Meant To Be
By Onira
Chapter Seven : "I Can't Do This Alone"
Ishiru didn't move as Naraku's barrier formed around her. But she didn't feel relief, only a sort of sadness. She wanted to go back, to see him again. But she couldn't bring herself to resist.
She kept her head down as the orb ended its journey at Naraku's fortress. She got up to leave halfway through Naraku's spiel on being careful.
"You've no right to lecture me, hanyou." She hissed, stressing hanyou with disgust, something she had not done since she first got there.
Naraku was on his feet, his hand tight around her upper arm, digging his fingers into one of the deeper gashes. Ishiru resisted the urge to wince, and looked at him, her eyes locking with his enraged, jet black ones. She had seen those eyes once before. Ishiru blanched. When Sesshoumaru attacked her. . . These were his eyes!
It clicked in Ishiru's mind.
She looked down, a cold calm settling over her mind and turning her burning rage to ice, sharp and deadly. She would kill him. . . But not now. For now, she couldn't let him know, that she knew. She let her stance fall slack, "giving up" in the argument.
"Know your place girl." Naraku hissed. He pulled her close to him, his lips inches from her ear as he whispered. "You owe me your life, and would do well to act as a servant in debt, which you are." He shoved her to the floor. Ishiru caught herself automatically, landing in a low crouch.
She turned to glare at Naraku, but he was gone. Ishiru stayed on the floor, moving into a sitting position. Her thoughts were raging.
'He hurt me. . . He made me think that. . . And now Sesshoumaru. . . He looked like he hated me then. . .' Her eyes narrowed. 'Naraku will pay for this. . . But I can't do this alone. . . I have to get help.' With that final thought, Ishiru stood, turning down the hallway to her own chamber.
She grabbed an ink brush and parchment, quickly writing a note. She blew on the ink and set the note on her futon. With that, she snatched up her Mace-Whip and left.
oOo
Ishiru darted through the canopy, her feet alighting silently and unfailingly on branch after branch. She found the village very quickly, tracing her memory back to the battle site.
Their scents were still there. The wolf had gone one way, the group another. 'The wolf will be the easiest to hold off while I speak. . . I will go after him first.' She thought, following his scent up into the mountains. Ishiru noted the scent of wolves that marked the demon pack's territory. She extended her awareness, not wanting to be discovered until she reached the wolf prince himself.
She came upon a network of dens, wolf demons of all ages scattered along the mountainside. Two cubs played nearby and Ishiru took a moment to smile at their game before sneaking past them. She saw a particularly lavish den entrance at the top of the lot. Kouga's scent lead up that way.
Ishiru went around the dens, approaching her goal from above. She darted through the entrance, careful not to be seen. She found Kouga lying at the back of the den, about seventy feet in from the mouth of the cave. He looked rather cute. He was, conveniently, asleep. Ishiru raised an eyebrow, walking silently towards him. He wasn't deeply asleep. His heartbeat was too quick for deep sleep, but too slow for wakefulness. Ishiru slid a dagger from the tie on her haori and placed a hand on one side of his neck, not touching him by a millimeter. In one short movement, she let her fingers touch his skin, sliding the dagger into the ground, pressing gently against his neck.
That touch was all it took to wake the sleeping demon. Ishiru moved an arm to hold him down as he tried to leap up. She wanted to immobilize him, not kill him.
"I have a dagger at your neck. Getting up would not be the best of ideas." She told him. Kouga looked at her, rather blank-faced, for a moment, then he glared as he recognized her.
"Before you start growling at me, just listen." She said. "I have recently discovered something about my master. And I wish for your help in destroying him." Kouga's expression didn't change.
"How do I know that this isn't a trap?" He growled.
"You don't." Ishiru said. "But if you put that nose of yours to work you would." Kouga did so. He wasn't prepared for the sweet mist and greenery that encompassed her scent. But he did find the sharp spice of her anger, begun not long ago. Ishiru saw his recognition.
"So, if I let you up, will you attack me?" She asked. Kouga shook his head mutely and Ishiru pulled the dagger from the ground beside his neck, sitting back on her heels. Kouga sat up and immediately shifted to face her, still somewhat untrusting.
For a while they conversed. Ishiru explained her situation to him, leaving out Sesshoumaru, Rin, and her life before the incident. She thought for a moment on what she would say when the subject of her past came up. 'That I don't remember. In a way, I suppose that's true.' She thought.
Kouga agreed to help her, thinking that an insider would doubtless be of great help. But, the thought lingered in his mind that it could all be a ruse. 'I will have to come up with some sort of back-up plan.' He thought as Ishiru got up to leave.
"I'm going to find another group that I think will help me." Ishiru said, stopping for a moment at the cave mouth.
"Well, whoever you're thinking of, I would suggest getting help from the hanyou that creamed you earlier." Kouga teased, supporting himself on the cave wall a few feet behind her. Ishiru rolled her eyes at him, thinking that it was a big step for him to be familiar with her.
"Oh! Which reminds me." She said, pulling something from her obi. She turned around and grabbed Kouga's hand, placing two Shikon shards in his palm.
"I picked these up on the way here. If anyone asks, you found them on your own." She said, before turning and darting out of the cave.
Kouga stood for a moment, slightly startled. He had felt an unimaginable amount of raw power beneath her skin when she had grasped his hand. He rubbed his hand where she had touched him, trying to rid it of the tingling sensation she had caused. Just who, or what, was this girl?
oOo
Ishiru backtracked to the village once again. It took her even less time to find the scent of the group. Following it though, soon became a task unto itself. The hanyou's scent blended with the human girl's after a little ways, and the scents of the tajiya and monk blended with that little feline creature she saw, and then vanished. Then hanyou's began to appear only on spot after spot.
Though Ishiru was able to track them, she was quite annoyed with it by nightfall. Thankfully, it was then that she reached their camp, which was placed in a good-sized clearing in the middle of… Well, pretty much nowhere. Ishiru perched in a nearby tree, withdrawing both her aura and scent. She watched, waiting for some sort of an opportunity.
It was not long before she spotted the oddly dressed girl leaving the clearing carrying what looked like a rather fluffy cloth and a few bottles. Ishiru was puzzled at the nature of her items and followed. The girl was unarmed and human, so she would be able to do very little against her.
Kagome walked to the hot spring, her bathing supplies under one arm. She sensed a nearby jyaki, but it was very faint, nor was it threatening, so she ignored it. Ishiru circled the spring while the girl began to bathe, moving to a group of jumbled boulders that jutted out of the water. Kagome sunk beneath the water for a moment and Ishiru took the opportunity to move out into view. She sat nonchalantly on a boulder, near to where the miko would emerge, which Kagome did within moments.
It did not take her long to notice the jyaki so close to her. Kagome's eyes darted open to stare at Ishiru, who was perched atop the boulder nearest her. Before she could react, Ishiru spoke.
"I prithee, don't scream. I am not here to hurt you." Ishiru said, hoping to calm the miko's rising pulse. "I know you think I work for Naraku. But I also know, that you think I do so willingly, which I most certainly don't." Ishiru paused, but Kagome didn't say anything she went on ahead.
"Due to recent events, I am now against Naraku. He does not know as much, nor does he know that I am here." Still Kagome said nothing. Ishiru blinked, then dropped all pretenses and formalities, letting her posture fall slack and giving the girl a very dry look.
"Okay, if you don't say something soon I'm going to leave and talk to your more violent companions." Ishiru said. Kagome seemed to catch herself and ducked down into the water a little.
"I'm sorry. I'm just a little surprised." Kagome said, a little flustered. "Weren't you attacking us just yesterday?" She asked.
"Yeah. Sorry about that. If you're worried about your wolf friend, he's just fine. I found a couple of new jewel shards for him. He got them when I spoke to him earlier today." Ishiru said. "And, as I said before, very recent events have set me against Naraku." As she spoke, Ishiru slid into a more relaxed position on the boulder. She talked with Kagome for a while. Explaining the same things to her as she had to Kouga.
"Okay." Said Kagome. "That sounds alright. But you'll have a little trouble clearing yesterday's incident up with Inuyasha."
"Why's that?" Ishiru said, raising an eyebrow. "He beat me." Ishiru had become quite comfortable around Kagome in the short time they had spent talking. She was easy to like.
"Well, Inuyasha's not exactly the nicest-"
"OIY! Wench! What's taking you so damn long?" Said hanyou shouted, coming into view. Ishiru looked up at him from her place on the boulder. She had relaxed to the point of lying down on the warm rock so she had to prop herself up on her elbows.
"Oh. I see." Ishiru said, her expression dry.
"YOU!" Inuyasha shouted as he saw Ishiru. He immediately pulled Tessaiga from its sheath. "What the fuck are you doing here? Didn't get enough last time?" With that he leapt towards Ishiru, raising Tessaiga with the intent of cutting her in half. Ishiru's expression was somewhere between bored and annoyed, something she had learned from Sesshoumaru. Kagome on the other hand, didn't take the situation quite as calmly.
"Inuyasha OSUWARII!"
SPLASH!
Ishiru darted out of the way of a barrage of water, which had resulted from Inuyasha crashing into the hot spring. Despite her efforts however, Ishiru ended up getting soaked. Kagome had gotten out of the water and wrapped a towel around her torso. She walked over to Ishiru.
"Like I was saying. He's not the most forgiving, or nicest of people." Kagome said.
"So I see." Ishiru replied, wringing out the edges of her haori, silently thanking Sesshoumaru for having her always wear bindings under her training clothes. The white parts of her silk garment had become strikingly see-through. Bubbles came up from where Inuyasha was under the water.
"Umm… Will he be alright under the water for so long?" Ishiru asked, pointing to the bubbles.
"Probably not, but the spell will let him go in a moment." Kagome replied. And, true to her words, Inuyasha came leaping out of the water moments later, again ready to attack Ishiru. She rolled her eyes and turned to Kagome.
"Just a second." Ishiru said, then leapt across the distance between her and Inuyasha, closing it in a moment. She quickly pinned him to the ground, a dagger against his neck.
"Hey! What are you doing? You said you wouldn't hurt anyone!" Kagome protested, running over.
"And I'm not going to. I just don't want to worry about him trying to get up." Ishiru said, hoping Inuyasha wouldn't catch the fact that since she wouldn't hurt him, the dagger wouldn't make any difference.
He didn't. Ishiru gave him a quick, thirty-second, version of what she told Kagome. After making him agree to no more fighting, Ishiru let Inuyasha up, saying she'd explain everything in further detail to the rest of the group as well as him.
Ishiru walked behind Kagome when they entered the clearing, hoping to avoid startling anyone. Shippou ran up and hugged Kagome around the neck, greeting her happily. It was barely a moment before he looked up into Ishiru's face, which was quite close considering that she was standing right behind Kagome. Shippou yipped in fright and jumped down.
"K-Kagome! There's a demon right behind you!" He shouted, jumping up and down in anxiety. His words triggered a reaction from the entire group, save Inuyasha and Kagome. Sango stood, reaching for her boomerang, Miroku following suit, a hand catching hold of his prayer beads.
"Guys, guys wait a second!" Kagome said, raising her hands, palms forward. "She's not going to hurt us."
"She says." Grumbled Inuyasha.
"Inuyasha!" Kagome snapped.
"It's alright." Ishiru said. "He doesn't really have any good reason to trust me." She stepped out from behind Kagome, looking at each member of the group. "I give you my word that I will not harm you."
"Not good enough." Growled Inuyasha. Ishiru looked at him.
"I have nothing else I can offer you." She said. A thought suddenly occurred to her. "But then, there may be something I can tell you that will convince you."
"What?" Inuyasha said, his tone untrusting.
"I would prefer the information that this would insinuate remain known to as few as possible." Ishiru said, looking at the ground.
"Fine." He grunted. Ishiru looked up in surprise. She hadn't expected him to agree to it.
"A-Alright. Come with me." She said, walking back into the woods, Inuyasha in tow. After they were out of earshot, Ishiru turned to face him.
She felt a clawed hand grab hold of her haori front. A flash of memory went through her mind before she brushed it aside. She let Inuyasha slam her into a tree trunk, hoping to convince him that she was not a danger.
"Now, what is it you wanted to tell me?" Inuyasha growled. Ishiru looked up at him, her face a perfect imitation of Sesshoumaru's emotionless mask.
"I swear by the honor of Sesshoumaru Lord of the Western Lands, I will not harm you, nor any member of your group." She said, her voice even and emotionless. Inuyasha froze. Few had the audacity to even speak of the Western Lord, much less assume they could borrow his honor for an oath, this much Inuyasha knew, despite his "upbringing."
"Who are you exactly?" Inuyasha growled.
"I told you before, at our first meeting. I am Ishiru." She replied, slowly letting the mask fall.
Inuyasha loosened his hold on her. He now remembered. That incident had been slipping his mind at an oddly frequent rate. Sesshoumaru had been looking for an "Ishiru." He recognized the look she gave him, and the way she spoke. Just who was this girl to Sesshoumaru?
"Fine." Inuyasha said, releasing her fully. "I believe you. But, you've got more explaining to do." Inuyasha began to walk back to camp. Ishiru regained her composure and followed. Upon their arrival back at the campsite, most of the previous tension had left. Kagome had just finished explaining Ishiru's story to the group.
Miroku was the first to greet Ishiru. He got up, and walked over to her. He then knelt and took a hold of her hand. Ishiru was utterly perplexed at his behavior. Sango, Kagome, Shippou and Inuyasha were all waiting for the inevitable.
"Ishiru-sama, would you do me the honor of bearing my child?" He asked.
Ishiru blinked in confusion. 'What does he want? Surely the mother of his child could carry the baby.' She thought, translating his request in a different way than everyone else was. Finally Ishiru spoke.
"What?" She said, her head tilting in confusion. Miroku flinched, expecting a hit. Everyone else in the group was something akin to shocked. Ishiru looked up at Kagome. "Why can't the child's mother carry it?" She asked.
Kagome was unsure how to answer. It was a shock, even to her, how naive the girl was.
"Eh. . . It might be better if I don't explain it." Kagome said, slightly flustered.
"Not at all Kagome-sama." Miroku said, standing up. He turned to Ishiru. "Now, children are made by-"
WHACK!
Sango removed her boomerang from the Houshi's head, leaving him unconscious on the ground. Ishiru blinked, then looked down at Miroku, then up to Sango.
"Umm. . . Will he be alright?" She asked hesitantly.
"Not to worry. He gets hit a lot. So by now he's pretty resilient." Sango said. "I'd not listen to a word he says if I were you."
Now that Shippou was not afraid of her, he climbed up onto Ishiru's shoulder, messing with her pointed ears and patting her hair. She let him, hoping to win the cute little youkai's trust. Shippou seemed to approve of her, but opted to Kagome's shoulder once he was through. Kirara sniffed at Ishiru's fingertips, giving her a lick of approval before going back to Sango.
The group began to settle down for the night. Ishiru was still talking with Sango about the schematics of Naraku's fortress and the surrounding barrier. Ishiru agreed to give them every other shard she collected for Naraku. As much as Ishiru hated to do anything to benefit the degenerate hanyou, she couldn't just cut of her service without arising suspicion.
Inuyasha remained perched on a tree-limb, watching Ishiru as she conversed with the Tajiya. 'Who the hell is this girl?' He thought. 'She knows Sesshoumaru, that's for sure. But how? And why was he looking for her before? If she stays here for too long, he might come here looking for her, plus she'll loose her pretense with Naraku.' Another thing occurred to Inuyasha. 'And why the fuck doesn't she have any clue about mating? Even children know more than that! And she looks something like seventeen. . . So she learned enough from Sesshoumaru to learn that expression. Keh. . . Well I can't really see him teaching anyone about the birds and the bees.' He grinned as he thought that. "But, she can't stay with us, Naraku will come looking for her." He looked back down at the youkai girl. 'Whoever she is, she needs to leave. . . Soon.'
As though she read his mind, Ishiru finished her conversation with the Tajiya and stood, turning to speak to everyone.
"Thank you very much for your trust, and help. I would stay, but Naraku will, without a doubt, check on me every now and then. And the last thing I want is to lead him to you." She said.
"Are you sure you won't stay for the night?" Kagome asked, as she was still curious about the new character.
"Yes. Naraku will most likely check using Kanna's mirror, and I can only sense it, not block its vision. Should he look in on me while I'm here, it would give me away." As she spoke, she moved to the edge of the clearing. "I'm sorry to leave in such haste, but I truly must go." With that Ishiru darted into the underbrush, soon leaping up into the canopy and away.
Kagome looked up at Inuyasha once Ishiru was out of earshot.
"Well? Do we trust her?" She asked. Inuyasha paused for a while before answering.
"Yeah. . . For now."