Chapter 19

When Kagome was speaking to him, her voice seemed to fall just a little lower, softer. He doubted human ears notice the minute difference. Or maybe it was because it was late at night so she wanted to be quiet and he was just making shit up.

She was trying to explain some sort of wagon contraption that carried humans to the stars in her time. Knowing that he could see well enough in the dark, her hands fluttered in front of her, making weird shapes to accompany her words.

Inuyasha knew what it was like, trying to find someone that understands—or at least, wants to. It was obvious she tried her best to not highlight her oddities when she was with the other villagers, and that included her comments about her home. It wasn't easy for him to absorb all the foreign words and concepts, but Kagome explained carefully and he did his best to follow along.

Her murmurs drifting with the background song of cicadas was soothing. To a point, he was guilty of not paying total attention to what she was actually saying.

The wind picked up, and the susurrus of the trees and cicadas seemed to get louder.

Inuyasha blinked, shaking his head a little to dispel the pleasant sleepiness that settled over him and realized Kagome had stopped talking for a little while now. Glancing over, he found her half slouched, half curled on her side. Her breathing was slow and even, features soft and lax.

He huffed, mildly annoyed. She was too damn trusting; she wasn't going to survive long in this world if she kept it up.

Though, it was a wonder that she wasn't asleep sooner actually, having spent most of the day doing physical labour then traipsing out into the forest to see him instead of resting like the rest of the humans. Inuyasha shimmied out a fold of the cloak bunched underneath her and flipped it over Kagome's shoulders.

The night was warm, but humans are weak.

Gnawing at his lip, he deliberated the options in silence. There weren't many. Two to be exact.

With much care, Inuyasha nudged the sleeping girl slightly, just enough to get her to move a little so he could get his arms in place to lift her with minimal jostling. Thankfully, she shifted in just the right way for him to finally situate her. Paying extra attention to curl his fingertips in, he lifted and brought her weight to settle against his torso. The dummy fidgeted unexpectedly causing one set of his claws to trail down her arm on their way to securing her upper body.

He tensed, waiting. Kagome stirred, but didn't wake. Instead, she turned her face to mutter something into his chest. Letting out the breath he didn't realize he'd held, the hanyou proceeded to walk his cargo back to the village.

It didn't take a genius to know how bad it would look if he were to get caught. He was used to the kind of things humans would accuse a half-breed like him of. But it was Kagome who would get the brunt of it, likely the same insinuations he'd heard as a child directed at his mother. Ones he didn't understand until he grew old enough.

He could've left Kagome to spend the night sleeping on the hillside. While she would've been safe and not eaten with him watching over her, he also did not like the alternative of anyone finding Kagome missing and talking shit in the morning. Her absence overnight would not be interpreted kindly, no matter what.

It felt odd, holding her against him like this instead of over his back. Something living, with a warm weight against his torso. He hadn't let anyone get this close to him voluntarily in a long time.

Walking the human way was slow but the slow and steady gait provided insurance that Kagome would not wake. He didn't want her to freak out upon waking to him carrying her and then the dummy would very much make a fuss and then wake the whole frickin' village. Then where would that get them?

Though it took him a stupid long time, they'd reached the village without event. There was no light but tracing Kagome's scent, he found the hut that she stayed in. With his abilities, keeping silent was a breeze, and he easily slipped into the dwelling. Following the lead of his nose, he skirted around the simple screen and carefully deposited Kagome into the tousled bedding.

Kagome mumbled, fingers grasping loosely at his sleeve when he went to pull away. Dislodging her grasp gently, he extricated himself and threw some of the bedding haphazardly on top of her.

Inuyasha doubted anything would've woken the snoring pair of old geezers on the far side of the room, but still, he exercised stealth in making his exit. Once outside in the brisk night air, he immediately leapt up and away.

He didn't sleep at all that night, mind preoccupied and hardly noticed when the horizon lightened to a faint blue. Spying the pot and utensils tucked against the remnants of their fire from the evening before, the hanyou went to clean them in the river before once more returning to the village.

This time, there were sounds of movement from within a handful of huts. Some early risers have already pulled back the protective covering over their windows to let in the first light.

Inuyasha returned the washed cookware to the headman's house, setting them down carefully at the doorstep. Turning back, he decided to walk on the roads instead of leaping away since some of the villagers were already out and about. Well… perhaps it would be better if he made an effort to be more… normal.

Footsteps coming from ahead alerted him and he looked up, meeting the mildly startled gaze of a young man heading to start a day's work. It was one of the carpenter's apprentices, with whom he'd spent the bulk of yesterday afternoon stuck on the roof with.

The man coughed awkwardly, then nodded at him in greeting.

Inuyasha blinked, then jerked his chin sharply down in response when they passed each other.

That…was weird. What was surely a very mundane thing for a villager was something he'd only seen other humans do with each other. Up till now.

What would being acknowledged as a regular presence in a village be like? As if he was just another man going to work early in the morning. Would that be where he's headed if he stayed longer at this village and helped out here and there?

Inuyasha continued to ponder this as he headed back into the obscurity of the forest.

If he could never jump and leap from place to place like he was used to. If he had to pay attention to how much of his abilities he was using at all times and judge whether it was a 'normal'. Could he handle living in a human village?

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A/N: This chapter was oddly difficult to write. I decided in the end to just stop fussing with it and post it.

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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.