Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters from Inuyasha, the television show
or the graphic novels.
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Chapter Four
Face-to-Face with the Nightmare
"Kagome..." I can hear him... calling me... he's hurt...
Kagome was lost in a world of shadows. Nothing was stable. Everything
seemed fake, becoming dust and blowing away whenever she got close, like
Shihya had when...
But I can't think about that now.... The only thing Kagome knew was that
Inuyasha was in this godsforsaken place. He needed her. "I'm coming," she called,
her voice echoing strangely in the emptiness. Inuyasha, where are you.....
"Kagome." She spun around. Inuyasha was there, looking back at her. He
was wounded badly, his chest and stomach were bleeding freely.
"Inuyasha, you're hurt-"
He cut her off. "That's not important anymore.. I just... I needed to tell
you that-"
"You snore."
"SIT BOY!!!!"
Kagome's shout echoed through the forest. That, coupled with the
sound of Inuyasha falling face-first into the dirt, and the sound of his swearing
at Kagome, followed by several more "sits" was enough to wake up everyone
within a five-mile radius.
Amaya groaned and rubbed the side of her head. "Damn…." She
muttered. "Couldn't this have waited until later? For example, when it's
light out?"
She was ignored, of course. Shippo sat down next to her. "Don't
bother. I've seen them go on like this for days."
"How long is it going to take for them to see what's right in front
of their eyes?"
Shippo just shrugged and went back to watching the fight, his eyes
gleaming with amusement.
"PERVERT!!!" They turned to see an enraged Sango glowering at
Miroku, who had a large, red hand-shaped bruise on his face. "LECHEROUS
MONK!!!"
"I swear, Lady Sango, I don't know what happened. My hand
must have slipped, and-"
"HAH!!!" Sango stormed away, muttering to herself.
"Sango, wait-" Miroku got to his feet and chased after her.
Amaya slowly turned to face Shippo. The young fox demon's
face was frozen in shock, his mouth hanging open.
They both turned back to Inuyasha and Kagome, who were still
arguing at the top of their lungs, obviously not noticing the conflict between
Sango and Miroku.
"WHAT THE HELL DID YOU DO THAT FOR??!!!"
"LIKE YOU HAVE TO ASK! YOU'RE SUCH AN IDIOT!!!"
"WHAT DID YOU SAY?!"
"IDIOT!!!! IDIOTIDIOTIDIOT!!!"
"STUPID WENCH!!!"
"MORON!!!!"
"BITCH!!!"
"SIT, SIT, SIT!"
"OW!!! DAMN YOU!"
"Uh…." Amaya turned back to Shippo. "Are things always this….
interesting with them?"
Shippo gave her a dark look. "You should see them when
they really start fighting."
"Shippo?"
"Yeah?"
"Sometimes I think you're the most mature person here."
"Amaya?"
"What?"
"Popcorn?"
Amaya wandered over to the stream she'd run to the night before, still chuckling to herself. It is true, though, she thought to herself, amused. Compared to them, Shippo is the only mature one there.
That 'popcorn' stuff was really good, though. It made her wonder what else Kagome's world had to offer. The future? What is Japan like in the future, anyway? She thought. She'd tried asking Kagome, but all she got was a, "Um, well, you know, it's got like cars, and television, and… machines."
What the hell was a 'television'?!
She shook her head. Kagome's world must be weird.
Her musings were interrupted by the sound of footsteps. She looked up. A child's footsteps, sounded like. Someone with light footsteps was coming this way, right for her. No, that was wrong. Whoever it was was skipping. And singing. Definitely a child.
A small girl emerged into the clearing before her, stopping short when she saw the stranger. She looked about four or five, and was wearing a rather tattered dress.
"Hello," Amaya said kindly, not wanting to alarm the girl. "What brings a young girl like you all the way out here? It's dangerous to wander alone, you know."
The girl relaxed, hearing the friendly tone to Amaya's voice. "I'm not alone," she said cheerfully. "My lord is nearby."
Amaya smiled. What an adorable girl. "I'm glad. My name is Amaya, what's yours?"
"I'm Rin," she said brightly.
Amaya frowned. Rin… wasn't that the name of the little human girl who followed Inuyasha's brother around? Half-brother, she added silently.
"I must be going, my lord will be worried about me," added Rin, before skipping off to find her "lord".
"Wait," said Amaya, suddenly concerned for the child's safety. From what she had heard about Sesshomaru, she guessed that he was a very dangerous demon. Why would a human girl be following him? What was he going to do to her, anyway?
"Rin!" she called, but the girl was already out of hearing range. Amaya cursed and got to her feet, chasing after the girl.
It wasn't really a problem tracking her. She could now clearly hear the child skipping and singing ahead of her. "Rin!" She called again, but got no answer. "Damnit!"
She finally heard the girl stop, so she quickened her pace and almost slammed into her when she did catch up. "Rin, didn't you hear me? Listen, it's about your lord. I think that-"
She stopped short. Standing right in front of her, his eyes narrowed, hand on the hilt of his sword, was a demon that must be none other than Sesshomaru.