DISCLAIMER: I do not own the rights to the characters herein portrayed, nor do I profit from this story. It is a work of fan fiction, for the enjoyment of anyone.
Acts of Nature
By KerrAvon
Stormy Weather
"Thanks for the break, Inuyasha." Kagome sighed, throwing her arms out and taking a deep breath of the salty sea air. "I just love the beach!"
"Feh. Like I had a choice." Inuyasha feigned indifference, lounging against a large chunk of driftwood, but was secretly pleased. They had been under a lot of stress lately, fighting a seemingly endless series of demons to acquire their shards, and the strain was beginning to show. The exhausted taijiya had become irritable, snapping at the group in general and the monk in particular, for the smallest infraction. Miroku responded by becoming progressively more quiet, and in fact had not even attempted a grope for three days. Kagome was bone-weary of the incessant battle, both of the demons and each other. Even their effervescent kitsune had become subdued, and spoke little. Inuyasha found the discord unsettling, and finally lit on this detour as a way to unwind. Besides, tonight would be the new moon, and he felt more comfortable away from any possibility of danger. In their current state, the others probably couldn't fight off a rabid butterfly.
But at least they were finally starting to relax. Shippo was cavorting in the waves, trying to draw the others into his game by splashing at anyone who came near. The girls managed to stay clear of the spray, but a gust of wind boosted the water aimed at Miroku, thoroughly soaking his chest.
"I warned you before, Shippo. Now you're in for it!" The monk knotted up his robes to knee-level, then waded in after the giggling kitsune.
A very wet, very merry chase ensued, eventually involving the whole company. Finally, exhausted, they collapsed on the sand, laughing and gasping for breath.
"Oh, that was fun!" Kagome rested her head on her hands, still laughing hard enough to force tears from her eyes, and stared at the sky. "I got you good once, Inuyasha!"
The hanyou allowed himself a small grin. "Not as good as I got Miroku!" he sniggered.
"As we got Miroku", corrected Sango, suppressing a chuckle. Her eyes slipped sideways to examine the now-sopping monk who was leaning on his elbow, staring at her. "You should have seen your face, Houshi-sama!"
The monk, who had been silently appreciating the effect water had on women's clothing, roused himself enough to reply. "Well, I could hardly protect myself from both directions now, could I?"
Kagome, still staring up at the sky, frowned slightly. "Um, guys?" she began, "It looks like it's going to rain…"
Sure enough, clouds had been gathering unnoticed by the happy group, and now loomed dark and threatening. The wind began to pick up as well, driving the wave crests higher by the minute.
"So what?" asked Inuyasha. "We're already wet."
"Not as wet as we will be. This storm looks like it's going to be bad." Sango peered around anxiously. "We need shelter. There are no trees, but perhaps those rocks…" She pointed towards a nearby outcropping.
"Nah, too close to the surf." Inuyasha vetoed the idea.
Shippo's eyes lit up. "What about that cave we saw earlier?" On their way towards the shore, the kitsune had noticed a cave-entrance in the side of a sea cliff and had wanted to explore, but everyone else had been too anxious to reach the beach to take the time to do so. He held his breath; maybe he'd get the chance to go spelunking after all!
Miroku raised an eyebrow consideringly. "That's a good idea, Shippo. It's not too far, and at least it'll keep the rain off."
"What are we waiting for, then?" asked Kagome. "Let's go before it starts!"
So saying, they gathered their belongings and hurried back the way they had come. "We ought to gather as much driftwood as we can, while it's still dry," suggested Sango. "I've heard that some of these sea-storms can last for days."
"Then it's a good thing we've still got plenty of food in my pack," commented Kagome, as they began picking up kindling. The group reached the cave just as the first fat drops splattered on the rock outside. The wind had picked up considerably, and could be heard howling like a pack of wild wolves, hungry for a kill. Kagome was unable to suppress a shudder at the image, and busied herself with setting up camp. Sango found a spot to the left of the entrance which seemed the least drafty, and began building a small fire. In no time the rain was coming down in sheets so thick that the ocean wasn't visible less than half a mile away.
As boys will be boys, Inuyasha, Shippo, and Miroku busied themselves with exploring their temporary new home, 'for safety's sake'. "After all, who knows what might be lurking in the shadows?" No one really expected anything dangerous, but it gave an excuse to examine their surroundings in the muted afternoon light.
"Say, Inuyasha, look over here!" Miroku was excited. As the dog demon joined him, he pointed to a small pool fed by a trickling spring that emerged through the rock wall. He cupped his hands and took a sip. "Fresh water."
Inuyasha nodded approvingly. Now they wouldn't have to brave the storm to collect rainwater. He'd never admit it, but even he didn't like to get wet.
"Hey, look at this!" came Shippo's excited shout. "There's another cave behind this one!"
Both Inuyasha's and Miroku's heads came up at this, and the hanyou's hand automatically went to Tetsusaiga. Miroku called to the kitsune, "Wait, Shippo! We don't know what could be back there!"
At this the youngster's eyes became saucers, and he stared at the unexplored crevice. In a small voice he ventured, "You think there might be a demon?"
Inuyasha was at his side, and surreptitiously thrust the youngster behind his leg for protection. "Could be…" he muttered, straining to see through the murk. He was standing facing an irregular outcropping of stone on the back wall of their shelter, which, upon closer inspection, revealed a narrow passageway wide enough to admit one person at a time. The corridor was had initially been missed as the light from the cave entrance struck the granite in front of it, shrouding it in darkness. "Great place for an ambush," he muttered.
"Here, this will help." Unnoticed by Inuyasha or Shippo, Miroku had gone back to the fire and now returned with three torches and two curious girls in tow. He handed Inuyasha one of the fire-brands. Wielding the flame in one hand and his sword in the other, Inuyasha inspected the passageway. It was about eight feet tall, with edges worn smooth by time, and sloped slightly upwards. It extended as far as he could easily see, so he turned back to the others before venturing further.
"Kagome, keep Shippo out here," he commanded, as they would be most at risk in close-quarter fighting.
"Hai," she replied simply, recognizing the wisdom in this plan of action and pointedly ignoring the tone it was delivered in.
Miroku handed the third torch to Sango, and the three edged inside. After only a few minutes of cautious creeping, the walkway gradually widened until they could pace side-by-side comfortably and still have room to swing a sword. After ten minutes more of uphill climbing, the suddenly entered a huge cavern.
The new chamber was enormous, with an arched ceiling that must have extended almost to the top of the cliff-face. Innumerable stalactites and stalagmites wetly reflected the dancing light of the three torches, and occasional drips could be heard echoing along the walls. No ambient light implied no other connection to the outside and, while cool and vaguely damp, there was no howling wind to deal with. A second branch of Miroku's spring welled up out of the wall in this room, and the tinkling of its flow was the only steady sound besides the explorers' breath. Nothing moved, and there were no signs of recent habitation, demon or otherwise.
"Well, bouzo, feel anything?" asked Inuyasha, his own senses stretched tight to detect any malicious energy.
Miroku shook his head slowly, lips pursed. "No, nothing. I think it's clear."
Sango nodded in agreement and the three did a quick inspection of the perimeter before returning to the antechamber and their anxious friends.
"Looks safe enough" announced Inuyasha upon their return.
"Good" replied Kagome. She gestured to their sputtering fire, next to which sat five steaming ramen cups. The blankets that had been laid out were pushed up against the wall, in the driest possible location, as water was washing in through the entrance, driven by the gale outside. "We've been here less than an hour, and this place is practically unlivable! Assuming it's safe, we ought to move into that next room, because I think it's going to get a lot wetter in here before this storm's over." As if to punctuate her statement, the fire suddenly went out completely. The main light now came from outside, where the sheets of rain were blowing horizontally. The squall intermittently revealed shadows of whole trees which had been uprooted and hurled skyward, along with quite a bit of smaller detritus. Inuyasha's eyebrow raised slightly, and even Miroku appeared impressed.
"Come on, you guys! Don't just stand there; help me with this stuff!" Kagome grabbed her backpack as she shoved an armload of dry wood at Inuyasha. "Where I come from, this is called a 'typhoon'. Any of you ever seen one before?" As the group bent to retrieve more wood and supplies, they shook their heads. Kagome continued, "It will probably last a day, maybe more, depending on how fast it's moving. The important thing is to not go out in the eye." Inuyasha was having trouble keeping his torch from catching his load on fire, so Kagome took the brand and headed towards the crevice.
"Excuse me, Kagome-san, but 'eye'?" Miroku had his own bundle of wood to keep from catching on fire, so he sounded distracted. Still, how could a storm see?
Kagome didn't reply until they had entered the larger room and she had safely set down her backpack. Then she assumed her best schoolteacher voice. "When you look down on a typhoon from an airplane or satellite, its center looks like an eye; when it passes over you, the winds calm down and lots of people think that the worst is over and go outside to check on things." She took the wood from the dog-demon and set it against the near wall. "However, thirty to sixty minutes later, the far side of the tempest hits, with its gale-force winds. People get killed because they're too far from shelter." She sighed, looking around their peaceful refuge. "It's a good thing you remembered this cave, Shippo. We'll really be safe here."
When the kitsune didn't reply, Kagome looked to see where he'd wandered off. "Shippo!" she called, her voice echoing off the cavern walls. The rest of the group glanced about as well.
"He was right behind us," commented Sango. "I suspect he's still in the front entrance." She knelt to begin the task of building a second fire.
"Well, he oughta be helping, too," grunted Inuyasha.
Miroku, nearest the passage to the outer chamber, dropped his firewood on the stack Kagome had started and reversed direction. "I agree with Sango; he's probably still in the other room. I'll go find him, and bring back the ramen on this trip, too. That way, we can eat before it gets cold."
Inuyasha's eyes widened as a thought occurred to him. "I'll bet he's out there eating our dinners!" Leaping to his feet from where he'd been crouched watching Sango, he hurried after the monk.
Kagome sighed, closing her eyes and dropping her head. "Sango, I'd better tag along to keep peace. Besides, there's more to retrieve besides some noodles. Will you be alright by yourself for a few minutes?"
"Sure, no problem." The demon slayer had managed to get a small flame going using her torch, and was gently feeding it larger and larger pieces of bark. Keeping her eyes on her task, she waved Kagome off.
As Miroku reentered the antechamber, the first thing he saw was Shippo standing mesmerized by the devastation outside. He stood on his tiptoes on the very edge of the entry, dancing back from some of the more violent gusts of rain as they blew in. His saturated state proved that he wasn't always successful, but he'd never been in a storm like this! He wanted to see everything!
"Hey Shippo, get away from there; it's dangerous!" The monk began moving towards the youngster when it became obvious that he couldn't hear him.
"Hey runt, you'd better not be eating my dinner!" exclaimed Inuyasha as he rounded the outcropping in front of their passageway.
"Shippo, I think…" His breath cut off in a startled gasp. The fox cub had heard the hanyou's shouting and had turned towards him, just as a particularly nasty gale blast struck the mouth of the cave. Neither hanyou or cub was in a position to see the tree limb hurtling towards the oblivious youngster's back, but it was obvious to Miroku that the child was about to be flattened. Breaking into a run, he hurled himself full-length at the kitsune, scooping him up with his cursed hand and flinging him towards the startled dog demon.
"Hey!" and "Bouzo!" echoed simultaneously as Inuyasha safely fielded Shippo, but were drowned out by a subsequent sickening crunch. Miroku had managed to get Shippo safely away from the incoming projectile; he had not been so fortunate himself. The branch that had impacted his skull now lay across his motionless form, hiding the upper half from view as the rain pelted down.
"Miroku!" cried Inuyasha, dropping the kit to the ground and rushing to his fallen comrade. He searched for the best grip to safely remove the tree limb without causing the monk further injury. Kagome emerged from the passage just then, eyes widening at the sight in front of her. She started toward the tableau, but halted at Inuyasha's angry warning.
"Stay back you two!" he commanded as he finally hefted and flung the limb aside. Beneath a few remaining scattered leaves, Miroku's head lay puddled in a pool of his own blood, his eyes closed, complexion waxy. His arm lay above his head where he had snagged the kitsune from danger, and the rain had already completely drenched his robes, chilling his skin.
Inuyasha narrowed his eyes as he determined the best method of safely moving Miroku. Finally deciding, he placed one arm beneath the monk's knees and the other beneath his shoulders, then lifted the young man as if he were a kitten and headed wordlessly back towards their sanctuary. Miroku's arms hung bonelessly while his head lolled against the hanyou's chest.
"I didn't mean it!" cried Shippo, as he and Kagome breathlessly followed. "He saved me!" The kitsune burst into tears. "Please let him be all right!"
Kagome was as comforting as her worry would allow. "I'm sure it was an accident. Don't worry, Shippo, we'll take good care of him."