Just My Luck
D i s c l a i m e r : Wonders if the world has been besieged by early onset Alzheimers Nope . . Inuyasha and Co . do not belong to me . sighs for the eleventh time .
Chapter 11: Dinner and Camping
Kaede watched from her doorway as the girls approached her hut . She immediately noticed the child that Wila carried . 'Now where in the world did they find a child?' She mentally asked herself, shaking her head slightly.
"Welcome back. I trust that ye had a relaxing bath?" Kaede inquired .
"Yes, Kaede-sama. It was quite wonderful." Kagome replied, noting that Kaede was focused on Rin. Wila took note of this as well, introducing the young girl to the priestess.
"Kaede, this is Rin. Rin, this is Kaede. She is also a friend of ours." Rin smiled widely at the old woman, and Kaede could not help but smile back.
"Welcome, Rin-Chan." Kaede said. She then turned to Kagome. "I packed dinner for ye so that ye might get an early start on your hunt for the jewel shards."
"Thank you, Kaede. I am sure that the guys will be very pleased to hear that. Inuyasha is always so impatient to get started."
"Feh! Am not. You are just so slow at getting started that you think I' m impatient." Inuyasha's outburst surprised the women and they turned to face him.
"Welcome back, Inuyasha." Kaede replied as she rolled her eyes. By this time, everyone had reached Kaede's.
"Well, since Kaede has went through all the trouble to prepare and pack our meal, we should waste no time in going. It will be dark soon and we will want to setup camp by then." Miroku said as he made sure to stand as far away from the women as possible.
Kagome nodded as she and Sango took the parcels from Kaede. Wila repositioned Rin so that she was now riding on her back. Inuyasha bent down so that Kagome could climb onto his back. And thus they headed off into the woods. Inuyasha, carrying Kagome on his back, lead the way, followed by Miroku and Sango. Wila walked behind them, with Rin on her back, flanked by Sesshoumaru. Kouga, Shippo, and Kilala bringing up the rear.
They walked through the forest until the sun was almost set. Finally arriving in a clearing, which Inuyasha decided wasa good place to camp, they stopped. Sango and Miroku set out to gather firewood. Wila put Rin down so that she and Shippo could play for a bit, then began helping Kagome to unpack dinner. Inuyasha, Sesshoumaru, and Kouga made a quick sweep of the area to make sure that it was indeed safe for them to camp there. Satisfied, the three settled down to wait for Miroku and Sango to return.
"Where are those two? I'm starving here!" Inuyasha grumbled as Miroku and Sango emerged from the forest, each carrying an armful of wood. " 'Bout time you two came back." Inuyasha took Sango's load and began to make the camp fire. Kouga, determined not to be undone by Inuyasha, took what Miroku was carrying and stacked it at the edge of the clearing.
Once Inuyasha had the fire going, Kagome and Wila began warming up the meal and distributing it among the group. Wila glanced around for Shippo and Rin, but they were nowhere insight.
"Where are the children?" Wila asked Kagome as she handed Inuyasha a bowl of rice.
"In the forest, I suppose," she said with a shrug. Not waiting for anyone else to ask about them, Wila sat the two bowls she had been holding down beside the fire and walked into the forest. She walked as far as the light from the fire allowed, then called for the children.
"Rin! Shippo! Where are you two? It is time to eat." She pushed a bit further into the forest and said a silent prayer of thanks that the moon was full. She stopped a moment and listened, hearing what she thought were the children talking a short distance in front of her. She pressed on a few yards and caught sight of the flickering of a very small campfire. As quietly as she could manage, she crept closer to the light.
"So, which one should we cook first?" The voice was harsh and the tone of it made Wila's blood run cold. She shivered slightly and crept closer. She was now at the edge of a very tiny campsite.
"I dont know. Perhaps the human. She looks healthy enough. We might be able to save the fox for breakfast." The other voice was just as cold as the first was. Wila was now able to see the camp. The voices belonged to two rather rough-looking demons. Rin and Shippo were tied up and seated at the edge of their camp. No longer scared, Wila was now downright mad. She looked around for something to use as a weapon. After a moment, she managed to find a nice sized branch that had fallen from an oak tree. Picking it up, she strode into the midst of the camp, right between the demons and the children.
"I don't believe that you will be eating them at all." Wila's voice was calm and steady, quite the opposite of the look in her eyes.
"You might be right," the first demon replied. "We'll eat you instead!" He laughed as he finished his statement, the other demon nodding furiously in agreement. She tilted her head slightly to one side, looking straight at them, and a slight smile came to her lips.
"I don't think so," she commented. Backing up so as not to turn her back on her opponents, she slowly made her way to the children, bending down to untie them, all the while keeping her eyes on the demons. They watched her intently, the expressions on their faces becoming more livid as they realized what she was doing. "I am so sorry to disappoint, but we really must be going." Her flippant reply finally got a reaction from the two demons. They charged at her suddenly. Shippo took off in the direction of the campsite while Rin began running in the opposite direction. Wila swung the branch, much like one would a baseball bat, hitting the first attacker and knocking him to the ground. The second one hesitated in his attack to check on his friend. Seeing her chance, Wila ran after Rin, knowing that Shippo would be able to reach Inuyasha and the others on his own.
"Rin! Wait up!" Wila called out to the young girl. She stopped about half way up the side of a steep hill. Wila dropped to her knees beside her. "Are you alright, Rin? They didn't hurt you in anyway, did they?" She began to look the girl over, checking for any kinds of injuries. Before she could finish, Rin threw her arms around her neck. Wila hugged her back, whispering as many comforting things to girl as she could. Her small body shook from fear and from crying. "Shhh. It is alright now." Suddenly the sound of something crashing through the underbrush came to them. Wila quickly dislodged the child from her neck. "Rin, you must run now. Don't worry and don't look back. Just run and hide. You should be able to find a safe place over that hill." The girl nodded slowly. Wila gave her a slight nudge and Rin took off up the hill.
"Who do you think you are, stealing my dinner like that?" I suppose that you can take their place." It was the voice of the second demon. Slowly picking up the branch again, she turned to face the demon. The look in his eyes was enough to send fear rampaging through her, but she refused to let it show. The only thing that mattered to her at the moment was Rin's safety.
"It doesn't matter who I am. The fact is, I intend to remove you from the face of the earth." She stood her ground, anticipating the attack.
"We will see." The demon replied as he lunged at her. She swung at it, grazing it's face, but scratching it deep enough to draw blood. The creature seemed shocked to see it's own blood as he placed his hand to his face and brought it away. "You made me bleed, you damn wench. I'm going to enjoy tearing you apart. And when I finish with you, I'll find that little girl and do the same to her!" He sprung forward, the claws of his outstretched hand slicing her arm open.
"That's what you think! You'll die this night, one way or another!" She swung again, but it had little effect. Wila growled low in her throat, swinging her fist at the creature this time. She smiled as she heard the sickening sound of breaking bone. Quickly she dropped the branch and punched him with her other fist. The creature stumbled back, but redoubled its efforts, bringing the claws of its right hand down across her face. Ignoring the pain and the warmth of her own blood trickling down the side of her face, she began using her nails on him. She went straight for his eyes. Her nails, although not very sharp, were quite long. They found their mark making the creature howl in pain, defensively swinging his fists at her. He made contact, knocking Wila to the ground. The demon now stood above her, his blood dropping onto her face, mingling with her own. She resisted the urge to wipe it away with her hand.
"It seems that I'll have my dinner after all!" He screeched as he fell upon her, ripping the flesh of her arms and neck with his claws. She fought back, furiously punching and scratching the demon. The world was slowly turning black to her, but she refused to give up. Just as she was on the verge of unconsciousness, she saw a white streak behind the demon. She gave a slight smile and sigh of relief as her world was engulfed by blackness.
"What the hell happened? She should have had better sense!"
"She was just worried about Rin and Shippo. I guess I should have went with her."
"I must say her spirit is quite strong. Most wouldn't have survived such an ordeal."
"She would make a great demon slayer. Um...no offense guys."
"I've never seen a human fight like that. Well, except my woman."
"She ain't your woman!"
"Is she going to be alright?"
"I was so surprised that she freed us, when the demons attacked her, all I could do was run."
"I was so surprised that she freed us, when the demons attacked her, all I could do was run."
"Don't blame yourself."
"She will be fine. She has lost a lot of blood, but if she rests, she will recover."
Wila heard the voices through the haze that clouded her senses. Then the pain crept through, making her vividly aware that she was indeed alive. She tried to move, but her limbs felt extremely heavy and refused to obey. She directed her efforts to just opening her eyes. After several moments she finally succeeded. The first thing that met her eyes was the night sky, filled with thousands of brilliant stars. She slowly moved her eyes to her left and saw that Inuyasha was seated at the foot of a tree, leaning back against it, with Kagome seated beside him. She then glanced to her right, and saw that Rin and Shippo were cuddled together in asleeping bag, sound asleep. She let out a sigh of relief, now knowing that they were both safe.
"You are awake." She hadn't seen Sesshoumaru, but his voice drew her gaze towards her feet. He was sitting with his legs folded under him, watching her. "You should try to rest for now. You were wounded quite severely. It will take time for the wounds to heal and for you to regain your strength."
"I'm not tired." Her voice was no more than a mere whisper, but he had heard her.
"That does not matter. You still need to sleep." His visage was as calm as it ever was, but his tone was demanding her to obey.
"I hurt", she replied. He tilted his head slightly as if considering her response. Finally he nodded.
"Of course you hurt. That demon you were fighting seems to have got the better of you. Do not worry. The pain will pass in time." Their conversation had drawn Kagome's attention to them. She stood and made her way over to them.
"How are you feeling?" Kagome's voice was full of concern as she asked her question.
"I hurt and I am a little thirsty." Wila closed her eyes as she whispered her reply. Kagome smiled, opening her backpack and rummaging through it. After pulling out many various items, she pulled out a bottle of painkillers.
"Sango, would you mind bringing some water over here to me, please?" Kagome waited patiently for Sango to bring the water, and with Sesshoumaru's help, managed to get the painkillers into Wila.
"Sleep now. Tomorrow will be a much brighter day." Kagome's voice was the last thing that Wila heard as she drifted into sleep.
AN: Sorry that this has taken so long to post...have had some rl issue's...LOL...But I do hope you enjoy it...Thanks for reading and don't forget to review, if you would be so kind...S
