This takes place early in the manga, after Kikyo's resurrection and before the group's first encounter with Miroku.

I made researches on how arrows were made traditionally, but ended up simplifying it for the purposes of the story, so it's only partly accurate (emphasis on partly).

Word count: 2,559 words

The right place

Truth be told, when Inuyasha finally agreed to stop for the night, Kagome wanted nothing more than to grab her sleeping bag, get into it and sleep for forever. This journey was hard for her. She had always been reasonably athletic, but none of what she had done so far could have prepared her for riding her bike all day and fighting demons.

Particularly the fighting demons part.

The first few days had been terrible. Her muscles were so stiff she could barely move without grunting, and Inuyasha was probably the least sympathetic person in the world to that sort of pain. Dumb demons abilities.

However, she couldn't do that, because she had to help cook the dinner, and, most importantly, she had to make her arrows.

"I'll be back soon, Inuyasha," she said to the boy who was busying himself to get the fire started. "Just going for a walk to…"

He wasn't listening. She sighed and rolled her eyes, but didn't say anything. Inuyasha had been more silent since Kikyo had been resurrected. He was slowly coming out of his shell again, but Kagome did feel like they had regressed, which made her really frustrated, given how hard it had been to get Inuyasha to even be decent with her in the first place.

Well, technically he was decent right now. He just didn't speak. Sure, that meant no insults, but she kind of missed the way they bickered. She would take angry, yelling Inuyasha over silent and sad Inuyasha any time.

"Can I come with you Kagome?"

Kagome blinked and turned towards Shippo who had apparently jumped on her shoulder at some point without her noticing. He was looking at her hopefully. She smiled and ruffled his hair.

"Sure Shippo. I'll need your help collecting wood."

"I'm the one who collects the wood!" Inuyasha protested.

Kagome glanced at him with surprise. So he had been listening after all? Maybe she needed to give him more credit after all.

"Yes, Inuyasha, I—"

"Kagome can collect wood if she want to!" Shippo immediately interjected. "It's not only for you to do! Plus maybe she wants to get away from you because you've been all brooding and moody since…"

"Shippo!"

The kitsune interrupted himself mid-sentence, cowering under Kagome's glare.

"I need to get wood for my arrows," Kagome explained patiently. "Kaede taught me how to make them but since we left so quickly" because you absolutely refused to wait "I didn't get time to prepare any."

"But you still have some left," Inuyasha argued, eyeing her quiver.

"That won't last long," Kagome retorted, her tone getting sharper and sharper as her annoyance was starting to rise, "and we will have to be gone longer and longer now. I won't go too far from the camp. Also Shippo will be with me!"

"Keh! Like that runt would be able to protect you from anything."

"Inuyasha, I will have my bow and arrows, and I'll scream if I need help, okay?"

"I'm not your dog, wench. I'm not gonna spend my time helping you."

Deep breaths, Kagome, deep breaths. He feels guilty because you got kidnapped and nearly died, you need to be patient with him, his meeting with Kikyo was probably really traumatizing and…

"Plus you'd miss an elephant in a corridor," he sniggered.

"Sit!"

She left the camp, furious. They didn't have time for that! It was getting dark, and the longer he kept her there, the more dangerous it would actually be out there.

And seriously, her aim was getting better and better, and she would like to see what that jerk would do if he was the one who had to use the bow.

Finding wood turned out not to be too complicated with Shippo's help.

"So," he'd asked almost immediately, completely oblivious to Kagome's suspicious look as she wondered whether or not he had started that argument with Inuyasha on purpose, "what are we looking for, Kagome?"

"Well, Kaede said that it would be best if we could find bamboo," the teenager answered cautiously, "although I'm not sure if…"

Shippo sniffed the air repeatedly before flashing her a sly smile.

"I know where to find some! Ha, looks like my nose's just as good as Inuyasha's, huh?"

He looked so happy with himself that Kagome just let it slide, shaking her head with a smile. Kaede had warned her that this was not how arrows were traditionally made, but that it would do just fine for now. She didn't have the money to buy any, and she wouldn't be able to take enough arrows with her anyway.

Once Shippo found the bamboo, she carefully picked some, trying to remember Kaede's instructions. The hardest part was cutting them down. Technically, Shippo could have helped, but the point was precisely that Kagome was supposed to do as much of the work as possible herself. She did let him help her carry it back to the camp though.

Indeed, Kaede had told her that, while shooting an arrow technically made it 'hers', it was better if she was the one to create it and if it was bathed in her spiritual powers and aura. That was why Kaede insisted on her keeping arrows in the quiver and close to her at all times, and on waiting to use them, but apparently it would be best if she made them herself.

When her and Shippo got back to the camp, Inuyasha was gone, presumably to hunt for dinner. Feeling vaguely guilty for what had happened earlier, Kagome instructed Shippo to go get some water from a nearby stream. She was sure Inuyasha would appreciate some ramen.

Carving the bamboo wasn't the complicated part. It wasn't fun, but she managed not to cut herself — she was glad she had helped her grandfather with that sort of thing before. No, the annoying part was not only disgusting, but also complicated and very new.

Her grandfather had always insisted on making arrows in the traditional way, which she thought was a bit ridiculous, but she helped him pretty much once a year and then they'd sell the arrows at the shrine. However, even he didn't feel the need to attach the feathers in the old way. They would just use some sort of modern, quick drying adhesive and pretend that it was fine.

But that was not how it was done in the Feudal Era, oh no…

Kagome carefully took the Tupperware out of her bag. It was perfectly hermetic, and she would never thank modern technology enough for that, because had Inuyasha been able to smell that, he would never have approached her again. Hell, he wouldn't have touched her with a ten feet pole.

Why exactly was she thinking about Inuyasha touching her, and why was her heart beating faster at that thought?

Brushing the thought away, she walked a little further from the camp and slowly opened the box. She was immediately assaulted by the fish smell and retched. Gosh, that thing stunk. They just had to make glue with fish, huh? She would have to ask Kaede if that was really important, because if it wasn't, she would definitely bring glue from the future next time.

Quickly, she rummaged through her bag and got the plastic bag in which she'd put the feathers, which Kaede had also given her. They apparently came from bird-demons who had been defeated by various priestesses or demon slayers. According to the old woman, as long as they were in contact with a priestess' aura, they were what worked best against demons.

Kagome tried to check the feathers to know which came from a left wing and which came from a right wing, as instructed by Kaede, but the difference seemed very vague to her, and she pretty much gave up on that, focusing on gluing them to the bamboo. Touching the glue did feel rather disgusting and she would have to wash her hands ten times afterwards. Not to mention, it was her first time doing it and she had a really hard time doing it.

Once she was done, she went to the stream to wash her hands, with soap, only to find that the reason why Shippo hadn't returned yet was that he was playing with fishes. The sight made her laugh. The kid deserved to have fun. And, at least, he didn't particularly seem to notice her smell in that environment.

When they went back to the camp together, Shippo nestled against her chest, Inuyasha was there, gutting some wild animal and preparing it to be cooked. You would think that that would be to much for just the three of them, but most of the time it was just enough. Shippo and Inuyasha could eat for ten. Another demon thing, probably.

He did sniff the air a couple of times as if a smell was personally offending him, but Kagome pretended not to notice.

Instead, while waiting for the water to boil and for him to finish dismembering the animal, she proceeded to carefully finish tying the feathers with silk. It had also been given to her by Kaede, but both that and the feathers didn't really add any weight to her bag, so that hadn't been a problem. The arrow heads, on the other hand…

She didn't really complain about it, but those weighed a ton. Had she said anything, though, Inuyasha would have gone on his usual rant, about how she always took too much stuff with her, and why did she need to bathe so often anyway, and she was such a weak human who couldn't lift stuff, and she needed to sleep too much, and, and, and.

Just thinking about it kind of just made her want to sit him for no reason. The thought brought a wicked smile to her face. She didn't do it, though, of course.

But seriously, it would have been funny.

"And here you go Inuyasha!" she said, handing him the ramen.

He answered with a sharp nod. He rarely thanked her, but it didn't matter too much to her. She rarely thanked him as well. She didn't feel like they had to do that, not with each other. It was just something they did, and it felt natural.

She watched him slurp it down with a smile on her face, while trying to prepare her arrows. It wasn't all that simple, because she had to put the bamboos shaft into the fire long enough to heat it but not for it to burn, and then she had to insert the arrow head in it, without burning herself if possible.

Inuyasha didn't really notice anything, even when she left a bamboo in it for too long, causing it to burn completely. He was usually completely oblivious to the rest of the world when he was eating.

She had managed to make three arrows when he obstructed her view, crouching in front of her.

"What the hell do ya think you're going to do with that?" he asked, pointing a clawed finger towards her arrow heads.

She frowned, and looked back at him, uncertain.

"Erm. Arrows?"

He grinned and shook his head, grabbing one of the arrow heads.

"That ain't gonna pierce anything."

Kagome tilted her head, examining it more carefully. He was right. Kaede had said something about that, though, what…

"Oh, Kaede said it's because priestesses don't need it, so she doesn't want to waste the blacksmith's time. The spiritual energy does all the work, the arrow's more like a container."

Inuyasha shook his head, and proceeded to sharpen the steel, using his claws as a hone. The sound made Kagome cringe. She expected the claw to break, but it did not, and not for the first time, she wondered just how resistant Inuyasha's body was. The boy could take unbelievable damages and be up and running the next day, but couldn't handle spicy food? What was going on with him, dammit?

"There ya go." Kagome grabbed the piece of steel and approached her index finger from the tip in order to test it, only for Inuyasha to grab her hand and stop her, almost immediately releasing her. "What are ya doing, you idiot?! Didn't you just see me sharpening that?"

She rolled her eyes and vaguely mumbled an answer to which he didn't pay any attention. Instead, he was looking down at his hand, trying to make sense out of the tingling and warm sensation he was feeling. Was that normal? Was that something humans or just people felt when they touched each other? He didn't remember feeling that when his mother touched him or when he hit Shippo though. Maybe it was a Kagome thing?

It felt nice.

He heard a pleased exclamation when she managed to get the bamboo out of the fire and successfully put the arrow head in it. Then, with the silk, she tied it a bit more precisely, and, satisfied, put it with the three she had done previously. Inuyasha shook his head. She was too enthusiastic about everything.

And maybe he liked it, but he would never admit it out loud.

"Lemme do these too," he grumbled, reaching out for them.

"No!" Kagome put her hands on the arrows just as he was about to grab one. He looked hurt as he pulled back.

"Keh. 's not like I actually want to do it, just thought you'd be less useless if…"

"Didn't you just see me making that?" she interrupted him, mimicking his tone. "Those are purifying arrows, Inuyasha. You could hurt yourself."

Oh. He hadn't thought of that.

"Well," he mumbled, folding his arms, "maybe I shouldn't help you. Wouldn't want the half-demon to taint that power, would ya?"

Kagome looked at him in complete disbelief.

"What are you even talking about? Shippo helped me find the bamboos, you can help me sharpening the arrows. Although, as I told you, it's not that important against demons."

He scoffed.

"D'ya really think you'll only have to use these against demons? What, think humans wouldn't do anything to you 'cause you're a miko? There are men out there who…"

He interrupted himself. What was he even saying? He would never let that happen to her. Never. But still, if anything happened, he'd rather she had real, sharpened arrows to defend herself.

Kagome looked at him quizzically, but didn't ask any more questions. She knew Inuyasha had been alone for a long while and he had, no doubt, seen much more than she could imagine. She didn't want to be plagued with fear, though, and while she would like to know more about him, she didn't want to know about all that. If there had been psychologists in this time, she would have sent him talk to one, but she couldn't play that role. She had to keep herself preserved as well.

So, instead of talking, she let a comfortable silence settle between them. She let her shoulder touch his, she felt him tense at first and then relax. She pretended not to notice the smile that shortly graced his face.

It was not an important moment, probably not one that they would remember when this would all be over.

But if felt natural. It felt good.

It felt right.

Hope you've enjoyed! I just thought about how we never saw where Kagome's apparently endless arrows were coming from and I wanted to write some sweet scene about that. Please leave a review if you liked the story, it's always nice to know!

Dya.