Chapter 25

The cool brush across his senses snapped his eyes open. Instantaneously, his body tensed, all traces of the boneless slump from moments before vanished.

So much for a nap.

Inuyasha spat out the length of reed he'd been chewing on, and waited.

As expected, the faint sound of light footsteps succeeded the pulse of reiki, making their way towards his location. There was a brief impulse to take off, which hadn't come up for a while now since the early days of meeting Kikyou. Yet… ugh—he just really didn't want to deal with people right now.

Kikyou approached head on, her keen eyes catching his gaze the moment she cleared the low hanging boughs that obscured him. She had her quiver, long bow and a small bundle tied up in a cloth and slung over her shoulder.

"Inuyasha." She greeted him evenly as she came to stop a distance away, enough to maintain eye contact with him

He made no attempt to jump down to meet her, instead his rigid form remained glued to the branch he was on. Their last private encounter had been strained and the whole situation had thrown them off the precarious balance that existed between him and Kikyou. Something he wasn't sure how to right…or if he wanted to at this moment.

"Kikyou," He muttered. "What are you doing here?"

There was a faint pinch of her brow, so minuscule that it would have escaped anyone without half-demon senses.

"It seems like there is an emergency in the village over that requires my aid. I am heading over there after we speak." She paused, bit longer than a normal punctuation of conversation, then inhaled to continue. "Kaede… has been ill since yesterday afternoon."

Inuyasha frowned, unsure how to respond to the additional information. Didn't humans mostly get sick in the winter season?

"Well, I must get going now if I am to arrive before sunset tonight."

The priestess notched her chin slightly in parting, then reaching to readjust the quiver and small pack further up her shoulder she turned to leave.

"Uh, I'll do perimeter checks. So you don't gotta worry or nothin'."He blurted out suddenly.

She flashed a faint smile back at him briefly and resumed her steps.

He scrunched his eyes closed, mentally smacking himself in the head, lest he made a sound to draw back Kikyou's attention.

Fuck. What the hell was he thinking vomiting out shit like that? Would it kill him to use his brain for once before he opened his damn mouth?

Right. Because of course the esteemed priestess of the area would want his—a hanyou—help. Kikyou was the solo type, assured in her abilities and he'd learned more than once in the past that offering a hand would only make him feel like shit. Kinda like how a parent humoured their obviously inadequate brats when they offered to help.

Well, he'd been casually keeping an eye on the village and surroundings every so often for rogue youkai anyway. Had been for a while, with Kagome running around the forest as if it was safe. He would up the checks to daily until Kikyou returned then, just in case.

It took him until the priestess had passed his sensory range to realize that she had walked back the way she came. Which meant that she didn't stop to talk because he happened to be along her path. She sought him out especially.

So… how sick was Kaede? Enough for Kikyou to maybe be worried enough to leave word with him, someone who interacted with her sister somewhat regularly, or was he just overthinking shit?

With a furrowed brow, Inuyasha hopped to his feet and leapt into the tree tops. It wasn't like he had anything planned for the day anyways; he'd go lay eyes on the kid.

Though he knew that he was doing nothing wrong and that he was as entitled to stroll through the village in broad daylight, Inuyasha avoided it anyway. He didn't like the way some of the humans would shoot wary looks at him. When he was with Kagome and Kaede, he tolerated it but given the choice, he'd rather just stay out of sight.

Given that most of the villagers were out working and tending the fields this time of day, it wasn't hard to get to the target hut in no time. Inuyasha landed lightly on the thatched roof and hopped down to the entrance. The door hanging was lowered halfway to discourage visitors but still let in some air.

He stooped under and was immediately hit in the face with the stagnant stench of sickness. Golden eyes snapped to the bundle in the far back, draped in blankets on a laid-out sleeping mat. His eyes twitched at the uncomfortable hitching breath coming from the small human.

"Oi…kid." He murmured, walking closer. At the lack of response, he dropped down to crouch near her and repeated, a little louder this time. "Kaede…, hey."

A pained groan and she rolled over a little, eyes blinking blearily up at his face.

"Inu-yasha…?"

"That's right." He muttered, taking in her sorry state with a troubled look.

"W-what are you doing her—" Before she could finish talking, a wretched cough stole the rest of her sentence.

His hands hovered uselessly near her shoulders, not knowing how to help. "Dun matter. You need a drink or somethin'?"

Kaede gestured weakly at a jug near the head of her bed, placed closed to the wall. He went to refill the cup beside it. The girl struggled to raise herself onto her elbows, and he scooted one bent leg behind her so as to help prop her up somewhat.

Looking grateful for the extra support, she took the proffered cup and drank from it weakly.

"Ya better lie back down before ya faint." He grumbled at her, taking the cup and settling her clumsily into the blankets once more. "Where did Kagome go?"

"The river."

"Alright. You sleep."

He grunted at Kaede's jumbled attempts to assure him she was fine then watched her for a few more minutes to make sure she didn't need anything else.

When her breathing slowed somewhat, he slipped soundlessly out of the hut again.

Stepping onto the dusty road, Inuyasha sniffed the surroundings discretely before locking onto hints of Kagome's signature. He followed his nose, meandering through the buildings to the river bank.

Back when he first met Kagome, there were acrid hints to her scent, but those have completely disappeared—probably something superficial from where she came from. Underneath, she smelled like dappled sunlight and a little bit like a blue-green plant that grew high up in the mountains that left a fresh aromatic oil on his clothes if he brushed past. It was a little bit weird to think how much he had so unwittingly familiarized himself with her scent that he could track her anywhere no matter how scarce a trace or confounders present.

When her trail passed beyond the usual bend where the villagers normally did their washing up, Inuyasha glowered.

A short walk upstream led him to another bend in the river where the water slowed and a smatter of large rocks dotted the shore. His ears twitched, picking up splashing sounds behind one of the biggest boulders.

Just as he was about to open his mouth and holler, a familiar heart-shaped face popped out suddenly from behind the rock.

"Oh!" Her grey eyes widened just a fraction with delight when she registered his figure. "Inuyasha!"

"Kagome, what the hell did I say about wandering off to random places?" He narrowed his eyes at her, putting on what he thought to be a stern reprimand on his face

She grinned, flapping a hand at him, dismissing said fierce expression of his and ducked back out of view again. "Just wait a moment, I'm almost done!"

He rounded the corner, dropping to a crouch on the pebble beach. Around her was an assortment of vessels bobbing gently in the shallow water. Further back he spotted a large basket already laden with a bundle of finished laundry.

"What's with all this stuff?" He asked.

"Well, number one most important thing is to keep everything clean when someone's sick." She explained matter-of-factly, scrubbing at the bowls one at a time and then stacking them up.

Inuyasha grunted. "I saw the kid just now. Looks a little rough but she's sleeping."

Kagome flashed him a grateful smile and nodded, then returning her attention to the chore at hand.

The hanyou glanced at her sideways, sharp eye picking up on the way the damp tips of her hair were extra curly, waving around her shoulders. Her bangs looked especially so, tapering with tiny drops of water that slid down onto her skin.

Inuyasha leaned closer, just a smidge, and discreetly sniffed her again for any taint of sickness, no matter how faint. He had first hand experience with how fast humans get other humans sick.

Once again reassuring himself there was nothing wrong with her scent, he unknowingly exhaled a sigh of relief, then proceeded to return to his normal—pestering her.

"Did you wash yourself too?" He smirked.

A grey-eyed glare darted his way. "Of course. But only a little. I did a lot of sweating this morning, okay?" The girl bounced up to her feet, taking the two stacks of earthenware to the basket and tossing them in amongst the damp cloth. "Not everyone likes to be all smelly like a certain someone I know!" She shot back, wrinkling her nose at him.

"Hey, I don't smell!" He protested indignantly, but couldn't resist giving his right armpit a quick sniff—just in case.

Verifying that he was indeed passable, Inuyasha hurried after Kagome, who had somehow heaved the massive basket up and hugged it tight to her torso with both arms. It was so big and full that it obscured her view and she had to keep peeking out from the side to see where she was going.

"Oi, give that 'ere!" He made aggressive, grabby motions with his hands, along with an exasperated growl. "Your arms are puny."

She pouted, turning away from him, hugging the vessel tighter to herself. "They aren't puny! I'm fine!"

Her mouth morphed into an 'O' when he lost patience and simply plucked the whole thing cleanly out of her hold.

"Rude!" She protested vehemently, stomping alongside him to keep up with his wide strides.

"Tough."

He wasn't showing off. Nope. The basket was just easier to hold perched on one shoulder and braced casually with one hand.

Something must have shown on his face though because her annoyance seemingly dissipated like smoke, and he caught Kagome duck away to hide the smile pulling at her lips.

They continued back down the river bank at a comfortable pace, Inuyasha finally taking pity on her and slowing down a little.

"Poor Kaede… kinda just got sick out of nowhere." Kagome bemoaned. "And then Kikyou had to get called away too. What crappy timing."

"Keh. Humans are weak."

She rolled her eyes at his classic response. "I got this though. Kikyou says she'll be coming back late in the day tomorrow or the day after at the latest."

Kagome rambled on about herbs and what kinds to use and how she'd prepared them a few times now so she was confident the two of them could nurse Kaede back to health just fine. She definitely volunteered his services, but seeing how he wasn't feeling particularly fussed, didn't call attention to it.

Then, Inuyasha did the thing he was guilty of doing more often than he should, zoning out on her actual words and instead getting distracted by following the cadence of her voice with his keen hearing. The ups and downs as she talked was kinda soothing.

The two of them eventually make their way back into the village and towards Kikyou and Kaede's dwelling.

Pausing at the threshold, Kagome looked up at him imploringly. "You want to stay for dinner later, Inuyasha?"

"I ate this morning." He grumbled, feeling a little out of place. It was one thing to eat with her when they were in the forest but a different matter all together to saunter into a hut in blatant view of prying eyes.

"So did I?" Kagome raised an eyebrow at his odd response to her question. "I'm making porridge for Kaede and something quick for me. I'll just make a little extra, alright?"

Inuyasha huffed and conceded. He swung the basket back down and handed it to Kagome before she ducked indoors.

The hanyou hopped up casually on the roof.

A slight noise on the wind had him snapping to the side catching a male villager eyeing him warily from a few huts down. Inuyasha glared back at him and he looked hastily away, as if embarrassed to have been caught staring.

With a pronounced roll of his eyes, he muttered to himself and flopped onto a suitable patch, keeping his ears trained on Kaede's breathing and the noises Kagome made bustling about inside.

.

.

.

.

.

.

A/N: I especially enjoyed writing Inuyasha all soft with Kaede this chapter :) Hope you liked as well.

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.