InuYasha Fan Fiction ❯ Forgotten Anamnesis ❯ Preclusive Pasts, Embraced Desires ( Chapter 4 )

[ X - Adult: No readers under 18. Contains Graphic Adult Themes/Extreme violence. ]

Chapter 4 – Preclusive Pasts, Embraced Desires





Kagome awoke the following morning at dawn to the soothing melody of birdsong, and blinking her eyes open it took her a moment to remember where she was and get her bearings. She'd had a rather peaceful dream, which had seemed so natural to her but was now slipping quickly between her fingers. Nameless faces of people she was sure she was supposed to know...

Yawning softly, she stretched and sat up, glancing up into the tree her hanyou companion had used as a perch all night long. He appeared to be asleep, propped sitting up in the nook of a sturdy branch, back against the trunk, his sheathed sword out of his obi and leaning against his shoulder, held in place by his crossed arms. Trying not to disturb him she very slowly and quietly started shimmying herself out of her sleeping bag, but then his fully alert voice unexpectedly ringing out with “Let me know when you want breakfast.” had her realizing with a start that he hadn't dropped his guard, after all.

Smiling up at him, he grinned in return as he cracked an eye open to gaze down at her and greet her more officially with “Morning.”

“Good morning to you, too, mister 'let's startle the miko half to death'.” she kidded, earning a chuckle from the half youkai man who jumped down out of the tree, working some kinks out of his neck and back.

“Hungry?” he asked again, his voice and eyes both playfully apologetic for having spooked her.

“Sure.” she replied with a nod, grabbing her school clothes to change out of her pajamas while he went hunting before then bringing their fire back to life, which was a fairly easy task as she'd stacked it properly the night before and the center was still hot.

A little while later they were enjoying another peaceful meal of fire-roasted rabbit, during which time Kagome shared with Inuyasha the few snippets she could still remember from her dream. He had not dreamt anything the night before, of course, never once having permitted himself to slip into that deep of a slumber, and so he was actually curious to hear about what types of visions had come to the miko while she'd slept. She explained that the two of them had been sitting around a campfire similar to how they were in that moment, but with two other humans and two little youkai, one of which was more just an animal, a cat, while the other was more childlike. She couldn't remember what he was supposed to be now, although she did know that in the dream she had known what he was, as well as who he was, as well as who the two other humans had been, and even more importantly she'd also known who she and the hanyou were. It was all gone now, of course, but it did give her hope that her memories really were all still there, somewhere, just locked away from her conscious mind. It was also good to know that they apparently had some other companions who usually traveled with them; it gave her hope that there were people out there who could possibly help them, provided they could find these other people. It was really fuzzy now, although one detail she could still remember with relative clarity was the brief visual of the whole group of them all eating instant noodles, something that still sounded very familiar to her now that she was awake; she was positive it had been an actual memory.

“Noodles?” Inuyasha spoke up at her statement, his ears twitching at that one word in particular.

Nodding, Kagome described what she could remember, that they were instant cups of ramen, a word Inuyasha immediately said sounded very familiar. Suddenly thinking of something that might help, she fetched out one of the pairs of chopsticks from her backpack that she'd discovered before were in there and handed them to the hanyou, in case holding them might help to jog a memory, which it actually did to a degree. As Inuyasha held the chopsticks he put down his piece of rabbit and tried to visualize, since he knew what noodles were, the thought of sitting by a campfire like how he was now but while eating noodles out of a deep white cup, like how she had described. While he couldn't actually remember doing so, the concept suddenly was so familiar to him that he readily agreed with the miko that her dream just had to be an actual memory, or if not and it was truly just a random dream then it had at the very least been based off of things that had actually happened before.

“Guess it makes sense that we can't eat rabbit every meal.” he commented lightly, his tone teasing as he handed Kagome back her chopsticks before picking his piece of rabbit back up and continuing to eat with his hands.

“It also makes sense that if I occasionally brought food supplies from the city that they wouldn't last forever, though, so that definitely still explains why we're both so used to the idea of preparing and eating small game animals like this, too.” she chimed in, putting the chopsticks away. “The ramen is probably more of an emergency ration, in case there's no good hunting one night or something.” she commented, eating her own rabbit hindquarter with her hands the way you would a chicken drumstick.

Inuyasha nodded at that, continuing to eat before tossing the bones into the fire. Washing it down with more of Kagome's water he was then ready to get back on the road. Even though they weren't in any immediate danger of him losing the scent trail he wanted to get going as quickly as possible because he had absolutely no idea how much more walking they had ahead of them, and he wanted to cover as much ground as possible before sunset.

Kagome readily agreed to that, and was ready to go not long after he was, sparing their drinking water by using handfuls of dirt to make sure their fire was properly smothered. Adjusting both her backpack and quiver over her shoulders, something that seemed like it should be awkward but she'd apparently gotten used to it as it now came naturally to her how to go about the juggling act, she then grabbed her bow with her left hand and together they headed back out, Inuyasha's nose to the air to again make sure the trail didn't suddenly veer off in one direction or the other though so far it seemed to be keeping to a pretty straight path.

He imagined that wherever it was they had been heading he had just been making a bee-line in that direction, cutting across the top of the forest as the bird flies rather than taking a longer route by foot...as they were doing now. In fact a few times they had to walk around a few shorter trees or bushes because the path they were walking would take them straight through certain such obstacles on the ground, but for the most part they were doing a pretty good job of sticking to the invisible trail.

With nothing new to talk about, really, they spent the beginning part of the morning walk in relative silence, although it was a peaceful silence not awkward to either of them in any way. They'd both made peace with their situation the night before and so today they really just had one thing on their minds and one thing only: retrace their steps until they found other people. They had decided to tackle the mission of getting their memories back in stages, taking baby steps, and step one was to find other people. They would worry about where to go from there once they found said people and learned whether or not those people actually knew who they were, or at the very least knew of a magic worker they could direct them to who might be able to reverse the spell. There was decidedly no point in worrying prematurely about what was to come beyond that point, especially since they still needed to stay focused on their immediate surroundings so as not to allow themselves to be caught off guard by a random forest youkai drawn to their jewel shards. Getting lost in a tangle of thoughts revolving around an endless 'what-if' could actually prove fatal, if they distracted themselves too deeply.

That fact made itself known when, about an hour or so in on their walk, they were suddenly both accosted by a very powerful demonic aura that seemed to come from all around them. Fortunately, because they had both been keeping their senses on alert and had been paying attention to their surroundings, as soon as they felt the youki signature appear out of nowhere they both had their weapons drawn and at the ready, adopting a battle stance of standing back to back to each other without even the need to discuss such tactical maneuvers beforehand. Inuyasha had no difficulty getting Tessaiga to transform for him since it could easily read his genuine desire to protect Kagome, even though the hanyou had no idea that that feeling was what made the sword work and that if he didn't give a damn about the miko and only wanted to kill things Tessaiga would stubbornly stay in its dormant state. He was genuinely worried for her in that moment, hoping that whatever it was would be something that he could handle on his own. He didn't want her to have to fight, he wanted to protect her, and besides that he also didn't want her using any of her arrows unless they really needed her too, because they only had so many left and once they were gone that was it. He knew she knew that, too; they'd already discussed earlier how saving her arrows needed to always be top priority from there on out because no matter how strong of a youkai they might face off against there could always theoretically be an even stronger one just around the corner, and if they ever ended up facing off against something that was so powerful it would take the both of them to take it out then he needed to make sure she was still armed at that time, otherwise they would both be screwed. Their plan of attack was that he would always go it alone unless it became apparent that he couldn't handle it on his own, and then – and only then – would she actually join in the fight. Otherwise she was always to keep an arrow at the ready, but only actually use it in self-defense if he screwed up a maneuver somehow and wouldn't be able to make it to her in time, thus forcing her to defend herself.

He absolutely hated the idea of her possibly being forced to use an arrow just because he'd screwed up, though he wouldn't call it wasting an arrow because obviously he would much rather she did so and protect herself than not and get hurt, if he had been physically unable to protect her, but it was his intention to not ever let such a scenario come to pass in the first place. He would protect her, no matter what.

Fortunately, it turned out to be a relatively weak youkai after them in that moment, nowhere near as powerful as the tengu they'd faced the day before. Some sort of a lower badger-youkai; one of the mujina's deceptive abilities was apparently to intensify the feel of its demonic aura, but it was only an illusion. An illusion which quickly shattered as the beast showed itself in exaggerated monster form, hoping to frighten the hanyou and miko, only for Kagome to pull back on her bowstring with narrowed eyes, unwavering in her determination. She would not actually fire unless she had no choice, agreeing with the hanyou's desire for her to save her arrows if at all possible, but that didn't stop her from showing off, letting her miko powers cause the arrowhead to flare to life with a brilliant, purifying pink light. She wanted to make sure the beast knew they meant business. At the sight of her powerful reiki, the mujina's eyes bugged comically huge before it lost its oni-like appearance with a poof of smoke and as a normal-looking badger it turned tail and ran away into the woods as fast as it could.

Releasing the tension in her bow and putting the unused arrow back away, Kagome almost felt like laughing at the ridiculous sight, a grin crawling up her lips as Inuyasha shot her a confident smirk, waggling his eyebrows. It was clear from his expression that he thought the two of them were just so bad ass that the mujina had thankfully known what was best for it. She couldn't help it, she laughed a little.

“Well that was certainly...unexpected.” she stated with a bit of a chuckle still in her voice.

“I'm glad it turned out to just be a small fry, though.” Inuyasha stated then, his voice as well as the look in his eyes gaining a bit more seriousness.

Kagome readily agreed.

“Well, come on, bet we've still got a long ass way to go yet. There's still no trace of any humans anywhere near here; if we were near a village there'd be the leftover scent of hunters or somethin'.” Inuyasha stated then, missing the look of serious contemplation that flashed through Kagome's eyes when he turned his back to her, sniffing the air one last time just to make sure that badger-youkai wasn't trying to sneak back up on them; it wasn't.

Biting her lower lip in mild nervousness, Kagome took a moment to seriously mull over her companion's words. They probably did still have a very long way to go, especially since they both knew that they'd actually been running the first time around. Did it really make sense to backtrack their trail so much more slowly, then?

Should I dare say anything...?  she silently questioned herself, before quickly shaking her head to rid it of such nonsense. She was being silly again.

Logic dictated that they should really start traveling much faster, no matter how she'd initially felt about the idea of riding on his back when he'd first brought it up yesterday. They had hardly made any progress at all the day before, especially with that detour to the stream, and she knew it was because they were only going as fast as she could walk; she hated the idea of slowing them down just because she was being a silly schoolgirl ruled by her hormones.

Completely missing the decision making going on behind him because he was concentrating on sniffing out possible threats, Inuyasha then turned and gave Kagome a confident nod that articulated the area was all clear; no other threatening youkai were anywhere in the nearby vicinity. Turning back to start continuing on in the direction they had been going, then, Inuyasha was brought up short when an unexpected but also gentle hand on his shoulder stopped him in his tracks.

“Wait...” Kagome spoke up quietly, chewing her bottom lip in mild nervousness, which had Inuyasha furrowing his brow as he gazed her way with concern in his eyes, the scent of her trepidation suddenly hitting him full force.

“What's wrong?” he asked her, having thought at first that maybe she just needed to relieve herself or something before they took back off although now judging by her scent and the look on her face that wasn't it at all. “Whatever it is just spit it out; you can tell me anything.” he assured her, his tone of voice not rude in the slightest with the 'spit it out' remark, as if he were feeling impatient with her. Instead, he seemed genuinely concerned, which only made Kagome that much more flustered, feeling guilty for worrying him on top of everything else.

“I'm fine, really...it's just...I...I was just thinking...just like you said, we've probably still got a really long ways to go, so...” she started hesitantly, her cheeks tinting a light pink. “Maybe...maybe we should give traveling faster a try?”

His eyes widened as he realized what she meant before a light blush stained his cheeks as well, and then scoffing at himself, embarrassed by his embarrassment, he said “Feh! That ain't nothin' to feel all weird about.”

Somehow, Kagome could just tell that he was actually scolding the both of them, and that knowledge immediately made her feel a bit better, to know that she wasn't the only one so flustered by the notion of what she was proposing.

“I agree, so...it really makes more sense. I mean, we don't know how long we were traveling like that before, either, and if you were running for hours and hours with me on your back, well...it'd take us days to travel that same distance by foot like this.” Kagome spoke back up, sounding more confident with her decision by the minute as the logistics of the situation made themselves known. “And if we were actually running at your top speed for days, well, then it'd probably take us weeks to cover that much ground.” she added.

“That's true...we probably really should pick up the pace, then.” he agreed at her logic, crouching right away for her to climb up onto his back. “Well, come on then, let's do this thing.”

Blushing again, especially because she was wearing such a short skirt, she nevertheless did as instructed and climbed up onto his back. Instantly upon doing so she realized how natural it felt, how comfortable she was, feeling nowhere near as self-conscious as she had feared she would. The expression 'try it, you'll like it' came to mind. She certainly didn't need any Alka-Seltzer to settle her stomach as he immediately took off running, though, racing along the ground for a bit before building up momentum and then launching them both up into the trees to start leaping across the treetops from branch to branch, soaring high in the sky like a tengu himself between jumps. Although she had been nervous at first the miko quickly discovered that she felt no vertigo or motion sickness. In fact it was almost fun, like a roller coaster. The only unsettling thing about her tummy was the nest of butterflies that had erupted within it the very moment she'd climbed onto the hanyou's back, but despite the naughty part of her mind that refused to let her forget about how intimately she was pressed up against him, or how sinfully delightful his hands felt cupping the backs of her thighs like that, she couldn't ignore how secure she also felt, how absolutely safe and protected. She was in no danger of falling.

As for Inuyasha, the very moment she'd climbed up onto his back he knew he was a goner, realizing that he'd have to hold her legs the way he was doing to keep her from losing her balance while she also squeezed them around his waist and tightly clung to his shoulders just as he'd known she must have done in the past. Heaven help him, he had an attractive woman pressing herself fully against his back, her breasts very noticeable to him where they were squeezed in between their bodies. He was also fully aware of the fact that her short skirt offered nothing in the way of providing an extra layer of fabric between them down there, the only thing preventing her from being bare against his suikan being the single, thin layer of cotton that made up her odd fundoshi. He'd caught a few unintentional glimpses since yesterday. He was just thankful that with the way he was running he couldn't presently smell her, knowing that that would be his breaking point. He could only imagine, based on how she'd smelled the day before when only thinking about riding on his back, that that scent was much stronger now than it'd been yesterday. He assumed he'd find out whenever they eventually slowed down, which he actually didn't plan on doing for quite some time if he could help it, though not just to avoid facing the inevitable in that regard. Ignoring the awkwardness of the situation, a part of him actually found running with her like that quite pleasurable, and not just in a perverted way.

Truly thinking about it, Inuyasha definitely couldn't say he felt burdened by her extra weight, unless you counted the growing heaviness in his loins, but despite that specific type of discomfort he actually found it very natural and otherwise fully comfortable to carry her on his back like he was doing. He felt...happy, almost, as if carrying her like that was the ultimate reward, like a treat she had gifted him with, or maybe more accurately it was the ultimate guarantee that she was there with him, that she was safe. He almost felt like she was...his. A part of him was almost like a happy little boy going lookie what I got, despite the very adult way he also felt about her. But at the same time, even though he felt like she belonged with him, to him, he also felt like he was hers, too. He definitely didn't want to possess her like a thing; he didn't know how to describe it, but he couldn't ignore the part of his canine instinct that was talking to him in that moment as they leapt effortlessly together from tree to tree, the miko naturally shifting her weight during his jumps just the right way he needed her to to ensure he didn't lose his balance midair. It was just further proof that they belonged together. They belonged with each other, and maybe, to each other. Thanks to his canine instincts, more than really wanting to possess her he actually wanted to be possessed by her. She was his to protect, and by that same token she could also call him her protector...but was that really all that it was? Was that really all that he wanted?

 That certainly wasn't all that his body wanted.

It was hard to describe, since being a hybrid meant there were different warring parts of his psyche that looked at the world in completely different ways; he had to find some kind of a happy balance between his two halves to organize the chaos. Part of him honestly felt kind of like a dog, like an inugami, and she was his human; he would be loyal to her forever. But at the same time he was also half human himself, and that part of him, the man in him, wanted her for his woman, but only if she wanted him as her man in return. And although his heart felt content to just hold her like how he was doing forever and ever, just knowing she was safe and happy in his presence being enough to nourish his soul, he still couldn't deny the very manly way in which he appreciated her female form. It was all he could do to distract himself from such thoughts before it got to the point where he wouldn't be able to run as smoothly.

Fortunately, though – if you wanted to label what happened twenty minutes into their run as fortunate – another random forest youkai chose that moment to attack them. With the hanyou and miko both as 'distracted' as Kagome had predicted the day before that they would become in such a position they almost didn't notice the cluster of incoming porcupine quills in time to dodge them. Almost. The harinezumi-youkai had easily sensed them coming, Kagome's jewel shards far too tempting to pass up, and he had timed his attack just right for when they would be passing by overhead. Hanyou and miko both felt each other tense up at the same moment they themselves noticed the stronger burst of youki coming from somewhere down below and ahead of them, and then before Kagome could even scream a warming to look out it was Inuyasha instead who called out “Shit!” as he significantly tightened his grip on Kagome's legs before unexpectedly plunging them both down through the tree he'd just landed on rather than kicking off again, as their enemy had believed he would. Gasping in surprise at the sudden change in direction, Kagome buried her face against Inuyasha's back as the ground rushed up on them, more for protection against scratches than in fright of the situation. She knew he wouldn't let her get significantly injured; a few mild scratches and scrapes on her legs from random branches as they dropped sure as hell beat getting skewered with a barrage of giant porcupine quills, which sailed past overhead as they plummeted, having been launched from a branch midway up the next tree over. If they had made that next jump they would have both been shish-kabobed. Well...not really, since Inuyasha's fire-rat suikan would have protected them both, but he didn't know that, yet.

Inuyasha saw the porcupine-youkai look at them with wide, startled eyes as they dropped to the ground right in front of it. He kicked away from the tree beside them as soon as he could to enter a spot of empty space and spare the miko on his back any more harm than necessary, absorbing the shock of impact by bending his legs a great deal before standing back up to create a bit of a spring effect so that the landing wouldn't be too jarring for the human girl.

As soon as he straightened he called out “You okay?”, and at her immediate reply of “Yeah.” he settled her on her feet before quickly taking back off after the fucker who'd had the audacity to shoot at them.

The mutated, quasi-humanoid looking porcupine didn't have as strong of a survival instinct as the badger from earlier, and as Inuyasha closed in on the bugger he chose to continue firing off his quills at the hanyou, hunching himself forward almost to the point of curling himself into a ball of spikes to launch said spikes from over his shoulders as if he were wearing a rocket launcher on his back. The quills were approximately two feet long and as big around as a dime at their thickest end, tapering into razor sharp needle points, but they were fortunately not very strong in the youki department, the demonic energy involved used primarily to aim and fire the projectiles rather than charge them up as missiles that would explode on impact. It would be a nice effect if the quills themselves were youki-charged, but while stronger, higher ranking porpucine-youkai had enough youki to spare to accomplish such a thing, this guy was just too weak to add that extra oomph to his attacks. He could flow his youki up through the spikes and then bodily ram an enemy, curling fully into a ball and rolling into his target, which was usually done more in self-defense, or he could use that same youki to fire them away from his body instead, but then the quills themselves wouldn't be much more than giant flying needles in that case, which was the direction he'd chosen to go with this attack.

It was youki well spent, the porcupine-youkai really able to control the direction in which his quills traveled; even Inuyasha was having trouble dodging them all, since he could fire several at once and they grew back in a matter of seconds. A human traveler walking through the forest wouldn't stand a chance, which was the porcupine's usual prey. Luckily, Inuyasha discovered with delight that his mystery-fur robes were actually able to repel them, as some of the quills that he was unable to successfully avoid made contact with his person; they ricocheted harmlessly off of him to land on the ground without piercing the fabric of his kimono. That was a good bit of information to tuck away for later use, that his clothing was resistant to more than just fire, even though right in that moment he didn't really care since he could tell that the quills had virtually no youki flowing through them and so he knew he could probably walk away from a direct hit unscathed even without his protective garments. The miko was another story, though. She was human and could have been seriously injured had one of those quills struck her, and perhaps Inuyasha was in part angry with himself for having lowered his guard enough to let this sniveling weakling of a bastard almost get one up on them, but whatever his motivation one swipe of his claws was all it took in that moment to make sure that that sad looking three foot high porcupine-man would never attack anyone else ever again.

Returning to where he'd left the miko, then, his ears flattened to his head to see her treating a few mild scrapes on her legs with some kind of medicinal ointment she'd had in her backpack.

“I'm sorry...” he murmured dejectedly.

She only offered him a knowing, reassuring smile.

“For what? Saving my life? I forgive you.” she teased, chuckling a bit, which had him smirking ever so slightly before frowning again.

Putting her antiseptic away, Kagome decided to face the music and admitted, “I wasn't paying very close attention, either.”

The either part had his cheeks darkening to a lovely shade of rose. How the hell did she know him so well when she didn't even remember him? Was he that transparent? On the other hand, her confessing that she, too, had been distracted in such a way had him feeling less embarrassed about being aroused by her and more just angry with himself for failing in his role of protector.

“I can't help how I'm gonna feel, but...I fucked up.” he admitted. “It won't happen again.”

Kagome nodded, and admitted, “We both had a momentary lapse in mental disciplines, but I promise to stay focused, too. It's dangerous out here.”

That was really the bottom line, wasn't it? How could he permit his mind to wander when there were literally enemies hiding at every turn? And even as he lectured himself, the very emotions running through his mind seemed familiar somehow, as if he'd actually had this same argument with himself before, which honestly didn't surprise him if he carried the miko around like that on any kind of a regular basis, but they had obviously done a fairly successful job of paying attention to their surroundings before now since they were still alive and he planned on continuing to keep it that way. Of course, a nagging little voice in the back of his mind whispered in that moment that perhaps that attack by the tengu had caught them off guard because he hadn't been paying attention at that time, that perhaps their entire situation was his fault, but he wouldn't let himself feel too guilty about it until he knew that that was the case. Beating himself up over what might or might not have happened wouldn't do either one of them any good.

“Well, come on, we better get back to it.” he stated then, approaching where the miko stood so that she could climb back up onto his back again.

As soon as he caught a whiff of her lingering arousal his eyes rolled back in his head as he groaned a bit, pausing in his approach, a reaction that did not go unnoticed by Kagome although it took her a minute to realize what had happened.

“What's wrong? Is the scent of my medicine bothering your nose?” she guessed incorrectly.

“I actually wish it were...” he mumbled, blushing a bit and turning around to give her his back.

As it dawned on Kagome that he could apparently smell her previous excitement, the scent of her dampened panties like a neon beacon to his nose, she faltered in her move to mount him again.

Gah! Bad word choice ... she silently scolded herself at the unwanted mental image.

“Uh-ummm...” she mumbled unintelligibly, clearing her throat nervously as she fidgeted where she stood, self-consciously rubbing her legs together.

He sighed, getting tired of the runaround. They needed to treat this issue like an enemy and face it headlong, no more cowardice.

“Look, we just need to be mature about this.” Inuyasha spoke up over his shoulder from his place crouched before her, probably able to say the words because he wasn't looking her in the eye at the moment, instead staring at the ground. “I'm physically attracted to you. There, I said it.” he continued, “And you obviously feel the same way. I'll admit I'm glad to know that, but right now we just can't let our minds wander off in that direction. Who knows what other fucking youkai might be hiding in wait to get the jump on us? I'll be thinking with my big head from now on.”

Part of Kagome was mortified by his bluntness, but then again, on the other hand, she knew that every word he'd spoken was true. What was the point in denying or pretending to ignore feelings they'd both already known were there anyway? And she'd already semi-admitted to those feelings, herself, talking about it without talking about it as if it were some kind of a taboo they had to tiptoe around. It was much better to just get it all out in the open and face things reasonably and rationally. They weren't on some romantic getaway, after all, they were fighting for their freakin' lives! She needed to get her mind out of the gutter, dragging it out by its hair kicking and screaming if need be, and focus on her damn surroundings like the miko she was.

“Right.” she stated then, nodding in determination before steadily climbing back up onto his back, her entire mannerism confident and surefooted.

After making sure she was secure and balanced he took back off, running along the ground again for a moment until he built up the necessary momentum to launch them both from tree to tree once more. He quickly located their old scent trail and continued back on course, hitting all of the same spots he had previously hit, tree for tree. The act of leaping through the trees like that did seem familiar to him, although he unfortunately did not recognize their actual surroundings in any way to possibly get a sense of how much further they had to go before arriving wherever it was they had been before entering this forest the first time around. Whatever the case, though, they were definitely making much better time traveling this way than walking slowly along the forest floor.

Keeping his senses stretched and on alert this time, Inuyasha could tell that most lower forest youkai were thankfully still continuing to just get out of their way, and for that he was grateful. Apparently most lower critters knew they were too much of a threat to bother with trying to challenge them for the miko's jewel shards. Apparently any given youkai's desire for the shards was solely dependent upon the youkai themselves, and some could choose against going for them, while others, like that badger, might be tempted at first but would quickly concede defeat when faced with their power, while others still, like that porcupine, were just mad enough to irrationally fight even if there was no chance of success. Then there were youkai like that tengu, who had been just on this side of powerful enough to actually pose a serious threat, and those were the youkai that Inuyasha was actually worried about. He hoped that any other higher youkai that might be in the area were relatively peaceful and would not desire the wicked temptation the shards provided, just like how he himself could now ignore them. Oh, he still knew they were there all right, and perhaps the base most part of himself still felt tempted by them, but he wasn't that stupid. Youki in and of itself was not an evil type of energy, it was simply energy in a raw form, just as reiki was another, albeit opposite, form of raw energy. Just as most miko were considered good and pure but there was also such a thing as dark miko, women who used the exact same kind of reiki for dark, evil purposes, so too were their good and bad youkai. He knew that because he himself was one of the good ones, and he could also tell that whatever was driving the force of youki from within those shards was not. Feeding off of his own youki almost, it was as if him holding that bottle had made the shards within it stronger, the youki turning to jyaki, and in turn that jyaki had wanted to flow back into him, turning him evil along with making him stronger. The crystals wouldn't just be a power boost for the body but they would warp his mind; of that he was sure.

That was...if he actually allowed himself to use them for their power, which he had no intention of doing. Doing so would be like opening a mental door, inviting the shards inside. He had been open to them when he'd held the bottle beforehand because he'd been curious, sniffing them out so to speak with his mind's eye to see what the big deal was all about, but now that he knew, Inuyasha felt confident that say, hypothetically if the miko lost the bottle, if the cord broke or something, he could now hold onto the bottle, or even the bare shards themselves, and they wouldn't do anything to him. They wouldn't turn him mad because he wouldn't let them; he'd block them out, keeping the mental door closed. Perhaps if the shards were already black, tainted by some other force then they'd be too powerful for him to fight against, but so long as the shards were relatively pure like they were now then he was confident that his presence wouldn't taint them. How could he taint them when he wasn't evil? He couldn't explain how or why he seemed to understand how the jewel shards actually worked, but after opening up his mind to them for that brief instant he could just feel what they were all about now. The pure side of them craved purity, what the miko was giving them, and at the same time the dark side of them craved evil. Those shards had an even worse split personality than he did.

It was just too bad that they couldn't block the shards themselves from actually sending out their 'come hither' vibes to every random youkai within range. Just because he could tune them out and not let them affect his mind didn't mean other youkai would possess that same ability, or even the desire to try. Even though he imagined that it'd be hundreds if not thousands of times worse for them if the miko weren't able to keep the shards as pure as she was, they still had a 'come and get me if you dare' quality about them that was obviously appealing to some youkai. Fortunately, though, as Inuyasha continued to run, continuing to keep his senses fully open and on alert, he also continued to notice that any and all youki signatures they were approaching were actually vacating the area as they grew nearer. So far it looked like nobody else was interested in a fight, and hopefully it would stay that way.  

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“I smell humans! It won't be long now!” Inuyahsa shouted over the wind of his running, to which Kagome shouted back “Great!”

For several hours they had raced non-stop, Kagome even foregoing taking a lunch break when he'd asked, replying over the wind that she wasn't that hungry and would rather they didn't waste any daylight. They'd only been bothered two more times by lower youkai since that morning, once only around a couple of hours or so after the porcupine incident when they'd stopped for a moment to investigate a small clearing where they'd both concluded the two of them had previously camped out for a night. While investigating the area a lowly scavenger youkai that had probably already been drawn to the area because of their lingering scents from before had jumped out at them from the shadows, but they had sensed its presence in advance and it was dispatched easily enough by Inuyasha's claws. Immediately heading back out, then, they'd had several hours of peaceful uninterrupted running, both of them now finally able to stay focused on their surroundings without listening to the tingling whispers of their bodies. Oh sure, Kagome was still semi-aroused physically, she couldn't help it, but she could ignore it in favor of staying aware of the world zipping by below them. It was hardly boring, hours upon hours of silent treetop racing; not when danger could literally sneak up on them at any given moment. Not that she was suddenly a nervous wreck on pins and needles, either, because she still felt fully confident in her hanyou guardian's ability to protect her; she still felt the absolute safest that she could be, riding on his back like that.

The second attack had come not that long ago, from some kind of a bird-youkai, proving the miko's unwavering faith in the hanyou was well placed as her canine steed sensed the would-be threat with plenty of time to engage in evasive maneuvers. Instructing Kagome over the ruckus to really hold onto him extra tightly he'd waited until he'd felt her obey and then released her right leg only for a moment to quickly swipe his claws at the tori-youkai mid-leap. Then it was no more.

Now, as they continued racing, playing beat the clock with the rapidly descending evening sun, Inuyasha had finally, finally detected the faint lingering trace of multiple human scents on the breeze. There was a village somewhere around there, and the wind had carried the hunters' and wood cutters' scents to their location. As they continued to run, jumping from tree to tree, the scent of humans, plus other things that meant humans, like smoke, only continued to get stronger, until finally they could both actually see a small human settlement resting in the distance with their highest leaps. It took them only mildly be surprise that their scent trail continued to lead them straight for the human village; a surprise that was quickly followed by elation. Perhaps these humans could help them! It didn't take long at all to close the final gap between themselves and the village and then before hanyou and miko knew it they were arriving at the edge of town, landing on the ground to a chorus of gasps and whispered murmurs of surprise, confusion and curiosity.

For a split second as Kagome slid down from his back Inuyasha found himself unexpectedly and unexplainably hit with a terrible feeling of nervousness and apprehension, suddenly worried about what these villagers' reactions to their impromptu  appearance might actually be. His fight or flight mode was kicking it, and he didn't really understand why. Had he had bad past experiences in human villages that he couldn't now remember? There was no other way to explain where this agitated feeling was coming from; he only hoped it wasn't actually his subconscious trying to warn him about this village in particular. He hadn't given the matter a second thought all throughout the entire time they'd been discussing their need to find other people, but now, suddenly now as he found himself standing among them, he found that he couldn't lower his guard; the same youkai instinct that hadn't had a problem with the miko was all of a sudden telling him not to blindly trust these people. He knew the miko; even though he couldn't remember her he knew he knew her, but he was pretty sure he did not know these other villagers. As his ears started registering the words actually being whispered about them, though, he immediately relaxed a great deal. The villagers were surprised to see them, yes, but they also apparently knew who they were and their arrival was not a bad thing. The word 'heroes' was getting thrown around a lot. He sighed in relief, and easing the tension in his shoulders he walked confidently alongside the miko as she approached the gathering village men.

Okay, so maybe he could trust these villagers, after all, but he would tuck his initial reaction away to analyze further at a later time. Perhaps there was a human village out there somewhere that they could not trust and he definitely wouldn't want to run blindly into their ranks and suddenly find himself and the miko both under attack by an entire town. Since they were apparently being praised as some kind of heroes in this town, however, he now had high hopes that as originally planned these people might be able to help them.

“Hello...we apologize for rushing in on your community like this, but I'm afraid we are in desperate need of whatever aid you might possibly be able to provide us.” Kagome began diplomatically as they finally closed the gap between themselves and the gathering village elders; they were both surprised but also grateful for the response they received.

“Not at all, Kagome-sama. We are forever in your debt, as I've stated. Please, how may we be of assistance?” the headman asked as he stepped forward, concern showing in his eyes for whatever mishaps might have befallen the duo.

“So...” Kagome started slowly, unsure of how to drop this bomb other than by just saying it outright. “You know us?”

That earned another round of gasps as the headman and a few village elders came even closer to the pair; Inuyasha did not tense back up as he could scent no malice in these men.

“Miko-sama, what has happened? Has something robbed your memories?” one of the other men asked in great concern.

“Unfortunately, that is precisely what has happened.” Kagome started to answer, Inuyasha chiming in with, “It was a tengu, who used some sort of flowery smelling white powder. My guess is it was breathing that crap in that caged our minds.” Kagome then spoke back up asking, “Does anyone here know how to undo such magic?”

“Oh merciful kami. No, I am so very sorry for you both, but we know of no magic workers other than yourselves.” the headman stated apologetically.

“What do you remember?” another man asked the pair.

As the headman and village elders ushered Kagome and Inuyasha away from the crowd and towards an area where they could speak more privately, Kagome too felt like she could trust these people and so she decided to be completely honest, for the most part, leaving out anything that was none of their business such as her and the hanyou's attraction for one another although other than that she basically relayed the entirety of what had happened to them both since awakening to existence mid morning of the previous day. She explained how they didn't know anything about themselves other than what they had been able to deduce, and that they had literally followed the hanyou's nose back to their village in the hope of finding somebody else who knew them and could possibly help them in some way.

The village headman felt regretful that they could not be of very much aid to the pair, although he did immediately relay every bit of information that he could, especially grateful now that he had asked the hanyou for their names as that was the first bit of information he immediately shared with them. Kagome had heard him call her Kagome once already, when they had first arrived, so she had correctly assumed that that was her name although Inuyasha had still been in the dark regarding his own, and he was grateful to learn his name as well in that moment. It did sound familiar to him, now, to hear the miko say it, as she repeated it a few times as if to test its weight on her tongue. After that the headman continued to recount how they had come into their village the day before last, literally dropping out of the sky to defeat a terrible oni that had been threatening their village because unbeknownst to the individual in question one of their villagers had been in possession of a shard of the Shikon no Tama, which Kagome had then collected before departing. He told them also of how they had stayed for a brief while after defeating the oni so that Kagome could pray over the deceased while Inuyasha disposed of the oni's remains, but that they had then stated shortly afterwards that they were in a hurry to depart, unable to stay any longer and partake in a celebratory feast because they had been traveling with friends of theirs to answer the cry for aid from another village. He explained that they had told him that they had just not been able to leave his village to the mercy of that oni and so the miko and hanyou had made the decision to separate from their companions in order to save them, and also to collect the sacred jewel shard, which was her duty, while their friends had continued onward due east to aid whatever other village they had all originally been heading towards upon their giant, flying youkai.

The name of this other village where they had been headed or how far away it lied the headman unfortunately did not know, nor did he know the names of their other companions, although Kagome believed they were almost definitely the same people she had dreamt about the night before. It was great to know that she and Inuyasha did indeed still travel with other companions, strongly suggesting that her dream had shown her a more recent memory and not a glimpse from a time long ago with friends they no longer traveled with. She thanked the headman for all of the information he had given them, assuring him that they were far better off now than they had previously been. Besides finally knowing their own names, Kagome now also knew with finality that it was apparently her sacred duty to collect these jewel shards; she wasn't just some random person also in possession of them but was actually actively seeking them out to keep them pure and away from wicked youkai. Upon asking, the village headman even went on to tell her what he knew about the jewel itself, of how it was a bobble of great power that was rumored to grant its possessor whatever his or her heart desired although other rumors also suggested it was cursed and brought whoever held it nothing but trouble. The jewel had disappeared around fifty years ago but had mysteriously reappeared and was subsequently shattered a few months ago, its shards wrecking havoc across the land whenever they became in the possession of somebody or something who would use them for evil. Nodding at that bit of information, Kagome could then understand why she was collecting and purifying them, even though she still had absolutely no idea how she'd gotten that job in the first place, what made it her responsibility. Apparently it was, and so really the how or why didn't matter in that moment.

Inquiring next about where they were, what region, earned her an answer she didn't recognize as the headman stated a regional name that was unfamiliar to her, and when she asked next about the possible location of any major cities he referred only to the empire of the shogunate, something that really struck her as odd since she wanted to say that she knew the whole shogun reign was a thing of the past, although she supposed she couldn't rightfully trust what she'd since dubbed her 'subconscious memories', all things considered. Still, sensing that he had absolutely no idea what she was actually talking about by her use of the word 'city' Kagome tried one other thing and asked him plainly and politely if he had a phone that she could borrow, and when he only blinked at her in confusion and asked her in turn what a 'phone' was she immediately let it go, brushing it off with a wave of her hand and a quietly murmured “Never mind.” despite her growing feeling of trepidation. It was still true that she was very grateful for the information he had provided them, even though she was mildly confused and concerned as to why it suddenly almost felt like she was stuck in the past somehow...were some rural villages really that rural? But she would worry about that later. After all, Inuyasha had stated that he knew what a city was, recollecting the visual imagery of giant concrete buildings, so she knew she wasn't crazy. It was a bit of a mystery, yes, but one she would worry about later. Bottom line, Kagome and Inuyasha at least now knew for sure, thanks to the headman's confirmation, that they did indeed have a group of friends out there, somewhere, and so they were who they needed to try and find next.

It would be difficult, since they had no identifying scent for Inuyasha to go on for tracking purposes, although at least thanks to her dream Kagome felt confident that she would recognize them when and if she saw them. Even if they did have a sample of their scents Inuyasha probably wouldn't be able to track them anyway since they had apparently been flying very high up in the air on some kind of a giant, friendly youkai. With nothing physical for their scents to cling to, to leave a mark behind, the air trail would have blown away on the wind by now. The only thing they had to go on was a direction, although that was definitely better than nothing; confirmation that their friends had taken off in the same direction they themselves had later departed in was actually a huge bit of helpful information, otherwise with no direction to go on they would pretty much be screwed. Kagome and Inuyasha had already determined based on the straight path of their trail over the trees that they had been making a bee-line towards wherever it was they'd been headed, and they now knew for a fact that a village rested in that direction, a village that had been in need of their aid in some way or another, and so the game plan now was to head back in that direction and stop in each and every village that lied directly in their path, inquiring about the others until they found a group of villagers that recognized her description of their friends and confirmed for them that they were in fact in the right place.

She only hoped that the others weren't suffering because of their absence, that whatever the problem was they had been going their to help with it had been something that their friends had been able to handle on their own.

Inuyasha could easily sense this growing worry in Kagome, as he glanced her way to see the way she was biting her lower lip, the look in her eyes troubled. It was getting very late, and they really did need to rest for the night, but yet a part of her was undoubtedly wanting to take back off right away. But how could they just blindly rush into a situation when they had absolutely no idea what they'd be facing up against?

“I'm sure our friends are fine, Kagome.” he assured her quietly, earning a surprised glance from the miko who hadn't realized she'd been wearing her emotions so outwardly.

“If our presence had been absolutely needed to help take care of whatever was going on in that other village then do you really think we would've split up like this?” he reasoned. “We either wouldn't have stopped at all, or if we really couldn't leave these poor villagers alone, if that oni had really been that bad, then it would've made much more sense that all of us stopped to help so that killing the oni would get done sooner and then we all would have left again, staying together, if our friends absolutely needed us to help them with whatever else it was. With us splitting up like this, it's more like you 'n' me are backup, and I bet whatever it is they don't even need us.”

“Your urgency to depart from our village did not seem rushed or panicked, as though every second were a matter of life or death.” the headman chimed in, wishing to reassure the miko himself at the hanyou's words. “You clearly could not dawdle, but you did stay for a while to dispose of the oni's remains and also to perform the last rights of our fallen, tasks I am sure you would have expressed a regret in being unable to perform had you truly been in that much of a hurry.”

“I suppose you're right...” Kagome murmured quietly, realizing both men made perfect sense. “Still, I suppose we best get going so that we can cover at least a little ground before it gets too dark.”

“Please...” the headman spoke back up at that. “It is so late now, sunset will be here very shortly. Please allow us to grant you a free room and evening and morning meals within our village, so that you might start out on your journey tomorrow morning refreshed and well fed. It is the least we can do.”

“Well...”

Part of Kagome wanted to say no, but a much larger part of her wanted to immediately say yes. What was the logic in just rushing out only to have to make camp in an hour or two? It wasn't like they could run straight through the night, and so in that case staying the night in the village instead wouldn't really lose them any more than an hour or two on their journey, and being well rested and well fed would certainly aid them in the long run. They wouldn't have to waste any time hunting and cooking breakfast, for one thing, so that would probably make up close to those two hours right there.

Sensing the change in her mood and realizing that she was about to say yes Inuyasha beat her to it, chiming in with “Sounds good to me.” He wouldn't have said anything had Kagome been adamant against it, but truth be told he thought the idea of staying the night in the village was a good one.

He was now positive based on his earlier initial reaction to arriving in the village that he would absolutely loath the idea of staying in a human settlement if he felt like he couldn't trust the locals, but he did feel like he could trust these particular people and so for that reason he felt perfectly safe within their borders. More than that, he actually felt safer here than out in the woods. Okay sure, they had recently been under attack by a powerful oni, but the headman had specifically stated that that attack had been because one of the villagers had had a slightly tainted jewel shard in his possession, which Kagome had then collected and purified. That just supported his theory that less pure shards would be more tempting to more youkai than the pure ones that Kagome carried, and if the way most forest youkai had been giving them a wide birth was any indication then he seriously doubted any of them were actually going to risk breaching the border of a human village in order to attack them, especially when her shards were kept so pure. The few little youkai who had tried to attack them had clearly all just been taking advantage of the fact that they'd been right there, rushing into their location, and so for them it'd been an opportunity of circumstance. 'Hey, these jewel shards are coming right for me, maybe I should try and snatch them as the hanyou and miko rush by.' Shaking his head, Inuyasha snorted to himself in amusement at that thought. Those sniveling excuses for youkai hadn't been what he'd consider a threat in the first place; certainly nothing to be afraid of now. And then as if reading his mind the village headman went and said that their nightwatchmen would be on duty throughout the entire night, ensuring that even if something dared to approach them there would be plenty of advanced warning. That sealed the deal, for hanyou and miko alike.

“That settles it, then.” Kagome agreed with a smile, realizing that if Inuyasha was actually keen on the idea of staying in such a safe place for the night that she definitely didn't want to argue against it.

He could use the opportunity to actually get a decent night's sleep, she'd quickly realized, since she knew he hadn't rested much the night before, if at all. Things might get even more stressful once they left this village, racing back in the opposite direction in the hope of finding their friends, people who might be engaged in the middle of a battle against some kind of a beast or another when they found them. She and Inuyasha might be running headlong into a fight, and one they knew absolutely nothing about in advance to even hope to prepare themselves for it, and so if they could get a good night's sleep for that one night before charging blindly into the unknown then that was an opportunity much too good to pass up, Kagome realized.

“Excellent!” the headman spoke up then, quickly showing hanyou and miko to a relatively small hut that lied within his family's compound, which was near the center of town, as far away from the bordering forest as possible. They would be quite safe there, indeed, and undisturbed, as he promised them their privacy, inviting them to join him and his family in the main house for dinner that evening before retiring while also stating that they could come in at any time of their choosing for breakfast in the morning before departing. There would be no wake-up call; none of his people would disturb them if they wanted to sleep-in and take advantage of getting however much rest their bodies required after all that they had been through recently.

When Kagome stated softly that she was truly grateful for all that he was doing for them but that she didn't want to impose on any members of his family, forcing anybody out of their home for the night to make an empty place for them to sleep, the headman solemnly explained that the young man who had lived in that small hut, his nephew, was actually among the few who had fallen during the oni attack, though not because the oni had gotten that far within their borders. Knowing that Kagome and Inuyasha could not remember how that battle had actually gone down he explained how his nephew, along with several other strong bodied young men, had rushed to the scene at the oni's arrival, trying their best to ward it off, with unfortunately little success. Kagome apologized profusely at that, stating that they didn't need to stay in his late nephew's home if that would be too awkward, but the village headman immediately waved off their concerns, assuring Kagome that she had honored his nephew, and all of the fallen, with her funeral blessings. It was his honor for her to stay on his family compound for the night, and he knew his nephew would be happy to share his home with them as payment for saving the rest of their village.

With that very mild bit of awkwardness settled as Kagome again agreed to stay with another humbly murmured thanks, she left her quiver, bow and backpack in the small hut in question before then accompanying the headman as he led both she and Inuyasha back to the main house, where the two of them had been invited to dine with his entire family. Nobody in the main house said anything about the hanyou choosing to keep his katana on his person; he was a hero warrior among them and so none of the headman's family considered it a rude gesture. Just as Inuyasha felt safer within this particular village than out in the woods, so too did the human villagers actually feel safer for this one night with he and Kagome staying within their borders.

Dinner was a quiet, peaceful affair, nothing like the celebratory feast the headman had originally wanted to prepare to honor the heroes two days prior. That was all right with the hanyou and miko, though. The food was good, the atmosphere pleasant, and when they departed for their room for the night afterwards Inuyasha couldn't help feeling warm and tingly inside as he caught the miko's gentle smile when she glanced his way in return. He couldn't blame it on the saké, since he had declined partaking in any, as had Kagome. He didn't know her reasoning although for himself he'd wanted only to make sure he kept his senses sharp. Although he did trust these villagers and did feel safer here than out in the forest that didn't mean he wanted to just go ahead and lower his guard completely. The headman had stated he understood and had not appeared to feel insulted. When Kagome had declined the saké as well, after him, Inuyasha hadn't been able to tell if she'd actually been thinking along the same lines he had been, as had been the excuse she'd verbally given, or if there had actually been another thought running through her mind at the time, but thinking back on the events of the day a light dusting of pink came to Inuyasha's cheeks as he quickly decided he was glad for Kagome's desire to remain sober, whatever her reasons. He didn't need to be any more tempted by her than he already felt.

A part of him actually found it a little strange how the village headman was so okay with the idea of the two of them sharing the same small, single-room hut for the night. Wasn't there some kind of a propriety rule against such things? Not that he really cared, of course, because even if the man had tried to separate the two of them he would have insisted that he and Kagome stay in the same room or the deal was off, anyway, for the simple fact that he refused to let her out of his sight. But the fact that it was actually the headman's idea that they share a room kind of threw him for a loop, as if a part of him had actually been expecting opposition and it was highly unusual that they had received none. Whatever the case, he certainly wasn't going to look a gift horse in the mouth, though...

Where the hell did I get a weird-ass expression like that? he questioned himself the very  moment the unexpected analogy constructed itself in his brain.

Shrugging it off after a moment, Inuyasha continued walking beside the miko...Kagome, her name is Kagome...until they made it to the small hut in question, reentering the room he'd already seen for a brief moment when Kagome had put her things away before dinner.

Little did he know, Kagome's thoughts were a similar whirlwind to his own in that moment, as she slipped out of her shoes in the dirt entryway before stepping up onto the raised wooden platform to walk forward into the rest of the house.

Why had the village headman been so okay with them sharing the same quarters for the night? Not that she minded, of course, but for some odd reason she had totally been expecting somebody to at the very least produce a privacy screen with which to divide the small space. As she glanced around the hut in that moment she immediately noticed that there was none.

Maybe he thinks we're ...?

That thought would start creating an emotional reaction within her that would be much easier for the hanyou to pick up on, she knew, so Kagome quickly clicked her thoughts over onto another subject in that moment. Besides, truth be told, she was glad for the close quarters. She wouldn't have wanted to be separated from him even if the headman had thought to put them in different rooms. The flustered schoolgirl in her played a fairly insignificant role in comparison to the warrior miko who felt safest in Inuyasha's presence because he was her sworn protector. Wherever he went she would follow, simple as that.

That's funny ... she thought then, chuckling a little to herself as she knelt on the floor and opened her backpack to retrieve her pajamas. He's the one who's actually half canine, but yet I almost feel like the loyal puppy.

The world was a big, scary place when you had no memories regarding who you were or where you lived, after all, a situation made even scarier for Kagome by other people not even understanding the few things she could still kind of half-ass remember about the world itself, like the headman not knowing what a telephone was, and so a big part of her definitely felt like clinging onto Inuyasha like her lifeline. If it weren't for his reassuring presence she would have probably freaked the hell out long before now. A large part of her was actually still very frightened, and rightfully so, she imagined, but at the same time she just felt safe because Inuyasha was with her; nothing bad could happen to her so long as he was there.

Said hanyou was curious about the miko's thoughts by that point, as she had been silent for the last few minutes aside from chuckling quietly to herself at one point, but he could tell that her mood was a pleasant one whatever she was thinking about and so for that reason he didn't pester her about it. The silence was broken by him when he saw her gather her night clothes, as he said “Here, I'll let you change.” before slipping out past the hanging reed mat that functioned as a door to the quaint dwelling.

Changing quickly, Kagome then called softly to the hanyou, knowing he would easily hear her, that it was safe for him to come back in now. He immediately did so, and then after slipping his sheathed katana from his obi and leaning it against the left wall by her bow and arrows he proceeded to gather some of the firewood from the opposite side of the room to stack in the firepit. She'd made all their previous fires while he'd been hunting, so since they had both been fed this time around he figured the least he could do for her would be to star the fire himself this time. They might not even need one but on the other hand it could possibly get really cold in the middle of the night without one and he didn't want to take any chances; she was human and could become ill if permitted to get too cold.

Kagome watched him work with an appreciative smile, until that smile turned into a perplexed frown as she saw him start trying to make a fire egg using the old fashioned drilling method.

“Why are you doing it that way?” she asked, her tone not really sarcastic but more genuinely confused.

He was confused himself in turn as he glanced up from his work at her question, replying, “Because I don't have a firesteel.” as if it were obvious.

But then his eyes widened in dawning, as a bit of a duh expression appeared on his face, realizing that she had an entire pack of miscellaneous supplies, most of which he hadn't seen, and that judging by how easily she had always had a roaring fire ready and waiting for him when he'd returned with his catches she clearly had a quicker way of going about it than the drilling method, which he figured could be difficult for humans who were more used to a flint and steel. Something told him that he'd be able to do it his way no problem, thanks to his demonic speed and accuracy, but that didn't mean he wouldn't gladly take a shortcut if he were able.

“Though if you have a firesteel and flint then yeah, hand 'em over.” he stated then as he sat his drilling aside, his tone of voice appreciative as he gazed her way with a thankful smile.

“Uh...I don't have that, but I do have matches.” Kagome explained then, noting the way her hanyou companion cocked his head to the side in canine curiosity at her statement as she produced said matches from her backpack.

Inuyasha openly stared, watching with total fascination as she struck one of the matches, which immediately flared to life, before then proceeding to ignite the tinder in the center of the firepit. Once again the concept seemed completely foreign and yet somehow also familiar to him at the same time, as if a part of him believed such a thing as these 'matches' shouldn't even exist even though he also felt as if he had seen them before, and so he chalked it up to something else of the miko's that he had been exposed to because of his relationship with her. It made sense, didn't it? Hell, she had even said that a part of her wanted to argue that there was no such thing as youkai, as if she had actually come from some far away, isolated human society that didn't even believe youkai existed any more because they were so well protected from them that they had become nothing more than rumor, and yet at the same time she was also fully accepting that all she'd seen since waking up was real and she wasn't crazy, knowing that she was friends with an inu-hanyou and even knowing what that tengu had been as she'd helped him fight against it. So since Kagome had clearly been raised in some far away place before coming into his part of the world, seeing things she hadn't originally known existed, then it made sense that she might also have some strange things of her own that he hadn't previously known existed either, right?

“That's pretty handy.” he commented then in regard to the matches, as he continued to stack the wood so that their fire would burn the best, unconcerned about his dangling sleeves now that he knew his robes wouldn't ignite.

“So is having fireproof skin and clothing.” Kagome commented with a chuckle as she watched him work, totally impressed and perhaps even a tad bit jealous of his ability. He certainly made being human seem like the raw end of the deal in comparison, not that she imagined he was showing off on purpose.

He shrugged.

“I don't think my body is fire proof, it probably just takes a hell of a lot more to get it going. After all, according to the headman I'd instructed the villagers to burn that oni's head and they did so without difficulty.”

“Maybe dead youkai flesh burns easier?” Kagome hypothesized.

“Not going to test that theory.” he joked, and she chuckled a bit again.

“Maybe you're just way stronger than that oni was, or maybe it actually was made out of wood. It apparently looked like a tree-man of sorts, from what they said.”

“That could be.” Inuyasha agreed, as he finally pulled his hands out of the fire, the wood stacked nicely with the blaze growing hotter and brighter by the minute.

“Well, you better go ahead and try to get some sleep, since they gave us this opportunity to rest safe and sound tonight.” he added after a moment, noting the way her whole posture was kind of slumped as she sat a little crooked with her bent legs only halfway tucked underneath her.

Hearing those words actually perked her up a little bit, as she glanced his way with a smile that was even warmer than the fire. “You too, you know. You didn't get any sleep last night so you should really take advantage of this opportunity.”

“Don't worry, I intend to.” he assured her as he scooted away from the fire a little bit to stretch out on the wooden floor, lying behind and to the right of the firepit from the perspective of the front of the house.

An observer looking in through the doorway would see Inuyasha and Kagome both behind the fire, Kagome sitting on the left with Inuyasha on the right, lying flat on his back in that moment with the top of his head pointed towards the back of the hut, as he gazed blinking up at the ceiling.

The position felt kind of funny to him, reemphasizing the impression he'd gotten the night before that he didn't usually lie down like that, although it was far too comfortable in that moment to worry about why he didn't normally do so. Who cared? For tonight that was how he planned on sleeping.

Kagome scooted away from the fire as well in that moment, digging her sleeping bag out from the bottom of her backpack before setting the giant yellow bag back against the left side wall of the hut behind her, by their weapons, not consciously aware of the eyes upon her as her shuffling around earned her the lazy attention of her roommate, who'd tilted his head to gaze in her direction as she worked. Kagome bit her bottom lip in thought as she unrolled her sleeping bag, thinking about her silent companion. She'd noticed a folded up futon in the far back corner of the room, but while she didn't really feel like she was invading the headman's nephew's privacy staying in his hut for the night using his futon would be crossing the line, she felt. Though of course, on the other hand, how fair was it for poor Inuyasha to once again go without bedding, especially when there was an available option at their disposal? It didn't take long at all for her concerns from the night before to rear their ugly head, with regard to her hanyou friend having to sleep on the ground, and this time there wasn't even a tree for him to perch in as an alternative, though she also imagined a wooden floor was better than dirt, at least. She wouldn't bring it up unless he did; she would still much rather he slept on the floor as opposed to getting no sleep at all, and she was sure he felt the same way.

Of course, she should have realized that her thoughts on the matter wouldn't go unnoticed. She didn't know if something in her scent had actually given her away, or if even simpler than that her facial expression had betrayed her instead, but as she crawled into her sleeping bag in that moment Inuyasha rolled himself over onto his right side to gaze more fully in her direction, propping his head up on his right hand, his arm bent at the elbow against the floor.

“Something the matter?” he asked her quietly.

She sighed and chuckled a bit, shaking her head at herself as she rolled over and propped her head up on her left hand, mirroring his posture while lying half tucked within the sleeping bag.

“Still just feel bad that I don't have an extra bedroll for you, is all.” she admitted, seeing no point in denying it. “There is a futon you could use, though, I guess...” she added hesitantly, gesturing to said item with a flick of her right hand.

“Bah...” Inuyasha waved off with his left. “What do I need bedding for?” he asked, trying to make her see that he was a lot tougher than she was, what with himself being half youkai while she was only human. “I ain't cold, and sleeping without padding ain't gonna hurt my back or nothin'.”

He did not want to use the deceased nephew's futon, though not because the guy was dead. He just didn't want to use anybody else's bedding, period, since it would be full of their scent. The hut itself didn't smell too strongly of the stranger, since it had been a couple of days; his lingering scent was stale and faded. The futon itself, on the other hand, kind of smelled badly to his nose, and so he was grateful for it being shoved away in the far back corner with Kagome lying so much closer to him than it was. He didn't want any other smells masking Kagome's delectable perfume.

“Still...maybe if I empty some of the hard stuff out of it you could at least use my backpack as a pillow or something.” Kagome added then, unaware of her companion's thoughts as she sat up within her sleeping bag and turned her head, gazing over her right shoulder to where her backpack rested against the side wall, near their weapons.

Inuyasha mulled that idea over before quickly deciding against it, unsure if using her backpack as a pillow would actually keep him up all night or lull him into an even deeper sleep than what he wanted to achieve. It would be nice, having that much stronger of a concentration of Kagome's scent literally right under his nose, but potentially dangerous as well, even though he knew the odds were slim that there would actually be any sort of youkai attack on that night. But it wasn't only being oblivious to the scent of creeping youkai that he was worried about. Worst case scenario the bag would keep him 'up' all night, even if he did fall asleep, and he wasn't really sure he wanted to know what waking up in the same room as her would be like in the morning if he ended up having one of those kinds of dreams during the night. What if he moaned in his sleep? Called out her name? How embarrassing! I mean sure, he'd already admitted to her that he found her attractive, but that didn't mean he wanted to give her a free show that she could laugh about in the morning. His face would probably permanently become the same color as his robes.

“No thanks, my nose is full of enough of your scent as it is.” he blurted then, not really thinking about how she might take it as he shuddered at the mental imagery his mind was already torturing him with at just the thought of maybe dreaming about her in such a way. He had to close his eyes and will his growing excitement to die back down.

Surprised and a little embarrassed by his words, Kagome didn't understand what he was hinting at at first and self-conciously lifted her right arm to sniff her own armpit.

“I...I'm sorry. I guess that brief soak in the spring yesterday didn't qualify as much of a bath, huh? Didn't use any soaps or anything...” she trailed off lamely, glancing over her shoulder again as she contemplated scooting herself a little further away from him, closer to the wall.

Inuyasha saw all this, of course, his eyes popping back open at her words, and so with an amused smile he was immediately up and sitting right in front of her in a cross-legged pose, his arms crossed as well and tucked within the voluminous sleeves of his suikan. She turned back his way and flinched in surprise the tiniest bit, simply startled by his rapid movement, but then she merely blinked at him in bemusement.

“Baka...” he teased playfully, his eyes sparkling. “I didn't say you smelled bad.”

She blushed at that, and he chuckled.

“I like your scent, okay?” he admitted then, getting a tad more serious. “I like it a lot, actually, and that's why I don't think it'd be a good idea if I just breathed you in all night long like that, since that yellow bag is just drenched in your scent. It would be...distracting.” he emphasized, smirking at the way her blush got even darker.

“O-okay, then...” she stuttered, earning another chuckle from the hanyou.

Seeing the playful teasing in his eyes quickly had her relaxing a little, though, her genuine thoughtfulness overriding her embarrassment to try and think of a genuine solution to the problem.

“What if you took off your suikan and we wrapped it around my backpack? Then that should mask my scent coming from the bag and you'd still get to use it as a pillow.”

He raised an eyebrow at her, his playful smirk turning into a softer smile.

“You really care that much, huh?” he asked, his tone of voice not really surprised but more as if he already knew it to be true and he was just stating the obvious, the look in his eyes appreciative. “You do realize that my suikan is covered in your scent as well though, right?” he reminded, a hint of a teasing glint coming back into his eyes.

Surprisingly, she actually rolled her own eyes at that instead of getting more embarrassed.

“Not on the inside, just flip it inside out. Or use your kosode instead.”

“Now you're just trying to get me to take my clothes off.”

Kagome actually laughed at that, reaching forward with her right hand and playfully shoving at the middle of his chest a little as if trying to push him away from being so close within her personal space, although of course he didn't budge; he was much too strong for her.

“Fine, be a baka.” she stated with a chuckle as she shoved again, a little harder that time. “Just go back over to your side of the room and sleep on the floor, then. See if I care.”

Her smile betrayed her playfulness as she shoved again with laughter in her eyes.

He was surprised by her strength as she shoved him harder and actually unfolded his arms to reach up and grab her wrist with his right hand, laughing as well with a teasing “Hey!” coming from his lips as he pretended as if she'd almost caused him to topple over. She wasn't that strong although he was honestly impressed with the force she'd exerted. Strength built up from repeatedly firing a bow, no doubt.

Kagome blinked in surprise as she felt him grab her wrist, laughing at first and half tempted to do something silly like blow a raspberry in his face until her gaze drifted downward to see the way he held her wrist in place, and then suddenly her eyes were widening to realize just how petite her hand actually seemed in comparison to his own much larger one. His hand was so huge, the visual almost looked like an adult grabbing a child's wrist.

“Oh wow...your hands are so big...” she commented, not really thinking about what she was doing as she reached up with her left hand for where his right hand held her right wrist.

Had he been familiar with the running joke stereotype from her world about what 'they say' about men with big hands he might have been tempted to make a joke about it, but as it was he still found her antics amusing and smirked to himself in silence as he complied with her unspoken request for him to release her wrist, as she lowered her right hand while maneuvering her left hand to press her left and his right hands together, palm to palm, so that they could compare just how much larger his hand actually was to hers. The gesture was purely innocent on Kagome's part, her eyes alight with wonder as if the size of his massive, clawed hand truly mystified her.

In actuality that wasn't very far from the truth, as Kagome's thoughts were running along the line of feeling in awe that such a powerful, magical being as him was truly her friend and protector. These strong, deadly hands, he'd used them to keep her safe, and even to keep her fed. And while she'd seen them slice through their enemies and could only imagine he'd used his bare hands to gut and skin his catches as well, he had still held her legs so tenderly as they'd ran together, her on his back. She'd had no fear of his claws then, and she had no fear of his claws now. Perhaps that was foolish of her, or perhaps it wasn't, but she'd been feeling in her soul from the very beginning that she knew she could trust this man, and that feeling hadn't changed, nor did she believe it ever would.

Of course, as Inuyasha gazed silently at the way Kagome was staring at their joined hands, he felt an entirely different type of wonder start to stir within him. Something was beginning to smolder from deep within his very core, something that he'd only oh-so recently been trying to keep a lid on so that it wouldn't boil over. That look of amazement in her eyes, to know it was directed at him he found humbling, but that didn't stop him from also noticing just how soft Kagome's hands actually felt, or from wondering what they would feel like on other parts of his body.

Is she just going to sit there and stare at our hands like that for the rest of the fucking night?  

He couldn't take it any more, he had to say something.

“K-Kagome...” he choked out, the word much more shaky than what he'd been hoping for.

It succeeded in bringing her out of her trance, though, as her eyes darted from their joined hands up to his face, and there was no mistaking the look of lust burning in his eyes as he stared right back at her, unconsciously licking his lips.

Flushing a bright cherry red, she quickly yanked her hand away as if he'd burned her. She did feel rather hot, all of a sudden.

“S-sorry...” she squeaked out lamely, earning an earthy chuckle from the hanyou.

“Do you have any idea just how cute you look when you blush like that?” he asked her with a teasing edge to his voice as he recrossed his arms, knowing damn well the question would make her blush even darker, which she did.

“You're still being a baka...” she murmured pitifully, hating feeling so embarrassed and unsure where the blame for her emotions truly lied. Perhaps she actually had no real reason to be embarrassed at all, and of course that possibility only embarrassed her all the more, for being so silly and shy when she shouldn't be.

She thought he would probably just chuckle again at her words; she wasn't prepared for how serious he suddenly became.

“I don't think so.” he answered, his tone reflecting polite disagreement. “I'm being honest.”

Something in his tone of voice earned him her eyes meeting his own again in that moment.

“You are so very handsome, too, you know.” she admitted then, and he didn't blush, although he did smile kind of shyly instead of repeating his smirk from before.

“Even with the ears?” he asked her, his tone kind of teasing as he wiggled said appendages back and forth.

He wasn't stupid, and knew full well that they made him look different from a normal human, even though he didn't presently recall any of the bad experiences he'd suffered through as a result of said differences. He supposed that if most people were just going to view him as a youkai then it didn't really matter what he looked like, but if Kagome might possibly be interested in him as a man then he could concede that his youkai traits might be a bit weird for her.

“Oh, especially with the ears.” Kagome replied then, her own voice teasing as well as she lifted up her right hand and gave his left ear a playful tweak.

He chuckled again at that, as he continued to sit with crossed arms and legs before her, while Kagome sat with her legs tucked halfway underneath herself and halfway within the sleeping bag, the top of which was pooled around her waist.

“Did that seem familiar to you, as I did that?” she asked suddenly, causing Inuyasha to blink in surprise at the unexpected question. “'Cause I've kinda been wanting to do that for a while now.” she admitted with a faint bit of blush returning to her cheeks.

He laughed a little more before offering her a crooked grin.

“I couldn't tell...do it again.” he replied, eyes sparkling.

Laughing and smiling as well, Kagome complied, reaching up with both hands that time to rub both of his ears between her fingers.

They're so soft!  she squealed like a girl within her mind.

He closed his eyes and tilted his head a bit to grant her better access, thoroughly enjoying the attention, although...he reluctantly acknowledged...she'd better stop it soon or else he'd be giving her some attention of her own, and she might not appreciate it as much.

“Kami, you could do that all night, but you'd better stop it.” he rumbled out, and for once Kagome understood right away, no brief moment of confusion first.

She had no idea what possessed her to say such a bold thing in that moment, but... “What if I don't want to stop?”

Lazily opening his eyes, he uncrossed his arms and reached up with both hands to gently cup her own, pulling her hands away from his tingling ears to rest them in his lap, still held within his grasp.

“Kagome...we...we need to stop this, before I can't stop it.”

“And what is 'it'?”

“Don't play dumb.”

Shifting her gaze to the fire for a moment, Kagome appeared to think a few things over, the silence in the hut almost deafening as Inuyasha remained sitting directly in front of her, waiting for whatever it was she was about to say.

“I...I feel like you are somebody very special to me. I can feel it in here...” She gently removed her right hand from his left and brought it up to her heart, her left hand still held by his right, resting on his leg.

“I know I've gotten embarrassed kind of easily a few times...” she continued, and he chuckled a bit at the cute reminder, “...but really, I think it's just because I'm so drawn to you. It's just weird feeling so connected to you when I still can't really remember a single thing about you. I feel like, in a way, it would be like throwing myself at a total stranger, and even though I can't remember anything about my past, either, I know me, in my heart, and I know I'm not the kind of girl who does that sort of thing.”

He nodded in agreement at that, for some reason feeling like he knew she wasn't like that, either.

“But yet, at the same time...” she continued, “...despite that feeling I also feel like you're not a stranger, and so then I've actually been kind of snapping at myself for acting so silly about it all, 'cause what is there to feel embarrassed about, really? Maybe there's a perfectly legitimate reason why we're so attracted to each other.”

“I totally get where you're comin' from.” he assured her when he felt like it was his turn to speak. “I can smell you all over me, 'n' me all over you, and even your giant yellow satchel. The scent transfer is so thorough that we must've been together for a long ass time now. I also feel deep down that you are somebody who's very important to me; I'm definitely not just protectin' you out of honor, like it's some kind of duty. I don't think I was hired to keep you safe because of those stupid jewel shards, although I'm sure they're probably why you need protectin'. I definitely do feel like it's my duty to protect you, but what I mean is I feel like I chose for it to be my duty, myself; I want to keep you safe. I know it would just kill me inside if something bad happened to you, and the fact that I can't remember shit about you don't seem to matter none when it comes to that. I just feel what I feel, I know what I know, and I know that detail about me 'n' you just the same as I knew how to hunt, or that it felt natural restin' in that tree last night. Whoever you are, and whoever else the two of us might know in our lives, you've got to be the most important person to me. I know what feels right and what feels wrong and it definitely don't feel like somethin' is missing, ya know? Ain't no doubt in my mind, all that really matters to me is you.”

Kagome smiled softly at that.

“So if we both feel in our hearts and souls that we are special to each other, more so than any other person, then it must be true.” she stated matter-of-factly, looking into his eyes, her own pools sparkling with a sea of mixed emotions.

Is it wrong to think I love him when I can't remember him?

Somehow, he read the question in her eyes, plucking it out of the storm of questions swimming through her head.

“Maybe...maybe we were promised to each other? Love each other?”

She didn't start or blush at his blatantly optimistic tone, instead steeling her gaze with a sparkle of playful challenge.

“But remember, despite smelling us all over each other, you also specifically said you couldn't smell 'that'.” she teased, just for the hell of it.

It was his turn to look away with the faintest of blushes on his cheeks.

“Doesn't mean it's never happened...” he admitted, adding, “Just not recently.”

She reached up with her right hand to gently hook her index finger under his chin, turning his face to meet her gaze once again, before then giving his right hand a little squeeze from where he still held her left hand against his right leg.

“I don't remember you...” she began, and his ears flattened a little in what he thought was going to be a polite rejection, until she added, “...but despite that, I feel like I've known you forever. Even if I never get my memories back, so long as I can stay with you, then I know I'll be content.”

It was too much, all this talk, her gentle touches... Without thinking about any possible consequences of his action Inuyasha leaned forward in that moment and tenderly pressed his lips against Kagome's.

She was startled for a fraction of a second but then before it was over, before he pulled away, she closed her eyes and returned the gentle pressure, kissing him back.

It was over much too soon for the both of them, and blinking her eyes open, Kagome said the first thing that came to mind.

“Did that seem familiar to you?”

Puzzling it over, he answered honestly, “I can't tell, but it sure as hell felt right. I think I've been wanting to do that for more than just one day.”

Kagome smiled lopsidedly at that. “Same here.” she admitted.

“Should we try it again?” he asked, his tone playful and eager but also a tad bit serious as he added, “Maybe we didn't give it enough time for it to seem familiar.”

“Only one way to find out...” Kagome answered, fisting Inuyasha's robes with both hands to pull him in for another kiss.