Icewings: Hello! I've got the next three chapters waiting in the wings, so plz review!!!! (And yes, I am bribing you.)
Silka: Do you even realize how sad that is?
Icewings: Leave me alone! cries
Silka: - -; ANYways, here's the next chapter!
A dark figure in a bloodstained hakama of fire-rat hair scanned the battlefield. The setting sun behind him cast his face in shadow, and his silver-white mane reflected the golden light. The smell of corpses and clay invaded his sensitive nose. "He got away."
"Not completely." A woman in miko clothing walked up behind him. "He left an arm, and there's a trail of blood leading into the woods." She said.
"How did he get away? It was a direct hit!" Inuyasha growled.
"It seems that the sword sheathed at his side protected him. I sensed a spiritual energy coming from it." Kikyou reported.
"Then we should report to Master of his escape."
"He won't last the night...if he's lucky. His other sword turned on him in his weakness, and fatally poisoned him." The miko said with a cold smile that sent a chill up the half-demon's back. "Even if he did somehow survive both the blood loss and poisoning, there isn't any power great enough to heal him. The great Lord of the Western Lands will live out the rest of his life a cripple." The undead miko turned. "We must return to the castle now, Master has need of us." She began to walk away.
"Kikyou, wait!"
The young woman stopped.
"I need to know. "He gathered up his courage. "Do you... still have some of the feelings that you had before?"
"What do you mean?" She said coolly.
"I mean, Kikyou, your feelings for me...do you remember when we vowed, at the docks, when we talked about...love?" His voice was a bit hesitant now. Her sudden musical laughter mocked him, and he could only stare.
"What is love, Inuyasha?" Her tone was amused. "Lust? A delusion of comfort? Perhaps all you felt for me was something you only thought was love, to make your own pathetic life more meaningful."
The hanyou just stood there, mouth gaping.
"What, was that too difficult for your feeble mind to grasp?" She walked over to him, placing a hand on his chest. "Do you want to know what I truly felt for you, Inuyasha?" She slid her hand to his stomach, making him gulp, "Do you?" she pressed her warmthless body against his, and whispered in his ear. "All that my heart knew for you and everyone else in my life was a short-lived fondness." Her tone was indifferent, eyes focused on the 'V' of his yukata. "You were my escape from the san stones; nothing more. I lusted for you, and you fulfilled that lust whenever I called, like an obedient dog." She backed away, another cold, mocking smile gently gracing her lovely features. "I died when I could have saved myself only to be rid of you and the worthless thing that I was forced to call my life." A low chuckle escaped from between her smiling lips. "You fool, did you honestly believe that I ever 'loved' you?" She spat out 'loved' like it was a clod of dirt.
"K...Kikyou."
"Silence!" she suddenly yelled. "I'll never forgive you for bringing me back. Never."
He wished she'd slapped him. Surely it would've hurt less if she'd just hit him, or even shot him with a sacred arrow. He felt numb all over, and he simply fell to his knees, staring straight ahead, and she chuckled to herself and walked away to summon her soul-collectors.
"Inuyasha?" Her thoughtful voice reached his dazed mind.
He felt a sudden burst of hope at the soft tone of her voice. "What?"
"Now that I think of it, you really weren't anything exceptional in bed. I believe your brother is much more...fun." She chuckled, and her soul-collectors wrapped themselves around her slender frame and lifted her off the ground.
"K-Kikyou!" He called. She ignored his broken cry, and floated away into approaching dusk.
"KIKYOU!!!" Her name ripped from his throat, and he stood up only to watch her fade away in the distance, the haunting laughter that would torture him for years to come echoing in his mind. "Kikyou." He whispered her name one last time, his heart ripped to shreds, and slowly his rage built. He remembered her last words about his brother, and he hated Sesshoumaru, and himself, but not the woman responsible for his suffering. No, not his perfect miko that he'd still die for. Even now, after what she'd just done to him, he still loved her. (AN: the baka)
Desperate for something to hate, he looked at the ground, and noted his half-brother's blood. He growled, and began tracking it to make sure that their job was completed. He hoped Sesshoumaru hadn't died...yet.
Meanwhile high among the pink and gold clouds, the dead miko's tragic expression went unseen.
"Misstresss, you told an untruth. Sssss." One of her soul collectors hissed.
"I did as I felt was necessary, and now he has no reason to remain Naraku's slave."
"Hsss...but what of you, Mistresss?"
'I?' She paused and seemed to consider the question carefully. After a long pause, she replied. 'I shall bear my love for him into eternity, and hold it close to my soulless heart until I leave this earth.' She chuckled at the irony of her word, 'soulsess'. "If only it were." She whispered.
The River Aibo (memory)
Kagome woke to the sound of lapping water, and the world seemed to be rocking and creaking. She cracked her eyes open, and immediately regretted it as morning sunlight assaulted her sleepy eyes. 'Where am I?' She wondered. Suddenly, images of the night before swirled into her mind, putting her immediately on guard.
She jerked up into a sitting position, and saw that she was in a longboat. At the front end was the sleeping form of Sango. She didn't recognize the river, and there was a short person in the back, for the moment turned away from her. She looked around for a weapon, and was surprised to find her sword resting at her side.
Deciding that the person wasn't hostile because she still had her weapon, she hesitantly called out to it. "Uhh...hello?
The person turned his head, and his face broke out in a big grin. Kagome guessed he was about six or seven. "Oh, so you're awake! I thought you'd sleep forever."
The still groggy young woman got a sense of de ja vu, but she forgot the feeling when the youkai's features registered in her foggy mind. "Shippou?? Is that really you?!" She stood up, making the boat rock dangerously.
"Careful! If you drink this river's water you can lose your memory!" The kitsune demon replied.
Regaining her balance, she stepped closer for a better look. "It IS you!" She cried, and hugged him happily. Shippou simply grinned.
"I thought you were dead!"
"Well, it's obvious that I'm not." He said, his grin wider than ever.
Kagome looked at him with questioning eyes. "But, how? When Naraku stormed the palace, you stopped to distract them while we went ahead. After they finally caught up with us, I knew you must've been hurt and..." Her eyes were brimming with tears of joy. "I'm so glad you're here!" She squeezed him extra tight, then stood back.
"You haven't changed much." She said, curious.
"Kitsune youkai age slower than cat youkai. Cat youkai like you and Sango though age like humans until you reach adulthood, then you stay the same age until you die. I was six in kitsune years (about 20 human years) when Sango and I first met you, even though I look like a small child." Shippou said.
Kagome was surprised. The old Shippou would have shrugged and said that he didn't know. When she asked about it he said that for the last seven years, he'd been serving under the youkai lord and lady of the South, his homeland. Then he shrugged. "You pick these things up when you're around Lady Silka. She's always telling people useless stuff like that."
"Well, I'm glad. You sound SO much smarter."
"Heyyyyyy!" Shippou protested. Kagome laughed, then suggested that they should wake up Sango.
But Sango was already awake. "Who's this, Kagome?" She said, eyes alert.
When the other two explained, the three excitedly related all that had happened after the escape from the Eastern Castle. When they finished, Shippou looked surprised. "So it was YOU that set off all that energy!"
"Do you mean that other people felt Kagome's power rise?" asked Sango.
"Is that how you found us?" asked Kagome.
Shippou nodded to both questions. "I was sent to investigate it as a favor while I was visiting the Eastern Castle. There are now rumors spreading that you and Souta might still be alive, so when the energy surge was detected, I was sent to investigate. Of course, I'm sure Naraku sent his own team of 'investigators'."
Kagome nodded grimly. "Yes, I think we met them in Kaede's hut."
"By the way," said Shippou, "where is Souta?"
Both girls frowned. "When Naraku's assassins attacked, we sent both Souta and Kaede into the forest." said Sango.
"We have to find them as soon as possible!" exclaimed Shippou. "It's not safe for him to be out there alone, Naraku might still be looking for you two."
"Right!" said Kagome, worried for her brother. "But where do we start? The forests around here are really big, if we went in, there's no guarantee that we won't get lost."
Shippou had a concentrated look on his face, then he brightened. The two girls saw it, and asked if he knew where Souta was.
"No, but I know someone who might, and he isn't far from here, either." The two looked at him, questioning in their eyes. Shippou elaborated. "He is the leader of a pack of wolf youkai. He and his followers rule these woods. If anything stumbled into them, he'd know about it." He winced, remembering his first encounter with the young wolf demon. "I speak from experience."
"Do you think he'd hurt my brother and Kaede-sensei?" Kagome asked anxiously.
Shippou smiled. "Don't worry, I'm sure he wouldn't hurt them or anything. He may be rough around the edges, but he wouldn't harm a child, or an old woman for that matter."
The girls relaxed, and they started talking about what they'd been up to for the past few years.
They stopped for lunch on shore, Shippou spotting a nice, shady spot beneath a pine tree. A blanket was spread, and they feasted on some of the travel food from Shippou's pack.
"Hey, this sweet stuff is REALLY good!"
"Yeah Shippou," Sango said, "It's like nothing I've ever tasted before. What is it called?"
Shippou grinned. "Cheetah cub."
The two girls' faces paled, and Sango started choking as Kagome immediately spit out her mouthful and yelled, "You mean to tell me you're feeding us CAT MEAT??? DO YOU KNOW WHAT KIND OF YOUKAI WE ARE?!"
Shippou's face was turning red and he seemed to be holding his breath, and suddenly he burst out into hysterical giggles. "Eeeh, eh HAHAHAHAHA! You should have, eh hahaha! Seen...haha! the looks on your faces! Aaaaaaaahahaha!" He collapsed on the ground, rolling around like he was in pain, except that he was still giggling his head off.
"Shippou, that was horrible of you!" Kagome scolded. Shippou went on laughing.
. "Ahahaha!! Hahahaha! OW!!!" he rubbed his head and looked down to see a prickly pinecone lying next to him. "Who threw this?!" He held up the offending object.
Sango was whistling and looking around aimlessly while Kagome was having a 'coughing' fit.
Shippou glared at the whistling cat youkai.
"What? You think I did that?" Sango said innocently, pointing.
Shippou nodded emphatically and suddenly, he grinned. "I guess I deserved that. Anyway, that yummy stuff you liked is called chocolate, not cheetah cub."
"Where did you get it?" Sango asked.
"It's foreign food from over the West sea; isn't it great?"
The three sat down again to eat, the conversation turning to old days.
They were packing everything up when Kagome suddenly looked up from where she was folding the leftover food into a napkin. Her senses had picked up several youkai spreading out around them.
Shippou and Sango sensed it too, but the scent of pine had kept them from detecting the newcomers earlier. Now they were surrounded. The three looked about to see several vicious, flesh-eating wolves growling and foaming at the mouth. They smelled of human blood.
"Here we go again." Kagome muttered.
Hello! I promised I would update soon, and I did! I hope y'all liked this chapter, I've got plenty more, just keep the reviews coming!
Suki1: Hey! Yup, I've updated! I hope you fix that virus thing...
demonswty: Whaddya mean? I haven't changed it...much.
AN: Ok, this is kinda pathetic. I'm not replying to any more reviews until I have at least five to reply to! (sweatdrops)
Silka: Do you even realize how sad that is?
Icewings: Leave me alone! cries
Silka: - -; ANYways, here's the next chapter!
A dark figure in a bloodstained hakama of fire-rat hair scanned the battlefield. The setting sun behind him cast his face in shadow, and his silver-white mane reflected the golden light. The smell of corpses and clay invaded his sensitive nose. "He got away."
"Not completely." A woman in miko clothing walked up behind him. "He left an arm, and there's a trail of blood leading into the woods." She said.
"How did he get away? It was a direct hit!" Inuyasha growled.
"It seems that the sword sheathed at his side protected him. I sensed a spiritual energy coming from it." Kikyou reported.
"Then we should report to Master of his escape."
"He won't last the night...if he's lucky. His other sword turned on him in his weakness, and fatally poisoned him." The miko said with a cold smile that sent a chill up the half-demon's back. "Even if he did somehow survive both the blood loss and poisoning, there isn't any power great enough to heal him. The great Lord of the Western Lands will live out the rest of his life a cripple." The undead miko turned. "We must return to the castle now, Master has need of us." She began to walk away.
"Kikyou, wait!"
The young woman stopped.
"I need to know. "He gathered up his courage. "Do you... still have some of the feelings that you had before?"
"What do you mean?" She said coolly.
"I mean, Kikyou, your feelings for me...do you remember when we vowed, at the docks, when we talked about...love?" His voice was a bit hesitant now. Her sudden musical laughter mocked him, and he could only stare.
"What is love, Inuyasha?" Her tone was amused. "Lust? A delusion of comfort? Perhaps all you felt for me was something you only thought was love, to make your own pathetic life more meaningful."
The hanyou just stood there, mouth gaping.
"What, was that too difficult for your feeble mind to grasp?" She walked over to him, placing a hand on his chest. "Do you want to know what I truly felt for you, Inuyasha?" She slid her hand to his stomach, making him gulp, "Do you?" she pressed her warmthless body against his, and whispered in his ear. "All that my heart knew for you and everyone else in my life was a short-lived fondness." Her tone was indifferent, eyes focused on the 'V' of his yukata. "You were my escape from the san stones; nothing more. I lusted for you, and you fulfilled that lust whenever I called, like an obedient dog." She backed away, another cold, mocking smile gently gracing her lovely features. "I died when I could have saved myself only to be rid of you and the worthless thing that I was forced to call my life." A low chuckle escaped from between her smiling lips. "You fool, did you honestly believe that I ever 'loved' you?" She spat out 'loved' like it was a clod of dirt.
"K...Kikyou."
"Silence!" she suddenly yelled. "I'll never forgive you for bringing me back. Never."
He wished she'd slapped him. Surely it would've hurt less if she'd just hit him, or even shot him with a sacred arrow. He felt numb all over, and he simply fell to his knees, staring straight ahead, and she chuckled to herself and walked away to summon her soul-collectors.
"Inuyasha?" Her thoughtful voice reached his dazed mind.
He felt a sudden burst of hope at the soft tone of her voice. "What?"
"Now that I think of it, you really weren't anything exceptional in bed. I believe your brother is much more...fun." She chuckled, and her soul-collectors wrapped themselves around her slender frame and lifted her off the ground.
"K-Kikyou!" He called. She ignored his broken cry, and floated away into approaching dusk.
"KIKYOU!!!" Her name ripped from his throat, and he stood up only to watch her fade away in the distance, the haunting laughter that would torture him for years to come echoing in his mind. "Kikyou." He whispered her name one last time, his heart ripped to shreds, and slowly his rage built. He remembered her last words about his brother, and he hated Sesshoumaru, and himself, but not the woman responsible for his suffering. No, not his perfect miko that he'd still die for. Even now, after what she'd just done to him, he still loved her. (AN: the baka)
Desperate for something to hate, he looked at the ground, and noted his half-brother's blood. He growled, and began tracking it to make sure that their job was completed. He hoped Sesshoumaru hadn't died...yet.
Meanwhile high among the pink and gold clouds, the dead miko's tragic expression went unseen.
"Misstresss, you told an untruth. Sssss." One of her soul collectors hissed.
"I did as I felt was necessary, and now he has no reason to remain Naraku's slave."
"Hsss...but what of you, Mistresss?"
'I?' She paused and seemed to consider the question carefully. After a long pause, she replied. 'I shall bear my love for him into eternity, and hold it close to my soulless heart until I leave this earth.' She chuckled at the irony of her word, 'soulsess'. "If only it were." She whispered.
The River Aibo (memory)
Kagome woke to the sound of lapping water, and the world seemed to be rocking and creaking. She cracked her eyes open, and immediately regretted it as morning sunlight assaulted her sleepy eyes. 'Where am I?' She wondered. Suddenly, images of the night before swirled into her mind, putting her immediately on guard.
She jerked up into a sitting position, and saw that she was in a longboat. At the front end was the sleeping form of Sango. She didn't recognize the river, and there was a short person in the back, for the moment turned away from her. She looked around for a weapon, and was surprised to find her sword resting at her side.
Deciding that the person wasn't hostile because she still had her weapon, she hesitantly called out to it. "Uhh...hello?
The person turned his head, and his face broke out in a big grin. Kagome guessed he was about six or seven. "Oh, so you're awake! I thought you'd sleep forever."
The still groggy young woman got a sense of de ja vu, but she forgot the feeling when the youkai's features registered in her foggy mind. "Shippou?? Is that really you?!" She stood up, making the boat rock dangerously.
"Careful! If you drink this river's water you can lose your memory!" The kitsune demon replied.
Regaining her balance, she stepped closer for a better look. "It IS you!" She cried, and hugged him happily. Shippou simply grinned.
"I thought you were dead!"
"Well, it's obvious that I'm not." He said, his grin wider than ever.
Kagome looked at him with questioning eyes. "But, how? When Naraku stormed the palace, you stopped to distract them while we went ahead. After they finally caught up with us, I knew you must've been hurt and..." Her eyes were brimming with tears of joy. "I'm so glad you're here!" She squeezed him extra tight, then stood back.
"You haven't changed much." She said, curious.
"Kitsune youkai age slower than cat youkai. Cat youkai like you and Sango though age like humans until you reach adulthood, then you stay the same age until you die. I was six in kitsune years (about 20 human years) when Sango and I first met you, even though I look like a small child." Shippou said.
Kagome was surprised. The old Shippou would have shrugged and said that he didn't know. When she asked about it he said that for the last seven years, he'd been serving under the youkai lord and lady of the South, his homeland. Then he shrugged. "You pick these things up when you're around Lady Silka. She's always telling people useless stuff like that."
"Well, I'm glad. You sound SO much smarter."
"Heyyyyyy!" Shippou protested. Kagome laughed, then suggested that they should wake up Sango.
But Sango was already awake. "Who's this, Kagome?" She said, eyes alert.
When the other two explained, the three excitedly related all that had happened after the escape from the Eastern Castle. When they finished, Shippou looked surprised. "So it was YOU that set off all that energy!"
"Do you mean that other people felt Kagome's power rise?" asked Sango.
"Is that how you found us?" asked Kagome.
Shippou nodded to both questions. "I was sent to investigate it as a favor while I was visiting the Eastern Castle. There are now rumors spreading that you and Souta might still be alive, so when the energy surge was detected, I was sent to investigate. Of course, I'm sure Naraku sent his own team of 'investigators'."
Kagome nodded grimly. "Yes, I think we met them in Kaede's hut."
"By the way," said Shippou, "where is Souta?"
Both girls frowned. "When Naraku's assassins attacked, we sent both Souta and Kaede into the forest." said Sango.
"We have to find them as soon as possible!" exclaimed Shippou. "It's not safe for him to be out there alone, Naraku might still be looking for you two."
"Right!" said Kagome, worried for her brother. "But where do we start? The forests around here are really big, if we went in, there's no guarantee that we won't get lost."
Shippou had a concentrated look on his face, then he brightened. The two girls saw it, and asked if he knew where Souta was.
"No, but I know someone who might, and he isn't far from here, either." The two looked at him, questioning in their eyes. Shippou elaborated. "He is the leader of a pack of wolf youkai. He and his followers rule these woods. If anything stumbled into them, he'd know about it." He winced, remembering his first encounter with the young wolf demon. "I speak from experience."
"Do you think he'd hurt my brother and Kaede-sensei?" Kagome asked anxiously.
Shippou smiled. "Don't worry, I'm sure he wouldn't hurt them or anything. He may be rough around the edges, but he wouldn't harm a child, or an old woman for that matter."
The girls relaxed, and they started talking about what they'd been up to for the past few years.
They stopped for lunch on shore, Shippou spotting a nice, shady spot beneath a pine tree. A blanket was spread, and they feasted on some of the travel food from Shippou's pack.
"Hey, this sweet stuff is REALLY good!"
"Yeah Shippou," Sango said, "It's like nothing I've ever tasted before. What is it called?"
Shippou grinned. "Cheetah cub."
The two girls' faces paled, and Sango started choking as Kagome immediately spit out her mouthful and yelled, "You mean to tell me you're feeding us CAT MEAT??? DO YOU KNOW WHAT KIND OF YOUKAI WE ARE?!"
Shippou's face was turning red and he seemed to be holding his breath, and suddenly he burst out into hysterical giggles. "Eeeh, eh HAHAHAHAHA! You should have, eh hahaha! Seen...haha! the looks on your faces! Aaaaaaaahahaha!" He collapsed on the ground, rolling around like he was in pain, except that he was still giggling his head off.
"Shippou, that was horrible of you!" Kagome scolded. Shippou went on laughing.
. "Ahahaha!! Hahahaha! OW!!!" he rubbed his head and looked down to see a prickly pinecone lying next to him. "Who threw this?!" He held up the offending object.
Sango was whistling and looking around aimlessly while Kagome was having a 'coughing' fit.
Shippou glared at the whistling cat youkai.
"What? You think I did that?" Sango said innocently, pointing.
Shippou nodded emphatically and suddenly, he grinned. "I guess I deserved that. Anyway, that yummy stuff you liked is called chocolate, not cheetah cub."
"Where did you get it?" Sango asked.
"It's foreign food from over the West sea; isn't it great?"
The three sat down again to eat, the conversation turning to old days.
They were packing everything up when Kagome suddenly looked up from where she was folding the leftover food into a napkin. Her senses had picked up several youkai spreading out around them.
Shippou and Sango sensed it too, but the scent of pine had kept them from detecting the newcomers earlier. Now they were surrounded. The three looked about to see several vicious, flesh-eating wolves growling and foaming at the mouth. They smelled of human blood.
"Here we go again." Kagome muttered.
Hello! I promised I would update soon, and I did! I hope y'all liked this chapter, I've got plenty more, just keep the reviews coming!
Suki1: Hey! Yup, I've updated! I hope you fix that virus thing...
demonswty: Whaddya mean? I haven't changed it...much.
AN: Ok, this is kinda pathetic. I'm not replying to any more reviews until I have at least five to reply to! (sweatdrops)
