Chapter Two
"Milord, are you sure you are well enough to travel? Your wounds have only just healed…!" Jaken said, yelping when Sesshomaru irritably kicked him aside and kept on walking. It had been almost five days since his battle in the underworld, and yet the sight of his father's empty armor still haunted him.
"What could it mean? Had Father somehow survived? If so, then where is he? One would think that, in the two hundred years since the hanyou's birth, I would have come across some clue that he had before now!" Sesshomaru mused, his nose wrinkling when he picked up the scent of his half-brother and started following it. He smirked when he saw that his brother and Kagome were sitting at the edge of an old battlefield; Inu-Yasha was eating, and Kagome was berating him for his bad taste in eating spots.
"I must say, you couldn't have chosen a more disgusting place to partake of a meal, hanyou." Sesshomaru muttered, as he walked over to them.
"Sesshomaru! What're you doing here?" Inu-Yasha asked, suspiciously; having jumped up to defend Kagome when he'd heard his brother's voice.
"Keeping tabs on what will eventually be mine…Namely Tetsusaiga." Sesshomaru replied, as Inu-Yasha snarled something unsavory at him and gripped the sheathed sword tightly. Before he could draw it, however, Kagome intervened.
"How are you feeling, Sesshomaru-sama? Are your wounds healing?" Kagome asked, trying to get the subject off of the sword for the time being.
"My wounds have healed, so you needn't worry….But what on earth was he eating?" Sesshomaru questioned, as he gazed curiously at the containers Kagome had piled up beside her.
"Just some food I'd brought from home." Kagome replied, giggling softly when the Taiyoukai picked one of the cartons up and shook it; making a face when he heard the dry, rattling sound from within. She stopped laughing when he gave her a bizarre look, and smiled when she saw the honest confusion in his amber eyes.
"Don't worry, it's not as bad as it sounds. I promise." Kagome said, earning herself a skeptical look from Sesshomaru as she did so.
"I'll take you at your word, for now….So I can take this to mean that this land has begun trading with others?" Sesshomaru asked, noticing when Kagome's eyes lit up and she smiled and nodded.
"Hai! Good observation! It figures you and Myoga-san would notice!" Kagome replied, then added, "Actually, the instant noodles were invented in Japan during the space age! Everyone eats them now, but astronauts were originally meant to use them for space travel!"
"Astro-nuts?" Inu-Yasha and Sesshomaru asked, in unison; glaring at one another when they realized what had just occurred. Kagome couldn't help but smile at the two brothers; even though Sesshomaru was trying his best to seem indifferent about the objects she had brought from her own time, she could tell that he was honestly curious and wanted to know more.
"No. Astronauts. We've explored outer space." Kagome corrected.
"Is there anything really worthwhile to see in outer space?" Sesshomaru asked.
"Well….." Kagome trailed off, then mentally added, "Count on him to ask a really difficult question!" Before Kagome could even say anything to answer him, the sky suddenly went dark, and a chill permeated the air.
"What's going on? Why is it so dark?" Kagome questioned, as she and Inu-Yasha stood and took a look around.
"I think I may know…." Sesshomaru mused, arching an eyebrow and giving Jaken a dry look when said imp cowered behind him.
"You down there! You possess a shard of the sacred Shikon no Tama!" a childish voice shouted, as bluish flames coalesced in front of them.
"Is it a youkai?" Kagome asked, as she stared at the flames.
"I believe it's a kitsune!" Myoga said, attempting to answer Kagome's question.
"Not likely, Myoga." Inu-Yasha retorted, while Sesshomaru merely watched the fire change into a somewhat ridiculous-looking floating creature.
"I'd say it is a kitsune…..but a very inexperienced one." Sesshomaru murmured, as he watched the creature approach.
"Hand over the Jewel or else!" the 'kitsune' demanded, biting down and latching onto Inu-Yasha's head (and getting slapped away for his efforts). Seconds later, a young kitsune appeared in true form before them.
"Itai…." The youth muttered, as he put a hand to his stinging cheek.
"It's a kid." Kagome murmured.
"Who dares to burst my bubble!" the youth asked, angrily, as he glared up at them.
"I'd say it was Inu-Yasha….He's fairly good at that." Sesshomaru muttered, getting a dirty look from Inu-Yasha and ignoring it completely.
"He looks more like a tanuki or a squirrel to me." Inu-Yasha stated, as he picked up the enraged little youkai by the tail.
"I'm a kitsune, heathen! Now put me down!" the youth demanded, angrily.
"I am inclined to agree with the pup on the heathen part." Sesshomaru mused, as he watched as the young kitsune escaped from Inu-Yasha's grasp by weighing his hand down with a statue, and then dove into Kagome's bag.
"Hey! Get out of my stuff!" Kagome shouted, watching as Sesshomaru deftly grabbed the kitsune by the scruff of his neck and pulled him out; giving the youth a dry look as he did so.
"Care to explain why you are doing this, pup?" Sesshomaru asked, as he took the jar Kagome had been using to hold the Jewel Shard from the kitsune's hands and returned it to Kagome.
"I owe you no answer!" the kitsune replied, angrily.
"You insolent whelp! Do you realize who you are speaking to!" Jaken shouted, infuriated by the youth's lack of respect for his master.
"Jaken…." Sesshomaru murmured, his tone taking on a very slight edge as he spoke.
"Y-yes, milord?" Jaken replied, hesitantly.
"Shut up." Sesshomaru ordered, before kicking the imp in the head for added emphasis. He then returned his attention to the kitsune, who was now staring at him with some fear in his green eyes.
"I am going to ask you again, kitsune, and I expect an answer. For what reason do you need the girl's Sacred Jewel Shard?" Sesshomaru again questioned; his icy calm a stark contrast to Inu-Yasha's hot-blooded nature.
"F-for my father. I need it so I can avenge him." The kitsune replied, his resolve shaken when he saw just what he was up against. And it was in that moment that Kagome saw something stir within Sesshomaru; she noticed when a very slight look of sympathy and understanding appeared in his usually cold amber eyes.
"He knows exactly how it feels." Kagome thought, as she watched the interaction between the two youkai.
"Feh. He's not strong enough to take on his enemies on his own, so he needs the Jewel Shard for that." Inu-Yasha said, as he glared at the young kitsune from where he stood.
"I'm strong enough to destroy any enemy! I just want the shard as a precaution, that's all!" the kitsune shouted, as Sesshomaru released him.
"What are you up against that you can't handle on your own?" Kagome asked, as she kneeled in front of the young youkai and gazed calmly at him.
"Have any of you heard of the Thunder Brothers?" the kitsune in turn asked.
"Can't say that I have." Inu-Yasha muttered, as Kagome gathered her things and prepared to move on.
"I haven't either." Kagome added.
"I have." Sesshomaru stated, his soft voice almost lost in the midst of the conversation.
"What do you know of them, Sesshomaru-sama?" Kagome questioned.
"Until recently, what everyone in the region knows as common knowledge. Rumors have it that their powers have been growing since the shattering of the Shikon Jewel, and that they themselves have Shards in their possession." Sesshomaru replied, quietly.
"Hiten and Manten…..those two are evil incarnate." Myoga murmured, as Sesshomaru nodded in agreement.
"Don't tell me you're actually afraid of them too, Sesshomaru!" Inu-Yasha taunted, as they started heading for the treeline. Sesshomaru gave him a scathing glare.
"I do not fear them, hanyou, but caution is well founded. They were merely a nuisance before, but it has been some time since even I had faced them in battle." Sesshomaru retorted, remembering his last run-in with the thunder youkai….and how the odds of losing to them may have been doubled now that they had the added power of the Jewel Shards.
"Feh, Big deal! All I've gotta do is defeat the Brothers and I'll walk away with all their Jewel Shards!" Inu-Yasha said, confidently.
"Such insolence….He never takes warnings seriously." Jaken grumbled, having been almost totally forgotten by the group until then.
"And this fool is the one Father entrusted the Tetsusaiga to…." Sesshomaru mused, his expression deadpanning at the thought that came next, "The world as we know it is doomed."
"And man will one day walk on the moon! You're no match for the Thunder Brothers!" the kitsune snapped, unaware that Sesshomaru was giving Kagome an unreadable glance.
"It seems your 'astronauts' have already done the impossible, miko." Sesshomaru muttered, to which Kagome only sighed and shook her head.
"Well, stranger things have happened." Kagome said, as they both listened to the youth tell Inu-Yasha to stay out of the fight between him and the Thunder Brothers, and watched as said hanyou punched the kitsune in the head for his insubordination.
"Inu-Yasha, go easy on him!" Kagome ordered, when she thought that things were going just a little too far.
"But someone's gotta teach him a lesson!" Inu-Yasha argued, giving Sesshomaru a glare when the Taiyoukai snorted in derision at that, and actually laughed softly when the kitsune pinned Inu-Yasha's hands beneath the statue again, pasted a spell scroll on it, stole the Jewel Shard, and took off.
"That little dog! He's got my Jewel Shard again! Get back here!" Kagome shouted, angrily, as she started chasing the kitsune.
"Wait! Kagome! You can't just leave me here! Hey!" Inu-Yasha shouted, watching as Sesshomaru also began to give chase.
"Milord! Where are you going?" Jaken asked, just as surprised by Sesshomaru's actions as Inu-Yasha was. Sesshomaru didn't answer, but instead altered his course a little bit and went into the woods; using the thick foliage for cover so he could keep a close eye on Kagome and the kitsune pup.
…………………………………
Kagome mumbled something angrily under her breath as she followed the young youkai away from where she'd left Inu-Yasha. She'd just lost sight of him amidst the undergrowth when she heard what sounded like a yelp from the kitsune, and then the voice of what sounded like an adult youkai. The schoolgirl was quick to get out of sight, and watched the pair closely from her hiding spot.
"Well, well! What a coincidence! If it isn't the son of that flea-bitten fox!" the voice sneered, as Kagome got closer and saw that the kitsune was in trouble; he'd just run into the younger of the Thunder Brothers, Manten!
"Y-you….." the kitsune pup stammered, fearfully, then stared in horror at the monster's waist. Wrapped around it like a loincloth was a pelt….a fox pelt.
"The poor kid's father! That monster must've skinned him alive!" Kagome thought, angrily, as she fingered her bow and arrows and waited for the right moment to fire one.
"You'll pay for what you did! Let me at you!" the youth shouted, tearfully, as he leaped in to the attack, but was swatted back by a huge hand. He landed hard on his back, and, to Kagome's dismay, dropped the jar with the Jewel Shard in front of the greedy youkai.
"A shard of the Shikon Jewel! Fortune has smiled on me this day! Now, hand it over like a good little lad, or else!" Manten demanded, as he started charging up some lightning in the back of his throat and prepared to fire it at the helpless child. Before he could, however, two things happened; an arrow from Kagome's bow impaled Manten's nose, and a silver flash swept both the young kitsune and Kagome off of their feet.
"Whoa! W-what the….." Kagome's mind yelped, before she looked at the face of her rescuer and gaped at him in astonishment. Instead of having Inu-Yasha come to her aid this time, it was Sesshomaru!
"Sesshomaru-sama!" Kagome yelped, stunned by the unexpected act of kindness on the Taiyoukai's part.
"You certainly know how to find trouble, miko." Sesshomaru muttered, then added, "You'd better not have dropped the shard, kitsune. Otherwise, our problems will double in short order."
"What do you mean?" Kagome asked, catching the very slight note of concern in Sesshomaru's voice and sensing that something wasn't right.
"My left arm isn't as healed as I'd first thought….it's almost too stiff to move. I can fight with my right arm, but it will at least halve my strength." Sesshomaru replied, as Manten started firing lightning bolts at them.
"I see….." Kagome murmured, knowing now what kind of danger they were all in, at this point. Sesshomaru nodded, then skidded to a halt what seemed a good distance away from the irritated youkai.
"So! We meet again, Lord of the Western Lands!" Manten sneered, watching as Sesshomaru carefully put the pair down and faced him.
"Yes. And, unfortunately, you are just as ugly as I remember….and a little more bald, as well." Sesshomaru replied, a sneer of his own emerging in his voice as he glared at his opponent.
"Shut up, you cur!" Manten roared, riled at the fact that the Taiyoukai had poked fun at him, "For that slight, I will make you see death coming!"
"We'll just see about that." Sesshomaru murmured, ready for the battle at hand. He didn't even turn around when he heard Kagome notch another arrow into her bow and take aim.
"He's got two Jewel fragments in his forehead…..if I can hit them, maybe his power will decrease." Kagome murmured, answering Sesshomaru's unspoken question.
"Let's hope you can hit them, then, miko. I, for one, don't favor the thought of becoming this bald beast's wig." Sesshomaru muttered, as he waited for the right moment to begin his attack.
"Right." Kagome agreed, yet silently questioned herself as to why she and the youkai lord were working together like this. Then, a split second later, another blast of electricity came from the maw of the ugly Manten; forcing them into action. With a deft leap, Sesshomaru launched himself forward, just as Kagome's arrow left the bow and raced towards the Jewel Shards imbedded in the youkai's forehead. At exactly the same instant, the arrow and Sesshomaru's claws struck Manten's head; and Manten's tough hide deflected both, to their dismay! Sesshomaru winced when the impact traveled up his injured left arm; vibrating painfully through the still-healing bone.
"Curse it! The fool's skull has been strengthened by the Shards!" Sesshomaru thought, as he moved quickly back to a safer distance.
"Are you all right, Sesshomaru-sama?" Kagome asked, having seen the look of pain in the youkai lord's eyes and checking to make sure he hadn't been injured further.
"Keep your attention on your opponent, miko. Our blows only grazed him." Sesshomaru replied, as he kept his gaze on Manten. His reasons for caution were proven just a few moments later; as they watched, two of Manten's remaining hairs fell out, leaving only one…..and madness entered the youkai's eyes in response to their loss.
"My hair! I'll get you for this!" Manten wailed, furiously, as he prepared to fire another blast of lightning at the trio, this one even more powerful than those he had sent their way before.
"C'mon, we've gotta flee! That's the same kind of attack that killed my dad!" the kitsune shouted, fearfully.
"Then let's not waste anymore time!" Sesshomaru snapped, as he grabbed both girl and kitsune child and started running.
"Oh no you don't, Taiyoukai of the West! You die here!" Manten snarled, as he loosed the lightning and sent it barreling at the retreating lord's back.
"No time to dodge, and the lightning will travel through my breastplate and hit the girl and child before I can react…..Only one thing I can do, then….." Sesshomaru thought, as he threw the pair away from him, crying out when the electricity struck him full force.
………………………….
Inu-Yasha perked up when he heard what sounded like a pain-filled yell not too far in the distance, and picked up his struggle to get his hands free.
"That was Sesshomaru-sama!" Jaken yelped, recognizing his master's outcry, and wanting to go to his aid.
"Yeah, and Kagome's with 'im……Hope they didn't run into the Thunder Brothers already." Inu-Yasha muttered, more worried about the girl than his brother, at this point.
"Same here, Inu-Yasha-sama." Myoga agreed, as he continued trying to get the spell scroll off.
"Kagome, please be safe." Inu-Yasha mused, as he watched Jaken stand where he was, frozen in indecision about whether he should go to his master's side, or remain on the path till he returned.
……………………………
The young kitsune could only watch in horror as Manten bent down and picked up the unconscious Kagome.
"She looks good enough to eat! Waste not, want not, as mother used to say!" Manten cackled, as he flew off in the direction of his and his brother's stronghold, leaving the lifeless Sesshomaru lying there beside the river.
"He's got Kagome!" the kitsune said, then thought, "I've gotta rescue her, since I got her into this mess….But how? I'm just a kid! I don't stand a chance against the Thunder Brothers on my own!" It was then that he looked at Sesshomaru; he had to see if the Taiyoukai was still alive, and then go and get Inu-Yasha. With care, he approached the still youkai lord, hoping against hope that he wasn't dead.
"If someone else has died because of me, I'll never forgive myself! Please be alive! Please!" the kitsune thought, getting close enough to Sesshomaru to touch him.
"S-Sesshomaru-sama? Are you….alive?" the kitsune asked, as he placed a hand on the youkai lord's left arm. To his relief, the Taiyoukai flinched under the touch, and one amber eye slowly opened.
"Kitsune?" Sesshomaru whispered, "Where's the girl?"
"Manten took her. I wasn't strong enough to stop him." The kitsune replied, shamefully. He was surprised at what the youkai said next.
"How do you expect to stop something….even your father couldn't? Your lack of strength….isn't to blame." Sesshomaru said, as he slowly sat up, hissing when singed skin protested against the movement.
"But what can I do now? The Thunder Brothers have Kagome!" the kitsune said, desperately, as he watched Sesshomaru stand, and stiffly dust himself off.
"Go and get the hanyou. He carries a sword that should be able to kill the Thunder Brothers." Sesshomaru stated, as he prepared to leave the riverbank.
"What're you going to do?" the kitsune asked.
"I am going to see if I can track the youkai's scent…..and trace it back to their stronghold. Tell Inu-Yasha to meet me there." Sesshomaru commanded, even though part of him was wondering why he was involving himself in this fight at all. The kitsune nodded and took off without another word; knowing without being told that time was of the essence.
"Now, to track the vermin down….Shouldn't be too hard, since it stinks to high heaven." Sesshomaru mused, as he started following the scent trail Manten had left behind, and secretly hoping that his strength would restore itself quickly for the upcoming battle.
Author's Note!
Not really happy with the way this chapter turned out, but I hope it made some sense. I promise the next chapter will be better, so please bear with me!
Gemini14
