Hey guys, so sorry about the long update time. Life's gotten pretty hectic for me. Graduations in 3 weeks, exams in slightly less time, drama stuff, college stuff, etc. But for those of you who waited patiently, thank you.
Alright guys… due to an accident, I have to rewrite this chapter. For those of you who have already read this and who are reading this now, I apologize in advance for any differences between this and the original.
This chapter will be the beginning of the introductions of the pairing, starting with the introduction of the Dragonball series and the Yu Yu Hakusho series group, as well as three people that have been thought dead.
In addition, I must state that this story is NOT meant to be a rewrite of Kiera27's The Midnight Bloodline. It is a creative interpretation. In addition, all characters in this story do not belong to me, cause if they did, then I would want to change the way that they ended up in their books. The plot does not belong to me, though the main pairing does.
Previously on… Wrath of the Twilight Kitsune
Listen up you little tramp. I am Kagome, and I am a priestess. You're just a filthy little demon that doesn't look like a male nor do you look like a female. Your parents should have drowned a freak like you when you were born."
Chapter 3
Sesshomaru arrived at the edge of the clearing just as Kagome spat the insult, and had the air around them not stopped suddenly, he would have stepped in. However, as soon as he arrived at the edge, Musako appeared next to him and said, "Let him handle this."
Sesshomaru looked at Musako and said, "At the first sign…"
Musako nodded, but he said, "It won't come to that."
Sesshomaru nodded and leaned against the tree, with dignity in place, and watched what was happening in the clearing, thinking about how royally screwed the human wench was. It was well known amongst the demon circles and even amongst the demon slayers that Twilight Kitsunes were touchy about their families; it was what made them such excellent mates, if one had the chance to that is. What made the slayers avoid them as much as possible was the fact that the Twilight Kitsunes were the most powerful of all the Kitsunes in this world, known for being able to control everything: wind, water, even a person's free will. It was lucky for the world that the Twilight Kitsunes had no real aspirations for world domination. The wench would have to learn how to keep her mouth shut, and it appeared that she would learn this lesson the hard way.
Kurai felt his infamous temper taking hold. No one, especially not some wench, insulted him that way. He had already figured out that there was no way that his parents could have been the Potters, so that meant that there was the chance that his parents were still alive and still out there, and for her to insult them without even meeting them was an insult that he would not tolerate. Perhaps it was time for her to learn her place. He could sense Sesshomaru and Musako at the edge of the trees and he was grateful to them for allowing him this chance on his own.
As a demon, even a half-demon, Inuyasha knew that this was not going to end well. Kagome needed to learn that there were some things you did not say to anyone, especially a demon, and family topped that list. The fact that he could smell his brother nearby added to his concern. It meant that this fox was with Sesshomaru, and the fact that he wasn't interfering meant that he thought that the fox could handle himself was something to be concerned about.
As a slayer, Sango was feeling something that she had never felt so prevalently before- fear. She knew what the Kitsune was, and thus she knew what they were facing. Inwardly, she cursed Kagome with enough swears that would make a sailor blush, knowing that even at such a young age, this kit Kurai, could easily tear herself, Inuyasha, and Miroku without his spiritual powers. But with them, he could sit back and allow them to rip each other apart.
Miroku really didn't notice the charged atmosphere, his mind still back on the last item that he had been thinking of, which shall not be repeated because of inappropriate images.
Shippo was torn. On the one hand, Kagome was the closest thing he had to a mother, but recently she had started to pull away from him, not playing with him anymore, more concerned about other things, to the point where he was spending more time with Inuyasha than her. He was also torn because this Kurai was a Kitsune, like him, albeit one of a different color. He remembered his father telling him never to pick a fight with another Kitsune, especially a black one, though he had never gotten a chance to explain why.
Kagome began to feel worried, almost regretful of what she had said, although she had felt justified in saying it. No, she was worried because she felt as if she had just poked the sleeping dragon, figuratively speaking. She shrieked when she felt the wind begin to whip around hard enough to knock her on her butt. When she looked up, she found herself looking into a pair of glowing emerald green eyes that seemed to stare through her and into her very soul.
"Woman, you have insulted me in an unforgiveable way. You, a weak-minded, selfish, unimportant, stylistically challenged girl. I am well within my rights to take your life for such an insult, however, from what I have seen, that would certainly mean that I would get the worse end of the deal, as I doubt that your life has any real significance and thus it would leave me with the bad end of the bargain." Not even taking notice of her flush, Kurai continued onwards, "You just stated that it was your miko powers that made you, a human, my superior. Perhaps we should see if these powers that you seem so proud of are worth the words that you are giving them."
There was no warning, nothing. One second, she was on the ground looking up at Kurai, the next, she found herself barely able to touch the ground looking down his arm at him. She struggled a bit before looking at her friends and asking, "What is wrong with you? Help me!"
Kurai chuckled softly before saying, "They cannot help you. This fight is between you and me and as such, I do not with for them to interfere. To that end, I removed their ability to interfere. However, the question of why they would want to help you is beyond my ability to understand. Perhaps, you have some ability that has yet to manifest. Now then, you say that you are a miko, so it should therefore be easy for you to channel enough energy to force me to release you. If you are able to, then I will willingly admit that you are above normal humans, despite your lack of fashion sense."
Upon hearing that last jibe, Kagome's eyes narrowed as she tried to focus all of her power into the arm that was holding her up. Unfortunately, her eyes widened in shock and fear when he just raised an eyebrow at her and asked, "Surely you can do more. That felt like a tingle, nothing more. How disappointing."
A second later, Kagome found herself on the ground again, this time with a stinging bum and Kurai looking down at her, his face full of disappointment. "Maybe now you will understand that just being a miko does not make you of a higher station than anyone else. You are, after all, fundamentally human."
After staring at her for a few more seconds, he turned and began to walk back to the edge of the trees before he did something that he would regret. He didn't fully understand exactly why he had done what he did, he just did… and the anger he was feeling really didn't help him at all.
It took several minutes after Kurai left the clearing for their motor control returned. Seconds later, the sound of two slaps rang out from the clearing. Both Miroku and Kagome were nursing red, sore cheeks while Sango stood in front of them, her hands on her hips. Inuyasha stood off to the side with his arms crossed, already pledging not to get involved and Shippo and Kirara sat back to watch the fireworks.
Kagome was confused, as Sango had never slapped her before. "What the heck was that for?" Miroku, on the other hand, didn't even bother to ask, nor did he need to. He had, after all, been staring at the fox's cute behind since he left the clearing.
Sango looked at Kagome with barely concealed loathing. She took a deep breath, mostly to stabilize herself before she asked, "Do you have any idea of what kind of demon fox you just angered?" Kagome shook her head, afraid to say anything, lest she say something to anger Sango any further, though she needn't have bothered. "That was a Midnight Kitsune."
At the confused looks she got from everyone, she sighed and went into teacher mode. "The Midnight Kitsunes are a powerful group of demons, in fact, some say that they are the most powerful demons, capable of manipulating anything and everything around them: the air, free will, even your miko powers. You could have been Lady Midoriko herself and it wouldn't have made a difference. The only reason why Midnight Kitsunes have not taken over the world is because they have no love for military conquests. Instead, they live in seclusion. He is the first one that I have met. We are very lucky that he decided to let you off with a warning. I'm telling you now that if we do see him again, you will apologize to him, understood?"
Kagome nodded fearfully, finally understanding the truth about their situation. She had grown used to the others protecting her that she forgot that, in every battle, there was a chance that the fights that they got into consisted partially of luck and that eventually, they might not get so lucky. She felt like a moron and resolved herself to listening to her friends more.
Inuyasha put in his two cents next. "We're luckier than you think Sango. Kurai is travelling with Sesshomaru. I could smell his scent in the tree line. Had he wanted to, he could have killed us all while we were frozen by the Kitsune."
That got them so deep in thought that they became oblivious to their surroundings, a mistake as they didn't notice one of Naraku's Saimyōshō hovering over the clearing, listening in on their conversation.
About halfway back to the clearing where the others were waiting, Kurai stopped suddenly, causing Sesshomaru and Musako to look back at him, in order to ensure that he was well. Kurai could not shake off the feelings he had, of the anger and rage he was feeling. Even now, he could not understand where those emotions had come from, and how he actually entertained serious thought towards killing the silly girl. She just made him so angry, thinking that she was better than him solely because she was a miko and he was a demon. He looked up suddenly and asked, "Lord Sesshomaru, who were those people?" He had to admit that he had a slight curiosity about which they were, hence the question, especially the white-haired half demon, who smelled a bit like Lord Sesshomaru. He figured that Sesshomaru would probably know them.
Sesshomaru's eyes narrowed-those idiots hadn't even introduced themselves to Kurai before they had begun to insult him. "That was my half-demon half-brother Inuyasha and his little group. The monk, Miroku, possess the power of the wind tunnel in his right hand, which possess the power to suck up anything in his path into the void. The demon slayer is Sango and her demon companion is Kirara. The small fox kit is Shippo, and the uncouth wench is Kagome. They hunt the shards of the Jewel of Four Souls, which the wench is able to find using her limited powers."
Kurai felt as if he had a head rush, the information was staggering. The shards, that meant that someone had shattered the jewel, but who could be that stupid. It explained one thing: why they kept her around, her and that big mouth of hers. "So that was why there was a glow around her neck, and why I can still see them, even from this far away." He had to admit that he was slightly surprised when he saw a small ball of light near her breast, but her smart mouth quickly distracted him from thinking any further in it.
Sesshomaru tensed, thinking that since Kurai could see the jewel shards he would need to keep that particular talent secret, especially considering the way that his little brother had been watching him. There was no way he would allow that half-breed near Kurai, he didn't deserve a chance.
Kurai suddenly looked around and said, "Alright, I know you're there. Come on out where I can see you."
Sesshomaru looked at him in confusion, but that confusion faded quickly as several blurs appeared in front of them. When the blurs cleared up a bit, it revealed a group of six young people.
Harry looked at them each in turn and asked, "Why are you stalking me? I have sensed your presence since the clearing."
One of them, a Kitsune with silver ears, stepped forward and said, "We sought to talk with you, but we had to wait until you were away from those humans."
Kurai looked confused and asked, "Why do you wish to speak to me?"
The Kitsune said, "We wish to join your group, to travel with you."
Kurai looked back at Sesshomaru and said, "Can they Lord Sesshomaru?"
Sesshomaru looked like he wanted to object, but when he saw the pout on Harry, he said, "Fine. But introduce yourselves first, so we can at least know your names."
The Kitsune said, "I'm Yoko. These are my companions Yusuke," he pointed to the taller, dark-haired young man who had his hands in his pants pockets, "Hiei" this time he pointed to the shortest in their group, but also one of the deadliest, "Jin" this time he pointed to a red-head with a horn on his forehead and a cheeky smile on his face, "and Touya," this one was much colder than the last, more like Hiei.
Kurai pointed to himself and said, "I'm Kurai, and this is Lord Sesshomaru."
They nodded, and Yoko came up to Kurai and wrapped his arm around Kurai's waist, happily ignoring Sesshomaru's growl and basking in Kurai's blush, and with that, they began their trek back to the others.
Inuyasha led the now quiet group towards the nearest village, hoping that they would be able to find some lead to the next important clue to the next shard of the jewel, as it had been nearly two weeks since the last one and they were all slightly impatient. When they arrived, the village men stared, but this time, unlike the others, Kagome was aware of it. She flushed an unpleasant shade of red as she realized that Kurai was correct: these men did see her as nothing more than a working woman, to put it politely. Embarrassed, she avoided eye contact while Inuyasha, Miroku, and Sango asked around for any rumors about either the jewel shards or increased demonic activity. An hour later, they had a small lead, not a good one, but at this point it was better than most of what they had.
At the camp site, Rin was playing in the flowers, twining flowers together to make a pretty flower crown while Jaken watched over her from the safety of Ah-Un's back. Suddenly, there was a rustling sound from the bushes near Rin, who looked up, excited at the idea that it might be Lord Sesshomaru and Kurai. When she saw that it was indeed not the previously mentioned people, she pouted slightly before she perked up at the thought that she might have just found several new friends. Fortunately for her, she got to them before Jaken did and she asked, "Who are you? Rin's name is Rin."
One of them, the tallest, leaned down in front of her and said, "Hello Rin." But before he could say anything else, Jaken came rushing over shouting, "Get away from Rin. When Lord Sesshomaru finds out that you came near Rin, he'll kill you for dishonoring him."
Rin looked at Jaken and asked, "Please Master Jaken, they seem to have nowhere to go. Can't they at least stay until Lord Sesshomaru gets back, then we can ask him."
Jaken looked like he wanted, but then the thought about what Lord Sesshomaru and Kurai would do to him if he denied Rin anything came to the forefront. He nodded quickly and said, "Of course Rin, they can stay."
Rin clapped her hands, but then the one who had talked to her before said, "We have an injured companion. Can we lay him down here to rest?"
Rin nodded and immediately she began to imitate what Kurai had shown her when he had treated Jaken or Lord Sesshomaru: check for obvious wounds and make sure that they can breathe appropriately. When, however, the injured patient did not awaken, she became frustrated and huffed, beginning to pout. Oh well, he'll have to wait until Kurai gets back to heal him. And maybe, if she is able to play the situation right, she could have another father.
Elsewhere, in the coldest climates around, in a different time, a mysterious figure approached two frozen bodies of two of America's greatest heroes, long thought forgotten. The figure brushed its hand against the ice and said, "Soon, you shall live again… and I have the perfect person for you to meet."
Kouga stretched his legs as he waited for his companions to catch up. Lately, he had this feeling that something spectacular was going to happen. He just couldn't stay still because, after all, what if he missed the big event because he was stuck in the caves listening to every single wolf demon complaining about Kagome, not that he could blame them. At first, they had been quite taken with her, but lately she had become increasingly rude, thinking that she, a human, was better than them, preposterous. It got to the point where it made everyone, even him, uncomfortable. When the others finally arrived, he took off hoping that whatever it was that was going to happen would happen already because, after all, patience was not a virtue in his book.
The end of another chapter. I should, hopefully, have the next rewrite up by the end of next week.