Cowboys and Demons
by The Moose of Death
Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha or any of the characters. This is just for kicks, y'know?
Chapter 2: Mystery Man
"How close are we Kagome?" said Miroku, asking what was on everyone's mind.
Kagome placed a finger on her lip. "I'm getting a stronger feelingit shouldn't be very far."
"Well we would be there a helluva lot sooner if we'd have taken Kirara and followed my lead," Inuyasha hissed out between his teeth, growing more impatient with every step.
Kagome stretched out her arms and took in a deep breath. "I've missed this era so much, I just want to soak in the atmosphere again. The treesthe grassthe fresh airin some respects, it sure beats where I'm from." She hadn't even taken her bike, just so that she could enjoy the scenery a little longer. The sun was sinking low, but there was plenty of daylight for them to burn before it dipped behind the hills. The trees around them gave ample shade from the still hot sun, while at the same time giving a pleasant sight by letting a few rays of light slip by through the branches. Shippo picked up some leaves and acorns off the ground for his little illusions, just in case the occasion called for it. Kirara took advantage of the recreational atmosphere and hitched a ride on Sango's shoulder, and Inuyasha and Miroku silently took the lead.
They came upon a slightly rising incline and could see the stacks of smoke above it. "That must be a village up ahead," Miroku pointed out. "It's probably where the jewel shard is."
"It does feel closer," Kagome said.
Shippo stretched himself out and yawned. "Maybe they'll let us spend the night there."
"Yeah, and maybe they'll slit our throats when we fall asleep," Inuyasha cynically said. "For all we know that whole village has been run over by demons and they're just waiting for us there now." Shippo immediately jumped up while giving a quick shriek.
"Calm down Shippo. We can handle anything they throw our way," Sango reassured the small fox demon.
Inuyasha swatted the back of Shippo's head. "Yeah you little baby! Don't you have any faith in us after all we've been through? I mean, we've saved your butt about a million times."
"Hey I can take care of myself just fine!" Shippo angrily shouted out, waving his arms violently in the air.
"Then I guess we can go ahead and leave these next guys to you?" Inuyasha retorted with a grin. This shut Shippo up and left him with his knees shaking a bit. It was then that they finally caught sight of the entire village. There were few dwellings, about thirty in all, of which many were built along the small river that ran through it. Between where they stood and the village, it was a large open field with some small groups of crops closer to the homes. This was the only part of the area like this, since the rest around the village was dense forest. They could see a few people tilling some unearthed parts of the field, presumably to expand on what they had. "Well what are we waiting for?" Miroku asked, taking the first steps down towards the people.
About halfway from where they got first sight of the entire scene, one working on the field caught sight of them and called to his fellow farmers. In no time, all of them quickly ran towards the huts in a panic. "I guess they don't like strangers," Sango said.
Not long after the farmers ran inside the village, someone on horseback emerged from within it. Inuyasha remained indifferent to the horseman, but the rest we're rather curious. "Maybe they're coming to welcome us," Shippo cheerfully said. The stranger was coming full speed on his plain brown horse shouting, "Hold it! Stay right there!" As he came closer, they could see he was wearing a very elaborate garb made of bright red and blue with intricate patterns, but he also had some weapons on him, which only made the group a little uneasy. Inuyasha cracked his knuckles and said, "Get ready."
The rider stopped about twenty feet in front of the group and took a thoughtful look at each of them. He looked nothing like any person from the era: his blond, straggly hair hung loosely down to lightly touch his shoulders and his eyes were a bright blue. His outfit seemed to reflect nobility, but that would not explain why he would personally greet strangers, especially on such a plain horse. The only thing Inuyahsa was concerned about, though he probably wasn't the only one, was the sword strapped to the young man's back, the bow in his left hand, and the quiver of arrows on his back opposite the sword.
"What do you want?" the mysterious rider asked very slowly.
Kagome stepped forward to answer. "We're looking for the jewel shard and it led us–"
"Wait!" the rider nervously interrupted. "Slow down a bit."
"Slow down?" Kagome confusingly asked.
"Talking. Slow down."
"Umokay." Kagome finally realized what he was asking for and considerably slowed down his speech. "We have cometo your villagein our searchfor jewel shards."
The stranger scratched his head and said, "For what? Jewel shards? I do knowwhat you talk about."
"So you know where the jewel shard is?" Sango immediately asked.
"No! Wait." The rider thought for a moment. "I do NOT know about it. Sorry."
"This certainly is a strange person," Miroku chuckled out.
"Well which is it?" Kagome inquired. "Do you or do you not know about the jewel shards?"
Now the horseman panicked a bit and seemed a bit confused. "This is a joke!" Inuyasha yelled out. "Is there something wrong with his head or something?"
There was a long silence until the stranger spoke up. "Follow me," he finally decided on, turning his horse around.
"Now we're getting somewhere," Inuyasha said as he followed the horse. Immediately the rider turned the horse around and sternly said, "No demons. Too dangerous." Inuyasha and Shippo were angered quickly by that, protesting with questions.
Inuyahsa clenched his teeth and yelled, "This is a bunch of nonsense! I'm coming whether you like it or not, and there's nothing you can do to stop me." The stranger immediately reached for his hip and pulled out what Kagome immediately recognized as a gun, pointing it directly at Inuyasha.
"Hold on Inuyasha! You have to be careful with that thing!" Kagome yelled out. This caught the attention of both Inuyasha and the rider, who was shocked to learn that Kagome undoubtedly realized what it was that he was holding.
"You know what this is?" the horseman asked shocked and perplexed. "You are different than the others." He put his gun back in the holster that no one had noticed before. "The demons can come. I will trust you." He turned his horse around and waved for them to follow him to the village.
"And I thought it was us who needed to worry about trust," Sango said.
"What was that thing Kagome? And why were you so afraid?" Miroku asked with great curiosity.
"Where I'm from, it's a very dangerous weapon," Kagome informed him.
Miroku contemplated for a little. "Could this person also come from your time?"
"Maybe. I'm just not sure. But it does seem like he could be, as crazy as it sounds."
Inuyasha spat out, "Well wherever he came from, he's really pissing me off."
:-:-:-:-:-:
When they walked passed the river to the small heart of the village, the rider called an old man towards him. He said a few words to the nodding man and took off to another part of the village. The old man then approached the group.
"What the hell was that all about?" Inuyasha asked the elderly one.
"He will patrol the area again and come back shortly to speak to you all," he kindly responded. "My name is Shinjo, and I was told to take you to his home."
"You mean the rider's?" Shippo asked.
"Yes. You are his guests, so follow me."
They walked along the river behind the lead of the old man. "So who is that rider anyway? Where did he come from?" Kagome asked, trying to wrap all the mysteries up at once. Shinjo was more than happy to answer. "He is the guardian of this village. Before he came, we lived in a much larger community. But because of the warring states, all of the young and strong men of our village were taken away to fight in the nearest shogun army. We were left with only the elderly, the women, and the young children. We toiled as hard as we could to produce as many crops as the men did, but we just did not have the strength." Shinjo stopped and turned to the group. "That was when a god, a son of Izanagi, came to us in our time of need."
Sango asked, "A god? You mean the rider?"
"Yes, that is of whom I speak of," Shinjo continued. "We knew immediately that he was a deity. His hair is the color of the sun, his eyes reflect the brilliance of the sky, and he wields the power of thunder and lightning." Kagome knew better what that thunder was and asked, "Are you referring to his gun?" Shinjo looked puzzled. "Is that what you call it? I had no idea."
"Yes, that's what it is," Kagome informed him.
"He is just like our previous protector," the old man reminisced. "Long ago, there was a great guardian of this village, a priest actually, who protected us for many years. He died when I was a little boy, and my family has kept his weapons for years. When the god appeared, I gave him those weapons and his greatness was evident in his ability to wield them."
"You mean that sword and bow he donned?" Miroku asked.
"Yes the very same." Shinjo continued walking again with the others following closely. "But it was strange that he could not understand us and we could not understand him. Perhaps the language of the gods is that much different than our own. But we have slowly taught him, though he still cannot speak very well." They came to the edge of the town and Shinjo stopped at a home that was entirely made out of wooden planks with a patio and an actual door that swings open, which surprised Kagome yet again. It was very different from the other dwellings around them. "Here we are. This is his home, which he built with some of our help."
"What a strange design," Sango said with a hint of awe, taking a seat in the chair that sat next to the door. "What do you think Kirara?" She looked down at the demon at her feet, who seemed just as curious about it as her.
"It's an actual rocking chair!" Kagome said pointing at Sango's position.
"A what?" Inuyasha asked utterly confused.
Before Kagome could answer, the village guardian finally arrived. "Sorry for the delay," he said coming down off his horse and tying the reins on a low branch of a nearby tree. "Thank you, Shinjo." The old man bowed and took his leave. The young man walked to the door, opened it, and bid them to come inside. "Inside, please. Much to discuss." They walked in one by one, with Inuyasha last, giving the host a suspecting look.
A/N: Yeah I know I'm still going really slowly, but it's all setting up! That's what I get for trying to be so descriptive. Anyway, the next chapter with have a much more comedic element (at least in my eyes). Don't be afraid to review/flame my work!