Hey, guys! Thank you for being so patient while I got this chapter out.
I can't tell you when the next chapter will be out, but I will try to get it out soon.
So, for now, sit back, relax, and enjoy!
Chapter 21
Everyone sat around the campfire, the same irritated expression on their faces. They had been scouring Japan for two weeks and there wasn't any sign of Naraku. Not even the people had any feelings of unease or terror from the evil hanyou.
Inuyasha sat just outside the light of the campfire, sharpening Tetsusaiga with his claws, his ears twitching at every little sound. He knew that bastard was out there somewhere, the question was where. A faint noise from the northeast brought his head up quickly. Inuyasha took a couple of experimental sniffs before alerting the rest of the group. "We got some company."
"Friend or foe?" Inuai asked warily. She looked back to where Sou'unga rested against a tree.
"Friend... with possible foe." Inuyasha said cryptically, looking toward the sky. As they looked up, they saw a few spots of flames coming closer.
"Kirara!" Kagome called, waving at the fire cat youkai.
"What the fuck are you doing, wench?" Inuyasha yelled as he grabbed her arms to keep her still.
"It's Kirara!"
"But we don't know who's with her!"
"If they're with Kirara, they've got to be good." she argued. "She wouldn't bring them with her if they weren't."
"While the miko makes a good point," Sesshomaru commented, looking between the mates, "I have to agree with Inuyasha."
"What?" Kagome said shocked, turning toward her brother in law.
"Guys, we can discuss this later. We need to be on our guard." Inuai said, joining the group after getting Sou'unga. They watched silently as Kirara landed in a clearing a short ways from the camp. The siblings looked around cautiously, each one tensing in anticipation. The minutes seemed to drag on as they waited for Kirara and her passenger to make their appearance.
Everyone turned as the bushes started to rustle before Kirara came bounding into the campsite, a young woman walking meekly behind her.
"Kirara!" Kagome cried happily as the neko youkai jumped into her arms. "Whose your friend?"
"Mew!"
The girl stood nervously at the edge of the campsite, studiously looking everywhere but at the group before her. Kirara jumped out of Kagome's arms and rubbed up against the girl's legs, as though that one simple act would give her the courage to do what they came to do.
"Umm... hi." she said quietly. She raised her head just enough to look through her bangs.
"Wait,... I know you." Inuai said softly, a look of dawning recognition on her face. The girl looked up, shocked. "You were at my wedding, weren't you?" The girl nodded a bit reluctantly.
"I was the one with Shippou." she said softly, a slight tremor in her voice.
"I thought so. But I can't recall your name." Inuai commented, thinking back to that day.
"It's Mae, at least that's what everyone calls me."
"What's your real name then?"
"It's Aria." Mae said, an embarrassed flush coloring her cheeks.
"Alright, Mae. So, why did you come to see us and what's your connection to Kirara?" Kagome asked softly, a friendly smile on her face. She walked over to her to put a comforting arm around her shoulders, but Mae shied back from her.
"Sorry, I... I just don't like people touching me." she said apologetically. She looked around the campsite before taking a deep breath to steel her resolve. "I know where Naraku is, and I'm here to take you to him."
"Wait, you're here on Naraku's orders!" Kagura froze at Inuyasha's words. He's strong enough to create offspring again? She was terrified at the implications. However, she wasn't the only one with those thoughts in mind.
"No!" Mae denied. "I would never disgrace my ancestors by working for that monster!"
"Then how do you know where he is?" Sesshomaru asked suspiciously. If she wasn't working for the bastard, just what was her angle?
"I've been following him." she said softly, sitting down near the fire. "He's not very strong, always possessing different demons. Trying to gain more power, to get stronger."
"And he hasn't noticed you?" Kagura asked in disbelief. No matter how weak Naraku was, surely he would've picked up her scent by now.
"No, which makes me nervous."
"Maybe we should think this through before we just up and attack the bastard." Sesshomaru commented.
"What the fuck do you mean?" Inuyasha bellowed. "Let's destroy the fucker now when he's weak!"
"Inuyasha, I understand how you feel, but we can't run into this head first." Inuai explained gently. "We don't know if he's truly weak or just playing opossum."
"So, what are we going to do?" Kagura asked.
"Yes, surely, you have some sort of a plan." Sesshomaru commented.
"Of course, I have a plan, and don't call me Shirley." Inuai grinned mischievously before turning serious, although she didn't lose the mischievous glint in her eyes. "Okay, here's the plan."
Inuai walked toward the clearing Mae had told her about. From what she had said, Naraku would often lure his victims to this very clearing to either possess or absorb them. The plan was very different from what Mae knew. They just didn't want to be caught in the same trap as Inuyasha and Kikyou.
A twig snapping in the distance brought the hanyou to an abrupt stop. She looked around slowly, sniffing the air for any different scents. Ah, there he is. She thought. It was the same scent she had cataloged at the crater.
A man in a baboon pelt waked slowly into the clearing, checking for any signs of intruders. Inuai sat just out of sight in a tree, watching and taking stock of everything around her. Naraku paced slowly about the clearing. Who is he waiting for? Inuai thought to herself.
Just then, another figure stepped out from the tree line. He looked very familiar to the young hanyou, but she just couldn't place him. His scent didn't come to her as the wind shifted, placing her upwind from the evil hanyou. Shit! Inuai quickly moved to another tree where her own scent wouldn't be picked up.
"What news do you bring of the hanyou and his family?" Naraku asked.
"They're all in Japan, as promised." the other man replied, giving a slight bow. Just who was this guy?
"Good, good. And the girl has done her part?"
"Yes, I made sure there were no questions about her loyalty." he said. That voice! I know that voice!
"And are they planning their attack?" Naraku asked impatiently. He had begun to pace once more.
"Yes, sir. And they're planning to use the girl."
"Very well. I shall be ready for them. Thank you, Matsudaira. My loyal servant." Matsudaira! That dirty, rotten... Jackass!
"It's a trap." Inuai informed her family later that day.
"So, he's using Mae for his own devious plans."
"Do you think Kirara knows?" Kagome asked worriedly, her hands wringing in front of her.
"No, I don't believe so." Inuai said sadly. "I don't even think Mae knows she's being used by Naraku."
"What do you mean by that?" Kagura asked.
"Well, she wasn't at the meeting, and she didn't act like she was in on the plan." Inuai explained. "I think Matsudaira has something to do with it."
"So, how are we going to find out if Kirara knows anything? It's not like we can just come right out and ask while Mae is around." Inuyasha ground out.
"Well, she was with Shippou at my wedding. So, why don't we include him."
"Yeah, we could have him take her for a walk, maybe to catch up with her. And while they're off together, we could question Kirara." Kagome said happily.
"It sounds plausible." Sesshomaru considered. "Just who's going to go get the runt of a fox?"
"Is that hostility I hear, Fluffy?" Inuai teased.
"He hasn't liked Shippou since he took Rin as his mate." Kagura supplied, glancing over at her scowling mate.
"I see. Well, I guess I'll go get him then."
Inuai stood nervously, looking toward the massive house on the hill. A bunch of kids were running around the whole place, of all different ages. She smiled wistfully before heading up to the house.
"Hi!" she said brightly to a little girl sitting on the front porch, playing with a doll.
"Hi." she replied shyly. Inuai sat down beside the girl.
"My name's Inuai."
"I'm Konali."
"That's a really pretty name. I wonder if you can help me with something." Inuai said gently.
"I don't know. My brothers say I'm not good for anything." Konali said miserably.
"I don't think that. In fact, I'm pretty sure you can help me better than anyone else here."
"Really?" Konali looked up and grinned as Inuai nodded. She was missing a couple of teeth and had the cutest dimples Inuai had seen to date.
"I'm looking for someone, a man named Shippou Kissune." Inuai said, smiling at the red haired girl.
"Shippou Kissune?" Konali looked like she was thinking really hard, her eyes squeezed tightly shut and her tongue sticking out at an odd angle. Her eyes suddenly popped open. "I know him!"
"You do?"
"Yeah! He's my great-grandpa!" Great-grandpa? Inuai thought, trying to hide the shock from her face. "Come on, I'll take you to him!" Konali grabbed Inuai's hand and started dragging her excitedly around to the back of the house.
Inuai couldn't help but laugh at the child's exuberance as she weaved through the people milling about and calling for Great-grandpa Shippou.
"Konali?" a worried voice called out from the left.
"Great-grandpa!" Konali yelled as she launched herself at the familiar kitsune.
"What's got you in such a tizzy?" he asked. "Your brothers aren't teasing you, are they?" He sent a disapproving glare toward the boys in question.
"No! There's someone here to see you." Konali said cheerfully, a hint of pride in her voice. "I brought 'em!"
"Oh! Well, I'd better see what they want then, shouldn't I?" He set Konali down gently and watched fondly as she ran off to play with her cousins. "So, what can I do for you," Shippou asked turning to face Inuai, "Inuyasha?"
Inuai laughed at the stunned look on the kitsune's face. "Umm, last time I checked, he didn't have these." she laughed, grabbing her boobs to emphasize her point.
"Right, right. Let's go inside so, we can talk freely. Shall we?" Shippou led Inuai into the house and to his study. "So, what brings you to my lovely home, Merry?"
"So, Naraku's using Mae?" Shippou called over the wind as they flew over the ground.
"Yeah, so, if you can find out anything from her, it would help out a heckuva lot!" Inuai called back. "Left!"
"I thought you said you were near the crater!"
"We were!" Inuai shouted as she shifted direction once again. "We're meeting Mae and Kirara at their place!"
Inuai and Shippou stopped before the small town, not wanting to draw any unwanted attention. "So, how much further are we going?" Shippou asked after awhile.
"You're not getting tired, are ya, runt?" Inuai teased.
"Hell, no!" he cried indignantly. "I just haven't run like that in awhile."
"Whatever, pansy-ass. We're almost there."
"She lives in the heart of the city?" Shippou asked suddenly finding his surroundings very familiar.
"Yeah. This used to be.."
"The demon-slayers village." he finished for her. "How's Inuyasha going to blend in?"
"You forget that one of us is a witch. A simple glamour will cover up his ears nicely." Inuai grinned.
"What about you? I can still see your ears!" he exclaimed somewhat alarmed.
"They're under a glamour, but you've seen them before so the glamour doesn't affect you." Inuai explained. "It'll be the same when you see Inuyasha."
"Oh." They soon turned onto a tree covered lane, the sakura trees along both sides were dropping their flowers making the walk seem very surreal. At the end of the street stood a small two-story house that looked as though it had been there for many years, the small forest behind was slowly creeping up as if to take it back into it's bosom.
Inuyasha and Sesshomaru stood outside waiting for the two, the former pacing agitatedly in front. "Took you fucking long enough!" he snarled as they came up the walk.
"Why the hell did you take off your glamour?" Inuai yelled, getting into her brother's face.
"It wasn't like I wanted to!"
"Then what the fuck happened?" she yelled, frustrated at the situation.
Inuyasha was looking anywhere but at his sister. "It itched." he mumbled.
"I told you it would." Inuai said calmly. "Here, let me reapply it for you. Shippou, you need to get Mae away for awhile."
"Nothing."
"Then they both don't know. Crap." Inuai paced quickly about the kitsune's study.
"So, what now?" Inuyasha growled. "I say we attack the bastard now before he gets too strong."
"No, not yet." Sesshomaru said calmly, pushing himself away from the wall. "He's expecting us to hunt him down and attack him on his turf."
"What're you saying, bastard? That we just sit back and wait for him to come to us?"
"Exactly." he smirked. "We give him a little taste of what he's done to us."
"We send in our own spy." Kagome said catching on.
"Right. Inuai, get your owl."
Blanket disclaimer for A Hanyou's Life:
I own nothing you recognize from Harry Potter or Inuyasha. I'm just taking them out for a wild ride.