Quieted into silence. He'd expect this kind of treatment from children. Whether or not the other was a good yōkai didn't matter much, though Inuyasha had little reason to believe otherwise if children trusted him. But hearing those accusations did hurt. He was just a master when it came to hiding when he was hurt.
He waited a few moments, until the other man began leading the way. Sometimes you had to know when to be a follower. Inuyasha wasn't a stranger to listening to what others had to say. It was still beyond bizarre, a yōkai with no yōki?
"So what's the deal with you?" His voice wasn't as sharp as it had been earlier. "You're a yōkai, and you have no yōki at all. Did someone absorb it from you?" Inuyasha wasn't a stranger to that, either. It had been some time since he'd dealt with it, but there were many a time Tessaiga's yōki had been absorbed.
And he'd always successfully got it back, though often he sustained severe injuries in the process.
"Keh, y'don't gotta answer that. As long as the kid makes it back safe, I don't care."
He broke into a quickened pace, though it was only for the urgency of the situation. He wasn’t trying to escape the stranger’s company.
Nor did the question bother him.
“I’ve never had any,” he explained. It held no more gravity than if they’d been discussing casual plans for tea.
And, there really was nothing more to it than that.
By then they’d made their way well into the woods past the far end of the field. There wasn’t time for conversation past that – for already he slowed, coming to a stop before a gnarled, well worn old tree. Perched upon it’s middle branches, a small, wooden structure could be seen.
“Hideo?” he called up to it.
It remained quiet, for a moment. Then, scuffling sounded from within the fort, followed by a quick patter of steps.
And there, a small form appeared by one of the building’s windows.
“Dan, I’ve gotta show you-“ the boy started before abruptly shutting his mouth. He’d caught sight of the other person by Dan’s side. Initially, he’d been moving to raise his hand, but the boy hid it back behind himself just as fast.
“Who’s that?” he asked - feigning ignorance.
