Inuyasha: Sealed Fates Unleashed
By: Lady JenDragon
Disclaimer: I do NOT own Inuyasha and characters. We JUST have to get over it!
Chapter Four
Night of Chaos - Begins
The sun finally relented, disappearing over the horizon in brilliant display of oranges, reds, yellows and golden lights. Fires burned out side the huts throughout the village to take full advantage of the beautiful view of the stars twinkling above. People openly appreciated the joy of the golden lights during sunset, changing their normal routine. Groups gathered around fires burning in the warm, summer night. No one seemed to notice that the night did not start normally. Except one.
Sango did not know what to think, her mouth open in awe. KiRaRa behaved strangely, running in circles anxiously, staring out over the horizon at times, growling incessantly and then took to rolling over and over in the long grass. Now, her two-tail decided to run in a zigzag and then back into circles again, meowing incessantly and purring. Sango blinked several times unsure what to do. Without warning, KiRaRa transformed into her demon form and took to the sky.
"I've never seen her behave this way." Sango said quietly.
She could only stare at the sky where KiRaRa disappeared behind the tree line. Shaking her head, Sango turned to Kagome walking towards her, shrugging her shoulders. Kagome offered no explanation, nor did Miroku. The monk disappeared shortly after dinner. And where was Inuyasha? Why had KiRaRa come back without him from Totosai's? Shippo jumped down from Kagome's shoulder.
"Probably incensed from all those lights." Shippo wiped his nose.
He scratched in his ear with his hand, feeling a hum in his chest. Shippo felt a bit odd himself since the sun finally set. Kind of odd he was restless at night. He would never be able to sleep now. Feeling free and happy, Shippo began to skip around Kagome and Sango. He hummed to himself, bouncing around every once in a while. Neither Sango or Kagome noticed Shippo walking down the road, heading for the forest. He had a wide smile on his face, eerily happy. No one realized he headed in the same direction as KiRaRa.
'And where's Inuyasha', thought Kagome. She had not seen Inuyasha in quite some time. Certainly getting his sword looked over wasn't going to take so long. He should have been back hours ago by now. She was a bit uneasy at the moment. Then again, Totosai might not have been home when he arrived. Kagome had not thought about this possibility.
Things did not feel right to her. KiRaRa's odd behavior was very peculiar. Sango and she noticed the change immediately once darkness fell over the hills. Sango's long-time friend would never change unless she was affected by something unusual. Was a demon involved? No. She felt no demon aura around the village. There was nothing out of the ordinary she could detect. Miroku and Shippo sensed nothing, other wise they would have come and gotten her. Kagome shook her head. 'It sure was a strange evening.' Then she turned to find Shippo missing.
"Where'd Shippo get off to?" Kagome looked around the fire.
The little Fox demon suddenly disappeared. But, he was just here, Kagome reasoned. Sango glanced around the area then shrugged at her, still confused about KiRaRa. Miroku came around the hut scratching his chin, unaware of KiRaRa and Shippo's recent unusual behavior. Kagome did not like this at all.
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Night fell upon the countryside, blanketing the villages and forests with darkness. Fires lit glittered the far off hills as Humans began their evening rituals of dinner and resting. Smoke filled the air with the scent of their cooked meals. Rin felt her stomach give a churn. She forgot about finding dinner before night fall. Caught up with chasing the golden lights, Rin did not make any plans for dinner.
Lord Sesshomaru strode ahead of her, leading her and Jakken around his territory. A task he did not take lightly. She often wondered why he chose to be out here rather than rule from a castle. 'Did he have a home? Was he orphaned just as she?' There were many questions she wanted to ask but never found the right time to ask.
"Rin." Sesshomaru turned to Ah-Un, the two headed dragon carrying Jakken and Rin. "It is time for you to find your next meal. Jakken, you will assist Rin."
Sesshomaru turned from them, heading into the forest. He heard the gulp from Jakken's throat as he dismounted from Ah-Une. His loyal servant was disappointed babysitting the mortal girl. He stopped in mid-stride. The scent on the evening breeze warranted investigation. It was something he'd not considered in the past. However, it was growing stronger as the stars began to appear in the night sky. Sesshomaru found it difficult to ignore.
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The village suddenly came alive with excitement. Two men, their clothes severely torn, ran down the hill towards Kaede's hut in the valley village. The villagers, curious what happened, followed the two men towards the priestesses hut at the bottom of the Shrine stairs. The elderly priestess walked away from the fire, just as the men reached her residence.
"K…Ka…ede!" The shorter of the two choked, out of breath.
His voice was strained and tired. His dark hair was pulled into a tie at the base of his neck. Both were tired from the exhaustive run.
"Toruko?" Kaede's eye narrowed. "What is it!"
Kaede recognized the Elder's youngest son from the next village over. Surely, the priest, Catoshi, could handle any situation that arose. Toruko appeared very concerned, fear transformed his face into sheer terror. 'This wasn't good.'
"Demons!" Toruko replied. "Everywhere. They're attacking the priests and priestesses of the villages around us! We just came from Sama and Shiko. They, too, are under attack."
Kaede's eyes narrowed at the news, ignoring Kagome and Sango's worried expressions. Demons attacking priests and priestesses? Never in the history of humans had demons openly attacked the spiritual leaders. What non-sense was this?
"Attacking priests and priestesses, you say?" Kaede reiterated.
Toruko's message did not make sense, but he appeared too scared to be lying. Her instincts told her something was amiss among the demons. Yet, she sensed nothing; no demonic auras congregating, no newly arriving demons from foreign lands, no battles broke out between demons spreading into Human territory. Nothing came through by the usual communication.
"Yes!" Toruko took a few steps back towards the way he just come. "Please come! There's too many! Catoshi has his hands full with fending them off all by himself."
Miroku turned to the horizon, sensing something coming. It felt faint, but it was definitely there. He narrowed his eyes to focus, a black globular form rose over the tree line in the distance. It had no definitive shape.
"Doesn't matter." Miroku pointed. "It looks like the demons are coming here from your village."
The shadow passed over the trees in the distance, drawing closer quickly. Its edges were rough and moving amoebic-like through the air. Even in the darkness, the shape was discernible. It covered ground fast, heading directly towards Kaede, Miroku, Kagome, Sango and the two men from the next village over.
"What would make demons attack priests and priestesses?" Miroku readied his staff. "Have you ever heard of this, Kaede?"
"First KiRaRa, now this." Sango whispered softly.
Sango did not get the usual vibes from these demons. In fact, she felt nothing. Then why had Miroku felt them coming? Was he more in tune to the demons?
"Someone's up to something." Miroku reasoned. "We should prepare for a long battle."
He held his staff in his right hand. Miroku glanced around. There seemed to be demons attacking from another direction. This was certainly odd. Most demons were not accustomed to joint attacks from multiple directions unless during wartime. Did something occur between clans of demons no one knew about until now?
"Could be Naraku." Sango put in.
A trick like this screamed Naraku's doing to Sango. He used her brother countless times against them. It hurt to know Kohaku would never be free until Naraku was defeated once and for all.
"No. I sense no demon aura in the air." Kaede narrowed her eye at the fast approaching the demons. "This is not good, Miroku. We will especially need to be on our guard tonight."
"And Inuyasha's not around." Kagome stated the obvious. "Has Shippo come back?"
Sango and Miroku looked around for the Fox Demon. He'd disappeared shortly after KiRaRa began behaving oddly. Neither demon could be found.
"Apparently not." Sango answered.
Kaede limped over to the hut, still aching. She lifted the bow and arrow pouch, leaning on the wall of the hut just outside the threshold, up onto her shoulder. Turning, she walked back towards Kagome and Sango.
"What she means to say, is that villages are now open to attack by other demons if the priests and priestesses are busy battling demons." Miroku explained. "Why?"
"It doesn't feel like Naraku's style." Kaede reasoned.
"I'd have to say I agree." Kagome lifted her own bow at ready. "Though I'm not sure if Naraku wouldn't do something like this."
"He's more the use-your-family-members-and-friends-against-you type." Sango spoke her thoughts out loud.
"You're right. It doesn't feel like Naraku's style." Miroku agreed.
Naraku didn't use spells like this. Kagome felt sure of this. His past behavior didn't include use of mass demons. It was going to take a lot of effort to get through this night. Well, she was up to the task. If it meant surviving, she'd have little choice.
"Let's just get through this." Kagome gulped as the mass of demons grew closer.
Where was Inuyasha? Kagome worried he'd been attacked enroute back to the village. 'Why wasn't he back yet?' This didn't look good at all, four against the hundreds of demons now heading towards them over the trees. There were so many, she could barely recognize the various mix coming straight towards her.
Kaede narrowed her eyes, studying the amassed demons. Her fingers gripped her bow tightly in her hands. Her eyes widened, taking several steps backwards. Her mouth opened in shock. After several seconds, she frowned, her brow creased. 'Could it be?'
"Sango, Miroku." Kaede ordered. "Take Kagome, get her out of here!"
"What!" Sango turned to Miroku, the monk shrugged.
What was happening? Kaede looked very concerned suddenly. Sango felt alarmed by the priestess's demand. Did Kaede know what was going on? In all her years of demon slaying, she'd never seen demons act this way.
"What about the demons coming?" Miroku asked, his eyes, now, on the demons.
Miroku didn't quite understand Kaede's point. But, now was not the time to argue with the priestess. Kaede wouldn't put Kagome in harms way. They needed to leave right now.
"The demons aren't attacking, they're looking to mate." Kaede's voice was confident.
Kaede lifted her bow, readying an arrow to fire. Sometimes, in the heat of hormones and misunderstood passion, demons sought out the easiest target for satisfaction. Yes, Kikyo taught her what to look for when demons were in the mood for a mate. All of these demons were in the mood…as it were.
"MATE?" Kagome, Miroku and Sango said in unison.
"Yes. Every so often, demons actually go in a state of blind desire." Kaede felt a pang of concern. "Never thought I would see it."
Her instincts were telling her something was not right though there was no evidence to prove her feelings. There was nothing in the air, no strange demon behavior prior to tonight, and the villages had not reported any recent attacks. It had been a quiet few weeks.
"You and me both." Sango could not believe her eyes.
All the signs were there. The glazed over eyes, the happy anxiousness. Sango should have caught on sooner when KiRaRa began her display. At least she was not in any danger, being a demonslayer. But that meant Miroku, Kaede and Kagome were at risk. That also meant a long night for everyone. KiRaRa's strange behavior earlier solidified Sango's conclusion that Shippo and her two-tail went off looking for mates then, being that they were full demons. 'Guess there isn't an age limit.' Considering Shippo was still too young for that sort of thing.
"Could a shift in the moon cycle cause this?" Miroku spoke quietly, obviously disturbed by the news.
"Never. Demons are not ruled by the moon." Kaede continued. "We have not the time to conclude why these demons have all gone into such a state all at once. Our priority shall be to protect our spiritual sisters and brothers."
Kaede never heard of such an occurrence taking place on such a grand scale in history. It was more of a legend Kikyo had told her about as a child. Once, there had been two demon tribes that became inflamed with their desire to find compatible mates, they attacked near-by villages for three days to lure any demon in the vicinity with the scent of human blood.
"And they're attacking priests and priestesses!" Toruko reminded the group from the hut.
Sango felt alarmed at the sound of that. Why were the demons after priests and priestesses? Demons went after their own kind typically and did not bother Humans. Mortals were considered degradation in a demon blood line. 'Look at how Inuyasha's elder brother, Sesshomaru, treated him?'
"Do demons normally go after Humans like this?" Kagome just had to ask.
Considering Inuyasha's brother considered all Humans less than insects, Kagome understood demons not looking for their mates in villages. All she knew about demons who bedded with Humans had fallen in love with the woman they'd chosen. Something was definitely fishy about this whole thing.
"No." Kaede fired her arrow.
Just as she suspected, the mass deserted it's trajectory to evade the arrow. It returned to its steady course with several maneuvers, putting on more speed. It was heading directly for them.
"So, someone set them up to this!" Sango stated her thoughts out loud.
"It's a diversion all right." Miroku agreed.
A sick, evil diversion in his mind. Who would do such a thing? Surely Naraku was not this twisted to come up with a plan of this magnitude. Unless it served a particular purpose, she surmised. 'But, what could that purpose be?'
"It must be." Kaede agreed, aiming for the center of the demon mass with another arrow. "Kagome, ye are a priestess equivalent. You will fall victim to them unless ye fight them off."
"Uh?" Kagome lost her backbone. "They want priestesses as mates!"
The color drained from her face. She was at risk in becoming…Kagome abandoned the thought trying to form. Her skin turned cold, goose bumps giving her a sudden chill. She did not want to worry about this right now. She was almost sixteen for crying out loud.
"Sango, the longer ye wait, the more advantageous the demons will have to kidnap Kagome." Kaede pointed out. "Get her out of here, now!"
Kaede placed another arrow in her bow, taking aim. Her arm strained to pull the bow back with her fingers. She had to fire soon to divert the demons attention away from Kagome. If Kagome didn't get away, her body would be the vessel for demon children. That was unacceptable.
Sango grabbed Kagome's arm, pulling her away from Kaede towards the forest. They had to get her away from here. Kagome hesitated then began running towards the forest's edge. Sango stayed close behind.
"What about you?" Miroku paused.
Miroku took the sacred beads from his wrist guarding the wind tunnel on his right hand.
"Save your wind tunnel, monk! I am well past child-bearing age. I am of no use to them. Use it to save Kagome. Go now!"
Kaede let the arrow fire, aimed at the mass of demons.
"We need to find Inuyasha." Miroku spoke his mind out loud.
Miroku wished Inuyasha was here at the moment. Inuyasha could take out all these demons with one swing of his Tetsaiga. He turned towards the forest to run after Kagome and Sango but stopped at Kaede's voice.
"Keep everyone away from Kagome. Beware! Inuyasha will be suffering just like the other demons." Kaede spoke crisply. "Even half demons are affected tonight. Inuyasha will want her too. I'll do my best to fight these demons off here. Save Kagome!"
Miroku nodded his understanding of his task, breaking into a run after Kagome and Sango. The one night KiRaRa would come in handy, she was not around. But KiRaRa was also a full demon as well. If she was acting oddly before, it was because she was affected by what was happening. And where was Shippo? Was he affected like these demons descending upon the village even though he was still a young demon?
Author's Notes: And so, the chaos has begun. So, is Inuyasha really affected like Kaede believes? Certainly his Human side will offer him some immunity…or will it? Find out in the following Chapters, which will be up when I get them edited to my liking. Let me know what you think so far. Next Chapter (5) will come roughly end of April.