Chapter 29: Darkness Lurking


Kagome gasped. "Did you say more will die?"

Haruto turned to look at the older sister of the pretty girl. "Yes, miss. But please, do not concern yourself." He turned back toward the hanyou Lord.

Kagome harrumphed, muttering under her breath. "I most certainly will concern myself." Then louder, "You did say you were looking for Miroku, Inuyasha and the Shikon Miko, didn't you?"

Haruto's head whipped back towards her, eyes growing wide.

"Look, kid," Inuyasha barked, drawing Haruto's attention back again before he could say anything in response to the woman. "I don't know where you want us to go with you, but you better start talking. Who's your father? And why does he think people are gonna die?"

"Please, forgive me, Lord Inuyasha. My father is the headman Masato. He asked me to seek you out once word spread that you, Hoshi-sama and the Shikon Miko were here in town today."

Haruto turned again towards Kagome, this time with awareness in his eyes. He bowed his head in polite contrition, "Miko-sama."

Kagome smiled kindly, her annoyance already gone.

"What is your name, young man?" Miroku asked kindly, though there was a stiffness about his face that dimmed the brightness of his usual smile.

"They call me Haruto, Hoshi-sama. I am my father's youngest son."

"Good, good. And you say, Haruto, that your father is Headman Masato?"

Haruto nodded vigorously.

Miroku turned to Inuyasha and Kagome. "I have met Masato several times. To ease Lady Kaede's burden, he has often requested that I come in her stead to bless the various shrines here in town. I know him to be a good and honest man."

Haruto watched as the adults spoke, though he couldn't stop his eyes from skipping off to the side to glance at the pretty girl. A worried crease furrowed her brow. She seemed just as invested in the conversation as the adults were.

Inuyasha's next words pulled Haruto's attention back to the matter at hand. "And you said there have been deaths, kid? What kind of deaths?"

Haruto blanched slightly at the volume of the hanyou Lord's voice. "Please, Lord Inuyasha, my father wishes for this to be kept quiet. He fears what will happen if word gets out."

By the annoyed look on her mate's face, Kagome could tell that Inuyasha's response to the boy's concerns was going to be…less…than polite.

She cut in quickly, using a much lower tone of voice. "And your father has asked for us to come and meet with him? Does he believe this to be a youkai-related problem?"

Again, the boy nodded his head vigorously.

"Well, then you've come to the right place," Shippō chimed in, chest puffed up in importance. "We're the ones who defeated Naraku, after all."

Rin shuddered at the mention of Naraku's name. "Let's hope, Shippō, that Headman Masato's problems are nothing like Naraku was."

Haruto gave the girl a startled look. He hadn't been expecting her to speak. Young girls rarely did in public…especially in matters such as these.

And surely she didn't mean what it had sounded like? The pretty girl would have been no more than 7 or 8 years old when Naraku roamed the land.

Still, her eyes were haunted, as though she spoke from experience.

"What is the matter?" Rin asked, mildly offended at his continued staring.

Haruto shook his head slightly as if to clear it. "No–Nothing." He let it pass. He couldn't afford such thoughts right now. Instead, he turned his attention back to the adults. "Please, my lords, my lady. Please, come with me now. My father is expecting us."

Inuyasha, Miroku and Kagome shared a look between them before Inuyasha turned his serious golden eyes back to the boy.

"Well then, what are you waitin' for? Lead the way, kid."


"It is a blessing from the Kami that you are here."

Five sets of eyes swung toward the doorway as Headman Masato appeared. Four other men entered behind the headman and Inuyasha assessed each of them as they entered. None were armed and all appeared to be middle-aged, ranging from what he guessed was 40 to 60 years old.

They wouldn't even be a challenge.

He noticed, too, that Haruto had returned, trailing in behind the men to take up a position against the wall near the door.

All five men bowed politely to their group – the Pack already seated in a semi-circle around one end of the large square table that took up most of the centre of the room – before the men themselves took seats around the other end.

Upon arriving at the headman's compound, Haruto had directed them to wait inside this small outbuilding that appeared to serve as the headman's office. He'd then dashed off to inform his father of their arrival. The room was fairly large. Six tatami mats covered the floor and large wooden shelves holding a collection of scrolls, brushes, parchment and inks lined one of the walls. In the centre of the room sat the large square table with cushions placed around it for comfort.

A woman had appeared bearing a tea service shortly after Haruto had left them. She'd bowed politely, if not a bit nervously, before setting the tray in the centre of the table, pouring out five cups of tea, and scurrying away.

That had been twenty minutes ago.

And considering the urgent and dire-sounding way in which they'd been summoned, Inuyasha felt he had every right to be more than pissed at having to wait so long for their host to appear.

He sneered at that thought as the group of men settled themselves around the table.

Inuyasha could tell that the Pack was also being assessed. Each of the men swept their gazes over them, one by one. He and Miroku seemed to garner the most respect – though perhaps caution was the better word to describe the looks that he himself received – while Shippō and Rin were dismissed quickly, receiving no more than a passing glance each. It was Kagome that their eyes lingered on, whether out of curiosity or appreciation for her beauty, Inuyasha couldn't say.

Either way, he didn't like it and let the sneer seep into his voice. "The kid made it sound like your problem was serious, but it can't be all that important or else you wouldn't have had us waitin' here so long. We should probably leave."

He started to rise, but Kagome stopped him with the gentle brush of her hand down his fire-rat clad forearm. She removed her hand just as quickly, though, when she heard the sharp intake of breath that came from the eldest man at the table, the one who sat just to the right of the headman.

She cleared her throat, "I think, Headman Masato, what Inuyasha means is, if people are actually dying as your son has told us, why the delay?"

Masato turned his eyes toward the woman and blinked. The casual way in which she touched and addressed the hanyou Lord was more than a little surprising. It was doubly unusual for a woman to speak in such a public meeting space unless…

Recognition filled his eyes. "My Lady, though your clothing belies your station, I take it you are the Shikon Miko-sama?"

If Kagome's willingness to touch him was enough to spark that kind of reaction before they'd even realized who she was, Inuyasha wondered bitterly what they would do if they found out that she'd been every inch the bride just a few hours earlier, shopping for her wedding and new home.

Clearly the gossip that had flown through town regarding their presence hadn't included anything about the exact nature of the goods they'd been purchasing. He didn't want to find out what their reaction would've been to that…or to the fact that he was the groom.

Kagome seemed to sense some of what Inuyasha was thinking. She sat up straighter, unafraid, unrepentant. "Yes, I am the Shikon Miko, though you may call me Kagome."

Masato nodded. "Then, Lady Kagome, I must ask your forgiveness for the delay. I was waiting for the other elders to arrive, which they did slowly and not all together. We did not wish to cause alarm by having them all be seen rushing to my compound at once."

Ever the voice of logic, Miroku asked the obvious question. "If people are dying as you say, Masato-san, have not the villagers and merchants a right to be alarmed?"

The same elderly man sitting to the right of Masato was the one who answered. "We cannot afford to send our merchants running for the hills, Hoshi-sama. Without them, this town would wither and die. It is the taxes we collect from the goods they sell that allow up to sustain ourselves and flourish. We are not a farming community. Without trade, we cannot feed ourselves and all would be lost."

Inuyasha scoffed at the old man, his voice deceptively quiet. "What use is a flourishing town when all the inhabitants are dead?"

Masato cleared his throat, "I believe what Eteru-san means is that we have faith that with your aid we will be able to see this matter quickly resolved and without the need for widespread panic."

Shippō, who was perched on a double-tall stack of cushions, cocked his head in curiosity. "Aren't they panicking already? I mean, from what I remember, humans don't really stay that calm when dead bodies start showing up."

"And what is your name, young one?" Masato questioned.

"I'm Shippō." The boy smiled, tail and chest puffing with pride at being included in the adult's conversation.

"Well, Master Shippō, because of the particular time of day at which the attacks are known to occur, it has been relatively easy for us to find and remove the victims' bodies before they are discovered by a townsperson."

That intrigued Miroku. "So these attacked have been occurring consistently, at a particular time of day?"

One of the other elders – a man in his mid-forties and sitting on Masato's left – nodded. "I am Tomotoki, Hoshi-sama, and it is I who am responsible for the town's guard. From the reports of my men, we have been able to determine that the attacks always occur at dusk, right around the time when the torches are lit for the evening in the central square.

Yet while we know when to expect attack, no one has been able to catch the villain in the act. Most people are already indoors with their families at that time, partaking of the evening meal. The few that are still out and about are usually in a hurry to get where they are going, and generally unconcerned with what is going on around them."

He sighed, frowning, before continuing. "Unfortunately, that is exactly what has made for so many easy victims."

"And these victims, the dead bodies, what do they look like when you find them? If they are being hunted for food one would think that there would be no body left to find at all."

"The bodies are found mostly intact, Hoshi-sama, though their skin is unnaturally ashen – well beyond the usual pallor of death – and there is a hollowness to their faces, as though their bodies have been sucked dry."

Miroku pressed on. "Nothing else unusual or out of the ordinary?"

Tomotoki paused for a moment, considering. "There is one thing of note. When the bodies are moved, if ever their mouths are closed and then fall open on accident, I have often seen a small tendril of dark-grey smoke curl from their lips before vanishing."

That caught Kagome's attention. "Dark-grey smoke you say?"

Tomotoki nodded.

Inuyasha could practically see the gears turning in her mind. "Kagome? You got an idea about what this could be?"

"I think… What with the smoke, and the timing of the attacks, and the way the bodies are sucked dry… I think we may be dealing with an Enenra."

"What is an Enenra?" It was the man sitting farthest to the left who asked the question.

"Enenra are bringers of death. Demons composed of smoke and darkness, who prefer firelight by which to hunt. They're hard to defeat because not only do they feed off of humans by sucking the life force out of them, but they can also take on human form by possessing the bodies of any of their victims."

Masato shook his head. "That does not sound like it bodes well for us, Miko-sama. Have you encountered such a demon before?"

Kagome shook her head. "Not personally, no."

It was the man who sat farthest to the right – the one who had yet to speak – who voiced what none of them had yet been willing to say. "If this demon can truly mascarade as one of us, we may have no choice but to tell the people of the threat."

Eteru turned toward the subdued man and scoffed. "What a rash idea, Gakuto! How can we even be certain an Enenra is what we are facing when this woman has neither seen our demon for herself nor encountered an Enenra before." Eteru clicked his tongue, making a disdainful sound. "I would have the Hoshi's opinion or Lord Inuyasha's. They are both worldly men, and known exterminators who have defeated many a youkai threat over these past few years."

"Excuse me?" Kagome's voice was deceptively soft.

"Oh shit," Inuyasha muttered under his breath.

"Indeed." Miroku agreed, shifting uncomfortably.

The elders sensed the change in the two men and shot each other uneasy glances.

Eteru cleared his throat. "Well, certainly–"

Kagome cut him off, her voice sickly sweet. "And tell me, Eteru-san, just how many youkai have you done battle with?"

"Me? Why, none. I was a merchant by trade before my son took over our metalworks."

"Oh, I see." She nodded amicably, though her smile did not quite make it to her eyes.

"Miroku-sama, since they are so desperate for your opinion, I have a question for you. How many youkai would you say I have done battle with?"

"You, Kagome-sama? Oh, hundreds easily."

"Thousands." Inuyasha murmured.

"At least!" Shippō shouted, excited to be in on the trick he knew was coming.

"Well, that… That's…" Eteru stuttered and trailed off when Kagome pinned the older man in place with her glare. It was a look that pierced right down to his soul… And what Kagome found there angered her all the more.

"That's what, Eteru-san? Hmm? Because if any of what you're about to say has to do with me being a woman – or about how battling alongside men somehow disqualifies my contribution, again because I'm a woman – then I will kindly ask you to hold your tongue!

Until you've had to stand inside the belly of an Oni the size of a shiro and bear it as the stomach acid slowly eats away at your skin, all while you give everything you have in a fight for your life…until then, Eteru-san, you have no right to an opinion about me, my knowledge or my skills!

And even if I hadn't spent that year fighting my way across Japan in search of Naraku and the Shikon jewel, I still have spent the last three years researching anything and everything I could get my hands on regarding as many breeds of youkai as there is information about!

So yes, please, let this pretty yukata fool you, Eteru-san, and tell me again just how incapable I am of deducing what type of youkai we might be going up against, because you've been nothing but rude since you came through that door and even though my mama taught me to always respect my elders, in your case, I am willing to make an exception!"

As the words flowed free – Kagome speaking the truth with no filter – her voice had risen in volume and her aura had swirled around her until her eyes had glowed a brilliant pink, stunning everyone into silence as she finished her tirade.

Inuyasha gave her a sideways look. She was panting lightly, clenching and unclenching her fists at her sides, trying desperately to rein in her righteous rage. It had been like this with Rikichi as well. Her anger had boiled up suddenly, pure and unfiltered.

Inuyasha thought she'd never looked more courageous…or sexy as hell.

He smirked, "I think you've made your point, Kagome."

His amusement seemed to break the tension that had gathered around the table. Kagome sighed, blinking rapidly to clear the last of the glow from her gaze, as the anger in her aura dissipated.

She turned to Masato and bowed in apology. "I am truly sorry, Headman, for my outburst."

Masato shook his head. "My lady, it is I who must apologize on Eteru's behalf. It was we who sought you out. Yet while begging for your aid with one hand we have offered you offence with the other." He bowed low over the table. "Please accept my most humble apology."

Eteru had the good grace to squirm uncomfortably, a thoroughly scolded and contrite look on his face.

Kagome shook her head ruefully. "No, no. I should never have lost my temper. And so I must apologize to both you and Eteru-san. I do still wish to help you and your people. And to be sure we are well prepared would you allow me to continue with a few more questions?"

Masato nodded, motioning with his hand for her to continue.

"Alright. Now, what have you been doing with the corpses?"

"We have been burying them in secret in the forest outside the village. The families are informed but urged to keep quiet for the sake of all. Funeral pyres would have drawn too much attention."

"That's not good." Kagome shook her head slowly, worry etching lines into her face. "If I'm right and this is an Enenra we may have more than just the demon himself to worry about."

Inuyasha didn't like that look. "Why's that, Kagome?"

"Enenra can possess both their still-living victims – ones they've fed from but not killed – as well as the corpses of those they've sucked completely dry. If the demon decides to reanimate those bodies buried in the forest or take control of any of the still-living victims he may have partially fed on in secret…"

Miroku finished her thought. "We could have an army on our hands."

The words hung in the air around the table and the elders all fidgeted nervously in their seats, each casing wary glances at the other.

Rin looked at the uncomfortable old men sitting around the table. She looked at the set jaws and determined faces of her friends, each of them slowly coming to terms with the reality of the situation they may be facing.

"You do not need to worry." Rin spoke the words out loud before she could think better of them, before she'd even realized she was going to say them.

Eteru sputtered in his seat beside Masato, clearly affronted that yet another foolish girl-child would dare speak so flippantly on matters as serious as these. But Masato held up a hand, calling for silence without words. He had wondered why this small girl was travelling with the legendary warriors. The kitsune child he could understand for he was youkai and it was common knowledge that he had travelled with them during the battle against Naraku. But this girl…

"And why do you say that, littlest lady?"

"Because Inuyasha-oniisama is Inu." She spoke matter-of-factly, as though the answer was obvious.

When the five elders – and Haruto – only stared at her in confusion, Rin ratcheted her chin in the air, a determined light coming to her eyes. "Inu never give up. They never fail. And, army or not, when they decide that someone or something is their enemy then Kami help them, for it is all but assured that that enemy will never again see the light of dawn."

She'd said it with such ferocity, such loyalty… That idea that such words could come from the mouth of a girl who was little more than a child had struck them all speechless.

Inuyasha knew immediately that Rin wasn't talking about him, not really. Still, his lips curled into a wicked youkai grin and his chuckle was low and deep, drawing the astonished eyes of the elders around the table back to him.

He pinned each of them with his gaze in turn, the gold of his eyes catching the fading light of the afternoon and causing them to glow with vicious intent. "You should really listen to Rin. She's another girl who knows exactly what she's talking about."


GuessWho - I LOL'd when you said you've decided you already like the next hundred chapters of the story before I've even written them! To know that I'm able to convey the emotions of the characters in a way that hits home makes me so happy to hear!

hnnwnchstr - I was a bit evil with the last chapter's cliffhanger, wasn't I? I didn't intend to leave you all hanging for a month! Sorry about that!

Mini Luu - A drug you say! LOL, I'll take that as a compliment because I definitely know that feeling!

itzatakahashi - Haruto was originally waiting for the Pack, but when he caught sight of Rin he got somewhat, ahem, distracted.

Kirychan1226 - Thank you so much! I like to think I can lend a hand in the renewal of this fandom, but really there are SO MANY spectacular authors out there doing such great work that I really can't take that much credit.

Digital Art Monster - How much do I love that you reread the whole thing?! And for the third time?! Gah. You're gonna make me cry! And I SO appreciate your comments about the believability of the characters I write. It's something I work really hard on, and to know that it comes through means the world. (Also your Dannypocalypse over on Tumblr cracked me the hell up!)

Amanda B - Lady you are KILLING me with your amazing comments! Thank you for checking up on me here and over on Tumblr. That's definitely where I'm most active when I'm not doing my job or typing away working on the next chapter. Know that you can always drop me comments here or in my "Ask box" over on Tumblr. It accepts even when users aren't logged in, so you should be able to use it when you don't have an account.

Now, on to your observations about the story… You were exactly right when you mentioned that Inuyasha accepting the merchant's gift was a matter of honour, one that he could very much relate to.

And thank you for noticing the "bromance" between Inuyasha and Miroku! By this point in the story, the two have been friends now for four years and working together on exterminations for the better part of three. I want that to be reflected in both how they interact with each other and how they support each other. No matter what happens each knows the other has his back.

Gah! And you noticed the parallel! I wasn't sure if people would pick up on that. Two similar situations, both could have swung either way. One goes one way and one goes the other. This idea of division, brother against brother, fear and the possible outcome will continue to be a huge theme throughout the next 100 chapters!

Everyone else - Thank you SO MUCH for your continued support and kind words! You know it's because of you all that I continue to write this story.

A/N: Apologies for this taking so long to get out! I'm totally safe and healthy as are my children and the rest of my family! Thank you to everyone who messaged me out of concern! The truth is I spent most of March working on Part Two of my Valentine's Day/White Day Two-shot For You. The story just got way away from me and ended up over 6000 words long! But it's done now and most of the next two chapters of TFFT are also already outlined and partially written, so hopefully, updates will be coming roughly once a week for the next few weeks at least! Thank goodness, right? Don't know how many more cliffhangers y'all can take!

ALSO SQUEAL-WORTHY ANNOUNCEMENT! To Fight For Tomorrow has been nominated for Best Romance in the Feudal Connection's 2nd Quarter 2020 Fandom Awards. I cannot believe this! Thank you to ALL OF YOU! Without you readers there would be no story and there certainly wouldn't be any award nominations! It's gonna be a stiff competition. Some of my favourite authors are also nominated in this category, but if you're so inclined, voting will take place from April 29th through May 12th and anyone is free to submit nominations for any work in any category from now until April 15th. You can find out more at feudalconnection over on Tumblr.

PS – You can find me chatting about behind-the-scenes stuff over on Tumblr. My username is sarah-writes-stories.

(And, of course, I do not own Inuyasha nor any of the characters created by Rumiko Takahashi.)