Ch. 87- The Lake of the Water God

Inuyasha © Rumiko Takahashi

"Jeez...you'd think that of all things, a castle would be easy to find, way out here in the Feudal Era."

Kagome stood upon the grassy hilltop, surveying the land with Inuyasha, Miroku, Sango, and Kirara. Shippo had been sent on ahead to see if he could find anything from the air. It had been about two days now since the group had continued their journey on the hunt for Naraku and the rest of the Sacred Jewel shards. However, it seemed that even now, the group seemed to have a bit of a hard time finding the castle where Naraku was currently hiding in.

So far, they hadn't even gotten so much as a clue as to the castle's whereabouts...to Inuyasha's irritation.

"You still don't remember anything, Sango?" he asked. "Anything familiar like a landmark or something?"

"I'm sorry," Sango said as she put a hand to her head. "I guess Naraku's evil spell still has mind foggy. If I did remember, I would have found his castle and slain him myself, long ago."

"I'm afraid that we might have to give up on finding the castle," said Miroku.

"What?!" Inuyasha questioned. "Are you kidding me?! If we can't find the castle, then what should we do?!"

"What else?" asked Miroku. "We continue our search for the jewel shards, instead. If we continue to steadily collect them, then no doubt that Naraku will come to us." He then knelt before Sango, who looked at him. "Is that all right with you, Sango?"

Sango sighed in slight resignation.

"As much as I hate it," she began, "I do agree to these terms."

"I understand how you feel, Sango," Miroku said. "I know that even now, you still hunger for revenge."

"I thank you for your concern," Sango began, "but is it necessary...to keep stroking my legs while you talk?"

To emphasize, she pinched Miroku's hand, causing him to chuckle sheepishly.

"Ouch...!" he winced.

"What a sleazy idiot," Inuyasha grumbled.

"Well, at least he didn't try anything back when she was injured," Kagome deadpanned.

"Hey, guys!"

The group turned to see Shippo in his pink ball form, floating toward them before he returned to normal.

"Shippo!" Kagome exclaimed. "Did you find anything?"

"There's a really big lake, not too far from here!" Shippo answered. "I saw a really huge shrine in the middle of it, too!"

"Do you think it could be Naraku's castle?!" Inuyasha asked as he stood up.

"Maybe," Kagome said. "There's only way to know."

XXX

Soon, the group arrived at a large ditch, filled with dead trees and destroyed huts. People were going about, tossing the wreckage away.

"Yeesh..." Inuyasha muttered. "Talk about your fixer-uppers."

"Must have been quite the storm to do this much damage," Miroku surmised.

"How awful," Kagome said, sadly...and at that moment, the villagers all looked up as they saw several more people...carrying a palanquin, ringing bells and holding white flags as they passed.

"Oh, dear...it's the sacrificial palanquin, again," said one of the villagers.

"Let's just hope this one will be able to stop the floods, this year," replied another.

"Whose child could it be, this time?" asked a third.

"What?!" Kagome questioned. "A child sacrifice?!"

"How utterly barbaric!" Miroku exclaimed in disgust.

Among the passers-by was a man with bushy eyebrows and mustache. He seemed to be a bit more finely dressed than the other villagers. He had his head bowed low and a seeming frustrated expression on his face, as well.

"The village headman," muttered one of the villagers. "This must be even harder on him, considering the Water God's arrow landed on his roof, this time."

"It cannot be helped," whispered another. "After all, many other children had been sacrificed before his son."

"Headman," said one of the villagers following after him. "Please, perhaps ye should reconsider-"

"Enough," said the headman. "There is nothing else that can be done...if I must sacrifice my son to appease the Water God, then so be it. It is only natural..."

"Oh, really?"

The villagers all stopped and gasped upon seeing Inuyasha blocking their path.

"How do you know that your 'Water God' isn't just a demon in disguise?" asked Inuyasha.

"I-it's a dog demon!" cried one of the villagers in fright.

"Quick! Get the spears!" shouted another, but then, Kagome came running up along with the others.

"Wait! Hang on!" she cried as she stood before Inuyasha with her arms opened in a defensive manner. "Hold everything!"

"We mean you no harm, good villagers!" Miroku added. "Please, allow us to be of service to you. If you will let me, I will gladly exorcise this demon for you."

The villagers all gasped silently and muttered amongst themselves.

"Perhaps we should take him up on his offer," suggested one of them.

"Nonsense!" barked the headman. "Do not be swayed by their lies! They're charlatans!" He then looked away. "If we incur the wrath of the Water God, then our village will not survive the next flood!" He gritted his teeth and screwed his eyes shut. "Especially now, since it is my son's turn to be sacrificed! How could I ever face the parents of the children who had gone before him?!"

"Wait!" Kagome spoke up. "Sir, what we're saying is the truth. We've slain a good deal of demons before! We can help you! You don't have to resort to sacrificing your son!"

"...And you are?" asked the headman.

"Uh...Kagome, sir," Kagome answered before she bowed her head. "Kagome Higurashi."

"Hmm...are you a priestess, girl?" asked the headman.

"Well...you could say that," Kagome said. "I guess I'm more of a priestess-in-training."

"Then you should know better than to go fraternizing with frauds and demons," the headman said as he glared at Inuyasha. "They might turn on you."

Inuyasha growled at the headman, his hair bristling slightly...but then Kagome grabbed his hand and squeezed it, causing him to calm down.

"Now, out of the way! We must deliver the sacrificial offering before sunset tonight!" the headman demanded before he and his procession continued onward. As they left, Kagome gasped silently as she noticed someone peeking out of the palanquin. It appeared to be a boy with a pale mask...but as quickly as he opened the curtain, he quickly disappeared back inside the palanquin.

XXX

"...You know...a sacrifice is one thing," Sango began, "but even I have to admit that this is far too cruel."

The group was sitting around a small bonfire, discussing what had just transpired.

"I mean...that man acted as if he wanted to sacrifice his son," said Sango.

"He did seem quite upset about us attempting to interfere, didn't he?" asked Miroku.

Kagome didn't say anything, but then she looked over at Inuyasha, who sat with his arms crossed. Kagome's lips tightened before she put her hand on his shoulder, causing him to glance at her.

"...I'm okay, Kagome," he said. "Really."

"Are you sure?" asked Kagome.

"Yeah," Inuyasha replied. "It's not like I haven't heard that kind of stuff before, anyway."

"If you say so," Kagome said as she pulled her hand away. "Anyway, guys...I noticed something else. When I palanquin...I noticed that-"

"The boy was wearing a mask?" asked Sango. "I know. I saw it, too."

"You did?" Kagome asked in surprise.

"Most likely it's part of the sacrificial rite," said Miroku.

"I-I see," Kagome murmured.

'Doesn't really make it any less unsettling, though,' she thought.

"So, what do you think we should do?" Inuyasha asked as he tossed a stone up and down in his hand. "Just leave it be?" He then flicked the pebble away in the grass...and not long after, there was a loud yelp, causing the others to gasp. "And just how long are you gonna be hiding, you nosy little punk?!"

"Who's there?" Miroku asked as he stood up. "Come out, quietly!"

Soon, a strange figure came out, covered by a straw cape...and holding a large bundle. Inuyasha growled with his arm out in front of Kagome, who gasped quietly while Sango and Miroku prepared their weapons. Shippo whimpered as he stood behind Inuyasha, his tail bristling nervously...but then, the figure dropped the bundle in front of the group, revealing many treasures from coins to fine pottery and rolls of silk!

"Here!" said the stranger...who was soon revealed to be a child of ten years. He had his hair done up in a topknot and he had thick, bushy eyebrows.

"A kid?" Inuyasha asked.

"You can take these treasures," said the boy, "but only if you do what I ask!"

"My goodness!" exclaimed Miroku as he picked up an incense burner. "Such high-quality treasure!"

"And such fine silk, too," Sango added as she looked at the drapery. "I'm sure it must be very expensive!"

"Have you decided, yet?" asked the boy. "If so, then you're hired!"

BONK! Inuyasha, without a single warning, bopped the child on his head.

"Ow!" he cried. "What was that for?!"

Inuyasha soon pulled him into a headlock and continued to punch his fist against the boy's skull, causing him to cry out in pain.

"Stop it! Let go of me!" he shouted.

"Inuyasha, let him go!" Kagome shouted. "He's just a little boy!"

"Why should I?" asked Inuyasha. "He needs to be taught who's boss!"

"If I were you, I'd apologize," Shippo suggested to the boy. "Inuyasha doesn't take kindly to kids who try to boss him around!"

"Okay, okay! I'm sorry!" cried the boy, even though Inuyasha kept hitting him. "OUCH! I SAID I'M SORRY!"

XXX

Later that night, at a large, misty lake...a huge boat approached the pier, where the boy in the mask sat, waiting for it to get closer.

However, not too far away, the other boy with the bushy eyebrows.

"The human sacrifice is transported to the Water God's shrine on a boat," he said. "If we follow it, then we'll be able to attack the Water God when he surfaces before he can get the chance to devour his sacrifice." He then looked back at the others. "Is that understood?"

However, it seemed that they were more focused on the treasures that Miroku was holding.

"Are you sure those weren't stolen?" asked Inuyasha.

"Does it really matter?" asked Miroku.

"It should matter to a monk, Miroku!" Kagome chided.

"Hey! Are you guys listening?!" the boy questioned, getting their attention.

"By the way, I meant to ask," Kagome said. "What's your name? And do your parents know you're out here?"

The boy tensed before he looked away.

"My name is of no importance to the likes of you," he said, only for Inuyasha to hit him on the head, once more. "Ow! Will you stop that?!"

"Who the hell says you're calling the shots?" Inuyasha asked. "We didn't even agree to help you yet, brat!"

"But...we have to hurry!" the boy urged. "If we don't, then the village will be destroyed!" He looked down to the ground, balling his fists at his sides. "The boy who's going to be sacrificed...is actually...!"

"...Wait a second," Kagome muttered before she gasped. "You're actually the son of the village headman, aren't you?!"

The boy gasped while Miroku came to look him over.

"Come to think," said the monk, "their eyebrows are identical."

"And the same attitude," Inuyasha grumbled.

"...Then...if you're supposed to be the sacrifice," Kagome began, "then who's the boy who was in the palanquin?!"

The boy gulped...but then he sighed in defeat.

"...My name is Taromaru," he said. "It's true...I am the headman's son. In my village, whenever a white-fletched arrow landed on the roof of a villager's hut, my Father would attempt to console the parents and force them to endure for the sake of the village...but when the arrow landed on our mansion...my Father told me to run and hide while another child- a servant's son, no less- was chosen in my stead."

"...A parent making a foolish attempt to protect his son," Miroku said, solemnly.

"Keh!" Inuyasha scoffed. "Some people are just born fools."

"I get it, now," Kagome said. "You want to rescue the other boy, right?"

"Yes," Taromaru nodded. "He is my best friend. We grew up together."

"Is that right?" Sango asked as she approached the group...wearing her demon slayer armor while Kirara sat on her shoulder. "Well, I hope you have a boat ready. We'll try our best with the amount that you paid us."

"I'm sure this isn't just about payment," said Miroku while Inuyasha grumbled under his breath.

"But we are gonna help him, right?" asked Kagome.

"...Water God or demon, I don't really know what's what," Inuyasha replied, "but I don't tolerate any kind of creature that likes to snack on kids! So let's get goin'!"

"That's the Inuyasha I know and love!" Kagome exclaimed, but then she covered her mouth.

"Wait, what did you say?" asked Inuyasha.

"Nothing!" Kagome answered with a blush.

"Uh...I'm pretty sure she just said 'know and love'," Shippo whispered.

"Me, too," Miroku concurred, softly.

"I heard it, as well," Sango added.

"Hello?!" questioned Taromaru. "We're wasting time!"

XD Oh, boy.

Review, please!