(re)incarnation.

It was natural to know your own sense of taste, when it was as strong as his was. It was a blessing and a curse all the same, mild flavors to humans, were explosions of wonderment to Inuyasha. Strong tastes could suffocate him through overstimulation alone, no need for the food item to do more than touch his tongue.

"...Y'wanna go shopping? Now?" Wasn't this when it was most difficult? Not that he knew how it functioned in modern times, but he'd caught sight of people going wild near merchants in the late afternoon. Shouting what they wanted, pushing and shoving, it was like purchasing food items was its own battlefield. Made a man wonder if it was really so bad that he wasn't allowed in civilization without a human 'reforming' him.

Hunting was easier. You didn't get a choice, but sometimes you got to eat really well.

"Keh," A sound more breathy than sharp. "Beats sitting around here doin' nothin'." He reiterated the question in his head. Why was he here? Nothing ever happened here... maybe that was a big part of the appeal, and Kagome's presence made it all the better. She didn't need to know it, but her scent calmed the storm in his chest.

The very thought of going outside was... actually kind of exciting. He'd never been off the shrine grounds before. Inuyasha was on his feet in a blur.

"Right!" A loud bang, as he (not so gently) slammed the tip of Tessaiga's scabbard against her floor. "We're gonna go outside, and get food! D'ya need me to carry ya?" An unusual sense of excitement. Foreign in its own way, but was there any wonder why he could feel a rush of adrenaline at the thought of going out into a world full of the unknown? The unknown was excitement!

Inuyasha even held his hand out to be taken.

...Better not to grab her wrist in a moment of excitement. His claws might lightly break skin, at least he was mindful of that much.

kagome   blinked   at   him   for   a   second   or   two————————    both   out   of   surprise   &   amusement,    before   a   soft   laugh   slipped   out.    ❛    yes,    we   gotta   go   now   before   it's   too   late,    y'know?    ❜    she   said,    pushing   herself   up   from   where   she'd   been   sitting,    brushing   any   wrinkles   out   of   her   skirt   like   she   had   all   the   time   in   the   world.    however,    as   he   was   more   excited   than   normal…    she   thought   it   was   adorable.    (    cut   it   out,    kagome!    you   do   not   think   that   way   about   him,    right?!    )

Maki lets out another shaky exhale and buries her face further against the other girl. Her arms tighten around her, and she can’t imagine another second apart from her now that they’re together again. “Yeah. I’m home now.” 

They stay there for a while, as if counting down to eternity. Maki is the first to break that spell, drawing away to examine Kagome. “You’re safe, right? After everything.” 

❛    i'm    safe.    ❜    her   hands   run   through   matted   hair,    &   she's   thanking   the   gods   for   maki   making   it   home.    it   isn't   unusual   for   kagome   to   be   missing   maki   after   missions…    however,    after   what's   happened,    her   being   stuck   &   needing   to   protect   the   sacred   jewel…    kagome   felt   utterly   useless.    she   should   be   out   there,    helping…    she   should   have   been   there   for   maki.    her   face,    hot   from   the   tears   unknowingly   streaming,    merely   roll   down   her   cheeks   without   care   in   the   world.    maki   was   home.    everything   was   right   in   the   world,    in   that   moment.

❛    maki…    thank   you   for   coming   back.    ❜

“ i have waited longer for other things… and you underestimate my willingness to bide my time for you, little light. ” lithe neck cranes smoothly to the side to bare unblemished sun-warmed tan skin beneath long, thick layers of silky black, where rough and battle-worn knuckles brush the apex of a rosy cheek in an idle and spontaneous sweetness. it chases a stray wave of @feudals’s hair and rests between playing with it between their fingers and tucking it behind her ear.  mana is no fool. she can read between lines as clear as day— pick up on tells the giver themselves may not even realize have been done. it is to avoid imposing upon kagome the unsettling feeling of being too known and left behind ( closed out, unfairly. left to navigate the place within an unspoken dynamic one sidedly ) that mana forcibly dulls their senses. 

let’s the tremor in her breath go unpunished— not toyed with and dangled before her eyes as if  a rat suspended by its tail, that mana would unabashedly do to others. the clear unassured thoughts that must run wild in her mind. the dragon does it out of an unnoticed fondness and a recognizable respect ( respect for the fact that kagome willing lets mana touch her like this. let’s her invade her territory and her space and her very mind. unaware that they may be occupying anything else in any manner not disingenuous ) the tail that coils through the whispering grass to lightly curl around the aura that shines from the beauty before them is languid, testing. a loose circle not ready to dare touch but bold enough to make itself known. 

“ are you not scared to wait for an answer you may not be satisfied with? i do not knowingly tell you one reason over another. ” honesty is met with more of its kind. where one wall is allowed to slip into the mire ever-so-slightly, and they allow kagome a window of her own into their being, small and opaque. it is no secret that mana does not care much of her other companions in which they have seen her with many times before. 

she recalls expressing as much during their first real conversation, following mana’s admittance to tagging along.  “ why do i stay?   i myself do not yet have a reason that satisfies me.  an interest in your journey— the conviction of your spirit. its kindness. and a curiosity in how strong of a heart resides in that chest of yours, ” every utterance of yours and yous and anything so explicitly of the priestess standing before her is emphasized with a great focus that it stutters to life something in the pits of their own gut.  there is a greed that is fed and never full that mana cannot shake whenever she is given kagome’s attention ( good or bad ) and a smile that is ghostly and faint upon dark lips when she observes the lack of prejudice against other demons, lesser spirits and things more like herself. the unafraid fire in her wit. 

“ the way you treat me, for one, which enables the impulse of my lingering. perhaps you doubt too, that i simply do not mind spending my time on you. ” 

kagome   doesn't   respond   right   away.    the   space   between   them   feels   thinner   than   it   should   be————————    like   something   that   should   be   kept   away   at   bay.    she   can   feel   it,    the   way   her   chest   rises   a   little   too   carefully,    in   the   way   that   her   thoughts   don't   line   up   clearly   anymore,    tripping   over   themselves   with   mana's   ministrations.    &   still…    kagome   doesn't   move   away.    if   anything…    she   steels   herself,    her   hand   already   resting   at   mana's   wrist,    fingers   curling   slightly.

her   gaze   lifts   again,    meeting   mana's   fully.    there's   no   flinching,    no   retreat,    just   that   same   unguarded   sincerity   that's   always   set   kagome   apart.    the   warmth   of   mana's   skin   is   grounding,    even   with   the   faint   sense   of   danger   that   coils   underneath…    something   ancient   that   kagome   can   never   fully   forget.    what   a   fickle,    terrifying   feeling.    

❛    if   you   stay   without   reason…    or   you   tell   yourself   you   don't   have   one…    ❜    her   breath   shakes,    her   thumb   brushing   over   those   worn   knuckles,    a   quiet   motion.    ❛    what   happens   when   that   changes?    ❜    there's   no   accusation   there.    no   fear   of   abandonment,    spoken   outright.    just   a   question   that's   lived   in   different   shapes   &   forms,    more   than   once.    ❛    what   happens   when   your   curiosity   with   me   is   satisfied?    when   you've   seen   enough…    when   i'm   not   something   new   to   you?    ❜    the   words   are   quiet,    heavy   with   weight,    earthen   hues   searching   desperately   for   answers.    if   she   had   a   cure   for   this   feeling,    she'd   beg   god   to   be   kinder.   the   absence   of   mana   was   always   noticeable…    &   when   she   disappears,    due   to   her   own   whim   or   simply   because   she   was   testing   kagome,    she   could   feel   that   same   dull   ache.    like   some   part   of   her   was   missing.

❛    the   way   you   talk   about   it…    it   makes   it   sound   like   you   could   just   leave   as   easily   as   you   stayed.    ❜    kagome   leans   into   clawed   digit,    unshaken   &   unafraid.    she   knew   that   the   dragon's   claw   would   not   draw   blood,    nor   harm   her   as   others   have   warned.    she   trusted   that,    with   the   entirety   of   her   heart.    ❛    &    maybe…    that's   what   scares   me.    not   the   answer   you   might   give   me…    but   how   little   it   might   take   for   you   to   not   answer   at   all.    ❜

likes & reblogs ok! no reposting, cropping, editing, ai training use, caption removal, or tagging as "me" or "kin", or a faceclaim. this is commissioned work for myself & @feudals, not intended for public use.

likes & reblogs ok! no reposting, cropping, editing, ai training use, caption removal, or tagging as "me" or "kin", or a faceclaim. this is commissioned work for myself & @feudals, not intended for public use.

     ❝     i’m trying but it hurts,     ❞     not that pulling away will make the pain lessen,     he’s only adding to the unnecessary anguish     &͟.     suffering now that she’s responded because he’d been perfectly still ‘til the words had left her mouth     &͟.     now he’s something akin to a feline attempting to writhe     &͟.     struggle away from some unseen danger.     it could be worse,     his hair could be matted     &͟.     tangled up beyond repair but he’s always been seemingly good at brushing it out when needed so it never got that bad.     ❝     it feels like it’s been hours,     ❞     ten at the very least but despite all the fuss he attempts to release the tension that has started to reside in his shoulders.     just a little bit more 'til she's done torturing him it seems.     ❝     sorry.     ❞     

“   nii-chan,   ”   she   chides,   while   trying   to   make   sure   his   braid   is   intact.   his   hair   is   long   &   beautiful...   however,   as   he   writhes   under   her   touch,   kagome   merely   sighs,   making   do   with   what   little   control   she   does   have   in   her   hands.   quickly,   she   twists   &   turns   the   strands   as   necessary,   making   sure   his   hair   doesn't   tangle   more   in   the   process.   “   look!   isn't   that   better?   you   can't   sleep   now   in   it,   &   it   won't   tangle.   mama   told   me   to   learn   this   for   ya,   so   i'm   sorry   i   wasn't   very   good   at   it   at   first...   ”   she   pouts,   before   handing   him   a   mirror   to   observe   her   work.

“     you're    just    pushing    because    you    can.     ”     her    shoulders    stiffen    as    his    crushing    reiatsu    eagerly    meets    her    own,     fingers    curling    into    the    fabric    of    her    sleeves--------------     almost    as    if    she's    holding    back.     as    he    meets    her    at    eye    level,     kagome    doesn't    flinch,     doesn't    look    away.

“     don't    go    and    pretend    that    this    is    about    you    speaking    your    mind,     ”     she    adds,     her    gaze    defiant    and    steady.     if    he    was    expecting    her    to    back    down    now,     he    was    sorely    mistaken.     “     here's    my    thought,     since    we're    sharing    our    feelings.     ”     the    air    is    undeniably    heavy    now,     whether    it    be    from    their    clashing    reiatsu    or    otherwise…    it's    palpable.     “     back    off,     i'm    not    in    the    mood    to    be    underestimated.     it's    not    an    easy    lesson    to    learn.     ” 

kagome    clicks    her    tongue,     irritation    knit    tightly    between    her    brows    as    she    straightens    her    posture-----------     she    gives    him    quite    a    nasty    look!     “     wow,     ya    really    don't    think    before    ya    speak,     huh?     ”     she's folding    her    arms,     her    spiritual    pressure    fluctuating with her temperment.     (     almost    like    a    warning.     )     “     if    women    weren't    meant    to    be    heard,     ya    wouldn't    be    standing    around    listening    right    now---------     so    think    on    that    for    a    little    bit.     ”