I'm finally back with the rest of chapter 8! I made this extra long too (for me...) just for ya'll. So, with no further adieu, enjoy, and please please review! (hey, that rhymes!)
Disclaimer: Still don't own Inuyasha sighs Why must you remind me?!
Chapter 8 (part 2): The Return
The flickering of candle-light signaled their return to the village. As Inuyasha stepped lightly down the dirt road, he spotted a figure standing in the middle of it, with a blank expression on its face. 'Kouga?!' Inuyasha wondered. 'Wow, Kagome must've really put him in shock there...or he's just really stupid.' Smirking at this comment, he let it spread over his face into a grin that would frighten small children. He stalked over to Kouga purposefully. When he reached his side, he carefully adjusted Kagome's weight, and shoved Kouga over into the dirt. He collapsed with no resistance. Inuyasha held back a bone-chilling cackle; not wanting to wake Kagome; and finished the distance to Kaede's house.
As he walked in the doorway, Inuyasha was first greeted by a hysterical Shippo.
"How's Kagome? Why did you have to carry her? Why's she sleeping like that?! Did you do anything to her?!" Inuyasha's eye twitched at the last one, and he bopped Shippo on the head.
"NO, stupid! She just fell asleep, alright?" He may have muttered something along the lines of "and I would never ever hurt her," but it was so quiet that no one heard for sure. He continued to ignore Shippo, and deposited the sleeping girl gently on the floor of the hut. At this moment, Miroku just happened to walk back in from his walk around the village. (And from his flirting with the village girls...)
"Ah, Inuyasha, I see you two have returned...and Kagome looks exhausted...you dog!" Miroku raised his eyebrows suggestively-true to his lecherous nature- and a moment later he was reacquainted with his good friend hiraikotsu.
"Pervert!" Sango screamed, enjoying causing Miroku's pain a little too much...
Inuyasha simply rolled his eyes at their predictable behavior, comforting though it was for something at least to be going normally. He stepped over Miroku's now-unconscious body on his way to look for Kaede, who had to be somewhere in the village.
Once again standing in the darkness out in the fresh air, Inuyasha failed to notice the figure creeping up on him until it was directly behind him. He whirled around, baring his claws to face...Kouga.
"Hey, dog-turd! I want to help." Inuyasha was completely lost. Help? Help with what? Inuyasha certainly didn't need any help. A clueless look spread over his face, and Kouga whacked him on the head.
"Kagome, you idiot. I wanna help find her family." Inuyasha's eyes narrowed, and he growled softly. There was no way in hell he was going to let Kouga come on this mission...until Kouga spoke again. "If you let me come along, I promise to leave Kagome alone-as your woman." 'If I haven't won her back by then, that is.' He added silently.
Inuyasha twitched his ears as he tried to find the catch. But the thought of having Kouga admit that Kagome wasn't his woman was far too tempting.
"Alright, deal. You can come along. But if I think you're doing more flirting with my woman than helping, I'll kick your ass out." Kouga nodded his agreement as well, then started heading toward a small hut housing a certain raven-haired, brown eyed girl.
"And just WHAT do you think you're doing?!" Inuyasha snapped, stepping between Kouga and the hut.
"I was just...uh...going to say goodnight-" "Kagome's sleeping, and if you wake her up..."
Inuyasha bared his blade-like claws to emphasize the unspoken threat. For once admitting defeat, Kouga turned around, silently vowing not to give up until Kagome was his. Inuyasha was also feeling incredibly confident as he watched the wolf youkai retreat. 'Ha,' he thought. 'Stupid wolf finally came to his senses.' Both remained completely clueless, all for love of a woman.
Morning soon shed its joyous rays on those in the village, brining with it hope for even the most troubled soul. Kagome awakened uncharacteristically early, as soon as a small beam of light came through a crack in the wall and settled itself firmly over her eyelids. Sliding carefully out of her sleeping bag, so as not to disturb the young kitsune sleeping beside her, she slipped under the bamboo mat covering the doorway, and out into the still-dim sunlight.
Birds chirped, a slight breeze blew softly, and not a single cloud dwelt in the sky. Such a morning was almost magickal, lifting away the cloud of worry Kagome had been feeling for her family, and chasing her fears to the back of her mind.
"Ah..." She stretched, contented, as a silver-haired figure crept out of the hut behind her, to wrap his arms around her in a tight and loving embrace.
"I'm glad to see your smile again, Kagome." He breathed into her ear, cheeks tinting slightly pink because of his usually not-so-romantic nature. She brightened even more, so much that, in Inuyasha's eyes, she rivaled even the sun.
"Today's the day. We'll catch Naraku today, I can feel it! We'll finally get that bastard..." Inuyasha started, unused to such language coming from her, but allowed it anyway, knowing how much Naraku had made her and each one of them suffer. It was indeed time for him to pay.
A small whirlwind drifted down the street to where they stood, and Kagome sighed in resignation. 'I was having such a good morning...now Kouga and Inuyasha are just going to fight over me and ruin the mood.' But instead of the usual curses and death threats that came out of Inuyasha's mouth at the sign of the wolf youkai, he hailed the figure in an-almost-friendly manner.
Kagome was stunned. Where was the fighting, the cursing...the painfully repetitive nicknames?! It was a welcome change, but almost too strange for the girl to bear.
"Um...what's going on here? Inuyasha, why aren't you threatening Kouga for coming here? Kouga, what happened to the 'That's my woman, dog-turd' greeting?!" Both of them stared at her...then burst into laughter. Kagome glared at them, silently demanding an explanation, which Inuyasha gave happily.
"Kouga's going to help us find your family! And because I was nice enough to let him come along, he won't ever be able to call you his woman again, because you're mine!" For some reason, this explanation didn't make Kagome as happy as he thought; it might've been the cocky tone, or maybe the fact that Kouga had to bribe Inuyasha just to help...or our heroine could have just been PMSing, the world may never know. At any rate, her eyes narrowed in the trademark look, and she uttered Inuyasha's most dreaded word.
"Sit." Obligingly hitting the dirt-face first, of course-he proceeded to curse up a storm, as Kagome stalked back into the hut, good mood thoroughly smashed. A short time later, Kagome reemerged with Sango in tow, mentioning something about going to the nearest hot spring, and if he didn't keep Miroku from following, bad things would happen to the both of them.
Inuyasha suspected that the trip to the hot spring had little to do with a bath, and was all about their strange ritual of 'girl talk.' He simply rolled his eyes, knowing he would now be the topic of their conversation, and had started back to Kaede's hut when a bloodcurdling scream split the air, coming from the same direction the girls had left in...
(A/N: I could just end it here...that's a nice cliffie...but I've picked a better spot, you lucky lucky people!)
Inuyasha reached the hot spring the same moment as Miroku, who had also heard the scream (and had probably had a bit of a head start...). The girls were still both fully clothed, meaning Miroku and Inuyasha would live to see another day. Both were staring into the forest, and Kagome was pale, as though she had seen a ghost. But when Inuyasha's bright amber eyes scanned the line of trees, he found nothing.
"Kagome, what-" "Shh..." She silenced him, not removing her gaze from the forest. "Look."
As the group watched, two figures stepped out from the dark shadow of the trees. The first figure Kagome's eyes were able to recognize was unexpected enough...Kikyo, her incarnate, back from the dead (again). Her face seemed to contain even less emotion than it had on their last meeting. But the other figure hit even closer to her heart, and it felt as though what was left of her crumbling little world cam crashing down in an instant. Inuyasha watched the flicker of pain in her eyes, and knew there was nothing he could do for her. It came as much of a shock to him to see these two figures standing next to each other, eyes blank and lifeless; a sign that Naraku had them under his control.
"How...how could he do this..."
Hmmm...who could this other mysterious figure be?! I know!! Leave me a review and I'll update sooner (or...as soon as I get back to my computer again)! Then we'll ALL know who this other person is...cackles evilly