Chapter 50

It was a delightfully warm day—hot even—especially since they were well into autumn proper. One of those people called an Indian summer, Kagome mused.

Taking advantage of the weather, Kagome was in the midst of wrangling a tangle of blankets to sun. On what one could call the roof of their current dwelling, a number of low scraggly bushes grew in a nice, dense cluster. By now, they were more twig than leaf, which made it even better to air out her bedding and linens.

Flicking over a folded corner of the last of the bunch, Kagome wiped her forehead on the back of her hand.

Nodding with satisfaction at her work, she turned her attention to the forest spread out beneath her.

This narrow plateau which she'd adopted as 'home' for the past week was really a very strategic place. Not that she'd expect Inuyasha to choose anything but. The high vantage point meant they had a good view of their surroundings and could have advance warning should there be something big going on.

From what she gathered, it was oriented roughly southwest such that they had good light for the bulk of the day, but it wasn't so exposed that they would be battered by the elements.

There was even a fresh water source right at their doorstep, so to speak. It was a tiny lake, on the shallow side from what she dared to test out. The water was incredibly cold, and Kagome was too self-preserving to attempt wading out past her knees.

There weren't any aquatic residents of an appreciable size, but that posed no problems. Inuyasha made frequent trips with her down the mountain to the fish in the river that wound through the valley below.

Her eyes wandered idly until they were drawn to the big pile of timber tucked along one rock crag a short span away from the entrance to their shelter. It had a lip of an overhang that helped to keep the firewood dry. Well, it would if the pile wasn't so large that its exaggeratedly lopsided structure threatened to topple over. It reminded her of the pile he'd prepared for Jinenji's ma.

Kagome snickered to herself. Sometimes, when Inuyasha got an idea in his head, he would often go overboard, outdoing himself.

Of course, she'd showered him with only enthusiastic praises. Though Kagome tried her best to appear unaware, he definitely did not do a good job of hiding his anxiety at the circumstance they'd suddenly found themselves in. And she wanted him to feel that whatever his impressions might be, she was anything but upset at him.

Sometimes, she doubted he himself even had any clue just how deeply kind and caring he was for anyone that managed to squeeze past the thorny walls he erected around himself.

Sighing, Kagome began scrambling back down.

She was so relieved that they'd manage to relax a little into something of a routine by the end of the week. There was some trial and error involved but eventually she'd found a way and the proper place for everything.

There was a surprising number of small depressions scattered inside the rocky enclosure that she could tuck all their various items into that kept them away from moisture and hopefully any curious rodents.

She was surprised to find out from Inuyasha that apparently animals actually avoided areas they sensed strong youki from. Which, she supposed, made sense since the majority of youkai were natural predators. He'd probably meant to reassure her that she wouldn't be swarmed by any critters even if their situation counted as sleeping in the wild.

It had honestly been a fun time sorting through Inuyasha's stash. When she voiced her curiosity on how he'd come to accumulate such a collection, he'd seemed almost embarrassed. Kagome supposed it didn't really matter the 'how' but just that they had such items at their disposal. It was like a treasure hunt and every time she chanced upon something unexpected was a thrill in itself.

For cookware, there were a couple more clay pots and a mishmash of bowls and cups that proved plenty between the two of them. She even had a selection of small woven trays and something like a foraging basket she could use as a backpack.

Of the things that were broken, Kagome was confident she could probably repurpose the material into some new DIY project later, when she came of other things she might need.

She walked towards the other end of the bluff where she'd set up the makeshift racks.

It took some time to turn over the various sprigs of plant material Kagome had gathered the day before. Some of them were medicinal—in case they used up whatever Kaede packed for them—and some were to be eaten at a later time. It would be more and more difficult to find leafy greens as end of the year approached.

Surveying the plateau and rock shelter yet again, she couldn't help but feel a thrill of pride. It was like a little homestead they'd built in just a matter of days.

Kagome spent the rest of the day enjoying the warmth of the sun as it filtered down to the understory. The light was welcome company as she picked her way downhill working further down the slope from where she last left off.

It took quite a lot of persuading to get Inuyasha to let her wander the area on her own, foraging. He'd eventually caved to her reasoning that she could reasonably protect herself from any small demons and that most, if not all would've been scared away by his continual presence in the area anyway.

That's what he'd been preoccupied with during the days, carefully scouting the area for danger and scaring away anything that he did find.

Plus, it was just inefficient for him to waste time watching her when they could divide and conquer.

Not that she minded being with Inuyasha all the time. She shouldn't have been surprised at how unobtrusive it was, since they'd already travelled alone together prior.

Doing everyday things with him alongside was natural and his steady presence kept most of her anxiety at bay. She certainly would've been way less chill about surviving in the wilderness if it wasn't for his company.

All they had to do now was focus on gathering whatever provisions they could get their hands on before the cold settled in. It wasn't any different from what her task would have been had they stayed in the village.

She couldn't help the little twinge in her chest when her thoughts drifted to the village. An image rose in her mind, of a slight frown out of place on a small face and surprisingly childlike brown eyes.

She hoped Kaede was doing ok, and her foster grandparents too. Sure, she spared some worry for the village and if they'd had any trouble from their attacker, but it was her young friend that occupied her thoughts most.

Surely, Kikyou, being as competent of a priestess as she was, would have the youkai threat under control. But in terms of matters of the heart, especially with Kaede's tendency to hide hers away, always striving to meet some sort of impossible standard—Kagome worried.

A loud rustle of crumbling leaves underfoot alerted her. Looking up, she spied the swathe of bright red appearing between the baring trunks. Inuyasha had started announcing his return by making some noise after he scared the shit out of her one day when he dropped out of thin air.

It was one of the many considerate things Inuyasha had taken to doing, all without explicit request. Just like the small, unrecognizable lumps of meat that dangled from one hand. A kill he had already skinned and trying to bring back unobtrusively.

Kagome was not proud of the way she reacted that first day when he bled and disembowelled a rabbit right in front of her. She knew she was a wimp, that in this era, this environment, she should really learn to do such tasks herself if she wished to remain fed.

"Kagome." He called simply in greeting. His eyes were intent as he made a quick sweep of her person.

He was just checking if she was ok, still uneasy every time he let her out of his sight. This Kagome knew intellectually. She really did!

But try telling that to her body.

Helplessly, inexplicably, she felt the warmth creep up to her cheeks.

"Hey, Inuyasha." She managed, hoping she sounded as composed as she wished she was.

It made no sense, and she despised it. For whatever blasted reason, she'd started to react weirdly. It never happened before. Never at the village. Never when they used to meet up for their afternoon excursions in the forest.

Maybe somewhere along the way, she'd whacked her head good, knocked a few marbles loose and all without recollection of such an event.

With much effort, Kagome tried to keep her eyes off the hanyou, sliding her gaze to the side. Unaware of the depth of her struggles, Inuyasha sauntered over to the low fire ringed by stones where they did the majority of their cooking during the day.

She was not stealing glimpses of his corded forearms, glistening with faint moisture, his sleeves carelessly drawn up to allow him to do whatever he was doing.

His hair was a riot of silver, windswept and wild against his back. Her traitorous eyes were drawn to the way the lithe muscles glided under his skin when he went to set the meat down.

This was a problem.

A terrible, terrible affliction that had plagued her of late whenever Inuyasha returned to the plateau after a day of scouting.

Thank goodness the wiggly feeling in her stomach would usually subside soon after they slipped back into their evening routine.

And thus encouraged, Kagome plunged headlong into just that.

She started bustling about, retrieving appropriate cookware and herbs and other additions. Before long, she had the beginnings of their early supper bubbling over the fire.

Feeling much more like her usual self, Kagome spooned out a portion of the liquid broth to bring to Inuyasha. She'd added a little too much water for the right consistency for a stew and was attempting to remedy it.

The hanyou was busy at the far end, fumbling with the pile of differently shaped branches and such that he had gathered. Well, she'd helped a little but to no one's surprise, strength was not her strong suit. Mostly she just spied ones that were the sort of morphology he'd described and pointed them out for him to cut and retrieve.

As she neared, his muffled curses became audible amidst the thuds of the wood he wrangled. Her lips curved up in amusement and genuine appreciation as she watched him work.

He was something of an engineer, somehow managing to cobble together contraptions that he likely had never learned to make.

Somehow with trial and error of wedging different pieces together and cutting them to fit his vision, Inuyasha would present her with functional items after ample voiced frustration. The rack she was using to dry herbs and such was one of his creations from earlier in the week.

Smile still bright on her face, Kagome crouched down beside him. Inuyasha's lips quirked in welcome and then immediately launched into an explanation.

It was such a contrast to his usual grunting communication that Kagome found herself unable to focus on his actual words, but instead on his voice, low and pleasant.

Deciding to abandon her initial intent to interrupt, Kagome brought the bowl to her lips instead. Her eyes stayed on his face, nodding along as she sipped the broth.

The way he asked for her input, his sentences flowing into one another as he gestured expansively pointing out the different components to her, claws making small taps on the wood, all fuelled a steady current of warm feeling inside her. The late afternoon sun set his eyes aglow, the amber looking almost liquid.

This unbridled enthusiasm suited him. She'd never seen an Inuyasha so engrossed in something. She wouldn't mind if he set a goal to replicate every single thing found in a human dwelling.

So long she could sit beside him and watch all the while.

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A/N: whaattt? How did IWFA get to 50 chapters?! lol I'm intimidated xD

I am late to Day 19 of Inuvember 2024, but I hope I made up for that by writing a long chapter of InuKag domestic fluff :)

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.