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Chapter 6
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Kagome slumped against the wall, hand pressed to the cut on her right thigh. Her eyes slid closed and she swallowed, trying in vain to wet her dry throat. Sango was slumped, unconscious, beside her.
//Gods,// she thought, exhausted, //How many? How many died?// She lifted her head painfully and opened her eyes. There, near the gates of the village, were the piles of the dead. Kaho was bustling around, moving from one hut to the next, treating the injured in spite of her own wounded arm. Touji leaned heavily against his spear, making a count of all the wounded and dead. He shook his head weakly and moved over to where she and Sango were slumped.
"How many?" Kagome rasped.
"I don't know. Too many." Touji sat beside Sango with a heavy sigh. "If they come back, we won't be able to defend." Kagome sighed, defeated, and let her head droop again. Unbidden, the images of the day's battle rose in her mind's eye.
++++++++++++++++++++
It was still dark when the first wave had struck. The village was caught unawares, and two or three homes had been destroyed before they could mount a counter attack.
The second wave had been worse, but the third was the worst. Kagome had been in the thick of the battle, Sesshou Maru at her side. She had lost sight of the others soon after the start of the second wave. She saw Miroku and Sango fighting near the gates. Sango was on her knees, an arrow in her left thigh just before the third wave hit.
It had surprised her, however, that the attacks didn't last very long at all. They were more ferocious and violent than anything Kagome could remember during her time with Inu Yasha.
//Almost as if they were looking for something else. Like they were after. something else.// Kagome blinked at the thought. //Some.thing...? Someplace.?// She pushed herself weakly to her feet and moved towards where she saw Sesshou Maru and Inu Yasha enter her small house.
The building was a veritable pincushion of arrows and spears and one corner was charred. Kagome could only be grateful that it was still standing, however. She limped through the doorway and looked longingly at her bed. //Later.// She told herself firmly. Her eyes scanned the near-darkness until she saw two clumps of silver, one in each corner.
"Sesshou Maru?" she called. The one to the left stirred briefly and she heard a mumbled answer. "Inu Yasha, are you there, too?"
".yeah." She frowned. Both of them sounded so exhausted.
"I need to talk to you both." She sat down beside the fire pit and began stirring the cold ashes with the stick there. Inu Yasha and Sesshou Maru moved reluctantly from their respective corners into the semi-light afforded by the open door.
Kagome winced when she saw them. Inu Yasha had a large cut on the side of his face and several burn marks on his kimono. His silver hair was matted with browning blood and dirt. Kagome wondered if he had a head injury. Sesshou Maru was limping horribly and Kagome could see the dark stained over his right thigh. His kimono was torn in several places and his right hand was stained in blood. //His or someone else's.?// Kagome didn't dwell on the injuries of the two demons, however, as she knew that they would heal in time.
"Did you notice something odd about the attacks?" Inu Yasha snorted.
"Other than the fact that we fought off three swarms of demons in the heights of bloodlust?" Kagome /looked/ at him and he shut up.
"I mean," she continued, "That it was almost as if the village wasn't their target. As if it were something else."
"In the forest, you mean?" Sesshou Maru nodded. "Yes, I saw that they seemed quite interested in getting /past/ the village." Inu Yasha was nodding. Apparently, he had noticed it as well.
"But what.?"
"Kagome-sama?" Kagome turned to see Kaho and a heavily limping Sango at the door.
"Kaho! Sango! Come in. Sit down, both of you. You must be exhausted."
"We're all exhausted, Lady." Sango muttered. "Including yourself, I should think."
"Yeah." Kagome looked back at her futon. "I think I'm going to rest for a while."
"Everyone in the village is resting for the rest of the day." Kaho said, starting the fire. "Touji says that we'll start cleaning up tomorrow. Dawn." Kagome nodded vaguely and made her way to the waiting futon.
Sesshou Maru and Inu Yasha both returned to their respective corners. Soon all three were asleep.
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//"Kagome."//
She looked around, confused. A heavy mist surrounded her, amplifying the voice somehow. A hand touched her shoulder and she turned, shocked by who she saw there.
"Kikyou?"
The priestess stood beside her, expression calm. Her eyes, however, were filled with urgent warning. She turned and pointed.
The mist parted at the wave of her arm. Kagome looked forward and started. There, in front of her, stood The Bone Eater's Well.
"I don't understand. What.?" Kikyou motioned for her to be quiet, and she went back to watching the well. "No!" A dark shadow fell over the well just before it caught fire.
And Kagome jerked awake. "The well." She whispered, eyes wide. "Mama, Shouta, Grandpa."
"Kagome-chan.?" Sesshou Maru's groggy voice floated through the room. "What's wrong?"
"I-I had a dream." Kagome said softly.
"What kind of dream?" Inu Yasha was now awake as well.
"Uhm. Kikyou took me out into the forest. To Bone Eater's Well. I think that's where the demons that attacked us went. We need to follow them. Now. As soon as possible." her voice trailed off and she blinked several times as Sesshou Maru relit the fire.
"I'll go get Touji." Inu Yasha rose from his spot in the corner and moved for the door.
"Get Kaho and Sango and the others, too. We need everyone."
++++++++++++++++++++
They were gathered in Kagome's hut until dawn before they finally decided to go to the well. Some-namely Touji and Sango-were hesitant to go simply because of Kagome's dream. The rest had either had experience with the predilection dreams of a priestess-Miroku, Sesshou Maru, Inu Yasha, and Kaede-or faith in Kagome herself-the kitsunes and Kaho.
As the sun rose, Kagome stood with Inu Yasha, Sesshou Maru, and Touji at the gates of the newly repaired fortress.
"Are any of them worth bringing?" Sesshou Maru asked, jerking his head toward the village behind them.
"Not unless you think we need cannon fodder." Kagome intoned wryly. "I say we take ourselves and that's all. I don't know how many of /us/ I can take through the well, if it comes to that."
"Right then," Inu Yasha put his hand over the hilt of his blade, "Let's go."
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Next Chapter: Through the Well.?
++++++++++++++++++++ ++++++++++++++++++++ Notes:
Well! There it is. Now that school's out, (I graduated! WOOT!!) I hope that I'll be able to update more regularly. Keep reading/reviewing! Chapter 7 will be out. well, who knows, honestly? Hm. does anyone ever read the AN, anyway.?
Kagome slumped against the wall, hand pressed to the cut on her right thigh. Her eyes slid closed and she swallowed, trying in vain to wet her dry throat. Sango was slumped, unconscious, beside her.
//Gods,// she thought, exhausted, //How many? How many died?// She lifted her head painfully and opened her eyes. There, near the gates of the village, were the piles of the dead. Kaho was bustling around, moving from one hut to the next, treating the injured in spite of her own wounded arm. Touji leaned heavily against his spear, making a count of all the wounded and dead. He shook his head weakly and moved over to where she and Sango were slumped.
"How many?" Kagome rasped.
"I don't know. Too many." Touji sat beside Sango with a heavy sigh. "If they come back, we won't be able to defend." Kagome sighed, defeated, and let her head droop again. Unbidden, the images of the day's battle rose in her mind's eye.
++++++++++++++++++++
It was still dark when the first wave had struck. The village was caught unawares, and two or three homes had been destroyed before they could mount a counter attack.
The second wave had been worse, but the third was the worst. Kagome had been in the thick of the battle, Sesshou Maru at her side. She had lost sight of the others soon after the start of the second wave. She saw Miroku and Sango fighting near the gates. Sango was on her knees, an arrow in her left thigh just before the third wave hit.
It had surprised her, however, that the attacks didn't last very long at all. They were more ferocious and violent than anything Kagome could remember during her time with Inu Yasha.
//Almost as if they were looking for something else. Like they were after. something else.// Kagome blinked at the thought. //Some.thing...? Someplace.?// She pushed herself weakly to her feet and moved towards where she saw Sesshou Maru and Inu Yasha enter her small house.
The building was a veritable pincushion of arrows and spears and one corner was charred. Kagome could only be grateful that it was still standing, however. She limped through the doorway and looked longingly at her bed. //Later.// She told herself firmly. Her eyes scanned the near-darkness until she saw two clumps of silver, one in each corner.
"Sesshou Maru?" she called. The one to the left stirred briefly and she heard a mumbled answer. "Inu Yasha, are you there, too?"
".yeah." She frowned. Both of them sounded so exhausted.
"I need to talk to you both." She sat down beside the fire pit and began stirring the cold ashes with the stick there. Inu Yasha and Sesshou Maru moved reluctantly from their respective corners into the semi-light afforded by the open door.
Kagome winced when she saw them. Inu Yasha had a large cut on the side of his face and several burn marks on his kimono. His silver hair was matted with browning blood and dirt. Kagome wondered if he had a head injury. Sesshou Maru was limping horribly and Kagome could see the dark stained over his right thigh. His kimono was torn in several places and his right hand was stained in blood. //His or someone else's.?// Kagome didn't dwell on the injuries of the two demons, however, as she knew that they would heal in time.
"Did you notice something odd about the attacks?" Inu Yasha snorted.
"Other than the fact that we fought off three swarms of demons in the heights of bloodlust?" Kagome /looked/ at him and he shut up.
"I mean," she continued, "That it was almost as if the village wasn't their target. As if it were something else."
"In the forest, you mean?" Sesshou Maru nodded. "Yes, I saw that they seemed quite interested in getting /past/ the village." Inu Yasha was nodding. Apparently, he had noticed it as well.
"But what.?"
"Kagome-sama?" Kagome turned to see Kaho and a heavily limping Sango at the door.
"Kaho! Sango! Come in. Sit down, both of you. You must be exhausted."
"We're all exhausted, Lady." Sango muttered. "Including yourself, I should think."
"Yeah." Kagome looked back at her futon. "I think I'm going to rest for a while."
"Everyone in the village is resting for the rest of the day." Kaho said, starting the fire. "Touji says that we'll start cleaning up tomorrow. Dawn." Kagome nodded vaguely and made her way to the waiting futon.
Sesshou Maru and Inu Yasha both returned to their respective corners. Soon all three were asleep.
++++++++++++++++++++
//"Kagome."//
She looked around, confused. A heavy mist surrounded her, amplifying the voice somehow. A hand touched her shoulder and she turned, shocked by who she saw there.
"Kikyou?"
The priestess stood beside her, expression calm. Her eyes, however, were filled with urgent warning. She turned and pointed.
The mist parted at the wave of her arm. Kagome looked forward and started. There, in front of her, stood The Bone Eater's Well.
"I don't understand. What.?" Kikyou motioned for her to be quiet, and she went back to watching the well. "No!" A dark shadow fell over the well just before it caught fire.
And Kagome jerked awake. "The well." She whispered, eyes wide. "Mama, Shouta, Grandpa."
"Kagome-chan.?" Sesshou Maru's groggy voice floated through the room. "What's wrong?"
"I-I had a dream." Kagome said softly.
"What kind of dream?" Inu Yasha was now awake as well.
"Uhm. Kikyou took me out into the forest. To Bone Eater's Well. I think that's where the demons that attacked us went. We need to follow them. Now. As soon as possible." her voice trailed off and she blinked several times as Sesshou Maru relit the fire.
"I'll go get Touji." Inu Yasha rose from his spot in the corner and moved for the door.
"Get Kaho and Sango and the others, too. We need everyone."
++++++++++++++++++++
They were gathered in Kagome's hut until dawn before they finally decided to go to the well. Some-namely Touji and Sango-were hesitant to go simply because of Kagome's dream. The rest had either had experience with the predilection dreams of a priestess-Miroku, Sesshou Maru, Inu Yasha, and Kaede-or faith in Kagome herself-the kitsunes and Kaho.
As the sun rose, Kagome stood with Inu Yasha, Sesshou Maru, and Touji at the gates of the newly repaired fortress.
"Are any of them worth bringing?" Sesshou Maru asked, jerking his head toward the village behind them.
"Not unless you think we need cannon fodder." Kagome intoned wryly. "I say we take ourselves and that's all. I don't know how many of /us/ I can take through the well, if it comes to that."
"Right then," Inu Yasha put his hand over the hilt of his blade, "Let's go."
++++++++++++++++++++
Next Chapter: Through the Well.?
++++++++++++++++++++ ++++++++++++++++++++ Notes:
Well! There it is. Now that school's out, (I graduated! WOOT!!) I hope that I'll be able to update more regularly. Keep reading/reviewing! Chapter 7 will be out. well, who knows, honestly? Hm. does anyone ever read the AN, anyway.?
