~~OO~~II~~OO~~
((Kanzashi))
~~OO~~II~~OO~~
He would not believe that his mate was dead. His demon side refused to let him. And so now he found himself searching the water beneath Kirara as the cat demon darted through the skies, allowing them to see the true extent of the damage that the flood waters had caused. He was lucky if they found any piece of land at all.
A screech filled his ears and the half-demon glanced up as Fenikkusu soared beside them, his cry a sound of song. "Find anything?" he demanded. Fenikkusu shook his head, blinking a worried green eye at Inuyasha. "Keep looking then," the half-demon growled furiously. "We have to find her."
Fenikkusu gave a sorrowful cry in response before soaring off to search in another direction. Kirara purred reassuringly when Inuyasha growled furiously under his breath. A spot of land caught his eye. "Land there, Kirara," he told her. She purred, plummetting to the ground with a roar of warning to any nearby demon. If they didn't want to be slain, leave the area immediately.
Inuyasha slid from Kirara's back the moment the twin tail hit the ground and he immediately began working his nose overtime. A frustrated sound left him as he found nothing but a strangely knocked over tree that had most likely been slightly moved by the water, rolled onto its unbroken side. He gave a growl. He couldn't smell anything with all of the water around him.
Furious, he fisted his hands angrily in his silver hair. The new moon was tonight; he would have to deal with the admitable fear it gave him alone. Physically, he wouldn't be. But the others didn't understand his fears like Kagome did.
Sensing his upset, Kirara purred, transforming and scrambling up onto his shoulders to nuzzle his cheek comfortingly. Inuyasha forced a smirk onto his face, scratching the feline's chin. "Oi, none of that."
The sound of birdsong filled their ears once more and Inuyasha lifted his gaze to see Fenikkusu slowly descending. The half-demon waited until the phoenix, only about knee hight to him now, had landed and reverted back to his humanoid form, then stepped closer. "Find something now?"
To his surprise, Fenikkusu nodded. He pulled something from his mouth, which had been hanging by the strings as he'd been carrying it in his true form's beak. "Yes. I came upon this in the water not too far away. It was floating somehow."
Inuyasha took it, opening the small pouch. What he pulled out made his stomach twist.
A intricate silver dog snarled furiously up at him, glaring up with ruby red eyes from the end of a kanzashi. Inuyasha's eyes widened in astonishment as he lightly skimmed a claw over the delicte symbol that hung from its finely crafted tail. "...I gave this to her," he managed to get out past the lump in his throat.
Fenikkusu was silent for a few moments before stating quietly, "The water is going down even as we speak, Inuyasha. I cannot see where she might be due to whatever is hiding my vision, but I cannot see how she would've survived such ferocious waters. As soon as the waters have gone down completely, I will help you search for her again, Inuyasha."
A snarl errupted from the half-demon and he whirled on Fenikkusu. "She isn't dead!" She can't be! It's not possible, not Kagome!
"Not everyone is immortal," he said quietly in return. "I have no doubt that she is...was, I suppose, a strong woman, Inuyasha. But not even the most powerful swimmer could have avoided death in these waters without some sort of outside help."
Inuyasha bared his fangs viciously, his grip tightening slightly around the kanzashi. Despite the roars of protest his demon side gave, his eyes showed his acceptance of what the phoenix was saying. He knew that he was right. "Kagome was better then anyone else here. Her way of swimming was different."
"Swimming is swimming, half-demon," Fenikkusu said bluntly. He shook his head. "If Midoriko would just let me check...it makes me worried. She still has the Shikon no Tama..."
Inuyasha ignored him, turning away to stare out over the mass of water that, even in the short time he'd been on the piece of land, had shrunk. "Kagome wouldn't have died, Fenikkusu. My demon side would've told me if she had. I would've felt it." He glanced at him.
Fenikkusu only shook his head to show what he thought.
~~OO~~II~~OO~~
"Thank you," Sango told Inuyasha gratefully when the half-demon dumped a pair of dead deer onto the cave of the floor, his golden eyes avoiding her own brown ones. She glanced over her shoulder at the villagers, who, for the most part, had gone to sleep for the night. "I can go with you to another safe place so they don't see you."
Inuyasha shook his head. "Feh. Kirara's as good protection as any. I'll take her if ya don't mind, though." The said twin tail purred from her place, standing happily beside him.
"Of course," Sango said warmly, glancing over her shoulder when Shippo piped up nervously.
"Hey, Inuyasha? Can I go with you?"
To her surprise, the half-demon's gaze softened and he gave a curt nod. "Sure, runt. Get over here, we need to go find somewhere to hide out until dawn." Shippo broke into a grin, scampering over and up Inuyasha's shoulder. The half-demon ruffled the fox kit's hair before turning and hopping down the cliff face. The water had already dropped nearly five feet, so he used the face of the now cliff to launch himself into the air, easily landing among the branches of a massive tree. He tested the branch out, then settled down. "Feh. Might as well make camp here. We can make sure no bastards attack the cave."
Even as he spoke, the sun began to go down. His silver hair bled black and he grimaced slightly in annoyance as his senses diminished. Shippo patted his shoulder before curling up against his chest to sleep. Inuyasha gave a dry smile as Kirara did the same. Careful not to disturb them, he removed the kanzashi from within his haori and let his fingers skim over the silver metal.
Kagome's not dead...right? he thought as he fought the urge to whimper like a child. She couldn't be dead. Not now. Not after he'd gotten her back. No, there wasn't any possible way.
"As soon as the waters have gone down completely, I will help you search for her again, Inuyasha."
Fenikkusu had thought they would find her body, not her alive and well.
And finally, after nearly seven days of searching...
...Inuyasha found himself dropping his head back, a soft groan of defeat escaping him.
~~OO~~II~~OO~~
She found laughter bubbling past her lips as she watched in the scrying pool before her, as the half-demon gave up hope in finding the pesky miko. Something brushed against her side and she let her fingers move to brush against her pet's side. There was a reason she made her home in the depths of the deepest lake in the island country.
Mizu practically danced away from the scrying pool, strangely agile despite the fact that the water she lived in made her hair float around her. Her bright blue eyes, an icy color compared to Kagome's own deep ones, gleamed. Who cared if the miko was truly dead? All that mattered was that the half-breed was giving in, just as she'd been promised.
"Why so happy, sister?"
Mizu twirled in place, beaming at the sight of a man with equally dark blue hair and icy eyes. "Ekitai!" she cried, throwing her arms around him. She beamed. "Just as you said, he's giving up! We just needed to give them a hopeless situation..."
"I told you," Ekitai snorted. His eyes flashed. "Soon, everything will be perfect..."
Mizu grinned just as excitedly and her brother ruffled her hair affectionately. "I'm so glad I listened to you," she told him, "This is way better then helping out that Naraku when he came to us and offered help."
Ekitai playfully ruffled her hair. "Just as I told you, Magatsuhi's way stronger. Nobody can defeat him. Once we help him get rid of that damn Midoriko and the miko..."
"Victory is ours."
~~OO~~II~~OO~~
A/N: ...how many chapters have I posted this weekend...? Like three or four? Well, hope you enjoyed the newest anyhow. Thanks for the reviews!
