Okay guys, I am sorry this is so late, but I've had exams all last week, and I've been behind in school and such... but I promise updates will be sooner! Well, not much to say here today... Thanks to everyone who has taken the time to read this story, and I promise, you wont be disappointed! Enjoy!
Dedicated to my first reviewer, Suaru! You're ALWAYS first, you know that? Hehe!
3 - Conflicting Emotions
She was being attacked. The demon had snuck up on her, taking her by surprise. Wandering around all day crying had made her tired, and she sat at the base of a large tree, resting her head against the rough bark.
She didn't understand why Kikyou hated her so much. Kagome had always been nice to her fellow miko, never sending her a harsh word. Yet, Kikyou seemed to have such supreme disgust for her. Almost as much as Kikyou hated demons. If there was one thing Kagome knew, it was that Kikyou thought demons were the scorn of the earth and that they had no place among the living.
Kagome didn't know what she could do. The demon had slashed at her side, creating a large cut where the blood flowed freely, staining her miko garb with crimson. Taking one bloody hand from her side and drawing a bow from the quiver on her back, she strung the arrow on the bow, aiming for the demon's heart. Suddenly her vision became blurry, clouding where the demon stood. 'Must be the blood loss...' she thought, her mind scrambled. Giving up, she laid her bow down, the arrow falling to the puddle of blood at her knees. She held up her hand, focusing her powers at her palm. As the demon approached for a second attack, it was stopped by a barrier erected by Kagome's spiritual power. 'Ha... So it worked!' she congratulated herself on her latest power. Being a miko still in training, she learned new techniques all the time. 'A barrier would come in handy in a war,' she had thought to herself when Kikyou offered to show her how to do it. And now it saved her life. 'But how long can I hold this up?'
Inuyasha starred out the window, knowing what he heard. "It was a woman screaming," he muttered to himself. "Not just any woman... according to the scent I'm picking up, it was the wench." Glancing over his shoulder at the guard to make sure he was still sound asleep, Inuyasha brought his hand up and slashed down, destroying the wall that kept him in.
As he stepped out, he fought every urge in his body just to run as far away as he could from the human camp and never think of this experience again. But that wench interfered in his plans again. He hopped into the air, landing on top of a tree. Sniffing the air lightly, he decided that she was west of his current position. He looked over, immediately sensing a large and moderately powerful demon. 'What kind of trouble did the wench get in now?' he thought as he leaped off the tree and raced through the forest at demon speed.
When he arrived in the clearing, his eyes widened at the scene that played out in front of him. The demon reared up on it's back legs, ready to strike a woman that was crouched against a nearby tree. The smell of blood hit him hard as his eyes spotted the crimsonliquid pooled at her knees, an arrow lay forgotten in the foul smelling puddle. One small hand clutched her side, where the blood flowed freely, and the other hand was held up in a position to suggest that she was trying to hold the massive demon off with her bare hands. 'Feh,' he thought. 'She can't do that...'
Suddenly the demon attacked, too quick for Inuyasha to come to her rescue. He sprinted forward, hoping to get the demon off her. But to his surprise, the demon's head bounced off an invisible barrier, bloodying it's nose. 'Wench is stronger than I thought,' he thought shortly, losing his train of thought.
'I can't hold this much longer...' Kagome thought helplessly as she felt her spiritual barrier failing. The last of her senses picked up a familiar demon nearby. Her chocolate brown eyes saw him. There he stood in his red fire rat haori, his golden eyes locked on her form.
A small smile graced her face as she finally slipped into the unconsciousness that claimed her mind. "Inuyasha..."
His ears perked as he heard his name escape her lips, causing his heart to pound quicker. Then she fell to the ground, her last defense falling with her. Inuyasha was enraged as he saw the demon lick it's lips, looking at Kagome with hungry eyes.
"Oh, hell no!" he exclaimed, leaping at the demon, easily taking it's head off with one swipe. Brushing off his hands of the imaginary dirt from effortlessly slaying the creature, he turned to Kagome.
Walking over to her, he realized just how much blood she had lost. 'She's in danger of dying!' he thought suddenly. In pure instinct, he picked her up in his arms, the bows that she held limply in her hands dropping to the ground near her abandoned arrow. He slightly shook her, hoping she would wake up. 'Well, duh that wasn't going to work!' he scolded himself as he started running at a demon speed, still being careful not to move her too much.
He entered the camp, sniffing the air. 'Where's the damn monk when you need him!' he though furiously. "Shit, what was his name again?" he muttered, thinking hard to remember. A sudden pain appeared in his head, proving to him that thinking to hard was bad for a person's health. 'Ah, now I remember!' he thought happily as the monk's name finally came to his mind. The expression 'No pain, no gain' came to mind as he walked further into the camp. "Miroku!" he yelled as loud as his lungs would allow. "Miroku, damn you! Get your ass over here!" he yelled even louder.
He looked down to the girl in his arms. Subconsciously, he hoped she was okay. 'Feh! Why are you worrying? Hell, why did you even go save her?' the demon side of his brain asked him.
'Because she treated me normal for once in my life,' his human side replied in a worried tone. 'Why would I want her dead?'
'She captured you and put you in jail! Duh, you moron!' the demon shot back, not willing to back down from this fight.
'In the process she also saved my life,' the human reasoned.
'Feh! She's still just a human woman...' the demon told the human.
'Yes, but a kind one.'
'I hate you, you know that!' his demon side exclaimed at his human side.
"Inuyasha! What are you doing?" Miroku said as he came running up to him, two women following him.
One he recognized at the demon exterminator that knocked him unconscious in the battle. She was one hell of a fighter. And the other woman, he recognize immediately as well. 'Kikyou...' he thought sadly, his ears dropped to his head.
"Inuyasha, what have you done?" Kikyou said as they stopped infront of him.
"What are you talking about, bitch?" he growled, uncertain of where she was going with this.
"Well, it's pretty obvious! You attacked poor Kagome!"
Before Inuyasha could say anything, Miroku stepped infront of him, blocking his view of Kikyou. "I would say that our demon friend here saved Kagome."
'Friend?' Inuyasha thought. 'He barely knows me, yet he calls me a friend?'
"Yes. These wounds weren't make by an inu-demon," the demon slayer said as she looked closer at Kagome's wounds. She made sure not to get too close; Inuyasha was holding her very close to his body, showing a deep protectiveness. 'I won't give him any reason to feel threatened.' "Looks more to me like an ogre demon's claw marks. But that's only my professional opinion."
Kikyou glared at them, then looked back to Inuyasha. He looked at her with amber eyes that held too many emotions for the shocked miko to process at that moment. Giving Miroku and Sango one last withering glance, she turned and marched off, her direction obvious. She was heading to Midoriko's tent.
"Should we follow her, Miroku?" Sango asked, still trying to assess the extent of Kagome's wounds without touching her.
"No. Let's get Kagome well first, then we'll deal with Kikyou. Inuyasha, if you would please follow me," Miroku said kindly, motioning for the hanyou to follow.
'The monk and the demon slayer... They defended me. If I was alone, Kikyou would have dragged me to their leader and I would be dead for assaulting Kagome. Maybe... maybe there are some good humans out there after all. Maybe.'
They continued walking in silence until they reached a canvas tent near the far edge of the camp grounds. Miroku motioned for them to wait a few feet away from the tent while he walked up. Folding back the flap, he poked his head in, and laughed good naturedly. "Come on guys."
The strong scent of medicinal herbs hit Inuyasha's nose as he, Kagome and Sango entered. His eyes scanned the area inside the tent for possible danger, always alert for anything after the young girl that slept in his arms. Somehow in the past day he had grow extremely protective over the miko. He attributed this to the fact that she saved his life. After much thought, he accepted this fact. By his very nature, he knew that he had to protect her to repay his debt to her. That was all this sudden urge to watch over her was. He would never admit that he cared for the girl to anyone, not even himself. Inuyasha didn't need love; it only brought heart ache and weakness. Besides, she was just a human.
An old woman sitting in the middle of the hut motioned him to lay Kagome down on a mat near the small fire that blazed near her. He was hesitant at first, but he sat her on the mat, not leaving her side.
"Hello, young hanyou. I am Kaede, the healer of this army." He nodded gruffly to show his understanding. "Now, child. Ye must tell me all that happened when ye found Kagome."
Inuyasha sat, crossing his legs and propping his rusty sword against his chest. The others followed suit, Miroku and Sango sitting near enough to hear and see him but not enough to make him threatened. No matter how much they wanted to believe Kagome when she said he was different and that he had a kind heart, it was still hard for them to feel at ease. Especially Sango. After the slaying of her family she wasn't sure if she could ever look at a demon as more than an enemy. But she would try. For Kagome's sake.
"Well," he began, thinking of the best way to describe what happened without revealing any of his previous thoughts of the miko. "I was in jail," he continued, emphasizing the word 'jail' with utter disgust, "when I heard a scream. Then I smelled blood, along with her scent." He jerked a thumb toward Kagome and quickly glanced over to her. His cheeks flushed bright red as he saw that the old healer had taken off her large shirt and started cleaning and bandaging her side. Inuyasha thanked Kami for the cloth that so dutifully bound her chest from his eyes. "Anyway," he mumbled as he turned back to the demon slayer and the monk, who had an odd gleam in his eye. Choosing to ignore it, Inuyasha dragged on with the story. "I broke down the cell wall and went to the source of the smell. I found her in a clearing about a mile to the west. She was huddled against a tree, projecting a spirit barrier to protect herself from the claws of the beast. When she saw me, for some reason she let the barrier drop and she passed out. I slain the demon and brought her here immediately."
When he finished, the tent was silent except for the sounds of Kaede tying the bandages on Kagome's stomach. "Inuyasha?" Sango said, slicing through the uncomfortable silence.
He turned toward her, looking at her magenta eyes. They narrowed, sending a chill down his spine. But the strange look left her face as soon as it came, and he dismissed it without a second thought. What else did he expect from a demon slayer? "Yeah?" he said, a hard edge in his voice.
She just looked back at him for a moment, as if sizing him up with her eyes. "Would you assist me in taking Kagome back to her tent for the night?"
He simply nodded. Inuyasha would've gone anyway. Suddenly, the tent flap swung open, revealing a tall woman with long dark hair and doe brown eyes filled with concern. Inuyasha's nose took in her scent and memorized it for future reference. Then, sniffing a very different scent in the air, his ears drooped and a spot in the dirt became particularly interesting. He smelled roses. Kikyou was near.
Midoriko stood before them, taking in the scene. 'From what Kikyou told me, Kagome was badly injured. But it looks like it had been taken care of...' A smile graced her face before she began to speak. "Hello, young hanyou. I am Midoriko, leader of the Ningenteki Army."
Surprising everyone in the tent, Inuyasha stood and gave a quick half bow before looking her in the eye. He had knowledge of army rankings. She was their leader, and he would be respectful while he was here. "Inuyasha," he replied gruffly to the unspoken question.
"Don't speak to our leader unless she asksof you, half-breed," a cold tone announced from behind Midoriko. The voice had a strange effect on everyone in the tent: Midoriko sighed, Kaede rolled her eyes, Miroku and Sango both held an aggravated expression, and Inuyasha's canine ears were flat to his head and he stepped slightly closer to Kagome.
"Kikyou! Please, don't be rude to our guest!" Midoriko told the miko in a hard tone.
"Guest?" she sputtered, unable to understand what Midoriko was saying.
"Yes. As thanks, Inuyasha shall be our guest. Unfortunately, because of protocol, I must insist you stay within the confines of the camp," she told him sternly. "If I find that you have left for any reason, then you must go back to jail."
"But he's one of them... He could kill us all!" Kikyou practically yelled. Inuyasha wanted to yell back, and he might have done it, if not for a hand resting on his shoulder. He looked behind him, only to see Kagome standing quietly. At first he was shocked, then he turned, concentrating on the woman who would decide his future.
"Ah, but you forget. He already saved one of us," she said with a twinkle in her eyes. "This can be, a trial period, if you will. He will stay with Kagome at all times, and she will keep him in 'check'. If he proves himself trustworthy, he just might have a place here after all." With that she left, giving Kagome a quick nod and a gentle smile.
A grin spread across Kagome's face. Then she looked to Inuyasha, hoping to see her sentiments reflected. Instead, he looked worried and confused. Just then everyone else in the tent noticed Kagome was awake.
"Kagome!" Sango called as she rushed to her friend. "How are you feeling?"
"I'm okay. My healing powers are kicking in. I'll be fine."
"Oh, good!" she replied, relief evident in her tone. The others fussed, asking multiple times if she was okay. Inuyasha stayed in the shadows, watching the group closely. They seemed to genuinely care for one another. He wasn't used to this kind of thinking. In the demon camp, you left everyone alone and they left you alone. There was no companionship among them, and they liked it that way. Even in a battle they would work independently. This had cause their downfall may times against the well organized demon slayers.
"Inuyasha?" Kagome said, bringing him out of his thoughts.
"Yeah, wench?"
She rolled her eyes and ignored the comment. "Come on. You have to stay with me and I'm tired." Kagome pulled at the deep red cloth of his haori, urging him toward the tent's exit.
After calling a farewell to Kaede, Miroku and Sango followed them out. The group walked in silence, the stars twinkling in the night sky. Inuyasha's amber eyes glanced up at the moon. 'Quarter' he thought. 'About three more days... Damn.' Although, he realized he probably shouldn't worry here. His human form would be more accepted among the soldiers than his demon form. 'Or maybe they will see it as a weakness and attack me... But I'll still kick their assess... but if they have weapons...' These thoughts continued until they reached the center of the camp.
"This way Inuyasha," Kagome said as she pointed to their left, opposite of where the monk and demon slayer were going.
"Goodnight, you two!" Sango called behind her.
"Yeah, have fun..." Miroku started to say before getting hit by Sango's boomerang. "What?"
"You know what you pervert!" she replied back. Their small argument could be heard for a two mile radius as they walked to their tents among the demon slayers. Of coarse, Miroku should have been near the front of the camp with Kagome and Kikyou, but after he met Sango he moved his tent. Of coarse, this didn't sit well with said demon slayer. When he refused to go back, Midoriko gave up fighting with him about it and told Sango to deal with it.
Once they reached their respective tents, Sango shot Miroku a worried look. Sensing her emotion, Miroku said, "What's wrong, my love?"
She rolled her eyes. "I'm worried about Kagome. Do you really think she's correct in trusting Inuyasha? Even though he saved her, he is still a demon. He could just be spying. Or worse, sent to kill us all in our sleep."
Miroku had thought these thoughts as well. "I know how you feel, Sango, but Kagome has a good judge of character. After I saw the way she looked at him, I have no doubts. As long as she trusts him, so shall I."
"I guess..." she murmured back, knowing the monk was right.
"Well then, don't worry your pretty little head about it then. Get some sleep, dear Sango. I have a feeling tomorrow shall be very interesting..."
Inuyasha followed Kagome silently as the walked near the front of the camp. 'How can she be so trusting? I don't understand... I'm a demon. She's a human. It could never work. Not even a solid bond could be formed because of our races. So why is she doing this...?'
"Well, here we are," she told him, pointing to a fairly small tent infront of them. She tugged the fabric near his shoulder, causing his head to bend near her. "Just to let you know... Kikyou's tent is fairly close by."
Her warm breath on his sensitive ear made him heart beat faster, jumping into his throat. 'Her scent... it's so wonderful...' Once she departed from his ear, he took a deep breath, clearing the thoughts from his head. 'She's a human. You're a demon. She's a human. You're a demon...' he chanted over in his head like a mantra, convincing himself that what he felt for just a moment was nothing.
She lead him into the cramped space, the tent flap dropping behind her. Even in the slight moonlight that shined through the thin canvas material, he made out her blush easily. "Sorry it's so small..." she squeaked out, timidly sitting down on her small futon that lay on the ground.
"Feh! Whatever, wench," he said, situating himself in the farthest possible corner from her.
They sat in silence for a while. Kagome had her back to Inuyasha, and he just stared at her. The questions plagued his mind, until he couldn't stand it anymore. "Why!"
"Huh?" She turned to him, still laying on her futon. His eyes looked distressed, causing her heart to do a somersault. 'I wonder what's wrong?'
"Why are you so kind, so trusting in me? I'm a demon. I'm not your species. How in the hell can you treat me like you would anyone else?" His questions spilled out of him in a torrent, a deluge of his emotions in his sharp, gruff voice.
Her brown eyes widened as he spoke. "Inuyasha," she said, her comforting voice soothing his fire and anger, "that's a very simple question with a very simple answer."
Inuyasha's eyes locked on Kagome. A large, loving smile was spread across her face as she replied. "I know you have a good heart. No matter your race or breed, that's enough for me." With that she turned and closed her eyes, sleep over taking her limp body.
The man with the white canine ears looked at the woman. Her raven black hair glittered with the faint moonlight as her breathing patterns regulated, slowing to a steady pace.
'What can I do?' he thought. 'She goes against everything I've heard since I was young. Humans and demons are not to intermix. Everyone, from Naraku to my own brother told me that. But now I find myself here, with her, and I couldn't imagine being any place better...'
To my Friends and Reviewers -
Suaru - No, it's most definently impossible, especially in my stories! Mwahahaha! (cough cough) Anyway, yes, I put that chappie out too quick and got myself behind, but I'm nice and caught up now with a good portion of the next chappies of all my stories done, so be expecting them! And insanity is a wonderful thing my friend... Trust me, I know! Hehe! I'll TTYL, my wonderful beta! Umm... so much love and hugs that you can't even count them! Yay!
Hanyou Vixen - Well, this wasn't very soon, sorry about that. Anyway, thankies! Hope ya like this one too! TTYL! Love and Hugs, buddy!
Chrono4747 - Thanks! I really don't mind the emails asking for the new chappie! In fact, I encourage them! It (sometimes) helps to kick my butt into shape and get typing! Hehe! So thanks for caring! TTYL!
kayzer - Well, get used to them, because I love my cliffies! (laughs like a mad woman) Erm... anyway, thanks so much! Yes, there will be a plot, but it will come later on! Promise!
sapphire-glass - I am so darn special! Yes, the sledgehammer hold a certain power over people... (smashes a near by lamp and laughs) Whoops... I'm gonna have to pay for that. Darn. Anyway, remember... boys have cooties! (j/ for any male readers out there!) I luv ya too, my fuzzy friend! Hehe! TTYL! Love and Hugs!
Psycotica Bunny - Thanks so much! I'll try! (sweatdrops)
And that's the end of chapter 3! I'm well into chapter four, so keep an eye out for it! Adios, my amigos and amigas!
Ash
