Disclaimers: I do not own Inuyasha
A/N Woo! Another chapter! Enjoy!
Forest of Purity
Chapter 11. Word of War
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"I'm sorry, but I…I don't share the same feelings… I…"
"Y-you… You told me that you enjoyed my company.. You told me that we would be together... We can finally destroy it… and you refuse to? You… You disgusting wretch! Get out of my sight you vial half breed monster!" She shrieked, grabbing the nearest object, which happened to be a clay cup, and throwing it violently at him. "I'll rid this world of you and the rest of your filthy deceiving kind.. You will all perish!"
"You will all perish!…"
"All perish.."
"..Perish.."
"..Perish you filthy half breed monster!"
-X-
Golden eyes had snapped open in pure fear as Inuyasha jerked himself awake. Beads of sweat rolled down the side of his face as he took in his surroundings quickly. Remembering that he was safely under Kagome's protection, he had calmed himself and steadied his breathing and rapid heartbeat. Shortly after settling down, he had resumed leaning against the wooden wall of Kagome's room. Staring through the darkness with ease, the hanyou had no problem successfully locating the slumbering miko just a little ways away from him.
'What… Was that? That dream was so… Real…'
'Our memory. My memory. Kikyo's out there annihilating the remaining population of hanyou's because of me.'
'Oh, so you're back now?' The small hanyou thought.
'Only temporarily brat.. I needed you to remember why she hates m—us so much.'
'You led her on… Something the lech would do… And then told her you didn't love her. Some great guy I turn out to be.' The eleven year old pointed out.
'Shut up! Relationships aren't tha—tha…t ea..sy..s..hit..'
"And he leaves again. Wow, I just can't wait to grow up and turn into a complete moron." Inuyasha muttered sarcastically, picturing his older self's face scowling at him.
It had been a few days since the incident with the wolves. Since then, Kouga had refused to leave the tiny home near the outskirts of the forest and had been keeping watch over Kagome. He still believed that she needed rest and shouldn't be moving around much, but the miko was always a stubborn one and would get up to do her daily rituals despite the wolfs requests.
She was also beginning to find her home to be a little snug with all the new guests rooming with her. She couldn't even get to her kitchen to make breakfast without tripping on someone's foot! So, a brilliant idea had struck her. Since Kouga absolutely refused to leave her, she had decided that he might as well be doing something other than lecturing her.
The wolf demon, Miroku, and even Inuyasha had begun working together to expand the house. The monk would often try to find some reason to not help out, but then he would be back at work after a few good threats and hits to the head, courtesy of Kouga.
"Iron reaver!"
"Oi! Inu brat, bring those slabs over here when you're done!" The wolf prince ordered.
Miroku huffed tiredly, setting another board next to each other. He had successfully finished the new floor of the second room while Kouga built the walls. Inuyasha was in charge of creating the perfect pieces of wood, using his claws to take away the branches and bark to create the slabs.
"My name isn't Inu brat, you flea bag!" Barked the hanyou in return.
Kagome had peeked up from playing with Shippou-chan, sighing lightly. 'And so it begins. Here I thought they could restart their relationship and become good friends. I suppose it wasn't meant to be.'
"Kagome! Look! I bet I can help too! My magic tops could cut down some trees!" Shippou piped, opening his small hands to show her his toys and emphasize his idea. He didn't see her reacting immediately and stared at her momentarily, noting that she seemed to have a distant look on her face. 'I wonder what she's thinking about?'
"Come on mutt face! Is that all you've got? Huh puppy?!"
"Shut your face you worthless flea bag!" Inuyasha howled back, cracking his knuckles loudly. He wiped the blood away from his mouth and grinned darkly while circling the wolf.
"Stop fighting! Please! Inu-kun please, can't we just all be friends?"
"No way! This baka thinks that you belong to him!"
"She does! I placed claims on her first! So I get to be with her!" Kouga argued.
"Kagome ain't some trophy woman you idiot! And if you can't get that through your stupid thick head, then I'll force it through!" Inuyasha took that moment to leap at him, claws brandished as he swiped at the ookami at full force. His claws had just barely nicked the surface of Kouga's cheeks, leaving three marks of blood.
Kagome pouted slightly, digging the heel of her sandal into the dirt in frustration. She could hear her mentor approaching and immediately felt a little bit at ease. They were all on the outskirts of the village, the forest not very far from them. She knew that the villagers never liked having the two demons in the village at the same time because of their loud bickering and tendencies to fight. So naturally they would always relocate and sit outside the village. Her mentor always seemed to have a knack for finding her too.
"Are they fighting again Kagome-sama? I was led to believe that they had become friends." Kikyo sighed dramatically.
"Kikyo-chan, they are friends! They just argue a little bit.. It doesn't mean they don't like each other, just that they don't agree on everything." Kagome replied, tucking her arms into her white sleeves.
"Wise words for a child so small," Kikyo remarked.
"You aren't that big either Kikyo-chan." Kagome giggled, instantly loosing her smile when she finally heard the loser howl in pain. It was strange, no matter how much the full demon boasted, he always seemed to be the loser in the fights. The little priestess would always be the one to separate the two after their little match was settled. She would heal Kouga-kun first and watch him leave in a swirl of wind, and then she would have to deal with a very angry hanyou.
"Why do you do that? He doesn't deserve your kindness." Inuyasha scowled, pinning his ears to his head in anger. He was crouched down in the dirt, glaring at some object in the distance while letting low growls rumble through his chest.
Kagome shook her head and crouched down next to him, "Inu-kun, he doesn't have a bad heart. And he doesn't hurt anyone. He's my friend and that's why I heal him." She touched gently the hanyou left wrist, warm pink light engulfed his whole arm, healing every injury on the limb.
"K-keh, you don't have to heal me.. I'll heal in a few hours," He blushed shyly, scooting away from her slightly.
Kagome pulled away in confusion, cocking her head to the side. She turned and glanced at Kikyo for some form of help, but only got a strange dark look of disapproval from her before she had turned and left.
'That was.. When he was ten ... So that make's me eight at the time…' The priestess thought in amusement, sighing a bit when she heard the distinct crackling noise of knuckles being cracked. "Shippou-chan, stay here," She patted his head and immediately went to stop a fight from breaking out. She could understand Inuyasha picking fights, he was only a child, but Kouga? He was a grown man for heavens sake!
However, before she even had the time to separate them, she had felt her barrier flicker. Whoever had entered the forest had done so through the air and would be arriving shortly at her half remodelled home.
"Kagome-san? Is something the matter?" Miroku asked in concern, earning the demon's attention as he approached her seemingly innocently.
"Touch me, and you will not only loose your hand but possibly your life." Kagome warned, smiling far too brightly at him.
The wind gently brushed past them, causing the trees to shimmer lively and provide the only noise. It was very award for the monk and he had cautiously taken a step back, swallowing loudly, "I-I never thought you to be a cruel woman Kagome-san."
She giggled in returned, "No Miroku-san, I would never do such a thing. My friend however, is another story. She can be rather violent when a man touches her inappropriately and she has always been very protective of me."
The hanyou was the first to speak up, growls forming in his throat as his nose had picked up signs of a new scent approaching. "There's someone coming."
Echoing roars filled the area as a large beastly looking demon trotted into view from the sky. Red hot flames adorned its brown paws as it swooped down and landed softly onto the ground next to a very skittish Kitsune that had scurried away in fright toward the other males. Her red eyes blinked curiously at her surroundings and she sniffed the air intently, trying her best to recognize the scents.
"Easy Kirara, Kagome-chan wouldn't have strangers here." A soft voice cooed from the large cat demon's back. Long slender black legs had unfortunately caught the attention of the lecherous monk whom had graciously gone to help the woman off the neko.
"Allow me to be of assistance, beautiful.." He held out his hand to her, taking in her beauty. She had flowing long brown hair tucked into a high ponytail, the most gorgeous eye's he had ever seen and an outfit to die for. It hugged all her curves perfectly and he was more than tempted to hug those curves with his hands… Strange, a fist seemed to be coming towards his face--
SMASH
"Pervert! How dare you touch my backside!" She shouted hotly, "I aught to do more than just hit you!" She had jumped off her neko friend, placing both hands on her hips in annoyance and anger as she shot glares at the still day dreaming monk on the ground.
"I'm afraid it will take a few moments before he snaps out of his day dreams Sango-san." Kagome informed, sniggering a bit at the older woman.
"Eh? Kagome-chan! How could you let such a hentai stay with you? Has he touched you as well? Please tell me he hasn't." Sango asked, her concern for her friend very noticeable.
"I wouldn't worry Sango-chan, I have Inuyasha and Kouga already protecting me from him." She reassured her, walking to her friend and hugging her tightly. She had also patted Kirara's head gently, not forgetting the powerful neko. "Miroku-san is the least of our worries.. You look very tired, do you want to go to the hot springs to get cleaned up? Then I can start on our supper and—"
"Kagome-chan! Please, we'll settle that later. First I have an important message." Sango interrupted.
"A-a message?" The miko asked in shock.
"Yes! My village received a message from one of our slayers. He says that two dark priestesses have formed an alliance with a dark lord. They are planning to lead an army of demons here to kill you and take the jewel." Sango informed.
'Two dark priestesses?' Inuyasha thought in shock, his fingers twitching lightly as he stared down at the ground in worry, 'It has to be.. Kikyo.. and that woman.. with white hair..' He flattened his ears and growled shifting his attention to the demon slayer woman to continue listening in.
"When will this army strike?" Kagome asked in a tone that Inuyasha could hardly recognize. It was as if her whole personality had changed in that split second Sango had mentioned the jewel.
"Within the month Miko-sama. The youkai army grows larger everyday. My village is preparing for the attack, all able slayers will be here as soon as possible."
"No, keep your village safe Sango-san. If this army is as large as you claim, then your army will not stand a chance. They will fall."
"Miko-sama, we are all able soldiers, we can battle—"
"I said no." Kagome replied coolly, "Far too many will be sacrificed. I will not allow your family to be so easily slaughtered. They are only human Sango-san. I cannot ask you all to do this. I—"
"Kagome-chan, this isn't just about you! The Shikon no Tama must be kept out of the hands of demons and those with wicked hearts. My village exists solely for the purpose to kill demons and protect the jewel much like you. We were created to aid the Legendary Priestess. And now, we will do what we have been preparing for, for centuries. I refuse to let another Legendary Priestess, my best friend, fall at the hands of dark miko's and lord's." The demon slayer held a firm gaze with the priestess, her eye's never wavering with doubt or fear.
To the others watching from the sidelines, this moment seemed very unreal. None of the males knew her, this woman came bearing news of war, and apparently she's best friends with Kagome. Though Kagome never spoke to them about Sango or her flying demon companion—'I'm not jealous! I'm anything but jealous… There's some sort of war that's going to happen, and I'm worried about it. I'm not jealous of some woman that claims to be Gome-chan's best friend.' Inuyasha mentally cooed himself, though his twisted face did not go unnoticed by the young Kitsune.
"You know, Kagome probably likes you more than Sango." Shippou offered awkwardly, trying his best to help Inuyasha rather than angering him. For the Kitsune knew first hand how bad Inuyasha's temper could get, and how violent he could be towards the one's causing him such displeasure.
Kouga on the other, didn't give a rat's ass about Inuyasha's delicate mental balance.. "As if kid! I know a thing about women, and that's when they make very good friends with other women, they are practically inseparable and they end up having a stronger bond then that of a man and a woman. In a friendship sort of way…"
The orange haired boy felt his eye twitch slightly in annoyance, "thanks Kouga." He muttered dryly, "You're a great help."
"What I don't understand now, is why Kagome is speaking so formally. It's as if she were some kind of soldier. Even other priestesses that I've encountered have never been so formal." Miroku decided to add, having miraculously recovered from Sango's brute blow to the face. He had also somehow managed to crawl over to the male side of the grounds without being detected by anyone… A tactic used no doubt to flee from clingy women…
"Hey, when did you get here pervert?" Kouga asked, crossing his well-toned arms in slight confusion, "Last I saw, you were out for the count."
Miroku laughed sheepishly, swallowing the lump in his throat, "I um, that my friend is of no importance…"
Inuyasha turned to the grown men in slight annoyance, growling at them to quiet down so he could listen in on the other conversation. It was enough that he could hardly block out the sounds of the trees dancing in the wind, but the idiots behind him? They just wouldn't quiet down and it wasn't like Kagome was talking all that loudly either. Though, she did look very serious and her body was clearly tensed.
"I accept your offer of soldiers Taijiya-san in order to protect the Shikon no Tama from falling into the wrong hands." It was strained, but his ears never lied. She was going to have demon slayers come to this place, a war is on its way, and Kikyo is apparently playing an important role in this.
"Thank you very much, Kagome-chan." Sango relaxed some, a warm smile playing at her lips in joy.
However Kagome still had a hard time approving of this, she knew that her friend was right. The Shikon mattered most and her village was formed in order to help protect it, "We begin planning for these events as of now." Kagome stated firmly, waving over the boys to come join them.
She would need to take into account every form of resource she could to pull this off…
But she did have a plan.
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A/N I'm cutting it off here. I hope this chapter is good for you guys! As always, I am late with da updates. I know, I am soooo lazy haha. Well R&R please!
Inu: Ya know, I haven't seen the pervert in awhile, what happened to him?
San: Oh? Last I saw, he was swimming with the sharks. I guess he hasn't come back yet..
Kag: Sango-chan, you wouldn't have had anything to do with that now would you?
San: -looks innocent- No! Of course not.
Inu: What'd he do to you? Grab your butt? Cuz he always does that.
San: For your information he had done something far worse!
Kag: …
San: My clothes and all of my underwear have gone missing.
Kag: That's because I'm doing laundry today.
San: Oh.
Inu: -shrugs- He'll live.
Moi: Haha R&R
