never think otherwise. So she couldn't really want to get rid of him… right?
Behind Inuyasha, still half-sitting on the tilted bike's boot, Kagome blinked and her expression softened as she stared at Inuyasha's back before looking away. Her eyes took on a different glint then, one she didn't allow to be seen very often but one she couldn't stop now that she was human. It was the glint of sadness. But she wasn't sad about what Inuyasha had asked. She was sad about her answer to that question.
"I was under the impression it was the other way around. I thought you wanted to be rid of the Jewel so you could go home for good. Isn't that the case?" she asked softly, her sadness visible in her eyes though she refused to let it be heard in her voice. Ever since yesterday, when she decided she was sick of keeping Inuyasha at arm's length and that she would try to let him in, truly let him in, she realized he had forced his way deeper, closer to her heart already than she had thought. He was close enough for her to not want him gone from her life, though she'd never dare to ask him to stay and give up his life in the era he belonged to. He was a precious friend to her, much more precious than she had thought he'd ever be. He was… he was as important to her as Kikyo had been, and yet different. Her relationship with Kikyo had been close to what she believed real siblings had, but there were still things she never told the miko. With Inuyasha, she didn't have any feelings she might consider sibling-like, but on the other hand, she told him things she had never even considered to share Kikyo or anyone else for that matter – more often than not because he bugged her about it until she did, but still, she told him things and she considered sharing secrets with him she hadn't truly shared with anyone. She didn't know whether she'd really dare to or not, but at the very least, she was considering it.
"Inuyasha?" she called his name questioningly before she could stop herself when he didn't answer her. That seemed to snap him out from whatever reverie he'd been in and she shook his head.
"Get on," he told her brusquely and it was the only warning she got before he straightened the bike and took off again. Sitting behind him and regaining her balance with only mild difficulty, Kagome frowned, not missing the way he'd avoided answering her. Leaning against him once again, since she found the position more comfortable anyway, she didn't miss the way his back seemed much tenser than before, either. Her frown deepened as she glanced towards his face over his shoulder. Well, he was always bugging her when something was bothering her, it was only fair if she did the same thing, right?
[T]
"Inuyasha, what is it?" she probed gently, part of her wanting to know and yet another part of her telling her not to stick her nose where it didn't belong. She wasn't used to probing other people to tell her something they obviously didn't want to talk about, just as she wasn't used to being the one probed until she started talking. But Inuyasha did it often, so it was ok for her to want him to tell her when something was bothering him, right? After all, this whole opening up thing was, as far as she knew, a two-sided deal. So if she had to tell him when something was worrying her, then it should work the other way around, too. But the black haired priest refused to cooperate.
"It's nothing," he said it a little harsher than he intended to, but Kagome didn't seem to be affected by it too much save the irritated huff that escaped her. Her exasperation was rising. So what, she always had to tell him when something was wrong but he could keep his secrets about what was bugging him? Oh no, there was no way she was going to let that slide, not without putting up a fight.
"It's not nothing. I can tell just by looking at you. And even if I couldn't, I could feel it. You wouldn't be so tense if it was nothing. Now tell me what's wrong," she pressed, glaring at the back of his head and realizing in astonishment that trying to get him to talk wasn't as hard as she thought it would be. It was actually getting him to speak about what she wanted him to tell her that was hard.
Inuyasha adamantly refused to answer, or rather, he couldn't answer. It wasn't that he didn't want to, although that was part of it, it was just that he didn't know what to say. Because really, what was the right thing to say in such a situation? He could say that Kagome's impression had been right, but it would be neither true nor something he felt he should say to her face. He hated hearing she might not want him around anymore and he didn't want to come off the same away towards her when it wasn't how he felt. He could also say that Kagome's impression had been wrong, but could he really honestly say that and mean it? He wasn't sure. He just didn't know. It was true that he didn't want to keep the Jewel, especially not after what it had almost done to him not long ago, but a compassionate part of him he hadn't even known he had refused to simply let him drop the responsibility on someone else. Not to mention that if he gave the Shikon away to someone else to protect then he wouldn't have any other reason to stay in this time. He would go home and stay there, never to jump down the well again, and he didn't want that, either. He didn't want to lose the friends he'd made here, he didn't want to leave this world behind and return to his own forever. Nor did he want to leave the era he'd originally come from behind. So what was it that he wanted, truly? Could he really be so selfish that he wanted everything, both his friends and the possibility and reason to come to this era without leaving behind his own and without the responsibility that was the Sacred Jewel?
Yes, yes he could. In fact, he was that selfish, he knew. That was exactly what he wanted, all the good and pleasant stuff without any of the not-so-pleasant things. But somehow, he didn't dare to tell Kagome any of it. He didn't dare because he was worried what she'd think of him, of his selfishness. Was he being stupid? Probably. Could he help it? Not really, no.
"Why won't you tell me what's wrong? You always pester me how I should tell you when something bothers me because we're friends and I should trust you. Doesn't that work both ways?" Kagome questioned behind him with a sigh as she lowered her head, the movement suddenly making Inuyasha aware of the fact that the currently-human girl was leaning against him and was in very close proximity to his own person. He gulped slightly. He wasn't used to such close proximity between them at all, though he couldn't really say he disliked it. Still, it was unexpected, since Kagome usually tended to keep a slight distance between herself and anyone else, except when the situation really called for contact. So what changed? Was it because she was human or something? But no, that shouldn't change her overall behavior, should it? Then again, he had already noticed she was more emotional on her human days, so maybe.
"Talk to me," the temporarily human half-demon whispered, purposefully throwing Inuyasha's words from just yesterday back at him. But she wasn't the only one who could do that.
"I am talking to you," Inuyasha replied, causing Kagome to frown at how he repeated what she had told him the day before. What, did he want to have a mirror conversation or something?
"That's not what I meant and you know it."
This time, Inuyasha remained silent and left Kagome to glare it his back, frustrated at his lack of cooperation and her own inability to make him talk. She huffed in annoyance. Fine, let him have his way, but he better not expect her to tell him anything no matter how much he pried ever again. Why should she when he didn't have the decency to do the same thing?
Her prolonged silence when the future-born teen refused to answer didn't go unnoticed by the priest in question, either and he soon found himself staring at the front wheel of his bike instead of the road ahead of him, his gaze forlorn. He probably made her mad again. Or irritated, at the very least. He could tell without having to look. He sighed, bracing himself for the explosion of her temper, temper that oftentimes rivaled his own, and then gently tried to coax her into releasing that anger.
"You're mad, aren't you," he said, the phrasing that of a question, but his tone implying it was a statement.
"I'm not," Kagome replied nonchalantly, or at least in a tone that sounded nonchalant even though she was anything but. While she wasn't exactly angry, she was somewhat disappointed and more than just a little frustrated. However, she was not going to let Inuyasha know that. "You're entitled to have your secrets, Inuyasha, who am I to force you to talk?"
Inuyasha's eyes widened at that, his conversation with Kagome from just yesterday jumping to the forefront of his mind immediately. Hadn't he told Kagome not a day before that she shouldn't keep everything to herself, that she should trust him and the others and share her worries? And yet here he was, doing the exact thing he'd told Kagome not to do. He was such a hypocrite.
Still, how could he possibly mention any of it to the girl behind him? She'd promised to help him find someone who could take the Jewel from him, promised to remain by his side until such a person was found and he went home, how could he possibly tell her he didn't want to, anymore? It would be like he told her that he didn't appreciate her efforts up until this point at all, that she shouldn't bother anymore and really never should have. He'd be throwing all she'd done for him in her face, wouldn't he? So how could he possibly tell her what was bothering him? Worse still, how could he possibly tell her he wanted to be rid of the Jewel, but didn't want to leave this time period behind? It would sound selfish, hell, it was selfish and while Inuyasha had enough decency to admit such to himself in his head, he didn't want to be seen as such by someone else, least of all Kagome. And so in the end, he merely nodded and they dropped the subject, along with any attempts at conversation from that point onward until they finally reached the village where the herbalist was supposed to live.
[/T]
What greeted them in said village wasn't what either of them had expected, however. What they had expected was a village like any other, its people living day to day lives as they would anywhere else. What they found was a seemingly deserted settlement, although venturing a bit deeper inside proved that it wasn't deserted at all. The villagers had simply gathered in a large square with a gigantic fire in its middle. Or rather, with a burning funeral pyre.
"A funeral?" Inuyasha said quietly even though it was quite obvious that was what it was. Still, there was something about the scene that had him on edge. Somehow, it didn't seem like a normal funeral, the atmosphere was much more dark and heavy, rather than sad and mournful. What Inuyasha didn't know was the reason behind it. Hopping off of the bike and taking a single step to stand beside the priest, Kagome shook her head sadly. Unlike Inuyasha, she'd seen many a funeral in this time and consequently, many a funeral pyre to see that this one was bigger than normal.
"A collective funeral. For a quite large number of people, too. My guess would be the village had suffered an attack not long ago and they're putting the victims to rest."
"And that is quite the good guess, young lady. Although it is not victims of a single attack that we put to rest, but of several."
Jumping slightly at the sudden response, Inuyasha and Kagome both turned their heads to the one who had spoken. It was an elderly man whom Inuyasha would guess to be somewhere in his mid fifties, maybe closing in on sixty. Kagome bowed formally to the elderly man and gave him a sad glance when she straightened back up.
"What happened, exactly? A demon attack?" she asked gently and the old man nodded, his eyes clouding with a mixture of sorrow and anger.
"Aye. And a vicious demon at that. One that doesn't stop at mercifully killing its prey, no. We know it because every victim ends up the same, with its body torn to shreds and the bowels eaten," he said, the short description immediately making Inuyasha's stomach churn as images of the dream the Baku had forced on him jumped back into his mind. He'd dreamed of a demon eating human insides, too. And he'd even had first row seats to observe just how it did it. The memory alone was enough to make him feel sick, although Kagome herself didn't seem too affected. But then again, she was born in this time, she's lived here her whole life. Such visuals were probably nothing to her.
"A demon that eats human bowels, huh…" she muttered under her breath, her brows furrowing as she brought a hand to her chin in thought. "Do you know where it resides?" she asked hopefully, though she didn't really expect an affirmative answer. And even if she did, it probably wouldn't be very specific. So she was quite stunned when the old man nodded vigorously. Inuyasha raised an eyebrow.
"If you know where it lives, why didn't you exterminate it already?" he asked disbelievingly and the old man shot him an annoyed look.
"Do you think we did not try? Of course we did. But that demon is not alone. It's protected by a witch. Even if we could hope to kill the demon by ourselves, there's nothing we can do against a witch."
If the situation had been any different, Kagome might have laughed. As it was, she merely raised an eyebrow while her brain tried not so much to process the information, as to try to figure out the possible reality behind the obvious misconception. While demons were very much a reality in this world, the hanyō-turned-human knew well enough that witches were not. So whoever was protecting the demon terrorizing the village could not be a witch. Maybe it was a mountain hag, or a forest spirit turned malevolent. Maybe even a dark miko. But it would not be a witch.
As she thought, the old man observed both her and Inuyasha carefully, his eyes growing wide when they finally landed on the sword at Inuyasha's hip. Gasping in surprise, the old man took a step back as he regarded Inuyasha as if he'd seen him for the first time, and in a way, he had.
"By the kami… a kannushi. A kannushi has found his way to our humble village just when we needed him most," he whispered, or tried to whisper, anyway, though both Inuyasha and Kagome heard him easily enough. The black haired teen sighed and raised a hand to cover his eyes, already detesting what he knew would happen next. He might have experienced the respect and downright worship he was met with whenever people realized he was a priest, but that didn't mean he liked it. He didn't. He didn't like that at all. Before he could say a word, however, the old man was talking again, this time addressing Inuyasha as if Kagome was no longer there, his tone pleading. "Please, kannushi-sama, I beg of you, please help our humble village. Free us of the monster that has us fearing for our lives."
Inuyasha sighed as his hand dropped to his side while Kagome observed him with curiosity which she didn't even try to hide. The future-born teen was uncomfortable, she could tell that much, and she could also guess why that was. He was never one to flaunt his powers, in fact, he seemed to prefer to not let people know he was a priest whenever they ended up in a village (though the occasions were quite rare all things considered). Not that Kagome blamed him considering the complete one-eighty people's behavior tended to make as soon as they realized who he was. And he was still lucky. If those people knew he was the guardian of the Shikon, which was carefully tucked away under his shirt, they'd be worshiping him even more.
"I probably would have checked it out even without you asking me to," the black haired teen grumbled as he stared at the ground before looking up at the old man again and crossing his arms over his chest. "Well? Where does that yōkai live?"
XxX
Inuyasha glanced from behind the bushes he and Kagome were hiding behind at the field before them. The villagers had told them that the demon, Jinenji, lived in a house surrounded by a herb garden together with his mother, the supposed witch. Said herbs were supposed to work well and apparently, even the village had used them on occasion until Jinenji remembered the taste of human flesh and started to hunt the villagers for their bowels. Inuyasha's stomach churned again as he remembered once more the Baku-induced nightmare. No, demons eating bowels was definitely not something he'd ever be able to comfortably discuss, he knew it, but there was no way in hell he was going to let his discomfort show, let alone stop him from doing what was right, namely purify the demon and free the village from its terror.
"Well, here are the herbs we wanted," he said quietly to Kagome as he motioned with his head at the field before them. "And that must be Jinenji."
The demon was really hard to miss, since he was at least twice as big as any human. He was relatively well built, too and Inuyasha had no doubt that if he received even a single punch from him, all his bones would break if not shatter entirely. The demon's head was almost funnily small in comparison to the rest of him, especially with the big, bulgy eyes making at least half of it. He was dressed in a kimono of various colors, probably sewn together from various smaller ones, since no human kimono could ever fit his build. Overall, he could look quite intimidating, though Inuyasha wasn't affected by his looks. And neither was Kagome, although in the currently human girl case, it was for entirely different reasons. To her, the large demon didn't look like a yōkai who would eat human flesh, let alone the bowels. Something wasn't right here.
"Alright, I'm going in. Wait here, Kagome," Inuyasha said as he slowly started to rise from his hiding spot, intent on finishing it quickly so they could gather the herbs needed and get back to the others. Before he could even take one step in the demon's direction, however, Kagome grabbed his hand to stop him.
"Wait, Inuyasha. Something isn't right here. I have a bad feeling about this. Like something horrible will happen if you try to slay that yōkai," she said, her hand firm on his arm though her eyes were focused on the demon walking around in the herb garden. She couldn't really explain it, it was just a feeling she had. Something was wrong here. Inuyasha, however, only scoffed.
"Come on, Kagome, I can handle it. Didn't you say you knew I could look out for myself before? Well then prove it already and just trust me for once. Stay here. I'll take care of it," the future-born priest said, his tone somewhat exasperated as he wrenched his arm free from her grip and took off in the direction of his target, ignoring Kagome's shouts of his name behind him.
What he ignored, however, the yōkai did not. Kagome's shouts were apparently loud enough for it to hear them and it turned in their direction, and consequently Inuyasha's, just as the priest was about to creep up on it and end its life before it even knew what hit it. Cursing silently, Inuyasha drew his blade and took a fighting stance, knowing that now that he'd lost the element of surprise, it all came down to speed and skill, because he couldn't afford to take even one hit from those muscular arms.
'Thanks a lot, Kagome,' he thought irritably, although his expression didn't show it. Instead, he wore his trademark, confident smirk.
"So, you're the human-eating yōkai bastard, huh. Prepare to die," he said in a low, threatening voice as he slowly took another step forward, slowly but surely inching closer to the immobile yōkai until he was so close that a single leap on his part would allow him to embed his sword right in the demon's skull, since the large yōkai was currently crouching down between the herbs. In the back of his mind, some tiny voice was urging him that something was wrong, that this was too easy. It had to be a trap, why else would the yōkai remain so perfectly still when a person capable of killing it was approaching?
Before Inuyasha could even begin to ponder whether those thoughts were worth thinking through or not, however, the yōkai suddenly jumped to its feet. The movement was so sudden that Inuyasha was startled enough to reflexively retreat a few steps, effectively bringing himself out of the perfect striking range. For a split second, it looked like the demon might take advantage of that as it raised its hands and the black haired priest braced himself for an incoming attack, ready to dodge at any given moment.
In the next second, however, it turned out he hadn't needed to as the demon simply raised its head to the skies and howled loudly a single word before running off, much to Inuyasha's astonishment. The young kannushi blinked twice as the demon ran away, the ground shaking with each of its steps, before regaining himself and giving chase, paying little heed to the demon's screams.
"Mama! Save me!"
"Hey! Wait, damn you!" Inuyasha yelled as he gave chase after the wailing demon, which was fleeing rapidly towards the house. As he approached, the teen noticed that there was someone other than the demon near the structure, and although the second person was the same size as a normal human, and thus much smaller than the yōkai, the monster was actually cowering behind it. Surprised, Inuyasha skidded to a halt just as the second figure started approaching him, a hateful fire burning in its eyes, brandishing a long wooden log like one would a weapon.
"You bastard!" The figure yelled as it advanced while Inuyasha stopped entirely, his eyes wide and his mouth dropping. Approaching him was an elderly and perfectly normal, although definitely pissed human woman. He could tell because he didn't feel any kind of youki coming off of her. So she had to be human. Was she the witch, then? Did witches have youki or some other sort of energy a spiritualist could sense to know what he was facing? "I've said it again and again, stop coming after our damn field!"
The old woman's yell brought him out of his stupor just in time to see her swing her log at him and Inuyasha barely had the time to step back and avoid a nasty blow to his skull, the wood slamming instead against the ground. The old woman panted, whether from anger or the exertion or the mixture of both, Inuyasha wasn't sure, but he didn't have time to ponder it as she glared at him again and moved as if to lift the log and go after him again.
"Inuyasha!" a call came from behind him, one that he recognized immediately as Kagome and soon enough, the currently human girl in question was by his side, glancing worriedly between the angry old woman and the stunned priest before her eyes fell on the demon cowering near the house. Her eyes softened. Now that she saw him up close, the bad feeling she'd had was stronger. But it wasn't something that made her feel the yōkai was dangerous, no. It was more like she was getting an uncomfortable vibe that it would be wrong to even scratch that yōkai, not that it was imperative to kill it. She couldn't really put her finger on why she was feeling this way, though. She just… kind of did.
Seeing Kagome beside Inuyasha, the old woman hesitated to move forward again, something that both confused and made the priest glad. She glanced between him and the hanyō turned human, though the old woman had no way of knowing Kagome wasn't actually human, before finally snorting. She didn't release the log that was her weapon, though.
"Well, you've had your goddamned fun. Get lost already before I change my mind and break your heads open," she grouched in warning and Inuyasha gulped, having absolutely no doubt the old woman would do just as she said if they didn't make themselves scarce and fast. Kagome, however, seemed not to notice the threat, or even the way Inuyasha tugged at her sleeve in an attempt to make her follow him and leave. She was too busy staring at the cowering yōkai, as if searching his form for answers. Seeing this, Inuyasha sighed and sheathed his sword before raising his hands in a gesture of surrender before talking quietly.
"We didn't do this for fun. The villagers told us…"
"The villagers?" the old woman snorted angrily, interrupting Inuyasha mid-explanation. "I should have known, damn them. I don't know what rubbish those damn idiots told you, but this child could never have possibly eaten someone's bowels! Don't let them fool you!"
"Well, how are we supposed to know that? I mean, he is a…" Inuyasha started, wanting to finish with 'yōkai', but he was once again interrupted, this time by Kagome as she spoke quietly, understanding shining in her now sad eyes.
"Hanyō," was all she said, eyes still trained on the cowering demon behind the old woman – although actually, he was no demon at all. He was half. "You're a hanyō…" It was so obvious now. In fact, it was becoming more obvious the longer she looked. His large and yet humanoid form. The brownish-red skin that reminded her more of a color a horse's skin might have, rather than a human's. The rather weird, horse-like form of his head. They were all signs of demonic blood, yes, but at the same time, they were proof that this being was not a pure blooded demon.
"Half-demon?" Inuyasha repeated quietly in the silence that had suddenly fallen between them all at Kagome's quiet words. Glancing back at what he had thought was a yōkai at first, Inuyasha opened his senses and tried to feel its youki again. Of course, he felt it, different than with any other demon he'd ever sensed, as always, but with no trace of anything that reminded him of Kagome's youki. In other words, nothing that would make him think of a half-demon. But then again, he was only able to sense youki and not the human energy, so maybe there was no way for him to distinguish between hanyō and yōkai.
"So you can tell, huh?" the old woman said in a low tone, dispersing any doubts anyone might have had as to Jinenji's true species. Inuyasha bit his lip then.
'A hanyō… just like Kagome… Another being just like her,' he thought, glancing guiltily at the terrified Jinenji again. He gulped before looking back down, feeling a mixture of guilt and shame. 'And I tried to kill him…' Gods, he was so stupid. What if he had been even more reckless? Or if something else happened that allowed him to do what he'd wanted to? Then, he would have taken an innocent life, wouldn't he. A life of a half-demon like Kagome.
The thought made him feel ill.
"I suppose it would be hard not to. His appearance gives him away, doesn't it," the old woman continued almost in a conversational tone and Kagome sighed softly.
"It does with every hanyō, no matter how close to a human in appearance one is," she replied softly, her eyes falling to the ground. She couldn't bear to look at Jinenji, at his scared eyes, not when knowing she and Inuyasha had been the ones to put that look there. She'd been so stupid. She should have realized sooner, somehow. She should have stopped Inuyasha. But it was too late for that, wasn't it. She sighed. "I guess that explains the rumors of the herb field being guarded by a yōkai. Hanyō and yōkai equal the same thing for most people, after all."
"But not for the two of you. I can tell that by looking at your faces," Jinenji's mother said then, looking between Inuyasha and Kagome with a calculating look. "And if that's the case, I'm going to assume you didn't come here just because of Jinenji. What do you want then?"
"A friend of ours is sick. She got poisoned. We heard someone with a herb garden lived here and we hoped we could… ask for some antidote herbs…" Inuyasha asked in a small voice, his head bowed. As if he had any right to ask anything of them after what he did. First he tries to kill the half-demon and then he asks for his help? Well, wasn't that rich.
"Can't help you there. Jinenji is the one who takes care of the field. You'll have to ask him for the herbs you need," the old woman said with a shrug, but at least she wasn't chasing them off with her wood log. Biting her lip and seeing Inuyasha was far too guilt ridden to actually do anything more, she took it upon herself to approach Jinenji. It would seem another close call was not something Inuyasha was comfortable with. He might no longer be depressed and stuck in a mindset of fear, but he obviously wasn't over what had happened before to the point of being able to shrug off another mistake, apologize for it and let things go if he was forgiven. She should have known as much.
Taking a tentative step closer to the big half-demon still hiding behind his mother (though at least he wasn't cowering anymore, thankfully), Kagome briefly met his gaze before bowing respectfully at her waist, hands clasped together and held in front of her thighs.
"I'm really sorry for before, Jinenji-san. We shouldn't have been so hasty. I hope you can find it in yourself to forgive both my companion and me. And… that you could help us. Please. We really need those herbs. Our friend's life might depend on it," she said, not straightening fully but daring to raise her head slightly to glance at the half-demon before her. She was met with a stare of big, bulging, blue eyes, shining with astonishment. Even his mother seemed surprised and Kagome looked back at the ground, this time in sympathy. She knew what those looks were for. She had bowed. It was the polite thing to do, really, one would expect her to bow in this situation. Except that Jinenji was a hanyō, just like her even if he didn't know that. And Kagome knew better than anyone that half-demons didn't get to have politeness directed at them very often.
There was a pregnant pause that lasted for a minute or so before Jinenji gave any kind of response, which turned out to be stunned stuttering at first. Looking up at him again, Kagome saw the big half-demon scratching the side of his face in a somewhat adorable way to display being flustered, and so she decided to slowly straighten herself again.
"Uhm… Well… What… exactly do you need?" he finally asked, his voice deep and yet somewhat childish, filled with kindness and some last remnants of fear he was slowly pushing aside. Kagome's eyes softened as she regarded him, suddenly understanding another thing. He was big in stature, but that didn't mean anything. His eyes and his voice told an entirely different story, as did his initial reaction upon Inuyasha's appearance. The young currently human hanyō smiled sadly at him briefly before the expression disappeared in favor for worry which she felt for Kirara.
"An antidote for a poison. We got into a fight with some bat yōkai and a friend of hours got bitten. She is a demon, but she still needs medicine if she's to fight it off. Do you have any herbs that might help and that you would be willing to give to us? Any at all?"
Jinenji scratched at his face again as if in thought and then wandered off into another part of the garden without another word. Kagome glanced at him for a moment before following once the elderly woman that was his mother shooed her and Inuyasha off after her son, obviously understanding what he had in mind. The half-demon didn't go far at all, and even if he had gone to the other side of the field, it would have been quite easy to spot him with how big he was. By the time the two friends caught up to him, he already had a few herbs in his hand and was pulling out more with his other. Glancing up at them when they approached, the hanyō held out his hands, offering the herbs to them with a smile that had Kagome floored. Of all the expressions he could have given them and which she would have expected, a kind smile was not one of them. Especially not considering what happened a few minutes ago. But Jinenji was acting as if their attempt at his life hadn't happened at all. As if he was just glad he could help. And with a start, Kagome realized that that was just it. He was happy he could help. That was all that currently mattered to him. In a way, it reminded her of herself… and yet in another, they were so vastly different. His kindness, his willingness to help others, they were different than her own.
"If you boil this, it's good to drink. It should help your friend," he said kindly as Kagome gently took the offered plants into her arms while Inuyasha readied his back pack so that they could take the herbs in it without crushing them. The should-be half-demon looked up at the other hanyō with a mixture of sympathy and gratitude, not knowing which of them was the dominating emotion herself.
"Thank you," she said earnestly as she put the herbs into Inuyasha's backpack, gently closing it after making sure not a single leaf would suffer, although in all honesty, it shouldn't have really mattered, the herbs would be withered by the time they got them to Kirara, anyway. And yet, Kagome couldn't help being gentle with them.
"Now that you have the herbs, get out of here," Jinenji's mother spoke up again, her voice harsh but not unkind. Still, Kagome jumped slightly, not having realized when the old woman came closer at all. "Or you'll get caught up in the village's mess," she added, and any further elaboration was no longer necessary for Kagome to understand. Bowing again, the currently human girl thanked the other hanyō again before grasping Inuyasha's hand and pulling him after her as they left. The kannushi followed without protest or even a single sound, which made Kagome frown.
They didn't exchange a word as they walked back to where Inuyasha had left his bike or as they retraced their steps towards the road that had led them to the village, though they avoided the settlement itself. During the whole walk, neither of them spoke, but Kagome kept shooting worried glances Inuyasha's way. The teen had been unnaturally quiet throughout the whole time they'd dealt with Jinenji and his mother, or rather ever since the old woman showed up. At first, Kagome had waited, hoping he'd open up on his own, but when they reached the road they'd ridden the bike on again and Inuyasha made no indication of wanting to talk about it, Kagome sighed and stepped in front of him, putting her hands on his shoulders to stop him from walking, since his eyes were fixed on the ground. He looked up at her when she stopped him, his face betraying that he'd been torn out of serious thought.
"Inuyasha, what's bothering you?" Kagome asked before the teen could say a word. Her question made him blink at first and then he looked away somewhat uneasily.
"Nothing. I was just thinking," he replied slowly, carefully searching for words to describe where his mind had wandered. It hadn't exactly been a pleasant direction for his thoughts to wander, but it was something he needed to think about whether he liked it or not. If only so that he wouldn't make the same mistake again, wouldn't risk taking an innocent life.
"About what? Jinenji?" The hanyō-turned-human inquired. There was little more Inuyasha could be thinking about at this moment, at least as far as Kagome knew. Unless he was thinking about something concerning his own world.
"Yes... and no. I was thinking about how much of a fool I've been," was Inuyasha's reply. And that was it in a nut-shell, wasn't it. He had been a fool. He'd rushed in without thinking, without even trying to analyze the situation because he blindly believed what he'd been told. That had been a mistake. One that he got away with in the end, sure, but he'd only been lucky. That probably wouldn't be the case the next time. Not that there would be a next time. He'd make sure of it himself.
The upside was, nothing happened. He hadn't killed Jinenji, although the possibility that he could have wouldn't leave him alone. If he'd only been a little faster, he would have done it. If Jinenji had reacted just a second later or hadn't jumped to his feet for some reason, he'd be dead or at the very least gravely wounded. The half-demon was innocent in all of this, though, or at least he didn't look like a bloodthirsty beast who would eat people's bowels. It was just the villagers who believed him to be the culprit. And Inuyasha had been stupid enough to believe them without even trying to investigate for himself. He'd been an idiot.
"What happened with Jinenji just now... it won't happen again. I won't let it happen again. I won't draw my sword so hastily another time. Not unless my life depends on it," he said finally, a vow both to himself and to Kagome. However, the currently human girl only shook her head.
"Such a vow will only lead to your death. When your life depends on it, it's already too late to draw you weapon most of the time. So don't promise such a thing," she said calmly, biting back a sigh when she saw the protest form on Inuyasha's tongue. He never got to voice it, though. "I'm not saying you shouldn't learn from today's experience and remain as you were. But I don't want you to overdo it in the other direction. Find a middle ground, Inuyasha. Find a way to ensure you won't draw your blade too hastily when it is not unnecessary, but don't fail to draw it when it is needed. That's all I'm saying."
"You're awfully calm about all of this," Inuyasha couldn't help but point out after a few seconds spent on mulling over her words. She was right, he realized, and didn't protest, but he still couldn't believe how she took the situation in stride as if it was nothing. He'd almost killed an innocent person. Another hanyō, at that. How could she be so calm knowing that?
"Why wouldn't I be? You made a mistake, sure, but you realized it yourself. What would me blowing up at you accomplish?" she asked back. Inuyasha looked away, unable to meet her eye. He was about to point out something he thought she should have noticed herself, in all honesty, or at least that's what he thought, but in the end, he didn't dare and said something else instead.
"I could have killed him."
"But you haven't. That's what matters," Kagome shot back, biting back a tired sigh. It was good he was letting what happened affect him, of course it was, because it meant he was going to learn from the experience. But still, as was becoming a nasty habit of his, Inuyasha was letting it affect him a bit too much. And if he thought Kagome was going to let him to sink right back into another depression after barely getting out of the previous one, he had another thing coming.
"Look, I'm not saying you should just pretend it never happened. You're getting a lesson out of this experience, and that's good. But you shouldn't let it affect you so much," she said softly, trying to catch his gaze. He still avoided her eyes, though.
"How can I not let it affect me? How can I not when I almost killed a half-demon, a being just like you? An innocent half-demon at that." There, he'd finally said it. And Kagome finally understood. What really bothered Inuyasha wasn't that he had almost killed someone. Actually, it seemed he was far more concerned about the fact that it had been a hanyō than anything else. Kagome sighed, but her expression softened. She didn't get the possibility to get even a word in edgewise, though, because Inuyasha went on. "Most people might not have cared, I know that now. But I, of all people, should have known better, shouldn't I? I mean, I know not all hanyō are evil, so…"
"And how, pray tell, were you supposed to know better?" The currently human hanyō ended up interrupting him, crossing her arms over her chest as she did so. Inuyasha looked a bit startled at the question, but answered nonetheless, if a bit hesitantly.
"I should have felt it, I think. I mean, if I can tell yōkai apart by their energy, then I should have been able to tell what he was."
"Oh, really?" his female companion challenged, her tone obviously disbelieving. "In that case, there's a definite, identifiable difference that separates my energy from Kirara's or Shippō's? A difference that tells you I'm hanyō, a feeling my energy shares with Jinenji's because we're both half-demons?"
Inuyasha's only reply was silence s he stared at her and Kagome shook her head.
"Admit it, if you didn't know I am a hanyō, then you would have never figured it out with just sensing my energy. So why would it be any different with Jinenji?" Again, Inuyasha said nothing for a wile, staring pensively at the ground. And when he looked up, he still didn't look convinced.
"But you recognized him for what he was," he said slowly, frowning slightly. Now that he thought about it, how did Kagome recognize that Jinenji was a hanyō? It wasn't like she could smell it right now, let alone feel it the way Inuyasha sensed demons.
"Not immediately," the black haired girl countered softly, now avoiding Inuyasha's eyes herself. But she didn't stop there. She could have. But she chose not to, still remembering their conversation from the day before and her unspoken decision to try and be more open. "And it was mostly because I'm a hanyō myself. Jinenji-san… he reminded me of myself when I was younger."
That definitely caught Inuyasha's attention and it was his turn to try and catch Kagome's gaze, only for her to avoid it. He frowned, attempting a sad guess at what she might have meant, but it was futile. He had no idea. What little he'd seen of Jinenji and his behavior didn't fit Kagome at all – he couldn't imagine her doing anything like the other hanyō had. Confused, he tried to prob.
"What do you mean, he reminded you of yourself? He's nothing like you. It's more like he's your polar opposite," he said softly, hoping she would enlighten him. But the currently human girl shook her head mutely, a silent sign she did not wish to discuss it, although whether Inuyasha would accept it and let the subject be was debatable. Which was why Kagome decided not to give him a choice in the matter.
"Let's get going. The faster we get those herbs to Kirara, the better," she said as a way to ed the conversation. But of course, Inuyasha wasn't having any of it.
"Hey! Stop avoiding my questions. Hey, Kagome!" he called, feeling much like a kid begging his mother to answer a question he was much too young to ask. Especially since Kagome was expertly ignoring him. Not that he let it deter him. After all, he had the whole way back to get her to tell him what she meant. Or he would have, if the sound of something else hadn't distracted them both, namely the sound of human voices and the tell tale sound of metal. They both stopped, glancing in the direction of the main road between Jinenji's and his mother's field and the village they had come through and which they'd decided to bypass on their way back. For a few moments, they saw nothing, only the sound of metal and human voices got louder and louder as the source approached. And then they appeared in their line of sight, a group of at least twenty armed village men – Kagome suspected they were all the fighting-capable men in the village – with the elderly headman at the front. Surprisingly, at least ten of them had actual swords, probably taken from one nearby battlefield or another. And those who didn't were equipped with weaponry common for simple village men: makeshift spears, bows with real or improvised arrows or just plain pitchforks. The hanyō-turned-human tightened her hands into fists. She knew where they were going. And what for.
"Aren't they… heading towards Jinenji's field?" Inuyasha asked worriedly, being observant and smart enough to know that a group of armed people going anywhere hardly meant anything good. Kagome merely nodded.
"They intend to get rid of what they think is the source of their problem. For good," she said tightly and Inuyasha sucked in a sharp breath, immediately figuring out what the currently human girl was implying. Of course, he had figured as much himself, but still, having it confirmed somehow made it worse.
"But Jinenji didn't do anything. He isn't the one attacking the villagers."
"They think he is. That's good enough for them."
"But they have no proof…"
"They don't need one."
"That's not right."
"That's reality," Kagome said coldly, and the short statement was more than enough to shut Inuyasha up. She was right, it was goddamned reality and debating whether it was right or not wouldn't change anything. Only action would. And so he'd take action.
"Not if I have anything to say about it," he muttered as he left his bike behind along with Kagome and headed straight towards the road and the group of villagers, ignoring Kagome's attempts to stop him. Of course, it wasn't like she was planning on watching and doing nothing, but in all honesty, she didn't believe they could actually do anything beyond warning Jinenji and his mother and convince them to leave the field. It seemed Inuyasha had other plans, though.
With a soft sigh, Kagome glanced at Inuayasha's metallic contraption before shrugging and leaving it behind as well. She doubted anyone would steal it. After all, who would even know what to use it for? So it should be safe to just leave it be. Probably. With that thought in mind, the black haired girl followed after the future-born teen. By the time she got close enough, the discussion between Inuyasha and the villagers seemed pretty heated. But as it turned out, it wasn't quite for the reason Kagome thought it was.
"I bet he's just an impostor working with the demon. Some bandits do that. They steal sacred weapons and pretend to be spiritualists!"
"Yeah, he must be like that. A fake! He's no kannushi! That's why he's defending the monster!"
"I'm no fake," Inuyasha bit out a bit forcefully, clearly irritated. Not that Kagome blamed him. For the first time he was actually trying to act like the kannushi he was, and the one time he let people know who he was, it did not work. Go figure. "Me trying to stop you from attacking innocent people should actually prove that I'm the real deal, shouldn't it? Or do you think any other miko or kannushi would just look the other way and do nothing in this situation?"
'They would,' Kagome thought a bit sadly, but didn't say anything. 'They would because the innocent person in question is a hanyō...'
Well, alright, maybe Kikyo or Kaede wouldn't have just ignored it, but they knew Kagome. They were different. As was Miroku, who had once stood up for her in a similar situation, although Kagome was not aware of it.
"And how can you prove Jinenji's innocent?" A villager challenged angrily, causing Inuyasha to snort.
"How can you prove he's the one who did it?" the teen shot back hotly. "The fact that he's not a human aside, what freaking proof do you have? Any telling wounds on the killed? Or maybe one of you saw him in the act? Well? What proof do you guys have?" He continued to ask, but the villagers said nothing, staring at each other and then at Inuyasha with stunned expressions in silence. Not that the kannushi had expected anything else. He crossed his arms over his chest with another snort.
"My proof is one I can't show you. My proof is one I found because of my abilities as a priest. That proof is that the traces of demonic energy on your deceased and Jinenji's energy don't match. But that's not something you'll be able to tell, so you'll just have to take my word for it. He didn't do it and you have no right to attack him."
"That may be so," the headman replied slowly while eyeing the teen carefully. "Bus as you yourself said, kannushi-sama, if that's who you really are, that kind of proof is not something any of us can verify. How do ye know you're not making it up?"
"What would I make something like that up for?" Inuyasha asked, his irritation visibly rising and causing Kagome to shake her head. This probably wouldn't end well.
"To protect that monster. Demon lover," one of the villagers muttered under his breath, but not quiet enough for Inuyasha not to hear. The teen bristled, even though the true insult behind the words was lost on him.
"I'm protecting him because he's innocent. And he is no monster! But I wouldn't make things up if he weren't."
"Aha! So you are lying."
"I'm not."
"You just admitted to it. That proof of yours is made up!"
"No, it's not!" To be honest, a part of it was, since it wasn't like Inuyasha had actually felt any kind of energy on the dead. But he had felt Jinenji's youki and it wasn't menacing at all. It wasn't the youki of a bloodthirsty demon. Which was how Inuyasha knew the hanyō couldn't possibly be the culprit.
"Prove it then!"
Kagome sighed when the exchange started going in circles and decided to step in. She was fed up with how the villagers were behaving, in all honesty, but to be fair, Inuyasha wasn't much better. Even though he was actually trying to defend someone who truly needed it. Still, both him and the villagers were behaving like little kids quarreling over a broken toy and who broke it, refusing to listen to any opinion other than their own.
"Inuyasha, just leave it be. You won't convince them to matter how much you try," she said as she took an additional two steps to come to the teen's side, both him and the angry mob realising only then that she was still there. Inuyasha stared at her disbelievingly, but it didn't take long for him to respond. Or more like blow up at her.
"Are you saying we should just let them do as they please? The hell, Kagome? You know as well as I do how wrong that is!" he started, and he probably would have said more, too, were it not for the glare Kagome sent his way. 'Shut up,' her eyes were saying, 'don't you dare accuse me of not caring and letting them do it.' He obeyed that silent command, sensing that if he didn't he'd regret it. But then again, he should have expected such a reaction from her. After all, she was a hanyō as well.
"Sorry," he mouthed, but Kagome gave no sign of noticing it and instead spoke as if responding to his earlier words.
"You and I both know that, but they obviously don't give a damn. So don't try the impossible. You can't convince everyone. Let them do what they want. However," she added that last word slowly, in a warning tone, before eyeing the villagers with a stare that had made many demons tremble before, at least when she had her hanyō appearance. Her hand was resting on Tessaiga's hilt, as if ready to draw the sword at any moment. Of course, in its untransformed state and with her human, the blade was useless. But the villagers didn't know that now, did they.
"I am a wandering protector. I protect the weak, be they human or not. I don't intend to make an exception to that just because I'd be protecting someone from humans. So if you do intend to harm an innocent, be prepared to see my blade in your way." To anyone who knew her, this as on obvious lie. Or at least a white lie. Sure, she'd beat them up if she had to, and if there was no way of avoiding it, she wouldn't shy away from giving them a few shallow wounds. However, unlike what her words implied, she'd never kill any of them.
There was still one problem, though. She was a woman and currently a human. Considering that, her warning should have had no effect on the hot blooded villagers. And yet, to Inuyasha's astonishment, the headman actually took a step back and the mob behind him fell silent, obviously intimidated. Glancing at Kagome out of the corner of his eye, Inuyasha quickly understood why, too. There was something in her gaze, something he couldn't quite pinpoint, much less name. But that something was enough to give even him goosebumps, and he knew she'd never harm a human if she could help it.
Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, the headman cleared his throat and spoke calmly, though he still gazed cautiously at the both of them.
"Very well. We shall wait one more night. You've got one night to prove Jinenji's innocence and get rid of the real culprit. Does that sound acceptable?"
"One night is plenty enough time," Kagome replied while glancing up at the sky. The sun was barely past its highest point. It was only midday.
"But if one more person dies, we will not wait 'till sunrise," the headman warned and Inuyasha crossed his arms over his chest, looking him up and down.
"No one will die," he replied resolutely and the village headman nodded before telling the other men to turn back.
"I shall hold you to that. But know that if you're wrong it will be on your conscience."
"Isn't it always," Kagome muttered under her breath, so quietly that Inuyasha didn't hear her, let alone the other retreating humans. The teen smiled smugly and glanced at her, looking for all the world like the problem was already solved. And really, in his mind, it was.
"Well, that went well, didn't it? Now we only have to find the actual culprit and that's that," he said and Kagome gave him a look out of the corner of her eye.
"You make it sound painfully easy. Could you have really sensed some demonic energy on those corpses? Enough to recognize the yōkai responsible? Can you just waltz into the forest and find it with your sixth sense?" she asked, despite already knowing the answer. After all, if Inuyasha really had sensed some youki on the dead, then he never would have even thought of attacking Jinenji because he would have known long before anyone else that the horse hanyō was innocent. And true to Kagome's expectations, the ten looked away somewhat bashfully and rubbed uncomfortably at the back of his neck.
"Well, no," he admitted, but quickly caught himself and stared at her resolutely. "But finding the right demon can't be that hard."
"The forest is big and there are many demons living in it. Most could eat human intestines and be satisfied. Most are fast, too. Who knows where the nest of the one attacking the village is. To find it, you'll have to smell the fresh scent of human blood on it. That's the only thing we have to go one," Kagome replied with a shrug, motioning for Inuyasha to follow her back towards his bike. He did, although he seemed to be still more focused on the upcoming hunt.
"Meaning we have to wait until sunset, huh," he said, already knowing what Kagome had in mind. Once the sun set, she'd be hanyō again and she could easily sniff out the yōkai harassing the village. It was probably what she'd planned, too. And yet, the currently human girl corrected him.
"No, I have t wait for sunset," she said forcefully as they reached Inuyasha's bike. She turned to look at him then, willing him to not fight her for once. Not that she believed it would be that easy. "You are going back to the others."
Her assumptions were correct, it wouldn't be that easy. Inuyasha made it clear with the look he gave her and his words only made it more clear.
"Like hell!" he exploded, glaring at Kagome angrily. "I'm not leaving you alone here to deal with this! Not going to happen!"
"It's not like I'll go off on my own immediately," Kagome defended, frowning at the teen. She felt like Inuyasha was treating her like a defenseless little kid, and she definitely didn't like it. Especially since oftentimes, he was the childish one. "I'll wait 'till sunset, stupid. And I'll be more than capable of handling it then," she added. The implied 'I don't need your help' was obviously not said aloud, but Inuyasha caught it anyway and deflated slightly, anger giving place to frustration. He sighed and covered his eyes with his hand.
"I know," he said. "I know you'll be. But I want to help you anyway. Is that so fucking wrong?" He asked, looking at her with an expression she couldn't quite decipher. He seemed hurt... or maybe resigned... No, actually, it looked like he was... giving up...? No, that wasn't it, either. What was it then, that look? As if he was... tired. Exhausted, even. Yeah, that was it. He looked like he was tired of something.
"Didn't we talk about this already? About you trusting me?" he finally asked, but this time, Kagome wasn't affected by the words and merely scowled. She wasn't affected because this time, Inuyasha's implication couldn't be more wrong.
"I do trust you," she said, repeating once again her words from the day before, albeit a bit more forcefully than last time. "I trust you to go back without me. I trust you not to get into trouble and to be powerful and skilled enough to take care of yourself if trouble finds you. Wasn't that what you wanted just this morning?" She had him there. But the kannushi wasn't one to give up so easily.
"That was different. If you had let me come alone in the first place, you would have been with Sango, Miroku and Kohaku. Here, if a fight breaks out, you'll be on your own..." he trailed off, realizing he should have worded it differently given the glare Kagome was giving him.
"and so what? What makes you think that matters? Do you honestly believe I can't take care of myself just because I'm human?"
"That wasn't what I meant," Inuyasha backpedaled swiftly, though he sighed a moment afterwards. "Alright, it kind of was. But it's not what you think!" he added swiftly before the hanyō-turned-human could interrupt him. "It' just that... normally, you're not human. You are stronger and tougher than one. And you said yourself that this was a time of weakness for you. I know you can take care of yourself even in this form, otherwise you wouldn't be here now. I know that. But still, unlike me or Miroku or Sango who are always human, you aren't used to being one. So..."
Inuyasha trailed off, but Kagome thought she knew what he wanted to say, anyway. She looked away again. Well, he was right about one thing, she really did feel a lot weaker as a human than as a hanyō. In fact, that one day a month was a really good reminder of just how weak and fragile human beings were compared to demons or even hanyō. She could probably understand human weaknesses better than the humans themselves because of that. Because she could compare being human to being a half-demon.
Still, it wasn't like she was going to get into a fight before sunset, at least not on purpose, and definitely not against a yōkai, so it should be fine. And even if there was a fight, she could handle it. Human or not, she could still fight. More or less. And besides, it wasn't like she was the only one Inuyasha should worry about.
"Fine, I get it. But you should still go. Or did you forget the reason we came here for already? Kirara needs those herbs," she said, pointing at Inuyasha's back pack. The kannushi blinked and then bit his lip, once again remaining silent. In all honesty, with everything that's happened in the last hour or two, he'd nearly forgotten all about the poison the cat demon was dealing with. Which of course made him feel guilty, especially since even after being reminded of her condition, he was trying to think of ways to convince Kagome to let him stay.
"Don't you believe in Kirara's strength?" he finally asked carefully, glancing at the should-be half-demon through his bangs. "You seem to know her even better than Sango does. Do you really think she'll go down that easily?"
"No," Kagome replied without any hesitation whatsoever. "But that's no reason to expect her to suffer longer than she has to," she countered, her words easily managing to shut Inuyasha up again because he knew she was right. And he was out of ideas to boot.
"Still," Kagome suddenly spoke up again, causing the teen to snap his head up to stare at her. The currently human girl, for her part, looked pensive. "Now that I think about it, the villagers might get suspicious if I stay somewhere lazying around until sunset while you're nowhere to be found. I mean, I can tell them that you went to hunt for the yōkai, but... I'm not a good liar, so there's no guarantee they'll believe me." That, and she absolutely hated lying, no matter the reason.
"But won't it be worse if we're both lazying around?" Inuyasha pointed out dubiously. Of course, he was being stupid in the sense that he just shot down a possible opportunity of being allowed to stay, but it wasn't like he was that desperate.
"Not really. Then we could honestly say we're waiting for sunset, since that's when the yōkai hunts. Why look all over the woods if we can just wait for our prey to come to us? Sure, that may run the risk of another village man or girl dying, but that's just theory. In pratice, we won't let that happen, will we?"
"No, we won't," Inuyasha agreed just as a certain detail hit him hard. "Wait, does that mean I can stay?" he asked incredulously. Not even a second ago he was fighting her over the matter and she was about to win and now she was inviting him to stay? It made no sense at all. It was as if she couldn't make up her mind.
And in reality, that was exactly what it was. On one hand, she really didn't want Kirara to suffer because of the poison any more than the cat absolutely had to. But on the other hand, she kind of liked Inuyasha's insistence to stay. And if she was completely honest with herself, for some reason she couldn't name, she wanted him to stay, too. In the end, however, as per usual, her own wants couldn't possibly win over the needs of someone else. Let alone a friend.
"No. You're going back to the others. Kirara needs those herbs," she said resolutely and Inuyasha sighed.
"Fine. But don't expect me to not come back afterwards," he said with a frown as Kagome turned her back on him to face the direction of Jinenji's field and shrugged.
"As if I had any way to stop you from doing that," she said with seemingly little care despite the fact that she was smiling.
You know, I always wondered why in the manga, either Kagome nor Inuyasha spared Kirara a thought. I mean, she was poisoned with Naraku's miasma, for crying out loud, and they didn't even think about her when deciding to stay and help Jinenji. I mean, sure, Jinenji needed help, too, but come on, what about your own, possibly dying friend? Hence why they're splitting up here. I won't have Kagome 'forget' about her friends. That's just plain OOC for her, even if she has another person needing assistance/protection right in front of her.
Well, and that's that for this chapter. Thoughts? Comments? I always like to hearing you guys' opinions and that certainly hasn't changed in the past year ;)
Next Chapter: Two Half-demons, two life styles
See you then :D