PROLOGUE
*
Wind rattled the leaves and rustled the grass. The sky was overcast, veiled over with clouds, and a storm was gathering to the east.
Under a ragged bush, a fox crept against the trunk of a tree. Its nose twitched. A demon was coming closer. Not a little one, but a huge, dangerous one. One that smelled of blood -- its own and other creatures'.
A great lumbering shape lurched from the trees. It was wobbling slightly, and its breath came in sharp snorts. Mad eyes turned slowly around the clearing; it threw its head back and roared.
*
"All I'm saying is," Kagome repeated peevishly, "you didn't have to actually scare the guy like that. I mean, did you really HAVE to tell him, in detail, what you were going to do to him if he didn't tell us? Especially if you never meant to do it?"
Inuyasha just muttered, "Huh."
As usual when Kagome and Inuyasha were disagreeing, Sango and Miroku were keeping silent and looking away. Each one had tried to mediate in previous arguments, only to have a snarling half-demon telling them in no uncertain terms to mind their own business.
Shippo was napping in the basket of Kagome's bicycle, with Myoga somewhere in his tail. Miroku sometimes wondered how Shippo could nap through the loud arguments that Kagome and Inuyasha often had. I suppose he's just used to them, he thought with a sigh. Hopefully the little fox wasn't getting a warped idea of how people acted. After all, to some degree he considered Inuyasha a role model.
"So, you just want to scare people into fits?" Kagome demanded.
"It worked, didn't it?" Inuyasha snapped.
"After the guy fainted. I thought he was dead at first."
"I've never SCARED anyone to death. Besides, he was a little rat -- a thief, a liar, and possibly a murderer."
"Emphasis on 'possibly'!"
The argument continued until they reached a clearing suitable for a camp. Miroku seated himself and began to pile firewood. Sango dismounted from Kirara, and for a moment he regarded the nearness of her long legs. He reluctantly decided not to. She was still holding her boomerang.
Inuyasha sat opposite Miroku with the Tetsusaiga in his lap. "Are you gonna stop me every time I wanna question someone?" he demanded from Kagome.
"No, just so long as you're reasonable about it," Kagome said.
Inuyasha muttered something unintelligible.
"Kagome," Sango said, shaking her water flask. "How far away is Kaede's village?"
"Not that far, actually," Kagome said. "An hour, maybe two."
"Are you going back to your own time?" Miroku asked.
"No, my school's on break," Kagome said, digging through her backpack.
"That's a first," Inuyasha muttered.
"I'll probably spend a few hours with my family to let them know I'm okay. And to get some laundry done," Kagome said thoughtfully. "Ever since that little incident with the water ticks, I haven't been that crazy about doing my laundry in ponds." She pulled several rather battered packages of ramen out of her backpack. "Sango, how much water do we have?"
Sango shook her water flask. "Not much."
Inuyasha had crept closer to Kagome. "There's a well over near that big willow," he said, eyeing the ramen.
Kagome picked up a small kettle. "Well, I'll be back in a few minutes."
TO BE CONTINUED
*
Wind rattled the leaves and rustled the grass. The sky was overcast, veiled over with clouds, and a storm was gathering to the east.
Under a ragged bush, a fox crept against the trunk of a tree. Its nose twitched. A demon was coming closer. Not a little one, but a huge, dangerous one. One that smelled of blood -- its own and other creatures'.
A great lumbering shape lurched from the trees. It was wobbling slightly, and its breath came in sharp snorts. Mad eyes turned slowly around the clearing; it threw its head back and roared.
*
"All I'm saying is," Kagome repeated peevishly, "you didn't have to actually scare the guy like that. I mean, did you really HAVE to tell him, in detail, what you were going to do to him if he didn't tell us? Especially if you never meant to do it?"
Inuyasha just muttered, "Huh."
As usual when Kagome and Inuyasha were disagreeing, Sango and Miroku were keeping silent and looking away. Each one had tried to mediate in previous arguments, only to have a snarling half-demon telling them in no uncertain terms to mind their own business.
Shippo was napping in the basket of Kagome's bicycle, with Myoga somewhere in his tail. Miroku sometimes wondered how Shippo could nap through the loud arguments that Kagome and Inuyasha often had. I suppose he's just used to them, he thought with a sigh. Hopefully the little fox wasn't getting a warped idea of how people acted. After all, to some degree he considered Inuyasha a role model.
"So, you just want to scare people into fits?" Kagome demanded.
"It worked, didn't it?" Inuyasha snapped.
"After the guy fainted. I thought he was dead at first."
"I've never SCARED anyone to death. Besides, he was a little rat -- a thief, a liar, and possibly a murderer."
"Emphasis on 'possibly'!"
The argument continued until they reached a clearing suitable for a camp. Miroku seated himself and began to pile firewood. Sango dismounted from Kirara, and for a moment he regarded the nearness of her long legs. He reluctantly decided not to. She was still holding her boomerang.
Inuyasha sat opposite Miroku with the Tetsusaiga in his lap. "Are you gonna stop me every time I wanna question someone?" he demanded from Kagome.
"No, just so long as you're reasonable about it," Kagome said.
Inuyasha muttered something unintelligible.
"Kagome," Sango said, shaking her water flask. "How far away is Kaede's village?"
"Not that far, actually," Kagome said. "An hour, maybe two."
"Are you going back to your own time?" Miroku asked.
"No, my school's on break," Kagome said, digging through her backpack.
"That's a first," Inuyasha muttered.
"I'll probably spend a few hours with my family to let them know I'm okay. And to get some laundry done," Kagome said thoughtfully. "Ever since that little incident with the water ticks, I haven't been that crazy about doing my laundry in ponds." She pulled several rather battered packages of ramen out of her backpack. "Sango, how much water do we have?"
Sango shook her water flask. "Not much."
Inuyasha had crept closer to Kagome. "There's a well over near that big willow," he said, eyeing the ramen.
Kagome picked up a small kettle. "Well, I'll be back in a few minutes."
TO BE CONTINUED