Chapter Eight

So... Long time no see, yeah?

Not gonna try and explain my absence other than I've been going through some depression that's all. I did manage to make this chapter longer than usual, so there's my apology if you'll take it.

As for the story plot, it's coming along slowly. It took me two days to finally come up with this chapter properly without it leaving anything off or going off the trail and leaving everyone confused as hell, trust me it took me a while.

Actually you all ought to thank a friend of mine for getting me out of this funk to be honest. I managed to talk to her yesterday and started feeling better, when I explained my block with this chapter, just talking it out with her helped and I was able to finish it up properly.

Still not 100% yet, but I'm getting there, I'm not making any promises as to when the next chapter is gonna be posted because to be absolutely honest, I have no clue. It could be a hour from now, later in the day or even a week or so from now. I don't know and it kills me to tell you all that. I'm working on it though and just be assured I'm not gonna drop this story, it's too much fun to write and I have all of you reading it for me to want to quit. So just know I'm not dropping it, just takes a little longer for me to post than it did the first two stories.

Anyway, that's pretty much it for now, i'll leave you to it and PLEASE review and let me know what you think. I need a little perking up and some ideas/love for this chapter could help me a lot more than you could think it would.

Onward

-I do NOT own Inuyasha or it's characters

-I DO own Sonya, Niki and the plot

~TL S0nya

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Squirming around in whatever it was that had her's grip, Niki tried to see behind her as she was drug through the trees and bushes, scratches littering her exposed skin as the branches whipped out at her. "Ow! Damn it, stop!" She shouted finally, fed up with the situation entirely and slapped the thing wrapped around her middle, surprised when it did indeed come to a sudden stop.

"Oh... Well that's better." She muttered, a hand reaching up to brush her hair from her face and looking around warily. "Care to explain why I've been drug through the trees like a rag doll?"

"I Ssshould be asssking you the quessstionsss." A voice literally hissed from behind, sending a shudder up Niki's spine and making her turn slowly to look over her shoulder at the shadows there. "Wh-who are you?"

"I am the protector of thessse treessss. The animalsss that live within are under my guardiansssship." A dark figure slowly approached from the shadows, it's body longer than usual. Following with her eyes, she traced it's form slowly until it wrapped around her middle. "Tell me, child. Why isss one of my children wrapped around you?"

"Huh..?" Niki blinked at the guardian before sudden understanding sparked in her eyes. Reaching up, she gently touched the snake still wrapped around her neck with a small, shy smile. "I was giving him some warmth that's all. He was cold."

"Cold..?" The guardian shifted closer and leaned into the faint light filtering through the trees, letting her get a better view of him. Long red hair, silver eyes and very pale green skin met Niki's curious gaze.

"Well yeah... It's dark and cold in here... He can't exactly keep warm on his own, now can he?" Niki's gaze dropped down to the striped snake settled comfortably around her neck and shoulders. "Not to mention he was probably scared with all the noise we were making. And I'm not about to toss him off to the side just because he was scared and cold."

Hearing this, the guardian took a closer look at the girl in his hold, watching as she gently ran her finger over the snake's head gently with a small smile. "Why would you make it so dark here anyway? You know none of the snakes here can survive it being so cold." She added, a sudden spark of irritation appearing in her blue eyes as she shot a look up at the guardian before her.

"I have not made the treesss like thisss. The darknesss that sssroundsss my domain wasss not of my doing." Loosening his hold on her, the guardian gently set Niki on her feet before backing up slightly and wrapping his lower half around in a coil. "I have reassson to believe it isss you and your friendssss faultsss."

"Our fault? How is it our fault, much less mine? Do I look like someone that can do anything?" Holding our her arms, Niki raised an eyebrow as he took in her form before looking away again, one hand pushing his hair back behind a shoulder. "I sssee. You are indeed human. However the demonsss you travel with..."

"We're all pretty busy taking care of something else. All we want to do is get to the mountain." She gestured in the general direction they were travelling in and let her hand drop back to her side with a small shrug of her shoulders, making the snake curled up there shift slightly, drawing the guardian's eyes back to her.

"We don't exactly have time to be fiddling with someone's environment, or would we want to, there's no real point to it in my book and not to mention the three demons with us that are strong enough to do this are too wrapped up in their own problems to even think about doing it." She added as an afterthought, her eyes shifting to look over her shoulder while she spoke.

"I sssee. And the sssnake you have captured..?" Looking back over at him, Niki flashed a brilliant smile, making the guardian blink in surprise. "I didn't capture him, if anything, he captured me. I just figured I'd let him share my warmth as long as he wanted to, no harm no foul."

Falling silent, the both of them simply stared at each other before the guardian let out a low laugh, his lips curling upward in a small smile before sliding closer to where she stood, his form a good three feet taller than her, forcing Niki to crane her neck just to keep eye contact. "Very well." He smiled and reached out slowly to place a hand on the top of her head gently. "You are kind, child. And protective of my children yourssself." A small flicker of something shone in his eyes before he came to a decision and leaned forward, his lips brushing lightly against her forehead, leaving behind a pulse of heat.

"Wh-"

"You now carry my protection, child. Sssshould you ever need help, sssimply have thisss ssssnake call for me, and I will come." He murmured, his fingers gently scratching her scalp fondly before he let go, a small smile hovering on his lips. "You may passs through my foressst peacefully. Go with my grace." With that said, he shifted back into the shadows once again just moments before Touga burst through the trees, eyes faintly haloed with red as he glared around the clearing.

"Um... What are you doing?" Niki asked, one eyebrow raised slightly as he turned to face her, his expression flashing between rage and surprise before settling on idle confusion. "Where is it?" He demanded finally, the red in his eyes flaring slightly as he walked forward and settled his hands heavily on her shoulders, leaning forward to study her close.

"I'm fine, thanks for asking. And he's gone." Niki rolled her eyes and brushed his hands from her shoulders before running her own hand through her hair, lifting her bangs up slightly.

A sudden grip on her wrist made her pause and look up at Touga as he held her still, his eyes zeroed in on her forehead, leaning closer to inspect the mark he saw sitting there better. "What are you doing?" She leaned back awkwardly, trying to get away from him as he tried to hold her still. "This mark..."

"Oh, a mark? Where?" Reaching up with her other hand, Niki poked at her forehead, a small frown crossing her features as she thought what might have given her a mark there. "I did hit a few branches on the way here, so I'm not all that surprised there is one on my forehead..."

"This is no mark made from a branch." Touga murmured, brushing aide her hand so he could trace the symbol there with a claw, almost tickling the skin with his actions. "It is a loop on it's side..."

"A... Loop?" Raising her eyebrow, Niki looked up at him in utter confusion. "What the hell are you talking about?"

A rustle in the brush behind him made both turn to the shadows in time to see Kagome struggle her way through the branches. After straightening her clothes with a small grumble, she looked up and flashed a wide smile at the two standing there. "Hey! I found them!" Calling over her shoulder at the others, she walked over. "What happened to you?"

"Don't ask, it's a long story." Niki muttered, tugging her wrist out of Touga's grip and taking a step or two away from him. "What is that on your forehead?"

Groaning under her breath, Niki clapped a hand over the supposed mark. "Not you too. This one was obsessed with it just before you showed up." She growled at Touga when Kagome stepped over to take a closer look herself. "It looks like an infinity symbol."

"Infinity? Oh! The loop, I get it now." A small laugh fell from her lips as Niki reached up to touch the spot again. "I guess it was that guardian. He kissed me on the forehead and said I would have his protection."

"Protection? Why?" Kagome frowned, her eyes shifting away from Niki and to the dark trees around them curiously. "I guess it's because I took this little guy in, he thought we were the reason the forest was so dark at first, once I talked to him though he found out it was something else. I can only guess what he's doing now." Niki shrugged again, her hands lifting up in a 'no idea' gesture.

"Well... As long as you're alright. I guess we should get going." Kagome murmured, trying to make sense of what Niki said only to come up blank. Niki clapped her on the shoulder before pushing past her and Touga, heading back through the trees easily, idly noting they seemed to pull away from her as she walked past.


Niki's shoulders tensed again as the feeling of being stared at washed over her once more while she helped Kagome set up the camp for that night. One more day and they'd be at the base of the mountain, then Miyoga could lead them to where the witch was staying, as it was they were ahead of schedule, Touga didn't think they would reach the mountain for another day or two. They were at least three days away from the deadline, even with all the issues they ran into. What with Kagome and Inuyasha being later than they expected, then the forest and her own unexpected capture of some sort.

Heaving a mental sigh, she shot a sharp look over at Touga, who was currently staring at her again. "What?" She snapped irritably, her eyebrows drawing downwards and together as he simply stared without answering. "Whatever, if you're going to stare at someone, don't expect to be treated politely." Turning away, she finished stacking the wood and tinder so Kagome could light it easily.

A soft huff from behind made her bite back a snicker. Vaguely she understood a little of the reason for his staring. Part of it being his curiosity and confusion as to just why the forest Guardian had chosen her for his protective mark, hell, she was confused about that too, but not complaining. It was pretty nice to have plants move out of her way rather than pushing them aside herself. Though odd, still nice to say the least.

Sitting back on her feet, she dusted her hands off on her dirty hakima pants and sighed to herself. "Hey, Kagome, there anywhere around here that I can wash up? I need to change my clothes, they're filthy from being drug through the underbrush earlier."

The miko straightened up from where she was stirring a pot of... Whatever it was she was making and tapped a finger to her chin in thought. "Oh! I'm sure I saw a stream just a little bit away from here when I was collecting wood." Turning to flash Niki a smile, she pointed off to the south from where they were. "It's a few minutes away but it looks clean. If you wait, I'll go with you." With a nod of agreement, Niki turned away and settled for digging through one of the bags for bathing supplies, it was still warm where they were and it was a safe bet the water wouldn't be too cold at the moment, better take advantage of it while they had the chance.

After setting the pot aside to cool, she, Kagome and Sango all headed from the camp in the direction of the stream Kagome spotted earlier, hoping to find a small pool deep enough to at least sit in while they bathed. While the two longtime friends chatted, Niki trailed along behind them, deep in thought as they made their way deeper into the trees.

There were several things that bothered her, but the most prominent one being her lack of memory still. Occasionally a small thing would pop up, like her favorite scent, which was petricor and pine needles, her favorite season, winter, or even the name of her best friend, Jinx. All of it paled in comparison to everything she should know already. For instance, she could only guess her age being around twenty, she could only guess where she came from, flashes of trees all around indicated a wooded area of some sort. She couldn't even name her favorite food much less how she ended up there.

A soft sigh escaped her lips before she could stop it, prompting the two women in front to turn and look at her over their shoulders in question. When Niki didn't return their glances, they frowned slightly, easily understanding her upset nature as they dropped back to fall into step on either side of her. "Niki." Sango began softly, earning a blank look from the woman when she glanced up at the slayer.

"Your memories will return when they're ready to. My brother, when he lost his memory, it was because he didn't want to remember what had happened, it was terrible for him and he couldn't live with what he had done." Sango said gently, her mind elsewhere while she spoke. "When he could finally live with what had happened, he remembered. Perhaps something had happened to make you wish to forget. And when you are ready to face it once more, you will regain your memories."

Pulling her gaze away from Sango, Niki lifted her shoulders in a half-hearted shrug at her words. "Maybe, maybe not. I don't know now do I?" A slightly bitter edge managed to work its way into her words, urging her to quicken her step and get away from the pitying looks she continued to get from the two women with her. "Whatever happens, happens. I really have no choice in any of this, I'm only along for the ride right now. Once I remember everything, if I do, I'll just go on my way and none of you have to worry about me anymore. So please don't try to make me feel better about this. I don't really care about being pitied or treated like glass. Just because I don't have any memories doesn't mean I can't handle life." With that said she lengthened her stride and pushed her way through the brush ahead, ignoring the branches as they pulled away from her touch once more.

Once Niki was out of earshot, Kagome and Sango shared a look. "I guess she isn't exactly one to want someone to take care of her." Sango murmured quietly, her eyes moving back to stare at Niki as she slowly made her way farther ahead of them.

"I guess not, she's pretty strong-willed if you ask me. Look at everything that's happened and all she's done is take it all in stride. I think what bothers her the most is she doesn't even know who she really is. She couldn't answer any question asked about her but she can easily tell you about any of us." Kagome agreed equally as soft, her own gaze trained on their subject.

"I noticed it too. She pays close attention to everyone and everything around her, it's almost unnerving if you ask me."

"No, I think it's normal for her, she seems to do it without even realizing it."

"You may be right. For now lets just forget about the matter and focus on getting Sonya back into her body." Sango murmured, earning a quick nod from Kagome and sped up to catch Niki before she vanished from their sight.


"Ahh... What luck." A happy sigh slipped from Kagome as she slid into the warm water of the hot spring they happened to find while travelling along the stream for a suitable place to bathe.

"No kidding, I didn't expect one of these around here." Sango dipped her head back and soaked her hair then straightened back up and glanced over at where Niki sat as far away from them as possible, crouched down in the water until it reached her chin, an embarrassed expression on her face.

"What's wrong? Don't you like the hot water?" Looking over, Kagome noticed Niki's expression too and frowned slightly.

She shook her head quickly and ducked farther into the water, a faint pink tinging her cheeks. "No it's not exactly that." Niki blew a few bubbles and fell silent, her gaze drifting down to the clouded water. "Not really used to bathing with people, that's all. Earlier when you two showed up when I was bathing last time, I didn't exactly stay too long."

"You know, now that I think about it, you're right." Sango frowned in thought, her mind going back over that day in detail. "I didn't really think much of it because I figured you were done."

Another blush crossed Niki's face as she closed her eyes and ducked under the water for a moment then came back up just enough so her mouth could clear the water. "Yeah... Well... There's that." She muttered, silently yelling at herself for even agreeing to going with Kagome and Sango when she knew full well this would be her reaction.

"Well if you want, we can hurry up and leave you alone so you can bathe..." Kagome trailed off, her head tipped back to wash the soap from her hair while she spoke.

"No, no it's fine. I mean, it's perfectly normal for this to happen, right? I just have to get used to it is all. Just don't ask me to bathe with any of the guys and we should be fine." A weak laugh slipped from her as Niki started soaping her own hair when Kagome floated the bottle in her direction.

Both Kagome and Sango shared a laugh at that, silently relaxing at their newest friends return to her usual dry humor. "Agreed, though we can't promise at least one of them wouldn't come looking around, like a certain monk we all know." Sango muttered, her eyes rolling upwards at the thought of Miroku sneaking around while they bathed.

"Yeah well, I'm pretty sure there's a few rocks around here we can use as ammunition."

With another shared laugh, the three of them continued their bath, easily enjoying the silence and peace of the moment.


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