Chapter Three

Where Are We?


Both Miroku and Sango were deeply interested in Akuira's explanation, but she finished no sooner after she started.

"Yes, well... Heh..." she said, squirming slightly. Tondrin hadn't really taken in any of her explanation.

"Where's Inuyasha?" Shippo squeaked.

"Who knows. As long as the bastard's away from me, I'm fine." Akuira said at once. The two half breeds could never settle anything between them. As the lot of them sweat dropped, except Akuira , the half dog demon's face appeared above the tall grass.

"WHO CALLED ME A BASTARD!" he hollered.

"I did, and damn well proud of doing so!" Akuira said happily.

"Say it to my face!" the stubborn male yelled back.

"I'll do more then just that. I'll tear you apart.." the almost as stubborn female muttered. Inuyasha shot her a cold glare.

"It's rude to stare." Akuira stated.

"So? It's bad enough that I know you." Inuyasha shot at her.

It's absolutely horrible to know a bastard like you." Akuira shot back.

"Bitch." Inuyasha muttered. Akuira's demon ears that lay on top of her head only slightly perked up.

"What was that?" she asked.

"He's in for it.." Kagome muttered as Akuira stood again.

"You heard!" Inuyasha yelled. Akuira crouched onto all fours, and transformed into her feline self. Inuyasha noticed.

"What're you going to do know?" he teased. Akuira nearly jumped at Inuyasha, but Tondrin grabbed a tuff of fur that surrounded the neck of the feline girl.

A low growl hung in Akuira's throat, then a terrifying roar pierced the sudden silence. Shippo jumped.

"She's really angry!" he squeaked. Inuyasha stared at the feline; An unblinking stare greeting his eyes.

"Relax, Akuira. He's just being… Er..." Tondrin looked at the others for some help.

"He's just a little grumpy today." Kagome helped.

-X-

Akuira stayed a feline the rest of the night; Tondrin stroked the silky fur that covered her from head to tail. As Akuira lay beside Tondrin, the others talked. Inuyasha was sitting as far away from Akuira as possible, and muttered something the odd time.

The day grew short, and the girls, except Akuira, went back to the village; Jasonu gave them a place to stay.

Akuira then transformed back to her normal being.

"I'm going to the hot springs. Miroku, do not follow me... Or else." she said, then left. Tondrin laughed lightly, while the monk gave a quick nod.

-X-

Akuira sank into the warm water at the springs, staring up at the sky and sighed. Soon, the air around her filled with song.

"Ikutsu namida o nagashitara… Every heart, sunao ni nareru darou. Dare ni omoi tsutaetara… Every heart kokoro mita sareru no darou." she sang. Akuira sank deeper into the warm water, quite relaxed.

As the singing slowed, a yawn escaped Akuira's lips, and her eyes began to close. Birds chirped around her, as things seemed to slip away. A deep sigh escaped her lips again. Akuira's eyes suddenly opened as she heard the snap of a tree branch.

She looked around, then sunk much deeper into the water so that her chin was below the surface of the water. Silence fell again.

"Hm... I was probably thinking it.." she mumbled as she quickly slipped out of the water and back into her clothes. Night began to fall as she walked back to the village, her ears perking up every so often. Another tree branch snapped, which gave the instinct that she was being followed.

Now quickening her pace, Akuira looked around her.

"Just keep going.." she muttered to herself. When she heard a small noise, she quickly turned around with her dagger held tightly in her hand. Akuira looked around.

"Nobody's here." she said to herself, then turned to face the other direction and continued. Not long after, did she sense someone behind her.

I'll get you this time, Akuira thought as she tightened the grip on her dagger.

"Got you!" she yelled, turning around sharply; dagger at the ready.

"Whoa! Put that thing away!" cried a male voice.

"Tondrin?" she asked as she peered through the darkness.

"Yes." said the same voice.

"Oh! Sorry Tondrin! I... I didn't know it was you!" she said apologetically.

"That's okay, just put the dagger away!" Tondrin said. He had his hands up in a defence position.

"Er...right." she said as she hastily put away the weapon.

"What're you doing here?" she asked.

"I came looking for you." Tondrin answered.

"For me?" Akuira asked.

"Yes, for you! It was getting late, and Miroku suggested that I go looking for you." he answered.

"Oh..." said Akuira as her face went slightly red.

-X-

Tondrin and the others slept, while Akuira lay in bed staring at the ceiling. She tossed her head, trying to get some sleep. She gave a slight moan as her eyes only just opened. She yawned for about the hundredth time that night. Why can't I get to sleep? she thought, then turned onto her other side.

-X-

When Akuira and the others awoke the next morning, they were shocked. Pearly white sand lay beneath them; They were on a beach of some sort.

"Where are we!" Kagome sobbed.

"Oh stop your crying, Kagome!" Inuyasha complained. Both Tondrin and Akuira were sitting on the warm, pearly white sand watching them.

"Akuira, where do you suppose we are?" Tondrin asked in a whisper.

"Well, we definitely aren't in the village anymore.." she whispered back, then got to her feet.

"So, what do we do now!" Jasonu said loudly.

"We go with the water." Akuira said, walking into the water which washed up onto the beach. She was just under waist high in water.

"Holy shit! This water is fucking freezing!" Akuira cried, now shivering in the bitter cold of the water.

"You're a girl, Aquila. Naturally you'll get colder than I will." Jasonu said, then stepped into the water himself.

"Holy shit!" he cried. Everyone began to laugh.

Having walked through the water for what seemed like an hour, some of them could no longer feel their legs. Akuira was in front, followed by Tondrin, who was ahead of Jasonu. Inuyasha was carrying Kagome as the others followed in the rear.

"How long has it been since we could last feel our legs?" Jasonu asked.

"About an hour, why?" Akuira replied.

"Just checking." replied her brother. Tondrin quietly laughed.

Not long after, did they reach a dead end.

"Alright, we're heading back!" Inuyasha declared.

"No. We're. Not." Akuira declared against him.

"I'm going to find out if we can swim underneath this." she said.

"What!" Kagome cried.

"Back in a moment!" Akuira said, somewhat cheerful, took a breath of air, then shot into the water.

"Just great.." Kagome said quietly.

"You could walk on the shore.." suggested Miroku.

"Why aren't we walking on the shore anyway?" Sango asked.

"Spontaneous act?" Jasonu suggested, then Akuira soon reappeared amongst them. She caught her breath before speaking.

"Well, we can swim underneath. But, it'll have to be one by one." she announced.

"Right, you first." Jasonu said at once. Akuira looked at her brother as if he was truly insane, then shot back into the water. Within at least ten minutes, she reached the other side.

"Fairly deep, may take awhile." she called.

-X-

Later on in the day, now far from where they awakened that morning, did they stop to rest. Akuira had taken on the job for catching dinner, as the others did other jobs.

"Get back here you bloody bastard of a fish!" she hissed, now using her dagger. Tondrin watched her from where he stood, not paying much attention to what he was doing.

"Ack! Damn bastard of a fish!" she yelled. Soon after, Akuira was walking toward them while carrying some fish.

"Did you have some fun with the fish?" Jasonu asked in a mock voice.

"Shove it." Aquila snapped. Tondrin continued to watch her, noticing that she was limping. He didn't think it was serious, probably from the bitter cold of the water.

The rest of the afternoon went by quickly, and they were soon lying on the pearly white sand under a blanket of stars once again. The night air was cool, as the weather wasn't very warm. Aquila shivered as she lay awake; Tondrin stared at the sky.

"Akuira.." he whispered.

"Yeah.." she whispered back.

"So, you are awake.." Tondrin said. Akuira looked at him and nodded.

"You're awake as well?" she asked. Tondrin nodded as the two of them got to their feet.

"How do you suppose we got here?" Tondrin asked. Akuira shook her head gently.

"No idea.." she answered. The two walked to the water, only stopping at it's edge.

"Akuira, are you alright?" Tondrin asked. Akuira looked at him.

"Yeah... Why?" she answered.

"You're limping." he said. She didn't reply. Tondrin stared at her face for a second, then look at her legs. He noticed a rather large wound on her right leg, and he stared at her face again.

"Akuira… Why?"

"I'm fine, Tondrin."

"Now you're not."

"Tondrin."

"You're not fine.."

"Tondrin!" Akuira said in a hiss. Tondrin stared as she got up and walked away.

"What did I do now?" he sighed, "I'm never going to understand her.."

-X-

"This is horrid...How're we going to get back home!"

"Kagome... Relax!" Inuyasha snapped. They had been walking along the shore since day break.

"Alright...we'll stop here. I've got no idea where we're going!" Jasonu declared from in front.

"Oh... And the great brother of mine thought he could get us out of here!" Akuira mocked.

"Shut it." her brother snapped. Akuira smirked only slightly as she sat down. Tondrin looked at Jason with a doubtful look, then looked at Akuira.

"Hey.." he said, taking a seat beside her. She looked at him.

"Hi.." she replied faintly. He stared at her.

"Is there something wrong?" she asked.

"No.." he answered, "..Is there something bothering you?" Akuira looked at him.

"Not really... Just wondering how we're going to get home.." she answered. He held her hand.

"We'll get home somehow..I assure you." he smiled. Akuira stared into his eyes.

"Do you remember when I used to tease you about your eyes?" she asked suddenly. Tondrin laughed lightly.

"How could I forget? You loved them." he smiled.

"And I still do." she returned the smile.

"Oh Tondrin, I just adore your eyes! Can I have them?" Tondrin said, remembering when she said that. The two laughed.

"Then there was the time when the both of us trapped Jasonu over a pit of hungry fish.." he said.

"Oh yeah... I still don't know how he escaped that." Akuira said with a thoughtful look. As time passed, Tondrin and Aquila continued to remember what they did. Aquila looked at her brother, who now looked like he would explode at any moment.

"Um, Jasonu... Are you alright?" she asked.

"Am I alright? Am I alright! AM I ALRIGHT!" Jasonu snapped. Akuira moved closer to Tondrin.

"Sorry... I guess Mr Snap has taken over..." Aquila said quietly. Tondrin put an arm around her.

"He'll be alright."

"You think he will?"

"Well, no.. Not really..." Tondrin said thoughtfully. Aquila laughed as she looked at Jasonu.

"Hey genius, want some help?" she asked.

"No." Jasonu snapped again.

"He's still in a mood..." she muttered. Tondrin stared at her. Aquila looked at him. All seemed to have gone quiet. The two soon became lost in each other's eyes as the noise seemed to fade into silence.

Silence fell like a blanket around them, as if it was only the two of them there. Tondrin leaned closer toward Akuira, as if ready to kiss her. Akuira looked at him before closing her eyes. He smiled as the moment was truly perfect. Nothing can possibly go wrong now, Tondrin thought. Oh, but how wrong he was...

"AKUIRA!" Akuira's eyes shot open as her face twiched slightly. Tondrin had a very pissed off look on his own face. She looked behind her, only to see that her brother was in need of her help.

"What do you want?" she snapped at him.

"Come here." her brother ordered.

"Why should I?" she asked harshly.

"Because if you don't then I'll put that fucking neko of yours in danger when we get back home." Jasonu snapped.

"You are not to touch a hair on my neko. You don't see black nekos anymore, ditz." she snapped back.