The Meeting
*Unfortunately, I do not own Inuyasha and Company. Rumiko Takahashi does. (Except Koneko, she's mine.)
*Note: pretend that she is in all the episodes, important ones I will write.
*If you have not read up to chapter six of Words to Speak and don't want any spoilers, then don't read this yet.
*Warning! Rape- not elaborated, just mentioned.
Koneko stretched as she walked out of the cave and into the clearing she had been staying in for a while. Nearby, a river flowed past and out deeper into the forest. Her cat-like ears twitched as she quickly checked the area with her senses before stripping to step in the water for a bath. She was only a half-demon so her senses were not as strong as full-blooded Nekos, but they were as strong as the average demon (still stronger than most half-demons). Like most Nekos, her sense of smell was lacking while sight and hearing were her strengths.
As she stepped in, Koneko heard movement in the bushes near her. Her eyes widened as a smell that wasn't there before hit her. There were ten demons emerging from the bush and were grinning at her. She quickly summoned her sword to her hand and prepared to attack. The demons were shocked by the appearance of the sword but approached anyways.
"Come now, sweetie," the largest of the group drawled. "We won't hurt cha if ya cooperate." As he took another step, Koneko snarled and swung her sword, decapitating him. The rest of the demons attacked and she managed to kill four more of them before one knocked her sword away. When they went to grab her, she ran, glancing back every so often. They were demons and, as a half-demon, she would never outrun them. She could smell their intentions from the moment they revealed themselves. They were going to rape her!
Finally, one grabbed her tail and knocked her down. Struggling, she managed to kill two more before the remaining three pinned her down. One held a claw to her throat and said, "You are going to pay for our comrades' deaths soon. But first…" He pressed his claw harder, drawing a little blood. "Is it true that half-demons can control getting pregnant like full demons?" She was surprised he knew that and must have reacted because he smirked towards his friends. "In that case," he grabbed and ripped out a lock of her hair and threw the brown bundle away, grinning at her pain. "Let the fun begin!" Everything after that was a blur…
When she woke up, she was in pain, lots of pain. Koneko checked and made sure she wouldn't get pregnant. After that, she looked at her surroundings and could tell she was near the hot spring she bathed in last night. She curled up as she considered her options. She was too weak to move and any human who came by would most likely ignore her, while a demon would kill her. She decided to take the form of a human. That way, a human would sympathize and she could surprise a demon. After transforming, she closed her eyes and waited.
Kagome talked with Sango as they walked towards the hot spring. It had been a long day of traveling and they were excited to finally relax. It had taken a sit, but Inuyasha camped near a hot spring. Kirara walked along side them as they chatted about Kagome's life back home.
"How do you keep in contact if you live so far away?" Sango asked in wonder.
"See, we have these things called phones and you can speak through one and the other person can hear you," Kagome explained, amused.
Sango was going to speak again when suddenly Kirara tensed and ran into the bushes. Sango and Kagome followed, ready for battle. They found her nudging a form which turned out to be human.
They ran up to her and attempted to wake her. After a moment, she opened her eyes which were bright blue. "Are you ok?" Kagome asked. The girl looked up and tears filled her eyes. "Are the demons gone?" The tears escaped as she murmured, "They raped me." They were shocked. They gently carried her to the hot spring and cleaned her up.
"What happened?" Kagome asked while wrapping her wounds.
Koneko's eyes filled up with tears again as she answered. "I was bathing when three demons snuck up behind and pinned me. I don't remember much after that," she looked down, "but I have a guess to what they did."
Sango looked at Kagome and said, "We have to bring her back to camp." Kagome nodded and they gave her a set of clothes as hers were missing.
Koneko used that moment to sneak a look at the fire Neko, Kirara. She was hidden well but a fellow Neko could still sense it. And even without a human form, she could cause trouble. Kirara must have caught on because she acted normally. She whispered thank you as to only the Neko could hear it. Kirara flicked her tail as a reply.
Then they led her to the camp. Inuyasha was sitting in a tree when he almost fell off from the smell. Shippo smelled it too and was confused (He was too young). "Who's this?" Inuyasha grumbled. "Another stray?"
"Inuyasha! Be polite, she needs our help!" Kagome scolded. He wisely shut up in fear of her using the sit.
"I'm Koneko," she said while keeping a straight face. 'Inuyasha? But he was sealed to a tree,' she thought. Glancing at him, she thought, 'He looks like his father and brother but also like his mother.' "Are you a demon?" she asked. She knew he would probably get upset, but she was curious. And curiosity killed the cat. Or Neko.
Inuyasha glared at her and forgot his own advice, "I wasn't talking to you, slut."
"SIT!" Inuyasha crashed, face first, off the branch and into the ground. "How dare you say that to her and in front of Shippo too? She was forced by demons, what could she have done?" Kagome yelled.
Koneko had to withhold her laughter as Inuyasha picked himself up, but the 'slut' comment had hurt.
Kagome turned towards her and smiled brightly, "Ignoring that, he's Inuyasha," she pointed to the monk, "that's Miroku," she gestured towards the kitsune demon, "and this is Shippo."
Koneko was wary of the casual way she acted around the demons. She knew it was risky, but she had to ask, "Why are you hanging around demons? Aren't they evil?"
Kagome immediately turned cold, "I hate it when people judge demons like that! They're not all evil!"
Koneko backed up, surprised but happy, "I'm sorry, I've only seen three demons before you found me." She looked sadly at the ground. She felt bad for lying to these people who had helped her, but too many years of betrayal caused her to trust little.
Kagome looked sadly at her, "Here, eat with us." She gave her a fish that was left from earlier. "Where's your village?" Miroku asked, "We can take you there."
Koneko hurriedly came up with something. "My village was attacked a year ago; I have been living alone since." 'It has some grains of truth in it,' she thought.
Sango looked at her with sympathy, "I'm sorry." She paused for a beat before continuing, "Do you have anything of yours?"
She nodded, "If the hot spring you brought me to is the one I bathed in last night, I could find my way from there."
"Let's go then!" Inuyasha said. "The faster we get rid of you, the better."
"SIT!"
As Koneko started to lead the way, she couldn't help but wonder how this was going to end.
*Neko means cat, Koneko means kitten, Inu means dog, and kitsune means Fox
