CHAPTER EIGHT
*
The night air was full of wind, blowing a thousand strong scents from the mountains, the sparkling river, the bright stars. Inuyasha took a deep breath, lowering the Tetsusaiga to his shoulder and looking out over the village. A faint glow came from two of the huts, showing where the small group had camped out.
Something's missing, he thought.
Inuyasha sniffed the air again, searching for the elusive scent that was missing. It's not just one scent, he realized. It's all the scents of a village that people live in -- fish and smoke and grease and sweat and the scent of livestock. They're all missing. I suppose they could have worn off days ago, but still...
He grimaced. Something about this village felt so FALSE. It was like a paper doll, with a face and painted clothes, but just a thin little slip underneath it. With a growl, Inuyasha swung Tetsusaiga in a wide arc, imagining himself facing off against Naraku. That bastard's at the root of all this, but I don't know why, he thought darkly. Rumors of jewel shards my foot. Though I don't know why he'd cook up a whole village like this.
With a deep sigh, Inuyasha sheathed his blade and stretched, arching his back. He wasn't made for thinking -- he didn't have Miroku's cool brain or Sango's varied experience. The strength of his body had always been his way of getting through problems. Until relatively recent, it was all he had ever needed to get through.
A flicker of movement in the woods caught his eye. He stiffened, catching a scent on the air...
He jumped from the rooftop to the spot where he had seen something run by. His pointed dog ears twitched as he listened for any more sounds. Then he bent down and sniffed at the leaves, twigs and dirt. Dozens of scents... badgers, foxes, beetles, wild dogs and wolves, a minor demon or two... and himself. And Kagome too.
Inuyasha straightened up, frowning. He could smell his own scent -- relatively fresh -- and Kagome's as well. Had they been by earlier in the day? He didn't exactly remember where they had roamed, looking for... well, whatever Kagome thought she had seen. We might have come here, he thought. He pressed a hand to the ground, looking around at the dark, shivering trees.
Weird... really weird. Oh well, at least it wasn't Naraku or Sesshomaru, he thought, striding back to the warmly lit huts. He could smell food being made inside, and it reminded him that he hadn't eaten in the past few hours. Practice with the Tetsusaiga always made him hungry.
Kagome was stumbling out of the girls' hut. She yawned as Inuyasha took her by the arm and led her back to where the food was being made.
*
The cloaked figure was waiting for them, in the dark forest grove near the river. The water sparkled in the light as the two demons leapt over it, landing lightly on the riverbank. Marako skidded to a halt, threw out his arm to stop Mihaka. His sister was breathing hard with exertion, and she clung to his elbow as they approached Naraku.
He was crouching or kneeling under a tree, wrapped in a cloak made of a baboon's pelt. It masked his face and enfolded his body, and let only the lower half of his face show. At that moment, Mihaka and Marako could see him smile. "Ah, you've finally arrived," Naraku said in a low voice. "Have you done as I asked?"
"Yes," Mihaka said.
"Good. Very good," Naraku said softly. "I'm sure you will both like what I have planned for you next. Mihaka."
The demoness looked up, twirling a strand of her dark hair around her finger. "You said I was to kill Inuyasha."
"You are. That has not changed. But I have something specific I would like for you to do." A small smile touched Naraku's half-hidden face. "Inuyasha will die. What is more, he will die with the agonizing knowledge that the woman he loves seduced, betrayed and murdered him." His keen eyes watched Mihaka's pretty face. "Do you understand?"
Mihaka thought it over for a moment, then smiled slightly. "Yes, Master Naraku."
"What about me?" Marako demanded heatedly.
"Marako!" Mihaka hissed. "Quiet!"
A low, purring chuckle came from the baboon pelt. "Marako," Naraku said quietly, "not only do you possess Inuyasha's form, but his impatience as well. I have a task for you, as important as Mihaka's. Though Inuyasha's feelings for the girl Kagome run deep, it would be a cruel occurrance if he were to... say, take the shards from her. In the past, he desired only the jewel, and told her so. What if those words were truth?"
Marako thought it over for a moment, then nodded solemnly. A fanged grin spread over his face for a moment, then vanished as he controlled his feelings. His clawed hands balled into fists. "Tomorrow?" he asked.
"Yes," Naraku said quietly. "Tomorrow."
The two young demons watched as Naraku seemed to melt and disappear into the shadows, the white baboon pelt shining in the moonlight before vanishing into thin air. Then they turned and began the long walk back to the village.
TO BE CONTINUED
*
The night air was full of wind, blowing a thousand strong scents from the mountains, the sparkling river, the bright stars. Inuyasha took a deep breath, lowering the Tetsusaiga to his shoulder and looking out over the village. A faint glow came from two of the huts, showing where the small group had camped out.
Something's missing, he thought.
Inuyasha sniffed the air again, searching for the elusive scent that was missing. It's not just one scent, he realized. It's all the scents of a village that people live in -- fish and smoke and grease and sweat and the scent of livestock. They're all missing. I suppose they could have worn off days ago, but still...
He grimaced. Something about this village felt so FALSE. It was like a paper doll, with a face and painted clothes, but just a thin little slip underneath it. With a growl, Inuyasha swung Tetsusaiga in a wide arc, imagining himself facing off against Naraku. That bastard's at the root of all this, but I don't know why, he thought darkly. Rumors of jewel shards my foot. Though I don't know why he'd cook up a whole village like this.
With a deep sigh, Inuyasha sheathed his blade and stretched, arching his back. He wasn't made for thinking -- he didn't have Miroku's cool brain or Sango's varied experience. The strength of his body had always been his way of getting through problems. Until relatively recent, it was all he had ever needed to get through.
A flicker of movement in the woods caught his eye. He stiffened, catching a scent on the air...
He jumped from the rooftop to the spot where he had seen something run by. His pointed dog ears twitched as he listened for any more sounds. Then he bent down and sniffed at the leaves, twigs and dirt. Dozens of scents... badgers, foxes, beetles, wild dogs and wolves, a minor demon or two... and himself. And Kagome too.
Inuyasha straightened up, frowning. He could smell his own scent -- relatively fresh -- and Kagome's as well. Had they been by earlier in the day? He didn't exactly remember where they had roamed, looking for... well, whatever Kagome thought she had seen. We might have come here, he thought. He pressed a hand to the ground, looking around at the dark, shivering trees.
Weird... really weird. Oh well, at least it wasn't Naraku or Sesshomaru, he thought, striding back to the warmly lit huts. He could smell food being made inside, and it reminded him that he hadn't eaten in the past few hours. Practice with the Tetsusaiga always made him hungry.
Kagome was stumbling out of the girls' hut. She yawned as Inuyasha took her by the arm and led her back to where the food was being made.
*
The cloaked figure was waiting for them, in the dark forest grove near the river. The water sparkled in the light as the two demons leapt over it, landing lightly on the riverbank. Marako skidded to a halt, threw out his arm to stop Mihaka. His sister was breathing hard with exertion, and she clung to his elbow as they approached Naraku.
He was crouching or kneeling under a tree, wrapped in a cloak made of a baboon's pelt. It masked his face and enfolded his body, and let only the lower half of his face show. At that moment, Mihaka and Marako could see him smile. "Ah, you've finally arrived," Naraku said in a low voice. "Have you done as I asked?"
"Yes," Mihaka said.
"Good. Very good," Naraku said softly. "I'm sure you will both like what I have planned for you next. Mihaka."
The demoness looked up, twirling a strand of her dark hair around her finger. "You said I was to kill Inuyasha."
"You are. That has not changed. But I have something specific I would like for you to do." A small smile touched Naraku's half-hidden face. "Inuyasha will die. What is more, he will die with the agonizing knowledge that the woman he loves seduced, betrayed and murdered him." His keen eyes watched Mihaka's pretty face. "Do you understand?"
Mihaka thought it over for a moment, then smiled slightly. "Yes, Master Naraku."
"What about me?" Marako demanded heatedly.
"Marako!" Mihaka hissed. "Quiet!"
A low, purring chuckle came from the baboon pelt. "Marako," Naraku said quietly, "not only do you possess Inuyasha's form, but his impatience as well. I have a task for you, as important as Mihaka's. Though Inuyasha's feelings for the girl Kagome run deep, it would be a cruel occurrance if he were to... say, take the shards from her. In the past, he desired only the jewel, and told her so. What if those words were truth?"
Marako thought it over for a moment, then nodded solemnly. A fanged grin spread over his face for a moment, then vanished as he controlled his feelings. His clawed hands balled into fists. "Tomorrow?" he asked.
"Yes," Naraku said quietly. "Tomorrow."
The two young demons watched as Naraku seemed to melt and disappear into the shadows, the white baboon pelt shining in the moonlight before vanishing into thin air. Then they turned and began the long walk back to the village.
TO BE CONTINUED