As the sun started to rise, I woke up. Seeing that everyone was still asleep, silently I made my way from in the old hut to outside. Rays of the sun's light barely lit up the sky from behind the mountains in the distance. Still feeling a bit tired, I walked from the open field towards the thick, dark forest. The forest top hardly had any openings allowing none of the slowly rising sun's light in, causing it to still look as though it was night. Squinting my eyes to see, I slowly walked towards a pond hidden within. Kneeling, I slipped a hand into the water to test the temperature and shivered; the water was cold. Quickly, I cupped my hands, shoved them into the freezing water, and threw them up to splash the water on my face. After repeating a few times, I removed a white cloth I had tied around my upper arm and used it to dry my face. I then placed the cloth on a low hanging branch to dry for a moment.
Feeling more awake, I took a moment to examine my reflection. Long, silky, black hair looked as though the wind had blown it in every direction. My short yukata reached only a few inches above my knee. It had no sleeves, allowing easier movement during fights. White, metal bracers trimmed with a rose gold covered my arms below my elbows. The white, cotton yukata was trimmed in the peach and had butterflies of the same color decorating the right side towards the bottom. The obi tied around my waist was also peach and had a bit of rose gold color to it.
Sighing, I ran my fingers through my hair in an attempt to comb it so it would look somewhat decent. Once satisfied, I withdrew a ribbon from a small pouch on my backside and used it to tie my hair into a ponytail, causing my hair to now reach just a little above my waist. "It's getting time to cut it again," I noted. Looking up to see that the sun rose enough to let a good amount of light shine through the forest, I decided to head back and wake whoever may still be asleep. I made sure to grab the cloth from the branch and tied it back around my upper right arm.
Walking through the trees, my mind seemed to wander towards Sesshomaru. I hardly know anything about him, but it would seem I am extremely interested in him. The reason for it, I do not know. Sure, he is gorgeous, however, that has nothing to do with how I feel. There has to be more to him than he lets others see. Perhaps I cannot stop thinking about him because of that. The strong curiosity to know causing me to keep thinking of him until I figure it out.
What if there was nothing more to him than what people say? No. I feel as though that is completely wrong. Whatever the case, I will simply have to wait and see. Emerging out of the forest, I head towards the hut to join back with my comrades.
==OOO==
"All right! I got the wolf scent. I'll follow the scent and get them without fail!" Inuyasha quickly dropped on all fours and began sniffing the ground. "That cocky bastard! Calling me a 'mutt'!"
It has been a few hours since we left the hut. Inuyasha has been tracking Koga's scent which leads us to a canyon. We are currently walking along a path on the canyon's side. Well, Kagome, Inuyasha, and I are walking. Shippo is on Kagome while Sango, Miroku, and Kirara are flying around.
"I don't blame him for getting upset at being called a 'mutt.' But he sure looks like one," Shippo muttered while watching Inuyasha crawling around on the ground.
Inuyasha quickly stood up and faced us. "What?! Say that again, Shippo!"
Shippo decided to hide behind Kagome and I couldn't help but giggle. "You can't blame him Inuyasha. You are on your hands and feet trying to track Koga. Besides, Shippo is a child. Calm down and go easy on him. By quickly being angry and yelling at the top of your lungs, you are acting no better." Not giving him a chance to react, the others land near us. However, I instantly go on guard when I see that the three of them are all serious.
"You're too slow, Miroku! Where've you been," Inuyasha hollered.
"Inuyasha-," Miroku began to say before being interrupted by Sango.
"Everyone, look up!"
We all turned to look towards the top of the canyon's side to see a huge pack of wolves running down towards us. A few of them quickly pounce on Inuyasha, knocking him off the cliff. Two more groups attack Sango and Miroku each. Pulling out my katana, I stand in front of Kagome, ready to protect her in case any wolves try to attack. Koga leaps up from inside of the canyon, landing behind Kagome and me. He quickly grabs her, throwing her over his shoulder. As I try to quickly spin to rescue her, his other arm wraps around me and he quickly jumps in the air towards the other side of the canyon. As these events happen, I lose grip on my katana, causing it to fall to the bottom of the canyon. I quickly hear our friends call out after us.
"No! You're not reaching it! We're gonna fall," Kagome shrieks as Koga's feet hit the other canyon side and begins to run up it.
"Stop screaming! You're hurting my ears," he yelled.
"I will scream as much as I want!" Kagome continued to scream.
"Kagome! Please stop! Even I can barely take your screaming," I shut my eyes tight and hold my hands over my ears.
Koga continued to run up the cliff side and leaped into the air once more when reaching the top. After landing, he glanced back and smirked. "That'll teach him! No one can keep up with my legs."
Kagome glared at him, "Of course not! You have Sacred Jewel shards! When you cheat, you don't get bragging rights!"
"She does have a point," I add in.
No longer focusing on us, Koga's body becomes stiff as he looks into the air. Large moving shadows with wings appeared on the ground. Kagome stared at the shadows confused. "W-what? A bird? But isn't it awfully big for a bird?"
"It's not a regular bird, Kagome," I state as I look up at the flying creatures. A swarm of bird yokai circle us high in the air.
Koga glared at the yokai with anger. "Those stupid birds are gathering to come after me. Good timing… Oi. Now look hard. Do you see any among them with Sacred Jewel shards?"
"Jewel shards? No... None of them have any." She looked at Koga confused.
"So… None of 'em have it, huh? Then I've got no use for 'em." He began sprinting at a high speed again. "So long!"
Within no time, we lost bird yokai and soon made it to a waterfall where more wolf yokai came out to greet us. Just like Koga, they all looked human and were wrapped in fur. As they approached us, they looked at us like we were food. I gulped. Kagome would probably be spared due to her ability to sense shards. Me on the other hand, there was no reason to keep me alive. He doesn't know anything about me so what purpose is there for taking me as well? Actually, that is a really good question. I can't believe it's just running through my mind. Why the hell did he kidnap me too? I recall our first encounter and mentally gasp. Perhaps he wants to kill me for how I talked to him!
Koga greeted his men and began walking towards the waterfall. As we begin to enter, I try to get a glimpse of the outside. Afterall, chances are that I'm never leaving this cave. Not alive anyway. When we fully enter the cave, more yokai and wolves greet him. It's not long that they take notice of us.
"Hey, Koga! Tasty-looking prey!"
"Lemme have some of the girl in orange!"
Instantly, I froze and prepared myself for death. Then Koga spoke, confusing me even more. "These women are not food! I'll kill anyone who takes a bite outta them!" He walks over to a flatten haystack and drops us on it. As I ponder over what it is used for, wolves walk up to Koga and began sniffing his tail. He grabs his tell and lifts it, revealing a dazed Shippo holding onto it. "I forgot he grabbed onto my tail when I took them." He grabbed Shippo and threw him to the ground. "Here! You can eat him!"
The small kit panicked as wolves circled him. "Kagome! Kimiko!"
Kagome quickly stood up and ran to Koga. "Hey wait! You want my help, don't you? If you lay a land on Shippo, I refuse to help you!"
Wasting no time, I joined Kagome at her side. "Forget her not helping you! If anyone dares to harm any of them, I will skin you and your wolves!"
He chuckled at me and looked at Kagome. "That makes it easier for me then." He walked towards the wolves and picked one up. "Hey, move! What… You guys put on weight again! All of you are eating too much!" He moved the wolf to the side and grabbed Shippo. Turning towards us, he flung Shippo. "Here!"
She caught him and tried to soothe the small kit. Before I could check on him, more tribe members walked in carrying two of their comrades. "Move, move! We've got injured! Make way!" They placed them down in the center of the cave. While the tribe surrounded them, Koga made his way to them and started to look at their wounds. "Them again," he asked.
"Ya… They were suddenly attacked during guard duty. Only these two managed to escape. The others fell off the cliff," a male with grey and black hair answered.
Together, Kagome and I made our way to them. "Such terrible wounds... Who did this," she asked as she looked at Koga.
"You saw them earlier. They call themselves Birds of Paradise, but they're our natural enemies. This is their doing. They swoop down silently and capture our comrades with sharp talons."
"Then what do they do?"
"They eat them. Wolf bones are scattered around their nests." Koga walked towards the haystack and sat down. We walked towards him, but I was the only one to sit down with him. "One among the Birds of Paradise possesses a Sacred Jewel shard. He's faster than we are… he even killed 20 of our wolves in one swoop. They were never this strong before." He turned his gaze from his injured comrades to Kagome. "So it must be the power of the Sacred Jewel."
"That's why you want me to find which one has the shard."
He nodded. "We'll attack their nest and steal the shard. We won't make senseless sacrifices. We'll attack that one bird, with the shard. Got it?"
"All right, I'll do it."
"Wait a moment," I chimed in. They both switched their attention to me. I looked at Koga with a confused expression. "It's clear why you took Kagome, but why me? I cannot sense the jewel shards. The only thing I could do would be to fight, however, your tribe easily should be able to out power me."
Smirking, "Truthfully, you're here because of the stunt you did. No woman, let alone a human, has ever challenged me like that. I'm curious to know more about you." He leaned in close and sniffed me before returning back to his spot. "Plus the fact that there is something about your scent the I can't put my finger on..."
Awkwardly, I rub the back of my head. Choosing to ignore the thing about my scent, "Why would you be curious to know more about me?"
"I need to know all the types of traits you have if I am going to consider you to be my woman."
I stared at him in shock. "Y-Your woman?!" I started to wonder if it would have been better if he wanted to kill me. My life would probably be a lot simpler.
==OOO==
It's been about an hour since Koga said he was leaving to go on patrol. Currently, we are still inside the cave but the rest of his tribe is standing guard at the entrance. I'm good at fighting, but there is no way I can take out a whole tribe without a weapon. That's not even including the fact I would have to try to protect Kagome and Shippo. Speaking of Shippo, I did not see him. Turning around to look behind me, I saw Koga.
"Stand please," Shippo's voice said. He cleared his throat and said with more force, " I mean stand!"
Kagome looked at him frightened until she realized it was actually Shippo. Together we stood and walked in front of 'Koga'. As we got closer to the entrance, one of the tribe members decided to talk to 'Koga'.
"Hey, Koga! Where are you taking them?"
"I'm taking the women out for some fresh air. This place smells like animals," Shippo said trying to act normal.
"Hey, Ginta! Hakkaku! Accompany Koga."
"What are you talking about," another one asked. "All three of them went out on patrol an hour ago."
"Wha- then who was that."
As we stopped at the entrance, wolves went up to Shippo, sniffing his tail, and then quickly biting it. The pain cause Shippo to release his transformation and cry out. The tribe quickly got up and started closing in on us. After pushing the two of them through the waterfall, I grabbed a spear that was on the ground and ran behind them. Kagome quickly came to a stop as she came to the cliff's edge. The sudden stop almost made me crash into her.
"Shippo, you can fly, right," she asked.
"Yes, but I can't with both of you. Nor could I with just one!" He stared at Kagome with worry. She grabbed him off her shoulder and threw him off the cliff. Within a few seconds, he changed into a pink ball and started to fly away. Seeing this, one of the men throw a chain towards Shippo. Throwing the spear, I manage to get it tangled in the chain to prevent him from getting Shippo.
"Get Inuyasha! Hurry," Kagome calls out as he continues to fly away.
"You tricked us! I'll devour both of you!" As the man charged to us, a dead boar fell from the sky and onto him. Confused, everyone looked at the top of the mountain and saw Koga.
"What did I say about eating them," he roared.
The man begs for Koga to forgive him and the others continuously ask Koga to let them go after Shippo. He ignores them and jumps down, landing in front of us. Placing hand on his chin, he gazes at us. "Just to let your friend escape, huh? All right, decided! Both of you shall be my women!"
His men instantly began to protest along with Kagome. Shaking my head, I sighed. Koga is as hard headed as Inuyasha. There is no way nothing I say or do will make him give up on us. The sound of a hard slap brought me out of my thoughts. Looking up, I see a red hand print on Koga's face and a frustrated Kagome.
"H-hey…It's rude to claim a girl as your 'woman'. Besides, I already have someone I'm seeing," she stated while blushing. I could help but to stare at her. Obviously, she was talking about a certain inu, but were they actually at a state to claim such a thing? Or was she trying to get him to let go of his claim? Either way, saying that about Inuyasha was a bad idea. Yokai will compete when it comes to a mate.
"Seeing? Not that dog-face."
"My sweetheart has a name, Inuyasha! Stop calling him dog-face!"
"I see, so that's it? Well, it's just as well. Next time I see him, I'll kill him. After he is dead, there will be no problem." He casually picked up the boar and turned towards the cave.
==OOO==
Koga decided that we should attack when the sun got close to setting. When the time came, we all went to the bird's nesting area and hid. As Koga asked if everyone was ready, I stared at my weapon. It was a spear. Silently, I wished for my katana which most likely rests at the bottom of a canyon thanks to wolf boy. A spear is not difficult for me to use, however, I mainly trained with a sword which may cause me not to be as great in battle.
Before we could try a surprise attack, the enemy spotted us and circled around. Koga ordered for everyone to go and attack. He took Kagome so they could find the jewel shards. Currently, I was fighting off one of the birds. Swooping down from the sky, it rushed at me. Deciding to lose my weapon, I threw the spear and stabbed the beast through one of the eyes that were on its main body. Jumping out of the way, I barely avoided being hit as it crashed into the ground. Walking towards it, I examined the yokai. The body was round with wings and bird feet. The center of it had a huge face and a blue human-like figure coming out from the top. Seeing one of the tribe members struggling, I grabbed a spear the yokai held and ran to help. As the male struggled on the ground from a broken leg, the bird swooped down to land a final blow. Standing in the way, I held the spear tightly and used it to keep its mouth pried open. Grabbing the male's weapon off the ground, I stabbed it repeatedly until it dropped dead.
"Kagome!"
Fearing the worse, I look quickly to her direction and see Inuyasha running to her. Kagome runs to him and hugs him tightly. Sango and Miroku land by them on Kirara's back. Smiling at the sight of my friends, I run to them. "Sango!"
They turn to me and Sango seems relieved that I am okay. As I get halfway to them, their expressions turn to one of horror and begin screaming at me. Not given enough time to react, one of the birds sink their claws into my shoulders and fly into the air. As I struggle to get free, it decides to let me go. Falling from the air, I scream. I'm not falling back to the top of the mountain. I'm falling to its base.
Not wanting to watch as I fall, I shut my eyes tightly and pray.
==OOO==
On a dirt road that splits a forest in two, an imp walked alongside a two-headed dragon that carried a small girl on its back. The girl smiled as she hummed to herself while the dragon followed behind her lord. A few days had passed since Lord Sesshomaru had saved her life. Or rather, had given her another chance at it. When wolves had attacked her village, she was killed. She doesn't remember much about being dead. However, she likes to think her soul found her parents and brother in the afterlife for a short time. She wouldn't lie if someone asked if she would wish that they too could be resurrected. Yet, she knew such a thing was not possible and easily accepted that fact.
Rin focused back on reality when she noticed her lord had stopped, causing the imp and dragon to stop as well. Before she could speak, a loud rumble came from within her belly. Until now, she did not realize she was hungry.
"Jaken," Sesshomaru commanded, "take Rin into the forest to get some water. There is a river not far from here towards the east." He then disappeared into the forest, going the opposite way.
"Y-Yes my lord," Jaken bowed even though his master was long gone. "You heard him, girl! Let's go!" After watching the girl dismount, he followed his master's instructions. The imp cursed to himself. He would rather be with his lord rather than tend to the little human girl. The fact that she was allowed to follow them baffled him. She was human and that automatically placed her below him and his lord. He felt that the girl should be overwhelmed that she was given such a chance. Jaken stopped and thought that maybe if he left her in the forest and told Lord Sesshomaru that she wasn't coming back, it would be the end of that. As he snickered to himself, Rin called out for Jaken. No longer daydreaming, he panicked and looked around for her. She was no longer behind him.
"Where did you go you insufferable-"
"Master Jaken! Over here," she shouted worriedly. Realizing her voice was now in front of him, he quickly ran, arriving at a river. "Master Jaken! Look!" Turning to his right, he saw the girl crouching down by something. Walking closer, he realized that the something was actually a someone. A woman to be exact.
"Rin! What are you doing?! Get away from that!"
"Master Jaken, I went ahead when you stopped and talked to yourself. When I got here, I saw this lady washed up from the river." Rin looked at the woman sadly. "She's not breathing."
Irritated that the child has yet to listen to him, he began to rant again. "Insolent ch-" A rock hit him from behind his head. Yelping in pain, he turned to yell at whoever threw it. "L-Lord Sesshomaru!"
Sesshomaru glared at his servant before walking towards Rin. He went to find something edible for his ward but came running back when he heard her yelling. If asked, he would deny that he felt a little relieved she was not hurt. "Rin." Instantly the girl moved away from the body. About to tell his group to continue onward, he stopped and stared at the dead woman. Recognizing the yukata she wore, he knelt down and turned her over. Seeing her face confirmed that it was his brother's companion. He felt irritated that she was dead. He had been wanting to question her and it would seem he would not be doing so.
"Are you going to save her too, Lord Sesshomaru?"
"Don't be foolish, girl," Jaken huffed.
As Sesshomaru stood, Tenseiga pulsed. Having changed his gaze from the woman to his sword, he watched as it pulsed again. He unsheathed Tenseiga and saw demons appear around her body. With a quick movement, he slashed the demons and sheathed it once more. While Rin looked at Sesshomaru in awe, Jaken was shocked. Within a few moments, the woman began to breathe and started coughing. Weakly, she turned over, barely pushing herself up with her hands. Trying to make sense of her surroundings, she looked up at who stood in front of her. "S-S-Sesshom-," she collapsed and fell back unconscious.
Even more shocked than before, Jaken stuttered. "Y-You know her my lord?"
I 've been so excited to get to this point! I just hope this chapter doesn't seemed rushed.
Please review and let me know what you think so far! Also, tell me what you guys are hoping happens next chapter or at some point within the story!