Chapter 12

The pesky package slipped further back with each rise she climbed, moving inch by precarious inch away from the carefully wedged space under her armpit. A few more jostles and Kagome was sure it would tumble out behind her to roll merrily back down the long stairway.

Kaede chortled beside her, clearly amused by her grumbles.

"Here," The girl paused, deliberately lagging behind a few steps. Then Kagome felt a nudge along the items in her hold. "There. I think that's better."

"Thanks, Kaede."

They continued their trudge up the long line of steps leading up to the shrine. Laden as they were, their going was slow but not unpleasant. Although, it wasn't the first time Kagome wished she had Inuyasha's superhuman abilities. If she did, lugging up the latest resupply would be a non-issue. Or second best, if only the half-demon hung out around the village more, she couldn't easily bribed him to help, provided she had a tasty bargaining chip.

Laughing, Kagome voiced as much to Kaede. The answering expression on the girl's face—not at all what she was expecting— stalled her mid chuckle, replacing it with a sudden awkwardness hanging in the air.

"Um, Kagome," Kaede hesitated, turning in her direction when they paused at the next landing. "You know Inuyasha isn't allowed on the shrine grounds right? W-well, not on the proper grounds anyways."

She blinked. "What? Why?"

Kaede looked even more uncomfortable to apparently be the one to break this the her. "You know, what with him being a hanyou."

Still not processing it, she stared at her young friend, brows furrowed. "Yes… and?"

"U-uh," Kaede dropped her gaze, looking down and to the side, almost whispering her next words. "Well, um, he's considered tainted, so, well, y-you can't have that on holy grounds."

"That's ridiculous." Her voice cut through the unpleasant silence, the cold tone of it surprising even herself. "You can't actually believe that, can you, Kaede? We've all spent so much time together, surely…"

Kaede winced. "I know, I-I like Inuyasha… b-but,"

"Seriously, people can be so stupid."

"I-I'm sorry, Kagome. I just-it's just…"

Kagome forced herself to take a deep breath, slowly moving the air into her chest and back out. The indignant anger seething inside her refused to be pushed aside so easily though. The thought of the casual prejudice towards anyone even a little different from the crowd made her so mad. It wasn't even like Inuyasha did anything. Sure, he didn't make himself the most likeable person but that doesn't mean he was inherently bad.

Glancing at her young friend, who held herself smaller than usual, looking pained at their topic of discussion, it finally deflated her.

"It's alright, Kaede." Kagome sighed. "Neither of us makes the rules, I guess."

She nodded, sneaking an uncertain look at Kagome, then spoke with a small voice. "I wish it wasn't like this."

"Me too."

The two girls hurried on to drop off the supplies at the shrine before making haste back to the village. It was a pretty tight schedule, seeing as one of the village's wealthiest landowners returned early that morning, and there was a lot to be done still.

He was supposedly due to return two days ago, bringing with him some items the shrine had ordered from the closest market hub. Though, due to a bad storm he was delayed. Good thing he was able to make it back in the nick of time, since his daughter was to be married the next day. Poor Suki had been an unconsolable mess all week, thinking her wedding might have to be delayed.

Kagome had been appalled to learn that marriages have been called off for less, if the male family had the slightest superstition that the bride will bring misfortune with her. So, she was more than happy for the bride-to-be when the wedding was confirmed to proceed as planned.

—

The village was bustling, the invisible but unmistaken air of celebration permeated the air, lifting everyone's mood. Kagome too, was caught up in the contagious excitement and with her being female, enlisted into helping with preparations.

Having learned very little of how feudal eras weddings went, Kagome was genuinely interested in seeing it all first hand. Thus far though, she'd been sequestered in the kitchen since dawn, having barely seen the light of day. And from the hue streaming in from the narrow window high up near the roof, the sun was due to set.

A soft touch against her arm got her turning to meet her foster grandmother's—for lack of a better term— beaming face.

"Kagome, dear," Wizened hands set a wooden tray down, swapping it with the laden one near her. "Just another five servings and we're done."

"Sure, no problem."

Kagome watched the elderly woman hobble off to serve the next guests, still smiling widely. Now, it wasn't like she was normally stern or anything, just… a touch sad sometimes. Today though, her laugh lines were on full display non-stop. The bride was the daughter of her cousin's cousin, so fairly removed, but the woman treated the occasion as if she was the proud mother-of-the-bride.

The old couple whom's roof she lived under had warmed up to her significantly the last few weeks. And the woman especially reminded her of the way her grandma used to make her feel. Her mother's mother passed away while she was very young so she only had vague memories with her. Now that they've gotten closer, the old man and woman kept digging up clothes for Kagome to wear. And small items, like hair combs for her to use. All of the things obviously have seen some time but were extremely well preserved.

Although the story behind why they had so many things that fit a young girl, when they never spoke of any offspring, was never discussed. Judging by the melancholy air she sensed around them sometimes, it was likely not a fortunate tale.

Even so, Kagome was still grateful to feel more settled in, given that it was becoming increasingly apparent she was stuck in this era for longer than she'd originally hoped.

She carefully laid out five more sweet cakes on their little plates and replaced the bamboo lid, keeping the rest warm. It was not long before the old woman swooped in and back out to distribute the desserts. She returned shortly and proceeded to shoo Kagome out of the kitchen to participate in the evening celebrations, with repeated expression of genuine gratitude for her help.

Stepping outside, Kagome inhaled deeply, drawing the crisp evening air into her lungs. The sky was clear, and painted a pretty palette of pinks and purples, still bright though the sun had just dipped below the horizon. It was a good night for a wedding feast.

Having grown up in a shrine-tending family, Kagome was no stranger to Shinto wedding ceremonies. What interested her was the celebrations after, here in the past. There was definitely a banquet of sorts for the joining families but also some food for the village as a whole— a lot of which she helped prepare earlier that day.

She continued along, skirting the open area of the village, kind of like a square, bordered by the river on one side. A hearty bonfire had already been started and handfuls of people danced around it, laughter punctuating the reedy trills of music someone was playing.

Spying a low ledge nearby, the girl plopped herself on it, settling what she was carrying in her lap. Kagome gave her shoulders a couple of rolls to loosen them, then a stretch back before unraveling the bundle the old woman had pushed her into her arms before she left. Caught up in work, she hadn't realized just how hungry she was until her stomach let out an anticipatory yowl. Happily, she uncovered a long bamboo flask of hot tea (she was too young still, for sake), several heavy leaf wrapped dollops of fragrant rice and finally, a small piece of pheasant.

Kagome grinned, and started into her dinner with gusto. The rice was hulled and white, that, along with the meat—which was not everyday fare—suggested that her foster grandma had snuck her portions from the dinner cooked for the bride and groom, and their respective immediate families.

With a full stomach, she gazed lazily out at the dancers trickling in to fill in the area surrounding the fire. Everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves. The far table set up with drink and snacks was visited often. Kagome was happy to note that even Kaede was out, smiling and chatting with a group of younger kids her age.

She didn't really even realize she was doing so until it suddenly occurred to her that she was actually looking for something, rather than just idly observing. Well, someone to be exact. What her eye was searching for, was the red and silver that was distinctly Inuyasha.

To be fair, Kagome didn't expect him to be dancing or anything, but to at least join in on the feast. Because the Inuyasha she knew was not shy when it comes to all things edible, let alone edible and tasty.

Pondering this, Kaede's words from yesterday filtered into her consciousness. Now that she thought about, Inuyasha was seldom seen out and about the village. The handful of times she could recall, the hanyou had been dawdling behind Kikyou. Inuyasha always insisted he avoided the place because of smelly humans, but what if…

Her feet had taken her determinedly towards the forest before Kagome even fully concocted the plan. As the light from the lamps faded, the sounds of nighttime forest seem to filter in. The loud rhythmic chirps of insects and rustle of the underbrush surrounded her. It was not too dark yet, and by the blue-hued light, Kagome made her way up the hill leading into the thickening tree cover.

It wasn't long before she felt the familiar tug build in her core, alike to the warmth immediately after down a nice bowl of hot soup. There was a slight direction to the feeling though, so she adjusted her course. It was handy that hanyou apparently had some sort of homing beacon. But really, she knew she wouldn't have to actually look much further.

"Oi, Kagome!" A swoop and a thud heralded his arrival, kicking up some loose gravel from the path against her leg. "What the hell are ya doing out here? Didn't I-"

"Uh huh. Night. Dark. Bad." She interrupted him cheekily. "But you're here."

Grinning up at Inuyasha, Kagome met his narrowed eyes, apparently deciding on how much offence to take at her light teasing of his frequent warnings to stay away from the forest at night. His irises were glowing warmly, more dynamic than the bonfire in the village square, and twilight coloured his mane indigo blue.

She nudged his arm. "Aww, come on, Inuyasha. What say you lead this poor human with inferior senses to somewhere nice to sit?"

He muttered a choice selection of expletives at her, wanting to make his displeasure clear. But that didn't prevent him from leading them over to the crest of a small hill, a little bit out from the forest edge.

They sat down on a patch of clover, letting loose soft clouds of sweet scent. Kagome untied the cloth in her hold, retrieving the last of her supper.

"Want some rice? It's pretty tasty. There's some braised bamboo shoots as well. Oh, but uh, I kinda ate all the meat already… oops." She confessed sheepishly. Having never been much of a big meat eater, it did surprise her how strongly she'd missed it.

"Keh. It's not like I can't hunt, woman." Calloused fingers barely skimmed the back of her hand when he scooped the offered food from her hold. Kagome smiled, glad he accepted without much fuss.

"Here, there's dessert too."

Accompanied by Inuyasha's quiet munching sounds, as he chowed down, Kagome wrapped her arms around her tucked up legs and gazed back towards the village downhill and across the river. The bonfire blazed merrily, and the flickers dancing on the water was rather pretty.

Kagome had thought she wanted to join in the festivities but relaxing here, in Inuyasha's easy company after a long day of cooking, filled her with quiet contentment.

"Why aren't you over there?" He piped up, out of the blue. She could almost feel his gaze settle on her with physical weight.

"Why aren't you?" She countered, shrugging. "I'll go if you come with me."

"It's a fuckin' wedding, Kagome. So yeah, a hanyou would definitely be a guest of honour."

She barely managed to suppress the wince when his sarcastic jeer confirmed her earlier suspicions. The last thing she wanted to do was to make Inuyasha feel uncomfortable, so she did her best to look neutral.

Then, the bitterness brought on by what he was saying between the lines faded as quickly as it came.

"Well, I'm staying then." Staving off the beginnings of his protest, she wrinkled her nose and continued loudly. "I like it here. The light look so nice bouncing off the river like that."

A clawed hand snuck shyly into the side of her vision, offering the last morsel of dessert. Giggling, though not calling out what must be a monumental statement of kinship on Inuyasha's end, she deftly broke the sweet in half.

She raised up her portion of cake in the air between them, like a toast, before popping it into her mouth. Inuyasha's molten eyes flared, glowing bright in the darkening night and his lips twitched up faintly, before he too polished off his share.

Kagome shuffled just a little closer to his warmth and redirected her gaze again, watching the small figures in the distance circle round and round the fire.

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Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha. However, this plot, the exact sequence of words and any original characters described therein, I reserve all rights to.