Here is the beginning of another one!!!! Please just sit back and R&R!!! Hope you like this one; I am skipping my chemistry h/w to get it up.
Of course I don't own Inuyasha. sighs... and I don't own the song featured right here...I wish I could own a song, though.
"This house is haunted, but not in the way that you've always heard it said. No dusty attic, no razor teeth making camp beneath your bed. But I've heard them walking late at night, the twins of confusion and regret. They share the stories of things that I have done that I'd rather just forget."
It was a quiet, sunny day as the group of five traveled along the dirt path to where a village nested at the foot of the mountains. To Kagome, Shippo, Sango and Miroku this meant a warm bath, real food and a cozy bed. To Inuyasha, this was only wasting time that could be put to better use by hunting down Naraku and the Fuyouheki.
"C'mon," Kagome whined. "I wanna sleep in a real bed for a change!"
"What's wrong with the ground?" Inuyasha snapped back.
"Oh nothing if you're anticipating back issues by the time you're twenty…"
Inuyasha narrowed his amber eyes at her and raised an eyebrow. "If you don't want to sleep on the cold, dirty ground," he sneered, "then we'll settle at the inn for one night."
Kagome beamed at him. "Thank you, Inuyasha."
Shippo jumped up onto Miroku's shoulder and stared at Inuyasha. "That was actually kind of nice of Inuyasha," he whispered to the monk.
"Yes," Miroku agreed. "Of course he would do it for Kagome."
"I'm listening to you two," Inuyasha hissed through his teeth. Shippo made a face and went from Miroku's shoulder to Kagome's knowing that Inuyasha wouldn't hit him as long as he was perched on the miko.
"You're all a pain in my butt," the hanyou mumbled as they neared the end of the path that would bring them into the village. The western part of the town—the entrance—was surrounded by a small river over which was a big, thick wooden bridge. They crossed over the bridge and into the village.
The village wasn't like most of the others they had been to on their travels. It was very large with many people walking around. But no one spoke to each other and parents held tightly to their children's hands, moving quickly through the thoroughfare.
"What's going on?" Sango whispered to them. "What could have them all in such a hurry?"
"I don't know," Inuyasha replied, staring at the humans. They noticed their arrival, but none of them seemed to be stopping or even staring at them. They didn't care to observe the newcomers.
"Oh thank the gods, a monk!" someone cried. In the distance came a man in his late forties, his black hair silvering at his temples. "Monk, tell me, do you think you could help me out?"
Miroku looked at his friends rather sheepishly before nodding at the man. "Of course, what can I do for you, my good man?"
"You see, this village has been devastated by two horrible demons. No one will stay at my inn now and none of the villagers will take with each for fear that the demons will hear."
"What kind of demons?" Kagome asked, looking around at the people. A few of the children were staring at them but no one was speaking to anyone else.
"Apparitions. Twin children named Dosakusa and Aitou. They live in the attic of my inn and come to those who can't find sleep at night. They haunt their dreams, their reality, making them see things that they've done and things that could never happen. People have left my inn with physical wounds from these illusions. I don't know what to do about it, you must help me!"
"Illusions, eh?" Inuyasha mused. "Why not give it a try?"
"I'll let you stay at my inn for free," the man offered. "Though I cannot guarantee your safety if you stay."
"We accept your offer," Miroku said politely. "We will take care of the twin demons for you."
"Oh many thanks! You have no idea how much this means to me, to the entire village! Come with me."
The inn was rather large, almost the size of a castle. It seemed to fit well with the size of the village. The owner showed them to their rooms where they would be staying. Sango and Kagome got their own room while Miroku, Shippo and Inuyasha would share the one of the others.
"My wife will cook you all an excellent dinner and I will have my daughter prepare for the ladies a nice hot bath beforehand," the owner told them.
"You have a daughter, do you?" Miroku asked hopefully. Sango's eyes narrowed and she shot him the look of Death. He sweatdropped and looked down at the floor.
"This is great!" Kagome said later as she and Sango took their bath. The hot water soothed all of her sore muscles, making her relax into a pool of comfort.
"Tell me about it," Sango agreed. "I felt disgusting from battling Moryomaru all of those times."
"It makes me kinda sleepy," Kagome added, her eyelids drooping slightly.
Sango nodded and shut her eyes, allowing the hot water to soothe her and carry her mind far away from here to her brother, Kohaku. Though he was no longer under Naraku's spell, he traveled with Sesshomaru, Jaken, and Rin. And Kikyo had planned to use his jewel shard to purify the jewel within Naraku. How were they to complete the jewel and save her brother's life? If the shard is taken from his body, he will die.
"Did you hear that?" Kagome's worried tone brought Sango out of her reverie.
"Hear what?" Sango replied.
"That thumping…" Kagome whispered, looking at the ceiling of the bathhouse. "It sounded like people walking…"
"Perhaps it's the twin demons," she half-joked.
"I wouldn't be surprised," Kagome murmured, hugging her self. Her gray eyes met Sango's. "I think I'm finished. Who knows how vulnerable we are sitting in this bath like this?"
"Kagome-chan, we're perfectly fine…" Sango started to say but Kagome was already up and out of the bath, wrapping a robe around her body and grabbing her clothes.
That was when she heard the thumping. It sounded like someone was stomping on the roof to make a ruckus. Sango shivered and followed Kagome's lead by jumping out of the bath and quickly throwing her clothes back on.
When they arrived to their room earlier than the boys expected, they were greeted with quizzical looks.
"We heard thumping coming from upstairs," Kagome told them.
"Keh, wuss," Inuyasha snorted, his mouth full of rice.
"This meal is great, Kagome!" Shippo cried, popping a piece of sushi into his mouth with his chopsticks.
"I better try some then," she beamed, sitting between he and Inuyasha. Miroku sat quietly with Kirara at his side. His eyes were shut yet he continued to eat as the rest of them did.
"Something wrong, Miroku?" Sango asked as she sat down.
"Can't you feel their presence?" he said softly. "Can't you sense their pain?"
"The demons?" Kagome asked. Miroku nodded once.
"I can smell it," Inuyasha responded. "Pain, suffering, regret…" His nose wrinkled as he gave the air a good sniff.
"It's overwhelming," Miroku added. "I believe they died here from the power of their aura."
"How sad," Kagome sniffed. "Only children."
"The innkeeper told me more of their fate," Miroku began. "Legend tells that this used to be castle and in it lived the twins. Their real names are forever lost to us but they are called Dosakusa and Aitou now, meaning Confusion and Regret. It says that demons came and burned the castle to the ground, leaving the twins inside to die. Their angst turned them into demons with the power to twist their own suffering and pain into the hearts of those who come here."
"Any idea how old these children are?" Shippo asked.
"I can only guess about nine or so," Miroku answered. "One boy and one girl. Dosakusa for the girl and Aitou for the boy, named after their powers."
"Powers?" Inuyasha said blankly.
"I'm not entirely sure of what they can do, but what I feel from them is immensely powerful. Dosakusa can create the forceful illusions that feel more real than not, the ones that can cause physical pain if allowed to continue for so long. Aitou, the boy, can make the victim see visions of things in their past that they would rather not visit again. He can make the visions feel like the person is living them over again, in high definition."
"That doesn't sound so bad," Inuyasha scoffed. "One swipe of my Kongosoha will have those demons on their knees." He gently patted the hilt of Tetsusaiga.
"They are children, Inuyasha," Kagome said in a gently chiding tone.
"Demon children," he corrected. "They don't matter in terms of what you're talking about. From what Miroku is telling us they're dangerous and I'm not letting you near them to "help them out"." He finger quoted the last three words.
Kagome crossed her arms out over her chest. "Like I was planning on it."
He eyed her carefully. "I know you too well, Kagome," he went on to explain. "You can't sit around and let a child suffer. Remember Maya and how you couldn't just let her descend to hell? You're a sucker for kids."
"Maya was just lost," she defended. "Just like these children are."
"I don't think lost kids attack human minds to cause them pain," Sango whispered.
"Especially for their amusement," Inuyasha added.
"I wasn't planning on helping them, okay?" Kagome snapped. "Let's just get this night over and done with."
Just then, she shivered, making goosebumps rise up on her skin. She looked around at the rest of the group, seeing that none of them looked cold though she suddenly felt so.
"You all right, Kagome?" Shippo asked.
"Just cold," she explained.
"It's not cold in here," Sango said innocently, looking around. Kirara mewed her agreement and swished her tails.
"Maybe it's me," she mumbled, reaching for her bag and yanking out her sleeping bag.
"You're going to sleep?" Inuyasha grumbled.
She shot him an icy look. "No, I'm cold. I'm going to put the sleeping bag over me so I'm not as cold."
"Keh, whatever." He tucked his arms into the sleeves of his haori.
Kagome unzipped the side of the bag and then set it over her shoulders and wrapped it around her body to keep warmth inside. It was then that Inuyasha and the other noticed that she was shivering like crazy now. Her body was moving uncontrollably and her teeth were clanking together.
"Why are you so cold, Kagome-chan?" Sango asked, suddenly concerned now.
"I d-don't know," she confessed.
Inuyasha's ears perked up and he eyed the ceiling. It was very faint, even for his hearing, but he thought he heard the sound of children laughing. His amber eyes glared at the roof and then looked back to the Kagome, who looked almost like she was having a seizure.
"Would you like me to warm you, Kagome?" Miroku suggested, inching closer toward the girl.
Inuyasha bared his teeth and instinctively moved closer to Kagome to protect her from Miroku's perverted ways. He wasn't going to get chummy with Kagome while he was around to do something about it.
"Aren't y-you and Sango-chan e-engaged?" Kagome hissed.
Sango raised an eyebrow at him and Miroku recoiled, hanging his head in shame.
"I thought so too," Sango replied coolly.
"We are!" Miroku said quickly, reaching for her hands. "My dear, Sango, I love no one more than I love you. Forgive me, I cannot help myself from resorting to my old ways!"
Sango nodded twice before looking at Kagome, Inuyasha, and Shippo and blushing. Every time Miroku admitted his feelings in front of them made her face get hot. She wasn't used to him proclaiming his affections for her aloud.
Kagome hung her head slightly and looked at the floor by Shippo's feet. How she longed to hear Inuyasha say such things to her, but she knew that that would never happen. Kikyo was alive still, there was still his first love looming over her head like a knife, ready to drop upon her whenever Inuyasha chose to cut the string. No matter how much she denied her feelings, she couldn't help but be jealous and empty every time Inuyasha was silent. She knew that he was thinking about Kikyo, it was easy to see in his eyes. They would become soft, thoughtful, something that she rarely saw when he looked at her.
"Kagome? Kagome, are you okay?" Shippo asked, hopping into her lap.
She shook her head. "Yeah, I'm fine, Shippo-chan, just thinking."
"That's a nice change of pace," Inuyasha snickered.
"Sit boy," she muttered darkly. Inuyasha cursed as his face met the cool, hard wooden floor of the inn. She picked up chopsticks and put a mouthful of rice into her mouth and beamed down at Shippo. "You're right, Shippo-chan, this is a good meal."
He smiled and looked down at Inuyasha, who was glaring daggers at Kagome as he sat up again.
"I've had enough to eat," he growled, crossing his arms.
Miroku looked out the windows of the inn to see the sun setting against the sky. It turned the clouds a dark maroon and the sky itself a blood red color. His thoughts traced back to his Wind Tunnel and how Naraku's poison was spreading through his body. His chances of living to see Naraku destroyed were getting slimmer and slimmer each day. How he longed to give Sango and her younger brother the life that they deserved. He wanted her to be happy and to be the one that causes it. But his growing illness was threatening that dream with each passing moment. He didn't know what to expect with each setting and rising of the sun anymore.
"Are you all right, Miroku-sama?" Sango asked, looking intently at his face.
"Yes, Sango, dear," he replied and he squeezed her hand. "I'm fine."
"Are you sure?" she insisted.
"Yes. Never better, my love." He rubbed his cheek against hers.
Inuyasha bit his lip hard and glanced over at Kagome, who was stroking Shippo's red hair as he lay, curled in her lap. He remembered the few times he and Kagome had been close like that, but only a few. He especially remembered that time only last week when they had almost kissed in her bedroom. He recalled the sound of her heart beating fast and the feel of her breath against his lips. It had been nearly magical until Sota had interrupted and caused them to blush and inch away from each other. It seemed that they could never get a moment alone these days. Particularly after Kikyo's passing, eyes seemed to be watching him with Kagome now more than ever.
"It's getting dark," Sango pointed out, breaking the silence between the group.
"Yeah," Kagome agreed, turning to stare out the window at the garnet colored sky. It seemed to be darkening with every blink of an eye.
Then, Kagome clutched her head in her hands as a searing pain overcame her temples. She grimaced and dug her fingernails into her scalp as the pain worsened and seared her skull.
"Kagome-chan?" Sango asked, her eyes widening in horror.
"Kagome?" Inuyasha was by her side in a flash, his hands holding her wrists as his eyes searched for hers.
"Make it stop…" she begged through her teeth.
"What? What's going on, Kagome?" he asked quickly.
"My head…it feels like it's going to explode!" she cried.
Miroku looked up at the ceiling and scowled. "It's them. They're playing with us."
"The demons?" Shippo gulped. "They're doing this to Kagome?
chapter one is done. if you'd please, reivew. if not, then be off on your merry little way. ;)
