Hey, guys. I'm really sorry that last chapter was boring, but this one will be better, I promise! And, if my notes are right, pretty long, too! See aren't we happy? Ok, on with the show.
Disclaimer: I do not own in any form or fashion any of the characters in this story. Even the ones that do not appear in the manga or anime (the ones I made up), yeah, well those characters belong to my subconscious id. I just do what the id tells me too, and I get to sleep at night (although not usually peacefully).
Any Scene changes are depicted like: IIIIIIIIIIIIIII
"spoken words"
'thoughts'
Enchanted Orbs
Chapter 3 Deceptions for the Demon Lord
"Miroku, I did it!" Kagome squealed as the leaf she held in her hand disappeared.
The mysterious woman had told her almost anything was in her power to do now, but Kagome was never the most confident person in the world. With her new found connection to her power, the spell was quickly learned and mastered. Much more quickly than Miroku would have ever imagined.
"Very good, Lady Kagome, you've done well to learn that spell so quickly." A slight pause reigned, and then, "May I ask as to why you want to learn such techniques when you have never shown an interest before?"
Kagome paled slightly; she didn't want to give up her secret yet, but she didn't want to lie to a good friend, either. "Well, Miroku, I just thought that I might be able to help you guys out a bit more if I could hide things. Think about it, if the jewel gets ripped off my neck, or if Naraku steals it then gets a tentacle cut off and the jewel falls to the ground. I might be able to cause enough confusion with such a spell that Inuyasha could defeat Naraku." 'Wow,' Kagome was a little scared that she had learned to hide the truth so well; it wasn't a complete lie because the situation was very plausible. But it wasn't the reason she wished to learn those spells. 'Oh well, what's done is done.'
"That makes much sense; I had never thought of such a ruse, but if this comes to pass you can be ready now." Miroku gave her a soft smile, proud of his friend for her accomplishment.
"Heh heh, thanks, Miroku." Kagome said, a bit embarrassed by his attention, and she continued walking with in the middle of the group as Miroku quickened his pace to catch up with Inuyasha.
'That was kinda funny.' Kagome thought, now alone with her opinions. 'The instant Miroku began to teach me that spell, I remembered what that mysterious woman told me. I don't have to use chants or spells anymore, but I couldn't just ask him to teach me and then say 'oh, nevermind, I can do that without a chant, I forgot.' Yeah , I can just see the look of confusion that would cause. I'm a pretty good actress if he believed how happy I was about covering up a leaf. Maybe I should consider a career in movies when I get back to the modern . . .'
Then she felt it, a very powerful aura hovering around the travelers. There were no shards in the vicinity; she could feel the pull of the jewel trying to reassemble itself in the back of her mind. But all the shards were a good distance away. 'It can't be Naraku, even his puppets usually have a shard embedded in them. Who could it be, then? The aura doesn't intend harm, I can feel that much, but why is it just watching . . . oh, it gives me the creeps!'
Kagome decided not to mention the presence felt because no one else appeared to notice, and why should she alert the group if whatever it was wasn't going to harm them? The group continued walking. About an hour or so later, she felt a few minor demons approaching fast. She set her pack down and readied her arrows. Sango shot her a questioning look until Kirara transformed and Inuyasha spoke up.
"Get ready, we are about to have company." He said as he drew the Tetsusaiga. Miroku crouched holding his staff, and Sango readied her Hiraikotsu.
A huge bear youkai stormed through the trees. As he came upon the group, the youkai looked straight at Kagome and began to run at her. Inuyasha jumped between them before the bear could get within striking range of the girl. As Inuyasha sliced at the demon with his sword, another youkai, this one a reptile of some sorts entered the scene.
It appeared to be a cross between a snake and a raptor, with a long body on which it slithered but a massive raptor-like head and sharp talons on small arms near the head.
Sango hurled her weapon at the beast as Miroku swiftly leapt out of the way of the youkai's tail. As the reptilian demon swiped with its tail, its head became closer to striking range of Kagome.
The beast dodged the Hiraikotsu and lunged at Kagome, but she was waiting. Her arrow poised and ready, she let it fly. Purifying pink light surrounded the arrow as it hit its mark. The youkai had begun to disintegrate as Inuyasha rejoined the group. The bear youkai proved less than a match for him, but he was wounded. A gash on his shoulder served to remind him that a dying youkai can be more dangerous than a healthy one.
"Inuyasha, you're hurt! Here let me bandage your wound." Kagome replied as she ran to her pack to get her first aid kit.
All she got in response was a "Feh!" as Inuyasha jumped into a tree for the night.
"Well, I guess that means he can heal himself. Should we set up camp, Sango?" Kagome said trying not to be offended by Inuyasha's stand-offish attitude.
"Yes, Kagome, that would be wise, but lets move back a bit towards the spring we crossed earlier. I really don't want to sleep with the smell of seared youkai a few feet from me. Plus, its usually not a good idea to stay so close to the body of a dead youkai; there are scavengers that will come and may give us trouble during the night." Sango spoke to her companions.
Kagome agreed. She, Sango, Miroku, Shippo, and Kirara all headed back to the stream they had been following in their travels, which was only about a five minute walk backwards.
After dinner had been prepared and eaten, Kagome excused herself to go take a bath and to practice. The miko had asked Sango to join her, but she knew Sango didn't take nightly baths. For some reason, it wasn't considered healthy in this era to clean yourself so often.
Kagome just shook her head and headed to the waterfront.
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Sesshomaru was thoroughly disappointed in the sorcerer's lack of appearance the previous evening, but had not resolved to leave the area yet. His instinct told him that the magical being was still in the vicinity. He trusted his instinct; it had saved his life on several occasions as a child.
All he had to do was wait. Although he did not enjoy being patient, the demon lord was capable of extreme patience when his plans required that virtue. He was bored, though. He assumed the creature would display his powers again at night based on his first encounter with the lights; it was only the middle of the afternoon.
Sesshomaru took Rin to a meadow to let her play in the flowers for an hour or two. Watching her torture Jaken and dress up Ah-Un with flowers took away part of the day, but there were still a couple hours of daylight left. 'Perhaps I should see what my useless brother is up to.' With his superior senses, Sesshomaru knew exactly where Inuyasha was, but could stay out of his range of smell. The taiyoukai also had ways of suppressing his aura and scent. Because of this, he could observe the gang without notice.
He perched in a tree that they would pass directly under and waited. 'That pathetic hanyou, he did not even realize potential death was right above him. I could kill him here without notice. Such a shame to my heritage, but he is of some use to me at this time.'
He watched in amusement as the two demons attacked the companions. He smirked when he smelled the blood of his half-brother; then just as quietly as he appeared he left them to prepare for his encounter with the sorcerer. The thought never occurred to him that this being would not surface tonight. He had no doubts whatsoever that soon he would have a very powerful weapon at his disposal. Now he just had to decide what to do with the numerous opportunities such magic could open to him. Plans whirled through his mind. 'Yes, this will be very convenient.'
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"Ok, lets see. The first thing I need to do is hide my presence.' Kagome concentrated and all hints of her existence by the spring disappeared. The area around the spring appeared normal to anyone looking, but she could not been seen. Her magic could not be felt by any creatures near her, nor could the lighted orbs which accompanied her magic be seen by anyone but her.
Kagome practiced for about ten minutes; she tried to feel through her power to control it. She worked on the healing abilities that magic provided her. She also expanded her purifying energy and the control she possessed over it. She was beginning to feel a bit tired when she realized that someone was approaching.
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Sesshomaru was irked. He knew the creature would surface tonight. His instinct never lied to him, but why hadn't he felt a power surge. Nothing. Not even a hint of a magical aura called out to him. This was not what was supposed to happen.
He inhaled deeply to sigh. The spicy twang of magic hinted to his sensitive nose. 'Cunning sorcerer, I almost missed your presence.' But his sensitive nose was alerted to the ongoing activities. He was off; shooting across the distance that separated them.
When he arrived at the spring, he could see nothing. There was no magic to be seen from any corner of the clearing, but his nose never lied. 'Cunning sorcerer, indeed.'
Kagome tensed as she saw him enter her practice arena. 'What is Sesshomaru doing here? I . . . un . . . shoot! What do I do now? Ok, keep cool Kagome, he can't see you; he doesn't know you're here. Maybe he'll just go away. Stay absolutely still so he can't hear you and you'll be fine.' She tried to comfort and calm herself. Kagome froze statue still and waited for him to leave.
She waited. And waited. What seemed like an eternity, which was probably more like a minute in reality, passed. He stood just as still as she did. All of a sudden he looked straight at her. 'No, that's impossible; he can't know where I am. He can't . . .'
"If you think you can hide from me you are gravely mistaken. I can hear your heartbeat. I know exactly where you are." He stated as he stared directly at her.
Kagome's heart sank. 'I'm going to die. Dang it just when life was starting to let me show a little control. I was going to be strong for once, take care of myself and my friends instead of being taken care of . . .' but he continued on and cut her off.
"I can feel your power. You could be of great use to me. I offer you a choice. You can either join me and achieve greatness, or you can refuse my offer and death will follow your choice"
Silence. Kagome's heart raced. 'What do I do? I can't challenge him. Even if I was strong enough at this point in my training, I am still exhausted from practicing before he came.' She racked her brain to think of a response. She had to buy some time, but how?
"I assure you that joining is a chance most would jump at. As powerful as you are, you could easily ascend in my ranks to become one of my generals. You would stay at my fortress where any dish or drink would be served to you at any time. If you are a lusty man, you would have any and all types of women to share your bed. Great power and prestige will be bestowed on you if you are obedient to me."
'WHAT! Did he just say that I could have any WOMAN I want? He thinks I'm a MAN? Boy is his sense of smell off! Wait, I could use this . . . what to look like? Obviously not human, I could be a kitsune. They are known for their magic, so it would make sense to him. A male, kitsune is what I'll be. I don't want him to feel as if I am a threat. He needs to think he's holding all the power in this situation.' Her decision made, she conjured up an illusion of a teenage fox demon in her mind. His hair was the same color as Shippo's but reached his shoulders when pulled into a high ponytail; his eyes were piercingly blue instead of green. His pants were black with a blue top that matched his eyes. To top off his outfit, Kagome gave him a little red bow tie. 'I know there aren't bow ties in this age, but he's so cute.'
"My patience wears thin sorcerer. Show yourself and spare your life. Answer me." His voice was flat, but somehow the obvious threat rang clear.
As he said this, Kagome's kitsune magician appeared a few feet in front of her. She spoke through the image as she made her plea. Her voice much lower, she replied, "Your request is very generous; however, I need time to consider this proposition. Although my life is in your hands, I do not willingly give my power without due consideration." Kagome's heart stopped as she watched his reaction. Was he going to kill her now, or would he allow her the time she needed to think of a way out of this situation? Fear gripped her.
"Your power is too great to be ignored. You have three days to consider your choice. Do not be ignorant of the fact that, though I may desire to have your power at my disposal, I will not hesitate to kill you to prevent that power from being used against me by the other lords. I will return in three days. Should you attempt escape, and I will hunt you to your death." With that, he left the spring. Kagome released a long sigh. 'That went well,' she bit sarcastically as she gathered her bathing supplies and headed back to camp.
Hey guess what . . . that chapter was two pages longer than the first two chapters! Don't you love me! Well, at least there's some action in this chapter. Anywho, things are about to get complicated. Review and let me know if you like the track I'm on! My plans for this fic are nowhere near concrete. So if you have suggestions (and I like them) I'll try to incorporate them.
I'll update again soon. Syrinx
