Chapter 9 revised (2.7.04) ^-^
Disclaimer: I own five import manga (5, 7, 9, 19 & 20) the Inuyasha Movie 2 OST, the Viz translation of #8, and Inuyasha domestic DVDs 4 and 5. However by no means does this mean I own Inuyasha~ (that was probably my most serious one yet my most sarcastic one in all nine chapters...)
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To Be With You Tomorrow
Part Four :: The Byouma
Chapter Nine :: In the Den of the Byouma
The morning sun shone brightly over the forests, setting the canopy aglow with reflected light from the dew on the trees. Kagome was riding her bicycle, leisurely riding alongside Miroku and Sango and chattering with Shippou who was sitting on the houshi's shoulder. The little fox kit had had a dream that was especially intriguing and Kagome was attempting to interpret it for him.
Ahead, Tama was stomping along, arms folded. Inuyasha was tentatively following. He wanted to talk to his twin, to apologize (or get her to do it) but she was having none of it.
He walked at her side for a long time, before he turned to look at her. She looked like him when he was throwing a tantrum, and he wondered if Kagome and the others had this much trouble with him.
He was also trying to work out ways in his head to talk to her. After all, it had been a little over fifty years since he'd put up with his twin's tantrums, and he was a little out of shape on how to fix it.
"How long are you gonna be mad at me?" he asked finally and she glared at him. "Until I'm finished being mad." Inuyasha sighed and folded his hands behind his head. After a long moment, Tama lowered her head, her long silver hair falling over her eyes and she whispered, "I'm sorry."
Inuyasha looked at her. She looked sad and solemn. "I didn't think I had it in me...to hit you. And I shouldn've been in your business. You were right, I really have no right to blame you, or to tell you how you should feel."
"It's okay... I was wrong too. I got mad just because you were worried about me." he said quietly, so lowly that only Tama would hear. He didn't need the others' teasing about him finally having apologized about something. It wasn't their business, but he had apologized tons of times to Tama. She was, after all, his twin sister. They had a bond closer than just their blood.
Tama sighed. "I spent 50 years protecting you, ya know. Fifty years, while you were pinned to that tree, worrying about you and protecting you... And I changed. I got married, I had a child, and then I watched my husband grow old without me, and die... My daughter has also died. But when you woke up you hadn't changed at all... You're my link to my past."
She looked at him, narrowing her eyes critically. "I got mad because I thought you were just using Kagome-chan as a link to your past... I hate to be hypocritical, but...it's really not good to hang onto history."
Inuyasha looked at her, his eyes tracing over her form as he considered what she had told him. After a moment he slipped his hand into hers.
"That's not the same, Tama..." he said softly, "I'm still here. I'm not your past; I'm here, and I always will be. Kikyou IS my past... And you're right, I should let her go." Tama lowered her eyes a bit and then glanced at him out of the corner of her eye. "Do you forgive me?"
"Yeah." He grinned a bit stupidly. "What about me? You forgive me?"
She laughed. "Of course."
"So, are we going after Kikyou or not?" Tama asked, folding her arms behind her head as they walked, and Inuyasha shook his head. "I don't have any reason to. She'll be back."
"What do you mean 'you have no reason to?' You have to finish it so you can make Kagome-chan your mate!" Inuyasha blushed bright red and slapped his hand over his sister's mouth. "ARE YOU CRAZY DON'T SAY THAT OUT LOUD!"
"Well, it's not like I didn't hear EVERYTHING you guys said last night. My hearing's as good as yours," she teased and he snarled at her. "You can be a real bitch sometimes!"
"Actually, I agree with you two." Inuyasha looked surprised as Tama pried his fingers off her face. "Kagome-chan was right. You can't waver between the two of them, Kagome and Kikyou. And until it's completely over with you and Kikyou, you and Kagome-chan can't be together. I thought you were just being a jackass yesterday, but it turns out you think more a lot than I remember you being capable of."
She looked at him meaningfully. "But are you sure you can do that? I know how much you love her, and how much you want to BE with her, if you catch my drift. I know Kagome-chan was the one that said it, but you must've thought she was right, else you wouldn've agreed with her."
Inuyasha blushed, but his face was part-determined, part-annoyed. "I'll just have to get over it. It'll hurt Kagome if she gives me all of herself, and I only give a part of myself. It's not fair to her. And I'm fucking tired of seeing her cry because of me."
"You're sweeter than you look, you know that?"
"Shaddap~!"
"But seriously, what did you mean, you have no reason to?" Inuyasha stared vacantly at the horizon. "Kikyou's not herself. She doesn't remember me, or our past. It's not right to just abandon her while she's that way, but then, I can't end it because of that same reason. I dunno how I'll get her to remember, but that bitch Uramiko must have something to do with it." He lowered his head with a soft sigh. "Kagome understands though... And that makes me feel better..."
"Meaning if she had fought it you might not have pursued it?"
Inuyasha shook his head. "I don't really know... it's hard to proceed when you're stuck in the past, and if Kagome didn't understand that, I don't know what I would do."
Tama just looked at him. After a moment she sighed. "Then where ARE we going?"
"There's a village up ahead, Kagome said the Shikon shard's maybe three days' walk from it. We've been walking all this time so we'll rest in the village for a little while..."
"Why rest, we have plenty of time to get a little further ahead..." Tama pressed and Inuyasha cowered. "No~~o thank you."
She laughed out loud, grasping his arm playfully. "You're such a baby. It's because the new moon's coming up isn't it. You're taking your time so you don't have to fight on the day of the new moon."
"Why else would I postpone looking for shards, idiot?" Tama laughed at him.
~*~
"Kyaa~!!!" A young girl with auburn hair covered her eyes, tears streaming from her eyes freely. She could hear the youkais' screeching as they attempted to break into her hole, to pull her out and eat her. She could smell the hunger on them. She backpedaled frantically, hiding further into her hole, crushing herself against the wall.
*Please Gods make it go away. Make it stop, please Gods save me~~!*
~*~
"What the hell happened here....?" Inuyasha murmured, looking over the village and Kagome covered her mouth. "This is...."
The stench of death and illness was thick in the air, and there were four or five corpses laid out in the streets. There were graves to the north end of the village, and it looked to be about fifty or sixty people buried there, not to mention the people Kagome noticed lying dead in their beds in the open windows of the huts.
Most of the buildings were collapsed or run down, and several of the crops were dying. Miroku looked about, eyes wide. "I wonder if this village was looted by bandits??"
"If it was, it was after the villagers died..." snarled both hanyous, and Inuyasha glanced back at the others. "They've been dead awhile."
"More Shininikubuta?" Shippou wondered and Tama shook her head. "No way, the Shininikubuta eat their prey almost immediately after the decomposition spell takes effect. These people died normally..."
"An epidemic then?" Sango inquired worriedly, putting a hand over her mouth and nose, and Miroku slipped his hand into hers reassuringly. Kagome went to Inuyasha, gripping his sleeve in her hands and he reached over, placing his hand on hers. Suddenly he caught a whiff of something and sniffed more carefully, trying to distinguish it. "I smell something living...!"
Tama and Shippou caught it too and Shippou gasped. "Smells like me!"
"Nope, doesn't stink as bad," Inuyasha teased, as he wandered the village, taking care to step over the bodies of the dead, until he came across one of the huts. There was a small niche between toppled firewood and the side of the house, just big enough for him to slip through.
He knelt, shifting himself in on his haunches. His nose was overwhelmed by the scent of tears and utter fear. In the back he could see a pair of bright blue eyes, filled with tears. He gasped. "Hey, it's a kid..."
"GET AWAY FROM ME!" the girl screamed, lashing out with her hands and Inuyasha yelped as he stumbled back. The front of his haori slashed open, and he bared his fangs. "Hey, you bitchy little brat, I'm just trying to help--"
"Inuyasha-sama, is that YOU??" asked an older voice, and Inuyasha narrowed his eyes as something bounced up out of the girl's hair and onto the tip of Inuyasha's nose. It began to suck greedily and Inuyasha slapped himself in the face. As he pulled he hand away and the little flea pancake floated down, he growled the flea's name. "Myouga-jijii...."
"Myouga-jii?? Wow, haven't seen that old man in awhile~" Tama said, leaning over Inuyasha's shoulder. Myouga popped himself into normal and gasped. "Tama-sama?~! It can't be--!?" He bounced over and landed on her forehead and started to suck away. Tama narrowed her eyes and plucked him off. "Cut that out."
"Inuyasha, are you alright?" Kagome called as she made her way over, and Inuyasha turned back. "Yeah I'm fine, but I think I need you for this one, Shippou..." Shippou looked startled. "Me?? Why?"
"Because this kid in here's a kitsune."
~*~
"Her name is Tanpopo."
Inuyasha sat across from Myouga as he explained the little girl, Kagome next to him. Miroku and Sango also sat nearby, and Tama leaned against the wall casually. The girl, Tanpopo, was out playing with Shippou in the forest, who had promised to call for help should anything come up.
"Tanpopo's a kitsune as Inuyasha-sama said; her parents were kitsune, apparently very mischievous in personality, even by kitsune standards. But they protected this village, according to Tanpopo, and were not feared."
"She's the only survivor?" Sango asked softly, and Myouga nodded. "The only one. Her mother is nowhere to be found, and her father was killed by the sickness that destroyed this village."
"So it *was* a sickness, Myouga-jiichan?" Kagome repeated, "It wasn't a youkai attack." The flea nodded. "Oh, it was a youkai. It was a parasitic youkai, like myself, except much worse. As a flea I only suck blood. These youkai were strange. They came in two or three weeks ago, and attacked whomever they managed. Everyone who is now dead was bitten."
"Myouga-jii, you have no idea what they are??" asked Tama, and the flea bobbed with a head shake.
"No. As a parasite myself, I know most parasitic youkai, but this seemed to be a new breed of some kind. They were incredibly dangerous. However, the damage was not done over time. The byouma larvae attacked everyone and left shortly after. Once the last villager died, the adults returned. They seemed to be looking for something."
"It's dangerous around here, then?" wondered Inuyasha, and Myouga shrugged. "Possibly... The youkai that were left were attempting to get Tanpopo, but she was hidden, exactly where you found her, Inuyasha-sama. They gave up, and left."
"Then perhaps it is safe after all. These people need to be buried..." Miroku said and Inuyasha nodded. "I was thinking of that too," then he nodded again. "Alright then... Shippou can take care of the brat, he's good for that at least. C'mon Miroku, we've got work to do."
~*~
"Are you hungry? I can find you something to eat!" Shippou asked and Tanpopo glared at him. "I do fine on m'own." Shippou sighed. "You don't talk much, do ya? Are you mute?"
This time she did look up, and she looked insulted. "I ain't mute, I speak jus' fine. What d'ya care, ya worm," she said roughly, "Who th' hell're you? Why'd you people com'ere?"
"My name's Shippou." he said proudly, "We were passing through on a mission, and we were going to stay here for a few days... but I guess things were bad before we got here..."
Tanpopo looked confused. "Two hanyous, a youkai an' three humans? What th' hell kinda mission got you six t'gether? Why are you, a full youkai, hanging out with the likes of those two hanyous and those... nasty humans...?"
Shippou scratched his head. *She sounds worse than Inuyasha's brother, Sesshoumaru...* "We're friends. We're demon exterminators, and we help people." *Even if it's usually Inuyasha, Kagome, Sango, Miroku and Tama doing all the work...*
The girl snorted. "You? A demon exterminator? Not only is that hypocritical 'n' downright cannibalistic, but ya dun look big enough t'scratch th' fleas off yer own back, much less 'xterm'nate demons."
"You're a rude little girl, aren't you?" said Shippou and Tanpopo glared at him. "Besides, hanyous n' a youkai bein' friends with humans? How stupid are you people? M'parents made friends with the humans and look what they got. They turned on 'em like that." She snapped her fingers, her immature claws clacking when she did so.
Shippou looked at her. "Not every human is the same. Kagome and Sango and Miroku are different."
"What about them hanyous? Worthless dirt. Not human 'n' not--"
"Don't talk about Inuyasha and Tama that way!" yelled Shippou, whirling on the other girl, even though Tanpopo was double his height. "Inuyasha's saved me more times than I can count! He's strong, and he may be a bit of a simpleton and he gets mad too easy, but-- he's my friend!"
Tanpopo was silent for a moment and then she shrugged. "Do whatever. Jus' dun be surprised if those humans betray ya."
Shippou stared after her as she left, clenching a fist. *She's wrong!! Kagome and the others, they would never leave me behind!!*
"Kyaaa~~!"
Shippou yelped suddenly when he heard Tanpopo scream, and he raced forward to catch up with her. In front of them stood a large wormlike youkai with millions upon millions of thin toothpick-like legs. It was an off-purple, almost blackish, with yellow globelike eyes.
It opened a wide mouth that showed three or four rows of six-inch long teeth that were as thin as their legs, and sharp as knives, Shippou imagined. But he noticed a tiny hole at the end of each tooth in the middle row. They seemed almost hollow, like a thin, tiny reed. *They're not for biting...??*
The youkai slammed down mouth first, and Shippou yelped, whipping out four leaves. He tossed them, and all four turned into fake Shippou's. The youkai, now having to deal with multiple targets, started thrashing and body-slamming the four while the real Shippou grabbed Tanpopo's hand. "Let's get back to camp~! Inuyasha and the others can take care of this!!"
Tanpopo snarled as Shippou dragged her through the forest back to the decimated village. "Yer a youkai, dun rely on hanyous 'n' humans!"
"GET OFF THAT WILL YA?!! I'm just a kitsune, whaddaya want me to do, trick him to death?! Let's go!!"
~*~
Inuyasha pulled the last of the villagers into the row he had created. There were only sixteen; five in the streets and the other eleven had died in bed. In all there had been maybe five or six families. Relatively, it was a tiny village, but to be so blatantly protected by a pair of kitsune...
"Inuyasha~a~a~~~ Help us!!!"
At Shippou's cry, Inuyasha's ears perked up and he turned, his eyes scanning the forest for where the kitsune kit would appear. Nearby, Miroku also noticed as Shippou came tearing out of the trees, Tanpopo looking angry as she was dragged by the smaller kitsune towards the village ruins--
--and right behind them came a huge worm, slithering up behind them. He let out a loud cry, a sssssshrrrrk sound, and Inuyasha grimaced. "Oh shit~!" He dove in and grabbed the kitsune kits, bounding to safety quickly. As he did he looked at Tanpopo.
"Hey brat, are those the byouma?!"
"What the hell do you think?!" growled Tanpopo, "And I'm not a brat, I'm Tanpopo!"
Inuyasha set the kits down away from the forest edge and went back in, drawing Tessaiga. He slashed at the youkai and it screeched, falling back into two pieces. Inuyasha shouldered Tessaiga. "That was way too easy--"
Inuyasha stopped short as he heard earth breaking under the ground surface. He looked at the ground as it moved, as if something dug underneath. He gasped, and ran for Shippou and Tanpopo, who were in the direct line of fire. As he reached them, he shoved the kits aside. "Move!!"
Not seconds after Shippou was out of the way, a second youkai worm broke through the ground, lurching high into the air with Inuyasha in its jaws. Shippou yelped. "Inuyasha~!!!"
The youkai bit down and Inuyasha groaned, struggling against the rows of teeth. He jammed Tessaiga into one of the worm's globe eyes, but it just screeched and bit down harder and Inuyasha cried out.
Kagome fired off three arrows as she ran from the hut. The three paralyzed the youkai, which screeched in agony and released the hanyou is held in its jaws. Inuyasha fell to earth hard and rolled out of sight behind a collapsed building.
Sango ran up from behind Kagome and cast Hiraikotsu, and the boomerang struck true, slicing the youkai in half the first time around and rebounding to quarter it on the return trip.
Kagome followed Shippou, who was leaping and bounding over lumps of flesh, calling out for Inuyasha. "Inuyasha!! Inuyasha!! Are you okay?! Where are you?!!"
Kagome clambered over a piece of worm and saw Inuyasha lying on the ground, blood flowing freely from his wounds. Tessaiga was still clasped in his hand, except the demon sword had transformed back to its normal state. Inuyasha's eyes were closed and he wasn't moving. She gasped. "Inuyasha?~!"
"He's alive, just unconscious," Shippou said, and Miroku and Sango hacked a pathway through the lumps of flesh, so that Miroku could carry Inuyasha back. As they headed back, Tanpopo watched them. "Why did he do that? He got hurt."
"Because..." Kagome began, looking back at Tanpopo in puzzlement, "Inuyasha cares about Shippou. He wanted to save him. And... he wanted to save you too."
"But..." Tanpopo began to rant, but she decided she'd rather not. Instead as she watched them head back towards the remaining building, she narrowed her eyes, thinking about the group. *What's wrong with them? They're defyin' all rules by bein' together...*
~*~
The first thing he heard was his sister's voice.
"Hey, he's waking up!"
Inuyasha opened his eyes weakly. Kagome was leaning over him, gently brushing back the hair from his face, and his sister was nearby. Shippou's little blue eyes peered at him. "Inuyasha???"
"What, brat?"
"INUYASHA~~~~~~" Shippou latched onto the dog demon's neck, wailing loudly, and Inuyasha folded his ears back reflexively, wincing. "No squealing in the ears..."
"I thought you were gonna die!!!! And it woulda been my fault cause you were saving me!!!"
Inuyasha pried Shippou off his neck and dropped the fox onto the ground roughly. "Are you serious?? That simple little-- ow...." Kagome laughed. "Stop with the tough act and don't move around so much, you're still hurt. Just rest."
"It doesn't hurt that bad, just..." Inuyasha rubbed one hand over his heart. "Just hard to catch my breath is all... It's hot in here..."
Kagome glanced at the others, who all shrugged and Sango mouthed, 'not hot to me.' Kagome turned back to the hanyou, who looked a little red in the face. "Inuyasha it's fine, don't worry. Just go to sleep, okay?"
"But it's not even dark yet," he whined, "We have plenty of time to go on to the next village." She didn't look convinced. "Are you sure you're feeling up to it?" she asked and he pulled on his haori, looking at her in annoyance. "I'm fine!"
"O-okay..."
They were ready to head out within minutes; Inuyasha as usual ahead of everyone. Kagome rode her bicycle alongside Sango and Miroku as usual, chatting with Shippou. Tanpopo was invited to come and even though she declined traveling with them, she had to go in the same direction as they to reach her relatives' home in the north, and so she followed.
Actually her 'following to catch up with her relatives' was an outright lie. She was intrigued by the group. There was Inuyasha and Tama, the set of hanyou twins; Shippou the fox-youkai; Kirara the cat-youkai; and Kagome, Sango and Miroku, the three humans. What bound these people together? Tanpopo simply could not figure them out.
She was determined not to leave them until she had.
~*~
"There, are you happy?? We made it." Kagome croaked, exhausted from the trip.
The next village had been farther than they'd first thought, and it had taken the rest of the day to get there. It was so late the villagers would probably never let them in without a huge inquiry as to who they were and what were they doing out at 10 pm, and everyone was blaming it in Inuyasha. Instead of his usual antics, he was taking it rather well, which was of course cause for concern.
Kagome looked at the hanyou, calling his name for a third time. "Inuyasha??"
"Hn..?" he mumbled, looking up at her suddenly, as if he'd only then noticed she was there. Kagome frowned. There was something wrong with his eyes. They had lost their brightness, their vigor. His face was a little pale, and sweat beaded his forehead and upper lip. He was panting, as if he'd run for quite a while.
"Are you alright??" she asked, rubbing his back, and he shook his head. "Dunno.. I can't.. seem to.. catch my breath." That in itself was a bad signal; if he wasn't telling her off, there was definitely something wrong, because Kagome was sure that even sick, the hanyou would have something to snap about.
"You don't look so good, Inuyasha..." Shippou noticed from the handlebar-basket he was sitting in, and the hanyou swallowed painfully, his hand reaching up to clutch at the fabric over his heart. "My chest... hurts..."
Kagome snapped awake at that. "What~?"
But before she could get anything else out of the hanyou, he'd fainted. She reached out and caught him as he fell against her, and his head caught on her shoulder. She could feel the heat rising off him with just his face at her neck, and slowly she lowered herself to her knees, twisting Inuyasha so he rested on her lap, his head lolling in the nook her elbow created as she held his shoulders. Noticing the situation, everyone ran to catch up with them. Myouga bounced over first. "What happened to Inuyasha-sama?!"
"I don't know, he just fainted!" Carefully holding him up, she pressed the back of her hand against his cheek to confirm what she had thought and gulped when she had. She looked up at Miroku and the others. "He has a fever..."
"Oh Gods..." Sango murmured, and Kagome looked down at Inuyasha. He shifted in her arms, moaning softly, his face contorting in pain. Kagome gripped his shoulders tighter, leaning over him worriedly.
"Inuyasha..."
~*~ To be continued ~*~
a/n :: ^-^
byouma:: made up of 'byou' (sick, ill) and 'ma' (demon, evil spirit) it translates to "sickness demon"
Tanpopo:: dandelion
~*~ V^-^V ~*~
Tessen
Disclaimer: I own five import manga (5, 7, 9, 19 & 20) the Inuyasha Movie 2 OST, the Viz translation of #8, and Inuyasha domestic DVDs 4 and 5. However by no means does this mean I own Inuyasha~ (that was probably my most serious one yet my most sarcastic one in all nine chapters...)
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To Be With You Tomorrow
Part Four :: The Byouma
Chapter Nine :: In the Den of the Byouma
The morning sun shone brightly over the forests, setting the canopy aglow with reflected light from the dew on the trees. Kagome was riding her bicycle, leisurely riding alongside Miroku and Sango and chattering with Shippou who was sitting on the houshi's shoulder. The little fox kit had had a dream that was especially intriguing and Kagome was attempting to interpret it for him.
Ahead, Tama was stomping along, arms folded. Inuyasha was tentatively following. He wanted to talk to his twin, to apologize (or get her to do it) but she was having none of it.
He walked at her side for a long time, before he turned to look at her. She looked like him when he was throwing a tantrum, and he wondered if Kagome and the others had this much trouble with him.
He was also trying to work out ways in his head to talk to her. After all, it had been a little over fifty years since he'd put up with his twin's tantrums, and he was a little out of shape on how to fix it.
"How long are you gonna be mad at me?" he asked finally and she glared at him. "Until I'm finished being mad." Inuyasha sighed and folded his hands behind his head. After a long moment, Tama lowered her head, her long silver hair falling over her eyes and she whispered, "I'm sorry."
Inuyasha looked at her. She looked sad and solemn. "I didn't think I had it in me...to hit you. And I shouldn've been in your business. You were right, I really have no right to blame you, or to tell you how you should feel."
"It's okay... I was wrong too. I got mad just because you were worried about me." he said quietly, so lowly that only Tama would hear. He didn't need the others' teasing about him finally having apologized about something. It wasn't their business, but he had apologized tons of times to Tama. She was, after all, his twin sister. They had a bond closer than just their blood.
Tama sighed. "I spent 50 years protecting you, ya know. Fifty years, while you were pinned to that tree, worrying about you and protecting you... And I changed. I got married, I had a child, and then I watched my husband grow old without me, and die... My daughter has also died. But when you woke up you hadn't changed at all... You're my link to my past."
She looked at him, narrowing her eyes critically. "I got mad because I thought you were just using Kagome-chan as a link to your past... I hate to be hypocritical, but...it's really not good to hang onto history."
Inuyasha looked at her, his eyes tracing over her form as he considered what she had told him. After a moment he slipped his hand into hers.
"That's not the same, Tama..." he said softly, "I'm still here. I'm not your past; I'm here, and I always will be. Kikyou IS my past... And you're right, I should let her go." Tama lowered her eyes a bit and then glanced at him out of the corner of her eye. "Do you forgive me?"
"Yeah." He grinned a bit stupidly. "What about me? You forgive me?"
She laughed. "Of course."
"So, are we going after Kikyou or not?" Tama asked, folding her arms behind her head as they walked, and Inuyasha shook his head. "I don't have any reason to. She'll be back."
"What do you mean 'you have no reason to?' You have to finish it so you can make Kagome-chan your mate!" Inuyasha blushed bright red and slapped his hand over his sister's mouth. "ARE YOU CRAZY DON'T SAY THAT OUT LOUD!"
"Well, it's not like I didn't hear EVERYTHING you guys said last night. My hearing's as good as yours," she teased and he snarled at her. "You can be a real bitch sometimes!"
"Actually, I agree with you two." Inuyasha looked surprised as Tama pried his fingers off her face. "Kagome-chan was right. You can't waver between the two of them, Kagome and Kikyou. And until it's completely over with you and Kikyou, you and Kagome-chan can't be together. I thought you were just being a jackass yesterday, but it turns out you think more a lot than I remember you being capable of."
She looked at him meaningfully. "But are you sure you can do that? I know how much you love her, and how much you want to BE with her, if you catch my drift. I know Kagome-chan was the one that said it, but you must've thought she was right, else you wouldn've agreed with her."
Inuyasha blushed, but his face was part-determined, part-annoyed. "I'll just have to get over it. It'll hurt Kagome if she gives me all of herself, and I only give a part of myself. It's not fair to her. And I'm fucking tired of seeing her cry because of me."
"You're sweeter than you look, you know that?"
"Shaddap~!"
"But seriously, what did you mean, you have no reason to?" Inuyasha stared vacantly at the horizon. "Kikyou's not herself. She doesn't remember me, or our past. It's not right to just abandon her while she's that way, but then, I can't end it because of that same reason. I dunno how I'll get her to remember, but that bitch Uramiko must have something to do with it." He lowered his head with a soft sigh. "Kagome understands though... And that makes me feel better..."
"Meaning if she had fought it you might not have pursued it?"
Inuyasha shook his head. "I don't really know... it's hard to proceed when you're stuck in the past, and if Kagome didn't understand that, I don't know what I would do."
Tama just looked at him. After a moment she sighed. "Then where ARE we going?"
"There's a village up ahead, Kagome said the Shikon shard's maybe three days' walk from it. We've been walking all this time so we'll rest in the village for a little while..."
"Why rest, we have plenty of time to get a little further ahead..." Tama pressed and Inuyasha cowered. "No~~o thank you."
She laughed out loud, grasping his arm playfully. "You're such a baby. It's because the new moon's coming up isn't it. You're taking your time so you don't have to fight on the day of the new moon."
"Why else would I postpone looking for shards, idiot?" Tama laughed at him.
~*~
"Kyaa~!!!" A young girl with auburn hair covered her eyes, tears streaming from her eyes freely. She could hear the youkais' screeching as they attempted to break into her hole, to pull her out and eat her. She could smell the hunger on them. She backpedaled frantically, hiding further into her hole, crushing herself against the wall.
*Please Gods make it go away. Make it stop, please Gods save me~~!*
~*~
"What the hell happened here....?" Inuyasha murmured, looking over the village and Kagome covered her mouth. "This is...."
The stench of death and illness was thick in the air, and there were four or five corpses laid out in the streets. There were graves to the north end of the village, and it looked to be about fifty or sixty people buried there, not to mention the people Kagome noticed lying dead in their beds in the open windows of the huts.
Most of the buildings were collapsed or run down, and several of the crops were dying. Miroku looked about, eyes wide. "I wonder if this village was looted by bandits??"
"If it was, it was after the villagers died..." snarled both hanyous, and Inuyasha glanced back at the others. "They've been dead awhile."
"More Shininikubuta?" Shippou wondered and Tama shook her head. "No way, the Shininikubuta eat their prey almost immediately after the decomposition spell takes effect. These people died normally..."
"An epidemic then?" Sango inquired worriedly, putting a hand over her mouth and nose, and Miroku slipped his hand into hers reassuringly. Kagome went to Inuyasha, gripping his sleeve in her hands and he reached over, placing his hand on hers. Suddenly he caught a whiff of something and sniffed more carefully, trying to distinguish it. "I smell something living...!"
Tama and Shippou caught it too and Shippou gasped. "Smells like me!"
"Nope, doesn't stink as bad," Inuyasha teased, as he wandered the village, taking care to step over the bodies of the dead, until he came across one of the huts. There was a small niche between toppled firewood and the side of the house, just big enough for him to slip through.
He knelt, shifting himself in on his haunches. His nose was overwhelmed by the scent of tears and utter fear. In the back he could see a pair of bright blue eyes, filled with tears. He gasped. "Hey, it's a kid..."
"GET AWAY FROM ME!" the girl screamed, lashing out with her hands and Inuyasha yelped as he stumbled back. The front of his haori slashed open, and he bared his fangs. "Hey, you bitchy little brat, I'm just trying to help--"
"Inuyasha-sama, is that YOU??" asked an older voice, and Inuyasha narrowed his eyes as something bounced up out of the girl's hair and onto the tip of Inuyasha's nose. It began to suck greedily and Inuyasha slapped himself in the face. As he pulled he hand away and the little flea pancake floated down, he growled the flea's name. "Myouga-jijii...."
"Myouga-jii?? Wow, haven't seen that old man in awhile~" Tama said, leaning over Inuyasha's shoulder. Myouga popped himself into normal and gasped. "Tama-sama?~! It can't be--!?" He bounced over and landed on her forehead and started to suck away. Tama narrowed her eyes and plucked him off. "Cut that out."
"Inuyasha, are you alright?" Kagome called as she made her way over, and Inuyasha turned back. "Yeah I'm fine, but I think I need you for this one, Shippou..." Shippou looked startled. "Me?? Why?"
"Because this kid in here's a kitsune."
~*~
"Her name is Tanpopo."
Inuyasha sat across from Myouga as he explained the little girl, Kagome next to him. Miroku and Sango also sat nearby, and Tama leaned against the wall casually. The girl, Tanpopo, was out playing with Shippou in the forest, who had promised to call for help should anything come up.
"Tanpopo's a kitsune as Inuyasha-sama said; her parents were kitsune, apparently very mischievous in personality, even by kitsune standards. But they protected this village, according to Tanpopo, and were not feared."
"She's the only survivor?" Sango asked softly, and Myouga nodded. "The only one. Her mother is nowhere to be found, and her father was killed by the sickness that destroyed this village."
"So it *was* a sickness, Myouga-jiichan?" Kagome repeated, "It wasn't a youkai attack." The flea nodded. "Oh, it was a youkai. It was a parasitic youkai, like myself, except much worse. As a flea I only suck blood. These youkai were strange. They came in two or three weeks ago, and attacked whomever they managed. Everyone who is now dead was bitten."
"Myouga-jii, you have no idea what they are??" asked Tama, and the flea bobbed with a head shake.
"No. As a parasite myself, I know most parasitic youkai, but this seemed to be a new breed of some kind. They were incredibly dangerous. However, the damage was not done over time. The byouma larvae attacked everyone and left shortly after. Once the last villager died, the adults returned. They seemed to be looking for something."
"It's dangerous around here, then?" wondered Inuyasha, and Myouga shrugged. "Possibly... The youkai that were left were attempting to get Tanpopo, but she was hidden, exactly where you found her, Inuyasha-sama. They gave up, and left."
"Then perhaps it is safe after all. These people need to be buried..." Miroku said and Inuyasha nodded. "I was thinking of that too," then he nodded again. "Alright then... Shippou can take care of the brat, he's good for that at least. C'mon Miroku, we've got work to do."
~*~
"Are you hungry? I can find you something to eat!" Shippou asked and Tanpopo glared at him. "I do fine on m'own." Shippou sighed. "You don't talk much, do ya? Are you mute?"
This time she did look up, and she looked insulted. "I ain't mute, I speak jus' fine. What d'ya care, ya worm," she said roughly, "Who th' hell're you? Why'd you people com'ere?"
"My name's Shippou." he said proudly, "We were passing through on a mission, and we were going to stay here for a few days... but I guess things were bad before we got here..."
Tanpopo looked confused. "Two hanyous, a youkai an' three humans? What th' hell kinda mission got you six t'gether? Why are you, a full youkai, hanging out with the likes of those two hanyous and those... nasty humans...?"
Shippou scratched his head. *She sounds worse than Inuyasha's brother, Sesshoumaru...* "We're friends. We're demon exterminators, and we help people." *Even if it's usually Inuyasha, Kagome, Sango, Miroku and Tama doing all the work...*
The girl snorted. "You? A demon exterminator? Not only is that hypocritical 'n' downright cannibalistic, but ya dun look big enough t'scratch th' fleas off yer own back, much less 'xterm'nate demons."
"You're a rude little girl, aren't you?" said Shippou and Tanpopo glared at him. "Besides, hanyous n' a youkai bein' friends with humans? How stupid are you people? M'parents made friends with the humans and look what they got. They turned on 'em like that." She snapped her fingers, her immature claws clacking when she did so.
Shippou looked at her. "Not every human is the same. Kagome and Sango and Miroku are different."
"What about them hanyous? Worthless dirt. Not human 'n' not--"
"Don't talk about Inuyasha and Tama that way!" yelled Shippou, whirling on the other girl, even though Tanpopo was double his height. "Inuyasha's saved me more times than I can count! He's strong, and he may be a bit of a simpleton and he gets mad too easy, but-- he's my friend!"
Tanpopo was silent for a moment and then she shrugged. "Do whatever. Jus' dun be surprised if those humans betray ya."
Shippou stared after her as she left, clenching a fist. *She's wrong!! Kagome and the others, they would never leave me behind!!*
"Kyaaa~~!"
Shippou yelped suddenly when he heard Tanpopo scream, and he raced forward to catch up with her. In front of them stood a large wormlike youkai with millions upon millions of thin toothpick-like legs. It was an off-purple, almost blackish, with yellow globelike eyes.
It opened a wide mouth that showed three or four rows of six-inch long teeth that were as thin as their legs, and sharp as knives, Shippou imagined. But he noticed a tiny hole at the end of each tooth in the middle row. They seemed almost hollow, like a thin, tiny reed. *They're not for biting...??*
The youkai slammed down mouth first, and Shippou yelped, whipping out four leaves. He tossed them, and all four turned into fake Shippou's. The youkai, now having to deal with multiple targets, started thrashing and body-slamming the four while the real Shippou grabbed Tanpopo's hand. "Let's get back to camp~! Inuyasha and the others can take care of this!!"
Tanpopo snarled as Shippou dragged her through the forest back to the decimated village. "Yer a youkai, dun rely on hanyous 'n' humans!"
"GET OFF THAT WILL YA?!! I'm just a kitsune, whaddaya want me to do, trick him to death?! Let's go!!"
~*~
Inuyasha pulled the last of the villagers into the row he had created. There were only sixteen; five in the streets and the other eleven had died in bed. In all there had been maybe five or six families. Relatively, it was a tiny village, but to be so blatantly protected by a pair of kitsune...
"Inuyasha~a~a~~~ Help us!!!"
At Shippou's cry, Inuyasha's ears perked up and he turned, his eyes scanning the forest for where the kitsune kit would appear. Nearby, Miroku also noticed as Shippou came tearing out of the trees, Tanpopo looking angry as she was dragged by the smaller kitsune towards the village ruins--
--and right behind them came a huge worm, slithering up behind them. He let out a loud cry, a sssssshrrrrk sound, and Inuyasha grimaced. "Oh shit~!" He dove in and grabbed the kitsune kits, bounding to safety quickly. As he did he looked at Tanpopo.
"Hey brat, are those the byouma?!"
"What the hell do you think?!" growled Tanpopo, "And I'm not a brat, I'm Tanpopo!"
Inuyasha set the kits down away from the forest edge and went back in, drawing Tessaiga. He slashed at the youkai and it screeched, falling back into two pieces. Inuyasha shouldered Tessaiga. "That was way too easy--"
Inuyasha stopped short as he heard earth breaking under the ground surface. He looked at the ground as it moved, as if something dug underneath. He gasped, and ran for Shippou and Tanpopo, who were in the direct line of fire. As he reached them, he shoved the kits aside. "Move!!"
Not seconds after Shippou was out of the way, a second youkai worm broke through the ground, lurching high into the air with Inuyasha in its jaws. Shippou yelped. "Inuyasha~!!!"
The youkai bit down and Inuyasha groaned, struggling against the rows of teeth. He jammed Tessaiga into one of the worm's globe eyes, but it just screeched and bit down harder and Inuyasha cried out.
Kagome fired off three arrows as she ran from the hut. The three paralyzed the youkai, which screeched in agony and released the hanyou is held in its jaws. Inuyasha fell to earth hard and rolled out of sight behind a collapsed building.
Sango ran up from behind Kagome and cast Hiraikotsu, and the boomerang struck true, slicing the youkai in half the first time around and rebounding to quarter it on the return trip.
Kagome followed Shippou, who was leaping and bounding over lumps of flesh, calling out for Inuyasha. "Inuyasha!! Inuyasha!! Are you okay?! Where are you?!!"
Kagome clambered over a piece of worm and saw Inuyasha lying on the ground, blood flowing freely from his wounds. Tessaiga was still clasped in his hand, except the demon sword had transformed back to its normal state. Inuyasha's eyes were closed and he wasn't moving. She gasped. "Inuyasha?~!"
"He's alive, just unconscious," Shippou said, and Miroku and Sango hacked a pathway through the lumps of flesh, so that Miroku could carry Inuyasha back. As they headed back, Tanpopo watched them. "Why did he do that? He got hurt."
"Because..." Kagome began, looking back at Tanpopo in puzzlement, "Inuyasha cares about Shippou. He wanted to save him. And... he wanted to save you too."
"But..." Tanpopo began to rant, but she decided she'd rather not. Instead as she watched them head back towards the remaining building, she narrowed her eyes, thinking about the group. *What's wrong with them? They're defyin' all rules by bein' together...*
~*~
The first thing he heard was his sister's voice.
"Hey, he's waking up!"
Inuyasha opened his eyes weakly. Kagome was leaning over him, gently brushing back the hair from his face, and his sister was nearby. Shippou's little blue eyes peered at him. "Inuyasha???"
"What, brat?"
"INUYASHA~~~~~~" Shippou latched onto the dog demon's neck, wailing loudly, and Inuyasha folded his ears back reflexively, wincing. "No squealing in the ears..."
"I thought you were gonna die!!!! And it woulda been my fault cause you were saving me!!!"
Inuyasha pried Shippou off his neck and dropped the fox onto the ground roughly. "Are you serious?? That simple little-- ow...." Kagome laughed. "Stop with the tough act and don't move around so much, you're still hurt. Just rest."
"It doesn't hurt that bad, just..." Inuyasha rubbed one hand over his heart. "Just hard to catch my breath is all... It's hot in here..."
Kagome glanced at the others, who all shrugged and Sango mouthed, 'not hot to me.' Kagome turned back to the hanyou, who looked a little red in the face. "Inuyasha it's fine, don't worry. Just go to sleep, okay?"
"But it's not even dark yet," he whined, "We have plenty of time to go on to the next village." She didn't look convinced. "Are you sure you're feeling up to it?" she asked and he pulled on his haori, looking at her in annoyance. "I'm fine!"
"O-okay..."
They were ready to head out within minutes; Inuyasha as usual ahead of everyone. Kagome rode her bicycle alongside Sango and Miroku as usual, chatting with Shippou. Tanpopo was invited to come and even though she declined traveling with them, she had to go in the same direction as they to reach her relatives' home in the north, and so she followed.
Actually her 'following to catch up with her relatives' was an outright lie. She was intrigued by the group. There was Inuyasha and Tama, the set of hanyou twins; Shippou the fox-youkai; Kirara the cat-youkai; and Kagome, Sango and Miroku, the three humans. What bound these people together? Tanpopo simply could not figure them out.
She was determined not to leave them until she had.
~*~
"There, are you happy?? We made it." Kagome croaked, exhausted from the trip.
The next village had been farther than they'd first thought, and it had taken the rest of the day to get there. It was so late the villagers would probably never let them in without a huge inquiry as to who they were and what were they doing out at 10 pm, and everyone was blaming it in Inuyasha. Instead of his usual antics, he was taking it rather well, which was of course cause for concern.
Kagome looked at the hanyou, calling his name for a third time. "Inuyasha??"
"Hn..?" he mumbled, looking up at her suddenly, as if he'd only then noticed she was there. Kagome frowned. There was something wrong with his eyes. They had lost their brightness, their vigor. His face was a little pale, and sweat beaded his forehead and upper lip. He was panting, as if he'd run for quite a while.
"Are you alright??" she asked, rubbing his back, and he shook his head. "Dunno.. I can't.. seem to.. catch my breath." That in itself was a bad signal; if he wasn't telling her off, there was definitely something wrong, because Kagome was sure that even sick, the hanyou would have something to snap about.
"You don't look so good, Inuyasha..." Shippou noticed from the handlebar-basket he was sitting in, and the hanyou swallowed painfully, his hand reaching up to clutch at the fabric over his heart. "My chest... hurts..."
Kagome snapped awake at that. "What~?"
But before she could get anything else out of the hanyou, he'd fainted. She reached out and caught him as he fell against her, and his head caught on her shoulder. She could feel the heat rising off him with just his face at her neck, and slowly she lowered herself to her knees, twisting Inuyasha so he rested on her lap, his head lolling in the nook her elbow created as she held his shoulders. Noticing the situation, everyone ran to catch up with them. Myouga bounced over first. "What happened to Inuyasha-sama?!"
"I don't know, he just fainted!" Carefully holding him up, she pressed the back of her hand against his cheek to confirm what she had thought and gulped when she had. She looked up at Miroku and the others. "He has a fever..."
"Oh Gods..." Sango murmured, and Kagome looked down at Inuyasha. He shifted in her arms, moaning softly, his face contorting in pain. Kagome gripped his shoulders tighter, leaning over him worriedly.
"Inuyasha..."
~*~ To be continued ~*~
a/n :: ^-^
byouma:: made up of 'byou' (sick, ill) and 'ma' (demon, evil spirit) it translates to "sickness demon"
Tanpopo:: dandelion
~*~ V^-^V ~*~
Tessen