Suichiro ravenously devoured a bowl of ramen. "He's worse than Inuyasha!"
Shippou said. Rin nodded in agreement. The two of them watched him as all
little kids watch new, interesting people: very, very closely.
"What's that supposed to mean?!" Inuyasha snapped irritably. Kagome shoved a bucket at him.
"Go get some more water and I'll make you some," she said, smiling sweetly. He grumbled and complied. Kirara followed him in her human form. Sango was patiently re-teaching Sesshoumaru how to skin the deer he had killed and brought back to camp.
'Now isn't this ironic. A demon slayer teaching a demon a survival skill,' she thought to herself. "Now you try," she said out loud to Sesshoumaru. He nodded and carefully got to work. His forehead wrinkled in concentration. He used his claws to carefully cut away the skin.
"Got it!" he said excitedly as the last of the skin came off. "Now do we eat it?" Sango grimaced and looked a little green. She shook her head.
"I don't know about your eating habits, but around here, we cook it first. Kagome says it kills all the germs that will make someone sick. I just think it tastes better."
"Just so long as I don't have to touch it. Yuck." Kagome said, sticking her tongue out.
"You don't like it?" Sesshoumaru asked, looking up at her.
"I do, just not when I have to touch the raw meat. It's gross, disgusting, and vile." Miroku laughed and put a hand on her shoulder.
"Lucky for you it is my night to cook it, then, isn't it?" he said playfully. Sango cut the meat from the bones and put it in a pot of water that Kagome set near her. Miroku took it from her there and moved over to the fire. Sesshoumaru followed after wiping the blood from his claws on the on the grass.
"Teach me?" he asked Miroku. Miroku looked at him, startled.
"You want to learn how to cook?" Sesshoumaru shrugged and nodded. "Okay." Miroku pulled some herbs and spices from Kagome's pack and started teaching Sesshoumaru how to cook stew. Suichiro set his bowl on the ground and listened in as well. Kagome and Sango sat on the ground and watch the boys.
"It's nice to see them actually interested in doing something without complaining." Kagome said. Sango nodded and laughed. Shippou crawled into Kagome's lap with a yawn.
"Wake me up when the food is ready," he said. Rin sat down beside Sango and imitated the demon slayer's pose: crossed lags, elbows on knees, and head in hands. She yawned. Sango looked at her and shook her head playfully. Inuyasha and Kirara came back with a bucket of water.
"Ramen. Now." Inuyasha said. Kirara thwapped him on the head.
"Shippou's asleep on Kagome's lap. Make it yourself." Kirara said. She wouldn't let him argue. He finally gave in. He made his own ramen.
"Nice job." Kagome said, amazed. Usually it took a few sits to get Inuyasha to do anything he didn't want to do. Soon enough, the stew and ramen was finished. Shippou and Rin ate quickly, then fell asleep in Kagome's sleeping bag. Ah-Uhn sat near them so they could protect them. Once all the adults had finished, they sat around the fire talking. None of them seemed to want to approach Suichiro's situation.
"Suichiro, why did you try to kidnap Kagome?" Sesshoumaru finally asked. Suichiro smiled sadly. He knew this was coming.
"Naraku wanted to do it himself, but the person who made me their slave ordered me to do it instead. I didn't want to, but I didn't have control over my body anymore."
"What do you mean?" Kagome asked.
"I may as well start from the beginning. If I am not mistaken, Kanna showed you some of how it began, did she not, Lady Kagome?" Kagome nodded. "Long ago, back when my lord Inutaisho was still alive, the Southern taiyoukai lord was scheming against him. I don't know all the details, but it involved weakening him by killing my lady Hiromi." Sesshoumaru stiffened. "He had to figure out a way to get into the castle. He had a demon ambush me while I was patrolling the borders and bring me to him. He wanted me to get him into the castle. When I refused, Mistress implanted the jewel in my forehead. For awhile I was able to control my body. Then the jewel started taking effect. They made me show them the way into the castle and how to hide their scents from my lord. When I resisted.Lord Inutaisho had been called away. Lady Hiromi was in the training room with my mate Yuki." Suichiro's throat tightened. "I tried to warn them, but it didn't help. I fought the jewel's control, but I couldn't break free. They-" His voice broke. "they were killed as I was forced to watch. Most of what happened after that is blackness, until lady Kagome cracked the jewel. Mistress, as she made me call her, must have suspected something, because she never let me see her after that. Naraku is merely her puppet. She would have no interest in the jewel if you were not the one hunting for the shards, Lady Kagome. As it stood, she was losing patience with it until my lord Sesshoumaru joined the quest."
"Where is Mistress, Suichiro?" Miroku asked. "We will undoubtedly encounter her influence more and more as we fight Naraku."
"I do not remember where, and even if I did, the castle moves at dawn everyday. I heard it moved in some type of pattern, but I didn't have the presence of mind to figure it out."
"That definitely puts a damper on the situation."
"Anyway, Mistress ordered me to kidnap lady Kagome. Once that failed, Mistress gave me a letter to give to the Southern taiyoukai. Naraku was to give me my punishment. That came in the form of a whipping." Suichiro growled low in his throat. "He sent Kagura and Kanna after me to get the letter. I think he is starting to get too interested in Mistress' affairs. If she catches him, she will kill him or have him killed in any case. Kagura tried demanding the letter from me, but I couldn't because of the orders Mistress imposed on me. Only in death could she get the letter, so she sent me here, making sure I only used half of my strength, so I would get killed and she could get the letter. The jewel acts on its own self- preservation instincts, so it was causing me to rebel against Kagura's Dance of the Dead. Lady Kagome freed me." Sesshoumaru turned sharp eyes to Suichiro.
"Where does the Southern Lord live?" he asked, his voice tight with held in anger. Suichiro looked at the ground.
"I do not know. I was never really allowed there, unless I was unconscious first." Sesshoumaru leapt to his feet.
"Well, you better remember something about this, half-wit! That man killed my mother!" Kagome frowned and was about to say something when Suichiro got to his feet as well.
"AND HE KILLED MY MATE WHILE I WATCHED! SHE WAS GOING TO HAVE OUR KIT AND I HAD TO WATCH THEM-!" He paused and took a deep breath. "If I knew where he was, no force on this earth would stop me from killing the Southern Lord. I may have pledged my service to you, Lord Sesshoumaru, but do not assume I am a mindless killing being who serves your every whim when you want it served." He moved out of the firelight and jumped into the trees. They knew he had settled down when one of his legs draped off the branch into view. Sesshoumaru growled and flexed his claws. Finally, he turned away and walked off in the direction of the river. Sango and Kagome sighed.
"Geez, had me worried there for a minute. I thought for sure they were gonna jump at each other." Kagome said lightly. Even in the flickering firelight, they could see the concentration in her eyes as she mulled things over. No one else spoke for the rest of the night as they each ran over the information in their heads, drawing their own ideas of how to proceed. Shippou woke up sometime during the night, after everyone else had fallen asleep. Apparently, they had all been too preoccupied to find a proper place to lay down. Sango was currently wrapped in Miroku's arms and Inuyasha held Kirara protectively against his chest, seeing as she had returned to kitten form. Shippou held in a giggle and went to inspect Suichiro's sleeping spot. He found the silver haired kitsune still awake.
"How did you come to be here, kit?" Suichiro asked softly.
"My dad and mom were killed by these two really evil guys. I wanted to avenge their deaths, but I wasn't strong enough. I tried to steal the jewel shards from Kagome and Inuyasha. Kagome chased after me after I made sure Inuyasha couldn't. She got kidnapped by the one called Manten. Inuyasha and I went after her, and once I told Kagome why I tried to steal the shards, she decided to let me come with them." Shippou said. "I heard you guys talking earlier. Why are you so mad at Sesshoumaru? He's got a lot of problems too. He lost two moms and a dad and he tried to kill his brother and so many other things, but he can't remember any of it. You can at least remember who did what to who so you can get back at them. He can't unless you tell him." Suichiro nodded and jumped down. He picked Shippou up and leapt back into the tree. Shippou squirmed a little before settling in the crook of his arm and falling back asleep.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Tami: Hey guys! Sorry it took so long to update. Writer's block's a killer. Compare that with work and school and time is in serious short supply, no matter what my friends think. Anyway, I would do review responses, but I changed my e-mail address so the ones e-mailed to me are gone and the review page is being retarded.
Contest:
So far, only Hannah has entered. She gave me a pic of Kirara. Very adorable. The contest will be open for.3 more chapters.
"What's that supposed to mean?!" Inuyasha snapped irritably. Kagome shoved a bucket at him.
"Go get some more water and I'll make you some," she said, smiling sweetly. He grumbled and complied. Kirara followed him in her human form. Sango was patiently re-teaching Sesshoumaru how to skin the deer he had killed and brought back to camp.
'Now isn't this ironic. A demon slayer teaching a demon a survival skill,' she thought to herself. "Now you try," she said out loud to Sesshoumaru. He nodded and carefully got to work. His forehead wrinkled in concentration. He used his claws to carefully cut away the skin.
"Got it!" he said excitedly as the last of the skin came off. "Now do we eat it?" Sango grimaced and looked a little green. She shook her head.
"I don't know about your eating habits, but around here, we cook it first. Kagome says it kills all the germs that will make someone sick. I just think it tastes better."
"Just so long as I don't have to touch it. Yuck." Kagome said, sticking her tongue out.
"You don't like it?" Sesshoumaru asked, looking up at her.
"I do, just not when I have to touch the raw meat. It's gross, disgusting, and vile." Miroku laughed and put a hand on her shoulder.
"Lucky for you it is my night to cook it, then, isn't it?" he said playfully. Sango cut the meat from the bones and put it in a pot of water that Kagome set near her. Miroku took it from her there and moved over to the fire. Sesshoumaru followed after wiping the blood from his claws on the on the grass.
"Teach me?" he asked Miroku. Miroku looked at him, startled.
"You want to learn how to cook?" Sesshoumaru shrugged and nodded. "Okay." Miroku pulled some herbs and spices from Kagome's pack and started teaching Sesshoumaru how to cook stew. Suichiro set his bowl on the ground and listened in as well. Kagome and Sango sat on the ground and watch the boys.
"It's nice to see them actually interested in doing something without complaining." Kagome said. Sango nodded and laughed. Shippou crawled into Kagome's lap with a yawn.
"Wake me up when the food is ready," he said. Rin sat down beside Sango and imitated the demon slayer's pose: crossed lags, elbows on knees, and head in hands. She yawned. Sango looked at her and shook her head playfully. Inuyasha and Kirara came back with a bucket of water.
"Ramen. Now." Inuyasha said. Kirara thwapped him on the head.
"Shippou's asleep on Kagome's lap. Make it yourself." Kirara said. She wouldn't let him argue. He finally gave in. He made his own ramen.
"Nice job." Kagome said, amazed. Usually it took a few sits to get Inuyasha to do anything he didn't want to do. Soon enough, the stew and ramen was finished. Shippou and Rin ate quickly, then fell asleep in Kagome's sleeping bag. Ah-Uhn sat near them so they could protect them. Once all the adults had finished, they sat around the fire talking. None of them seemed to want to approach Suichiro's situation.
"Suichiro, why did you try to kidnap Kagome?" Sesshoumaru finally asked. Suichiro smiled sadly. He knew this was coming.
"Naraku wanted to do it himself, but the person who made me their slave ordered me to do it instead. I didn't want to, but I didn't have control over my body anymore."
"What do you mean?" Kagome asked.
"I may as well start from the beginning. If I am not mistaken, Kanna showed you some of how it began, did she not, Lady Kagome?" Kagome nodded. "Long ago, back when my lord Inutaisho was still alive, the Southern taiyoukai lord was scheming against him. I don't know all the details, but it involved weakening him by killing my lady Hiromi." Sesshoumaru stiffened. "He had to figure out a way to get into the castle. He had a demon ambush me while I was patrolling the borders and bring me to him. He wanted me to get him into the castle. When I refused, Mistress implanted the jewel in my forehead. For awhile I was able to control my body. Then the jewel started taking effect. They made me show them the way into the castle and how to hide their scents from my lord. When I resisted.Lord Inutaisho had been called away. Lady Hiromi was in the training room with my mate Yuki." Suichiro's throat tightened. "I tried to warn them, but it didn't help. I fought the jewel's control, but I couldn't break free. They-" His voice broke. "they were killed as I was forced to watch. Most of what happened after that is blackness, until lady Kagome cracked the jewel. Mistress, as she made me call her, must have suspected something, because she never let me see her after that. Naraku is merely her puppet. She would have no interest in the jewel if you were not the one hunting for the shards, Lady Kagome. As it stood, she was losing patience with it until my lord Sesshoumaru joined the quest."
"Where is Mistress, Suichiro?" Miroku asked. "We will undoubtedly encounter her influence more and more as we fight Naraku."
"I do not remember where, and even if I did, the castle moves at dawn everyday. I heard it moved in some type of pattern, but I didn't have the presence of mind to figure it out."
"That definitely puts a damper on the situation."
"Anyway, Mistress ordered me to kidnap lady Kagome. Once that failed, Mistress gave me a letter to give to the Southern taiyoukai. Naraku was to give me my punishment. That came in the form of a whipping." Suichiro growled low in his throat. "He sent Kagura and Kanna after me to get the letter. I think he is starting to get too interested in Mistress' affairs. If she catches him, she will kill him or have him killed in any case. Kagura tried demanding the letter from me, but I couldn't because of the orders Mistress imposed on me. Only in death could she get the letter, so she sent me here, making sure I only used half of my strength, so I would get killed and she could get the letter. The jewel acts on its own self- preservation instincts, so it was causing me to rebel against Kagura's Dance of the Dead. Lady Kagome freed me." Sesshoumaru turned sharp eyes to Suichiro.
"Where does the Southern Lord live?" he asked, his voice tight with held in anger. Suichiro looked at the ground.
"I do not know. I was never really allowed there, unless I was unconscious first." Sesshoumaru leapt to his feet.
"Well, you better remember something about this, half-wit! That man killed my mother!" Kagome frowned and was about to say something when Suichiro got to his feet as well.
"AND HE KILLED MY MATE WHILE I WATCHED! SHE WAS GOING TO HAVE OUR KIT AND I HAD TO WATCH THEM-!" He paused and took a deep breath. "If I knew where he was, no force on this earth would stop me from killing the Southern Lord. I may have pledged my service to you, Lord Sesshoumaru, but do not assume I am a mindless killing being who serves your every whim when you want it served." He moved out of the firelight and jumped into the trees. They knew he had settled down when one of his legs draped off the branch into view. Sesshoumaru growled and flexed his claws. Finally, he turned away and walked off in the direction of the river. Sango and Kagome sighed.
"Geez, had me worried there for a minute. I thought for sure they were gonna jump at each other." Kagome said lightly. Even in the flickering firelight, they could see the concentration in her eyes as she mulled things over. No one else spoke for the rest of the night as they each ran over the information in their heads, drawing their own ideas of how to proceed. Shippou woke up sometime during the night, after everyone else had fallen asleep. Apparently, they had all been too preoccupied to find a proper place to lay down. Sango was currently wrapped in Miroku's arms and Inuyasha held Kirara protectively against his chest, seeing as she had returned to kitten form. Shippou held in a giggle and went to inspect Suichiro's sleeping spot. He found the silver haired kitsune still awake.
"How did you come to be here, kit?" Suichiro asked softly.
"My dad and mom were killed by these two really evil guys. I wanted to avenge their deaths, but I wasn't strong enough. I tried to steal the jewel shards from Kagome and Inuyasha. Kagome chased after me after I made sure Inuyasha couldn't. She got kidnapped by the one called Manten. Inuyasha and I went after her, and once I told Kagome why I tried to steal the shards, she decided to let me come with them." Shippou said. "I heard you guys talking earlier. Why are you so mad at Sesshoumaru? He's got a lot of problems too. He lost two moms and a dad and he tried to kill his brother and so many other things, but he can't remember any of it. You can at least remember who did what to who so you can get back at them. He can't unless you tell him." Suichiro nodded and jumped down. He picked Shippou up and leapt back into the tree. Shippou squirmed a little before settling in the crook of his arm and falling back asleep.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Tami: Hey guys! Sorry it took so long to update. Writer's block's a killer. Compare that with work and school and time is in serious short supply, no matter what my friends think. Anyway, I would do review responses, but I changed my e-mail address so the ones e-mailed to me are gone and the review page is being retarded.
Contest:
So far, only Hannah has entered. She gave me a pic of Kirara. Very adorable. The contest will be open for.3 more chapters.