Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha, Kagome, Shippo, Miroku, Kikyo (did I even
mention her before?) aaand er. . . The Shikon jewel. I DO own Raia, Toki,
and all the other people who aren't Rumiko's!
Author's Update 12/8/03 Okay, everybody, it has been edited so that Kagome is NICER! And so that it's geared more towards Kag/Inu
AN: Second chapter! Yay! You know, I write half of this in class and I have to hide it so that my teachers don't get angry with me. I pay attention, though, I SWEAR! I wrote a whole lot of this in Literacy and Caro sits next to me, so she's helped me a lot. I wrote a lot of it when I was taking a test in Chorus, too, so thanks to N-kun and Raven, too.
Chapter 2
Raia awoke to the sound of someone banging on her door. She sat up and rubbed the sleep out of her eyes. "Coming, coming." She slid her yukata on over her bare skin and pulled her hair back into a low ponytail. She opened the door, yawning.
"You coming?" Inuyasha asked, a snarl threatening to roll off his lips.
'He's been fighting with Kagome, no doubt.' "You're leaving already?"
"No," Inuyasha snapped. He pointed to the village entrance. "Demon."
"Oh! I'll be there in a second!" She shut the door and ran to change into her miko clothes. She grabbed her sword and jammed her feet into her geta, running out of the house. She hurried towards the noise and jumped aside as a large chunk of demon squelched to the ground. "Thank kami I haven't eaten anything yet."
Inuyasha was thrown to the ground, tetsusaiga clutched in his hand. "Kagome, do you see any jewel shards?"
Raia noticed that Kagome obviously didn't want to help Inuyasha in the slightest bit. Raia turned to the demon and focused on him. "He has one in his right shoulder."
Inuyasha jumped and looked at her. "I forgot that you can sense the jewel." He narrowed his eyes. "In that case..." He bunched his legs and jumped. He brought his sword down upon the demon, but it blocked him with its arm. It roared and slashed at Inuyasha. Inuyasha dodged the demon but he felt something pierce his back. He landed on the ground and felt blood trickling from the wound.
"Inuyasha!" Kagome yelled, running over. She bent down to help him.
Raia was on the verge of feeling jealous when Inuyasha pushed Kagome away. "I'm fine!"
Nobody noticed the tear that rolled down Kagome's cheek.
Inuyasha jumped up again and slashed at the demon's stomach with his sword. The demon stumbled back and Inuyasha drove the sword in farther. "Die!" He gave one last thrust and the demon collapsed on the ground.
Raia jumped onto the beast and drove her sword through its shoulder to cut out the jewel shard. She handed the bloody gem to Inuyasha when he came up behind her. "It's all yours. I have no use for it."
"I didn't expect you to!" Inuyasha grabbed the shard from her and gave it to Kagome. He was about to follow her back to the house when he turned back. "We're leaving this afternoon if you want to come."
Raia nodded. "I'll come." She whirled around and stalked back to her house. Fighting a demon early in the morning was the last thing she had wanted to do, and it was putting her in a bad mood. And to make things worse, now she would have to face the next few months alongside a woman who hated her guts. At least she would have some sort of company instead of travelling alone with Sol as her only companion.
She cooked some rice for breakfast and packed what clothes she had into a small travel bag.
***
The shadows were beginning to lengthen when Inuyasha and co. came to pick Raia up. She was sitting on her porch with Sol in her lap.
"Where are we headed?" Raia inquired, standing up and hefting her pack onto her shoulders.
Inuyasha pointed to the hill. "We're going to descend into the valley and stop at the first town there."
They all began to walk in silence, everyone thinking about his or her own thing. When they reached the top of the hill, the bright orange setting sun was turning the horizon purple.
The hill grew more like a mountain as they traversed along the rough dirt path. It was steep, and the slant was difficult on Raia's leg muscles. Occasionally rocks would roll from under their feet and someone would have to catch the unfortunate slipper.
When the darkness closed in upon them, Shippo and Miroku struck up a conversation with Kagome. Inuyasha and Raia walked at the front, quietly listening to the chatter behind them.
The slope straightened out slightly at midnight when total darkness was setting in. All around was total silence except for the wind and Shippo, Miroku, and Kagome whispering.
Inuyasha looked at Raia. She had a sad look on her face, and her shoulders were slumped. "Tired, you weak human?"
Raia shook her head and stood up straighter. "Iie." She provided no other explanation.
"Can we stop?" Kagome called from behind. "I'm tired."
"Feh, weak human," Inuyasha muttered.
"We've been travelling for a long time, Inuyasha, even you must be tired," Raia accused. They stepped off the path and began to set up camp in the field.
Raia spread down her small blanket and lay down upon it. It wasn't much of a bed, but it was all she had.
Kagome had a nice, warm sleeping bag, and Shippo was curled up with her in it. Miroku had a roll of blankets and he was already sleeping only five minutes after they had set up camp.
Inuyasha lay down on the hard ground and stared up at the sky. It was warmer in the valley, but not much warmer. The piercing wind was making him shiver, but he wasn't one to complain. He merely steeled himself and closed his yes, keeping his senses elevated in case anything happened.
Being skinny, Raia didn't have much of anything besides her clothes to keep her warm. She wrapped her blanket around herself and curled up into a small ball. The wind still pierced right through the blanket, however.
Inuyasha's ears detected a lot of movement from Raia and he looked over at her. When he saw her curled up in a pathetic bundle, his first response was to laugh at her suffering and go back to looking at the stars.
A particularly strong blast of wind roared through the trees and Inuyasha heard Raia whimper coldly. The wind chilled him quite a bit as well. He looked over at Kagome and Miroku peacefully sleeping in their own warmth.
Inuyasha couldn't help but go over to Raia. He kicked her. "Move over."
Raia looked up at him. "What?"
"Get up," he ordered.
Raia stood up confusedly. She left the blanket on the ground and shivered when another gust of wind tore through the trees.
Inuyasha picked up the blanket. Raia eyed him with fear. In the darkness she couldn't see his expression, and he was a half demon, after all. "Come here," Inuyasha said as gently as he could. He could sense her fear. "I'm not going to hurt you."
He wrapped one half of the blanket around himself and put the other around Raia. He gently lowered them to the ground and they lay next to each other.
"Inuyasha... thank you." Raia clung to him for warmth, and he hesitantly wrapped his arms around her to keep her warm.
'W-what's going on? Kagome... No! I cannot think about that wench right now..." "To repay me, you have to answer all my questions, okay?" Inuyasha dropped his kind act and became serious again, lifting himself out of his thoughts. It was hard to be mean with the girl pressed up right against him. He felt her nod, rubbing up against his chest. "Well, first tell me about all of your siblings."
Raia smiled. She felt surprisingly warm on the inside when she was that close to Inuyasha. His firerat robe was soft, and his chest was firm underneath her head. "Well, there are my two twin sisters, Toki and Kari, and my older brother Nailu."
"What are they like?"
"Well, Toki has curly black hair and purple eyes like me. She studies magic and sword arts." Raia paused and Inuyasha poked her.
"Keep going," he demanded with mock anger.
Raia yawned. "Well, Kari has long light brown hair and violet eyes-heck, our whole family has violet eyes!" She snorted and Inuyasha could swear she was trying to cover up a laugh. "She's the tallest of the three of us, and she's really good at painting and archery." She yawned again.
Inuyasha was compelled to stroke Raia's head, but he thought against it. "And your brother?"
"Yes, Nailu..." Raia thought for a moment.
'Nailu? Wait, that sounds familiar.'
"Well, he's a bit like Miroku... Except it's more like the girls are all over him instead of the other way around." Raia hid a smile in Inuyasha's chest. "He wields a sword called the Masamune and he's really strong." She pressed even closer to Inuyasha. "But not as strong as you."
Inuyasha looked at the top of her head in surprise. "Flattery will get you nowhere."
Raia laughed. It was a bright laugh that lightened Inuyasha's heart. "Face the truth."
Inuyasha couldn't help but smile slightly. "And your parents?" He felt Raia tense and he realized he probably shouldn't have asked the question.
"I haven't seen them for a very long time..." She swallowed loudly and closed her eyes.
They were silent for a long time and Inuyasha finally spoke. "My mother and father weren't with me for a long time in my life as well. I know how it feels."
Raia whimpered quietly and fisted Inuyasha's robe.
Inuyasha had tightened his arms and he nuzzled her hair before he realized what he was doing. "Night."
"Oyasumi nasai," Raia murmured, already falling asleep.
Author's Update 12/8/03 Okay, everybody, it has been edited so that Kagome is NICER! And so that it's geared more towards Kag/Inu
AN: Second chapter! Yay! You know, I write half of this in class and I have to hide it so that my teachers don't get angry with me. I pay attention, though, I SWEAR! I wrote a whole lot of this in Literacy and Caro sits next to me, so she's helped me a lot. I wrote a lot of it when I was taking a test in Chorus, too, so thanks to N-kun and Raven, too.
Chapter 2
Raia awoke to the sound of someone banging on her door. She sat up and rubbed the sleep out of her eyes. "Coming, coming." She slid her yukata on over her bare skin and pulled her hair back into a low ponytail. She opened the door, yawning.
"You coming?" Inuyasha asked, a snarl threatening to roll off his lips.
'He's been fighting with Kagome, no doubt.' "You're leaving already?"
"No," Inuyasha snapped. He pointed to the village entrance. "Demon."
"Oh! I'll be there in a second!" She shut the door and ran to change into her miko clothes. She grabbed her sword and jammed her feet into her geta, running out of the house. She hurried towards the noise and jumped aside as a large chunk of demon squelched to the ground. "Thank kami I haven't eaten anything yet."
Inuyasha was thrown to the ground, tetsusaiga clutched in his hand. "Kagome, do you see any jewel shards?"
Raia noticed that Kagome obviously didn't want to help Inuyasha in the slightest bit. Raia turned to the demon and focused on him. "He has one in his right shoulder."
Inuyasha jumped and looked at her. "I forgot that you can sense the jewel." He narrowed his eyes. "In that case..." He bunched his legs and jumped. He brought his sword down upon the demon, but it blocked him with its arm. It roared and slashed at Inuyasha. Inuyasha dodged the demon but he felt something pierce his back. He landed on the ground and felt blood trickling from the wound.
"Inuyasha!" Kagome yelled, running over. She bent down to help him.
Raia was on the verge of feeling jealous when Inuyasha pushed Kagome away. "I'm fine!"
Nobody noticed the tear that rolled down Kagome's cheek.
Inuyasha jumped up again and slashed at the demon's stomach with his sword. The demon stumbled back and Inuyasha drove the sword in farther. "Die!" He gave one last thrust and the demon collapsed on the ground.
Raia jumped onto the beast and drove her sword through its shoulder to cut out the jewel shard. She handed the bloody gem to Inuyasha when he came up behind her. "It's all yours. I have no use for it."
"I didn't expect you to!" Inuyasha grabbed the shard from her and gave it to Kagome. He was about to follow her back to the house when he turned back. "We're leaving this afternoon if you want to come."
Raia nodded. "I'll come." She whirled around and stalked back to her house. Fighting a demon early in the morning was the last thing she had wanted to do, and it was putting her in a bad mood. And to make things worse, now she would have to face the next few months alongside a woman who hated her guts. At least she would have some sort of company instead of travelling alone with Sol as her only companion.
She cooked some rice for breakfast and packed what clothes she had into a small travel bag.
***
The shadows were beginning to lengthen when Inuyasha and co. came to pick Raia up. She was sitting on her porch with Sol in her lap.
"Where are we headed?" Raia inquired, standing up and hefting her pack onto her shoulders.
Inuyasha pointed to the hill. "We're going to descend into the valley and stop at the first town there."
They all began to walk in silence, everyone thinking about his or her own thing. When they reached the top of the hill, the bright orange setting sun was turning the horizon purple.
The hill grew more like a mountain as they traversed along the rough dirt path. It was steep, and the slant was difficult on Raia's leg muscles. Occasionally rocks would roll from under their feet and someone would have to catch the unfortunate slipper.
When the darkness closed in upon them, Shippo and Miroku struck up a conversation with Kagome. Inuyasha and Raia walked at the front, quietly listening to the chatter behind them.
The slope straightened out slightly at midnight when total darkness was setting in. All around was total silence except for the wind and Shippo, Miroku, and Kagome whispering.
Inuyasha looked at Raia. She had a sad look on her face, and her shoulders were slumped. "Tired, you weak human?"
Raia shook her head and stood up straighter. "Iie." She provided no other explanation.
"Can we stop?" Kagome called from behind. "I'm tired."
"Feh, weak human," Inuyasha muttered.
"We've been travelling for a long time, Inuyasha, even you must be tired," Raia accused. They stepped off the path and began to set up camp in the field.
Raia spread down her small blanket and lay down upon it. It wasn't much of a bed, but it was all she had.
Kagome had a nice, warm sleeping bag, and Shippo was curled up with her in it. Miroku had a roll of blankets and he was already sleeping only five minutes after they had set up camp.
Inuyasha lay down on the hard ground and stared up at the sky. It was warmer in the valley, but not much warmer. The piercing wind was making him shiver, but he wasn't one to complain. He merely steeled himself and closed his yes, keeping his senses elevated in case anything happened.
Being skinny, Raia didn't have much of anything besides her clothes to keep her warm. She wrapped her blanket around herself and curled up into a small ball. The wind still pierced right through the blanket, however.
Inuyasha's ears detected a lot of movement from Raia and he looked over at her. When he saw her curled up in a pathetic bundle, his first response was to laugh at her suffering and go back to looking at the stars.
A particularly strong blast of wind roared through the trees and Inuyasha heard Raia whimper coldly. The wind chilled him quite a bit as well. He looked over at Kagome and Miroku peacefully sleeping in their own warmth.
Inuyasha couldn't help but go over to Raia. He kicked her. "Move over."
Raia looked up at him. "What?"
"Get up," he ordered.
Raia stood up confusedly. She left the blanket on the ground and shivered when another gust of wind tore through the trees.
Inuyasha picked up the blanket. Raia eyed him with fear. In the darkness she couldn't see his expression, and he was a half demon, after all. "Come here," Inuyasha said as gently as he could. He could sense her fear. "I'm not going to hurt you."
He wrapped one half of the blanket around himself and put the other around Raia. He gently lowered them to the ground and they lay next to each other.
"Inuyasha... thank you." Raia clung to him for warmth, and he hesitantly wrapped his arms around her to keep her warm.
'W-what's going on? Kagome... No! I cannot think about that wench right now..." "To repay me, you have to answer all my questions, okay?" Inuyasha dropped his kind act and became serious again, lifting himself out of his thoughts. It was hard to be mean with the girl pressed up right against him. He felt her nod, rubbing up against his chest. "Well, first tell me about all of your siblings."
Raia smiled. She felt surprisingly warm on the inside when she was that close to Inuyasha. His firerat robe was soft, and his chest was firm underneath her head. "Well, there are my two twin sisters, Toki and Kari, and my older brother Nailu."
"What are they like?"
"Well, Toki has curly black hair and purple eyes like me. She studies magic and sword arts." Raia paused and Inuyasha poked her.
"Keep going," he demanded with mock anger.
Raia yawned. "Well, Kari has long light brown hair and violet eyes-heck, our whole family has violet eyes!" She snorted and Inuyasha could swear she was trying to cover up a laugh. "She's the tallest of the three of us, and she's really good at painting and archery." She yawned again.
Inuyasha was compelled to stroke Raia's head, but he thought against it. "And your brother?"
"Yes, Nailu..." Raia thought for a moment.
'Nailu? Wait, that sounds familiar.'
"Well, he's a bit like Miroku... Except it's more like the girls are all over him instead of the other way around." Raia hid a smile in Inuyasha's chest. "He wields a sword called the Masamune and he's really strong." She pressed even closer to Inuyasha. "But not as strong as you."
Inuyasha looked at the top of her head in surprise. "Flattery will get you nowhere."
Raia laughed. It was a bright laugh that lightened Inuyasha's heart. "Face the truth."
Inuyasha couldn't help but smile slightly. "And your parents?" He felt Raia tense and he realized he probably shouldn't have asked the question.
"I haven't seen them for a very long time..." She swallowed loudly and closed her eyes.
They were silent for a long time and Inuyasha finally spoke. "My mother and father weren't with me for a long time in my life as well. I know how it feels."
Raia whimpered quietly and fisted Inuyasha's robe.
Inuyasha had tightened his arms and he nuzzled her hair before he realized what he was doing. "Night."
"Oyasumi nasai," Raia murmured, already falling asleep.