Disclaimer: I do not own any Inuyasha characters they belong to Rumiko Takahashi.
Warning: Story contains slight Shounen-ai so if you're uncomfortable reading this please go back now.
Chapter 2 A Girl's FriendshipKagome tossed and turned in her sleeping bag, unable to rest. Her mind kept wandering to thoughts about what the future would hold for her and her friends. Would she have to leave for good? The thought made her want to cry. She'd grown more accustomed to their travels and less to her average lifestyle in her world. Sure that she wasn't going to get any sleep this way, Kagome gently put the fox cub cuddled in her arms to one side of the sleeping bag as she got out of it and tucked the top part over him. She placed her shoes on her feet and walked over to meadow that was not too far from the campsite. The cool breeze relaxed her and allowed her some comfort as she sat down on the soft grass.
The young priestess ushered a gasp as a hand came to rest on her shoulder. She whirled around to come face to face with the demon that she rescued earlier that morning.
"Oh, hi Taro. What are you doing out here?" she asked the injured demon.
"I should be asking you that. I saw you walk off and went to see if you were alright," Taro smiled and took a seat next to her.
"Oh…I'm sorry I worried you. I was just…thinking about some things…" her eyes dulled a little at the last few words.
"Are those thoughts troubling you by any chance?" Taro asked, his eyes showed a hint of concern.
"Well sort of. I don't know what will become of me and my friends," Kagome explained. "Our main purpose is to find and kill a half-demon named Naraku so we can put the Shikon Jewel together. But…I just wonder if we will even get there at all and if we did…what will come afterwards."
Taro chuckled, "Do you worry that you will be separated from your friends?"
"Yes…I do…" Kagome admitted.
"Hey…don't worry about it too much. From what I heard from Sango and Miroku, you are quite the priestess. I'm sure that with your combined strengths, you'll be able to take down Naraku," Taro smiled cheerfully.
"I wish it was like that," Kagome sighed. "We've tried many times but we haven't been able to get him yet. All we've done is made him more powerful."
Taro pondered for a moment then he smiled once again, "Well, if you want, I would be more than happy to help you on your quest."
Kagome's head shot up, her eyes a little wide, "But why? Has he done something to you or someone you know?"
"Think of it as repaying you for helping me today," Taro picked up a small yellow flower nearby and placed it in Kagome's hair. "It looks lovely on you."
Kagome blushed a little and ushered out a little nervous "thank you" unaware of the golden eyes watching her. Inuyasha turned his head away from the scene. He felt mixed emotions as Kagome's actions with Taro. Anger, if the damn demon was going to try anything funny with Kagome. Sadness, because he realized this is how Kagome must have felt every time he ran off to see Kikyou. He couldn't blame her if she wanted someone else who can fully return her feelings. Inuyasha left the talking couple and returned to his sleeping branch back at their camp. After a long while, a very light sleep took over him.
Back at the meadow, Taro and Kagome were still talking. Kagome had told him about her life and he had been amazed and captivated by her explanations about modern science.
"That's amazing Lady Kagome!" Taro exclaimed after her brief talk about what a T.V. is.
Kagome smiled, "Yeah, I suppose it is pretty amazing," she paused, "though I was wondering…would you tell me a little about your life?"
"If you're interested, I suppose it's only fair," Taro began.
"My mother was a ice phoenix that lived in the far north, at the top of the Earth. It was there that she rescued a freezing angel from the arctic water. She nursed him back to life and the two were deeply in love within the next few months. Soon, I was born and my mother chose for me to be a phoenix like her since being an angel who lives on Earth would be quite troublesome. After a few more years, they had another child and chose for her to be a phoenix also. Then a few more years past, by the time I was 8, my father and mother got into a really big argument. He wanted to leave us; he said something about rescuing his creator. My mother tried to stop him by all means but he left eventually. Since then my mother had been terribly ill and she past away at the end of the year," Taro finished with a nostalgic look in his eyes.
"Oh gosh, I'm sorry I made you mention your past. I really didn't know that-" Kagome was cut off.
"It's quite alright Lady Kagome, I don't mind talking about it. I can't change the past but I'm not going to run from it," Taro assured her with a smile.
Kagome return his gesture weakly as her eyes begin to droop. She excused herself to go back to bed; Taro told her that he will be returning shortly, he needed to take a walk or something, she couldn't really hear him that clearly due to her sleepy mind. She returned to camp and was asleep almost as soon as her head hit the pillow.
At the Inu Daiyoukai Castle
The sheets shifted as the body underneath it stirred. Little hands came up to grasp an imaginary object in front of them. Their movements became more frantic as the hands could not come in contact with anything but air. Slowly, the hands came to rest at both side of a small body as little sobs echoed around in the room. Larger hands came to envelope the smaller ones as the sobs got louder.
"Ssh…" a female voice ushered. "Everything is going to be alright. I'm here to help you regain your sight."
Rin stifled a sob as she pulled her hands free to wipe away the tears on her face. She then reached out with her hands again to try to find the warm hands that held hers moments ago. When she found what she was looking for, Rin held on tight to it as her tears subsided and finally stopped.
"W-who are you?" Rin stuttered after a few moments.
"I'm the one who's going to take care of you until your eyes get better. Don't worry about a thing, you'll be able to see again before you know it," the woman gently pull her hands away from Rin's to help the girl lay back down. After that, Rin reached out to take her hand again. Smiling softly, the woman held on to Rin's hand softly.
"What's your name?" Rin asked, her voice back to normal.
"My name is Akina, what's yours?" the woman took a seat on the edge of the girl's bed.
"That's a pretty name! My name's Rin!" Rin was almost cheerful by this time, how quickly a child recovers.
"Your name is pretty too, Rin. I'm sure Lord Sesshoumaru loves you very much," she commented.
"Lord Sesshoumaru? He isn't mad at me is he? I bet he is. I didn't ask for his permission before taking Aun. Aun! Is he okay? He didn't die did he?" the child rambled on for a while longer.
Akina chuckled, "No of course he's not mad at you, I'd say he's more worried about you now."
"Well that's a relief," Rin smiled a toothy smile. "Are you a human Akina?"
"Me? No actually I'm a demon. You aren't afraid of me now are you?" Rin shook her head as she answered. "Even though I'm still a kid, I know that not all demons are bad. Sometimes I think humans are more scary than demons."
"Oh really now? What makes you say that?" Akina said, more to herself than to Rin.
"Well…my entire family was killed by bandits when I was younger…" the child said with a surprising calmness to her voice.
Akina's eyes softened lightly as she looked over the child before her. The girl reminded her too much of herself for her not to notice. She too has to witness the killing of her loved ones when she was a mere hatchling.
"I'm sorry to have been the one to bring up those memories for you, Rin. I too know the feeling that you went through," Akina apologized. "It probably hurt a lot right?"
Rin nodded her head slightly, a little worry that her new friend was sad. She quickly changed the subject, not daring to intrude any further down memory lane.
"So what kind of a demon are you? Are you a dog demon like Lord Sesshoumaru? What powers do you have? Are you strong?" the questions came at Akina at hyper speed, one after another.
"Whoa there! Slow down," Akina chuckled. "I can only answer a few questions at a time."
"Sorry, I know I ask a lot of questions but…I don't like silence, it makes me feel uncomfortable," Rin's eyes drooped slightly.
"It's normal for someone at your age to not like silence, it's perfectly normal. Now I'll try to answer some of your questions, the ones that I can remember you asking me, alright?" Rin nodded. "Well I am a phoenix demon so no I am not like Lord Sesshoumaru. I can heal, cast barriers, fly, and some psychic tricks but I wouldn't call myself strong, just enough to get by."
"So you will be able to heal my eyes?" Rin looked hopeful.
"Yes I will, in fact, I promise you it will be healed before the end of this moon cycle," Akina linked her pinky with Rin's as the girl made her swear.
Rin yawned, "I think you should get some rest. You've been through a lot today." Akina tucked her in and made her way out the door, only glanced back once to see if the girl was really asleep.
The crescent moon cast little light upon Akina as she stood outside a large room with huge mahogany wood doors. She tapped the door lightly a few times before a voice allowed her entrance to the room. Akina made her way to the center of the room as her eyes took in the beauty of the room. The walls were white and decorated with large paintings of dog demons. The carpet was equally white which made her wonder how Sesshoumaru managed to keep the place from getting dirty. A large canopy bed stood at the opposite of the wall and was decorated with white silk and fur. There was a stone fireplace on the far right of the room; the wall right above the fireplace held a display case of swords in various shape and sizes. A large mirror was place beside the changing screen on the far back corner of the room. The room was like something from a fairytale as the moon cast rays of light over everything creating the illusion that the room was glowing.
Akina withdrew form her thoughts as she turned to the shadowed form of Sesshoumaru at his balcony. The curtains blew slightly from the wind outside so his form was almost completely hidden to her. He remained unmoving as the winds played with his hair, lifting it high into the air and then letting it drop back down by his side once again.
"Rin has ceased to cry and is now resting, my lord," Sesshoumaru showed no sign that he acknowledged her present but continue to look out into the night sky. After several moments, he finally spoke up, "What brings you to these lands? Surely one who lives in the arctic is not merely here for leisure."
"Your knowledge is truly an amazing thing my lord. Just out of curiosity, what else do you know about me?" Sesshoumaru turned away from his balcony to return to the room. In a flash, he was directly in front of Akina.
"You're an offspring of an angel and a demon, your powers include the ability to mimic your opponent's attacks just as they attack, you also have the ability to read others' minds do you not?" His face remain impassive, his eyes never strayed from hers as he answer her question with one of his own.
Her face lit up as she clapped her hands together, "Very impressive! I expect nothing less from the western lord."
"You have yet to answer my previous question," he pointed out.
"Oh of course, how rude of me. You see, I'm here in search of a little something call the Shikon no Tama," she said Shikon no Tama as if it's just like a simple collector's item.
Another power hungry demon was the first thought that came through Sesshoumaru's mind at the mention of the jewel. As usual, his face shows no emotion, almost as if it's separated from his head and thoughts. He remained silent as an arch of his eyebrow urges her to continue.
"Well you see, I need it in order to free my grandfather from his captivities. My father instructed me to go find the jewel in order to supply him with enough power to cast the necessary spell," Akina admitted, she was somewhat annoyed at his lack of response however. She was very tempted to reach into his mind to see what he was up to but she knew the instant she enters his mind she would be strike down.
Sesshoumaru seems to accept the answer, as he did not press the subject further. Instead, he asked Akina about the treatment that she would be giving Rin in the next two weeks.
"Her eyes are rapidly deteriorating, at this rate, there won't be anything left of it after three days. However, I can heal her if you can find someone who will give up their eyes for hers," Akina's voice developed a firmer tone. "I must have all this by sundown tomorrow evening or else it will be too late."
"Very well, you will have what you need by tomorrow. You may retire to your room for tonight," Sesshoumaru snapped his finger and a short demon entered the room. "She will lead you to your quarters."
Akina gave a curt bow as she follow the demon out of the room. She was taken down several hallways and even had to exit and enter a couple of buildings to get to her room.
"You go ahead and go," she told the little demon. "I can take it from here."
"Yes milady, if you need anything, just call for me, my name is Kaemon," the demon bowed deeply and left her to her own.
Akina waited until the demon turned around the corner before she opened the door to her room. She lit the candle on the table to illuminate the room. It was beautiful, not nearly as big and extravagant as Sesshoumaru's but it has its charms. The decorations were mainly silver and blue so it suited her perfectly. She noticed a large window by her bed and went over to open it. From there, she could see most of the castle grounds, everything from the large entrance gate to the servants' chambers. She looked around and noticed that there was no one around and there weren't many guards nearby.
"I couldn't ask for a more perfect room," she thought to herself with a chuckle. In a flash, silver wings spread from her back as she flew out the window and disappear into the sky.
An hour later, in a unknown forest
Naraku sat by the base of a tree as he waited for his newest investment to show up.
"Damn bird," he cursed to himself. It was their first meeting and the phoenix was half an hour late.
Just as he was about to leave, Naraku heard a rustle in the bush in front of him accompanied by a low chuckle. The phoenix demon was there at last.
"Now, now, Naraku. You weren't thinking of leaving just now were you? I'm hurt, I show up a few minutes late and you couldn't even wait for me," the demon feigned a pout.
"Cut your childish actions, phoenix," Naraku ordered. The figure retaliated by sticking its tongue out at him. Much to Naraku's annoyance, the demon was a powerful ally, one that he was not about to lose over some ridiculous antics. "How are they responding to your present?"
"I've managed to get everyone to trust me well enough to let me stay. However…the dog proves more stubborn then the rest," the demon reported.
"It's to be expected from him, he's not one to trust so easily. Give him some time; the opportunity will arise soon enough. Just watch his actions and he'll have to slip up sometimes," Naraku instructed.
"But it's so boring," the demon whined. "He never does anything exciting. I'd rather stay with you any day."
Naraku shook his head at the phoenix, "You must remember the deal we've made, the only way you can enter my castle is if you're going to bring me his head."
"Fine, be like that," the demon returned to its childish acts. "You're even worse than he is sometimes you know that? Not even a shred of sympathy for my position."
Naraku could only sighed, "What would you like me to do so you will return to your post?" If he was going to convince this crazed demon to do as he ask, he must do what it ask first.
The demon put a clawed finger on its chin and struck a thinking pose. "I got it!" It grinned; Naraku did definitely not like this. "Since you made me miss sleep, I'll need something to get me to rest tonight. I want a goodnight kiss."
Inside of Naraku's head, the hanyou wanted to wrapped his fingers around the demon's neck for asking such a thing. In reality, he simply complied to the phoenix's wish. He felt a fire burning inside his throat as his lips came in contact with the phoenix's but made no movements to show his disgust. After a moment, he pulled away and glared lightly at the giggling demon. Oh he cannot wait until this deal was done with, then this bird is going straight to hell.
"There, now return to him. You shouldn't give him any reason to doubt you at this point," Naraku stated as a matter of factly then turned and disappeared into the surroundings.
When he returned to his own castle, he immediately snapped at the first person to be unfortunate enough to talk to him. In this case, it was one of his demon servants. Before the creature knew what had happened, it was shredded to pieces by Naraku. With a scowl plastered on his face, he ordered for one of the other demon to clean up the bloody mess as he made his way into his sleeping chamber. Yes, that phoenix was going to meet the same fate soon enough. He would make sure of it.
End of Chapter 2
A/N: So can you guys figure out who the assassin is yet? Yea this last part here was a little harder for me to write since the personality of the demon is only going to get more extreme from here on out. I'll have pictures of the characters posted soon and maybe even a few scenes that goes on in the story. Though that might not be until you learn who the assassin is since…the picture of that character pretty much says that they're a villain so I wouldn't want to give their identity away just yet. As always, read and review because it makes for a happier writer and a happier writer makes for a better and faster story.
-Silver