punkish furball—Wow! Has it been a long time?! Made sure this was a lengthy as possible to make up for my absence.
Words to Ponder:
Thank you lain01 (2x), DeathNoteMaker, Devil-Speaker, 4gVn sOuL, Sanquinary Tears, S.T. Nickolian, uniqu3s0u7, GtSoccerChick15, .-Chaline-., ll, storywriter107991, Anime Punk Kitty, Fallen Dragon, lildevil0644, KuroxTenshi, Ru-Doragon, crystal lilith, Shiori The Lady Kazekage (3x), Epitafio, Kerri, Shin Wal-New Moon-, smile for me, Bloodmoon Goddess, whiteinu1, Anonymous Obession, bluemiko, babygotback, and xXKillorbeKilledXx for reviewing.
Epitafio--Gracias por tu commentario. No hablo espanol muy bueno pero yo estoy aprendandolo. Tu commentario era practica buena.
Chapter 3
'It's been so long,' Kagome thought as she walked through the dirt roads of the village close to InuYasha's forest. The villagers didn't stop to greet her like they once did. Part of that made her sad but she still continued her trek towards her destination.
"Oof!" came from a small body that collided with Kagome. Kagome looked down and saw a small boy with short black hair and cinnamon brown eyes on the ground wincing at the pain in his bottom.
"Are you alright?" Kagome asked the child while kneeling down to help him out.
"I'm alright," the boy said and sniffled as if fighting the urge to cry.
"That's good," Kagome said. Before she could get up, the little boy grabbed Kagome's hands. Kagome looked up at him at the sudden gesture.
"Fair lady, will you bare my children?" the boy asked puffing out his chest with authority. Kagome almost fell out laughing out the question; it was obvious whose child this is.
"Wait a few years, kid," Kagome said and gently pulled her hands away, "but do you think you can help me?"
The boy hesitated but nodded.
"I'm looking for a pink jewel, like a round marble," Kagome said, "Any idea where it's kept?"
"I know what you're talking about!" the boy said excitedly, "It's in the shrine up there. My mama told me it was put up there when the lady in red and white who doesn't smile left it with my mama, papa, and Uncle Yasha. They told me that the lady who used to take care of it went away after she killed a bad guy and she probably won't come to see us anymore. Uncle Yasha was very sad when mama told that story, but he said that the lady is happy, so he's happy."
"Oh," Kagome said and had to fight off tears. Her friends…her family…she forgot about all of them by being drawn into Sesshomaru's lies.
"Ya know," the boy continued proudly, "my papa said that the lady was very pretty and nice and I decided that I'm going to marry her one day."
Kagome had to giggle softly at that statement, "Then why did you ask me to bare your children?"
"I ask that to every pretty lady, just in case that it's her. I don't know what it means, but it's what papa did to find mama," the boy said, "By the way, my name's Shin."
"Shin," Kagome asked, she couldn't keep the question off her mind, "Do remember there being a fox demon living with you? A little orange haired one."
Shin looked thoughtful before he shook his head, "Nope, there was a fox who lived here before but he left a long time ago. Did you know him?"
Kagome just shook her head trying to hold back tears.
'It's okay,' she thought, 'Alright, it's not okay. Just focus on the jewel and getting back for now.' Kagome drew in a deep breath and composed herself.
"Well, later, Shin," Kagome said, "I hope you find the beautiful lady you're looking for."
Kagome got up and walked towards the stone steps that lead to the shrine by Kikyo's grave.
'That has to be where the jewel is,' Kagome thought, 'It shouldn't be too hard to get it. I am Kikyo's reincarnation after all. The kinda sorta guardian should be able to get the jewel.' Kagome sighed once she reached the steps and began to go up them quickly skipping a few steps at a time.
'There's no telling when Sesshomaru will find me,' Kagome thought, 'or if the others will see me too. I have to hurry.'
-O0o0O-
Shin hummed random notes as he walked off again after leaving the pretty lady.
'I wonder who that lady is,' Shin thought, 'she was very pretty.'
Shin's thoughts ceased when he collided with yet another figure. He felt himself begin held by his collar.
"You should really watch where you're going, kid," the one who picked him up said and set him on his feet.
"Sorry, Uncle Yasha," Shin said.
"Just be careful," InuYasha said, "You'll never know who you'll run into these days." InuYasha took a few sniffs with his sensitive nose.
'Could it be?' he thought and bent down to Shin's level.
"Hey, you run into anyone else, kid?" InuYasha asked.
"Today, there was the old lady with the missing tooth, one of the farmers, some other boys," Shin said naming them off while counting on his fingers, "Oh, and one very pretty lady."
"Pretty lady?" InuYasha asked with his breath catching in his throat.
Shin nodded vigorously, "She was very pretty. She had blue eyes and she was wearing a very pretty kimono. Do you think she was a lord's wife?"
"Yeah," InuYasha said, "I got a good idea which lord it is too. Do ya know which way she went?"
"She asked where the pink rock is," Shin said, "I think she's going there."
"Thanks, kid," InuYasha said and bounded off in the direction of the shrine.
-O0o0O-
'I was right,' Kagome thought triumphantly, 'It did let me in.' Kagome stood in the middle of the shrine with the Shikon jewel shimmering on a small altar.
'The Shikon jewel,' Kagome thought and reached for it, 'I'll just take it and go to the well. I probably over stayed my welcome anyway.' Quickly, Kagome grabbed the jewel from its place and gripped it tightly in her hands and tucked it securely in a fold in her kimono.
'I think that I'll sneak out the back,' Kagome thought, 'I've already taken too much time.'
Before Kagome could make her way out of the shrine, she heard loud shouting in a voice she would have been happy to hear if the circumstances were different.
"Kagome!" InuYasha bellowed at the top of his lungs, "I know you're in there! Kagome, come out here!"
Kagome crouched down in an attempt to hide herself.
'How am I kidding? InuYasha will barge in here any second!' Kagome thought. Just as Kagome predicted something did barge into the room. However, it was not who she thought it was. The large forest demon shattered through the wall and the barrier on the small shrine. It kneeled in front of her and Kagome quickly jumped onto the beast and fisted her hands into its fur.
"Thanks so much!" Kagome said as the rush of air caused her hair to whip around her wildly as the demon surged forward with burst of speed.
"I sensed your distress!" the demon bellowed, "The young hanyou told me to pay close attention to your scent. It is very distinctive and fluctuates when your emotions change. I came as soon as I could and subdued to half demon, but it won't last long."
"Really?" Kagome said and pouted. The large demon laughed.
'Great, my emotions might as well be scratch-n-sniff stickers for demons,' Kagome thought.
The beast halted suddenly in front of the dry well.
"This is where I leave you," he said, "The half demon and Sesshomaru-sama will be closing in on our position."
"Very well," Kagome said and slid off the beast's massive shoulders. Before it could escape to the forest, Kagome linked—or rather tried—her arms around his great neck.
"Thank you," she said.
The demon shook its head, "Think nothing of it my lady. Many of us are loyal to you."
"Thanks anyway," Kagome said and released her grip. She walked over and looked down at its dark depths; the forest demon was long gone. She stuck her hand in a fold in her kimono and pulled out the vial that the servant girl had given her.
'"Remember, once you are taken to the dry well, drink the potion and dive into the well. Sesshomaru will immediately go into rage when he senses the bond beginning to shatter." That's what she told me,' Kagome thought. She pulled the stopper off the vial and got a nose-full of the fumes.
'It's like perfume of day old vomit and toe nail clippings,' she thought and gagged, 'Suck it up, Higurashi. A lot of trouble went into getting this horrid bile for you. You can't let them down…you can't let her down.'
Kagome held her nose with one hand and used the other to chug it down. She willed herself to swallow the putrid mixture and sighed once it was all the way down her throat.
'I better get in the well now,' she thought. Just as she was lifting up her leg to go over the well, she felt a sharp burning pang in her neck. Like an intense fire raging through her veins and blazing at the spot where her neck met her shoulder, the same place Sesshomaru marked her.
'I guess this is why she told me to get in as soon as I took it,' Kagome thought. She felt her head go numb and then she released her grip and she fell down into the well. Her eyes closed as she welcomed the embrace of the well's magic.
-O0o0O-
'She must have taken the potion by now; it will take a few minutes for it to go completely into affect,' the servant girl thought as she waited the arrival of the forest beast. She shuddered slightly, 'I hope I warned her about the odor and the taste. I guess it can't be helped now.'
The beast ran towards the little half demon and skidded to a halt.
"The deed has been completed," the demon said. "Our lady's energy is disappearing from our world as we speak and the power of the mark is beginning to fade."
"Thank you," the servant said, "You will be rewarded for you service to the lady of the West."
'Or rather ex-lady.'
"Our lord will be informed of your territory's expansion after an adequate time has passed since the disappearance of his mate. It is apparent that our lord will be greatly displeased and it would not be wise to approach him with such requests," the servant girls said.
"I see," the larger demon said, "Do what you can and inform if there is more my kind can do. You do have everything else under control?"
The young servant just raised her eyebrow and the demon chuckled.
"I see," the demon said, understanding the meaning of the gesture, "Farewell, half demon." The forest spirit disappeared into the shadows of the trees.
'Kagome-dono will be safe in the future, the forest beings are free from blame and will be rewarded, Sesshomaru will be going to the last place Kagome's scent dwells, all that's left is…' A large gust of wind interrupted the half demon's thoughts.
"You're late," the half demon said and was soon face to face with a large bat demon. It was one of the weaker breeds without a humanoid form; its skin was gray and leathery with folds and wrinkles, the eyes were large and completely crimson glinting like rubies and its great mouth was open with its jaws revealing several sharp canines and a larger set of fangs.
"What gives you right to order me, half human filth," the bat said, "You're not even worthy of the little demon blood you possess."
"Then I believe you're not worthy of the expansion of mountains to the West," the half demon said; she was not easily intimidated by the insults.
The bat immediately relented, "No hard feelings; just a joke between comrades. You have the essence right? The essence of our lady. Our lord will not be deceived by mere appearance."
"Of course I have it," the half demon said and pulled out a small vial, "Just a bit of blood and a few strands of hair. No big deal. You have the body don't you?"
"Yes of course," the bat replied, "Draining the blood from a rather promiscuous village girl was a simple task for the humanoid demons in our clan. Her body is now reduced to a submissive little ghoul-."
The half demon nodded. Naturally, she did not tell Kagome that there was to be a decoy of her that was once a living person. She would have readily given up the whole venture if it came at the expense of a human being. Truth be told, the servant wasn't keen on the whole dealing either, but what's done is done.
Her essence—a mixture which will give any being the aura and scent temporarily of the person intended—was easy to obtain. Kagome had already given a sample of her blood and a few strands of hair were clinging to her clothing.
"Perfect," the half demon said and relinquished the vial to the bat, "Be sure that the 'ghoul' as you put it is given the essence and the exact copy of Kagome-dono's kimono of so that there will be no doubt in her identity."
"And the other demon, the one who will instigate attack?" the bat asked.
"Already taken care of," the half demon said, "She was willing to sacrifice herself for our cause and her kind will go into hiding."
The bat nodded, "The ghoul is inside the cave you commissioned for us. She is exactly as you told us; she can even speak. Three claw-shaped gashes down her back, a slash down her right cheek, bruise on her leg and arm…"
"I don't need you to describe it to me," the servant said sharply, "It is a vulgar enough task as it is. Just get it down and the mountains are as good as yours."
The bat nodded and quickly took to the wind just as fast as he arrived. Once the bat was out of range, the servant got to her knees, her calm and indifferent countenance shattered. Tears cascaded down her face and she wiped them up furiously with her kimono sleeve. She had taken to crying for her deeds from time to time. Despite the circumstances, she was still a child.
'Look at me,' she thought, 'Crying and grieving for my sins. Hmm…and I was once called the embodiment of sin itself. Oh, well, enough of this. It's going to be a long five centuries; I have plenty of time to think about this later. For now, they are more important things to think about.' The servant girl began her trek back to the Western fortress.
-O0o0O-
"Dammit!" InuYasha shouted as he got up and brushed off the debris.
'That was Kagome; it had to be!' he thought, 'but that demon. It just rushed right in and took her.' With his sensitive nose, he took a sniff of the air.
'Her scent...it's coming from the cave Kikyo nursed Onigumo in,' he thought, 'Strange…why would she go there? I smell her blood too. I should have never let Sesshomaru take her with him. That mating was doomed from the start.' InuYasha bounded forward in the direction of the cave as fast as his legs could carry him.
InuYasha reached the clearing in front of the cave in record time.
"Kagome! Come out of there!" he shouted.
-O0o0O-
Within the depths of the cave, the bat demon dressed the ghoul in the ripped kimono and put the essence of Kagome on its tongue. As soon as the contents of the vial were emptied, the body rose. Its lids opened to reveal dull sapphire eyes and its mouth was open slightly. Blood dripped freely down its body quickly drenching the ripped kimono. It stood under the bat demon's command walking unsteady as though in were a newborn calf. In seconds, the sunlight hit the body's milky white skin.
-O0o0O-
'Where are you?!' Sesshomaru thought frantically never feeling as frightened as he was right now when he had finally managed to get away from his soldier who attempted to restrain him and was running blindly in search of Kagome. His nose caught the scent of her blood.
'Any creature that hurt her will pay with its blood,' he thought. Sesshomaru cringed and bared his fangs slightly. He paused for a moment and clutched the side of his neck as a sudden bolt of pain speared him where his mark was, the symbol of his bond with Kagome. It was beginning to erase itself.
'She's…dying…' Sesshomaru thought. Redness began to seep into his eyes, his magenta colored markings began rugged and jagged, and his fangs lengthened. With renewed speed, Sesshomaru dashed in the direction where the scent of blood was the strongest.
-O0o0O-
"Her scent stops here," InuYasha said and looked at the dark cave that had once housed the bandit Onigumo, where the demon Naraku was conceived.
"What is she doing in there?" InuYasha asked himself.
"A fine question, InuYasha," a deep venomous voice said. InuYasha looked up at his older brother.
"What the hell are you doing here, Sesshomaru?!" InuYasha asked, "Why isn't Kagome with you? What did you do to her?"
Sesshomaru just growled and grabbed InuYasha by his throat. He was inwardly delighted as InuYasha made futile struggles to draw oxygen into his lungs.
"Why does my mate bleed?" Sesshomaru said in a deadly whisper; InuYasha knew Sesshomaru would kill him with his inability to answer.
"In…u…Yash…a…" a small weak voice said. A figure of a pale petite woman stepped from the shadows of the cave. She made a few steps staggering as she went until she fell to her knees and began to crawl slowly.
"Sess…sho…ma…ru…" the woman continued.
"Kagome…" InuYasha said. He was immediately thrown into a tree trunk. After dealing his brother the blow, Sesshomaru turned to the pale figure christened "Kagome". She smiled weakly. Before Sesshomaru could use his speed to get to her, Kagome opened her mouth and let out a fearful cry. A demon, large and grayish black in color, with massive jaws and monstrous fangs charged forth from the trees. It let out a mighty cry before surging forth and gripping Kagome in its jaws and swallowing her whole and clasping his jaws shut with a loud crunch. A second hardly passed before Sesshomaru reduced the demon before him into a smoldering pile of liquid demon tinted green with his poison. Sesshomaru looked down at the remains, his eyes tinted crimson and his whole figure shaking.
InuYasha gulped as he watched Sesshomaru.
'Dammit, I better get back to the village,' he thought and turned away quickly, 'There is no telling how crazy he's gonna go now.' InuYasha ran as fast as he could to prepare everyone back at the village for the worst.
-O0o0O-
'It's done,' the half demon girl that as the last remnants of Kagome's aura and life force drift away, 'She's gone.' She had stopped her journey to the castle just to check on the progress of her plan. She had a strong doubt of failure.
The demon girl looked up into the sky; it seemed to tinted red with anger and depression. It was so strong that even humans would be able to sense it.
'You can almost taste his emotion in the air,' the half demon said and sighed before walking back in the direction of the fortress.
Her feline ears twitched when she could hear Sesshomaru's loud roar and growl from such a great distance. She sighed again and ran her clawed hands through her hair and wiped a single tear off her cheek with the tip of her claw.
'I think…that it is going to be a long five centuries.'
-O0o0O-
punkish furball—And that is another chapter done. I liked it; it was hard describing some of the demons though. I never had to make up so many before. The Forest Spirits are my favorites. And I'm sure I got all of the errors this time.
-ghoul—This term is not mine. I got this from Hellsing by Kouta Hirano. It refers to a being that is created when a vampire sucks the blood of someone who's not a virgin. Like a man eating mindless puppet. I figure vampire and bat demon…same difference.
In the next chapter, I think we'll fast forward a few hundred years and go from there. I'm definitely gonna have some more of Aoishi. Yes, big plans for him. And fear not Shippo fans! He'll be back.
L83R, DUDES!
(edited 9/30/07)