Chapter 15

Something was off.

If only just for a split second— the very instant the dawn returned the other half of his nature. It was so fast, Inuyasha couldn't really pinpoint what it was. Was it the stench of a foreign youkai… or what?

He also couldn't be completely sure it wasn't just the usual hangover effects from the new moon. His senses always felt a little slower when they first return to normal, as if an evening was all it took for him to forget how to use them or something.

To be fair, the last new moon was more messed up than usual and it'd… thrown him off.

The drill usually was to scout out a few secure places a few days before, extra such that if he was delayed and couldn't get to the best one, there would be back ups in other areas.

Everything was on track up to the minute he was about to leave the village area and head for higher ground—he'd smelled her. And then, she'd straight up stomped around as if she was worried her scent wasn't enough to alert any and all surrounding youkai to the easy meal. The idiot.

And it wasn't like he could just leave knowing that she was in the forest alone, so he'd followed her quietly. And, true to form, Kagome got herself lost. But that wasn't the most ridiculous part. He'd then fucking proceeded to talk to her, as if the sun wasn't just on the cusp of setting and he was about to transform right in front of her.

Well, at least he wasn't a complete dumbass— he'd hidden himself behind a tree and muffled his voice too. If she had found out it was him, she would've definitely hung around and he wasn't at all keen on letting anyone know his secret.

Luckily, she didn't seem to clue in, and also had enough sense to do what was good for her for a change, which was hurrying back to the village before nightfall. Unlucky for him though, he'd transformed already, meaning his weakass human self was much too useless to go anywhere except head for the nearest safe spot and hunker down for the night. Said spot was marginally better than a hole in the ground, which did little for his mood and general state even when morning broke.

Paranoia about that weird thing he'd sensed sent him doing an extra wide, extra meticulous run through the forest and lands he'd claimed for his temporary territory around the village. It took him two whole days for a thorough search, but the result—nothing out of the ordinary— left him satisfied.

Inuyasha burst through the canopy at the end of one push-off with extra oomph, whooping as he felt the wind rushing through his hair. Dropping back down easily, he continued on his trajectory back towards the village. As he neared the area, the easy grin morphed into a frown, when the scent of one certain troublesome human filtered into the air. What the hell was she doing this far into the woods?

Yeah, he was planning on checking up on her anyways, but never mind that part.

As he neared her, Inuyasha popped out of the leaves, soaring into the narrow gap in the trees were the footpath was. The sound of rustling foliage drew Kagome's attention, and he watched as her head snapped up, eyes widening in surprise before relaxing when she recognized the red blur speeding her way.

"Inuyasha!" She gasped, then started sprinting towards him.

"Oi, Kagome!" He landed in the muddy path just as she skidded to a stop barely an arm's length away. "What the hell you doing here? This is way past—"

"Looking for you, that's what!" Without missing beat, she talked right over him. "I tried coming in here for three whole days to look for you but nothing!"

"W-why'd you need to look for me anyways?!"

"I was worried," She jabbed a finger into his chest for emphasis. "I dunno, maybe you broke your ankle or something and too far away for anyone to hear you calling for help. That happens you know! Hikers get hurt in the middle of nowhere and helicopters have to go in to get them out!"

He deadpanned. "I'm hanyou. I would heal pretty fucking quickly. Dun' see why you would bother worryin' anyhow."

Inuyasha was about to plow right on through —like clarifying what the fuck a 'something-copter' was— but the uncharacteristic frown that pulled at Kagome's brow made him pause.

"Why wouldn't I? You're my friend, Inuyasha. If I didn't find you today I was gonna go ask some of the villagers to help me look for you."

He blinked, not really absorbing what she had just thrown at him, but jumping to respond anyways. "Again, hanyou." He gestured rudely at his person. "As if anyone would give a fuck. Would'a probably pushed me off a cliff and hope it was my skull that broke this time."

Kagome's eyes widened, mouth going slack when her words failed, not having anticipated that sort of remark from him.

Whoa back that up, shit, did she just call him a friend…?

"But why would you think that?" She whispered.

The air around him grew thick with the acridness of her escalating upset. Oh, fuck him.

"I was just talking shit." He really wasn't, but if there was any subject he did not want to start a prolonged bickering session with her about, it was his heritage and the 'special' treatment it afford him.

Kagome bit her bottom lip, then blinked a couple of times, dark lashes fluttering against her cheeks as she seem to consider something. Then, she gave him a slow once over, beginning at his feet and travelling up to his face. Something about her prolonged and direct attention all focused on him sent a strange rush of heat through his body. He really hoped that didn't mean his face was gonna get all hot again—seriously, what the fuck was wrong with him lately?

When Kagome's hazel eyes met his, they sharpened, giving him one more searching glare, and thankfully, also dropped the subject after ascertaining that he was indeed in one piece.

He cleared his throat awkwardly, crossed his arms into his sleeves and began walking back towards the direction Kagome came from, signalling for her to do the same.

"So, now ya found me. What's goin' on?"

"Oh," She flashed him a sheepish look, falling into step beside him. "Actually, nothing at all. I really was just worried about you."

He was definitely never worried over. What would be a non-asshole-ish-but-I-don't-care-that-much response to that?

Thankfully he was saved when Kagome continued speaking. "So, what were you up to?"

"Patrolling, I guess. Sorta. I run through the forest sometimes, make sure nothin's causing trouble."

"That's good of you." She squeezed his arm briefly. "Oh yeah… did you happen to see a human man in the forest?" Inuyasha arched his brow in response. "Um, when I was looking for you the other night, I got kinda, um maybe a little bit turned around and this person helped me. He seemed a bit odd and kinda rude, but not the creepy kind you know? Anyway, he looked like he was travelling through the forest alone, so I just wonder if he made it out ok."

Inuyasha almost bit his tongue to stop his knee-jerk response to tell her off for calling him weird before remember at the last minute that she didn't know it was him. That was kinda the whole point. He should really stop talking before he screwed it up.

"Keh. Didn't see no humans."

Kagome made a face. "Hope he's ok then, I guess."

"Whatever."

They continued walking in comfortable silence. Kagome, like she was prone to do nowadays, scanned the underbrush for whatever she deemed edible or useful. Which reminded him…

"Hey, Kagome," He stepped closer to where she had paused and dropped low to squint at a mushroom.

"Hmm?"

"Wanna have fish for lunch?"

She looked up to meet his gaze, beaming. "Yeah!"

Not quite expecting the warmth of her response, he brought a claw up to idly scratch at the side of his head.

"A-alright. Hurry the hell up then."

He turned on his heel, marching down the path away from her. His fuckin' face was for sure hot this time. And judging by the muffled giggle that emitted behind him, frickin' Kagome might've noticed his little situation too.

Ugh. What does a hanyou have to do these days to get a properly functioning face?

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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.