Innocence
by Sarah Barah (a.k.a. The Insane One)
*Author's note
KONNICHIWA!!! I MISSED YOU GUYS! *tackles everyone* I was in the hospital for sooo long! It is good to have fresh air and non-processed meat again! :) But I'm not better totally yet, so I have to go back to the Mayo Clinic in a few days. So I'll be gone again. :( But I promise I'll be back soon! Okay, maybe not real soon, but I'll do what I can. I hope to finish this while I'm here. But that means I have to write, write, WRITE! AND FAST! So I'm gonna update everyday if I can! Oh the fun! ^_^ I hope I can see some Inuyasha stuff while I'm at the mall in MN too! OMG! COULD YOU BELIEVE THEY TOOK INUYASHA OFF CARTOON NETWORK!? I COULD JUST DIE! *cries uncontrollably* ToT;;; *points* In case you don't know, that's my new crying face. :) Tee hee. Isn't it cool? Anyways, enough chit chat. I'm introducing a new character of mine into the story. So look for him k? He'll be the small meek little thing.
New Character: HEY! u.u;
^_^ That's my chara! ;) Well, g2g let you read! See ya!
Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha or any of its characters except the new one introduced into this story, and Etsuko and Chumoru. :) That's all I'm tellin' so you got to get "gellin' like a fellin' " and start readin'! ^.~
Yeah, corny, I know. Oh well, ENJOY! :D
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Inuyasha sat stunned. His body unmoving, his heart pounding in his chest. His white dog ears were erect, listening to the sound of the wolf-hanyou who moved away into the underbrush. He simply stared after her. What more could he do? He was too stunned by their encounter that he knew not what to do next. His brain throttled him with questions. Why did she just sit there? Why didn't she kill me when she had the chance? Why was she crying? The last question bothered him most of all. She looked to be a strong warrior, incapable of sorrow or mercy, like the years of hatred she had for him had wasted away all her other feelings. And yet, there was still a tear falling down her cheek, wasn't there? She was crying, for him...
But why? Why the hell would she when she was just about to kill me? Why the hell do girls have to be so fucking complicated!?
He finally sat up, his heart still pounding. He had to follow her. It was the only thing he could think of to do now. The questions in his brain kept his mind clouded so he had to concentrate to think of what to do next. And that was something he did not do well...
Fuck it, I can't stand this anymore!
He got to his feet and surveyed the damage. His dark red haote was splattered with blood, mostly his own, and there were various slashes and tears in the fabric. He shook his head. One more piece of clothing to give to Kagome's mom to repair. It was amazing how many pairs of clothes he went through, though, maybe not. After all, he was constantly fighting demons. It was actually more amazing that he didn't get wounded more often.
Well, I better catch up to that wench before she goes and starts causing trouble.....
He crouched low to the ground, sniffing for the scent of blood, wolf blood. Then, he found it. The scent was still strong, which would make it easier to seek her out. He smirked. Gods it was good to finally feel normal again. He was beginning to think he was getting too soft. The sight of her seemed to make him weak somehow, and he hated that feeling. She was always doing that to him. But he had no idea why. Maybe it was because he knew her from before.... before he left..... before he met the woman who would kill him.... before he even met Kagome....
Dammit! I can't think about this! Stupid shit, why does everything have to be so fucking confusing! Why can't I just kill the damn bitch and get it over with?! She hates me, I hate her, so what's the deal?! Why can't one of us just kill the other one and forget about it?
Because you can't. You can't kill someone you love.....
"What the hell?"
Inuyasha looked around. Where was that voice coming from? Damn, this was freaky....
Inuyasha..... you cannot kill someone whom you have no desire to kill. You of all people should know that....
"Stop that dammit! Where and who the hell are you?!"
A dark aura surrounded the clearing where Inuyasha stood. He froze, his ears twitching, listening for any movement. Then, a bush moved...
"Look, if you're gonna be playin' hide and go seek, then I don't wanna hear your shit. But if you're gonna come out like a good demon so I can slaughter you..."
Another bush moved, this time from another direction.
"I'm sick of this shit. COME OUT!"
He picked up the tetsusaiga and beat one of the bushes. A thump was heard and a bit of whimpering as a small figure finally came from the bushes. It was a skunk demon. Though it was small, it's scent was not. It cowered before the inu-hanyou, it's black and white tail raised above it's head in terror. His voice was the same as that of the mysterious voice Inuyasha had heard before, deep and strong. It was funny though, for he was nothing like his voice. He was simply a fluffy ball of black and white and his odor rose to Inuyasha's nostrils so fast that he had barely enough time to cover his nose before he fell over in surprise.
"HOLY HELL WHAT IS THAT?!"
"Forgive me, Lord Inuyasha, for I tend to do that when surprised. I am Ao, a faithful forest spirit. Do forgive me for creeping up on you."
The skunk demon stood up, his tail wrapped about him, and bowed to the fallen hanyou. Inuyasha simply stared, saying nothing at first, but he recovered quickly, to the dismay of the skunk demon.
"WHY THE HELL DID YOU SCARE ME LIKE THAT?! AND WHAT DO YOU KNOW ABOUT ME ANYWAYS HUH?! ANSWER ME!"
"Sire, I would but it is terribly hard to answer one when one is strangling one's neck so that one cannot breathe!"
Ao's eyes rolled back into his head, his tongue lolling out, as he struggled to break from Inuyasha's death grip. Finally, he broke from the inu-hanyou's hold and fell backwards, landing on his back with a hard thump. Inuyasha simply 'feh'd' and sat down on the ground in front of the tiny demon, folding his arms over his chest and acting not at all fearful. Besides, this was just a tiny demon, he couldn't possibly have any real power, right?
"SIRE! I DO BELIEVE THAT THAT WAS NOT THE KIND OF BEHAVIOR FOR A LORD OF YOUR STATURE," Ao said sitting up and puffing his white chest out in the hopes of making himself look bigger and more terrifying. Inuyasha just smirked, his eyes closed, his ears laying flat on his head, not listening to a word the other demon said. That set him off. Without another word, the skunk demon turned his back on the hanyou, and sprayed a mist of ode' de la skunk juice all over him. All Inuyasha could do was leap out of the way.
"Why you little-" Inuyasha's eyebrow twitched, his face far enough away from the skunk so that he wouldn't pass out, but close enough to be menacing.
"Look, uh... sire... I just wanted to.... uh.... oh my..."
Ao turned, running into the brush, only to have Inuyasha grab his tail before he could make it out the other side.
"Please sire, I didn't mean to...."
"Okay weasel, or whatever the hell you are, if you want to live to see another sun, then you had better fucking tell me what the hell you think you're doing talking about me or the way I feel or anything like that, when you don't even KNOW ME!"
"Ah, but I do sire. You must just not remember me."
"WELL I SURE AS HELL DON'T, SO EXPLAIN," Inuyasha boomed, lifting the skunk in the air and shaking him.
"Oh, uh.... yes sire yes, but please calm down. It's rather hard to answer as I said before when one is being shaken," he emphasized this by trying to pull from Inuyasha's grasp. But the hanyou held firm.
"Listen you. Either you tell me what you know or I'm gonna pop you like a rotten tomato, hear me?"
"Yes sire. Well, you see, I was serving under your father for some time. This was when you were but a wee lad you see, so I'm sure you mustn't remember me. But I remember you, and your father. Ah, he was a great fellow..." Ao's eyes seemed to water at this and he swiftly wiped his eyes with a claw, "But I had not seen any of you for so long that I feared that you were dead. I remember you left without a word one day and we all wondered why, especially that young miss... what was her name... Etsuko?"
Inuyasha almost dropped Ao at this and more memories came flooding to him all at once.
That is why...THAT IS WHY!
"What is why, sire?"
Inuyasha stared down at the skunk demon still in his hand.
"What?"
"Oh, forgive me again sire, I forgot to tell you, I can read minds..."
"WHAT?!"
"Oh um... well, you see.... that's something that I kind of picked up. I'm not sure how exactly, but I remember that the young miss, Etsuko, could also do that. That is the only reason I found you. I could feel another mind-reader was near, and so I just followed the aura here. It was simple," Ao said, fluffing his chest up a little more, his face proud.
Inuyasha stared with his mouth open wide. How could he forget? HOW IN THE HELL COULD HE FORGET THAT ETSUKO COULD READ MINDS?! THAT WAS WHY! THAT WAS WHY SHE DIDN'T KILL HIM! SHE PITIED HIM! THE FUCKING BITCH PITIED HIM! HOW DARE SHE! HOW DARE SHE!
"And I suppose you know everything there is to know about me just by reading my mind, don't you?"
"Well ...um.... yes..."
"OH SHIT! JUST WHAT I THOUGHT! SHE DIDN'T KILL ME BECAUSE OF THAT! DAMN HER!"
"Well no, sire, I don't think that's exactly why..."
"AND WHAT WOULD YOU KNOW ABOUT IT," Inuyasha growled.
"Well.... I can read minds sire...."
OH GREAT, THIS IS JUST FUCKING DANDY! HOW MANY DEMONS CAN DO THAT?!
"Well only a few have this power. Some learn it, and some are born with it. In the case of Etsuko, she was born with her ability. But I, on the other hand, learned it."
"Lovely. So I get stuck with the only two in the area that can read my mind. Figures..." He 'feh'd' and sat down on the ground again, dropping Ao to the ground. Ao took his tail and lovingly smoothed it out, being as careful as if it was a child. Inuyasha just raised an eyebrow. The skunk demon turned just in time to see the eyebrow and coughed.
"Ahem... yes... well..... moving on... " He waddled slowly towards Inuyasha who still sat on the ground, "We must catch up to Etsuko. She may hold several answers for you."
"And why do you think I should listen to you?"
"Because sire, you do not have anything else to do."
Inuyasha snorted.
"I'll have you know I have plenty to do. I don't need little quests given to me by tiny weasels who protect the forest."
"Excuse me, sire, but I am not a weasel, I am a skunk! And skunks do have their pride!"
Inuyasha snorted again, his left ear twitching in amusement.
"I'm warning you, sire."
"Feh."
"SIRE!"
"Whatever."
Ao turned and a lovely mist covered the hanyou once more.
"....... oh shit..." was all Inuyasha said, as he fell backwards, completely unconscious.
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"Kagome? Where are you going?"
The girl looked back towards the sleepy cub. They had been waiting in the same clearing for hours and had fallen asleep, but now Kagome was awake again and getting worried.
"Go back to sleep, Shippo-chan. Everything's alright."
"But where are you going? You're not leaving are you?"
"No Shippo. Just go back to sleep."
"Oh..... okay..." the kitsune-cub said, yawning and closing his eyes once more. He rolled into a tight ball and Kagome just had to smile. He was so cute while he slept. But she had to leave him and find Inuyasha. There was just something not right. She could feel it.
She got to her feet slowly, her legs feeling weak after having sat on them for so long. She wobbled over to a tree trunk and rested against it for a moment, letting her senses return before she moved again. Then she slowly walked from the cub, leaving him to shudder from the lack of Kagome's body heat beside him. He stirred again, but didn't wake so she left him to find the stubborn hanyou whom she worried herself sick for.
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Sango's eyes slowly fluttered open, and she immediately felt her head pounding with pain. She groaned and weakly put a hand to her forehead. She felt so warm. Then she looked down to see Miroku, laying beside her. He had his arm wrapped around her hips, holding her close to him as if trying to protect her. His eyes were still closed, as if he were unconscious and she could see the bruises and cuts on his face as if he had been beaten. She could feel his breath on her chest, and this made her a bit uncomfortable, but she dared not move for fear that she would wake him. She could remember little of what had happened before she woke up. Flashes of light and screams was all she could see and hear when she tried to think of it. But she did know one thing, she could remember that Miroku had protected her. She couldn't remember how, and she couldn't even really tell what he did, but she had a feeling that he was the one who saved her. She just knew, though she couldn't explain it if she tried. She smiled softly down at the monk and stroked his hair. Then she kissed his forehead softly, and took his hand. He mumbled softly and Sango had to lean in to hear him.
"Sango..." he whispered but that was all. Sango's eyes grew moist as she shushed him, not even sure if he was awake. But she didn't care. She leaned in and softly kissed his lips. Then, as she ended their kiss, she felt a slight squeeze of her hand, but then, it went limp again.
"Please Miroku. Please don't go..."
Sango whispered and cried softly until she fell back to sleep.
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Such an emotional chapter! I'm awful with these things! Forgive me! I do it way too much. :( But I'll try not to be too emotional. Thank you all for being the wonderful readers you are by reading my story. I LOVE YOU GUYS! ^__^ Okay.... anyways..... I know.... I'm scary..... but I'll let you go now. I know you probably have much better things to do then reading my junk. But non-the-less I still love you for taking the time to read it! PLEASE REVIEW MEH! I WANNA HERE WHAT YOU'VE GOT TO SAY! CONSTRUCTIVE CRITICISM IS ALWAYS WELCOMED! SO DON'T BE AFRAID TO TELL ME IF I REALLY DO SUCK! ^_^ Okay, now that's said. I g2g tootles!
-Sarah Barah
P.S. Did you figure out who the new character is? I thought so, but just for those of you who are a bit slow..... (no offense to you of course ;) ) it was Ao, the skunk demon. I know, I know, a skunk demon.... I ran out of ideas for demons okay?! I can't help it if my mind is big but my thinking is small! Well, anyways..... Bye ya! God bless!