Two updates in one month. o.O Am I sick?

If I wanted to title this, I’d call it “Subtlety”… Haha!

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Chapter four

“Kagome…”

Said woman frowned at the slight hesitance in the elder woman’s voice as she turned her head to glance at the exterminator beside her. “Yes, Sango? What’s wrong?

Sango bit her bottom lip and darted a glance at the two men walking a good distance ahead of them. She watched the half-demon’s swiveling ears for a moment before turning back to her friend. “Kagome…have you noticed the rather…ah, peculiar behavior of those two since last night?” she asked softy, yet again eyeing the two twitching radars atop a head of white hair.

Her frown deepening, Kagome bit her lip as well and observed the two men of their group talking quietly ahead of them closely. A light flush surfaced upon her features as she recalled last night’s rather strange happenstance concerning the half-demon and a statement concerning her…assets and not to mention the intense stare he gave her this morning when she woke up.

She shuddered as she remembered the way his amber eyes seemed to bore into her own, a hidden promise swimming in those honey depths. Peculiar behavior, indeed.

Truthfully, she had wondered just where in the world that so not Inuyasha-esque comment had come from. It wasn’t like Inuyasha at all to just…blurt something out like that. Sure, spontaneity was part of the hanyou’s personality, but to say something like that… Given his shy nature of all things women and rough-and-tough attitude, Kagome was certainly not expecting such lewd things to come from his mouth. And where he had learned such a crude word of a woman’s breasts, anyway?!

Confusion turned into suspicion and her russet eyes narrowed slightly. “Actually, Sango, ‘peculiar’ doesn’t even being to cover it,” Kagome said softly, careful not to disturb the slumbering kitsune in her arms. “It’s just down right weird. I mean Inuyasha would never ever say…what he did in a million years, least of all to me. He should have known he’d get sat for that but…” She frowned again. “Come to think of it, he wasn’t at all angry when it wore off…”

“Exactly,” Sango agreed and turned her attention to their companions once more. “Have you noticed Miroku’s as well?”

“No, I haven’t. What did he do this time?”

“It’s what he didn’t do that worries me.” She sighed.

“Didn’t…?”

Sango sucked in a breath and had the good grace to blush slightly. “Ah, when I checked him last night for a fever, my, um, chest was practically in his face and he didn’t once look down or take advantage that I was so close to him. You know as well as I do that he’d normally revert to his lecherous ways and grope me or something…but he didn’t do anything.” The taijiya cast a puzzled glance toward the monk in question.

Kagome’s eyes rounded at that and she stared at her friend with astonishment. “You’re joking.”

The demon slayer made a face and looked down at the path they were currently walking that led to the village rumored to house a jewel shard. “Sadly, I kind of wish I was. It’s just so…well, like you said, weird. It was the perfect opportunity to try something, and yet he remained perfectly still and didn’t even bother to say anything. Isn’t that a little—”

“Suspicious?” the school girl finished for her with a nod. “Yes, something is definitely up. We’d best be on our guard, Sango. With Inuyasha and Miroku asking acting completely out of proportion of their personalities, there’s no telling what they’re going to do next.” Sango nodded in agreement when a sudden thought occurred to Kagome and she frowned then shook her head. “No, it can’t be…there’s just now way…”

“What is it, Kagome?” Sango questioned, slight trepidation in her voice.

Kagome turned wide eyes to her friend. “Sango… What Inuyasha is doing and what Miroku is…well, not doing…it’s almost as if…”

“They’ve switched personalities,” the exterminated finished with a matching set of wide brown eyes.

“Shit,” Inuyasha cursed and shot a quick, nervous glance behind them at the two women considered their targets.

Miroku quirked a brow at his half-demon companion. “Something the matter, Inuyasha?”

“Yeah, something’s the fucking matter,” Inuyasha growled. “They’re suspicious, monk. I can hear ‘em talking, though I don’t think they know I am. They haven’t done anything yet…shit,” he swore again.

The priest’s brows rose into the dark fringe of his bangs and then he frowned, looking down at the dirt path. “Well, that certainly complicates things. Now that they’re suspicious of us, their guards will be up when around us, and as such we won’t be able to—”

“Yeah, yeah, I know,” the golden-eyed hanyou growled then glared ahead. Glancing askance at the and beside him, who seemed to be in deep thought, Inuyasha growled again for good measure then reluctantly withdrew in on himself. A dim thought rattled in the back of his mind, I can’t believe I’m asking a voice in my head…

Any suggestions, asswipe?

Silence greeted his question and Inuyasha sighed in annoyance. I know you’re there, lech. Quit hiding and answer the damn question.

An annoyed huff resonated within his head and Inuyasha blinked and shook his head. He would never get used to that. ‘I’m here, I’m here. No need to get pissy with me, hanyou. I’ll have you know you woke me from a rather lovely dream of that Kagome woman concerning a vat of rice pudding, my tongue, and—’

Don’t…you even dare finish that sentence, you goddamn bastard. Inuyasha snarled menacingly and he must have vocalized it because he got a strange look from Miroku, but he ignored it.

A long-suffering sigh before, ‘Testy, testy. You really do need to get laid, don’t you?’

You little—!

‘Ever heard of the term subtlety, my good half-demon?’

Inuyasha’s snarling abruptly cut off and he blinked. Subtle…um…

The little asswipe heaved a heavy sigh and he could just sense it was rolling its non-existent eyes. ‘Faint, delicacy, inconspicuous, indirect, sly…’

I knew what it meant!

‘Sure you did. Anyway, you uneducated dolt—’

He growled.

‘—as I was saying, subtlety is the key. Don’t make it too obvious that you’re trying to touch her, or stupidly blurt out what you think is the best way to get into her pants.’

Dammit, I’m not trying to—!

‘Just remember subtlety and you’ll be fine. Now, back to that simply marvelous dream… Oh, and watch out for that tree. Good day.’

Wha—? “Ow! Goddamn it!” Rubbing his forehead, Inuyasha glared at the offending tree before promptly unsheathing his sword and slicing it in half. “Keh. Stupid tree. Jumped out in front of me…stupid demon tree…”

“Are you alright, Inuyasha?” Miroku asked, amusement obvious on his face as he tried not to laugh at the grumbling half-demon.

“Shut up,” Inuyasha snapped then stomped on ahead, still grumbling about demon trees and annoying perverted voices.

The monk arched a brow then looked back at the two puzzled ladies as they neared him.

“Did he just…?” Sango began and Miroku nodded.

“Yes, but it’d be best not to mention it until he’s over it. I tried to warn him, but he seemed to be in a daze or something.” He shot a quick grin over at Kagome. “Daydreaming, perhaps?”

Kagome blushed hotly and glared at him.

Chuckling, Miroku shook his head and stepped back, sweeping an arm out in front of him in a show of good mannerism. “Ladies.” He smiled charmingly.

Sango eyed him warily as they passed him then flicked her gaze down to his hand. It twitched slightly, and then lay still at his side. Frowning, the taijiya shook her head then increased her pace to catch up with Kagome and Inuyasha, who stopped somewhere ahead to wait for the “slow humans.”

Still smiling, Miroku followed behind them, fisting his hand at his side then taking a deep breath when he was sure the girls wouldn’t be able to hear. This is going to be harder than I originally thought… He grit his teeth and tore his gaze away from Sango’s alluring figure to the softer curves of the young woman beside her.

His violet eyes flashed and his lips curled mischievously. But at least I can still have a bit of fun.

I never realized how soft her skin was before, Inuyasha idly thought as he bounded through the trees, Kagome’s smooth thighs clutched in his hands as she clung to him. And then he remembered just how he was able to feel her smooth skin in the first place and smirked, glad that the warm body on his back wasn’t able to see it.

About half an hour after running into the damn tree – Miroku wasn’t about to let him forget about that – the scent of blood had drifted to him on the wind and he’d scouted ahead, Tetsusaiga drawn and transformed. It didn’t take him long to find a destroyed area of the surrounding forest, littered with rotting bodies littering the ground and he recalled nearly losing his lunch at the stench permeating the air. From the bags of trinkets and items of great value, they were no doubt bandits who were caught in the onslaught of a hungry demon.

So upon returning to his companions, who were not far behind thanks to Shippou’s nose, he told them of his findings then practically demanded Kagome get on his back because he wanted to hurry up and track the demon down just in case it had a jewel shard.

Which was a bold-faced lie and Inuyasha knew it.

He’d found the demon not that far off from the bandits’ graveyard, propped grotesquely up against a tree with a nicely sized hole in his chest, a Carrion Crow happily nestled where it’s heart should be. Hella nasty creatures, but he didn’t bother to get reacquainted with them and left soon after.

Thankfully, Kagome had agreed easily enough and now she was currently extending her senses to find the nonexistent jewel shard he’d told them about.

He inwardly smirked. Hah. How’s that for subtlety?

And as if to reinforce his sly moves, Inuyasha slowly slid his hands further up Kagome’s thighs, the hem of her skirt brushing his knuckles and used a rough landing on the ground as an excuse for his wandering hands.

Damn, I’m good.

“Sense anything, we—Kagome?” he asked because he’d been quiet for too long.

He felt her grip on his shoulders tighten and was glad she hadn’t seemed to notice his almost slipup. “No, nothing yet. I think we’re getting close to that village, though. I can see smoke up ahead.”

He snorted and sprinted through the trees, the yellow flash of Kirara and her two passengers blinking in and out of his peripheral vision. “You sure it’s not a forest fire?” He already knew the answer to that one but wanted to ask it anyway just to see her reaction.

Inuyasha grinned when she huffed and swatted his shoulder. “Shut up, Inuyasha. You as well as I know that it was a complete accident. I had no idea that that demon’s stomach acid was the equivalent to kerosene…”

“Kero-what?”

“Flammable liquid.”

“Keh. I take it flammable means catches on fire easily?”

“Yes now shut up and run.”

Inuyasha snickered.

“Watch out Inuyasha, we were pretty close to that tree.”

Dammit.

“Shut up.”

Kagome snickered.

Next chapter the real fun begins. –Grin– Stay tuned!

Oh, and on a side note: Shippou does appear in this story, but he's not going to say much. Sorry, Shippou lovers.

Until next time,
Keiz