Well, hello again. As you see, I managed to update this month despite my exams. I hope the chapter is satisfactory, despite the fact that it's kinda focusing on Kagome… Sorry, but believe me, it was necessary. Inuyasha will be back next chapter, don't worry ;) (not that h's not present in this one, but… well, you'll see soon). Without further ado, I won't bore you and here we go. I wish you happy reading :D
Congratulations to Team DObby for being reviewer number 500! I can't believe we reached that line *squeals* Thank you all so much! So… 550 next, what do you say? *gives you all her best puppy look*
ANONYMOUS REVIEWERS:
hello-anime: You had trouble believing how intense the last chapter was? Why? Did you think the story wouldn't ever speed up and get more intense? Come on, I'm not planning to write a boring romance-only fic here, LOL But I'm glad you enjoyed it and I hope you continue to do so. Thank you for the review :D
happyface2107: Well, I'm happy you believe in me so much, but I guess we'll see how I did on my exams when the results are given. And yes, you're right, I AM writing this just for fun – doesn't mean I look forward to putting the story on hold, though. Pleasant surprise for you, though, there's actually a chapter this month, too :D I hope you enjoy. Thank you for the review :]
Tracks for this chapter :
Blood-C OST:Shousa ni wa Houbi O, Haisha ni wa Bachi O
The Last of the Mohicans OST:Main Title
SID: Namida no Ondo
Riviera: the Promised Land Music: Elegant Melodies (link: www. aimini view /?fid=j6RlYEOhjcYHpov3oDgG)
Standard reminder and reader's key aplly.
What happened last time (I'm putting it up because one of the reviewers asked me to. Get used to it, I'll probably keep doing it from now on, if people insist): While looking for a place to spend the night, Miroku had once again spotted an inn with an 'ominous cloud' looming around it and helped people get rid of it, getting the group a roof to sleep under for the night. When morning approached, Kagome left the inn before everyone else, not wishing for the villagers to realize that in the group of three humans, one of them was actually a transformed and weakened hanyō. It turned out, however, that leaving hadn't been the best idea, for Miroku and Inuyasha had been trapped at the inn by a demon, unable to wake up. Notified of the situation by a panicky Shippō, the now-human Kagome wanders back to the inn to find out what's going on and save her friends…
Chapter 32 – the Baku
The first thing she saw when she finally got back to the inn really shouldn't have surprised her as much as it had – Inuyasha and Miroku being indeed still asleep. She had gotten so used to Inuyasha waking up at dawn that it just seemed too weird to be normal for him to sleep until any later. Which was exactly why Shippō had rightfully been worried and brought her.
Without a word, Kagome walked over to the sleeping teen and knelt by his side, glancing only briefly at the monk next to him. Just one look at either of them was enough for the young half-demon to be sure that this wasn't a regular sleep, for both teens were pale as ghosts and unnaturally still, even for sleeping people. If she hadn't known any better, she would have thought them dead already.
Carefully, though she expected neither would wake, Kagome reached out a hand and brushed it against Inuyasha's cheek, her now grey-blue eyes widening. She had to fight the urge not to jerk her hand away in surprise at how cold Inuyasha was. Truly, it wasn't hard to believe he was already dead, every sign spoke for it and without her hanyō senses, she wasn't able to tell if his heart was still beating or not. She bit her lip. 'I've seen people cursed into sleep before, but never anything this closely resembling to death,' she thought worriedly and bit her lip. 'Is this a yōkai's doing?' she thought briefly, but quickly dismissed the thought. If it had been indeed a yōkai, then she would have found nothing but bones by now. Plus, she could still see the necklace Inuyasha made as a seal for the Shikon, so the gem was undoubtedly still resting against his chest on the chain. So whoever was responsible for whatever was happening most likely wasn't aware of just whom he managed to put to sleep – and just what that person possessed. 'Thank the fates for small miracles,' the hanyō-turned-human thought with a sigh, 'but the problem of how to wake them up still remains.'
"Shippō-chan," she spoke calmly without turning towards the kit, inspecting the room carefully instead. Anything could be the reason for Inuyasha's and Miroku's current condition, really, and since she didn't know what caused it, she didn't know how serious this situation was. Which meant she had to find a way to wake them both up fast , before they actually died because of whatever it was that stopped them from waking up to begin with. "Stay here with them and use your foxfire as a barrier if anything happens. I'll go look around the inn. I may find some clues as to what's going on here," she instructed, but only silence was her response. Frowning, the black haired girl glanced over her shoulder at the entrance to the garden, where the kit should be, only to realize that she was alone, save for the two sleeping humans. She blinked in surprise. "Shippō-chan?" she questioned, but the kit was nowhere in sight. Kagome's frown deepened. 'I don't like this…'
Shippō had been the one to come and get her. He had attached himself to her shoulder as she ran and had only hopped off at the very entrance, going in right after Kagome. She was sure he had followed her in. So why was she alone? Where did he disappear to? Even if she was human, the little fox shouldn't have been able to sneak off without her realizing it, and besides, she believed he wouldn't just up and leave like that. What would he gain from it, anyway? 'Something's definitely not right here,' Kagome mused darkly. At that very moment, as if to confirm her thoughts, she heard the sound of wood sliding against wood and turned around abruptly, her grip on her bow tightening. She was human today. Tessaiga wouldn't transform for her. She knew because she had already tried it a moon's cycle ago.
The door to the corridor on the other side of the room was slightly open, yet there was no one on the other side. It was as if it had slid open on its own. But while modern doors could indeed open like that thanks to air currents, not that Kagome knew any of it, sliding doors were not supposed to do it. Kagome clicked her tongue.
"An invitation to come on in, is it?" she murmured under her breath, her grey-blue eyes sliding over to the two passed out spiritualists, both blissfully unaware of what was happening, though Inuyasha would most likely be unaware even if he was awake. Miroku, on the other hand, could have been helpful. Pervert or not, he was a monk and monks knew a lot of things, so maybe he'd have an idea as to what was going on. But as things stood, she was on her own and her best chance of finding out what was happening was on the other side of that door. 'Whatever it is that's waiting on the other side, it better be ready to die,' the currently human Kagome thought as she slowly walked over to the open door. 'Whether it's a demon's or someone else's doing, killing the source usually takes care of the problem, so trying that is my best bet,' she decided as her hand rested on the slightly-ajar door, ready to open it fully. In one, fluid motion, she forced the door open and stepped into the corridor, swiftly shutting the door behind her, almost making it slam against its frame.
She stood still for a moment, listening to her surroundings and for the first time in a very long while wishing the sun would hurry up and set already, even though it had only risen a few hours ago. Usually, she didn't mind being human much. But then again, usually, she wasn't about to fight a demon, if it was even a demon, which she knew nothing about, with two human lives at stake while she herself was also nothing but a human. Sure, she was able to fight even in this form – she wasn't stupid enough not to learn to defend herself in her weakened state. But still, trained or not, she was human and thus weaker than in her true, hanyō form. 'I have to double my vigilance. I need to be extremely careful here. I won't be able to help them any if I'm killed, after all,' she thought grimly as she slowly started walking down the corridor, staying closely to the wall. The corridor was very dimly lit, but even in such a poor light, Kagome could see that whatever happened at the inn hadn't been a pretty sight.
[T]
The floor, the walls and even the ceiling were covered in blood. She didn't see any corpses nearby, but it was fairly obvious the red liquid had to come from somewhere. The way it was sprawled recklessly everywhere made it obvious it was nothing short of a massacre that had transpired there and it made even Kagome feel a bit ill, though not for the reason most would think it was. The blood alone wasn't what bothered her, nor was the idea of anyone being killed so cruelly. Alright, so that did bother her, but not in that way. This only made her mad and wanting to rip apart whatever had caused this mess. No, what made her feel ill was the simple fact that walking through this corridor in this dim light reminded her of another time, another place, another massacre… 'Don't think about it!' she scolded herself, shaking her head. 'Don't think about it! Now's not the time. Focus! You have something important to take care of, damn it, this isn't the time for a trip down the memory lane that you shouldn't ever think of going on!' she scolded herself mentally, but to let those memories go proved to be harder than she would have liked. She blamed her humanity for it. Had she been hanyō, keeping her emotions and memories in check would have been much easier. But of course, things can never be too easy when it came to her…
A sudden sound startled her out of her thoughts and the black haired girl froze and expertly reached for her bow, an arrow ready on the weapon in the nick of time. She didn't raise the bow, though, looking around carefully instead and trying to pinpoint where the sound had come from. She was once again surrounded by silence, however, and after a few moments, she started walking again, though she was still tense and on high alert. But at least, her mind didn't wander anymore and she could think clearly, swiftly noticing a very peculiar thing indeed.
Reaching the door to one of the rooms, she carefully slid it open and peeked inside. The sight wasn't very different from the corridor she was in, so she moved onward, opening every door carefully and peeking inside, more than certain that she wasn't alone but unable to find the other occupant of the inn. In each room, she found always the same sight, but it only made her more certain that her suspicions were spot on. 'The whole place looks like one big carnage,' she admitted as she leaned against a wall, bow still at the ready, just in case. 'Yet if that was all there was to it, why was our room the only one untouched? Moreover, this looks like something only a demon could do. Yet Miroku-sama assured me his o-fuda were real – and he wasn't lying. So no demon should have been able to come in... it doesn't make any sense at all!' she thought with frustration, fighting the urge to pull on her hair. 'Just what the hell is going on here?!'
If there was one thing she truly hated, it was situation like this one, especially if she couldn't make heads or tails of what was going on around her. Such situations were the most dangerous ones, as you never knew what to expect or even what you were dealing with, so logically, you didn't know how to handle it, either. Kagome cursed under her breath, but wasn't allowed curse her luck for much longer, for in that moment a mighty crash reached her ears and she swiftly turned around with her bow drawn, just in time to see something break through the wall a few feet away from her. In the dim light, and with her weaker, human eyes, she couldn't quite tell what it was, but that didn't stop her from firing her arrow, for one thing she was sure of – whatever this thing was, it definitely wasn't human. So it was very likely it was the source of whatever it was that was going on.
Her arrow missed. Or rather, it had been dodged skillfully as the demon, or at least Kagome was fairly certain it was a demon, rolled out of the way and allowed the projectile to fly harmlessly by. The arrow flew through the dark corridor for a few seconds before it struck a wall. Kagome barely had time to curse or draw another one before the demon stood back on its feet. Instead of attacking, however, it turned around and fled, trying to leave the now bewildered hanyō-turned-human behind. But Kagome wasn't one to be shell-shocked for long, so she swiftly followed it.
[/T]
She couldn't help but notice the absurdity of the situation, however. Here she was, a mere human girl, chasing a demon who was trying to flee as if its life depended on it – not that it didn't. But still, what demon ever fled from a simple human? If she had been a spiritualist, then maybe, but a simple human girl? This was seriously wrong, especially considering she was quite easily catching up to the demon, despite its obvious attempt to outrun her. It was almost as if it was its first time running and it didn't know how to use its legs efficiently, as ridiculous as it sounded.
Kagome stopped suddenly at that thought when a valid explanation came to her mind that suddenly made that idea not so ridiculous after all. And she was quickly proved correct when, once again, something crashed through the wall in front of her, only a little ways away from a door the demon she had been chasing had ran through. Had Kagome blindly followed it, she would have been crushed by what had just revealed itself. 'Great, just what I needed, a fucking reptile-demon who happens to be a mother,' Kagome thought bitterly as the corridor was suddenly illuminated by the sun that shone into the room the demon had been resting in.
The yōkai was fairly large. Actually, it was quite massive, about the same size as Kagome while it stood on all fours, making the black haired girl certain that she didn't want to know how tall it was if it stood on its hind legs, not that it seemed like it would even be able to do so. It was something akin to a chameleon, if one ignored the fact that it had small, bat-like wings on its back and that its tail was covered in spikes that looked anything but blunt. Its skin was a dark-gray, and it had a pair of small, bead-like red eyes, which were looking at Kagome with a look that promised bloody murder.
With a loud hiss, the enraged demon rushed at the girl before it with enough speed to make the currently human Kagome fly into the nearest wall (or even through it) and possibly kill her with one blow, had it connected. But, although human, Kagome had been fast enough to avoid the would-be-fatal blow and was quick to counterattack with an arrow. Unfortunately for her, however, a simple arrow would never be enough to pierce a demon's tough skin, especially not if said demon happened to be a reptile – beings known for their tough hide. All it did was enraged the chameleon mother even further and Kagome had to admit, if only to herself: 'I'm in trouble…'
XxX
Inuyasha took a deep breath as he leaned against a wall, one hand on Seiryuu's hilt and the other extended to his side, ready to open the shoji door next to him and both hoping and fearing the demon would be in that room.
When he had finally calmed down after witnessing the demon's feast (miraculously without actually throwing up), the yōkai had already left the room it had been in through the door on the other side, apparently not noticing the young teen at all. At that point, Inuyasha had had a choice: leave the inn and wait for Kagome to show up, or follow the demon and fight it on his own (or with Miroku, if he happened to run into the monk). Needless to say, he chose to hunt it down, and for more reasons than just wanting to prove himself.
Following the yōkai through the building had been quite easy, too, given the obvious (though also very unpleasant to look at) signs of its passage. But actually finding it proved to be harder than Inuyasha thought it would be, since no matter how fast he went, he couldn't seem to catch up to the demon. So now here he was, next to another door and preparing himself for possible combat, part of him wanting to get it over with already and let the yōkai get what it deserved, and another part of him actually fearing the encounter, as was to be expected – humans fear what they don't know a thing about, after all, and Inuyasha could hardly say he knew anything of his opponent, except for its food preferences. And that knowledge didn't help him to calm any.
Taking another deep breath, he pushed the door open and peeked in, breathing in slight relief when the room proved to be empty. Relaxing his grip on his sword, Inuyasha slowly walked into the room, only to stop in his tracks as the unsettling feeling of being watched washed over him like a wave. And was it just him, or was there a sound of wood sliding against wood behind him, as if the shoji had closed on its own?
Without thought, the young priest whirled around, his hand drawing his sword as he moved. And indeed, someone stood behind him, though in the dim light, it was very hard to make out who, or rather what, it was, though it could only be one thing, really.
"Found you," the black haired teen muttered under his breath as he squinted his eyes to see the silhouette better. "Hope you're ready to die," he said a little louder as he raised his sword and struck at the creature before him. It almost seemed like he hit the mark, too. It didn't feel like it, however, so Inuyasha suspected he had missed, even though he had not seen the demon move at all. It was more like it had turned to dust upon contact with his blade. At the very least, it was obvious it was no longer in front of him. 'From behind!' Inuyasha realized and swiftly turned around again. He wasn't sure how he knew that was where the attack would come from. He just did and he acted on it, successfully blocking the claw-like hand that would have otherwise impaled him through his abdomen. As soon as the yōkai's hand made contact with the blade, Seiryuu exploded with light as if it had been set on fire. Partially blinded by the sudden appearance of light, Inuyasha had to fight the urge to close his eyes, but was forced to endure the bright light when it refused to fade.
When his eyes adjusted and he was able to see past the blinding shine of his own blade, his violet eyed widened and he had to fight the urge to step backwards in surprise, finally getting a good view of the yōkai he had decided to fight against.
He was met with the sight of two pitch-black, empty eyes, or rather eye-sockets, considering the face he was facing was actually merely a jackal-like skull. One that seemed partially rotten, being mostly brown rather than white, but a skull nonetheless. Its sharp, canine teeth wound have been bared in a snarl, had the demon had any lips to conceal them to begin with. Unlike the rest of the 'head' of the demon, they weren't brown, but instead a deep scarlet, due to the monster's recent feast no doubt. Right below its jaws, Inuyasha could make out what he believed to be dense fur, though he couldn't be sure, as Seiryuu's light wasn't strong enough to illuminate the whole beast.
Snarling savagely, the should-be-dead demon retracted his claws and, before Inuyasha could even think of reacting, struck again, and connected with Inuyasha's sword one more time. Sparks flew this time around, and the yōkai howled, before retreating a safe distance away and hissing once it was hidden in the shadows. Finally coming out of his stupor, Inuyasha didn't waste any time following after it.
"Like Hell I'll let you get away!" he shouted as he swung his blade, once again missing as the demon seemingly dissolved, only to re-appear to Inuyasha's right and strike out at his head. The black haired teen swiftly ducked to dodge the blow, then moved in and tried to stab the yōkai in the gut. He should have been able to connect that hit. There was no reasonable explanation for him to miss. And yet, once again, the demon had gotten away unscathed and tried to get the teen from behind, failing and instead once again meeting Inuyasha's glowing blade. 'What's its body made of? It's like it's a ghost able to decide what it wants to touch and what should pass it through,' Inuyasha thought with an inward, frustrated huff as he blocked the demon's assault, as it struck again and again without pause, slowly forcing him to inch backwards.
He knew, however, that if that were the case, then he would have probably died by now, as he wouldn't have been able to block the yōkai's attacks, just as he wasn't able to harm it. And yet blocking wasn't a difficulty. 'Just what the Hell is this thing?!' he wondered, but hardly had the time to ponder that thought as his back hit the wall. There was no more room to back away and Inuyasha cursed as he felt himself being pushed into the wood as the demon struck again, its claws once more stopped by Inuyasha's sword before they could reach his flesh. Then, it suddenly froze, as if it had heard or seen something that caught its attention. Inuyasha frowned, but had no time to wonder about what was going on. Suddenly, the demon let out a high pitched screech that sounded like the insufferable sound of a chalk screeching against a board and Inuyasha had to close his eyes, wishing he could have closed his ears, too. Had the yōkai decided to attack right then and there, that would have been the end of him. But instead, it threw itself off the teen and scampered off as if the fires of Hell were behind it, breaking easily through the wall as it fled or pursued something, or someone – Inuyasha wasn't sure which was the case, but he feared it might be the latter. Without another thought, he ran after it, following the loud crashes that could suddenly be heard somewhere nearby. 'Had it found another victim to feast on? Had that someone tried to fight it, too?' Inuyasha wondered as he ran through the dark corridor, Seryuu's light having vanished the second the yōkai fled. The black haired priest didn't sheath the sword, though, knowing he would need it soon, anyway.
As soon as they started, the sounds stopped, just as Inuyasha arrived at what he hoped was their source. He froze, however, as soon as he entered the room, his eyes going wide at the sight that greeted him.
This room was much better illuminated than the others, and finally, the future-born teen could get a full view of the monster that had invaded the inn.
It had a fairly humanoid form. In fact, except for the jackal-like skull, the rest of its body could have passed as human, were it not for the weird, black, fur-like thing covering it. It seemed to be oozing some black gas from it, which was probably the reason it was able to hide so well in the dark. The neck was where the fluffy, fur-yet-cloud-like thing was the densest. Its arms and legs were thin and long, the claws at the end of its arms seemingly almost disproportionally small in comparison to the rest of the body, being about as large as the hands of a new born baby. But that overall rather grotesque sight was not what made Inuyasha freeze in his tracks. What had was the sight of the young woman the demon was holding by the neck, ready to cut her open as she desperately struggled to get away from it, though with little effect. A woman, or rather young girl, Inuyasha knew very well, though usually, her hair wasn't black and she definitely looked less human than she did now.
"Kagome!" Inuyasha yelled frantically as he finally regained movement in his limbs and jumped forward, his sword at the ready. "Get the fuck away from her!" he yelled as he swung the blade down vertically. The demon barely had time to turn its head to stare at the young priest as the sword connected, but to Inuyasha's surprise, it passed through the demon as it turned to black dust and swiftly flew around him, only to materialize behind him once again, the empty eye-sockets seeming to glow brightly as the yōkai's anger rose. Apparently, it didn't like being disturbed when it planned to eat, but Inuyasha hardly cared about that. Kneeling down and sheathing his sword, but still remaining ready to draw it again if need be, the black haired kannushi inspected the hanyō – although currently, it was no hanyō he saw, but a mere human girl. He made sure to see the demon from the corner of his eye, as well, though.
It didn't look like Kagome was hurt very badly. From what he could tell, she was merely unconscious. Knowing that relieved him, though he didn't allow himself to relax just yet. The fact remained that she was out cold for now, and even if she awoke, there was little she could currently do. She was human, and Tessaiga wouldn't transform for her because of that, and as for her bow, she didn't have it with her for some reason. Right now, she was as defenseless as any other unarmed human girl. She wouldn't be able to fight like that, that was more than certain. That meant that whether she liked it or not, she'd have to let Inuyasha protect her.
And protect her he would.
Seeing the half-demon like she was now, however, made Inuyasha angry for reasons he couldn't explain even if he tried to. All he knew was that he was mad beyond belief and that the reason for it was only a few feet off to his side, waiting for the right moment to strike, should Inuyasha lower his guard down for even a second. The young kannushi knew better than that, though, and he still kept a watchful eye on the demon even as he inspected the black haired girl who was usually the one to protect him. 'She's defenseless. And weaker than normal, since she's human. There's no way she could possibly have a chance against that thing… and it knows that. That must be why it went after her, like it did with all the other defenseless people in this inn,' Inuyasha thought angrily as he slowly stood up and faced the demon, cold fury shining in his violet eyes. 'Killing innocent people is bad enough. Killing them in the way this thing does is even worse. But going after Kagome… Trying to harm her was the biggest mistake this yōkai's ever made,' he thought, his anger rising with every second and his grip on his sword tightening as a result. 'It was its last, too,' he added, his eyes narrowing and glaring daggers at his opponent. Weirdly enough, however, even though he was madder than he ever remembered being in his life, he was also eerily calm at the same time. 'It was a mistake that I…'
"I won't forgive you," he finished his thoughts aloud through clenched teeth, the words seemingly meaningless and yet sounding like much more of a death threat than Inuyasha ever expected such simple words to sound. When the demon let out a sound akin to a laugh, Inuyasha scowled and ripped Seiryuu from its scabbard, fighting the urge to squint his eyes as the blade exploded with a light much brighter than he had ever seen, though he hardly felt the flow of power he was sure he should have been feeling. Ignoring this thought for the moment, the young kannushi lunged at the yōkai with one thought in mind. The thought that this time… this time, he'd do what he should have done since the first time he met the Inuyasha. This time, he'd be the one doing the protecting. And he wouldn't fail. 'This time, I'll protect you, Kagome. From now on, I'll fight by your side and protect you. I swear to you, I will!'
With that oath in mind, Inuyasha swung his blade down onto the demon, the bright blue light getting even stronger than it was before upon contact and hiding both demon and spiritualist from view, had any third person watched the fight.
XxX
Kagome cursed under her breath as she pushed herself off the wall she had been thrown into yet again. She had long since stopped counting how many times the chameleon in front of her had tossed her around as it pleased, since it was happening much more often than it should. 'Damn it,' she thought angrily as she rolled out of the way of the spiky tail before it could nail her to the wall, just barely managing to avoid it. Either she was slowing down due to fatigue and her injuries (which were minor, had she been in her true form, but unfortunately, she was not and she was feeling it), or the demon was getting quicker. It wasn't hard to figure out which was the correct option, though.
The chameleon screeched and tried to hit her with its tail again, as that was the only thing it could try, really, except for rushing at her. That tactic had proven less effective, however, so it opted to use the tail. This time, however, instead of avoiding it, Kagome raised both her hands, holding Kikyo's bow protectively in front of herself. As she expected, the tail of the yōkai slammed right into the protective barrier that didn't waste time to appear, though unlike before, Kagome could feel herself being pushed back. And was it just her, or was the barrier flickering?
'If only I had a real weapon, then I'd have at least some chance,' she thought angrily. As things stood, though, there was little she could do. Tessaiga was useless to her for the time being, as it was unable to transform and its untransformed state could hardly cut paper, let alone thick demon hide. And as if that wasn't enough, her arrows were useless, too, the chameleon's skin being too tough for the simple projectiles to pierce. If she had been a spiritualist and were able to infuse those projectiles with spiritual power, it would have been a different story. But alas, she was just a hanyō-turned-human, and at the moment, all she could do was hope to stay alive. The problem, however, was that she couldn't do that indefinitely, and she wasn't crazy enough to think she could hold out the entire day until her demonic powers returned. 'Damn it!'
Just then, the demon's tail struck the barrier once again and Kagome's eyes widened as in that same moment, one of the magatama on the bow cracked and broke away from the wood. The second it fell off, the protective barrier imploded and Kagome was basted against the wall again. She glanced at the demon in front of her to see it picking itself off the ground, apparently not getting out of the ordeal unscathed, either, but her eyes were quickly drawn back to the bow – a mistake she did for the first time in a very long while, for she usually knew better than to take her eyes off her opponent. 'What in the world happened? What's going on?' the young hanyō-girl questioned herself as she stared at the bow. The sound of heavy paws hitting wood forced her to look towards the chameleon again, though, and just in time to see it rushing at her, using her temporary distraction to attack – and it seemed to be moving faster than before, although that might just have been her imagination. 'Shit!' she yelled at herself, her mind already berating her for taking her eyes off her opponent as she threw herself to the ground to avoid the tackle. The chameleon crashed into the wall and ran half-way through it before it managed to stop, but that didn't stop it from flinging its tail in Kagome's general direction.
Luckily for the now-human half-demon, who had no time to evade that attack, the remaining magatama on the bow flared to life again as the barrier formed again, saving Kagome's life for the nth time in that battle. It seemed smaller than it was before, however, and the contact with it was definitely harming the yōkai less than it did before. Kagome frowned. 'It's like the spiritual energy of the bow is running low… like a fire that goes out when you're out of wood,' she thought grimly as she slowly stood up and retreated, the barrier thankfully staying in place until she was far enough to be out of danger. When it did, the demon brought its tail back to its body before slowly backing out of the wall and turning to face the black haired girl again. 'Could that be what's happening?' Kagome couldn't help but wonder as she regarded the yōkai in front of her wearily, trying not to show how this fight was tiring her out. Her human side really lacked stamina, she noticed not for the first time. 'If that's what's happening, then I'm as good as dead,' she thought and bit her lip. She wasn't scared, per say, but dying was never an appealing option. Sadly, as much as she might have hated to admit it, she needed help. Now. The problem was, however, that no one would come. The only two people that might have bothered to help her were both asleep, caught in a doze they wouldn't be able to wake up from until someone defeated the yōkai responsible for it in the first place.
Overall, the situation she had currently found herself in didn't look good.
[T]
'What do I do?' she thought desperately as she started to slowly inch back, for the first time in many years not knowing how to deal with the situation she had found herself in. Because really, what could she do? Running was out of the question. Fighting even more so. If she ran, the yōkai would just follow her. If she tried to fight, then in the current predicament, she'd only get herself killed. Unfortunately, those two options were her only ones, unless she planned on giving up. But that was out of the question. 'What in the world should I do?' she thought desperately as the chameleon screeched and charged at her again, only to have her dodge once more. But both knew this game of cat and mouse couldn't last forever, and it was more than obvious who would lose if they kept going at it like this.
Unwilling to give up, the chameleon went after her again, and kept doing it again and again, while she dodged this way and that, while desperately trying to find a way out of her current predicament, yet failing miserably at it. It wasn't long before the young half-demon had found herself backed into a corner with no more way out. If the chameleon could smile, it most likely would have at the moment as its tail flew towards Kagome. She didn't move, only brought up Kikyo's bow again, as it was her only means of protection.
The demon wasn't aiming at her, though, the spiky tail hitting something above her, instead. Surprised, she looked up, but did not see what the chameleon might have been aiming at. Looking up was her biggest mistake, however, for just as she did, something flew right in front of her, passing from one side to another like a swing would. It didn't touch or truly harm her… but it did hit the bow out of her hands, thus rendering her completely defenseless and with no way out. With another screech, this one sounding far happier than the previous ones, the chameleon ran at the black haired girl again, for the first time managing to make her freeze. 'Is this… how I'm going to die?' Kagome managed to think as she watched the chameleon approach her almost in slow motion, but unable to move to try and get out of the way. It wasn't like she had any room for another evasive maneuver, anyway. She was pretty much toast. 'Help…' she found herself thinking for the first time since she was but a little pup, the fear she would never admit to feeling taking the better of her as her human emotions overcame her rational mind, like they never would have in her true form. 'Someone help!' she thought desperately as the chameleon moved closer and closer. Some part of her knew, however, that thinking, or even calling aloud for help wouldn't make anyone come. This was how it would end. This was how she would die, whether she liked it or not. It wouldn't be long now. The chameleon had almost reached her.
Oh, how she wished she could have at least seen him one more time…
Her eyes closed as time sped up again and the chameleon, which was only a few milliseconds away from crushing her, suddenly started running at a normal speed again. 'Kōga-kun…'
Something exploded right in front of her as she thought of him and her eyes flew open when she heard another screech, definitely coming out of the chameleon's throat, but felt no pain of it crashing into her. Her eyes couldn't see anything through the sudden cloud of dust that rose suddenly for one reason or another. But she could still hear what was going on.
"Get away from my woman!" she heard a very familiar voice yell and her eyes widened in disbelief. Only one person ever called her that. Only one person would even think of ever calling her 'his woman'. But it was impossible for him to be here, wasn't it?
The dust slowly cleared and she saw him, an angry scowl on his face and he flew through the air gracefully before falling back down to the ground and delivering a devastating kick to where she supposed the chameleon was. She heard the tale-telling sound of cracking wood, an angry hiss and then the loud pounding of clawed reptile-feet on wood. The man who saved her slowly stood up and growled.
"Ran away, huh? Well, be lucky I don't have the time to follow you, scumbag," he growled as he flexed his fingers, all of which were sporting the same claws as Sesshōmaru's in his human form – short, but definitely deadly. It didn't bother Kagome in the least, however. She knew this man, after all.
[/T]
"Kōga… -kun?" she asked, disbelief heavy in her voice. He turned around without responding and her eyes met his, the rich blue color of the sky she still remembered and could always get lost in. He wore a frown on his face as he approached her.
He hadn't changed any since she last saw him, at least not that she could tell. His hair was still black, tied in the usual pony-tail, and still held by that brown bandana made of his own fur, and his chest was still clad in the same silver and black chest-plate. His shoulders were also covered by his fur, as were both his lower arms, his shins and his waist, and she was certain the tail she remembered was also still in place. Like any other demon in human form, he had pointed, elfin ears and really, the only thing that gave him away as demon, at least appearance-wise, were only his gorgeous eyes and his fur, the testimony of the wolf-blood flowing in his veins. The only thing that had somewhat changed was the sword tied to his waist. He had never worn one before, of that she was sure. One look was enough for her, however, to know what sword it was – it was the very sword she had given him for safekeeping.
The only other difference was his expression. Instead of the usual, cocky and yet happy grin, he had a worried frown on his face as he approached her.
"You aren't hurt, right?" he asked her as he reached out to grasp her arms as soon as he was close enough, his eyes scanning her for any injuries that might threaten her. She shook her head.
"No," she answered. "It's nothing that won't heal quickly as soon as the sun sets," she rectified. The ōkami in front of her breathed a sigh of what could only be relief as his hands slowly slid down to her elbows before he gently, yet urgently, pulled her into his embrace.
[T]
"I was afraid I'd be too late," he whispered to her. Smiling slightly, happy to see him and that he came for her, Kagome slowly rested her hands on his chest as she leaned into him, all too content to find herself in his arms again. She hadn't noticed how much she had missed him until she had actually seen him again.
"It's alright," she soothed. "You weren't too late. I'm right here with you."
"I was very close to being too late, though," the blue-eyed wolf replied gravely, his eyes hardening as he looked down at her, since he was about a head higher than her. "It won't happen again, though," he assured. "I will protect you, I swear. No one will lay a hand on you as long as I'm here," he assured, making Kagome frown slightly.
"You know I'm not a helpless girl," she replied as she leaned away from him to look into his eyes. "I can fend for myself."
"Not today," he replied, his eyes conveying what his voice did not. She could fight him on this if she wanted to, but she would never manage to make him change his mind. Hate it as she might, however, she had to admit he was right. That one day she really did need his help. For without a real weapon, what could she do? She huffed in frustration.
"I guess you're right," she admitted reluctantly before blinking in sudden surprise as a thought entered her mind. "What are you even doing here, Kōga-kun?" she asked as she looked up at him. "Not that I'm not happy to see you but…"
"I know," he replied, his eyes lowering, as if he were ashamed, the action causing Kagome to tilt her head in confusion. This wasn't how Kōga usually acted. He was not the type to show shame so openly, he was a confident and proud wolf-prince that yielded to no one. So why did he act like a scared puppy now, as if he were afraid she'd bite him? It just didn't make any sense. This wasn't how Kōga would ever behave, no matter the situation. "You wanted me to be here, so I came."
"Huh?" was all Kagome managed to utter in response at first, completely baffled at that kind of answer. "What do you mean by that, Kōga-kun?"
"You wanted me to be here," he replied. "You called my name. I responded to it and came. That's all there's to it."
"I don't understand," Kagome said. "I didn't call for you. So how could you know…" she didn't finish her sentence, somehow unable to admit aloud what both knew passed through her head a little while ago. She had wished to see him. She had wished she could have met him one more time before she died. She had wished she had sought him out before simply because she had missed him. Kōga didn't need her to finish that sentence, though.
"I just did," Kōga replied easily as he leaned down to rest his forehead against hers. "Just like I knew that if I went to that tree again, I would no longer find you there. And yet I had to go to make sure my instincts weren't lying. And when I was sure, I swore I would find you. Now I have. And I will not allow anyone else to touch my woman," he growled the last words, leaning away from her as he looked around wearily, as if he had heard the sound of someone approaching.
"Kōga-kun…" Kagome whispered as she allowed his words to sink in, his endearment not failing to make her feel warm on the inside like nothing else ever had, like it did any other time he called her 'his woman'. Some females might be insulted by hearing them, but not Kagome. Not a woman who had never expected to meet a man who would want her as hers.
When he turned his head back to her, satisfied that the chameleon was not coming back, she slowly rose on her tiptoes almost instinctively, her eyes slowly sliding closed. He was quick to catch on and lean toward her as well, but before their lips could meet in a long-overdue kiss, Kagome's eyes snapped wide open and she stepped away from the wolf, suddenly remembering the reason she had entered the inn despite being human and being scarcely armed, at that. 'Inuyasha…' she thought guiltily, realizing she had almost forgotten about him.
"I'm sorry, Kōga-kun," she said quietly as she turned away from the wolf. "But our true reunion will have to wait. There's something I must do first. A demon I need to kill. People I need to save," she said as she located her bow and slowly walked over to it. It wasn't the best weapon right now, but it was the only thing she had. It would have to do.
"The priest guarding the Jewel and the monk, right," Kōga said easily, rather than asked, his words making Kagome freeze. Slowly, she turned around and stared at him with wide eyes, her grip tightening in her bow as a sudden feeling of unease overcame her.
"How did you know?" she asked slowly. Kōga shouldn't know anything about Inuyasha or Miroku. So how…?
"I already told you," Kōga replied. "You called me, so I came. I came because you wanted me to be here. I know what you want and need me to know. It's as simple as that."
"I don't understand…"
"You really haven't noticed, have you?" the wolf-prince asked with a sigh. "I imagine that means you really are human for now."
"Noticed what? What are you talking about, Kōga-kun?" Kagome asked, wary and yet not fearing the wolf in front of her at all. Somehow she knew this was Kōga, yet at the same time also somehow knew it wasn't. It couldn't be. Kōga shouldn't know anything of Inuyasha or Miroku… or the Jewel, really. All he should know was that Kikyo guarded it once, and most likely that Kikyo had died. But what did he mean by 'I know what you want and need me to know'? Kagome just couldn't figure it out.
"Let me show you," the young ōkami replied, suddenly standing right in front of Kagome with his hands resting on her shoulders. She hadn't even seen him approach her. In the next second, the wolf-demon leaned down and captured Kagome's lips in a kiss, effectively making her eyes go wide as Kikyo's bow clattered to the ground once again. It wasn't long before the hanyō-turned-human relaxed, however, and her eyes closed as she responded to the kiss, her mind going blank like it always did in moments such as this.
And yet… somewhere deep down it didn't feel quite right. For some reason, she felt cheated. Like she was waiting a long time for something to happen, had almost gotten there, but it had then been snatched away from right under her nose. She didn't understand it. Why would she feel like this? Sure, she had once felt a similar wrongness, but that was because she had been in a dream, kissing an illusion the yōkai had made her see…
The Inuyasha's snapped open in realization just as Kōga pulled back and glanced at her sadly. Blue eyes met gray-blue ones, now shining with full understanding of the situation.
"You aren't really here," she said slowly, to which the wolf only nodded. "This isn't even a real inn. Nothing here is real. It's just a dream," she said slowly. "I wanted for you to be here, to help me, so you appeared. I need you to know about Inuyasha and the Jewel, so you know without me needing to explain anything… that's only possible if it's all a dream," she said as she stepped away from the wolf-prince. "I'm right, aren't I?" she asked, though really, it was more of a statement than a question.
[/T]
"Yes, that's exactly what's going on," Kōga, though it wasn't really Kōga but merely a figment of Kagome's imagination, replied. "And it's all that yōkai's doing. If we follow it and manage to kill it, you should be able to wake up, just like everyone else," he added.
"Right. Then let's take it down then," the temporarily human girl said determinedly as she once again picked up her bow. 'It makes me wonder when exactly I fell asleep, though,' she wondered as she slowly started moving towards the hole in the wall the chameleon had fled through. 'Especially since I hardly sleep deeply enough to dream…' she realized, then cursed under her breath. Of course, knowing that, she should have noticed sooner that something was off at the inn they have stayed at. Unless that inn wasn't even a real inn and was part of the dream also. Without knowing when you fell asleep, you can't really say what happened in reality, and what did not. 'Damn, this is so confusing… I hope Shippō is alright, though. He has to be. I won't forgive myself if something happened to him,' she thought, suddenly remembering the young kitsune that had mysteriously disappeared shortly after she entered the inn.
"Wait, Kagome," she heard Kōga say and turned around to see what he wanted, just in time to see a sword being thrown her way. She caught it reflexively before giving the wolf a questioning stare. He just shrugged. "I know you. I know you hate to rely on others. Hate it as I might, you won't just allow me to protect you. I'd feel better if you had a reliable weapon with you, just in case," he replied. Kagome nodded in both, acknowledgment and thanks as she tied Yougo to her waist right beside Tessaiga.
"Alright… time for some chameleon hunting," she said as both her and Kōga started their pursuit. Glancing at her companion from time to time, Kagome couldn't help but smile. 'This might be just a dream, and he might be just a figment of my imagination… but he's as close to the real Kōga-kun as an illusion can ever get,' she thought to herself. This would be enough… for now.
Although deep down, she knew that once this was over, she would start looking for the real Kōga. Their reunion was truly long overdue if she was already dreaming about him.
~ξ~
"What is that?" Kagome found herself asking a short while later. Since the inn was so small, she and Kōga had quickly caught up to the demon. The problem was, they didn't get to fight it, because the chameleon decided to flee again. This time, however, instead of running off into another room and leaving them to follow behind, the yōkai ran straight through the wall. That in itself wasn't very weird, however, where the hole left in the wall led was.
Normally, the young half-demon would have expected to see another room or maybe the outside on the other side of the wall. Instead, all she saw was an unsettling blackness, though whether it was simply due to lack of light or if it was some black vapor, she couldn't be certain.
"Wish I could tell you," Kōga replied as he slowly approached the broken wall, though he did not attempt to touch whatever it was that he saw on the other side of the wood. Kagome narrowed her eyes as she approached also. Since she was human, she couldn't smell anything fishy about the passage-like hole, nor did her senses warn her about anything weird, but that was only all the more reason to be cautious, since even if there had been something fishy about it, she wouldn't have been able to tell.
Whatever the case, however, the chameleon had gone through there. That left Kagome with two choices. Stay where she was and wait for it to return from wherever the Hell it disappeared to, or follow it. Given her current situation, had it been all real, she would have probably decided not to risk it and wait – after all, she had no idea what awaited her on the other side of this weird hole. But then again, all that surrounded her wasn't real. It was all a dream. So even if there was something dangerous on the other side, it couldn't possibly be as dangerous as it would have been in reality, or at least that's what she suspected.
"Maybe it's a passage," Kōga suddenly spoke up, bringing Kagome out of her thoughts. She blinked, then glanced at him briefly. He caught her glance and continued, without her having to ask. "Think about it. Why did you come back to the inn, where it is most likely that the yōkai managed to get you asleep?" he asked rhetorically, but didn't even wait for Kagome to open her mouth to answer, already knowing what she was going to say. "You came because the kit told you the other two slept like the dead and it made you worried. But except for us two, there's no living soul in this dream. If the other two are also asleep, though, they most likely dream, too…"
"…only their dream and mine aren't one and the same," Kagome finished when Kōga trailed off expectantly. But as soon as those words left her mouth, she frowned. "You said, though, that it wasn't me who dreamed up this place. It was that yōkai. That would mean it's able to conjure more than one dream at once and cross freely between them, wouldn't it?"
"That's what it would imply, yeah."
"Makes you wonder just what kind of yōkai it is," the young hanyō-turned-human wondered, biting her lip worriedly. She really hated to fight something she knew little to nothing about.
"You've never met a demon like that, so I can't tell you. I don't know things you don't know," Kōga reminded her, easily realizing that she had, once again, forgotten that he wasn't the real deal. Frowning, Kagome fought the urge to face-palm. 'Since he's a figment of my own imagination, created from my memories, he's exactly like the real Kōga-kun and I keep forgetting that he's not…' she thought somewhat wistfully, once again catching herself thinking that it was high time to find the real Kōga. She shook her head. 'Now's not the time to think about that,' she chastised herself. 'Now's the time to act before that demon gets to one of the others in that other dream.'
"The monk will be fine," Kōga spoke up again, not failing to read her thoughts yet again, though she learned to ignore it by now. He was formed from her mind, so it was really to be expected that he somehow knew what she thought. That's what she told herself, anyway. "It's the boy from the future we should be worried about," he added and Kagome nodded before slowly taking a few steps away from the hole in the wall, preparing herself to jump through. The longer she waited, the more chances there were of the yōkai finding Inuyasha. And despite the fact that the teen had definitely gotten stronger, Kagome still preferred to be by his side during a fight, even though admittedly, in her current predicament, she probably wouldn't be able to protect him very well.
"Let's go," was all she said as Kōga also backed up and they both jumped through the blackness, ready to take on whatever was on the other side.
It turned out, however, that there wasn't much to be prepared for, because they landed in a brightly lit, but completely empty corridor. Landing gracefully in a crouch, Kagome quickly scanned her surroundings, confirming that the room was indeed empty, before standing and turning to where Kōga should have landed beside her – only to notice that she was once again alone. Blinking, the young, currently human girl looked around, a little bewildered at this turn of events.
"Kōga-kun?" he asked the air around her, some small part of her hoping he would respond, be it either because she truly wished to see the real him again or just because she kind of felt better when she wasn't completely alone, she wasn't sure. Her only answer was silence, though, confirming that the wolf wasn't there with her anymore. And she was quick to realize that neither was Yougo, the sword he had given her. Sudden realization dawned on her and she bit her lip, slightly uneasy. 'The dream I've been in before… sure, it was the yōkai that made it all up, but it was still in my head. Kōga-kun and Yougo were a part of that dream that I created. But now… I'm not in the dream the yōkai created for me, I'm in someone else's dream. So it would only make sense that what I thought up in my own dream couldn't exist here. After all, I'm no longer in my own head.'
Thinking of it that way made the whole experience more surreal than it needed to be, Kagome realized, so instead of letting the thought linger, she erased it from her mind and concentrated on her surroundings.
The inside of the inn wasn't very different from her own dream, except for two, glaringly obvious differences: it was clean and bright instead of the dark corridors stained by traces of carnage that the inn of her dream had been marked by. The young half-demon frowned. Whose dream was she in now, Inuyasha's or Miroku's? Or were they maybe both here? Why was this dream so different from her own if it was the same demon that made them? Or maybe there were more than just one of them? 'I guess I'll only find out if I go take a look around,' she decided as she marched over to the nearest shoji door confidently, though she did not throw caution to the wind. She wasn't stupid enough to do such a thing.
She noticed fairly quickly that, in contrast to her own dream, the atmosphere at the inn in this dream was peaceful and nothing seemed to be amiss. That calming atmosphere almost had her dropping her guard and she had caught herself spacing out more than once. Cursing herself each time it happened, Kagome tried to fight the calming influence, easily noticing that this was what would be her greatest enemy in this particular dream, the yōkai she was chasing aside.
Without a doubt, it was exactly what the demon had wanted, too, and she could even understand why. A careless human was a dead human (and same went for demons and hanyō, really), after all, and she was fair certain that in this case, a dead human was a good snack. It probably would be an even better snack if said human was a spiritualist and carried the Shikon to boot, so it was probably safe to assume that she had found herself in Inuyasha's dream. She preferred it that way, too, somehow knowing that she didn't want to know what Miroku's dream would have been like.
As she soon found out, though, her assumption was incorrect; she was in Miroku's dream after all. But she had been right when she thought she didn't want to know what the monk dreamt about. Even if she suspected it (and her guess hadn't been far off, either), it was knowledge she could have very well done without.
'Of all the moments to open this door, why did it have to be now?' she wondered, but quickly realized that any other moment wouldn't have been any different.
The room she was currently peeking into was filled with women the likes of which Kagome would never stand – yūjo. And among the crowd of women was one, lone man with a glass of sake. It was, evidently, no other than Miroku, and he was currently busy trying to seduce one of the girls (probably asking her to bear his children while he was at it). Kagome face-palmed, trying not to let her annoyed disgust show on her face as she resolutely opened the door fully and stepped inside, intent of dragging the monk away by force if she had to. This was neither the time, nor the place for such antics.
The very moment she opened the door, however, one of the women whispered something into Miroku's ear and the monk was quick to not only turn his attention to her, but also follow her outside when she beckoned him to do so. And was it just Kagome's imagination, or did that woman smirk at her over Miroku's shoulder?
Frowning and feeling more than just a little suspicious of the yūjo who didn't act much like one, Kagome slowly followed them, trying to remain unnoticed by the woman – she didn't have to worry about the monk, since he only had eyes for the woman he was following. 'One day, that one track mind of his will be the end of him,' Kagome thought darkly as she slowly crept closer to the two, who by then had stopped. Of course, she wanted to remain unseen, but she also wanted to hear what was going on. After all, this was still the monk's dream and she had enough brains to leave him alone to his fantasies at least for a little while.
"I see," she heard the monk say and slowly peeked from behind the tree trunk she decided to use as her hiding spot. Miroku was in front of her, he'd just have to turn his head slightly to see her. His whole attention was on the back of the woman in front of him, though. Kagome frowned as she got a closer look at the girl. She looked young, but that didn't mean anything. Yūjo started to work rather young, after all. What had the hanyō-turned-human suspicious was the kimono the girl was wearing. 'That's not something a common yūjo would wear, no matter how wealthy she could possibly get with all her customers,' the currently human girl thought, listening intently to what Miroku would say next. She was not prepared to hear what he said next, however.
"You're the princess of a very prominent clan, then," the monk said, almost making Kagome fall to the ground in surprise. 'A hime?!' she thought with wide eyes. 'Miroku-sama… your fantasies are very ambitious, aren't they,' she thought dryly, but continued to watch the events unfold. The young woman Miroku was conversing with nodded slightly.
"But my clan was ruined by war," the girl said, her voice sad. "And I am the last survivor of my House." 'Reminds me of another hime,' Kagome thought sadly, her eyes falling to the ground as her mind wandered to another princess she had once known. Only in that case, it hadn't been war that had destroyed the house – or at least not war with another Lord. What had destroyed her mother's house was an inside war. A war Kagome and her father had been the origin of.
"In order to restore my family, I wish to bear the child of a strong lord," the hime's voice brought Kagome out of her rather depressing reverie and she couldn't help but stare at the girl. Of course, if all that was happening in front of her eyes were real and not a dream, she would have been surprised that the woman chose Miroku at all, since he wasn't exactly a 'strong lord'. He was a houshi – he looked like a wealthy one, sure, but a houshi nonetheless. As it was, however, Kagome was only surprised that the monk wasn't all over the woman yet, since she was so willing. It was all a dream, after all, so the monk should use it. Such a situation would never happen in real life, of that she was certain.
As if reading Kagome's thoughts, Miroku smiled at the woman, despite the fact that her back was turned to him. It wasn't one of his seducing smiles, though. It was rather a confident one, since the woman was already his, anyway, and willingly, too.
"So you sought me out," he stated, rather than asked. "Such a fine taste."
He wasn't allowed to say anything more, however, for the princess had turned around and ran to him, her arms wrapping around the monk in a hug as she hid her face in his chest. Kagome smiled slightly from behind her tree at the scene. 'Somehow, I really don't feel like shattering this little fantasy of his…'
"Will you heed my request?" the princess asked quietly and Kagome almost laughed at that question, barely keeping herself from revealing her presence to the monk and his hime. 'Believe me, he'll be more than happy to. And he'll be very disappointed once he wakes up,' she thought and was about to turn away to give them some privacy – it was Miroku's dream and he deserved living through his little fantasy while he could before she barged in and shattered it all. She couldn't wait too long, however, she still had a yōkai to find, and as she was now, she admitted that Miroku's help would be appreciated.
Before she could look away, however, something happened that made her eyes widen in surprise and she immediately reached for Tessaiga. The only problem was, the blade would not transform, since she was human, and so, there was very little she could do right now.
She worried for nothing, however, for Miroku wasn't moved at all. It was almost like he saw beautiful princesses grow giant mantis-arms from their back on a daily basis. The monk merely sighed in a disappointed manner.
"I thought it was too good to be true," he said calmly before pushing the woman away and hitting her in the face with his shakujō for good measure as he jumped back. The yōkai in disguise grunted before quickly shedding the human skin, revealing its true form easily as it attacked Miroku with a giant arm. The monk jumped back again, easily evading the blow. "A giant mantis disguised as a woman," he sighed and Kagome could almost believe he was berating himself. 'I bet this reminds him of the story of his curse,' she thought, now a lot calmer and deciding to stay back and watch. She hadn't ever really seen Miroku fight a yōkai on his own before, except that one time when he engaged her, so she was curious to see how he'd handle himself. She had no doubt he'd be fine, though, for unlike Inuyasha, he was used to fighting and was also trained in using his powers.
"I devoured the insides of the real one!" the mantis replied, a laugh hearable in its voice as it struck again. This time, instead of retreating, Miroku jumped forward, actually managing to jump high enough to step onto the mantis's face before he jumped again in order to get behind it. Kagome blinked in surprise. 'Not bad at all,' she thought, truly impressed. She would have never expected such a feat from a human. From a demon, yes, it wouldn't be anything surprising. But a human capable of something like that was rare – it was even her first time seeing something like this, and she'd seen a lot of humans fighting yōkai.
"You picked the wrong victim!" Miroku yelled as soon as he landed, his left hand moving to the beads sealing his kazaana. Before the yōkai could answer anything, the Wind Tunnel was opened and the demon was gone within mere seconds. Kagome watched the mantis disappear into the void of the monk's hand through narrowed eyes, fighting the urge to close them completely because of the wind.
It only took mere seconds for the demon to cease to exist. However, right before it vanished completely, Kagome managed to see some sort of black cloud seep out of it and quickly flee into the inn. She turned her head to see where it was headed and, more importantly, what it even was, but it was too fast for her human eyes to follow. She bit her lip.
When the wind stopped, signaling that Miroku had closed his Air Rip, Kagome slowly turned around again to face him and decided to make her presence known.
"After seeing that, I can't help wondering how you'd have fought it without the Air Rip, Miroku-sama," she said calmly as she walked towards the monk, whose had had snapped up from glaring it his cursed hand when he heard her. "For hating that curse so much, you sure seem to rely on it a lot."
Miroku remained silent at first, merely studying her. It was obvious he was wary, but Kagome wasn't really fazed by it. It didn't last long, either, as the houshi was quick to realize who she was, despite the difference in appearance.
"Kagome-sama?" he guessed, his voice sounding much more surprised than she had expected it to. She nodded her head before looking away, ignoring the sudden smile that appeared on Miroku's face. "I must say, I thought you were stunning as a hanyō but…"
"Spare me, pervert. I've had enough of hearing your compliments," the hanyō-turned human easily interrupted. Miroku shot her a mock-hurt look in response and opened his mouth again, probably to make a big show of 'her hurting his feelings', but the black-haired girl didn't even allow him to get started. "Do you really think that just because this is a dream, I'll suddenly fall into your arms, Miroku-sama? Or is it that you really wish so much you could have me?" she asked sarcastically, effectively killing the joking light in the monk's eyes. Instantly, he became serious as he regarded her with an only slightly stunned expression.
"What do you mean, Kagome-sama?"
"You mean you haven't noticed?" she repeated the very same question she had been asked not so long ago. When Miroku didn't answer, she sighed and sat down on a nearby rock, motioning for him to sit beside her. Much as she wanted to hunt down the demon who had gotten them into this dream, she really didn't know what it was or how to deal with it. And while Miroku might have been human, he was also a very knowledgeable monk, so there was a good chance he'd be able to figure something out.
It had only taken her a short few minutes to explain the situation – not that she could explain much, because she really hardly knew what was going on herself. When she finished, Miroku had a pensive look on his face as he stared straight ahead.
"Tell me, Kagome-sama, did you manage to fight against this yōkai at least once?" he finally asked. Kagome blinked in surprise at the sudden question after the longer while of silence, but recovered quickly.
"Yes, I did."
"Did anything strange happen during that confrontation?"
"Except someone showing up to help rather suddenly, no, I don't think so…" the young hanyō replied slowly. But even as she said it, something tugged at her mind. As if she was forgetting something. But what?
"You do not sound too sure of yourself," the houshi pointed out, causing Kagome to snort.
"That's because I'm not," she grumbled. 'But I wouldn't have forgotten it if something weird had happened, right?' She was quite sure that if it had been important, or overly weird, it wouldn't have slipped her mind. So whatever she was forgetting couldn't be that important.
"How did you even fight it? Inuyasha told me Tessaiga wouldn't transform for a human – and dream as this may be, you're human right now. So how did you fight it?"
"I used my bow," she replied easily, the mention of said weapon making warning bells sound in her head. 'Wait a minute…' "Something did happen, now that I think about it," she said suddenly and turned to face Miroku. "My bow… it felt like the spiritual power Kikyo filled it with weakened. The barrier it was supposed to make had gotten weaker as the fight dragged on." There was that, and the fact that the magatama had started to break off.
"I feared as much," Miroku replied gravely. "I think I know what it is we're dealing with, then."
"In that case, enlighten me, Miroku-sama, because I'm not fond of not knowing what I'm up against."
"A Baku."
"A what?" Now, Kagome was officially confused – well, more than he was before, anyway.
"I am not surprised you don't know what they are. They tend to avoid contact with other yōkai or hanyō. It is even believed Baku are unable to establish contact with any creature other than a human," Miroku replied, his voice taking on a wise tone. He was probably entering what Inuyasha had once referred to as 'true houshi mode', though Kagome didn't really understand what the future born teen had meant by that.
"OK, fine, but knowing that doesn't help me much, either," she scoffed. "Be clear, Miroku-sama. What is it we're dealing with?"
[T]
"A yōkai that exists only in the realm of dreams," the Monk replied, completely none-pulsed by Kagome's short show of temper. "Baku don't exist in the real world. As such, they don't interact much with the real world, either. But they're still living beings, like any other demon, human, or other living creature.
"However, quite logically, they can't eat anything from our realm, since they don't exist in it. They find their food in the dreams of humans."
"So they are spirits of dreams… that devour dreams(1)?" Kagome asked, trying to verify if she was understanding him correctly. If she was, it didn't sound like much of a dangerous yōkai at all. If it was just that, they could patiently wait until it ate its fill and left them to wake up in peace.
But she should have known things are never that easy.
"Alas, no. They use people's dreams to get to their food, but it's not the dreams themselves that they eat. They won't find their food in just any human's dream, either," Miroku replied slowly, obviously uncomfortable with what he was about to say. Kagome bit her lip, somehow knowing she wouldn't like what she was about to hear, but didn't press the monk for an answer, knowing he would finish his explanation. And she wasn't disappointed. "They feed on reiki and houriki."
Dead silence met Miroku's admission as Kagome tried to make that thought sink in. 'A demon that feeds on spiritual power? How could than even possibly work?' she wondered. After all, just because they were in a dream didn't mean a spiritualist's power could just be taken like that, could it? It belonged into the real world, too, and Miroku had just said that Baku couldn't eat what was outside of a dream, because they didn't exist outside of a dream.
"How can that possibly work? I may not have spiritual powers myself, but even I know that reiki and houriki are very much real. They exist outside of the human mind and dreams. Both are part of our realm. So how could Baku possibly eat them through dreams?" she asked, even as something else kept nagging at her mind. Something that didn't make sense, though she couldn't put her finger on what it was at first.
"It works pretty easily, actually," the monk replied. "Baku are still demons. As such, they hold powers most humans can't resist, so it's easy to pull someone into a dream. From there, they create a dream the victim wouldn't wish to wake up from, a dream that you somehow know isn't true, but do not wish to see vanish, either. So you allow the dream to envelop you, until it becomes almost like reality.
"From there, all the Baku have to do is turn the dream into your worst nightmare, and their food is delivered on a silver platter. After all, a spiritualist is trained to remain calm no matter what happens, because it is through remaining calm that we keep our powers in check when we don't need them. The times a spiritualist doesn't control himself perfectly are times when he needs his powers, anyway. Through creating such situation, the Baku are pretty much able to draw every drop of energy out of a houshi or miko," the young monk explained, his expression grave. Kagome narrowed her eyes.
"Fine then… but why did it drag me into this dream? I'm no human, much less a spiritualist. So why am I here, monk?" she finally asked, deciding to leave the question that was nagging at her the most (the idea of something that didn't make sense which she couldn't put her finger on aside) for the end – she had a feeling she wouldn't be able to sit still once she heard the answer.
Miroku remained silent for a while, most likely trying to figure out the same thing. Finally, he glanced at the currently human Kagome out of the corner of his eye.
"Kagome-sama," he started, his voice cautious, as if he wasn't certain if it was a good idea to say what was on his mind. Kagome raised a brow in question, a sign for him to continue talking. He obeyed. "Are you, by any chance, a human in the real world, as well?"
She hadn't been expecting that question. As far as she was concerned, it had nothing to do with what was happening right now. But then again, she might have been wrong.
"I am," she answered slowly, regarding the monk wearily. 'He's bound to find out I turn human once a month eventually, anyway. And it's not like I'm telling him why it's today and not any other day,' the told herself, trying to not make too much of a deal of revealing that little bit of information. "Why do you ask, Miroku-sama?"
"And you said you have a bow that is infused with spiritual energy?" The monk continued, disregarding Kagome's question. The hanyō-turned-human blinked a couple of times, before finally confirming. Miroku sighed. "Then I believe the Baku had felt the power of the bow and thought it was your own. It mistook you for an actual miko and dragged you into the dream. And since your youki was dormant at the moment, you weren't able to fight it."
Another moment of silence followed that hypothesis before Kagome nodded.
"I guess that would make sense," she admitted. "But all you've told me so far, Miroku-sama, was how the Baku managed to get his prey asleep. You have yet to tell me how we can actually get out of this mess and wake up," she added after a moment of thought, pinning the monk down with a questioning stare. The perverted priest laughed a little uneasily.
[/T]
"I believe all you have to do is wait until you regain your youki, Kagome-sama," he replied with a light smile – one that Kagome couldn't help but think was hiding something she should know. "The Baku cannot control other yōkai or hanyō, so as soon as your youki returns, you'll be able to fight off the Baku's hold on you."
"And what about Inuyasha and you," the young hanyō pressed when Miroku never mentioned himself or the other spiritualist in the group. The monk sighed.
"Well, we're human, so there's no hope like that for us. The only way for us to wake up would be to defeat the Baku…"
"…and you can't fight it, since your spiritual powers are useless against it," Kagome finished for him. She didn't receive an answer, but she didn't really need one. What she had pointed out was obvious since the moment Miroku revealed what the Baku feasted on – although how a yōkai could eat reiki or houriki of all things, both of which should actually purify it, she'd most likely never comprehend. Sighing slightly, Kagome stood up and stretched, fruitlessly trying to expand her senses to have some idea if the yōkai was anywhere near. Needless to say, it was useless, since her human senses weren't anywhere near strong enough for her to be able to tell such a thing. She grumbled inwardly in frustration, the emotion only slightly showing on her face.
"Well then, before we go hunt down the yōkai, tell me one more thing, Miroku-sama," she said as she looked at the monk over her shoulder. "I'm not asking to know what to do if that were to happen, I'm merely curious… but what'd happen to you or Inuyasha in this dream if the Baku manages to devour all of your spiritual powers?"
Miroku's answer was calm, though he was possibly the only person who could have responded to her question like he was telling her about the weather. And as much as it impressed her, it also scared her somehow, because as far as she was concerned, no living creature should be able to say this calmly and with such obvious acceptance what Miroku had responded with.
"Our spiritual powers are tied to our soul. If the Baku eats all of it, we'll die," was all he said.
(1) Baku – I didn't actually make it up. A Baku (貘)is a spirit of dreams that, in Japanese folklore, is capable of eating nightmares and turning them into good dreams. It's usually portrayed as a being with the trunk and tusks of an elephant, the eyes of a rhinoceros, the tail of a cow, and the paws of a tiger – though more and more often, its chimera-like characteristics are less pronounced, so it looks somewhat like a tapir (and 'Baku' also means 'tapir' in Japanese). It is also believed that, aside from devouring nightmares, the Baku also ensures that one's first dream on the New Year is favorable and auspicious.
Well, that's it for this chapter. Tell me frankly: who expected Kagome to fall asleep as well? *looks around expectantly* And who expected the yōkai to not exist in the real world at all, merely in dreams? *looks around again and laughs* Got you there, didn't I? LOL
Well, I hope you enjoyed it. I'll see you guys in the next installment :]
On another note... Gosh, can you believe it? It's almost the two-year-aniversary of this fic (just a few more days, on the 29th) :D Time sure flies by, doesn't it... Thank you for all the support so far, I wouldn't make it this far without you guys :) I hope you'll help me see this fic through to the end, too :D I'm counting on you, as much as I hope you count on me to update :)