Daytime, Nighttime
Chapter 2
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Sango gritted her teeth, but didn't strike the big man.
"Hehe.now let us tie you up. Extend your arms, girl!" a scrawny thief said while pulling a rope out of his pocket.
There was a yell, and Kagome dropped down from the roof behind old man's captor. Before he could react, Kagome took a hold on his sword hand, pushed it away from the old man's neck, and pulled the old man away from the leader's grasp. When the captor snarled and raised his sword, Kagome yanked her own sword from its sheath. She didn't want to wound the thief. She kept defending herself from the attacks and backing up until she bumped into something---a wall.
"Haha, DIE!" The thief yelled, and swung his sword. Kagome screamed and blocked it. The good thing was, she didn't get her head chopped off. The bad thing was, the thief was stronger than her, and was pushing his sword closer to her neck every second. There was nothing else she could do. Closing her eyes, she took out the hidden knife in her sleeve and jabbed it into the man's chest. The dead man fell on top of her, and she stifled a shriek.
The remaining thieves scrambled away, and Sango ran to Kagome. "You're not hurt, are you?" She asked as she pushed the corpse off of her cousin. Kagome weakly shook her head.
"I killed someone---I-I-I-didn't mean to." Kagome stuttered.
"I know you didn't, but you had no choice." Sango said comfortingly. Then she looked at the old man and asked him, "Could you tell me where you live? I would like to assist you home." The old man nodded gratefully and they walked to his home.
Before going in, the old man asked the girls, "Who are you? I would like to tell my family about my saviors."
'Saviors?' Sango thought, and suppressed a smile. 'Not when you're stealing from the wealthy'
"Tell them that we're angels from heaven." Kagome said.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
"Did you see that bitch? She killed Mukotsu!" One of the panting thieves said, leaning against a tree.
"Yeah! She killed him with a hidden dagger!" another thief declared.
"We need to tell the boss!" a third said.
"Why?" asked a fourth figure who emerged from the darkness.
"Bankotsu, Mukotsu was killed by another thief...a female! We were attacked by two thieves, and both fought like demons from hell!"
"Really?" was an amused voice. "Fine, Jakotsu, go to Shikon.alert Naraku."
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Since the old man told his friends and family about the 'Angels', the wealthy people heard the rumors and put up signs that offered 10,000 yen or more for the girls' capture. At first Kagome and Sango were amused by this, but after a few days, bounty hunters started arriving. The hunters stayed up during the night and made it more difficult for the cousins to go on their nighttime trips. The wealthy were robbed less often, and finally the number robbed per week went down to none at all.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
On a cloudy day, Kagome and Sango were sent out by their grandmother to get some food. They took their bow and arrows and went into the forest to get some deer. A little deeper in the woods, they found a lost man.
"Greetings, ladies, do you know where the nearest village is? I'm a messenger from Shikon City." the man dressed in velvet said.
"Oh, it's that way!" Kagome said, and pointed at the direction behind her. The messenger thanked her and bowed low before heading South.
"Well, that was strange, who in the village is important enough to get a messenger? I mean, the village chief hasn't gotten a letter from Shikon in almost three years." Sango remarked as they continued walking down the path. Kagome stopped abruptly and closed her eyes as if she was concentrating on something.
"What?" Sango asked, "Do you hear something?"
Kagome looked at her cousin with worried eyes, "No, but I sense demons, twenty or more.and they aren't the good type." She looked back at the village. "They're getting closer every minute." Sango didn't sense any demons, but she didn't doubt her cousin. The girls' ancestors were demon hunters---though Kagome's ancestors were mostly mikos. Kagome inherited the holy powers while Sango had received the exterminator's endurance and strength.
Sango frowned and said "Forget about hunting, we need to alert the villagers!" She grabbed Kagome's wrist and started running back to the village.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Inuyasha was half-listening to the messenger who was reading the letter to him. The messenger was sent by his mother, whose letters usually contained motherly advice.like how to be polite, to take a bath daily, how she missed her 'little boy', etc. His thoughts were interrupted when the messenger asked, "Well, Inuyasha-sama, what's your reply?"
"Eh?" Inuyasha was confused, his mother never asked questions in her letters. "What was the question?"
The messenger answered him, "She wants you to go back to Shikon City. Your brother, Lord Sesshomaru also wants you back."
"Sesshoumaru? Why the hell would he want me to come back?" Inuyasha asked scornfully.
"I'm not sure, but are you going back Inuyasha-sama?" the messenger asked. Inuyasha glared at him, and the messenger stepped back.
"Feh." Inuyasha crossed his arms, "I'll be back in a few days." The messenger nodded and sprinted out the back door.
"But sir!" he heard a feminine voice say, "I'm SURE they are arriving!" Inuyasha perked up his ears and listened intently to the conversation on the opposite side of the wall.
"Ladies, I don't have time for this.can't you see? I'm busy signing legal documents! Find someone else to tell your gossip! Anyway, you have no proof, and who's there to back you up? Surely no one would bother to listen to a pair of girls!" he heard his uncle say.
"They're demons though.arriving from the---"
"If you two don't leave right now, I will have to call the guards to take you away!" Inuyasha heard his uncle say. One of the girls sighed, and he heard footsteps retreating. He wondered who the girls were. His uncle was the village chief, and he got many visitors, but they were rarely women.
"We'll get the demons by ourselves then!" one of the girls whispered.
"Tonight in the forest.they'll be coming from that direction." The other girl said. They left the building and their voices were out of hearing range.
'Crazy girls.they can't even hurt a fly' he thought. If demons were really arriving, he would've smelled them by now.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
"And we're going to get them in the forest before they get to the village!" Kagome announced to Kiwako, who listened to the cousins' story.
The elderly woman nodded and told Sango, "Take care of your cousin. I'm not sure if I should let the both of you go.but you're grown up, and these are your own decisions." Kiwako said, and stood up from her sitting position. She walked into her room and came out with a large boomerang and placed it on the floor. While Sango and Kagome were looking interestedly at the boomerang, Kiwako went back to her room and took out bow and arrows.
"Kagome, you're the better archer, so I give you my old bow. The string stretches further, and the bow is made of demon bone, so it's more difficult to break. These arrows are sharper than the ones you used while hunting normal animals. The normal arrows will not be able to puncture the demon skin, but these will. I think I've taught you enough that you would be able to add some miko powers into the arrow as you shoot it." Kiwako explained to Kagome, who thanked her and picked up the bow and arrows.
"Sango, this boomerang is called the Hiraikotsu. It was used by your great grandmother. It 's made of demon bones, and is difficult to break. The strap---"she fingered the strap going down the boomerang, "is used for travel. You put it on your back so you don't need to hold it." Sango's eyes widened at the thought of being able to use the Hiraikotsu. She had seen and admired it in her grandmother's room ever since she arrived at the restaurant.
"Thank you. grandmother." Sango said. She lifted the boomerang and noticed that it was not too heavy nor too light. "I'll use it tonight."
"I'm sure you will. Don't forget your training." Kiwako looked at the setting sun and said. "I wish you two luck, though I'm sure you won't need it."
Sango nodded and walked to the door. She opened it and stepped out. Looking behind her, she said, "Kagome, let's go; the forest is very far and the sun has already set." Kagome, who was hugging her grandmother, pulled away from the hug and ran out the door with her bow in hand.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Miroku was disturbed from his meditating by sharp rapping on the door and a gruff voice calling, " Miroku! Open the damn door!" Sighing, he grabbed his staff, stood up, walked to the door and opened it. A clawed hand grabbed his arm and dragged Miroku out of the temple.
"Wha-what?" he asked, and he realized that they were approaching the forest. "Why are we going there?"
"I think some trouble is going to occur. I overheard some people talking to my uncle about some demons arriving at night. I thought they were lying until I smelled them a while ago. The demons are approaching." Inuyasha said. Miroku's confused expression turned grim, and he tightly gripped his staff.
"Then let's enter the forest." Miroku said, and walked in. Inuyasha ran ahead, and ducked behind the bushes, as if he was planning to ambush the demons. Suddenly, there was a yell, and something whizzed past his ear.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
They had reached the forest a little later. The pack of demons was nearing the edge of the forest.extremely close to the village. The two cousins decided to wait for them to appear in the large clearing. Sango unshouldered her boomerang and stared intently at the trees, where she was sure the demons would appear. She took a quick glance at Kagome, whose arrow was already fitted on her bow. The bushes rustled, and expecting a demon to come out, she yelled and threw her boomerang. It whizzed past the bushes and missed a shadowed figure. It twirled in the air and returned to her.
"You bitches! What did you throw that for? You missed Miroku's head by a foot!" was the familiar voice. Kagome's eyes widened with shock. From the bushes emerged Inuyasha and Miroku.
"Inuyasha! What are YOU doing here?" she asked, but she glanced around, as if expecting demons other than the hanyou to attack the group.
"Feh! I heard your conversation, dimwit! That's what you are, do you really think YOU could possibly beat---" his sentence was cut off when a roar came from behind him and a demon landed on the spot where he was. He would've been devoured had he not jumped out of the way. Miroku raised his staff and whacked the demon, and whipped out an ofuda charm. He placed it on the demon, who was instantly weakened.
Sango threw the Hiraikotsu at the demons behind the one Miroku had just finished off. She unsheathed the sword at her waist and ran ahead, prepared to strike at the other demons. They were all weak demons, who would die if cut in half. Which was easy to do, as their skin was soft and without shells. She didn't look back as she dragged her sword across the demons she ran by. When there were no more demons ahead, she turned around and surveyed the path of fallen demons-none of them moved. "I'm good" she thought.
Inuyasha didn't need to use swords. He slashed the enemy he saw with his claws, and continued onwards. He looked at Sango, and wondered how a mere village girl could be powerful enough to beat demons. Kagome wasn't that bad either. He saw many demons lying dead with arrows in them. He saw her string an arrow to fire it, and strangely, the arrow glowed a little pink. Then he saw movement behind the girl-a demon sneaking up on her.
"Kagome look out!" he yelled as he watched the girl look at the demon with wide eyes. But she didn't move. Before he knew it, Inuyasha had Kagome in his arms, carrying her to safety.
"Kyaaaaaaaa! Sango!" she screamed, thinking the demon got her. Inuyasha instinctively flattened his ears. A boomerang flew past his head, and came back at him. He ducked it, allowing it to get back to its owner.
"Let go of my cousin, you bastard!" Sango yelled. She frowned at the retreating youkai. This wasn't one of the weaker ones, and she couldn't identify him. Raising the Hiraikotsu, she prepared to throw it at the demon again. This time she wouldn't miss.
"Lady Sango, don't throw it," Miroku said as he hit away yet another demon. "It's Inuyasha, I'm sure of it." He concentrated on demons in a cluster, took out an ofuda, muttered some spells, and threw the ofuda at the group. Sango saw another demon and threw her boomerang at it. She watched it fall to the ground and twitch a bit. Finally it died, and she ran to retrieve her boomerang. When she got back to the clearing, she saw Miroku lying on the ground, and he seemed unconscious. Thinking he was wounded, she ran to him and knelt next to him.
"Miroku! You stupid monk! How did you get yourself wounded?" she asked. There weren't anymore demons around, so it was impossible anything could make him unconscious. Then she felt a hand rubbing her rear, and her face turned red.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~
"There are no more demons around." Kagome stated as she jumped out of Inuyasha's arms.
"Feh! No thanks to you!" Inuyasha replied. He surveyed the clearing and noticed the dead demons. Sango was killing the last one, and out of the corner of his eye, he watched Miroku lie down onto the ground. 'Stupid bouzou, what is he trying to do now?' The dog-hanyou thought.
"Well, at least I got a few of the demons! How was I supposed to know one was about to attack me from behind?" Kagome yelled at him, breaking his concentration.
"You should've been more alert then! You almost got yourself killed!" Inuyasha retorted.
'He was worried about me?' Kagome thought---she was surprised. "Well thank you for saving me then." she said.
"You---" Inuyasha was about to insult her again, but quickly stopped himself. He didn't think she would thank him. He felt his face turning red, and he turned around so she couldn't see him.
Kagome heard a slap and turned around to see Sango walking away from Miroku. Her face was red, and Miroku had a nice handprint on his face.
"Kagome, are all the demons gone?" Sango asked.
"If they aren't, we would still be fighting, right? They've run away." Kagome answered.
"Lady Kagome, which way did the demons retreat?" Miroku questioned her, his face looked worried.
Kagome pointed south of the forest, "They went that---oh my gosh! That's the village!" She ran out of the clearing and towards the village. "They might've gone there to raid the village! We need to get there fast!" An arm went around her waist, and she was raised above the ground. "Inuyasha?" she asked, unsure who was holding her.
"Who else? Don't' get the wrong idea; I'm only carrying you because you run too slow!" The hanyou said.
As they approached the village, Kagome felt a pang of guilt. While she and Inuyasha were arguing, the demons had been attacking and ransacking the village. Now buildings lay in destruction, collapsed pieces of wood, and blood everywhere. She heard a baby cry from somewhere, but she couldn't tell where the cries came from. Then she remembered her grandmother. "Inuyasha! Please take me to the restaurant! I need to save my grandma!" Without replying, he started running again and soon approached the restaurant. It seemed fine, besides the fact that many villagers were lying dead around it, as if they had been running out of it. Entering the still standing building, Kagome hesitantly said, "Grandmother Kiwako?" There was a roar from underneath a table and Kagome screamed as a rat demon jumped out, claws and fangs extended. It was stopped by Inuyasha, who caught it and threw it against the wall. Soon, other demons came out from under the table, behind the counter, from outside, and started attacking the two.
"Find your grandmother!" Inuyasha yelled above the noise, and swung his fist to knock seven more rat demons against the wall.
Kagome nodded and went into the kitchen. She saw her grandmother leaning against a wall, and her stomach churned. 'Kiwako isn't dead, is she?' The girl ran to her grandmother, and was blocked by an invisible barrier. "Gramma." she said, and to her relief, she saw the elderly woman open her eyes.
"Kagome?" Kiwako said unbelievingly, "You weren't killed?" The barrier disappeared, allowing Kagome to kneel next to her grandmother.
"I was so worried about you!" Kagome cried.
"There there.I'm unhurt." Kiwako said, and patted her granddaughter's shoulder.
"Grandma Kiwako!" another voice yelled, and they looked at the doorway to see Sango, who ran to them. "You're alive!"
"Of course I am, I have holy powers too! It's not like an old woman like me can't defend herself!" the grandmother muttered. "All of the demons are gone." That was more of a statement than a question. Kagome and Sango nodded.
"Lady Kagome, Lady Sango, could both of you help me assist the wounded? Inuyasha is chasing the other demons away.err...I mean he's killing them." Miroku said from the doorway. The girls stood up and after making sure their grandmother was safe, they exited the restaurant.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~
The next morning, all of the remaining villagers gave proper burial for the dead. Miroku calmly prayed in front of each grave, and the village girls placed a flower on each of the mounds. Sango didn't cry, but if anyone looked into eyes, they showed despair. Kagome stifled a sob, and not so subtly wiped a tear away from her eyes. She looked around for Inuyasha, who was nowhere to be seen, but he was probably sitting in a nearby tree, brooding on the fact that he was too slow at arriving to save the helpless.
By afternoon, all of the dead were buried and prayed for, and Miroku had left already. As Kagome sat next to the mound of a baby, she thought sadly, 'This one's probably the one I heard yesterday night.' Then a shadow loomed over her, and she turned around, startled at seeing who the owner of the shadow was.
"Are you the granddaughter of Kiwako?" the short and plump man asked. As Kagome stood up, she realized that he barely reached her nose.
"Uh.yes.and who are you?" she asked.
The plump man straightened his back, as if trying to appear taller, but he failed. He coughed and haughtily said, "I'm the landlord of your restaurant. Part of my house had been smashed by demons from the demon attack that took place yesterday. To pay for the rebuilding of my house, I am raising the rent for the restaurant."
Kagome was suddenly aback, she didn't think the landlord would be that mean. It was obvious that part of the restaurant was destroyed as well, so they had the same problem. "Eh.okay.raised by how much?"
The landlord looked at a piece of paper he had written on, and replied, "I'm raising the rent price by 5000 yen."
'That's half of what the wealthy people are offering for Sango and my capture!!' Kagome thought angrily. That greedy landlord, he couldn't pay to rebuild his home, so he's relying on the money from his tenants! She hid her anger and said, "We'll pay it." When the landlord nodded and turned to walk back to his home, Kagome stuck her tongue at his direction and glared.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Kagome told Sango what had happened, and the two told it to their grandmother. "We need to earn the money quickly.the end of the month is approaching." Kiwako said while pacing around the kitchen. After a few minutes of silence, she looked at her granddaughters and stated, "The only solution I can think of is making the restaurant smaller, but then we still won't be able to pay for the rent."
Kagome looked at Sango, who was looking at the setting sun. She was probably thinking the same thing as Kagome was: that they could steal from the wealthy again, and keep the money for themselves this time. Since they're about to be broke, that counted as being poor too, right? But no, Kiwako would think it was suspicious how her granddaughters quickly obtained money in a day. "You two can go to Shikon City to work. The lord of this province pays a large sum for his workers." Kiwako said.
"What? No! Grandmother, we need to stay with you! Who will tend the restaurant if we're gone?" Sango asked. She disliked the thought of leaving the village, where she had lived in for more than fifteen years.
"No, Sango, you and Kagome will both leave. I'll start cooking for the restaurant by myself. I'm not the slow old woman I seem to be." The grandmother gently told her, and tried to smile. "Now pack up, the two of you will be leaving tomorrow.no buts."
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
There! Finally done with Chapter 2! I haven't been doing nothing! ( I promise I won't change it anymore! Big thanks to Xenophile (who gave me lots of pokes to get me starting on this chapter) and Jazzy (who corrected all my grammar mistakes!)
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Sango gritted her teeth, but didn't strike the big man.
"Hehe.now let us tie you up. Extend your arms, girl!" a scrawny thief said while pulling a rope out of his pocket.
There was a yell, and Kagome dropped down from the roof behind old man's captor. Before he could react, Kagome took a hold on his sword hand, pushed it away from the old man's neck, and pulled the old man away from the leader's grasp. When the captor snarled and raised his sword, Kagome yanked her own sword from its sheath. She didn't want to wound the thief. She kept defending herself from the attacks and backing up until she bumped into something---a wall.
"Haha, DIE!" The thief yelled, and swung his sword. Kagome screamed and blocked it. The good thing was, she didn't get her head chopped off. The bad thing was, the thief was stronger than her, and was pushing his sword closer to her neck every second. There was nothing else she could do. Closing her eyes, she took out the hidden knife in her sleeve and jabbed it into the man's chest. The dead man fell on top of her, and she stifled a shriek.
The remaining thieves scrambled away, and Sango ran to Kagome. "You're not hurt, are you?" She asked as she pushed the corpse off of her cousin. Kagome weakly shook her head.
"I killed someone---I-I-I-didn't mean to." Kagome stuttered.
"I know you didn't, but you had no choice." Sango said comfortingly. Then she looked at the old man and asked him, "Could you tell me where you live? I would like to assist you home." The old man nodded gratefully and they walked to his home.
Before going in, the old man asked the girls, "Who are you? I would like to tell my family about my saviors."
'Saviors?' Sango thought, and suppressed a smile. 'Not when you're stealing from the wealthy'
"Tell them that we're angels from heaven." Kagome said.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
"Did you see that bitch? She killed Mukotsu!" One of the panting thieves said, leaning against a tree.
"Yeah! She killed him with a hidden dagger!" another thief declared.
"We need to tell the boss!" a third said.
"Why?" asked a fourth figure who emerged from the darkness.
"Bankotsu, Mukotsu was killed by another thief...a female! We were attacked by two thieves, and both fought like demons from hell!"
"Really?" was an amused voice. "Fine, Jakotsu, go to Shikon.alert Naraku."
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Since the old man told his friends and family about the 'Angels', the wealthy people heard the rumors and put up signs that offered 10,000 yen or more for the girls' capture. At first Kagome and Sango were amused by this, but after a few days, bounty hunters started arriving. The hunters stayed up during the night and made it more difficult for the cousins to go on their nighttime trips. The wealthy were robbed less often, and finally the number robbed per week went down to none at all.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
On a cloudy day, Kagome and Sango were sent out by their grandmother to get some food. They took their bow and arrows and went into the forest to get some deer. A little deeper in the woods, they found a lost man.
"Greetings, ladies, do you know where the nearest village is? I'm a messenger from Shikon City." the man dressed in velvet said.
"Oh, it's that way!" Kagome said, and pointed at the direction behind her. The messenger thanked her and bowed low before heading South.
"Well, that was strange, who in the village is important enough to get a messenger? I mean, the village chief hasn't gotten a letter from Shikon in almost three years." Sango remarked as they continued walking down the path. Kagome stopped abruptly and closed her eyes as if she was concentrating on something.
"What?" Sango asked, "Do you hear something?"
Kagome looked at her cousin with worried eyes, "No, but I sense demons, twenty or more.and they aren't the good type." She looked back at the village. "They're getting closer every minute." Sango didn't sense any demons, but she didn't doubt her cousin. The girls' ancestors were demon hunters---though Kagome's ancestors were mostly mikos. Kagome inherited the holy powers while Sango had received the exterminator's endurance and strength.
Sango frowned and said "Forget about hunting, we need to alert the villagers!" She grabbed Kagome's wrist and started running back to the village.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Inuyasha was half-listening to the messenger who was reading the letter to him. The messenger was sent by his mother, whose letters usually contained motherly advice.like how to be polite, to take a bath daily, how she missed her 'little boy', etc. His thoughts were interrupted when the messenger asked, "Well, Inuyasha-sama, what's your reply?"
"Eh?" Inuyasha was confused, his mother never asked questions in her letters. "What was the question?"
The messenger answered him, "She wants you to go back to Shikon City. Your brother, Lord Sesshomaru also wants you back."
"Sesshoumaru? Why the hell would he want me to come back?" Inuyasha asked scornfully.
"I'm not sure, but are you going back Inuyasha-sama?" the messenger asked. Inuyasha glared at him, and the messenger stepped back.
"Feh." Inuyasha crossed his arms, "I'll be back in a few days." The messenger nodded and sprinted out the back door.
"But sir!" he heard a feminine voice say, "I'm SURE they are arriving!" Inuyasha perked up his ears and listened intently to the conversation on the opposite side of the wall.
"Ladies, I don't have time for this.can't you see? I'm busy signing legal documents! Find someone else to tell your gossip! Anyway, you have no proof, and who's there to back you up? Surely no one would bother to listen to a pair of girls!" he heard his uncle say.
"They're demons though.arriving from the---"
"If you two don't leave right now, I will have to call the guards to take you away!" Inuyasha heard his uncle say. One of the girls sighed, and he heard footsteps retreating. He wondered who the girls were. His uncle was the village chief, and he got many visitors, but they were rarely women.
"We'll get the demons by ourselves then!" one of the girls whispered.
"Tonight in the forest.they'll be coming from that direction." The other girl said. They left the building and their voices were out of hearing range.
'Crazy girls.they can't even hurt a fly' he thought. If demons were really arriving, he would've smelled them by now.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
"And we're going to get them in the forest before they get to the village!" Kagome announced to Kiwako, who listened to the cousins' story.
The elderly woman nodded and told Sango, "Take care of your cousin. I'm not sure if I should let the both of you go.but you're grown up, and these are your own decisions." Kiwako said, and stood up from her sitting position. She walked into her room and came out with a large boomerang and placed it on the floor. While Sango and Kagome were looking interestedly at the boomerang, Kiwako went back to her room and took out bow and arrows.
"Kagome, you're the better archer, so I give you my old bow. The string stretches further, and the bow is made of demon bone, so it's more difficult to break. These arrows are sharper than the ones you used while hunting normal animals. The normal arrows will not be able to puncture the demon skin, but these will. I think I've taught you enough that you would be able to add some miko powers into the arrow as you shoot it." Kiwako explained to Kagome, who thanked her and picked up the bow and arrows.
"Sango, this boomerang is called the Hiraikotsu. It was used by your great grandmother. It 's made of demon bones, and is difficult to break. The strap---"she fingered the strap going down the boomerang, "is used for travel. You put it on your back so you don't need to hold it." Sango's eyes widened at the thought of being able to use the Hiraikotsu. She had seen and admired it in her grandmother's room ever since she arrived at the restaurant.
"Thank you. grandmother." Sango said. She lifted the boomerang and noticed that it was not too heavy nor too light. "I'll use it tonight."
"I'm sure you will. Don't forget your training." Kiwako looked at the setting sun and said. "I wish you two luck, though I'm sure you won't need it."
Sango nodded and walked to the door. She opened it and stepped out. Looking behind her, she said, "Kagome, let's go; the forest is very far and the sun has already set." Kagome, who was hugging her grandmother, pulled away from the hug and ran out the door with her bow in hand.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Miroku was disturbed from his meditating by sharp rapping on the door and a gruff voice calling, " Miroku! Open the damn door!" Sighing, he grabbed his staff, stood up, walked to the door and opened it. A clawed hand grabbed his arm and dragged Miroku out of the temple.
"Wha-what?" he asked, and he realized that they were approaching the forest. "Why are we going there?"
"I think some trouble is going to occur. I overheard some people talking to my uncle about some demons arriving at night. I thought they were lying until I smelled them a while ago. The demons are approaching." Inuyasha said. Miroku's confused expression turned grim, and he tightly gripped his staff.
"Then let's enter the forest." Miroku said, and walked in. Inuyasha ran ahead, and ducked behind the bushes, as if he was planning to ambush the demons. Suddenly, there was a yell, and something whizzed past his ear.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
They had reached the forest a little later. The pack of demons was nearing the edge of the forest.extremely close to the village. The two cousins decided to wait for them to appear in the large clearing. Sango unshouldered her boomerang and stared intently at the trees, where she was sure the demons would appear. She took a quick glance at Kagome, whose arrow was already fitted on her bow. The bushes rustled, and expecting a demon to come out, she yelled and threw her boomerang. It whizzed past the bushes and missed a shadowed figure. It twirled in the air and returned to her.
"You bitches! What did you throw that for? You missed Miroku's head by a foot!" was the familiar voice. Kagome's eyes widened with shock. From the bushes emerged Inuyasha and Miroku.
"Inuyasha! What are YOU doing here?" she asked, but she glanced around, as if expecting demons other than the hanyou to attack the group.
"Feh! I heard your conversation, dimwit! That's what you are, do you really think YOU could possibly beat---" his sentence was cut off when a roar came from behind him and a demon landed on the spot where he was. He would've been devoured had he not jumped out of the way. Miroku raised his staff and whacked the demon, and whipped out an ofuda charm. He placed it on the demon, who was instantly weakened.
Sango threw the Hiraikotsu at the demons behind the one Miroku had just finished off. She unsheathed the sword at her waist and ran ahead, prepared to strike at the other demons. They were all weak demons, who would die if cut in half. Which was easy to do, as their skin was soft and without shells. She didn't look back as she dragged her sword across the demons she ran by. When there were no more demons ahead, she turned around and surveyed the path of fallen demons-none of them moved. "I'm good" she thought.
Inuyasha didn't need to use swords. He slashed the enemy he saw with his claws, and continued onwards. He looked at Sango, and wondered how a mere village girl could be powerful enough to beat demons. Kagome wasn't that bad either. He saw many demons lying dead with arrows in them. He saw her string an arrow to fire it, and strangely, the arrow glowed a little pink. Then he saw movement behind the girl-a demon sneaking up on her.
"Kagome look out!" he yelled as he watched the girl look at the demon with wide eyes. But she didn't move. Before he knew it, Inuyasha had Kagome in his arms, carrying her to safety.
"Kyaaaaaaaa! Sango!" she screamed, thinking the demon got her. Inuyasha instinctively flattened his ears. A boomerang flew past his head, and came back at him. He ducked it, allowing it to get back to its owner.
"Let go of my cousin, you bastard!" Sango yelled. She frowned at the retreating youkai. This wasn't one of the weaker ones, and she couldn't identify him. Raising the Hiraikotsu, she prepared to throw it at the demon again. This time she wouldn't miss.
"Lady Sango, don't throw it," Miroku said as he hit away yet another demon. "It's Inuyasha, I'm sure of it." He concentrated on demons in a cluster, took out an ofuda, muttered some spells, and threw the ofuda at the group. Sango saw another demon and threw her boomerang at it. She watched it fall to the ground and twitch a bit. Finally it died, and she ran to retrieve her boomerang. When she got back to the clearing, she saw Miroku lying on the ground, and he seemed unconscious. Thinking he was wounded, she ran to him and knelt next to him.
"Miroku! You stupid monk! How did you get yourself wounded?" she asked. There weren't anymore demons around, so it was impossible anything could make him unconscious. Then she felt a hand rubbing her rear, and her face turned red.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~
"There are no more demons around." Kagome stated as she jumped out of Inuyasha's arms.
"Feh! No thanks to you!" Inuyasha replied. He surveyed the clearing and noticed the dead demons. Sango was killing the last one, and out of the corner of his eye, he watched Miroku lie down onto the ground. 'Stupid bouzou, what is he trying to do now?' The dog-hanyou thought.
"Well, at least I got a few of the demons! How was I supposed to know one was about to attack me from behind?" Kagome yelled at him, breaking his concentration.
"You should've been more alert then! You almost got yourself killed!" Inuyasha retorted.
'He was worried about me?' Kagome thought---she was surprised. "Well thank you for saving me then." she said.
"You---" Inuyasha was about to insult her again, but quickly stopped himself. He didn't think she would thank him. He felt his face turning red, and he turned around so she couldn't see him.
Kagome heard a slap and turned around to see Sango walking away from Miroku. Her face was red, and Miroku had a nice handprint on his face.
"Kagome, are all the demons gone?" Sango asked.
"If they aren't, we would still be fighting, right? They've run away." Kagome answered.
"Lady Kagome, which way did the demons retreat?" Miroku questioned her, his face looked worried.
Kagome pointed south of the forest, "They went that---oh my gosh! That's the village!" She ran out of the clearing and towards the village. "They might've gone there to raid the village! We need to get there fast!" An arm went around her waist, and she was raised above the ground. "Inuyasha?" she asked, unsure who was holding her.
"Who else? Don't' get the wrong idea; I'm only carrying you because you run too slow!" The hanyou said.
As they approached the village, Kagome felt a pang of guilt. While she and Inuyasha were arguing, the demons had been attacking and ransacking the village. Now buildings lay in destruction, collapsed pieces of wood, and blood everywhere. She heard a baby cry from somewhere, but she couldn't tell where the cries came from. Then she remembered her grandmother. "Inuyasha! Please take me to the restaurant! I need to save my grandma!" Without replying, he started running again and soon approached the restaurant. It seemed fine, besides the fact that many villagers were lying dead around it, as if they had been running out of it. Entering the still standing building, Kagome hesitantly said, "Grandmother Kiwako?" There was a roar from underneath a table and Kagome screamed as a rat demon jumped out, claws and fangs extended. It was stopped by Inuyasha, who caught it and threw it against the wall. Soon, other demons came out from under the table, behind the counter, from outside, and started attacking the two.
"Find your grandmother!" Inuyasha yelled above the noise, and swung his fist to knock seven more rat demons against the wall.
Kagome nodded and went into the kitchen. She saw her grandmother leaning against a wall, and her stomach churned. 'Kiwako isn't dead, is she?' The girl ran to her grandmother, and was blocked by an invisible barrier. "Gramma." she said, and to her relief, she saw the elderly woman open her eyes.
"Kagome?" Kiwako said unbelievingly, "You weren't killed?" The barrier disappeared, allowing Kagome to kneel next to her grandmother.
"I was so worried about you!" Kagome cried.
"There there.I'm unhurt." Kiwako said, and patted her granddaughter's shoulder.
"Grandma Kiwako!" another voice yelled, and they looked at the doorway to see Sango, who ran to them. "You're alive!"
"Of course I am, I have holy powers too! It's not like an old woman like me can't defend herself!" the grandmother muttered. "All of the demons are gone." That was more of a statement than a question. Kagome and Sango nodded.
"Lady Kagome, Lady Sango, could both of you help me assist the wounded? Inuyasha is chasing the other demons away.err...I mean he's killing them." Miroku said from the doorway. The girls stood up and after making sure their grandmother was safe, they exited the restaurant.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~
The next morning, all of the remaining villagers gave proper burial for the dead. Miroku calmly prayed in front of each grave, and the village girls placed a flower on each of the mounds. Sango didn't cry, but if anyone looked into eyes, they showed despair. Kagome stifled a sob, and not so subtly wiped a tear away from her eyes. She looked around for Inuyasha, who was nowhere to be seen, but he was probably sitting in a nearby tree, brooding on the fact that he was too slow at arriving to save the helpless.
By afternoon, all of the dead were buried and prayed for, and Miroku had left already. As Kagome sat next to the mound of a baby, she thought sadly, 'This one's probably the one I heard yesterday night.' Then a shadow loomed over her, and she turned around, startled at seeing who the owner of the shadow was.
"Are you the granddaughter of Kiwako?" the short and plump man asked. As Kagome stood up, she realized that he barely reached her nose.
"Uh.yes.and who are you?" she asked.
The plump man straightened his back, as if trying to appear taller, but he failed. He coughed and haughtily said, "I'm the landlord of your restaurant. Part of my house had been smashed by demons from the demon attack that took place yesterday. To pay for the rebuilding of my house, I am raising the rent for the restaurant."
Kagome was suddenly aback, she didn't think the landlord would be that mean. It was obvious that part of the restaurant was destroyed as well, so they had the same problem. "Eh.okay.raised by how much?"
The landlord looked at a piece of paper he had written on, and replied, "I'm raising the rent price by 5000 yen."
'That's half of what the wealthy people are offering for Sango and my capture!!' Kagome thought angrily. That greedy landlord, he couldn't pay to rebuild his home, so he's relying on the money from his tenants! She hid her anger and said, "We'll pay it." When the landlord nodded and turned to walk back to his home, Kagome stuck her tongue at his direction and glared.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Kagome told Sango what had happened, and the two told it to their grandmother. "We need to earn the money quickly.the end of the month is approaching." Kiwako said while pacing around the kitchen. After a few minutes of silence, she looked at her granddaughters and stated, "The only solution I can think of is making the restaurant smaller, but then we still won't be able to pay for the rent."
Kagome looked at Sango, who was looking at the setting sun. She was probably thinking the same thing as Kagome was: that they could steal from the wealthy again, and keep the money for themselves this time. Since they're about to be broke, that counted as being poor too, right? But no, Kiwako would think it was suspicious how her granddaughters quickly obtained money in a day. "You two can go to Shikon City to work. The lord of this province pays a large sum for his workers." Kiwako said.
"What? No! Grandmother, we need to stay with you! Who will tend the restaurant if we're gone?" Sango asked. She disliked the thought of leaving the village, where she had lived in for more than fifteen years.
"No, Sango, you and Kagome will both leave. I'll start cooking for the restaurant by myself. I'm not the slow old woman I seem to be." The grandmother gently told her, and tried to smile. "Now pack up, the two of you will be leaving tomorrow.no buts."
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
There! Finally done with Chapter 2! I haven't been doing nothing! ( I promise I won't change it anymore! Big thanks to Xenophile (who gave me lots of pokes to get me starting on this chapter) and Jazzy (who corrected all my grammar mistakes!)