Dark: Oh my goddess, you guys like this story you really do! Twenty-two reviews for the first chapter… wow…
Disclaimer: …You'll never make me say it! NEVER! Evil Lawyers waves something in my face is that…? COOKIE! Drools Okay, okay! I don't own Inuyasha…
Sango frowned with worry as she watched Kagome from the corner of her eyes. She was so pale! And she never talked anymore which was unusual for the rarely sullen girl; she kept dragging her feet, unwilling to move. The elder female's eyebrow furrowed.
"Kagome, are you alright?"
Startled the young teenager snapped her head up and blinked. "Oh, I'm fine Sango. Why?"
"No reason"
Kagome smiled weakly and went back to staring at her feet, stumbling every few minutes. Fatigue washed over her like a sudden wave in the ocean. Dazed Kagome felt herself drop to her knees in exhaustion.
"Kagome!"
He never left her side, not even for a moment. The jewel scowled spitefully. He didn't care about her, leaving her for the old protector who was nowhere near worthy. Still he refused to move from her unconscious frame, brushing her bangs back once in a while.
"Kagome…" He whispered softly, so very out of character. "I didn't mean to… I'm so sorry." He stroked her snow-white hands, shuddering at how lifeless it felt.
The shattered jewel flashed angrily. How dare he touch her? With a flicker of brilliant light, Inuyasha found himself splattered against the wall, wondering what happened as he touched his neck gently. "What the hell…?"
The almost red jewel faded back to pink, satisfied with the distance between its keeper and the demon that hurt her so. There was no way it was going to let the stupid hanyou ruin its plans. Not a single chance.
As the half demon stood, confusion rolling off him in waves the pink jewel glimmered once again. No, it seemed to say firmly. Inuyasha shook it off, stepping closer to the fallen girl, only to be pushed back by an unseen force.
"Damn it all!" Barring his fangs, Inuyasha brought a clawed hand down on the shimmering barrier that separated Kagome from him. He wanted his Kagome back…
"Mmm…" The girl grumbled. She turned on her side unaware of the conflict between the jewel and the boy. Slowly she pushed herself up and held her head immediately as her vision swam. "What hit me… a truck?" Once certain her brain wouldn't spin the room again, she looked around until she saw him. Her eyes widened. "Inuyasha? What are you doing?"
Instinct bid her to snatch the jewel into her hands and she tied it, almost unconsciously around her neck. She wobbled her way to Inuyasha, surprised when a pink barrier appeared under her touch. Panicking now, Kagome pounded on the colored wall, crying out in fear. "Inuyasha! What's happening?"
"I-I, damn it! I don't know! Stand back Kagome!"
She did as she was told, watching as he brought out his sword the tetsusaiga and brought it down. The great fang shook for a single second then reverted to its original rusty looking form.
"Kagome!"
Kagome slid against the barrier, tears falling from her eyes. "Inuyasha. Come get me away from here." Frightened and vulnerable, Kagome looked pleadingly to the helpless Inuyasha.
Damn it all! The shikon no tama glowered. If it let her out, its plan would take a step back. If it didn't… it'd be hurting the only one whom it truly hated to be apart from. It growled silently, letting the barrier fall. Taken off guard, Kagome stumbled into Inuyasha's arms, blushing as he caught her and cuddled her into his chest.
"God's Kagome, don't ever scare me like that."
Kagome stiffened, remembering the frozen feeling as he left her in the abyss of darkness. Then she relaxed clutching his shirt (Dark: Sorry to interrupt but I don't know what it's called… his fire rat… thing lol. It'd be helpful if you guys could tell me) tightly in her hands.
"I'm sorry."
This was all wrong! She wasn't supposed to apologize for something she didn't do! That stupid hanyou was destroying its plan! No, it would not fail; it would just have to speed up the plan… but how to go about doing it?
A sudden and unexpected burst through the door answered its unspoken prayer. Disheveled, the monk scrambled towards Inuyasha looking worn out for the wear. "Sesshomaru's here."
"WHAT?" Gently, he lowered the exhausted Kagome on the ground and stomped gracelessly out the hut. His hand inched towards his beloved sword. What was his brother doing there?
Surprised at the unexpected drop, Kagome flinched at the sharp pain shooting up her spine as she landed on the hard ground with a loud thump. Slowly she stood, rubbing the sore, abused part of her body, but froze when her hand came to view.
Blood…?
She brought it closer to her face, inspecting the red substance with suspicious eyes. And just as she had thought, it wasn't hers. Her heart pounded heavily against her chest agonizingly with worry and she scuttled after him.
How could he be so stupid as to go into a battle wounded? With his brother too! Concern shadowed her movements, speeding her run by an unimaginable pace. Please let him be okay, she pleaded.
Upon arrival, Kagome was by far yearning for the comfort of the modern age she knew so well. What she wouldn't give for a nice soak in the tub… But as soon as her gaze fell on the hanyou she loved, she forgot all her complaints.
It was all going wrong! The pink sphere concluded with anger. She wasn't supposed to help the stupid hanyou! She wasn't supposed to still be in love with him! She wasn't supposed to be hurt again…
It would have to do something drastic…
"DON'T YOU DARE TOUCH HIM!"
… Or she would…
Kagome stood in between the two warring brothers; arms spread out like a sacrificed maiden, staring daggers at the stoic taiyoukai welding the sword inches from her face.
Dang! The gem cursed, she was so reckless! But then again… she was a hair's breath away from its victim. Now if only he would put down his sword… What was it thinking? It was the great shikon no tama! Cackling evilly, the jewel sent out an invisible wave of power, snickering every now and then as the confused demonic sword wavered back and forth.
The frigid glare of Sesshomaru locked on his dark sword, and with one graceful, swift action, he sheathed his blade.
"What is this witchery?"
The full blunt of her position at long last hit her, and fear sunk its sharp talons into her heart. In spite of the treacherous terror blossoming in her chest, she stood firm, shielding Inuyasha from his brother.
His everlasting patience dwindled to a single straw that snapped immediately. He would not squander his precious time interrogating a human female. No, he would be more persuasive.
"Speak." He commanded; his hand wrapped dangerously around her delicate throat.
How would its plan work out if they didn't cooperate? The shikon no tama wanted to throw a temper tantrum. It wanted to destroy something. And the cold dog demon was looking quite tempting…
With an exasperated sigh the jewel conjured another barrier, all the while pushing Sesshomaru a far enough distance that it felt he wasn't a threat.
"Kagome. How are you doing that?"
"I-I don't know. I don't think it's my doing."
"What are you talking about?" Inuyasha asked gruffly, shifting so that she wouldn't see his pain.
"It's not me…"
"Then who is it?"
"I think – it's the jewel."
The glittering wall flickered to an end. Even still the brilliant stone kept the taiyoukai under a wary eye. Good thing too, as Sesshomaru rose to his feet, and with three quick strides was holding the famed weapon Toukijin in front of him, ready to dispatch the miko who dared make a fool of him.
The deadly steel merely bounced off the pink bubble encasing the girl, sliding off to one side.
"What is this power? And why can you, a mortal wield it?"
So the icy demon had a weakness after all… his curiosity. Now all it had to do was find some way to exploit the knowledge to its advantage, but how to go about doing it?
Binding them together would be too stupid not to mention corny. EVERYONE did the binding thing, and the great shikon no tama never copied anyone else. Perhaps a bargain would do? A deep buzz rang clear as a crystal in its devious mind, indicating a loud negative. Soon following the irritating noise, a light bulb wilted like a flower. The jewel wanted to cry.
If it had hair the gem would have tore it all out and fed it to an elephant in its frustration. Everything, every little idea was taken, done already! And it wasn't as though the all-powerful Sesshomaru would have anything to gain from guarding the girl. What to do, what to do?
Sesshomaru wanted Inuyasha's sword because it was powerful, maybe an even more dominant blade? Nope, Sesshomaru had enough power as it was, an addition to it would prove fatal.
If wealth and strength couldn't win the detached youkai lord over, what could?
Sesshomaru did something that shocked the socks off everyone, counting himself by stepping backwards and casing his blade by his side.
"What is this?"
It was almost amazing how he could make a question a command proving his arrogance further. Nevertheless, Kagome bravely raised her chin a notch higher, and gently took the object of his attention.
"It's a book." She told him curtly. He impaled her with his frozen stare, silently demanding her to go on.
"Paper with words… like a scroll! Only it's bound together."
A glare.
"Argh! Just read the book!" Agitated, Kagome tossed him the object. Her ire shot to beyond boiling when he caught the flying item with no difficulty. What a pompous jerk! She fumed.
Luckily for our favorite Kagome, his eyes were solely trained on the writings printed on the thin sheets. As his digits flipped through the pages, his brow furrowed further but only so slightly that one who spent an enormous amount of time drinking in his figure every moment of every day could have noticed. Fortune seemed to side with the taiyoukai this time. No one from her group was proven to be his many stalkers – or at least he hoped.
"Explain." He ordered blankly.
"What's there to explain?" She asked, cradling Inuyasha's battered body to hers.
Abruptly it dawned on her. He couldn't read it… How could she be so stupid? Obviously the style of writing would have changed dramatically over the course of five hundred years!
A glimmer of hope gleamed in the shine of the roguish stone as it realized the bargaining chip that fell right into its… erm… invisible hands.
"I could teach you how to read it…"
Kagome could only gape in shock as her mouth flew without her. And she was not the only one in the state of alarm, the hanyou turned to unleash the full blunt of his outrage on her.
"WHAT THE HELL? YOU'RE OFFERING TO TEACH HIM HOW TO READ WHEN HE'S TRYING TO KILL ME?"
…His outrage meaning the loudest his voice could hit. She retaliated… retaliated meaning screaming in a high-pitched voice.
"I'M NOT DOING ANYTHING!"
"ARE TOO!"
"NOT!"
"TOO!"
"NOT!"
"TOO!"
"Ahem." Sango nudged Kagome in the ribs somewhat harshly, but at the last second she moved the result ended up with a very breathless Kagome.
Kagome coughed wildly glaring at both the demon exterminator and the smug looking hanyou. A second passed as she regained her posture. Slowly she turned to Sesshomaru.
"Help us defeat Naraku, and in exchange…" She began, fingers fiddling with the helms of her skirts. "In exchange I'll give you enough knowledge for your land to avoid wars and death!"
"What would a human know of knowledge?" he asked.
Bravely she steeled her eyes and squared her shoulders glaring into his golden gaze. "Try me."
She was serious, he discovered in surprise. What a fool she must be to think she could challenge the great taiyoukai of the west. He had the ability to kill her before she realized she was dead, yet still she stood chin raised defiantly as she attempted to stare him down. What a fool…
Anxiety racked her body and she bit her lip to keep it from wavering. Ignoring Inuyasha's cries of protest as he made his way to her, she spoke. "I give you my word, Sesshomaru."
"Pray tell, why should I trust the word of a human?"
"It's your call..."
Desperately the tiny, unnoticed jewel prayed for the demon to take the dangling bait. Maybe this was the small break it needed in order to spring the plan to overthrow Inuyasha, into action.
"…" He opened the book once again; a delicate finger traced a miniature symbol before nodding leisurely.
Yes! Cheered the gem. He accepted the offer, now let operation Inuyasha's fall commence…
Dark: I hate this chapter I really do… oh wells. It's also kinda short… sighs
Review Responses:
AnimeMoonlightGoddess: Lol, yeah the jewel is evil…
raine84: I'm glad you find it interesting… smiles
kitsune'sangelofflames: I'm delighted to hear that it's interesting.
silver dust: I'm glad you like it. Yes, I like to keep things…different from most other stories.
Inu Youkai Gurl: You don't know how happy you made me! When I realized you put me on your favorite's list I nearly danced in joy! Also, I loved your review (too many telling me it's interesting)
regretfully-yours-Cassy-chan: Thanks for complementing my story…
inuyashaaddicted: grins Thankies!
spice of Inu-Yasha: Am not and will do!
Aya SL: Heheh, sorry bout the long update…
Sif-the-elf: Now, now, now, if I told you, it'd wreak the story. So I won't tell you. Big grin I feel childish all the time so no worries
Lil: Really? I'm happy to hear that. I like making people laugh. Smiles
Angelmaiden: Yep, I'm writing more!
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Krissy: Thanks
Super Hyper Anime Lover: Really? I hope so… I really do.
Emowyen: Thankies!
Pink Sakura: I didn't realize it until you pointed it out to me… the jewel really is like Tomoyo isn't it?
SaRa: Thanks!
Sarcasm Girl8: Lol, yeah I like to be… refreshing. Thank you so much for putting me on your fav's list!
Carmen: Of course I'm continuing this!
LoNg FaNgS: Thanks!
...: Kks! And thanks for reviewing!