Hey kids! I'm so extremely sorry that I haven't updated this story in a super long time! I got a little preoccupied with my other story. But now, I'm solely concentrating on this one until it's got as many chapters as The Princess and I or it's finished. But I'm sorry again for keeping you all waiting for so long! I'll take better care of my readers' feelings, and work on this story! Thanks for reading!
Chapter VIII: He Returns
Three Months Later
Kanesa stood firm, surrounded by a half dozen demons; wolf demons. She watched them all closely as they circled around her. She clenched her fist and her staff in her other hand, waiting for any of these demons to make the first strike; the first rule of martial arts: always let the attacker make the first move.
Suddenly, one of the demons lunged at her, arms outstretched towards her. She jumped back and swatted the demon on the middle of its back. It howled, as another demon dove towards her. She flipped over it, twirling her staff above her head, and hit the demon in the arm. Two more of the demons came at her, and she twirled herself in circles, hitting each of the demons as they dove for her, until, not too long later, each of them were lying on the ground, doubled-up in pain.
She jumped down from a ledge she jumped to during the fight, and walked across the bodies as they continued to groan. She smiled, holding the staff horizontally behind her back, smiling sweetly.
Kouga grinned at her, resting on a stone throne located just outside his den. His leg was resting over the arm of the chair, and he rested his head on his fist, and his elbow on the opposite throne's arm. He lifted himself up and put his fists on his hips, "I must say, Kanesa, you've been getting stronger and stronger by the day."
She giggled, as he leapt off the ledge where his throne rested, and joined Kanesa at her side. He took the staff from her, and held it out to his side with one hand as he slipped a hand around Kanesa's waist, never taking his eyes off her. A demon jogged up to Kouga, taking the staff out of his hands as he and Kanesa made their way back into the den.
Kanesa had been living with Kouga for the past three months, leaving occasionally to visit her sister whenever she was near, or to visit her mother to let her family know she was all right. She had grown accustomed to the way of life in the feudal era, and to how the wolf demons lived. Now, instead of her jeans and tank tops, she wore traditional female wolf demon garments: a brown fur pelt, similar to Kouga's, furs on her shins to keep her legs warm, a fur shawl covering her shoulders, and female armor for her chest.
They walked into the den, and Kouga left Kanesa's side for a moment to feed the wolves. He grabbed a large slab of deer meet, and threw it into an open area of the den. Before it touched the ground, thirteen wolves immediately attacked it, wrestling and fighting each other for their own share of the food. Kouga walked over to join Kanesa, who was sitting against a wall, with her knees up and together and her arms resting over her stomach. Kouga sat next to her, and fell over, resting her head in her lap. She giggled, stroking his black hair with her delicate fingers.
Ever since Kouga's confrontation with Kagura, and Kanesa's undying care for him, their relationship had grown much stronger. They were much closer, spending every minute they had together.
Kouga smiled up at her, "So… what do you want to do today? I didn't have anything planned, really."
She shrugged, "I dunno, we can just hang out here for the day."
He smiled, "Fine with me" he said as he closed his eyes.
Kanesa continued to stroke his head, as a wolf walked up to her, rubbing against her arm. She smiled at it, scratching behind its ears. She looked at her two wolves, enjoying their company. But suddenly, something caught her attention, and she stopped stroking Kouga's head, and scratching the wolf's ears.
Kouga noticed, and opened his eyes, "What's wrong?"
Kanesa looked out towards the opening of the den, and smiled. She looked down at Kouga, "I can feel jewel shards, about three of them! She must be nearby!"
Kouga lifted himself up, and walked over to the den's entrance. He closed his eyes and sniffed the air. He opened them and looked over at Kanesa, "You wanna go visit?" he asked, grinning.
Kanesa nodded her head excitedly as she jogged over to Kouga. He gathered her into his arms and leapt off the cliffs, "Ginta! Hakaku!" he shouted back, "Kanesa and I are going out; and we'll be back later!"
Inuyasha and the others were walking through the forests, after recently leaving Kaede's village. They had journeyed there to gather more provisions for their journey. Inuyasha and Kagome led the team in front, followed by Sango, Miroku and Shippo. Shippo jumped from shoulder to shoulder, until he reached Kagome, "Do you think Kanesa will come to see us again?" he asked her.
She looked at him, "I'm not sure Shippo. Kouga and Kanesa come and go. I have no idea if they're at the den or not. They may still be out looking for Naraku again. They didn't come to see us the last time we were down here."
Shippo nodded, as they continued through the forest. Sango dropped Kirara as she toddled along after her master, occasionally stopping to pounce upon an unsuspecting caterpillar.
After some time of walking, the group decided to take a break, resting at a small pond. Inuyasha climbed up and rested in a tall tree as Sango refilled her water jug and washed her hirikotsu. Kagome rested by the pond and strolled her fingers over the water's surface, but stopped, when a familiar sensation swept through her. She stood up and looked around, trying to figure out where this feeling was coming from. Inuyasha noticed her sudden up-start, and sat up, "What's the matter?"
She looked up at him, "Jewel shards, two of them, coming fast."
"You think it's them?" he asked.
She nodded excitedly. Shippo jumped back onto her shoulder, looking around, shading his brow, "I don't see them anywhere" he announced.
But, faster than Kagome could retort, a small tornado busted out of the forest, zooming towards their party. Sango and Miroku shielded themselves from the debris flying their way, as Inuyasha jumped in front of Kagome, shielding her from the rocks.
The wind quickly died down, and every smiled when they saw Kouga placing Kanesa gently onto the forest floor. Kagome stepped in front of Inuyasha and ran to her sister, "Kanesa!" she shouted with her arms outstretched towards her.
Kanesa hugged her sister tightly and they jumped up and down together, squealing and giggling. Kouga smiled as Kagome released her and she looked up at him, "Kouga! It's good to see you again!" she said, hugging him softly.
He smiled as he released her, "Yeah, it's good to see you too, Kagome."
Inuyasha stepped towards him, looking stern. Kouga stared right back at him. They glared at each other for a moment, until they both started laughing. Inuyasha stuck out a friendly arm, "What's goin' on, you mangy mutt?" he asked jokingly.
Kouga laughed, and grabbed Inuyasha's forearm firmly, "Not much, dog-face" he joked.
They laughed again. Because Kouga was so infatuated with Kanesa, he had completely shoved his old feelings for Kagome out of his mind. He saw her more as a sister than a mate nowadays. Inuyasha was all too pleased with this. Now that he and Kouga were no longer in competition with each other over Kagome, they saw no reason to fight. But, there was still some hostility between them; they were still after the same prize, Naraku's head. But, oddly enough, ever since Kouga's run-in with Kagura, none of them had seen eye or hide of Naraku. Not even Kagura, or Kanna or any other offspring he may have created had come to attack any of them; not even a single demon puppet. The parties saw this as somewhat of a relief; a break from their normal agenda of fighting Naraku. But they couldn't help but feel uneasy. Naraku had never taken this long of a leave before. They all knew he was planning something, but what was a mystery to them.
Kanesa and Kouga greeted everyone else with hand shakes and hugs (and a small groping from Miroku, which was punched away by Sango's hirikotsu and Kouga's fist).
They spent a while talking with each other about their progress with training, finding any traces of Naraku, and their personal lives. They all hadn't been together for a month, so it was a nice change from the regular way things went. Every once in a while, the subject of the jewel shards would pop up, and Kouga and Inuyasha would turn back to their previous selves. Inuyasha would threaten Kouga to give up the jewel shards in his legs, and Kouga would response with a finger or words. But Kagome and Kanesa's calming words would settle them down every time.
They soon got onto the subject of Naraku's whereabouts. They were all disappointed to learn that the other party had no news of it.
"I haven't smelt his obnoxious odor in about three months" Kouga explained.
"And we haven't been able to pick up any hints of jewel shards anywhere" Kagome said, looking over at her sister, who had agreed.
"The only jewel shards I feel nowadays are in Kouga's legs" Kanesa said, looking down at him, as he rested his head on her shoulder. Inuyasha growled under his breath, but a small pinch from Kagome put an end to his annoyance.
"What do you think he's been up to?" Sango asked, stroking Kirara's head.
"We can only guess for now. But it's obvious that it's going to be bad. He's never taken a break for this long. He's up to something, and I don't think it'll be to our benefit" Miroku explained.
Kanesa thought to herself for a bit; she still wasn't sure who exactly Naraku was. She had never seen him in person, or seen what he was capable of. She had only heard stories from Kouga and her sister of the terrible things he had done. But, from what she heard, she concluded that Naraku wasn't much of a hands-on kind of fighter. Most of the stories she heard were about his offspring: Kagura and Kanna and his newest creation; Hakudoushi. She came to a conclusion that if Kouga, Inuyasha, or any of the party were to face Naraku head-on, he wouldn't be much of a challenge. He seemed to be nothing more than a magician, using smoke and mirrors to confuse his opponents.
"I just wish that he'd show his sorry hide already," Kouga growled, "then I wouldn't have to wait so long to avenge my fallen brethren."
Kanesa rested her head on his and stroked his cheek with the backs of her fingers. She had heard the story of the slaughter of Kouga's comrades, from many different wolves, in many different versions. But they were all gruesome and horrific.
Inuyasha nodded, "Yeah, we don't have to see him; just a sign. A warning to let us know he's up to something."
Just then, as if an unseen force had granted Inuyasha's wish, a small swarm or Naraku's poisonous insects flew by. Inuyasha and Kouga were the first to take action.
"Saimyoushou!" Miroku shouted as he and Sango stood.
Kagome and Kanesa stood up after everyone else and looked around. "Could Naraku finally have come out of hiding?" Kagome asked.
"We can't waste any time! If the saimyoushou are flying around, it means Naraku wants us to follow!" Inuyasha answered. "It may be a trap, but as long as we know Naraku's back in action, it's the only lead we have!"
He gestured for Kagome to climb onto his back, and she did, as Kouga grabbed Kanesa into his arms. Sango threw Kirara into the air and she transformed into her demon state. Sango and Miroku climbed onto her, as Shippo climbed onto Kagome's back.
"We must hurry! The saimyoushou are already far ahead of us!" Miroku yelled as they all took off.
"Don't worry monk, I've got their scent. We won't be losing them!" Kouga shouted as he leapt to the tree branches above and soared over the forest canopy, Inuyasha next to him.
They followed Kouga and his grasp on the saimyoushou's scent, going deeper and deeper into the forest. The deeper they plunged, the darker and more uncomfortable the atmosphere became.
Finally, they reached the end of the saimyoushou's scent trail; a large feudal castle nestled in the middle of the forest. The air around the party had grown cold and the skies were now a sinister purple and black.
"This is where the scent ends" Kouga said as he placed Kanesa down gently.
Inuyasha and the others stopped behind him. Kagome climbed off Inuyasha's back and joined her sister at her side. Miroku and Sango hopped off Kirara as she returned to her small state and jumped into Sango's arms. Inuyasha walked to Kouga side at stared at the castle "What do you think we should do?" he asked.
Kouga sniffed the air, "Well, there's no force field around the castle, so it should be easy enough to get in. But it seems too easy, especially for Naraku."
Inuyasha unsheathed his Tetsaiga and pointed it at the large wooden doors in front of them. But Kouga pushed it down, "We don't need that much brute force" he smirked.
He leapt backwards about ten yards away from the door. Inuyasha knew what he was doing and pulled Kanesa and Kagome out of the way. Kouga pulled his fist back and charged towards the door. His fist collided with the door and smashed it into pieces. The wood shards flew towards the girls, but Inuyasha swatted them away. After the debris and cleared, all of them stood in the empty doorway. Kanesa stood next to Kouga, wrapping her arm through his. He grasped her hand softly, lacing his fingers through hers. "C'mon, let's go."
They all walked in slowly as they examined their surroundings. It was just like all the other castles Naraku inhabited before. It was completely empty, no sounds, no movement, no nothing. Kanesa hooked herself tighter onto Kouga. She had never felt so nervous in her life. Kagome looked over at her and laced her arm through Kanesa's free one. She smiled at her sister, but still felt uneasy. She had fought many demons while she was with Kouga, but they were always weak little spirits that she or Kouga could take care of easily. The strong demons, Kouga always took care of. Kanesa never really got a chance to take one on by herself. Even though she was nervous, she held herself together. She would love nothing more than to take on a real demon.
"C'mon Narkau! We've done enough waiting! Show yourself!" Inuyasha shouted.
Just as he finished shouting, a chuckled echoed throughout the castle's courtyard. Everyone spun around staring at the main castle. A white baboon sat on the steps, laughing. Kanesa stared at it, 'What is that, a baboon?'
"Ah, Inuyasha and party… it's been quite a while, hasn't it?" the monkey said coolly.
"Where the hell have you been hiding Naraku?" Inuyasha yelled at him, taking a step in front of everyone.
Kanesa blinked hard, 'That…? That's Naraku? He's a monkey!'
Kouga released Kanesa's hand and stood at Inuyasha's side, "Naraku, we're tired of the games. What have you been up to?" he growled. Kanesa held onto her sister; she had never seen Kouga so mad.
Naraku chuckled again, "I see you're all present; Miroku, Sango, Inuyasha, Kouga, Kagome…" he listed, looking at each of them after he called their name. But after he called Kagome, he stared at Kanesa, "Ah… and Kagome's big sister… Kaensa" he said, a sinister smile forming underneath his mask.
Kanesa blinked, "How do you know who I am?" she asked out loud, immediately regretting it as Naraku stood.
"Oh, I know more about you than you think, young lady. You see, I've brought you all here to test you. We've been apart for so long, I want to make sure that your skills haven't deteriorated" he smiled, as a very pale hand emerged out of the baboon pelt. He raised it to his head and snapped his fingers.
The doors slid open slowly behind him as six figures emerged from the darkness. Everyone was silent when their faces came into view.