Inuyasha X
Chapter 17
"Approaching"
By MEGAMANX411
The group slept in from their long night of talking, with the exception of Inuyasha. He was up earlier training diligently with his sword, while Mega Man X was sitting outside, partially meditating. X sat in the morning sunlight, the brightness of the sun reflecting off of his armor. Zero was beside Inuyasha, also honing his fighting skills. Kagome and the rest just made their way out of bed at that time, and prepared for the next day ahead of them. Mega Man X was trying to assess their plan. X rubbed his chin.
"So, what possible plans of action do we have at the moment?" he asked.
Zero shook his head slowly.
"It would seem we are at a loss," he replied. "Not only is Naraku's location unknown entirely, but there haven't been any leads either."
Kagome then remembered the letter that Naraku left.
"Well, you know what Naraku said in that letter..." she reminded them.
Miroku nodded.
"Yes, it would seem as though we don't have much traveling to do, as Naraku seems to be coming after us finally," he replied.
Inuyasha crossed his arms in defiance.
"Well good, I prefer a straight fight instead of all this deception!" he boasted.
Zero breathed deeply as he thought for a moment.
"Well, what steps can we take at this point?" he asked. "It seems as though Naraku could come at any time, from any direction. How are we supposed to prepare?"
Sango shrugged.
"I think training and honing our skills for the coming battle is pretty much the extent of what we can do," she replied. "Sorry to say it, but we don't have many options. We may as well be prepared instead of fatigued from traveling."
The group was pretty much at a loss. It seemed all they could do now was wait for the approaching disaster that was undoubtedly headed their way. All they could do know was discuss what could possibly be coming. X then remembered the "battle data" that Naraku mentioned in the letter.
"Well, he said something about battle data," he said in a worried tone. "I wonder what Naraku will use that for?"
Zero closed his eyes tight, and then crossed his arms as he thought about it.
"I don't believe it's for Naraku..." he stated.
Sango's eyes widened a little at the sentiment.
"You don't?" she asked.
Zero shook his head.
"No, I think it's something else," he replied. "From what I've gathered about Naraku thus far, I can conclude that he probably won't fight on his own."
Inuyasha narrowed his eyes at the mention of his nemesis.
"Yeah, he's too much of a coward," he spat.
Kagome looked back at Zero.
"So, what's it gonna be for?" she asked.
Zero looked past Kagome, as if he were staring at something in the distance.
"There must be a way back to my world," he murmured. "And if that portal is still open, then that means Naraku might be able to collect things from the other side, including reploids for his dirty work."
Sango seemed a little shocked.
"So you think he'll create an army of reploids?" she asked worriedly.
X's eyes widened.
"That's not it..." he objected. "He's going to use our battle data to make an army of super-powerful reploids..."
Zero nodded slowly.
"That would seem to be the case..." he muttered.
Miroku didn't want to worry the group too much.
"I don't know if we can jump to such conclusions yet," he replied rationally. "How do you know reploids would willingly come to this side? It would take a while for Naraku to assemble an entire reploid army, wouldn't it?"
X forced a smile.
"Well, yeah, I guess it would" he admitted.
Shippo looked back at the group worriedly.
"So then what's Naraku gonna do?" he asked.
Zero shrugged.
"I have no clue..." he whispered.
X placed a hand on his chin as he thought for a moment.
"But our battle data," he began. "What if he didn't get the full extent of our powers?"
A thought immediately popped into Zero's head as X uttered those words.
"X, you're a genius!" he praised. "I think Naraku isn't done yet. He's gonna want to come collect the rest of the battle data."
Inuyasha looked at Zero curiously.
"But I fought pretty hard in my fight!" he objected.
Zero nodded.
"As did I!" he replied. "But you've forgotten about X."
Inuyasha shrugged.
"What about him?" he asked.
Zero shook his head.
"You've completely neglected X's special powers," he replied. "X has a huge amount of potential, and he didn't show it all during his fight. Naraku no doubt hungers for more."
X's eyes widened at the thought.
"Y-y-you think that's it??" he asked, sounding slightly frightened.
X was slightly disgusted at the fact that someone wanted to get him to fight for his own personal gain. He didn't want to be part of some twisted experiment. X looked down to the ground, and gritted his teeth. Since coming here, he's been really aggravated with this Naraku. He found him to be a sickening excuse for a person, and those kind of thoughts are rare for X.
"Naraku...I will destroy you," he muttered.
Kagome smiled and patted him on the back.
"You can take it easy X, we'll be beside you!" she comforted.
X was slightly taken aback. He had gotten accustomed to being a kind of lonely warrior.
"Thank...thank you," he replied with a smile.
Just then, a mysterious figure approached.
"A touching moment X," he teased.
Inuyasha's eyes widened as he saw the person.
"You!!" he shouted.
