Author's note: Ok, who was ready to strangle Ishiyana? *Watches hands go up. * Lol, I couldn't resist. I almost couldn't keep that in there, because I wanted to kill him myself, but "que será, será"! (What will be will be.)
Anywho, I loved the attention I got with the last chapter. I'm trying to get more written, but it's getting harder to find time. Just remember, I need motivation to write.
I'll do review responses this time:
Miara: Lol, I'm glad you liked it. I usually don't laugh when I write, but that one brought out a chuckle.
Inu-Kami: Like I said, Kaede's too cool to lose. ^_~ Thanks for the support, and I just found out that I can write fanfics in one of my classes, so I may use that, if I can.
BelleDayNight: Thanks for taking the time to read it!
Fushigi Wolf: Lol, I'm psyched that you like my story so much. I'll try to post quick enough for you! ^_~
Sukuri: Yeah…I didn't realize until after I posted how long that chapter was…but then that's good after such a long break, eh? And thanks for the suggestion!
Insomni-maniac: *Jumps up and down with you* Yeah! All right! Wait, can't type while…jumping…dang. *Stops. * There we go, much better. Thanks for the enthusiasm! ^_^
Inulover4ever101: I hope this chap lives up to your expectations! *shakes pom-poms * Yay Grandma!
Chevere: Hmm, do I seem young because of the way I write or because I keep griping about school? Lol.
Crystal Singer: Thanks for the suggestion. The way things are going, Ishiyana's just going to have to tell me what he wants to be. He and the other characters have totally taken control of this storyline, and I have yet to get it back. Thanks for sticking with me!
Kibo: You know what? You're right. It's like they said in School of Rock… "stick it to the man!" …Hopefully the man won't kick back. 0_0
Drkpyrokin: *Salutes* Yessir (ma'am)! Right away! New chapter ready, locked, and…FIRE!
Animelover8: Don't worry, I'm going to finish this story. I couldn't leave you guys hanging! I'm glad you like it!
Inu+Kag Forever: If only we could get Inuyasha to get with it already…*shakes head* It was hard enough to get him to figure out he even loved her. Well, here's hopin'! *Crosses fingers*
Hokay! That's all for now! On with the next chap!
* * *
Kagome wasted no time climbing back out of the well on her side. Are they ok?? She ran over to the middle of the complex, but she drew to a halt.
"Oh no…"
The miasma clouded everything, turning her home into a replica of the illusory castles of Naraku. The bright and cheery shrine was dark and threatening. What if…what if he??
She ran towards her house.
"Mom?? Grandpa?? Souta??"
Silence.
She came to a stop before her house, her hand on the door. I…I can't go in…what if they're…
She barely heard footsteps behind her. Jumping, she looked up as a hand was placed on her shoulder. Inuyasha looked down at her, eyebrows drawn together.
"They're not here. Even with all this poison gas, I can still smell them. They've been gone for hours." He sniffed the air. "Naraku's scent is fresher than theirs. My guess is that they didn't even run into him."
Kagome stared at him for a long moment, making him slightly uneasy.
"What?"
She flinched briefly, then practically attacked him, throwing her arms around his waist and burrowing her face into his chest. She started wailing, clutching him tightly. Embarrassed, Inuyasha looked down at her and gently wrapped his arms around her, resisting the urge to crush her against him. Down, boy. Not the place.
After a few moments, she sniffed and pulled away slightly, swiping at her nose with her arm. "Thank you, Inuyasha. I was so worried about them…"
She trailed off, noticing that for the first time, he hadn't immediately released her after she'd embraced him. She looked down at his arms about her waist, then back up at his face, a blush spreading across her face. The way he was looking at her…it was almost like he was going to…
Abruptly, pain crossed his face and he grunted, bending over her. Kagome snapped out of it.
"Of course! Your wound! Come on, we'll get you that antidote." Maybe that's why he's been acting so funny…but I hope it isn't.
Gingerly, she picked up his arm and pulled it over her shoulder, trying to bear his weight for him. Her eyebrows lifted as Inuyasha's weight was suddenly lifted from her shoulders, though he hadn't gone anywhere. Peering around him, she saw that Ishiyana had mimicked her pose.
He nodded to her. "I've got him. Hurry and get that antidote!"
She smiled softly and ran inside. As she stopped at the pantry, however, she stilled at the sound of voices. The television was on, and a news report was blaring into the dark room.
She pulled away and looked at the TV. A scene of billowing smoke, wrecked cars, and people yelling provided the background for a reporter's voice.
"…total panic. A man with long black hair, dressed in odd clothing, was labeled as the cause of this devastation…"
Kagome gasped. "Naraku! He's in the city!"
When a thump sounded in the doorway, she turned to see a glum Inuyasha, supported by Ishiyana. Wow, they look weird together.
"Do you know where in your city Naraku is?" Inuyasha winced as he talked.
She shook her head. "It looks like he's long gone from the accident." Inuyasha grunted and staggered, making Ishiyana wince with the effort of holding him up.
"Hurry up, Kagome. He's not as light as he looks." He glanced at the hanyou's face. "Must be all that extra hair."
"Shut up." Inuyasha lowered himself to the floor and lay down, eyes closed in pain.
Biting her lip, Kagome ran to the pantry and grabbed the extra medical kit. Pulling out a can of antidote, she propped Inuyasha's head up and made him drink it. A few minutes later, he opened his eyes and stared at her.
She peered down at him in concern. "Is it working?"
Inuyasha nodded. "I think so." He winced when he tried to sit up.
"Inuyasha, you have to stay still! Just because you're a demon, it doesn't mean that you won't take a little while to fully recover!"
"No time. You heard that box. Naraku's on the loose. We have to…stop him."
Inuyasha rose to his feet and staggered outside, pulling Kagome with him. "I've got his scent. Come on." Ignoring her protests, he pulled her onto his back and, wincing, leapt into the night sky.
Ishiyana ran outside. "Hey! What about me??" He scowled. "That jerk."
He wandered down the shrine steps, wondering how on earth he was going to catch up to them. When a familiar red car pulled up to the shrine, Ishiyana raced down the remaining steps. His mother launched herself out of the car.
"Ishiyana!! I was so worried about you!!! Where have you been??"
He gave her a quick hug and then pried himself away. "I'm sorry, Mom, but I'll explain later!" He yanked open the car door and buckled himself in. "I need to borrow the car!"
"But you can't drive!"
He started the car. "It's an automatic. What's there to know?" With that, he stepped on the gas and sped away.
* * *
Inuyasha took flying leap after leap, but the leftover poison had slowed him down drastically. At this rate, he'd never catch up to Naraku!
"Dammit!"
Kagome tightened her hold on his shoulders. "I told you to wait before running off! You never listen to me!"
"I do so," he grumbled. "You talk too much for me to miss everything you say."
She hit him on the back of his head. "I heard that."
He found himself grinning. I really do love her, that baka. His smile disappeared as he found himself slowing yet again. Dammit!!
With a grunt, he landed beside the road and crouched, trying to get his wind back. If I keep going like this, by the time I find Naraku, I won't even be a match for him!
His ears perked up at the sound of a roaring engine. Raising an eyebrow, he turned and spotted a strange, bike-like machine coming towards them at an unusually high speed.
"Hmm."
Gently pushing Kagome off him, Inuyasha stepped into the middle of the street, right in the bike's path. With a yell, the driver hit the brakes and squealed to a stop.
"Hey man, what's your problem??"
Smirking, Inuyasha picked the man up and threw him aside. "I need this. Come on, Kagome!"
She approached him nervously. "Inuyasha, you can't just steal this guy's motorcycle! Besides, you don't know how to drive it!"
"There aren't any pedals, so I'll be fine."
"Like hell you will!" The driver ripped his helmet off and stalked up to Inuyasha. "Get away from my bike or I'll—oomph!"
Inuyasha gave the guy one good, solid punch and knocked him out. "Much better. Come on, Kagome!"
Wincing, she sat behind him on the motorcycle and wrapped her arms tight around his waist. A blush crept over Inuyasha's cheeks.
"Uh, how do I start this thing?"
She shut her eyes. "Turn the key." It started. "Now turn the right handle SLOWLY towards you-ooooooooooooooo!!!!"
She hung on for dear life as the motorcycle took off. I'm gonna die, I'm gonna die, I'm gonna die…
She slowly pried her eyes open at the sound of cheers. Inuyasha was yelling and laughing his head off.
"All RIGHT!! Now THIS is a bike!!! Kagome, why didn't you tell me that your world had such fantastic things in it??"
I'm gonna die, I'm gonna die, I'm gonna die…
* * *
Naraku slipped out of the moonlight into the shadows of an alley and scowled. These damn humans are everywhere in this era! He had yet to run into a demon in this strange land. They tended to be easier to manipulate than humans, and the malice they could produce was far darker than most of the malice created by humans.
Even so, human emotions could not be taken for granted. If only these would cooperate! When he'd just tried to manipulate a human into attacking another group, the man had turned out to be more of a physical challenge than he'd seemed. Naraku had picked the man because he looked like a rough type, but he hadn't expected the human to pull out some small weapon and fire it at him.
Grimacing, Naraku touched his bleeding shoulder. For such a small weapon, it created a great deal of damage. In his anger, he had attacked the human, only to run into the road and get hit by some vehicle. He'd released a cloud of poison vapors on instinct and devastated the area. Chaos had ensued, people had run around screaming, and Naraku had been forced to flee the scene.
And the jewel had absorbed nothing.
Growling, Naraku slunk further into the shadows. I must learn more about this world before I can control these people…and I will probably need to heal before I can convince anyone here to listen to me. Damn.
"Hey! Hey you!"
Naraku turned to see a group of five men behind him.
"You're the guy that attacked our brother!" They picked up some strange-looking weapons. "We'll get you for that! No one messes with our gang!"
Naraku smiled. Much better. "Tell me, what would you say if I could grant you unending power?"
"Huh? What are you talking about?"
"To make up for my…misdemeanor earlier, why don't you accept these?" He held out some jewel shards. "They will grant you power beyond your wildest dreams."
They lowered their weapons slightly. "What's the catch?" one questioned warily.
"No catch." Smirking, Naraku flexed his hand and flicked a shard into each man. They grunted in pain.
"What was that for??"
"I want you men to do something for me." Naraku moved closer. "Are you listening?"
When they nodded, Naraku spoke to them in a low voice. They grinned and nodded.
"Hah! You got it, boss!"
As they ran off, Naraku smiled. "Perhaps this won't be as difficult as I thought." He held out his jewel shard. "I'll milk this era for all it's worth. Then I'll return for the last of the jewel shards." He faded into the shadows. "And when I'm done, I will destroy Inuyasha once and for all."
* * *
Naraku sat regally upon a crate in the dark alley, awaiting the return of his recruits. At the sound of shuffling feet upon the pavement, he turned and spotted his men, accompanied by the rest of their gang.
"Here you go, boss. We brought everybody t'meetcha, just like you asked."
One of the new men, a large man with a scar for a left eye and a bad attitude, stepped forward.
"So, you're the man who's attempting to steal my men away. I don't know how you won their loyalty so quickly, but it won't last long." With his good eye, the man sent a poisonous glare towards the five men with jewel shards. They flinched, and the rest of the men shrank backwards.
Naraku stood slowly. "I believe you're wrong. Their loyalty to me will be life long, as will that of the rest of your clan."
The man scowled furiously and narrowed his eye. "You want to be their boss? You'll have to fight me."
Naraku smiled. What a perfect opportunity. "I do not wish to spend my energy on such a useless task. Men!" He snapped his fingers. "Take care of this for me."
With only a moment's hesitation, they pulled out those strange weapons and aimed them at their ex-leader. Rage swelled upon the man's face for an instant, but it quickly drained out, leaving an utterly calm demeanor.
"Do what you will." Raising a hand, he gestured for the rest of his men to lift their arms. "I have no use for traitors."
When he dropped his hand, hell broke out. Bullets started flying back and forth between the gang members, yells and screams dotting the air between gunshots. Naraku's men, though bleeding from several wounds, simply continued firing into the mass of men, attempting to hit their old leader. The jewel shards in their skin glimmered as they absorbed the negative energy.
Abruptly, the shooting stopped. The men all turned around and spotted the original leader, who stood there with a dark expression on his face. A tremendous wound stained his chest, and the man staggered forward.
"Fine. You want him, you can have him."
The man spat on Naraku's men, then crumpled to the ground without another word. The rest of his men stared at his lifeless form, lowering their weapons. Eventually, they looked up at Naraku.
One spoke. "That's that, I guess. Looks like you're our new boss, boss."
Naraku smirked. These humans are easier to control than I thought. "Then perhaps it is time to bolster our numbers. Tell me, is there another gang that you are rivals with?"
"Hell yeah."
"Damn straight!"
Naraku turned and moved into the shadows. "Then why don't we go make their acquaintance?"
* * *
Inuyasha couldn't believe how much fun he was having. Holding the "motorcycle's" handle completely towards him, he flew around all the strange-looking vehicles, enjoying the honks they made in his direction. They must know how cool I look.
He raised an eyebrow at the honks and screeches that followed him as he raced under a red light hanging from a wire. Was it supposed to mean something? He shrugged dismissively.
Arms tightened around his waist. Blushing, Inuyasha looked over his shoulder at Kagome, but her face was buried in his back. Was that how a passenger was supposed to ride? No. Inuyasha sniffed at the air. He could smell fear on her. Kagome was holding onto him because she was terrified, not because she wanted to.
…Not because she wanted to.
He sighed, and he eased off on the handle, allowing the motorcycle to slow. After a moment, Kagome lifted her head.
"W-what's wrong, Inuyasha? Why'd you slow down?"
"I can't breathe."
"Oh." She laughed breathlessly and relaxed her death grip on his middle. He glanced at her over his shoulder.
"Why were you so scared, Kagome? Did you really think that I would let you get hurt?"
She took in his expression with surprise. He looked almost…hurt.
"Inuyasha, it wasn't that. It was more my fear that you were going to get hit that bothered—" She closed her eyes as they barely scraped by a truck. "Bothers me. You don't know the rules of the road!"
He frowned. "So? What difference does it make? We're fine."
"But we could get into big—"
WEEEEEEEEEEE-oooooooo-WEEEEEEEEEEEEE-oooooooooo-WEEEEEEEEE-ooooooooooo!!
Kagome winced at the sound of the police siren. "…Trouble."
Inuyasha's ears were ringing. "What the hell is that noise???" He looked around and spotted the flashing lights. Growling, he jerked on the handle and began racing away.
"Inuyasha, what are you doing??"
He scowled. "Whatever that thing is that's making that noise, I don't like it. We're outta here."
"But Inuyasha, you can't…"
Kagome trailed off at the sound of frantic gunfire. Inuyasha sniffed at the air and growled again.
"Naraku."
Kagome tightened her arms about his waist, more for her own comfort than for her safety. Even though she'd been terrified during Inuyasha's joyride, she had enjoyed holding him like that. There was a certain…thrill to the danger presented by a motorcycle. She sighed. He'd probably prefer to have Kikyo hang onto him, though. He did choose her, after all.
As they sped towards the firing, Inuyasha took a good look at the handles. How the heck do I stop this thing? Seeing no immediate answer, he turned and grabbed Kagome.
"Inuyasha, what are you…?"
Wrapping his arms about her waist, he crouched atop the bike, then launched himself off it, carrying a shrieking Kagome with him. The bike raced off, veered, and smashed into the side of a building, exploding. As pieces of debris flew about, Inuyasha straightened, setting Kagome down on the ground. He hesitated before removing his arms from around her waist.
Man, I really don't want to let go of her.
Stifling a sigh, he peeled his arms away from her. Setting his jaw, he pulled out the Tetsusaiga and transformed it. As he approached the area, though, the fighting drew to a halt. He raised a hand to stop Kagome and listened in.
"Ok!" a gruff voice shouted. "Your leader's dead. You're part of our gang, now."
"What?? No way! We'd rather die than become one of you!"
A familiar voice interrupted. "That can be arranged."
After a few blood curdling screams, more voices piped up. "Ok, ok! We'll join you!!"
"Excellent."
At that, Inuyasha finally turned to look around the corner into the alleyway. His eyes widened at the tremendous group of men before him. What on earth is he doing??
Gritting his teeth, Inuyasha raced around the corner.
"NARAKU!"
The entire group of men froze. Slowly, Naraku stepped out of the shadows.
"Ah, Inuyasha. How good to see you again." The man smiled darkly. "However, I don't have time for another confrontation with you."
He lifted a hand. "Come, men. Gather around."
Baffled, the tremendous group of men moved close to Naraku…
And they disappeared.
A dark laugh filled the air. Inuyasha scowled and gripped Tetsusaiga. That bastard. Where does he think he's going?
"Inuyasha?"
He turned to look at Kagome. Her face pale, she approached him and gently grasped his arm.
"Please, Inuyasha, can we go find my family? I need to know they're ok."
His face softened as he looked at her, and he nodded sharply. Wordlessly, he turned his back on her and crouched, allowing her to climb onto his back. He leapt into the air, hands wrapped gently about her knees.
Man, she feels good…
* * *
Ishiyana sat in his car on the side of the road with his hazard lights on. His face was pressed lightly into his fingertips, and his eyes were closed.
Ok, that was brilliant. Be a macho man, race after Kagome…when I have no way of figuring out where the heck she went! Damn that Inuyasha, leaving me behind like that. I'm not useless, you know. Muttering under his breath, Ishiyana lifted his head and leaned it back against the headrest.
"Hokay. What do I know about this Naraku? He's powerful, he's evil, and from the way the others reacted to him, he's caused a lot of pain and devastation." He shifted in his seat. "He sounds like a feudal warlord. So if I were a warlord, what would be the first thing I'd do?"
His eyes opened. "Build up an army, create a stronghold…"
Face draining of color, he put the car in drive and turned around, racing back towards Kagome's home.
"And get rid of anyone who lived there first."