Disclaimer: I blah blah not own blah blah blah anything from blah blah Inuyasha. You get the point.
A/N: Hey, chapter 7 up. I can get chapters up way faster now since it's summer vacation. I'm gonna be a sophomore in high school next year, so we'll see how much time I have for writing. If there's not a lot, I'll make time. I promise. In this chapter, Inuyasha and the gang will have to face their first obstacle. Want to know what it is? Read on!
An Eternal New Moon
Chapter 7
Inuyasha went down on his hands and knees, trying to sniff out a scent that was out of the ordinary on the forest path. Any scent would do. However, without his demon powers, he just wasn't having any luck.
"Inuyasha, could you get off the ground, please?" Asked Miroku irritably. "Without your powers, we can smell anything as well as you. You don't have to keep doing that."
Sango came up behind him and tried to pull him up by his robe. "Yeah, you've been trying to sniff out weird scents at least seven times by now. Give it up."
"Not to mention you look like an idiot crawling on the ground like that." Added Shippo, making sure he was far enough away from Inuyasha so he wouldn't get his head mashed into the ground. Sure enough, Inuyasha sprang to his feet and tried to growl.
"Who are you calling an idiot, you little–." Inuyasha stopped dead in his tracks as both Miroku's staff and Sango's boomerang bone came crashing down on his head.
"Inuyasha, control yourself!" Said Miroku and Sango simultaneously. Inuyasha rubbed his head, muttering something like, 'If I had my claws, you'd both be on the ground by now. Now that's what I call control.'
Kirara mewed and suddenly changed into her demon form, snarling at something in the treetops.
"Kirara, what is it?" Said Sango, laying a hand on her companion. As an answer, Kirara, leapt into the trees, chasing after a very frightened squirrel.
"Kirara, not again!" Yelled Sango. "Last time you saw a squirrel, you were gone for two days!"
"Should we go after her?" Asked Miroku. Inuyasha desperately hoped that they wouldn't have to look.
Sango shook her head, smiling. "No, it's alright. She'll find me. She always does. Let's keep going."
The four companions resumed their journey, Inuyasha leading the way. Seeing something in the distance, his eyes lit up and he ran ahead, finally believing that they were on to something. When he broke through the underbrush, he saw a very wide, very long river with only one bridge. On that bridge was a solider, dressed in light armor and looking extremely bored out of his mind.
Inuyasha's face lit up in a smile. "Ha! The big river! We're getting closer, I know it! Even though I've never seen a guard here before, he'll be no problem." Sango, Miroku, and Shippo came to stand beside him.
"When did they post a guard at the bridge?" Said Sango, gripping her boomerang a little tighter. Unlike Inuyasha, a deep frown etched her features. Miroku's look matched hers perfectly.
"I don't know. I guess one of the lords around here wants extra protection." Said Miroku thoughtfully. "Come one, let's go cross the bridge and be done with it."
Inuyasha leapt down the hill first and reached the guard, attempting to pass him. He was met by a wicked looking sword at his throat. "What the hell do you think you're doing?" Snarled Inuyasha, trying to look as fearsome as he could in his human form.
The guard didn't even flinch. "Under the orders of Lord Chihaya, to pass over this bridge, a toll of three silver coins must be payed."
Inuyasha bristled as Miroku, Sango, and Shippo reached him. "A toll? You want us to pay a toll?" Growled Inuyasha, his eyes fiery with anger. He put his face close to the guard's. "You are standing between me and my destination. One of my friends is in danger and you're not going to stop me." He said in a low voice, putting a hand on his tetsusaiga.
The guard still looked bored. "Three silver coins, please."
Inuyasha couldn't take it anymore. He lunged at the guard, only to be stopped by Miroku and Sango.
"Calm yourself, Inuyasha. We'll get by this bridge peacefully." Said Miroku, holding the back of Inuyasha's robe as Inuyasha desperately tried to claw at the guard.
"Yeah, well did you bring any money, monk?" Snarled Inuyasha. Miroku's calm look evaporated and was replaced with a look of sheepish apology.
"Um, well...you see..." He trailed off and looked at the ground.
Sango resumed the task of restraining Inuyasha. Finally, she smashed her boomerang into his thick skull, knocking Inuyasha to the ground. He would be a little dizzy for at least a couple of minutes, leaving Sango free to converse with Miroku.
"You didn't bring any money. How are we going to get past him? Swim?" She said, looking across the very wide river. "I don't think so. I know for a fact that swimming isn't your strong point, Miroku."
"Shippo," Began Miroku. "Couldn't you fly us across after you transform?"
The fox demon shook his head. "Do you really think a little guy like me can hold three people and make it across a huge river?"
"Make three trips then."
"I can't! My energy will be all used up after one or two! If the river were smaller, maybe. Definitely not this size."
"Well, what are we going to do, then? We can't kill the guard! I don't think we can knock him out, he's trained to watch for things like that. If we distract him and run across the bridge, he'll call for help and we'll be arrested." Miroku looked deep in thought. "We could make a raft out of fallen branches in the woods and go across the river that way. We'd just have to do it without the guard seeing us. Down the river more."
"There's no other way, is there." Replied Sango. "Okay, let's try it. What could happen?"
About an hour later, the group emerged with a makeshift raft in tow. Inuyasha had been persuaded not to kill the guard by Sango and her boomerang. Shippo sat on the raft, proud that he had helped to assemble at least a little bit of it and glad that he was too short to help carry it.
Scrambling down the river bank, out of sight of the guard, they lowered the raft into the water. Inuyasha climbed on first, then Sango, with Miroku holding it close to the bank. A long vine had been coiled up and was wrapped around his shoulder to use for rope should the need arise.
"Ready everyone?" Asked Miroku. The rest of the group nodded. He pushed off the bank and leapt onto the raft, smiling as it drifted slowly towards the other bank. Shippo, Inuyasha, and Miroku used pieces of wood for paddles; Sango used her boomerang. Slowly, they drifted farther and farther away from the bank.
"It's really working!" Exclaimed Shippo, paddling as fast as his little arms would allow. No sooner than he had said that, the raft hit a current and flipped over, the slats of wood drifting down the river as the raft broke apart.
The group surfaced and swam to the bank, everyone disappointed and very wet. Inuyasha shook himself off like a dog, spraying everyone else.
"Dammit, Miroku! A raft isn't going to work!" He said, wringing out his robe. "We have to get the guard!"
Sango squeezed the water out of her hair. "No, we don't. Let's just think for a minute."
"Maybe we should try to swim across?" Said Shippo. "We're already wet."
A few minutes later, Sango dragged a waterlogged Miroku out of the river. Inuyasha was still in the water, trying to get back to the bank with Shippo in tow. Miroku had gone under when a current had gotten a hold of him, but Sango had been fast enough and got him out.
"Miroku? Can you hear me?" She said. Miroku, eyes closed, lay still on the bank. Sango leaned over him, trying to get a closer look at his face. However, her look of concern was quickly replaced by one of anger as she felt a familiar hand on her backside.
Inuyasha turned towards the bank when he heard the slap and the stream of profanity coming from Sango. Mouth dropping open, he covered Shippo's ears until she was finished.
"Miroku, you pervert! Why do you always do that?" She yelled, sitting back down on the bank, her face a lovely shade of beet red.
"Well, my dear Sango," began Miroku, sitting cross-legged on the bank, the familiar red hand print on his cheek. "You always seem to lean over my like that when it looks like I need medical attention. Shouldn't you know by now that will happen?"
If it was possible, Sango blushed an even deeper shade of crimson. "Well, I just wanted to make sure you were okay! One of these days, I won't do that and you'll die on me." Monk, she thought. You know me too well.
"Well, I'm not dead now. That aside, we still have the problem of getting across this river."
Inuyasha crawled up on the bank, Shippo slung across his shoulders. "Well, that was a really good idea, Shippo." Said Inuyasha sarcastically. "Got any more?"
Shippo spat out a stream of water. "Nope. I'm out for now."
"Does this mean we can get the guard now?" Asked Inuyasha, looking eagerly up at the bridge.
"NO!" Replied Miroku, Sango, and Shippo. Inuyasha pouted. If he would've still had his ears, they would've been drooping by now.
Still on the riverbank, the group made their way back to the bridge until they were standing underneath it. Studying the rafters that crisscrossed the underside of the bridge, Miroku suddenly had an idea.
"I know!" He exclaimed. "We can climb underneath the bridge! We'll use the rafters as our own bridge!"
"You mean those extremely thin, rickety looking ones?" Said Sango apprehensively. "If we fall, that's a long way to go, and falling looks pretty plausible at the moment. Those rafters don't look strong at all."
"Do you have a better idea?" Said Miroku, crossing his arms. Sango shook her head. "Good. Let's try it."
Using the rocks that made up the base of the ends of the bridge, the group crawled up the bridge until they were all positioned underneath on the rafters. Miroku led the way with Sango, Shippo, and Inuyasha behind him. Slowly, ever so slowly, they inched across. Even with the threat of falling hanging in the air, nobody panicked. After all, they had all faced worse things than crossing an old bridge over a really big river.
Only Shippo seemed a little nervous. "I'm still just a kid, you know!" He muttered, praying desperately that he wouldn't slip and fall.
Finally, after a few close calls, Miroku and Sango climbed safely down the rock base on the other side. Shippo jumped into Sango's arms, letting out the breath he had been holding. Only Inuyasha was left.
"See, Inyasha?" Said Miroku. "We didn't have to get the guard after all."
Inuyasha's response: "Feh."
Inuyasha remained on the rafters, staring at the sunset. Sunset already? They had spent the whole day trying to get across the damn bridge? On an impulse, he stamped his foot and crossed his arms, sulking. What a complete waste of time.
A loud crack rang out. "Uh-oh." Muttered Shippo.
"Inuyasha, I think you should get down now." Said Sango. Inuyasha ignored her.
"Inuyasha..." Started Miroku.
"WHAT?" Roared Inuyasha, baring his teeth. Suddenly, the rafter cracked and he plunged into the river, splashing everyone on impact.
Miroku and Sango looked around wildly. Where was Inuyasha? He hadn't come up after the fall. A little farther down stream, they finally saw Inuyasha crawl up onto the bank and fall face down into the sand.
"Inuyasha!" Said Miroku as he reached his companion. "Are you alright?"
Inuyasha lifted his head and spat out a number of small fish. "Fine."
Miroku laughed, Sango and Shippo joining in while Inuyasha let his face fall back into the sand. Well, it certainly was an interesting day.
A/N: Hey, how'd you like it? Were you expecting a big demon as their first obstacle? Well, me too at first. I thought this would be funnier, though. Yeah, near drowning experiences are always great. As for getting this chapter up faster than the others, I would've gotten it up sooner, but I was struck down with an extremely bad case of the flu. One of the worst nights of my life. Anyway, I'm going on vacation for two weeks, so chapter 8 will not be up as soon as I wanted it to. Nothing's happening for me in August, though, so maybe I'll get chapter 8 and 9 up before school. We'll see. Only if you're good and REVIEW! ok, well, next time in chapter 8...actually, I have no idea what's happening in chapter 8. I'm making this up as I go, really. All my good stories start on a whim, like this. Hope that's okay with you! Carpe Noctem! (Seize the night) What? It's Latin...
A BIG GINORMOUS thank you to lythe224 for pointing out my mistakes in the first version. I'm sorry to say I forgot about kirara (gasp!) And Shippo's floating transformation. Oops. Let's just say I was heavily medicated and a little delirious when I wrote this chapter. Stupid flu! Well, if you didn't like this chapter as much, so sorry. I needed a break from all the serious stuff, and you probably did too. There will be more action in the future though. And...more fluff! Yay fluff! Also, another BIG GINORMOUS thank you to Ms. Uchiha for correcting my spelling error. Hiraikotsu, see? Now I can spell it! I'm horrible at spelling and way to lazy to look things up. Damn you spell checker for not having Inuyasha vocab!
