Chapter IX:
Murasaki, the Demoness
~
A surreal maiden with flowing emerald hair and violet eyes, hence the name Murasaki fix her eyes over a spy sphere, where she maintained a close eye on Miroku. She was dressed in a kimono made of silk and an obi consisting of golden patterns, and bore a tall staff that displayed a bloodied skull of a female at the top.
With a twisted smile upon her pretty face, she monitored Miroku and the two individuals he conversed so off-handedly with.
"So my dear Miroku is asking that silly child bearing question of his once again," she chuckled coldly. 'When will he learn?' "Ooh, and this girl happens to bear eleven, no, twelve Shikon no Kakera? Oh... and who is this?"
Her violet eyes darted to another figure inside the spy sphere. White- silver hair, golden eyes, attractively cold demeanor...
She licked her lips in anticipation as she watched another male, youkai, to be exact, suddenly pull the girl Miroku was talking to into his tail. "Could it be... yes, it is! It is Sesshoumaru, the most powerful, not to mention gorgeous youkai male in all of the western territories!" Her eyes lit up in a negative manner. "He shall be mine," she stated as if it were the simplest thing in the world.
A male cat youkai ran towards her and groveled at her feet. Then he turned shiny green eyes towards the demoness. "Murasaki-sama! The men have found more shards for you, O Beautiful Goddess." He held out his hands, and in them were several countless shards.
"Good boy," Murasaki cooed, kneeling down and patting the male on the head. "For this, I shall reward you greatly."
"Murasaki-sama," another male called to her. It happened to be a tiger youkai with humanlike features.
"What? What is it?"
"It is the girl from the Demon Exterminator's Village, Sango, my lady. She is on her way here, and is very close by."
"I say let her get close by," Murasaki chortled wickedly. "I shall eliminate her along with that insignificant monk. After I get those jewel shards from the girl, of course."
~
"Look, there is no way I can bear your child," Kagome said irritably, still in Sesshoumaru's grip. "But we can help you destroy this demoness. Besides," Kagome turned her attention towards Sesshoumaru swiftly. "He says that Murasaki's been collecting shards, right? So this is somewhat OUR business. We have to get those shards!"
"I'm afraid it will not be an easy feat to destroy Murasaki. At least for you, Sesshoumaru-sama," Miroku stated as a matter-of-factly. "No human nor demon male can resist her feminine charms, no matter how strong. Although I don't think it's only her beauty that lures men into her grasps. Some say she uses her melodious yet hypnotic voice to lure some in. She also uses some sort of enticing spell. However, she does not affect ME."
The white dog demon tensed as he tried to keep his patience with the irritating monk at bay. Kagome witnessed his aggravation and fidgeted nervously. "Sesshoumaru isn't like that, Miroku."
"I see."
"Hey, err, can I make a suggestion?" Kagome inquired.
"Hai."
"Maybe you should make a plan before just barging into this Murasaki's territory. If you come with us, I'll introduce you to a couple of people that can help us fight Murasaki."
"As I've said before, no man is immune to Murasaki the demoness, Kagome- sama. Your attempts at helping me would be futile," Miroku replied distressfully.
"Don't worry, I don't think that would happen."
A disturbing grin formed on his face. Beaming, Miroku looked up at Kagome, who was still wrapped in Sesshoumaru's tail. "Oh, I see what you're getting at. You have female companions that can fight? Interesting."
"Well, actually the people I'm talking about aren't all women, there's one guy, his name's Na-"
Sesshoumaru's eyes narrowed as he turned to leave with Kagome still in his tail. Kagome frowned. "Hey, Sesshoumaru, I'm not done talking to him yet!"
"That monk is nothing but a human who deserves that curse," Sesshoumaru announced flatly.
"Even if that's true, the shards-!"
Sesshoumaru halted and turned so he was standing face to face with the girl in his tail. "Fine. But if he causes any more distracting moves, I will not hesitate to rid the world of him."
Kagome burst into a grin. "You don't have to. We can trust Miroku."
"You are too trusting for your own good, are you aware of that?" Sesshoumaru said as he unraveled his tail from Kagome. She firmly landed on the grass. Smiling one last time directly towards Sesshoumaru, Kagome turned to Miroku, who was a few yards away. "Miroku! Follow us, okay?" she hollered at him.
Miroku nodded from afar and was on his horse in a heartbeat. "Mind telling me where we are going?" he hollered back.
"A nearby shrine. Do you think you can you keep up with Sesshoumaru's pace?"
"Of course," Miroku smirked.
Kagome nodded and climbed atop Sesshoumaru's back. Then the dog demon sprang into the air like before. Sesshoumaru scoffed. "Why do you always want to assist many?"
"I don't know. It would go against my nature not to. And besides," Kagome stated as a matter-of-factly, "Like my mother says, you don't need a reason to help someone."
~
Sesshoumaru leapt through the air in silence, thinking about that Miroku character. 'He's a strange human. His aura differs greatly from other humans. He seems like a respectful one. Respectful, yet perverse,' his eyes half-lidded. 'I did mean my words when I told him I'd amputate his lecherous hands if he touched her again,' Sesshoumaru stole a glance of the childish teen behind him. ''Trust' will obviously be the death of this miko.'
His thoughts were interrupted when he felt a disturbingly pleasurable sensation on his tail. Resisting the urge to shiver in delight, the taiyoukai turned his head questionably to see Kagome running her hands down his tail aggravatingly (not to mention delightfully) slowly. A low unwanted growl emitted from his throat as Kagome continued to absentmindedly stroke his tail. He didn't realize that his eyes were starting to fog over with red.
~
Kagome paused from stroking when she noticed Sesshoumaru staring at her in an unusual way. She feebly withdrew her hands. "Oops! Sorry, my hands sorta have a mind of their own."
Kagome turned her face away, staring at a cloud. 'I thought dogs liked to be petted,' she mused, trying to look fascinated with the shapeless clouds. Sesshoumaru saw right through her feigned act of attempts to look deep in thought and half smirked.
"Interesting clouds, are they not?"
"Huh-? Oh, y-yeah, very interesting," Kagome replied, grinning nervously. "Uhh, see that one's shaped like a... cloud."
Sesshoumaru chuckled and turned his attention straight ahead. 'What a strange girl. I am not surprised as to why my interest in her has not died out yet. What effect does she have on me?'
"Kagome..." Sesshoumaru pronounced her name out in the open. 'Did I just say her name out loud?' He heard the person of his thoughts gasp in alarm and turned his head once more to get a good look at the bewildered miko. "What is it?"
"That's the first time you said my name," Kagome replied, a soft expression laid upon her pristine face. 'He actually said my name!' "That's amazing," she muttered.
"You thought I was not capable of saying your name?" Sesshoumaru queried, a hint of annoyance in his voice. His eyes were slightly narrowed.
"No, no, of course not! It's just that I think you're starting to like me as a friend, is all," Kagome gushed hastily. "What I mean to say is... thank you."
"For saying your name?" Sesshoumaru pressed on, a brow raised.
"Yep."
"Your really are strange."
"I know," Kagome murmured, suddenly burying her face into Sesshoumaru's tail. "Hey, Sesshoumaru..."
"Now what?"
Did anyone ever tell you your tail's soft and cuddly?"
Now it was Sesshoumaru's turn to be taken aback. "No."
"Well, it is."
"Thank you for informing me of that," he replied somewhat sardonically. "Now get your face out of it before I drop you."
"Feh," Kagome scoffed playfully, getting her face out of his tail and sticking her tongue out at him. "You're a big meanie."
~
Naraku impatiently looked up at the orange sky as he sat on the steps of the shrine, waiting for the two shard hunters to return. 'They should be here by now. Is the youkai that holds that certain shard really all that strong?'
"Onigumo-chan?"
Naraku turned to none other than Kaede, and asked boredly, "What do you want?"
"You don't have to worry so much. Kagome will be fine if she is with Sesshoumaru," the young miko pointed out. "In fact, there they are, now!"
Naraku turned his head to see Sesshoumaru landing right infront of them, Kagome on his back. The white haired hanyou carefully set Kagome onto the firm ground. Dusting herself out, Kagome smiled cheerfully. "Kaede-chan! Naraku! Don't tell me you guys have been waiting for us this who time?"
"Not me. Onigumo-chan has," Kaede answered, returning a smile.
Sesshoumaru's eyes monitored the area. "Where's Rin?"
"She's taking a nap in the shrine."
Just as Kaede was going to say something else, another presence invaded the area. It was a none-too-familiar human presence. A man on a horse galloped towards them, a monk to be exact. Kaede looked up curiously at Kagome. "Kagome-chan, do you know this man?"
"Just met him," Kagome answered shortly as the monk departed from his horse. The young monk walked towards Kaede. "Hello there, young lady. My name is Miroku."
Kaede nodded. "It's Kaede."
"Pleasure meeting you, Kaede-san. Do you have an older sister?" he queried with utmost seriousness. His hands, Kagome noticed, were placed firmly on Kaede's shoulders. Almost off-handedly, Kaede brushed them off.
Sesshoumaru sent a glare towards Miroku that did NOT go unnoticed. Naraku noticed the glare and glanced suspiciously at the monk. "Why do you wish to know?"
"Just curious," Miroku responded in an innocent voice. "I never had any thought whatsoever as to why."
Naraku scoffed and turned to Kagome. "You should not take in strays. Kami- sama knows where they have been."
"Naraku, don't be so mean! I decided we would help Miroku-san with a problem of his," Kagome replied. "Besides, his problem is sorta ours, because his problem has something to do with Shikon shards."
"Shards?" a calm voice said from behind them. They turned around to see Kiochi in a white gi and dark blue hakama. A bow was latched onto her right arm. "May I ask who this man is?"
Miroku almost immediately had that disturbing grin on his face again. "I am Miroku," he answered politely.
~
'She's a little bit older than I am, but still radiant and beautiful,' Miroku mused. "May I have the honor of hearing your name?" he asked a little too politely this time, all the while scooting a little bit closer.
"It is Kiochi. Nice to meet y-" Kiochi gasped as a hand touched forbidden territory. Slowly, she looked Miroku straight in the face and saw the most serious expression she has ever seen in her entire life.
In a flash Miroku was on the ground, twitching with a bright red handprint across his face as well as a lump on his head (courtesy of Sesshoumaru)
Kiochi crossed her arms and turned her back on the monk, trying to hide the angry violated blush creeping up her cheeks. "Kaede-san! Come, you have another lesson in miko training starting briefly."
Putting much effort into stifling barely concealed giggles, Kaede followed the fuming miko to go training.
~
'Well, there goes our chance of getting help. Miroku just HAD to act all Miroku-like.' Kagome admitted in her mind that Miroku was a lecherous character, just as Sesshoumaru had theorized. She saw Sesshoumaru look down at the broken monk in revulsion.
"If I see you commit anymore perverse actions, I will sever your hands and grate out your eyes," the taiyoukai said slowly. "You are disgusting."
~
Kaede and Kiochi walked down the forest towards the village. Kaede looked up thoughtfully at Kiochi. "Lady Kiochi, are you still angry?"
"Of course not," Kiochi huffed. "But how could Kagome-san bring such a... such a character to Shrine grounds?! It's preposterous!"
"He's a monk, Kiochi-sensei," Kaede answered sheepishly. "Preferably a hormonal one, at that."
"I cannot argue with that fact," Kiochi replied flatly. "'I'll just forget that little incident ever happened... hey, what is that?"
Kaede's eyes wandered to where Kiochi was motioning to. "The village men...!"
There the village men were, all walking in a big group like a herd of sheep. "Look at their eyes, Lady Kiochi! They're fogged over with purple!"
"Kaede, run back to the shrine and get Kagome and her friends. This is Murasaki the Demoness's doing, I am sure of it."
"What about you, Lady Kiochi?" Kaede asked.
"I am going to follow the men," Kiochi replied shortly. "Enough talking and go get them!"
"Hai!!"
Kiochi said no more and sped cunningly behind the group of hypnotized men. ~
Miroku smiled feebly and stood on his feet. "I told you before, I cannot help it when there are beautiful women around."
Kagome's eyes traveled onto Naraku, who had a small grin that indicated he was highly amused. He noticed her eyes on him and looked over at her. "Interesting character you've found in the woods."
"You don't say," Kagome replied bluntly, walking over to Naraku and sitting beside him on the steps of the shrine. "Did you know he has a curse? See his right hand?"
Naraku nodded. "What about it? Has he molested some demoness and gotten his hand cursed for doing so?"
"Well, it's something like that. He DID get it from a demoness but not like that. That curse is sort of a family curse."
"Go on."
"Miroku's grandfather came across a beautiful maiden named Murasaki. Turns out this beautiful maiden is a demoness who lures and devours males. For some reason Miroku's grandfather was not affected by the demoness's seduction, causing Murasaki to get all mad and pierced his hand with one of her tentacles," Kagome summarized. Her eyes strayed to Naraku's face, waiting for some sort of reply.
An introspective expression crossed his face, then turned into realization. "This Murasaki you tell me of," Naraku announced thoughtfully, "I believe I have heard of her before, through Kaede. She has been kidnapping men from nearby villages. It is only a matter of time before she decides to raid this village."
"I say let her," Sesshoumaru interrupted. "What is the purpose of saving this vile village, anyway?"
Kagome rolled her eyes. 'This guy really doesn't have a heart at all, does he?' "Just keep your mind on retrieving the shards instead of saving the village, okay?"
"Kagome-chan!!!"
Everyone turned their heads to see Kaede, her face pale. "Kagome-chan, I was going back to the village to get my arrows and I saw all the men walk in one big group into the forest!! Their eyes were clouded in violet!"
"Where is Kiochi?" Naraku questioned.
"She just went after them," Kaede said hysterically. "Please, you must help!"
"Shh, Kaede," Kagome replied softly, trying to calm the thirteen-year-old. "Let me get a bow and a couple of arrows from the shrine, then tell us where they went."
~
"They went through here," Kaede indicated quietly, leading them where she last saw Kiochi.
"Kaede-chan, we'll go after Murasaki," Kagome inquired the young teen. "I need you to stay in the shrine and look after Rin-chan, okay? I promise we'll be back."
"Hai... good luck."
"Arigatou. See you later."
Kaede stood and watched Kagome climbed atop Naraku and Miroku on his horse.
"Kaede-chan, take care of yourself and Rin!"
"Okay, you too!" Kaede cried out as the four disappeared into the forest. 'I hope everything turns out alright.'
~
The dark forest seemed to get darker by the second. The black deceased looking trees seemed to tower higher and higher everytime she would steal a glance at the sky, and the feeling of being watched had gotten stronger. Two figures rested in a dark clearing, extremely on the alert. One was a young woman who wore a black and dark magenta ninja clothing and sported a mask worn over her mouth and nose. Her hair was tied up into a high ponytail, and red markings were evident on her eyelids. She was leaning against a tree, resting from fatigue. The journey and strange bad atmosphere was quickly wasting away her energy.
Next to her a large fiery vanilla colored cat scanned the area for any suspicious looking objects and relaxed when she didn't see any. She rested her head onto her front paws.
'I'm close, I can feel it. Father, uncle... I will save you, and also everyone else!' a young demon exterminator swore secretly. She lowered her head to speak into her large feline companion's ear. "Kirara, I know how tired you are, but we must keep alert. We can only hope that Murasaki has not devoured our family and friends yet."
Kirara nodded and growled lowly in response.
"Good girl," the demon huntress smiled half-heartedly. She rested a hand upon her stomach and felt something wet. She raised her hand to her face to see it covered with crimson liquid. "Heh.. I didn't know I received a wound from the last battle."
Kirara nuzzled her head into the young exterminator's leg affectionately.
"Kirara, I'll be fine. I will stay alive until I destroy Murasaki and save father and uncle." A hand reached to stroke the feline just as affectionately.
~
"Do you feel that?" Miroku asked as he sped through the forest on his stallion. "There's a negative energy aloof. It is as if the air is running out of oxygen."
Naraku, who was a few yards across from Miroku with Kagome on his back, nodded. "Yes, we'd best be on guard."
~
Leaping from one tree branch to another, Sesshoumaru was a few yards ahead. His head snapped up in alert when he smelled a human and some sort of youkai. He followed the scent and stopped abruptively, to see a young woman sitting down by a tree and a feline sitting faithfully next to her. A large bone-like boomerang was rested next to them. The scent of blood hung over the air heavily.
His eyes fanned over the area, careful not to rouse the resting beings.
"Sesshoumaru-sama," the lecher of a monk's voice called to him. "Why have you stopped?"
Sesshoumaru bit back a low growl as the human girl's eyes snapped open in surprise, landing directly on him. She reached for her boomerang and was on her feet in a flash.
"You! Are you one of Murasaki's henchmen?!"
~
RPG-girl:
*walks from behind a tree* Well, hello everyone, it's great to see yo- (screams like a school girl as she barely dodges Hinoke's very big and very destructive mallet.)
Gomen nasai for the not so soon update. See, I just got the fifth Harry Potter book from a bookstore, and I was so glued into it I couldn't stop reading it for 4 days. -_- But I can see you readers never take excuses, so I'll be quiet and do the responses.
Review Responses:
Hinoke: Well, here it is. Hope it wasn't late or anything. (dodges mallet) Well that answers my question. Ack! (the authoress doesn't dodge the mallet this time and gets beat to a pulp) O-Ouch.. Thank you for reviewing!
Dragonruler121: Why, thank you! I hope you liked this chapter as well.
Clow Angel: Well, Miroku can't act all lecherous around Kagome anymore because Sesshoumaru-sama would slice him into a million fancy pieces. If Naraku witnessed Miroku act like that towards Kagome, though, he would probably do the same thing. Thank you for reviewing!
Evil Bunny: I agree. (nods) But I must say she's pretty lucky she's surrounded by gorgeous men. Gorgeous, yet possessive and perverted.
Suki: Here's the next chapter, I hope you liked it. Now it's your turn to place a lovely review up for my story.
MarsMoonStar: Thank you! ^_^;
Rina-istorlle: Thank you. I'm glad you think my story is original.
Yuko: I liked the last chapter a lot, too. I had lots of fun typing it. Here's chapter nine, Yuko-san!
Cj: I'm flattered! Thank you, and I'll put the next chapter up soon.
Duke of spades: I love your review, it was... amusing. ^_^ I love the villains, too. I hate it when people design villains and make them look so prettyboy-ish. Good luck with trying to get into college, TTFN!
LovelyLioness57: Yay! Thank you for adding this to your favorites. I'm sorry for the lack of romance, but I'm just trying to get the plot brewing. I can see this story mostly has action/adventure and slight humor, but don't worry, more Romance coming soon!
Faith: Thank you!
^.^: Here's the update! (^_^) ----a smile for you, too.
Sakura: I'm not very fond of Kikyou, either, but I need her alive because she's part of the plot. As much as I hate talking about her, I need an antagonist and it just HAS to be Kikyou. I hope you understand. I'm glad you love the plot. Thank you!
Lilfrozenfire: Thank you!
Ashleigh: I can't tell you how much I agree with you. But don't worry, he'll get someone in this fanfic.
~
That's it, people. Sorry for putting only 'thank-you' for some of your responses. I couldn't think of anything else to say, that I didn't! I hope you guys liked this chapter. I'll post the next one when I feel like it- err, I mean when I finish typing it. :D
Remember, review after the farewell sign or else... *points at a dark door with glowing eyes inside it* :whispers: Radioactive monkeys.
Sayonara!
~
A surreal maiden with flowing emerald hair and violet eyes, hence the name Murasaki fix her eyes over a spy sphere, where she maintained a close eye on Miroku. She was dressed in a kimono made of silk and an obi consisting of golden patterns, and bore a tall staff that displayed a bloodied skull of a female at the top.
With a twisted smile upon her pretty face, she monitored Miroku and the two individuals he conversed so off-handedly with.
"So my dear Miroku is asking that silly child bearing question of his once again," she chuckled coldly. 'When will he learn?' "Ooh, and this girl happens to bear eleven, no, twelve Shikon no Kakera? Oh... and who is this?"
Her violet eyes darted to another figure inside the spy sphere. White- silver hair, golden eyes, attractively cold demeanor...
She licked her lips in anticipation as she watched another male, youkai, to be exact, suddenly pull the girl Miroku was talking to into his tail. "Could it be... yes, it is! It is Sesshoumaru, the most powerful, not to mention gorgeous youkai male in all of the western territories!" Her eyes lit up in a negative manner. "He shall be mine," she stated as if it were the simplest thing in the world.
A male cat youkai ran towards her and groveled at her feet. Then he turned shiny green eyes towards the demoness. "Murasaki-sama! The men have found more shards for you, O Beautiful Goddess." He held out his hands, and in them were several countless shards.
"Good boy," Murasaki cooed, kneeling down and patting the male on the head. "For this, I shall reward you greatly."
"Murasaki-sama," another male called to her. It happened to be a tiger youkai with humanlike features.
"What? What is it?"
"It is the girl from the Demon Exterminator's Village, Sango, my lady. She is on her way here, and is very close by."
"I say let her get close by," Murasaki chortled wickedly. "I shall eliminate her along with that insignificant monk. After I get those jewel shards from the girl, of course."
~
"Look, there is no way I can bear your child," Kagome said irritably, still in Sesshoumaru's grip. "But we can help you destroy this demoness. Besides," Kagome turned her attention towards Sesshoumaru swiftly. "He says that Murasaki's been collecting shards, right? So this is somewhat OUR business. We have to get those shards!"
"I'm afraid it will not be an easy feat to destroy Murasaki. At least for you, Sesshoumaru-sama," Miroku stated as a matter-of-factly. "No human nor demon male can resist her feminine charms, no matter how strong. Although I don't think it's only her beauty that lures men into her grasps. Some say she uses her melodious yet hypnotic voice to lure some in. She also uses some sort of enticing spell. However, she does not affect ME."
The white dog demon tensed as he tried to keep his patience with the irritating monk at bay. Kagome witnessed his aggravation and fidgeted nervously. "Sesshoumaru isn't like that, Miroku."
"I see."
"Hey, err, can I make a suggestion?" Kagome inquired.
"Hai."
"Maybe you should make a plan before just barging into this Murasaki's territory. If you come with us, I'll introduce you to a couple of people that can help us fight Murasaki."
"As I've said before, no man is immune to Murasaki the demoness, Kagome- sama. Your attempts at helping me would be futile," Miroku replied distressfully.
"Don't worry, I don't think that would happen."
A disturbing grin formed on his face. Beaming, Miroku looked up at Kagome, who was still wrapped in Sesshoumaru's tail. "Oh, I see what you're getting at. You have female companions that can fight? Interesting."
"Well, actually the people I'm talking about aren't all women, there's one guy, his name's Na-"
Sesshoumaru's eyes narrowed as he turned to leave with Kagome still in his tail. Kagome frowned. "Hey, Sesshoumaru, I'm not done talking to him yet!"
"That monk is nothing but a human who deserves that curse," Sesshoumaru announced flatly.
"Even if that's true, the shards-!"
Sesshoumaru halted and turned so he was standing face to face with the girl in his tail. "Fine. But if he causes any more distracting moves, I will not hesitate to rid the world of him."
Kagome burst into a grin. "You don't have to. We can trust Miroku."
"You are too trusting for your own good, are you aware of that?" Sesshoumaru said as he unraveled his tail from Kagome. She firmly landed on the grass. Smiling one last time directly towards Sesshoumaru, Kagome turned to Miroku, who was a few yards away. "Miroku! Follow us, okay?" she hollered at him.
Miroku nodded from afar and was on his horse in a heartbeat. "Mind telling me where we are going?" he hollered back.
"A nearby shrine. Do you think you can you keep up with Sesshoumaru's pace?"
"Of course," Miroku smirked.
Kagome nodded and climbed atop Sesshoumaru's back. Then the dog demon sprang into the air like before. Sesshoumaru scoffed. "Why do you always want to assist many?"
"I don't know. It would go against my nature not to. And besides," Kagome stated as a matter-of-factly, "Like my mother says, you don't need a reason to help someone."
~
Sesshoumaru leapt through the air in silence, thinking about that Miroku character. 'He's a strange human. His aura differs greatly from other humans. He seems like a respectful one. Respectful, yet perverse,' his eyes half-lidded. 'I did mean my words when I told him I'd amputate his lecherous hands if he touched her again,' Sesshoumaru stole a glance of the childish teen behind him. ''Trust' will obviously be the death of this miko.'
His thoughts were interrupted when he felt a disturbingly pleasurable sensation on his tail. Resisting the urge to shiver in delight, the taiyoukai turned his head questionably to see Kagome running her hands down his tail aggravatingly (not to mention delightfully) slowly. A low unwanted growl emitted from his throat as Kagome continued to absentmindedly stroke his tail. He didn't realize that his eyes were starting to fog over with red.
~
Kagome paused from stroking when she noticed Sesshoumaru staring at her in an unusual way. She feebly withdrew her hands. "Oops! Sorry, my hands sorta have a mind of their own."
Kagome turned her face away, staring at a cloud. 'I thought dogs liked to be petted,' she mused, trying to look fascinated with the shapeless clouds. Sesshoumaru saw right through her feigned act of attempts to look deep in thought and half smirked.
"Interesting clouds, are they not?"
"Huh-? Oh, y-yeah, very interesting," Kagome replied, grinning nervously. "Uhh, see that one's shaped like a... cloud."
Sesshoumaru chuckled and turned his attention straight ahead. 'What a strange girl. I am not surprised as to why my interest in her has not died out yet. What effect does she have on me?'
"Kagome..." Sesshoumaru pronounced her name out in the open. 'Did I just say her name out loud?' He heard the person of his thoughts gasp in alarm and turned his head once more to get a good look at the bewildered miko. "What is it?"
"That's the first time you said my name," Kagome replied, a soft expression laid upon her pristine face. 'He actually said my name!' "That's amazing," she muttered.
"You thought I was not capable of saying your name?" Sesshoumaru queried, a hint of annoyance in his voice. His eyes were slightly narrowed.
"No, no, of course not! It's just that I think you're starting to like me as a friend, is all," Kagome gushed hastily. "What I mean to say is... thank you."
"For saying your name?" Sesshoumaru pressed on, a brow raised.
"Yep."
"Your really are strange."
"I know," Kagome murmured, suddenly burying her face into Sesshoumaru's tail. "Hey, Sesshoumaru..."
"Now what?"
Did anyone ever tell you your tail's soft and cuddly?"
Now it was Sesshoumaru's turn to be taken aback. "No."
"Well, it is."
"Thank you for informing me of that," he replied somewhat sardonically. "Now get your face out of it before I drop you."
"Feh," Kagome scoffed playfully, getting her face out of his tail and sticking her tongue out at him. "You're a big meanie."
~
Naraku impatiently looked up at the orange sky as he sat on the steps of the shrine, waiting for the two shard hunters to return. 'They should be here by now. Is the youkai that holds that certain shard really all that strong?'
"Onigumo-chan?"
Naraku turned to none other than Kaede, and asked boredly, "What do you want?"
"You don't have to worry so much. Kagome will be fine if she is with Sesshoumaru," the young miko pointed out. "In fact, there they are, now!"
Naraku turned his head to see Sesshoumaru landing right infront of them, Kagome on his back. The white haired hanyou carefully set Kagome onto the firm ground. Dusting herself out, Kagome smiled cheerfully. "Kaede-chan! Naraku! Don't tell me you guys have been waiting for us this who time?"
"Not me. Onigumo-chan has," Kaede answered, returning a smile.
Sesshoumaru's eyes monitored the area. "Where's Rin?"
"She's taking a nap in the shrine."
Just as Kaede was going to say something else, another presence invaded the area. It was a none-too-familiar human presence. A man on a horse galloped towards them, a monk to be exact. Kaede looked up curiously at Kagome. "Kagome-chan, do you know this man?"
"Just met him," Kagome answered shortly as the monk departed from his horse. The young monk walked towards Kaede. "Hello there, young lady. My name is Miroku."
Kaede nodded. "It's Kaede."
"Pleasure meeting you, Kaede-san. Do you have an older sister?" he queried with utmost seriousness. His hands, Kagome noticed, were placed firmly on Kaede's shoulders. Almost off-handedly, Kaede brushed them off.
Sesshoumaru sent a glare towards Miroku that did NOT go unnoticed. Naraku noticed the glare and glanced suspiciously at the monk. "Why do you wish to know?"
"Just curious," Miroku responded in an innocent voice. "I never had any thought whatsoever as to why."
Naraku scoffed and turned to Kagome. "You should not take in strays. Kami- sama knows where they have been."
"Naraku, don't be so mean! I decided we would help Miroku-san with a problem of his," Kagome replied. "Besides, his problem is sorta ours, because his problem has something to do with Shikon shards."
"Shards?" a calm voice said from behind them. They turned around to see Kiochi in a white gi and dark blue hakama. A bow was latched onto her right arm. "May I ask who this man is?"
Miroku almost immediately had that disturbing grin on his face again. "I am Miroku," he answered politely.
~
'She's a little bit older than I am, but still radiant and beautiful,' Miroku mused. "May I have the honor of hearing your name?" he asked a little too politely this time, all the while scooting a little bit closer.
"It is Kiochi. Nice to meet y-" Kiochi gasped as a hand touched forbidden territory. Slowly, she looked Miroku straight in the face and saw the most serious expression she has ever seen in her entire life.
In a flash Miroku was on the ground, twitching with a bright red handprint across his face as well as a lump on his head (courtesy of Sesshoumaru)
Kiochi crossed her arms and turned her back on the monk, trying to hide the angry violated blush creeping up her cheeks. "Kaede-san! Come, you have another lesson in miko training starting briefly."
Putting much effort into stifling barely concealed giggles, Kaede followed the fuming miko to go training.
~
'Well, there goes our chance of getting help. Miroku just HAD to act all Miroku-like.' Kagome admitted in her mind that Miroku was a lecherous character, just as Sesshoumaru had theorized. She saw Sesshoumaru look down at the broken monk in revulsion.
"If I see you commit anymore perverse actions, I will sever your hands and grate out your eyes," the taiyoukai said slowly. "You are disgusting."
~
Kaede and Kiochi walked down the forest towards the village. Kaede looked up thoughtfully at Kiochi. "Lady Kiochi, are you still angry?"
"Of course not," Kiochi huffed. "But how could Kagome-san bring such a... such a character to Shrine grounds?! It's preposterous!"
"He's a monk, Kiochi-sensei," Kaede answered sheepishly. "Preferably a hormonal one, at that."
"I cannot argue with that fact," Kiochi replied flatly. "'I'll just forget that little incident ever happened... hey, what is that?"
Kaede's eyes wandered to where Kiochi was motioning to. "The village men...!"
There the village men were, all walking in a big group like a herd of sheep. "Look at their eyes, Lady Kiochi! They're fogged over with purple!"
"Kaede, run back to the shrine and get Kagome and her friends. This is Murasaki the Demoness's doing, I am sure of it."
"What about you, Lady Kiochi?" Kaede asked.
"I am going to follow the men," Kiochi replied shortly. "Enough talking and go get them!"
"Hai!!"
Kiochi said no more and sped cunningly behind the group of hypnotized men. ~
Miroku smiled feebly and stood on his feet. "I told you before, I cannot help it when there are beautiful women around."
Kagome's eyes traveled onto Naraku, who had a small grin that indicated he was highly amused. He noticed her eyes on him and looked over at her. "Interesting character you've found in the woods."
"You don't say," Kagome replied bluntly, walking over to Naraku and sitting beside him on the steps of the shrine. "Did you know he has a curse? See his right hand?"
Naraku nodded. "What about it? Has he molested some demoness and gotten his hand cursed for doing so?"
"Well, it's something like that. He DID get it from a demoness but not like that. That curse is sort of a family curse."
"Go on."
"Miroku's grandfather came across a beautiful maiden named Murasaki. Turns out this beautiful maiden is a demoness who lures and devours males. For some reason Miroku's grandfather was not affected by the demoness's seduction, causing Murasaki to get all mad and pierced his hand with one of her tentacles," Kagome summarized. Her eyes strayed to Naraku's face, waiting for some sort of reply.
An introspective expression crossed his face, then turned into realization. "This Murasaki you tell me of," Naraku announced thoughtfully, "I believe I have heard of her before, through Kaede. She has been kidnapping men from nearby villages. It is only a matter of time before she decides to raid this village."
"I say let her," Sesshoumaru interrupted. "What is the purpose of saving this vile village, anyway?"
Kagome rolled her eyes. 'This guy really doesn't have a heart at all, does he?' "Just keep your mind on retrieving the shards instead of saving the village, okay?"
"Kagome-chan!!!"
Everyone turned their heads to see Kaede, her face pale. "Kagome-chan, I was going back to the village to get my arrows and I saw all the men walk in one big group into the forest!! Their eyes were clouded in violet!"
"Where is Kiochi?" Naraku questioned.
"She just went after them," Kaede said hysterically. "Please, you must help!"
"Shh, Kaede," Kagome replied softly, trying to calm the thirteen-year-old. "Let me get a bow and a couple of arrows from the shrine, then tell us where they went."
~
"They went through here," Kaede indicated quietly, leading them where she last saw Kiochi.
"Kaede-chan, we'll go after Murasaki," Kagome inquired the young teen. "I need you to stay in the shrine and look after Rin-chan, okay? I promise we'll be back."
"Hai... good luck."
"Arigatou. See you later."
Kaede stood and watched Kagome climbed atop Naraku and Miroku on his horse.
"Kaede-chan, take care of yourself and Rin!"
"Okay, you too!" Kaede cried out as the four disappeared into the forest. 'I hope everything turns out alright.'
~
The dark forest seemed to get darker by the second. The black deceased looking trees seemed to tower higher and higher everytime she would steal a glance at the sky, and the feeling of being watched had gotten stronger. Two figures rested in a dark clearing, extremely on the alert. One was a young woman who wore a black and dark magenta ninja clothing and sported a mask worn over her mouth and nose. Her hair was tied up into a high ponytail, and red markings were evident on her eyelids. She was leaning against a tree, resting from fatigue. The journey and strange bad atmosphere was quickly wasting away her energy.
Next to her a large fiery vanilla colored cat scanned the area for any suspicious looking objects and relaxed when she didn't see any. She rested her head onto her front paws.
'I'm close, I can feel it. Father, uncle... I will save you, and also everyone else!' a young demon exterminator swore secretly. She lowered her head to speak into her large feline companion's ear. "Kirara, I know how tired you are, but we must keep alert. We can only hope that Murasaki has not devoured our family and friends yet."
Kirara nodded and growled lowly in response.
"Good girl," the demon huntress smiled half-heartedly. She rested a hand upon her stomach and felt something wet. She raised her hand to her face to see it covered with crimson liquid. "Heh.. I didn't know I received a wound from the last battle."
Kirara nuzzled her head into the young exterminator's leg affectionately.
"Kirara, I'll be fine. I will stay alive until I destroy Murasaki and save father and uncle." A hand reached to stroke the feline just as affectionately.
~
"Do you feel that?" Miroku asked as he sped through the forest on his stallion. "There's a negative energy aloof. It is as if the air is running out of oxygen."
Naraku, who was a few yards across from Miroku with Kagome on his back, nodded. "Yes, we'd best be on guard."
~
Leaping from one tree branch to another, Sesshoumaru was a few yards ahead. His head snapped up in alert when he smelled a human and some sort of youkai. He followed the scent and stopped abruptively, to see a young woman sitting down by a tree and a feline sitting faithfully next to her. A large bone-like boomerang was rested next to them. The scent of blood hung over the air heavily.
His eyes fanned over the area, careful not to rouse the resting beings.
"Sesshoumaru-sama," the lecher of a monk's voice called to him. "Why have you stopped?"
Sesshoumaru bit back a low growl as the human girl's eyes snapped open in surprise, landing directly on him. She reached for her boomerang and was on her feet in a flash.
"You! Are you one of Murasaki's henchmen?!"
~
RPG-girl:
*walks from behind a tree* Well, hello everyone, it's great to see yo- (screams like a school girl as she barely dodges Hinoke's very big and very destructive mallet.)
Gomen nasai for the not so soon update. See, I just got the fifth Harry Potter book from a bookstore, and I was so glued into it I couldn't stop reading it for 4 days. -_- But I can see you readers never take excuses, so I'll be quiet and do the responses.
Review Responses:
Hinoke: Well, here it is. Hope it wasn't late or anything. (dodges mallet) Well that answers my question. Ack! (the authoress doesn't dodge the mallet this time and gets beat to a pulp) O-Ouch.. Thank you for reviewing!
Dragonruler121: Why, thank you! I hope you liked this chapter as well.
Clow Angel: Well, Miroku can't act all lecherous around Kagome anymore because Sesshoumaru-sama would slice him into a million fancy pieces. If Naraku witnessed Miroku act like that towards Kagome, though, he would probably do the same thing. Thank you for reviewing!
Evil Bunny: I agree. (nods) But I must say she's pretty lucky she's surrounded by gorgeous men. Gorgeous, yet possessive and perverted.
Suki: Here's the next chapter, I hope you liked it. Now it's your turn to place a lovely review up for my story.
MarsMoonStar: Thank you! ^_^;
Rina-istorlle: Thank you. I'm glad you think my story is original.
Yuko: I liked the last chapter a lot, too. I had lots of fun typing it. Here's chapter nine, Yuko-san!
Cj: I'm flattered! Thank you, and I'll put the next chapter up soon.
Duke of spades: I love your review, it was... amusing. ^_^ I love the villains, too. I hate it when people design villains and make them look so prettyboy-ish. Good luck with trying to get into college, TTFN!
LovelyLioness57: Yay! Thank you for adding this to your favorites. I'm sorry for the lack of romance, but I'm just trying to get the plot brewing. I can see this story mostly has action/adventure and slight humor, but don't worry, more Romance coming soon!
Faith: Thank you!
^.^: Here's the update! (^_^) ----a smile for you, too.
Sakura: I'm not very fond of Kikyou, either, but I need her alive because she's part of the plot. As much as I hate talking about her, I need an antagonist and it just HAS to be Kikyou. I hope you understand. I'm glad you love the plot. Thank you!
Lilfrozenfire: Thank you!
Ashleigh: I can't tell you how much I agree with you. But don't worry, he'll get someone in this fanfic.
~
That's it, people. Sorry for putting only 'thank-you' for some of your responses. I couldn't think of anything else to say, that I didn't! I hope you guys liked this chapter. I'll post the next one when I feel like it- err, I mean when I finish typing it. :D
Remember, review after the farewell sign or else... *points at a dark door with glowing eyes inside it* :whispers: Radioactive monkeys.
Sayonara!