Chapter 2 is here! It is... longer than usual. I don't know why I did that. O_o oh well. Sometimes they just keep going until I realize I've written too much for a chapter and force myself to stop. Are you liking it? Have you laughed at my writing yet? Did you review? Yes? Yes? No? DO IT! *points*
Ah, and yes, Mira is another original character. If you are just dying to know who she is... Well, get over that. She has a much smaller role than she initially had and I was too lazy to change anything. I may eventually write something that describes her, a little one shot or something. I dunno. Maybe if people ask me to.
Disclaimer: Don't own Inu-san, that person is specialer than I. Yes, specialer. It's a word now.
"Kayo, when I find you I'll make you suffer for this!" Kaze shrieked from the bottom of the well. No one answered back, so Kaze was left to shriek and stomp for a moment before calming down enough to climb out of the well. When she finally pulled herself out and looked around, she realized she was alone. "Little brat probably ran away," she muttered, slinging her bow over her shoulder.
She looked around for a moment before realized that she had no idea how to get home. "Kiara!" She called. She knew the house wasn't too far away, but she wasn't sure if Kiara would be able to hear her. Kaze paused in her rational thinking to throw another fit about Kayo. When she'd calmed down again she noticed a large tree towering over the other trees. That doesn't look too far away, she thought, heading in the direction of the large tree. Maybe I can climb it and see where I am.
Minutes later, she realized that climbing the tree would be a bit awkward. Someone was standing with his back to the tree. He had long silver hair and bright red pants with a matching long sleeved shirt or jacket. Kaze stayed hidden another minute, waiting for him to move, but when he didn't she crept closer.
The boy had a huge arrow sticking out of his chest. Kaze gasped and ran to stand on the root in front of him. When she got close, she noticed he had dog ears instead of human ones and nearly fainted. No! She thought. I won't be one of those stupid girls who faint at every little thing. So instead she studied the dog-boy. He looked to be just out of his teens and, even with the arrow sticking out of his chest, he looked like he was sleeping.
"Hey, you!" A man yelled, causing Kaze to jump and slip from the root, falling to the ground. Looking toward where the sound had come from, Kaze saw a group of about fifteen men, carrying an assortment of weapons, coming her way.
Something sparkling at the bottom of the tree caught Kaze's eye. It looked like a piece of glass, so Kaze picked it up and put it in her jeans pocket before standing up. The men seized her and took her bow away, but Kaze was too stunned by the events to put up a complaint. Minutes later, they had dragged her to a village and tied her up before she started getting violent.
"Let go of me!" She yelled, first in English, then again in Japanese.
"She speaks the tongue of the devil," a woman whispered to another.
"Let me through," an older woman commanded. When the crowd parted to let her through, Kaze saw that she was tall and slender and had a regal look to her. "What is going on?" she asked one of the men, not bothering to look at Kaze.
"We found this demon in the forest of Inu Yasha," a man answered.
Another held out Kaze's bow. "It was carrying this," he said. The woman knelt by Kaze and looked her in the eyes.
After a second, she announced, "This girl is human," but she frowned at Kaze. "You look like someone I know," she mused, untying Kaze. "Either way, I apologize for their rash behavior, but you are dressed strangely, and it is suspicious that you were in Inu Yasha's forest."
Kaze stood up warily before quickly grabbing her bow and slinging it over her shoulder. Everyone but the old woman flinched. "My name is Kaze," Kaze stated, making sure to speak clearly in Japanese. "And I'm not quite sure how I got here."
The woman laughed, easing the tension of the people around her. "Well Kaze-san, my name is Rin, and I invite you into my home for dinner," she replied, motioning for Kaze to follow as she walked away.
After the dinner in Rin's house, during which Kaze told the woman about herself, Rin offered to let her stay the night. Kaze agreed quickly, happy to know someone was hospitable.
Kaze had just finished braiding her hair when a scream tore through the night. Rin and Kaze ran outside to find a large snake slithering through the village. Some men had tried to attack it, but most had failed and had been injured.
"Quickly! Lure it to the forest!" Rin shouted at the men still standing.
"What does it want, Priestess Rin?" Kaze asked, claiming a quiver of arrows for her bow.
"Probably that jewel shard you found, dear," Rin answered. Kaze gaped at her. "I could sense it," Rin said, smiling. "It's the only thing in this world that demons crave above all else."
"Well then," Kaze started, shouldering the quiver. "I'd better lead this thing away, huh?" With that, she notched an arrow in her bow and shot at the snake, catching its attention before turning and running out of the village.
In the forest, the boy's ear twitched and his eyes opened. "Someone's coming into my forest with a shard," he muttered, stretching his fingers and grinning.
Kaze ran as fast as she could, not bothering to turn around and check on the snake. Oh, I hate thinking this, but I could really use a rescue, she thought, climbing over a fallen tree and through a narrow pass. She tripped a second later on a root sticking up out of the ground and landed in the dirt.
When she sat up, she turned to see the snake almost upon her and started pulling out another arrow. Before she could shoot it, however, three other arrows hit the snake, causing it to turn. "Oh, thank goodness," Kaze muttered, letting her arrow drop.
"What in the world was that, Mira!" Kaze turned to see the boy impaled with an arrow scowling at her. She saw that his eyes were golden, and he certainly wasn't happy.
"What?" She called, confused. She stood up, dusting herself off, and made her way to the dog-boy.
"That was pathetic," the boy said, shaking his head. "The Mira I knew wouldn't have needed saving from humans. You used to be a proud half-demon!"
"Excuse me?" Kaze said again, frowning. "I'm not Mira, dummy. My name is Kaze, and I'm human!"
"Don't play dumb, Mi-" The boy started. Then he sniffed in her direction. "You're not Mira," he said. Kaze rolled her eyes. "I should have realized, Mira was better looking. Stronger too." He looked away.
Kaze started to get mad. "Now, listen here, mister!" She yelled, but Rin spoke up from behind her.
"Inu Yasha," she said. "He's awake!" She didn't sound particularly happy, but she also didn't sound scared, just surprised. The villagers, however, weren't so calm, especially when the snake turned back to Kaze.
"You…" It hissed. "You have the ssshard!" Kaze tried to back away, but ran into Inu Yasha and the tree.
"You're an idiot," Inu Yasha snorted as the snake began wrapping itself around the tree, pinning Kaze to it.
"Shut up," Kaze gasped, trying to free her hands. "Stupid snake," she muttered, finally pulling one hand free and trying to push the snake away from her.
"Give me the ssshard," the snake hissed again.
"Wait, you have a shard?" Inu Yasha yelled. Kaze paused in her struggling to glare at him. Inu Yasha sighed. "Well, that changes things," he muttered. "Can you remove this arrow?"
Kaze looked to her left to see the arrow protruding from Inu Yasha's chest right next to her arm. "I could try, but it might be painful," she answered, finally freeing her second hand.
Inu Yasha frowned at her and said, "I don't care. Just take it out." Kaze reached around and gripped the arrow just as the snake's tail wrapped solely around her legs. A second later she was flung into the air, still clutching the arrow.
She hit a tree with enough force to knock the breath out of her lungs and she blacked out for a moment as she fell onto a fairly sturdy branch about ten feet off the ground. Inu Yasha broke free from the snake and clawed it to pieces within seconds.
"Alright, where did she go?" Inu Yasha growled, looking over the scared villagers.
Rin stepped forward, catching Inu Yasha's attention. "The spell on you has been broken," she announced, steepling her fingers. "I will have to renew the subduing spell."
"Ha, like I'll let that happen, hag," Inu Yasha cackled, jumping into a tree. Kaze landed on the ground gently and set her bow and the arrow she pulled from Inu Yasha aside.
"What would you like me to do, Priestess Rin?" She asked.
"We need to pacify him so I can renew the spell," Rin answered, frustrated.
Kaze nodded just as Inu Yasha landed a few feet away. "I found you, girl!" He growled, launching at her. Kaze turned to face him, grabbed the wrist of the hand he was reaching out to claw her, pulled him slightly off balance, and punched him in the temple with her other hand. Inu Yasha fell to the ground, unconscious.
"There," Kaze announced. "Pacified." Rin laughed, pulling Kaze close to Inu Yasha.
"That wasn't quite what I had in mind, but it was surprisingly effective," Rin chuckled. Slicing a knife across Kaze's palm, she rubbed Kaze's blood on the back of Inu Yasha's purple beaded necklace, and then she pulled a hair, one of each color, from Kaze's head and tied them on the necklace.
"Ow…" Kaze complained. "Was that necessary?" Rin nodded, still chuckling. She then ran the knife along Inu Yasha's hand and spread some blood on Kaze's necklace, a knotted, multi-colored necklace that was a gift from Kiara, before tying one of Inu Yasha's hairs on it.
"Now, we'll need a subduing word from you, dear, when he wakes up," Rin explained, stepping away.
Not a second later, Inu Yasha groaned and stood up. "Why you little-!" Inu Yasha started yelling at Kaze.
Kaze sighed. "Will you sit for a second!" She shouted back. Both their necklaces glowed for a moment then Inu Yasha was thrown to the ground.
"Oh no!" Inu Yasha wailed, jumping up. "No, no, no!" He turned on Rin, ready to attack her, and Rin nodded to Kaze.
"Sit, boy!" Kaze scolded. Their necklaces glowed again, and Inu Yasha was thrown again to the ground.
Back in Rin's hut, Kaze lifted the back of her sparkly black shirt and her black tank top so Rin could patch up her back. "Are you sure he should be here?" Kaze asked, looking towards Inu Yasha lounging on the floor.
"He is harmless, pay him no mind," Rin assured her, pulling a piece of bark out of Kaze's back.
"You act mighty familiar, hag," Inu Yasha snorted. Kaze stood up and stood in front of him, her back to the door and put her hands on her hips.
"Is there a reason you are so painfully disrespectful?" She asked, frowning at him. Inu Yasha didn't answer, just snorted and looked away.
"Do you not recognize me, Inu Yasha?" Rin asked, cackling. "It's been fifty years, but I figured you wouldn't forget me so easily."
Inu Yasha looked at her carefully. "Wait…" He started. "Are you-?"
"Rin, I've returned," a cold voice said from the doorway. "I see you have company."
"Ah, Sesshomaru-sama!" Rin exclaimed, standing.
Sesshomaru looked similar to Inu Yasha with silver hair and golden eyes. He had a large fluffy... thing tossed over his shoulder and wore grey armor over his white kimono. Maroon stripes on his face and sharp, clean claws on his hands made him look even more dangerous than Inu Yasha, even though Inu Yasha had sharp claws also. He stared at Kaze and she could feel cod inching up her spine and resisted the urge to shudder.
Kaze took a step back and tripped over Inu Yasha, landing on his back."You punch me without a second thought, yet you're scared of this?" Inu Yasha asked, shaking his head.
"I'm not scared," Kaze snapped. "I'm wary. Whereas you would at least think about killing me, he would without hesitation!" The cold had slithered up to her neck.
"Ah, Inu Yasha," Sesshomaru said, noticing Inu Yasha for the first time "You've come back to life yet again, have you?"
Inu Yasha frowned at him. "It's funny how I don't expect anything from my own brother," he said, setting his chin in his hand.
"Maybe I should just kill you now?" Sesshomaru suggested, moving quickly. Before he reached Inu Yasha, however, Kaze pushed his hand into the ground next to Inu Yasha's head and held out a knife she'd taken from Rin to Sesshomaru's throat.
"What are you doing, idiot?" Sesshomaru stared at her for a moment before retreating.
"Sesshomaru-sama, please don't attack my guests," Rin said calmly. Sesshomaru just left the hut and Rin followed him outside.
Inu Yasha scowled at the doorway before turning to Kaze "You are so stupid," he growled at her, trying to nudge her off his back.
Kaze stabbed the knife in the wood floor next to his head and glared at Inu Yasha angrily. "If you didn't seem to run into trouble everywhere, I wouldn't have done what you thought was stupid!" She said, stuttering slightly in her effort to make a cohesive sentence in her anger.
"You aren't making any sense, girl," Inu Yasha said, scoffing at her, but giving up on pushing her off his back. "Can you get off my back already?"
Kaze narrowed her eyes at him, but stood up. "Fine, Inu-san, I'm off," she said, pulling the knife out of the floor and setting it near the pot Rin had been using for dinner.
"Why'd you protect me?" He asked harshly, stretching out flat on his stomach on the floor. Kaze shrugged her shoulders as Rin came in.
"Oh, I put a spell on her necklace that would force her to," Rin answered, spreading a blanket for Kaze "I feel like I should have warned you earlier."
Kaze rolled her eyes. "Thank you, Priestess Rin," she said sarcastically.
"So, you were that little whelp Sesshomaru took in during a moment of weakness," Inu Yasha said to Rin. "What happened to Kaede?"
"It's been fifty years since Kagome stuck you to that tree, Inu Yasha," Rin explained. "Humans die."
"Humans are pathetic," Inu Yasha snorted.
"Don't make me pacify you again," Kaze threatened, raising a fist. Inu Yasha scuttled backwards out of her reach.
Rin chuckled again. "Well, dear, since we won't be able to find you a way back to your home in the dark, you may stay here tonight. We'll focus on getting you back in the morning," she said, scooting to her own bed and bidding Kaze good night.
Inu Yasha left the hut as Kaze lay down. How am I going to get home? She thought, sighing. Hopefully Kiara isn't freaking out.
The next morning, Kaze staggered out of Rin's hut, disoriented and blinking stupidly in the sunlight. After a moment of looking around, she yawned, successfully getting enough oxygen to her brain to remember the events that had taken place. Kaze sighed before yawning again, rubbing her eyes.
"Ah, Kaze!" Rin called. Kaze jogged over to the old woman standing by the pond behind Rin's hut. "Did you sleep well, dear?" Rin asked, kneeling beside the pond.
Kaze hesitated a moment before answering. "I had a disturbed sleep," she answered slowly. "I'm not sure how to describe it, but it was like little shocks all over my body, but they would stop after a moment each time."
Rin nodded. "You were sensing demons, my dear," she said, dipping her hand in the lake. "I had sensed them too, but Inu Yasha made sure to drive them off."
Kaze looked around. "Speaking of whom, where is he?" She asked. When she looked towards the forest, however, her fingers began to tingle. "Oh, never mind, Priestess Rin, I think I've found him."
"Good, good," Rin cackled, handing Kaze a cloth-wrapped package. "Take this with you; he may be more compliant if you offer food." Kaze sighed, but took the package and made her way to the forest, taking her bow and some arrows.
Inu Yasha sat perfectly still on a branch high in a tree, staring off towards he rising sun. He looked deep in thought, so Kaze tied the package of food, after taking some out, to an arrow, then shot the arrow into the trunk next to Inu Yasha's head.
He jumped away from the arrow, bewildered, his heart beating fast. "What was that for?" He yelled at Kaze.
"Come down and eat with me," Kaze called back. Inu Yasha frowned and turned his back on her. Kaze sighed. "C'mon, Inu-san!" She called. "Grab that package and eat with me!" Inu Yasha growled, but relented, ripping the package from the arrow and jumping down to the foot of the tree.
"Where did you get all this?" Inu Yasha asked, eyeing the food. Kaze shrugged, biting into an apple. Inu Yasha frowned at her for another minute, not quite sitting but squatting, before jumping back into the tree. Kaze scowled up at him.
"Ahem…" She called irritated. "Sit!" She finished, pulling the food out of the way before he crashed to the ground. "Don't annoy me," she advised, biting once more into her fruit.
Inu Yasha let out a sigh before sitting up and leaning back against the tree. "Will you answer a question?" He asked, mustering all the politeness he owned and forcing it into a question.
Kaze snickered. "Yes, but because you were so nice, I'll answer one more," she answered, laying back on the ground and closing her eyes to the sun.
"Well, I have quite a few," Inu Yasha muttered, fidgeting. Kaze gave a non-committal wave of her hand, encouraging him to continue. "Why do you have a shard?"
"Found it under you, near your tree," Kaze answered. Before he could nag her about how, she hastily continued, "It was shining, looked important, and I figured you were dead, so I picked it up." She put her hands behind her head lazily.
"Hmm…" Inu Yasha was silent for a moment. "What's with your clothes?" He asked next.
"This is normal where I come from, and I don't like my uniform," Kaze answered, yawning. Thinking about home made her think about Kiara, which made her sad, then Kayo, which sparked a deep hatred. "I can't believe that Kayo!" She muttered, her frustration causing her to slip into English.
"What are you saying?" Inu Yasha asked, his politeness wearing thin. "It sounds funny and doesn't make sense."
Kaze opened an eye to see him frowning at her before she closed her eye again. "It's English," she said, reverting back to Japanese.
"English," he muttered, as if testing the word.
"It's another prominent language where I come from," Kaze explained, stretching, her back popping. "It's my first language, so it comes more naturally than Japanese."
Inu Yasha nodded, but it was obvious he had no idea what she was saying. "So, how did you get here?" He asked.
"A well in your forest," Kaze answered, getting tired of his questions. "It was in a forest behind my house and this brat dared me to look in it, then she pushed me in."
"Is there a girl by the name of Kagome in your world?" Inu Yasha asked.
"Not that I've met," Kaze answered. Inu Yasha stayed quiet for a long time and Kaze opened an eye to look at him. "No more questions, Inu-san?" She asked, closing her eye again.
"Why do you call me that?" He asked, frowning unhappily.
"I don't add suffixes, so adding one to yours while leaving off the last bit ends up respectful, yet insulting," Kaze explained. "Basically, I'm just being mean and trying to make you mad."
Inu Yasha snorted, snagging a fruit and jumping back into the tree. "Go away," he called.
"I have a question for you!" Kaze yelled back. Inu Yasha snorted, looking down at her. "Who's Mira?"
"Someone long gone," Inu Yasha answered before going back to ignoring her.
Kaze sighed, knowing she wouldn't get any more from him, and stood up. "I'll leave some here," she called, taking a few things and leaving.