Winter Wonderland
Chapter Thirty
The snow fell quite heavily from the sky, making it a little hard to see for Kirara and Hachi. Miroku, Inu-Yasha, and Kohaku rode on the raccoon while Kagome, Sango, and Shippo were on Kirara as they flew towards the village that Hachi had told them that had been attacked.
"So you're saying as soon as you got there, the demon was attacking?" asked Miroku, using his hand to block the morning sun.
"Yes, I got a glimpse of the killer as it ran into the trees, I could of sworn it was Inu-Yasha, but the creature didn't have a sword," explained Hachi.
"Then it's going to take us at least a day to reach there,"
"I tried to run as fast as I could back to you guys, but I tried to stay unnoticed just in case that demon were to return,"
"It's alright Hachi, thank you for warning us,"
Hachi nodded and squinted his eyes, trying to ignore the sun.
"Do you think this demon has killed anyone else?" called Sango from Kirara.
"Maybe, but I'm sure once it's had a taste for blood, it will want more,"
Sango nodded.
Inu-Yasha glanced over at Kagome, wishing that she was sitting by him, but forced the thought from his mind and tried to concentrate on the real problem. Some demon was framing him for all the attacks, and because of this, he was almost killed by Eri.
"Hey, I just thought of something," said Kagome.
"What?" asked Sango.
"If some demon looks like Inu-Yasha and is killing people, won't they try to attack him when we arrive?"
Miroku slapped his forehead, "Yeah you're probably right. Inu-Yasha when we land can you go hide for a while so we can ask the villagers more about this demon?"
Inu-Yasha wanted to protest, but just nodded, the idea of hiding from humans was just not right in his mind.
"It wouldn't be Sesshoumaru would it? That's attacking the humans?" asked Sango.
"No, Sesshoumaru wouldn't attack humans in his own domain," whispered Inu-Yasha.
"Are you sure? He has killed them before," said Miroku.
"Just trust me on this,"
Miroku nodded and turned his attention to keeping the blasted sun out of his eyes. Inu-Yasha stared down at the ground, and for some reason memories from the past started to flood his mind . . .
FLASHBACK
The young boy stared into the glistening water of the river that flowed by his house. He stared at his appearance, his ears twitching slightly. The boy laughed and twitched his ears again, not noticing that someone approached the river from the other side until he heard a small splashing noise. Looking up, he saw a little girl around his age playing in the water. Smiling, he jumped across the river in one leap and approached her.
"Hi,"
The girl looked up, staring at the strange boys silver hair, "Hi . . . who are you?"
"My name Inu-Yasha," smiled the boy.
The girl smiled, "You sure look strange, do you want to play with me? My mama and papa are getting food,"
Inu-Yasha nodded his head, feeling happy that someone had asked to play with him. The girl finished washing her hands, and grabbed a ball out of the small pack that she carried on her back. Tossing the ball to Inu-Yasha, the boy caught it and tossed it back to girl. Soon they were tossing it back and forth with their feet, both laughing as they kept the ball in the air. Inu-Yasha was having so much fun; he kicked the ball a little to hard, hitting the girl in the stomach. She fell to her knees clutching her stomach. Inu-Yasha ran forward, his hand outreached to see if he could help her up, but as Inu-Yasha reached for her arm, the girl stood up, causing his small claws to scrap against her arm. A high pitched scream sounded through out the village, causing villagers to run and find the source.
Inu-Yasha stared at the girl with wide eyes, seeing the blood covering her arm as cried. He tried to apologize but was stopped as something hard hit him in the head. Falling to his knees, he noticed a rather large rock by his side.
"That half breed attacked the girl!" cried a villager; grabbing another rock and throwing it at the boy, this time hitting him square in the head, causing blood to run down Inu-Yasha's face.
More villagers started to grab rocks and threw it at the boy, throwing it as hard as they could. The girl had been picked up by her mother while the father went to the half demon and kicked Inu-Yasha in the back.
"You animal, how dare you hurt my daughter!" cried the man, kicking Inu-Yasha again, with more force.
Inu-Yasha tried to keep his tears back while trying to get away at the same time. Just when Inu-Yasha thought the torture wouldn't stop, a scream made the villagers freeze. A tall silver haired man stood in front of a kneeling villager who was clutching his bleeding arm.
"Ah . . . it stings," moaned the man.
All the others stood frozen still, staring into the emotionless face of the demon, "If you don't want to feel my poison claws you'll leave,"
They all ran off, not looking back.
Inu-Yasha opened his eyes as he felt himself being picked up. He stared into his half brothers eyes, trying to keep the tears back, but not saying a word.
Sesshoumaru sighed and continued to walk to Natasha's house, "Why do you bother brother? You know the villagers hate you, so why try to make friends with them?"
Inu-Yasha nodded, but still kept quiet.
"You're lucky I happened to be passing by, or they would have surely killed you this time,"
Inu-Yasha let one tear slip, "Why do they hate me so much?" he whimpered.
Sesshoumaru frowned and held his little brother tighter, "They don't 'hate' you literally, but the fact that your mother and our father are together makes them feel disgusted with you as the end result, and so that hate you for what you are, a half demon,"
The half demon started to cry harder.
"However, not all humans are like that, some look for what kind of person you are, instead of what you are,"
Inu-Yasha stopped crying and stared up at his older brother, "So . . . I won't be alone for the rest of my life?"
Sesshoumaru nodded and continued to carry the injured the boy back to his mothers home.
END OF FLASHBACK
Inu-Yasha looked over at Kagome. That time, he had been only five or six years old, but he had remembered Sesshoumaru's words, and smiled. He had hoped that Kikyo had been one of these people that his brother had talked about, but she had wanted him to change. Kagome loved him for who he was, and even wanted to have children with him, not caring if they were part demon. His attention was brought back to reality by noticing Miroku waving his hand in front of the half demons face.
"Hello . . . earth to Inu-Yasha, . . ."
"Ah! What the hell do you want Miroku?" snarled Inu-Yasha.
"You looked like you were day dreaming or something, but what I was asking you was, do you know of anymore dog demons that could be near Sesshoumaru's lands?"
"I don't know any dog demons that are around there, but there are a few cat demons that Sesshoumaru has allowed to roam freely, however they aren't supposed to kill any humans,"
Miroku sighed, "Well, let's just hope we get there in time before this demon starts killing more innocent people,"
***************************
Sango stared at the villagers that looked at them as they walked through the village. Most of them looked scared, especially when they had seen Kirara de-transform. Inu-Yasha was hiding back a ways so they could ask about the strange demon attacking people. Kagome stayed close to the monk and Sango, gripping her bow and arrow a little tighter.
"We mean you people no harm, we are merely here to try and rid you of this demon who attacks you," shouted Miroku, hoping that someone would tell them where they could find the demon.
"How can we trust you?" asked one villager.
"I am a demon exterminator, we only wish to help you," said Sango.
Villagers started to run away, going to hide in their huts.
"This is not getting us anywhere," sighed Miroku.
"Do you really want to know? About the demon?"
The group turned around to see and old elderly man standing behind.
"Yes, we wish to destroy this demon that is causing you trouble.
The man nodded and motioned them to follow him. Miroku took the lead with Sango, Kagome, Kohaku, Shippo, and Kirara at his heals. They came to a rather small hut and followed the older man inside.
"Please sit,"
Miroku and everyone else took a seat, a little anxious to hear information this demon.
"So . . . you wish to learn of this demon that has killed two entire villages already?" whispered the man.
"Yes, please tell us all you can," said Miroku.
"It started a month ago when it attacked the first village . . . killed everyone and everything in it, the funny thing is, the bodies of the monk and priestess in that village were found, but their bodies had been . . . been ripped through, their hearts gone,"
Miroku nodded, "I have heard of demons that would commit this sort of crime, kill all and then rip the hearts of monks or miko's so they can gain more power. Please continue,"
"Villagers have gone after the demon, but have never returned,"
"And where do they go to find the demon?" asked Sango.
"There is a forest near by where the demon dwells, it is a huge forest that is surrounded by seven villages, and two he's already attacked,"
Kagome nodded, Yuka had said that this demon had attacked five villages . . . *Wait . . . only five, but there are seven surrounding this forest, so does that mean only two villages are going to be saved? Well not if we can help it*
"Can you describe this demon for us?" asked Sango.
"I only saw it once, but it had long red clothing, silver haired tied back, almost touching the ground, silver cat or dog ears, and had an axe,"
"Thank you for your help," said Miroku, getting to his feet.
The others stood up as well, and started to head out the door.
"Please try and kill this demon, I don't want to hear of any more villages being massacred,"
"Don't worry, we'll destroy it," said Miroku reassuringly, and disappeared outside.
"So are we going to head to the forest?" asked Sango.
"As soon as we get Inu-Yasha, then yes we'll head to the forest, he should be able to sniff out the demon," said Miroku.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Inu-Yasha stared at the forest before them, his ears pulled back. An eerie source was coming from the forest that made everyone feel uneasy. Sango gripped Hiraikotsu a little more tightly as they took a few more steps toward it.
"I can smell fresh blood in there, and the stench of cat demon," growled Inu-Yasha.
"Well, let's go in and take of this killer," whispered Miroku.
"Kagome," whispered Inu-Yasha.
"Yes?"
"Stay close to me . . . Shippo you too,"
The fox jumped on Inu-Yasha's shoulder, trying to keep from quivering in fear. Sango and Kohaku stayed close to Miroku as they slowly walked into the forest.
"This forest gives me the chills," whispered Kagome, shivering slightly.
Inu-Yasha nodded in agreement and continued walking forward, trudging through the snow. As they took another step forward, Kagome felt some sort of power coming their way. Before she could warn them it swept over them knocking them to their feet. Kagome opened her eyes and gasped. The snow was no longer on the ground, but luscious green grass, and the tree's green leaves blocked out the sun from their eyes, only allowing small patches of light to come through.
"Shit . . ." mumbled Inu-Yasha, helping Kagome to her feet.
Kagome turned around, hoping to see the village where they had come from, but all she could see were trees.
"It seems this is how the demon traps the humans that come into this forest, illusions," mumbled Miroku, helping Sango up.
Inu-Yasha sniffed the air and growled, "Damn it,"
"Inu-Yasha what is it?" asked Miroku.
"All I can smell is trees in this damn forest, before I could smell the scent of demons, and now I can't,"
"It would appear that this demon isn't very strong in physical strength, but in illusions. So you're saying you can't smell anything besides tree?"
"I can smell you guys, I just can't smell anything from a far distance. I won't know if the demon is near until he's really close," mumbled the half demon.
Miroku nodded, "What about your hearing?"
Inu-Yasha's ears twitched, and then smiled, "Still the same,"
"That's good to hear. I suggest we head to the middle of the forest, that's where the demon should be,"
Everyone nodded, and started to follow Inu-Yasha. The half demons ears twitched in every which direction, hearing for the smallest sound that would indicate if an enemy was heading their way. Even though the forest was an illusion, Kagome had to admit that it was very pretty, but there were no sounds of birds or any other forest creatures, which is what made it creepy.
"Well, well, well, it seems I have some intruders here in my forest," hissed a voice.
Inu-Yasha jumped at the sound of the voice, and made sure his mate was close by.
"Hmm, what to do, what to do with you?"
"Stop being a coward and show yourself!" yelled Miroku.
"Since when do I take orders from mortals? Oh, killing you all right here would be so sorry, perhaps I can have a little fun with you instead for a while,"
"Inu-Yasha can you smell where the demon is hiding?" hissed Miroku.
"No, he's jumping around us right now, I can't tell where he is until he lands on a branch," growled the half demon.
A high pitch laughter caused everyone to cover their ears, "Now let's make things interesting,"
Kagome and Shippo suddenly disappeared from Inu-Yasha's grasp.
"No!" screamed Inu-Yasha.
Kohaku, Miroku, and Kirara suddenly disappeared from Sango's side.
"Kohaku! Miroku!" cried Sango.
The high-pitched laughter rang out again, "I shall have some fun entertainment killing you all one by one now!" There was a small pop, which meant the demon was gone.
"Inu-Yasha! We have to find Kagome and Miroku now! Don't you remember I said about this demon killing monks and miko's?"
Inu-Yasha's eyes widened, remember what Sango had told them what the old man had said, "Let's go!" cried Inu-Yasha, bending his legs so Sango could climb on his back. Sango jumped on the half demons back and held onto his shoulders as Inu-Yasha started to climb on of the trees, but no matter how far he jumped, the trees seemed to be getting taller and taller. Growling, Inu-Yasha stopped jumping, "Damn it!"
"We have to hurry, he could already be killing Miroku and Kagome as we speak!"
**************************
Miroku glanced at Kohaku and then back to his surroundings. In the blink of an eye they had been brought to another part of the forest, and were now separated from the others.
"Do you think my sister is okay?" asked Kohaku, gripping his weapon a little tighter.
"I'm sure she's okay, but I'm a little bit more worried about us and Lady Kagome, after all this demon is really after the hearts of monks and miko's," whispered Miroku.
"You know, I've been thinking about how this demon is able to cast illusions, and I don't think it's because of their own power,"
"What do you mean?"
"They're using some sort of object I think, I remember Naraku talking about objects that can cast illusions, like mirrors,"
"So if we destroy the mirror, or whatever object this demon has, the illusion will disappear,"
"Yeah,"
Miroku smiled, "Kirara let us know when the demon starts to approach us,"
Kirara mewed, and her ears started to twitch.
"However, I've been thinking of something else too," whispered Kohaku,"
"And what would that be,"
"I've never heard of a demon killing off and entire village. I mean small villages yes, but the village we passed by on the way here was huge, at least some people should have survived,"
"So what are you saying?"
"I'm saying there's more than one demon behind this,"
"You mean there's two demons?"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Kagome held Shippo tighter, her eyes darting every which way, trying to see if there was any sign of Inu-Yasha or the others.
"I'm scared Kagome," whimpered Shippo.
"Shhh, it's okay. I should be able to feel if the demon is close or not,"
Unknown to Kagome or Shippo, they were being watched from a fair distance. The demon smiled at it's pray and flexed it's claws, waiting for the right moment to attack . . .
TBC . . .
No comment for today, just review . . .
Lynns