When we made it to the edge of the woods, we were on much friendlier terms. I was glad for it. I was also glad for the fact that my feelings had already been made somewhat transparent. It hadn't exactly been my intention, but I guess I hadn't helped myself. For me, the sexual and romantic tension hung heavily in the air, as tangible as the aura of the Shikon jewel or Lady Kikyo's scent.
It was impossible not to act on it.
To my simultaneous surprise and relief, the priestess didn't seem bothered by her newfound interpretation of my feelings. I rolled my eyes again--so much for purity.
The tall trees cast dark shadows on the landscape. The surrounding mountains blocked out much of the sky, but looking directly upward I could still see the moon among the myriad of stars.
"My, it's gotten so late," I said, almost to myself.
Kikyo nodded. Her long, dark hair--now dry--moved easily in the wind.
"I'm sure there'll be questions. I didn't tell anyone I'd be gone, and I'm sure some people must have noticed by now."
I raised an eyebrow.
"Are you popular?"
She smiled.
"Something like that. My spiritual powers, I don't just use them to protect the Shikon jewel. I also use them to heal the sick, and purify the dying."
"Heh, in that case you better hope no one died while you were gone!"
She shot me a look, and I cleared my throat awkwardly.
Yeah, not good.
She led us down the grass hill, the village homes growing closer every second. I was looking at the setting with new eyes, now; I felt like one of them, almost. Whereas before I had regarded the village in a dismissive way, seeing myself as utterly separate from its structure and its inhabitants, I was now on ground-level, walking with nobody other than the very life and light of the village herself. I felt a little embarrassed, suddenly; and self-conscious. What would they think of me?
I hadn't ever given the villagers much thought. I'd only cursorily noticed them; they'd been nothing but an aftertaste, a distraction at the edge of my vision, which had always been focused on the jewel. Until now.
What would they think of me?
Because before I hadn't had any interest whatsoever in forging a relationship with the villagers, I hadn't given a damn about my likability, or about their impressions of me. But now, because of her, this mattered. These were her people, as she kept saying, and a successful relationship with Lady Kikyo would mean a successful relationship with those whom she loved, as well.
And so, in as subtle a way as possible, I reached up to feel my two twitching ears, and to run a hand over my hair to see if it seemed presentable, and I examined my hands and nails closely. They were dirt-stained, and hardly proper, and they still smelled of the priestess. I suppose I had had my opportunity earlier, when I'd been near the river; but I hadn't chosen to wash them.
"Don't be like that," she said, grabbing my right arm and returning it to my side. "Don't worry so much."
Before I could retort that I wasn't worried and that I was offended she would think that of me, I noticed a young girl running toward us, and I narrowed my eyes. Her hair was black like Kikyo's, and she looked to be around 9 or 10 years old.
"Who's that?" I asked, at the same time that Kikyo said,
"That's Kaede, my younger sister."
Her younger sister drew near, but halted when she noticed me. She regarded me with a more open expression than that of her older sister, displaying her emotions more clearly, and I detected her fear and her distrust. Whereas her distrust would have made me defensive under other circumstances, her fear made me self-conscious;
What does she see in me that makes her afraid?
It made me feel that there was something fundamentally wrong about me; something wrong in the unnatural color of my eyes, or in the predatory slits of my pupils; something wrong in my sharpness of my fangs, or in the silvery ears sticking out of my hair; something wrong in the long, pointed claws that decorated the ends of my hands.
I watched the grass as it moved in the soft wind, my eyes directed toward the ground in shame.
Then, I regained my composure.
"Hey, Kid."
I flashed her a smile.
"Kaede, is it? It's nice to meet you." I rested my wounded arm on my knees, crouching down a little in an attempt to make myself less threatening. I extended my right hand tentatively. "My name is InuYasha."
"I know about you," she said, her voice small. Not taking my hand, she looked at her sister Kikyo for what to do.
The pain of social rejection acutely felt, I curled my fingers inward and retracted my hand. At the same time, Kikyo said:
"Kaede, it's okay. She's with me." I watched as Kikyo reached for her sister to embrace her. Watching them as they hugged, I couldn't help but feel something within me--a warmth somewhere in my chest, a feeling of... affection, perhaps it was. After seeing Kikyo as an adversary for so long, I was now finally beginning to see another side to the multi-faceted being she was, and the love I found made me regret having ever treated her so coldly. I had always been careful, and I had always been kind; but now I was beginning to feel wretched for not having been kind enough.
After Kaede pulled away, she hung close to her sister, and watched me with new emotion. I attempted what may have looked like an awkward smile.
"Kaede, InuYasha's hurt." I held up my arm in demonstration, laughing a little. I was beginning to let my guard down, and I think a glimmer of kindness must have been evident in my gaze when I teasingly said,
"I wonder why." Kikyo gave me a teasing smile, before saying,
"Yes, I wonder."
Kaede looked between us in confusion, still unaware that we were now on friendlier terms, and tried to side with her sister.
"You did that, didn't you?" Kaede asked, looking up at her older sister. "Was InuYasha trying to steal the jewel again?"
"Something like that." Kikyo ruffled the younger girl's hair, then asked Kaede if she could run home and prepare a few materials for the treatment of my wound. Kaede was initially hesitant about the prospect of leaving her sister with me alone, but Kikyo nodded at her reassuringly. "Go on," she said. "We'll be right behind you."
