As promised, it is Monday and so you get chapter two. And I thank everyone who was kind enough to review, it's great to see my newest story being read by some of you! Well, hope you enjoy!
Chapter Two: The News so Dark, Heart Stopped, I
Stood Silent Without a Sound
It took a little more than a week for Shippo to fully heal from his injuries. During that time he desperately wished to hear something, anything, from his missing companions. However, no matter how much he pleaded to the unresponsive gods he heard nothing.
By the third day he had healed enough for Kaede to allow him to sit outside the hut for hours at a time. She wouldn't let him walk around as she was afraid of him disrupting the healing taking place. He wouldn't tell Kaede, but he was willing to remain bedridden and healing for years if only he would hear something from his friends. He would do anything to hear even the slightest whisper of where they were. If he shared that with the elderly healer she would be sure to tie him down in fear of him growing agitated and doing something to find the others.
But Shippo was content, at least as content as he could be considering the circumstances, to sit on a log in front of the hut during the day. The villagers had received him quite well after Kaede let them know he knew about his missing friends. Throughout the day they would come up to him and offer their sincerest apologies that they could find nothing out about his friends. Shippo couldn't fully express his true feelings about what this meant to him. These villagers wanted nothing but peace and yet they were risking their lives to go outside their safety circle to try and aid him in the search for his friends.
He was thankful, that was a definite emotion. He was also frightened, after all, he did not wish for a villager to be injured, or worse, killed, because they were trying to help him. But he also felt disgusted with himself. They were his friends who were missing and yet he was helpless to do anything besides sit on a log and wait for news to come to him. He vowed that the moment the bandages came off he was gone. A second later he clenched his tiny fists. Inuyasha would have been searching for everyone even if he was covered from head to toe in bandages. Why couldn't he be more like the brave hanyou he had come to idolize?
However, he got his wish to leave almost two weeks after Kirara first brought his unconscious form to Kaede. As he sat in the hut while Kaede unraveled his bandages, he gazed at her with a hopeful expression.
Kaede caught Shippo's gaze and sighed. "What is you want child?" She secretly dreaded the conversation she knew would be coming. The child was impatient and worried, a bad combination that would cause him to act brashly.
"Am I healed enough Kaede?" asked Shippo, barely able to reign in the eagerness in his voice. "Kirara was healed several days ago so I should be too, right?"
"Kirara is also a fully matured demon," commented Kaede. "You are but a child, your body takes longer to heal."
"I know," whined Shippo. "But like I said, Kirara was healed several days ago. That should mean I'm healed now." Shippo swore that if Kaede insisted he wasn't healed he would go on a rampage. He wanted to find his friends. He wasted enough time as it was, what if they were injured and desperately needed his help? And here he was, wasting time in the village while a protective healer wouldn't let him go.
"We shall see," finally said Kaede. She secretly didn't want to let Shippo go. She feared what would happen to the young kitsune should he leave the village without the protection of the friends he was so anxious to find. But she also knew Shippo had just about run out of patience. Even if she tried to keep him here he would not listen any longer.
Shippo fidgeted while Kaede took the final wrappings off him. Peering down at his chest he was pleased to see his injuries were completely scabbed over.There was no longer a chance he would hurt himself unless if he got into a fight. And if a demon attacked him he doubt any scabbing would really effect the outcome of the battle at all for he knew he was weak. But scabs wouldn't be harmed by searching for his friends. He could finally leave.
"You are sufficiently healed," said Kaede gravely. "Child, I must ask of you, be careful. I know I cannot stop you from leaving so please, don't do anything drastic. Your friends would not want you killing yourself to save them."
Nodding, Shippo stood back up. "I know Kaede. But you know I have to go. Don't you want to find them too?" At her nod, he continued. "And besides, Kirara is coming with me. If we come across a demon we can simply run away."
"I hope that is an option," said Kaede softly. She knew Kirara was fast, but if they came across a demon such as Naraku it would not make much of a difference.
"I'll come back Kaede," vowed Shippo. "I promise. And I'll come back with the others too." The second promised he swore even tighter in his mind. He would find them. There was no other option. Failure was not an option.
Kaede smiled for the kitsune's benefit. "Then I shall prepare my hut for more injuries since you can be sure at least one of them will be injured."
"Most likely Inuyasha," snorted Shippo. "He can't fight without getting injured."
Laughing quietly, Kaede followed Shippo out of the hut. She watched as Kirara ran up to them and switched into her large form. Shippo clambered onto her back and hung on to the fur around her neck. "Watch him Kirara," said Kaede.
Trying to mew, but coming out more like a soft roar, Kirara took to the air. Kaede watched them until they were nothing but a speck in the distance. She could not say why, but she had never been so scared in her life as she was now at watching them fly away.
Shippo decided that the best place to start the search was to return to the place where the fighting took place. Since he could not remember where this was he simply told Kirara his plans and let her have her way.
The fire cat appeared to know exactly where she was going, so Shippo watched as the ground flew by. As he continued to watch, his memory was jogged.
"You know, if this shard rumor is right then that means there probably won't be many left after this one," commented Kagome as she walked besides Inuyasha. Shippo sat on his favorite place, perched on her shoulder.
"How many do we have?" asked Miroku as he drew abreast them, Sango on his heels. Kirara was held in her mistress's arms.
Taking a quick look at her jar of shards hanging around her neck Kagome answered with a, "I guess…about a quarter of them."
"That bastard has that many?" asked Inuyasha in a gruff voice. His hand clenched over the hilt of Tetsusaiga but he quickly relinqueshed his hold on his sword before anyone could say anything.
"Afraid so," said Kagome. "But as long as he doesn't get these ones he can never complete it so he won't use the shards. We can beat him. I know we can," she finished with conviction.
Nodding, Sango said, "Of course we can beat him. Naraku has taken too much from all of us. He won't continue living."
"Once we get this shard we can hunt that bastard down," said Inuyasha vehemently. "It's way past time for him to die."
Shippo frowned to himself. He remembered that conversation and knew what it meant to them all. In a previous fight Naraku had killed Kohaku right in front of Sango's eyes. She had been beyond devastated, Inuyasha had to physically hold her back to keep her from running to her death. It had been a hard blow for the demon exterminator, after that day she had been bent on destroying Naraku and nothing else.
Kikyo had also been previously destroyed by Naraku. He had waited for her to give him some shards she had stolen from Kagome before he took the small amount of life she had left. Inuyasha had turned full demon and if it weren't for the power Kagome held over him in the form of the rosary he most likely would have died that day.
Shippo's heart clenched now at the thought of his friends being held captive by a demon. They had all suffered so much already. What right did an enemy have to be holding them against their will?
As he and Kirara flew over a small clearing, his memory was once against prompted to remember the past journey.
"Inuyasha! We're stopping here for the night," demanded Kagome. "Not everyone is a demon like you and able to walk for an unreasonable amount of time!"
"Damn wench, do you want Naraku to get to the shard before us?" asked Inuyasha harshly. "If this truly is the last shard then you know he'll be after it too!"
"Inuyasha, Kagome is right," interjected Miroku before Kagome could yell again. "We must rest at some point. If we find the shard later tonight we'll all be tired except for you. I myself would prefer to be rested before fighting and I'm sure everyone else would agree with me."
"Of course," huffed Kagome. "That is why we're stopping!"
"No!" yelled Inuyasha, finally losing his patience. "We need to get that shard before Naraku does!"
"SIT!" screamed Kagome. "You're not going to win Inuyasha so just give up and sleep like any normal person would at night!"
"But Kagome, Inuyasha isn't normal," stated Shippo bluntly.
"Shut up runt!" demanded Inuyasha while raising his face out of the ground.
"Make me!" taunted Shippo. "Oh wait, you can't because you were sat!"
"Shippo," chided Kagome, "Don't harass Inuyasha. You don't like it when he does it to you so don't do it to him."
"Fine," said Shippo petulantly. But when he was sure Kagome wasn't looking he made it a point stick his tongue out at the hanyou. He laughed under his breath when Inuyasha's gaze darkened.
Coming out of his silent musings, he was surprised to see it was dusk already. They had been flying all day?
"Kirara, if you'd like a break we can stop at any time," said Shippo while patting her neck.
Kirara roared in understanding but continued to fly.
Shippo could almost sense the urgency in the fire cat through her tensed muscles. She wanted to get there almost as fast as he did. He only hoped they wouldn't arrive too late and be unable tosave their friends.
As they flew long into the night Shippo closed his eyes and remembered more about the journey with his friends.
"Shit!" cursed Inuyasha loudly as he came to an abrupt halt in front of the group.
"Inuyasha?" questioned Kagome. "What's wrong?"
"He's here," said Inuyasha. "That bastard beat us to the shard!"
"Naraku?" said Miroku harshly. "Naraku is here?"
"Who else would it be?" sneered Inuyasha. "Guess we get to face him earlier than we thought. Get ready, he's coming."
Sango immediately shed her traveling clothes until she was garbed only in the clothing of the demon exterminators. She hooked her katana back around her waist and Hiraikotsu was slid onto her back. Finally, she tied her hair into a high ponytail.
No one else had to make as many preparations as Sango did, but she still finished in less than a minute. It was ground into all demon exterminators at a very young age to be hasty in preparing yourself for battle. When the enemy was coming there never was time to waste.
"Shippo, stay in the back," said Kagome urgently. "I don't want you getting hurt."
"But I can fight too!" cried Shippo. "You may need my help!"
"No!" Kagome practically shouted. "No, I don't want you get to hurt. Please Shippo, promise me you'll stay out of the fight."
Shippo never could refuse his surrogate mother anything. Lowering his eyes in defeat, he nodded once.
Smiling in relief, Kagome picked the kitsune child up to give him a quick but solid hug. Putting him back on the ground she readied her bow and arrows. When she looked at Shippo he quickly backed into the bushes surrounding the small clearing they had stopped in. He disappeared into them not a moment too soon.
"How nice of you to join us," said Naraku in his eerily smooth voice. "Tell me, how did you like that shard rumor I made up?"
"You bastard!" shouted Inuyasha.
"Aw, what's wrong Inuyasha, did you think a shard really existed out here? I'm truly very sorry to disappoint you."
Shippo peeked out of the bushes and saw Naraku lined up with Kagura and Kanna. His friends were standing in front of him, all with their weapons raised in preparation for the upcoming battle.
"You'll be the sorry one when we kill you," spat Inuyasha, raising his sword until the blade was nearly level with his face.
"I never knew you were such the comic," remarked Naraku with a smirk. "Will you find your upcoming death equally amusing?"
With a snarl Inuyasha launched himself at Naraku. His friends followed suit a moment later with Sango unleashing Hiraikotsu to give the enemy something to focus on aside from Inuyasha.
The boomerang worked enough to give Inuyasha enough time to reach Naraku before Kagura could hit him with her wind blades. When she blew back Hiraikotsu she immediately had to dodge a purity arrow. Upon landing on her feet she was faced with the monk as he viciously attacked her with his staff.
When the boomerang returned to Sango Kirara was waiting to take the demon exterminator on her back. Gracefully jumping onto her cat, Sango took to the air in the hopes of gaining the advantage by height.
Shippo watched as Naraku transformed into his standard writhing mass of tentacles. Inuyasha simply smirked and began attacking the beast with newfound fervor. He saw Sango circle overhead and suddenly Kirara dived, Sango bent low over her back with her boomerang raised over her head. When the cat and owner neared Naraku Sango let go of Hiraikotsu. Before Kirara could pull out of the dive a giant tentacle came out of nowhere to hit the feline across her chest. Unable to withstand the attack, Kirara and Sango flew into the ground with a severe crash.
Miroku jumped out of Kagura's reach when he heard the crash. Upon seeing Sango lying on the ground he ran towards her. Kagura was about to attack Miroku's back when another purity arrow flew at her. Looking at distaste upon the miko, Kagura readied her fan.
Shippo saw Kanna approaching the fallen demon exterminator and was about to rush to her aid when the monk appeared to start fighting Kanna. Sango began standing as well so Shippo put attention back on Kagome.
Kagome was firing arrows at the wind demon. Everytime an arrow neared Kagura she would simply flick her fan and send it harmlessly to the side of her. He couldn't stop his gasp of fright when he saw Kagome reach behind her only to realize she had fired all her arrows. Without thinking Shippo burst out from his hiding spot.
He would never get there in time. Kagura was smirking cruelly while Kagome did nothing other than eye the wind demon with clear distaste. He was about to watch Kagome be blown away by Kagura's wind attack. She was already pulling back her fan to send razor sharp wind blades at Kagome's undefended self. He would never reach her!
But somehow he did. By the time Kagura finally let her attack loose Shippo was airborne and jumping in front of Kagome.
Shippo barely had time to register Kagome's cry of pain when his body was blown away.
Jerking awake, Shippo was stunned to feel tears sliding down his face. He remembered the battle. That was how he was injured. He was protecting Kagome from Kagura. He hoped he was successful, but then he wondered what happened after he was knocked unconscious and presumed to be dead by the enemy. Perhaps they won but were injured too bad to make it back to Kaede's?
Shaking his head, Shippo knew that didn't make sense. Kirara only brought him back to Kaede's. She wouldn't have done that if the others were still at the battle site.
Maybe both he and Kirara were knocked into the bushes and some people from a surrounding village found the others and took them back to heal them. Or, he thought while gulping, Naraku took them captive for some plot he was trying to hatch. Shippo wouldn't put it past the evil hanyou to incorporate his friends into one of his insidious plots. Was it possible to gain control of his friend's minds? Shippo didn't want to think of Kagome and the others turning into more of Naraku's puppets but neither would he rule out that possibility.
He was jolted out of his thoughts when Kirara began descending. Blinking rapidly, he was surprised to see it was dawn. He must have fallen asleep without even realizing it.
When she landed Shippo immediately jumped off her back and looked around the woods. He recognized this place. They were only a few hundred yards from where the battle took place at. He wasn't sure why the cat demon didn't take them directly to the clearing but he wouldn't question her. He was also puzzled when the cat demon didn't revert back to her smaller form. He would have thought she would be tired from flying all night but no, she stood behind him in her larger form as she waited for him to continue on.
Shippo wouldn't object to that of course, after all, she was a lot more threatening when she was big. Taking a deep breath Shippo steadied his nerves and began walking towards where he knew the clearing was.
He was comforted by the sound of Kirara's heavy footfalls coming from behind him. He was never more grateful towards the cat demon then at this point. He wouldn't have to face whatever was coming up alone. Kirara would stay with him and help him in whatever way she could.
As he drew closer to the clearing he unconsciously began slowing down. He didn't even realize he had come to a complete stop until Kirara nuzzling his back brought him back. Placing his small hands on her face, Shippo smiled at the cat demon.
"All right Kirara, you ready for this?"
Before the cat could make a sound in reply Shippo spun on his heel to look back to the front. What he saw made his blood run cold.
The great demon lord of the Western Lands, Sesshoumaru, was eyeing him with interest. The demon lord stood between the frightened kitsune and the clearing. Suddenly Shippo didn't know if he wanted to know what laid in the clearing. If it meant having to cross the path of Sesshoumaru he would turn back right now. Sesshoumaru was just too unpredicatable for Shippo's tastes.
"You are the companion of Inuyasha, are you not?" questioned the demon lord.
"Y-y-y-yes," stammered Shippo, stepping back until he was braced against the large cat demon's front paws.
"What happened? And why are you here?" asked Sesshoumaru curiously.
"I…I don't know what happened to my friends," responded Shippo, deciding to go with the truth. Sesshoumaru wasn't acting very dangerous right now so the kitsune decided to trust the demon for the time being. Besides, if Sesshoumaru wanted to kill him there wouldn't be anything he could do about it.
"Were you not with them for the battle?"
"I was, but Kagura knocked me out. Kirara took me back to the village and I finally got healed enough to come back here." Shippo was finally calm enough to step away from the demon cat. Since he was currently the representative for his friends he would not act afraid in Sesshoumaru's presence. None of the others did so neither would he.
"Hm," said Sesshoumaru disinterestedly.
"Do you know what happened to them?" asked Shippo desperately. "Please, if you do tell me. I need to find them!"
Shippo could have sworn he saw the slightest hint of pity deep the demon lord's eyes. This did not bode well.
"They are dead," Sesshoumaru finally said.
Shippo's world crumbled.
Well uh...one of the categories is tragedy so I'm allowed to kill off most of the gang! Just don't be too pissed at me, all right? That's all I ask...Well, I hope to get some reviews for this chapter! In one week you'll get
It's Over, She's Finished, Mother Lies with Your Father and Sister too