Pairings: Inu/Kag Mir/San Sess/Rin
Other pairings: Bit of Inuyasha/Kikyo, Inuyasha/Hari, and Kagome/Kouga
A/N: O.O (Squeak) Over 300 reviews? Wow…IT'S A MIRACLE I TELL YOU!
Also, there aren't that many chapters left in this story, about 5 or less, and about the pairings, well…Inu/Kik is self-explanatory, as well as Kag/Kou. However, for the Inu/Hari pairing, this isn't really that big. It's just…well…it'll explain itself slightly in this chapter.
Oh! And for those reading, YES KOUGA WILL GET HIS ASS KICKED SOME TIME! Yes he will, but it will be in the sequel, so you'll have to wait a while, please be patient. Here's a bonus, I'll make sure his ass-kicking will be brutal, detailed, and plenty gory…(Smile)
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Chapter 21
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"Inuyasha?" Kagome asked, the wind bristling through her raven hair. After another day's rest, their little group decided that they'd wasted enough time, and were now riding with Hari towards where they last saw the enormous clouds where Nali resided. The hanyou had explained about his meeting with Kikyo, and his mind linkage with Hari, as well as the information about the danger headed their way. Kagome was still slightly hurt that he went off to see Kikyo, but was cheered up when she found out it was by accident, and they didn't really do much other than talk things through. However, that didn't mean she liked Kikyo any more.
"Hm?" Inuyasha turned towards the schoolgirl, who was crawling towards where he sat cross-legged behind Hari's head; his usual spot.
"You've been pretty quiet lately," Kagome began. "Are you sure everything's all right?" Inuyasha felt a slight twist in his heart at the deep concern in her voice, and the worry engraved into her beautiful brown eyes.
Looking away, Inuyasha replied softly, "Yeah."
'I hope he's still not torn up about me kissing Kouga…' she thought gravely, sitting next to him (yes, there is enough room for them to sit comfortably next to each other). She spared a glance of him out of the corners of her eyes, and saw that he was in deep thought. She was still uneasy that he had to fight whatever this danger was, and that she couldn't do anything to change that. 'I now know why he hates feeling helpless,' she thought dryly.
Hoping she was doing the right thing, Kagome slowly leaned on his shoulder, her head resting in the groove of his neck, his shoulder and arm supporting the rest of her body. At first, she felt the half demon flinch under her touch, and she felt a small twinge of pain shoot through her. However, he soon relaxed, and placed an arm around her shoulders, pulling her closer into his warmth. She smiled soothingly, letting her eyes droop to a close as she snuggled into his haori, searching for the warmth of his chest as it rhythmically rose up and down with his soft breathing, and listened to the soft thumping of his beating heart. She felt his head lean against hers, and felt his warm breath tickle her bare neck, both oblivious to everyone else, all of whom were staring with either jealousy, happiness, disgust, or nothing at all (three guesses who).
The couple's thoughts were the same: they didn't want this moment to end, they wanted it to last forever, being soothed by the comfort of each other's warmth and exiting all wicked thoughts from the mind, and be at ease for the first time in days. To everyone, it was hard to believe only about two weeks or less had passed, for it felt like a year had gone by. Merely thinking of the hardship made Inuyasha tighten his grip on the girl in his arms, and take a deep, long breath, filled with Kagome's sweet scent. He heard a soft snoring, and realized that Kagome had fallen asleep; he smiled softly, his eyes shining with a strange happiness as he listened to her quiet breathing.
Their snuggling was short-lived, however, as a voice suddenly entered his head. 'Inuyasha?' Hari asked, jerking Inuyasha out of his moment of happiness.
'…Huh?' Inuyasha replied dumbly.
'I see the clouds you speak of; tell me, is that Nali right there?' the serpent asked, pointing her long snout towards the large group of clouds floating about a mile away from where they originally were when the gang had first spotted them up close. Deep within the clouds was a moving pink dot, which stood out clearly among the fluffy whiteness of material that didn't look as if they could support a dragon.
Inuyasha stared for a few moments before replying, 'I guess, as far as I can remember.' That day when they had spoke with Nagori seemed so far away now, and with all he'd done with Kikyo and the swamp made it hard to remember things clearly. After all, his memories were washed clean at least three times by now; sheesh, when this was over, he and his brain would need some serious R&R.
'Very well, tell the others.' Hari replied bluntly, as if afraid to add any emotion in her tone (though Inuyasha didn't know why), swerving smoothly through the clouds. When they reached the point where everyone had been hit by the barrier, Inuyasha expected them to be electrified again; however, this time, they passed through easily, continuing on towards where the pink dot was, though it didn't look much like a dot anymore; more like a contorted, disarrayed pink blob.
"Kagome?" Inuyasha said softly, nudging the girl in the shoulder some. When she didn't respond, he sighed, and repeated her name a little louder. When she still remained sleeping, Inuyasha felt his patience ware a little bit thin. "KAGOME, WAKE THE HELL UP!" he yelled, startling not only Kagome, but everyone else on board the serpent as well, minus Sesshomaru and Kouga, who merely glared at the loud noise.
"What'd you do that for, Inuyasha!" she replied hotly.
"Well, you sleep like a log, so what else would I do?" Inuyasha replied in the same enraged tone.
Kagome didn't reply, but turned her back to Inuyasha, spinning around so quickly her hair snapped Inuyasha in the face. As the hanyou was about to comment on that, and perhaps throw an insult or two, Hari's loud whining came into focus. "We're here," she said, no one but Inuyasha had understood her. Said hanyou, as any sensible person would, felt no need to translate her words, and hopped off the serpent, landing hard on the fluffy-looking clouds. This surprised him, seeing as he expected these clouds to be anything but hard.
He bent downwards and poked it, and it felt as hard as the earth many miles below, hard and near unbreakable by humans. When Miroku slid off, he too inspected it, tapping the end of his staff in various areas, with varying strengths. Kagome stomped on it with her foot experimentally before trusting the suspicious substance with her entire weight. From what she read, clouds were only evaporated water, and since these were clouds, she doubted they'd be able to support a pin, much less an average human girl in her mid-teens. Shippo and Rin relentlessly hopped on it as if their lives depended on it, staring in wonder at how they were being supported, muttering a soft "wow" from time to time.
"Amazing," Miroku exclaimed, excitement hidden under a layer of sheer curiosity. "This cloud has been hardened by magic, if this is even a cloud at all, perhaps it is merely hard earth disguised as one. All in all, it is a wonderful piece of work. I'd love to-"
"If you all are done staring in awe, would you mind telling me what you are doing here?" came a soft, feminine voice. Everyone turned towards the direction of the voice to see another thing to stare in awe at; a large, pink dragon, with deep red eyes. Unlike Nagori, who was bristling with muscles and very intimidating, this one was slender, her legs and forearms smooth, not showing the bulky muscles shown from centuries of running through forests. Her wings were also built differently. Nagori's were large and convenient; she used them from time to time, but was more built for the ground, so they were nothing special. Nali's were long, but thin, the muscles larger in her wings, and her bones light and airy to make her flights easier. The thin layer of skin attached between the bones that formed the limbs and basic 'skeleton' of the wings looked much more sturdy and durable. Nagori's looked fragile, even though they weren't, while Nali's looked literally like flexible, near-transparent leather. Her abdomen was lean and thin, though it still looked natural, and her tail was long, most likely used for balance and steering in the air rather than as a weapon, for there were no special attachments such as spikes adorning her body. There were no horns on her head, nor were her talons sharp and deadly, rather they were slightly dull and gleaming from disuse; not a scratch or chip appeared on them from the harsh terrain that was earth.
"I take it you're Nali," Inuyasha inquired, taking in her appearance. Her overall appearance was strange; because of her color and physique, this dragon looked like an innocent, pure dragon, like the shy runt of the share of siblings, while Nagori hung out as one of the leaders.
"And I take it you've come for my blood, correct?" Nali replied slyly. When a couple group members nodded, her eyes flashed. "Very well, though I must warn you, you shall lose." Her change of tones nearly made everyone start. It had lost its airiness and innocence, and turned serious; the tone was hard, almost cold, yet it still held a strange purity within it, that made it recognizable that this was still the playful, innocent Nali, only that she wasn't always nice and fun. "What be your reason for wanting my orb?"
Kagome took a step forward, and replied, "It's for Nagori; she told us that you were the only one who could cure black magic." her tone also attained a certain spark of seriousness, probably wanting to make a first impression that she wasn't just a weak, little girl as everyone seemed to think upon first glance.
"Nagori, eh? Well, I suppose I'll let you take me on, if you're fighting for what you claim," Nali replied. "I take it she's told you how I work this game. So, choose your seven members, and we'll get started."
Kagome's eyes darted from each of their members; they hadn't actually planned out who was going to play. They needed seven people, and they had 12 people, if you counted Kirara, Ah-Uhn, and Hari, otherwise, they had nine. But Rin, Jaken, and Shippo couldn't possibly play, as according to Nagori, the games were very dangerous, so that'd leave them 6... (A/N: Surprisingly, I didn't plan that to happen, it just did…hmm…I was actually expecting to have seven members…oh well, gives me a chance to use my friend's idea!)
"Inuyasha…" Kagome whispered. Inuyasha turned, and she explained their problem. He mouthed an 'o', and suddenly began thinking in his own world. Kagome knew what he was doing; he was conversing with Hari.
After a couple of minutes, Inuyasha's expression turned sour, and he all but yelled, "AND YOU DIDN'T TELL ME BEFORE BECAUSE…?" at thin air. Anger danced in his eyes, and everyone stared at him as if he'd lost his mind. His outburst was replied by a couple of smug whines, though they were trying to hide a playfulness in them, and he added, "Well, sorry for being vague!" He turned to the others. "Hari says that she has a human form, that it's a common trait found in serpents. Then she has the nerve to say that she didn't tell me because I 'never asked'! What bullshit!"
Kagome sighed. The old Inuyasha was starting to resurface again, even if it was only his infamous temper. 'Oh well, at least we have our seventh member, so that's something,' she thought optimistically.
After everyone came out of the initial surprise at the outburst, their eyes darted from Inuyasha to Hari. There was a rather large blast of light, and before they knew it, a tall figure emerged from the blankets of energy that had been enclosed around her. She had silky, blue hair falling a bit above her waist, as blue as the oceans of the Bahamas; a light, clear color. Her eyes were a hard sapphire color, gleaming in the sunlight. She had pointed ears that ended in blue fin-like appendages, and also bore claws and fangs. She wore a dazzling blue kimono, each frill hanging limply, the intricate designs flooding the cloth with exquisite patterns, giving it a more palpable sensation.
Hari glanced at first at herself, taking in her new appearance. 'It's been almost 500 years since I've been in this form last…' she thought to herself, appealed by her look. She then took a glance at her companions, who stood awe-struck once again, and particularly laughed out loud at Inuyasha. Nali, however, seemed unimpressed, merely bored. Feeling slightly open-minded, Hari walked up towards where Inuyasha was, leaned in very close. At first, Inuyasha began to panic as various thoughts raced through his head, until Hari whispered in his ear, "You might want to turn around before everyone realizes that you're blushing." before waltzing over to start a rather forced conversation with Kagome. Meanwhile, Inuyasha had abruptly turned away, his face flushing a deeper shade of red, partly because of anger, partly because of embarrassment, and partly because of his earlier thoughts on the serpent behind him. He could feel everyone, with the exception of Kagome, Hari, and Nali, boring holes into him, with reasons that Inuyasha actually knew of.
After he was sure his complexion had return to normal, and that he didn't look suspicious in any way, he turned towards Nali, and asked, "So, when do we start?"
If dragons could smirk, Nali would have a very wide one; one that held a contained excitement of finally having a challenger. "Right now."
TO BE CONTINUED……