Chapter 17
The rain pelted down hard, enough for some of the drops to spatter onto the deeply ridged bark of the big tree, which usually has such dense foliage that was near impenetrable.
A peek of silver darted up momentarily, a highlight in the rich green canopy. Just a quick glance through the haze of rain that blanketed the surrounding landscape told the hanyou what he needed to know. Ducking back into the relatively dry shelter of the tree, Inuyasha skipped down the levels of scaffolding branches, descending towards the base.
He landed lightly on the crest of one of the gnarled roots, drawing the attention of two bright sets of eyes. Beneath identical hooded straw cloaks, the humans were reasonably dry.
"So Inuyasha," Kagome chirped. "What's the verdict?"
"Might be a while yet. Proper storm, alright." It was indeed pretty heavy rain, even accounting for the rainy season.
"Boo…" She pouted. "It came from nowhere too! Did you see how sunny it was earlier?"
"Good thing we ended up bringing the mino with us," Kaede's faintly smug voice added. "Right, Kagome?"
The older girl grumbled, rolling her eyes dramatically since her companion wouldn't be able to see with her face half hidden underneath the oversized hood.
"I thought we'd be fine!"
She would, the idiot. Always optimistic.
He plopped down a little ways beside the girls, crossing his legs and leaning against the large root for support. Anticipating a bit of a wait, he closed his ey es, letting his ears flicker around at the sound of water falling.
"Say, Inuyasha… you wouldn't be too busy these next couple of days would you?"
He cracked open an eye, pointedly waiting for her to continue.
"Um, there's this big storehouse in the village that got damaged in the last storm and there's this really big log they need to move."
His eyes couldn't help but follow a drop collecting from a soaked curl plastered to her neck, which proceed to blaze a trail down her skin. Kagome paused, then elbowed Kaede.
"On behalf the village I would like to ask if you would offer your services in aiding us with the repairs." Kaede supplied rather formally.
"Eh?" Now both lids snapped open, Inuyasha fixed the two humans with a faintly suspicious look. "You're shitting me. Those bastards would prefer I get the fuck outta their village, why'd they wanna ask me for help? Spit the rest out!"
"Well… it would probably take a couple of oxen to haul a new beam over from the forest and that'll be two too many animals to take away from plowing. And then Kagome mentioned how you could probably help…"
Inuyasha pinned the older girl with an incredulous look.
"You put her up to this?'
Unfazed, Kagome nodded enthusiastically.
"Does Kikyou know about this?"
"Onee-sama thought it did make sense." Kaede chimed in.
He certainly didn't expect that answer and was momentarily lost for words. Though recovery was swift.
"What's in it for me?"
"Food?" Kaede shrugged.
"Oh come on Inuyasha! It'd be so nice of you to help out. Plus it'd be a good chance for some fo the villagers to get to know you better." Kagome leaned over to nudge his shoulder.
"I ain't nice"
"Awww… but with your strength, it'll be small beans! You could probably do it with one arm tied behind your back." Her chin was bobbing up and down vigorously again, this time hands clasped in her lap for maximum effect.
"Quit it. S' not gonna work on me, dummy."
"Inuyasha…"
"Alright, fine! Quit yer nagging, both a' ya!"
They cheered simultaneously, then Kagome burst into giggles when she took in what must be a a particularly sour expression on his face.
Their fine spirits were further bolstered when the sun abruptly burst through the cloud cover, sending down streams of glorious rays, making the water drops on the surrounding greenery sparkle. Taking advantage of the sudden change in weather, with the knowledge it was not to last long, Kagome and Kaede hurried down the hill after bidding the hanyou farewell at the sacred tree.
Inuyasha leapt up into the canopy, finding a sturdy branch to perch on just within the tree line and out of sight. His bright eyes followed the two beige blobs as they moved steadily towards the village.
He couldn't quite put his finger on what, but Kagome was a bit off yesterday. The way she'd beamed at him before they parted ways, making sure to extract an explicit confirmation of his help, seemed to be back to her normal. Which was good.
What would also be good was if he wasn't so painfully attuned to her behaviour that even someone as stubborn as himself was having a hard time denying it. And he was good at ignoring shit.
Ugh.
It was all because the dummy went and called him her friend. He was almost certain that was why.
The memories were blurry now but he remembered the ache of the longing, the way he'd hide in the trees watching the village children play. He'd wanted to know what it was like to kick a temari around or run around laughing instead of people always running away from him screaming. He'd stop asking mother about 'friends' because it made her sad. And when he grew old enough he'd finally understood it was just another one of those things hanyou weren't entitled to.
Yet, here she was. Some strange girl who apparently fell backwards from the future who wasn't afraid of him, who casually claimed him as a friend. Frankly, it hurt his head to think too hard about it. Might be easier to just take it as it comes.
Mother did say friends were people that helped each other. So he guessed he would help those humans in the village, because Kagome asked. The kid too.
Inuyasha had no delusions that the experience would be pleasant. But what's the worst the villagers could do? Make a face when they thought he wasn't looking while still having to grudgingly accept his help?
He could put up with that for an afternoon, but the food better be frickin' good.
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Mino - a traditional raincoat made out of woven straw resembling a long over coat. (I don't think they had hoods but I just wrote the ones in this chapter as having them because I wanted to.)
Temari - toy balls that were made from strips of bamboo tied together to form a sphere
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.