A/N: Alright, since I missed yesterday, I'm turning out two chapters today! I'm set, determined, and ready. Nothing will stop me. Unless, of course, the power goes out again. That's what happened yesterday. So, that's that. Story stuffs... Okay, Kagome finally makes it to the castle. Finally! Everyone celebrate! Now we can get some action in here, and introduce some Yuyu people!
xxprincess-sakuraxx: Hurray! Another review!
regretfully-yours-Cassy-chan: That accent is origionated from the depths of my mind. I really just made it up on the spot. Whatever sounded cool, I just put in.
crazy-punk-girl: o.O This is really scary. I was reading your review, and I thought 'This person is like me!' I agree that disney is evil. Although, they come up with some cute ideas for movies, they could lay of the adult themes. Thank you for reading, and going over my grammer and spelling. I'm horrible at both. XP As for your questions: You find out in this chapter. Kuwabara won't show up until the next chapter, and Yuusuke has a brief scene. I was origionally going to get rid of Buka, but I need an origional that I can go crazy with. As per suggestions, we really think along the same lines. I had never intended to have happy dancing furniture prancing around everywhere, so I had to have a new curse. I have it all planned out, as far as I've thought, at least. As for Inuyasha being rejected...I need more humor. I think I'll use that. Feel free to ask as many questions as you can come up with. I do the same thing, and love to answer 'em!
Okay, so we get poll results and then it's off to see the wizard! Alright, so that was completely random. Ignore my last two statements.
Poll: Kouga-0 Inuyasha-2
Kagome knew something was wrong before she even opened her eyes. There was a growling sound nearby, and Buka wasn't making a sound. That told Kagome that either something had happened to the poor beast, or there was something in the plants that made him unresponsive. Slowly cracking an eye open, Kagome froze.
There was a creature not two feet from her. It had deep, crimson fur that ruffled in a breeze that simply didn't exist. Black claws, longer than any knife Kagome had ever seen, extended from each of it's four paws. Where they touched, the vegitation sizzled and burned away. Judging from that alone, Kagome could easily say that this creature was poisonous. It resembeled a wolf from where Kagome's viewpoint was. The only difference she could see was that the tail, covered in a scales more like a snake than anything, forked off and moved like a whip.
Kagome slowly sat up, hoping that she could stand without alerting the thing. She got to her feet and began to back up slowly. She clenched her book, still in her hands from when she had been reading the night before. Slowly, inching her way across the clearing, she thanked whatever god was listening that she had brought her own food. That alone most likely saved her skin at the moment. She terribly regretted having to leave Buka behind, but the donkey had not moved from where it had settled in for the night. A telltale sign that he had been paralyzed, or was already dead.
Kagome's breath caught as her boot-clad feet stepped on a twig. The snapping noise caught the attention of the predator, and it flipped its head around. All one-hundred and eighty degrees around, without moving the rest of its body. Terror welled up in Kagome's chest as she quickly remedeed the thought that this was a wolf creature. The face of the creature was that of a human being, complete with nose and mouth. What terrified Kagome was the rows of shark-like teeth that gleamed in the moonlight as it smiled maliciously.
She couldn't move. It had her and it knew it. Turning its body around slowly, the face stayed turned towards her. Kagome was caught in those red eyes, drowning in bloody pools of predatory lust. It straightened, slowly, taking its time to relish in the fear wafting off of Kagome's person. It growled again, and Kagome swallowed as she realized it was laughing in a deep, rasping voice.
It took a step forward. Kagome would have loved to turn and flee at that moment, running until she got to the famed capital of Paris and left this entire nightmare behind her. Her mind registered another set of movements, coming from behind the creature. The wolf-man demon ignored the movements as it concentrated on the terrified woman in front of him. It snaked out its human-like tongue, licking chapped lips in anticipation.
Kagome could hardly believe what happened next. Apparently Buka had not liked being ignored, for just as the creature bent down to pounce, the braying ass angrily shoved his hooves into the thing's rear end. That was enough to break the spell for Kagome, and she leapt out of the way as the demon was propelled head over heels into a nearby tree. It hit the tree head-on. Movement alerted both creatures that the thing was still alive, just stunned, and Kagome rushed over to Buka.
The donkey was frightened beyond all reasoning. Kagome hurried over and fumbeled with the knot tying the lead rope in place. Shifting in the bushes behind her dragged up energy and calm that Kagome hadn't thought she possessed. She made short work of the simple knot then, and she threw all her wieght into the rope to get Buka moving.
The startled beast snorted in surprise and followed the leader. Kagome began to run as fast as she could, forcing Buka into a trot. "Come on, that's a good boy," she whispered to him in a frightened squeak. Talking probably wasn't the wisest thing to do at the moment, given the situation that Kagome had found herself in, but it helped Kagome to deal with her fear and keep a clear head. "We've got to get as far away from that...thing- as possible, hey?" She began to pant as she picked up her pace.
A cold sweat covered her neck as she heard the hunter pursue its prey. Kagome spurred straining muscles into a sprint, Buka following at a swift, if rocky, canter. Both human and animal knew that they had hardly a chance of making it out of the forest. For one thing, they were going considerably deeper into the depths of darkness. For another, the demon behind them was picking up the pace. It was both faster and more knowledgable of the forest than Kagome or Buka, putting it at a distinct advantage.
Just when Kagome's legs were about to give out, she and Buka broke into a clearing. They overlooked a small cliff, with a switchback trail leading down to a large gate. Kagome couldn't see past the massive gate into the darkness that covered everything beyond. All she knew was that the gates meant an enclosure, and an enclosure meant that both she and Buka could escape from the thing that hunted them. Without a second thought, she grabbed Buka's make-shift halter and began leading him down the trail.
Sooner than she expected, they were being followed down the trail. The wolf-man was moving swifter than either of the two frightened mammals, and they were just over halfway down. Kagome knew in the deepest, calmest part of her mind that there was a small chance they would make it to the gate in time.
Buka and Kagome finally reached the end of the trail, breaking off the back-and-forth pattern to make a mad dash to the gates. Kagome chanced a glance over her shoulder in time to see the predator leap down and bypass the last three rows. Kagome faced forward again as she heard pursuing feet behind them and threw a hand forward. It caught the gate, and Kagome threw her body against it. Squealing a protest, the gate slowly opened. Kagome herded Buka into the opening first, using the rope to whip the donkey's rump in a desperate attempt to get him to move faster.
Spinning, Kagome saw the small distance between hunter and hunted closing. She backpedaled into the gate opening, passing just to the other side before she stumbeled and fell backward. This was it; she knew she was going to die. That nagging feeling that she would never see the village again came back full force, drawing tears to Kagome's eyes.
She watched in slow motion as the thing leapt at her. It would be only a matter of moments before Kagome was shredded alive. Her throat closed up as the human lips parted in a gleeful smile, the crazed eyes capturing Kagome's brown orbs once again. It was coming up on the gate, its giant paws outstretched as if to embrace Kagome and the end that was inevitable. Kagome watched as its paws passed the gate, followed by a face, the torso-
And felt her jaw drop in terrified surprise when the beast was repelled by an unknown force. The creature was flung back all the way to the cliff, crumpling as it slammed into the wall of rock. An audible crack was heard, followed by an ear-splitting howl of a dying animal. Kagome's eyes drifted over the gate, which sizzled happily for a moment before quieting down.
It was a long while before Kagome was able to pluck up the courage to stand. When she finally did, she was nearly scared out of her skin when something ran itself into her back. Spinning faster than she had thought possible, she came face to face with none other than Buka. The ungrateful creature voiced his annoyance at being shoved into an unknown place when he had just been getting used to the light excersize Kagome had been giving him. He fixed Kagome with a look that plainly said 'You had better make it up to me or face dire consequences'. Kagome couldn't help but laugh shakily, trying to brush off her earlier fear.
Darting a hand out to grab Buka's halter, she stared in wonder. In one hand, she held Buka in place. In the other was the book that Houjo had given her the night before. "Huh," Kagome said in a soft voice. "Of all the things I could've grabbed and held onto, it had to be a book." Shaking her head at her own actions, she decided to take in her new surroundings. What she saw was enough to drive all thoughts of the earlier flight out of her head.
A dark castle rose from the ground in front of Kagome. She was able to make out six towers in the darkness, and didn't doubt that there were more. Each tower had a large spire stuck into the sky, reminding Kagome vaguely of a gigantic pin-cushion. There were large blobs of shadow at the base of each protrusion, suggesting gargoyles or some other stone figure. Kagome's gaze drifted south, coming to the body of the castle itself. Even in the faint moonlight, she was able to pick out a slew of windows that ran from one end of the castle to the other. Each one was, no doubt, paned with expensive glass that protected the inhabitants from the elements. Right in the middle of the sea of windows proudly stood a large set of wooden doors. Even at this distance, Kagome could make out the statues that flanked the doors. Steps led down to a dark path, winding around patches of land that told Kagome that tis was the front garden. The path led itself right up to where Kagome was standing, and out beyond the gates. As she had thought, a wall circled everything that Kagome was able to see.
Kagome began to walk towards the castle, following the path, when Buka brayed. Stopping, Kagome said aloud "We need a place to stay. I'm sure that whoever owns the castle has at least one room that we can stay in for the night. Besides, weren't you wishing earlier that you had a nice, warm stable to stay in?" Kagome felt the rope slackening as Buka began to pick his way to her. "Thought so, boyo. You're too predictable," she muttered.
The short trip down the walkway allowed Kagome to appreciate more of what she could make out. As far as she knew, somewhere along her little walk the path went from packed dirt to cobblestones. That impressed upon Kagome the vast wealth of this place more that a large building did. In her village, they weren't able to afford stone paths. They made do with cheap gravel that created chaos during a rainstorm. Cobblestones were found in the biggest of cities, or along well traveled roads. Neither of the two were anywhere near where Kagome and her family dwelled, so this was the first glimpse she had ever had of true wealth.
Sooner than she liked, Kagome was walking up the stone steps of the palace. Out of respect for the owner, Kagome had tied Buka to the railing that ran down either side of the stairway. Her feet made hardly a noise as she slowly made her way to the doors. When she reached them, she got an ominous feeling in the pits of her stomach. Her instincts screamed at her that she would be better off going to face the forest again, while her common sense told her that she didn't have any food, shelter or water for either her or her companion. As it always did, common sense won out.
The doors stood in front of her, barring entrance to any who would seek it. Large brass knockers gleamed in the night, reflecting any light source available. Kagome eyed them as she determined that each one was large enough for her to curl up in comfortably, wide enough that she would have to use two hands to circle them, and heavy enough to flatten Buka if one was dropped from above. Sighing with weariness, she was already more exhausted than she had ever been in her life, she reached up and slowly pulled one of the monsterous metal objects towards her.
She was panting by the time she was able to get it even an inch away from the wooden panels of the actual door. Her arms were trembling with the effort. She began to lose her hold on the knocker, and decided that any distance was better than none. Hastily letting go, she waited as it slowly fell back against the wood. She jumped as a large, resonating boom echoed into the night. She wasn't expecting it to be so loud, and her ears were ringing with the noise.
She waited for her summons to be answered. And waited. It was a while before she realized that, even though the noise had practically rendered her deaf, it might not have been heard throughout the entire structure. Just as she was bracing herself for another attempt, the door slowly creaked open of its own accord. Kagome cocked her head to the side, expecting to see someone akin to a butler appear from the shadows. When nobody showed, she slowly stepped through the doorway.
The room she entered must have been the recieving hall. As she let her eyes adjust to the darkness, she noticed a large carpet running under her feet into the lingering night. It was wide enough that four people could probably stand comfortably abreast, and was made of a dark material. Stone covered either side, and Kagome was glad for her boots and the material under her feet. That stone looked cold. A small table off to the side held an unlit candelabra. Kagome guessed it was wrought from gold, considering the size of the room and the wealth that was put into constructing the entire building.
Clutching her book to her chest, Kagome stepped deeper into the bowls of the castle. She paused slightly as she reached the place where the carpet runner ended. Looking back over her shoulder, she was relieved to see the slightly lighter patch of darkness that marked the doors. Turning forward once again, she cleared her throat. "Excuse me? Does anyone still live in here?" Her voice echoed softly back to her. It was eerie, hearing herself in this cold room.
Squaring her shoulders, she dared to step off of the material and onto the stone flooring. She hissed as the cold penetrated her booted feet. It was colder than she had figured, as if it was a castle of ice instead of stone. Kagome folded her arms, shivering, and began to rub her upper arms in an attempt to create more warmth.
Abruptly, darkness engulfed her. Swallowing, Kagome slowly turned around. She was shrouded in night, and couldn't see anything. All that registered was the fact that she was no longer alone. There was someone else here, someone who most likely owned the castle. Her teeth chattered, and she clenched them to try and stop making noise. She head material shift and heard feet moving towards her. "Hello?" she asked. "I'm sorry to intrude..."
The footsteps stopped. "Who are you? Why are you here?" The owner of the voice held a commanding tone, as if he were used to getting his way. "You have no right to be here."
Kagome nodded, more to herself than the mysterious stranger. "My name is Kagome Higurashii. I was traveling through the forest when my beast and I were attacked by a strange creature. We came upon your castle and fled here to ask for shelter for the night from the demon that hunted us." She hoped that that was enough explaination. She really didn't feel like relating her entire life's story to a complete stranger.
The person let out a sigh. "The master isn't going to like this," he muttered. Kagome probably wasn't supposed to hear that, but had no time to dwell before the voice spoke again. "I'm sorry we can't shelter you for the night. I can, however, give you some provisions to help you out. Just let me get the lights, and we can quickly discuss this."
Kagome was confused at this. What did he mean, master? And why couldn't they shelter her and Buka? She saw no other signs that anyone had been down the dirt path before she had come along. Or were they full up with servants and household workers? That was one possibility, but not very probable. Even if they were full up with rooms, they could have offered her floor space to sleep on. This was turning out to be more work that she had first thought.
Light flared as the candles near the door were set blazing. The person from before picked up the holder, and Kagome got her first look at him. His black hair reminded her of Houjo, at first. Then, as she looked harder, she saw that this man wore his hair slicked back somehow. As he strode over to her, she guessed his height at about five eight. Taller than most men she had come across, then. His brown eyes concentrated on her, as if he were afraid to look anywhere else.
He spoke again, his creamy tenor voice soothing and strong. "You really came at a bad time. The master didn't have a very good day, which put him in a bad mood. Not that his mood is much better at the best of times, really, but he's been especially cranky for some odd reason." Kagome watched as his eyes flickered over her shoulder, and he froze. "Shit," he whispered.
Kagome gasped as she felt a clawed hand descend on her shoulder. The voice that spoke sent chills down her spine. "Shit indeed."
End Chapter
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