It was a sunny day. Tokyo was alive for the day, the soft hum of cars on the road nearby filtering in through the windows of the high school along with the sunlight. The classroom wasn't overly hot, but it was rather stuffy.
Kagome didn't notice this as she sat at her desk, trying to keep her waning attention on the sensei. It wasn't quite working. Trigonometric equations, free radicals… she hadn't kept up well enough, it seemed. All this was just going right over her head.
She had taken advantage of a lull in the feudal era to go back home. It was warm there, too, and the languor of a hot sunny day seemed to affect everyone; including Naraku, who hadn't been doing much of anything lately. Anyway, she thought, propping her chin on her hand, if anything happens back there, Inuyasha will just come to get me. She smiled.
He'll probably come to get me anyway. He's stubborn that way. Her smile broadened as she remembered leaving. He hadn't complained nearly as much as she'd expected, even escorting her to the well and giving her a curt goodbye… though not before making her promise to return soon. Of course, she'd agreed—wouldn't he know by now that she could never stay away?
"Higurashi!"
She jumped to see her sensei looking down at her sternly. "If you can't keep your mind on your studies, I will have to ask you to stand in the hall," he told her. As he looked down at her his eyes softened briefly. "Or perhaps to the nurse's office."
Ah! He thinks I'm still ill! "Oh, no, sensei, I'm fine! Really!" she said frantically. Darn jii-chan and his excuses! she thought angrily.
He turned back to the equations on the blackboard and began to speak again. Kagome made a real effort to keep her mind on the numbers, and succeeded for all of three minutes before falling into the same stupor as before. I wonder if Inuyasha's as bored as I am, she thought absently. He always was impatient. It is nice to get away from it all for a few days, but he'll go stir-crazy if I don't go back soon. She found that the smile had made its way back onto her face. Maybe I'll get him some ramen, as reward for being so nice about my leaving this time.
:00:
Inuyasha was dozing lightly against the trunk of Goshinboku. The shade of the tree's branches provided welcome relief from the sun's rays, and yet there was still enough space for the occasional breeze to make its way in.
He shifted slightly, a lock of silver hair falling over one shoulder. It was far too hot out. He could only wonder what it would be like in Kagome's world, where the air smelt of those awful metal contraptions' exhaust. It always felt too hot there.
"Inuyasha?" came a voice from below. He didn't reply. "Inuyasha?" said the voice again. Miroku tapped his staff against the ground, waiting. "I know you're up there, Inuyasha. There's no use in ignoring me."
"Go away, bouzu," he said without opening his eyes.
"Kaede-sama wishes to see you," said Miroku from below. "Come down, Inuyasha."
"Nothing doing," said Inuyasha, opening his eyes just enough to glare balefully down through the branches. The monk couldn't see him, but that didn't mean the sentiment wasn't there. "It's too hot down there."
Miroku sighed. "I would like to leave you alone, but Kaede-sama tells me it is important. Something to do with an attack…"
"Bouzu." In a blur of red and silver, Inuyasha suddenly appeared directly in front of the monk. "Why didn't you say so in the first place?" He set off at a slow walking pace towards the village, turning after a few steps to look at Miroku. "Coming?"
Miroku grinned inwardly. "Certainly."
Back in Kaede's hut, Sango, Shippou, Kirara and the old woman herself were waiting for the two. Miroku took his seat beside Sango, who eyed him suspiciously for a moment before turning back to Kaede, stroking Kirara's fur gently. Inuyasha sat down crosslegged on the floor near the doorway.
"So, Kaede-babaa," said Inuyasha. "What's going on?"
"I am glad that thou troubled thyself to come, Inuyasha," said Kaede. "There have been reports coming in recently of youkai attacks on a village four miles away. Very strange reports—"
"Keh! What the hell does that mean, old lady! Youkai attack all the time! It's no concern of ours," said Inuyasha irritably. He stood abruptly. "I'm going back outside."
"Do not be so hasty," said Kaede. She looked around at the others in the group. Inuyasha huffed, but didn't leave.
"As I said before, these did not strike me as ordinary attacks," she said. "The few survivors who made it here seemed to be telling wild tales— that there was a strange feeling of evil power in the air, that the slain rose up again to attack their kinsfolk …"
"Kagura," murmured Sango, her hand tightening in Kirara's fur. Inuyasha looked at her in surprise.
"Do you believe this to be one of Naraku's attacks?" Miroku asked Kaede. The old woman did not say anything, and Miroku leaned back against the wall, letting out a long breath. "But we didn't sense anything," he said slowly.
"That's because Kagome's back in her own world!" said Shippou, speaking up. His wide green eyes were frightened. "And it's too far away for any of us to have sensed it…"
"Did the survivors say anything else?" said Miroku. "Who led the attack, for instance?"
"Nary a word," said Kaede, shaking her head. "It is true, though, that they were near death, and hardly in their right minds. Perhaps there is something that they did not get a chance to say…" Suddenly she looked up sharply as a shadow moved across the doorway. "Inuyasha! Where be thou going?"
"Where do you think, hag?" said Inuyasha, turning his head to glare at her as he walked out of the hut. "I'm going to get Kagome back."
"Good idea," said Miroku, standing too with a slight jangling as the rings on his shakujou clinked together. "We had best ready ourselves for a journey, so that we can leave soon after Kagome-sama returns."
"All right," said Sango, letting Kirara off her lap. She sighed. "I suppose we couldn't have really expected Naraku to lay low for so long." She shivered slightly. The dead walking again… if Kohaku were somehow involved in this…
"At the very least, consolation is nearby," said Miroku, close to her ear.
"Hm?" she said, starting to turn to him—and stiffened suddenly as she felt a slight pressure on her backside. Kaede shook her head slowly as she covered Shippou's eyes.
"HENTAI!"
Inuyasha let out a small snicker as the sound of a slap followed him into the forest. Idiot bouzu just can't keep his hands to himself, he thought.
Arriving in the clearing in a matter of seconds, he put both hands onto the edge of the well and looked down into it for long seconds. Well, Kagome, off to another fight, he thought briefly, then vaulted over the wooden edge and into the darkness waiting within.
Kagome hefted her backpack over one shoulder and groaned slightly. She loved her backpack, she really did, but sometimes its weight was almost enough to make her forget its usefulness. She kept it filled pretty much to capacity: in addition to school texts and other books, she also kept all of her personal accessories in it, as well as a smallish first aid kit and a few spare clothes—and now she had filled up all of the remaining space with food. She had gotten Inuyasha his ramen, as well, as some treats for Shippou, and now the bag was all but bringing her to her knees.
Well, just get it home again, and you don't need to think about how stupid you were to bring it with you to school, she thought. And it's hot to boot. Darn weather. It's not even summer!
"Oi! Kagome!"
She turned around to see Ayumi, Eri and Yuka running towards her.
"Well, Kagome-chan, it's good to see you back in school!" said Eri happily, tilting her head so that her straight hair brushed her shoulder. "You got over your ebola, I see!"
Kagome could only smile and nod, somewhat painfully. Jii-chan! She thought furiously. Someday I will have to talk to you about these excuses! "Better than ever now," she said, shifting her bag slightly. "Don't worry about that."
"How 'bout your violent, two-timing boyfriend?" said Yuka, watching Kagome's face intently even while she joked. "If he caused any trouble while you were sick…"
"Don't worry about that either," said Kagome quickly. "I think I'd better get home now though," she said brightly to the three. "This bag is really heavy."
"Well then didn't you just leave it at home?" said a familiar voice from behind her, even as she felt the weight being lifted from her shoulders. She spun round.
"Inuyasha!"
"Oh! It's Inuyasha-kun!" said Eri in delight.
"The violent one," said Yuka, giggling.
Inuyasha threw her a disgruntled look, slinging Kagome's bag over his shoulder and looking slightly disgruntled. He was wearing his baseball cap, Kagome was glad to notice—he must have gone through her house before coming to find her. "Kagome, we've got to leave."
"Okay," said Kagome. She turned again to wave to her friends. "I'll see you guys later, okay?"
Inuyasha waited until they were out of sight of the four girls before scooping Kagome up and leaping off with her. "Oi, Kagome," he said, jumping off a rooftop. "What was that girl saying about me, just there?"
"Hm?" Kagome looked up at the edge of his chin, which was all she could see of his face. "Which one? Yuka-chan?"
He snorted. "Doesn't matter which. The one with short hair. She said something about…"
"Oh, it was probably nothing," said Kagome. A bit of his hair was dangling in front of her face, a long silver mass of it, whipping slightly in the wind. She struggled against the urge to pull on it.
He scowled. "Well it must have been something, or you wouldn't be trying to cover up for it would you?"
She blinked. Cover up for… he actually noticed that? Eri, Yuka and Ayumi all used to be under the impression that Inuyasha was a big jerk, right up until they actually met him. Or at least, I thought they'd changed their opinions… maybe Yuka was joing. And now he thinks that… "Baka," she told him lightly. "I'm not covering up for anything."
He landed in the middle of the courtyard between Kagome's home and the well-house, depositing her on the ground in front of him and folding his arms across his chest. "You are so," he said. "You can't fool me that easily."
"I told you, it was nothing," she said, and then quickly hurried to say something else before he could argue again. "Well, aren't we going back?"
"Of course," he said, hauling her bag onto his shoulder and starting towards the well-house. At the sound of her retreating footsteps he whirled to face her. "HEY! Where the hell are you going?"
She turned to look at him as she jogged back towards her house. "I'm going to say goodbye to my mother," she said. "Wait there."
He growled faintly to himself and walked into the well-house to sit on the edge of the well. Stupid girl. It's too hot for this sort of thing.
Kagome was halfway into her house before she remembered something… Yuka had called Inuyasha her boyfriend. Out loud. Inuyasha had to have noticed, but he seemed more concerned with the violent bit than with… that. Could that mean that…?
:00:
Inuyasha looked around the well-house, bored, as he waited for Kagome. It was dark, and blissfully shady—though still saturated with the heat from outside.
He prodded her bag with one clawed finger. Kagome had said it was heavy earlier… it didn't feel heavy to him, but then it wouldn't anyway. He was hanyou, after all, and stronger than any human. He frowned as he poked the bag again. His finger didn't even dent the stretched yellow fabric. It was too full.
What had she put in it? Curious, he fiddled with the straps holding it closed, managing to open them without any damage. His eyes were greeted by the sight of textbooks, as many as Kagome could fit into the top half of her bag. He snorted. He'd seen her reading the things. After she looked in one of them, she was nearly always upset.
But she always would insist on reading them anyway. Well, let's see what she does without them, he thought, grinning to himself. He began to pull the books out, two at a time, laying them in the corner of the well-house. He might have buried them, but the dirt would have given him away.
After removing most of the books, he noticed a small cup at the bottom… pushing aside the remaining books, he grinned. Ramen. She must have bought it recently; they looked new, anyway, or at least as new as they could when they had been crushed beneath all of those books. And they still smelled like the store where she bought them. Pushing the books back into place, he carefully managed to close the bag again, and sat back to review his handiwork.
She needs to concentrate more on the things that need doing, and not some pieces of scrap paper, he thought, almost defensively against the slight guilt that he was now feeling. Besides, they only make her upset anyway.
He only had to wait a couple of minutes before Kagome jogged back into the well-house. "All right, let's go," she said brightly, taking his hand.
Inuyasha smiled faintly, holding her bag in his free hand. I can never stay properly angry with her, he thought bemusedly as they jumped into the well together.
Towards the north of the country, in feudal Japan, there was a range of mountains. The air over the mountains was thick and heavy, reeking of foul things. Those with holy powers called it an evil miasma; normal folk were simply repelled.
Nestled deep within the choking fog was a palace, small yet seemingly unaffected by the miasma. All around it was death and dying, yet it seemed untouched—save for the fog that shrouded its corridors, and the howls of the demons that infested it.
"Has there been any word yet?" said Kagura, narrowing her red eyes as she stared at the young-looking girl in front of her.
Kanna shook her head silently, swinging pale lavender hair. Kagura made a faint noise of disapproval and stood.
"I knew it would be a fruitless venture," she said, staring at the large door that separated her and the girl from their master. "It must be better hidden than would be acceptable for the like of him."
Kanna simply stared straight ahead, clutching her mirror to her chest. There was nothing reflected in it as of yet; the surface was dull, shimmering with some dormant power.
Kagura sighed, sinking down to sit near the wall. "And yet he will keep trying," she said softly.
There was a brief debate as to what sort of language I ought to use here. Inuyasha is so foulmouthed, it was hard to hold back! But… I'll wait before rating it high. It'll get distressing enough, if I go through with what I have planned. First, to see if there's any reader interest…
(Yes this is a planned story. Just in case anyone would possibly want to know. Chances are it will change a lot if I do go through with it, but it will still follow the basic outline I have set down…)
Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha, or any of the characters within. If I did, doubtless I would not be writing fanfiction, hm? (This disclaimer covers Chapter one, too)
"Have you sensed anything?" Sango asked Miroku as they walked slowly back towards Kaede's hut. As a houshi, he would be the one most likely to feel something out of the two of them. Even if he wasn't really much of a houshi…
"Nothing," said Miroku grimly. "If I didn't trust Kaede-sama, I would almost think it was some sort of lie. But it has been quiet for far too long."
Sango sighed. Not too long from now they would be traveling again, up to the village from which the reports had come. Though, if the reports were to be believed, there probably wasn't much of a village left. She slowed down somewhat as the path led them closer to the village—Miroku was oddly silent, and his hands were staying where she could see them, which was always a good thing.
After a moment, Miroku spoke softly. "Eh… Sango."
She turned to look at him. "Yes?"
"Do you wonder if… if this is a trap," said Miroku slowly, "and Naraku's just waiting for us somewhere in that village?"
"Well, I had thought of it," she said, wondering what had prompted this sudden change of manner in him.
"And… if it was," Miroku continued slowly, "if there's a chance that we might all perish in the battle to come…"
Is he going somewhere with this? Sango wondered briefly. If it is a trap we'll just have to… suddenly her eyes widened. Oh, kami, he couldn't mean… that…
"Houshi-sama," she said softly, watching his violet eyes—what sort of expression was that? She couldn't make it out. She suddenly realized she was blushing and tried unsuccessfully to stop.
"Well, I was wondering if…" his voice broke off as the tiny form of Shippou suddenly came bounding towards him from ahead—the direction he hadn't been looking in. He put up both hands as he stumbled backwards, and one of his arms just happened to connect with a certain area of Sango's chest…
He landed on his back on the ground, with Shippou on his stomach, and just barely avoided the butt of Hiraikotsu. "I swear, Sango, this time it was an accident!"
"Of course," she said stiffly, replacing Hiraikotsu in its usual place: slung across her back. She turned on her heel and stalked away.
Miroku watched her go with something akin to disappointment on his face. And I didn't even get to enjoy it… with a sigh he turned to Shippou. "What is it, Shippou?"
The small kitsune was fidgeting as he sat upon Miroku's stomach. "Er… Kaede-baa-chan wanted to see you." He looked over at where Sango's back was rapidly retreating. "Did I come at a bad time?"
Miroku stood up slowly, hefting his shakujou. "No, Shippou. Not at all."
"Inuyasha's coming back soon, right?" asked Shippou anxiously, riding on Miroku's shoulder as the monk followed the same path that Sango had taken moments before.
"As soon as he finds Kagome-sama," said Miroku. "Which... could take awhile." He could remember times when he had remained in her world for days at a time. Whatever they had been doing for all that time was never revealed, but Miroku enjoyed toying with the possibilities. Suddenly he looked down at the small kitsune in curiosity. "Why did you come? Has something happened?"
Shippou shrugged. "Kind of. Kaede-baa-chan says that it's probably about time for us to go, but she didn't tell me why."
Inuyasha let Kagome off his back just in front of Kaede's hut. She looked around, surprised, at the evidence of Sango and Miroku's preparations—they were leaving? Large bags filled with supplies were piled up just beside the hut's entrance, with a half-asleep Kirara resting on top.
She turned to Inuyasha. "Are we going somewhere?"
He glanced down at her, startled. "Hm? Oh, yeah… some buncha idiots had their village attacked by youkai, a couple of miles away. Some things didn't seem right, so we decided to investigate."
"Not… right?" She didn't like that phrasing.
He shrugged. "Some things that they mentioned… sounded a bit like it could have been Naraku." She could hear the tension in his voice as he said the name, and couldn't help gasping.
"So you have returned?" said Miroku, approaching the hut from the direction of the forest. "That's good. We will be leaving shortly."
"Weren't we leaving soon anyway?" growled Inuyasha.
"Aye, but it seems to have grown more important of late," said Kaede, emerging from the hut. "One of the survivors recently informed me that the attackers were going to return to the site of the village, and that they were searching for something… on behalf of a spider."
There was silence, broken only by the sound of Shippou's gasp. Sango was standing behind Kaede; probably she had already heard this new piece of information."
"So it was Naraku after all," Kagome whispered at last.
Inuyasha grinned. "Hah. This'll just give us another opportunity to finish him off once and for all." He looked around at the others. "Well come on, let's go!"
"Indeed," said Miroku, nodding, as Sango went to the bags and Kirara. He looked at Shippou, who was still on his shoulder. "You," he told the small kitsune, "are staying here."
Shippou's green eyes instantly narrowed. "Why?" he asked. "I want to go with you!"
Miroku shook his head. "You'll be safer here with Kaede-sama. If these attacks are what we are fearing, then it would be for the best if you remained in the village."
"I agree," said Kaede, standing in the doorway of the hut. "Besides, I'm sure there are more interesting things for you to do than tag along with this expedition."
Kagome turned back to Kaede before climbing onto Inuyasha's back.
"Bye!" she said, waving. "See you soon!" With any luck, she added in her mind. Naraku's schemes always took longer than they originally seemed to at first. But they would make it through; she refused to allow any doubt of that to enter her mind. After all, maybe it wasn't even Naraku to begin with. It could just be some lesser youkai making trouble—though the spider reference was disturbing.
With her arms wrapped around Inuyasha's shoulders, she could feel his body moving beneath his haori as he leaped away from the ground. Kirara, transformed with Miroku, Sango and the second bag of supplies on her back, also flew up into the air, with fire wreathing all round.
Swift goodbyes were exchanged, and Kaede watched the disappearing group for several seconds before turning and reentering the hut.
Before even coming within sight of the village, it rapidly became evident that something was wrong. Below them were simply treetops, swaying gently in the wind; the farther towards the horizon they went, the less movement was visible. Also, there were gathering clouds up ahead: the deep gray undersides typical of thunderstorms were already visible. As they neared the area, the shadow these clouds cast on the ground grew thicker. There was a distinct line on the trees below, a clearly defined border where the light ended and the shadow began.
"It's so dark," whispered Kagome as they approached. Inuyasha snorted.
"At least it'll be cooler down there," he said. "This heat is disgusting."
Kagome could feel her temper beginning to fray, likely due to the proximity of the wall of shadow. Didn't he understand at all? "Well maybe if you didn't insist on wearing that haori all the time it wouldn't be so hot," she retorted.
"Why, would you rather I took it off?" he said. She could almost hear the smirk in his voice, and would have said something else if at that very moment they hadn't passed into the shadow.
It was as if night had fallen prematurely. If she looked back, she could see the sunlight shining on the trees behind them; if she looked ahead, it was as dark as a moonless night. Darker, even, since there were no stars: only the leaden grey underbellies of the clouds overhead. She gave an involuntary shiver and fell silent. Oddly, there was no wind; the group was flying (or, in Inuyasha's case, leaping) through still air.
"This weather is unnatural," Miroku commented as Kirara passed by close to the pair.
"D'you think?" said Inuyasha scathingly.
"I don't think this is simply a byproduct of the attacks, Inuyasha," said Miroku. "I would be on my guard, if I were you."
Houshi-sama, the village!" Sango interrupted, pointing. Immediately he turned to see.
"Kami," he breathed. "This is…"
(¸.·'´(¸.·'´(¸.·'´¤¤'·.¸)'·.¸)'·.¸)
A few brief notes (which, for the record, go for both this chapter and the next:
Wasuresaru means forget; youjutsusha means magician/sorceress. As for Miroku's spell (next chapter), I pretty much invented it. If it's very badly wrong, then corrections would be appreciated. I'm new to this. (oh… and taijiya is youkai (demon) exterminator, and ofuda are Miroku's spell-scrolls—those bits of paper he's always throwing around… yeah, those)
And yes… this is indeed my old story. I changed it heavily-- right down to its original concept, and I suppose that if I ever do continue it, I can take it in whatever direction I choose. Yey.
