AN: Eh heh, heh…*dodges dirty looks* so umm…hopefully you all haven't given up on me already. For those who haven't, here's the new chapter, long overdue I know, but life likes to get in my way as I've said before sometimes and well, when that isn't a problem motivation sometimes is. :/ I didn't manage to get it out for Christmas or the New Year, but hey, it's Valentine's Day so that's kind of a holiday. Well…not really, but it's a good excuse to eat lots of chocolate (if you're single) or spend quality time with your partner (if you're not). ;)
Happyface2107:To answer your question…considering this is an Inuyasha/Kagome fic, don't you think it'd be kind of funny if they never saw each other again? I'm sure they'll get back together at some point. Don't worry. :) As for my reviews, well, I've gotten 5 for chapter 20 so I'm satisfied with that. It's not a big deal. I certainly don't plan on forgetting about this story just because I don't get as much feedback as I might like. I've come much too far to stop now. I'm glad you enjoy my story so much, and thanks as always for the review! :D
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Chapter 21: The Northern Kingdom
"Kagome-sama,"
Kagome looked down from her branch to spot the wolf demon who had spoken. He crouched with one knee in the dirt and the other raised upright, providing a support for one arm while the other stretched to the ground where his clawed hand rested. His head was bowed so she couldn't see his face, but she knew he wasn't one of her own. He was from the elder's pack. One of the many thought to be unlucky wolves that had been strictly ordered to follow her lead in the ambush of the northern kingdom.
She didn't reply and after a moment of silence the man's head snapped up, his wide golden eyes landing on her half lid blue ones. Her silence and the slight incline of her head were the only indication that she was waiting for him to go on.
She didn't miss the way his eyes filled with hatred at the sight of her before they closed and he dropped his head again in mock respect. "Kazuo-sama asked me to find you," He said, "the pack is ready to move again."
"Good," Kagome replied, moving her gaze from the messenger to her chest where only a day earlier she had suffered several broken ribs. "It'll be a little bit longer on my end." She glanced again at the man below her when he didn't move, raising a brow, "you're still here?"
He didn't have to be told twice. Without hesitance the wolf turned and took off in the direction of the rest of the pack, failing to hide the disgust and fury on his face before he was completely out of sight.
"Isn't it a contradiction that the wolves call you with a respectful name like that? I mean, they might as well just call you whatever they want because the truth is there to see plain on their face…" Hoshi spoke as she stepped away from Kagome's chest, where she'd been hidden from the messenger wolf's eyes. She made her way up the hybrid's bent leg to stand atop her knee, her hands on her hips as she stared in the direction that the single wolf demon had left. A moment passed and when she didn't receive a response she glanced over her shoulder at her friend.
"You're not going to try and give me the silent treatment, are you?"
Kagome sighed, her eyes drifting away from the surrounding forest and down to the fairy perched on her bent knee. "Are you finished yet?"
Hoshi shrugged in response, now folding her arms across her chest more comfortably. "I don't know," she replied easily, "do you feel like I'm finished?"
The fairy took to the air as Kagome shifted, but she didn't go far. Instead she landed a handful of inches above her patient's head on another tree limb and watched carefully as Kagome dropped both feet from the branch where she rested, letting her legs fall on either side so that she was straddling the branch. She sat up a bit straighter, tugging away her clothes so that she could clearly see her bruised chest and abdomen.
Takeshi had been able to deal out some damage thanks to his massive size, rock hard body and nasty temper. Kagome had come away from the battle far better than he had of course, but he had still been able to give her what would have been serious setbacks had she been human before she was able to take him down. Thankfully she had the healing speed of a half demon and a very stubborn fairy to help her reach top shape again in record time.
Hoshi's unprofessional diagnosis had been several broken ribs in addition to a handful of nasty cuts and bruises that had come from being tossed around once or twice and beaten at close proximity. In addition, the half demon admitted that she had likely cracked one or both of the bones in each of her lower arms when she attempted to shield herself from such beatings. The result: Hoshi had absolutely refused to let Kagome get within scenting distance of Koga, or any of the other wolves in the northern kingdom for that matter, before she could heal the half demon's wounds. Or at the very least make a dent in the severity of them.
"The bruising isn't as dark," Kagome pointed out, noticing the way the once large, black and purple bruises that had stretched across the width of her abdomen had subsided to tiny patches of sickly yellow tint. She prodded the healing flesh gently with one claw, satisfied when she felt only a slight discomfort from the attention and quickly rearranging her clothes. She folded both arms above her head, twisting in one direction and then the other, before finally kicking one leg over the side of her branch and dropping to the ground. She landed in a crouch twenty feet down at the trees roots, glancing over one shoulder at Hoshi, who was slowly descending behind her.
"I'm fine now."
"Are you sure?"
Kagome rolled her eyes, facing forward again, "of course. I wouldn't say so if it wasn't true. You worry too much."
"I worry just enough, thank you." The fairy replied sharply, grinning when the half demon turned again to give her an annoyed look, "you better be careful."
"Yeah, yeah," the younger of the two scoffed, finally standing from her crouch. "I told you already, you worry too much."
Then the half demon turned her face towards the cloudless skies and let a deep throated howl pour from her throat. A second later another wolf responded to her call, and then a third and a forth, traveling throughout the forest to reach her pack mates, wherever they were. Dropping her head, the half demon waited patiently, her ears turning to catch every noise, until she heard Kazuo's familiar voice responding to hers. Satisfied that he'd gotten her message she turned to face Hoshi again.
"You wait for them to catch up. I want you to travel closer to them and if anyone gets a serious injury that's where you'll come in." she explained, "I'm going straight for Koga."
Hoshi nodded, and couldn't help but say it again, "you better be careful, Kagome."
Kagome only smiled, but it didn't reach her eyes, "you already said that, idiot." She pointed out, and before the fairy could comment again she had taken off, disappearing behind a cloud of dust kicked up from her speedy departure.
The rolling hills of Sesshoumaru's kingdom, covered in lush, green grasses and littered with the occasional bunch of trees, were nothing like the steep, rocky terrain of the north. The forest grew denser as the pack came nearer to the kingdom. Trees with needle-like leaves, thick, rough bark and giant trunks reached for the sky as if they were wooden skyscrapers, their tallest branches disappearing beneath the heavy gray clouds that had set in only an hour before.
Kagome hesitated when she spotted the first signs of the forest opening up. They had traveled for miles beneath the canopy of heavy branches and dark clouds and it was nice, if only for a moment, to see the sun peeking out from behind it's dark blanket, still undecided on whether it wanted to appear or not.
Also visible was the first of eight wolves, sculpted from the top of a massive boulder and sitting proudly atop its rough, untouched ledge, which lifted it at least ten meters into the sky. The stone wolf's eyes were closed and its heads tilted back, mouth open wide to howl, but of course there wasn't any noise coming from its throat.
In the past, these wolves had always stepped down gently from their rocky towers, bowing their heads in greeting at the sight of Misako, Kagome's mother, and allowing her entrance without a fight. They had done the same of course for Kagome and Kikyou any time either of the sisters approached the barrier, so when the stone dogs that protected the southern kingdom had attacked at the very sight of her, the half demon had been understandably surprised.
Of course she had expected to see them, each of the four kingdoms was protected in a similar way to one another after all, but while she had met Sesshoumaru and Kagura in the past, it had never been at or even near the dog god's home and so she had never had to cross the barrier to reach them. Therefor she had been just as lost as the others when it came to knowing how to get into the southern kingdom and just as stunned to see the dogs come alive only to attack them. A god or not, Kagome had, at that time, not been on her own land and so she was considered an intruder like the rest of the group.
The stone wolves that stood before her now would never think to attack their future leader, or even so much as offer a lip curl in defiance. Or at least they had never thought to do so in the past.
'But now things are different. Koga is there.' Kagome reminded herself, her thoughts uncertain as she stared up at the gaping mouth of the visible wolf, lined with sharp teeth. 'There's a chance that'll I'll have to fight to get in, just the way we did for the southern kingdom…'
Carved from stone they may be, but the eight guardians were not brainless creatures that defended their home mercilessly with only one thing in mind: to destroy anything that tried to pass. They were powerful demons and loyal servants, just like any of the other wolves who lived under the northern god's rules. They were only different in the fact that they had been created, not by being conceived from two parents, but by magic.
And if these eight wolves were anything like the others that had served happily under her mother years ago, it wouldn't be surprising if they did turn on her, just the way others had hundreds of times.
"Idiot," Kagome sighed, scolding herself for worrying about such things, "you have more to think about besides how you're going to get through the barrier. The important thing to focus on is that stupid Koga…"
Despite her own words, the hybrid's eyes drifted back to the barrier and she closed her clawed fingers over the fabric that covered her chest for a brief moment before dropping her arm and leaning heavily against the trunk beside her. She hadn't been to the northern kingdom in years, hadn't seen the wolf guardians, the castle or any of the land since her mother had been killed. It was strange to be there again after so long. It was also painful.
'Kaasan,' Kagome thought uncertainly, bowing her head slightly to stare shamefully at the ground, 'I'm sorry that I took so long. Forgive me. I just…I just…' she struggled for a moment to find the words within herself, and to be brave enough to admit them, 'I didn't know what to do.'
"Are you ready?"
Kagome glared over her shoulder at her younger cousin. So lost in her thoughts and worries that she hadn't even heard him approach, but now he stood just a meter behind her looking at her with intelligent eyes. She folded her arms across her chest as she turned to face him, willing any lingering pain that he might find in her eyes to disappear.
"Stupid question, sorry," He began, waving a hand dismissively, "a better question though, is what you were thinking about just now?"
Kagome's glare darkened several shades, "that's a stupid question too."
Kazuo looked somewhat disappointed by her obvious unwillingness to talk to him, after all, they were generally the ones who shared their deepest and darkest secrets with one another, but he respected it and quickly changed the subject the way he knew she wanted him to. "The pack is surrounding the barrier as we speak. They're ready to move whenever you are. I figured you would want it to be as quiet an approach as possible so I came to you…"
Kagome sighed, glancing over one shoulder to catch the fleeting form of a wolf with a dark brown coat as it disappeared back into the forest. "Why? So that Koga doesn't suspect anything?" she asked, noticing that Kazuo too had caught sight of the wolf and was ready to chase after it, "don't bother. He has eyes everywhere. I'm sure he knows what's about to happen."
The younger hybrid looked as if he wanted to protest but he remained by her side despite himself. He sighed when he caught the darkness creeping into her eyes once again, despite her best efforts to keep it away. "Listen, Kagome," He said gently, resting what he hoped was a comforting hand on her shoulder, "I know this is difficult for you…"
"Spare me, Kazuo, please," Kagome groaned, pushing his hand from her shoulder and taking a few steps back to distance herself, "Hoshi has already done enough worrying over me for nothing. I don't need you to start. It's not the right time for that."
Kazoo ignored her and stepped closer, pulling her into his arms in a short hug. He pulled back a second later, before she had even had time to scold him and smiled. "There is never a time that I don't worry for you, cousin," he told her honestly, "telling me not to do so is pointless."
Kagome managed an appreciative smile and a quick nod of thanks, and then turned to face the barrier again. The sun had decided to remain hidden behind the clouds and the lack of light made the skies appear black even though it was only late in the afternoon. A dark blanket seemed to have been laid upon the stone wolf's body and made it look all the more threatening.
"Say Kazuo…do you think they'll let me through?" The younger wolf only stared as her, so Kagome elaborated. "The guardians I mean."
"They have before haven't they?"
"Of course, but that was before..."
"Before Koga," Kazuo finished when Kagome's words drifted off. He glanced upwards at the large stone statue high above them and shrugged. "There's only one way to find out, isn't there?" He went on, his tone teasing, "You aren't afraid of them are you? "
Kagome gave her an unappreciative scowl over one shoulder, "Don't spout that kind of nonsense, Kazuo," she ordered, "if I was afraid of them I'd have no business at all facing Koga. It's just that…"
She drifted off again, but Kazuo, as usual, didn't need her to finish. The two had shared enough secrets and spent enough time in each other's company that they could practically read the other's mind.
"Afraid to disappoint obasan, huh?" The youngest of the pair went on when only silence answered him, "to have the other wolves hatred and disrespect is one thing. To know that they would rather serve Koga then you, you already knew that. For the elder to hate you is nothing new either, but to have the very guardians that serve with no other purpose then to protect the northern kingdom's entrance, the ones that have served us for thousands of years and never let us down, refuse to serve you is a little different…"
Kagome sighed, "Something like that…"
"Only one way to figure that out, isn't there?" Kazuo continued, laying an encouraging hand on the older hybrid's shoulder and squeezing gently before he released his grip completely. "Momo and I and the rest are all behind you, Kagome. Don't forget that. And don't forget…first half demon to rule the northern lands comes with a lot of other firsts, you might be the first to need to kick some sense into those rocks-for-brains wolves up there too."
Kagome managed a smile, despite the stress of the situation she was about the enter, though it disappeared quickly. "Ah," she began, "it doesn't really matter what any of those bastards think anyway. If I cared about useless things like that where do you think I'd be?"
She stepped forwards and made her way towards the edge of the tree line, not bothering to give her cousin so much as a backwards glance. "Go and wait with the rest, Kazuo," she ordered firmly, "even if they do reject me I can handle them on my own. The second that barrier falls we're heading in and the wolves will have to be as ready as Koga is, more so in fact."
She heard his quiet agreement and then a quick shift of the soil beneath his feet and a rush of wind as he took off, leaving her alone as she approached the first of the guardians. She came to stand directly below the stone beast, staring straight up it its long neck and smooth lower jaw. After a moment of silence the cool gray shade of the stone faded and the large head of the wolf lowered, its blue eyes meeting with hers.
It stared at her for a moment, not moving from its perch, before it slowly crept down the boulder on its forelegs and then pushed off with its back legs, landing a handful of feet behind her. When she turned to face the wolf again it was staring down at her kindly. it was quite obvious then that her questioning the guardians loyalty had been pointless.
"Welcome home, Kagome-sama…"
…
The sun was sinking lower against the horizon and with it went the warmth of the day. The crescent moon hung in the sky above the orange and red hues of the sunset and somewhere nearby the voice of a single wolf cut into the cool air. Its lonely tune drifted across the valley where Shippou, Sango, Miroku and Inuyasha had decided to rest, traveling on the back of a cold breeze.
Shippou shivered and burrowed deeper into Kirara's thick coat. His demon blood wouldn't take over for another thirty minutes at least, not until the sky was completely black, so instead he clung to the two tailed demon for warmth. He glanced towards the trees as the wolf's song died, waiting for a few moments as if hoping there was more, but the air stayed silent.
"Kagome…" he sighed, his green eyes filled with worry, "you'll be safe, won't you?"
"Shippou," Miroku began, ignoring the youth's shocked cry when he appeared over the back of the transformed cat demon. "Was that Kagome-sama that you just heard?"
"You…you…" Shippou sputtered, glaring back at him with one fist shaking in fury and the other hand pressed flat against his chest, trying to ease his thundering heartbeat. "You scared me!" he accused, "don't do things like that! I'm just a kid! Do you want me to have a heart attack?"
"Many apologies," Miroku replied, in a sincere tone, though anyone who knew the hunter well enough knew better then to believe he had been at all bothered the young fox's accusations. "Isn't it true that you can understand the canine tongue? Can you translate what was said?"
Shippou's glare lessoned slightly and then faded completely as he looked down at his hands, now resting idly in his lap. "It wasn't Kagome," Shippou explained, "but it was about her…she's made it into the northern kingdom now."
"In that case she'll be facing Koga soon, won't she?" Sango asked, coming to kneel beside Shippou, one hand reaching out to unconsciously stroke Kirara's soft fur. The way Shippou cringed at the mention of the upcoming battle didn't go unnoticed by either adult. Sango reached out and gently touched a hand to the boy's shoulder, "she'll be fine, Shippou-chan, I'm sure of it. Kagome is a strong fighter."
Miroku nodded in agreement and turned away from the pair to rest his back against Kirara's hips, arms and legs folded in front of him. "Kagome-sama is very powerful," he agreed, but then he turned to the voice of reason and spoke the facts, "however she has a long and dangerous battle ahead of her."
The wolf demon she spoke of, Koga, he must be strong to be able to lead the north with any amount of success. On top of that she'll be facing any of the wolves that Koga has gained respect and trust from and any who might be opposed to the leadership of a half demon, even if it would mean better leadership than what Koga might be able to offer them."
"Miroku," Sango hissed, leaning across Kirara's back to give his ear a threatening tug, "you're supposed to be making him feel better, not worse!"
"I apologize Sango," The hunter replied honestly, sparing a look at the young fox cub who, undoubtedly had heard the woman's whispers but chose not to count on it. Instead he stared miserably at the ground, lost in his own thoughts. "But isn't it better to know the truth of what she's up against then the lies we could come up with to south him?"
Inuyasha's eyes narrowed on the trees in front of him as Miroku's unconcerned tone reached his ears. The swordsman had allowed his companions to stop and relax for a short time, although it was only after the persuasive efforts of both Miroku and Sango that he allowed it. Inuyasha however was not planning to take this opportunity to sit with the tiny group and let his body rest. He stood a handful of meters away from them, his back turned and his eyes stuck on the trees from where the wolf's howl had come only moments ago. His arms were folded tightly across his chest, his jaw clenched and a scowl painted across his face when he caught a glimpse of gray fur through the branches and leaves. Seconds later Inuyasha's eyes locked with another pair, equally as gold as his own. The wolf peeked at him from through the foliage for a brief moment before continuing on its way.
"I suppose that's true, but," Inuyasha heard Sango's words die mid-sentence and sighed at the sound of flesh meeting flesh that followed. "Keep your hands to yourself, pervert!"
"I know she's strong, Sango," Shippou spoke up next, ignoring the pair's exchange with ease. After all, it had come to be a daily routine for the hunter to grope Sango on as many occasions as he could manage and each of his perverted advances would be responded to with a slap of the hand, or if he wasn't as lucky, Hiraikotsu. "But that doesn't keep me from worrying about her," he continued, "We're all worried about her, aren't we? Even Inuyasha…"
Inuyasha wasn't worried, and he decided to prove as much by turning from the trees to glare hotly at the young boy who had spoken such nonsense. "Am not," he bit out, but his companions didn't look convinced. Even Kirara gave a look that showed she was clearly doubtful of his words.
"Don't be a fool, Inuyasha," Miroku demanded, "it's fair enough to say that you at least like her if not have stronger feelings for her already. You have nothing to be ashamed of. Come out and admit it to yourself with confidence, just say, 'I love you' or something simple like that."
"You'd catch better results if you followed your own advice, Miroku…" Sango admitted, glaring hatefully at the man's right hand, which had been inching ever closer to her breast while he spoke.
Miroku looked genuinely surprised by the woman's words and his face broke out into a happy grin seconds before he spoke, "Why Sango, I didn't have any idea," he began, reaching for her, again, "if that's all you needed to hear then why didn't you say so earlier?"
"I wasn't talking about me!"
"I don't have any feelings for Kagome!" Inuyasha howled, effectively stopping any advances Miroku would have made on Sango and any of the retaliation she would have followed with. Instead the pair stared at Inuyasha, who shook with embarrassment and anger as he scowled at them, his red face breaking out with protruding veins. Satisfied with their silence, the man then stomped past them, resembling a five year old who wasn't getting his way much too closely for his friends to hide their amusement, and only gesturing to them once he was a good distance past them.
"Break's over, on your feet, we're moving out." He snapped, not so much as offering them a glance over his shoulder. If he had he would have seen his three friends shaking with suppressed laughter.
…
If there was one thing that Kagome had been right about, it was that Koga was prepared for their attack. After all, he was arrogant, often aggressive and a royal pain in the ass as far as Kagome was concerned, but he was definitely not stupid. Word traveled fast among wolves, and she had no doubt that he had heard of her reappearance mere hours after her pack mates had initially located her. After that it would only have been as simple as putting two and two together for him to realize she'd be coming for him soon. He'd had that long to prepare. Granted, so had she, but he still had the upper hand with most of the wolves within the kingdom, not to mention the country, on his side. Even some of the wolves on her side of the upcoming battle would likely rather be fighting against her. It was only due to their loyalty to their leader that kept them from leaving her side.
The moment Kagome reached the opposite side of the barrier, the unwelcome scent that she recognized as Koga's filled her nostrils. He had done a good job marking this territory as his. His stench was spread far and wide, making it absolutely impossible for any creature with a sense of smell worth mentioning to miss.
'Disgusting,' the half demon thought, blocking her nose the best that she could with one sleeve as she took in her surroundings. There were no wolves immediately visible, save her own pack mates and those that had been ordered to follow her lead by the elder, but she could smell the scents of many that were only waiting for the right chance to make a move. Aside from scents however, the castle was silent and dark.
The building itself stood atop the highest point of the mountain which made up the majority of the space within the barrier. It was tall, much like the southern castle but not quite as large, and made of thick stone walls that looked black in the absence of any sun. The light from the crescent moon, which was hung in the sky high above the clouds, lit only a small portion of the stone's surface and reflected in the water of the lake that stretched out behind the large building.
A number of wooden houses were scattered across the land in front of the castle, but they hadn't been used in centuries. The wolves instead preferred to live, if not in the castle, in a number of burrows or small caves that were hidden beneath the houses or on the opposite side of the mountain, closer to the lake. There was no wall adding to the protection of the castle, instead it stood out in the open, a few miles in the distance, shielded only by the trees that were scattered across the land before it.
"Might as well get this over with," Kagome muttered to herself finally. She found Kazuo's eyes, watching her from a distance, and nodded before breaking into a slow trot and then a fast run as she tore towards the castle.
She'd barely made it a third of the way there when she spotted the first of her enemies, a young one by the looks of it, and stupid to approach her from such a distance. The older, more experienced wolves would be waiting until the last possible second to attempt an ambush. His coat was dark brown and his chest and belly white, his golden eyes shining brightly with determination as he raced towards her.
She ignored him, instead waiting until he was almost on top of her before leaping into the sky and passing over him from above. She landed briefly in the branches of a nearby tree before returning to the ground and continuing on her way, never breaking speed.
She had no interest in fighting anyone besides Koga and although she knew distractions would be inevitable the closer she got to him, any that she could avoid she would. She certainly wouldn't waste her time dealing with a youngster. He was likely to be killed in the battle ahead, especially with his inexperience, but she refused to be the one to take his life. Not now.
Once she'd reached the halfway mark she started seeing more of them. They emerged from the shadows with their teeth bared and their fur standing on end, a terrifying sight for someone who wasn't used to it. Most of them were easily distracted by Kagome's pack mates, who had managed to catch up to her and lunged at anyone who dared to get in her way. They missed a few times, but none of the wolves at this distance were any real threat. Many of them Kagome simply dodged. A few more she sliced down with her claws or the white hot blade of her scythe. Only one managed to slow her down by catching her left ankle in its jaws, which it realized too late was a huge mistake when the half demon reached down mid run to grab its scruff in both hands, somersaulting and smashing the offending demon into the ground, making sure to dig her claws into its neck before she made it back to her feet and took off again.
It wasn't long before she was just outside the abandoned cluster of houses and she slid to a stop, faced now with a group of wolves that were much stronger. The ones she had run through earlier were nothing to be concerned with, even if she hadn't had her entire pack to back her up. Not that she was worried about facing the group now blocking her from the castle, but they could potentially be more trouble for her than the others had been.
She bared her teeth at the sight of Koga's brothers, Ginta and Hakkaku, who stood within the group. The pair looked content surrounded by the others, but she knew if she got them alone they'd be holding onto each other for dear life and begging for her mercy or running for the hills with their tails tucked between their legs.
'None of these idiots are worth my time either,' she thought, scanning her surroundings for the familiar blue eyes that she knew she wouldn't find. Koga was likely buying his time, watching from somewhere in the distance and waiting for the perfect moment to strike. 'That is, unless I can find him before he can make the first move…'
Kazuo stepped up beside her, followed by Satoshi and a handful of the other wolves. "You go ahead," the younger of the two hybrids whispered, "we're going to take care of these guys for you."
Kagome didn't even spare him a glance. She only nodded her head once in appreciation and then took to the air again, souring over the pack below her and watching from the corner of one eye as her pack mates leapt willingly into Koga's band, despite being drastically outnumbered.
She landed just past the cluster of wooden houses on a rocky ledge that stood five or so meters above the buildings and the ongoing battle, searching with all of her senses for Koga. She didn't have long to wait before he showed himself, or rather, allowed himself to be found by her.
Her fur bristled as the howling of a sudden wind storm caught her attention. Her ears flattened on the top of her head and she had to squint and shield her eyes with one arm to see through the suddenly aggressive winds without getting debris caught in her eyes. She quickly spotted the approaching tornado, and out in front of the cloud of dust kicked up by the wind storm was Koga. His face was dark and his blue eyes furious as he approached her with speed that many demons could only dream of.
He slid to a stop twenty feet from her and high above her ledge, glancing first at the carnage below them and then back at her. "You," he snarled, "how dare you draw the blood of my kin. How dare you walk in here after you ran away years ago, your tail tucked between your legs like a sniveling pup, and expect to take what is now mine!"
"Cut the crap, Koga," she bit back with just as much fury, "you knew from the start that wolves would fall if you set that up for them. If you wanted to save your pack the pain of bloodshed and death then maybe you shouldn't have been such a coward and hidden behind them all of this time. You knew I was coming, nothing was stopping you from being there when I crossed the barrier."
She gestured briefly to the hundreds of wolves that were tearing each other apart below her ledge, "You want to stop this that's fine, but that won't make me leave and the same goes for Kazuo and the rest. We're here until the end."
He smirked, glancing again at the clashing of both packs. He too had obviously noticed that his side had the advantage, at least as far as numbers were concerned. "Here till the end?" he taunted, "it won't be long before you're be burying you precious pack mates, Kagome. Then what will you do? Run away again?"
"We'll see who buries who," was all she said in reply, lifting one hand in front of her face, claws extended, to show off the blood of his companions that had already been drawn. She noticed the way his eyes flashed with renewed fury at the sight of her bloodied claws and wasn't surprised. After all, despite his shortcomings in certain areas, at least as far as Kagome was concerned, he did have one good quality of a leader. He cared. He cared a lot for his two brothers and any other wolf that chose to follow his leadership and he hated more than anything to see them injured.
'But the battle must go on,' she thought wearily. She hated it too, especially when youths, like the one that had attacked her recklessly earlier were involved. For this fight however they had no choice, blood was sure to be shed on either side as was the case in any other war.
Kagome's body grew ridged with anticipation as she saw Koga take off again, lunging at her from above. He flew through the air, one leg extended and the other tucked beneath him as he delivered a solid kick to her ledge, easily destroying the rock and sending it tumbling to the ground in large chunks. He landed among the pieces a moment later and turned to glare up to where she'd escaped unharmed only seconds earlier.
She hadn't forgotten the strength in his legs. It gave him his impressive speed and it also gave him the power to deliver deadly attacks on his opponents. One kick from him wouldn't kill her, but it could potentially decide the battle for them if it landed in the right spot. That's why she'd made sure to get out of his way before he could come down on top of her. Now she sat perched on a much smaller ledge, watching him carefully as he leapt closer, but didn't try to reach her again just yet.
"Is running away all you can do well, half breed?"
Kagome scowled down at him but didn't respond. Instead she tightened her grip on her scythe, glancing at the blade out of the corner of one eye. As if feeling her stare, the weapon pulsed once, twice, mimicking the beating of one's heart, and then morphed into what she now recognized at its transformed state.
She glanced back down at Koga to gauge his reaction. He was watching her with a new sense of caution in his eyes, his nose twitching in barely detectable movements.
Satisfied with his reaction, he had, after all, always aired on the side of caution, the half demon dropped from her ledge and landed in front of him, her scythe held horizontally at arm's length. "I'm not running," she told him honestly, "when I'm finished here it'll be you who runs."
The wolf demon let out a short bark of laughter, although he still looked uncertainly towards her new weapon, "in your dreams, mutt!"
Both left the ground at the same time, meeting in the middle and holding each other back with equal strength. Koga's hands had fallen to Kagome's weapon, his fingers curled around the long staff not an inch from her own. They remained suspended for only a moment, their eyes meeting in a reflection of hate, anger and determination to win before pushing apart.
The second her feet touched the ground Kagome swung her scythe in an arc out in front of her body, sending a thin line of blue fire that matched the length and curve of her blade at Koga. He easily leapt over it, somersaulting through the air and then coming down on her much the same way he had on her ledge earlier. Or he would have, had she given him the chance. She leapt backwards, avoiding the ground crushing strength in his legs but only waiting until he had landed before shooting forward, towards him and swinging her scythe in his direction again.
He dodged each one of her swings, although not without earning a small cut on his right shoulder, and then back flipped away from her, attempting to kick her weapon from her hands as he did so. He landed enough of a blow to jar the blade, but Kagome's firm grip kept it in her hands and she retaliated by burying the tip into the ground where he had stood, barely missing cutting open one of his powerful thighs.
She barely had time to pull her weapon up and dodge his next attack as he spun through the air, one leg extended with intentions of knocking her in the head. She blocked his next kick, her scythe's blade connecting with his calve and causing him to retreat, if only for a second.
He glared at her from where he'd crouched in the dirt, several feet away from her. "Why don't you drop that weapon of yours and fight with your claws, half breed?" He taunted, "Afraid you'll lose?"
"Hardly," the hybrid responded, "I think it's you who's afraid I'll win with it. but that will be the end result in any case…" she hesitated briefly before jerking her head towards his left hip, "You have a sword, or don't you know how to use it?"
He snorted in distaste, but drew his blade despite himself and leapt at her again. She blocked each one of his advances as he struck at her in rapid fire, using her scythe as if it were a staff. Finally sick of his ruthless lunges she waited until he had connected his blade with her weapon again, and then slid the scythe's long handle against the edge of his sword until she was inches from slicing into his shoulder for a second time. He leapt out of her weapon's way not a second too late and as he retreated he threw his sword at her as if it were a dart. She brought up the end of her scythe to knock it away, turning the staff rapidly through her hands to create a pinwheel affect and block his foot when he followed with a kick.
'This is getting us nowhere,' she thought as she eyed him. he had retreated again and was crouching a handful of meters away, watching her with just as much intensity as he planned his next move, or waited for her to make hers. 'All we're doing is blocking each other's attacks,' she went on quietly, 'I hate to admit it, but Hoshi was right, he has gotten stronger. We're an even match, at least for now.'
When they were younger, much younger, and lived together in the same territory they would often spar together, although their fights were usually either the results of orders from a more dominate wolf or Koga wanting to use her as a punching bag. It wasn't long however before Kagome started to win, and once she'd tasted victory against him for the first time she had remained the winner in each battle that followed.
'Except for those times he came to me on the full moon,' she thought, her eyes narrowing on him hatefully. She shook her head to clear her thoughts before her dark past could seep in and distract her from the task at hand. This was most definitely not the time to remember those things that she had buried over a century ago. Bringing those painful memories to the surface would only distract her and give Koga the advantage.
'Alright,' she thought, crouching in preparation as she saw him start toward her again, 'Focus, Kagome. If I can hit him right…the way I did when I fought against Takeshi, then I'm sure I can take him out and if not at least do enough damage to win this.'
With that thought in mind she took a step forward towards his approaching figure, but she didn't get far before a new scent, one even less welcome then Koga's, filled her nostrils. She stopped dead in her tracks, so stunned that, had the wolf prince attacked her at that moment, she would have been helpless against him. However she didn't have to worry for he had frozen to the spot as he too picked up the foul scent of miasma and demon blood quickly surrounding them.
Kagome recovered quickly, knowing that her safety and that of those around her was relying on it. Uncertain, she allowed her gaze to follow the cries of the wolves below her until she spotted the mass of demons flying towards them. Her eyes widened. She had never in her life seen a herd so large. Although they were all lesser demons, mostly resembling serpents and ogre-like monsters, and would hardly be worth batting an eye at separately or in a small group, in a herd of thousands as they were now, they appeared to be quite a threat. They blocked out what little light had been provided by the moon and stars as they passed overhead, some of them already descending towards the pack below. The wolves meanwhile had stopped their war to stare at the approaching monsters in unshielded shock.
"What are you just standing there for?" She howled at them over the sound of the swarming monsters, who only laughed at the motionless canines below as they began their attack. "Move your feet," she shouted, only satisfied when she saw that some of them had broken away from their initial shock to follow orders and were defending themselves against the teeth, claws and weapons of the mob.
Her sensitive hearing quickly picked out the buzzing of insects from the other sounds that overwhelmed her and she lifted her gaze higher to see Naraku. He was dressed in his albino baboon pelt and rode comfortably atop a mass of tentacles as he passed over the distraction and made his way towards the castle. Surrounding him was a swarm of poisonous wasps that had caught her attention.
"Bastard," Kagome snarled, turning away from the new battle below in interest of following after the dragon and stopping him from reaching the treasure, which she had no doubt he was in pursuit of. She was jerked to a stop though when a clawed hand caught her wrist, fingers digging holes in her flesh and forcing her to return her attention to Koga, however briefly.
"Let me go!" She ordered, turning her bared teeth on him as she struggled to release her arm from his grasp.
He didn't look amused and only tightened his already bruising grip in response. Infuriated and with only one thought in mind, stopping Naraku from reaching the treasure, she clawed at his chest blindly, managing to break one of the furry shoulder pads he wore away from its attached armor and cut deeply into his flesh. His grip loosened slightly, but before she could take advantage of her almost freedom she found herself on her knees. Or that's where she would have been if Koga still hadn't been holding her wrist.
Instead she hung limply from his hand, her legs bent at the knee and her head bowed from the shock of the blow. He had punched her hard in the gut and now was enjoying the way she cringed as he dug his claws into her belly, tearing through her clothes and into her flesh. It wasn't only that he had wounded her and forced the air out of her lungs, her ribs, which had only been barely mended with Hoshi's healing ability earlier that day, cracked from the force of his fist and Kagome moaned, knowing one more attack like that would have her ribs broken once more.
She herd him chuckle merrily above her, and felt his hot breath against one of her ears as he spoke, "you're not in charge here, remember?" He asked her, "as if I'll let you run off to fight someone else when I haven't even finished with you yet. You can't even beat me, can you? What a pathetic waste of your mother's blood…"
Kagome forced her eyes open, glaring down at his fist which remained firmly planted against her belly, his claws still working their way into her gut. Koga was wrong. She wasn't running off and forgetting about him, far from it. There just happened to be more important things to take care of at that moment then their fight, which compared to the threat of the dragon who had by now likely made it inside the castle, seemed like a mere tiff.
'I can't let him steal the treasure…if he gets that far then he's just one step closer to reviving his brother…' she thought, glancing over her shoulder towards the castle and, as if to confirm her fears, she spotted the dull white of Naraku's baboon pelt disappear behind the stone walls.
Her attention snapped back to the problem at hand. She'd be damned if she'd let Koga stop her from stopping Naraku. He'd gotten much stronger and was a formidable opponent, that was true, he was even strong enough that she'd admitted to their fight being an equal match, if only to herself.
But he would not stop her now.
'Stupid wolf,' she thought, finally lifting her head so that she could stare him directly in the eyes. He seemed surprised when he met her gaze, maybe because he hadn't expected to see her eyes reflect such raw fury.
"I can guarantee you one thing right now, Koga," she told him, her tone icy, "this fight is far from over, but I have more important matters to deal with then you right now."
Before he could respond she straightened her posture, using one hand to grab his left wrist, the one attached to the hand that had punched her, and remove his claws from her body. She ripped her opposite hand from his lose grip and, putting all of her strength into one solid punch, she nailed him in the throat. She heard him gasp and felt his skin leave hers as he stumbled backwards. Something had cracked beneath her fist and she wasn't sure what it was, but at that moment she didn't care to stay around and find out.
Without as much as a glance at his crumpled form she turned and took off in the direction she'd seen Naraku last. 'I have to stop him from reaching that treasure,' she thought desperately as she ran, ignoring the protests in her ribs, 'I have to.'
She had one advantage against Naraku. She knew the castle she was entering and he didn't. She'd memorized the maze of halls over a hundred years ago and knew every short cut within the structure. She knew every room, every corner, every crack and every crevice there was, and despite the fact that she hadn't been there in a handful of years she was confident she hadn't forgotten a thing.
Naraku of course could likely sense the shield he sought, made from the plates of thick skin torn off his brother's own back. If not him, then she was sure the sword which he had already stolen from the south would call out to the next treasure or vice versa. It was with those thoughts in mind that she forced herself to move even faster through the halls until she reached the darkest corner of the building where she knew the shield was kept.
She hesitated when she reached her destination, pulling on all her senses to locate Naraku before she dared to approach the untouched treasure, but her senses failed her and she found herself unable to find him. With a growl of frustration she turned towards the shield, still held in the same spot that she'd seen it so many times in her younger years. Was it possible that Naraku had yet to reach this spot? The castle had been built like a maze with a reason. It was just one more way that the structure provided protection for those within it, both living an inanimate, from anything that had yet to learn the ways of the seemingly never ending turns. Unfortunately Naraku didn't seem the type to fall for such tricks. He was more often the one to set them.
'Possible maybe, but highly unlikely,' Kagome thought as she closed the short distance between herself and the treasure. 'I'm more convinced that he's predicted my arrival…that he has some sort of trap set up somewhere…' she thought, constantly scanning her surroundings.
When several minutes past without anything she allowed herself to relax slightly and tentatively reached out as if to touch the shield. Her hand stopped a handful of inches from the surface however. She didn't dare touch it. She'd heard the stories about the sword after all, and she didn't doubt that this so called treasure had its own secrets and defenses.
It wasn't round like most shields one might see on the battle field, made from wood or metal. It was jagged and rough along the edges, contained in more of an oval like shape. The texture looked as if it was made from scales, no surprise, since after all it was made from the hide of a dragon, and it was larger than most, standing at just over half Kagome's height and twice her width. Just like Onigumo's sword, the thick material that made up the shield was jet black.
"Admiring its beauty, are you?"
Kagome spun away from the treasure to face Naraku, a snarl pulling from her throat before she'd even seen him. He stood a safe distance behind her; well out of the way of her claws should she lunge at him. Even if she had however, she would have been run through by Onigumo's sword before she reached him, as he held it out in front of him.
"Naraku…" she spat, his name tasting bitter on her tongue, "you won't get past me."
Naraku only chucked, lowering the weapon slightly and lifting his head just enough that she could see his confident smirk beneath the mask. "I don't think I'll have to," he told her, amused by her determination as she sunk into a crouch, "foolish half breed," he taunted, "with these weapons at my side you might as well be as defenseless as a child."
She moved towards him, or she would have had her body had a will of its own. Her eyes grew wide as she registered the fact that, although she'd ordered her body to straighten and her legs to move her forward, she had remained on the ground in a crouch. Her muscles had locked up on her, refusing to move.
Had she been able to turn she would have seen that the shield had broken free from its own bindings and now floated barely a foot behind her. But although she couldn't see it with her own eyes by turning her head, she could see the reflection in the black sword as Naraku tipped it sideways, as if trying to scare her with the reality of what was happening and the fact that she had no power to stop it. A pair of red eyes reflected in the metal of the blade, and surrounding the shield that hovered behind her she could make out Onigumo's body in a smoky, gray substance.
"Brother…" an unfamiliar voice spoke up, so soft and weak that she could barely hear it, "kill her."
A moment later Kagome, despite her greatest attempts to escape the dragon's hold on her body, had barely managed to stand. She was bent over, hands on her knees and looking cautiously between the shield directly behind her and Naraku, who approached her from the front. Her face was covered in sweat and she was panting from the exertion it took to stand, not to mention the energy it took to remain that way with the heavy weight of the dragon's possessive power weighing on her shoulders. Her chest heaved with the pull of each breath, but she forced herself to move even further against her enemy's will. She focused on Naraku, knowing that although she could see the smoky rendering of Onigumo's body behind her, it was unlikely that she'd actually be able to cut him. Squinting at the younger brother's cloaked form, her vision blurred by the sweat that leaked into her eyes and burned them, Kagome leapt towards him, her claws extended as she struck at him.
She managed to slice open the baboon pelt where it covered his chest, despite her instability, and was satisfied when he rested a hand inside his robes, returning it to her sight a second later with blood painted across his fingers. She smirked, stumbling as she moved towards him again, "not as easy to kill me after all, huh?"
Naraku's scent spiked in momentary panic but he covered it with a low chuckle. "Very good," he said, although the compliment was empty, meaningless. He was only taunting her. "Few are ever able to even breathe under the crushing power of my brother's possession."
"Brother," the voice that Kagome had decided must belong to Onigumo called again, a little firmer this time. "Kill her, now."
Kagome shot forward again, stumbling as she approached the cloaked brother. It was getting progressively harder to move, but she ignored the screaming protests of her muscles and forced herself to go even faster. Naraku fled, or so it seemed as he drifted backwards to avoid the arcs of golden energy that Kagome released from her claws. Instead of running however, he ripped his cloak away, revealing a thin body, long black hair and a pale face, and allowed it to be shredded by her claws before he lunged towards her.
She bit back a yelp of pain as Onigumo's sword tore a hole through her right shoulder. Still in shock from being stabbed, and slowly sinking to her knees, Kagome collapsed completely when Naraku swung the blade upwards, causing the wound to grow in height until she no longer had a hole in her shoulder and instead was left with a long wound that reached from the top of her right shoulder straight down to the top of her right breast. Had it been a few inches farther to the right it would have severed her arm.
Kagome gasped, noticing her vision blur further. At the same time a dull roar began in the back of her head, making her strain to hear any other sounds, like the voices of the brothers as they spoke. The poison from Onigumo's sword now flowed dangerously through her blood stream. She knew his poison was strong. Likely the strongest she'd ever come across, more deadly even than Sesshoumaru's.
If she didn't finish this soon she would die.
'I won't let him get away,' she promised herself, although she now barely had the strength to lift her head.
Naraku still stood over her, the sword now resting at his hip and the shield in hand. She plunged two fingers into the river of blood that poured from her shoulder, bringing her crimson coated digits in front of her face a moment later and swinging them towards the smirking demon in front of her. He didn't seem fazed by her attack, blocking it easily with Onigumo's shield.
"Pathetic," Naraku grunted, kicking her injured shoulder and smirking when she cried out in pain. He then turned to walk away, not bothering to watch her as he began his departure.
She struggled for a moment, somehow managing to find her feet again. She may have been freed from Onigumo's possession when Naraku had stabbed her, but now she was fighting off the growing urge to let unconscious close in. Her world was spinning around her but she refused to give up, she couldn't give up. She staggered forwards, her right hand, still covered in her own blood, closing tightly over her scythe's staff which she had used to pull herself up. She leapt forward, unbalanced but still somehow managing to swing the weapon at Naraku. He turned just in time to see her and again blocked her attack with the shield, seemingly amused by her attempts.
'Let me out,'
A voice that wasn't her own whispered in her ear and she frowned, her eyes shifting back and forth as if looking for another besides herself and the two brothers. She didn't see anyone, but with the black patches appearing in her vision she wouldn't have known even if someone was standing right beside her.
'I can help you, I can kill him…'
Groaning she again tried to find the owner of the strange voice but her second attempt was cut short when Naraku pushed her back. She stumbled and then fell flat on her back, feeling the warmth of her own blood as it poured freely from her wound and pooled beneath her body.
'Release me!'
Naraku was standing over her again, apparently having decided to wait until she died, and unfortunately she knew that time wasn't very far away. But despite the knowledge that she was quickly dying, and knew for a fact that it was inevitable, she could feel something, a new kind of strength, building within her chest, as if she were going to explode from the inside out. Her heart had started beating faster, and the warmth of her blood that had created a lake beneath her body was growing hotter. Confused by the new strength she felt coursing through her body she flexed her claws, and her eyes grew wide as she felt the length of them against the palms of her hands.
'What…what's going on?' she asked herself, seconds before her vision grew red and unconsciousness finally closed in.
…
It was chaos.
There was no better way to say it.
Kazuo growled in frustration as he tore through another one of the thousands of demons that had launched an attack on them. With the help of his pack mates, and even many of the wolves that belonged to Koga's clan, he had narrowed that number down to hundreds, but not without multiple casualties on both sides.
He heard the banshee like screams of another approaching from behind before he saw it. He turned quickly and sliced its bird-like head from its body, grimacing in disgust, he shook the beast's blood from his claws before turning to face his next opponent. Instead he found himself looking into the worried, golden gaze of Satoshi, who shouted his name and then jabbed a clawed finger towards the sky.
Kazuo wordlessly followed the digit's direction until he caught sight of a man with long black hair, pale skin and red eyes as he flew over them. He wouldn't have recognized him if it hadn't been for the foul stench of miasma that trailed behind him and the remains of the white baboon pelt that clung to his shoulders.
"Naraku," he growled, but he hesitated to follow after the dragon, instead taking satisfaction at the sight of blood pouring from deep wounds on his body. Clearly Kagome had done a good deal of damage, and the hybrid had no doubt that she would be following Naraku out shortly, probably shouting orders at him as she ran past, but when he turned to look for her he didn't see the person he expected to.
Kagome stood above him on a rocky ledge, watching as Naraku disappeared into the darkness of night, no longer pursuing him. At least, he imagined it was Kagome. It was certainly her body and her clothes, but her eyes, which were usually a warm shade of blue, were now the color of blood.
"Kazuo," Momo's gentle voice spoke up from behind him and he turned towards her, seeing the horror written across her face as she too stared up at their friend. "Kazuo," she clung to his sleeve, "what's wrong with her? I've never seen her eyes look that way…"
"Neither have I," he told her honestly, exchanging a worried look with Satoshi who had yet to move from his side. Several other wolves, including some from Koga's pack, had stopped to stare curiously at her as well. She appeared the same aside from her crimson eyes, or at least that's what he thought at first. Upon closer inspection he noticed that her claws and fangs had lengthened significantly compared to their normal size. Even more worrisome however was the sight of a long, bloody opening reaching from her right shoulder down to her breast. Blood leaked from the wound at an alarmingly fast rate and he could smell the stench of Naraku's poison coming from the injury.
"Kagome," He called to her tentatively, "Say Kagome, is everything ok?"
He already knew that everything was most certainly not ok, but he only wanted to gain her attention, which he did. Her unfamiliar red gaze slowly drifted to meet his and his eyes grew wide when he saw her lips pull back in a fierce snarl at the sight of him. She had never looked at him so fiercely, and the look on her face was only intensified by her lengthened fangs and blood smeared face.
"Kagome…" he barely whispered, for the first time in a long time feeling absolute terror, but not for himself, for the safety of his cousin. He only had a second from the moment her name left his lips to push Momo out of the way and then leap out of the way himself before Kagome came crashing down on the spot where he had stood.
"Kagome," He called again, dodging her next attack as she flew towards him, claws extended. "What in the hells is wrong with you, cousin? Snap out of it!"
She didn't respond with words, only snarling viciously at him as she came after him again and again, showing no emotion when he stumbled and barely managed to make it out of the way of her long claws. The pair had had plenty of playful sparing matches in the past, but none of them had been anything like this. When they'd fought before it had been for practice and to test new skills, if they'd ever harmed each other in the past aside from insignificant cuts and scrapes it had been by accident and the match had been immediately brought to an end. Now things were different, much different. Kazuo had no doubt in his mind that Kagome, if she had the chance, would kill him.
'Her scent has changed,' he noticed before dodging another of her ruthless attacks, having gotten close enough to her to pick out specific scents from her body, a hard task when the air was polluted with the strong smells of blood, poisons and the lesser demons that many of the wolves were still fighting. 'It's seems almost as if…' he hesitated, 'she smells like a full blooded demon, but how is that possible?'
He yelped as her claws cut into his chest, one hand quickly moving to cover the wound as blood was drawn, splattering against Kagome's face. She didn't seem to mind, he noticed, as she landed in a crouch several meters away, sniffing carelessly at the new blood on her claws.
'This can't go on,' he decided quickly when she stood and started towards him again; 'I have to stop this now, before things get worse. Before…'
He frowned when his eyes fell back to her shoulder wound. In just the short amount of time that he'd seen her since she'd emerged from the castle she'd lost enough blood to kill a full grown human. He may not know what exactly was wrong with her, but he knew that, even if she had somehow become a full blooded demon, she should be feeling the loss of that amount of blood, but that wasn't the case.
As she grew closer to him she broke into a run, then leapt high above him, intent on coming down on top of him. He stared up at her, bending his knees as he prepared to meet her half way. He waited until she'd started her descent, then, his fists clenched, he shot towards her with all of his strength.
They collided, Kagome's claws digging into his sides as he grabbed her injured shoulder tightly in one hand, shocked and worried when she didn't respond to what he knew had to be an intensely painful grip. He got over his shock quickly, fisting his opposite hand and punching her with such force in the side of the head that his entire body was pulled to one side. He heard her gasp and saw a brief flash of recognition in her crimson gaze before she collapsed against him, unconscious.
He landed a moment later with her limp body held securely in his arms, barely noticing as the rest of his pack mates surrounded them, concerned. "What…" he breathed, "what the hell just happened?"
…
Inuyasha blinked several times as he watched a young woman, clutching her daughter close to her chest with one arm and dragging her son along behind her with the opposite hand, run for the village. 'Funny,' He thought, rather annoyed by their lack of what he imagined would have been a proper greeting, 'I thought they'd be happy to see me, but that woman looks as if she's just seen a ghost.'
The pull of Shippou's weight as he made his way up to Inuyasha's shoulder a moment later was all that alerted the swordsman to his presence before he spoke. "What was wrong with that lady?" He asked bluntly, "she ran off like she's never seen you before. Are you sure you've got the right village, Inuyasha?"
"Of course I'm sure!" Inuyasha snarled over his shoulder at the child, grabbing him by the scruff of his furry vest and depositing him on the ground. His gaze flickered back to the village a moment later.
The woman he'd spotted earlier had been working in the field with her children when he called out to her, expecting a happy greeting in return. What he'd gotten was a terrified shout as she gathered her two children and took off for the village, followed shortly by a few others who had been working nearby. The tiny group of workers had since made it to the village and now stood in awe, watching him and whispering amongst themselves all while shielding their children from his sight.
'What is wrong with them?' he thought, his brows furrowed in frustration and worry. 'I know this is the right place,' he reminded himself quickly, 'I'd be damned if I couldn't find my own home after living here for so many years, but…the kids right, it's as if they've never seen me before.'
Finally, fed up with waiting for an answer to appear out of nowhere, he waved to his companions over one shoulder, wordlessly telling them to follow after him as he made his way towards the rows of houses. He could find his father or Myoga, one of them would certainly be able to explain just what had happened in his absence that had caused his own people to fear him. Even a single familiar face that wasn't filled with terror at the sight of him would be a comforting thing.
He didn't have to go far.
Inuyasha had barely made it to the first house when he caught sight of an orange and brown blur coming at him from the left. A second later he was tackled by a young girl, who he quickly recognized to be his sister. She clung to him wordlessly as he crouched down to gather her shaking body in his arms, only more alarmed now that he saw the tears running down her face.
"Rin…" he sputtered, dabbing clumsily at her wet cheeks with one sleeve, "come on, Rin…don't cry…"
She sniffed, rubbing her face on either one of her sleeves in a pointless attempt to stop the tears and then grabbing onto him again. "Aniki…" she whimpered, "I'm just happy you're ok…I thought…" she took a deep breath before continuing, "Kohaku-kun said that all of you had died."
Inuyasha felt all of the muscles within him grow ridged at the sound of his name and without thought he stood, pushing Rin away from him, albeit very gently, as he did so and taking both of her shoulders firmly in either hand. He looked her dead in the eye. "Kohaku," he repeated, "did you say Kohaku?"
Confused as to why her brother had become so serious suddenly she simply nodded, pointing one finger in the direction of the hut where he was being tended to. "Yeah," she explained, "he showed up a few days ago. He was hurt really bad but the doctor is taking good care of him…"
"He's alive…" Miroku whispered, his words barely heard by even those standing closest to him. The man glanced in the direction that Rin had pointed only a moment ago and without a second thought or a word to his companions he headed off in that direction.
Inuyasha watched him go from the corner of one eye, releasing a breath he hadn't known he'd been holding and then returning his gaze to his little sister. "Rin," he began, noting that she was about to start crying again. He swallowed and then gathered her into his arms again. "I'm ok. I'm sorry."
"Inuyasha,"
The swordsman glanced up to see Myoga making his way towards him. He walked with a slight limp, which was new, and looked as if he'd aged a few years in the months that Inuyasha had been gone, but aside from that he looked the same. A relived smile spread across the old man's features and his dark eyes brightened slightly at the sight of Inuyasha alive and well.
"It's good to see you back," he said, clapping a hand on the younger man's shoulder as he stood to greet his teacher. "Kohaku had us worried that something had happened to you and," he hesitated, his eyes drifting to the small party that stood behind Inuyasha, waiting patiently to be noticed, "where is Kagome?'
"She's fine," Inuyasha answered quickly, not missing the way Rin's eyes grew damp at the possible implication that something might have happened to her beloved half demon friend. The pair hadn't spent more than a handful of hours within each other's presence but it had been enough that Rin had developed a definite attachment to Kagome. It wasn't surprising. The hybrid had saved the little girl's life twice and on top of that was one of few female role models that Rin had in her life. Not that Kagome was someone Inuyasha would ever hope for Rin to mimic.
"She had some things that she needed to take care of," he explained, "she'll be back, eventually."
His words seemed to soothe Rin's worries for the moment and so she once again buried her face in Inuyasha chest as the two older men talked. Inuyasha gestured casually at the pair standing behind him, "that's Sango, Shippou's the brat and Miroku…he headed off to see Kohaku, I guess…we thought he had been…"
"I see," Myoga replied, his calm words cutting off those that didn't want to be spoken. The old man inclined his head twice to acknowledge both Shippou and Sango, speaking his name quietly as he did so that they knew who he was as well.
"These two are," he began uncertainly, glancing back towards Inuyasha, "a replacement until Kagome returns?"
"They're not a replacement," Inuyasha growled, displeased by the use of words, although even he didn't know why it bothered him. "They're with me because they want to destroy Naraku and," he words died in his throat and he scowled when he realized that Myoga, along with the rest of the villagers, was clueless as to who Naraku was and just why he was of any concern to them. He sighed. "I guess we have some things to discuss."
"Agreed," Myoga responded quickly, "there are things that you are likely unaware of as well, Inuyasha."
"Like what?" Inuyasha replied just as quickly, exchanging an uncertain look with his companions.
Myoga hesitated again, turning slightly to face the rest of the village before speaking, "we'll talk after you and your friends have gotten a chance to settle in and see Kohaku. I'll find you later once you've had time to relax."
…
AN: Heh, and you all thought this was going to be a battle between Kagome and Koga, didn't you? Didn't you? Well,not much to say about this one. Sadly I have no preview this time because the next chapter isn't fleshed out enough yet and all the stuff I've written for it so far is either too spoiler-heavy or just plain boring. So, tuff, you'll all just have to wait for next time. ;)
Fun fact: The trees in the north that I was describing are the Japanese kaya tree, which of course grow mostly in southern Japan according to my resource. Oh well. I never claimed to be geographically correct.
Side note: When Kazuo asked Kagome if she was 'afraid to disappoint obasan' as he put it, he was referring to his aunt (obasan in Japanese), Kagome's mother, in case there was anyone who didn't figure that out.