Chapter 4
Trickery
Before the group could inquire about Kagome, a young boy came running into Suikotsu's house. He was out of breath looking as though he had ran a great distance. He was a small boy, smaller then most his age, and he reminded Sango of her brother.
"Suikotsu, please you have to help! Natsuo fell and hurt his knee. It's really bad
Suikotsu!" The little boy was very frantic with his news, managing to get it all out in one breath.
"Hayaki, please calm down. I'm sure he's okay, now tell me where he is, and I'll go see him immediately." He said, trying to calm the boy down. He gave an apologetic look to Inuyasha.
"If you don't mind following me, I can tell you about it on the way. After I get Natsou fixed up, I will then take you to her." He said all this while gathering some herbs and bandages.
"Feh, whatever. I just want to get out of here, we've got things to do." Miroku and Sango glared at him, he just shrugged.
"What he means to say,is that we would appreciate that very much." Miroku said, hoping Inuyasha wouldn't be rude to the man anymore. They followed them out of the hut.
They really didn't need the boy to lead them, you could hear the cries of the child from quite a distance. Nevertheless they allowed him to lead, as it made him feel important being the one to "rescue" his friend.
What seemed to be a great emergency turned out to be a small scrape. It had bled a lot, which was probably why the children had panicked. Though after just a few minutes it was cleaned, bandaged, and the boy was off again.
"I'm terribly sorry about that, now then about your friend. Me and my companion had been walking through the forest and indeed there was a young girl. She looked as if she had tripped. She was unconscious when we found her. We brought her here, cleaned her up, and have been waiting for her to wake up. I'm sure she will soon, and if you would like, I can take you to her now." He said all this while walking towards a temple. They thought he was acting odd, because the whole time he was scrubbing at his hands to get the blood off. Normally doctors wouldn't be so squeamish around blood, but they supposed some people just couldn't handle it.
"My house is really too small for her to stay in, so we decided to put her here in the temple." He looked around a bit then yelled.
"Hey Renkotsu, you there? Huh, he must be out, I know where she is, follow me please." He led them across the yard, into the building.
"Inuyasha," Miroku pulled him towards the back of the group, "Do you not find it odd that there is no monks here? Where have they all gone off to?" He kept his voice low, so Suikotsu would not hear.
"Yeah. I smell blood so keep on your guard, this is probably a trap." Inuyasha replied.
"Are you sure this is the best course of action then? Perhaps it would be better to fight in the open." Miroku thought that is was weird that a man so kind would willingly lead them into a trap, but you never knew anymore. He had noticed something odd about the man when they first met, but couldn't place what it was. He was sure they would find out soon.
"I wonder where everyone is at." Suikotsu asked to no one in particular. "Ah, she's in here." He stopped at the door and opened it, then gestured them to go ahead. He followed them in and looked at Inuyasha.
"You say her name is Kagome correct?" Indicating the lump under the covers. Inuyasha nodded. There was definitely someone under the covers, but the incense the monks had burned made any smell recognition impossible.
"You can try to wake her if you like. I'm sure it might be rather frightening to wake up to a stranger, then to a friend." He said to Shippo. The kit did look rather anxious to see his mother figure again.
He pounced on the bed before anyone had a chance to stop him. He started shaking her shoulder, whispering for her to wake up. He then pulled the covers back so he could see her. The person there did appear to be a woman, but it wasn't Kagome. She had two blue stripes, one under each eye, reaching down to her chin.
"Why hello Suikotsu, long time no see." The woman sat up, grinning madly, waiting for his reaction. She then hopped out of bed, bringing with her a sword. Only now did they realize it wasn't a woman, but a man.
The man he addressed looked confused at first. Then he looked horrified, images of blood and gore flashing through his mind. Deep down he knew who had massacred the people, but he didn't believe it. He bent down with his head in his hands, mumbling incoherently.
"Where's Kagome?" Inuyasha demanded, brandishing his own sword. The rest of the group took their que. He was almost worried over what was wrong with the man, but had more prominent business with the thing in front of him.
"Oh my, you are adorable." Jakotsu said, eyeing Inuyasha like a piece of candy.
"What the hell you sick fuck. Last time I'm gonna ask, where is Kagome?" Inuyasha felt dirty being looked at like that by a man. He wanted to just take him out, but before he could make his move another mans voice interrupted him.
"Now, now, Jakotsu. You really must control yourself. You can play with him after we get what we came here for." A man dressed in the robes of a monk walked in, and turned to Suikotsu. "You remember us don't you Suikotsu." The man questioned. He too had two stripes running from his chin, though his ended above his eyebrows. He also had a weird insignia (if any one knows what the symbol is, please let me know) on his forehead.
"No one is going to play with me ass hole." He made a move towards the man in the priests robes. He was going to enjoy killing this guy, making that sick remark had been his death warrant.
"Inuyasha, behind you." Miroku warned him.
He turned just in time to block the slithering blade of Jakotsus'. He growled, wondering what kind of sword he had.
"Sorry cutie. If you wanted to play, you should have told me." Jakatsu smiled seductively at Inuyasha."Oh and do you think you can growl for me when we have some privacy, it's incredibly sexy."
Inuyasha blanched, then pushed Jakotsus' sword away. "What is wrong with you?" It was disgusting the way this man acted, and he desperately wanted to get as far away from him as possible.
Jakatsu pouted. "There's nothing wrong with me, you just can't see a good thing even when it's staring straight at you." Again he threw his sword at Inuyasha.
Sango and Miroku were torn between helping their friend out , to laughing at him. It was very funny to see how he reacted to Jakotsus come-on's, but knew they would be able to laugh later. They turn to where Suitkotsu and the man was, wondering what was going on.
He had effectively block their sight of Suikotsu, and was whispering to him. Miroku went in to attack, raising his staff to strike the man unconscious, but before he could finish his move, what looked to be claws blocked his staff.
The man they knew once as Suikotsu, was no longer the same. The once gentle looking man now had green stripes covering his face, his hair spiky. He had a partial glove on, which had four claw like steel pieces protruding out of it. He had a look in his eyes which told of enjoying bloodshed. Miroku backed away, surprised at the change that had taken place,
"Jakotsu, we have Suikotsu. Stop playing with the mutt and lets go." The man drank from a bottle he had in his sleeve.
"Awww, do we have to...I was having fun. Can I at least take him and keep him? I promise I will feed and water him, and we'll be quiet at night?" Jakotsu pouted, begging the man to let him "keep" Inuyasha.
"Maybe later. Lets go." With that he spit the liquid out, it turning to fire as soon as it left his mouth. With the group distracted, they made their escape.
They rushed out of the room, smoke billowing out behind them. Kiara transformed once they reached the courtyard allowing Sango, Miroku, and Shippo to climb on her. Once everyone was settled, she took the skies. Inuyasha jumped the outer wall, looking back at the burning building. Don't worry Kagome, he thought to himself, we'll find you.
A.N. Well here's the next chappy. Let me know what you think.:)
