Moving right along.
*disclaimer* Inuyasha isn't mine… -_-
Out of the Waves
Chapter Three: The Resistance
The city of Esliad was like nothing Kagome had ever seen before. This, of course, was to be expected as she had never been on land. There were crowds of people and the noises and the dust and the glaring of the sun left her in awe. In Alereal, nothing was dirty; it was impossible, and the water muffled the noises. However, here in Esliad, things were different.
She looked down at her clothing with fascination. Her outfit was, or used to be, a white, flowing material spun by the mermaids of Shonto, made to flow with the currents of the water, but in the sunlight it was shimmering, as if it had kept the colors of the ocean hidden within it.
Kagome looked up and realized that she had fallen behind Miroku and Inuyasha while she was taking in the sites around her. Everything was just so different on land. She hurried to catch up. It would be a disaster to get lost in a world she knew nothing about.
*
Inuyasha glanced back at Kagome who had fallen behind looking at everything as though she had never seen anything like it. Inuyasha paused. That made sense. He watched as Kagome hurried to catch up, her green eyes sparkling excitedly. She looked so familiar, but he couldn't put his finger on it, and this frustrated him. Inuyasha didn't like to be frustrated.
"Keep up with us, girl." He said sharply, and went back to thinking.
*
"You say you come from beneath the ocean?" Hakori asked in disbelief. As head of the resistance, Hakori had met many strange people coming to join the fight against Naraku, but none before had ever claimed to have come from a legendary aquatic city.
He considered the facts. According to Miroku and Inuyasha's story, this girl was able to defeat youkai without a second thought, but if that was the case, why had her city been so easy to attack? Although there were many who supported the resistance, Naraku was a powerful enemy and Hakori knew that he needed all the help he could get.
"You say you have come to save our world. How do you plan to do that?" Kagome shrugged.
"I'm not sure, sir. My mother, Queen Adriana told me only that I was needed. I think that the fate of this world and the fate of my own are very closely intertwined. Naraku has always been a feared enemy of my people, and as I am beginning to see, he is an enemy to yours as well. He must be stopped by any means possible." Kagome spoke matter-of-factly, for she knew that what she said was true. "I only know that Naraku must be defeated, and that I refuse to be idle while Alereal is in danger." She was getting tired, but she was anxious to start doing something. Anything, really.
Hakori nodded slowly.
"Very well. I believe it is time for us to enter the race against Naraku for the shards of the Jewel. Many people have taken to defending the seven temples, but it is not enough. As I can not leave Esliad, Inuyasha and Miroku, you two were chosen to be the ones to gather the shards. However, Kagome will be joining you. As the only representative of the Oceanic world that we know of, I believe she will be a valuable addition to your team."
Kagome nodded. To be honest, she didn't care who she worked with, so long as she could defeat Naraku. The sooner the better. In order to do that though, she had to learn more about this different world, and how her powers worked here. She was still a baffled by how she destroyed that whole group of youkai
"Now Miroku, I need you to come with me. With you gone we'll need someone else to take care of the training of our newest members, and we should see to it as quickly as possible. Inuyasha, you take Kagome around the temple and bring her up to date on our situation." Hakori and Miroku walked out of the room. Kagome looked at Inuyasha warily. He merely grunted and turned towards the door.
"Come on girl. I don't have all day."
* * *
Naraku turned lazily from the window when his servant entered. He was feeling good today. He had just sent forces to Arysis and Esliad that morning, and he was waiting to hear news about how the attack on Alereal had gone. Naraku had no doubt about his success.
He was well aware of the resistance, lead by that incompetent fool Hakori, and to say the least, he wasn't worried. The guardian never left his temple unless it was destroyed or in danger and even then he had to take the shard of Esliad with him, a dangerous stunt.
Naraku found that restriction of the Raston Jewel to be wonderfully convenient. After all, as long as the temple wasn't destroyed, he knew exactly where he could find the next shard. He had given all of his youkai strict orders to leave the Esliad temple standing, but he wasn't worried about the other six temples. Cryan, for instance, had been mere child's play. The kitsune had escaped, but Naraku now had the first shard in his possession. He figured if the other guardians fled, it would give his servants a bigger challenge. A little bit more fun. He chuckled to himself, then looked to the servant. It was a rat youkai, one of high rank, and he was breathing heavily.
"What do you want?" he asked harshly. Couldn't let a good mood make his servants think he was soft. The rat youkai shivered with fear and Naraku grinned slightly.
"M-ma- Master Naraku," the rat stuttered nervously, "I have news of the attacks."
"Go on."
"It's not going well sir, not well at all."
"What do you mean it's not going well? How can it not be going well?" Naraku demanded.
"I'm sorry, sir!" the rat squeaked, "Princess Kagome of Alereal fled before the men could find her. We managed to steal the Shikon no Tama, but it is not complete, sir."
"Not complete?"
"The last shard, sir, the shard of Titania is missing."
"What of Alereal? Has it been destroyed?"
"They managed, sir, to do considerable damage to the outskirts of the town, but the Queen placed an impenetrable spell around the center, and there is nothing the men can do, sir." Naraku nodded.
"They won't last long within the confines of that spell and without the Shikon. Adriana is powerful, but even she has limits. Who is in charge of the Alereal attack? Serpantine, correct? Send a water demon to him, tell him to remain in Alereal until the Queen weakens. However, the escape of Princess Kagome is inexcusable. Do you have any idea of her whereabouts?" The rat nodded eagerly.
"I've just come back from Esliad sir. The girl is there sir. But.." the rat paused. Naraku glared at him angrily.
"Continue." He ordered.
"The entire attack force at Esliad was destroyed master." The rat hid his face from Naraku.
"The entire force? How is that possible?"
"The girl, sir. She destroyed them all." Naraku shook with rage.
"Get out of my sight!" he thundered. The rat scurried out of the room. Naraku turned back to the window, contemplating this new obstacle. He heard someone enter the room and turned, ready to blast the intruding youkai into oblivion. However, he stopped himself. Kikyo walked towards him, smiling smugly.
"I told you not to underestimate your enemies, Naraku." She said. He turned away angrily, but she put a finger under his chin and turned his face to hers as she continued, "I betrayed the resistance because I thought that you could actually succeed. I did not become a traitor to join a side that will fail because of a mere girl."
"I will not fail Kikyo. Don't forget that were it not for me, you would be dead right now. You are nothing without me. You are mine. Never forget that." She turned and walked angrily out of the room. Naraku smiled again. "You are mine."
- - -
I know that so far the chapters have been short.. I wasn't sure how long a page on word translated onto FF would be… but I'm a big fan of nice long chapters (I hope I don't regret saying that later) so don't worry!