Chapter Four
He made very little sound but Kagome knew Inuyasha was following behind her.
He'd already blown his cover when he stepped in to drive away the weasel demon so why was he still hanging behind her, so many steps between them, as if he was still trying to not to be seen? The few times they've interacted, he'd been like that too.
He was kind to her. Not in the superficially polite way some of the villagers were but just was. Sure, he had this defensive air about him and every time he'd helped her so far he looked almost surprised and then annoyed at the fact he did so. It was all rather amusing and it brightened her day.
It was hard not to constantly think about home… and how she could likely never find her way back. Every bit of lightness, helped.
Kagome slowed down deliberately, until he came up to her side, so that she could walk on par with the dog-boy.
He flashed her a look of mild confusion.
"So, why don't you go down to the village?"
His expression clouded, reflecting something he was just about to say before he seemed to decide against, instead muttering. "Keh. Cuz it fuckin' stinks of human."
She deadpanned, jabbing her thumb at her own chest. "This one is human too, dunno if you've noticed. But you seem ok hanging around with me…"
"W-well," He stuttered, caught off guard by her response. "Y-you stink less, ok?"
Kagome stared at him for a split second before bursting into giggles. That was the first time in a week she'd genuinely smiled, let alone laugh.
Inuyasha's face was rather amusing when messed with and he doesn't know how to react. All considered, conversation did not appear to be one of his strong suits, but it was in instances like this that he let something nice slip out. Well, nice, if you look beneath the rough words.
"Oi!" He growled at her, crossing his arms tight in front of his chest "Wha' cha laughing at?"
Kagome ignored him. "So, what's the real reason?"
"Stupid," His golden eyes dropped from her face to glare at the ground in front of them. "Whaddaya think? Hanyou dun usually walk around human villages. So why the fuck would I?"
Sure he wasn't normal. But really what was? Random youkai appearing in the flesh from her grandfather's stories weren't normal. Magical wells and time travel (yes, this is her running theory judging from the rural setting and the archaic Japanese) should't exist, which means even the people in this strange place she'd found herself in wasn't normal. So really, in the grand scheme of things, Inuyasha was just the same as everything else she'd experienced so far.
"Um, sure," Having run this analysis through in her head, Kagome shrugged nonchalantly. "I guess?"
She could feel his gaze returning to her face, and even without looking, his bewilderment emanating from the red-clad body was palpable. Sensing that it was likely a sore subject, Kagome wisely decided to drop it for now.
They walked in silence deeper into the forest. The lull in conversation wasn't nearly as awkward as Kagome would've thought. Actually, it was rather soothing, in an unexpected kind of way. Somehow, with Inuyasha, she didn't feel the need to fill the space between them with meaningless words
If she concentrated, she could hear the very quiet footfalls his bare feet made on the grass, interspersed with the hum of insects around them. From the corner of her eye, Kagome could see the flutter of shimmering silver beside her. His hair was so beautiful. Such a brilliant shade. If only she could really take a good look.
But the few interactions with the half-demon she'd had so far were enough to establish that he got rather skittish with even normal amounts of attention. Why? She had no clue. Maybe it had to do with the same thing about not walking beside her. A little personality quirk maybe? No biggie.
When they arrived in a little clearing—one Kagome had gotten somewhat acquainted with— Inuyasha launched straight into the trees. Somehow, perhaps for her benefit, he deliberately remained kind of visible, with a billowing red pant leg dangling off a low hanging branch. Even though she couldn't see much of him, he definitely could see her, what with the feel of his attention following her around the area. Maybe he wanted higher ground to keep an eye on her because he didn't trust her. Which was understandable— after all, her appearance must be as weird to the people here as they to her.
Ignoring his gaze, Kagome set about scanning the ground, looking for bits of twigs or peeled bark that would work well as kindling. It seemed like the one chore she could do.
The frown resulting from her darkened thoughts pulled down her previously neutral expression. Kagome tried, she really did! But it just wasn't in her repertoire of skills to mend nets or baskets. And her sewing skills consisted of replacing a button—not that those existed here, of course. Was it really her fault that the modern times prioritized trigonometry and chemistry over life skills?
After the fourth failed attempt at patching up a fraying basket handle, and frankly, making the thing unravel further, the lady—one half of the elderly couple Kikyou had found to take her under their roof—sent her out to gather kindling instead. A chore, she discovered, was often relegated to young children.
Honestly, Kagome couldn't even earn her keep. Not that the old couple said anything remotely unkind to her, but somehow, she just felt the unspoken weight of the pressure, on top of the distant reservation the villagers still harboured about her abrupt arrival to begin with.
Feeling dejected, she sat down on a stump, setting the basket down beside her. Kagome drew up her knees and rested her chin on top. She hugged her legs up against her chest and let out a long suffering sigh.
An obnoxiously loud gurgle unexpectedly accompanied her exhale.
Kagome winced, pressing a fist against her stomach as if it would shush the offending organ.
On the contrary, an even angrier growl let itself be known from her torso in retaliation.
"Damn…" Came a drawl from the space somewhere above her head. "Do the humans not feed you?"
The burst of indignation and shame exploded completely unexpected from somewhere in her chest.
Kagome shoots up from her previous curled position. "No! That's not—"
"I can get you a fish."
That threw her for a loop, her mouth hung open but no words manifested for a good few seconds, before the rustle of leaves signalling Inuyasha's movement kicked her swiftly into activity again.
"Wait, Inuyasha!"
That last syllable of his name was strangled because Kagome found her foot caught in the hem of the faded kosode the old lady had insisted she wear instead of her school uniform. The hanyou had already disappeared from view when she gathered herself from the risk of nearly face planting.
This is why the world moved onto pants!
Kagome growled her frustration to the sky.
Great. Just bloody great. First she starts off the day being about as useful as a six year old, then she gets freaked out by some little harmless youkai, then she becomes a charity case even for Inuyasha and finally she trips on her skirt.
And it wasn't like anyone was trying to starve her. If she was at the village helping out, then the villagers would've offered her lunch as well, but since she basically accomplished nothing this morning, Kagome didn't feel like she earned the right to ask for a rice ball or two for the road.
Seriously off to a fantastic start, Kagome.
It was either she took much longer beating herself up mentally or Inuyasha took an impossible short amount of time to come back with two fat fish, gleaming in the sunlight.
Wordlessly, Kagome gave up and sat back down to watch him build a small fire in record time. He did make a point of using a small piece of kindling from her basket. Maybe she was imagining it, or maybe he was trying to make her feel like she also contributed to the efforts. Inuyasha's movements were graceful and practiced as he went about the task; it made a calming scene to observe.
Pretty soon the crackling of crisping skin and the rich smells of cooking fish made Kagome's stomach grumble more enthusiastically and her cheeks pink with embarrassment.
"Here." A juicy fish speared on a stick was thrusted roughly in front of her face. Inuyasha was looking decidedly the other way, face almost turned completely away from her.
A smile twitched at her lips. "Thanks."
Her fingers brushed his clawed ones as she went to securely handle the eagerly awaited food. In her anticipation, Kagome complete missed the dumbstruck look that flashed across the hanyou's face.
She bit heartily into the fish, feeling the oily juices coat her tongue. "Mmmm! This is so good, Inuyasha." She was eating in the most unrefined way, but she didn't realize just how hungry she was. "If I ever find a way home, I'll get you all the pocky and snacks you want!"
Inuyasha's golden eyes landed on her, and remained intently trained on her face. Kagome smiled sheepishly at his unblinking attention, reflexively dabbing at the greasy corners of her mouth with the back of one hand.
His gaze held steady for a few more seconds, like there was a puzzle he couldn't quite figure out. Kagome stared back, slightly confused but glad for the opportunity to blatantly study the dark amber flecks highlighting in his honeyed irises.
Then, as abruptly as it started, the spell was broken.
"What the hell is pock-key?"
Kagome's laugh rang across the clearing. It felt like a gift, the momentary happiness that bubbled up from the homesickness that weighed down her chest.
For the first time in almost a week, since Kagome'd arrived here, her presence felt almost… wanted, or at least, simply accepted. Maybe in some parallel universe, her and Inuyasha could be school mates, and share a bento at lunch on the roof top.
If she ever made it home, to repay him for his kindness, Kagome would definitely make Inuyasha a bento so extravagant, the likes the world have yet to see.
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Bento - home-packed meal. Usually contain rice or noodles with fish or meat, often with pickled and cooked vegetables in a sectioned box.
A/N: Hahahaha I couldn't leave that last scene alone, so I made it longer :P
I'm playing around with very subtly flipping some of the minute roles in the InuKag dynamic.
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.