AN: Hi guys! Sorry I'm not updating as frequently, but my muses keep fighting over what should happen next. I tried to make them sign a peace treaty, but then they hit me over the head with a frying pan! O.o Anyway, I'm making a compromise. One wanted me to write fluff in this chapter while the other wanted a battle. Well, I did the best I could with both, so just check it out while I calm down my muses once again!
Disclaimer: Sorry guys, but Joe didn't wanna come back and do the disclaimer. Soooo, my muses are!
Muse 1: We are?
Muse 2: She just said that, dork face!
Muse 1: Shut up, Hinote, I heard her the first time!
Hinote: The first time? Was there ever a second time, Kasai?
Kasai: Would you be quiet? She likes me better, anyway!
Hinote: Oh really? Is that why she has more blood and gore than stupid fluffiness?
Kasai: There's a lot more fluff than gore!
Hinote: Is not!
Kasai: Is too!
Hinote: Is not!
Kasai: Is too!
kyuuka: Guys! This is the disclaimer! Can you just do your jobs?
Hinote: She started it!
Kasai: Nuh uh, he did!
kyuuka: If you guys don't stop arguing, I'm going to erase all the fluff AND gore!
::Hinote and Kasai gulp::
Hinote: kyuuka does not own Inuyasha,
Kasai: Kagome,
Hinote: Sango,
Kasai: Miroku,
Hinote: Kaede,
Kasai: Sesshomaru,
Hinote: Rin,
Kasai: Shippo,
Hinote: Myouga,
Kasai: Kikyou,
Hinote: Naraku,
Kasai: Kagura,
Hinote: Kanna,
Kasai: or Kouga.
Hinote: Is that it?
Kasai: Yeah, but she does own us...
Hinote: and Okibi.
kyuuka: Thanks guys! And for those who are wondering who Okibi is, you'll meet her later on, ok? Ok, cool!
Stealing Four Souls and a Few Hearts
Chapter 5: Meeting Myouga
Kagome and Kaede trained every day after school, which had ended a week ago (coincidence, I swear, it's just a coincidence!), and on the weekends they would meet at noon to begin training sessions. It only took 2 weeks for Kaede to awaken most of Kagome's powers. She had even managed to put her miko energy into her arrows when shooting a bow and arrow. This made the arrow much stronger and able to defeat just about any human enemy and some youkai enemies. After the last session of training in the 2 week time period, Kaede decided to have a chat with Kagome.
"Kagome, I must ask ye a question," Kaede said slowly, as if choosing her words wisely.
"Nani?" responded a cheerful Kagome.
"How did ye happen to meet Inuyasha?"
"Well," Kagome began, twiddling her thumbs and looking nervously at the ground, "Sango and I sort of...uh...well, we stole...we stole the Shikon no Tama," she finished quickly.
"Ye stole it?"
"Yeah, but then Inuyasha and Miroku found us and when I gave back the jewel, Inuyasha told me to keep it because it was glowing brightly," Kagome recalled, thinking back on the events of that fateful day.
Kaede nodded, indicating she understood. "Did he ever mention Kikyou, child?"
"Uh..." Kagome tried to think back, "not that I remember, no. Why? Who was she?"
Kaede sighed. She knew Inuyasha would probably get mad at her for telling Kagome, but she needed to know. "Kikyou was the latest protector although she was killed over a year ago. Her and Inuyasha were deeply in love and when she died, a part of him died as well, so I was a little surprised that Inuyasha accepted ye as the new protector so openly since ye resemble her so much."
"I resemble her?" question Kagome. She didn't know why, but she didn't like this look-a-like of hers and she was quite saddened when Kaede mentioned that Inuyasha was deeply in love with her. She caught herself with those thoughts and quickly shook them out of her mind.
Kaede nodded. "Yes, ye and Kikyou look almost exactly alike, but the difference is in your eyes, child. Kikyou had cold eyes, void of emotion, but yours are sparking with life. And what surprised me further is that ye know archery as Kikyou did." Kaede chuckled when she said the next line. "Your shot is not as good as hers, but your miko powers are far more superior than hers ever could have been."
Kagome got slightly angry when Kaede had said she didn't have a good of shot as her so-called look-a-like did, but she softened when she heard that her powers were much stronger. Kagome found her mind wandering back to Inuyasha. He still called her wench, but she was learning more each day about his kind side.
----Flashback----
Kagome was taking a break after one of her training sessions and was walking along the field daydreaming when her foot connected with something hard and she felt herself falling. She reached out her hand to try to stop from falling, but she fell anyway and her wrist connected with the ground and her body landed on top of it.
"Hey," came a familiar voice from above her. She looked up and saw none other than Inuyasha. She braced herself for the numerous insults that would come out of his mouth, like 'clumsy', 'ditz', 'wench', 'stupid', etc. But it never came. Instead, Inuyasha kneeled down next to her, concern showing in his beautiful amber eyes.
"Are you all right?" he asked, clearly concerned. Kagome just stared at him with her mouth wide open. Where had this come from? This was not the Inuyasha she remembered. Why was he being nice? Then another thought struck her. Why had she thought his eyes were beautiful!? She closed her mouth, quickly recovering and nodded her head dumbly.
"Y-yeah, I-I'm fine."
"Here, let me help you up," he said, getting to his feet and holding out a hand.
"O-Okay," she stammered as she took his hand and got up. She brushed herself off and winced as pain shot through the wrist that had been smashed underneath her own body.
Inuyasha grabbed her hand and inspected it. "Let me take a look at it."
Kagome's mind was screaming at her for the blush that was creeping across her face. 'Why the hell am I blushing, damnit!?' she thought angrily. She pulled her hand away.
"I'm fine; really, I am, but thanks for your concern!" And with that she ran off, leaving behind a confused hanyou.
----End Flashback----
Kagome and Kaede reached the hut that Kaede called home. Then the one question that had been nagging Kagome for 2 weeks finally came out of her mouth.
"Why does this town look like the feudal era?"
Kaede smiled. She knew that Kagome had been dying to ask that question, everyone always asked that question. She was just surprised she hadn't asked sooner.
"This town is a museum of sorts. It's an attraction for tourists, but people live here as well," she explained.
"Ooooh," replied Kagome. 'So that's it! I should have known.' They entered the hut to find Miroku sprawled unconscious on the floor and an angry Sango muttering to herself about perverted monks in the corner. Shippo was taking a nap in the corner opposite Sango and Inuyasha was...nowhere to be seen.
"Where's Inuyasha?" Kagome directed the question at Sango.
"He went out for a walk or something, I don't know," answered Sango. Kagome sighed.
"I'm gonna go look for him. We can't be late for the meeting with Myouga," Kagome reminded her. Sango only nodded as Kagome turned and walked out of the hut. They had met Myouga only a week ago. He was in charge of a summer camp for kids and had talked at a school assembly on the last day of school. (Yes, Inuyasha, Miroku, Kagome, and Sango go to the same school, they just never saw each other before because they don't have any classes together. Work with me people; I'm making this up as I go!) Apparently there were some job openings and since Inuyasha and Miroku were just fired, they decided to talk to the guy and Kagome and Sango needed a job as well since they had given up their life of stealing. So after the assembly they went up to the man and asked what they would need to do to get the jobs. He studied them quickly before he told them to meet him a week later at around 4 o'clock in the afternoon. Right now, it was only 3:18, but the sooner they met up with him, the better, so Kagome went off in search of Inuyasha.
"Inuyasha!!" she called as she trudged through the forest. That was usually where he went to take walks. He usually ended up at a certain tree that he seemed to like very much and Kagome made her way there, hoping he was sitting in the branches of the tree like usual. Kagome heard something rustle in the bushes next to her and she looked over at it warily. There was more rustling and Kagome was about to scream and run away in fear when a cute little brown squirrel jumped out of the bushes and looked at her with his head cocked to the side.
Kagome let out a sigh of relief and continued on her merry way. She failed to notice, however, the bright green eyes that followed her from the treetops.
After finally reaching the tree, Kagome saw Inuyasha fast asleep high in one of the branches with his back to the trunk.
"Inuyasha!" she called up. He didn't stir from his peaceful slumber.
"INUYASHA!" she yelled louder, but still no response from the sleeping hanyou. 'Goodness, you'd think with those ears of his, he'd be able to hear even in his sleep. I guess not,' she thought grimly as she knew what she had to do. She knew she would get the yelling of a lifetime, but he had to get out of that darn tree.
"Sit!" she said, and Inuyasha came crashing to the ground. It was only when he impacted that he finally opened his eyes and winced in pain.
"Owww!!" he groaned.
"Sorry Inuyasha, but I couldn't wake you up and we have to go meet Myouga, there was no other way!" she explained.
Inuyasha looked up at her with anger in his eyes but deciding she was being completely honest and sincere said, "It's no big deal, it didn't hurt that much. And besides, that's how I usually get woken up; by falling to the ground." He got up and brushed himself off before adding, "But don't ever do that again!" Kagome smiled. Oh kami, how Inuyasha loved her smile. It was a lot different than Kikyou's. Kikyou's smile was actually kind of creepy, but Kagome's was just full of joy. 'Wait, where are these thoughts coming from!? Since when do I love her smile!?' Inuyasha mentally cursed and looked back at Kagome. "Well, let's go, wench!" Kagome's smile faded as she and Inuyasha both turned around to go back to the hut. They would have began the walk immediately if something hadn't been standing there with a smirk.
"Who are you?" asked a confused Inuyasha.
The figure only smiled more and her green eyes sparked with a mischievous glint. Inuyasha studies her. She was a fox youkai that looked to be about 16 or 17. She had messy orange hair that went a little above her shoulders and had a big furry orange fox tail behind her. She wore baggy black pants with red trim at the bottom and a matching shirt with long baggy sleeves and red trim on the ends of the sleeves and the front opening. She wore a white shirt underneath. Red fabric similar to the trim was tied tightly around her mid-thighs and upper arms. The two around her upper arms also tied down a dagger under each one. The fabric around her thighs also contained weapons; the right one had a chain with a weight at the end and the left contained nun chucks. She had a sword on her left side at her waist and 2 swords strapped to her back. She wore 2 necklaces; the first was a choker with a big red ball as a charm and the second was a loose-hanging chain with a key on it. She had 4 piercings on her left ear, 1 near the pointed part of her ears at the top and 3 on her earlobe and she had 3 piercings on her right ear, again, 1 at the top but only 2 on her earlobe. She didn't wear shoes and her fangs showed through her smirk.
"I said, who are you?" asked Inuyasha, now annoyed that she was smirking at him.
The youkai closed her eyes and seemed to smile more. She opened them again and said, "I am Okibi, and you, Inuyasha, are in danger."
Inuyasha was extremely angry now. Who was this girl to tell him he was in danger? And how did she know his name? "What are you talking about?" he asked in a low growl.
"Naraku plans to attack you while you're weak, you must be prepared." Inuyasha was confused. 'What does she mean when I'm weak?' But before he could ask her anything she had disappeared in a puff of green smoke.
"What was that about?" asked Kagome.
"I have no idea," Inuyasha said while shaking his head. "Come on, let's get back. We still need to meet with Myouga about those jobs." And with that, they walked back to the hut, still confused at Okibi's words.
(I kinda wanted to end it here, but I decided my lovely reviewers deserved a longer chapter than that. Although it does hurt to type since my arms are severely sun burnt, but you know what they say, "No pain, no gain!" Owww, shoulders burning...)
They arrived back at the hut in no time and got the others before heading off to Myouga's. On the way, they told Sango, Miroku, and Shippo of the youkai they had encountered.
"She was a fox youkai?" questioned Shippo.
Kagome nodded her head. She figured Shippo would be excited. After all, he was a fox youkai too.
"I've never heard of her," Shippo shook his head.
"You say she warned you that Naraku would attack when you're weak, correct?" asked Miroku.
Inuyasha nodded. He had wondered how he had known of the rivalry between him and Naraku but he didn't understand the, 'when you're weak' part. Then a thought struck him. 'She couldn't mean that! No one knows about that except Miroku, Sesshomaru, and Kaede. Kikyou knew about it too, but...' his thoughts trailed off. He knew Miroku would never tell, after all they were best friends. He also knew that Sesshomaru wouldn't tell, he would never indulge one of Inuyasha's secrets, especially to the enemy. Kaede would never tell; she was trustworthy. That only left Kikyou, but...she was dead! Inuyasha had seen her die! He had wanted to save her, but he couldn't get to her in time. How could Naraku know his secret!? Inuyasha suddenly looked up when he felt that everyone had stopped as they were nearing the edge of the forest. He looked at them and saw that they were staring straight ahead. They all looked shock, especially Miroku. He looked in front of them and he too was in shock. There standing before him was a girl with long straight black hair tied back in a loose ponytail and brown eyes. She wore a pair of red pants and a white shirt. The one word he spoke was filled with so many different emotions that you couldn't tell if he was happy or sad. The word left his lips slowly as if time had slowed down.
"Kikyou..."
AN: Well, that's all for today! I know it's kinda short, but there's a little mystery and intrigue and I left a little cliffy. Don't ya just love me!? Hehe, yeah, I know, I love me too! Okay, Reviewer Responses time!
crazy-kitsune- yeah, I guess that is a connection! Why didn't I think of that? Your prize is...uh...Oh wait! I got it! ::kyuuka rummages through her bad and finally finds what she's looking for and pulls it out:: You get a bag of...pixie stix!! Thank ya for reviewing!
Serenity- Awww, you think I'm cool! Hehe, thanks for the hug! And of course I put your name up; reviewers get special treatment because they take the time to actually read this weird stuff I think of! Here, you get...um...this extra bag of pixie stix! ::whispers:: you should probably hide those from kit! Hehe!
Jamin AKA Joe- you sure are the coolest fairy in the universe, but if you call me bean again, I'll make you do something worse! ::laughs maniacally:: And yeah, you sure did get what you asked for! Hehe!
Well, that's all for reviewers! I hope you liked my story! Bye now!
Hinote: Wait just one minute there!
Kasai: Yeah!
::kyuuka laughs nervously::
kyuuka: Hehe, what is it, guys?
Hinote: You said there'd be gore!
Kasai: And fluff!
kyuuka: There was fluff! And as for the gore, doesn't Miroku getting rendered unconscious count?
Hinote and Kasai: No!
kyuuka: Fine, I promise there will be gore in the next chapter.
Kasai: And the fluff?
Hinote: There was fluff, ya moron!
Kasai: Well, there could've been more.
kyuuka: Kasai, this is a humor/action/adventure story, not romance!
Kasai: Well how do you expect to further the plot without fluff?
::kyuuka growls in frustration::
kyuuka: Fine, I'll try to put more fluff in it next time, too!
Kasai: Good.
kyuuka: Hinote, tell 'em about Okibi.
Hinote: Right, if you want to see a picture of Okibi, buy kyuuka a scanner and...
Kasai: She doesn't need a scanner.
Hinote: Well, it would be better than taking a picture of it with a digital camera and emailing it to them!
Kasai: Well that's the best she can do!
Hinote: Fine, if you want to see a picture of Okibi, review with your email address or email kyuuka and tell her you want to see it.
Kasai: Her email address is reddragon522hotmail.com, but she'd like it more if you reviewed.
Hinote: That's all for now!
Kasai: BYE!