The Fox's Son

Chapter 37 - The Dead Lover

It was late into the night as the animal Inuyasha caught laid roasting over the fire. Shippo and Kirara were curled up together in the sleeping bag, already having had eaten their fill. Kagome was joting down notes in her diary as Miroku slept a few feet away from her. Kagura and Inuyasha slept in the trees - Inuyasha, out of habit, and Kagura, due to her closeness to the winds. Naruto lied in the trees as well. Whether he was sleep or not, no one knew.

However, Sango laid awake, sharpening her sword with a stone since Hiraikotsu was currently broken. Her eyes was ablaze with anger and a little hurt. In a way, she felt betrayed by the group. The tajiya watched how they had conversed with her throughout dinner, almost as if they were never enemies. While Inuyasha and Miroku didn't act as friendly, they didn't exactly orchestrate her out either. Kagome, Shippo, and Kirara, however, were different stories.

For them and Kirara, the neko yokai who had practically been with her since she was a child, to just openly accept the demoness was like a slap in the face. It was a betrayal in and of itself.

And don't let her get started on Naruto. She looked up at the hatted man who was currently lying in the tree. She narrowed her eyes at him before turning back to her blade. He had no right to intrude the way he did. It angered her even more that he acted as if he understood. He would never understand. He had only just joined their group and didn't understand the hardships they had gone through because of her. He didn't see all the battles they had to fight and the blood they had to spill because of her.

She mentally growled as she sparks flew from her hard eyes, tracing the stone over the blade again. Looking at her, you would think she was glaring at the sword instead of sharpening it.

Naruto looked down at her, under his hat. He could feel her anger rolling off of her in waves as she sharpened her blade. He also caught the harsh glare she sent him before she returned back to her sharpening. He knew she was upset with him for what happened earlier and knew why. He continued to watch as her hate-filled eyes glared daggers into the sword as she sharpened them. If looks could kill, he was sure that one would be dead. He mentally sighed at this. He knew it was hard for her, but she had to understand that the mission would always come first and that emotions are insignificant when there is a larger goal in mind.

"If you wish to hate, Sango, do so. However, hate for the proper reason." He said, looking down at her from his branch. "Blaming one for crimes he/she did not commit only makes the issue more painful for both parties."

Sango looked up at him and sent him a hard glare before huffing and turning away angrily, indicating that she wanted to be left alone. "You don't know anything about it." she said in a harsh whisper, not wanting to wake the others. The fist clenching of the sword and stone was clear evidence of her anger and the salty smell of her tears indicated that she was trying not to cry.

Naruto continued to look down at the tajiya as she struggled to hold her tears. He could feel her conflicting emotions and pitied her. He may have not gone through exactly what she has, but he understood lost. He understand manipulation and he understood the feeling of helplessness. In fact, out everyone, Naruto was probably the one that understood the most. However, growing up, he couldn't allow his emotions to cloud his judgment. Did this mean that he was emotionless? No. However, it did mean that he had make calculated decisions and account all factors of the situation, regardless of how he felt about it. It was this way of thinking that kept him alive.

"Hn." Naruto responded as he closed his eyes and went back to meditating as he did before. "Perhaps." he said, not uttering another word.

Kagome watched the small exchange from behind the cover of her diary. She could clearly see that what had transpired earlier between the three had not set to well with her demon hunting friend. She sighed at this. She really didn't like to see the group fighting like this.

Naruto was resting comfortably against the tree before his eyes popped open. He felt an odd yet familiar signature nearby. It was inhuman, yet it felt similar to Kagome's and Midoriko's signature. 'So the dead priestess has finally revealed herself, huh...' he mused to himself as he looked up at the sky. Feeling the familiar energy, Kagome looked into the sky as well. Above them, the familiar sight of one of Kikyo's soul collectors passed by.

Kagome's heart clenched painfully at the sight. Her gaze immediately shifted to her hanyou companion. Naruto looked down below and watched in silence. Inuyasha, already rousing, soon would be fully awake. As predicted, the second the inu hanyou's conscious mind kicked in, he instantly awakened. The observer heard him whisper 'Kikyo' before taking off into the trees after her. Seeing him disappear into the distance, Kagome felt the familiar twinge in her chest again.

Naruto gracefully descended down the tree and onto the ground. He could feel the miko's sadness and longing as she watched the hanyou chase after his dead lover. He felt for her and her situation. Although she had gotten a lot better since their last chat, he could tell that instances such as these still bothered her. Hell, he believed that if he had been in her situation, he would be bothered by it too. He remained silent as he made his way over to the downtrodden miko.

Kagome suddenly felt a comforting hand on her shoulder. She looked up found Naruto standing in front of her, looking down at her sitting form. She could tell he was giving her a reassuring smile from behind his face mask. His engaging red and blue eyes looking down upon her, gentle as he gave her shoulder an encouraging squeeze before he began to walk off.

She saw him walk into the trees, his cloak swaying as moved unhurriedly into the forest. Allowing her curiosity to get the best of her, Kagome stashed her diary and followed. Despite of the fact that she knew that the end of the road may lead her to another painful witness of a moment between the two old lovers, Kagome trailed the hatted man, walking towards the source of her heart ache.