Chapter 4

"Pervert!"

Inuyasha's ears burned with embarrassment, regretting the unintentional intrusion. "I didn't mean to—" he stammered, but Kagome was too flustered to let him finish.

"Turn around, you creep!" she yelled, hastily covering herself with her arms and seeking refuge in the shallow waters.

The half-demon was left tongue-tied. His mouth opened and closed a few times, but nothing came out, so he settled for stomping around then jumping off into a tree out of sight of the river.

Kagome waited a moment to make sure he was really gone then stomped over to the riverbank to finish dressing, still muttering "pervert" and other unkind words under her breath. She was relieved that Inuyasha hadn't stuck around to make things even more awkward, although she was pretty sure he was still lingering nearby. Why would he leave so suddenly after coming to see her again?

"Because you yelled at him and called him a pervert," her mind helpfully chimed in. The girl frowned as she finished putting on her socks and pulled out the tiny comb for touching up her bangs that she had kept in her school bag. It was a sparkly plastic thing that would probably break in two seconds if subjected to the might of her full head of hair, but she had little choice at the moment. She took a second to carefully detangle what she could before storing the comb away.

With her clothes back on and her bag slung over her shoulder, Kagome took a deep breath and decided she should probably apologize to the half-demon. After all, he probably wasn't really trying to spy on her.

As she ventured deeper into the forest, the beauty of the lush green surroundings began to ease her earlier flustered state. She was not exactly following the path back to the enclave, but something told her Inuyasha would be found in this direction.

"Inuyasha?" she called out, when she thought she was close enough. Sure enough, there was a light rustling of leaves and a moment later the red-clad half-demon appeared before her.

He didn't say anything. In fact, he couldn't even meet her gaze. His cheeks were still tinged red, and Kagome felt herself totally let go of her annoyance.

"It was an honest mistake, Inuyasha. I'm not mad."

Inuyasha shifted his gaze for a moment, but still refused to meet her eyes. Kagome sighed softly to herself and decided to change tactics. This guy didn't have a lot to say, but if he didn't want to be there he could clearly leave and there would be little she could do to stop him. So Kagome hitched her bag a little higher on her shoulders and started heading in what she thought was the correct direction.

"Oi! Where are you going, wench?" Inuyasha called out after a moment, bounding a little to catch up to her.

"Oh, good. You aren't afraid to talk to me anymore," she replied evenly, ignoring him.

Inuyasha bristled slightly. "Why the hell would I be afraid of you?"

"No reason," she replied, this time giving him a warm smile.

They continued the walk in companionable silence - Kagome lightly gripping the straps of her pack to keep it from sliding, Inuyasha with his arms stuffed in his sleeves to hide his claws - each lost in their own thoughts.

Kagome, although trying to maintain a brave face, knew that her situation was far from ideal. She had questions - so many questions - about where and when she was, and how she could possibly return home. There was also the matter of surviving in the "here and now."

Inuyasha, for his part, felt very unsettled. This girl had stumbled into his life, and despite his initial annoyance, he couldn't shake the feeling that something was different about her. Or rather, it was very clear there was something different about her, but he didn't know how it applied to him. Experience had taught him - cruelly - that getting close to anyone was a bad idea, but he tried to rationalize this situation to himself. After all, he couldn't let this girl roam alone, not in a forest filled with demons and other dangers.

Kagome continued to walk with purpose through the lush forest, and Inuyasha trailed her a few paces behind, keeping a watchful eye. It took a little time, but he finally realized they were heading back to where he left her originally.

Kagome put down her bag and turned to face Inuyasha, who was scrutinizing the area with all of his senses. She watched as his ears and nose twitched, his eyes darting around her makeshift camp. She flushed a little at her failed attempt at a campfire, but decided to distract him with one of her more successful endeavors. "Look, Inuyasha," she exclaimed, pointing at a small stack of various roots and berries she had foraged. "I found these. They're edible! Well, I think they are. I did my best to choose the safe-looking ones. I'm not so familiar with wild plants."

"Not bad," he mumbled, his eyes flickering briefly to meet hers. It was clear she was struggling here, and he felt a bit guilty about it. He could read the campsite like he had been there watching her the whole time. He saw the fire pit that had never been lit and the young saplings she had tried to cut down with... something sharp, but which were too supple and wet to ignite. She must have been cold the last few nights. He looked her over carefully. She seemed a bit embarressed now and started to pick at the sleeves of the strange top she wore to distract herself.

After a few minutes of silence, curiosity finally got the better of Inuyasha, and he ventured to speak.

"You... didn't head to the village, did you?" he asked, his voice a strange mix of gruff concern.

Kagome glanced up at him, her grey eyes meeting his golden ones. "No, I didn't," she replied honestly, not a hint of bitterness in her voice. "And don't look so guilty about it. It wasn't your fault."

Inuyasha couldn't help but feel a surge of irritation well up. "Why the hell didn't you go to the village? You'd be safer there than out here!"

Kagome looked down before sighing heavily, the weight of her predicament heavy when brought into perspective like this. "If I just walked into the village, they'd probably chase me," she replied quietly, remembering her first experience after the well deposited her in this strange world. "Or worse," she continued," they could make me a slave or a... a whore." The last word came out in a hushed, horrified tone.

Inuyasha's eyes narrowed as he processed her words, remembering his own thoughts when he had gone to the village to look for her earlier that day. Slavery, tanners, undertakers, whore houses... human villages may have offered safety in numbers and consistent food and shelter, but he hadn't considered that a pretty human girl would have any issues entering a village that wasn't her own. That was a sobering thought, and he felt a bit bad for suggesting it without thinking.

"So you plan on hiding in the forest forever?" he asked, his voice still gruff, but now tinged with frustration at his own stupidity.

Kagome nodded. "Yup," she said with a small but genuine smile. "It seemed safer than trying my luck in a strange village anyway."

His anger dissipated, replaced by a begrudging understanding and concern. Her reasons were sound enough, but she had clearly not spent much time outdoors. Beyond what he had seen at the campsite, her skin looked too pale, her hands too soft to have been accustomed to hard living. Inuyasha could not imagine the kind of place that would produce such a girl so determined to go to these extremes yet grossly unprepared to do so.

Kagome wasn't exactly sure what Inuyasha was thinking, but she didn't like the look of pity on his face. "Thank you for coming to check on me, Inuyasha, but I don't intend to be a burden on you," she rushed out, equal parts embarrassed and flustered. "I'm going to be just fine, don't worry about it!"

"Who said anything about being worried, wench?" he snapped, not sure why he was so agitated by the comment.

"Eh, but…" Kagome floundered for a second before angrily huffing at him. "You're so rude!"

"I'm not the idiot who doesn't know how to fight or start a fire!" he retorted, instantly regretting his choice of words. Kagome's flinch at his all too accurate comment would have been perceptible to all but the most daft of humans. Her grey eyes pierced his with their hurt, and he somehow felt ashamed, although he was fairly certain he had done worse things in his life than insult a human girl.

The smell of salt hit his nose before the words registered.

"Go away."

They were the words he had been waiting for all along, though not exactly delivered as he expected. He stood frozen a moment.

"Don't be stupid. You can't stay out here by yourself," he stammered out, realizing belatedly that he was probably sticking his foot further down his throat.

"I don't need your permission, Inuyasha! Go. Away!" she shouted at him, red-rimmed eyes brimming with tears.

"Fine! Have it your way, wench!" he barked out, backing up a few steps before escaping into the trees.

Kagome was only able to hold herself up a moment longer before she fell to her knees and bawled. She had been trying so hard. She didn't want to admit it, but she was hungry, tired, and most of all lonely. And she hated that Inuyasha was probably right. She was totally out of her depth.

"…idiot," she choked out, futilely wiping away the tears that fell freely.

Meanwhile, three middle-aged men - former samurai who had lost their honor - stood around the rotting corpse of a boar youkai. The burliest of the men, who stood almost a head taller than the others, motioned towards a path that led deeper into the forest.

"Ikeda-san, surely they would have headed to the village with great haste," said the youngest, pointing in the opposite direction.

"Look at this beast," said the third man who was a bit older and had already lost almost all his hair. "We are clearly dealing with a demon of some sort by the looks of this severed head. Ikeda is right; they would not go to the human village. And with the rain, they probably holed up in the bigger trees or along the cliff walls. If we're lucky, they'll still be there."

The younger man nodded and both he and the older man followed their leader through the underbrush and deeper into the forest.