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Itty Bitty Pretty Ten
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The cave was carved into the muddy brown rock of the cliff, the copious vines draping over the entrance arranged in such a way that it would be difficult for the average passerby to spot. Luckily for the pair attempting to find it, they were not the average passerby. As Kagome and Inuyasha approached the ominous cave mouth filled with impenetrable darkness and an almost overwhelming demonic aura, they both desperately wished they had gotten more of an explanation as to exactly was going on.
"So are they inside or….?" Kagome whispered anxiously as she slid off Inuyasha's back, "Before she, uh, passed out, she'd mumbled about a cave, a hill and a day. This is a cave which is on a hill and it is daylight so chances are it's gotta be this one given that demonic aura. I'm afraid to purify it. What if her family isn't human?"
"Well at least one parent's gotta be a demon," Inuyasha huffed as his fingers idly rapped the hilt of Tessaiga, "From scent alone I can smell at least one human in that cave and another….maybe a half demon but I'm not sure."
"Well there's only one way to find out," Kagome sighed as she placed her ten ton backpack onto the ground and began to rifle through it as she mumbled to herself, "Soap. Clothes. Ramen. First Aid. Flashlight!"
Holding up the flashlight like it was the lost sword Excalibur Kagome grinned and lowered it once more as she tested it out and got to her feet, "Okay, let's go."
Walking slowly through the musty, damp cave, the beam of her flashlight was all but enveloped and lost in the thick, almost tangible darkness. It was quiet. Too quiet inside these stone walls. Their steps echoed ominously as they ventured further until all of something sparked to life up ahead, lighting up the claustrophobic tunnel and bathing the entire cavern in a flickering orange glow.
"Who goes there?" a weary, elderly sounding voice suddenly called out from seemingly all around them, "We know you have come."
"Well there's the demon parent," Inuyasha muttered as he withdrew his sword – hesitant to attacked first after what he'd done to the demon's offspring mere hours before, "Let's just hope they're friendly."
"My name's Kagome," the miko called out as warmly as she could given the circumstances, "Your, uh, daughter told us about you."
"Did she now?" the elderly sounding man chuckled skeptically, "Are you the savior she seemed so confident about or have you come to pray on an old man?"
"Neither," Kagome answered as she stepped a little closer to Inuyasha and drew her bow, "She's, uh, got injured and, uh, asked us to save you."
Grimacing at the lame finish, Kagome held her breath and Inuyasha's hand flexed on the hilt of his sword as they waited for a response. Finally, the old man sighed heavily - his frustration clear in his voice as he whispered back quietly, "She's not my daughter."
"Shit," Inuyasha muttered under his breath as his hand firmly gripped Tessaiga - ready to draw whenever ready, "Well if she's not your daughter then who is she to ya? She got involved with a dark priestess and we're trying to prevent your whoever the hell she is to you from getting in over her head."
Sighing heavily, the voice murmured something inaudible before a young boy suddenly emerged in the flickering light - a small knife in his hand and his stance obviously ready for a fight. Even through the sludge and grime that stuck to the boy's skin, it wasn't hard to tell that his face and arms had more abrasions than a knocked about stray mutt. They could see his skin stretching over cheekbones like a thin tarp over a rail – as though it'd been quite some time since he'd eaten a good, hearty meal and yet he stood there like his physical state is nothing, like he was ready to take charge with that small knife in his hand.
"Why are you so interested in helping us?" the small ebony haired boy spat out, "My sister is a half-demon. One word from me and she'll come in and turn you all to dust."
"I very highly doubt that," Inuyasha spat out exasperatedly, "Put that stupid knife down before you hurt yourself."
"Over my dead body!" the boy responded acidly, "Now answer the question, why do you want to help us?!"
"We're part of a small group that helps people like yourself," Kagome responded kindly - still having her bow at the ready just in case, "I'm a miko, he's a hanyou, and our companions..."
"A monk, demon slayer and fox demon right?" the boy finished breathlessly as he lowered his weapon, "You're that group I've heard about."
"Um, I guess. I didn't realize we were so well known," Kagome responded awkwardly, "So can you tell me what happened here? Why do you guys need our help?"
"Okay, so some forty or so years ago my mom married a human," the boy answered - the words tumbling out of his mouth in a rush ignoring the old man's protests behind him, "Well it was all fine until about a year ago when these jewel shard things suddenly appeared. My mom's mom - I'm adopted - anyway, my mom's mom was this demon witch who would make these clay soldiers and stuff and she wanted my mom to help her again but apparently they weren't close so when she found out my mom had married a human all hell broke loose and she cursed my mom, dad and grandfather so she could steal my sister. I was with my sister at the time and so we weren't affected but my, uh, grandmother I guess never came back to take my sister and so we've been trying to figure out how to save Grandfather ever since."
"What happened to your parents?" Kagome asked softly as she lowered her bow - ignoring Inuyasha's disapproving growl, "Where are they?"
"Well my mother was furious and so she left the cave to go confront her mother but the moment she left the cave she just kinda dissolved and when father went to help her he dissolved as well," the boy answered quietly - his face falling as he bit his quivering lip, "So my sister and I've been trying to...to..."
"So the old man is human?" Inuyasha interrupted suddenly, "It's just a curse."
"Yeah, but Emi - uh, my sister - said she found someone to help us," the young boy sighed heavily before adding awkwardly, "My name's Kenji."
"Nice to meet you Kenji," Kagome cooed as the tension in her muscles relaxed, "This won't take but a second, alright? I'll shoot a purifying arrow and it should break the spell then you and your grandfather can leave."
"It won't hurt him right?" Kenji responded anxiously, "It'll just break the spell?"
"It shouldn't hurt him," Kagome soothed, "Once we're done here we'll take you to your sister."
Inuyasha set his jaw and gave Kagome a side-eyed glare as he took a step back to allow her more room to fire her arrow. Why the hell would she take these people to see their daughter or sister or whatever the hell she was to them when he was the one who tore her to ribbons?! This seemed like an utterly terrible idea but they had come to help so fuck it.
"Alright, on the count of three. One." Kagome knocked her bow, "Two." she pulled it taught, "Three." and she released the arrow in a flash of pink light. Almost immediately, the grit and grime that covered the cave walls dissolved revealing a soft tan granite and much to the miko's disgust an elderly man pulled himself out of a particularly gruesome looking sludge pile with a mighty gasp for air.
"Kenji!" the elderly man gasped as he tried to right himself and turned a weary eye onto the newcomers, "Are you alright, child?"
"Yes Grandfather," Kenji whimpered as he looked upon the human visage of the man he never thought he'd look upon again, "See this has to be the group I was telling Emi about. They have to be them."
"What do you want in return?" the elderly man asked wearily as he pushed the small boy behind him, "If it's money you want, I regret to inform you we have none."
"No, truly we're fine. Your, uh, granddaughter is injured but the others from our group are taking care of her. Do you have some way to travel?"
"By foot," the elderly man answered tersely - concern evident all over his face, "How did you arrive here?"
"I carried her," Inuyasha responded in an affronted tone, "Got a problem with being carried by a half-breed like me?"
"My granddaughter is a half-demon you half-wit," the grandfather clipped angrily as he straightened himself up to his full height and glared at the youngster, "Why on gods green earth would you think I had a problem accepting help from someone of your lineage when my granddaughter is much like you?"
Blinking rapidly, Inuyasha gave the man a once over before shrugging, "Well, uh, let's get out of here then. She's not doing too well last I saw."
It was a strange thing for the poor hanyou to realize that not every family who had a hanyou born into it would love it unconditionally, especially after being cursed by the demon parent's family. Indeed his own family - if you could even call them that - had been intent on wiping him from the face of the earth just for being born. All that man's statement served to accomplish was to make him feel more ashamed of his actions and more like a bastard than he had felt mere seconds prior.
Slowly, the four made their way to the cave entrance - blinking sluggishly into the bright afternoon light and each taking a deep breath of the non-musty air. Just as the grandfather took his first gulp of fresh mountain air, he gasped and reached unsteadily for his ankle just as his grandson did the same. Amber eyes widening in alarm, the hanyou rushed to catch them as they swayed dangerously - lowering them safely onto the ground - before turning frightened eyes upon Kagome when that bitch's all too familiar scent finally hit his nose like an almighty slap.
"Kagome! Watch..." Inuyasha cried out as he rushed forward to carry her out of harm's way...just a moment too late as she experienced an all too familiar sense of deja vu before something bit her ankle and the world went dark.