After their first awkward meeting filled with bloodlust and killing intent, it was completely normal for Haruto, Kagome and Naruko to sit at the hut of the old priestess, having tea and talking. He wouldn't have minded eating with two cute girls at his side looking cute and sexy in their respective cases, but part of the issue at hand was that they weren't fond of each other due to their first meeting. After dealing with Kagome using the most bizarre spell to activate Naruko's new necklace, which proceeded to slam the dog girl's face on the ground, it was easy to see why said dog girl wanted the schoolgirl to suffer.
But that was then, with the defeated Naruko begrudgingly and very reluctantly accepted to follow them, rest, eat and hear their explanations and also listen to the priestess who was named Kaede. What Haruto managed to get after making it to the short story he still knew very little: Kagome may be the reincarnation of a priestess called Kikyo, Naruko had been sealed by this priestess who was the elder and now dead sister of the elder woman with them, and this Shikon Jewel that Kagome still had inside her body was a big deal.
In short, Haruto's thoughts could be summarized as follows: "Oppressive, this damn atmosphere's too oppressive…"
He tried to ignore the glares Naruko and Kagome shot each other through their meal with the blond, and he could swear he sensed them glare while he tried to sleep. Now all he wanted was a good cold bath and new, clean clothes. After facing a centipede woman in the middle of his jog, dealing with Naruko, and wearing his sweaty clothes all the time, he really needed a bath.
And now, here he was, thankful that his wound he got from facing Naruko wasn't as deep as he thought, for it seemed to heal ridiculously quickly over the night. He was also in his boxers, swimming in a cold lake without the water bothering him. He would've preferred a warm bath to relax his muscles, but with the dirt, dried sweat, and exhaustion in his bones a cold lake was a good option. Too bad he didn't have a bar of soap, but he still worked on getting the filth he collected yesterday off his body.
He finally walked out of the lake… and found himself facing Naruko, "Hey, human!" he stepped back at the sound of her barking.
Man, she'd be cuter if she weren't so angry all the time. He thought while regaining his thoughts… and cursed when finally noticing Naruko was on top of a large rock, squatting like a dog with her eyes on him and her kimono's skirt flowing in the wind, Fuck… Need… pants… soon! He shook his head violently to calm his hormones and testosterone from making a full of him, sadly for him Naruko had other plans.
His cheeks found a tint of red in them when the dog girl glared more intently at him, "I have a question for you."
He nodded, and looked around to see if Kaede would arrive soon with spare clothes, "Yeah?"
Silvery ears flicked in annoyance, and she answered, "That fighting style of yours… I've watched you train this morning before you came here to clean yourself." And that would explain why he felt shivers down his spine in the middle of his jog which included his shadow boxing in every stop. She tilted her head to the side, "How could you, despite smelling so strange, manage to land a hit on me while being only human?"
Uselessly shrugging, Haruto replied, "I don't know."
Naruko bared her teeth at him, instantly putting her face inches from his, "Don't give me shit!" he could tell she was really mad at being hit by him, "That power in you which I can smell this close… Do you mean to tell me you didn't use it to punch me?!" he could see her nose flaring slightly, actually unnoticeable to the untrained naked eye. "What are you?"
That was… a rather good question. After everything that happened, listening of this power inside of him, and having punched a centipede demon in the face, Haruto had only one answer: "I don't know, and I don't care."
Naruko masterfully replied with her most eloquent comeback for such a statement, "Huh?"
He nodded, "I know as much as you about this, but whatever it may be, or whatever I may be… I don't care." He shrugged casually, "I just want to keep Kagome safe, get her back to her family, return to my training, have a calm life as a boxer and become a champion."
Naruko narrowed her eyes at him at such an answer, but then something caught her nose. She leaned uncomfortably—or comfortably in any other situation—close to him and sniffed the blond pugilist once again, "Why do I smell a lot of girls in you?" she asked, giving him a stern glance, "It's not just two or that woman of yours, but several girls."
He sighed, "Give me a break, I got some centipede monster woman trying to do horrible things to me. Should you really worry that I have a lot of girls hanging around me?" he then blinked, "But maybe it's because of my fans back at the school…"
Naruko tilted her head to the other side, "They smell like a bunch of beasts in heat."
He felt beads of sweat build on the back of his head, "That's how all teenagers, both boys and girls, tend to be at a certain point of their life."
She stared at him… widened her eyes, blushed, and stepped back. Haruto blinked, looked back, and found Kagome, "You two…" The schoolgirl was red-faced by the sight of Haruto and Naruko so close… and naked!
"I… will turn around now." Haruto stated and did as he said. The schoolgirl could not be as blessed as Naruko in the chest and rear department, but she was still a nice sight to enjoy.
Kagome, who had been absorbed in seeing the way Naruko held Haruto so possessively, finally noticed the cold breeze hitting her nude form, and let out a loud, embarrassed cry.
After that event, Haruto and Kagome were finally dressed in spare clothes that Kaede granted them. Kagome was in a priestess uniform, and the funny thing about it that the pugilist noticed was that Naruko herself seethed for one second before turning her head away, fuming as if offended by such a sight. Haruto for his part was given a brown gi, gray hakama cut off over the knees, and a white shirt. The clothes he got were old, but at least he wouldn't walk around in a loincloth. Though he did have to wear a pair of new socks and straw sandals, and so did Kagome.
There was also an awkward atmosphere that the priestess noted around the teens and Naruko.
"So, Granny Kaede…" Haruto started, making the elder woman raise a brow at such a disrespectful way to address her, but she shrugged it off due to the fact the kid out-punched a demon, "You said this Shikon Jewel that Kagome has inside was important, right?" he asked, trying to get everyone to forget what happened at the lake.
The elder nodded, "It was meant to be destroyed upon my sister's death. I and many others saw to it that such an artifact stopped existing, but alas, here is Kagome, the mirror image of Kikyo, and according to Naruko and that centipede demon she has the jewel inside of her."
"Then, what if we destroy it?" he asked, boldly, "I mean, we do need to get it out, but once we find how to do so without hurting Kagome…" said girl sighed in relief at the fact he was thinking things through and safely, "Would destroying such a thing send us back home?"
Kaede closed her eye, "I cannot answer that with certainty, I'm afraid. The Shikon Jewel is a powerful and mysterious artifact that can bring as much wonder as it can create destruction."
"In short, it'd be a bad idea to just smash it." Haruto said, his arms crossed and his eyes closed deep in thought.
Naruko gritted her teeth, this human wanted to destroy her opportunity to become a full demon, and she was chained by that Kikyo carbon copy. She needed to get the jewel out and for herself, not to mention find out more about Haruto's power… If what that centipede woman was true, then taking the jewel could be second only to taking whatever power Haruto had all for herself. Unfortunately, she would have to be careful around that damn human woman, for she seemed close to the blond, and she could stop Naruko from getting such power to become an all-powerful demon.
And then, to her shock, Haruto just dropped his back on the floor like he was ready to take a nap, "Hear that, Naruko-chan?" he asked, and said dog girl twitched her ears at the suffix, "That jewel could be real bad for you. Are you sure you want such a thing to be some demon? Even without working on your anger?"
Naruko growled, "Why do you care? Seriously, why is it so important for you to worry about me?" How could a human be so damn annoying was beyond her, but she knew he would be second on her list of people whose ass she'd kick after she became a demon, with a silver haired, arrogant, emotionless, overly glorified bitch she knew and despised more than anything and anyone in the world.
Haruto put his hands on the back of his head, using them as pillows, and replied, "If all you want to do is to be a demon, you really shouldn't have the stinking jewel to begin with."
Naruko was losing her temper even more, "Get to the point." After their meeting she knew that Haruto was big on talking but that he could back it up, so there had to be some reason for his words.
He went all out, "If you got all that power, you'd be alone, wouldn't you?"
That single question, such a simple and easy to answer question, why was it that it made her hesitate.
Kagome for her part stared slightly wide-eyed at the way Haruto tried to reach the girl that last night had been willing to gut them for a jewel.
The elder priestess felt her mouth open the bare minimum when seeing Naruko stop dead in her tracks.
Thus, Naruko came with her only intelligent reply, another question, "Why do you care for me?"
Haruto stood closer to the girl, keeping his arms to his sides to avoid giving her any sense of danger, "Because I just want to care." He replied simply, raising his hands now, "You can be born rich, poor, alone, with a big family, growing on your own, and growing with love and care. And yet, we all have our choices." He stepped closer to her, "Why would you choose to be a demon? Power alone is a pretty empty answer."
She glared harder, "Don't give me such preachy bullshit." She answered, making Haruto stumble backwards from such blunt words, "And don't avoid my question: why do you care?"
He stared at her for a good two seconds, and finally answered as truthfully as he could, "Because when you say you want power, you don't seem happy about it."
They all stood there, in the hut, in silence… until the cry of a crow broke the pause. It was the chance Naruko waited for. Without any warning she jumped out and turned back to the humans with a stern stare, "I'll be hunting down that freak. Do not wait for me."
And with that, she left. However, Kagome herself watched her with a different look than before. For a moment she… seemed sad… a hand subconsciously moved to her chest, where her heart was.
Just as quickly, her thoughts were shaken when the blond stood up, hands on the back of his head, "I better head back to the well, one way or another it is our only way home." Kagome's eyes glinted at the hope of returning home and she stood up as well, following after the blond. "What're you going to do, Kagome?"
The girl looked at him, and then pondered on his question…