IWFA - 41
Ok, so it wasn't exactly like he wanted to join in on the let's-pretend-to-be-a-rock-until-the-sun-goes-down. It's just that he really wasn't liking what the last week or so had been like. Especially not his feelings on the matter.
Inuyasha kinda wished nothing had changed and that things were the same as they were before they'd left.
But it was a selfish and unbecoming thing even if it was just a thought he kept to himself.
The entire week or so they've been gone, he'd deliberately avoided thinking about it. It was much simpler to think of himself and Kagome as just that, Inuyasha and Kagome, two beings that happened to exist together at the same moment, who happens to go around doing stuff together.
He was well aware of what a fool he was being though. Since the incident when Kagome single-handedly obliterated a fully grown, decently strong centipede youkai from the face of the earth, Inuyasha had been willfully avoiding the topic.
Kagome wasn't a normal human.
It was already insurmountable for a 'normal' human woman to regularly associate with him, a hanyou, in an ongoing acceptable manner.
Humans are bound to turn on her sooner or later, youkai would target her—seeing how she would be interpreted as his weakness.
It'd never work.
But he'd deliberately ignored that.
Now that she had spiritual powers, powers that marked her as a natural deterrent to his kind, he would have to address the issue eventually.
Inuyasha hucked a good sized rock into the river. The resulting splash did little to alleviate his mood.
A sudden itch in the back of brain—kinda like a ghost in his periphery—had him sitting upright in a flash.
What he sensed wasn't new, and wasn't a threat per se, but he also wouldn't want to be caught lying down on the river bank unguarded.
Sure enough his ears on-alert caught the sounds of the underbrush moving ever so softly.
She was good. He'd give her that. Knew it since the moment they met.
Kikyou wasn't a renowned miko in the area for nothing. While she had never instigated any baseless offence, if any youkai crossed her path with malicious intent, she'd fry 'em without fail.
Her prowess as a priestess was part of the reason he'd travelled to the area in the first place. Not just any run of the mill miko would be trusted to seal something as powerful as his old man's sword.
Sadly, the trail had never warmed even though Inuyasha had loitered about the village for so many moons now.
The change in quality of sound was immediately succeeded by the quiet clack of sandals on the gravelly riverside.
"Inuyasha."
"Kikyou." He replied with the same even tone as her greeting.
He looked at her carefully from the side of his eye, noting the tightly bundled fabric in her grasp, all while his nose twitched involuntarily at the smells.
Human blood. Not from anyone he cared about.
When he'd flown by earlier to check on his oblivious charges (someone had to make sure they weren't eaten), he'd noted Kikyou's absence. Only Kagome and Kaede was at their usual spot, pretending to be rocks.
From his observations, the priestess was likely tending someone sick or wounded.
He watched her as she stepped closer to the water, tying back the long sleeves of her robe before submerging the stripes of bandages fully in the water. A sizeable rock was selected to weigh it down, preventing it from drifting downstream.
Many afternoons were spent with him flopped up on a tree, lazily watching Kagome do the same thing. She'd explained that cool water worked best to first wash out the blood stains and then the cloth was boiled to sterilize.
Kikyou's dark eyes trained on him and stayed as she took steady steps to bring her closer to where he sat. Somehow, the height difference made his instincts flare, protesting the disadvantage it put him in.
Unable to bear it, Inuyasha got to his feet, adopting an easy stance. Outwardly casual, nonthreatening, but also versatile enough to adapt at a moment's notice.
Periodically, Inuyasha would notice how incongruent the way he acted around Kikyou was. He'd known her for a decent amount of time now, eons if you took into account the way a hanyou's social interaction usual goes, but he could not totally be at ease.
With Kagome, and Kaede even, it didn't take conscious brainpower to relax.
His eyes trained on her face, porcelain and calm as it always was.
"What did I do, Kikyou?"
He might as well be the first one to put it out there.
Kikyou paused, one eyebrow raising just a fraction in query. Some stupid, perverse part of him was pleased he took her by surprise, even a little.
"What makes you say that, Inuyasha?" Her reply was even. "I cannot simply come to greet you?"
Inwardly he winced. Good one. Why does he was always come off as an uncouth asshole in front of Kikyou?
Kikyou never really came to 'hangout' as Kagome put it. Probably owing to her position, her time and actions usually were all purposeful.
In their time together, it was always him seeking her out and her tolerating his presence. That was the dynamic he was used to.
Even though he would not admit this to a living soul, he doesn't actually want to cause trouble for Kikyou. She'd been the only one in a long time to speak to him before trying to kill him. And when he stayed around, she'd actually tolerated his presence.
And in turn, came the cautious tolerance of the villagers.
Inuyasha had always thought they had a weird kind of kinship, him and Kikyou. To the point where he'd once passingly imagined some very hypothetical permutations to what their relationship could be.
"Just tell me what it is." He muttered, already tired of talking around the subject.
"I wish to ask you give Kagome—and Kaede—some space so they can focus on their lessons." As Kikyou continued, his throat tightened in anticipation of the subject of her disapproval. "I am aware that the girls serve as some sort of fascination to you, but when this fleeting fancy of yours eventually pass, they will still have their lives to live."
"'Fleeting fancy'?!" He spat out, barely biting back the cursing he was normally prone to do but unable to withhold the acerbity from his tone.
The miko merely raised her eyebrow again but her gaze held a rare flash of unmistakable ire.
"Have I spoken incorrectly?" She challenged him, voice still mild but hinted of resentment. He was certain he didn't imagine it.
"As I recall, there was a time you came to the shrine quite frequently. Has that not subsided once you've found some new amusement?"
The flood of guilt that curled his gut was unexpected. Kikyou's criticism hit precisely on the other issue that Inuyasha had been avoiding thinking about.
The priestess alluded to how he would go and watch her often in the mornings. Provided they hardly ever talked or really do anything together, he'd still spent a good chunk of time in her company.
And that all petered off when... well...
Why was he so intent on constantly knowing where Kagome is, what she was up to, if she was safe? Like the girl herself, this was something that was nonexistent but blew up seemingly overnight to take over his life. A weird tendency that was borderline compulsion that he was worried would drive her away if she knew.
Kikyou wasn't wrong. In her perspective, he had been as she said, capricious sand fickle.
"Don't misunderstand Inuyasha, I take no real offence, a miko's routines are terribly repetitive." A wry smile graced the woman's face. "I cannot imagine it capturing many's interest for long."
He could only eye her doubtfully.
"Until we have other indications, Kagome's stay with us appears to be more...permanent than not. Perhaps, you've noticed that she does not seem to possess any specialized skill, though she is coming along with some of the basics." Kikyou continued, pragmatically redirecting the conversation back to the initial subject. "If she can successfully harness her spiritual powers, it would be invaluable to her life here. Any village would be unquestionably eager to house a resident spiritual user. She would be able to protect herself and others.
And...This would prove to be a strong alternative to simply resigning herself to marriage as a means to survive life here." She paused, her gaze was sharp and meaningful. "As many do."
There was nothing Inuyasha could say as a response, so he nodded mutely.
The logic was flawless. Everything Kikyou said was true. Spiritual users were welcomed and even revered. And it was also probably the only safe way a single female stranger could settled down in a new locale.
Kikyou continued to study him intently for a few moments longer before speaking again.
"I trust you will not stand between Kagome and her possibility for a decent future?"
The silence that settled between them was stifling.
"Alright, I get it already." He managed to grunt out.
"Very well."
Kikyou nodded, offering one of her wane smiles before turning around to direct her attention back to the unwashed bandages.
Watching the relaxed line of her back as she walked towards the water, Inuyasha couldn't shake the feeling that the priestess was secretly pissed at him for something below the surface.
Talking was not his strong suit, so he was not confident that him inviting further conversation would be productive.
He decided to sit back down, though he was far from comfortable. It would probably be rude for him to just ditch no matter how much he wanted to. Given their interaction just now, he didn't want to further annoy Kikyou.
It was probably safer to just wait till she left first. Then it wouldn't be his fault.
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A/N: anggggstttt and cOnFLIct :D I was worried you folks might be getting bored.
Joking aside, how are we feeling about the Inu/Kag/Kik situation in IWFA. Are we good? Is anyone gonna be upset if I leave it at this? :P
P.S. Many thanks to the lovely Lavendertwilight89 for her quality control efforts in the making of this chapter.
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.