Chapter Text
The search for Naraku was never-ending, as well as the hunt for sacred jewel shards. So Inuyasha didn’t see why Kagome found it necessary to constantly go back to her time to study for her ‘tests’ all the time. How important could they possibly be? He had offered to use the wind scar to annihilate these ‘exams’ many times, though she always scoffed and turned down his generous offer. He kicked a pebble at his feet in annoyance. He was waiting at the bone eater’s well as if it would make her come back faster. He considered traveling through the well to her time to retrieve her but shivered to think of how angry she might be if he did, recalling the last time he had incurred her wrath. Kagome could be a cruel woman when she wanted to be and he had the back problems to prove it. He turned with a huff back to Kaede’s village. Kagome said she had left some ninja food there for him while she was gone.
The sky was bright, even with the setting sun, and the surrounding forest was quiet, save for birds flying overhead. The breeze was cool and gently swayed the tall grass. When he arrived at Kaede’s hut, he found Shippo digging through a bag Kagome had left, looking for candy. When he lifted his head from the bag, he scampered off with a lollipop in his mouth and an armful of pocky, electing to retreat in fear that Inuyasha would smack him for being in Kagome’s bag. It was a tempting thought though, chasing him down and bopping him on the head, but eating some of the ninja food sounded better to Inuyasha. He opened her bag and grabbed a bag of chips and a cup of ramen. He put water over the fire to boil and opened the bag of chips to snack on while he waited. He looked around the small hut, noticing it was just him and Shippo. “Where is everyone?” he asked Shippo through a mouthful of chips. Shippo took stock of his treasure and answered Inuyasha without looking up. “Kagome went home to study, don’t you pay attention?” that remark earned him a blow to the head. “Owww! You jerk!” Shippo whined, holding his head where a bruise would soon be forming. “I know that stupid” scowled Inuyasha, “I meant where did Miroku and Sango go?”. No sooner did the words leave his mouth, Kaede, along with Sango and Miroku walked through the entrance of the hut. “Speak of the devil…” he mumbled, going back to his bag of chips. The water over the fire started to boil, occupying his attention again as he began to make the ramen. “Where have you guys been?” Shippo asked, consoling himself with another lollipop. It was Miroku’s turn to let out a sigh as he answered “Nowhere of interest. We were accompanying Kaede on a house call in a neighboring village, hoping to ask the villagers if they had heard anything about jewel shards in the area. But of course, no such luck. Kaede gave the women her suppressant herbs and we headed back.” Sango glared at him from the corner of her eye. “Not before he flirted with every girl in the village.” she said before she suddenly went still and blushed profusely. Miroku’s right hand had snaked behind her to grope her bottom while he answered her, saying “I was just trying to prevent the trip from being a total loss.” Now it was Miroku’s turn to nurse a swipe to the face. Sango let out an annoyed huff while she marched alongside Kaede and took a seat near the fire. “M-my apologies.” Miroku smirked while he rubbed the red mark in the shape of a hand on his face while he sat a safe distance away from Sango while still being close to the fire.
“Inuyasha, Miroku, Sango…” came the quiet yet stern voice of Kaede. Her voice and appearance were often misleading if you didn’t know her. Though she had the appearance of a frail old lady, she was much more formidable than she looked. “What do you want, you old hag?” was Inuyahas’s response after he had slurped the last of his noodles. “I shall ignore your rudeness on this occasion,” Kaede said with an air of annoyance “because I want to ask a favor of you all.” Sango’s previous frustration disappeared from her face, ready to assist the old priestess with whatever she needed. They hadn’t had anything to do for a week, with no leads to follow and kagome going home to study. “What do you need our help with?” Sango asked, trying to hide her excitement. “I gave the last of my suppressant herbs to the woman we visited today, and I require your assistance to look for more. Another village has requested my assistance with exorcizing a demon tomorrow, but I need to keep those herbs on hand. Will ye help?”. Miroku spoke up and said “Of course. Consider it done.” Inuyasha grumbled at the prospect. He wanted to be hunting down Naraku, not collecting...what did she say she needed anyway?... su… suppressant herbs? What the hell were those? Whatever. Kagome would be back tomorrow, and they could begin searching again after Kaede’s pointless chores. “Thank you, I am most grateful.” Said Kaede. Everyone began settling down for the night, drifting off to sleep. All but Inuyasha. He was still sulking about getting roped into helping Kaede. But soon he began dozing off as well. Tomorrow. Tomorrow they could begin searching again, were his last thoughts before he surrendered himself to sleep.