Hey all, chapter 10 is here. I like Nazuna, I think she's a cool character with an interesting background…similar perhaps to that of many other characters throughout the manga and anime but interesting just the same, so I gave her a bigger piece in my story and spent some time developing her. Now we say goodbye but they are friendly village people, I promise, so no spiders. :)
Onward with the story! Read and review, please and thank you! :D
Chapter 10: Family
"That's it then." Inuyasha said, taking a step back from the teenage girl in front of him and sparing one more glance over the teen's head at a handful of villagers that had gathered to welcome the girl into her new home. He turned his gaze back to Nazuna again and offered her a finalizing nod. "Take care of yourself kid."
"I will." The teen replied as she too looked back at what was to become her new family. They offered her gentle smiles and waved in a friendly and welcoming manner, but it would be a while before she could truly consider this place her home. She hugged her doll a little bit closer to her chest as she took one last look out at the group in front of her. They had saved her life, and changed it in many ways while doing so. She owed them everything.
"I'm…I'm sorry for being so rude at first, I never did apologize." She said, "Where is the demon woman, the one with the ears? I wanted to thank her again for what she did…"
"You mean Kagome?" Inuyasha asked, "She's left already. Hoshi and Shippou went with her. We'll give them the message when we catch up." He turned away from her then to take his horse's reins in one hand, maneuvering himself into position before he swung himself up into the saddle. He turned to Kohaku who was beside him and already atop his own steed, jerking his head in the direction of their travel and wordlessly explaining to the younger man that it was time to go.
Kohaku smiled down at Nazuna once before the two trotted off, "Goodbye Nazuna, we'll be going now."
"Yeah…" Nazuna stared and her shoulders fell slightly as she watched the two disappear into the distance. "Yeah…" she whispered, finally turning back towards the patiently waiting men and women behind her. "Goodbye."
…
Not far ahead a red headed human boy and an equally red headed fairy struggled to keep up with the speed walking of their half demon companion. "Kagome," Shippou called up to her, "uh, Kagome, don't you think we should wait for the other's to catch up?"
"No." the half demon replied flatly, not breaking her pace and barely even turning to spare the young boy a glance before continuing on.
Hoshi scowled and with a little extra effort managed to fly up to Kagome's shoulder where she perched in order to speak with the speeding half demon. "Kagome, really, what's bothering you now?" she asked, "poor little Shippou-chan is human now you know, and he's still not used to our pace. Besides that, the others are…"
"It's fine." Kagome said, brushing the fairy away and forcing her to take flight again. "You two stay here and wait."
"But…"
Kagome paused then, but only long enough to deliver a hair raising glare to her two friends. "Or you can come with me," she offered, but her voice was far from friendly. "But you better be able to keep up."
Hoshi and Shippou watched in silent shock as she then turned and took off again, speeding away so fast that they didn't bother to follow. Shippou turned bright and curious eyes to look above him and question Hoshi, "is she still angry? From what happened last night, I mean?"
Hoshi was silent for a long moment and only reached down once to absently scratch at the boy's silky red hair. 'She's not still mad, I know her better than that. Kagome's never been the type to hold a grudge over something like that…so what on earth is causing her to be so nasty all of the sudden?' the fairy thought, 'is there danger? But if that's the case, then wouldn't she tell me?'
"Hoshi…the others…" Shippou piped up, tearing her away from her thoughts.
"Huh, the others?" Hoshi asked, than followed the child's pointing digit to where they could see Inuyasha and Kohaku approaching on horseback. As the horses brought them closer she could see that both the humans and the equines already looked rather weary from their run to catch up. 'It is hot outside.' The fairy thought, 'unusually hot…I wonder if something's going to happen?'
"What is with the weather?" Inuyasha asked as the two men made it into hearing range, "once we made it past the river there was all this heat…" he continued, as if reading Hoshi's thoughts. Then something else caught his attention. "Hey, where did Kagome get to?"
"She's in a bad mood." Shippou explained, eagerly climbing up behind Kohaku so that he would rest his sore feet. "She wouldn't slow down at all…" he continued before turning to Inuyasha with a grin. "She'll listen to you, won't she Inuyasha? Why don't you ask her?"
"Why would she listen to me?" Inuyasha asked in a deadpan tone, and then turned to scowl into the distance where the subject of their current conversation was barely visible, still jetting along across the horizon. "Stupid bitch, just where does she think she's going without us?"
"Should we try to catch up to her, Inuyasha-sama?" Kohaku asked, already moving his horse back into a steady gait.
"Of course," Inuyasha scoffed, and together the two of them prepared to take off.
"Wait, wait…" Hoshi started, causing her human companions to pause long enough to look at her with curious gazes. "About what you said…it got really hot suddenly…it did, didn't it?" she said, only confusing her friends more as she dragged a stressed hand through her short auburn hair. "I need to talk to her."
"Hoshi-san?" Kohaku asked carefully, "Is something wrong…?"
"It…well…" Hoshi started, then shook her head and managed a smile in the direction of the three worried men. "It's nothing, I'm sure." She reassured them, "let's just catch up to Kagome for now, she's been such a brat lately…"
"Let's go." Inuyasha told them, and they took off together into the scorching heat of the sun, intent on catching up with their quickly disappearing half demon companion. It only took a few minutes for the horses long and powerful legs to make it to Kagome's side, after all she was still walking (although it was at a ridiculously fast pace). As the group reached her, each horse stepped up on either side of the half demon, matching her pace.
"Why the rush, Kagome-san?" Kohaku asked, daring to be the first to question the obviously frustrated half demon. "Can't we slow down?"
"No." Kagome replied flatly, and as if trying to challenge her companion's patience to the very end, she only picked up speed.
Inuyasha rolled his eyes and leaned forward in the saddle to grab Kagome by the shoulder and with one hand on the reins and the other grasping the cloth of Kagome's haori tightly; he pulled both horse and half demon to a short stop. So much for doing things the easy way, but he should have known better, nothing was ever easy with her. He'd be damned however if he let her get away with controlling the whereabouts and pace of their journey, and furthermore, if he'd let her hide things from him. It wasn't as if he cared for her, but if she were to hide something from him, the leader of their merry little band, and from the group as a whole that could relate to their safety then he was going to have something to say about it.
"Stupid bitch, why don't you—" His words ended there however when she jerked herself away from him, with such force that he nearly came off of his horse. He waved his offending hand through the air a few times as if brushing off the surprise of her quick reaction and then turned scowling to look down at her. "Damn you…what's your problem?"
"Nothing is…" Kagome started, but she hesitated for a moment before continuing. Her eyes drifted across the curious, confused and frustrated expressions that covered the faces of the group around her. She bit her lip then and rose her determined eyes to meet Inuyasha's gaze. "You should leave." She told him finally, "Take the others and get back to the village…the one you left that girl with…"
Inuyasha was far from impressed. "What?" He asked, "what in the hell are you babbling on about? We're not leaving."
Kagome bristled from his immediate refusal and snapped at him, "You idiot! You'll all be in danger if you stay, don't you understand that?"
Only a handful of seconds past before Inuyasha's mind registered what she was suggesting. His face darkened several shades and he leaned forward in his saddle to get a better look into the frustrated blue gaze of his companion. "So that's it then?" He asked, "There's something dangerous ahead and you want to take care of it by yourself?" He felt a satisfied smirk cross his lips at the way the half demon squirmed under his intense stare. He'd nailed it.
"You can forget about it." He said, pushing himself back up in the saddle. "We're not leaving."
"What?" Kagome hissed, her gaze locking on his again. "Why you—"
"Kagome," Hoshi said, catching the frustrated women's attention as she flew directly in between her two bickering group mates. "What's going on? Is it because you were able to smell something, or…?"
"I…" Kagome started, but then she hesitated again and turned away to face the path so that the prying eyes of her companions couldn't see the worry written so clearly across her face. "Why don't you just…just go. It'll be too dangerous for a bunch of humans to be here when…"
Inuyasha was about to reject her suggestion again, and demand a more reasonable excuse then just because, but when he opened his mouth no words came out. Instead his shocked golden gaze turned to face South. 'That aura is…it's overpowering…' he thought, turning back to take in the look of unmasked horror on Kagome's face. As he turned to look at his other companions he noticed that Hoshi's face was a mirror to Kagome's. It was no doubt that they all had felt it. It was impossible to miss. 'What…what is going on here? What are they hiding…?'
"She's coming." Kagome said after a moment, jerking her companions from their thoughts as she turned to face them with cold, stony eyes that left no room for argument. "If you want to live then I'd highly suggest you leave now. Even then, she's already caught your scent by now. She knows I have others with me…"
"Who's she?" Inuyasha demanded, leaping from his horse and grabbing a handful of the cloth covering her chest, nearly lifting her off her feet as he dragged her towards him. "What in the fuck is going on here? What are you hiding?" He snarled.
Kagome snarled back, but answered his question despite herself, "She's Kikyou." She said in a steely tone, "She my half-sister."
"Sister…" Inuyasha started, suddenly loosening his hold on the half demon and finally releasing it. "If she's your sister then why…?"
"We're not exactly on speaking terms." Kagome said, answering the swordsman's unasked question before turning to face the rest of the group as a whole. "There's not much time. She's already pinpointed our location; she's only taking her time getting here. If all of you are gone by the time she arrives then you won't be involved, just don't even think about turning around…"
"Kagome-san…" Kohaku started, "wouldn't it be best to stay together? If she's really as strong as you suggest…"
"She'll kill you." Kagome interrupted bluntly, "if you get in her way, or engage in battle with her then you can all consider yourselves already dead. I've fought her before, many times. I know how much power she has, hell, you felt that rise from her aura before. The longer you stay here the less chance you have of making it."
"But…but then won't she…" the group turned to look down at Shippou who had since dismounted along with the older men in the group. He didn't hesitate to express in words what rested uncomfortably in the back of everyone else's mind. "Won't she hurt you too?"
"I can survive a lot worse than any of you can. I'll be fine." Kagome answered in a dismissive manner, weaving in between her companions until she stood out front again, her back to them. "Go." She told them, "Now."
As the seconds passed by, only the sound of silence met Kagome's ears, then after a moment the sound of horse's hooves scuffing the dirt and weight shifting in the saddle caused Kagome's rigid body to relax slightly. 'They've decided to leave then…' she thought with a sigh of relief, and glanced curiously over one shoulder to watch as they disappeared, only to watch instead in dismay as Inuyasha passing his reins to Kohaku and waving him off.
"Take care of Shippou, understand? Return here once you've dropped him off safely." He told the younger man, before turning back to face the angry half demon now beside him. The glare he delivered then was one with enough ferocity to challenge hers. "You," he bit out, "do you have any idea what it means to be partners, to be part of a team?" Kagome flinched and he continued. "We didn't bring you on this journey so that you could sacrifice yourself every time something dangerous happened! We'll fight as a team, and win as a team!"
"You…you…you…" Kagome managed to spit out before, with a wild snarl she reached forward to give him a shove in the direction of Kohaku, who despite Inuyasha's orders seemed to be waiting to make sure that the his two traveling companions didn't kill each other before the real threat arrived. "You idiot!" Kagome finally spat, "Do you want to get yourself killed so badly?"
"I'm not going to get killed!" Inuyasha spat right back at her, "stupid, you make it sound like I've never handled powerful demons before!"
"You've never fought anything like Kikyou…" Kagome told him evenly, but before she could continue a very sudden closeness of her sister's presence caused her insides to knot up and her heart to skip a beat. She wasn't the only one that had been shocked into silence. In front of her Inuyasha's face paled and his body grew tight and beside her Kohaku was far too frozen to run off to safety the way Inuyasha had instructed him to just a few minutes earlier.
Hoshi and Kagome exchanged a frustrated look as the air grew hot and sticky around them. "Hoshi…" the half demon managed, her voice strained, "you'll protect them, won't you?"
"Of course," The fairy replied, and somehow managed a weak smile to her friend as she watched the half demon turn to face the approaching silhouette of her older sibling. "Just promise me you won't get yourself killed."
"Kikyou." Kagome greeted her sibling with a tone as cold as the snow as she reluctantly turned to face the demon now visible only several hundred feet from her. 'And that's as far as she'll get if I have anything to say about it.' Kagome thought, watching with a satisfied grunt as the full blooded wolf demon stopped in her tracks and lifted her head slightly to meet her younger sister's frozen gaze.
She was beautiful; she really was, but Kagome knew better. Kikyou was only beautiful on the outside. Her insides had frozen over and turned to ice long before Kagome had ever met her, of that she was sure. Kikyou was a deadly mixture of power and confidence, and in the worst cases, determination. When Kikyou wanted something, she would not hesitate to take down anything in her way, be it human, demon or otherwise, and Kagome had firsthand experience with this fact. The half demon shivered lightly as memories of her childhood, and her first meeting with this almighty monster swept through her mind.
Kikyou had the same long black hair that swept down her back as Kagome, however unlike her half demon sister Kikyou kept it pulled behind her back in a thin, well-kept ponytail, only leaving two thin tails loose on either side to drop over either one of her shoulders. Kikyou had the same blue eyes as Kagome, however even in Kagome's darkest moods her eyes were warm, like the fire that she could so easily create and manipulate, while Kikyou's pale blue eyes only resembled a block of ice. The only demonic features that adorned Kikyou's body aside, from long sharp claws and equally long and sharp fangs, only hidden by her closed lips, were her pointed ears. In contrast Kagome had multiple demonic features that easily gave away the half-transformed state of a half demon.
The older of the two wolf demons was dressed in a similar haori and hakama to her younger sister, but the cloth was clearly made of more rich materials. While most of the cloth was a blue so light that could easily be mistaken for white, patterns that crossed over the left and right shoulders and the bottom of each sleeve were drawn in a blue several shades darker. Silver armor covered Kikyou's breasts and stomach before wrapping around behind her back. She also wore armor over the tops of her hands, which wrapped around her wrists and disappeared under her sleeves. A pair of well-made leather boots of brown crawled up her legs and stopped just short of her knees, effectively protecting her legs and feet. To finish off her outfit, a thick black obi wrapped around her waist and matching in color, a scarf that looked to be made from the pelt of a wolf wrapped around her neck.
"It fits you well Kagome," Kikyou said finally. Her voice was soft, and it would have been soothing had it not been lacking emotion of any kind. Instead it drew shivers up the spine and awakened tiny goose bumps across the flesh. "To be traveling with a pack of worthless and weak humans like the ones here…" her eyes landed on the tiny band then, and to one in particular who stood bravely out in front, and to his furious amber eyes. A cruel smile crossed her lips and she returned her eyes to Kagome, "or perhaps not as human as I first thought…that is even more fitting, for a filthy half breed such as yourself."
"You leave them out of this." Kagome said, her tone low and threatening as she moved into a crouch. "Who I choose to travel with is none of your business. What do you want here? Take care of it and go."
"That isn't very respectful of you, Kagome." Kikyou taunted, "What would Kaasan think if she heard you now? She would be disappointed in you…"
She'd hit a cord with her words, and it was clear by the way Kagome's fur bristled and her claws dug deep into the soil. "You shut up!" She snapped, "Kaasan is dead, she doesn't have anything to do with this either! Damn it, what in the hell are you doing here, anyway?"
Kikyou's face darkened and her eyes narrowed ever so slightly as she looked onto her prey, taking one threatening step toward her sister. "There is where you are wrong, little sister…" She replied coldly, "because Kaasan has everything to do with why I'm here…"
Kikyou moved so quickly then that no one could have even hoped to stop her had they had the time to think about doing so. Now she stood where her half demon sibling had been just moments ago, one arm raised high above her head and in her hand she grasped Kagome's neck in a painfully tight but not quite suffocating hold. Kagome released a surprised gasp, but it came out as more of a gurgle as she clawed at the thick armor that protected the older demon's wrists and squirmed to get free. All of her attempts were fruitless however and after only a moment more of struggling, snarling and clawing the half demon let her body go limp, satisfied with the ability to squeeze a few fingers under the powerful hand of the wolf demon in her efforts to protect her tender neck.
Her friends were not so easily satisfied however and Inuyasha leapt forward, one hand racing to his waist where he took Tetsusaiga's hilt in his hand, intent on helping to free his companion from her current bind. "Kagome!" He called to her, but his actions were halted by a tiny but powerful hand on his shoulder. He spun around to land Hoshi with his frustrated gaze. "Hoshi," He snapped at her, "what in the hell do you think you're doing?"
"Don't you dare get yourself involved in this, Inuyasha." Hoshi replied sternly, her tiny hand tightening on Inuyasha's shoulder with enough force to drag him back a handful of steps. The look on her face kept him from questioning her, at least for now. She was dead serious.
"What…what are you…?" Kagome gasped out, having resumed her struggles when Kikyou's long claws began to dig into her flesh painfully. "What could Kaasan possibly have to do with any of this?" The half demon choked, "She's dead. She's been dead for three years!"
Kikyou gave her captive a rough shake to effectively silence the confused jumble of words coming from her mouth before choosing to enlighten her little sister with the particular reasons behind her clearly unwelcome visit. "You will answer me this one question immediately and with only the most truth, is that understood?"
With a groan Kagome found that she had little choice but to comply with her older sibling's wishes, after all, whether or not she wanted to admit it she realized quite clearly that she was at Kikyou's mercy. If the older demon wanted to kill her right then there would be little chance that she or any of her friends, watching the battle play out carefully, would be able to do anything to stop her. Besides that, the feeling of the Kikyou's claws ripping into the sensitive flesh of her neck, as if reminding her of the ever present threat, was rather uncomfortable (as if the lack of air to her lungs wasn't enough).
'What, all I have to do is answer her stupid question anyway, right?' she thought, managing a weak nod to show her understanding of her current predicament, and the potential answer for getting out of it. "F…fine…" Kagome gasped, "Ask your stupid question then…get it over with so we can be rid of you…"
Kikyou was not impressed by the way the younger half demon spoke, and she proved this as her hand tightened even more firmly then before around Kagome's neck, forcing Kagome to scramble once more to protect her threatened flesh. In retaliation the half demon managed a well-aimed kick to Kikyou's armored chest and clawed the offending hand in her efforts to squeeze her own fingers once more in between Kikyou's unforgiving digits and her own neck.
"Idiot," Kagome wheezed at her, "How will I answer you if you choke me to death?"
Kikyou didn't seem daunted by those words and maintained her grip as she spoke up. "I was told that you were the last one to speak with Kaasan before her death, is this information correct?"
Kagome thought about this for only a moment, after all she didn't have much time. "I…I would think that's right…she left our territory right after she met with me so…"
Kikyou's eyes narrowed slightly, but held no emotion. "So it was."
To Kagome's relief Kikyou finally loosened her grip, but her relief soon disappeared when, as if having only chosen to let the half demon catch her breath, Kikyou's hand returned it's fierce grip with twice the power, now threatening to break the bones in Kagome's hand which still remained as a shield. Kagome was back to fighting and kicking, desperately trying to get free before the very life was sucked from her.
"ah…uhh…" was all that she managed to choke out.
"I am not done speaking half breed." Kikyou replied coldly. "Who was it that Kaasan left to fight with? Who was the one that killed her?"
"Kikyou, stop this, you're going to kill her!" Hoshi cried when Kagome's attempts to come up with an acceptable answer for the older demon all ended in her gasping for breath as she struggled to breathe through her constricted airway. "How is she supposed to answer you that way?" The fairy asked desperately, "let her down before—"
"Calm yourself, Hoshi." Kikyou replied, "I'm only ensuring that she will not lie to me." With those words she released her tightened grip on her younger sister's neck, enough that Kagome could feed her starving lungs, but not enough to get free. "Answer me now, or I will choke the life out of you for good this time."
"I…" Kagome hesitated a moment to stare hatefully down into her sister's face. "I don't know who killed Kaasan."
"You don't know," Kikyou said evenly, "Is that your answer?"
Kagome nodded, as much as she could in her current situation. "Kaasan never told me anything, you should have known that."
"Then I have no use for you." Kikyou replied evenly and before the half demon could even protest the demon's hand had returned to crushing her younger sister's neck. "You will die."
"Wait—!" Hoshi cried again, but her next words died in her throat as she caught sight of Inuyasha charging past on her left, his oversized blade lifted high over his head as he raced towards the battling sisters. "Inuyasha, get back here!"
The swordsman completely ignored her and pushed forward courageously. He wasn't doing it out of stupidity. Considering what he'd already seen Kagome's half-sister manage to accomplish (with her superior strength and speed), and taking into account her overpowering aura, he knew he was no match for her. 'I'll be damned if I'm just going to stand on the sidelines and watch though, damn it!' He thought furiously as he approached.
"Let her go!" He demanded, now close enough to bring the Tetsusaiga down in between the two siblings, or at least that was his plan.
Kikyou spared him a glance before returning her attention to the struggling half demon above her, growing weaker by the second. "Take her," the wolf demon replied, carelessly lifting Kagome's nearly limp form upwards for a moment only to drag her body back down and into Inuyasha's forcefully. The two collided with a bruising force and crashed to the ground before sliding a good fifty feet back to where their stunned companions waited.
"Inuyasha-sama, Kagome-san!"
"Kagome…Inuyasha…are you…?" Hoshi asked, kneeling beside the shocked Kohaku to inspect the damage.
Kagome was the first to move, groaning as she rolled herself away from the man below her and only her back beside him, propping herself up on one elbow and leaning over him to suck oxygen back into her lungs. By the time she had finished feeding her starved organs Inuyasha was already sitting up beside her. She glared at him. "You…you idiot…" she huffed, "You could have been killed!"
"Is that what I get for saving your ass?" Inuyasha grouched, "You would have been dead if I hadn't stepped in!"
"I would have managed." Kagome replied stubbornly, reaching up a pair of fingers to probe gently at her neck wound. She winced at the pain that shot through her like a blazing fire, but ignored it in order to address Hoshi. "Heal him." Kagome demanded, "I can take of Kikyou…"
Hoshi made a face at this, glancing up and over the pair to spot the mentioned threat standing not too far away. For the moment she seemed to be deep in thought and the fairy was satisfied that she might just be able to take a moment to heal her friends before the battle resumed, instead of complying with Kagome's wishes however she reached out one delicate hand to brush aside the black mane of hair that covered Kagome's neck. "Kagome, your neck should be looked at…"
"It's fine." The half demon snapped, jabbing a finger at the man beside her. "He should be your main priority..."
"It's not fine." Inuyasha spoke up, "and besides that, I don't need to be healed." To prove this fact to the others, and perhaps to himself as well, he rolled his shoulders a handful of times and twisted back and forth, as if searching for weakness in his muscles due to his rough landing. "See?" He said, "It's nothing."
Kagome scoffed, "you would have broken bones for sure if it weren't for that—" her words died in her throat however, partially due to her own thought process catching up with her mouth and partially due to the meaningful look Hoshi shot in her direction.
"That?" Inuyasha asked, suddenly looking interested, "what were you getting at just now?"
"Never mind," Kagome answered, a bit too quickly to ease the swordsman's suspicions, but he didn't have time to question her again. Kikyou was headed in their direction and Kagome stood eagerly to go meet her, a fierce snarl rising in her throat as she did. "Kikyou," the half demon growled, "I told you, didn't I? I told you that they were not to get involved! You will pay for that!"
The older of the two demons seemed undaunted by the threat and only stood silently, waiting and watching for the perfect moment as her little sister approached. "You react without thinking, little sister," Kikyou said, reaching out her clawed hand to catch a startled Kagome by the front of her haori, only to throw her forcefully to the side. "That will be your downfall."
Trees crumpled under the force of Kagome's second landing, and this time it wasn't the hard ground that broke her fall, but the even harder surface of an old tree's trunk that refused to be uprooted. "Uh," Kagome managed as she sat up a minute later, clutching her right shoulder tightly, "it's…it's been dislocated…"
Pain was a familiar thing to her. She had endured many broken and dislocated bones in her lifetime and without hesitance she reached for her injured appendage and smoothly and effectively relocated it, biting down hard on the inside of her cheek to muffle the soft whimper that tried to escape her lips. With a deep breath the half demon lifted her head to peek back into the clearing that she had involuntarily left moments ago, only to find the familiar silhouette of her older sibling blocking her view.
"Shit!" she spat, and before the older demon could move in for another attack Kagome threw her uninjured arm out in front of herself, moving it in an arc across her body and creating a wall of blue flames that blew forward, completely enclosing Kikyou into a burning tornado. Kagome took that moment to scramble to her feet then and take off back towards the clearing, knowing she only had a matter of seconds to put as much distance in between herself and her sibling as possible.
As she ran Kagome could hear the threating rumble of the fire following her as Kikyou had managed to manipulate it into chasing after it's maker. She barely made it into the clearing, dropping to the ground to scoop up her scythe in one hand before turning to face the burning torpedo nipping at her heels. Kikyou was out front, looking a bit charred from the attack but no less threatening then before as she raised one clawed hand, her talons glowing with the heat that she fed them.
"You will die, half breed scum." Kikyou told her, and at the exact same second that Kikyou's white hot claws raked across Kagome's unprotected belly and chest, Kagome brought the white blade of her scythe down into the older demon's left shoulder. Blood spat from either wound covered the faces and clothes of both women as they exchanged challenging looks before parting.
Both landed on their feet approximately one hundred feet apart, but Kagome crumpled to her knees seconds later from the blood loss she had endured. While the wound she created with her scythe was no less deep then the injury from Kikyou's claws (in fact it was most likely deeper), Kikyou's talons had done more extensive damage, and the half demon found herself kneeling in a growing puddle of her own blood.
"Shit…" she moaned, bringing her free hand to her chest to feel the warm liquid that flowed freely from her body. Her vision was getting blurry. 'No…' she thought desperately, 'if I lose then the others might…'
"Are you done so soon, little sister?" Kikyou's cool voice taunted her from a distance and she heard the heavy footsteps of the older demon as she approached. "It's a pity really; you aren't even worth killing…"
"Kikyou!" Inuyasha's confident voice howled above the roaring in her ears and the half demon turned worried eyes to see the swordsman standing nearby, Tetsusaiga drawn and ready to unleash it's powerful attack on the latest threat. "It's about time that you get a taste of my Kaze no Kizu!" He yelled towards her.
'No, stupid…why isn't Hoshi stopping him?' Kagome thought, now attempting to return to her feet, but she froze at the sound of Inuyasha's pained scream and returned shocked eyes to her human companions to see him clutching his arm tightly while his sword lay forgotten on the ground. 'What? He hasn't even attacked yet…' her eyes snapped to Kikyou then and at the sight of her softly glowing blue eyes she understood, 'She's burning him!'
"Claws of blood!" Kagome cried, leaping towards her sibling with one hand raised and releasing her attack onto the unsuspecting demon. Kikyou easily dodged the attack, but it was enough to distract her from Inuyasha.
"So you care more for the lives of your human friends then for your own?" Kikyou asked, easily landing a distance away. "You won't mind dyeing in front of them then, will you?"
Without further warning the full blooded wolf demon appeared directly in front of the startled Kagome, her own bloody claws raised and ready for her next attack. Kagome glared back into the cold eyes of her attacker stubbornly, 'if that's what it takes to protect them…' she thought, gasping at the terrible pain that she felt in belly and spitting out a mouthful of blood, 'I am not afraid to die for them.' With a moan of protest Kagome crumpled all the way down to the forest floor, her vision blurring slightly before she completely blacked out.
…
Hoshi watched, shocked into silence along with the others as Kikyou buried her arm into Kagome's belly and ripped it out the other side. "Kagome," she whispered as she watched the half demon crumple lifelessly to the forest floor. 'She's not dead, I know she's not dead.' Hoshi thought as she watched the older demon regard her defeated prey, 'even then, she's not lost so much blood since…'
"Damn it!" Inuyasha cursed beside her, clutching his injured arm. "Just what in the hell are we supposed to do now?"
"I can put up a barrier." Hoshi told him easily, "Kikyou won't – Hey!" She snapped, turning to face him as he stood and took off in the direction of the battlefield. "You idiot!"
"But we need to get Kagome-san out of there don't we?" Kohaku piped up, and the fairy watched shocked as he too took hold of his chain sickle and headed off after the swordsman.
"You are both such fools…" Hoshi hissed after them, taking flight and moving as quickly as she could to protect the two humans. Kikyou turned stony eyes on both men, arching one delicate black brow as they raced towards her.
"Neither of you are worth my time." She told them evenly and while moving with such speed that neither man would have even had time to register and attack, she landed hits on both of them.
Even with erecting her most powerful barrier and aiming it for them (because Hoshi knew she would not make it in time) the walls easily crumpled as Kikyou's fist met with painfully with Inuyasha's cheek, and then with Kohaku's belly. The force of the attack was enough to force both men to the ground, and the younger of the two cried out as the bones in his arm splintered from the impact.
"Kohaku!" Hoshi called to him, but she didn't make a move to approach him, instead she lifted her head to glare at the powerful demon in front of her. Her friends defeated and a sick feeling rising in her stomach (because they were all badly injured, and she didn't have the strength to protect them if Kikyou decided to attack again) she flew forwards through the air and approached Kikyou. She only hesitated a moment before she spoke up.
"Really, Kikyou, this is all for the answer to a simple question…?"
Kikyou turned to look at her, but didn't speak.
Hoshi bit her tongue. 'I apologize, Higurashi-sama, I don't have much choice.' She thought sadly, "I can give you the answers you need." She said, drifting off away from the clearing and out of the hearing distance of her friends. "Follow me…"
…
"Kaasan…"
"Kagome…" a cool, feminine voice replied as the silhouette of a tall and undeniably beautiful woman turned to face her daughter. Thick black hair swept down her back and over her shoulders, reaching to the floor and trailing out behind her. Her pale blue eyes were wise with age, but cold and inhumane. Staring into her face was similar in relation to staring into the eyes of a stone statue. The soft material of her clothing that could barely be spotted underneath her silver armor and the black fur cape that she adorned was well made and was of a beautiful blue that matched her eyes.
"Kaa-san…" Kagome said again, and a hint of sadness was in her voice, "are you going now?"
"Don't make that face, Kagome." The woman replied coldly, "we've discussed this."
"But why can't I come with you?" the half demon protested, already knowing what was to come. "I could help you, I could…"
"It's dangerous, too dangerous for a half demon like yourself, you know better."
Kagome flinched. "I'm not…"
"Get stronger Kagome. I can't trust your elder sister to make the right choices as a leader; I can only rely on you. If I do not return I expect you to take over, but you must be someone powerful like Kikyou or you will be removed from your role easily."
"But Kaasan, I don't…" Kagome started, but then her words died in her throat as she realized that her mother had already disappeared into the chilly night air. "I don't want to take over for you…why can't you understand that?"
…
"Hey there cousin…" a familiar man's voice spoke, and Kagome turned to peek over her shoulder to confirm her suspicions. There only a handful of feet from her stood her cousin smiling sheepishly at her.
"Sorry," he said as he took a seat beside her, "I know you don't want to be bothered but…the pack is worried…"
He had thin silver hair pulled back in a loose ponytail that lay over his shoulders, but his hair was not silver due to his age, in fact he was three years younger than her. His hair was silver due to his demon blood. 'Half demon blood,' Kagome reminded herself, turning away from him to return her face to the comforting pillow of her arms. 'He's just like me.' Like her he had a tail and a pair of canine ears, although instead of sprouting from the top of his head they sat where normal, human ears would have been.
He had a thin and lanky build, and wore a haori jacket and pair of hakama that looked a bit rough around the edges. His jacket was a rather plain checkered pattern of blue and black, while his hakama were brown in color. He smiled at her then and reached over to touch her shoulder to regain her attention. When she looked up he was staring at her through concerned blue eyes.
"Are you still upset?"
"Get lost Kazou," she growled at him, only burying her face deeper into her arms, "I'm not in the mood."
Kazuo was undaunted by her threat and continued, "It's because of what your mother said isn't it?"
Kagome was silent.
Kazuo sighed. "I understand you know…because we're both the same…so if you want to talk…"
With a frustrated sigh the female half demon fell back into the grass behind her, digging her claws into the innocent soil and ripping away at the grass below her fingers. "It's always the same with her," she moaned, "Get stronger, Kagome, she says, I need you to rule when I'm gone, she only thinks of herself, not what I want to do…"
Kagome found herself comforted by the way that Kazuo only sat quietly and listened while she continued ranting. "It's because I'll never be able to measure up to someone as powerful as Kikyou, because I'm only a half demon…" she brought the heels of her hands up to press them against her closed eyelids in frustration. "I can never be strong enough for her. No matter how much I train…how strong I get…she'll never accept it…"
Silence passed between the two friends for a moment before Kazuo finally spoke up, reaching over to rest a hand on Kagome's arm. He waited patiently for the older half demon to peek up at him before offering her his most brilliant smile. "You know you'll always be strong enough for us, Kagome." He told her, "It doesn't matter what your mother thinks."
…
"Kagome-sama, I sincerely apologize for your loss…" An unfamiliar male's voice spoke to her and she turned to see an equally unfamiliar wolf demon staring down at her in disgust. His words had no meaning behind them, he wasn't really sorry, but it was the meaning behind them that made her stiffen.
"My…loss…" she started, dreading the worst.
A single nod was delivered before the demon continued, "Yes. We found the carcass in the East. You're mother has been killed."
Kagome found herself tongue tied for a moment as her mind ran over these words again and again. 'She's dead. Something killed her. This means…I'll have to…' She thought furiously, "Fine." Was all that the half demon managed, already turning away from the unfamiliar creature in front of her. "I…I need to go now."
"Kagome-sama, wait, please!" another unfamiliar voice hollered after her, "Kagome-sama!"
'What was she thinking?' Kagome thought as she let her instincts take over and ran as far and fast as she could. She needed to get away, far away. 'I can't be a leader for them!'
…
It took a few moments for Kagome's eyes to adjust to the light surrounding her. All that was visible at first was different colors merging together in front of her, much too quickly for her liking. Stabbing pain coursed through her body, her skin, her muscles and even down to her bones. Managing a few shaky breathes out of her burning lungs she made her first attempt to sit up but only found herself quickly pushed back down by a firm hand on her shoulder. Her instincts told her to panic, and she did, squirming wildly against the pressure until a familiar voice caused her to stop.
"Idiot, be still. You'll only reopen your wounds if you keep that up…"
Blinking a few times the half demon managed to clear her vision enough that she could make out Inuyasha's silhouette seated beside her. "W…What?" she croaked at him, "What…are you…?"
His trademark scowl still crossed his face as he stared down at her, finally pulling his hand back from her shoulder when he realized that she was planning on staying put, at least for now. "Stupid." He snapped at her, "You're so reckless…"
Kagome managed a snort in response. "You say that…as if you aren't…"
Her eyes began to drift closed. The pain in her body was only a dull throb now, her mind was too unfocused and tired to bother with it. Then everything came flooding back to her and she found herself struggling to sit up once more, eyes wide and teeth bared.
"Damn it," she snarled at Inuyasha when he effectively managed to hold her down, "Let me go! Where's Kikyou?"
"She's not here!" He snapped at her, causing her to pause long enough to take this into consideration, looking up at him through masked, but curious blue eyes. Inuyasha sighed. "She's gone," he told her again, "after you passed out she spoke with Hoshi in private for a few minutes and then…"
Kagome took a moment to think through this information. Now that she knew her older sister was not within threatening distance of her companions she could relax, but only slightly. 'She left, but did she get what she wanted? If she didn't…she'll be back…' she thought wearily, 'Why was she looking for Kaasan's killer anyway? Does she plan to go and seek revenge after all this time?'
She let out a hiss as her body took that precise moment to remind her of just how badly she had been beaten by Kikyou. 'She's always tough…but she really handed it to me this time…' Kagome thought, reaching one hand up to press two fingers hesitantly against her neck. The pain there quickly reminded her of why it was so difficult to breath.
"You should get some rest," Inuyasha told her, his voice bringing her back to reality as he stood to leave, "There's not much else we can do anyway, Hoshi is still taking care of Kohaku's wounds…"
"Kohaku was injured?" Kagome asked, her attention snapping to him instantly. It was only then that she realized that Inuyasha had one arm in a sling and a bandage covering his left cheek. "That's right, your arm was too…" she said, feeling guilt settle in her stomach, "and the wound there on your cheek?"
"It's nothing to worry about." Inuyasha answered immediately, frowning when he caught the look of self-loathing and frustration that crossed her face. With a roll of his eyes he nudged her gently with one foot to catch her attention, "Hey," he said, "it's fine. I told you not to worry about it."
Kagome hardly looked like she was going to believe him, but nodded once in his direction to show that she had heard. After a moment's hesitation she spoke, "still…it's…it's because of me that you were injured so…I'm sorry…if I was stronger then—"
Inuyasha glared at her. "Bitch, what did I just say?"
"I heard you."
"If that's the case then you shouldn't make me repeat myself." Inuyasha replied flatly, crouching down and leaning over the half demon slightly to growl his next words in her face, "I said don't worry about it, I've had worse and so has Kohaku. Stop thinking that you have to keep all of your problems to yourself." He growled, "And get some rest, the last thing I need is to have you reopen any of those…" he gestured towards her chest and stood again, disappearing before Kagome could protest further.
Kagome watched him disappear through the door silently before turning on her side to face the wall, wincing slightly at the pain it brought. 'Idiot,' she thought, 'he's such an idiot…'
…
"She's awake."
Hoshi turned from her work to smile weakly up at Inuyasha as he entered the room. "Good," she said, "Thanks for watching over her for me."
The swordsman only nodded, taking a seat beside her and staring into the sleeping face of his young friend. "How is he?"
"He'll be fine, just a little bit more and it will be completely healed. He's only sleeping now." She told him, "after that I'll take care of Kagome's injuries and we should be able to start moving again by tomorrow afternoon."
"Hoshi…" Inuyasha started, "what was it that you were talking about with Kikyou?" He frowned slightly when he saw the way the fairy stiffened beside him. "You know, don't you?" He asked, "Who it was that killed their mother? Did you tell her?"
"I told Kikyou." Hoshi told him after a moment's hesitation, "I don't know much but I do have his name," she glanced at him out of the corner of her eye then, hesitating once more before whispering it to him, "it is Naraku."
"Naraku?" he repeated, tasting the characters on his tongue. Then another thought came to him, "You haven't told Kagome?"
"Of course not!" Hoshi snapped, startling him. She spared him a glance before continuing, "Kagome's mother was a powerful, full-blooded wolf-demon like Kikyou, however…even someone strong like Kikyou has still to surpass her mother in strength." The fairy sighed, "If Kagome was to go after him then she would be killed for sure."
Inuyasha made a face at this, but he didn't have time to argue. Kohaku was waking up, and both of them welcomed him back to the conscious world with smiles and friendly greetings, helping him as he tried to sit up for the first time. It wasn't until much later that night that the three sat around the fire outside watching Shippou play nearby while they cooked their recently caught fish.
"How is Kagome-san holding up?" Kohaku asked, "she lost a lot of blood, didn't she? Will she really be able to move as soon as tomorrow afternoon…?"
"She'll be fine by then." Hoshi answered with a dismissive wave of her hand, "My healing abilities combined with her accelerated healing work together to make the process go much faster."
Both men nodded, and the group was silent as they each reached for one of the fish and took their first bite of the warm meat. It felt good to dig their teeth into something nutritious with all that stress that they had endured earlier in the day. The food disappeared quickly, leaving the four friends only surrounded by only the soft sounds of wildlife as they moved about in the night.
"Hoshi," Inuyasha's eerily quiet tone made all three of them jump, "is it really a good idea to keep such a thing from Kagome? She has a right to know…"
"Eh?" Shippou and Kohaku jumped into the conversation at the same time, glancing between their two friends curiously. "Tell her what?" Kohaku asked, "Is there something you're keeping from her, Hoshi-san?"
Inuyasha grunted, glancing at the two as if having forgotten they were even there before turning back to Hoshi. "The name of the one who killed her mother…Naraku…that's what you said, wasn't it?"
"You know?" Kohaku asked, the shock unhidden on his face. "And you aren't going to tell Kagome-san? Is that wise?"
Hoshi shook her head, "If Kagome knew, she would go off with just a name and try to find him. She's the type that's too hot headed to take her own safety into consideration anyway, I can't allow her to go off and chase this Naraku just to get killed as easily as her mother was." The fairy sighed before continuing, "After all, her mother asked me to keep this information from both sisters, too keep them safe, and I've already broken that promise once."
"Besides that…Kagome has duties, whether or not she wants to be responsible enough to take care of them is not the issue, they need to be fulfilled," Hoshi turned to look up at her companions then, her already present frown deepening at the startled expressions on their faces. What had surprised them she wasn't quite sure, however she did realize that it wasn't her, after all they weren't even looking at her, they were looking past her.
Curious and suddenly dreading the worst, Hoshi turned to glance over her shoulder at the rundown hut behind her where up until recently Kagome had been resting. Now the half demon stood in the doorway, not looking at any of them in particular but off into the distance. Her hand tightened slightly where it supported herself on the doorframe and a dark look crossed her face, "Naraku, huh?"
…
AN: Alright, really, why didn't see that coming? My apologies for ending it on a cliffhanger, but I think it's more fun that way, don't you? I'm curious to know what you all think of the new Kikyou…It was kind of a pain in the butt coming up with clothes for her because she always wears the same damn thing in the anime and manga, she looks weird in anything else. I think I'm satisfied with her outfit though. :)
She does wear an awful lot of armor for someone so powerful though, doesn't she? Ah, ha, ha…well, so does Sesshy so there. That's my excuse and I'm sticking to it!
Anyway, interesting chapter, yeah? I had fun with it. Let me know what you think of it by leaving a review, as always, they help me stay motivated…not kidding, they do, so please tell me what you think. :3
Chapter 11 (The Hunter and the Hunted): The group passes through a nearby village to restock on some supplies lost during battle. Upon hearing that they are traveling towards the southern kingdom to meet with Sesshoumaru, a young and talkative boy suggests that they meet up with "Miroku", who is also on his way there…but for what reasons is a mere human traveling there?
Toodles! – K