Disclaimer-No, I own none of InuYasha, Sesshomaru, Kagome, etc. etc. etc. etc. I am making no money here, and the only thing in this story that is remotely mine is Fuyuko, and she even is barely under my control, a'ight?
Hello folks! Yeah, sorry for the amazingly uber-long wait for this chapter! D= I had it nearly finished quite some time ago, and then I got sick, and then NaNoWriMo kicked my ass, and then I got sick again and...well anyway, here it is, at long last. I hope against all hope that no update of mine will take so long ever again :)
Monkeyheart-Thanks hun! Updating as fast as my muse allows, I promise!!! Thanks ever so for reading and reviewing =)
Gnarley-Thanks luv!!! I'm still writing, don't plan on stopping any time soon. At least as long as my muse stays with me, haha. It helps to know that people are liking this =)
Shanaye-I know just whatyou mean, I hate waiting for updates on stories =) And oh lord, yes. I got excited halfway through and totally F*ed the grammar and spelling XD Thanks for pointing that one out though, wouldn't have noticed it otherwise amongst all the others. Thanks muchly!
Katsushika-Thanks & You're welcome! The long chapters may end up killing me, but they are good for the soul, lol. *Big Grin* Don't worry, the fights are coming soon. VERY soon. So soon you may even get a taste in this chapter =D Things can't always be smooth sailing, someones toes are gonna be stepped on sooner or later...especially with this crew *eyeroll*
-Last Time-
As the dust started to clear, Kagome gasped. "Koga!"
And in the blink of an eye, Fuyuko was at the wolf demons throat. Koga's shock was apparent, as he didn't even dodge the attack, and fell backwards into a bush. The inu-demoness was coiling to pounce on him while he was still down, her fangs bared, growling threateningly. Kagome was frozen in shock. 'What am I supposed to do?'
///
Fuyuko had a clawed hand around Koga's ankle, pulling the still stunned wolf out of the bush he'd fallen into.
Kagome's mouth opened and closed uselessly a few times before her vocal chords finally chose to cooperate with her. "No! Fuyuko-sama! He's a friend! Don't eat him!"
Fuyuko turned her head and blinked at the screaming miko. Kagome realized how stupid her protest had to sound. Eat him, Kagome? Yes, because Fuyuko is a cannibal, obviously.
Then Koga's foot came up and clocked Fuyuko in the chin, sending her backwards into the hot spring. "Koga!" Kagome started forward, wondering briefly if inu-demons could swim.
"You said she was gonna eat me, I reacted." Koga stated matter-of-factly.
It was at that moment that InuYasha and Sesshomaru broke into the small clearing, instantly looking like they were ready to kill the wolf demon who was perching smugly on the rocky edge of the spring. Once Sesshomaru assessed that Rin was happy, healthy, and unaffected, he instantly turned a disinterested cheek to the whole situation.
Koga, however, noticed Sesshomaru's presence and nearly fell into the water himself from shock. "Woah! What's he doing with you guys? I am seeing him, right? It's not all the sake I had last night doing things to me?"
This kept him distracted as a very put-out Fuyuko re-emerged from the water, glaring up at him. While he had his attention turned away, she bounced up and grabbed one of his thighs, sinking her claws in to throw him off balance. As he toppled towards the water, she used him as a stepping stool to gracefully hop onto the dry bank before shaking excess water off of herself. "Stupid wolf." She sniffed, wringing out her hair.
InuYasha nearly died laughing as Koga floundered his way to the surface, sputtering. Even Kagome had to admit that the proud wolf looked positively hilarious dripping wet from head to toe. He looked more like a soppy puppy than a dangerous demon. Rin started giggling as well. "Good job, Fuyuko-san! I like this water fight even better!"
Koga was the only one there that didn't find it at all amusing, "I'll get you for that, bitch!"
Fuyuko's milky eyes flicked briefly in the wet mans direction before she made her way towards the rest of the group. "I look forward to seeing you try." She hummed dismissively, while picking up the rest of her kimono and putting it on layer by layer. She did resent the tear in the fabric more at that moment than ever. She'd definitely have to borrow the monks robes this evening.
Koga trudged to stand in front of Kagome, eyeing her curiously. "How is it that every time I see you, you are in worse and worse company, fair Kagome?"
InuYasha growled a low warning at the hidden jab, and at the fact that the wolf was standing unnecessarily close to the teenage girl. Koga shot a look at the hanyou, and growled in return. Kagome instantly insinuated herself between them, holding out her hands and shaking her head at both of them. "Not now. We're supposed to be getting along, remember?" She gave InuYasha a pointed look, which he scowled at before flattening his ears against his head and looking away from her.
When InuYasha seemed ready to give up the fight (for the moment, at least) Kagome turned her attention back to Koga. "It's lucky you came. We were coming to look for you."
Koga grinned at this and took Kagome's hands in his own. "Is that so, my lady?"
Kagome flushed and stumbled over her words. "It's...we...well...we need your help."
"Feh." InuYasha wrinkled his nose at the idea.
Ignoring him once again, Kagome pressed on. "See, Sesshomaru is already traveling with us. And so's Fuyuko."
"Fuyu-who?" Koga raised an eyebrow.
"The one who pushed you into the hotspring..." Kagome motioned to the white haired woman who was busy wrapping her hair into a knot at the base of her skull. Koga made a face at her, but nodded his recognition.
"And the point is that there is strength in numbers, right? None of us can beat Naraku on our own, but together we stand a chance!" Kagome pulled a bright smile and watched as Koga stared back at her silently, his face a blank card.
"You want me...to join forces with dog breath?" Koga's eyebrow twitched in agitation.
InuYasha spun on him then, "Oi! It's not like I want to be associating with you, wolf brain! But this isn't about us, it's about everybody else, and kicking Naraku's sorry ass!"
Kagome stared in awe and respect at her half-demon companion. "Wow, Yasha...that's so...noble of you." She murmered.
"Feh. Whatever. Keep your friends close and your enemies closer. Damn wolf."
"Stupid dog."
The two men growled at each other over Kagome's head, and the miko felt all her recent hope fade away in the blink of an eye. So much for keeping the peace and being the better man for either of them.
"I hope this means that we're going to work together? Can we get back to camp now?" Sango interjected into the terse moment, one eyebrow raised and her arms crossed over her chest. InuYasha only harumphed before stalking past everyone and back towards camp, and Koga sniffed indignantly while wringing water from his hair.
"Whatever. If the mutt is going to cooperate, I will."
Kagome sighed, content that no one was going to be eating anyone else alive for awhile now. She followed Sango as the slayer turned back towards camp, and saw Fuyuko fall into step behind them, with Rin only half a step behind her. At a sudden growl, Kagome and Sango whipped around, seeing Sesshomaru facing off with Koga, who had apparantly gotten too close to Rin for Sesshomaru's liking.
Koga was glaring at the silver haired demon with no fear, baring his fangs in defiance and taking on a defensive stance, ready to fight. Kagome felt herself starting to panic. This isn't good, not good at all. She thought to herself as the face off continued. She had no control over either of these powerful and stubborn demons, any impending fight was inevitable and she wouldn't be able to stop it.
Fuyuko seemed nearly unaffected by the angered men behind her, and only showed a half interest by watching them from the corner of her eye while moving Rin behind herself and away from the demons. Sango cast a worried glance at Kagome while keeping a steady hand on Hiraikotsu. Kagome returned the worried look, pulling Rin behind herself as well. Fuyuko's milky eyes moved away from the demons behind her, and she divided a calm look between the two human women. "Keep walking." She stated, her voice smooth and monotone.
Neither woman questioned her, and they turned and worked down the short trail back to camp. A few unsure glances behind assured Kagome that both demons were following as well, though they were both obviously still squaring off for battle. Breaking into the clearing where they had set up camp, Kagome kept one eye on Sesshomaru while the other followed Koga. They separated and avoided contact with one another, but their youki energies were still flaring at one another in their tension.
While Kagome was otherwise focused, Fuyuko came to stand behind her. "It is only natural, Miko. They are two male demons who are in one anothers territory. If you expected this to be easy, you're too much of an optimist."
Letting her shoulders slump, Kagome looked back at the demoness with a soft pout around her mouth. "I'm a human woman. I don't get all of this demon posturing and testosterone powered territorial nonsense. You won't let them eat each other, will you?"
Fuyuko raised an eyebrow into an eloquent arch. "Why do you always assume that we demons are out to consume each other like dinner?"
Kagome blushed furiously. "I didn't mean it like that. I meant it like...you know, going at eachothers throats. Rawr, attack, kill, mean, vicious stuff. Not like they'd actually eat each other. They are obviously not cannibalistic." Smiling sheepishly, Kagome scratched at her head, shifting her weight side to side uneasily.
"I see. Then in that case, I will do my best. Though I warn you, my methods of preventing 'rawr, attack, kill, mean, vicious stuff' will seem a bit unorthodox to you." Fuyuko moved her gaze away to examine Koga, who was leaning up against a tree at the edge of the clearing, looking pensive.
"Unorthodox, frightening, creepy, whatever. As long as there is not too much turmoil and inner-group bloodshed, I'm good with it." Kagome smiled appreciatively at her demoness companion. "Thank you, Fuyuko-sama." Fuyuko nodded silently before moving away and taking her place at the edge of the ring.
They shared a tense and silent meal that night, with everyones eyes focused on each other instead of the food they ate in a hurry. No one seemed sure when someone else was going to leap up and declare war on everyone else and a full-fledged blood bath would ensue. It was only with the greatest reluctance, and with the knowledge that InuYasha was sitting in the tree right over her head, that Kagome began to fall asleep in her warm bedroll.
Her tired brown eyes scanned the group around her, taking note that Rin and Shippo had already fallen asleep between Ah-Un and Kirara, while Jaken had passed out in the five foot space separating Fuyuko and Sesshomaru, who were both staring off into space and looking like marble statues. Kagome giggled inwardly at the thought. It was no wonder Jaken had become attached to Fuyuko, the demoness was a near mirror image to the imp's Lord and Master, aside from tell-tale feminine features, and a much softer and more understanding gaze. Jaken probably felt enamored with the demoness who was just as distant and stone featured as Sesshomaru, but much less abusive and more gentle.
Kagome's last thoughts before falling into sleep were of the idea that Jaken could possibly manage to have romantic feelings for someone. It was an odd but amusing idea.
///
In the morning, Kagome awoke to find nothing out of the ordinary, aside from their newest companions. Miroku was cooking breakfast over the fire, Rin and Shippo were playing tag, Ah-Un and Kirara were grooming each other, and InuYasha was sulking in a tree.
Yeah. Normal.
With a stretch and a yawn, the Miko sat up in her bedroll, wiping the sleep from her eyes and welcoming the bright dawn with a happy face. No one had gotten violent while she was sleeping! She blinked and paused in her thought, glancing around the silent group. She surreptitiously checked for bleeding wounds, broken limbs, or missing eyes.
When her mind gave her the all clear, she sighed contentedly. Nope. No violence.
But the morning was still young.
As they ate breakfast, everyone remained silent. Kagome noticed that Sango and Miroku had separated themselves slightly from the group, out of the normal circle. The monk and slayer seemed nervous somehow of joining the circle that was now nearly full of demons.
Kagome felt slightly bad at this realization. What if all these changes took the group apart in different ways than she had expected? What if it didn't fall apart in blood and anger, but in distrust and fear?
Discouraged, she dumped the remnants of her breakfast into the fire before turning and making to roll up her bed roll and pack up her bag. Rin and Shippo appeared on either side of her and eagerly began to help, all the while chattering animatedly about everything that came to their young minds.
While listening to Rin chatter about the time that Jaken tripped over a root and fell into a venus fly trap, a shadow appeared over Kagome's bag, and she looked up to see Koga staring down at her. "Good morning, Kagome." His smirk was self-confident and bright.
Kagome gulped and eyeballed the distance between him and Rin, glancing over her shoulder at Sesshomaru, who had his back turned. "Morning Koga."
"Can I help?" The wolf demon crouched in front of her and sniffed at the over stuffed back-back she so treasured.
"Well I don't..." Kagome started, but Rin interrupted her.
"Yeah, there's that!" The young human pointed to a cooking pan arms length behind Koga. "You can reach it, and we don't have to move!" She graced the ookami with her bright smile, and he nodded shortly, reaching backwards and retrieving the pan by its handle, holding it out for Kagome to take.
The miko gulped nervously, but accepted it, and quickly stuffed it inside the bag with everything else. Koga didn't seem ready to walk away yet, however, and sniffed curiously at Rin before speaking again. "Anything else I can reach for you?"
Rin pursed her lips and tapped her chin, looking around the campsite contemplatively before shaking her head. "I don't see anything else. I think Kagome Lady's bag is all packed now!" Koga nodded and stood up, ready to turn and walk away. "Thanks Koga-san!" Rin beamed up at him, getting up and bowing respectfully to the wolf.
Koga raised his eyebrows at the child, and moved away. Kagome released a breath she didn't realise she had been holding, sparing another glance over her shoulder at Sesshomaru, who still had his back turned. That was close.
More minutes passed, and once the fire was overturned, everything was picked up or discarded, and the group was ready to move, they pressed on, moving back the way they had come, retracing their steps on the way back to where they had last sensed Kikyo.
Everything was going so well, until Rin and Shippo started playing tag again. Shippo was it, and Rin was running for it as fast as she could, zipping around everyones feet, Shippo hot on her heels. On one pass, she wasn't paying attention to the ground beneath her feet, and one raised root on the path was enough to trip her up as she was passing Koga.
Instinctively, the ookami reached out and grabbed the childs arm before she hit the ground. Unintentionally grabbing too hard, he made Rin yelp in shock and pain, and before anyone could react, Sesshomaru was in Koga's face, roughly forcing the wolf to unhand his young ward, growling fiercely and letting his eyes bleed red. Koga was not prepared to back down so easily, and growled right back, squaring his shoulders while coming nose to nose with the angered inu. Kagome almost yelled 'Sit' before she reminded herself that command would only work on InuYasha. The miko's pleading brown eyes found Fuyuko's milky cold orbs, asking silently for the demoness to live up to her word. No bloodshed. Kagome whined inwardly, feeling her heart sink by the second.
Two blinks of an eye later, and Fuyuko was moving forward, just as Sesshomaru was poised to rip into Koga with his poison claws. Kagome watched in stunned silence as the inu-demoness came up behind Koga and boxed him over one ear, growling louder than the two males combined. The ookami yelped and instinctively flinched away from the pain, effectively giving Sesshomaru the edge and opportunity to slice at his undefended belly. Another yelp from Koga made Kagome's stomach turn, but she could only watch as Fuyuko and Sesshomaru took turns boxing at the outnumbered and surrounded wolf, fangs bared, eyes red, and claws extended.
InuYasha had the opposite reaction, actually having the mind to laugh. Kagome glared at him, and he shrugged at her, his golden eyes impassive and uncaring. "Hey, the stuck up wolf brain is finally getting his come-uppance."
"He was only helping Rin!" Kagome cried, cupping her hands to her ears to block out the pitiful yelps and cries of Koga, whom had been brought to the ground and was unable to run or fight back except to bare his fangs and growl at his attackers, who only became more intent on his punishment the more he defied their beating.
After what seemed an eternity to Kagome, Koga finally had the good sense to tuck his tail and show submission to Sesshomaru and Fuyuko, who eased off slowly before leaving him alone entirely. Sesshomaru took Rin against his side, and the human girl was wise enough to not question him, remaining silent and keeping pace with him. Fuyuko fell into step one strides length behind Sesshomaru, Jaken instantly coming to her side as the group strode ahead in silence.
Kagome wasted no time in running to Koga's side, her eyes wide with worry and fear. Koga waved her off, wiping traces of blood from a row of cuts on his cheek. Kagome flinched—those were from Fuyuko's claws. "I'll be fine, dear Kagome. That was only a warning. A reminder of who the alpha is in this pack."
Blinking rapidly, Kagome looked up to InuYasha for confirmation. The hanyou shrugged at her. "What can I say. I don't qualify for Alpha position in any demons eyes. Now that you've invited big half-brother in, he's technically the...How'd you say it? Top dog? Yeah, he's the top dog. Fuyuko just proved it by taking his side there. Ice king is the technical demon leader here now."
Kagome frowned as Koga made it to his feet and began walking again. "So does this mean...what does this mean?"
Shippo bounced onto her backpack and sighed. "It's like this, Kagome. Sesshomaru is alpha, Fuyuko has just elected herself as his beta, and Koga just totally got demoted to the bottom of the food chain for messing with the alpha's pup."
"What about the rest of us?" Kagome muttered, falling into step with InuYasha as they made their way along, actually following Sesshomaru. It shocked Kagome that InuYasha wasn't volleying to get back to the front of the line, but she didn't say anything, worried that she might upset the current unsteady peace that had been set in the group.
"Feh, what about the rest of us? As far as Sesshomaru's concerned, we just exist. Until one of us tries something, we're barely a blip in the span of his superior existence." InuYasha folded his arms across his chest and glowered at the stiff back of his brother five paces ahead.
"So we're even beneath Koga on the food chain?" Kagome let her shoulders fall. That didn't make her feel too great about herself, not that she was sure what else she expected.
"I dunno about that. Miroku and Sango and you hunt and make alot of the food that we eat. In beast terms, that makes you valuable. You're just basic pack members, which is still above Koga, as he's crapped out on his luck."
"Shut up, kit, or I'll beat you and make you the bottom of the food chain here." Koga bared his fangs at the young demon, who whimpered and half hid behind Kagome's head.
Kagome wrinkled her nose. "Why can't demons think like humans?"
"Because we aren't." InuYasha stated matter-of-factly. "We're half immortal, half animal. There is no human." The fact that she hadn't thought of that made Kagome mentally face palm. On some days, she sometimes even wondered about her intelligence.
After a moment of silence, InuYasha scoffed at the worried and crest fallen look on Kagome's face and took the opportunity to speak. "If it makes you feel any better Kag's, Fuyuko saved Koga's ass back there. By joining in and landing the first blow, she gave Sesshomaru's beast a second thought. Better to have a pack mate put into his place by the alpha and beta than to have a potential pack mate dead over a small descrepancy."
"Who says I woulda died?!" Koga huffed, cracking his knuckles and glaring at the hanyou in front of him.
InuYasha rolled his eyes. "Only a hope of mine, wolf. Of course, it would have been equally nice if you'd killed ice king up there, so I'm not taking sides just yet."
Kagome glared at InuYasha and Koga both before grumbling to herself and stalking ahead, falling into pace in the space between Sesshomaru's group and the rest of the gang. Shippo stayed silent where he sat on her shoulder, much preferring to stay out of the line of fire for the moment.
///
Fuyuko watched with solemn and worried eyes as Rin kept a silent and obedient pace at Sesshomaru's side. There had been a time when she had been in the human cubs position. She remembered well what it had been like as a young demon at her parents side, watching their violence and fighting to not let it become a part of herself.
Tilting her head Fuyuko glanced behind her at the rest of the unusual and slap-dash pack. Kagome was looking severely put-out, InuYasha seemed too amused to care, Sango and Miroku were lingering at the back and avoiding trouble with everyone else.
Koga was doing well, and nursing wounds that were quickly healing. She noted that the claw marks she'd left on his cheek had already faded away. By night fall he would be as good as new. Clenching her jaw and facing forward once more, she thanked the kami's for that. She knew that to everyone else it must seem that she was indifferent to the pain she'd caused the ookami, and she wished that she could at least express the truth to Kagome, who was no doubt angered about the choice of action Fuyuko had taken.
The truth was that Fuyuko desperately hated bloodshed and violence. She avoided it at all costs until self-preservation demanded it. Self-defense was the only logical and worthwhile reason that Fuyuko knew of to cause another living being any amount of pain.
She flicked her eyes to examine the stiff back of the youkai walking in front of her. He likes killing things. The miko's words to her echoed from the back of her mind, and she frowned inwardly. Why?
A disinterested part of her brain noticed that at mid-day they were passing through the same clearing where the group had argued on which direction to take. All of the InuYasha shaped craters were still scattered around the area, and it was with a certain degree of hidden amusement that Fuyuko nimbly hopped over the torso of one such crater.
The living being suddenly came leaping to the forfront, skidding to a halt in front of Sesshomaru, who raised an eyebrow at him before shouldering past him. Fuyuko raised an eyebrow at the hanyou as well, who only glared back at her before snapping at Sesshomaru's back. "Oi! Do you even have any idea where you're going, prick-for-brains?!"
"I assume that unless your dead woman has begun to smell like something other than mud and death, yes, I do. Mutt." Sesshomaru responded, never regarding his half-brother with a look.
InuYasha froze in his steps then, efficiently unable to think of a smart reply. Fuyuko nudged him gently with her nose as she passed him, a silent inu message of 'calm down before you embarress yourself, pup'. He growled at her in return, but she ignored it. 'Tempermental youngster' were the words that came to her mind.
Another interminable amount of silent minutes later, and Fuyuko saw Rin stretching and yawning, straining to keep herself awake. The demoness tilted her head and sniffed the air, suddenly realizing that somewhere during the night the dragon Ah-Un had apparantly left their group. Cautiously Fuyuko moved forward and bent over, gently scooping the child into her arms, all the while aware of steely golden eyes locked on her every movement. Keeping her eyes down, and shoulder bared to Sesshomaru in submission, she arranged the tired human in her arms until Rin became comfortable and relaxed, quickly falling into restful sleep.
Only when she felt the youkai's eyes move away from her did she relax and raise her eyes back to the road, releasing a breath that she wasn't entirely aware that she'd been holding. Since her father, she couldn't remember any single being that could make her more nervous than Sesshomaru.
Well, aside from one.
But that person didn't make her nervous, he made her sick. Terrified her. She ground her teeth together, remembering the reason she'd come out of the north country. Remembering the dark shadow she had followed from her homelands, and her burnt life, here, to the west, to this mismatched group of fighters...
///
"Chin up already, Fuyuko. How many times must I remind you to look your best? Kami's, look at your hair. What did you brush it with, a thorn bush? I can't believe you are my child." Her mothers hands roughly brushed out the unruly knots from her hair before tugging it back into a tight tail at the back of her head and pinning it into some 'proper' fashion of waves and folds.
Fuyuko felt like her scalp was on fire, and she felt a headache quickly coming on from how tightly her mother had tied her hair back, but she said nothing, keeping her complaints to herself. Complaining had only ever gotten her into more trouble in the past, so she had quickly learned to hold her tongue and suffer (often needlessly) at her parents commands from a very young age. She stood stock still as her mother circled her like a vulture, examining her from head to toe, looking for any other faults to bring to light and wave in Fuyuko's face as reminders of just how disappointing she was as a daughter.
Reminders of just how much she was unwanted here.
With a sneer, her mother came to stand in front of her before motioning servants forward. "Tie the obi tighter. Her waist is larger than an oxens. And change the sandals. If she is to become anything she must learn balance." The cruel white eyes that Fuyuko had inherited sent blistering messages of hate to her. "You will wear the sandals of the bareri-na, and you will learn to act as the nobility that you are. Wench."
With that, her mother turned and walked from the room, leaving the servants to fuss over the changes she had ordered to be made. Her obi was released, and then pulled tight, then tighter, then even tighter, until Fuyuko felt like her intestines where in her lungs and her breathing capacity had been forced into a tiny glass vial of lip paint.
When that was completed, the servants made her sit, and they removed her normal uwazouri so they could fasten her into the bareri-na sandals her mother ordered. Fuyuko bit her inner cheek, remembering the last time she had been made to wear these shoes. She'd fallen onto the dinner table, and had spent the next week picking bits of rice from her hair.
These shoes were designed to force balance, height, and inflict pain. The foot itself was encased in the finest of silks, and secured into the shoe at the front by laced up ribbons. The toe of the shoe came to a flat edge, which rounded to form against the arch of the sole of the foot, and at the very back of the shoe, lying at the base of ones heel, protruded a flat carved wedge of wood. In this fashion did the shoe force its wearer to balance, constantly, on the tips of their toes.
It was a well-hidden wince that Fuyuko beared standing up and finding her center of balance, keeping one foot in front of the other and walking in an unnatural paddling motion that left her feeling sea-sick. The worst part was that the entire weight of her body, multiplied by the numerous heavy layers of kimono, was forced onto the points of her toes, and at the end of the day her feet were often bleeding, and the shoes useless from being soiled by the blood.
Now as she exited her room, she tried to remember how to breathe and walk at the same time, all the while feeling like she was going to tip over backwards from the weight of her obi's tie and the lightheaded feeling her excrutiating hair-do gave her.
It was on such days as this that she often felt like pitching herself head first out of her third story bedroom window and breaking her neck on the rock precipices below.
As she approached the formal hall where her parents had commanded her to come, a servant slid the door open for her and bowed with respect at her feet as she passed. Entering the room, she saw that her parents had a guest. The man standing at the head of the room and watching her with unnatural red eyes gave a chill to her heart.
She listened with one ear as her father introduced her, all the while keeping her eyes on the dark haired man in front of her. "My daughter, Shikitei Fuyuko. Daughter, this is our newest ally, Naraku."
The dark haired man named Naraku moved forward and smiled at her with the most oily smile she could imagine. She watched with what she hoped were impassive eyes as he grabbed her hand and bent over it, placing a kiss on the palm."Fuyuko, it is a pleasure."
Swallowing whatever dignity and pride she had left for the moment, she bowed at the waist to him. "Naraku-san."
///
She came rocketing to the present when she smelled the demon from her past. "Naraku." She growled, clutching the still sleeping Rin closer to her chest.
Everyone in the group was obviously aware of the same approaching presence, and were readying themselves for the battle. "Jaken, take Rin." Sesshomaru's voice was authoritative, and Fuyuko didn't hesitate in nudging the human child awake before setting her on the ground and allowing Jaken to lead her away.
"Shippo, go with Rin and Jaken!" Kagome ordered, and the young kitsune hesitated only a moment before running to follow the imp and human. Fuyuko watched them until they disappeared out of sight, and prayed to the Kami's that Jaken could keep the precious children safe, should anything happen.
Floating on his signature cloud of miasma, Naraku came to land before them, his face hidden by the baboon pelt he so often wore. "How nice to see all of you together, my friends." With a tilt of his head, Fuyuko felt those burning red eyes fall to examine her. "Ah...you I have not seen for awhile, my beauty. Do you still bear the guilt of your parents poor choices on your shoulders, hm?"
Fuyuko clenched her fists and bore her fangs openly at Naraku, growling in anger. The steady hand of Kagome on her shoulder held her back, and Fuyuko remembered her place, relaxing her features and diminishing her growl to a discontent rumble in the pit of her stomach.
"What do you want this time Naraku? Just come to be annoying, or are you actually going to do something instead of hide behind that freakin' fur bag you're always wearin'?" InuYasha shouted now, cracking his knuckles and moving in front of Kagome and Fuyuko, forcing Naraku's attention onto him.
"Tsk, tsk, InuYasha. No patience. Fine. If it is action you desire..." Without warning, a tentacle appeared from under the hem of Naraku's pelt, knocking InuYasha out of the way before a thousand more tentacles fired into action, striking at everyone within reach. Fuyuko acted instinctively and grabbed Kagome, dodging a strike just in time and landing with the miko out of the half-demons reach.
Without question Sango and Miroku had already moved into action, attacking tentacles as they came. Koga, though still slightly wounded, was only a blur of color as he dodged attacks and landed blows. Somewhere in the mass of tentacles, Fuyuko was also sure that InuYasha and Sesshomaru were holding their own battles. "Miko..." Fuyuko turned her head to Kagome, and watched as the human girl notched an arrow and was preparing to fire. The young girl looked up at her and nodded.
"I'm fine, Fuyuko. Get in there!" Kagome pulled back on the draw string of her bow, focused her energy, and fired at the heart of the mass of tentacles. The arrow was thrown off course with the flick of one tentacle, but still managed to hit and purify a mass of tentacles off to the side.
Confident that the little miko could hold her own, Fuyuko bolted forward and ran into the fight, claws unsheathed and fangs bared as she gave the monk and demon slayer aide on their side of the fight. Kirara was doing his very best to keep his riders out of the line of fire, and in the process was getting dealt a handful of painful blows.
In one moment, Fuyuko dodged the reach of one tentacle, only to be dealt a blow to the stomach by another. As she was knocked to the ground, she heard Kirara cry out in pain, watching as the feline was knocked from the sky, Sango and Miroku flung from her back and falling helplessly.
In a split moment of determination, Fuyuko lunged upwards, releasing her true form as she did.
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Kagome was notching one of her last arrows and preparing to fire when she saw Kirara being knocked from the air. She cried out in fear as she saw Miroku and Sango tumbling through the air, with no soft landing in sight.
Then, a sudden wind picked up and nearly pulled Kagome's legs from under her as she gasped, watching as the whitest dog she could ever imagine sprung out of Naraku's tentacles, lunging directly for her friends as they fell towards the ground. The dog came up under Miroku and Sango in time to catch them on it's neck, and in shock Kagome watched as the dog bent over and gently scooped the wounded Kirara into its mouth before bringing him to Kagome and setting him down next to her.
Locking eyes with the large white creature, Kagome had a sudden realization. "Fuyuko!" she cried, half in shock, half in wonderment. The smooth furred creature with pale white eyes before her certainly held some noble resemblance to the fair demoness she knew. But this was the last thing Kagome expected her true form to be. It seemed too...tame to be anyones inner beast.
Fuyuko only nodded to the miko before turning and leaping back to the battle, Miroku and Sango still in tow. As Kagome came down from her shock, she watched as a flare of purifying energy came bolting from the woods behind Naraku and burrowed itself into the center of the tentacles, effectively melting away all that was Naraku.
A little clay figure lay in the spot where Naraku had been, and Kagome sighed, frustrated. Of course, it's always a doll.
She raised curious eyes to the edge of the forest, looking for the owner of the purifying energy that had ended the dolls short life.
The woman who emerged from the shadows of the trees was none other than the woman Kagome expected, and none other than the woman Kagome resented. Biting her tongue, Kagome steeled herself as the woman approached InuYasha, who regarded her with a rapt expression.
Kagome felt her insides twist over the idea that the hanyou would never look at her with even a fraction of that admiration.
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Bun dun dun dun. Mwahahaha. Snrk snrk snrk. And all manner of other dramatic noises. lol XD Not my greatest chapter...no, but not bad. Let me know what you think of it. Next chapter: More Sess-Fuyuko, and a little Inu-Kag on the side. That'll be fun :3 Oh yeah and in case you're wondering on what Fuyuko's true form looks like...tada! www_twilite-crescent_deviantart_com_/art/Fuyuko-of-the-North-146275582 (replace _ with dots) Sort've a giant, perky eared, smooth furred Borzoi, or a Grayhound. Anyway, thanks for reading! Keep shipping! –Mistress Twilit