Chapter 7: Boat Problems
Hopefully I can begin updating regularly again! I'm really excited for this story and hope you all enjoy where I'm going to take it!
Not to my surprise, I was woken up by Inuyasha demanding that we continue our journey. Shippo led the way, of course, seeming to be somewhat confident in his directions. I hoped he was right. The sooner I get this jewel, the sooner we all get to get back to our lives.
"Hey monk, since you're on this island, shouldn't you know where Limestone Cave is as well?" Inuyasha mumbled. It was clear that he didn't trust Shippo to be accurate. Even if he has been told where the cave is, remembering how to get there from the beach we ended up on seems to be a bit hard for a child.
Miroku shook his head, "This island is quite divided. These paths within this forest work to keep villages apart. Human villages and demon tribes don't like to interact. However, having this forest allows for all of us to live relatively harmoniously on the island."
"Keh, so I guess you didn't venture far out of the human side." The captain's remark seemed a bit condescending. Almost suggesting that Miroku was too afraid. I could tell Miroku sensed his tone, as well.
"Well, my friend, what would I have to gain by not respecting our borders?" A soft smile grew on his face. Miroku was quite the calm and collected type, "If I venture out there, I could lead petty demons back to the villages, causing havok. My job is to protect the people from demons who enter our towns, not to go pick fights."
Inuyasha quieted for a bit. I guess he didn't quite bet on Miroku being able to respond to his immature remark with such maturity. But then I realized something about what Miroku said.
"W-wait. So we're entering demon territory? Since I'm human, they'll just want to kill me?" My insides panicked a bit. I could handle this hanyou, but a bunch of scary demons coming after me? That doesn't sound so pleasant.
Miroku put a hand on my back, "Do not worry, beautiful princess. Demon territory, much like human territory, is separated into their tribes. If we're careful, we won't walk into any of them and will run into fewer demons."
He moved a bit closer to me, "And if we do, fair maiden, I will protect you!" His promise of protection soothed my fears for about a second, before I realized his hand had reached lower and lower...
*Slap* "PERVERT!" I walked away from him and towards an angry Inuyasha.
"Listen, monk. Don't ever touch Kagome, got that?" He threatened, growling a bit. His fists clenched and I was surprised he got that angry over a man sexually assaulting me.
However, the monk quickly waved both of his hands in the air in defense, "I apologize, my friend. She's just a nice sight and, well..." He put his hands down and got a bit serious, "A curse was placed on my family. All sons will be born with a hole in their hand. A dark hole which sucks in everything around it..."
"What's that gotta do with you gettin' extra friendly with the princess!?" Inuyasha demanded, "And don't turn this into some dumb sob story just so I get outta your face. It ain't gonna work."
Miroku sighed, "Well, the curse sounds a bit like an awesome weapon at first." He lifted his right hand to show us how it's wrapped up, "A nice hand that can suck in all enemies? It sounds so useful. But, the more you use it, the more it grows. And it will eventually consume me."
I was a bit confused. I admit, I did feel for the guy. A cursed hand that'll suck you up? It sounds pretty bad. But as far as good defense for his perverse actions, it didn't really make sense.
However, the monk began looking up at the sky passionately, "But the curse can be destroyed if the one who cursed me is defeated! And I have been awaiting his return...However, on the off chance that I cannot defeat him...I must find a beautful woman who will bear me a son."
I blushed a bit. He touched my butt as an attempt to seduce me because he wants me pregnant?
"My son will then fight off the demon, as well. And the curse will be lifted." He looked back down at me, "Now, Kagome, we don't have to have the baby until after you're done with your journey, but-"
"I'm not having a baby with you!" I shouted. He had me for a second. I did feel pretty bad for him. But if girls had babies with guys just because they feel bad for them, well, there would be a lot of problems with that.
Inuyasha yelled at him for a bit. Although, it was weird seeing him this protective of me. I am the key to his mission and I am the weakest one here. But did he really think Miroku would impregnate me and steer me away from helping him get the jewel from Limestone Cave?
We traveled more after the Miroku incident. I thought a bit about how separated the island was. And then thought about how two humans were traveling with a fox demon and a half demon. Perhaps not all of the demon tribes despise humans. Clearly Shippo doesn't hate me at all. And Inuyasha travels with full humans on his ship.
I thought a bit more about the island before thinking, "Wait, didn't you say there was a human village full of demon-slayers that we're traveling past? If we're on our way to the demon side of the island, why would we need to pass a place like that first?"
Miroku had said that the reason he didn't know much about Limestone Cave was because its on the demon side and he stays on the human side. What's up with that?
Shippo hopped onto the ground in front of me, holding up one finger in the air and sustaining a grin on his face.
"I told you that the demon slayer village was destroyed, right?" He started, "Well, why do you think they were such easy targets? The people in that village had a bone to pick with one of the demon tribes. The centipede demon tribe to be specific. I don't know much about why, but I do know that they wiped out nearly all of those demons, but the demon queen destroyed everything!"
So a demon slayer village created a base right next to their enemies? That seems a bit crazy. I wonder why all of these villages don't adopt a protection spell against demons like my kingdom does?
"Keh, they're lucky other tribes didn't infiltrate their village! If the centipede demons are still lurking around by the time we get there, I'll take good care of them." Inuyasha snickered, cracking his knuckles almost like he was anticipating a battle between them. I wondered for a bit if Inuyasha enjoyed fighting, or if he just enjoyed winning. As a half demon who got banished by his full demon brother, he must struggle with feelings of inadequacy. Maybe he needs to prove his strength just to show himself that he's not as worthless as his brother made him out to be.
As the day passed us, Inuyasha lifted Shippo and I onto his back in order to get further faster. I didn't have much of a problem with it. In fact, it was nice watching nature pass me. He ran so fast it felt like time itself had sped up.
"I'm surprised Miroku can keep up so well." Shippo whispered, "It's almost like he's a super human."
Miroku was only a few feet behind the hanyou, and he didn't even look tired. I guess all that warrior training really paid off! Still, would his village be safe without him there to protect them? Are there others like him?
I guess it wasn't really my business. But I was still curious about him. A curse that will swallow him whole? An impoverished village? He really had a lot to worry about. But then again, I guess all three of these guys have something unfortunate that haunts them. Shippo is an orphan. And Inuyasha lost pretty much his whole family, too. And I'm just the spoiled princess tagging along. I really don't know real trauma the way these guys do.
"The village!" Inuyasha smirked. I looked up to see the ending of the forest approach us almost like the end of a chapter in a book. And beyond the peaceful trees was the remnants of a horrible disaster.
Inuyasha and Miroku slowed down until stopping as we arrived into the old demon slayers village. Shippo and I got off of his back in order to take a better look around. Not one house was left unmarked. Roofs were missing on some. Some looked like the foot of God stepped down on them. Wood and debris were scattered around the cursed ground all around us. I guess even though I knew the village was destroyed, I didn't expect to feel so sad. The ghosts of the dead seemed to thicken the air around us. They seemed to whisper like the wind.
"May the souls of this tragedy rest in peace." Miroku prayed, bowing his head.
"Keh, they asked for it." Inuyasha shook his head, "I ain't saying it's not sad or anything. I'm just saying both sides wanted the blood of the other."
Maybe we did pity them more because it was a human village. After all, would we pity a demon village that was destroyed by humans? Probably not as much. I guess we're conditioned to feel worse for our kind. Even when they're half to blame for what happens.
"Look, guys!" Shippo announced, frantically pointing, "Someone buried the dead!" I looked over to see a series of bumps in one area of the village, each one with a single, dying flower at the top. Whoever buried them must have not had any gravestones. So they just laid them all on the ground and coated them in Earth until they were completely covered by it. The way the ground rose would help them remember where they were buried.
"Someone must have come to pay their respects." I noted, "You said this disaster happened a while ago, so someone must have returned afterwards. But the flower is dying, so they must not have come too recently."
"Someone must have survived this." Miroku sighed, "But they never returned to any of the human villages on the other side of the forest. News would have spread about the survivor."
That is quite odd. They must have been able to survive outside of the village for quite some time. It doesn't look like anyone's even tried to rebuild this village even in the slightest bit.
"Enough about this damn tragedy." Inuyasha sighed, "For our sake, it's better that we set up camp now. That way, we're fully rested when we go trottin' around in demon territory."
"Inuyasha is correct." Miroku nodded, "It'd be more dangerous to fall asleep in unknown territory. This place seems uninhabited. We probably won't be bothered."
We found a house that wasn't completely destroyed. It had a giant hole in the roof, but the inside just consisted of fallen stools and dust. A few swords and other weapons were still hung up on the walls as well. Most other ones seemed as though a tornado had swirled around inside them, leaving even pieces of wood and a few human bones left.
We didn't talk much before going to sleep. Although, I didn't find it too weird that we easily ran out of things to talk about. We're all still strangers. Inuyasha sat, leaning against the walls. Miroku actually laid on his back in a corner, opposite of the captain. Shippo stayed between Miroku and I, curling up into a little ball. I was closest to the hanyou. But I don't think that was on purpose.
Every time someone shifted, the wooden planks on the floor creaked, like a nasally voice crying out into the night. It kept me up for quite some time, although my eyes remained closed. I imagined a ghost lurking around, moving as soft and slow as air, feeling as lonely as the moon. Still, I knew that in order not to be a total burden, I needed my rest. So I cleared my head and fell asleep.
A loud roar interrupted my slumber, and all four of us jumped up quick to figure out what it was. Could it be a ghost? Was some spirit angry that we took refuge here? Oh no! We're gonna die!
"Looks like we've got a visitor, and I've got a good idea who it is." The captain pulled his sword from his sheath, and gripped it tight. Could he really be thinking of fighting a ghost? Can he fight a ghost? Or maybe it's a zombie, so since they still have their human bodies, they could be destroyed.
Inuyasha and Miroku both ran out of the hut, determined to fight our attacker. I panicked a bit, along with Shippo who jumped on my shoulder, before slowly taking steps outside.
I gasped to see that it was no ghost at all. Her lower half was that of a centipede, having hundreds of small little legs that curled up on the ground as her upper half hovered over the hanyou and the warrior monk. The upper half looked like a woman. She had a flat, pale belly and even breasts! Her face had beady eyes and her long black hair flowed over her shoulders and fell along her six arms, three on each side.
"It's the queen oof the centipede demon tribe!" Shippo cried out, shaking. I'm not sure if I prefered her or an angry ghost, but, given her large body and the very possibility of being crushed by her, I was starting to prefer the ghost.
"I am Mistress Centipede." She shouted, "I have destroyed this village once. And I will destroy anyone who threatens my tribe."
"We ain't no demon slayers, lady." Inuyasha responded, still gripping his sword, "And we got no interest in challenging your stupid tribe."
She widened her eyes as she noticed the dog ears on Inuyasha's silver haired head, "Oh? A half-breed? Traveling with these two humans? There is no end to my entertainment. Still, ye who takes refuge here must be destroyed. And I will win."
She lunged at the captain, who leaped into the air and onto her lower half, effectively dodging her attack. I pondered running into the house and grabbing one of the weapons on the wall. Still, I don't know how to use any of them! I'm so useless!
"Ka-Kagome, what do we do?" Shippo asked, clearly terrified of such a huge demon. He's just a kid. Even if he's a demon, he probably doesn't stand a chance.
I decided to take him back inside to grab a weapon. At least if she comes for us I won't be so defenseless. I didn't want to stay inside in case she destroys this place. The fallen pieces would surely crush us.
I ran back out. One of her arms had been sliced off and was lying on the ground, still moving. Miroku jumped up and ran his sword through the skin of her face. While he did injure her, she managed to use one her remaining arms to throw him into one of the standing houses. It fell apart on top of him, surely rendering him unable to fight.
Shippo and I wasted no time running over to him. I hoped to God that he wasn't dead. We both began lifting the planks of wood one by one to try to find him. His face was the first to be discovered, and it felt like successfully finding a needle in a haystack.
"Miroku! Are you okay?" I cried out, doubting that I would get an answer. If he wasn't dead, he was clearly unconscious.
I began frantically picking up and throwing the planks of wood around to uncover the hurt warrior monk. Even if his bones are broken, he could still be alive.
I could hear Mistress Centipede screeching behind me. Hopefully, Inuyasha was strong enough to take her. I was in no position to protect myself from her rage. And neither was Shippo.
By the time we pulled Miroku's body up out of the rubble, he regained some consciousness. I was so relieved that he was alive. But he could barely move.
"The wound from my sword did a number on her face." He mumbled. I looked over to see that the mark was much larger than I expected. The sacred powers from his weapon must have hurt the demon much more than any normal sword could. Miroku slowly raised his arm, revealing the sword still in hand.
"If I could just cut through her with this..." He said, "Just cut through all the way..."
"You're in no position to fight." I said sternly, taking the sword away from him. It felt oddly light in my hand. I turned to witness the fight. Both Mistress Centipede and Inuyasha looked exhausted. He managed to slice off two more of her arms, but he was pretty scratched up as well.
"What is this?" She murmured, turning her head towards me. Her beady eyes focused on the spiritual sword in my hand, "You, priestess, want to challenge me with that damned weapon, as well?" Huh? She thinks I took the sword to try to fight her? She must feel threatened by its power!
She lunged towards me and grabbed me by my neck, lifting me into the air. From my hand, she snatched Miroku's sword and swallowed it whole, grinning.
"The toxic waste within my body will surely kill off any of the powers that pathetic weapon has." She laughed, gripping me tighter, "Priestess, you will meet your doom, just like the rest of your foolish gang."
"KAGOME!" Inuyasha shouted, rushing over to help. But she kept gripping me tighter and tighter.
"N-No..." I croaked out. I could barely breathe. I lifted my hand up to her face in an attempt to shove her away from me. But she just grinned.
Then, it happened. From my hand emitted a bright, white light. I didn't know what it was, but I do know that she let go of me immediately and I dropped down into Inuyasha's arms.
What was that? Did I blind her? Confusion filled my head the same way water fills a glass. Maybe there was a bit of the sacred powers from the sword in my hand that triggered an attack when I came in contact with her face! It had to be that.
I looked up to see that the skin on her upper-half had completely melted off of her bones. Her body fell to the ground with a loud thud. I was relieved but still confused and concerned over these last sequence of events.
"Are you okay?" Inuyasha asked in a low voice. I nodded my head and he put me down
"If we don't cut up these remains, this damn bastard will eventually just regenerate." He grabbed his sword and began slicing at the demon's limp body until her remains were scattered all around us.
"Kagome, that was amazing!" Shippo cheered, hopping back onto my shoulders, "You destroyed that demon with just one attack!"
"One...attack?" I questioned. Does he think that bright light was all me?
"Indeed." Miroku said, "No one told me you were a priestess. But by the looks of it, no one told you either."
A priestess? Not this nonsense again. There is no way that I could have these sacred powers everyone keeps saying I do.
"Uh, I told her." Shippo said, "I could sense her aura from the beginning!"
Sense my aura? Could Inuyasha sense something, too? No... He would have said something in the beginning. What point would he have in keeping it a secret? This is all too much for me to handle.
"Listen, I'm no priestess. Just a plain ole princess!" I retorted, "What happened must have been that I absorbed some sort of spiritual energy from your sword and when I touched her face, it triggered some attack. I'm no priestess at all."
Miroku, Who was still sitting, leaned up against the rubble, just shook his head, "That beam of light was stronger than the sword itself. There's no way leftover energy could do that. Perhaps when you came into contact with the sword, your priestess powers awakened. And, in your panic, you were able to activate some sort of sacred power to protect yourself."
This is ridiculous. "How can I be a priestess when no one in my family is? It's not in my blood!" Nope. I don't want to be a priestess. I just want to be Queen Kagome, ruling over my kingdom. Don't priestesses end up dead? Like Midoriko? And that woman Myoga told me about! What was her name? Kikyo?
"Inuyasha? Did you sense it, too?" I asked, turning towards the man who had stopped chopping and had become a statue of himself, perfectly still.
He didn't answer at first. Just stayed quiet.
"Why didn't you tell me?" I demanded. Was I really a priestess? Could I really have these powers?
"Listen, Kagome..." He started, "You have a life in your castle. With your family. I don't care what powers you have. Being a priestess who fights off demons just shouldn't be in the books for ya. You clearly didn't know. So I wasn't gonna tell ya. And I made sure the demons on my crew didn't either."
Wait, he did this for me? Or was he just minding his business?
"I see." Miroku added, "The captain didn't see it fit for a princess much like yourself to feel the pressures of having these priestess powers. Most priestesses dedicate their lives to vanquishing evil demons who seek to dominate humans. Having these gifts could make someone feel inadequate if they didn't use them in the noble way other priestesses do."
Inadequate... Oh man... Do I have a duty to vanquish evil? I don't even know how to control these powers. Luck was on my side this time, but there's no way I could put up a fight against other evil demons. Not like Midoriko.
Inuyasha slid his sword away, "Listen, Kagome. You got no business out in the world fighting the bad guys. You've got no training or anything like that. And there's no one here who can help you learn. After this ends, just let Miroku take you back."
Was he worried for my safety? There's no way this guy cares about anything besides his ship, his crew, and this damn jewel! So, why does he care what I do? Maybe he's scared I'll turn against him or something...
"Well, these powers of yours really came in handy, at least." Shippo said, hopping back on my shoulders. "I'm happy your a priestess. Otherwise, you'd just be dead." I guess he was right about that.
"Let us not dwell on this much longer. I think Kagome still needs some time to process everything." Miroku said, "Besides, it's still pretty late and we have a lot of ground to cover tomorrow."
He was right. If it wasn't for Mistress Centipede, we'd still be sleeping.
Everyone got back inside and took the same spots they were in before. Luckily, this place didn't get hit by the demon queen's strong attacks. Still, I couldn't imagine going to sleep right now. There was just so much on my mind.
Miroku and Shippo were snoring in no time. But I knew Captain Inuyasha was still awake. I don't know how he does it, but he stays up for most of the night. Almost like he's guarding us or something.
"Inuyasha..." I whispered.
"Shouldn't you be sleeping, girl?" He responded, keeping his eyes closed.
I didn't know how to say this, so I just went for it, "I-I want to be strong. I don't want to feel so helpless again... Teach me how to fight?"
He paused, "You must be out of your damn mind."
"There are weapons on the wall. I even went to grab one when the demon appeared... Maybe, if I can't use my powers, I could learn to use a sword."
I didn't hear from him for a few seconds. Maybe he doesn't want to bother training me. Or maybe he is scared of me using my powers against him.
"Get some rest and ask me again in the morning." He finally said, "If I train you, I want you to be up and ready to handle it. It ain't gonna be easy."
Maybe he wasn't scared of me. All this time, could it be that he's been concerned for me? Maybe this pirate can care about someone else besides himself and his interests. But am I really up to this challenge? Who knows. But I guess that's something I'm gonna find out tomorrow.
I closed my eyes, cleared my head, and let myself fall asleep.
Did you like it? Remember to rate and review! And don't worry, pirate Inuyasha will continue to remain a relevant part of this story. Just needed some character development! Can't wait to keep writing!
Hope everyone enjoyed this!