Pairings: Inu/Kag (Kou) Mir/San Sess/Rin
A/N: See, I'm updating more frequently! It's a good thing, eh? Eh? Whatever, here's the chapter.
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Chapter 20
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Kagura ducked behind a tree when she saw Inuyasha taking suspicious glances around the swamp. 'I wonder if his nose is as sensitive as Naraku says,' she thought. Her thought rung false when she saw Inuyasha calm down, and even fall asleep. 'Heh. I suppose not. Hanyou are paranoia freaks. And I serve an especially paranoid one.'
Kagura began to sneak off, using the wind powers to change the physics of her form to alter gravity and keep the mud from making squelches under her feet (A/N: Okay, I don't know if she can even do half of that or not, but bear with me here!). Even if Inuyasha's senses didn't work, his brother's surely would. Unfortunately for him, being the mongrel he was, his nose was also incompatible with the life of the swamp. The only one who was able to sniff around the place would be Jaken, and she had already…taken care of the imp…if 'taken care of' meant beating the shit out of him and dumping him face-down in a bush. (A/N: No, he's not getting killed…yet…or at all…)
When she was well away, she took out a feather, and maneuvered through the trees and emerged above the canopy. "Now, to inform Naraku." she muttered in disgust, spitting out his name with such venom it could kill a human ten times over. She was about to boost forward, when suddenly, a figure floated in her way.
It was Hari.
And what was worse, was that Kikyo was on her back.
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Inuyasha slowly opened his eyes, letting the blurriness of his senses slowly decrease as he sat up, shaking his head and feeling more refreshed than ever. He tested his nose once again, but found that he still could smell nothing, except he aggravating stench of the mud. It was annoying, and he wanted nothing more than to fly the hell out of this place! And now that the entire group was back together, they could.
'Hey, Hari?' Inuyasha asked, almost pleading. He was disappointed when he received no response. He tried to delve into Hari's mind to see why she wouldn't at least respond, but he suddenly received a sharp spark, causing him to yelp in surprise. Everyone looked up, whether worried or curious as to what Inuyasha cried out for, but upon seeing nothing wrong physically, they turned away, seeking to return to whatever the hell they were doing.
Inuyasha lifted a hand up to his forehead, the coldness of his hand helping with the burning of his wound, but not with the burning that spark did. It felt as if his entire body ached on the inside, but nothing hurt at all on the outside. It was a strange feeling, and he couldn't exactly describe it, much less comprehend what it actually WAS that he was feeling.
'Ouch…' he thought gruffly. 'What the hell was that for?' he asked, once again receiving no response. 'If you're still mad at me, then I'm sorry, but just say something, damn it!'
'…Don't talk to me,' came the sweet-but-stern tone of Hari.
'Why not?' the confused half demon asked. 'If it's about earlier, then I already apolo-'
'It has nothing to do with what happened,' the serpent replied hastily. 'I have business to attend to now, please do not bother me. If you do, my mind barrier will shock you again.'
Inuyasha was about to respond when another spark shot through him; it wasn't as harmful this time, but it made his body burn and ache even more. He winced.
"Is something wrong, Inuyasha?" came the concerned voice of Kagome. Inuyasha looked up at the girl's charming face as she squelched over to him. She stared down at him with her large, chocolate eyes, and kneeled down to face him. "You've been acting a little strange since we've reunited, so is something the matter?"
He shook his head. "No," he replied gently.
"Sango told me that you regained a bit of your memory," she replied cheerfully. Inuyasha stared at her very bad attempt to lighten the mood. Her expression changed from cheerful to gloomy in seconds. "Hey, are you sure nothing's wrong? If it's about earlier, I already told you that I didn't mean to kiss him."
Inuyasha stared hard at Kagome, emotions pooling in his eyes and showing more vibrantly than a rainbow-colored zebra. Kagome was slightly surprised at such a show of emotions, for the old Inuyasha wouldn't dare let his eyes betray his stubborn façade. "If you didn't mean it," he started in a whisper, "then why did you do it?"
Kagome's cheeks tinted red for a moment or two. How would she explain that one? She couldn't just tell him that it was because she was daydreaming about him, that'd be really embarrassing. If she told him that she was zoning out, he'd probably think that anyone could just kiss her while she was thinking about him, and she'd go swooning in his arms, or something. She turned her face away from Inuyasha to hide the blush slowly covering her face, but Inuyasha misinterpreted the action and thought that she turned away out of shame.
"Fine then," he said quietly, standing up. Kagome's head snapped up and had time just to see Inuyasha almost lose balance, quickly regain it, and prepare to leap up into the canopy, and hopefully, away from her.
"Inuyasha, wait!" Kagome pleaded. Inuyasha looked at her, and Kagome found herself speechless. She didn't know what to say that wouldn't embarrass either of them further. Plus, she felt rather intimidated under his hard-but-gentle stare. Confusion, hurt, kindness; they all showed within his deep amber eyes, and it made Kagome feel tears come to her eyes as she looked down to shield her face. She didn't want to see him like this. She just wanted things to be the way they were again.
"Sorry," came Inuyasha's sudden voice. Kagome looked up slowly to see his face turned away from hers. "I…just need some time to think…" Then, as soon as he finished, he jumped high into the trees.
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Kikyo was flying around the general area of where Inuyasha and his friends were camped, talking secretly to Hari.
"Kikyo, I thought Kagura wasn't one to be trusted?" Hari questioned.
"She isn't, but her desires are the same as ours; we both want a world that's devoid of Naraku," Kikyo replied simply. In her hands, she held two objects. "One more object remains. Hari, you must help Inuyasha figure out what this danger is. If he does not stop it, you know what will happen to this world."
Hari whined. She knew what would happen, even though she, like everyone else, didn't know what the danger that caused it actually was. According to the swamp spirits, the danger was unavoidable; the only flip-side was whether or not the danger could be stopped once it came upon them. Right now, everyone only had mere scraps of information, which was useless unless you knew all of it.
"Kikyo, may I ask what those objects are for?" Hari asked politely. Though Kikyo was indeed one of the dead, she was still high-ranking priestess, and still required some hint of respect.
Kikyo idled with the objects, running her fingers across them. "They are two parts out of three. The swamp was the first to notify me of the danger, and that was a long while ago. Since then, I have done what they requested me to do, as well as gather the three objects. They said that it would help against the danger; what it does, I don't know, and neither does the swamp." (A/N: Yeah, I know I said Kikyo would be evil, and she is. She's just not evil yet…she's a good little miko for now.)
"I see…" Hari said. Suddenly, she looked ahead. 'Kikyo; we have a visitor.'
Kikyo looked up as well, but didn't make any movements. Standing in the tree branches ahead of them was Inuyasha. He stared at Hari first, recognizing the serpent, before moving onto Kikyo. He hadn't expected to see her on Hari's back, and his eyes glowed with confusion and surprise.
'Hari, take me to Inuyasha,' Kikyo ordered.
'Are you sure? Isn't it too early to tell him about the Sacred Items?' asked the serpent warily.
'I know what I am doing; now take me to him,' Kikyo repeated with more force. Hari quickly complied and raced towards the half demon. His silhouette seemed to shine in the setting sun, enhancing his features. As they neared Inuyasha cleared the distance in one leap. He landed gently on Hari's back, and stared at Kikyo as if she were something fragile that he shouldn't touch.
"Kikyo…" he whispered softly, voice filled with unanswered questions, and perhaps a slight hint of betrayal.
The priestess sighed. "I know what you want to say, Inuyasha. And I will tell you in due time. I cannot tell you much, but what I say right now must stick in your mind at all times."
Inuyasha nodded, and gazed at Kikyo intently. She held out one of the objects. It looked like a golden sphere, with strange markings around the top and around the bottom. (A/N: To help you out, think of the sphere as a globe of the world. The markings are following the line of Capricorn and whatever the other one was…-.- Sorry, I suck at social studies…). It also had a hole in the top, all the way through to the bottom, as well as from one side, all the way to the next. The sphere glowed brightly as the light reflected off of it, making Inuyasha wince as the light struck his eyes.
"This is one of three Sacred Items," Kikyo explained. "They represent three of the most vital assets of this world. This one, the Kousa no Ma (Golden sands of time), represents the time that keeps everything on this planet growing and changing. Without time, nothing would happen, and nothing would exist."
She held out the next object; this one looked like a silver ring with markings aligned around it as well. It also had a hole through one side, going out the other. She placed it on the sphere, and aligned the side holes together; they fit perfectly.
"This is the second object, Ginban no Myou (Silver plate of life), represents life itself. Without life, this world would wither and die, leaving nothing but a bare, empty land that would soon die as well." Kikyo explained. Inuyasha nodded once again, acknowledging that he was still following along. "The last object is in two pieces, called the Takenotsue no Daichi (Bamboo rod of Earth). They are placed through the holes of the sphere and ring; they represent the Earth's core. Time and life are connected with a core, and without it, they will cease to exist."
(A/N: I hope I got my translations right. If I didn't, please say so, and I shall change them!)
"So…what will happen if we put together the objects?" Inuyasha asked.
"When all three objects are put together, they are supposed to help you fight against the danger that is supposedly coming." Kikyo explained calmly.
Inuyasha didn't speak for a couple moments, soaking in all of the information Kikyo gave him; it would be very helpful along their journey, which has suddenly taken a pretty large detour. Once the three objects were put together, they were supposed to do something to help him…wait…HIM?
"You mean it's ME who has to fight this danger-thingy?" Inuyasha asked, slightly panicked. Kikyo nodded. "Well, what's so special about me? Why does it HAVE to be me, it could be Sesshomaru for all they care!"
"Calm down, Inuyasha," Kikyo ordered, putting a hand up in a silencing gesture. "Little to no one is aware of the danger that approaches, and if we are to triumph over what the swamp says is nearly impossible, we must trust every scrap of information to solve these questions: What is the danger? How many people are involved? Who are they and what are their powers? And how much time do we have? Without the answers to these, we have no chance whatsoever. All we can rely on is the Sacred Items, and hope that they will work. According the swamp, it is you, Inuyasha, who is the only one who can use the objects' power to its true potential."
'I don't get it, what's so special about me?' Inuyasha thought absentmindedly, wishing none of this had ever happened.
'Who knows, perhaps this is just fate,' came Hari's voice. 'So, do you get all of this?'
'Uhh…yeah…' Inuyasha replied. 'So, is that why Kikyo…did all of this stuff? To get us all here? Or is she planning something else?'
'I don't know.'
'Well I wanna know! I've got questions that need answers!' Inuyasha fumed angrily, his confusion all the more fueling his rage. He continued yelling mentally at Hari until he felt a sharp stinging in his cheek, as if he was slapped by her tail.
'You're not a child, so stop acting like one,' Hari ordered sternly. 'Now, to answer these questions, we must search around and ask anyone who might have a clue about what we're searching for. Sitting here, yelling, isn't something we should waste time with.'
'Sorry, I know…' Inuyasha replied sadly. 'I just…why do I have to be the one?' Sorrow followed through in his eyes as he reflected upon his past at being a half demon. No one would want to be saved by someone who was different then them; someone who was only half normal, or not normal at all.
Hari whined softly, and Inuyasha gave a small smile; it was bittersweet, and held no happiness, but it was still a smile.
'You've had a rough past, but you have friends now, and they will help you through the pain of this task,' Hari encouraged. Inuyasha could almost feel her long, smooth body wrapping gently around him in her own version of a hug. It gave him comfort, and his eyes drooped at the warmth flooding through his senses. 'No one knows why you were chosen, but perhaps we shall find out in the near future.'
'Right…' Inuyasha replied softly, the warm feeling numbing his senses.
Inuyasha's head snapped upwards, all senses alert and awake, as he heard a sudden ruffle of cloth; Kikyo, whom he had momentarily forgotten, was rising to her feet, calling her soul collectors and beginning to take her leave. Inuyasha also rose up, and grabbed Kikyo's wrist, keeping her from moving anywhere.
"Wait, Kikyo," he said sternly, mind focusing back on their earlier discussion. "I understand all of what you've told me, but I'm concerned about you. What are you going to do? What are you even planning to do right now?"
Kikyo stared intensely at Inuyasha for a few moments, the demon's grip loosening on her wrist. She quickly unraveled his fingers from her hand, and said, "What I do should not be of your concern. Your first priority is to regain your memories; next, you should try and keep Naraku from learning what we already have known. I will track down the third Item."
"But…" Inuyasha tried to object. "Will you be all right?"
"Inuyasha, splitting your mind and wavering with decisions…these are things you shouldn't do, lest you wish an early death," Kikyo replied harshly, causing the half demon to step back a bit in surprise. "My safety isn't something you should worry about, but I'll be fine. Right now, you need to only worry about yourself and your companions. You should be going now." Before Inuyasha could object further, Kikyo was surrounded by soul collectors, and soon disappeared in a shroud of mist.
There was a long pause of eerie silence. Inuyasha still stood in the same spot, looking down at where Kikyo had stood mere second ago. Hari kept still, continuing to float, supported by her own energy. The trees of the swamp ruffled branches in the breeze, causing leaves to release their hold on the wood. Inuyasha's clothes ruffled with the breeze, and his hair flew across his face as he looked down with a mixture of emotions.
Finally, he walked over, and sat down just behind Hari's head.
"So…ready to go?" she asked in a group of whines.
"Yeah…I'm ready," Inuyasha replied quietly. With that, Hari descended down towards their camp; even with this new information, Inuyasha was still surrounded in hazy confusion. As they dodged a rather nasty tree branch, he asked himself: 'What have I gotten myself into?'
TO BE CONTINUED……