Author's Note: I'm sorry that I haven't updated in this in a while, but I went a bit RK crazy and I became obsessed with a few older Anime shows. Then I was feeling really lazy, so I'm SO SORRY! I didn't abandon this fic, it's just really hard to find inspiration, and I just now found it after my Inuyasha crazed friends began showing me all of these wonderful Inuyasha related materials. So I thank them! ^_^
Chapter Three: New Powers?
Inuyasha's eyes widened as he saw Hiraikotsu coming straight towards them again. The two had no choice but to jump up out of the trees and reveal them, or get cut in half by the oversized boomerang.
Kagome couldn't let the others see her like this, they'd go ballistic and who knows what they would think? She knew that they were her friends and would never reject her, but she couldn't trust herself with her new powers. They were overwhelming and at times she felt like a whole new being; it scared her.
Not wanting to get caught by them, she took hold of Inuyasha's sleeve and instead of jumping up, she jumped down fifty feet to the ground, it was a risk she was willing to take. Shutting her eyes for the impact, she blinked them open when nothing happened. Looking up, she saw Inuyasha barely holding onto a tree branch, one hand holding her own.
"Are you mad?" Asked Inuyasha angrily as he glared down at her.
Kagome only smiled weakly at him. She looked at him confused, when Inuyasha didn't look down at her. He was looking at something to their right. Her eyes widened in horror as she Sango's boomerang heading back toward them.
Letting instinct take over, the new hanyou began to swing her towards another branch, using Inuyasha's arm as if it were rope. She landed swiftly on a branch below his, and watched as the other half demon drop to a branch just under her own. They crouched down as the boomerang went past them, cutting the treetops as it went straight back to its owner.
Kagome let out a sigh; that was a close one.
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"Damn! I almost got them," said Sango angrily as she grabbed Hiraikotsu as it zoomed back towards her.
"These two must be smarter than we thought," said Miroku as he looked back towards the trees, watching as the birds began to fly away from the sudden disturbance.
"Do you think they can be another one of Naraku's offspring?" Asked Sango a bit uneasily.
"I'm not sure. What do you think Myoga?" Asked Miroku, as he looked at the flea demon that was now standing on his shoulder.
"I'm not sure, but one of the scents is vaguely familiar... I'm not sure, but it doesn't seem like Lord Inuyasha's scent, yet it does," said Myoga as he rubbed his small chin.
"Inuyasha would have come out by now. If what you say is true, then who is he with?" Asked Sango as she looked at the tree branches, all the while looking at the others. She had her hand on her weapon; she wasn't going to take any chances with these beings.
"I don't know" was all that the old demon could say.
"Let's find Kagome!" Yelled Shippo once again. He didn't feel safe without her close by; she always had that comforting aura about her that made him happy. The two creatures in the trees were making him uncomfortable, and he didn't like the way they kept close by. Kagome would have been able to sense if they were good or not.
"We can't turn our backs on the two, they'll surely attack us," said Miroku, and Sango nodded in agreement.
"So we're stuck waiting for them to attack us?" Asked Shippo nervously, as he sat on Kirara's back, looking up at the trees.
"We don't have any other choice," said Miroku.
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"Damn, they're going to be waiting a while," said Inuyasha when he jumped up towards Kagome; they had heard the whole conversation.
"What do we do now? We can't just wait her all day," said Kagome, as she looked down at them, shifting nervously.
"Let's just go down there and tell them about our situation," said Inuyasha, as he crossed his arms over his chest.
"No," said Kagome a bit too quickly, it made the other hanyou raise an eyebrow at her.
Blushing, the miko began to stutter, "I don't want them to see me like this... It's not like I'm ashamed to be a hanyou Inuyasha! It's just that, I-I don't trust my new powers with them. I mean, I'm not sure what I'll do and if I'm not going to attack them," said Kagome as she looked down at her claws, her head bent.
Inuyasha looked away, he knew how she felt. He had felt the same way when he knew that he could transform into a full demon. The conscience of hurting their friends was always on his mind, and he knew that he couldn't do anything to stop himself from doing so. It ate at him to know that he could become such a powerful creature, yet not be able to use his powers to save his friends.
Yet something confused him. Why had he remembered what he did when he was a full demon, when before he couldn't? He use to feel so helpless when he'd awaken as a hanyou and see the death that his other half had caused. Yet now he was able to know what his demon side did, and know what he was saying. The thought before was scary, and now it was just like watching a nightmare. It sent shivers down his spine that now he'd be able to know what he did and why as a demon, and can't do anything to stop himself.
Clenching his hands into fists, he looked up at Kagome. Lifting her chin with two fingers, he looked into her tearing eyes. He slowly wiped the tears that trickled down her cheeks.
"We'll just keep silent for a month and then go back," said Inuyasha.
"W-what about my mom, my brother, and grandpa? I have to go back to them, but..." Kagome looked down at herself and began to shake, she didn't know what to do. She felt so helpless all of a sudden; even with her knew powers.
"It's one month Kagome. During the new moon my demon blood should sleep and by then all the poison should be gone from your body. Your miko powers should be able to purify my blood by then," said Inuyasha as he stroked her silver mane.
Kagome looked up at him with beaming eyes, but she still had that matter of not being able to face her other friends for a whole month.
"We'll leave them a message," said Inuyasha.
"I can say that I'm staying in my time for a test," said Kagome with a smile.
Inuyasha raised an eyebrow at her; it was amazing how quickly her emotions changed.
"Oh but my backpack is with them!" Said Kagome as she realized that she had nothing to write with to tell them.
"We just won't tell them then. They'll just think that we have yet to find them again," said Inuyasha as he stood up and helped her.
Before she could protest, Inuyasha picked her up bridal style and began to race deeper into the forest to where they stayed the other night. Jumping from branch to branch as quickly as he could so the others wouldn't feel threatened.
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Sango and Miroku looked at each other confused when the auras vanished.
"What's going on?" Asked the young kitsune.
"They've left," said Sango as she lowered her weapon to the ground.
"That's strange; Lord Inuyasha's scent has vanished as well. I could have sworn that it was nearby," said Myoga.
"You don't suppose that it really was Inuyasha, do you?" Asked Miroku looking at them all.
"I don't know. We had better get back to Kaede's village. I'm sure that Kagome and Inuyasha will come there once they get the chance," said Sango.
Kirara, back to her smaller form, jumped onto Sango's shoulder, Shippo on Miroku's, and Myoga on Kirara's forehead.
"Kagome was badly injured; I think that the Inuyasha is probably taking care of her as we speak. We'll just have to wait. We can't find the jewel shards without Kagome, and we do need a rest," said Miroku.
The others only nodded as they followed him to the village.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Inuyasha left Kagome in the small hut as he went to hunt for something to eat, leaving her to think things over.
Kagome looked at herself over, she still couldn't get over the fact that she was a half demon; it seemed like a dream, but she knew better. This was reality, she was a hanyou, and she was going to be stuck like this until the new moon.
Sighing, she leaned against the hut wall, taking in all the scents around her, taking in all the details. Her eyes caught the dust on the walls, caught the splintered wood, and she saw things so clearly that she would have missed if she were human. The world seemed so new to her now; it was like she was reborn again. She smiled in contentment.
Maybe being a hanyou won't be so bad. Thought Kagome as she closed her eyes and allowed her ears to listen to the sounds around her, to the sounds of nature at its most calm.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
A creature in a baboon suit sits on the branch of a large oak tree. The roots coming together as if it had formed a seat for the being.
"What the heck are we doing out here for?" Asked Kagura as she walked over the tree roots and nearly tripped over the squirrels that ran passed her. She snarled as she walked up to Naraku.
"Always impatient Kagura" came Naraku's dark and calm voice from under the suit.
"Can you just tell me what you plan to do, so I can get it over with?" Asked Kagura annoyed, as she finally made it over to her Master, her fan in hand as she looked at him.
"We're here to gather the life energy of the trees," came Kanna's voice from behind her.
"Don't do that!" Yelled Kagura, the little girl was always sneaking up on her when she least expected it.
The demon only held her mirror and walked over so that she stood to the left of her Master.
"What do you mean gather life energy?" Asked Kagura confused.
"The trees here are some of the oldest ever planted; they all hold the life of themselves and other creatures. They keep parts of the demons that have ever entered here. That's why this place is only trees, for it is the home of the strongest youkais around. If we harness this power, it'll make me stronger," explained Naraku as he looked at the roots he was sitting on.
Kagura finally looked at the place around them. The place was huge, the trees towering over 100 feet above, and packed tightly together. There were no pathways for humans to walk, and it was a difficult walk here for her. She had to use her own powers to try and get here, yet her fan barely scratched the bark of the trees when they managed to hit. The roots that she tried to destroy was still standing tall, she had to give up and just walk here a whiles back.
"How do you plan to get the life energy?" Asked Kagura as she looked at her Master.
Naraku only looked up into the sky, his insects flying down and landing on the trees. Suddenly they began to attach themselves to the tree and seemed to be feeding off the trees' sap. Kagura only smirked when she realized how he planned to collect the energy, but how would he use it once he got it?
Suddenly she noticed that all of his insects were at a single tree, and watched as the tree became darker and darker and it's leaves slowly dying. She realized that by taking the sap of the trees; it was like taking the tree's blood. Without it's blood, it would slowly die. The half demon that was her Master was very clever. Though the question on how he was going to use it, was still lingering in her mind.
The sound of the insects became louder as more and more approached them, groups of bee like insects covering the tall trees. It was going to take a long while to get all of the energy out of all the trees here. But knowing Naraku, he had lots of patience in him. Always bidding his time for when he'd be able to get more powerful and become a full youkai.
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A/N: I know that it's short, but I really wanted to get this chapter out. I promise you that more is going to happen. I wanted to update so that you all knew that I hadn't abandoned this fic. More action in the next chapter!