Sorry it's been so long. I've been bogged down by work again and I've lost my floppy disk with my story on it. -.- I had to start over from scratch. I also forgot my password for a while. But now I'm back, with many ideas. I'm still accepting some from you guys though. I've also just realized that I never mentioned what happened to tetsusaiga, I'll be sure to mention that in this chapter or the next.
Reminder: "."=quotes (.)=A/N ::.:: = Inuyasha's thoughts -.- = Kagome's thoughts . = other character's thoughts.
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Chapter 6: Search for the Cure
Satisfied with his job well done, Inuyasha strolled back into the hut with a smug look on his face. ::My brother can be such a sissy some times.::
Kaede coughed to draw everyone's attention to her. "Now that the disturbing interruption is taken care of, we need to talk of a cure."
The group got settled around the fire so that they could all better hear what Kaede had to say. Inuyasha was being impatient, so he paced the small room instead. "I know not of this demon named Vixen, but me thinks that if you find the source, you'll find the cure. For now you should grow used to your new body in case a cure is not to be found." Inuyasha stopped pacing long enough to start growling. ::How the hell will that help?!?::
Kaede got an exasperated look on her face. "Don't growl at me hanyou, I can't know everything there is to be known." He just growled even louder and started to pace faster.
"That pacing is making me nervous, why don't you sit down?" Kagome said. As soon as she said sit, the demon turned dog was flung to the ground by the collar around his neck. Pinned to the ground and unable to hurt anyone, Kaede approached and inspected the collar. "Interesting, though the rosary has transformed, its power diminishes none at all."
Sango stood up and said, "Well, it seems inevitable that we have another journey ahead of us. We should leave tomorrow morning. You boys pack some supplies and we'll go freshen up, come on Kagome." Kagome nodded and said okay. "Kirara, you stay behind and guard the boys to make sure they aren't up to no good." Kirara purred and made a sound that was affirmative.
The girls walked off into the forest and Miroku tried to follow. Kirara growled and jumped into the way. Miroku stated with cool logic, "I wanted to make sure they didn't get lost!" Inuyasha rolled his eyes and dragged him back into the hut by the hem of his robes. Shippo was inside and shaking his head in disappointment. His face brightened up into a smile as he remembered that Inuyasha had not met his new friend.
"Hey Inuyasha! You have to meet my new friend!" Shippo said. ::Do I have a choice?:: He grabbed him by the collar and took him into the forest. He led him to a cave deep in the woods. There, Shippo called into the cave for his friend. A cat demon with bright orange hair stepped out. "This is my friend Kyoshi." (A/N: Kyoshi can mean quiet.) The small boy gave a polite smile and a little wave. "Hey Kyoshi, you wanna come with us on our journey." Said boy nodded his head.
Shippo smiled brightly and said, "Great, let's go back now before Miroku is murdered by Kagome and Sango." The two smiled and the three of them went back to the village.
The girls got back to the hut at the same time as the trio. Kagome, "Hey Shippo, who is this?" "Oh, you haven't met him yet, he's my new friend. His name is Kyoshi." "What a lovely name, will he be joining us on our journey? It might be a little too dangerous." "He can handle it, he's strong like me." "Okay Shippo-chan."
(Ђ-¬)/ The next morning (Ђ-¬)/
The group stood at the exit of the village looking back at Kaede. "Good bye, Kaede! We'll be back soon!" Kagome yelled back waving. They walked off together in the brisk morning light. I can only hope that fortune smiles upon them.(Kaede)
Inuyasha led the group by sniffing the ground trying to catch Vixen's scent. Kagome chatted with Sango and Sango watched Miroku warily in case he tried to do anything perverted. Shippo and Kyoshi were playing behind them and Kirara trailed behind in case of an ambush.
They traveled that way for a few days, but on their fifth day of travel, they were caught up in a serious storm. The sought refuge in a deep cave. Miroku gathered some material to burn while the rest of the group tried to dry off. The furry members shimmied furiously to get the water out of their fur and succeeded in dousing the others. Kyoshi and Shippo whimpered. "I'm cold," they both said at the same time. "You can sleep by me to keep warm." Kagome volunteered.
Inuyasha glared at the two and growled lowly. ::Why do the little brats always get to snuggle with Kagome?:: "Inuyasha, don't growl, they're only children!" He whimpered slightly and grumbled as he curled up into a ball in the corner. After they got a fire started, they all settled in to sleep. Sango slept as far away from Miroku as she could.
The next morning, Sango woke up and turned over. Directly in front of her, she saw Miroku's peacefully sleeping face. She blushed and screamed loudly, waking everyone else up with a start.
"What, no morning kiss?" Miroku said. That earned him an extremely painful slap and a toss into the nearest puddle. After they all had something to eat for breakfast, they set off on their way again. They came upon a fork in the road. "Okay, which way do we go Inuyasha?" Miroku asked. He stuck his nose to the ground and sniffed each path. He didn't catch any scent, so he shrugged his shoulders the best he could and sat down in the middle. Miroku tried that staff trick (like he did the first episode the gang met him), but it just landed in the middle also. Shippo piped up, "I know! Let Kyoshi try!" "What can Kyoshi do?" "He can find stuff." "Vague, but I hope it works."
Kyoshi stepped up to the path and mentally asked himself where the demon Vixen was. He felt a mental tug towards the left path, so that was where he pointed his small, clawed finger. "Okay, then that is where we'll go!" Kagome piped up. Inuyasha just rolled his eyes. ::This kid is going to get us lost.::
They walked down the path, which led into a forest. The trees broke out and made way for an enormous field with a large house in the middle. They stepped into the clearing and Kyoshi and Shippo dropped to their knees. "What's wrong, Shippo? Kyoshi?" With a large poof of smoke they were turned into a small fox cub and a small orange cat. The group instantly went on the alert and Inuyasha sniffed around. ::Strange. I couldn't smell Vixen's scent until we went into the field..there must be a barrier.:: The rest of the group that was still human grabbed their weapons and prepared for battle.
Inuyasha let out an angry howl that basically said "Vixen! Get your ass out here, you bastard!" Hearing the howl, Vixen stepped out of her house smirking and twirling the tetsusaiga in her hand. Looks like my playmate has come back for more. ::My tetsusaiga! How can she wield it?:: Kagome asked the question that Inuyasha couldn't. "How can you wield the tetsusaiga? Only a demon with human blood can do that."
Vixen got a serious look on her face. "Naughty, naughty. You shouldn't ask such a personal question to someone you just met."
Miroku was the first to attack by attempting to subdue her with some spell scrolls. Vixen's magic was too strong, though, and the scrolls were harmlessly burned before they could take effect. He shrugged his shoulders. "I guess I'm not going to be much of use in this battle." He sat down on a rock with his hand on the prayer beads in case the battle took a turn for the worse.
It was Sango's turn next. She threw Hiraikotsu and rode Kirara up close and tried to knock her out with some paralyzing powder. Vixen had vast knowledge of powders and dodged both assaults. She conjured up a wind and sent the powder back at the cat and the demon exterminator. Sango was okay because of her mask, but Kirara was put out of commission. "Kirara! Oh, no!" She scooped up Kirara in her arms and brought her (him?) over to Miroku's rock and set her (him?) down there.
Kagome cocked her arrow to her bow and prepared to fire. Vixen was growing bored of their feeble attempts. She yawned and said, "Why bother? You guys are way too weak to defeat me. And besides, you wouldn't want to kill me until you find out how to cure your arrogant bastard friend." Inuyasha growled louder and ran forward and bit down hard on her leg. "You call that a bite, mutt?" She swung the tetsusaiga around and hit him in the head with the flat of the blade. He yelped then hit the ground unconscious in the middle of the field. "Inuyasha!" Kagome cried, throwing down her bow and arrow.
Kyoshi sat on the side of the field watching the scene unfold. He evaluated the situation and figured that they would need assistance in defeating their foe. He wanted his newfound friends to be proud of how strong he was. Even though he was currently a cat, his powers still worked. He gathered up his energy and sent a powerful mental blast towards Vixen. She wasn't expecting a mental attack, so it hit her full on and she was knocked unconscious.
(§-§) After Vixen wakes up (§-§)
Vixen woke up and found herself bound to a tree. The group had recovered from their injuries, and surrounded the tree waiting for her to become conscious. Kagome stood in the middle with her arrow cocked and Inuyasha sat to her left growling softly. They had stolen the tetsusaiga back and put it with their stuff for when Inuyasha was turned back to normal. "How do we change him back?" Kagome said with venom in her voice. "Keh! Like I'll ever tell you! You'd have to kill me to find out! Ooops.." Heh, like they're dumb enough to fall for that one.. "Fair enough." Kagome let the arrow go and it embedded itself into her chest and pinned her to the tree. Vixen muttered an incantation under her breath before she was put into eternal sleep by Kagome's arrow.
She completed her spell then her eyes drooped closed and her heart slowed to a stop. As she 'died', a light blue mist rose from her and entered Kagome's body. Kagome blacked out and the group cried out her name.
Kagome came to a couple hours later to find a pair of golden eyes watching her. "Inuyasha?" He whimpered slightly to let her know that he still hadn't changed back. "It didn't work? Oh no! I'm so sorry Inuyasha! Now we have nobody to ask about for a cure.." ::It's alright as long as you're okay..:: He nuzzled her side and whimpered. "I'm fine, but you're stuck like a dog."
Hearing Kagome's voice, Shippo and Kyoshi rushed to Kagome's side and gave her a big hug. "Kagome! You're alright!" "I see you've changed back, that's great!" Inuyasha gave the young ones a sour look and left to fetch the rest of the group.
They all gathered and Kagome exchanged a solemn look with Inuyasha. "I guess if Inuyasha hasn't turned back now, he won't turn back anytime soon." Miroku stated. ::Thanks for pointing out the obvious, bozo.:: Inuyasha thought as he bit down on Miroku's leg. "I guess he could protect the village from now on." Sango suggested. She mentally pictured him carting around wheelbarrows full of supplies and barking at crows to keep them out of the fields. She chuckled at her thoughts and received a dirty look from said dog. "Sorry, I can't help myself."
"Well, there's nothing else we can do here, so let's just head back to the village." Miroku pointed out. They all nodded so they cleaned up their camp, repacked their supplies, and set off down the trail again. Kagome led the way this time and the rest followed behind. The wind shifted direction and Inuyasha got a good whiff of her scent. ::That's strange, her scent smells different somehow..::
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A/N: Nya Nya, more later. It's late and I have a date with my bed. I have a long summer ahead of me, so I'll try to finish my story before I go on vacation. Thank you for waiting patiently this long time. I hope it's well worth it. My next chapter will be posted very soon, so look out for it! Thanks again, embersinge.