Chapter 2
I do not own Inuyasha or any of it's characters. They belong to Rumiko Takahashi.
A tight grip on my forearm shook me back and forth like a ragdoll. I groaned as unconsciousness faded and was replaced by a dim sense of reality. As I lifted my head I felt the pull of my neck against the movement. I rolled onto my stomach resorting to plan B, shifted my knees under myself and pushed myself up with my nearly-useless arms. My right arm was sore, but I guessed that was just from sleeping on the floor. I wasn't Annie Oakley and anyone expecting that was out of luck. I shook my head in hopes of clearing my thoughts. Okay, recap: fell into a different world, Kawayui was kidnapped, and Inuyasha…. I jumped to my feet, and shivered as the cold air hit my body. Crap, I was still… I quickly dressed in the kimono from yesterday. Yesterday… It felt too much like a dream. I had the clothes, the room, and a grumpy Inuyasha glaring at me as proof, but I couldn't find any of this believable. Not yet. "Took you long enough." Inuyasha stared down at me. I rolled my head to stretch my neck, babying it wasn't going to help anything.
"You could have woken me up sooner." I grumbled under my breath. "Completely unrelated, what are you?"
"What are you talking about?" Inuyasha growled. Note to self: don't talk to Inuyasha until after he has had a cup of coffee.
"You're not human."
"Was that obvious?" He rolled his eyes. I glared at him, and he laughed at how easy I was to anger. "Fine, I'm a demon."
"But you haven't tried to kill me. Demons are monsters, and monsters kill people."
"So, just because I haven't killed you doesn't mean I haven't killed anyone."
"Right…" I tried to keep my mind off of the fact that Inuyasha killed someone, and failed. Who did he kill? Was it one, two, ten, a hundred, more? "So then, what kind of monster, I mean, demon are you?"
"That's kind of personal don't you think?"
"You're a cat!"
"WHAT? What would make you say that you, you, you human!"
"You're ears. Cats have pointy ears." I pointed to his ears, not necessarily knowing why.
"Plenty of creatures have ears like mine, wolves, foxes, and most importantly dogs!"
"Oh yeah, like German shepherds, and Shiba Inus… You're a dog." I said, thinking aloud more than anything. Inuyasha being a dog would explain his reaction to my calling him a cat. Man, he's sensitive.
"Whatever." Inuyasha opened the door and made sure to close it in my face.
"You don't have to act like you're PMSing! What the heck is wrong with you anyway?" I slid open the door and stormed out of Kaede's home. "Jeez, I'm so sorry that you—"
"STRANGER DANGER!" A kid? What is a kid doing on this journey into Naraku's lair? Better yet…what am I doing here? A squirrel jumped 5 feet into the air and landed in Miroku's arms. It glared at me, for lack for better terminology. "What is she?"
"The correct term is who. I'm not an it!" I glared back.
"Oh, but I am?" Inuyasha shot back at me.
"Yes! You're a dog. Dogs are referred to as it. Now quit having the emotional cycles of a pregnant woman, would you? What got you're panties in a wad anyway?" My hands were suddenly shackled in the hands of another man. He had long brown hair – the bangs kept out of his face by a brown fur headband. His chest was covered by a metal breastplate with fur shoulders, and he wore…a skirt. But it wasn't just a skirt, it was also fur and could have been considered mini. He gazed into my eyes with his blue ones.
"You are ever beautiful. How could misfortune be so cruel and send another lovely girl that mutt's way. If I were there, you friend would be nowhere near the foul clutches of Naraku; that I know."
"Okay, knight clad in brown fur, why are you touching me?" I snatched my hands out of his grip and ran to Inuyasha. "Inuyasha, some gross, weird-speaking, guy is here. WHY?"
"Heheheh," Inuyasha laughed to himself, looked up, and smirked at Kouga. "Is the Big Bad Wolf having trouble finding a girl of his own? Kagome, Kouga's been," His upper lip pulled up in a half-snarl, "kind enough to offer his aid in taking down Naraku."
Miroku cupped his hand next to my ear, "As you can see Inuyasha and Kouga have never been – how shall I say this – the best of friends. Arguments like these can be expected until we are close to Naraku."
"Are they like brothers?" I asked tilting my head slightly at an effort to give of a cute aura.
"No, if you're lucky – and guessing by the predicament of your friend you are not such – you will not have the displeasure of meeting Inuyasha's kin."
"He really has a brother?"
"Yes, a monster of a man. Sessho-maru is the lord of the Western Lands, which was formerly their father's domain. You should know to stay away from him, should our paths ever cross. Sessho-maru hates Inuyasha for no reason other than being a half-demon, and is willing to use anything, or anyone, to gain an advantage."
"Half…?"
"That may be a story for a later time."
"Miroku! Who's she!" The squirrel thing chirped up. It stuck its tongue out at me, and I had no reply but to stick my tongue out to. "You're not Kagome."
"Yes, I am! I may not be the Kagome you're used to, but I AM Kagome." I smiled, and the quick change in mood made the squirrel burrow further in Miroku's chest. I pointed at it, "A pet?"
"I'm not a pet. I am the mighty Shippo, son of the greatest of fox demons."
"So you're a fox? Inuyasha's a dog. So, are there all different types of demons based oon animals, like dog demons, fox demons, cat demons, bird demons, etc?"
Shippo lifted a tiny hand to his chin. It couldn't have been any bigger than his cute small button nose. "I've never seen a cat demon before. But we have seen lots of bird-type monsters. Kouga is a wolf demon, and Naraku's a spider, but I'm not sure if he counts exactly."
"A spider? Poor Kawayui, she hates spiders even the ones no bigger than a speck."
"Why are we standing around yapping? We have to find Naraku, remember? And Sango didn't come back last night. We need to find her as well." I saw Miroku look to the ground in pain as Inuyasha brought up Sango. He looked up almost immediately and smiled at me. He knew as well as I that I both saw and understood what that look meant. Miroku had more than professional feelings for her.
I smiled to myself, "That must mean that he really didn't mean hitting on me like that. It must have just been because she was out scouting and he was alone. Poor guy." "Inuyasha," I whined, "Will you give me a piggyback ride again?"
"No, carry your own weight. You don't see me carrying anyone else."
Kouga ran in front of me and kneeled down. "I'll carry you. No use in making you tire yourself out. We shouldn't expect that of a lady." I climbed on top of his back and he jumped to his feet. "Hold on tight, but don't choke me. This'll be one heck of a ride." I clutched his shoulders tightly and he took off. I leaned my head onto his back and tightened my grip. I could hear the still air rush past us as he ran faster. I closed my eyes. He stopped suddenly. I tried to get down, afraid of another sprint, but Kouga wouldn't let me. "You're okay, princess. We'll just wait here for the others to catch up. Won't be long, at least, it wouldn't if not for the half-bred mutt." I rested my head on his shoulder and looked into the trees. The trees were packed too tightly together to see far into the grove.
"Pretty, isn't it?" I asked. I could feel Kouga tense. I just continued to gaze at the blur of bark, leaves, vines, grass, flowers, and various categories of plants I couldn't even guess the names of.
"I guess you could say that. Not near as nice as the home of my clan. I could take you there one day."
"Maybe when we're all done with the Naraku business." I sighed against his back, and he pat one of my legs in a comforting gesture. He looked over his shoulder at me. "How strong is Naraku?"
"Not as strong as I am. If he were, he wouldn't run away all of the time."
"So I can get my friend back?"
"If she's not dead." I looked at him now, and he looked much sadder than his words would have suggested. He looked as if Naraku had taken numerous people, from Inuyasha, Kouga, and me. The blue color of his eyes took on a deeper shade, and I struggled to stifle my question of "whom?" There was a rustling not unlike the sound of dead leaves in a soft breeze, a sound that would not be common for another two seasons.
"Kouga, you flea-bitten B**tard! What was that for?"
"Inuyasha!" I cried out, waving one arm in the air. "You're so fast; I wasn't expecting you guys to catch up for awhile." Inuyasha ran up and shoved his face into Kouga's, lifting his head up to glare at him. "Kagome, get off of his back."
"Please let me down." Kouga complied, but didn't like me submitting to Inuyasha so readily and easily. I slid off of his back; the boys continued to glare. I grabbed Inuyasha's hand in one of mine and captured Kouga's in the other. Inuyasha's incredulous look was matched by Kouga's. "Can you at least pretend to like each other, for a little while at the most? I hate to see you both fight when the real enemy is Naraku. Let's save our anger for then, please?"
"Only for you, my beautiful." Kouga's eyes softened. He made a show of squeezing my hand. He dropped my hand and brushed stray hair out of my face. Inuyasha took advantage of this by hugging me to his chest, more out of outdoing Kouga in any way he can.
"Only for you Kagome." He let me go and rested a hand on my shoulder. "Now, no more being carried for the rest of the day. I don't want to have to be the one babying you when your legs cramp up tomorrow."
"I would." Kouga smirked and winked.
"And get yourself killed in the process. We need you to fight, not stay on the sidelines pretending to nurse a worthless injury that could have been prevented."
"Will Kagome be fighting?" Kouga challenged, knowing the answer.
"Of course not! Do you see her carrying a weapon? She has an idea where Naraku may be. We'll drop her off at a village somewhere and pick her back up when Naraku's head is where it should be – on a silver platter." Miroku finally came running, panting. He ran to Inuyasha's side and bent over in pain. He grasped the handle of his staff to keep from falling over. He looked to be in miserable condition, and I suggested setting up a camp to give him a break. "No! We can't waste any time!" Inuyasha shot back.
"We can at least come up with some sort of plan. Yes, I realize that Naraku runs away from all your fights, but it doesn't help if we don't have a plan. If we just barge in like a herd of elephants then he'll know to pack up his things and move shop. Miroku is tired anyway. It's like you forget that he's human. He's not naturally as fast or strong as you two. Let him rest or he'll be useless tomorrow." I sat down on a large rock nearby and crossed my legs. I crossed my arms against my chest with a defiant "hmpf". Kouga threw up his arms in defeat, and Miroku finally fell to the ground to further help my point. Inuyasha growled, stalked over to me and lifted me over his shoulder. "You bully, put me down." Inuyasha smacked my butt and laughed to himself.
"C'mon Kouga, get Miroku. We're moving to where we won't be seen as easily." Kouga threw Miroku over his shoulder and followed behind to check on me and talk as Inuyasha trudged deeper into the forest.
"Are you okay?"
"Peachy."
"How do you know where Naraku is?"
"Personal."
"Can you fight?" I looked off to the left, as I tend to do for some unknown reason whenever I need to think something over. I couldn't remember the last time I was in an actual fist fight. I didn't know if I could actually hit someone, even though I had threatened many people I would do such on numerous occasions. I then noticed the sword at Kouga's hip.
"Not really, but I can learn if you're willing to teach." Inuyasha threw me onto the ground and pretended to stretch out a sore shoulder.
"Man, you're heavy Kagome." Kouga rested Miroku on the ground and looked at me. I ran over to him and hugged his arm close.
"Kouga-chan, didn't we have something to do, somewhere else?" Kouga knew I was talking about my fighting lessons, but played along.
"Yes, that thing, I remember." Kouga led me away from the clearing where Inuyasha had started to gather dry wood.
"Where do you think you're going?" I turned my head around quickly and stuck out my tongue and pulled down the lower lid of one eye. I looked back at Kouga so I wouldn't see Inuyasha's reaction. He needed to pay for calling me fat.
I had been given Kouga's sheath for a weapon, his sword stuck into the ground for now. No need to get hurt – as Kouga had said. I was beat, in both senses of the word. My breath came in as short gasps, and my arms did not want to lift the heavy sheath. They were already turning blue. Kouga ran at me and lifted one leg for another kick. I strained my willpower and weak muscles one last time to block a kick that never came. His foot stopped an inch short from colliding with my head. I fell face first into the dirt. I clutched at it beside my head, my nails digging furrows in the ground. No more. I can't take any more. My shins throbbed at the same rhythm as the blood pounding against my skull. The skin was tender from the bruise forming above my left eye. I closed my eyes. I saw the sheath swing back and forth in a blind frenzy as Kouga waited patiently. The forest around him faded, slowly moving back until it was no more – leaving darkness in its place. He punched the side of my head, kneed me in the gut and threw in another punch for the heck of it. "Weak" he said in a tone that was much too sinister and deep for Kouga. "Can you really hope to defeat me?" I looked back at Kouga, his snarl displaying his fangs, his once blue eyes glowing red. Enormous legs, eight of them, sprouted from his back, the fangs expanding to the point that his lips couldn't cover them anymore. Horns grew out of his hair, which was receding fast. Kouga's skin began to inflate like a balloon, his insane grin spreading as his skin was stretched and tore. The blood seeped out of his cheeks, his chest, his legs. And, he exploded. Gore flew in every direction. The skin floated to the "ground" like tore sheets of paper. Now stood a massive spider. The head turned until the chin pointed to the sky and there was a deafening snap. The disconnected head flew down; its eyes were level with my own.
"I am the all powerful Naraku. Can you really hope to defeat me?"
I awoke with an agonized scream. As I jolted to a sitting position, my weary body groaned as I moved my sore and bruised muscles. I waited as my eyes adjusted to the darkness, expecting to see those red eyes, expecting to see the body of a giant spider missing the head. I saw that Inuyahsa, Kouga, and Miroku were all still fast asleep. Good, they needed to recover. I pushed myself off of the ground and onto my feet. I wanted to go back to where Kouga and I fought. I shuffled my feet, afraid of falling. I stumbled and hit the ground hard, my hands instinctively pushed outward to catch my fall. They hit something round and slid forward as the object – which I guessed to be Miroku's staff – and it hit my chest as my arms moved from under me. I bit my lip to prevent a cry of pain. I slowly got onto my knees, breathing out my want to cry. I seized the evil staff to realize it was not Miroku's staff after all. It was a stick. I held it out in front of me; it looked to be about three feet long, give or take the length that was distorted by the darkness' illusion. Using my new cane, I hobbled back to the sparing arena.
In silence, I lifted the stick and held it straight out at shoulder height, ignoring the protests of my nerve-endings. I bent my elbow, allowing the stick to now be sideways and cross over my face a few inches in front of it. I turned the position of my arms, left now above the right and swung my makeshift wooden sword to the left. Turning the sword in my hands, I stabbed the air behind me from the side. I let go of the sword with my left hand and swung it to the right. I again grabbed the sword with my left hand and returned to my starting position. I raised my arms above my head, hurting but determine to kill – "Can you really hope to defeat me?" "Yes!" I screamed as I brought the sword onto the ground. A wave of dirt flew into the air, clouding my vision temporarily. I continued this until I thought that the dirt had received enough of a beating.I came down with the sword as I threw it to the ground; the force was too great for my body to continue resisting. I didn't feel my face hit the ground. I was too busy dreaming of the nothingness that visited the most tired of minds, minds too exhausted from the day to conjure meaningless dreams of places and people who would never exist or have already ceased to.
I will kill you, Naraku. I can. I will. I must.
Author's Notes:
I think the reason Sessho-maru hates Inuyasha is that Inuyasha and his mother were indirectly the cause of his father's death, and I'm sure Inuyasha's inheriting the Tetsusaiga didn't strengthen their "bond" either.
If you would like me to continue (I admit this chapter stunk, but the next one will be better) please review and tell me so. Also if you have an idea for the story, please share it and I will try to add it in. Please don't flame; well founded critisim and advice are welcome. Thank you for reading!