Have I really left this on chapter 1 since August? Holy crap. Well here's chapter 2!
Now where were we? Oh, yeah. Izayoi and Yohei were kidnapped by a cloud of weird-smelling fog. Fun stuff, right?
Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha or its characters. All rights to Rumiko Takahashi.
Chapter 2: The Forest
I finally came to when I heard someone quietly saying my name. I opened my eyes and saw Yohei looking down at me with a worried expression on his face.
"Iz?" he said quietly. I groaned and sat up.
"My head is killing me," I said as I rubbed my temples.
"It's probably from the clouds," Yohei replied. "They had some sort of yokai poison in them. I recognized the smell. My mom told me about it once."
I knew that if he had heard it from Sango then it was probably true. "Why, though?" I asked.
Yohei shook his head. "I don't know," he replied.
"Where are we?" I asked. Yohei hesitated.
"I don't know," he repeated. "The clouds carried us somewhere and then they just disappeared."
I stood up too fast and instantly regretted it. I would have fallen if Yohei hadn't quickly risen and caught me. "Be careful," he scolded lightly.
I tried to shake myself out of my haze. "Thanks," I said when the dizziness went away and I had righted myself. I looked around and saw that we were in an unfamiliar part of the forest; actually, I wasn't even sure if it was the same forest that Goshinboku was in.
"What do we do?" I asked. Yohei thought for a moment.
"Can't you sniff something out?" he asked. "Maybe another person or a village nearby this forest?" I frowned at him.
"Don't say it like that," I scolded. "I'm not a dog." Yohei laughed.
"Okay," he replied sarcastically. "Remind me that next time Mom makes her vegetable soup. You can always smell that from five kilometers away."
I knew I should be irritated at that comment, but I couldn't help laughing, too. Maybe those clouds had made me intoxicated.
After a moment, I did try to see if I could pick up any familiar scents, but my head still hurt and that poison seemed to have thrown off my sense of smell.
"I got nothing," I said.
By then, I was starting to get a little nervous, so I tried to think of what my mom would do. The Miko Kagome would remain calm. She would try to think of a way to figure things out with a level head.
I took a deep breath and tried to summon all my strength.
Suddenly, a chilling sensation went through my body. It was an innate feeling that something was coming near us…something dangerous. I quickly turned around and saw nothing, but I could feel that something was out there.
"What's wrong?" Yohei asked. I put my finger to my lips.
"Be quiet," I whispered back to him. He nodded and looked in the same direction.
"Do you have any weapons?" I asked quietly. Yohei glanced at me and shook his head.
"Do you?" he replied. I shook my head back at him.
No weapons, no strength, and no spiritual power. I'm nothing.
"Iz," Yohei suddenly whispered. "Come on." His violet eyes were determined, focused.
"What?" I whispered back. Yohei didn't answer. Instead, he ran over to one of the many trees around us and started climbing up it.
"Yohei!" I whispered-yelled.
Yohei climbed higher and higher until I couldn't see him anymore. I ran over to the base of the tree and looked up to see him motioning for me to follow. I hesitated, knowing that any sort of climbing wasn't something I excelled in doing.
Yohei climbed back down and reached out his hand. "Come on," he said. I glanced at his hand wearily, but grabbed on anyway. I tried to force myself to not look down.
I held onto his hand tightly as he pulled me up to the branch he was standing on. "We have to get all the way to the top," he said.
We started climbing up the trunk of the tree, and when we couldn't get any higher, we looked out around the forest we were now above.
When I peered out into the forest, it seemed like it went on forever. We were completely surrounded by trees. It was an eerie sight; it was like it was screaming You will never escape.
After a moment, I saw a big shake in some of the trees a few kilometers away. Whatever it was, it was coming our way.
"Yohei, look," I said. Yohei looked just in time to see another big shaking of the trees.
"What is that?" he asked. I shook my head.
"Trouble," I replied. "What do we do?"
Yohei paused for a moment. "We have two options right now," he said. "We can wait here and see what that thing is or we can get the heck out of here."
I started climbing down the tree. "I like the second one." Yohei nodded and began to climb down after me.
Once we were both on the ground, we bolted in the opposite direction.
"Do you think it's a yokai?" I asked as we ran. Yohei nodded.
"Mom told me that if there's ever an aura like that then it's safe to assume that's what it is," he replied. I fought the urge to cry.
Yohei reached out and took my hand as we ran. "You need to move faster," he said as he picked up his pace.
I tried to run as fast as I could, but I'll admit it would have been hard to keep up with Yohei even if running was something I was actually good at.
After what felt like forever, Yohei slowed his pace to a walk. "I think we should be okay here for a while," he said.
"Are you sure it's safe to stop?" I asked breathlessly. "That yokai could be a lot faster. What if it's following us? I bet it's following us." Yohei reached out and put his hands on my shoulders.
"Izayoi," he said. "It's alright." I looked up at him and tried to calm myself down, but my fear soon turned to anger.
"No, it's not alright," I countered. "We're trapped in a forest with some sort of creepy cloud-yokai chasing us! How can you say it's alright?" Yohei peered at me, and then he did the most unbelievable thing.
He started laughing.
"What are you laughing at?" I shrieked. "This isn't funny!" Yohei tried to subdue himself, but his laughter only grew.
"A cloud-yokai?" he repeated. He busted up laughing again. I stared at him in complete shock, but then I thought about what I said.
I couldn't help it; I started laughing, too. Despite the circumstances, it felt good to laugh.
After a few moments, our laughter died down. Yohei's gaze met mine, and I couldn't help but smile.
"Well, I wish it were a soup-yokai," Yohei said as he sat down on the ground. "Then we could just eat it to death." I laughed again as I sat down next to him.
We went quiet after a moment, and I hugged my knees against my chest and breathed a sigh.
"What are we going to do?" I asked seriously. Yohei sighed.
"Let's just take it one step at a time," Yohei replied. "I don't hear anything anymore, so maybe we've lost whatever that thing is for now. How about we start a fire? I'll look around for some sticks." I nodded as Yohei got up.
I didn't even think about building a fire; I was too freaked out to even form a coherent thought. Yohei had always amazed me with his natural instincts for survival. They've always seemed to trump any fear he might have.
Once Yohei had found enough sticks, I took them from him and started up the fire. It had grown a lot chillier outside, so I was grateful for the warmth of the flames.
"Now what?" I asked as Yohei resumed his spot next to me.
"I wish I knew," he admitted. "I guess we just keep walking. Maybe we'll run into someone that can help us." I grimaced. That sounds like wishful thinking, I thought to myself. There was no telling if we would see any other people, let alone if they would be willing to help us.
"You should sleep," he suggested. "It's late." I hesitated.
"I'm okay for now," I replied. "I'll stay up with you." Yohei frowned.
"Are you sure?" he asked. "I'll keep watch." I shook my head.
"I'm fine," I replied. Yohei looked at me like that for a moment, but he quickly nodded before we fell into silence.
After about ten minutes, Yohei sighed and stood up. "We should keep moving," he said as he began to stomp out the fire. "There's no telling when whatever that thing was could show up." I nodded and stood up to join him.
I still felt a little out of it from that smoke, so Yohei waited until I was steady on my feet before he started walking.
He gently set his hand on my lower back as we walked, and I couldn't tell if it was to try and keep me up or himself.
His touch lasted for only a second, but I could still feel it when he drew his hand away. A warm feeling was settling in me despite the cold air around us, and I felt a small sense of dread in my heart.
I'm in for it now.
Back in the Village:
"What are we going to do?" Inuyasha asked seriously. After Izayoi and Yohei had disappeared, he'd booked it home and alerted Kagome, Miroku, and Sango.
"I don't know!" Kagome replied. "We don't even know what that thing was, let alone where it went!" Inuyasha saw the panic in his wife's eyes, and he knew that she was just as terrified as he was, if not more.
Inuyasha gently set a hand on Kagome's shoulder, and he saw tears fill her eyes. Inuyasha pulled her into his arms and tried to comfort her.
"We know it was a yokai," Miroku said. "But I didn't recognize the aura." Sango nodded.
"I didn't either," she replied. "But there was something…familiar about it. Do you think that maybe…Naraku came back?" Inuyasha paused.
"I don't think so," he said. "But I'm not entirely sure. It seemed familiar to me, too. Either way, we need to be prepared for whatever the heck this thing is."
Before Inuyasha could say anymore, he saw Sesshomaru walking over to join them.
"Was I correct in hearing you say Naraku?" he asked coolly. Inuyasha shook his head.
"We don't know," he replied. "None of us recognized the aura." Sesshomaru looked toward the forest.
"I did not recognize it either," Sesshomaru said. "It took your daughter, correct?" Inuyasha nodded somberly.
"And it took Miroku and Sango's son, too," he replied. Sesshomaru frowned and looked at Miroku and Sango. Sango, like Kagome, had finally succumbed to tears. Miroku's arm was around her and his troubled gaze was full of worry.
"I see," Sesshomaru said. "What do you plan to do?" Inuyasha frowned.
"I don't know," he replied honestly. "The scent and the aura have both disappeared."
"Let's go after them," Kagome said as she wiped her tears away. "Did you see which way they went?" Inuyasha sighed.
"No," he admitted. "A cloud of smoke appeared and then it was gone." Kagome took a deep breath and tried to calm herself.
"Then we should just…wait?" she asked. "Or we could try and contact Totosai. I'm sure he would know something." Inuyasha hesitated.
"I hate to just stand by," he replied. "I mean, what if something happened to them? We have no clue where they are, but it feels wrong to just do nothing." Kagome reached down and took his hand.
"Let's start by talking to Totosai," she said. "Then at least we'll be doing something." Inuyasha nodded at his wife, but he was still displeased.
"Someone should stay behind in the village," Inuyasha said. "That thing could come back. Or maybe…maybe Izayoi and Yohei will find their way back here." Miroku and Sango nodded in agreement.
"Kagome and I will wait here with the kids," Sango said. "Miroku, you and Inuyasha should go." Kagome frowned at Sango's suggestion, but she knew it was the best plan.
Inuyasha glanced at Kagome and saw her slight nod in affirmation.
"I guess we'll do that then," he conceded. "Miroku, you good with that?" Miroku nodded.
"Let's hurry," Miroku replied. With a curt nod at each other, the houshi and the hanyo were ready to leave.
They each kissed their respective wives quickly before heading out.
"We'll be back soon," Inuyasha promised Kagome quietly. He couldn't help but hold her close for a moment, his resolve nearly breaking at the sadness he felt radiating off of her.
Trust me, Kagome, he thought to himself.
"I love you," Kagome murmured back. She sniffled as she and Inuyasha finally pulled away from each other. "I love you, too," Inuyasha replied. With one last touch of her cheek, he moved away toward Miroku.
"We'll come back when we can," Miroku said. "Stay safe here." Kagome and Sango nodded and their husbands set off.
Don't worry, Izy, Yohei, Inuyasha thought to himself. We'll find you.
To be continued…
Please feel free to leave any reviews letting me know what you think of this story so far! I'll try to not take so long in updating the next chapter lol.
Much love. :)