Iron Town

They were now deep within the heart of the forest, little Kodama of all shapes and sizes perched high up in the tree branches, some even took to running alongside the small group on the forest floor. Kagome had managed to assist Kohaku in riding Yakul since it was the best way to keep the weight of his injured leg. Meanwhile, she took it upon herself to carry the other man who lay limply on her back.

"Um, Kagome I think we should turn back!" Kohaku suggested shakily.

His eyes were darting every which way from the moment they entered the first line of trees, like a scared animal on alert, watching and waiting for something to sneak up out of nowhere. Kagome figured that although he didn't seem as bothered by the Kodama as much anymore, the forest itself was a completely other matter.

"Have I mentioned that no human being has ever come out of these woods alive!" He added fearfully.

Yep definitely a whole other matter.

"Why don't we just head back? There's a path across the river."

"The currents too strong for us to cross, and I'm afraid your friend's injuries are quite bad…if we don't get him to help soon he won't make it." She wasn't going to let that happen either way.

Unfortunately, she was already growing tired, breathing heavily as sweat began to form on her brow, but still, she pushed on.

A Kodama suddenly ran into her path and further on ahead.

"Hey, little guy are you leading us out of here or getting us more lost?" She called out humorously and slightly breathless.

The tiny spirit turned to face her briefly before skipping its way along up to a small rise made of large tree roots.

"I uh don't think they're trying to help us," Kohaku mumbled behind her.

Kagome had to pause, leaning against one of the protruding roots to support herself. Her limbs held a dull ache and her chest felt tight. She took a few deeper breaths of air trying to collect herself, hunched forward she watched more Kodama pass by, some even mimicking her carrying others on their backs as they climbed. Suddenly she felt more resolved than she was a few seconds ago, adjusting the man on her back to a more comfortable position before continuing onward again.

As they finally crested the rise they emerged through some bushes which once cleared opened up into a spectacular sight. A hidden oasis, trees with patches of crystal clear water flowing around them, faint rays of the sun filtering through from up above making it appear truly idealistic.

"This is magical…" She let the words whisper through her lips as she peered around in complete awe at the beauty of nature, as if silently afraid of breaking some unforeseen tranquil spell.

The ground beneath her feet was soft and mossy, like an endless carpet of lush green. Suddenly Kagome stumbled upon a slight dip where she stepped. Curiously she glanced down to find there were other clear imprints already there.

Distinct paw prints of considerable size with smaller arched ones alongside them.

It took but a moment for her to have a good idea of what had made those.

'This must be their home.' She thought idly, the corner of her mouth tilting up a fraction.

"Um Kagome we really shouldn't be here, this is a place for Gods and Demons!" Kohaku perked up from behind her.

Feeling her legs starting to give Kagome carefully lowered herself to the ground to gently lay down her charge.

"I think we'll be alright, let's rest here for a bit."

Removing her hood and mask Kagome welcomed the cool air that brushed against her clammy, sweaty skin as she took in a much-needed lungful of air. Turning to search through her satchel she found her red bowl, making her way over to the nearest pool of water.

As she bent to fill it she caught movement out of the corner of her eye. Peering up she watched as a cluster of small blue butterflies flitted around a secluded rock covered in moss, just a stone's throw away from her. Their wings shimmered with all colors of the rainbow in the soft light from above. Upon closer inspection, she could make out another impression in the soil they also appeared so attracted to.

'More tracks?'

Three-toed, similar to a bird…but also nothing like one. First and foremost it was much, much bigger than any average kind of bird. She soon noticed another one in the bed of the shallow stream. Her instincts suddenly came to the forefront, her tracking skills alerting her to a pressing observation.

"Whatever made these…" She began, cautiously glancing up and sweeping her gaze from side to side, "…made them recently."

As she scanned the scenery with fixed interest nothing immediately struck out to her…until she came across a parting between the trees in the distance.

She saw what appeared to be a common herd of deer passing by, steadily making their way further into the forest, their features blurred into black silhouettes due to the harsh glow of light behind them.

Just when she thought it was her imagination, the hairs on the back of her neck suddenly stood on end and a slight tremble ran through her frame. Through the gap came another animal she immediately presumed to be another deer…but something told her it wasn't. Its 'antlers' were spread out high above its head, closely resembling the multitude of branches you'd find on a tree. The shape of the face was all wrong, smaller and shorter with a much larger body frame. At that moment the silhouette stopped in its tracks, to turn in her direction.

Kagome froze in its gaze, though she couldn't make out the features she was sure she was being observed.

Without warning searing pain shot through her system, sprouting from her right arm as it began to twitch and spasm uncontrollably as if possessed. Gasping harshly and gritting her teeth she clung to it in desperation before hastily submerging it into the pool of water. The shock of the cold lasted only a second as the spasming slowly ceased to a steady pulsing. Taking deep breaths to steady herself from the shock, she waited until the pain had disappeared somewhat before risking to move.

"Kagome?" Kohaku's voice snapped her back to reality as she slowly hauled herself up to stand. "Are you okay?"

She didn't initially respond to his concern just continued to walk back over to the injured man on the ground, propping him up to help him drink.

"Did you see anything just then?" She spoke eventually still focused on what she was doing rather than meeting Kohaku's gaze.

The young boy arched a brow in confusion. "Uh like, what?"

"Never mind."

Maybe it had all been in her head.

Though had she remained watching through the gap in the trees, she would have seen the creature, whatever it was, slowly turn away to follow the rest of the herd, the warm glow of the light disappearing along with it.

Strength having returned they continued onward, and Kagome couldn't help but be slightly perplexed at the whole scenario. Not only by the events just passed but also weirdly enough how she was finding it much easier to carry the heavy man on her back now. Kohaku also seemed to notice a difference.

"My arm…I-It doesn't hurt at all now?" He murmured in disbelief, clenching and unclenching his fingers to test it out with no painful backlash. "It's healed!" He thrust his limb up into the air abruptly. A slight click, as well as a choked gasp, followed by. "No – it's still broken." He grunted dejectedly, and Kagome couldn't help but smile.

'Such a silly child.' She mused.

They were now clear from the forest, making their way up and over a small hill to look over the surrounding land.

"Kagome you were right we made it!" Kohaku beamed his features lighting up with delight as they crested the rise.

Kagome just about registered what he said while taking in the scene below her.

Huge billows of smoke climbed into the sky from a giant structure in the middle of the valley, nestled against the side of a mountain across a large lake. You could just about make out the tops of various huts and houses above a cascading wall of tree trunks surrounding the entire complex. Spikes of wood were propped up like spears, jutting out from the base around the lower half of the structure, acting like some kind of barrier.

The entire landscape surrounding the town was barren of any life, just the dark scorched brown of the earth, emanating with even more smoke.

"It's like a fortress," Kagome whispered. A highly reinforced fortress, there was no other way to describe it.

Kohaku turned to her, his next words spoke with pride but his smile wasn't as bright.

"It's Lord Naraku's 'Iron Town', we make iron here from the ore in the soil."

'But why is it so heavily reinforced?' That is what she wanted to ask but she thought better of it.

"HEY!"

The boy's sudden outburst almost made the poor girl jump out of her skin! Thankfully he seemed oblivious too focused on what was in front of him. She followed his line of sight further down the hill and noticed some men with small boats hauled up near the shoreline.

Taking on a more cautious front she adjusted her mask to cover her face once again, leaving only her eyes visible. Repositioning the man on her back she began to steadily descend, Yakul following faithfully behind.

"HEY, IT'S ME KOHAKU!"

The men looked up from what they were doing at the cry.

"Look someone's come out of the forest!" One said in utter disbelief. With justified reason, it was a well-known fact that no one ever came out of that forest.

"Is it the half-breed?!" Another whispered nervously, whilst the man in the small canoe looked about ready to take off.

"I'M BACK!" Kohaku proclaimed cheerily, his cheeks creasing as his smile grew.

Kagome couldn't help but smile herself. She understood the boys overzealous. There was no place like home after all.

"It's Kohaku!"

"He's back?"

"I thought he was dead?"

Amidst the town, people were scurrying around making their way hastily to the front gates at the news of Kohaku's return.

Seated on one of the hut terraces was a woman in a white and crimson-violet pattern kimono. The right sleeve was partially removed to reveal a second layer beneath, a blue robe worn over a green. A yellow patterned obi was tied at her waist. She had two white feathers nestled in the tie holding up her long dark hair. Her eyes were strikingly red and her ear tips were slightly pointed, a pair of bright jade beaded earrings adorning each ear, bearing a feather at the end.

She was subtly fanning herself with a large white fan, decorated simply with two red stripes. She snapped it closed harshly when all the bustling noise surrounding her became too much.

"Will you keep it down! I can't hear myself think!" She gritted out in clear annoyance her temple ticking.

"Haven't you heard? Kohaku is back from the dead!" A passing man informed her hurriedly.

Watching him hurry off she narrowed her eyes, brows furrowed together.

"What?"

Meanwhile, everyone was working their way down the slope by the entrance towards the lakeshore. As the crowd gathered a small boat arrived on the bank, with Yakul swimming alongside. Emerging from the water the townspeople moved aside, giving the beast room to shake himself thoroughly with a soft nicker.

As the canoe got securely dragged up the rocks several men came to its side.

"I can't believe it!"

"How did you survive?"

"Did anyone else make it?"

"Yeah did you see my son?"

Kohaku shrunk back at the bombardment of frantic questions…more so because of the answer, he had to give.

"Uh, no…we were the only ones who made it back."

At that moment another group came forward to gather up the other injured man, carrying him back up the slope to the town.

"Move it!"

Back up by the gate, the woman with the fan pushed her way through the crowd, watching as Kohaku was lifted from the small boat.

"What's going on here?" Her tone was flat and disinterested.

"That stranger in the weird clothing Mistress Kagura, who do you think they are?" A man whispered to her inquiringly.

Returning to fanning herself absentmindedly she tsked sharply.

"How should I know? They're obviously an outsider." She remarked, eyes narrowing on the figure that disembarked from the boat.

"Hey everyone this lady saved us! Please be nice to her!" Kohaku cried out, as he was maneuvered awkwardly from the canoe causing new pain to shoot through his leg.

Said woman stepped down to the solid ground and made her way over to Yakul.

A slight snap cut through the air.

"Not so fast!"

Kagome paused turning to the harsh commanding voice of the woman heading towards her. She came to a stop a few feet in front of her, eyes giving her the once over trying to figure her out.

Kagome couldn't help but be taken back by the vivid red irises staring her down. Such an unnatural color…yet strangely captivating. Seemed to be a recurring reaction for her today.

"We're thankful to you for bringing these strays back to us." The woman spoke smoothly.

Kagome instantly noticed how she said 'we' as a collective rather than her thanking her personally. More to the point who called their fellow kinsman 'strays'? Like they had simply gotten lost? Weren't they worried about them? She still hadn't found out what exactly the whole story was, but judging from Kohaku's early reaction…it wasn't anything good.

Everything about this woman was screaming fake and arrogant, but Kagome chose not to address it and remained silent as she continued.

"But something doesn't add up, for starters you got back here about as fast as we did, and somehow you made it unscathed through the forest? Not to mention you did it with two injured men!" The woman hmphed in disbelief the tiniest of smirks gracing her lips.

"And you expect me to think you didn't – "

"-haku! Kohaku!"

The woman was cut short from her accusatory speech by the frantic calls of another woman running full barrel down the hill. She looked to be about Kagome's age, her long dark brown hair was tied loosely with a white ribbon. Her kimono was a traditional pink, over which was a long green skirt, complete with traditional woman's arm and leg guards along with straw sandals.

She sped right past everyone to beeline straight for Kohaku, a concerned look etched deeply on her pretty face.

"KOHAKU!"

"Sango!" He responded in kind, clearly happy to see her too.

The woman reached Kohaku panting, only to gasp more as she took in his condition. She appeared shocked at first but then it quickly morphed into something very akin to disapproval.

"That's just great how are you going to help out now all banged up and mangled like this?" She scolded hands on her hips.

"Uh but big sister- " Kohaku stuttered out nervously.

"You scared me half to death, don't you 'big sister' me!" She interjected. "I wish the dogs had eaten you, maybe then you would learn your lesson!" She reprimanded mercilessly.

Chuckles began to emanate from the observing crowd at the exchange. Kohaku, on the other hand, seemed to shrink back with each word she threw at him.

"Sister, can we talk about this later?" He asked pleadingly cheeks aflame with his embarrassment at being scolded openly in front of everyone.

It seemed Kagura for one had seen enough.

"Sango save your sweet mushy sibling reunion for later alright."

The young woman's sharp gaze switched to the tall woman instantly.

"As for you Kagura…"

She turned to stomp over towards her, face darkening.

"…some bodyguard you are always strutting around without care when the dangers passed! Where were you when they needed you hm?"

Kagura's eyes flared as she bit her lip, obviously desperate to retaliate. But she seemed to think better of it, whipping out her fan open again under her chin, turning away from the other young girl's fiery gaze.

"Humph, whatever." Was her subdued response.

Once she was done with her Sango then turned back to Kagome, who was surprised as she watched the other woman's face take on a much softer looker, her brown eyes sparkling with great emotion. Suddenly she bowed deeply towards her.

"Thank you stranger, my brother may be clueless but I'm glad he's home safe." She spoke genuinely, her smile all the more warming which allowed Kagome to relax a little, for what felt like the first time since the boat had pulled in.

"That's a relief I was starting to wonder if it was wrong to bring him back," She responded playfully smiling beneath her mask.

Sango's eyes widened, blinking rapidly…before she burst out laughing. She quickly composed herself, leaning in slightly to try and get a better look at the newcomer.

"Say why not take the mask off, bet there's a pretty face underneath it." Her voice also held a playful note to it.

"Kagura."

A new deep, baritone voice caused everyone to switch their focus back up to the front gates. Where a tall, pale-skinned, dark-haired man stood. The Lord of the manor, as it were. He was wearing a dark red kimono with yellow fan details, tucked into a dark grey hakama and long navy cloak draped over his shoulders, complete with tabi socks and sandals.

"Bring the stranger to me later I want to thank them personally for their bravery."

He switched his gaze from Kagura to address the young boy.

"Kohaku."

The boy visibly stiffened under his gaze at his name and shyly responded with a yes.

"Glad you came back." The man said with a thin smile.

All Kohaku did in response was just bob his head in recognition of his words.

'Well, that seemed odd.' Kagome subtly arched a brow curiously at the interaction. Then again it had been a particularly long day, maybe she was just overanalyzing things. But it almost seemed like…Kohaku was afraid of him.

"My Lord you shouldn't worry about him, he'll be back to normal in no time," Sango interjected, causing the man's eyes to drift towards her.

"I must apologize to you Sango, I was in charge I shouldn't have let it happen." He offered smoothly.

Despite its smoothness, Kagome couldn't help the slightly uncomfortable feeling that came over her at the sound of his voice. Just something about it set her on edge and made her feel like something was amiss. She would have been blind as well not to notice Sango's hand twitch slightly at her side as she replied a little too sweetly.

"That's okay, I'm sure if you hadn't had been there my lord then the dogs would have had a whole bunch of new chew toys!"

Faint sniggers passed through the crowd lightening the atmosphere.

"Get some rest traveler, I shall meet with you this evening." And with that, the tall man walked through the entrance disappearing.

Despite the polite manner and friendly welcome, Kagome couldn't shake the slightly ominous feeling she had about all this, it sat back in the corner of her mind gnawing away at her.

As she dwelled on this she unconsciously reached to pull her mask down her face. This caught the attention of a certain someone.

"Oh, I knew there was a beauty under there!" Sango beamed.

Dusk soon descended and everyone was called back to the security of the town to signal the end of another day, as the gates were sealed firmly shut. All the townsfolk came to take their share of the rice that had been brought back by the herdsman...those who had made it back at least.

Kagome settled in well enough, even managing to grab a little bit of rest, stirring as the last rays of the sun disappeared behind the horizon.

The people here were welcoming and friendly, though she had had a bit of trouble with a fair majority of the male residences who immediately flocked to her. She didn't have the heart to rudely rebuff them, they were being gentleman enough, but she had to admit she wasn't used to this kind of full-focused attention. Thankfully Sango was quick to shoo off any particularly determined pursuers that had to be told twice.

Kagome took quite a liking to the young woman, having chatted with her briefly she found they had a fair amount in common, one of which was being the older sibling with a troublesome younger brother. Her heart twinged slightly at the topic but she soon forgot about it, it was simply nice to take the time to chat with someone like this.

When she thought about it, she'd had little to no interaction with another human being since she'd left her village those many moons ago…minus the chatty monk from the other day. Now following Sango's lead, she took a seat inside one of the huts as the food was passed out. Gathering in the doorway and peering through the side window were a group of men of various ages, jostling each other to get a better look as they made comments amongst themselves, but she paid them no real mind. The men and women ate separately so they couldn't come in any way. She did catch a few stray lines of conversation.

"Kohaku was right she is pretty!"

"I'll say."

"But she's so young!"

"Yeah like that ever stopped you?" Then a roar of laughter broke out.

Sango, however, was directing a great amount of death glares their way, a vein pulsing on her forehead.

"Hey keep it down out there! Your comrades died out there today, show a little respect!" She snapped.

"Hey, stranger why don't you come over to our place? If you want some real company." One of the young men asked suggestively ignoring Sango's harsh remark.

"Oh yeah like anyone would want to hang out in a barn full of pigs!" Another woman said snarkily.

Tension started to slowly creep into the air.

"Watch your mouth woman! We're the ones that risked our lives out there to get the rice you're all happily eating tonight!" Another man shot back.

"And who made the iron to pay for that rice huh tell me that?" Sango chimed in again with a smug look on her face, practically daring anyone to challenge her.

Kagome who had been listening quietly up till now decided to chip in at this point.

"Actually if it's not too much trouble Sango I would like to see where you ladies work."

Turning to her the brunette beamed cheerily more than eager to agree. Then Kagome turned to the men.

"And maybe tomorrow you gentlemen could tell me the stories about your encounter?" She smiled softly.

Most of them shifted laughing nervously, color high on their cheekbones as she addressed them.

"You're welcome to come by anytime."

"Don't be a stranger now!"

A few of them shouted before turning swiftly to dash away back to their quarters.

"Best not to pay them any mind," Sango advised after they were all out of sight. "Naraku is rather lenient with them, that's why they're like that."

"Hmph, that's because our Lord likes to gather every cheap ruffian and thug he can find to serve him!" Another woman known as Eri on Kagome's right added bitterly.

Her look of displeasure was marked on most of the other women's faces, and others nodded their heads in agreement.

"It's true everything has turned upside down since he showed up."

"That's right…" A thin woman called Yura with snow-white skin and short black hair stood up, walking round to crouch just behind Kagome, "…that man's not even afraid of the Gods, you should have seen how he dealt with that Nago!"

"Who's Nago?" Kagome asked curiously.

The woman beside her blinked a few times.

"Who's Nago?'" Yura giggled. "Why the gigantic Wolf-God of course!"

That caused Kagome to pause for a second.

"He used to rule the entire forest! No one could even get near the mountains much less the forest without a pack of angry wolves bearing down on them!"

Eri hummed affirmatively. "You see all the iron in the sand under the town had been used up-"

"-so naturally we moved on to the mountain…but Nago didn't stand for that!" Yura added.

Sango spoke next. "The problem was before anyone could dig for it the forest trees had to be cleared…" Her eyes turned downcast and Kagome was surprised to see what she could only interpret as shame coming from the woman's brown orbs, "…and that's what enraged the Wolf." She added solemnly in a quiet voice.

"That's when Naraku appeared with his rifleman!" Yura chirped in.

Kagome had never seen firsthand what gunpowder and rifle weapons could do…but she'd heard things. It wasn't hard to imagine. The scene laid itself out before her…the flash of ignition followed by ear-splitting booming as the powder was struck, the scorching heat of flames and suffocating smoke as the forest wood burned. And the Wolf God…wounded and in pain, fleeing for dear life as his home became ashes around him…powerless to stop it.

She didn't need to hear anymore. She knew what must have happened next…all the pieces slowly clicked into place.

No doubt now this was where the great wolf demon had come from.

This was the cause of all the unnecessary suffering.

"Ka-Kagome?" Sango asked tentatively, noticing the woman beside her stiffen, eyes becoming hard and distant as they stared on into nothing. Yura took the chance to turn away and head over to converse with a bunch of other women.

Receiving no response Sango watched as the dark-haired girl clutched at and increased the grip on her right arm.

"Are you okay? Is your arm hurting?" Her voice filled with concern if that was the case berating herself for not noticing sooner.

"No." Came the surprisingly calm yet tight-lipped reply.

Sango was about to inquire further when she was cut off.

"I was just thinking about the Wolf God…thinking about how he must have died filled with hate."

Sango just nodded mutely before carrying on with her meal. However, she couldn't shake the feeling those words were spoken with more resolution than idle assumption. She'd be a liar if she were to say she hadn't found herself wondering the same thing.

Kimono - The kimono is a traditional Japanese garment. The word "kimono", which means a "thing to wear" (ki "wear" and mono "thing"), has come to denote these full-length robes.

Obi - Obi (sash), a sash worn with a kimono or with the uniforms used by practitioners of Japanese martial arts. Though it is strangely enough unlike most obi found at this time, Kagura's obi is much slimmer and is tied by the front instead of back.

Gonna sound weird but I can't help but think of the 'Everybody Loves Me' song when it comes to Naraku…but you know in an ironic kind of way XP idk

So like I kind of already said, I am alternating some things slightly. I'm sorry but I can't imagine Naraku being liked by everyone, especially not by Sango or Kohaku. I'm also gonna find a way for a little Sango/Miroku pairing to be included somewhere. But I hope you like it so far.

Sorry if there's too much detail? Don't know whether that's a thing but that's just how I write, and like I said even though you may know the story and it's not exact, doesn't have to be and also I feel that would be incredibly boring -. -

Not gonna lie it is a bit restricting since there is a bit of a storyline to follow…it's complicated but I love it! Hope you do too! I'll stop rambling now so stay tuned for more :)

I DO NOT OWN INUYASHA OR PRINCESS MONONOKE! I CLAIM NO CREDIT FOR THEM OR ANY OF THE CHARACTERS ASSOCIATED WITH THEM!

THEY ARE AMAZING PIECES OF ART AND IMAGINATION THAT RESPECTFULLY BELONG TO THEIR RIGHTFUL INGENIOUS OWNERS!

I PROFIT ABSOLUTELY NOTHING FROM THIS APART FROM HOPEFULLY WRITING AN INTERESTING STORY THAT PEOPLE WILL LIKE!