Inuyasha: Searching for Sango and Shippou when he smells Kagome's scent.
Kagome: Is eating food with Hareema and Hakiro. She was looking at what her meal was.
Sango: Just escaped from Picura's clutches, is wondering in forest searching for her friends and Kaede's village.
Miroku: Is still unconscious after Kimisa defeats Kanna.
Shippou: Still within Naraku's clutches, waiting for someone to rescue him.
One word of advice for this chapter: Make sure you are not eating or drinking if you have a weak stomach!
Finding You
By: Sanci J
Chapter 20: Sango's Escape and Misguided Food
Last Chapter…
Sango, meanwhile, had been trying to walk as soon as possible to get to Kaede's, but an hour later she figured out she was lost. 'What's going on? Why haven't I left the forest yet?' She wasn't sure what to do. The sky was viciously darkening, probably anticipating another storm, and her leg was aching mercilessly. She kept walking on, hoping she would escape the clutches of the forest, but her leg was beginning to throb with pain.
She paused and wiped the perspiration off her forehead gasping. 'The pain is only worsening. I have to stop. If I keep going, I might injure myself again or even run into other demons.'
Leaning on her beat up boomerang, she limped in search of someplace she could spend the night.
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"Aren't you hungry, Lady Kagome?" Hakiro asked and shoved some raw meat in his mouth.
Kagome blanched. "Uh…"
Hakiro stopped eating. "Lady Kagome; the food. I forgot that you are human and don't eat the same foods as we do."
She took her lid off and cried out at what she saw on the plate.
End of Last Chapter.
Meanwhile, Kimisa had carried Miroku's unconscious body back to the town in search for somewhere he could rest for the night.
She grunted when her arms wanted to give out, feeling Miroku's dead weight. She moved her right arm a little and his head leaned back. She felt a quickening in her body and ignored it. Her gaze traveled to his open neck.
The sudden reminder that she hadn't eaten for a while nagged at her. The need for blood was overwhelming and she tightened her hands. They dug into Miroku's flesh as she pulled him closer to her. His warm blood wouldn't tempt her while he was asleep.
As she neared the town, the sky darkened and she knew she had to find somewhere Miroku could stay. Somewhere safe. 'Wake up soon, Miroku,' she thought, narrowing her eyes.
His body shifted so suddenly, Kimisa gasped and let go of him. His groan of pain brought her to her knees next to him. "Oh, Miroku," she said in a soft, manipulating voice, "I'm so sorry for dropping you. You shocked me when you woke up." She touched his cool cheek and his eyes opened slowly.
"K-Kimisa?" He suddenly remembered what had happened and sat up. "Kanna…What happened-"
"She's gone. I broke her mirror and she left." She explained innocently.
He stood up and leaned against his staff.
"Are-Are you alright?" she asked with surprise. Why was he standing up?
He stared out into the distance. 'Did Kimisa save me?' He noticed how concerned she was for his behalf and felt something fluttery in his stomach. "Thank you, Kimisa… For saving me. If she had stolen my soul, then Inuyasha would have had to save me." He blinked at what he just said. 'What's going on? Who's Inuyasha?' "I owe you my life, Lady Kimisa." He grasped her cold hands in his.
'Only your heart. That's all I want from you.' Kimisa thought with a smirk and looked at his neck. 'I also want you to be like me, a vampire-demon.'
Miroku saw her staring at his neck and quickly covered it with his right hand. "What? Is something on my neck?" he asked with a frantic voice. He felt it and looked at his hand; nothing was on it.
Kimisa laughed and looked away. "Not yet…" she murmured.
Miroku didn't hear her. "Where shall we go now, Kimisa?" Miroku asked with a small smile. "We should find some place to rest for the night."
Kimisa looped her arm through his. As her obnoxiously cold hand rested in his warm one, she held her fangs in check.
Sango was breathing harshly by nightfall. She was starving and depressed because she felt like she had gone in circles all day.
She stopped when she heard a noise behind her in the growing darkness. "What was that?" she wondered nervously and gripped her boomerang.
The forest was quiet again. Totally silent. As in, there weren't any sounds. Not even of any animals. The wind wasn't even blowing anymore.
Sango clenched her body in a cool sensation that felt like fear. She trembled. 'Could someone-or something, have been following me all this time?' Her eyes widened. 'Picura? Is it him?' She stopped herself and smiled, shaking her head. 'Why am I worrying? It was probably nothing.' She walked on quickly, anxious for all of her limp to be gone. She had to find something to eat before it got completely dark.
Kagome found that she couldn't speak. She was so shocked at what she was seeing that she had frozen in place. Her stomach recoiled at the stench of it and her mind was screaming.
Next to her, Hakiro raised an eyebrow. "You are surprised? Lady Kagome, this is what we eat."
"Yes, but-!" The horrid smell wouldn't go away. She felt like she was going to be sick and dropped the lid with a cry. Since everyone was eating the same thing, the smell most definitely wouldn't go away.
With the crash of the tray, everyone turned to look at her.
Kagome turned her head away, feeling the strong urge to vomit. 'How-how can they…eat this?' she thought with a cry. 'Such a disgusting creature!'
Hareema had just taken a bite of her food when the tray bounced noisily on the wooden table. "Kagome, what's the problem?" she asked, her mouth full. Blood, that's what Kagome thought it was, dripped down her chin.
Kagome gaped at her and her hand went to her mouth. She pushed away from the chair. "Hareema, what are you…EATING? There's blood coming from your mouth!" Kagome pointed hysterically. "For goodness sakes, Hareema. Your eating…eating rats!"
The whole table still stared at her, some glaring.
Hakiro put his…-thing- down and stood up beside Kagome. He started talking in that foreign language Kagome didn't recognize. The people began talking to each other below whispers. Hakiro turned to her while the others talked amongst themselves. "Lady-…Miss Kagome, I told them that you are a mere human and that your meal was wolf-demon food. Somehow your meal got mixed up. Do not worry yourself, I will send for your real food."
Soon enough, another servant walked in with another platter of food. Although Kagome had completely lost her appetite, she felt obligated to eat some.
Hakiro helped her into her chair and he flashed her a reassuring smile.
The servant removed the plate of raw rat and replaced it with another, much to Kagome's relief.
"So… What is it this time?" she said and laughed dryly.
No one else saw the amusement behind her words.
"Open it first." Hareema said.
Kagome slowly opened the lid; afraid she would see more rats. She lifted it to see roasted chicken and steamed rice on the plate. Her stomach rested. She sniffed and the smell was delicious. 'Now this looks great!'
"Is this meal to your liking, Miss Kagome?" Hakiro asked with concern.
"Yes, thank you." She took a deep breath to make sure her stomach had settled and then reached for the chicken. She ignored the stares and tried not to think that they were all eating dead rats. She took a bite, chewed, and swallowed. 'This tastes kind of like sesame-seed chicken, the kind my mom makes!'
Hareema was watching her with a furrowed brow. "Kagome, are you totally sure you eat all of that?"
Kagome stopped eating. 'What is that supposed to mean?' Taking another bite, she didn't notice the small movements on the plate.
Hareema's face looked disgusted and her left eye twitched. 'Does she really eat that stuff? Even we don't resort to that.'
Kagome was staring ahead, obviously deep in thought, and she picked up some rice. Or, what she thought was rice.
"Kagome, do you actually eat-" Hareema began.
Kagome put the 'rice' in her mouth. When she felt distinct movements that were definitely not her tongue in her mouth, she looked at the plate. Small worms were wiggling around in with the white rice. The thought occurred to her that she was eating worms and she immediately spit them out, but, unfortunately at the person in front of her. Kagome screamed in horror and kept spitting until they were all gone. The spitting made her gag and she held her whimpering stomach.
The person in front of her started shrieking also and stood up, frantically brushing the maggots off.
The servant smiled evilly. 'That stupid wench got what she deserved. Maybe now she'll stay away. Next time I won't be so nice.' The servant couldn't help grinning as she saw Kagome shaking, almost in tears. 'This couldn't be more perfect. Kagome just happened to spit the food at Mistress Keitaku.' The servant laughed quietly so that no one heard.
'I will get them back for betraying me. And I know just how…'
"Oh no. Kagome spit the maggots at Mistress Keitaku." 'I hope she doesn't do anything to Kagome.'
The older woman glared at Kagome at the same time she was scolding her servants. Ten of them rushed into the room and began cleaning up. The servants looked shocked, but quickly began cleaning. Kagome could believe it though. The room looked a lot worse than when the meal first began. The recent flawless room now had crawling maggots everywhere. Mistress Keitaku and the other women Kagome didn't know were all about in a scared ruckus.
"Those nasty bugs!" one woman cried. "Who put them in here?" She was jumping up and down for fear that any maggots would touch her. "Remove them at once!" She grabbed a servant by the thin sleeve. "You, take me to my chamber. I will finish my food without any interruptions."
They left the room and Kagome rubbed her temples. 'What's going on? Why is all this happening? Is someone behind this, or is it just a coincidence?' She shivered, averting her dark eyes from the worms. She kept imagining them crawling around in her mouth… Ewww! 'I don't care what it is, I need to get out of here fast!'
Kagome gasped, recognizing a shrieking woman. The one that had yelled at her at the beginning of the meal. "I'm so sorry," Kagome started when the woman made her way out of the room, but Hareema and Hakiro held her back.
"No, Kagome. You don't want to be near Mistress Keitaku when she's angry." Hareema gripped her arm gently.
"Just wait until Master Kouga finds out about this. I'm going to be dinner tomorrow." Hakiro groaned and ran his hand through his raven black hair.
Hareema glared at him. "That's not funny, you idiot!" She smacked him on the shoulder and looked worriedly at Kagome. "I'll just talk to Kouga tonight before he retires to his room. I mean, he would believe me, because we're cousins." She paused and bit her lip. "Hopefully."
Kagome shook her head vehemently. "No way, Hareema. Kouga would wonder why I didn't tell him. I'll do it. He'll believe me."
"How do you know?" Hakiro questioned nervously.
Kagome's voice turned determined. "Because I do. I'll make him, by persuasion if I have to. You are not taking any blame Hakiro."
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Thank you all for your support! I can't answer reviews this chapter because of my busy schedule, and I'm sorry about taking so long again.
Please review, as usual!
Thanks-Sanci
