Chapter 7
The moon, a mere sliver in the inky sky, cast a feeble light upon the lush landscape. Deep within the heart of the ancient forest, a place where the ebb and flow of shadows seemed to share secrets with the whispering leaves, a figure emerged from the concealing embrace of the trees. Draped in a hooded cloak, its face veiled in obscurity, the enigmatic entity raised a gloved hand, beckoning two lurking demons to approach.
The first demon, tall and striking, his angular features enhanced by the haunting moonlight, moved with an eerie grace. His angular jaw and piercing eyes suggested an unsettling charm. In stark contrast, the second demon was short and grotesque, hunching slightly as he slunk forward. His misshapen features bore the unmistakable mark of malevolence.
"Go," the figure commanded, their voice a low, raspy murmur that hung in the damp night air like a foreboding omen. "Investigate Musashi, and find those guards."
Both demons nodded silently, their eyes reflecting the ghastly shimmer of malevolent stars. As they melted into the shadows of the forest, they left behind an atmosphere steeped in uncertainty, promising dark discoveries yet to be unveiled.
Kagome awoke sometime after dawn. The crackle and pop of the fire coming to life - and the smell of cooking meat - slowly roused her from her slumber, and she sat up slowly, yawning and rubbing the sleep from her eyes.
It took a moment for her to wake up enough to realize Inuyasha was staring at her from across the fire again, much the same as he had done last night. Except his top was white. Or rather, it seemed he was no longer wearing his haori. Looking down, Kagome saw the red fabric pooled around her and realized what had happened. She blushed and mumbled a quick thank you before standing to shake the dirt from the garment. Once satisfied with the cleanliness, she folded it nicely and walked over to Inuyasha who was crouching by the meet but stubbornly refused to meet her eyes.
"Thank you," she said again, hoping her sincerity was clear.
"Feh," was the only response she got in reply, but she didn't push it. She wasn't a morning person either.
Deciding that she would relieve herself and maybe freshen up a bit, Kagome picked up her hand towel from last night and the small paper soap package from her bag and made to leave the camp briefly.
"Hey! Where you think you're going?" a gruff voice shouted from behind her.
As grateful as Kagome was for everything that Inuyasha had done up until this point, she really wasn't awake enough to deal with his attitude yet.
"To the toilet. And to bathe a bit, if you don't mind," Kagome said, a bite of sarcasm in her gravely, sleepy voice.
"Why would you need to bathe in some far off islands* when there is a river just that way?" Inuyasha asked. "What is wrong with you?"
Kagome gave a long-suffering sigh, but decided explaining a modern bathroom was a waste of time and energy. She waved her hand half-heartedly and decided to patronize the half-demon still crouched by the fire. "You're absolutely right. What was I thinking?" She walked off towards the river, leaving an annoyed and confused half-demon behind her.
"What the hell have I gotten myself into?" he asked himself as he poked at the almost finished hare.
Breakfast went off without a hitch. Kagome gratefully accepted the meat and pointedly did not ask what it was. Inuyasha found all her thanks and politeness to be very unnerving.
Inuyasha was ready to leave as soon as the food was consumed, but Kagome was apparently intent on taking everything she owned. She packed everything up neatly and excrutiatingly slowly, ignoring his soft, irritated huffs.
"All done," she declared at last.
"Finally," he said with exaggerated irritation. He was about the launch into the treetops when he remembered something rather important: his new companion was human. He sighed, straightened himself and started walking with purpose into the forest, pointedly ignoring Kagome's curious expression.
As Inuyasha and Kagome continued their morning's travel through the dense forest, Inuyasha couldn't help but notice Kagome's childlike wonder. She paused frequently to marvel at the surroundings, examining the vibrant flora and listening to the chorus of woodland creatures. It was almost as if she had never seen or heard such things before; he couldn't hide his growing impatience.
Their pace felt like a snail's crawl, but he supposed it was better than the alternative. While it might be quicker to just scoop her up and carry her to their destination, he still didn't trust this girl enough to let her be so close to his person. Even her lingering scent on his haori was unsettling to his senses. And then there was the fact that he miraculously had not scared her off, so drawing attention to the fact that he was less than human was probably not a great idea. The nudge from the back of his brain that asked when it would be a good idea was quickly squashed as he focused on the task at hand: get them to his hideout and make it all but impossible for anyone else to follow them.
Inuyasha intentionally lead Kagome in circles, although not obviously. With her inexperience and lack of demonic senses, he doubted she would notice. This only added to their travel time, but it seemed prudent, so Inuyasha pressed on and tried to pick up the pace, despite the fact that Kagome lagged considerably behind.
Eventually, though, Kagome began to notice that something was amiss. She paused and furrowed her brow, studying their surroundings carefully. "Wait a minute," she said, her voice tinged with suspicion. "I think we've been here before."
Inuyasha feigned ignorance, though he was surprised. "What crap are you spouting?" he replied, turning to look over his shoulder at her. "The landscape here is pretty monotonous. Just hurry up, would ya?"
Kagome wasn't convinced. "No, I'm sure of it. We're going in circles."
Inuyasha wasn't sure if he wanted to growl in irritation or congratulate her for having basic awareness. "You're a sharp one, huh? I was covering up our tracks to throw off anyone who might be tracking us," he said, hoping she would drop it and hurry up. He turned and started walking again.
"Oh, I see. Thank you, Inuyasha. I appreciate that."
Inuyasha's gaze softened slightly, something tugging in his chest again. "No need to thank me," he replied gruffly still focused ahead. "We need to be careful out here."
Kagome nodded, although he couldn't see it, and quickened her steps to catch up to her protector.
Two days was all it took for Inuyasha to question the sanity of this mission.
It had taken only the first day for him to get tired of walking. Not only was it slow and inefficient, but it also allowed Kagome ample time to talk about all sorts of things. She commented on the scenery, asked him questions, wondered how long it was going to take to make it to their destination... Inuyasha wondered a lot about that last one too. The second day dawned and Inuyasha decided he needed to stretch his legs. While Kagome was distracted by a stupid flower, he bounded out of sight to scout the path ahead, hoping to relieve some of the frustration that welled up within him.
Inuyasha's feet barely rustled the underbrush as he moved stealthily through the forest. He scoured the terrain, ensuring their route was clear of any potential threats or obstacles. And as he circled back toward Kagome, something even more perplexing caught his attention.
Approaching from an entirely different direction, Inuyasha reappeared behind her. His footsteps had been soundless, but to his surprise, Kagome had already turned to face him, her smile warm and inviting.
Suspicion gnawed at him, but nothing in her demeanor seemed off. It was like his senses went haywire when it came to her.
He sighed and returned to his position, leading her through the ever-thickening underbrush.
The sun was setting rapidly and Inuyasha could her Kagome stumbling and grumbling behind him. She hadn't complained about his pace directly, but it was clearly difficult for her to keep up and maneuver with her heavy pack.
Suddenly, Inuyasha's keen instincts took over. His nose twitched, catching a distinct scent on the wind. He motioned for Kagome to wait, his hand held up in a signal for silence.
"I smell something," he muttered, before silently stalking off through the underbrush. Kagome nodded in response, her own senses on edge with nervous energy.
Inuyasha moved with a grace and stealth that left Kagome in awe, his agility and tracking skills evident as he followed an invisible trail ahead of her.
Suddenly, Inuyasha paused for a moment, making no sound or movement at all. He seemed to be suspended in time until he pounced with the grace of a cat and made quick work of killing the pair of rabbits that was his prey.
Kagome gasped and froze in place, unease creeping over her as he walked toward her with the fresh kill. She paled and took a step back, causing Inuyasha to also halt his movements.
For his part, Inuyasha hadn't event thought about what he was doing. He scented potential food and caught it without any consideration to how that would look to his human companion. He must have looked like some wild beast to her, and he flushed with shame, anger rising as he tried to defend himself... from what he did not know.
"Did you want to eat tonight or not?" he asked harshly, practically daring Kagome to make some sort of derogatory comment.
Kagome flushed but struggled to find the words to explain herself. In her time, meat came prepackaged; you didn't have to think of the creature that had died to make your meal possible. It was so sterile, so disconnected.
"I'm sorry," she apologized, her voice a bit strained. "I've never seen... I didn't realize..."
Inuyasha felt his hackles rise. "I'm not human, in case you still don't believe me. This is how I eat."
"It's not that!" Kagome shot back in frustration, wide grey eyes begging him to believe her. She was still pale and queasy, but she was quickly catching onto Inuyasha's train of thought. "It's not about the hunting or whatever, I've just never seen the, well, the dead animal part," she finished lamely.
Inuyasha raised his eyebrows and considered her response. He was still tense and clearly holding the point of contention in his clawed hands. While her words might have been a lie, the fact that she looked directly at him while decidedly not looking at the rabbits suggested she may have been telling the truth though. He pursed his lips a moment, trying to calm himself down before saying something he would regret.
"I'll get used to it," Kagome continued, still clearly uncomfortable. "Go on; show me what needs to be done."
Inuyasha felt himself totally deflate at that, and a part of him wanted to clean the kill elsewhere and spare her the image. But Kagome had already moved into his personal bubble, leaving him little choice but to teach her yet one more thing about what her life would be like. Out here. With him.
He sighed and motioned his head in a direction a little to their right.
"There's a stream that way. Let's set up camp there."
A quiet nod was the only reply he got, and the pair walked in complete silence as the dusk faded into twilight. For some reason, Kagome's lack of conversation bothered Inuyasha now, although he had desperately wished for it earlier. He had no idea how to fill the void himself though.
True to her word, once the fire was set up a few feet from the water's edge, Kagome watched carefully as Inuyasha gut and cleaned the rabbits. Inuyasha's skilled hands worked swiftly, his movements almost mesmerizing as he prepared their meal. Kagome might have appreciated his technique more if her stomach didn't churn so much, but she was determined to see this through.
Once cleaned and cooked, Inuaysha delivered the skewered meat into her hands, but turned around to avoid seeing her expression. He was stuck with an emotion somewhere between frustration and pity, and he wasn't really sure what to do with it. Kagome managed to surprise him once again though.
"Thank you for the food," she said quietly, bowing slightly before taking the first bite.
For a stupid girl with no survival skills, she was certainly trying hard. Inuyasha only caught the tail end of the bow out of the corner of his eye, but he finally settled on a different emotion altogether: reluctant admiration.