Hey all! It's sad, I know, but I'm back! **grins** I'll keep trying to update almost every day…but I can't make any promises. ^_^ Like now, lookit at what I've done! A whole three days without updating! Don't kill me, please! **dodges arrows**
A2R: And now to thank my reviewers! :
Me0 : You caught that? Damn…you pay close attention to details, don't you? Thanks for the info! I didn't know what Japanese people wore. **smiles stupidly** I live in America, so I just referred to the closest thing to slippers I knew. ^_^ Cute name!
The Unnamed Demon: NOO! PLEASE NO PHSYCHOS! **cringes in fear** I'll update! I'll UPDATE! **scrambles to computer and types madly** Reviewers: uh…it isn't even on…
**looks at computer and sees black screen** Ha…I knew that…." Thanks Demon-chan!
AnimeObsessionFantasy: Yep. It is a good thing she thought ahead…but the reason why is in this chapter. I guess you could say it was a "sixth sense". ^_^
Thanks all! **huggles them** ^_^'
Disclaimer: Don't own it…that's why it's called a fan fic!
Chapter Three: Who the Hell Are You?!
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--on the road to the Western Lands--
Kagome's brief relaxation was jarred back to alertness when an encroaching darkness flooded her senses. She coughed as a noxious smell came to her. The dragon youkai bugled slightly as they too sensed the danger.
"Milady, there seems to be trouble ahead!" The driver hollered back at her as he took a firmer hold on the reins. He gave an unearthly shout and the carriage trembled slightly as a dull *thud* was heard in front of her. Peering out of the window, Kagome could see a dark red arrow protruding from the driver's chest. He was dead.
Kagome leapt into action immediately. Without glancing ahead of them, she hopped out of the carriage and into the driver's seat. She slung the bag she had unconsciously grabbed over her shoulder and secured it there with a knot. Taking a firm hold on the reins, she steered the terrified, rearing dragons off of the main road and down a convenient dirt path. The carriage rumbled along it, jouncing over rocks and rubble.
A shout was heard as her attackers pursued the retreating young youkai. Spears raised over their heads and malicious grins on their faces, the black-cloaked band came after them. Leering faces with evil, glinting eyes peered over the masks they wore, their hooded cloaks covering their heads.
"We've got her now!" The leader hollered back at his troops, urging them to greater speeds as they closed in on the speeding carriage.
Kagome dared a glance behind her and was horrified to see the gang closing the distance between them. The dragons were spreading their wings, but fouled them on each other. They were too close together to fly away! Kagome's mind was working overtime when the first bandit's harpoon slammed into the wood in front of her, making sure the thrower was secured to the carriage. Kagome sucked in a breath, trying to calm herself so she could think rationally, but she was fighting the impending horror of what these ruffians might do to her if they captured her.
Finally gaining enough self-control, Kagome leapt from the carriage and onto the black dragon's back. She sliced through his thick harness with her claws and set him free. Roaring in fear, the dragon leapt for the skies, flying away as fast as his wings could carry him. Wasting no time in watching the retreating black, Kagome vaulted to the blue, who was desperately trying to stay upright while the carriage pulled her backwards. The lose of the black's pulling weight had left the entire heavy carriage up to the dark blue dragon, and she began lagging behind.
"Easy, girl, easy," Kagome soothed as spears and harpoons flew over their heads. The frantic dragon was thrashing about as she tripped over the remains of her companion's harness, and fell to the ground.
"Damnit all to the Seven Hells!" Kagome cursed as she went down with the blue, entangling herself as well. Slicing furiously, Kagome cut the harness from the dragon's back, and sliced at her legs. So careless was she in her rushed work that she cut the dragon's leg with her claws, causing the black blood to ooze from the wounds and drip to the ground.
The dragon was creeling anxiously as Kagome worked on freeing her. The bandits were just seconds away as Kagome stood back from the dragon and yelled at her to fly. Complying to the command readily, the dark blue dragon bugled in triumph, and followed the black dragon's direction back to the Northern Lands and their home.
Kagome smiled slightly, happy that she hadn't been the cause of the two creature's certain deaths. The smile quickly faded as she felt two arms wrap tightly about her, and a knife go to her throat.
"Well, well, well, boys. What do we have here?" A malicious voice spoke out as the leader of the dark gang came to step in front of Kagome, his knife pressing threateningly against her soft throat.
--somewhere else--
"Damnit, Miroku! Will you please shut the fuck up?" Inuyasha cursed at his friend as he led the way down a dark alley in the city. The city was called Kurayouka, translated into Darkness of the Demon. It was said in the old tongue of the inu-youkai, and was a sacred, but over-run place. Too many demons lived there, crammed into what little space they could find. Many young demons roamed about, homeless; stealing for their food or working for a meager payment, sleeping anywhere they could. Inuyasha fit in perfectly with this bedraggled bunch. His dirty brown tunic was ratty and tattered, the right sleeve long gone, and the left barely there. His dark brown hakama was ripped up the left leg, exposing tanned skin that he had artfully smudged dirt upon. His general ratty appearance was completed with a smudged, indiscernible face and his long, white tresses caked in black mud and pulled back into a low ponytail with a rag.
"I'm coming, my impatient friend." Miroku staggered up to him, sporting round lumps on his head and continuing his endless moaning. He had tried to grope a passing demoness, and, as you can tell, she didn't appreciate it. Miroku was dressed in a black robe with a purple under-robe showing through the rips and tears that were scattered here and there across his outfit. His golden staff weapon was being used as a simple monk's staff, as that was his guise.
"If you can't handle the pain, then don't grope anymore women, you stupid hentai!" Inuyasha grumbled at him as they came out onto the streets.
"Now, let's proceed with the plan…" he stated lowly to his friend as the black-haired demon quickly silenced himself.
The two demons sidled up to one of the best shops on this side of the city. The weasel demon in charge immediately became suspicious and glared at the two, stiffening his posture.
"What can I do for you twos?" He grounded out, letting his impatient nature show through his voice.
"We're looking for something. Sort of like a gag-gift for a friend," Inuyasha said, inconspicuously pulling back a part of his haori, displaying the royal crest on his hidden dagger to the weasel's sharp eyes.
"Ahh, I was wondering when you two were gonna show up," the weasel drawled, recognizing the two immediately after seeing the dagger. "Great disguises, by the way. I knew you were coming when I heard about Lord Sesshomaru's betrothal." The weasel chuckled, whispering to them quietly so none of the other shopkeepers would hear.
"Hello, Derdeil. Do you have anything we might be interested in?" Miroku said under his breath. The two demons had often dealt with the conniving weasel, and he knew the two well enough to know that they were on tolerable ground. The inu-youkai prince and his lecherous friend often came to him to buy "gifts" for Sesshomaru. The weasel chuckled to himself, he liked the two's manipulative and sly minds.
"Actually, my friends, I have just the thing!" Derdeil cried as he turned and rummaged through his pile of junk. Finding the sought-after object, he snickered with malicious glee at the irony of the possible "gift". Raising the black bottle up for his customers to see, he chortled,
"This here is a real beaut! It's a cologne for the old dog! Smells wonderful for the first few minutes, but watch out if you put it on! The stuff leaves a horrible green stain on whatever it touches, and also leaves the thing smelling like rotting flesh for the next three weeks. Stains impossible to get out, and the smell is horrible! Perfect thing, ne?" Derdeil raised the bottle higher, causing the sunlight to reflect in sinister black and dark red colors, the liquid within sloshing gently against the sides.
Inuyasha grinned in approval, but asked anyway, "Got anything else? It would seem rude to only give one gift to my own brother, after all…" he let his sentence trail off into nothing. Miroku's smirk grew when Derdeil reached behind him and pulled out a rather ratty kimono.
"For her ladyship… Before you give it to the unsuspecting bride-to-be, say the word 'Regale' over it. It'll transform into the loveliest thing she's ever seen! But as soon as she puts it on and isn't paying attention, say 'Fiend!' and it'll turn into this scrappy piece of shit you see before you!" Derdeil sniggered. Inuyasha and Miroku laughed a little with him, envisioning Sesshomaru's face as his bride's outfit became the ugly rag that it truly was. But Derdeil wasn't finished yet.
"The best part is that she won't notice the difference!" He downright giggled with wickedness.
"We'll take them both, Derdeil! Nice doing business with ya! As usual…" Inuyasha grinned, flicking a large amount of money into a bag and tossing it at the weasel-demon, who caught it greedily and hid it in his shirt. Miroku collected their "gifts" and shoved them into a burlap sack he carried at his waist. Inuyasha grinned cruelly at Miroku and said jauntily, "Let's have some fun! Now that we've fulfilled our original plan, let's see how much trouble we can get into!" Miroku nodded in agreement, the same mischievous twinkle glinting in his eyes. The two quickly ran off to the worse part of the city, where the lowliest demons lived among the few humans that dwelled in the Western lands.
--back to Kagome--
The leader slowly lowered his cape's hood. Wild, piercing blue eyes triumphantly stared into Kagome's as she defiantly glared back. The demon had a wild grace and charm about him, making his roguish features handsome. He tilted his head and raised an eyebrow as Kagome continued to stare fearlessly into his eyes despite the sharp dagger at her throat.
"My, my…we have a feisty little bitch here, boys…" he let his sentence trail off as he broke the stare and began to look her over. Kagome noticed this and stiffened. The leader laughed and gave her an appraising nod.
"Not bad looking, either. Her attitude could be a bit more submissive, but I like 'em fiery!" He laughed aloud at his own mocking joke, his gang heartily joining him. Kagome just remained silent, never taking her eyes from the leader's. The gang of bandits were a bit surprised when they heard her speak.
"Release me. I demand that you let me go." her voice was low and soft, dangerously soft.
"Why should we?" the leader stepped closer to her, folding his arms and cocking an eyebrow again. Kagome, relieved to not have the dagger at her throat anymore, just glared.
"I want to know why you 'demand' for us to release you," said the leader, growing slightly impatient with her defiant silence. He barely heard her whisper, "Because you'll regret it if you don't," before he was flat on his back. He looked up to see the she-demon flip backwards out of her captors grip, and knock one a punch over the head before slashing four, long, deep scratches across the other's chest, eliciting a scream of pain from him.
Kagome leapt at the leader as he rose from where she'd laid him flat with her sweeping kick. She punched at his face, but her fist connected with his palm instead. He crushed her fingers in his own fist, squeezing painfully until she knelt to the ground. 'I will not give in like this!' Kagome screamed at herself. She ignored the pain as she threw her other fist into his stomach, pulling her injured hand from his grasp. He grunted before falling down on his hands and knees, gasping and coughing. Kagome took this opportunity to dash away.
"Get her, you idiots!" The leader cried up from his crumpled position on the dirt. Immediately, his gang sprang into action. His swordsmen ran after her on foot as she dashed through the trees. The leader picked himself up painfully, following his pack as they chased the young demoness. One of his archer's cried out I triumph as a blood red arrow embedded itself in the back of the demoness' leg. She cried out in pain, but continued to run, leaping from tree to tree. As his tribe was about to pursue longer, the leader raised his hand,.
"Leave her be for now. That wound will slow her down and we can follow her scent. For now, let's go loot that carriage of hers." The dark figure flipped his hood back over his head and led the way back to the wreckage that was once the carriage that carried the Princess of the Northern Lands.
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Kagome's leg throbbed with extreme pain, the arrow embedded deep within her calf. Her vision was blurred with pain. Unable to stand the agonizing pain any longer, she collapsed. Her head swam as she fought for consciousness. She felt someone lift her and lean her against a wall. The blurred figure spoke to someone else behind him, and then she smelt a strong, potent smell. The intense scent cleared her vision until she was looking into the golden eyes of a handsome faced demon. His companion sat behind him and muttered something to the one in front of her. The white-haired, filthy demon before her nodded, taking another vial and holding it beneath her nose. Kagome felt her self go slightly numb, and then felt an excruciating pain from her right calf where the arrow was implanted halfway up its shaft in her leg. She gave a helpless cry of pain and clutched at the white-haired demon's hand.
Inuyasha cringed slightly at the pressure on his arm. 'Damn! For a demoness she's pretty powerful!' He thought as her sharp claws dug into his skin again. He and Miroku had been minding their own business, tormenting the shopkeepers, when a sudden blur and rush of wind went by. The scent of the being contained no fear, but pain was thick upon the scent, and blood lingered faintly. He and Miroku had decided to investigate, and had come upon the young demoness, an arrow rooted in her calf.
She had obviously been running from something, but she hadn't been afraid; she had just wanted to escape the unknown torment. Inuyasha had leaned her against a wall and tried to awaken her with smelling salts. It was then that Miroku mentioned the need for the arrow to be removed, so he passed a numbing vial beneath her nose, hoping it was enough to dull the pain. It apparently wasn't as the she-demon bit her lip, drawing blood, as she held back a scream. Her claws dug further into his flesh, and he winced but held still. 'Why am I helping her?' he thought to himself. But he didn't have much time to think of it as Miroku caught his attention.
"Inuyasha, the arrow-wound is deep, and the arrowhead is barbed, making it almost impossible to pull it out without creating further damage. We'll have to bring her to Sango…it's our only option." Miroku knew that Inuyasha was reluctant and against asking humans for help, but this demoness needed to get the arrow out before she lost too much blood. Besides, Sango was a skilled human. She could fight almost as well as the top demonesses, and she had good healing skills.
Miroku sighed as his friend nodded slowly, picking the half-conscious demoness up in his arms. 'She's light.' he couldn't help but think as they made their way to the part of Kurayouka where Sango lived. The dark-haired demoness was clothed in a simple brown traveling kimono. 'I wonder where she was going?' Inuyasha thought, shifting the young woman into a more comfortable position. He was slightly startled as she reached her hand up to pet his ears.
Kagome couldn't help herself, and she couldn't stop either as her hand traveled to the demon's head with a mind of its own. She rubbed at his fuzzy ears, and then let her hand drop. She heard the demon's companion chuckle as she did this, but she ignored it. She stared into the golden eyes of the demon who carried her, lost in his eyes and only semi-conscious. Something nagged at her mind, and before she could silence the words, she asked him,
"Who the hell are you?"
Kagome lost complete consciousness to the sounds of the black-haired demon's laughter and the white-haired demon's baffled scent.
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Okay…that was six pages, and it is now 12:12am. I'm tired, and I really need some sleep.
Let me know what you thought… **yawns**
Next time, we meet Sango. Sorry, but she's still human…I have good reason for not making her demon too, but you'll find out about that later…^_^ **yawns again**
Should I put Shippou in here, or Kouga, or Kikyou? If no one replies, then I'll have to decide for myself. BTW the bandit gang wasn't Kouga and his pack, but I can make it if anyone wants me to… Let me know, but right now I'm going to sleep…Goodnight. **yawns**
~MoonWolf~
(P.S. If anyone cares, I have an account on FictionPress.com, my pen name is TigerDragon, so check out my shit. Later…)
