Chapter 55

Inuyasha considered it tremendous character growth the amount of self-restraint he was successfully exercising at this very moment. His past self would have most definitely decked that guy a good one ages ago.

It was too noisy to catch his exact words, but the annoying human man was giving off the wrong vibes. Too friendly, too clearly interested. Aren't monks supposed to know better, aren't they celibate—why the hell was he hovering that fucking close to Kagome? Actually, fuck that. That man needed a beating—spiritual powers be damned. Inuyasha was this close to losing it.

In the few seconds he held himself back, another women appeared, and he instantly approved of her, with the way she stepped between the stupid monk and Kagome. If not for her, Inuyasha would definitely have accomplished the complete opposite of staying hidden.

The thoughts he'd been ruminating on was still loud in his head. And given all the things, Inuyasha would much rather not make a scene. Not draw attention to the fact he was a hanyou. Not disrupt the peaceful shopping trip Kagome must have been having thus far without him. Thus, he kept himself hidden, hugging close to the shadow along the walls and followed along behind. Keeping his youki reigned in close, hoping that all the faint wisps of youki in the crowd would also hide his.

Trust Kagome to instantly make friends wherever she went. From the way she was chatting with the woman, they were already on amicable terms. And at least the man seemed to behave himself now. His tolerance was tenuous at best; it would only take one misplaced hand on Kagome's shoulder and Inuyasha would immediately take the liberating of relieving the monk of said hand.

Glowering continuously at the purple clad man, Inuyasha tailed the trio as they moved back through the town. Though hella annoying, the ample throngs of humans and lesser youkai kept him well hidden. Even so, there were several instances however, he could've sworn that the young woman accompanying Kagome glanced back, seemingly taking quick scans of the people around her. To be on the safe side, Inuyasha shrunk back further, lengthening the distance between them, just in case this new acquaintance was somehow able to sense him.

It wasn't until their retreating forms disappeared back into the crowd that Inuyasha felt the tension ease around his chest. He let the air whoosh out of his lungs with one freeing exhale and darted forward to catch up with the lone girl carrying a massive pack.

Kagome had just made new friends; he shouldn't be so relieved to see them part. Yet he was. Cuz he was a selfish asshole. That, and he wasn't ready to take a risk in trusting human strangers yet. Not after that lesson he'd learnt the hard way, not even a moon ago.

The hanyou snuck up soundlessly and just as Kagome was about to step past a small grove of trees, he popped out in a flurry of silver and red. He grinned widely when it produced the desired effect—Kagome's muffled shriek piercing his ears.

"Inuyasha!" Her grey eyes flashed with a touch of real ire as she whirled around, black tresses flying, and whacked him on the arm. "That was uncalled for!"

"Keh." He smirked at her. Inexplicably, he felt lighter seeing her face. "Lemme grab that."

He untied the bulkiest of the cloth bundles from her shoulders and settled it onto his own with ease. Then reaching down, he relieved her of the heavy sack of rice she'd been carrying braced against her hip as well.

Kagome's sent him a grateful look, his childish antic from a moment prior already forgiven. "How come you're coming from that direction?"

He shrugged noncommittally, not wanting to admit to sorta stalking her through town. Instead, he hoisted the hefty bag of rice onto his right shoulder, stabilizing it with the same arm.

Beside him, Kagome grinned, not even bothering to hide her amusement. "My, Inuyasha… you've gotten sooo strong. Must've been all the firewood chopping lately, huh?"

"Shuddup." So, what if he liked showing off his strength, just a little?

Kagome snickered, poking at his arm with one dainty finger. He dodged her second attempt.

They continued down the road away from town. As it was getting later, there were more people also leaving but none gave them much notice.

"That village was neat!" Kagome rambled beside him as they walk, her arms fluttering animatedly as she recounted the day's events. "There were actually a lot of demons around and it seemed like the norm for them. And I met a new friend… er… well two, I s'ppose."

Inuyasha zoned out, content to listen to the sound of her voice and the flavour of her enthusiasm. Maybe he was making shit up, but he could swear Kagome was brighter than when he saw her in town.

"… able to find shoes! Sango showed me this shop, and it was lucky…"

It was all because of those shoes that Inuyasha had suggested this trip so hastily. With the extra wear from climbing up and down rocky surfaces—courtesy of them not living in the village—Kagome had managed to rip a decent sized hole in one of them. While she kept minimizing it, Inuyasha knew better.

She was already a soft human to begin with, but the temperature dropping and obvious increase in strenuous activity, he really didn't want to risk her getting injured. Which was why he'd taken a risk. It would've been safer to wait it out—Inuyasha was fairly certain he'd been keeping track accurately, but it would've been more certain if they waited till after to make the trip into town.

"...they're really sturdy looking and comfortable, I think you'd approve. I'll show you when we get—oh!"

She stopped, pointing ahead at the large intersection they were coming upon.

"A tea stand! Can we stop by quickly, Inuyasha?"

He sighed loudly, more for show than genuinely annoyed. Not that he could hold out for long on the receiving end of her wide beaming face even if he was. Without even waiting for a reply, Kagome skipped ahead to the lopsided wooden shack and the cluster of short tables and narrow benches just off the road. These establishments served as convenient watering holes for travellers needing refreshments but not looking to detour into town.

A few moments later, Inuyasha plopped down on the seat beside Kagome just as a person walked up with a large kettle. Filling two cups with a watered-down tea, the attendant glanced at him suspiciously but did not comment, only giving terse instructions to order up front when ready. Inuyasha struggled against the urge to fiddle with his hood, wanting to pull it down further.

Kagome's propped her chin up in her palms, eyes trained on the covered stall in the back. Her eyes gleamed as she investigated what might be in the contents of the large bamboo steamers half hidden from sight, internally debating what food to get.

Just then, a decidedly unappetizing smell wafted past.

"Eww!" Kagome pinched her nose and glancing back towards the street where a cart carrying what was most likely manure was passing by.

She quirked a smile at him and shrugged.

He stood up so abruptly, he near overturned the table.

"Kagome," He bit out. "We should go."

He'd expected her to question him, kick up a fuss at the sudden change of plans but surprisingly, Kagome took one look at him and nodded, a frown marring her brow. Vaguely, he noted her flustered apology to the shop owner as she set down a coin for their troubles.

Inuyasha's attention was all focused back on the road and the one realization that should've dawned on him much, much earlier.

That smell, pungent as it was—he should never have only registered it at the same time Kagome did.

.

.

.

.

.

.

A/N: dear ffnet readers, I've been targeted by the spam bots and as such I've had to turn off all notifications from this site. I'll still continue to update in case anyone still prefers this site but if you need to get a hold of me, please drop by AO3 as it's much easier for me to receive and reply to comments there. Thank you for reading as always :)

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.