Summary: While battling Naraku, Inuyasha gets cursed and turns into a………WHAT!? Can Kagome get him back to normal? Or will fate say no to love?
Pairings: Inu/Kag Mir/San Sess/Rin
AN: Okay, people REALLY want this chapter up, so I'm posting it! Just remember to review, please!!!
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Chapter 10
That morning, the group decided to leave earlier so that they could cover more ground.
While everyone was getting packed up, Sango walked up to Inuyasha.
"Um, Inuyasha?" she asked.
"Hm?" Inuyasha turned. "Sango? What's the matter?"
"Can I…talk to you for a moment?" Sango asked shyly. 'Okay, this is it. I gotta ask him while I'm confident.' she thought. (NO! She does NOT love him! But a small twist WILL be added some time!)
"Sure." Inuyasha said, and began walking with Sango towards the deeper parts of the forest.
When Sango thought that she was far enough from the others, she spoke.
"Inuyasha, do you really want your memories back?"
Inuyasha stared at Sango, then looked thoughtful for a moment.
"I don't know," he replied. "I never really thought about it. I suppose I do, but only if you guys want me to remember. I guess it's kinda hard to think about it if you only half know what your thinking in the first place."
"Yeah, I suppose you're right about that," Sango replied. "But you shouldn't care how we feel, you should care about what you feel! Do you truly want your memories back, or do you want to just continue living the way you were? It's your choice, not ours. You need to choose what you think is best for you."
Inuyasha looked thoughtful for a little bit longer before saying, "I think…um…oh, I don't know, Sango. It's really complicated. Especially since I don't remember anything; it's really confusing."
"I understand," Sango replied. "You can think about it, and make your decision when we reach Nagori."
Inuyasha nodded, and the two returned to camp.
"There you are!" exclaimed Kagome. "Where have you been? We need to go, guys, or we'll have to camp out again in the woods!"
"Uh, sorry Kagome," Sango and Inuyasha murmured quickly before moving out with everyone else.
"So, what did you talk about?" Miroku asked Sango as the group marched onward with Sesshomaru, Rin, and Jaken in front.
"Oh, nothing," Sango replied.
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By mid-day, the gang finally reached where Sesshomaru had last seen the dragon; but what the gang saw was definitely NOT what they expected. Even Sesshomaru was shocked.
"Oh, my…" Sango muttered, daring not to complete her sentence, for fear that it would cause something catastrophic.
In the spot where the nest was, lay 5 draclings; the two green ones lay dead with their neck snapped in two. The other three were hiding in the bushes nearby. They were hurt, but still alive. The three shivered and nuzzled at their dead siblings.
Nearby lay a male dragon. Its once shining green scales were now a dull grayish-green color, and blood still oozed out of the wounds all over its body. It was clearly dead.
"This must have bee Nagori's nest!" Kagome exclaimed. "But where's Nagori?"
Suddenly, a large blast of flame burst through the forest and towards them. Sesshomaru instinctively picked up Rin and Jaken and leapt away, Inuyasha did the same with Kagome, and Kouga, Sango, and Miroku also leapt out of the way with Shippo at their heels. The ball of flame sizzled past them, missing the group by inches.
Then out of the brush, a black dragon came out. Red blood poured from numerous wounds, and she looked extremely angry.
"You…" she hissed, directing her attention towards Sesshomaru. "I've seen you before. You are not welcome here. Leave at once, or I will have to burn you to a crisp!"
But before she could back up her threat, she collapsed in a heap on the ground.
Kagome gasped and rushed over to the unconscious dragon, and began to treat its wounds. Meanwhile, Sesshomaru started to look around the area.
"What are you looking at, Sesshomaru?" asked Sango.
"For something that should very well be here." Sesshomaru replied. Finally, he turned and said, "From what I can tell, the black orb is gone."
"Oh no," Sango murmured.
"Is that a bad thing?" asked Inuyasha.
"Yeah, it's bad," Kouga replied. "Well, bad for you, that is."
"What's so bad about it?" asked Inuyasha.
"That orb contained the antidote to return our memories!" Shippo said.
"Now we have to get the orb back from whoever took it," Kagome said.
"Three guesses who," Kouga murmured.
"Naraku," Miroku muttered.
"So, how's the dragon?" asked Sango.
"I've treated her wounds, and she'll wake up in a few minutes," Kagome replied.
So the gang waited, and when Nagori woke up, she had calmed down much more, and they started a conversation about why they were there, and what happened to Nagori.
"That wretched Naraku," Nagori hissed, sending a fireball at a nearby tree and charring it to a black stump. "He killed most of my young, killed my mate, and took my orb. Now I only have 3 of my young left, and they might not survive for long. In fact, neither will I."
"Why not?" asked Sesshomaru. "You look like a healthy beast to me."
"No," Nagori said as if it were plainly obvious. "You ca tell by looking at a dragon's scales. Mine are rimmed with a red aura, meaning that I have been cursed by dark magic. My young and I will probably last a few weeks before dying."
"Well, what can we do?" Kouga asked. "We're here for the orb, and since you don't have it, we'll just take it back from Naraku."
"There's a flaw in your plan," Nagori smirked. "You see, if I die, then the orb will shatter, and there will be no way for you to cure your friend."
"Sesshomaru?" Kagome asked, "Can't you heal Nagori?"
"No." Sesshomaru replied. "Even if they all died, my Tenseiga can't heal ones under dark magic curses (AN: I made that up, so what, who cares? I don't.)
"The only way to heal us would be to find my friend, Nali. She is one of the 10 Dragons, and her cursed blood can do similar things as what Naraku has done to me. But in her case, it would take mere days. But her blood can cure anything, from scrap wounds to curses. It can even heal the dead and the near-dead. It's very useful."
"Yes, I can see why," Miroku added. "With that kind of power, these feudal times wouldn't have that much death."
"Of course, nothing is that simple, monk," Nagori said. "Nali won't just heal any human or demon that comes barging into her domain. You'll need to find her, defeat her at her own game, and then take a small sample. Your sample would probably only be enough for one person. But if you give her something of mine and explain your situation, then I bet that she'll lend you enough of her blood."
"What do you mean, 'game'?" Kouga asked. "I thought that you just needed to beat them."
Nagori chuckled. "Heh. Taimu, you stupid dragon. He's only following his rules. For him, and for me, you need to beat us in a duel. But for other dragons, it's different. For Nali, she chooses a game. She has 7 mini-games, and you have to beat at least 4 in order to beat her. But be warned, theses games are very hard and will test your physical, mental, and emotional capabilities. There will be trivia, races, fighting, and a couple others. I'm pretty sure that in one, you need to go through a maze or something, blind-folded, and your teammates, if any, need to help you navigate it and tell you what to do if you get into any accidents. Sorry, but that's all I can reveal to you."
"Well, then, we should get started on our journey." Miroku said. "Nagori, could you tell us where Nali's domain is?"
Nagori looked thoughtful, as if wondering whether to keep the mystery going or to give away the secrets. Finally, she said, "Look above you and to the east."
The gang looked upwards to the east and all gasped. All that was there were clumps of white, puffy clouds. Up in the clouds was a pink dot.
"See that dot up there? The pink one?" asked Nagori. "That's her. That's Nali. I can't tell you how to get there, though. When I go to visit her, I fly. Of course, you can't. So you'll have to find some other way."
"Why can't you fly us up there?" Kouga asked.
"Idiots," Sesshomaru muttered. "do you know nothing of black magic curses? When cursed upon a dragon, it makes them incapable to fly, swim, or run. They can only walk short distances and breath fire."
"Then I suggest we get moving, and find out information on our way." Kagome declared.
And now, with a new destination ahead of them, the gang continued along the path towards Nali's domain atop the clouds.
TO BE CONTINUED……