Chapter 5 – The Cheerful Rin

The forests were very quiet, making it easier for Inuyasha to concentrate. It had been hours, at least, since they've departed Kaede's Village. The others were trailing sluggishly behind while Inuyasha was alert ahead once again. Kirara's legs started feeling weak, so Kagome voluntarily held her in her arms. The grateful demon cat snuggled closely to her chest.

"We're lost, aren't we?" Kagome asked

"We're not lost," Inuyasha rebutted "I know exactly where we are."

Inuyasha stood up to his up-right position. He started to turn his head in confusion.

"Who goes there?" A voice called

Shippo hid behind Kagome fearfully, though Kagome wasn't scared. She'd recognized that voice anywhere.

"Koga?" She inquired.

Koga emerged from the bushes.

"Kagome!" Koga said affectionately.

Koga ran swiftly towards Kagome, holding her hands. Kagome couldn't help but feel slightly awkward, making Inuyasha move speedily to her side.

"What do you think your doing, wolf?" Inuyasha said to Koga

"Oh," The demon said to Kagome. "Didn't know you brought the mutt with you."

"Who're you calling mutt?" He retaliated.

Like always, Kagome had to be the mediator between the two of them. After handing Kirara over to Shippo, She'd quickly cut in between them and spread her arms in opposite directions.

"Cut it out Inuyasha! Stop being so overprotective!" Kagome intercepted.

"Hmmph."

"Miroku-san." Miroku heard in the distance. He looked to his left, though hadn't seen a body to match the temptresses voice.

"Miroku-San, follow my voice…"

Miroku was mesmerized by the intoxicating voice and unwillingly made his way through the bushes.

Kagome was still in between them. Time was going by and Kagome was getting impatient.

"Will you two stop it already?!" She yelled angrily.

This had happened every time they would run into Koga. It was of Inuyasha's nature to get a little jealous when Koga would come around. It was always a competition between them, though Kagome had enough.

Koga and Inuyasha grudgingly stopped, though they both knew it wasn't over. Moments later, after they had all calmed down, Rin flowingly danced her way through the forest and towards Kagome.

Rin? She thought, trying to recall her name from the night before.

The little girl seemed oblivious to the fact that she was in the presence of others. In her hands was the textbook Kagome though she had in her bag.

Rin accidentally bumped into Inuyasha, who was still steamed up from seeing Koga, falling to the ground.

"Aren't you that runt who stays with Sesshoumaru?" Inuyasha said

Rin now seemed terribly frightened, speechless to answer the dog-demons question. She was so afraid, she'd dropped the textbook in her hands and pushed herself further away, still on the ground. Kagome's attention moved towards to book, realizing that it was her own.

"Rin?" Kagome was finally confidently able to say the name aloud.

Inuyasha smirked

"So that's what he's calling her."

Rin nodded her head, allowing Kagome to continue.

"Where did you find that?" Kagome asked fascinatingly.

She checked her own bag, seeing herself that her math textbook wasn't inside. Rin shifted her interest to Kagome.

"Rin found it near the village. Lord Sesshoumaru told her to bring it back to you!" Rin responded.

There was something about Rin that Kagome liked. Her personality was very bubbly when she wasn't scared. Rin didn't seem like the kind of person that would lose her childish charm.

Something about what Rin said sparked in Kagome's mind. Sesshoumaru wouldn't leave Rin alone without someone to protect her. Her best bet was that Sesshoumaru was still nearby. She looked at her surrounding area, though he would probably be cleverer then to hide himself so obviously. Kagome was too deep into thought to notice Rin, almost pelvic level compared to her. She started to elevate her hands with the textbook in it. She took the book from her grasp.

"Thank you." Kagome said to Rin.

They both exchanged smiles, then Rin retreated back to the others, waving as she was skipping her way through the field.

"What just happened here?" Koga asked. This was probably one of the first times he's seen the vivacious child.

Inuyasha looked around himself. A perplexed expression painted on his face.

"Did anyone see where Miroku went?"

***

The voice was repeating what it had before. Anything to make the mischievous Miroku follow it. They were now about to vacate a tunnel. The tunnel entrance was narrow compared to its inside, almost twice as big though invisible to see when the darkness settled in. He now couldn't see, though since it was only a voice he had been following, he hadn't declined to continue pursuing the unknown female.

"We're almost there." The voice said, adding an amusing giggle at the end of her warning.

Miroku was hunch-backed. His mouth started watering. He was completely hypnotized, and there was nothing he could do about it.