Chapter 33
One week later....
The group had gotten to the gorge. There in the hill above was rumored to be the home of Naraku.
"This is it. We'll camp here tonight." Inuyasha spoke. "In the morning we can make our way up into the mountains.
Sango and Miroku knew of these mountains but had not yet ventured into them.
"They are full of monsters and demons." Miroku explained. "Some are only distractions created by Naraku. But all are deadly. Naraku's magic has grown over the years. He may have gotten hold of a few of the Shaikon jewel shards. We are going to have to be extra careful."
"Naraku also creates dream traps that can lock you in a deep sleep." Sango told Sesshoumaru. "You dream of battles and believe you are awake. But you are sleeping and vulnerable to attack. It's not something you can just wake up from. Kagome is the only one I know of who is not affected by this magic. I don't understand why."
Sesshoumaru looked over at Kagome. 'She looked like such a weak girl and wasn't very good at handling pain. What was this magic she had?' He thought 'She had produced a full demon son. When she is human and Inuyasha half human. The old woman had told him of some magic that Kagome possessed. He had not seen her use it save to control his brother with the sit spell.' He wondered.
Turning his attention to the matters at hand. "How do we defend against this dream trap? Is there not some warning to look for?" Sesshoumaru knew that most demons liked to toy with their victims, often telling them their plans before taking any action.
"Naraku isn't like that, he's sneaky. He is always going behind and never showing himself. But don't be fooled. He is no coward. He just prefers to let others do his dirty work while he watches." Inuyasha told his brother. "I've tried to catch this guy for a while. He won't be easy."
Inuyasha wanted to have a plan going into the mountains. He'd been caught unaware before by Naraku's magic and trickery. He wasn't about to do that again. "How do we get up there without showing ourselves? Any ideas. Sesshoumaru, you the strategist here, any thoughts on how we can get up there?"
"These diversions of his. Tell me more about them. Do they carry the scent of a full demon?"
"Sometimes they do and Kagome sometimes can sense them but not always." Miroku explained. "There is one thing that may work in our favor though.
Naraku, not being a true demon can't scent us very well. And with Sugumi smelling neither like a demon nor human, he may be able to slip past and scout the place out for us.
"No!" Katame had heard every word. "You are not using a mere boy to do your dirty work. I won't let you put the children at such risk. Sugumi may well be a full demon in disguise but he is too young and inexperienced to do what you ask. How will he know a trap so as to avoid it? Hmmm... Any of you brave warriors want to tell me that?"
Miroku was a bit of a fool sometimes. He underestimated Katame's resolve.
"Don't be a fool woman. He is a demon, he will have his natural instincts and he has been trained. He'll be fine. You worry too much. Go and cook something leave the planning to those who know what their doing."
"Yeeeowwww." Katame had him by the hair and had her sword at his throat.
"What did you say?" She pressed the sword against his neck. "I haven't been living in a demon's home for this long and not learned something. Don't you ever presume to order me around, Miroku! I may have to take it from the demons in the house, but I don't accept it from a mere human. Especially a stupid little man like you. Do I make myself clear?"
Miroku could only manage a cough in response to her threat. Katame released the monk and stormed off.
"Whoa, were did that come from?" Miroku rubbed his neck.
"You threatened the children, even if it is not her own child. She will rip you apart if she thinks you harbor any ill will toward the kids." Sesshoumaru was pleased with his wife. He had noted with satisfaction the speed at which she had moved, and the deadliness of her threat. She had learned well and would be quite capable of defending herself should the need arise.
Inuyasha had not seen this part of Katame before. He looked at the young woman as she busied herself with the various tasks associated with camp life. Maybe being surrounded by a bunch of battle-hardened demons has taken its toll on the woman.
She didn't like Miroku. He wasn't sure why. He decided to ask her.
"Katame." Inuyasha came up behind her and took her by the arm. "I need to talk to you."
Katame was a little worried. She had come on strong with Inuyasha's friend and was sure he would have more than just a few words for her. She trembled a little as he guided her away from the group.
"What's wrong Katame? You never act like that."
She looked up at his eyes. They were gold so at least he wasn't going to hit her. She relaxed a little.
"I'm sorry I acted like that, but I don't like him thinking that those boys are ready to fight on their own like that. I don't trust him. He keeps looking at Kagome and me funny. Do you trust him Inuyasha?"
He was a bit taken back by this. His friend had fought with him many times over the years. Of course he trusted him. But Katame had noticed him looking at her. Miroku was known to like to look at women and touch them if he could get the chance.
"He hasn't tried to do anything.... I mean he hasn't touched you has he?" Inuyasha would have to talk to his friend. He knew his brother Sesshoumaru would cut out his heart if he thought Miroku had any intentions toward his wife.
"Touched? Oh no, I would tell Sesshoumaru right away if he had. It's just the way he is always watching us. I can't trust him. And now he wants Sugumi to fly into that dangerous man-demon's territory without any help. What if he gets caught in one of his traps? If the monk is afraid to go why would he want to send a boy?"
"I wont let Sugumi go alone. You know I wouldn't ever let my son go into something like this without any help. I will be going with him. And I will take Kagome with me. She seems immune to his spells." He brushed Katame's hair away from her face. "Don't worry I can protect the children. I always have." He patted her cheek and went back to the others to tell them of his plan.
That night Inuyasha, Sugumi and Kagome left and went up into the mountains. Sugumi went up among the trees while Inuyasha carried Kagome and ran along over treetops.
"Stop I sense something I think it's a jewel fragment. There must be one near by." Kagome spoke in Inuyasha's ear. "It's close."
Inuyasha jumped down into a clearing. Sugumi landed next to them.
"Your mother senses a jewel shard near by. Do you smell anyone? Sugumi raised himself up and flew over the area. When he returned, he had news.
"Not far ahead is a group of people huddled by a fire. I'm not sure father but I think at least one is a half demon. He doesn't quite smell right. It's hard to explain." Sugumi didn't have very much experience and needed more time and training to be able to discern the various scents of the demons and monsters of this land.
"He is not a demon but a monster. I can smell him. Kagome how are you with that bow?"
"I can hit a target from one side of the courtyard clear through to the other. Will that be good enough?"
"It will have to do." Inuyasha was forming his plan. "Sugumi fly your mother up into the top of a tree near the fire but not close enough for them to be able to reach her. Kagome on my signal, fire one of those arrows at the monster. But not before I tell you to."
Kagome nodded and Sugumi took flight. He deposited her near the top of a fir tree and went to join his father.
"Ok Sugumi we attack from in front so they don't see your mom. Ready? Now."
The two demons raced toward the group. They had scented Inuyasha but not the boy. "What is this a half-breed and a human. Not much sport for us." They must have confused Sugumi's scent with Kagome's. "What do you two think you are doing out here all alone. You should no better than to challenge one as strong as I.
I am Yashiro. I eat little pups like you for a snack. Wouldn't you know I'm just getting a little hungry to?" Yashiro transformed into a hideous beast half spider half moth. He could fly. This was unexpected.
"I am Inuyasha and I come for the shards of the Shaikon jewel you possess. Give them to me now and I will let you live." He drew his Tetsiaga and it transformed in his hands. "Do as I say now, or fight me." Inuyasha lept up to meet the beast head to head.
The monster flew up and out of Inuyasha's reach. "You will have to do better than that pup. Come here and I will give you a quick death."
"In your dreams Yashiro." Inuyasha let out his battle cry. "Iron reverse soul stealer!" He slashed the demon across his chest and tore through the left wing. It was also the signal for his son to go into action.
The man-demon rose up slowly behind the monster Yashiro. "Ahemmm." He tapped the monster on the shoulder with his sword. "By the way, I'm not a human." He smiled nicely at the monster. "I suggest you do as my father tells you to. You don't really want to make him angry do you?" Sugumi readied his sword.
The monster was unsure of what to do next. That's when he noticed Kagome in the tree. She had a bow in her hand and was aiming at his heart.
"Ok, ok, here I'll give them to you, but you must give me your word you won't try to kill me."
"Give them to me and then you can tell me what you know of Naraku. I have heard he has been staying here in these mountains. Where is he? Tell me everything."
"Naraku! Are you mad? Do you have any idea what he is capable of? Stay away from him." Yashiro was visibly shaken. He wasn't a strong monster and his only real power had come from the jewel shards and now they were gone.
"I'm not going to tell you anything. If he finds out I did. It would be better for me if I'd never been born."
"Strange, I thought you didn't want us to kill you." Sugumi stepped forward brandishing his sword. "Have you changed your mind?" Sugumi was an unusually soft-spoken boy. His voice however, carried with it all the menace of his uncle Sesshoumaru.
"What do you say father, shall I take the heart or shall I take the head." Sugumi looked to his dad. It was an old tactic they had used it before when dealing with cowards. It worked like a charm.
Yashiro told them everything they wanted to know. Naraku was using an old monastery at the top of the mountain two peaks over. But he had not seen or heard of for several weeks and Yashiro supposed that the demon-man was out terrorizing villages. His favorite sport it seemed.
"See that wasn't so hard, was it? You have your life Yashiro, but you'll loose it fast, if I find out that you warned that demon about us. Run! Go east and south of here and don't ever let me see you again. Run!" Inuyasha's voice was harsh.
He grumbled to himself. "I've been spending to much time around that brother of mine. I'm beginning to sound like him." He looked up at the tree. "You can come down now, Kagome." He lept up though the branches and scooped Kagome up and landed easily back down.
"You didn't want me to shoot this time?" Kagome was a little confused.
"That was if we couldn't handle him. He was a big scaredy cat. One look at Sugumi the terrible here, and he was crying like a baby." He pat his son's head. "Some monsters are like that Kagome you never know until you start to fight them."