Chapter 22

The way Kagome was pacing like a giraffe several energy drinks in was getting on her own nerves, let alone what might be going through poor Kaede's head.

What happened just hours before was nowhere near Kaede's fault, that fact Kagome was well aware, which is why she felt doubly bad for adding to the younger girl's distress. Kaede had been abnormally quiet since they returned after lunch, though neither had much of an appetite left.

Kagome had very usefully channeled her frustrations through the pestle and the resulting powdered herb was finer than if machine-ground. This also meant that her afternoon tasks were completed in record time and as per usual, the remainder of the day was hers to do as she pleased. And she was rearing to sprint out of the hut at any minute now.

It seemed however, that Kaede had anticipated her move just as she took a breath and attempted to speak.

"Kagome, onee-sama said she wants a moment to speak to Inuyasha privately without any eternal influence." Kaede spoke up quietly, brows knitted as they'd been all afternoon.

"I'm not an 'external influence'," Kagome frowned. "We're all friends." Which perhaps might be Kikyou's point.

"I'm sure onee-sama will find who's responsible. We don't have to worry." Though the girl sounded like she was trying to reassure herself than convince Kagome of anything.

Even though she could hardly gauge exact time from the movement of the sun, Kagome was pretty damn sure it'd been at least a few hours. Judging from what she knew of Inuyasha at this point, he'd have ran to the other side of Japan by now and all of her chances to catch him was out the proverbial window.

"Look, it's been a long while, don't you think, Kaede?" She reasoned. "I'm sure I'd have left enough time for them to talk. There can't be that much to say, right? We know Inuyasha didn't do it."

Kaede nodded, expression still looking pinched.

"So I'm gonna go find him, alright?"

"You're going to go anyway even if I said no." Her young friend sighed.

Kagome grinned a little at her, the first bit of lightness since they returned from lunch. Impulsively, she darted forward, giving Kaede a quick squeeze of a hug, which clearly shocked her. Taking advantage of that, Kagome snatched her things and darted out the door.

Making a beeline to the forest edge, she started down the faint outlines of the path that traveling merchants used to cross the forest. It was easiest to break into a light jog where the vegetation was already trampled down by carts and feet before hers.

She didn't have an inkling of where Inuyasha might be but she didn't feel like he would be near any of the usual places the two of them frequented— it just wasn't a usual day. Thankfully it was the time of year where the day stretched long and Kagome figured she'd have some time to root around before it got dark.

Besides, maybe she could still bank on the fact that Inuyasha seem to hone in on her whenever she entered his territory, so to speak, if he in fact was not already on his way to the other side of Japan that is.

Between the tree line she could see glimpses of areas further away from the edges of the path where trees were jarringly diagonal and some split unnaturally. The oddness of it slowed her steps.

There…hadn't been a storm intense enough lately that would do that. She didn't notice anything like those fallen trunks even the day before when she was in here.

Her heart picked up speed as worry about some oversized youkai in the vicinity entered her mind. Inuyasha was right— though she'd loathe to admit it— she would get eaten if he wasn't here.

Shaking her head to clear the tendrils of fear creeping up her spine, Kagome sped up, resuming her mission at hand. She needed to focus on finding Inuyasha.

She ran for what felt like another fifteen minutes or so, when a whoosh disturbed the trees to her right, making the leaves rustle slightly. Her heart rate, already pumping from the exercise, spiked even further.

Before the panic could rise, she saw a flash of red amidst the verdant canopy keeping steady pace with her. Though surely there were other things in the world that were that shade of crimson, Kagome had an inkling it was undoubtedly Inuyasha.

He yelled something at her, though the words were lost somewhere between the wind and the pounding in her ears. Kagome had just opened her mouth to ask for some clarification before almost choking on her surprise when she was snatched cleanly off the path, feet leaving the dirt behind completely.

Her body understood what to do before she did when the firm grasp around her waist swung her deftly around a familiar back. Arms and legs secured around the hanyou she'd been seeking, Kagome held on.

Inuyasha made a grunt of sorts which she took to mean either a greeting or an approval of her firm grip.

Kagome wanted to say hi but she didn't have a chance to before he took off.

Their surroundings were a blur but she could vaguely recognize that he was taking her deeper into the forest than ever before. It was really quite incredible how fast Inuyasha actually could run when he didn't hold back for her sake. And though the headwind stung her eyes and lashed her skin, Kagome was glad to have been shown just a tiny bit more of his abilities. She buried her face in the crook between his shoulder and neck, hiding her fragile human skin within a section of his silver hair.

In truth, Kagome couldn't help but feel a little guilty for the whole thing. If she hadn't pushed so hard, both to suggest Inuyasha's help and then coerce him to agree, he wouldn't have been in such a prime situation for that awful man to blame. And though Kaede didn't say aloud, she could tell the younger girl felt the same as she did herself. But it'd be her own fault way before it'd be Kaede's.

For some time they continued on, Inuyasha still said nothing, only sprinting towards an unknown location with her securely bundled on his back. She respected his silence, happy to have found him—or the other way around to be factually correct.

It wasn't a scary or unpleasant experience— running with him never was. The speed was a bit intense but once she got used to it, it gradually became less noticeable.

Eventually, Kagome felt his pace ease off and a brief squeeze of his hands around her legs gave notice of their descent.

Inuyasha had taken them to a narrow plateau set half way up a mountain. They were still within the tree line but the edge of it opened out to a view down into the valley. There was a small pool of water that tapered to a trickle of a stream running downhill.

All in all, a rather pretty place.

He alighted smoothly, letting her slide off his back. With a classic Inuyasha sound that took the place of words, he went off to crouch on a large rock at the water's edge.

Kagome paused, uncertain of what to do. He obviously wanted her there, otherwise, why scoop her up like that and carry her all this way. But on the other hand she wasn't sure how to dispel the discomfort in the air.

Biting her lip, she walked towards him and dropped down to a squat. She drew aside the curtain of silver that hid his face from her view and upon seeing his grumpy expression, she teased.

"Ah, there you are."

Inuyasha swatted at her hand but she didn't miss the corner of his mouth twitch upwards just a little. At that, she beamed up at him with relief. It felt like the breath in her chest could finally flow a little easier.

Plopping her butt down on a nearby available rock, she fiddled with some of the tall reeds while trying to start the conversation on a good foot.

"Thanks for coming to get me, Inuyasha. I'd never have found you on my own."

"Figured."

"I'm…sorry about what happened earlier. If I hadn't bullied you into agreeing to help with the repairs, that stupid man wouldn't have taken advantage of the timing to say all that crap about you."

He raised his eyebrow at her particular word choice. "Hate ta break it to ya, Kagome, but you're hardly prime bully material"

"Inuyasha…" she shot a lukewarm glare at him both for the dig but more for his poorly disguised attempt to change the subject. "I'm just mad about it. It was all going so well and the villagers like having your help and Kaede and I like having lunch with you everyday. Why does you being a little different make it that every bad thing is suddenly your fault?!"

"'S how the world works. Been like this all my life."

His tone was carefully unconcerned, but it was the bitter little laugh accompanying it that hurt her.

"It's not. It should be better." She insisted, trying to convey through her eyes her belief in this but Inuyasha was stubbornly looking out at the pond. "In my time there're still lots of things that need to improve but we've gotten better about inclusiveness."

"You're just too damn optimistic Kagome… and trusting. It's bad. Gonna get ya killed someday."

Kagome bit back her knee-jerk reaction to retort. She studied the hanyou's expression. While it was less closed off than when he'd left the village, his mouth was still weighed down and etched with hard lines. The sight of it reminded her of the exact instance earlier in the day.

She sucked in breath, the gears churning in her head arriving at a possible factor to Inuyasha's inner turmoil.

"Umm…I'm sorry about Kikyou." She whispered hesitantly.

His face jerked towards her, brows furrowed in mild surprise and confusion. "What the hell do you haveta be sorry about?"

Kagome chewed on her lip, uncomfortable, though she totally brought this on herself. "I know you guys are—…u-um, close."

The sharp bark of his sardonic laugh made her jump.

But he didn't deny it.

Though her rational self knew that Inuyasha never actually elaborated on anything. Yet somehow his silence made her chest feel unpleasant. Kagome ignored it—not willing to delve into why she felt this way— and swallowed it down.

"Well Kaede said the first person you befriended when you got here was Kikyou."

"Hardly." He scoffed, a humorless smirk pulling at a corner of his lips.

Kagome studied him for a few moments, deliberated and asked. "Why do you stay here— at the village, I mean."

Her question was truly an innocent one; she was curious. Belatedly, she realized how it might sound, said out loud like that. She tripped to clarified. "Like would you leave if people continue to be shitty to you? I-I wouldn't wan- I mean, say good bye first, ok? Don't just up and disappear! Otherwise I'd keep looking…"

His expression softened during her rambling, amber eyes intense with something she couldn't name. He locked gazes with her for a few seconds more then slid off towards the shrub line again.

"And… if I get eaten because of that it'd be all you fault!" She trailed off lamely.

"Nah." Inuyasha huffs out a short breath, seemingly amused at her embarrassing tirade. "Can't get rid of me that easily. Just an asshole and his words ain't gonna do jack. 'Sides, I haven't found what I'm looking for."

"W-what?"

He paused, eyes landing on Kagome again unblinkingly, as if assessing whether or not to tell her.

"My old man had a sword. Powerful one. Apparently it got sealed away somewhere by some spiritualist who wouldn't mind their own business. I followed some rumours to—to Kikyou's shrine here." His brow drew low. "If I get it then no one will fuck with me again"

There was something he wasn't saying —Kagome could tell— something underlying that hardened his eyes.

"Kikyou said it's not here, so it's not…I guess." Which is to say he doesn't believe her entirely. "I mean I'm not human, which means I'm not to be trusted."

"Wait, what? Is that what Kikyou said?" Inuyasha's recount—and what was implied between the lines— served like a bellows, reviving the embers of her indignant anger from before.

"Uh, no… not in those words exactly."

But rehashing the negativity right now wasn't useful and wouldn't make Inuyasha feel any better. Kagome inhaled deeply, then exhaled at length through her nostrils. "I find Kikyou just has this way with her words, like she's very um… impersonal sounding? I dunno, but I'm sure that wasn't what she meant. For what you just told me and you know…earlier."

He grunted in reply.

"Well for what it's worth Kaede and I believe you one hundred percent! Seems just dumb to mess with goats when you have like all the game you want out here."

Beside her, Inuyasha doesn't make eye contact and fidgeted, rocking from one heel to the other. She'd embarrassed him.

"Uhm…should probably get you back. Those fuckers wanted to drag you into this mess too. Doesn't take a genius to guess where you are if someone finds you gone."

"You flatter me, Inuyasha." She flashed him a cheeky, toothy smile, catching him looking at her sideways. "I'm a nobody in the village… no one notices me." He looked unconvinced. "Besides! You've never taken me here before! I wanna explore!"

Kagome popped up to her feet in a burst of new found enthusiasm. Looking around, the place was quite scenic. High up with a good view and the trees filled in close. In the more exposed part of the bluff, shrubby vegetation grew amongst the rocks. The rock face at the back held many a shadowed area that looked promising for exploration. And the little pond! What a clear turquoise blue.

Attention captured, she kicked off her shoes, hiking up her robes and ridding herself of socks. With a laugh she ran into the water and promptly squealed.

"Oh my god, it's freaking freezing!"

Back on dry land, Inuyasha's ears were pressed tightly into his head in protest of the high pitched noise.

"You dummy! That thing's filled with the snow melt!"

He'd laughed, like two notes worth but it sounded genuine. And Kagome was glad for it even though it was at her expense.

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A/N: It's been a while since I last mentioned it, this mostly follows canon up to the Naraku tricking Kikyou/Inuyasha part, except for the Tessaiga. In this story, there's no black pearl in his eye and Inuyasha knows about it already. I dunno, Totosai told him or something.

Once again, Inuyasha is without his sword. Because the Tessaiga is so powerful, it'll instantly fix pretty much every conflict, which makes it no fun when you're the writer ;)

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.