Bridges+
The sun rose high into the afternoon as Inuyasha became slightly more aware of his surroundings. He hadn't really woken up since his nap that Kagome had so rudely interrupted him from.
He yawned and glanced back towards the group that followed closely behind. Miroku was standing, as usual, closely to Sango and Kagome and Shippou were both walking alongside the two.
"Something wrong?" Kagome asked as she noticed the hanyou glancing back.
"No, not quite." Inuyasha said as he glanced ahead at the woodland path that surrounded him. Nothing was wrong, yet. He could almost feel the ominous storm clouds that loomed ahead and it had begun to worry him especially since the sky that ,loomed overhead showed absolutely no hint of such an action occurring.
"What does that mean?" Kagome questioned suspiciously.
"It means that something is wrong nearby, but not right here." Inuyasha explained, his amber eyes still upon the sky overhead.
He hadn't ever been able to completely shake the feeling that something was wrong, even with all of the coxing that he had attempted to do on his sub-conscious it never had really dissipated and it was really beginning to worry him.
Kagome slacked off on her questions, noting that Inuyasha seemed a little stressed as of late to Miroku who nodded his head slightly and kept his gaze fixed upon the figure ahead of him.
It was true that Inuyasha hadn't seemed himself since the beginning of the morning, but then again, Inuyasha never really seemed to have a good morning. It had at one point in time gotten so bad that Miroku actually had come to the conclusion that they might wind up having to tie him to the bed and perform some sort of ancient ritual to keep him calm in the mornings. He sighed. Luckily it had never really come to that; however he was getting worried that it might be coming back.
Night descended slowly upon the travelers, immersing them in a dewy twilight as they reached their returning destination. Several lights appeared ahead as the smell of fresh cooked meat came closer and closer.
"Inuyasha!" An old woman's voice called as he walked slowly closer to the looming village ahead. "I presume ye are doing fine."
Inuyasha mustered up his usual ill-fit greeting and replied with a,
"Yea sure."
His nose was sniffing the air, searching for the scent path that led to what he was hopeful to be his homecoming meal.
"Village Square Inuyasha." Kaede chuckled as she noticed him searching around in the air.
"I already knew that." Inuyasha blurted out as he hurried off into the direction of the Village Square, no doubt in search of the most of a meal he could find.
Kaede was chuckling as her eyes followed the crimson blur as it disappeared into the background. She then turned and greeted the others with her usual smile.
"He seems to be his usual self eh?" She said cheerily.
"Not exactly." Miroku said with a worried tone.
"Oh," Kaede mentioned with a curious tone of voice, "Really?"
"Unfortunately yes." Miroku replied.
"Well I'll hear all about that later," She said calmly, "But for now lets head back to my place where it's safer."
"Will there be food?" Shippou asked, jumping up out of Kagome's arms.
"Indeed there will be." She said and laughed as she turned, indicating that the rest should follow.
"Good," Shippou said aloud, "I'm starving."
Stars twinkled in the sky overhead slightly in a foggy mist that slowly began to engulf the town as the group followed Kaede back to her hut.
Something isn't right; Inuyasha's mind yelled at him as he sat in a nearby tree and ate some fresh fish. I just can't seem to figure out what it is! Inuyasha couldn't shake the voice as he gazed around at the villagers that surrounded him on the ground below, laughing and enjoying themselves quite a lot.
Inuyasha knew that he himself has been happy like that once; so carefree and happy and free to do anything. His amber eyes shook themselves from the scenery below and fixed themselves back upon the grey sky overhead which hinted of an early rain. He had been thinking as of late about the past few weeks, which he didn't seem to remember for some odd reason. It was weird because nothing had really seemed to phase him or trouble him at all until the morning of today. True, he had had a lot on his mind lately but it was never anything that made him act like this nor was it ever anything that he couldn't somehow figure out.
A soft growl escaped his fanged lips as a breeze blew his hair amidst the tree limbs. It really pissed him off when he couldn't figure out things, especially feelings and emotions, and this time was no different from the rest.
"I really need to just blow this off." He murmured to himself as he gulped down the rest of the fish and rested his back upon the trunk in a lazy fashion. "After all, what could really be so problematic if I can't figure it out?"
Another warm breeze blew over the silent figure in the tree above and rustled his clothing slightly in the silent and fairly normal night. Hardly anything was different except the clattering noises of celebration and laughter below and this was just enough to keep Inuyasha awake and alert.
But back in Kaede's hut however there was far more cheerfulness in the air. Despite the overall topic of Inuyasha's weird behavior, it seemed like everyone was having a party around the crackling fire in the middle of the room, munching on some of Kaede's soup.
"So," Kaede broke off and turned towards Miroku who was in the middle of trying to seduce Sango, "What's this I hear about Inuyasha misbehavin'?"
"Uhhhh." Miroku started as he quickly withdrew his hidden hand that had just been noticed by a very furious Sango. "Well, you see it seems that he just hasn't been himself right lately."
"Sounds to be a lot like himself then." Kaede chuckled as she refilled Shippou's soup bowl which was currently empty.
Miroku laughed a little and then took another bite of his soup before continuing.
"No, you see," He said a little more seriously, "It seems like he's been a lot less there, than usual when it comes to everyday stuff."
"Such as?" Kaede asked
"Such as when he's asked questions or talked to he doesn't answer or make any sort of notion that he's heard you for almost a minute or until you shake him or something." Miroku explained.
"Like I said," Kaede continued from her previous conclusion, "perfectly normal."
Miroku sighed and took another bite in defeat.
"Trust me monk, I've known him for a far longer time than anyone else in this room and I'm tellin' ya that he'll be just fine." She smiled as she noticed the sighs.
"But enough of that for now." She said as she stood up and walked over to the door flap, "It's late and we need to get everyone here situated in order for bed."
"Awwww." Shippou whined a little, "I'm not tired though!"
"You may not be right now Shippou," Kaede said cheerfully towards the small kitsune, "But by the time you've finished walking I feel confident that ye will be quite ready for bed."
Shippou smiled a little and nodded his head as he got up in suit with everyone else and headed towards the door into the windy, foggy night.
It wasn't too long before Inuyasha himself grew weary of the night, which was an oddity, but it seemed that just being near the village at that particular point in time made him feel uneasy and on edge.
He walked towards a house on the outskirts of the forest, the one she usually hauled them up in; ever since they had started coming back frequently she had thought that it might be a good idea to have a decent place to sleep at the least.
He walked through the parting in the trees and smelt the scent of the nearby swamp, upon whose outskirt banks the house had been built. He walked the steps and pulled back the thatched doorway, finding, to his luck, that everyone else had apparently gone to sleep.
He wasn't really in a sleeping mood, but he knew he needed it, knew that he would more than likely pay for it in a later battle or somewhat if he didn't at least try, so he shed off his out robe and garments and walked towards a spot in the far back right hand corner of the house. He found a small open cot and laid his stuff down beside his bed.
He bent down to get in but averted his gaze to a small slatted window in the top-most side of the wall behind him. Small rumbles of thunder pounded outside and he heard the pitter pattering evidence of its gift to the earth.
Rainstorms always made him happy, despite their ability to always seem to show up in the worst possible situations. He re-adjusted his gaze back down to his sleeping spot and slid his body down beneath the covers.
He found himself stretching a small, private smile across his lips as he drifted away into the sleeping dreams that awaited him. It must just be my imagination, Inuyasha thought to himself as he closed his eyes and departed his ideas from the binding laws of earth, Nothing else makes any sense…
A strong scent awoke Inuyasha from his peaceful dreams, snatching him away from his melded reality back to his ever changing environment. His eyes flashed and he hopped to his feet, gritting his teeth as he inhaled the scent of his surroundings.
It was storming outside, but nevertheless he could smell that foul scent anywhere.
"Naraku." Inuyasha smiled greedily, "It must be playtime again, how convenient I for myself that I slept."
Inuyasha reached down for his sword and over garments, plunging them haphazardly onto his still sleepy body.
"MIROKU! SANGO! KAGOME! SHIPPOU!" Inuyasha shouted as he finished the final straps on his kimono .
Miroku's eyes flashed open and he bolted upright, staring at Inuyasha. The same pattern seemed to repeat fairly the same for the rest of the party members as well, each staring at him sleepily.
"What's that smell?" Shippou asked sleepily, obviously not as keen on memorizing scents as Inuyasha.
"It's Naraku!" Inuyasha said as he walked over towards the door.
"Here?! NOW?!" Miroku replied, disbelievingly but quickly shut up as his nose detected the faint scent of sulfur.
Inuyasha nodded and grasped his sword staring out the door.
Inuyasha waited for a few minutes while the others got dressed quickly. Before long Sango was walking towards him in full battle attire and Kagome was fully dressed with a fresh quiver of arrows, her bow hanging loosely at her side. Miroku walked forward and joined the group at the door.
"Ready?" Inuyasha asked, flexing his muscles, ready for battle.
"Indeed." Miroku said his hand firmly on his staff and determination burning in his eyes.
Inuyasha bolted, raindrops pelting and drenching his skin like liquid bullets. He followed the scent like a blood trail.
He ran until he reached the right side edge of the large expanse of hilly plains. He faced the thicketed forest which lay before him and clenched his fists in the pounding rain. Not this time Naraku, he yelled in his mind, not this time.
He jumped and soared over the forest, his companions not too far behind him on Kirara. He landed in a small clearing just inside the forest and stared at the demon in front of him.
Sango, Kagome, Miroku, and Shippou landed behind him and dismounted, walking forward in sync as Kirara let out a roar. In the distance was a large Spider-like Demon, it's red eyes coursing with hate, and excreting an unmistakable foul odor.
"Naraku…"
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This story is meant to bridge together Truths and Time, which are both Yaoi stories of mine and involve Inuyasha/Miroku. If you don't know what Yaoi is then please don't read them, if you don't like Yaoi then I would hope that it would be obvious to you not to read it and especially not flame it.
I do not own Inuyasha nor claim to own anything related to it. Inuyasha is Copyright Rumiko Takahashi, Yomiuri Telecasting Corporation, and ADV Films.
As always, P.L.U.R.!
Stewie2kill
"rave on"
P.S.- You guys thought I was dead didn't ya -. In point of fact I'm gearing up to release the first chapter of Time a few days after this comes out, so be sure to look for it as well if you have read Truths and enjoyed it!