Times of Change

Disclaimer:  Inuyasha and all of its characters don't belong to me.  Neither does Kurama (he's from the cast of Yu Yu Hakusho).  This isn't a crossover as he's the only character from that series in this.  Why?  You'll find out later.  *grins* I do claim all original characters though, even the bad ones.  Well that about wraps it up, let me know what you think at the end!

Chapter 2:  Challenge

            Later, in the peaceful darkness, far away from the village a group of voices could be heard.  "Are you crazy!?"  Kurama asked his friend in stunned amazement.

            "Aww…  Come on Kurama!  They're like pups with no direction at all!"

            "Precisely, Shadow.  There's next to no real leadership here, except for the dim recognition that Inuyasha gets but even then that is challenged by the girl and the little fox demon."  He answered with a snort.

            "That's why we should help them.  See you and Dest could provide examples and –"  He was cut off when Destin raised his head and looked intently at him.  "Don't look at me like that!  It could work plus they really need someone to show them!"  He argued.

            "Why not you then?"

            "Duh…  Why do you think?"  He drawled out sarcastically.

Kurama looked over his shoulder at Destin who just shrugged and turned back to Shad.  "We'll see," he said non-committedly.  "But for now lets train."

"Agreed."  Shad said and looked over at Destin and grinned.  Destin's eyes reflected their own mirth as he was in complete agreement with his brother.  It was only a matter of time before they brought Kurama around.

            Kagome and Sango were relaxing near the newcomers training grounds.  Shippo was somewhere behind them, digging through the equipment that they'd brought.  "I wonder where Inuyasha has gone off to."  Sango said thoughtfully as she scanned the area for the hanyou.

            "I'd be more worried about Miroku sneaking up on us."  Kagome teased and smothered a giggle with her hand.

            "Isn't that the truth!"  Sango agreed wholeheartedly and they laughed.  A sudden crash from behind had then twisting around guilty before they realized that Shippo had managed to knock down al of the neatly stacked equipment and was trying to hold a large wooden sword in his hands.

            "Oh Shippo!"  Kagome exclaimed and had to bite down a giggle that was trying to work its way out of her mouth.

            "What?!  I can handle this stupid thing!"  He yelled and tried to hold the large weapon in his tiny hands.  A rather disbelieving snort had them turning around again and they saw Inuyasha, Miroku, and Destin watching them.

            "You're such a pathetic weakling runt."  Inuyasha sneered at the baby kitsune.  Kagome opened her mouth and was about to say 'the word' when she stopped in shock.  Destin had lightly tapped the hanyou on the jaw with his fist and got an instant reaction from Inuyasha.

            "Why'd you do that for!?"  He snarled and received a cool glare in return before Destin walked over to Shippo and shook his head lightly and held out his hand for the sword.  At first it looked as though he was going to argue with the small human man but after a long moment he handed it to him.  Although his face was still mostly hidden they could tell that he was pleased by the warm light that came into the human's eyes as he rubbed the kitsune's ears affectionately before digging through the pile of weapons behind him.  After a moment of searching he pulled out a slender, but long, wooden dagger and handed it to the kitsune.

            "For me?"  Shippo asked hopefully and was rewarded with a nod.  With a cry of delight he launched himself at the human who tousled his hair and looked back over at Inuyasha and the others.  Amusement danced in those beautiful silver flecked eyes that somehow managed to enfold all of them.

            "Destin!"  Shad yelled loudly for his brother and glared at the three men who were supposed to be fighting one another.  Destin stood up quickly after detaching Shippo from his body and looked over at his brother.  "Get over here and beat some sense into these idiots!"  Shad demanded.  Destin shrugged and picked up a slender sword made of dark wood and held up his other empty hand to his brother.  "Better use the wooden swords.  These mortals may chop off their own heads otherwise."  He advised.  Destin nodded and sprinted easily over to Shad and looked the men over and motioned for them to get their own swords.

            "What's the big deal with the wood weapons?"  Inuyasha asked in a bored tone although he was really curious.  The detail had been very good and he had a feeling that the weapons weighed the exact weight that their metal counterparts would have. 

            "Easy.  With those things we can leave bruises instead of nice clean cuts."  Shad answered as he went to stand beside them so he was out of the way.

            "What are they going to do?"  Miroku asked.

            "The three are going to attack Destin and try to beat him."  He answered simply, ignoring the stunned looks on the faces around him.  "Begin!"  He yelled.

            The fight that followed was nothing short of amazing.  While the taller and defiantly stronger men tried to use brute force to overpower Destin he managed to evade them in a series of graceful turns, flips, and twists.  His attacks were fast and had he been using a real sword, deadly.  The other remarkable thing was that he was staying within a certain radius of a circle.  He would go only ten feet from his original position in any direction, unlike the other three humans who would stumble back a lot and continued to rush at him.

            "Why doesn't he go past seven feet?"  Inuyasha asked.

            "Ah, caught on to that did you?"  Shad asked with a chuckle and glanced over at him.  "Destin is a master swordsman but because they others are amateurs he's placing a handicap upon himself.  If another sword-master who knew the rules of C-Dueling then they would both fight within a circle that was nine feet to the edge from the center."

            "That's suicide!"  Miroku exclaimed.

            "No, just twp professionals doing what they do best."  Shadow corrected and watched as Destin finished the last of his competitors off with a slightly vicious blow to the head, rendering him unconscious upon contact.

            "That wasn't very kind."  Shad noted dryly.  Destin looked over at him and shook his head as he tapped his forehead and rolled his eyes.  "A bit of a temper eh?  Well his headache should cure him of that."  He said and looked at the other men evilly.  "Alright!  Anyone who doesn't give me their best efforts will end up like those three!"  He threatened.

            Inuyasha smirked at them.  "Feh!  That's just a bunch of fancy tricks."  He said in dismissal.

            "Oh…  You might not always think so."  Shad drawled thoughtfully but ignored the curious looks that he received as he went back to harassing the men.

            "I think you're brother really enjoys torturing those men."  Miroku noted.  Shad's eyes twinkled as he held a gloved finger over his hidden mouth and nodded.

            "Great.  Now we're dealing with a bunch of psychos!"  Inuyasha complained.

            Inuyasha was sitting in his favorite tree thinking when he smelled and all too familiar scent down below him.  Actually, he really didn't mind Kagome's presence at all.  He found himself soothed when she was around, unless they were arguing or she was sitting him of course.  "What do you want?"  He called down to her, not harshly though.

            "Nothing, I was just thinking."  She answered and sat down on the ground and leaned back against his tree. 

            All right.  So she'd caught his attention.  "About what?"

            "You know, it's really hard to hold  a conversation when you have to shout everything you say."  She noted dryly and jumped slightly when Inuyasha landed in front of her.

            "I can hear you just fine wench."  He said and she scowled at him.

            "Inuyasha…"  She warned him softly.

            "Feh!"  He snorted and plopped down on the ground.  "So what are you thinking about?"

            "What are we going to do when we have all the pieces to the jewel?"  She answered.

            "I'm going to use it to become a full demon of course."  He answered automatically.  Aren't I?  He questioned himself.

            "But why?  You're already stronger than any full blooded youkai." 

            "Not during a new moon."  He answered shortly.

            Kagome sighed and let a small smile flit across her face.  "Do you always have to look on the bad side of things?"  She asked half-heartedly.

            Inuyasha was silent for a moment but then deciding to tease her he answered, "yes."  Kagome glared at him until she noticed the teasing look in his eye.  Although she was surprised that he was actually teasing her, she didn't comment and just enjoyed the relaxed atmosphere.

            Inuyasha took that time to study her without really seeming to.  Kagome reminded him of Kikyo in appearance but she was completely different.  Her eyes were a beautiful dark bluish gray color and her long black hair was shining in the sun, as soft as silk.  And her very presence was different.  It was soothing and brightly burning at the same time.  Inuyasha sighed quietly.  Demons show no emotions.  He thought.  My brother is a perfect example of that fact.  Still, he wished that he could tell Kagome how he felt…

            Suddenly he heard screams and yells coming from the village and both he and Kagome leapt to their feet.  "What's going on?!"  Kagome asked in fear.

            Inuyasha breathed in deeply and turned his ears towards the village and he caught the faint scent of youkai.  "Come on.  The village is being attacked!"  He said and scooped Kagome into his arms and sprinted towards the village.

            Two youkai, one male and one female, stood arrogantly before the entire village.  Neither Inuyasha nor the others knew what type of youkai that these two were; they were very human in appearance but it was plain as day that they were demons.  They were about six feet in height and very beautiful.  The female wore a dark purple dress that barely hid her feminine attributes and showcased them.  The male wore skintight pants and a tight shirt that molded perfectly to his body.  The woman had light brown hair and hazel colored eyes, the man next to her had dark brown hair and deep green eyes.  However, the most interesting, or eye-catching, about them was the fact that they both had a shard from the Jewel of Four Souls embedded into their foreheads.

            "How sweet.  A hanyou and a human."  The female all but purred as she looked at Inuyasha and Kagome.  They both blushed a bit but Inuyasha set her down carefully before he started to rip into the two demons verbally.

            "What the hell do you two want?!"  He snarled.

            "Why, your shards."  The female answered.

            "Yeah right wench.  Why don't you just give us yours and we might let you live."

            "Foolish hanyou.  We're full-blooded youkai.  There's no way you can defeat us."  The male said and his eyes slid over to Sango, Kagome, and Miroku.  "Ah!  Now I know who you are!  You're that pathetic weakling who has to have a bunch of humans hold your hand and lead the way."  He taunted.

            Inuyasha snarled and flexed his hands, causing his claws to glint dangerously in the morning sunlight.  "What did you say?"  He growled.

            "He said that you were so pathetically weak that you couldn't even take us on by yourself."  She answered for her companion.

            "That,"  Inuyasha said hotly as he drew Tetsusaiga, "is the last thing you will ever say again."  And then he charged the two youkai at full force.  The two demons laughed and drew a pair of short swords and attacked the hanyou.  For a long time it seemed as though Inuyasha was going to win but as the seconds dragged on to minutes, and the minutes to half an hour it became apparent that he was going to have trouble.

            The youkai were light and graceful on their feet, especially the female.  And their taunts seem to be striking a very raw cord deep within Inuyasha.  Then it looked like it was fixing to be over.  The female's sword that she held in her left hand knocked Tetsusaiga away while the one in right hand came in for the kill.

            "No!"  Kagome screamed.

            A black blur seemed to step in then as both swords were knocked away from Inuyasha and fell to the ground.  Destin pinned the female youkai's arms down and held a very deadly looking sword to her throat.  The male youkai countered this attack by holding his sword up to Inuyasha's neck.

            "Seems like we're in a bit of a stalemate."  He noted.

            Destin nodded but his hold didn't lessen as he looked coldly at the youkai.  "What's the matter?  Too scared to speak?"

            "Maybe he doesn't feel like talking to an idiot."  Inuyasha sneered and felt the cold metal of the sword bite into his skin, causing a drop of blood to run down his throat.

            Destin changed his grip and held the sword up to the female's face and almost but not quite, broke the skin on her cheek.  The message was clear though.  Either he'd have to stop or she'd make short work of the female youkai's face.  "What are you doing Tavol!"  She hissed.

            "You might want to listen to her mortal."  Shad said quietly, but his jade green eyes almost seemed to glow with restrained anger.

            "What do you propose we do, Elena?"  He questioned his companion.

            "Why not challenge them to a Rite of Guild?"  She suggested.

            "A wha?"  Shad asked in confusion.

            "A Rite of Guild.  We're dancers, so therefore you would have to do a dance better than us to win ownership of the shards.  But if we win then we get all the shards."

            Miroku and the others all glanced at each other uneasily and shook their heads.  None of them would be able to pull off such an act and didn't want to take the chance of failing.  "We-"

            "Accept."  Shad interrupted and glared at the woman.  "Release the boy and tell us what the rules are."  He demanded.

            "How do I know you won't kill me when he's free?"  She countered.

            "Are you bleeding?"  Shad pointed out.  Elena considered this fact and nodded her head delicately and Tavol shoved Inuyasha away from him.  Destiny let Elena go as well but not before striking her on the cheek with the flat of her sword.  "Rules."  Shad said coldly and took an inventory of Inuyasha's wounds.

            "You must have a male and female dancer.  No weapons are allowed, and no sabotaging the other team."

            "Fine.  When do we begin?"  Shad asked.

            "In a hour."  Tavol decided with a sneer and the two turned around and walked back into the forest.

            "Are you crazy!"  Miroku yelled.  "None of us knows how to dance!"

            "Miroku!"  Inuyasha snapped and covered his ringing ears.

            "Sorry Inuyasha."  Miroku apologized as Kagome hurried over to Inuyasha.

            "Are you alright?"  She asked worriedly.

            "Fine.  I heal fast, remember?"  He snapped half-heartedly.

            "So what are we going to do?  Like Miroku said, none of us have ever really danced before."  Sango pointed out.

            "Well uh…"  Shad began and grinned sheepishly.  "I can."  Four sets of startled eyes looked at the dark haired man.  "You-"  Sango began but closed her mouth.

            "Well that takes care of the guy, but what about the girl?"  Kagome asked.

            Shad looked around and noted all of the people watching them and shook his head.  "You six,"  he said and pointed to Kagome, Miroku, Inuyasha, Sango, Kaede, and Shippo follow me."  Then he turned and headed into Kaede's hut.  Only after both Kurama and Destin did the others follow and even then it was with a great deal of reluctance.

            "What is going on?"  Kagome asked quietly.

~ Hey cool!  It's hurricane weather, so that means no school tomorrow!  Yes!  Yes!  Yes!  I love storms.  *grins*  My mom is so going to kill me when she finds out I've been on the computer!  Well let me know what you think, was this chapter good, bad, so-so?  Something only termites would read?  Click that little box to the left and let me know! ~