Disclaimer: We do not own any Final Fantasy or Inuyasha characters. Instead we own the story plot and any good one liners.
Chapter 4: The Visitors
"Hentai!" screamed Sango after being groped by Miroku for the third time that day.
After Kagome and Inuyasha had stormed off, Sango, Miroku and Shippo had decided to stay in the camp. They had been relieved that they were now allowed a short rest as a result of the consistent fighting between Kagome and Inuyasha. Sango was now tidying up, putting away the mats and placing the left-over food in a container.
As she was bending over to put away the chopsticks, Miroku had unfortunately decided to place his hand, ever so subtly, on her rear. He was rewarded by a large smack to the face.
"Ow," he exclaimed, rubbing the sore spot. Kirara purred contently beside a tree, opening one eye to survey the damage. Shippo rolled his eyes, never fully understanding Miroku's choice in actions.
"It serves you right Monk!" Turning her back on him, and stomping over beside her faithful companion Kirara, she slumped against the tree and glared across at him.
"At least I'm not chasing any woman at the moment." Miroku retorted.
"At the moment," intervened Shippo.
Miroku sighed in defeat and continued what Sango left unfinished. As he was placing everything in Kagome's bag, a sudden, loud snap caught his attention. He straightened quickly, turning to see Sango already in her fighting position. But before any of them could grab their weapons, a man with strange yellow hair erupted from the forest, pointing a huge spear in their general direction.
"Alright," he bellowed, "I don't want any answers, just questions!!"
"Erm, I think you fucked up that line man." A big, burly, dark-skinned man muttered, while a tall, red-cloaked figure followed behind him.
Both Sango and Miroku's hands had paused midway to their weapons, their faces utterly bewildered.
"Erm, it's ok, I'll take it from here." a spiky haired, black clad man walked forwards, lowering the blonde's spear.
"Alright!" he yelled, pointing his own sword at the group. But before he could say anything, the big man jumped forwards.
"Alright! Where are you and who am I?" Barrett's eyes widened as he heard Cid snickering in the background and realised what he had just said. "Shit," he muttered, lowering his head in defeat.
Stepping forwards, Miroku addressed the first two to appear. "Ok, I have some questions to your answers," he directed at Cid, "But unfortunately I'd like to know who you are just as much as you do." he smirked, turning his attention towards Barret.
Before Barret had the chance to disembody the one he presumed was a monk, their pet "cat" suddenly grew in size. Everyone was bewildered as to why she chose to react now. The answer became clear when a slightly smaller, red-furred, lion-like beast appeared. Growling menacingly he moved stealthy into the clearing. His eyes never strayed from Kirara. Like an experienced hunter his whole body had become tensed, ready for battle at any moment. His mouth, which had begun to foam, gave him the appearance of a rabid dog.
Miroku and Sango, who previously were unnerved by the unexpected company, suddenly felt their lives become threatened. It was moments like these they wished for the overly cautious Inuyasha. But now all they could do was wish for his return. They hoped it would by swift.
"Nanaki!!!" a clearly enraged woman bellowed while emerging from the undergrowth. "You make us seem like a bunch of rapacious wanderers!" She rebuked sternly, frightening practically everyone in the vicinity.
Reluctantly he eased up on his frightening posture, resuming a more calming demeanor. As he sat there observing the occupants, his eyes never strayed for long from Kirara, the one he later was told the name of. There was something about her that gave him an uneasy feeling. Later he will find the meaning of this uneasy augury.
"Sorry I'm late; I got left behind by this bunch!" exclaimed the black haired woman. "By the way, I'm Tifa." She gave a large smile which, if the atmosphere wasn't so tensed, would have men drooling over her. A moment of silence prevailed as the sudden epiphany hit her. She was the only one who had introduced herself and had actually been kind.
Miroku, seizing the opportunity to announce himself to a beautiful lady, stepped forward and took her hands in his. "Lady Tifa," he said his voice full with emphasis. "It is to my utmost delight to meet someone as wonderful as you….and your companions. My name is Miroku and I am a Monk travelling with many. Firstly" he pointed towards Sango, "This is Sango, and to your left, Shippo. Lastly Kirara, our valiant demon."
Tifa smiled kindly, his suave talk amusing her. After what she had been through previously, a bit of cheering up was welcoming. "Thank you Miroku. I apologise earlier for Red XII's behaviour."
"Don't worry," Miroku replied. "If I was travelling with a lady as beautiful as yourself, I would be down on my knees too growling at any impostor."
Red XII emitted a growl, and Sango, standing directly behind Miroku was fuming with anger. Walking menacingly towards Miroku, she interrupted the conversation briskly. This was in the attempt to save Tifa from Miroku's notorious - and most likely soon to be last - line "Will you bear my children?" as well as jealously for Miroku's ignorance towards her. Was she not beautiful enough for a man to growl on the ground for her? It's not that she didn't care much for that sort of thing just it wasn't easy being ignored.
"So Tifa," Sango asked nicely, except for the undertone of hatred. "You haven't introduced your friends!"
Tifa's expression changed from happy to surprised to happy again. She walked over to the blonde haired one holding the sword. "This is Cloud Strife and-"pointing to her right "This is Cid Highwind."
"Aye. Best expert in ship building ever to lay your eyes upon. Want an autograph?" He smiled, rolling with his tongue a stick protruding out of his mouth. Waving a hand to he left he continued, "And that big brute there would be Barret Wallace. Don't worry; his bark is worse than his bite."
"Shove it or I will stick your spear somewhere unpleasant!"
Tifa, ignoring their charade, strolled over to the red cloaked man. But before she could open her mouth he interrupted "Vincent Valentine." He was now standing very close to edge of the woods, almost enveloped in the shadow cast from the sun. His black hair covered most of his face giving him a sinister, mysterious look.
Walking to the middle of the group, Miroku, with a lot of coquetry in his voice mainly directed towards Tifa, said; "You look tired and lost. Stay with us and we will give you the requirements you need."
Everyone in the Final Fantasy group turned towards Cloud, which the Inuyasha group presumed as the leader (And presumed right). "We need to be on our way. But understanding our predicament, we're not in much of a position to decline. We accept."
Standing beside Miroku –which was the centre of attention- Barret proclaimed how hungry he was. That was confirmed by the large grumble that emitted from his belly.
Shippo, jumping onto a tree soared through the air, landing on the ground, rolling and propped himself on Sango's shoulder. To his utter dismay, excluding Kirara, nobody else had noticed his spectacle.
"I'm not sure if I like these people," he whispered into Sango's ear. "Especially him. He gives me the willies." Sango looked in the direction Shippo was talking about and saw the one named Vincent. Silently she agreed with the fox-demon.
Glancing to see if anybody was listening Shippo continued. "And Inuyasha isn't going to settle for this."
"He barely settles for anything."
Pouting Shippo nodded, "And," he said lastly, "We just finished cleaning up!"
An hour later, the majority sat in companionable silence. They had just finished eating and were now vegetating. The only person moving about was Shippo who was chasing Kirara. Miroku was trying – unsuccessively - to chat up Tifa. For the most of it he either got glares from Cloud or Sango.
Vincent remained consumed by the shadows, the darkness stretching further like grasping talons as the day progressed. It was coming to evening. The air was cooling and everyone felt the chill. But it wasn't the end of the day that caused the air to freeze; it was the approach of demons.
Kirara and Shippo stopped running. Sango and Miroku stood up. Vincent looked straight into the eyes of the first demon to enter their territory.
Red XIII was the first to react. His muscles bulged as he leapt through the air and grasped one of the ogres by the throat. Sango was the first to deal a deadly blow. She threw the Hiraikotsu which soared through the air with a loud whistle. It hit one in the stomach, causing it to double over and collapse backwards, unconscious.
She turned quickly to see the visitors all staring in her direction, gawking. Turning back to the demons, they continued defending themselves.
Cloud ripped through the next one with one blow and Tifa boxed the one attacking Red XIII. Those two ogres crumbled like a broken cookie.
Cid (surprise surprise) speared the last, roaring in victory and throwing his fist up in the air. Rolling his toothpick with his tongue, he turned around to see everyone else's reaction. They were all preoccupied. A man with flowing silver hair and a red hakama had just entered with one blonde and two black haired people. He was looking severely pissed off and was none too impressed by Cid's victory. Instead the man just blurted out. "Who the hell!!!"
Author's notes: So Hayley here. This story took us an immensely frustrating time to write. And in my opinion was not all up to the standards I was expecting. In the end I was left with the majority of the writing and Cami was painting an amazing Dragon. I guess it's my fault the chapters are short. Any complaints, take it outside. And I'll stay in the warm cosiness.
Cami here!! HAHAHA!! Another cliff-hanger! I feel evil now…well, more evil than usual. I'm just going to leave on a more positive note. Thank you so much for reading, especially those who have been reading from chapter one. We'll try to have the next one up quicker. Bye!!