INUYASHA
Self-explanatory - kinda. It's something of a cross between Greek mythology and Japanese-ish - but only enough to actually fit Inuyasha in. And it's nothing like ancient Greece, actually. I stopped because I couldn't decide what would happen next.
Escape
He was running. Fast. Down hill, very fast. He almost seemed to fly every few feet. But he had to keep moving, had to keep moving...
He stumbled and fell. He tumbled, down, down. At least he was still going down. He had to get off the hill...But it was more like a mountain, it was so steep.
He skidded to a halt, and stood up. He began running again, ignoring the pain from the tumble. He had to keep moving, had to keep moving. Just up ahead was a river. It was big, and large. He had to at least make it to the river. The river...
He got to the river, all right. He fell right into it, unable to stop. He fell unconscious from the quick temperature change, and from the depth he dropped suddenly, and from the rapid current...
And he floated down stream, tugged along by the rapids. He'd be lucky to live...
Light flitted through the trees, onto the forest floor. There was a gentle swish of water nearby, and the tall trees created patterns on the ground with their leaves. It was quiet, and peaceful, and there was a young girl by the small stream. Well, it wasn't really small, for a stream, but it was small considering it was a roaring river miles up.
"Hey, Sister! Sister, come look at this!" the girl's voice called through the stillness of the forest. She had long black hair, and she was rather pretty. Her bright, silvery-blue eyes swam with different shades of purple in the flitting shadows.
"Yeah?" another young woman asked, walking into the relatively clear space near the bank. She stopped short when she saw what her friend had called her out for. "By Artemis, what is that!"
Her friend was resting on the bank, her legs folded up beneath her, and a head resting on her lap. The head belonged to a man, who had long, silver hair, and his red clothes were rather tattered, and stained with mud from the river. Oh, and by the way - he was soaked.
"I don't know. I was relaxing; I had my eyes closed, and I was daydreaming. Then I looked out into the stream, and he was floating there. I hauled him back out, but..." The girl shook her head.
"We need to get him to the village." said the second girl, helping her friend to drag the young man through the trees.
As he was coming to, the first thing he noticed was the sensations on his forehead. Something cool and wet was resting against his skin. He guessed it must be a wash cloth...but who was applying it?
As he felt the heat - which was radiating from him - evaporate the water on the cloth, someone removed it. He struggled to open his eyes, to sit up, and tell them to give that cool touch to reality back to him, he tried to speak, but he only mumbled something that sounded to him like "...uhng nnnnnn..."
He used all the strength he could muster and tried to open his eyes. A light invaded them, and for a moment he thought he was looking at the figure of an angel, but his eyes snapped shut, and he couldn't force them open again to be sure.
And he fell back into that blessed cool blackness, as he felt the cloth being replaced.
He was starting to wake up again. He didn't feel so hot this time, but he had no clue where he was.
He felt someone watching him, and oddly, he could almost feel their smile, though he hadn't opened his eyes yet. But as soon as he did, he faced the most beautiful person he'd ever seen.
She had long, black hair, and her eyes were bluish-silver, but he could see the soft hues of purple that swam up in the different shades of light. She had skin that wasn't quite pale - it actually was almost tan - but it was still a very soft hue, and glowed like honey over milk. Her soft, pale pink lips smiled at him, and she seemed to be wearing a long, white shear robe from his point of view (flat on his back in a bed).
"Hello." she said gently, in a voice that reminded him of the wind in the trees, and water over a brook at the same time. "You're finally awake."
He put his hand to his head. Either he was dead and in heaven, because she had to be an angel, or else she was..."Good Apollo have mercy, I think I stole your sister." he mumbled.
"What was that?" she asked, still smiling at him, but looking a little confused now.
"I'm dead." he said plainly, turning his head towards her, as far as he could (which wasn't very far, actually). "But what did I do to deserve a pass to heaven?"
The angel blinked. Then she laughed lightly. "Why, no, you're not in heaven. I pulled you from the river, and brought you here to this village. My friend helped, though."
"If I'm not in heaven, then how did an angel pull me from Styx?" he asked, confused. Then his mind caught up with his conscious, and he blushed. "Uh, sorry...I'm very confused."
"I gathered that." the angel said. 'No! She's not an angel! Well...anyways, you're on earth still, moron. No real angels. Not the kind with wings, anyway...'
He sighed. "What's your name, Angel?" he asked.
She laughed. "I'm no angel." she said, smiling. "My name is Kagome. And you are the luckiest man alive." she said with a shake of her head.
"I'll say." he muttered. "I fall in Styx, and end up getting pulled out by an angel."
"Styx? Did you really fall in Styx? I pulled you out of Aer. Just up stream from where I got you is a whole bunch of rapids. Oh, and what's your name?"
"Where am I?" he asked, ignoring the question to sit up. He looked at her, and realized that she was neither wearing the white angelic robes he'd thought he'd seen before, nor the shear clothing he'd thought he'd recognized as gods' clothing. Actually, she was wearing a light, off-white tunic, and white pants that went down almost to her ankles. Her feat were bare.
"You're in Tatemis. It's a small village near where Aer turns to a brook instead of a raging river, and it's right by the edge of the Desert of Crimson Sand. There is a fairly popular school here, which draws students from a wide array of places." She cocked her head to the side. "It's going to let out in a week; do you think you'll be up to travel by then?"
He sat up. "A week? How long have I been asleep?"
"It's been two days since I pulled you from Aer." she replied, shrugging. "You were unconscious then, so I don't know how long you've been out."
"Uh...Yeah, I'll be up to traveling in a week. Why?" he asked, struggling to get out of the bed, but he was tangled up. She laughed, and helped him to his feet.
Soon he was sitting on the bed properly. She went towards the door. "I'm going to go get you some food. You haven't eaten since you got here."
"You haven't answered my question; why should I need to travel in a week?"
"I want you to come with me." she said simply, walking out the door to the right.
After Kagome had left, he got to look at his surroundings some more. He was on a rather soft bed, for a village on the outskirts of a desert - the image he'd gotten from her description made him think of a small little nothing town where people could let their kids grow up in peace - and it was the only one in the room. When she'd walked out the door, he'd seen daylight, so he assumed that his room was the closest one to the outside.
There was a wooden table near the center, and a shelf on the other wall from the bed. There were two chairs at the table, and only a few books on the shelves, and the window, which was on the wall at a right angle to the shelves and the bed and opposite the door, had a dark blue curtain over it, and there was the very faint, almost sweet scent of last night's dinner on the air. Only he had the feeling that no one had eaten in this room since he'd arrived, so the smell might have been coming from another room, or perhaps a nearby building.
The walls seemed to be made of a solid, almost mud-brick like substance, but they resembled the fine, talented work that had been put into their creation - they weren't shabby at all, but they were a tan color. Everything around him seemed to have that earth-tone bit to it.
'That's why waking up to an angel in such an earthy room as this is odd; she really stands out.'
Under the window, there was a small, pen-like object. It was large, actually, but since everything about it blended in with the walls, you sort of over looked it.
He stood up, and walked over to it. It was about three feet long, a foot wide, and two feet tall. Inside, he saw, was a small creature. It looked like a little purple ferret, only it was rather small, only eight inches long. A third of that was it's three tails. It had darker paws and tail tips, a sort of magenta color, and the same color formed the mask around the ferret's eyes. The mouth was a slightly lighter, violet color, and the back was a blend of the purple and the magenta.
"By Apollo, it's a Violet Furo. I've never seen one." he whispered. "They're rare. How'd she get one?"
"So I see you like Kazaa, do you?" said a light voice from behind him.
He spun around. There was Kagome, standing by the table. She'd set something down, and it looked like a leather bag. The most delicious smells were coming from it, though...Suddenly he realized how hungry he was.
Kagome opened the bag, and tossed him what looked like a large biscuit. It was about six inches in diameter. He sniffed at it, and then took a bite. It was kind of warm, and he gulped down the first bite rather quickly.
"That's Kazaa." Kagome said, indicating the ferret-like creature in the cage. "He belongs to my friend back home. I was watching him while I was here."
He turned back, and saw that the little Violet Furo had awoken, and that it had violet eyes (Okay, show of hands...who didn't see that coming? Ah-ha! I knew it! ). But they were tempered slightly with red.
"You never told me your name." Kagome said quietly.
He looked up, startled, as he remembered. So she'd noticed he hadn't wanted to tell her his name, and avoided it, eh? So she given him time to think about it, hoping he'd change his mind? Well, she knew people. Or...maybe he was making to much of it? "Inuyasha."
She smiled. "Inuyasha. Hey, do you have a Furo?" she asked.
Inuyasha started. "No." He hadn't expected that. "Why?"
"Most every one does around here. And in my home town." Kagome said with a smile. "We might need to go get you one. You'll stick out like a sore thumb when we get home."
"You said that I was going with you. Where?" Inuyasha asked. Kagome paused to reach back into her bag, and pull out a map on old, yellowed paper.
"Here." she said, putting it down on the table. "We're here." she said, pointing out a place on the map. He could make out what looked like a slim line, which he figured was Aer. "We'll go here." She dragged her finger over the map, to where it turned almost reddish, to a small dot in the center of the giant patch of crimson. He remembered where she'd said that Tatemis was on the edge of the desert. So that red had to be the desert.
"Woah, now. We're going across desert?" Inuyasha asked, backing up slightly.
"Yes. Don't worry; we'll have quite a few guides and about eight land dragons going with us, so we'll be fine." she said calmly. "I have to cross this desert twice a year, every year, so I'd know if it was too tough. It'll be easy."
"All right. I want to go look around Tatemis before we leave, though. This is my first time on the other side of the river." Inuyasha said, turning back to Kazaa, who was still in his cage, watching them, and he felt almost sad.
Kagome knew what he was feeling, even if he didn't. "Don't worry; we'll find one before we leave." she said.
He turned back to her. "Find one what?" he asked.
"You want a Furo." she replied.
"How did you know?" he asked incredulously.
"I do." she replied, and he realized she was looking at Kazaa the same way he had felt a moment before. "That's why Miroku lent me Kazaa. Because I'm lonely." Then she turned to him. "Let's go shopping right now!" she said brightly. "I've never gone looking, because I had no one to look with. But now we can look together!"
"O...Okay." Inuyasha said, and let himself be pulled from the room.
As it turned out, that little room Inuyasha had been in was a sort of 'apartment' Kagome rented while she was there. There were a few other like it around. They went strait away to one in particular.
Kagome knocked on the door. "Sango, Sango!" she called. "The patient is up, awake, and ready for a shopping spree!"
A muffled voice came from inside. "Since when were you the patient?" And then the door opened, to reveal a young woman, about as old as Kagome, and while Inuyasha figured that a lot of people might say she was as pretty as her, if not prettier, he believed his angel was still the prettiest thing he'd ever seen.
"Ah, hello!" she said to him when she'd opened the door. "Are you feeling better? And what's this about shopping?"
"He saw Kazaa." Kagome said. "He doesn't have a Furo."
"Ah, yes." At the word 'Furo', a small, red creature leapt onto her shoulder. It was alot like Kazaa, except it was red/crimson instead of purple, and it had scarlet where there had been magenta. It was a Crimson Furo, and it's eyes were ruby-tinged-pink.
When she noticed that her Furo had caught Inuyasha's eye, she said, "This is Taiji. She's mine. She isn't my only pet, though. I also have a cat named Kirara back home."
"Well, Sango, I wondered if you knew any good places to get a Bonded." Kagome said.
"Oh, yeah. Kaede's come. She'll be going back with us this year, and she's got great Furo for Bonds. Very intelligent, and they have strong telekinetic once you Bond. I got Taiji from her, you know. And I think she helped Miroku get Kazaa." Sango said. "Well, I gotta get back to studying. We've got that test tomorrow."
"Yeah, but I think I've got it down. I'll study again when I get home, anyways." Kagome said. "Thanks. We'll be with Kaede if you need us, and if we aren't, she'll know where we are."
"Hey, Kagome?" Inuyasha asked as they walked away. Kagome shielded her eyes to look around. "What was that back there? You said something about 'bonded'."
"Oh, well, when you get a creature that's as powerful as a Furo, it's best to Bond. You'll see what I mean later." she said with a smile as she saw an older lady at a cart. "Kaede!" she called, walking up.
"Why, hello, Kagome. What are you doing here?" she asked, and she caught sight of Inuyasha. "Hello young man. Did my friend here drag you over to do some shopping? You'd better be careful; you know girls, they'll suck you dry." she said with a wink.
"Actually, Kaede, Inuyasha doesn't have any money in the first place. Someone got to him first." She fake pouted, and then smiled. "I'll be paying." Then she added, "He saw Kazaa, Kaede," as if that explained everything.
"Ah, yes. Well, come look at my brood." And she led them around to the back side of her large stand.
There was a large cage, full of frolicking little Furos. There were Tawny Furos, which were tan, with darker, brown spots and yellowy-tan mouths; and there were more Crimson Furos; Azure Furos, which were shades of blue with darker bands and masks, and lighter lips; a few Emerald Furos, which were rich green with lighter, yellowy green markings; some Scarlet Furos, which were red with orangish markings; and even White Furos, which were white with grayish markings. They were almost rare, but not as impossible to find as Violet Furos. Which she had none of.
"I know a fair deal about Furos." Kaede said. "In their order of rarity, the first to be common and the last to be rare, they are : Tawny Furos, Azure Furos, Emerald Furos, Crimson Furos, Scarlet Furos, White Furos, then Violet Furos, and finally Silver and Gold Furos.
"Have you ever heard of Telekinesis? Furos have that ability, and it's common for it to rub off on their Bonded. The less common the Furo type, the more power it will have. Meaning, while Tawnys are powerful, they pale in comparison to Golds and Silvers..."
But Inuyasha and Kagome had both stopped listening. They were looking over in the corner, where two small Furos slept. They were practically wrapped round one another, and their coats blended together so that you couldn't see what type they were.
Kagome cut Kaede off. "Um, Kaede? What are those two, over there?" she asked, pointing to the corner. The two Furos stood up, and walked up to the front of the cage. Inuyasha and Kagome gasped. They were a gold and silver. The one was solid silver, and where the markings should have been, it was blurrily tinged pale, pale blue, and the mouth was tinged so pale a purple you hardly noticed it. It's eyes were sharp, silver purple, almost the same shade as Kagome's. The other was solid gold. It's markings were very, very faint, and the color of light copper. But it's eyes, which had locked onto Inuyasha's, where the same shade as the boy's. Both of the little ferret-like creatures glittered like real precious metal.
Both of the teens put their hands to the bars on the cage, both thinking, 'That one's mine.', but also that there was no way they could afford them.
Kaede watched all this with fascination. These two seemed to be about the same age, and they were bonding to the Furos at the same time. She knew that the gold and silver were the same age; she'd raised them, after all. She went to open the lid of the cage, to let them see the little creatures, but four pairs of eyes locked onto the lid at the same moment, and it lifted up. The Furos climbed out of the cage, and over to their new masters.
The silver leapt into Kagome's arms, giving a delighted little squeak. Kagome blinked. She'd thought it had said something. It squeaked again.
"Momma!" it said. She looked around, wondering if anyone else had heard. No one seemed to have. Inuyasha was looking as surprised as she felt, but he was staring at his own gold. It squeaked.
She turned back to the little ball of silver fur in her arms. "What's your name?" sha asked it gently. Kaede and Inuyasha turned to look at her, but she didn't notice.
"Ara!" she squeaked. She leapt up, and did a lap around her shoulders. "My name's Ara!"
Inuyasha squeaked something, and she turned to look at him. "Tetsu." he said, shrugging at the way the little gold streak kept jumping from his head to the cage and back.
"Ara." she replied as the said Ara landed back in her arms.
"Ara and Tetsu?" Kaede asked, writing something down on a piece of paper. "I couldn't get Shinu to tell me. I don't think they'd decided when I tried."
"Kaede," Kagome said slowly, "We don't have enough money for a gold and silver."
"Don't worry about it. It would be a completely different story if you chose them, but they chose you. Now shoo. They'll be here in two hours. Go get ready."
Kagome yelped and ran back towards her apartment. Inuyasha decided to follow her.
"Hey, Kagome!" he yelled, finally catching up. Both the gold and silver squeaked in indignation, but both of their owners ignored them. "What's up?"
"The group that's going to take us back to my home is coming today. I have to be ready!" she cried, only half turning to look at him. "And we need to get you some clothes."
Inuyasha looked down. He had noticed that he was wearing an outfit much like Kagome's, but that it actually fit him. "What happened to my old clothes?" he asked.
"Well, they were pretty messed up from the river." Kagome explained as they entered the little one-room apartment. "So I had Kouga loan you those. But he'll want them back before we leave. Oh, and he's coming, too. My mother wants to meet him, since he's doing so good."
"What do you have to get done?" Inuyasha asked.
Two hours and a long shopping, cleaning, and packing session (you wouldn't think it would take that long to pack, since the room had been mostly empty, but it turned out the wall above the bed was a large cabinet/closet, full of a lot of items, which needed sorting, tidying and packing) later found Kagome and Inuyasha sitting on a small ridge, one that overlooked the path from the desert. They were waiting for the escort that would accompany them across the desert. Kagome would be returning home, and Inuyasha was going to go with her. A few of the other people that would be going with them were Sango, the young woman from before, that Kouga, whom he hadn't met yet but had loaned him the clothes, a Hojo fellow who he also hadn't met yet, but no undoubtedly would during the trip, a little kid named Shippo, who was supposedly like a younger sibling to Kagome. But, as you might have guessed, Inuyasha hadn't met him yet.
"And who is leading this procession again?" Inuyasha asked for the fifteenth time in ten minutes.
"I told you before, Inuyasha. It's Sergeant Tonaku." she laughed. "But I don't particularly like him. He's not a bad guy, but I never really warmed up to him, so I'm going to stay within my own tent. You can too, if you'd like. Actually, I think that would be best."
"Huh?"
Kagome laughed again. "Well, I've got a tent I drape over the back of my earth dragon, so that I don't have to see anyone while we travel. Sometimes I leave the tent off, but this time, I think I'll put it up. And you should ride my earth dragon with me, since they won't have sent for another person, and there will be enough room."
"I guess. Does everyone have their own earth dragon to ride?" Inuyasha asked, turning his gaze back to the path. He was almost nervous, she noted. But what he was nervous of, she wasn't sure.
"Well, all of us students do. Some of the guards have desert horses, but most of them just walk." She looked out over the path as well, and lifted Ara to coddle her to her shoulder. Tetsu was sitting on Inuyasha's head, and they were both watching the path, Tetsu feeling the nervous waves from his master, Ara feeling the eager feelings from hers, both getting anxious feelings from their owners.
"Kagome, what are you waiting for? And Tetsu's master is waiting for something, too." Ara had stopped calling her Momma a while ago.
"You can call him Inuyasha." Kagome said fondly to the little Furo. Inuyasha glanced at her, but didn't say anything. "And we're going home. We're waiting on the guards to arrive."
Tetsu squeaked something in Inuyasha's ear, having leaned over to do so, and it sounded like a Furo whisper. Inuyasha laughed slightly. "No, Tetsu, don't. Please. That would not be a good idea."
"What did he say?" Kagome asked.
Inuyasha shook his head, a faint, almost blush-like color tingeing his cheeks. "Nothing important." Turning to the little thing now on his shoulder, he said, "Kagome's fine. You can just call her Kagome. No, no, she won't eat you or anything, go ahead." he said with another laugh.
Tetsu leapt at Kagome, who tried to dodge with a yelp, but the Furo landed lightly on her arm, and nudged Ara up, and they ran. "Inuyasha, where are they going?" Kagome asked.
Ara turned back. "Don't worry, Kagome." she said quickly. "We'll be back. Just call when they get here. We're bored, so we're going to find something to do."
"Well, don't get into trouble!" she called as they disappeared.
She almost closed her eyes. She was getting bored, too. She didn't even register it when she half-fell, half-leaned into Inuyasha, her eyes drifting closed. Inuyasha, who's eyes were also barely open, didn't notice it, either.
But they both noticed it when a voice rang up to them:
"Hey, Kagome! I thought I'd find you up here!"
The two youths sitting together turned to look at the new arrival. Kagome blushed, setting her hand on Inuyasha's shoulder to steady herself as she stood.
"Oh, hello, Kouga." she said meekly, rubbing her eyes. Inuyasha rested his hand on her leg to keep her from falling, and a moment later, he stood, too.
"Why, Kagome, who's this?" Kouga asked, his smile wavering slightly, and his eyes darkening.
"Kouga, this is Inuyasha, the one I found in Aer. He's the one I borrowed those clothes for. Inuyasha, this is Kouga. Oh, Kouga, here are the clothes." she said, walking up to the handsome, dark haired, dark eyed youth and opening her satchel. She pulled out a folded off-white material and a pair of white pants. Inuyasha had since changed into a red version of the clothes (he seemed partial to the color when they'd gone shopping before).
"Oh, uh, thanks. Hmm...Eh, Inuyasha, could I have a word with you?" he asked, turning around suddenly. Inuyasha looked to Kagome uncertainly, but followed the other young man.
When they reached the bottom, and Kagome couldn't see them anymore, Kouga spun around and went to grab at Inuyasha's throat, but the silver-haired boy's reflexes prevented it. So Kouga had to be content to stand there clenching his fists and glaring at him while he said what he needed to say.
"Stay away from my woman." he said, snarling.
"What do you mean, idiot? The only woman I've been near is Kagome, and she doesn't belong to anyone, much less you." Inuyasha said with a smirk.
"She's mine, dog-breath!" Kouga growled.
"And what if I decide to make her mine?" Inuyasha said with a sly smile. "What will you do then?"
"I'll tear out your heart and feed it to the rabid wolves of Nuquirk! So stay away!"
As he walked back up the hill, Inuyasha couldn't help but reply, "She might as well be mine already, for the good that threat'll do yah' against me."
Kouga turned back to see Inuyasha walk past him and head ahead. "What do you mean?"
Inuyasha turned back to flash him a smirk. "I could beat you before you got near my heart. Or Nuquirk." he added, almost as an after thought.
Kouga growled, but Inuyasha just plopped back down into the grass besides Kagome again. A squeak drew his attention to his shoulder. "Go get him, Ooku." he said.
There was a streak of tan leaping across the ground, and it headed for Inuyasha's head, when the boy flipped up his hand and blocked the little viper's attack.
A very enraged Tawny Furo fell back to the ground, snarling up at the boy who had made his master mad. He'd show him...He went strait for Inuyasha's neck, but Kagome let out a scream, and Inuyasha dodged, letting out a shrill, high whistle, that Kagome somehow knew was meant for Tetsu to hear. She somehow translated it to mean, "You were bored, right? I've got a fight; come and see this!"
A streak of gold leapt out from the trees, followed quickly by a silver blur. The silver one, Ara, landed on Kagome's shoulder and proceeded to hiss at the attacker from there, while the gold one, Tetsu, landed in front Inuyasha and snarled at the Tawny.
Kouga blinked. He had a Gold Furo! And - he glance at Kagome - Kagome had a silver! And they were both defending Inuyasha! Did that mean that Kagome would defend Inuyasha too?
"Ooku, come back here." Kouga said, as he turned to go. The Tawny glanced back, and reluctantly turned to follow his master. Kouga looked over his shoulder at the other boy. "We'll finish this another day." he said simply, leaving.
Inuyasha smirked. "Coward. He wants to run away, huh? We'll see what that gets him in the end..."
"Inuyasha, look!" Tetsu cried, staring out over the path. Inuyasha turned. Kagome followed suit, apparently told to do so by Ara.
"Woah." was all Inuyasha could say.
The procession was led by two people on large horses. The first, closest to the front, was a boy, wearing a brown-colored shirt, and brown-colored pants. He had a sword at his belt, and was seated on a large, coppery-tan pony. He looked pretty young to actually be leading the troop, so it must have been the man next to him, who had a graying beard and a suit of white-painted chain-mail over an off-white outfit.
The actual procession was simply grand. Seven large, bay-colored beasts with huge saddles that could comfortably seat five people, each with a silky, brown material hanging down the back. The beasts were a good six feet tall, and eight feet long, down to the tips of their short, stubby tails. They also had short, thick wings that were big enough to scoop up and around to cover the saddle and the five people that could sit in it, probably to protect them if strong desert winds arose. Their stubby legs could walk long distances, and could actually go rather fast. They were dragons, after all, even if only earth dragons, and dragons were experts on speed.
There faces were broad and almost flat, but each had a large horn in the center, and their dark-as-midnight eyes watched the two in an almost restless way, but fixed their eyes on Kagome, and seemed to relax. One snarled, but in an almost affectionate way.
Among the seven large beasts, there walked a good hundred soldiers, about ten percent of them on large coppery horses, like their leaders' horses, only smaller. They mostly acknowledged their presence with a slight nod to Kagome.
"Sis!" cried the young man leading the others.
Kagome leapt up and ran down the hill to meet him. "Sota! I thought Mom said you couldn't come to get me? You're finally old enough, and she wouldn't let you leave!" She laughed.
"Mother wanted to me to accompany you since that young man would be joining you." Sota then seemed to notice Inuyasha, who was meandering down the hill to Kagome. "Why, hello. You must be him. I've never heard Kagome speak of another silver haired-boy, so I was quite surprised when we got her letter saying she'd found you."
"Hi." he said. He couldn't fathom why this girl and her friends would get such a treatment for coming home.
"Sota, why did mom let you come?" Kagome asked.
Sota looked away. "The guard is...rather small this time, don't you think, Sis? The country...was attacked. A hoard of wild dragons, and some villagers said they saw Apollo and Artemis attacking. They stayed a good distance away from our home, though, so Mother sent me to make sure that you came back safe. And," - He turned a searching eye to Inuyasha - "she wants me to watch you. She doesn't know you, and you're traveling with her daughter."
Inuyasha nodded, not speaking. Artemis? And Apollo? Attack a country? That didn't sound right...
"Lad," said the older man Inuyasha assumed was Sergeant Tonaku. "what's yer name? Where're yah from?"
"Um...My name's Inuyasha. But..." He put his hand to his head, trying to remember where he was from. He couldn't. "...I don't know where I'm from. I can't remember...But I think there was a shrine to Artemis and one to Apollo near there, because I remember traveling to them when I was a boy..." He shook his head. "Oh well. If I remember, then I'll remember." he said, grinning.
Kagome giggled. The procession continued on towards the village. Then Inuyasha remembered what he'd wanted to ask her.
"Uh, Kagome?" he asked, leaning close. "Don't you think that's a bit much for a few students' home-coming?"
Kagome turned to him, surprise lighting her eyes, but then amusement. "Oh, Inuyasha. You have no idea." she said with a sigh and a shake of her head. "Come on, let's get going."
