Disclaimer: I do not own Inu-Yasha.
Death's Destiny
By Ethril
Chapter 2: Just a person
After everything was explained, Kagome started preparing dinner. Kassandra just tucked her knees up against her chest and wrapped a blanket around herself. Even though it was muggy and warm outside, she felt like she was still very cold.
Dinner consisted of instant ramen, something that Kagome figured Kassandra would at least be able to eat without issues, and then everyone started settling for the night. "We were heading back to the village so I could head home." Kagome told Kassandra as she tried to have a light conversation with the other future girl. "I can grab a few extra things for you while I'm back. Some clothes, a backpack, and a sleeping bag."
Kassandra knew Kagome was just trying to be nice. Maybe she was in shock and that was why she wasn't panicking as much as she should have been. It was quite possible that she was stuck here. Kagome prodded Kassandra gently in the shoulder. "Huh? Oh sure, sounds good."
With that out of the way, everyone proceeded to fall asleep. Everyone except Kassandra. There was something off about the night that was bothering Kassandra. There were no lights except for the stars, the only sounds were those made by the sleeping people around her and the ones in the forest. There was no music playing softly in the background in her brother's room. Kassandra hadn't realized how important all those things were to her at night so she could fall asleep. Now that they were gone, she felt lost. It also didn't help that she hated camping and sleeping on the ground.
After a little while of just lying there with her eyes closed, she finally sat up and slipped out of the sleeping bag that had been lent to her. They weren't too far from the lake and an idea was starting to form in the back of her mind. Kagome and the others had talked about her going through a well to get back to her time. Maybe Kassandra could do the same time but with the lake?
"I know what you're thinking." Kassandra stopped mid step and squeaked when she heard Inu-Yasha speak. She spun around and looked at the silver haired hanyo. His eyes were closed, but his ears were pointing towards her. "You're really stupid you know that?" He finally opened his eyes to look at her.
Kassandra bit her tongue to keep from arguing with the guy. Instead she took a deep breath. "What do you mean?" She crossed her arms over her chest and glared at Inu-Yasha.
"How deep do you think you were when you came here?" He asked as he looked over at the lake. "I had to swim pretty far down to reach you. And you were freezing cold. You said it was winter in your time. It will probably still be winter if you could go back." He nodded towards the lake. "Even if you could get back, you'd still be trapped under ice in freezing water and running out of air."
Kassandra hadn't thought about that. She looked over at the lake longingly before sitting back down on the sleeping bag. "What would you suggest I do then?"
The question caught Inu-Yasha by surprise. Usually no one asked him for suggestions, he had to normally bark them out as orders so people would even listen to him. And even then Kagome would usually sit him and do whatever the hell she wanted.
Inu-Yasha shifted slightly and sat up a bit straighter. He adjusted his sword that was leaning against his chest and held up by his crossed arms. "Get over it. Maybe you'll find a way back some other way. You sure as hell won't get back if you're dead." He pointed a clawed finger at her. "Make do with what you've got."
Kassandra frowned at him and then sighed. "That's a pretty shitty thing to say." Her words had no force behind them. Her voice just sounded as tired as she felt. "But thanks. I'll keep that in mind." Her eyes felt heavy and she crawled back under the sleeping bag. Her teeth chattered for a moment before she got warm again.
Inu-Yasha was still a little stunned and there was a slight flush on his cheeks. Even though she hadn't liked his suggestion, at least Kassandra had thanked him. Kagome only ever thanked him when he did manual labor for her. Kassandra had just thanked him for a suggestion. A suggestion she didn't even have to use if her mind was made up.
Kassandra slept badly for the rest of the night. She was naturally a light sleeper to begin with, and with the strange sounds and smells around her it only made things worse. She got to sleep some time during the night, but the false dawn was already visible.
Inu-Yasha watched the new girl as she tossed and turned. He remembered Kagome's first night, and how rude and scared she'd been. He hadn't helped much what with watching her as she was bathing. And then commenting how she'd looked like Kikyo in the priestess robes. He knew what it was like to have sleepless nights, he understood what Kassandra must be feeling. At least Kagome had powers she could rely on to protect herself. Kassandra was just a human trapped in the past with a group of strangers and no way to protect herself.
Kassandra woke up to breakfast being cooked. She was completely exhausted so she couldn't remember if she'd had a dream or not.
"Morning Lady Kassandra." Miroku greeted first. "It looks as if you did not sleep well, perhaps you need a companion to hold you at night?" Kassandra turned a bright red and her mouth fell open to deny and refuse the offer. She didn't get the chance to though as a giant boomer rang came into contact with the top of the monks head.
"Hentai." Sango spat at the now unconscious man. "Just ignore him Kassandra. And if he tries to grope you, feel free to hit him." She put her weapon away and took the food Kagome offered to her.
"No worries about that." Kassandra replied with a light sigh. "I get worse comments in school." Being a red head, she often got some rather lewd jokes sent her way. There was this one time a younger boy had been dared to ask if 'the bush matched the tree.' He'd been so nervous about it she only heard about half his question. She'd given him a kiss on the cheek, which had made several of his friends jealous.
When Kagome offered her some food Kassandra shook her head. After minimal sleep, and a near death experience the day before, Kassandra was definitely not hungry.
"Eat." Inu-Yasha said rather gruffly around his own food. "You'll need it for the hike."
"Hike..." It took Kassandra a moment to remember there were no cars in this time period. There were only horses and carts, and it looked like this group had neither. Kassandra scrunched up her face before taking the food. She tried to swallow a few bites before giving up.
"I'm sorry, I'm just not hungry." Kassandra apologized as she looked down at her food.
"Don't force yourself to eat if you're not hungry! You'll just get sick!" Kagome cooed as she took the uneaten food.
Inu-Yasha grabbed at the uneaten food and downed it before Kagome could complain. "Well I'm not letting it waste! Let's go!" He stood up and thrust the now empty bowl at Kagome before heading away from the group.
"You're horrible Inu-Yasha!" Kagome yelled with a huff. "You can't boss Kassandra around! And I could have put the food away for lunch!"
Inu-Yasha rolled his eyes and snorted. "Look who's being bossy now."
Kagome turned a bright red and she jumped up angrily. She stamped a food against the ground. "I am not being bossy! You just don't think!"
Kassandra looked back and forth between Inu-Yasha and Kagome. She could have sworn they were a couple, so why were they fighting so loudly?
"Don't worry about them Lady Kassandra," Miroku whispered as Inu-yasha and Kagome continued to fight. "They're like this all the time." He chuckled and shook his head slightly.
This made Kassandra frown. "Hey Kagome?" She always hated it when people fought. When she finally had Kagome's attention she continued. "Inu-Yasha was right. I will need the energy for the hike. You're right to; I'd just get sick if I forced myself to eat. So let's just get going ok?" Maybe if she was around other people in a town she'd be able to get to sleep.
Inu-Yasha smiled smugly. Someone had agreed with him for once; albeit she had also agreed with Kagome. Still, he'd take a victory where he could.
Kagome huffed and just started putting things away in her big yellow bag. The others started following suit and in no time at all, the entire camp site was put away and the remains of the fire scattered. Kassandra offered to carry something, but the others turned her down.
The first couple hours of hiking went fine since it was still morning and the air was still cool. Kassandra learned more about her new companions and she told them stories about her little brother and school. Kassandra winced as she thought about her brother. Even if she could go back with Kagome, her brother wouldn't even have been born yet. Johnny hadn't been born until 2002.
Kassandra didn't notice when noon came around and the air got hotter. She'd been feeling cold all morning and now she'd actually started to feel warm. The others though, minus Inu-Yasha, were panting and sweating.
"Let's take a break!" Kagome said loudly and tiredly. "Find some cool shade and relax for lunch!" Kassandra blinked in surprise as she realized just how hot the others were.
"Feh." Inu-Yasha turned and led the way through a thick grouping of trees until they reached a creek. Kagome whooped and set her bag down before taking her shoes and socks off to splash around in the cool water. Sango and Shippo were quick to follow.
"Will you join them Lady Kassandra?" Miroku asked as he went over to the water to splash some on his face. He'd removed the outer part of his robes early.
Kassandra didn't feel hot! She felt warm, as if she had a light blanket around herself. She didn't even feel thirsty.
"Well?" Inu-Yasha barked at Kassandra. His arms were crossed over his chest as he stared at the new girl. Being so used to Kagome, he had expected the other future girl to complain through the hike as well. But she'd been so silent that he'd actually forgotten she was there for part of the hike.
"I'm fine." Kassandra replied as she lifted her hands up in a shrug. She grinned at Inu-Yasha, not bothered by his grouchy attitude. Her father was a lot like that after work.
The others, who were playing around in the water, hadn't hurt Kassandra. Inu-Yasha though just frowned at her. He'd never come across a human that was so undisturbed by the summer heat. Even Shippo complained more than her.
Inu-Yasha suddenly became tense, his hand going to his sword. "Demon." He stated simply as his drew his sword.
Kassandra stepped back in surprise as the katana turned into a huge sword. The others came out of the water and grabbed their weapons. She had already been told that Kirara could grow in size, but it was still shocking to see the little kitten turned into a cat larger then a lion.
Just as the large bear demon attacked, Kirara and Shippo went over to Kassandra. "We have to go." Shippo told Kassandra as he hopped up onto Kirara.
Kassandra didn't need to be told a second time. She didn't have a weapon and she definitely didn't know how to fight. She only knew basic self defense from that time her mother had signed her up for a mother and daughter self defense class.
Inu-Yasha turned slightly to yell at Kassandra to leave, but she was already on Kirara and the demon cat was already lifting up into the air. "Smart girl." He mumbled as he turned his attention back to the bear demon at hand.
The group was able to dispatch the bear demon fairly quickly; they'd dealt with worse on more than one occasion. The demon hadn't even had a jewel shard.
Kirara landed after the demon was dispatched and the remains purified. "Does that happen often?" Kassandra asked as she hopped off Kirara, Shippo in her arms.
Inu-Yasha shrugged. "Nothing we can't handle!" he grinned cockily. "At least you were smart for a human and left the fight to us."
Inu-Yasha was slammed to the ground by his glowing beads as Kagome told him to sit. "You don't have to be so rude Inu-Yasha." She glared down at the cursing and struggling hanyo.
Kassandra let out a sigh and shook her head. She was starting to think that these two liked to fight with each other. "Isn't that a rather mean thing to do to him?" she asked as she pointed down at Inu-Yasha.
"You bet it is!" Inu-Yasha said around curses as he finally was released from the spell. "I'm not some dog you can boss around!"
Kagome puffed out his cheeks. "Inu-Yasha needs to learn manners! He shouldn't talk to you or anyone like that!"
Kassandra bit her lip as Inu-Yasha and Kagome started fighting again. Honestly? She didn't like those subjugation beads that Kagome used. A person shouldn't be punished for having their own opinions. Maybe…maybe Kagome just enjoyed having control over Inu-Yasha.
"Let's just get going before something else attacks us." Sango said with a loud sigh, stopping the fight between Kagome and Inu-Yasha.
"Feh, whatever." Inu-Yasha crossed his arms over his chest and started walking. The others followed after him after picking up their belongings.
Somehow, during the walk, Inu-Yasha ended up next to Kassandra. The two of them were silent for a time, the rest of the group interacting with each other.
"For a human you're not bad." Inu-Yasha commented after several long comfortable minutes.
Kassandra turned her head to look at Inu-Yasha. She smiled and giggled softly. "You're not so bad yourself." Even though he was grumpy and yelled a lot, it wasn't like he was purposefully trying to hurt anyone. Kassandra knew several people who acted the same way only because they didn't know how else to act.
Inu-Yasha blushed slightly and he looked away from Kassandra. "It doesn't bug you that I'm a half demon?"
Kassandra frowned then. "I don't care. You're still a person. You still have your own personality and opinions. What you are has nothing to do with it." Having come from a country that was very anti discrimination, she had been taught to accept everyone.
Inu-Yasha turned his head slightly so that Kassandra couldn't see him blush and smile. Kagome had said that once and yet at times she still treated him like he wasn't a person. Would Kassandra do the same thing eventually?
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A/N: Second chapter is done. I'm still looking for a beta writer for this story and for the others I will be editing. If you're interested at all, please message me!
