Arpil 25-26 & 29-30, 2004
Nube
by Goddess of Anime
Disclaimer: I don't own Inu-Yasha... yet. *holds up a prayer bead neclace and grins evilly* Here doggie, doggie, doggie! Come here....
Here's something that I always preach about: If it's a real fic (with chapters) it'll be at least 60 pages long. And I bet that all of you can guess that that's how much I'm striving for. Hope you like this chapter! It's longer and all of you get to see Sesshy! And I have no clue what to do with Shippou so I'm going to pretend that they brought him back to the Kaede to keep him protected and all that jazz. I'm sorry! I love Shippou more than anyone (if he were real I would have adopted him in half a heart-beat) but I don't know what to do. If you do, tell me!
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Scroll 7: To the West
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Never had she felt such pain. She tried to open her eyes, but as soon as they opened... down they drooped, nearly shut. Why can't I see clearly? she thought, trying to look through the rusty haze. A cut in her forearm was still bleeding sluggishly. This was the least of her problems. What she needed to do was figure out where she was and what happened.
Reluctantly she closed her eyes rooted through her memory. She got nothing. Nothing came up that signified what had happened earlier that day. Why can't I remember? She felt a stab of panic and fear. Maybe I'm like my namesake, frail and stupid. An insane grin painfully spread across her face. She corrected herself. Frail, yeah. But not STUPID.
Crunching of dry grass roused her. Opening her eyes, pain shooting into her head, she saw a faint shape of a little girl. "Are you okay?" the girl sincerely asked. Even though her mouth felt grainy and her lips were cracked she managed to reply hoarsely, "Not really." A male voice beckoned the little girl.
Turning the little girl yelled back, "Rin found a girl! She's all cut up!" So Rin's her name, she thought. What a sweet little girl. Strong arms lifted her up, but she was too worn out to revolt. Dark and murky colours danced in and out of her vision in the haze before it enveloped her consciousness.
"Are you sure this's the right way?" Kagome asked, gulping in large quantities of air. Miroku shrugged.
"Not a clue."
Several groans and oaths came flying out of their mouths. "Miroku, do you know the half things you do?" queried Sango. Miroku shook his head, grinning like the idiot he is. Sango gave him a sharp look.
"Don't you try."
"Try what?" he asked innocently.
"You know perfectly well what I mean, asshole."
"Watch your mouth, Sango. That's very unlady-like."
"I'll show you unlady-like!" she yelled, flipping her hiraikotsu off her back.
Miroku ran up the steep hill for all he was worth, trying desperately to avoid the wrath of the skilled taiji. He didn't stand a chance. Before the monk hit the ground she managed his kick his butt once. Then, like as if nothing happened she adjusted the hiraikotsu and walked past him without a word. "She's capable to do worse," Kagome whispered. Inu-Yasha nodded in agreement. Daringly Kagome called out, "Aren't you going to help him up?"
Sango stopped, thinking it over a moment. "Can't you?"
Inu-Yasha, not thinking -this was something that was going to get him into serious trouble someday- said, "Aren't you his wench?"
Eyes flashing Sango flung the hiraikotsu at Inu-Yasha's head. Kagome sighed and hoisted Miroku to an upright position. No sooner that Miroku had gotten to feet he was lying face-down, sporting a burning-red hand print across his left cheek an a bruise on the crown of his head.
Sango and Inu-Yasha doubled over in laughter. Kagome huffed, snapping the hair band out of her hair. "He deserved it. And more." Sango slapped her hand over her mouth, breathing noisily through her fingers. Inu-Yasha, by pure accident, stumbled into her. This released her suppressed laughter. Kagome's own lips twitched into a smile.
Inu-Yasha loomed over Miroku, looking so serious that it sent Kagome and Sango into a fit of giggles. He then, as serious as he looked, said, "Miroku, kissing the ground is my job alone, and yours is groping womens' asses. If you want to swap jobs, I'll be happy to."
"Not a chance in hell," Miroku grunted, rolling over onto his back. Inu-Yasha gripped Miroku's wrist and yanked him up. "You're acting like your normal self."
Miroku muttered a few vulgar oaths under his breath, walking down the hill. Kagome shrugged and pulled her jacket around her tighter. Her jacket didn't make her feel any warmer so she knew that they were close.
Slender fingers curled around soft material. Uncertainly her eye-lids fluttered open. A harsh light blinded her temporarily. "Where am I?" she asked aloud. Slowly she sat up and surveyed her surroundings. The room was very nice, a little run-down but not so bad that it was obvious.
Eager footsteps ran towards the room and skidded to stop as it turned. Her head whipped around as she looked to see what had caused it. The thing that was running was the same little girl. Rin, if she remembered correctly. Rin ran forward and tripped over a wooden bowl.
Gasping she took Rin into her arms, placing her onto her lap. "Oh! Are you okay, sweetie?" she asked, smoothing Rin's raven-black hair. Rin nodded and gave her new companion a smile. "Rin's okay!" Rin then gently poked at the bandage, eyebrows knitted in concern. "You aren't okay." She gasped. "Are you going to die?!" Tears sprang into her gorgeous eyes.
Arms still around Rin she shook her head. "I'm better now. Thanks to you. You saved me," she whispered, tapping Rin's nose. Rin smiled proudly and tightly hugged the other girl. "Rin is glad you are not going to die." Her expression turned solemn. "Sesshy is worried. He won't talk to Rin." She looked glum.
Up went those eyebrows and puzzled went that face. "Who's 'Sesshy'?"
A figure loomed over her. "I am."
Rin sprang up. "Sesshou-maru!" she squealed, hugging his mid-section. "The girl's okay! She isn't going to die! And she said that Rin is the reason she isn't dead." Sesshou-maru looked at Rin with affection and ushered her out of the room. His eyes turned cold as he turned to the injured girl.
The odd thing was that she didn't seem to see the ice, either that or she was doing a pretty good job of pretending not to see it. "Her name's Rin, correct? She's such a sweet child," she commented softly. "No offense to you, Sesshou-maru, but is she yours?" She continued on. "I didn't really think so. But you seem fond of her. Like a father." Her blue eyes grew soft and distant.
She took a good look at him. He had long silvery hair and a fringe got into the way of his pure golden eyes. Magenta markings ran across his cheekbones, striking against his deathly pale face. An air of dignified self-confidence and royality hung nicely around him. What had her drawn in, though, was the cascade of emotions that he was trying to shield behind a wall of frigit ice. Just like me....
"I am not taken to offense," he replied politely. "What I would like to know is your name."
"You may call me Butterfly," she replied, giving him a shy-yet-friendly smile. Suddenly worry lines appeared between her eyebrows and her lips tugged downwards. "Say, could you tell me where I am and how I got to where I was?"
Sesshou-maru was unable to hide his surprise.
"You don't remember?"
Butterfly shook her head and bit her lower lip.
"I don't know what happened earlier that day."
She paused and then asked, "Would you search through my memories?"
Once more this girl, a pitiful mortal, had caught him off guard. "How do you know of such things?"
Butterfly laughed. Her laugh sounded disgustingly pleasant.
"Do you really think that I'm some silly girl who knows naught of the dangers around her? Why you don't you try to probe my mind forcefully."
Sesshou-maru crouched, still looking dignified, pressed his center and fore-finger against her temple. He sent a small amount of mental energy, knowing that this would be a simple task. Instead of breaking through easily he was parried by an equal amount of energy. "Is that all you got?" a husky voice taunted mirthlessly. Sesshou-maru gave a slight frown and passed along more. Again he was parried, but with the same amount of energy. She was toying with him!
He felt a whip passing through his miasma and into his memories, picking them apart. It settled down and just, in a way, absorbed them. Sesshou-maru severed the contact. He looked at her with angered amazement.
But Butterfly was oblivious to his scary look. Tears had glued her eyelashes together. Oh, Kami, how much pain has Sesshou-maru been through? she asked silently. She wiped her eyes and looked at the ceiling, counting the few cracks in them. "Um, I think Rin is calling for you."
"So she is," he murmured. And on cue came a running Rin. "Sesshou-maru! Inu-Yasha has come with the monk and Miss Kagome," she announced, pink-cheeked and winded. Sesshou-maru scowled and walked past the door.
"Wait!" Butterfly cried out desperately. Sesshou-maru turned back to her. Butterfly fiddled with the border of the blanket and stuttered, "How can I repay you? I will do whatever you wish, just allow me to stay until I know what has happened to my traveling partner."
Rin looked at Butterfly and then to Sesshou-maru.
"Fine. You may stay."
Blinking, Sango asked, "Why'd she run off?" Kagome rubbed her upper arms and shivered noticeably. "That's Rin. A servant of Sesshou-maru's. We're almost there."
Inu-Yasha moved closer towards Kagome, his arm brushing hers. Sango nudged Miroku, jerking her head towards the two. Miroku's eyes widened in fear and he shook his head vigorously. Sango tilted her head down slightly, staring him down. Again, he shook his head and stared at the ground. Lightly, if that's what you could call it, she smacked the side of his head.
While the two of them where bickering silently through gestures and looks Inu-Yasha tentatively asked Kagome a few questions. "Are you okay?" Kagome nodded. "Are you... upset?" Kagome shrugged. "Do you want... to stay here?" Kagome stopped walking, allowing Sango and Miroku to crash into her back.
"Um, I think we're here...." Kagome said uncertainly. The house wasn't what you could call small, but it wasn't big either. But it had a certain elegant balance between all the emotions surrounding it so all was forgiven. Almost.
The only one that was unaffected by it's awesome miasma was Inu-Yasha. Sword at the ready, kept untransformed, he rushed towards the shrine-like home. "Sit," Kagome breathed, watching him fall face-first into the grass. "What the hell was that for?!" he yelled, brushing off flecks of dirt. Kagome placed her hands on her hips. "Don't you think we should go in with a plan? What if you two start a fight again?"
"I'm not THAT stupid!"
"Last time you said that you were covered in gashes from Tokijin."
"But I came out alive, didn't I?"
"Only because you were lucky enough for it have been so close to dawn and that Tetsusaiga was fixed."
"But I made it out alive."
"Yeah. I know. And the one I had to thank for you making out alive was Toutou-sai!"
Inu-Yasha frowned, still not swayed. "I'm still alive, aren't I?"
Kagome screamed in frustration. Sango and Miroku sighed in defeat. Any hope for the two of them was now diminished to a grain of sand. "Let's go," Sango muttered. Kagome stormed ahead of them, sending chills of pure anger through-out the air. Miroku looked at her and then at Sango. "She has more nerve than I expected." Sango smiled knowingly and nudged him ahead.
Even though all of them knew that Kagome had a lot of sense but right now she seemed to have the common sense of an ant.
A sigh of relief rose from Butterfly. Rin cried out happily and collapsed next to Butterfly. Butterfly stood up, legs shaky. "Rin, do you know where I can get clean clothes?" Rin nodded and ran out of them and shortly returned with a bundle of clean clothes. Butterfly frowned.
"Are these Sesshou-maru's?"
Rin nodded and placed them on the bed. Butterfly sighed and figured a way to fit the over-sized haori. She tried to do something with the pants but it simply refused to cooperate.
"Thanks, Rin. What do you say that we go outside and play? Hn?"
Rin sighed and her shoulders sagged.
"Sesshy won't allow Rin to go outside when Inu-Yasha comes."
"But you're going to be with me, Rin. I'm sure he won't mind."
"What if Sesshy gets mad at Rin?"
"He won't. He'll get mad at me."
Rin looked bewildered.
"Rin doesn't want Sesshy to get mad at Butterfly!"
Butterfly snorted and grasped Rin's hand, crouching so that they were at eye level. "Rin, while I'm here you're my responsibility too. If he gets mad, so be it. I won't hold it against him or you. So, please, stop worrying. Nothing will happen while I'm around. I promise."
As soon as Rin had reluctantly agreed to go outside with Butterfly they heard a few obscenities being yelled and then glass breaking. Butterfly groaned and dragged the stunned Rin outside. "Is it always like this?" she asked. Rin shook her head mutely. What joy.
Kagome covered her eyes in embarrassment. Why she even cared whether or not it was embarrassing, especially in this time, or why it bothered her was beyond her. He had no communication skills. At least, none that she knew of. "Inu-Yasha...." she warned.
It seemed like it was up to her once again to take charge of the situation. "We really need your help." She shot a warning glance at Inu-Yasha. "Will you?"
"What's in it for me?" Sesshou-maru asked, keeping his calm composure. Kagome looked at Sango uncertainly, who nodded curtly. "We'll do whatever you want."
"What?!" Inu-Yasha burst out, shooting an accusing look at Kagome. Kagome ignored him. "But I have a few conditions. I can't give you Tetsusaiga, I can't kill Inu-Yasha, and I can't give you the Shikon no Tama."
The monk and hanyou looked at Kagome curiously. What had Sango and Kagome discussed without them?
Sesshou-maru thought this over, then agreed on her conditions. The tension in the air went slack. "Thank you," Kagome murmured. All of them left, still silent despite the change of weather. Kagome opened her mouth as if she was ready to say something then closed it and opened it again. "Are any of you scared?"
"Yeah," Sango said, sounding relieved. Inu-Yasha snorted in disbelief. Kagome glared at him. "Don't tell me that you think that this'll be an easy task. Naraku is more dangerous than he looks." Again, Inu-Yasha snorted.
Raising his shakujo Miroku whacked the crown of Inu-Yasha's head. "I thought you said you weren't that stupid." He shrugged. Sango redid her hair, looking a little nervous. "Maybe we should settle down somewhere. And soon. There's something terrible coming."
Kagome agreed. "Yeah. I feel it too. I think it's following us. And it has a Shikon shard!"
Inu-Yasha's ears perked up. "Where?" Kagome leapt on his back, pointing due north. "That way." That was all that was needed. Sango and Miroku jumped onto Kirara's back.
The aura was of a demon's, but nothing was amiss in it. Nothing was clouding it, making it murky like it normally would have. It felt familiar.... Inu-Yasha scowled. He knew who it was. Though he wouldn't admit it, knowing that this particular demon was nearby it made him a little scared. He glanced at Kagome and then ahead. It was only because of her that this demon wasn't dead yet.
"Oh, jeez...." Kagome groaned. "Inu-Yasha, don't think of it."
"I won't kill him. But you can't make me stop thinking about it."
"That's how I know you care."
Inwardly Inu-Yasha frowned. If only there was another way....
~*~
It's 11:11 and I've finally finished this God-forsaken chapter! I had a huge math test that I studyed for (blew it, btw). We were only given one night of studying and now they're shovelling homework on us expecting us to understand everything in the freakin' programme. Honestly. What are they thinking? It's been a rotten week so make my day and leave me little note.
PEACE. *SMOOCH* LOVE YA ALL!
nube = hell
Kami = in the Sengoku-jidai period this was what they called God